wannabe slinky

sorry trying to update my ticker

hi girls wanted to ask did any of your hair thin mine seems to of thinned a bit was wondering what anyone took to help thanks girls and boys lol

hi girls wanted to ask did any of your hair thin mine seems to of thinned a bit was wondering what anyone took to help thanks girls and boys lol

only 3 weeks till my op!!! ive started my pre op diet... finding it hard as i keep thinking of what i cant have & my brain keeps saying this time 3 weeks u defo wont be having this... ha ha!!! can any body tell me they done pre-op diet and also whats the best things to have in my fridge presses etc for after op! want to be orginised. nerves hitting in all ready.. very strange as this is all ive wanted for years...

you will be fine hun i think everyone goes through the whole i wont to be able to eat this and that lol,after op has settled down you can still eat almost anything until your band it tightened enough,for after op i lived on muller light yoghurts,cup a Soup, tin soup and slim fast lol,bet your so excited

hi everybody,hope everyone enjoying the long bank holidays.

i went for a fill last week i now have 7.5ml in my band and haven't lost any weight for 7months!! i have lost 55 Lbs since my surgery in 2010 but that's it im not losing anymore even with my last fill.i have already had an x rays and everything is fine. im always hungry i feel hungry every 2 hours,and when i had a fill up to 8ml then i suffer acid re flux so i had to take 0.5ml out. which mean 7.5 mls is the max i can have.Im getting very depress im just not losing weight.is anybody experiencing the same thing? im quite short 4 11 so i really need to get down to at least 120-100lbs.

sorry your having problems hun,i hardly ever feel hungry,my weigh loss is slow but im close to my goal so not really bothered,do you drink alot hun,i only eat in the evening because my band is too tight in the day lol

Hi all, it has been an interesting read, all your stories are good to know. I had my gastric band on 17th Feb 2012 so I am new to all of this. I had my first fill of 2.5mls on March 29th and have my second fill on 26th April. I am still hungry all the time so can't wait to get my next fill. I want to lose 10 stone so I have a long way to go......... but it seems from reading all your stories that once you have the correct amount of fill the weight comes off so I can't wait to start losing it all. x

hi sam of course you will do it hun,but it take at least from 5ml plus in your band before it starts to work hun if you went with chris debruyne you will normally get 3ml first then 2.5ml the second time and from your third fill you should start to notice the difference its so exciting isnt it lol

Ah do they do defills even if I never had my surgery with them? That would be brill if they did cos im thinking I may need a defill. I emailed my surgeons assistant but he usually takes a while to get back to emails so dont want to leave it to long, stressing is probably making it worse right enough! Yes when I eat something it comes right back up, feels like I have a fullness in my throat area and im constantly burping and making gargling noises. So embarassing in class lol. Thanks for your help x

hi

hi charlene if you phone julie the girl who books the fills she will get you an emergency fill nurse they have them here when chris's team arnt hun,they got me one the same day for when i was overfilled dont wait hun phone and get it done because mine only got worse

Has anyone for Freddies email address?

hi think its frederik.serneels@ecfs.be

Thank you for all your well wishes, I was just wondering I've paid my deposit the other day, what the next step will I hear from Bart or the clinic. Will I just go ahead and book my flights? I know it's all above board & save. I've just not heard back since paying. Is this the norm? Did anybody else go ahead n book flights straight away... Dates were already confirmed.. Just need reassurance from all you bandsters!!!!

they are slow mini me,just email them and ask did they get your deposit,but i would book my flights any way,i paid all of mine in full,this is the exciting part lol

Hey all,

Sorry for the delay and thanks for your responses. I think I have a 13ml band (but they call it a 7ml because that's apparently where most people get full restriction).

I'm confused now over when I should be eating (3 or 6 times a day). I've been exercising more, including cycling in and out of town, walking more etc.

I think I've maybe lost a stone since surgery, all through willpower versus restriction. Problem is my willpower has never been great, so when I realise I've no restriction I get all defeatist and eat badly. Am trying really hard not to, but it's a struggle.

I think I feel a tiny bit more restriction after this recent fill, but nothing major.

Arghh!

Congrats to all you guys though, such impressive results!

R

stop worrying hun,i just eat what i felt like,mainly a yoghurt for brek,soup for lunch and whatever i felt like for tea,your first 3 fills dont really count they are just filling the circumference of your band,if i was you i wouldnt worry too much about what you can eat just eat what you feel like because when you do get near restriction you cant eat hardly at all hun so enjoy it while you can lol

Got my operation pushed 4weeks closer getting banded 8th may!! The nerves excitement I can't explain it. The taughts of being a few stone lighter is unimaginable. I know it's been said serval times on this link but I really don't want to search for it :-P Can anybody give me a quick run through of what I need to bring with etc! cheers guys! X

travel light you dont need much i wore loose jogging bottoms a baggy tshirt and a pair of crocs because your stomach is tender and bloated after op and i wanted loose fitting easy to put on clothes lol,the clothes i went in i came out in and i didnt take a nighty as you wear theirs for op and then get dressed in your own clothes the next day so just take a towel and toilitries soz for the spellings ive just come off nights he he,and in the hotel room i took slim fast shakes to drink and cup a Soup although i didnt feel like eating at all,and some windeeze and painkillers although they do give you some in your pack you receive off them and take a cup as they only have wee plastic ones good luck

freckles so glad that they caught it early,its nice to know you have the band to help with the weight loss at least thats one thing off your mind hunny xxx.Sas 6 days to go till you have your band are you nervous or excited hun xx

well I dont think i look that amazing , my mind hasnt caught up with my body yet, its slowly dawning on me that i am a lot smaller ..I go see the Plastic Surgeon tomorrow, the loose skin is everywhere but its my badge of honour so although i dont like it i dont regret it either .. Am planning on the tummy and back first, they estimated i had around 14lbs of excess skin so theres another stone gone then once its all off : )

I will keep u all posted !

Sorry to hear of your loss Freckles.

Good luck Saz for your soon to be slim life and surgery !

were you going to get it done cazzy and is it expensive im a nosey cow lol,would love my boobs done he he xx

Hey Slinky .. I was going to go with Dr. Chris but found Nuffield hospital group was similar price so i went with them and didnt have to travel. Nuffield is a charity status so althought they are private its a non profit organisation so its not top end costs ..

I wondered where all the uk people were hanging out as the uk specific thread seemed a little quiet now i found u all i will keep my eyes on this thread

Thanks i have done well but its been hard work but worth it .. u have done well too so close to goal

wont be long till your at your goal now cassy you must look amazing now,bet people notice you now for all the right reasons lol xx

Thank you everyone for your kind and encouraging comments

I'll keep you all posted

just under 2 weeks to go hun,your nerves will start kicking in soon and you will be arguing with yourself should you,shouldnt you lol thats what i done anyway but dont worry we all do that hun and the reason we get the band is because we are fed up with the way are bodies are so giving ourselves a wee helping hand good luck hun xx meant to ask it it much more for your surgery here than abroad xx

Well I had the breast surgery to remove the lump, they also took out 2 lymph nodes.

When I went for the results they told me that one of the nodes was cancerous so they wanted to remove them all. And this just 2 weeks after the initial surgery, so fast. Found out of friday and the surgery was booked for the following Tuesday, didnt have time to get scared.

Thank God its over now, I'm 2 weeks out, under my arm is so sore, but it will get better I know. I have a fill booked for next thursday in manchester as they had to take it all out except for 2mls before my surgery.

Now I have to start all over, again. This being the second time, as my first band had to be removed due to leakage.

Am I meant to be fat I ask myself????

oh freckles you have had a year of it hun,must be so hard going through cancer and dealing with the death of your mum,sorry to hear about your mum hun you were so good to her and now she will be watching down on you giving you all her strength now,glad your over the worst of it now,time to get strong and healthy look afteryourself hun and build your energy back up x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0

Thank you everyone for your kind and encouraging comments

I'll keep you all posted

great hun not that long to go he he xx and hi cazzy you have done very well did you got with dr chris or someone else xx

Hi Everyone

I'm sorry if I've offended anyone by not going with Dr De Bruyne. I know he is a fantastic surgeon, however the idea of going to have surgery on my own in another country is too much for me at the moment as I'm not stable enough. As I've indicated before this, I suffer a lot from depression and I can't predict how I would react the night before in Brussels when the nerves take over me.

I've had a full consultation with a medical team in Liverpool, and every aspect of my current health has been looked into. I would rather have the security of mind now that my illnesses have been properly assessed in advance, than getting to Brussels, and possibly turned away or the proper care wasn't prepared for my intracranial pressure. I worry about the pressure in my head every day, and I can imagine the worries being ten times as worse on the day of surgery. I also get quite severe headaches after flying so that is another factor I've taken into account.

I think staying in the UK is the best choice for me because of my health and concerns. My surgeon is Mr Sigurdsson and I have checked him out thoroughly. I've also been assured that Mr Sigurdsson is experienced in neurological conditions such as mine.

If I didn't have such illnesses, I wouldn't hesitate to go to Brussels. In fact, if anyone was to ask me who to get banded with I'd say Dr De Bruyne because of his track record!

Again, I'm sorry if any of you are disappointed and think I'm making the wrong decision, however I have been considering this for the past two years and have weighed everything up. I value all of your advice and support.

Thank you

Sarah xx

sarah i would go with whoever you want to,i know everyone on here is for chris as am i but if someone wants some advice and to talk to people it dosnt matter to me who they go with as long as they get the same result,good on you for going with it anyway,you have to stand up for yourself and go with what you know best,maybe if i would have had more risks and money lol i would have stayed in uk but hey freckles who is on this forum didnt get done with dr chris she got done in uk and she is a valuble member on here,i think were all great people so lets just encourage eachother and extend the arm of frendship xx ask whatever you like sarah hun you havnt offended me xx

Thank you all for answering my questions and putting some nerves at ease.

It's probably a stupid question but can you actually feel the band and port? Is it uncomfy? Has anyone got any problems with excess skin now?

My problem is that I have an addictive personality. I don't like surgery but I can easily see myself having various nip and tucks if I'm not happy with myself, where does it all stop? As I've said before, I like bike riding so *hopefully* too much excess skin won't be a major problem...

You must all be so proud of yourselves to get to the stages where you're at now! I can imagine you're really excited. One of the most depressing things about being this size is clothes shopping. You can hardly find things you like (I love wearing pinks and purples). You're restricted to maybe one or two shops and then when you actually find something nice, it costs probably 3x or 4x the price of the normal sized clothing shops! Slinky - I can see myself turning into a fashionista like your niece!

Well done Jo! I don't know a single person who has been able to maintain weight loss with PCOS. It's one of the worst diseases to affect your mental health. I still find GPs and non-PCOS specialists are quite ignorant of it's effects. They grill you over your weight and then you get told PCOS is an excuse after you know yourself you've tried everything.

I'm feeling really encouraged by all of your stories! I know it may seem weird to be affected so much by a forum, but you are all I needed for that extra push! You really have given me a little hope and I'm going to act on it now!

I'm just in the middle of emailing Frederick!! *nervous* I'll let you all know of any updates!

Sarah xxx

glad to hear you got some encouragement from this forum hope all goes well and you get a date you will then start getting all excited like we all did keep us informed xx

Thanks again for your responses Slinky and Claire

After all of your advice, I've decided to take a big step (for me) and email them! Is there a specific address? I can't seem to find one on the website.

Did you have a lack of energy a few months after the band? What kind of foods were you eating just after having the band? And what are you eating now? What does it feel like exercising? Particularly riding a bike, as I enjoy this. I can imagine that the upwards leg/knee movements may cause the band/port to dislodge!

I've heard a few women saying that they lost their hair. Has anyone else had this experience?

Sorry for the million questions!!

