SAMMY77

Shelly - I know what u mean by being an emotional eater I am the same!! I have put on 8 stone in last 5 years! I agree it's time to do something for u. My husband is very supportive and I have been very supportive to him over the last 7 years through some tough times which has contributed to my weight gain. He is of the same opinion, it's my time now so here I am, all banded and on my journey! I agree the forum is addictive!! I don't always get on as often as I'd like as hubby works away and we have a 9m old baby so he take a lot of my time and I doubt it gets any less time consuming as they get older!!

Flirty - got my fingers crossed for u. Will u be getting a double fill? HOpe so. U have done sooooo well so it's about time the band started working for u! Yeah I do feel lucky having access to fills every 2 weeks. You start to faith when u can eat anything and everything!! I'm just so pleased the little one was good today as it's the first time I've been into London on my own! That may have put me off!! Make sure you treat urself to something nice in Brussels x

Hi Shelly I can relate to everything you have written. I too (and probably everyone on the forum) have battled and battled with my weight and have decided to do something about it. Dr Chris and his team are fabulous, u will be in safe hands. Everyone here on the forum have been in the same situation as u with questions, doubts, nerves etc. We are here to help and have a bit of fun! SO if you have questions fire away someone will always try and help. You are in the best place! I too am looking forward to losing weight and hitting the shops for clothes I like, not just what will fit!! :tt2:

Good luck Odgmodge you#ll be in safe hands with Flirty!!:biggrin: I know what ur friend means about never eating so much pre-op! I wasn't so bad on the pre-op diet but from booking the op to the pre-op diet I ate like there was no tomorrow! I can't count how many 'last suppers' I had!! Last Indian, last Chinese, late this, last that!! :biggrin: How much have you good in ur band FLirty and what size is it? I know ur nearly full!! Surely you will reach ur sweet spot next week!!:tt2:

Hey Freckles - u are well on ur way!! I had my third fill today taking me to 6ml in 7-9ml band so I am well on my way too! I can feel some restriction which is good. I could feel a yogurt going, not painful but defo some restriction. Yay!! I will be extra careful not to have anything but liquids for 3 days. It can be tempting especially when ur mum's eating fish and chips!! :biggrin::biggrin: (Remember after my first fill - mum went for aHarry Ramsden's?!!) No such temptation thankfully!

Hi Westie. Dr Chris/Frederik do there fills on Harley Street (not sure the number - just at the back of Oxford St so I pop in to do a bit of shopping too!). I've been to WLS group today at 10 Harley Street. They are great and I've signed up for a 6 months aftercare package where you can have unlimited fills (£349.50). They are in London every other weekend Sat and Sun so I've been able to get a fill every 2 weeks which is fab! Gillian, Bigsis and a few others use WLS too. Your time will soon be here and u are making the best choice!!

Morning all! Freckles - I am glad to hear things are improving in ur life, long may it last! I don#t have any restriction after 2 fills so don't worry too much. Is it tomorrow ur fill? Mine is in London and it's just me and Harrison :thumbup: I hope he's a good boy as I hate travelling when he's in a nark! Gillian - yummmmmmmmmmmm Bakewell tart. U did a deep fill then?! Wishful I really hope your hair stops falling out. I don't want mine to - it's my only redeeming feature!! FLirtylass - hope you are feeling better after ur scare - not nice eh? Gary - how's ur restriction going? Carrie - ur weight loss has been fab! I guess Mandy will be on the theatre table - hope ur OK!! I hope to get a reasonable fill tomorrow. I just text Wendy as I still have a bruise from 2 weeks ago but she said it's OK to do one! It doesn't hurt but still quite big!! Nearly the weekend everyone x Hello to everyone else!

Hello Wishful! Glad you had a nice break. What a fun way to shift a few lbs!!

Freckles you are doing really well. Imagine how much weight you'd have gained if you'd have stopped smoking without the band?! I gave up 18m ago when I found out I was pregnant, I think that's one of the reasons I am 3 or 4 stone heavier than before I had my little one. Don't go back to the ciggies, you'll regret it!! It's the perfect time to stop!! I'm so glad I stopped now. I just needed a really good excuse to quit! Odgmodge - ur time will soon be hear!! Not long and it'll all be over x

I know how you feel mmm - my weight lose isn't as good as I had anticipated but I didn't really understand the importance of the fills and finding the old sweet spot!! I've lost about a stone which is better than nothing but I have probably about twice as much as you to lose! If you are on the lower end of the BMI I guess weight loss will probably be slower. I am just glad I have this tool to work with and am confident I will find the weight loss easier after a few more fills! We've made the 1st most important step and this is a marathon not a sprint! The slower we lose it the more time our bodies will have to adjust. I just think it's great you haven't gained as it much be sooooo tempting with all those French cheeses and wines!! :thumbdown:!!

Mmm that's great you haven't gained. I hate coming back from a holiday and getting on the scales!! How much have you got in ur band now? I've got 4ml in a 7-9ml and have no restriction but am going for a fill on Saturday and am hoping it will help!! I'm going away in about 4-5 weeks and would really love to feel just a little thinner! Morning everyone else!

Hello everyone, hope you had a good weekend. Glad to hear you had a great holiday Garry!! I've been a bit naughty the last few days but am determined to get back on the wagon tomorrow! I did really well last week and my clothes actually felt a little looser! Got my third fill on Saturday. I still have a hell of a bruise, hope it don't get butchered again this time!! :thumbup: To be fair it was my first fill with WLS and it was a 'deep fill' (I sound like a Mr Kipling special!! Probably look like one too!!) due to my 'frontage'!! It made me laugh!! :tt2: She said the frontage would go in a few lbs though and I would no longer be a deep fill (may be I'll be a shortcrust next time!!) My little one started crawling a couple of weeks back and is getting really quick so hopefully I'll lose a bit chasing after him! Any other news???????? Good luck to all you pre-banders, you are making the right decision x

Good luck Westbourne - u will be in and out b4 u know it!! I won't be here until Monday so happy bank holiday everyone!

Yeah it may be worth it. Where would you go? Please London and we can hold hands!

I booked my 1st fill just after I had my band done. They recommend having ur 1st fill 4-6 weeks post op. Wendy at WLS Group said she won't do them before 6 weeks but I had my first one with Frederik (Dr Chris assistant) at 4 weeks as I felt ready. If u decide to go with WLS Group give them a call and have a chat as they are very helpful. I go to the one in London where they are twice a month but they not be in B'ham as often so they may be busier. Good luck!

I think I will get some Wishful. I'm able to eat normally at the moment but after a few more fills I hope that won't be the case! As you say better safe than sorry! BTW - I kept meaning to say how fab u looked when we met in Manchester. You can certainly notice the difference from ur FB photos! No wonder i nearly walked past you!!!:thumbup:

Sue - just looked at WLS Group - they are in B'ham at: Birmingham 38 Harborne Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 3HE Hope that helps. LEt me know if you want anymore info on them/their fills. Only been once but going again a week on Sunday and they were very helpful/professional.

I took some liquid vitamins for the first few days but they were nasty. A couple of people have taken the Bassetts soft and chewy vitamins or berraco (I think the are called - they are on that advert on TV where people are on treadmills gonig from one to another) which are effervescent. You can get them both a Boots/supermarket. I haven't bothered taking any since about day 7 as I can pretty much eat anything and don't feel I really need anything. Sorry I can't be much more help. If you can't find those ask the pharmacist for a multivitamin that is chewy/effervescent as there are probably others out there!

! :ohmy::laugh::thumbup::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

If you decide to go with Dr Chris/Frederik for your fills they will give you details when you are in Brussels. I have decided to go with WLS Weight Loss Surgery Group - Home as have a few of the others. They are in London every other weekend. I have paid for a 6 month aftercare package where you can have unlimited fills for 6 months (£349.50 but it was on special offer a few months ago £279 I think). I think this is good value as they are between £80-£100 per fill depending where you get them done. Have a look at the website, not sure if they cover B'ham but can recommend them if you have to go to London anyway. You could also try looking on the internet to see if any of ur local hospitals do the gastric.band operation as they will probably also do fills. I found somewhere more local to me but they wanted £300 for dietician, £200 for first fill (as wanted ot do it under x-ray) then over £100 for subsequent fills. They weren't particularly helpful either so I gave them a wide berth! Someone was also asking about when to travel back after the op. I agree with what has been said, the longer you can leave it the better as you will feel better by the hour!! I stayed in the Campanile an extra night and was glad I did especially as the barium meal they give you for the x-ray gave me the runs!! I also felt much better than the day before which made the journey much more bearable!! If you can't stay that extra night, as Wishful says just take it easy and ask for help if you need it. Sorry, I can't help out with flights as we drove across.

