Debbiecatal

Hi Sherry I'm also being banded on 26 March, at 2pm but I'm in the UK so we could be under the knife at the same time! I haven't cheated either, though I am really missing solid food! I thought I would miss chocolate, but it's savoury stuff I want to eat - fish pie, spaghetti bolognaise etc. Good luck for next Wednesday Debbie

Hi Gill, Mr Hewin told me that it's best to try to reduce the size of my liver before the op, as it will make it a lot easier for him, and my recovery time will be shorter. I have been told to avoid alchohol as much as possible for 3 weeks before the op, and for the week before I have to go on a liquid fat free diet. I can have fat free yoghurt and thin soups only, according to the enormous handout he gave me. I am going for my pre-op assessments on Monday, and I am going to check to see if I can have something like Slimfast shakes as well, as I hate yoghurt (though I don't mind the Muller Light ones too much). I actually gave up alcohol as a New Year resolution and I have tried to eat a low fat diet throughout March, so hopefully it will be ok. I'm a teacher too, and having it in the Easter holidays, which was my choice. I saw my GP at the end of July, and he gave me a form there and then to make an appointment with Mr Hewin over the internet. I made the appointment for 14 August, and after that had to wait for PCT approval. They approved the operation and all costs in early November and I saw Mr Hewin again at the beginning of December. Once you have approval, there is a 2 month waiting list, which put me in February, but you can ask to have it later, which I did, so that it would fit in with my life. I meet the anaesthetist on Monday, and have the pre-op tests, then a week on Wednesday I go in! The only thing I am worried about now is if there isn't a bed and I can't have it at the last minute, which is always a worry with the NHS. Good luck with your referral! Debbie

Hi Gill, I am in Hereford and I am being banded in Gloucester on 26 March. There is a local support group that meets at the Nuffield hospital in Cheltenham on the 1st Sunday of each month at 2pm. I went to the January one but had to miss the next two due to prior commitments, but I am planning to go to the one on 6th April if I have recovered enough after the surgery. Who is doing your op? Mr Hewin is doing mine, and because I live in Herefordshire I am lucky and I am an NHS patient. I am getting really nervous about it now though.

Hi I am having my surgery on 26 March, and I have told my boss and she is really supportive. I have booked holiday though, I am not taking sick leave at all, as I decided it was something I am choosing to do, so that probably helped. I will take more holiday if needed, but I am hoping to be back at work on 7 April.

Hi it is much better now. Lucozade is a glucose energy drink here in the UK that you drink when you are sick and can't eat. Sports people also drink it for energy. I love it, but it's like fizzy sugar in a glass, so I try not to have it too often! I went to a support group meeting on Sunday which was great, as I got to meet people awaiting surgery like me, and more importantly, people who have been banded for a time. It was great to see thin people who two years ago weighed 21 stone (300lbs)! Maybe in two years that will be me!

I am 47 and just about to be banded, and I really really wish I had done it years ago! My daughter is 21 and also overweight, though not as big as me, and when she graduates from university this summer I am going to suggest to her she gets it done now, while she is young. Surely she will recover better at 22 than I will 25 years older! Go for it, find someone who is positive in your family or friends to support you through it, or go to a support group and get your support from others who really know what you are going through. Do what is right for you, not for anyone else - it is your life and you want to be living and enjoying it a long time! Debbie

Hi thanks for your reply. I spoke to my surgeon's secretary on Thursday and we have agreed my date is 19 March, or 26 March if he gets an emergency cancer patient. Wow, it's real now! I am going to try to lose weight between now and the surgery to make my recovery as easy as possible. Have a terrible cold at the moment though, which is making life really miserable, and all I want is Lucozade and chocolate. Hard luck for your accident, and yes, at least no-one was hurt, which in the big scheme of things, is all that really matters! Debbie

I saw my doctor 3rd week in July and he gave me a form and password to organise my appointment at Gloucester Hospital over the internet. I went straight home and booked a convenient appointment on 14 August. I saw the surgeon and he explained that my PCT, (Herefordshire) assess each case individually so he would have to write to them and get approval. I meet the NICE criteria so he didn't think it would be a problem. He said it usually takes 3 months for them to decide, which was the case and they approved me at the end of November. I then saw my surgeon again on 11 December and he told me the wait for surgery on his list was 8 weeks. I chose to have the operation later as March suits me better for work etc. My entire wait from initial visit to the GP to op will be 8 months, but could have been 7. I didn't feel this was too bad for a free op. Debbie

I am NHS, I saw my GP in July, saw the surgeon 3 weeks later in mid August, then waited for approval from the PCT, got that at the end of November, saw the surgeon again 11 December and agreed with him that I would have the operation in March as it suits me to have it that month, though I could have had it in February! The NHS funding is for the op, and all aftercare including any counselling or dietician work as well as the fills. I feel this is an acceptable time to wait, and I know I am lucking living where I do to get this support. Now just waiting for the op!

Hi I am Debbie and I live in Hereford, work in Worcester and I will be having my band fitted in Gloucester Hospital in March 08.

I have been approved for surgery and all I know is that it will be on a Wednesday in March 08. I am waiting for the letter from the hospital with the exact date. I am nervous, excited and desperate to get the letter so I can start organising things!

Hi I have just found this site, and it is great to find other people going through the same as me. I am Debbie, 47 and living in Herefordshire in the UK, and I have just been approved for lap band surgery, with the operation to take place in March 2008. My surgeon is Mr David Hewin at Gloucester and I am really confident things will go well. Even so I am nervous and excited and hope I will be able to cope with the changes in my lifestyle. My family and friends are supportive, though some think it is a drastic step - I don't, I think it is the right thing to do and it will hopefully change my life for the better. I will read other people's stories and hope to get information and support from this site. I will keep others updated re my progress if you would like and I am aiming to keep a diary throughout so I can look back later. Hope to hear from others, I am so glad I stumbled on this site, which I found while googling my surgeon! Debbie