Freckles

Shoes and Kaka's daughter, my thoughts will be with you. You will be so happy after the surgery you wont even care if you have some pain...its so worth it. Mmm, this is a little spooky, cos I was born in Bridgend South Wales and my maiden name was Williams. Not sure if my Dad had a bike or not... did yours? :crying: Well now you just have to post a piccy of yourself, for me to see. if you'd rather.. you can pm it to me, but please, please dont keep me in suspenders:tt2: There is another piccy of me in my profile i think, if you want to see.

Dont worry sweetie, Michael was the surgeon who did my original op. That band developed a hole and I had to have it done again. I was all for going with Dr Chris in Begium and thought I would ask MVDB how much he would charge me for the op, as the manufacturer agreed to give me a new band and the Spire (was Bupa) Hospital gave me a 20% discount. As it turned out it was cheaper for me to stay in the UK and go with Michael again, whom I must say is a wonderful surgeon, I have never doubted that he did such a good job, and again feeling so good I know i am right about him. i had my op at 8:30 am on 26th feb. I stayed in hospital until 11am the next day, but I was fine all night, up and down to the loo like a fiddlers elbow. What a pain having to unattach my legs from the vibrating boots, and drag my drip stand with me, I must have got up about 7/8 times during the night. But now i feel really good, I have restriction too, God knows how??? Maybe the initial band was faulty from day one, because I didnt have any restriction before my first fill, with that band. I have been bad and tried to eat ryvitas, which is why I found out I have restriction. I am such a pig. I have only lost about 4lbs so far though:crying:

Thanx Big S.... They made me sit in the chair cos I had nasties on my chest, and needed for it to come up. It didnt until the next day. I know...too much info...sorry. My hair was hairsprayed to death so it wouldnt move lol. Now I am fighting with not smoking cos i promised myself i would do this. I have to take each day at a time, but its been so much a part of my life for so long its going to be a struggle. At least I cant compensate with food. How long before you girls went to the loo, btw?

hey guys me is back, a little delicate but great really. When I woke up I had an awful stinging sensation in my tummy, but it soon went after the morphine. This is a pic taken of me 2 hours after surgery, and I think I look really well even though a bit bloated. Hope it doesnt put you off your brekkys. I was starving last night, and today I cant eat either, except fat free yogurt and veg juice...blinkin exciting stuff eh. Anyway Michael Van den Bossche is a fabulous surgeon, he must be so gentle considering I havent had much pain. I have been having Calpol, since the morphine and an anti-inflammatory each morning, that dissolves on the tongue. They gave me one injection in the stomach yesterday before I left the hospital and took off my plasters. I didnt have a drain, I didnt have one last time either. The nurse sprayed each wound with an antiseptic plastic covering! Never heard of that. She gave me plasters but said I didnt have to wear them if I didnt want to. I have another 5 scars now as MVDB wanted fresh openings. He took out the faulty band and told me that the actual hole is in the tubing??????? Not in the band as the contrast study showed....seems strange. Anyway he said it is already on its way to the USA for examination. I now have an all singing-all dancing new small band:lol: I have to get well soon for my Mum, as she's not too well bless her. I'm sure all your good wishes and kind thoughts have helped me so much, and so glad you are all such big losers :tongue2::thumbup:

Thank you girlies for you well wishes. I am in the hotel atm just gonna go to bed, uup at 5am. My Mum had her op today and when my eldest daughter went to visit tonight, she was fast asleep. they said everything went fine, so I do feel a bit easier in my heart now. And it has taken my mind off myself, which is a blessing, I dont feel nervous, cos i know there's nothing to be scared of. Just want it to be over and be back home. Will try to log in asap. Nite for now, take care out there xxxx

Just another quick note. I was at my daughters until 6pm tonight, then called in Asda for a few bits and when we got home my Mum was laying on the floor in the living room in the dark. She had fallen trying to answer the phone. I just dialled 999 and went to the hospital and it seems she has broken her hip. They are keeping her in for 7 - 10 days. Poor thing. Dear God does it ever stop, I've only just got back from the hospital and am ready to drop.

