Mrs J.J

Congrats! I am also a 1st July bander. I am doing really well so far, and I hear you about bending to pick things up. LOL!

You don´t need to take any of the food and drink stuff with you. They are easily available at the stores, just buy enough to last you for the few days you´ll be there.

Read, research and ask, ask, ask. You´ll see in the threads that the actuall operation affects everyone differently, some have pain afterwards, some have a little. Where are you situated? I am a younger version of you, I decided to get my band done now so that I can be healthier when I get to my 60's and I am sure this operation will add years to my life. Hope you find inspiration through this forum to help make your decision.

Hi Julia, Just wanted to let you know I´m sending you lots of positive vibes. I was banded on Tuesday by Dr Chris, he is a very professional man. Hope all goes well.

I´d be up for this! It would be great to meet people from the forum. I hope that more people are interested in joining. If not, suggest again in another year when most of us newbies have been here longer and feel like this is our lounge.

Hi there Siouxsie, From what I saw at the hospital everyone reacts differently. I was lucky in that I had no severe after op pain. The nausea was bearable. I will suggest that before you go in for the op stock up on some bottled Water, drinking yogurt, some actimel, and a few packets of Soup. This will save you the time and hassel of trying to find this stuff after the op. There were two people that were not happy campers after the op at all. They were both in severe pain, one lady insisted that she stay an additional night at the hospital. I have no idea if she succeeded or not. The hospital is fantastic! The staff amazing and helpful, although a little slow to respond at times, but obviously they have so many patients you just have to wait when you call them. One thing I can suggest is that Dr Chris will tell you to be at the hospital by 7:oo am to register in for the operation. Get there before 6:30am. The waiting queue is terrible. They only had two people manning the desks and it took me forever to get to the front. Also the earlier you get booked in, you´ll get your op done earlier too. I think they work on a first come first serve basis. The taxi drivers all seem to speak English so you won´t have a problem with that. The trains are also pretty easy and cheap to get around in. Take as little as possible, you really don´t want to carry much more than a small handbag after the op. Buy some magazines for the days you will be at the hotel. Hmmm, can´t think of anything else right now, feel free to contact me if you have any other questions. Mrs J.J.

It is really important to be in tune with your body after the banding. My surgeon kept reminding me that if I was vomiting or had high temps of 39 to get to a hospital pronto. I find it strange at the moment to be in tune with my body because so much is busy changing. The nausea, the odd pain here and there. I am trying not to be paranoid, but it´s like I don´t know if I am nauseaus or hungry. I´m so glad that you are okay now. Sending you speedy recovery vibes!

Hello July Butterflies! Thanks to PennyLane for starting this master thread, I was wondering how the heck I´m going to be able to weed through all the different threads to find everyone that is at the same stage as I am at. It´s my 40th birthday today and I got my band done on Tuesday 1st July in Brussels by Dr Chris DE Bruyne. This was my gift to myself instead of having a birthday party. I live in Sweden, no children, I am a business systems trainer, which means that I get to go around Europe and train people to use our computer system. I have been overweight all my life, I don´t remember ever being thin. So this is going to be a huge change to my life. I am excited about the new journey and I want to do this sensibly. I don´t want to land up getting sick by starving myself. This band is only a tool that will help my brain and stomach talk to each other. So far I am doing very well. I have not had any problems besides some nausea and a bit of pain when I move too quickly. No gas pain at all. At first I was going to do this on my own. Thank heaven my husband insisted on coming with me, I don´t think I would have made it home with bags, trains, flights etc on my own. Good luck everyone. By supporting each other we will have a huge positive impact on our own lives.

This is it guys and gals! My flight leaves within 5 hours to Brussels and tonight I will meet the Doc and tomorrow is D day for me. My husband changed his mind last minute and decided to come with me. He hates flying, and is having to go there on a seperate flight this morning. We couldn´t get him booked on the same flight as I´m taking. I am really thankful that he is backing me on this. He has been brillant in supporting me. Although he has said he doesn´t want a "skinny" wife....lol. He wants me healthy so we can grow old together and that is what´s important here. This is my health that I am taking care of. BTW - I´m turning 40 on 3rd July, I was suppose to have a big birthday bash, but decided to use the money for the party on myself instead. This operation is my gift to myself. But in truth it´s not just for me, I get to grow old and be with my family and friends for many more years and Celebrate loads more birthdays. Only, I´ll be looking like one hot mama! LOL!! Thanks for your support on this forum. I am so glad I found this site. Pictures and updates to follow when I get back on Thursday.

Excuse my ignorance, what does WLS stand for?

Me too!! July 1st in Brussels. Can´t wait to start this new journey. I´ve been doing a fat free diet for the last two weeks, eating fish, raw veggies and fruit etc, slipped up two or three times by eating some bread (my weakness), but I´ve lost 3 kgs. I cannot weight (excuse the pun) to be able to go shopping and buy clothes that are not in the plus size department. Next year this time, I plan on being able to show my body on a beach and not be the whale. Good luck everyone! Be strong. Mrs J.J.

Don´t give up, you have the perfect tool to help you loose the weight you need to loose. Speak to your Doc when you go for your filling, and in the mean time eat as fat free as possible. Stay on track, this is your life you are wanting to give up on. HUGS!

Hi there sleigh, I´m also heading to Brussels but on the 1st July. Dr De Bruyne will be putting my in. There is loads of information on this forum. Use the search function found at the top of the screen with other various options. At the same time I will be watching here on this thread for any other information that others may pass on to you. Good luck !! Mrs J.