angie324

hey guys! just want to wish all you new or soon to be bandsters good luck!! i was banded by dr chris on 23rd Sept 2008 so almost a year!! if you do everything your told and treat the band as a tool you cant go wrong!! highly recommend Wendy from WLS surgery group for your after care and fills though as they have a fab reputation and offer cheaper packages for unlimited fills! i still have a way to go but no longer hate my reflection in shop windows lol !!!!!!! Angie xxx

hi gillian, sorry it's taken me so long to reply but my internet keeps playing up! get it one day then nothing for 2 days! No i haven't lost 5 stone!! SORRY!! wish i had lol!:thumbup: I really must get rid of these tickers!! never seem to get round to it though or figure out how to!! I have lost 2 and a half stone. it has come off really slowly and i have had tobe patient! my weightloss came to a standstill but I Have recently started swimming regularly and the weight is starting to finally shift again.:wink: i have had 5 fills! I may have to get another one next month depending on my weightloss. i am sure your fill will make a difference. It seems to take totally different amounts for everyone! anyway good luck!! And hang in there! If there is one thing this band teaches us, its to be patient!! ANGIE XX:smile:

hi flirty!! got my internet back today!! god i missed it!! hope they have fixed it properly this time lol!! how are you??

hi Flirty! Its angie here, tried to reply to you on msn but stupid thing is playing up for some reason! it seems that everyone is feeling the same way!! reading these threads makes me think that i was right and that dr chris doesn't even come to Dublin anymore!! this needs to be confirmed cos non of them had the courtesy or professionalism to tell us!! and there is no way i am paying that amount for a nurse to do my fill!! i only paid that amount for my fill and travelled so far to get it, because i thought i was paying for Dr Chris!! as it is i have NEVER! seen Dr Chris personally in Dublin! and i have been going once a month since last August!!!!

hi Julesni i am trying to get an appointment with chris de bruyne in dublin on the 4th dec. i wonder if the fill isn't enough would i be allowed another on the 9th?? i really want to get this band working for me!!

hi julesni i got another message back from Joss. she has given me her telephone number and email address. she says that the clinic is at their home. i will pm you the number and email address if you like. i not sure what to do though! another girl i talk to on here from dundalk said that she heard dr. chris coming to dublin on the 4th dec. so i might book that and wait to see him first and ask him if it's ok and safe to get fills from this othe guy!.

hi julesni i have already pm'd irishanna but no reply as yet. it will be interesting to hear from her. i am shocked that dr chris hasn't got back to me about this. on the other hand that may mean that he did train him but isn't happy about him taking his business!! do you know when wendy is next here for fills? angie x

sounds like you are getting some restriction! thats great. and also means that she was probably wise to put in 1ml¬ i just got an email back re the fills in Lisburn! it reads. HI Angie, its my husband who does the fills, Dr Chris trained him to do his emergency unfills when he used to come to our Clinic, the cost is £100 with appointments evenings and saturdays. irishanna from this site came here a few weeks ago if you want a reference but I can personnally say he is very good. i am so tempted to go there this weekend!! just so nervous about it! must try and find out a bit more! angie xx

HI Wriggle!! how are you doing now? i went to Belgium for my first fill a couple of weeks ago but no restriction!! i had 3.5mls put in and nothing!!! feelling frustrated and annoyed at myself!! i really hope this band works. angie xx

HI Julesni glad to hear that your fill went well! i don't mean to be rude, but did she say why she only put 1ml in? it seems a bit measly? i would expect to get at least 2mls if i was to go to her cos it so expensive for us bandsters! i can't seem to forward his email, but if you go on the wlsinfo site look at the members list. His name is Joss (he the only Joss on the list) he is the one that sent the message so it would be worth emailing him. i mailed him today re information, so if i hear anything i will let you know! How are you feeling after the fill? any more restriction? if i don't get a fill soon i think i will scream!! i need to feel some kind of restriction to justify the thousands i have spent on this band!! :tongue2: Ange xx

hi julesni! thanks for getting back to me! what time are you going to see Wendy tonight? i would be tempted to go myself tonight!! and where abouts do you have to go to get it done? i am so nervous about letting anyone else near my port incase they cause a leak!! but if wls are using her then she must be very experienced. Did you get a private message the other day from some man saying that fills are now available in Lisburn? apparantly this man (Robbie) was trained by dr chris de bruyne (my surgeon) and lives in Lisburn so is available 24 - 7 !! i have emailed dr chris though just to make sure cause i don't want to let some amature near my band!! it costs too much to fix it if something goes wrong!! not heard back from him yet though! good luck tonight!! i really wish i had booked her tonight too!! i will have to wait til beginning of December instead now! Angie x