Thank you for the good wishes, time is going so fast now, we leave for Southampton on Wednesday. This time next week it will be all over and done with. I am proud to be a member of this board and love you all, you're all so nice. Dont forget, you can put weight on if you dont have any restriction, just look at me. I still have a band albeit its not very tight, its still not allowing food to pass normally into my stomach. I have been known to 'PB' at night even without any saline in it. So it is sensible to chew like mad to get the food small enough to pass through the band. I have to go to my daughters soon, she has a lady coming today who is going to teach her to do acrylic overlaying (nails) and will apparently stay all day, or until my daughter has proved she can do a good job. Its a condensed course, and Sarah will get a certificate at the end of the day. I am to be the model, so had to soak all mine off last night in preparation for today. I will be leaving one finger without though for when I go into hospital. Did anyone have acrylic overlays and tips? I am thinking about when they put that little clamp on your finger, I think its to test how much oxygen is in your blood. Also, can anyone remember when they give you the sexy stockings? I have a feeling its before surgery. I am taking my lappy to Southampton with me, so if I feel up to it will log in while I am recovering. Note to self...remember to put link on lappy. xxxx

You're very welcome Shoes, my op is actually on Thursday 26th Feb. We are driving down to Southampton on the 25th, having anice, last meal out and hopefully in bed for 10:30 as I have to be in the Spire for 6:30am. Good luck to all you sweeties xxx

I am getting so nervous/excited now, this time next week it should be all over and I should be back home. I wish I could sleep for the parts in between :tt2: The most scarey thing for me is that I will come round and the surgeon will say...sorry we couldnt put you a new band in. But that's nothing new for me because I dreaded that last time too. For you newbies pondering on whether to go for the band, dont even think twice, it was the most wonderful thing I ever did for myself. Even though I only lost 2 stone, (with another 3 to lose) I felt wonderful, and always consoled myself with the fact that I would never again be overweight ( huh...little did I know) So go for it!!!!! I think its the most fabulous thing that any overweight person can do for themselves.:thumbup::thumbup: And also worth any amount of discomfort/pain. You soon get over it. The first time i had my band implanted it was 3 weeks before Christmas and by Christmas I felt great and had lost weight. I hope this helps.

to KaKa and Cant Weight.:tt2::thumbup:

Ahh thanx Wishful, I'm not doing that good, but at least I've stopped drinking every night like i have been doing, been having a couple ( purely medicinal you know lol) every night for years. So that should help the ole liver.

hey Bubble, welcome!!! How much weight have you lost sweetie?

Thanx so much Mmm, I did start out as one of the gang didnt I lol. Well, my op is a week tomorrow, so now I'm starting to feel nervous and excited that I am going to be back as a loser. I have tried to keep on this diet, and hope everything will go ok. Glad all you girlies are doing so well. lewisabbey you have got that same wind thing that Gillian had, if you read back a bit I think you may find some help on how she eventually got rid of it. I really feel for you. You know when babies have unshiftable wind we always used to give then boiled water, have you tried that? EDIT: Gillian posted ahead of me, sorry didnt see it.

Just wanted to say, I am trying not to feel too out of it, I'm not one of the gang being as I am being banded by Michael Van den Bossche in Southampton (for those of you who dont know and may be wondering :tongue2:) I was originally banded by him in December 2005 and in February 2008 it was discovered that my actual band had a hole in it. So this will be my second band and I am now 21pounds heavier than when I had the first op:crying: My diet following surgery is different to all of yours I think. Day 1 = clear fluids only.50ml at a time sipped slowly (eg:fruit juice, bovril etc) Day 2 = As day 1 + milk, thin smooth soup, sugar free thin smooth yogurt and vegetable juices. Day 3 = 100 mls fluid at a time. Cereal, thin porridge or Ready Brek. Day 4 = Increase the variety of foods taken eg: liquidised soup with lentils, pulses or grated cheese, gravy with sloppy mashed potato. Day 5 = You may now progress to a puree diet. I am really looking forward to that...NOT!!! Now I have to go eat as my tummy is making angry noises :tt2: Later chicks xx