BTW - I've got a monster bruise after my fill. Is this normal? It didn't really hurt so not that bothered but it did for 24 hours after. The first fill didn't hurt though, maybe she was just having a good look around!

Morning! We've been thin on the ground over the last week or so. I hope everyone is OK! I start on mushies today but had to have pasta for lunch yesterday as I met my manager for lunch. It was well overcooked anyway but went down fine! Not expecting miracles as I've still only got 4 ml in a 7-9 ml band. I'm glad the format is back to normal on here - yay!! How's everyone doing today? x

Hi Suefee!! In answer to ur qu's - yes you will need to go to ur doctor to have just one of the stitches out (blue one in ur port). The other ones are dissolvable but my nurse took those out anyway! As for painkillers a good tip was taking calpol 6+ as the ones they give u are nasty!! In the end calpol was making me heave so I started taking lemsip with 2 teaspoons of honey and 2 of lemon and it worked a treat! U can get nurofen melts but be careful as they can be a gastric irritant. I tried them and they were fine but I didn't like the taste! I got some dressings from Boots but Gillian got some from Lloyds pharmacy that were good and cheaper (Op site or something like that - she'll tell u I'm sure) Anything else you need to know fire away!! Good luck with everything and I'm sure you've made the right decision! Wishful - glad u've caught up! So ur at 5.5 ml now? What's the restriction like? I'm at 4 ml but am still on liquids so not sure if it's made any difference. I'm going back in 2 weeks though. Gillian - yes Tenerife is just over 4 hours so I'll mention it to Wendy. If I have a fill in 2 weeks time I still have a month before I go to she what the restriction is like. Better not be too tight of I'll be living off ice-cream and cocktails :tt2:!! Actually that sounds like heaven! I liked ur little daydream before! I too have accepted it's gonna be another fat summer!!:thumbup:

Gillian - yeah mine has gone weird too - me no like either!! Westbourne - yes they are £80-90 per fill. I have just booked an aftercare package with WLS Group (so have some others on here) which is £349.50 for unlimited fills in 6 months (they also do 12 and 24 months). I'm not sure if they are in ur area though. I too have to make a bit of a day trip to London. Taxi's and train fares were over £40 which is a bit of a pain but would be more on a week day. I'm aiming to go every 2 weeks also so it's gonna cost me more than I thought! I would have to go into London anyway for a fill as it's the nearest place I've found. It's right next to Oxford Street so I do get to have a nose around too! :laugh: Morning everyone. Freckels let us know how ur mum settles in. Did I say I've booked a 2 week holiday in June to Tenerife? Am hoping to shift at least a stone by then. I'm happy as I thought Belgium was my holiday this year!! :thumbup:

Hi wishful - nice to see you back!! My mum say hi and does little man. mmm - so glad ur hic-cups have gone. Whata nightmare!! Freckles that's great about ur mum I bet u are very happy!! How's ur daughter getting on? Gillian, Gary, Flirty and everyone else hello! Well I have been for my 2nd fill (not the best of plans travelling into London with a baby on marathon day!). Wendy and Steve are both lovely and I think the level of aftercare is hopefully going to be good. She took the 3 ml out that Frederik had put in (just to see if it was 3 ml) and it came out yellow! She wasn't happy with it so has refilled me up to 4 ml. I thought I would have been taken up to 5 ml (7-9ml band) but never mind. I felt like much more of a person than when I saw Frederik, it wasn't in and out like cattle! So on liquids now for 3 days. I'll try and get another appointment for 2 weeks time as they are in London every other weekend.