libertysuzanne

By the way, safe journey Don't do like I did, which was close my eyes on the scale, I didn;t want to see what weight I actually was! I have no proper idea of how much I weigh but I do know that my BMI is bang on 40! eeeek!

It does have the belgium fiasco and it doesn;t give the complete details, which it does on her website. You can point out that you will be x-rayed the day after which Ann wasn't. Also the article shows what does happen when it works, she has lost 4 stone in 6 months and dropped 5 thats right 5!!!!!! Dress sizes!

Hi all, Just wondering if there is any one who lives in the Shropshire/West mids area who is going to have or had a lapband fitted? Looking forward to hearing from you Kind regards Suzannex

Hi Jenny, I have been to the Merry Hill Centre, your right it is a great place to shop! Sorry to hear that your lapband may of sprung a leak! Lets hope it gets sorted for you soon. I will be having my lapband fitted on the 24th October in Chimay belgium by Dr Mignon or one of his associates. I'm excited and terrified all at once. I keep having emotional swerves sometimes even contemplating not having the op at all! But, I know it is the right thing for me to do, its just the waiting that is the killer, too much time to think! I would love to hear about your experineces and how you have dealt with it all. Kind regards Suzanne

Oh how I envy you! Iw ish I could drink alcohol so freely lol, I have a rather diverse reaction to it! I go bright red and very hot, think it may have so omething to do with wheat allergy adn the various meds I take. I may try this Quinns they have brought out now. Your probably right it working out cheaper for you in that way. It is quite hard gettinginto a sensible eating way again after the last yo yo! Tell your hubby to not be so generous with the wine lol. Have you read Closer? Anne Diamond has an article about her lapband surgery!

I can understand you getting food obsessed with a diet like that! You are being denied all the delight of texture in your mouth. That does make quite a difference. I know it's probably not proven science but the need to chew is just as important as drinking. Wouldn't it be even cheaper to go on slimfast? I know there vanilla and chocolate are scrum-diddly-umptious now. I had tried them a good few years ago and they were vile! Although I guess you are paying ot have that extra bit of support to help you through, still seems like a heck of a lot of money. Which made me thunk! If you figure on how much you spend in a month on these excellent diets which start to fail after you've finished them, you would probably be able to pay for the op with no problem lol. I am no mathematician but here I go and try to work it out! 32.50 x 4 = 130.00 66.00 x 4 = 264.00 right thanks to my handy calculator that is how much you will be spending a month. Now I had to get a loan for my op, well dad did as my credit rating is dreadful lol but I have to pay 135.40 a month, so a little more than the cambridge and a lot lesss than the lighterlife! Plus the advantage (if things don't go wrong, touch wood!) Is that the result with the lapband is permanent! It really is true though isn't it, there is no such thing as a quick fix diet. I have been a yo yo dieter for years, really ever since the birth of my son 9 years ago and for the past two years I had been eating like a saint only to gain and gain and gain! Finally discovered that I had a underactive thyroid. Having been put on the medication, I may have my halted weight gain but it hasn't started weight loss. It was in deseration that I first looked at lapband surgery. I did the sensible thing and spoke to my doc about it and she agreed it would be a good move for me, as I am unable to do huge amounts of exercise especially with the extra weight on my joints. At least I know my doc will be there as support afterwards, although she did moan about how many people they have had to look after, that have had surgery in europe and it's gone wrong. I could understand her point of view but I was not willing to risk the chance of doing permanent damage to my already weakened joints waiting 3/4 years for NHS gastric banding. So if Ia m able to jump the queue then I am all for it OK did I just completely drift off the point of this email lol?

Was I glad I read this post! That would be an understament. I to have hypothyroidism and disabled so exercising is a tad tricky with the extra weight, hence deciding to go for teh lapband. My doc agreed it would be a good move as 'normal' dieting which I was doing also requires exercise that I cannot do...unless I want to end up in pain for a good few days after, which would mean that...well I am sure you get the picture. I am just so glad to hear that despite having hypothyroid it is still a viable alternativ, I was a wee bit worried that it would not work.! Thanks Sx

I was so glad to read your post! I thought it was just me who had the 'last supper syndrome'! I've really had to put my foot down as i feel as if I am completely losing control with my eating. There's a kind of desperation to eat everything that I won't be able to before the pre-op diet. Unfortunately I have included wheat which is a definite no no for me. That is really waht has made me apply the breaks and I am going to start the pre- op diet a week earlier but have a last fun meal with my son on Sunday, the day I officially start the diet as my surgery will only be a week away! I must admit the mix of my emotions is very unsettling at the mo, which is another reason for eating like a horse!

It's not suprising that the lighterlife diet doesn't work. It's like being on the pre op diet for 100 days, that is a horrible thing to do and to lose weight so dramatically! No wonder it's not widely known, the doctors would have a field day tearing it to shreds! I did have a look at their website, they didn't mention how much it would cost. I hate it when sites are like that, I prefer it when they are open and honest. The way they do it is get you to phone a 'counseller' who will give you the hard sell and take advantage of what they know is your weakness. Looking at the diet, as much as they would show on the site, it is basically slimfast for every meal? Would I be wrong in assuming this? I must admit I am dreading the pre-op diet, Dr Mignon wanted me to have only natural yoghurt for a week before surgery, as I can't stand yoghurt he agreed I could have slimfast instead! That is much more easier to deal with, as I already have a slimfast for Breakfast shouldn't be too much of a transition. At least I only have to cook for my son then. I suppose the positive of going on the lighterlife diet jsut before your surgery guarnatees you will be doing the pre op diet without even trying! Let me know how you are doing. Kind regards Sx

Big hugs for you! I know how you feel about the clothes! I have some stunning clothes that I bought only recently that just won't fit. I still can't believe I am a size 20/22! I keep saying it is the clothes, that they are very badly cut and ungenerous in their sizing. Sometimes that is the case but most of the time it is just me with the wrong mentality. I feel a horrible sense of shame when I have to buy clothes that have a label of 20 attached. Which is silly, considering my best friend is a size 24, but she looks so beautiful. I don't know how she does it, maybe she has had time to adjust where as mine hasn't been a slow expanding of a waistline, it's been as quick as a waterfall, after the dam wall has been removed. I so envy Tish. Mind you, I do also have a little gripe about her as well, she supports me in her own way I know that but I am forever reassuring her that she looks fantastic, that her husband loves her etc etc. She never does the same for me, she is always ready with a negative comment and I try to hide the fact that it hurts but it certainly hasn't helped me deal with the weight issue. I'm probably being childish and blowing it all out of proportion but is it wrong of me to expect to at least find a positive to cheer me up with? As for your OH tell him what you have just told me, he will have seen your determination with the lighter diet and how it has creeped back on and I suspect he will probably also be noticing a kind of sadness, which he probably doesn't understand and won't ask you about it, just in case it is something he doesn't want to hear. That is just a supposition don't quote me on that one:kiss . I'd never heard of the lighter diet till I came on this site, I'm not suprised you gained the weight back though! Losing that amount so quickly tends to have a high rate of failure. The concept sounds good though, I think you would have to stay on it forever to maintain that weight loss. WHich probably wouldn;t be very healthy! At least with the lapband eventually you will be able to eat 'virtually' normally just in majorly smaller protions! And if it creeps back on again you just have to fill that band :girl_hug: It is great having you to talk to! Kind regards Sx

I know exactly how you are feeling! It was so hard wiating for the initial consultation and then knowing that there was going to be another 3 week wait before I got the Op done. I was so impatient and yet now I'm like 'Yeah all is well and I shall be having it done sooner rather than later!' I knwo that it can be hard to make a decision, this has been silently lurking in the back of my head virtually since the birht of my son, well a few months after, when my stomach did not miraculously disappear after giving birth! I can't tell you how disappointing that was! Especially when there was a woman in the smoking room, there to support her friend and she had had only triplets 2 month before and she was stick thin. It hought it was going to be a walk in a park. Hence the yo yo dieting, the constant struggle to behave and do all the right things. for little or no reward! Anyway I digress :eek: . Lets get back to the present. I am fortunate that I have no one to answer to except my son and I am the boss there (although he did make me falter just a little). What you need to do is list down the reasons why you want to go for the lap band, over load him with all the information you have, explain how it makes you feel being the size you are now. Try to listen to their point of view and you never know they may be really happy to support you, at least I hope they will! There is an interesting dynamic change in my best friends relationship with her hubby. He used to be 'cuddly' as she would describe it but due to his work and depression he has lost a shed load of weight lucky SOB! I wish I knew how he managed it all he seems to eat is junk!! Anyway my friend now is feeling a wee bit threatened at this change in him, doesn't help she is also 7 months pregnant. Yet, I know for a fact no matter how much weight he may lose or how good he may look (hhmmm) he will never cheat on her, I think he would rather be run over by a train than do anything to hurt her. But, it may be wise to say to partner that you won't change. Actually it was quite funny best friends daughter asked 'will I change when I've lost all the weight?' I had to reassure her that I would still be the same person just slimmer and happier! As for timing, it is a rather awkward time of year to be going for the band, but me being Miss impetous and wanting to 'do it like yesterday.' has decided that dealing wiht xmas shouldn;t be to tough and then at least I know it is done and dusted, no more waiting. You may be right in waiting, as you do have a holiday and then xmas as well. There is no reall rush the surgery will still be there, be it this year or next year. Do it when you feel right that is all I can say. Sorry if I have gone on but hope it makes sense in some shape or form :girl_hug: Chat later sx Off to bed now, eyes drooping...........:faint:

I think I am having the smaller one, I am just on the BMI of 40. Although he may have just been using the small one as an example, it certainly looked like the inamed on the website. Nothing wrong with being an anorak, you help the slightly ditzy, impulsive ones keep their feet firmly on the ground! I appreciate that :girl_hug:

He did say but I can;t for the life of me remember what it was called. It was white light and kind of pretty in a bizarre way! Perhaps associating it with that wonderful goal of 'weight loss' Inramed I think he called it. He showed me how it worked by placing it on my thumb and filling it with saline, he really was very thorough. Having just read Anne's story I know that I can be very confident in his hands. He infact probably over compensated with information which is better than what Anne recieved. Also he assured me that they would try and have another english speaking person in the hospital room with me - they put you in a double room not a private so you dont feel so alone either. He admitted some of the nurses do find it difficult speaking in English, but they do try. It will be intersting to see how you feel after speaking to him.

I know exactly what tyou mean H and really you hear enough horror stories from surgery here, so it makes no real difference where as long as it is done in a safe way. As you say, knowing they take an x-ray afterwards is reassuring. I often wonder what are the extra overheads in the UK that pushes the price so far up!!?? I had a final big meal with my friends and dad tonight, feel completely stuffed! It was a nice thing to do as CM, my son was feeling rather dejected about the concept of me having surgery, he's 9 bless him, so this was a treat for him as well. He wanted to make a big thing of my making a change for the better, once he had come to terms with it himself. He really is a bright cookie, wish I could take him with me but there would be no one to look after him while I was staying at the hospital, c'est la vie!

I'm glad I have helped. I wish I had had forewarning of what to expect as well lol. It was a journey into the unknown, with a worry that I would have to beg for the surgery! As was, I must admit I felt a little insensed when he said I was suitable! Go figure lol. I figure part of me was hoping that he was going to say 'pish posh you look beautiful as you are!' He he the stuff dreams are made of I shall have to have a look at Anne Diamonds website, haven't seen that yet! Sx

You may have a wee bit of a problem with the Monday slot. I think they only operate on a Tuesday. THe itinerary goes like this. LapBand Surgery in Belgium 4 day Program: Monday: Arrive before 1pm at belgium Midi station, meeting deidre outside Smas Cafe. Arrival at clinic you will have some pre-op tests nad meet the Anaesthist. Leave clinic approx 6pm and go to hotel. Tuesday: Shuttle will take you to clinic for 6.45am 7am Admission and settling down in room between 8.30am and 4pm: lap band surgery carried out. Night spent at the clinic. Wednesday: Between 9am and 12pm an x-ray is carried out first liquid meal at the clinic after x-ray between 10am and 3pm visit of surgeon prior to discharge. shuttle to hotel night spent at hotel Thursday: Check out of hotel shuttle to take you back to brussels. I know I wasn't aware of it being a whole 4 days but after some consideration I thought it was still worth it. I had assumed it was a case of in and out, my fault but they don't make it clear on the website admittedly. Also, it could be that they do do other days, I just happened to arrive on a day the op was to be done on a tuesday. I hope this helps you. After my appointment when i spoke to arrange the surgery it was late october beginning of November and apparently they have been extremely popular. So it is probalby going to be Nov for you, at least i will be able to tell you what it is like before you go! Sx

Maths was never my best subject, so yep it is 19 days to go, wouldn't it be funny if you could get the op same day as me Well if it is anything like laughing gas I'd be a hoot I guess you're going to Manchester to see Dr Mignon? My advice to you is not to walk (which I did) from piccadilly station! Certainly a loooooong walk, mind you the taxi ride was pretty expensive I think there is a bus the 147 which will take you to manchester hospital and then you continue upwards to Anson Rd.

It's quite funny my appointment with Dr Mignon landed on an odd day, my mums birthday. She passed away last year and I thought 'well if this isn't a sign that I am doing the right thing, then nothing is lol. By the way my surgery is on the 26th...have I put it in worng...probably one of my blonde moments!

I am sure it will all work out fine, just the pre surgery jitters. The only time I have had to deal with a general was when my son had to go in for an op. He woke up as he fell asleep extremely grouchy, it took him ages to come out of it! Is anyone having trouble with a page coming up with 'being hacked by psh?' nothing in the actual page? Sx

H! That's great! Glad you found that out, I shall have to look into it, we have a nuffield in Shrewsbury which is only 20 mins away. Heading to find the site now I'm not the most of patient of people it was hard waiting for the first consultation! Although I have a strange sense of calm as if I know I am doing the right thing. Weird I know an oxymoron of emotions lol Sx

Hi ya Denise! How did you get your tickers to work? I must be doing something wrong! Help. I only have 19 more days to go till surgery as well. I have decided to buy an MP3 player in a bid to ease my jitters. Shopping is such a fun distraction!

Well if you want to keep in touch, I'm more than happy to help give you some support, we can bolster each other up when the going gets tough! I'm glad you have heard from a few people who have had surgery with Dr Mignon, puts my mind at rest, I was astarting to build up some dreadful scenarios!

Thank you Snowhard, I really needed to read your post. You are right the affects of weight are far worse than the surgery. Mind you for me I think I am more scared of the anastethic(sp?). I have never had a general so it is really a case of the unknown for me, not my favourite place to be. My sister pointed out that it is the case of not being in complete controil, which does make sense, never saw myself as a control freak though, but it certainly hit home when she said it lol. Thank you again Suzannex

For me i t has to be getting into a monsoon dress I bought two years ago and never had an opportunity to wear and by the time I had a reason for it, it was to late it didn't fit anymore, but it is there waiting for me. It's like giving myself a promise to feel beautiful again!

Oh boy, glad there are so many october bandsters! Also hearing the madness of putting on more weight just before,, I'm not alone, I keep saying well it will be the last itme i will be eating it for awhile! On Sunday my friends, son, dad and I are going to have a 'fond farewell to food and hello milkshake' at our indian restaurant. I intend to really enjoy it! It is also a way to get my son more involved he is only 9 and he's terrified of losing me, the last time I went away without him was with my mum to Las Vegas. A few months after she passed away with the cancer, so I think he relates my going away with death. Now, I am trying to reassure him every which way I can. Wish I could take him to belgium with me but I can;t afford to bring another adult to look after him while I have the surgery, one of the downside of being a single mum and my strongest support no longer with us. Anyway lets stay happy and positive, surgery day will really be the day to a new and better life! Sx