Geez, every time i come on here ther's like 4 pages of posts to read, now I know why fellas say women talk a lot :tongue2:..only joking, but its taken me forever to read through. Ok...Wishful, thanx for the new name 'shorty' Sammy many thanx for your good wishes. Big Sis, thanx hunny, got my Mum booked into the nursing home she likes, for 8 days. Last time I still looked after her, but this time I dont feel as if I will be able to somehow. Gone of my chances of being a supermodel :tt2: Well done to English Rose and Jacksmum for their tremendous weight loss, that is brilliant, I didnt lose that much in 2 years!!! Lewisabbey, you poor girl you did suffer, I hope you are feeling a bit better now, and your Mum too. Welcome to Garry enjoy your stay, all the members here are great. I'm hating this damn pre-op diet, I hadnt had a drink since I was on holiday and of course last night (first diet day) I wanted one. We are contrary aint we, and I am ashamed to say I did indulge myself. stupid woman. I'll have to try to pop in every day so I dont get behind, but so much going on atm, my youngest daughter is going to Australia on 23rd March with her fiance for 12 months, and is moving back into our house the week before. So have to get furniture sold and moved as she has asked me to store some of hers:eek:

Hi girlies, feels like I havent been here for ages. Firstly hope everything goes great for Mmm and Lewisabbeyalyssa & her mum, wil be thinking of you all tomorrow. Well we left our house at 8:30 this morning and after 2 stop offs (for the loo) we arrived at the Spire Southampton at 12:25. My appointment was at 1pm, so had a coffee and a smoke and then went in. I saw the dietician first who weighed me and measured my height. I am now 1 and a half stone heavier than when I went for my first op. And not only that I was 5ft 7ins and now she reckons I'm 5ft 51/2ins. I said great!! When I came in I was tall and slim and now I'm short and fat:smilielol5::thumbup: Anyway she gave me the pre-op liver-shrinking diet, which she said she gave me last time, and I must have been on drugs or summat cos I couldnt even remember and certainly didnt stick to any diet But I will really try hard these next couple of weeks. She didnt even want to hear about my diet shake, cos she said thats full of sugar also, even though she's never heard of it. The nurse took my blood and did the swab up the nose test for MRSA screening. Then I had a consultation with the anaesthetist who told me off again for smoking and that everything seemed the same as it was 3 years ago and I would be fine. He explained that I would have more pain this time because of the opening of the old wounds:crying: Another thing he told me was that there was no way that the pressure in the cabin from a long haul flight would tighten my band!!!!! So I must have made that up myself, but I did assure him that it happened to me on 6 occasions. He thinks I'm a loony toon.:w00t: I couldnt wait to have a chat with Michael ( Van den Bossche) my surgeon, because by this time it was 3pm, and we had the 4 hour journey home to think about. I had to leave my Mum in bed (she stays in bed mostly anyway) and asked my 2 daughters to call in at different times to check on her. I left her a brekky and a lunch, they just had to give it to her. Anyway he came and shook my hand and told me he had the box of 'bands' from the manufacturer...small medium and large????? And he'd see which was best for me...hello, nobody has ever mentioned this before? I'd forgotten just how charming and nice he is, he really makes you feel important, and has a lovely manner. He really is a gentleman. My tests should be ready tomorrow and if I dont hear anything then my op will be penned in for the 26th. I will phone MVDB's secretary on Monday to check. We didnt get home until 8:pm, what a drag that journey was. Anyway thats the story update, sorry if I rambled on a bit, but I'm starting to get nervous already.:w00t:

What a great bunch you are on here, such sound advice to poor Fatpants and so much caring about others. Mmm your post was lovely. I'm proud to belong to this site. Sammy I have 26th feb pencilled in, hoping that all my pre-op tests will be ok, thanx for asking.