hi Julesni i haven't been on here for ages either!! i went ahead and got banded in Brussels by dr Chris de bruyne on 25/sept/08 have to say that it all went smoothly and i returned to brussels 2 weeks ago to get my first fill. i feel abolutely no restriction and have 3.5mls in my 10ml band. i have booked to get my next fill on the 4th dec in Dublin (dr chris flies over once a month). i am really struggling to maintain weightloss and have lost only 2lb since my fill. i have lost a total of about 1 stone and 8lb but the 8lb was on the pre-op diet, so really only a stone since the operation 6weeks ago. not great! How much did you get put into your band on your first fill? and do you know when Wendys next visit will be after this week? Is she expensive? Dr Chris comes to Dublin on the 4th December and charges 120 euro per fill so about £100 sterling. good luck with you next fill on Tuesday! i would love to hear from you as to how you are getting on. Angie324

lmao!!!!!!! angie

have to agree with naomi and sparky! i was banded with dr chris just over 4 weeks (same time as naomi actually!) and i am extatic with dr chris!! me and my doctor decided it would be a good option given my medical history and bmi didn't come into it!! i am the one who had the final decision to make! i am the one who was spending the money! if dr chris wasn't willing to do it i would have searched world wide to find someone who was!! i am returning to brussels this morning to get my first fill! excited about it and feeling very confident. i place all my trust in dr chris. don't be fooled by thinking that because a doctor is in the uk he is automatically going to be good!! don't forget that the band originated in Belgium!!!!!!!!! so it is probable that Belgium doctors are more experienced!!!!!!!!!! (where do you think the english doctors get their training from!!!!!) Go DR De Bruyne!!! And Frederik !!! lol! Anige xx

well i guess it depends on where you are travelling from and how! i am flying out from dublin to brussels south. and flights were around £50 return. Then its about 23 euro return for the train to brussels central. i am staying at the novotel just off grand place and right next to the central train station. this cost 200 pound for 2 nights (hubby too) and included Breakfast. There are cheaper hotels about though, we just wanted to make it a bit of a holiday! Train to vilvoorde from brussels central (which is only about 5 mins ) is around 4euro return. and then taxi from there to dr chrs about 10 euro although not definate on that but know it only about 5 or 10 mins from train station. If you travel to Belgium for your fill you are only charged 50 euro per fill. if Dr. Chris thinks it is suitable to have a further fill then you come back the following day for this and that will be another 50 euro. hope that helps! Angie x

Oh Yes, one more thing!! does anyone know how much a taxi is from vilvoorde train station (or campanile) to dr Chris' surgery/house? Thanks! Angie xx

Hi Naomi!! Nick, flirtylass, engishrose and everyone else on here!! sorry i havn't posted in a while but back doing my studying and never seem to have a minute!! you all seem to be doing fabulous!! i not doing anywhere near as well! the last 2 weeks i have had to really struggle to maintain any weightloss since the banding 4 weeks ago. Going to Belgium on Monday for my first fill and can have a second fill on Tuesday if i want. I'll see how i go. Just curious, but can any of you guys on here who have already had your first fill let me know how many mls you got in? it seems that everyone gets different amounts. How are you doing Naomi?? i'm sure you can't wait for you first fill next Thursday! Hi Flirtylass hope you had a great birthday bash!!!!!!!! Hopefully see you in Belgium Nick!! have a safe journey. Angie

hi roe!! wow you are doing well!! you must be so pleased! I am happy with my loss, but i expect it to come off at about 2lb a week now. i will be really happy at that cos thats over half a stone a month. that would mean i could hit my target weight by this time next year! i haven't started any excersise yet, but gonna start step aerobics for 15 mins a day this week on the wii fit! i am heading to brussels on the 27th of this month to get a fill. i know chris is coming to ireland the week or so after but thought me and hubby could have a nice weekend away. when are you hoping to get your first fill? i will definately be booking my second fill in Dublin at the beginning of December so that i am ready to take on Christmas !!! lol!! maybe we will meet up then if you are going too? good luck with the new band! i am really pleased that it is working as it should for you! the pounds will just drop off from here on in!! Best wishes! Angiexx

well i have to agree that it was our choice to do this, but then if a rabbits caught in headlights it will go in any direction in the hope of escaping.............. i think that given the fact that there are a lot of his patients in Ireland, he now has an obligation to pay a nurse full-time to be available monday to friday for either fills or defills. lord knows he is making enough money off us all and surely he values his own reputation enough to pay a little back into aftercare? to be honest if he charged a set amount for unlimited aftercare and fills upto 2 years post-op i think most people would op for it and the money from that would pay for a nurses wages! Please don't get me wrong, i think Dr De Bruyne is a good surgeon, but he still has a responsibility to all his patients whether abroad or local and he should keep in mind that not everyone can afford to just hop on a plane everytime they need a defill!

HI Flirtylass!! How you!! i keep missing you on Msn!! left you a message there. i gonna have to throw the scales out!! think they have become an obsession!! guess thats to be expected! not long now til your first fill!! i am still feeling great restriction with the band without a fill. and feel no real hunger which is great! but i have already booked my flights for belgium for a fill at the end of the month!! hope i gonna need it now or will have been a waste of money on the flights and hotel!! oh well i guess i will just have to enjoy the dirty weekend with hubby! oops! did i say that aloud???? how is the weight going with you? i know it has been amazing so far! has it slowed down any?? i have decided just to stick to the juices, tea, crispbakes and yoghurt cos they are filling me and i'm not physically hungry. have you started any mushy foods yet?? catch you later!! ANGIE XX

hi chris and Naomi!! I got your email, but was unable to add it to msn so i sent you an email instead! hope you got ok? how are you feeling now? you sound like you have recovered well! my weight is a bit frustrating!! i weighed myself the day before yesterday and scales showed a loss of about 9lb. but this morning it showed an increase of 3!!!!! can't understand this cos i am barely managing between 3 and 400 calories a day!! gonna have to set myself a weight-in day each week and get hubby to hide the scales! coping really well with the band though and will progress to mash potatoes on Sunday which i can't wait for!! yum!!! Naomi i got rid of the white socks on Saturday because i knew i would be moving around. glad those injections are all over!! I hated having to give myself those! felt like a drugie! have any of yous got your blue stitch out yet?? no one told me in the hospital about stitches or anything but i am going in this afternoon to see the doctor in case they need removed! i was lying down lastnight and i could actually feel my port!! weird!! Getting the band fitted was simple enough in the end, but i still keep asking myself what if this doesn't work!! people seem to lose weight at different rates and i just don't want to be one of the slowest!! i don't feel at all hungry (accept for head hunger which i fight off or cure by eating one of those round toasts we got in the hospital! - by the way i found them in tescos!! they called Dutch CrispBakes! 29 calories!) great if you feel the need to chew! well done to you both! the band seems to be agreeing with you and your weightloss is fabulous!! Angie xx

HI Ursula, Naomi and Nick and everyone else who has given me great support!! i am finally home!! arrived the early hours of the morning! all went really well thank goodness! the team over there are fabulous and look after you well. i must admit that it was a little more painful than i had antisipated. my operation was at 2.30 in the afternoon on Tuesday. I was then discharged about the same time the following day and felt surprisingly ok. i was driven back to my hotel where i met you lovely mum naomi!! so sorry that we didn't meet! when i think of it now i should have give your mum my room number! anyway i rested the first day with a good book!!. The next morning i had a quick shower and even washed and set my hair!! lol! then went to Bruges site seeing for the day with my parents. The wind could be very painful at times but the walking was speeding up the process! the next day (yesterday)we spent site seeing around Brussels and shopping and then flew home last night.! feeling really good today. How are you Nick?? i worried about you all day on Wednesday !! don't know how you could manage to drive to your hotel??? so glad though to hear that you and naomi are doing so well!! wow! how lucky have we been?? another women who was in my ward, didn't do so well and had to be brought back into hospital!! she was still in when i was leaving yesterday! poor lady. i,ve lost about the same as you Nick !! go us!! hope it keeps up! are you on scrambled egg already???? is that alowed? sounds yummy!! I haven't managed the loo yet!! eek!! hope i can soon or gonna need some assistance lol!! How you feeling today Naomi? i'm kind of the same as you! not sure what signs i should be looking out for to say whether i am full or not! but i guess it's all about learning how to get along with our new bands now!! i feel great in myself, just a bit sore when i go to stand or bend (a bit like someone has punched you in the stomach a few times !! or you've done 2000 sit ups!!) can't wait to get speaking with you all to compare notes etc!! my hotmail address is angiecurran70@hotmail.co.uk we can all share a conversation sometime!!! Hi flirty Ursula!! so glad to be back!! left you a message on Msn, i will check in later with you all !!got to get the kids uniforms washed and ironed for monday! back to porridge lol!! Angie xxx

Well everyone its finally here!! i am heading to the airport in 5mins!!!! operation is on Tuesday morning! if anyone wants to pray for me then it would be much appreciated!!. i wont be back until Next Saturday! i will contact you all then and let you know how i got on! GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE ELSE WHO IS GETTING BANDED THIS WEEK TOO!!!!! Wish me luck! ANGIE XXX