Gilly

Mol, you were right, Mr Geoghan is lovely.He said I can't join the weight management clinic as there are people on a waiting list so I can't "leap-frog" them (which I agree with) so I have to see him again at the public clinic. I had a de-fill of just over 1cc on Wednesday and already feel like a new woman. He said the band was too tight. The reflux sympoms dissappeared overnight and I have had a few bowls of soup so far and my first cups of tea in weeks! I am to visit the him again in August but he said for the time being to stay on my current fill and eat healthily! I am so glad these hellish past few weeks seem to be behind me and I can concentrate on more important things! Ailbhe- You are fantastic, all the moves you are making are in the right directionWell done you and you will be amazed at where you get the strength to keep going. I hope to meet you again at the get together in July. Siepie-I've pm'd you about meeting up!

All, Check out this link My Pets It's the web page of a fellow bandster here on this website. Check out the pictures of her getting a fill- her doctor uses a fluroscope- looks like an xray machine, so he can see the orientation of the port before he even goes near ger with the needle. No pocking and prodding for our fellow bandsters in the U.S! How lucky are they?

Hi all Thanks for all the support and hope you are all holding up ok and doing well. I'm up and down, some days can keep down water, some days can't but on a happier note - I got an appointment to see a Mr Geoghan in Loughlinstown on Tuesday next. Does anyone know if he works alongside Donal O'Shea there? Mr Geoghan's secretary was lovely on the phone to me, said he would sort me out. I am so relieved that I will be able to see someone soon. I will keep you posted what happens. Ailbhe-hope you're getting stronger by the day mrs! x

Hi all Thank you for your kind words and messages. I went to my GP yesterday who took a urine sample and sent me straight to my local hospital with a letter (said there were keytones & protein in the sample). GP told me to go home and pack a bag as they would probably admit me (GP had another patient with same problems from ACS last year who was admitted to the hospital for a few days). Went to the A&E, got chest & abdomen x-rays, urine,phlegm & blood samples & yes, I was dehydrated. Couldn't get a line into my arms as I was so bad but after 4 attempts got one in so have black & purple bruises up both arms today. Gave me a litre of saline and then a litre of glucose. Discharged late last night. They were very sympathetic and seemed to know a lot about ACS so must have seen a few of their patients. Gave me an urgnet referral for surgical Professor in the hospital and said if he can't see me soon they will send me for an urgent referral to Loughlinstown Hospital as they have a HSE surgeon there who does the banding. Gave me a 2 prescriptions for swollen aesophagus and inflammed throat/mouth, all in liquid form which I have to sip along with any water & non-lumpy soups if I can. They said I should be able to keep water down when the swelling does down. I am not even going to ring ACS. The excuses I would be given along would just annoy me and I could really do without the hassle. If whichever Dr I get to see offers to take it out I might just let them, get my life back to some degree of normal. Ailbhe-so sorry to hear about you and your chap, I hope you get through the "raw" stage soon and come out the other side a better woman for it.x

Hi all I haven't been on here for a few weeks, my father passed away last week and we had been by his bedside 24/7 for the past few weeks. It's been awful having to lie to all the people that were around as to why I wasn't eating.I'm back now and ready to move forward. I've been in bits since my last fill on May 8th. I havn't been able to keep even water down. I went to my new GP the week before last and he prescribed Stemitil for nausea, Locbiatol for swollen aeosphagus (from too much vomiting) and Nexium as even my stomach acid is coming up. (i had been diagnosed with Reflux Diesease before being banded and was told i would be on Nexium for life but a happy side effect from the band is it gets rid of reflux disease straight away).None of the above tabs have helped at all. i don't really know what the problem is but it feels like a folded over hose pipe but in my throat, not in my chest. Dr also referred me for a barium meal but my loacl hospital no longer does them due to cutbacks and the next nearest hospital won't give me an appt as I don't live in their catchment area.I don't know what to do. I got a text from a fellow bandster telling me all about the latest round of problems with ACS recently.Should i see if the Blackrock Clinic can do a barium and just pay for it or try and get an appt with Hospital Group/ACS? Anyone ever had this problem before????? ....(I have lost lots of weight recently but would rather do it and be able to keep water down) All advice welcome....& Thanks

Question to all I had a fill last week bringing me up to 4 and half cc's. Could eat a few yoghurts but last 4 days I can only keep liquids down. The specific problem is that when I swallow - after chewing FOREVER- it feels like the food gets stuck in my throat as opposed to getting stuck at the band. I have been trying over and over to eat today as I am really hungry but I think I may be swollen now so will just stick to liquids for the next few days and see if that helps any. When I eat liquids I have runny baby rusks/ runny weetabix/ yoghurts/ soups/ bovril. Are these the wrong things to be having? Any tips or advice gratefully received...am really fed up this eve... Thanks all Gilly:sad_smile:

Skinny I know what you mean. I've been seeing a guy for 4 months and he has asked me about the metal (port) he can feel . I just told him I had a stomach operation and that is why sometimes I can eat when i'm in his company and sometimes I can't . It is getting to the stage where I should be telling him the truth but am really afraid of his reaction. We are all used to the whole idea of bariatric surgery as it's part of our daily lives but others aren't. Don't know how to broach the subject at all...... Well done on your tremendous weight loss, fair play to you. I was done in Jan 07 and haven't got down 2 stones yet! Gilly

Hi all jeez , ACS was busy today in Pembroke ST! Great to meet you Ailbhe and Elsie.... So I got 1 more cc in bringing me up to 4 and half total.... Met lots of lovely ladies in there today...including one who has lost 8 and half stone and one who's lost 6 so there is hope for us all.... Fingers crossed.....

Hi all I'm down 4lbs since my fill last week but after 3 days on liquids can eat normally again so have just called ACS and gotten an appointment for 8th May for another fill. I'm at 3 & half cc so hopefully one or 2 more will offer some restriction. I am afraid I may have stretched my "pouch" as I seem to be able for normal portions so soon after fills, anyone ever heard of a confirmed case of "stretched pouch"?:confused2: Ailbhe, I hope your pain has dissappeared by now. Lou thought my port was infected once as it was very hot to the touch and the surrounding flesh was red. She took a swab and sent it for testing but rang a few days later to say it wasn't an infection. It went away on it's own after a few days.

Hi all I have just joined today after meeting Lil in ACS yesterday when she told me about this site. I am so disheartened with the whole thing. I was banded in Jan '07 by Dr Jerome and have lost 14lbs total since. I have had a series of xrays, fills , un-fills and like Lil,was overfilled once which was horrific. Couldn't even keep water down and was dehydrated and lost the head on the phone to ACS so much one day that they told me to go straight over to Owenstown and Jan came out of surgery and un-filled me. I met with the new Belgium male nurse yesterday and he did seem to know his stuff and he aspirated and told me there was 2 cc still in (even though Jan told me he had completely emptied it!) He put in an additional 1and half cc and told me a liquid diet for 3 days.So that's where I am now. Have 3 and half cc in. I don't feel any restriction yet but am only on liquids. I was so relieved to meet some other ladies in ACS yesterday and of course Lil, who made me feel I wasn't alone. The treatment we have received from ACS is abhorrent and I only hope this new crowd are going to sort us all out. It was great also to meet some success stories in there yesterday and see that maybe it is worth me giving it one last go as I really was thinking i'd just have to borrow more money and get the damn thing taken out. So glad to see this does work and i'm not alone!! :biggrin: