lil

Hi everyone had to have my port removed a few months ago due to infection and have now decided to have the band removed. I live in Ireland but Chris De Bruyne removed the port in Belgium. Has anyone had this done by Chris? If so was it done keyhole? I've emailed him just waiting for a reply. Would love to hear back from someone whos had it done Thanks

Hi Geri I think you're probably better off emailing Frederik he usually replies on the same day. My hubby came with me. If I were you I would try to arrange the op for a time when you can have someone travel with you. You'll be very sore after the op and it would be better for you if you had someone to look after you in the hotel when you went back. Also it would be hard trying to manage your luggage on your own. Lots of girls have done it alone and managed grand though but I personally would prefer to have someone with me. As regards fills everyone is different I had to have alot of fills the first year and some people only have to have 3 or 4. I didn't tell my GP as I thought he might give out to me and try to talk me out of it. I only told him recently and I had my op 3 years ago!! He was fine about it though. Some people found it easier to tell their GP beforehand

Hi Geri No probs at all, glad to help. If it were me and its just my opinion I would go to Chris De Bruyne. I had first hand expericence last week of Frederik (who organises it) and Chris De Bruyne himself, they were both fantastic. Its a proper hospital which is spotless. There are so many people on here that have been over to Chris and can't recommend him enough. He also has aftercare in Dublin, they come over once a month to do fills and they have an Irish nurse living here who is available 24/7 if you have problems like overfills etc. Frederik organises everything from taxis from the airport to hotel and to hospital, hotel, op the whole lot. I've seen the other end with ACS which wasn't pleasant and I'm just so sorry I didn't go to Belgium in 2007 when I had my op. I was terrified of going abroad as I worried about aftercare so paid 10,000 to have it here and ended up with no aftercare at all. Not sure if I told you this already but theres another thread all about Chris De Bruyne which has fantastic people willing to help you. This is the link http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f11/anyone-know-dr-de-bruyne-chris-41669/ Like I said its upto yourself what you decide to do I can only tell you if I was in your shoes what I'd do. I would be more comfortable going to a surgeon I've heard great reviews about than someone you don't know. If you've any more questions just shout

Hiya Geri who is the surgeon? Have never heard of it. I was banded in Dublin by a company called ACS in January 2007, it was a complete nightmare the surgeon was banned in Ireland then the company went into liquidation so we were left with no aftercare it was a complete nightmare. I'm just back from Belgium having had to have my port removed. I would highly recommend the surgeon Chris De Bruyne he was fantastic he only charges something like 4300 euro which includes 3 nights in a hotel for you and your partner and you stay 1 night in the clinic - which is a proper hospital with excellent facilities. I was too nervous to go abroad when I had my op and paid 10,000 to have the op in Dublin and it was the biggest mistake I ever made. Chris has a management company called ECFS run by Frederik Serneels whos fantastic, they come over the first Thursday(I think) of the month and provide aftercare(fills) for patients. Hopefully some other girls will have heard of the company but I would research it fully there are alot of cowboys operating in Ireland who havent a clue what they're doing and are providing very bad aftercare. Take a look at thishttp://www.lapbandtalk.com/f11/anyone-know-dr-de-bruyne-chris-41669/ Anymore questions just shout

Thankyou so much for replying. Last time this happened the surgeon just said I'd know all about if I had a slip and that I was just overfilled, even though I hadn't had a fill for months before that and was fine. He took about 1/2 ml out and was grand again. He then put the 1/2 ml back in and I've been fine for months and its happened again. I didn't have a barium swallow done, he does the fills without xray. My surgeon is not in the country anymore but I will try to find someone else I can go and see. Thanks again:thumbup:

Hi everyone just wondering if anyone has experienced whats happening to me. I was banded Jan 2007 and have really struggled to get the band to work. I lost 3 1/2 stone in the first year but have never had proper restriction since. I'm either way overfilled or not enough of a fill. Anyway I haven't had a fill in months and the last few days I could feel the band getting tighter (as in what I could eat). Yesterday I could not keep food or liquid down and today its even worse. Everything I put in my from Water to tea is coming back up and out my nose. This has happened me before and the surgeon took some Fluid out and it settled down. Anybody have any ideas why this keeps happening? I have been doing really well last couple of weeks have been really watching what I eat, joined and gym and out walking every day. Could exercise make this happen does anyone know? I really don't want to have to get a defill again but I will I it doesn't settle down. Would love some advice please Thanks a million

Thanks a million for replying. Does he do xray fills in the UK or Belgium? As far as I know he doesn't do xray in Ireland Thanks

Sorry for hijacking your thread girls, just wondering if anyone knows where I could get xray fills in the UK? I was banded in Ireland but my provider went bust and we were left with no aftercare. I can get fills in Ireland but they're not xray and I have yet to reach my sweet spot. I'm banded over 2 years now and have still weight I need to lose Thankyou

Happy New Year to you too:smile2: Well done on the weightloss thats fantastic:thumbup: I wouldn't worry about the chocolate, sure we've all overindulged over Christmas. Have to try to get back on track myself:blush:

Hi guys found a way of chatting live:w00t: just click on this link Gabbly type your user name on LBT in the name box and then chat away. When you want to chat just put a message on this thread that your in gabbly so people will know:thumbup: so lets get chatting

Hi Devana where in Ireland is your friend? She could try the Beacon Clinic in Dublin phone (01) 213 5600 not sure of anywhere else in Dublin doing fills. I know there are others around the country but I'm not sure what they're called. Hopefully someone else will see your post Hope this helps

Hi Lunasa we have our own Irish support page now under local lapband support groups

Found this on another thread and couldn't believe it: Quote: Here is the link: slave for sale - eBay (item 280216615452 end time Apr-16-08 09:12:14 PDT) Sad if it's for real, maybe sadder if it isn't.

Very interesting Coco:thumbup:

Hi Elsie yeah I thought it was very good too, explains alot about whats happening to us

I'm so glad I found this thread I'm also freezing all the time, was banded January 2007 and thought it was just me. I also used to be roasting before surgery and am the complete opposite now

I found this post on another thread and thought you might find it interesting: Be prepared this is a long one. I found this post on Wlsinfo.org and thought that you guys might benefit from the words of wisdom contained within. This is a girl called Delly from Manchester, she was banded last April.... I hope that it brings some comfort to those who are feeling frustrated and the certain knowledge that fills will provide them with the restriction and therefore results that we expect and crave....... It saddens me to read of so many bandsters feeling despondent in the early months of being banded, even brandishing themselves failures! When I was conducting my research it became apparent to me very quickly that there appeared to be a pattern with bandsters, I admit not everyone fit the pattern but it appeared like a very strong trend to me. For most a pre-op diet is recommended and consequently most enjoy some weight loss, then in the 7-10 days following surgery another good weight loss is usually enjoyed as restriction is felt due to stomach swelling after the op. Some 3lbs some as high as 16lbs – all depending I suspect on our starting weight and pre-band eating habits. Most people seem to get their appetite back by 2 weeks post op so and weight loss consequently either seems to grind to a halt or even we regain some of the weight we lost. Yes there are the very disciplined/lucky or maybe the higher starting BMI’s who continue to lose after 2 weeks but they appear in the minority to me? So in most cases we have 4 more weeks to wait for our first fill (some NHS patients have 10 more weeks to wait) Its all very well for the dieticians to give us a post op diet to follow but lets be honest here whilst it’s a fantastic plan of course to eat as healthily as possible lets not forget that its continuous diets that got us fat in the first place. I have been on a diet for over 20 years and I don’t know about anyone else but I just got FATTER! I read of members joining WW or SW and if that works for them that’s fabulous but for me I have done WW etc more than 20 times and if it worked for me, if I could be a success on a diet then I wouldn’t have ever considered WLS! Long term success with a band stems from reduced quantity and satiety training not doing another diet! So we have to get through these 4-10 weeks whilst waiting for our first fill without feeling like a failure –that’s not easy I know because I'm currently going through it, yes I'm eating a lot less than I ever ate pre-op but obviously not enough to continue losing as I'm still at the same weight I was 1 week post-op. I'm not disappointed though as this is EXACTLY what I expected and it’s what everyone should EXPECT! If your expectations are realistic then you won’t be frustrated when things don’t go according to some weight loss plan you have hatched that had you in a size 10 by Christmas! LOL At last the day comes for our first fill we have been waiting for it like Christmas morning but again we must be patient as the very large majority of bandsters don’t feel adequate restriction after their first fill. We mustn’t feel despondent we must accept and fully grasp the concept that most bandsters don’t reach their “sweet spot” until their 3rd, 4th or 5th fill. If you’re having private fills this gets you to approximately 4 or 5 months post-op, if you’re having NHS fills this could be as much as 12 months post-op. Then of course you have to allow time to lose the weight, lets just say this could take another 12-18 months so before you know it your goal weight is 2 years away. This seems like an inordinate amount of time to wait but the statistics show that 18 months - 2 years is the average time to goal so there is little point expecting to reach goal before then and if we do then whoopee dooo darrr that’s a great bonus but if we are average or a little longer than average that’s whooooppeee doo darrr too because I bet it sure took a lot longer than 2 years to gain all that excess weight in the first place so what’s the rush? It’s not a race with a band it’s more of a marathon but we will all reach the finish line, happier, healthier and most importantly lighter!!!

OMG what a difference shes like a different person fair play to her:thumbup: