Gerri

Hi folks, well had my outing to Belfast well technically Holywood yesterday. We got a little lost so ran late a bit. Met other women there who had dealt with ACS and who had the same issues as the rest of us. Have to say the nurse who did my fill was excellent. I had to give her my history as she had not received my file from ACS. She showed me the band that I have as the individual surgeons prefer different ones. Mine is a Minimizer and holds 9mls, after yesterdays fill I have 4ml. Not sure what happens now, the nurse made sure to tell me that The Hospital Group have nothing to do with ACS. Hope ye are all well.

Hi Ailbhe, sorry the rain dance I did for Oxygen didn't work! Do your best not to look at the bebo page, what the eye doesn't see and all that! Lil, I'm off to Belfast on Saturday presume they will do a fill there, but then again presuming with The Hospital Group may not be a good idea. Appointment at 2.40pm. I contacted the WLS group by email last night and missed a phone call back from them this pm, at least they answer their correspondence didn't hear back from Obesity Solutions. Just want to have a couple of options i.e Dr Chris De Bruyne and WLS after this visit with The Hospital Group. Hope all well on this Sunny day.

Hi Roe and all. I got a call back from Leanne to say I could have an appointment on Saturday 2.40pm in Belfast. Spoke to my husband and we are going to go on this one occassion I haven't heard back from Obesity Solutions so we'll see how we go. Good luck on Wednesday hope it goes well. Edel, thanks for your update that sounds like an option.

Hi folks, Lil the other number I get through to ACS/Hospital Group on is 6785999. Just on to them now looking for the dates for Belfast and news on my records. Spoke to Corina who is going to check with the UK for the dates, she said it will take about 2 weeks to get the records. Hope ye all well.

Hi Lil, ACS/The Hospital Group Pembrooke 2374606. They will assess each person once and give a fill if required, any care after that will have to be paid for! This is accross the board regardless as to how many appointments/fills etc you managed to get out of ACS. Not happy but what can we do, I'm going to give in and make the trip for this one appointment to Belfast and then see who else can give me aftercare and at what price. Hope your holiday went well. At least the rain held off for a while today for my childrens birthday party. Take care all.

Hi Coco, would love to meet up on Saturday but can't having a joint birthday party for my 7 and 5 year olds, believe me I'm pretty sure I'd rather be going to Dundrum! PrincessLK, I'll let ye know when I hear from Obesity Solutions. Looks like the post man/woman is going to be busy. Take care.

Hi folks, I've been back on to the Hospital Group today to ask for a copy of my file and medical records. Spoke to Corina who advised that I would have to ask in writing which I have done and will post when the rain stops! I've also emailed Obesity Solutions who have a Dublin office in Dame Street to see if they could take on the aftercare and how much their consultations and fills are, just thought might as well get a few options this time. Haven't got the email from The Hospital Group with the dates for Belfast yet, I'll follow it up tomorrow or Friday.

Hi guys, spoke to a lady from The Hospital Group today think her name was Lydia. The outcome was that although they bought the company from ACS Europe they did not in essence buy the aftercare of ACS patients! As a gesture of goodwill they will give one visit free of charge and assess were we are with the band, they will give a fill if required. If we need any other visit we will have to pay for them.:biggrin: This is a cart blanche approach regarless to when you had the surgery, how much you have in your band or how many follow up appointments you actually got to have. I am a little stunned as this disregard for our situation and our cash outlay, maybe I'm naive? :confused2:We will also have to travel to Belfast for the honour of this assessment as no surgeons registered in the South yet. I'm probably going to have to give in and travel to Belfast, after that I think I'll stop flogging a dead horse and contact Dr Chris De Bruyne. :thumbup: Hope ye are all doing well. Geraldine

Hi guys, from catching up on the posts you all seem to be doing well. Roe, did you get in touch with Frederrick? I've been in Legoland with the hubby and kids since last Sunday only back late Thursday. No suprise to say I have not got a call back from The Hospital group about whether they would cover the cost of me getting a fill with Dr De Bruyne. I'll ring on Monday and chase them a bit. Just catching up on the post hols washing and ironing. Happy to say lost a couple of pounds whilst away so am 64lbs down now. Take care.

Hi all, Ailbhe, well done on finding somewhere else to live. You are doing the right thing. Can't believe he is flaunting his new relationship as you said distance will help you heal. Roe, Twinkle-toes, Coco and all others waiting for a fill in Dublin. I just phoned the Hospital Group and spoke to Leanne, told her Belfast is out of the question and asked if they would cover the cost of me getting a fill with Dr De Bruyne.... Leanne going to email the manager who is in UK at the moment and get back to me. Told her as Dr De Bruyne already did work for them it would be a good solution while they get their registrations sorted. (Well you never know if you don't ask). I'll let you know when I get a response. I'd be interested in meeting up for a chat/support group.

Hi Ailbhe, You are being very strong and very brave, the easiet thing to do would have been to take him back but you are better than that! I can only imagine how you are feeling but you have the strength to get through these times. On a brighter note noticed your weight loss, way to go girl you are flying. Take it a day at a time or even a few hours at a time. Look after yourself. Loriha, I haven't been on the ACS this week but as you said yourself the usual response last week... my weight is staying pretty much the same up a couple of pounds then down a couple etc. Hope all keeping well.

Hi Roe, I for one didn't get a call. I got an email from The Irish Medical Council saying Irish Registration for non Irish doctors usually takes 4 to 6 weeks. I've had no reply from ACS(Hospital Group) to my complaint email. :angry:Guess we just have to hang in there or pay out more money to another provider.:rolleyes2:

Hi Ailbhe, Sorry to hear your news it must be rough. The important people now are you and your little girl. You are obviously a strong person and will get through this in time. Take care of yourself both physically and mentally. Gilly, Sorry to hear the news of your Dad. I'm glad that you are getting sorted for the dehydration. I spoke to ACS/Hospital Group today but still no news for doc in Dublin. I've emailed the Irish Medical Council to see if they can shed any light on why there is such a delay in registering these UK doctors. Probably won't get a reply. Damienne, congrats on having your op. Glad to hear you have gotten over the first few difficult days and are now getting the hang of the new regime. Hope it continues to get easier day by day. Roe, presume you are in the same boat as me waiting for news of Doc in Dublin?

Hi guys, I was on to ACS/The Hospital group and had one of the vaguest conversations I've had with them yet.:confused2: No date available for Dublin, no idea when someone available, don't know if gap in aftercare will be looked after at the end of our years cover and in the same breath lady said wasn't it lucky that the Hospital Group had stepped in and saved the day. They haven't saved my day! Sorry for the moan feeling a tad fed up with the lack of information.:thumbup: Gerri

Hi Skinnyirishbabe, I would imagine if you had a leak or something serious you would hace some sort of discomfort? Ailbhe, Way to go on dropping those sizes. Have to say I nearly put an add in the paper a while ago when I managed to get into and breath wearing a pair of size 16 Jeans (with stretch)! Wonder will we have any news from ACS next week, could really do with a fill pretty static weight at the moment. Hope all well.

Hi all, Coco, I was cancelled on the 29th also, I phoned ACS (Hospital Group) this pm and spoke to Leanne. They are waiting for the Irish Medical Council Registration for the UK doctors, so no fills in Dublin, Cork or Galway at the moment. They have fills available in Belfast, this doesn't suit me I'd rather wait. Hopefully they'll have furhter news next week. Ailbhe, glad your weight has started to come down again and that you have stopped setting off alarms!! That made me smile. Elsie, while I agree that it should have been up to Fern Britton to break the story herself as you say the more people are aware of it the less shock value it will have. Siepe, Marge glad your appointments went well. Good weekend to all.

Hi all, Hope those of you who appointments for fills today got on well. Ailbhe, you are doing fab with the weight loss, give yourself the credit you deserve, nearly 2 1/2 stone down! I still haven't heard back from ACS, am going to leave it until Monday and then give them a call.

Hi Ailbhe, sorry to hear about your situation. I know it must be tough, but you will make the right decision. At least ye are being honest and talking to eachother. Coco good to hear from you. Hope you are well on the road to recovery from the VV op. You have done fab in the 16months, thanks for the insight into what has worked for you. I'm waiting to hear from ACS to see if when they will have someone available to do fills, at moment only have 3mls in but happy with how it is going. Hi Skinnyminny welcome to the sight, its a great place to get advice, words of wisdom and support. Good luck with your consult. All those getting fills with Dr CDB best of luck.

Hi folks, Its looks as if messing around is starting again, I can't believe that the person who spoke to me yesterday didn't have the decency to tell me that they have been taken over again! I really don't understand why they give some people the information and not others. I've emailed venting my frustration won't start holding my breath just yet for the reply.. Hopefully the new owners will get a hold of the situation and sort it out, as we all know there is money to be made if the service is up to standard. Sorry for the moan.

Hi Marge, Just noticed you are logged on, how are you feeling now? Has the pain around the port diminished? Ailbhe, Hope you enjoyed your holiday apart from the choice of chips with everything! :thumbup: I'm disappointed that I won't be getting a fill this week but I suppose it could be worse at least the weight is still going in the right direction.

Hi folks, the fun starts again. I had a call from ACS today to cancel my appointment for Thursday. No one available to do fills, apparently they have cancelled the full days appointments. I hope this is just a blip and not sign of more problems. Girl said they should have an appointment within the next two weeks, fingers crossed. Anyone else hear from them?

Terry, you have done fab in under a year, what are we like if one of the kids was under the weather we'd fast track them to the doc but not ourselves. Coco, welcome back, glad the trip went well. I have an appointment for a fill on the 29th too, I'm deffo going, weight loss has slowed down and last fill didn't seem to have any affect. Only have 3ml in so hopefully the next one will make a difference. Skinny, sounds as if you have met a genuine guy, hope things continue to go well. Elsie, I have only told my closet friends and some family about the band. I've been at a few gatherings where food is involved and to be honest people are so busy with whats going on they don't really notice what you are eating.

Ailbhe/Elsie, seems as if your latest fills have worked well for you both. Dr C doesn't seem to have any issue putting in more than 1ml at a time. I think ACS only go up 1 or 1 1/2 at a time. I have an appointment for a fill on the 29th of May in Pembrooke Street. Terry, welcome back, glad the wedding went well, wow 3lb a week sounds great but don't put your health at risk, I'm with Elsie I think you should get your GP to check you out. Damienne, good luck with your decision to have surgery, I think making the decision is half the battle so you are already half way to the new you. SkinnyIrishbabe, sounds as if things are going well for you glad to hear it. Roe, any joy since the last fill and the ordeal you had to go through to get it? Hope all are well and hope to meet up with ye again soon. Ger

Hi PrincessLK, glad all went well for you today and that the view as well as the procedure was a pleasant experience! I'm looking forward to haveing some restriction with my next fill at the end of the month as the last one didn't make a difference. Hope everyone else got on well also.

Hi Elsie, My next appointment isn't until the 29th of May. I'd love to meet up on Thursday but can't as the kids are on mid-term break. Good luck to everyone getting a fill. What glorius weather this week, spent today at the Zoo.