Irishlapbandgirl

Hi guys, I was banded by Dr Chris De Bruyne last Feb 2011 in Belgium and have since lost 42lbs. I am currently 176 and want to get down to 140 so I have another 36lbs to go.. however, at my last fill I was told that my 7mil band was FULL and that i can maybe only have one more very small fill if i really need it.. I am absolutely freaking out over this. I have a 7 mil band and I have 7 mils in it. When i first went for my first fill i asked what cc my band was.. i could have kicked myself that i didnt ask this question BEFORE the surgery.. and I knew from reading other blogs etc that a lot of people had 10 mil bands and 12 mil bands. I knew in my heart and soul I would probably need a bigger one, as it took me AGES to get restriction. I will be the first to say that I am not exercising, and I need to adjust my diet to a certain extent but I was wondering if anyone else had this problem?? would love to hear from anyone who can offer advice..

Really??? wow.. oh god please i hope so!!! where did you get banded? I think the surgeons assistants that do my fills are very good though, i never doubted them before.. i will ask but i dont know!!

Hi everyone, I am an Irish Bandster who was banded in Belgium by Dr Chris De Bruyne on the 15th of February 2011, and I would love to meet with other Irish Bandsters who have been through the surgery. I really feel like it is still a very "taboo" subject here in Ireland and there is very little support out there for us in our own country. I have formed a group on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_144644905601361 for anyone who would like to be involved, we can share our experiences and support each other through the tough times, and celebrate the good times and achievements. I have had a page on Facebook for about a year since I decided to have lapband surgery and everyone on there is from America, and its hard to compare food products etc because they have all different things available to them that we dont have and vice versa. I would love to eventually maybe be able to set up big group get-togethers for us all maybe every three months or so just to keep in touch and have a fun day for ourselves. After all, we have been through a lot and boy do we deserve it! Looking forward to hearing from you, All the best and good luck with the battle

Hi there! I posted this months ago and forgot all about it.. are having lap band surgery or thinking about it? I dont know of any lapband support groups here in Ireland and that is why I wanted to try and get us all together to chat! My facebook page is Gilly Lapbandqueen if you want to look me up, and I also have another page called irish lapband support network. Check it out, it would be great to get a group of us together for a good chat.. looking forward to hearing from you!

Thanks Claire!! I had a very productive day today, got in my walk, (almost had a heart attack lol!) and ate very well. Managed about 750 cals and I am not hungry. Had to try on my uniform after 11 months tonight (back in work tomorrow) and it was SPRAYED on to me.. I had to go buy bigger trousers!!!!!!! Well its not for long. If anything its the kick in the ass that I needed. Hope you have a great evening and I will chat to you soon! xxxxx

Thanks girls, it has been great encouragement to read all your stories, i am in a great mood today now because it will work in the end, i just have to have patience. Im going for a big long walk this morning and I am also doing Slimfast twice a day and a low carb meal in the evening. I know slimfast isnt great but until i get to the health shop its going to have to do!! I must stick up a ticker here, how do you do it??

Wannabe slinky thank you, your a super star!! I was so worried that my band was so small it wouldn't work, and then I thought "well i bet I have stretched my pouch already anyways" and I have been kind of giving up to be honest.. I'm so ashamed, I thought that by going to the extremes of having surgery and everything that I would just cop on to what I was doing to my body and stop eating crap!! But that hasn't happen'd and I am starting to feel like a failure again, even my Mum (who btw is still a size 10-12 after 7 kids, and age 75) has been asking me "how come you haven't lost anything yet??" I thought this was going to work etc.." its just nice to talk to people who have been through the same thing and KNOW what you are going through!! Do you feel amazing having lost the weight pet? I'm dying to feel good about myself again, at the moment I feel so unattractive its horrible.. any ideas on what I should be eating until I get some restriction? because at the moment I am just eating the way I was before the op!

Hi girls, You have no idea how much help it has been to read that Drasan, I was banded in the 15th of Feb 2011 in Belgium with Dr Chris De Bruyne. Everything went great, I had an easy recovery and lost 11.5 lbs really quickly. Since then it has just stopped, and I have been up and down since the op. I am eating like a horse and I have no restriction at all. I got my first fill of 3mils and I am going back on the 5th of May for my next fill.. I am praying something changes. I keep thinking that this is going to another pink elephant and I am not going to lose the weight.. I cannot cope with that. I know I need to put in more effort with my diet and exercise but I have very little will power and I have just read SO much about nutrition that I am now nearly confused, do I do low fat, low carb, count calories, what?? My head is melted!! I met a girl at my fill meeting and it took her 8 months to lose anything and then it FELL off of her, she lost 8 stone in a very short time. I wouldnt mind but the weight is really depressing me and stopping me from living my life to the fullest, I just cant understand why I just cant say NO and stop eating the wrong things.. I am delighted you have eventually lost the weight, it must be such a relief!!

Hi Freckles, just saw there that you had to get re-banded after your op with Dr De Bruyne? What happend? You are the first person I have read of who had complications with him!! I was banded on Feb 15th this year and I had a really good recovery, everything went great, but I have NO restriction at ALL and even though I have lost a couple of lb's I havent really lost anything significant.. it goes up and down. And I can eat as much if not more than I could before the op.. beginning to wonder if I have made the right decision I have had one fill, got three mils in. I have the heliogast evolution, and when I went for my fill i asked him how many cc's it was and he told me that he had worked in the place that made them and that they were tested up til 20cc's (WTF??!) so it was just a case of how much I needed rather than how big my band was. He was one of Dr Chris's aids, so he would have known what he was talking about.. I thought! But a girl who got banded on the same day as me got her fill the same day as well and she was told they are only 7cc bands.. which I think is VERY small... and im a bit panicked about it now. I am hoping my second fill will make a difference, I know I could be putting in more effort with my diet and excercise so I am not blaming my band completely but I am beginning to lose hope!! Any advice?