Hi from Ireland!

[lil 0]

Hi Princesslk sorry to hear your so down. I know how you feel its disgraceful the treatment we're getting from ACS after handing over all that money:mad2: I honestly don't think Jan is coming back and I think they're just saying that to shut us up. Its so frustrating and I'm sure your even more frustrated with your holiday coming up. Try to stay positive I know its hard. Hopefully we'll get sorted out with ACS soon.

[roe 0]

princess this a night mare. i was so afraid of this hapening. we have a contract with them so they have to stand by it. COCO HELP you may be able to give us some advice as what our next step will be,is there anyone out there with a legal mind who might know where we stand. the best chanch we have is to stand tog... im boiling mad at the moment. keep posting everyone and keep us informmed

[Gerri 0]

Hi PrincessLK, I phoned ACS about 2 hours ago looking to get an appointment. Phoned Fitzwilliam to be told to phone Mount Merrion and when I phoned there I was told to ring back at the end of the week as the rota for fills hasn't been done. I think that the answers we get depends on who answers the phone. Don't let ACS ruin your holiday of a lifetime!

[terry777 0]

hi all terry here I dont write that much just read. I think we sould go to the paper about the after care,or ring acs and tell them we are going to the paper about there after care, and then they might do something. Now if we did go to the paper we could just keep it anon as to who we are. Down 51 pound I feel great

[lil 0]

Hi Terry I totally agree with you. We're just being fobbed off by ACS. Its bad enough that we're not able to get fills but I dread to think if any of us had an emergency what would happen. A & E don't want to know. I've been really worried about the aftercare for months but I can't believe its come to this:scared2: I wonder has Lou left altogether or is it like someone on the thread said that she cant do fills now without a surgeon here. I actually feel sorry for Lou because shes the only one we're meeting face to face and shes getting the brunt of it all, now I know shes being paid to do her job and all that but I think management should have to face upto us. Its impossible to speak to Debbie never mind Halina:angry:

Its a disgrace that we haven't been informed of whats going on. I think your right we should all ring the papers anonymously and tell them how we're being treated. Its great we have this thread because we can see the different stories everyone is being told when they ring up. Only thing is ACS are also reading it:huh2:

[Coco 0]

Hi All,

PrincessLK, this is awful for you, I'm so sorry this is happening. It is very difficult to stay positive while this is going on. You have the band, that's the major part of the journey over and I know you have to have it filled to your sweet spot to really start losing the excess weight, but I hope that ACS can sort this out for you. If ACS are doing fills in Belfast would you not be as well going up there to have one done? It might be worth asking.

As for going to the papers about this, I don't know, in my heart (rightly or wrongly), I feel that its the papers that got us into this mess in the first place. Before they started poking their nose in we had Jerome happy to do the ops with a very good success rate, Lu to do the fills along side him. Happy days. I feel, and I must stress that I have no proof of this, but it looks to me as if other medics/clinics/hospitals in this country are trying to squeeze ACS out of the picture to take on this most lucrative of Operations. This band is going to get more and more widespread, and from what that Journalist said, Helena is not very well liked in the industry. Look how suddenly the Beacon are doing the op and all of these private hospitals are associated with each other. ACS were openly looking for a hospital to do the op's in Ireland and none were made available to them. I don't know, I'm trying to make sense of all this, but I do think we need to meet up and discuss this issue among ourselves and decide the next course of action calmly. What we need now are some facts from ACS and only then can we decide what course of action to take.

DOES SATURDAY 8TH MARCH AT 11.30AM

SUIT MANY OF US IN THE BEWELYS HOTEL IN SANDYFORD?

Please PM me if you are interested in meeting up to discuss this.

[ellen 0]

Hi All

I recently had an appointment for an unrelated procedure with the surgeon who does lapbands in the Galway clinic. There was some confusion between my GP and him regarding my referral - she mentioned in the referral (by way of background only as it was not entirely relevant to the procedure) that I'd had a lapband installed. Apparently he responded that he could not see me (I assume he thought I had a problem with the band) for medico-legal reasons if I'd been banded elsewhere. So she explained that the referral was for a separate matter and then he agreed to see me, no problem.

My point though is that the established (by that I mean hospital-linked) surgeons here in Ireland may not be falling over themselves to assist us patients who have been banded elsewhere. De Bruyne obviously is an exception to this.

Best of luck to ye all.

Ellen

[terry777 0]

Terry here I hope ACS is reading this because if we go to the paper the shit will hit the fan,and that is what they dont need.It will just take one phone call, so I hope they are reading this and they do something soon,before it is to late

[roe 0]

hi guys i think we should hold our horses on the papers for now. give ACS time to get a surgeon in place.and if after say 2 weeks nothing is going on move to plan B at the end of the day all we want is our fills and some after care,. not to much to ask for. Im as mad as anyone else but if we can sort this out before it gets any worse it will be better for all of us. The papers will have a field day with it.I for one dont want to read any more bad press about ACS.

[paulina.g 0]

Hi all,

I rang acs on saturday and was told to ring back on Monday. I did, spoke with Lynn was told there would be no appointments for the next 3 weeks. I was losing it and she said she would phone me towards the end of the week with possible news of an appointment. I am livid and from what I can see the rest of you are having the same problem. I joined curves am eating less than I would if at WW and still the bloody scales isn't moving. Restriction! WHAT'S THAT? I seriously believe there is very little saline if any in my band. God knows where its gone but its not working. I don't like the feel or the look of my port it certainly isn't like Nikki's its horrible. I am so annoyed that I have had this procedure done. I am seriously worried now after reading your posts. I have appointment with my own doctor Thursday week for a complete MOT, smear test etc. My sister was diagnosed with cervical cancer 2 weeks ago in Cavan Hospital however, she was referred to the Mater and the news wasn't good. The cancer has spread to bowels and bladder as shown in CT scan and they are preforming an MRI on 10th March to see how much further the cancer has spread and starting her immediately on radiation every day for 6 weeks and chemo once a week for 6 weeks. She is only 37. I implore all of you to have regular smears as HAD she had them (she has never had one) she may not be in this mess now. Re meeting up girls I am 40 on 8th March and have previous plans. Girls night on the beer on the Sunday night in Drogheda if anyone fancies a night on the razz! I will post as soon as I have news from ACS. Promise.

[wella123 0]

hi all i think we should all meet and try to get some answers to our queries. i have been on to consumer rights and they suggested us getting legal advice. i think we are just poking in the air as we have no idea what our rights as consumers of THE LAPBAND , for the moment we should deal with getting facts on our rights . i know there are some ladies that dont want people to know they are banded and we will overcome that somehow, but we have to be informed of our rights as consumers and i suggest that two or three people represent us going to free legal advice. i think we have to be united on this matter and not hide behind each other or push one or two people forward and let them take the fallout. we do this together. or just let each other look after themselves. looking forward to hearin everyones thoughts on this matter.wella123

[roe 0]

im with wella on this one it would be good to know where we stand, from a legal point of view. and we all stand tog, but i still think we should give acs 2 weeks or so to sort this mess. what do any of you think?

[PrincessLK 0]

Hi there

I agree with Roe and Coco and think waiting 2 weeks to see what ACS come up with is a good idea. I would rather get my proper aftercare and fills at the end of the day than going in all guns blazing. Lydia told me yesterday that they are arranging for fills supervised by Jerome in Belfast on Friday week, I have emailed with the possibility of doing this because of my holiday on 13th. I would rather see Jan if he is back before I go but there are no guarantees. If the Belfast appointment is confirmed, it might be an idea for you to call up and see if you can get a spot if you need a fill at the moment. Lydia called me back yesterday to say that she had spoken to Jan, he's due back in Ireland in 2 weeks and wants all of his patients to know that he's not leaving them in the lurch. She also said he would give his number to anyone that wanted to speak to him or take our number and call us. She said she just didn't have a guarantee that he was coming back to work for ACS and that was all she could say. She also said that they were talking to some crowd in England about doing the Lap Band surgery for them, so perhaps if that is organised than a surgeon would come from England periodically to do fills? I don't know any of this, just wondering aloud really. Anyway, am hoping that I hear back from Lydia today re: Belfast or Jan before I go away and am happy to wait regarding taking any action collectively against ACS for 2 weeks. What does everyone else think?

Thanks

xx

[Coco 0]

Hi All,

It doesn't look like Saturday March 8th is a good time for many of you. I thought this Saturday(1st March) might be too soon but if its better for you guys then its fine by me. I don't want to force anyone to come to a meeting but if any of you are interested in discussing this and approaching ACS as a united group to get more information regarding our aftercare in a calm and calculated way. There is no point in posting your grievance's here and then doing nothing about it. I feel that if we write to ACS collectively, we have a better chance of hearing first hand whats going on and where we stand. If we meet up we can make sure everyones concerns are accounted for and it might even be easier for ACS to treat us as a group. I just want our aftercare up and running again. What concerns me more than the lack of fills is, what if one of us has a problem and needs a defill, I've had a slip, I know how uncomfortable it is until the band is defilled, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. If there is no one to do fills at ACS there is no one to do defills. Believe me this is a bigger problem. I'll be on the site later this evening and anyone who's interested in joining in on the meeting let me know. Either by PM or openly on this thread.

[Coco 0]

Hi there

re: Belfast or Jan before I go away and am happy to wait regarding taking any action collectively against ACS for 2 weeks. What does everyone else think?

Thanks

xx

Hi Princess,

Thanks for your post, that is more positive than we have had lately. Not a great solution for aftercare but I suppose its better than nothing. Again I have to say, its not just aftercare from a fill prospective, its more important to have aftercare from an emergency point of view. Anyone who has needed a defill in a hurry on this site will tell you how uncomfortable it is to have to wait any length of time for it.

Just a small point on your last post, I am not suggesting we take any action against

ACS. I'm suggesting we write a letter collectively asking ACS to address our concerns as a group rather than how it is at the moment with everyone talking to someone different in ACS and getting different information depending on who you speak to. (Just thought I should clear that one up.:biggrin:).