Thanks

Saz

hi hun i had no energy before i got the band lol,afterwoods i had cambridge diet shakes as i knew they had all my vits etc i took them for a couple of weeks and kept some for when i wasnt eating much aswell.after a couple of weeks of getting my band i use to have a shake for brekfast and a muller light yoghurt for lunch and half a tin of Tomato Soup for evenings tea.but you dont feel hungry when your at your sweet spot well i dont anyway i have to remind myself to eat lol,but a few weeks after your band you can still eat a fair bit as your appetite comes back as your band is empty,so you still feel hungry but as you get fills this is reduced as your stomach is,your first fill you get up till 3ml fill and your second around 2.5 then your band is filled it does take a few fills for you to start feeling it work so you have to be patient because your first couple of fills just fill the circumference of the band and after this is when it starts to reduce your stomach,but i got a kind of buzz of excitement with each fill just watching my weight going down but as for excercise im not very good but i would of though riding a bike is fine as claire said it is stitched in place i try and walk the dogs so i class that as my exercise.As for eating now hun i dont eat all day and only eat at night,but that's just me i dont feel hungry and my band feels too tight to eat early on so i just have differnet Soups, and the odd chicken curry and i have a packet of crisp quavers etc,as for my hair no probs yet and im always dying it lol,when i feel lethargic i take spa tone to drink with pure orange to give me some Iron as im always lacking in it even before my band,i dont eat red meat anyway so i eat alot of fish salmon and haddock and even have the odd sandwich but i dont feel deprived or like im missing out on any foods i just dont feel like them,dont worry about asking questions hun that's what we all done and everyone on here is great with the advice and have strengths in all different areas so ask away,ps as for you worrying about how your family would feel about it,when i got my band my neice lynda who comes on here the odd time wanted a band she had been overweight all her life and didnt know what is was like ever being thin "normal" as she would say and she wanted one her mum was so against it.i told her mum to let it be her desicion and let her be in control as her mum had been thin and knew what it feels like,she agreed and now she gone from a size 20 to a size 8 and looks like a babe and i have to say the difference it her confidence has soared,she i like a different person so outgoing and loves her fashion so sometimes you just have to do what you feel is right for yourself hunny and people will come around to it at some point now her mum is so pleased,hope that helps xx

Hi All

Thank you all so much for your kind responses.

I think it would be safe for the band as my PCOS consultant has suggested a few times that he thinks I should get a band but the usual NHS funding would probably be impossible, which is understandable given the state of the economy. My GP is pretty much useless whenever I go see him, with the standard "eat less and exercise more" routine. My PCOS consultant who has been trying to help me with my weight as well, actually said I should stop worrying so much about my weight as it's affecting my mental health and relationships. That's pretty hard to do though when every other health professional I see really lashes into me about my size, although your worst enemy is always yourself. It's catch 22 isn't it?

Slinky: It's good to hear you're a lot happier and confident You look really good, well done! My downfall is quavers!

Gillian: I'm glad things have worked out for you after a few set backs. I guess that's one thing doctors are right about, shifting the weight will make most illnesses better. You also look amazing and so happy!

Julie: I'm so pleased for you PCOS is in itself so frustrating, even if you happen to be one of the skinny sufferers. I really wish you the best of success in starting your family. It's never too late. Even though I'm still fairly young, I too worry about never conceiving. I know if an overweight person does happen to get pregnant, it's always a high risk to the mother and child.

Jane: Thank you. It gives you hope to see someone has been in your shoes before. I take it you've had surgery? Did everything go smoothly for you? Your words are really encouraging, especially about Chris and the UK office being easily contacted. I do worry, that if and when I tell my mum (who has even worse depression and health problems than me) she'll try to talk me out of it, especially with the operation being abroad.

I feel as though I'm on a see-saw atm. I think I am going to go for it, I just need to to find the courage! How did you all approach this subject with your families?