The dietician in Southampton said it was full of sugar so wasnt wise to take it, but to find an alternative, which I have now done. But if you like it and you're only having 1 a day, whats the problem chick.:thumbdown: The diet shakes came today, OMG the container is enormous!!!! I read on here somewhere that someone was asking about the reduction of the scars, I used Bio-oil which is very very good. Try it. They sell it in Boots and I also bought some on Ebay. Poor you Fatpants, like Wishful has said, we all get those days, and your husband seems supportive in your paying out for it, even if he's reluctant to talk about it. Maybe he's scared for you as he may have heard about some people not recovering from Bypass surgery and is getting confused about your op. People who dont know, love to talk about this stuff so maybe someone at work has mentioned something to him. I'll share a chuckle with you chick, when I first saw your name I mis-read it as FARTpants, and I thought, why would someone call themselves that, and then I read it again lol...sorry its my age:blushing:

Thanx so much Wishful. Like i said what suits some doesnt suit others, and if its working for you thats brilliant!! We're all made differently arent we. I'm one of the hungry ones, though I didnt try it after surgery, cos they advised me not to. I'm so glad it is helping you hunny.

Just checked out the site, and they dont have any clinics in Liverpool or Manchester ...... I think I will be going to my surgeon, as once I've had the 2 free ones I can go to his clinic in Manchester for future fills. He charges £100...so it would be silly of me to travel further afield..but thank you for the info BS.

Bless you BS, you are really helping me to stay positive, thank you xxx. Thank you for the link btw, I'll check that out. Thanx to everyone that wished me nice things after my hols. And my thoughts will be with Mmm for her op. You lot seem to be doing so well with your weight loss, I was thinking of having Protein drinks for after, my youngest daughters boyfriend is very much into weight training and he takes them. In fact I've ordered some for the weeks building up to my op, they deliver in 24 hours, which is damn good. She has bought some for herself even though she's tiny she has to watch her weight, and she says they really fill her up for quite a few hours. These drinks are called Diet Shake and cost £35.99 for 40 drinks. I dont know if they are the same as other folks have taken but they only have 200 cals in a serving. I was warned by the dietician in the Spire not to take Slimfast as its full of sugar and doesnt keep you satisfied. I never did, but I know some girls on here have, but if they suit you thats great, and I wish you good luck, after all different strokes as they say. xxx

Hi girlies...still havent had the time to read all through the posts while I was on holiday. What is WLS that you are all talking about, that do fills, and whereabouts are they ...do they do it by x-ray or not? I live in Cheshire, and if I am fortunate enough to have my op on 26th Feb, I have 2 free fills in the Spire (was Bupa) Southampton. But its such a long trek, hubby says we have to allow 4 hours on Thursday when I go for pre-op tests, in case of traffic hold-ups or bad weather.

just found this and thought of us

OMG!!! So many posts since I've been away, I dont have time to read them all just now, but wil catch up. TC so glad its all over for you, how on earth did you hold in wanting the loo for 7 hours??? That must have been awful, wish I had been there, I would have told her to be nice.:thumbup: What are you 2 like gobbling stuff, lol, you have in fact been doing exactly what you mustn't...you gotta learn to chew for England before you swallow, or it wont fit through your band into your little tum.:thumbup: We had a cople of nice warm days, and some cold too, but it was a nice break. Weighed myself today and have only put on 2lbs, and some of that may be water after the flight. I think I did pretty good being as we were all inclusive:w00t: The flight must have tightened my band up a bit, cos things kept getting stuck, so chips were out of the question. Last night when we got home at 8:30 hadnt eaten since 1pm and then could only manage a cup a soup, so it does prove the pressure even on a 2 and half hour flight will help tighten your band up, even if its got a hole in like mine:confused: I am scheduled to go to Southampton on Thursday for my pre-op tests, just hope the weathers ok for us to drive down. Love to all xxxx

Thank you for posting all about your experience Tropical, I'm sure other girls/guys will be glad of this. At least we all know what to expect now. I suppose that Dr Chris does so many band ops that Frederick cant possibly remember each individual, though the personal touch is always nice. Have you ever thought of going somewhere else for your fill, because I went to another fill provider instead of travelling all the way down South to see my surgeon. There are a lot of places that do adjustments for bandsters, if you're not happy with the treatment received then do some research, because I wouldnt put myself through it if I didnt feel comfortable with the service. Hope this helps in some way and good luck.