Anyone know of Dr De Bruyne Chris

[2plus4 0]

Thanks very much Carriejess. Another step closer to my goal.

Congratulation on your hard work and achievement. I hope I can do half as well as you lot on here.

[Puddlejumper 0]

Hope all goes well for you. Really looking forward to hearing from you next week about your experiences..

Confirmed my date today for 12th March so not long until I join you on the journey

Best wishes and hope you have a speedy recovery

Regards

Kerry

Don't tell me that I am the only ONE booked in on March 9th, Gonna be sooo lonley!:rolleyes2:

[2plus4 0]

Hi, I am sorry another daft question. I was going to take out travel insurance but not sure if you can get travel insurance to cover you if you are going for a procedure. Not that I think I wont come back an all that BUT.......So any advice on this would be great.

Thanks again.....

[Splatt 0]

Don't tell me that I am the only ONE booked in on March 9th, Gonna be sooo lonley!:thumbup:

Not so lonely, Iam another 12th March lady and we will be very keen to hear your experience and how you are doing.

Wish I was earlier, Susan

[MiaBlue 0]

Hi, I am sorry another daft question. I was going to take out travel insurance but not sure if you can get travel insurance to cover you if you are going for a procedure. Not that I think I wont come back an all that BUT.......So any advice on this would be great.

Thanks again.....

Hi 2plus4

the only insurance I could find was through a company with the following website, www.angelisgroup.com

I think I paid about £82, that was for November 2009 banding.

I hope that is helpful to you

best wishes

MiaBlue

[juliep 0]

Thanks Jerseybean & Baarbs for that info, will try and sort out appointment now :thumbup:

Julie x

[garrymcfall 0]

Thanks very much for your info on flights Garry. But I still need your help. I have read that people have stayed in the Camponile but there are two, one in Vilvoode and one in Zaventem. Would you know which one is the most convenient one to stay in?

its the vilvoorde, one book the package with ecfs direct and they will book hotels and taxi collection from brussels inter national, they willcollect from other airport but the add a hude premium which makes the cheap flights not so cheap

[garrymcfall 0]

Hi, I am sorry another daft question. I was going to take out travel insurance but not sure if you can get travel insurance to cover you if you are going for a procedure. Not that I think I wont come back an all that BUT.......So any advice on this would be great.

Thanks again.....

AS they say in Glasgow

"uv goat nae chance" on the insurance thing

[Tracy1976 0]

Hey all

Just a quickie to say good luck to all you people off to be banded :biggrin:

I'm nearly a week post op and feeling bloody fantastic!!! Lost 12lb...I know its gonna slow down but hoping not for a week or 2 yet as I have so much to loose! Still on liquid diet, having stitces out on Monday so think I'm going to start puree then too!! Oh the thought of ready brek makes me drool!! lol

Hope everyone is well, and hope you're feeling better Cankster!! Was lovely meeting you and you answering all my worries!! :thumbup:

Lotsa loves xxx

Oh and I agree....go for the taxi and hotel package, saves so much messing around once you're there!!! xx

[fatpants 0]

The fill level and rate it passes through is determined when you swallow the barium and this can be seen under xray.

The consultant fills the band at different levels and then times how long it takes to pass through the band, you can see it clearly when you see the xray.

the rate at a fill level of 4.8ml was normal (as if there was no band) for me. Then he filled my band to 5.5mls, I then had to swallow more barium and the xray showed the rate it passed through the band was slower, at 6ml, hardly any barium passed through the band and just backed up along the gullet, taking ages to eventually pass through the band. This level I was told had caused the reflux. These times and ml measurements are specific to me now and might change in the future.

I payed to have this done at my local bupa/spire hospital and the price of £160 included consultations; xray; and fill or unfill as required, it also covered a health check on the band to check for corrosion, slippage' and correct positioning, a check on the port was also carried out.

The consultant during the xray was very complimentary regarding the band used and the way it had been fitted.

In a previous post it was mentioned (gary I think said) the xray at Belgium cost £50 but when you add the flight cost and accommodation on, I was quite pleased with the £160 I paid.

Having a fill was most interesting to watch under xray because you could see all the Fluid in the band being sucked out and then being refilled at different levels and the different rate that the barium passed through the band. I was also shown how health my gullet and surrounding areas are.

I should have passed this info on earlier it may have helped all the reflux sufferers, and I appologise for not doing so, I am of course still intimidated by the negative feedback given last week, and if this info offends or worries anyone then of course I am sorry.

Dear MMM,

Thank you so much for sharing your information with me and all the other bandsters and pre-bandsters that have the privilage of using and sharing this thread! After reading your last entry I just spent an hour reading all the entries for the last God knows how many days! and eventually found the offensive entry you were talking about, this person was very rude to you, so I am even more grateful that you took your time and effort to reply to me, as I know that an offensive entry like that could be enough to put anyone off sharing anything. My husband thinks this is a fantastic site and that we all need to put all our experiences , good or bad, on here as the information we get from Belgium is limited. Well they do give info if we ask the questions but I would just feel like a nuisance e-mailing with questions all the time. I keep thinking someone should make up a booklet with info. they could get it all from this thread!

£160 is fantastic for everything you got. I remember when I phoned a private hospital to ask if they would give me a fill they said it would cost £200 just for a fill!!!!

You say that you have to wait 4 weeks before a partial refill, well i phoned Fred yesterday and told him everything and he told me it would be fine to have a partial refill on the 25 February just 2 weeks after being in hospital, I have to say I was very surprised, I wonder if I should check with Chris.

Thank you Homecare & Carriejess for your kind words and thoughts.

Takecare everyone

Fatpants :thumbup:

[mmm 0]

Dear MMM,

Thank you so much for sharing your information with me and all the other bandsters and pre-bandsters that have the privilage of using and sharing this thread! After reading your last entry I just spent an hour reading all the entries for the last God knows how many days! and eventually found the offensive entry you were talking about, this person was very rude to you, so I am even more grateful that you took your time and effort to reply to me, as I know that an offensive entry like that could be enough to put anyone off sharing anything. My husband thinks this is a fantastic site and that we all need to put all our experiences , good or bad, on here as the information we get from Belgium is limited. Well they do give info if we ask the questions but I would just feel like a nuisance e-mailing with questions all the time. I keep thinking someone should make up a booklet with info. they could get it all from this thread!

£160 is fantastic for everything you got. I remember when I phoned a private hospital to ask if they would give me a fill they said it would cost £200 just for a fill!!!!

You say that you have to wait 4 weeks before a partial refill, well i phoned Fred yesterday and told him everything and he told me it would be fine to have a partial refill on the 25 February just 2 weeks after being in hospital, I have to say I was very surprised, I wonder if I should check with Chris.

Thank you Homecare & Carriejess for your kind words and thoughts.

Takecare everyone

Fatpants :thumbup:

Hi Fatpants, the £200 most probably covered the fill under x ray and would cover everything I had they just dont say all the tests they need to do.

I'm not surprised Fred said you could have a fill so soon, because the reason I had to wait was because my gullet had become irritated and swollen because I did'nt get enough of an unfill soon enough, I only had small amounts removed, it took a total defil for me to return to a stable situation. So In the same situation I would be quite happy to take Freds experienced advice.

I'm going for a fill on the 26th Feb it'll be interesting to see how much fill I'm going to be given, I will be taking all the advise and not pushing for too much too soon, although I have put on 9lb over the last months I'm now going to take my time and do it in a health way. Best wishes for the 25th and your fill, dont forget to let me know how it went and how you feel after it. mmmxxx :biggrin:

[jennyo 0]

Dear MMM

Thank youso much for you advise and all the information on your experiences, it has been really helpful.

[fatpants 0]

I'm going for a fill on the 26th Feb it'll be interesting to see how much fill I'm going to be given, I will be taking all the advise and not pushing for too much too soon, although I have put on 9lb over the last months I'm now going to take my time and do it in a health way. Best wishes for the 25th and your fill, dont forget to let me know how it went and how you feel after it. mmmxxx :scared2:

Dear MMM,

When I had a blockage in November and had to have 2mls out to clear it I gained 8lbs which was soul destroying, it took 2 fills to get back to my original amount, and now I've just had 4,5mls out I am really freaking out!

I phoned my closest Spire which is in Edinburgh, and this is what they quoted me:

barium swallow £218

Fill with xray £418

fill £299

I told her what you got done and how much you paid, she just said all hospitals are different and charge differently!

My God, that is some difference!

It would be worth my while to fly down from Inverness to your hospital, can you please let me know which one it was.

Today, I have to say I am almost fealing normal, just a little selfconciouse of my oesophocus!

Take care everyone

Fatpants :crying:

[homecare 0]

I'm going for a fill on the 26th Feb it'll be interesting to see how much fill I'm going to be given, I will be taking all the advise and not pushing for too much too soon, although I have put on 9lb over the last months I'm now going to take my time and do it in a health way. Best wishes for the 25th and your fill, dont forget to let me know how it went and how you feel after it. mmmxxx :scared2:

Good to hear your almost back to normal fatpants. Im eating again though it is soft food. Weighed myself this morning and guess what after hardly eating anything for over a week due to band being too tight, Ive only lost 3/4lb. I think my body went into starvation mode and held onto any fat. Just goes to show a good balanced diet is always best

[Jeaniejinx 0]

Flying out tomorrow, last post till next week. Thanks to you all for your support, it really makes a difference. My next post I will be a fully pledge Bandster! Love Jeanie

Hi Everyone,

Eric here Jeanie Jinx husband ! Jean was first down to theatre this morning and all has gone well for her:thumbup:. Left the hospital around 1.30pm with Jean fully awake and looking surprisingly well and alert. Jojo had just gone down to theatre as well so will let you know how she is doing in few hours time. Think they said 7 down for ops today.

All the advice on here was extremely helpful so big thanks to all of you:thumbup:, we will do our bit to add support and any advice that we can contribute after the experience. Chris did the hotel visit last night as Frederick was still out of the country but Frederick was there this morning at the hospital and came back two or three times to Jeans room to let me know how things were progressing in the theatre and recovery room. All very nice guys indeed.

One bit of advice is to take your passport on the morning to hospital reception when you check in. Apparently they are now checking your identity. Funny moment was when they looked at us this morning and had Jean down in a male room. They had mistaken Jean for "John" as in Jean Claude Vandamme. At one point I thought I was going to have the op instead of Jeanie:sad:.

Anway speak to you later, after visiting this evening with an update on jojo as well;

Txs

Eric