Thank you again and take care

Sarah xx

hi saz i got to a real bad point were i felt almost suicidal and my family realised how my weight was affecting me hubby wanted me to diet and walk more, but it just didnt work for me,every time i lost a bit of weight i would just gain it back again it just wouldnt go,so i told my hubby wether he wanted me too get it or not i was going for it i had mentally agreed to it and my mind was set i started saving in secret and when he saw i was that determened he booked it for me and took me over lol.I know all surgery can be dangerous but its keyhole surgery and he hasnt had and fatalities,dr chris is one of the buisiest surgeons in europe and so very experienced that is why i trusted him and so pleased i did,make the decision on what is best for you hun,its your life and well being and just stick to it,you will find once you have it done your family will come around anyway,have a look on professional beauty web page they work with dr chris as well hun and are based in the uk,and you can get your fills in manchester it works out about 4200 euros for your hotel,taxis and surgery good luck hun

Hi

I'm new to this forum so not sure if I'm doing this right... please re-direct if necessary.

I've been considering (and researching) a band for two years now on and off, always being put off by what could go wrong and not having the money. I'm now able to afford the surgery, but I keep going through bouts of being on the edge of booking a consultation, then thinking I must be mad to actually put myself through this procedure and worry about the future with a band.

I'm 28 and have a few illnesses which are all related to my weight including severe clinical depression, PCOS, asthma, eczema and intracranial hypertension (pressure on the brain). Every time I see either my GP or neurologists, they "remind" me that I need to lose weight.

I've been overweight since I was around 10 years old, so that's nearly two thirds of my life which I find so sad. I'm even too scared to look at how much I weigh as it gets me into really low moods for weeks at a time.

I've tried appetite suppressants, Xenical and Metformin with no real success. Also been to see a dietician a few times which to me isn't very helpful as I'm a vegetarian and don't tend to eat conventionally "fatty" foods.

New years eve was particularly hard for me as I tend to assess where I am in life, and to be honest 2011 was a really crap year, particularly as I had split with my partner of six years because I couldn't stand him touching me the way I am.

I really want to lose this weight for myself. My ideal situation is allowing friends and family to take a single picture of me! The last picture of me was from when I was in school!!

I'm sorry that I'm rambling and probably giving too much information! I guess I'd just like to know if anyone else went through these same doubts or personal problems that I have?

Thanks

S

hi hun reading your quote,you sound like you have answered your own question of needing a band,and you are at your lowest point that is how i was i put on a lot of weight it came between me and my partner as you said i didnt want him to see me big or touch me and i felt like i just couldnt go on the way i was and deal with my day to day life,for me i felt like i had to get the band and if any problems aroused they couldnt be worse than the way i felt,but now my confidence is soaring and i feel great and i think it's the best decision ive made im so happy with my life now.has your gp said it would be safe for you getting the band with your health problems,the good thing is it would eliminate alot of them and you would be on top of the world hun,i dont eat red meats but i have a sweet tooth that was my downfall and night time eating lol any more questions just ask xx

does anyone know what dates they have in Edinburgh in march or april for a fill?

hi hun 22nd march and 19th april in edingburgh xx

Hi, yes was me and my 'big sister' banded same day. Never got to target weight cos of probs I had, but didn't really put much back on which was good. Big sister same. She has about 6.5 in, I have about 4. I went up to 6.5 and was being sick/sliming every day, I lost the weight but think the tightness and the constant throwing up caused my hiatus hernia/acid reflux So my eagerness to get tighter too quick caused my probs.. So please don't do what I did.if you find yourself 'gurgling' after drinking and at night in bed and it doesn't go off after 2 weeks or so, it's prob too tight..it's been really frustrating.. But wish I'd took it slower. My 'sweet spot' by the way was 6.. Everyone's different.. And as you lose your weight your sweet spot changes cos the actual fat round your stomach reduces..(like a ring on your finger) good luck everyone.. But be patient.. Even if it takes 3 years.. Better than hitting problems! X

good to see you back and nice to hear the weight isnt going back on,but i agree gradual is best im gonna get 75ml out in the next couple of months to see if i can eat a bit more normal foods as i only eat at night and mainly Soup, i dont mind too much but hubby moaning and wants me to eat more lol hope you guys are all ok