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I am now on countdown and have been a busy bee today especially as the children were in school and I wasn't. I have started to sort out all the rubbish/clutter in the conservatory so I can start to work from home again on my days not at school and it was really rewarding to see some space finally today. I feel like I am clearing the cobwebs in preparation. Feels great! Started my pre-op and so far have lost 2.5 pounds and 4.5 inches. Didn't have time this morning to weight and measure but will tomorrow. Looking forward to next Friday and just can't wait to have to done and just get on with life. Good luck to everyone going over on the next few weeks. Keep us posted on how you are doing and I will also pop in and keep you updated.

I can't believe that this time in two weeks I will be home and have had the band fitted. It seems only yesterday that I sent the initial enquiry to Frederik and hey presto booked a provisional date, secured the money to have it all done and then paid in full. I received the email confirmation a few days ago and advise to go low fat. I am so looking forward to the 30th July and keep wondering when the niggles will start but so far I feel very positive, very chirpy and upbeat. I spoke to my best friend tonight and she was very supportive and asked if I had fully researched this etc. She was being cautious but felt reassured when I told her that it was all reputable etc and of an excellent standard and that I would be safe. I hope everyone who is going over in the next few weeks have positive experiences and those that aren't posting but getting so much benefit from this part of the forum that all goes well and that you will feel confiident to post once you have been banded. The support is so essential to success and I am so glad I decided to join the forum! Take care all and I'll be posting my experience up as it all adds up to giving others a better picture etc of what to expect. Night night :smile:

They are charging 4150 Euros as a package inclusive of hotel, taxis and band. Extras are train or the plane. We are going by Eurostar which I paid approx £140 for two tickets plus £50 for UK train tickets and any other monies my other half is going to need when we are away. HTH The package is very good value and definately worth contacting them directly. Frederik does eventually come back to you although you may have to chase him. Good luck!

I am going on the 29th July with my husband and having the band on the 30th July. I asked the bank to transfer the whole amount and they charged me £24.00 for the service. Looking forward to hearing from Frederik with regards to the confirmation details (have emailled but nothing so far) he does answer but sometimes you have to chase him. Looking forward to this as I have drawn the line and just want to get on. A client asked me today if I was really excited and then went quiet and said or are you scared and I was honest and said not scared at all just excited that I have made this decision and therefore feel very much in control of it and know that if it fails it's because I didn't follow the rules. My fingers are crossed all will be well as I just want to be healthy and enjoy life. I'm not governed by food but I am an addict when it comes to exercise and have really missed it because of the weight gain after the acl reconstruction (knee) so I am looking forward to playing competitively again. I started back at tennis a few weeks ago and loving it. Hope all who are going over in the next few weeks have a very positive experience and we are all here to support each other and to listen. Happy for anyone to pm me or call. Take care and remember that we have one life, we have to live it and enjoy it and do everything we can to get the most from it. Claire x

I am quite happy for people on here to know who I am however I have held my toungue quite a lot over the last month when I enuired about dates at the end of July/beg of August. There were only two weeks available of lots of dates so just picked the last Friday in July as I knew someone would be able to look after the children. I have thought about how some people would react and how they would judge me if I told them. Only my mum, husband Mark and now my oldest know I am having it done. My oldest overheard a conversation nwith her tennis coach about my dad dropping her off for the Thursday and Friday and asked why. I'm not in the habit of lying to my children so explained. She was very upset as we do everything together. It's heartbresaking to see her so upset. However, and sme of you may think me hard and harsh. I am doing this for me so that I can avoid the terrible illness that my family are plagued with (I know no gurantees but I can at least try) also I am doing it for the children as I want to play football with them and other things that I always say no to. As for is it anyone's business then I think not this is a journey and many of us embark on it as the final leg because we have tried so many times before, succeeded but slowly our bodies and our brains have reverted back. At some point those around us may be faced with the same challenges and perhaps then you may feel comfortable enough to empower them to follow the same path. There are people who I can't wait to bump into 6-8 months down the line and who I hope will be very surprised at what this can achieve with a lot of hard work. I was so fed up of being told that I wasn't the right image for this and that! So looking forward to going over on the 29th July, op on 30th July and coming home on the 1st Aug. Bring it on ...:thumbup:

I had an interesting discussion with my bank today re the international transfer. I was advised that there may be a charge by the bank in Belgium. Has anyone else been charged for transferring funds into the account details given by Frederik? Happy with the £24.00 UK end charge. Very excited now just want money to transfer (next Wednesday) and then I know we are all go for going on the 29th July and having the procedure on the 30th. Ohh bring it on! No second thoughts here at all.:tt1:

Hello All Vanessa Feltz went to St Elizabeths in Ghent with Dr Marc Focquet fitted her with a gastric band. Good that she has been so open about it. Take care Claire

Hello scheduled for July 30th in Brussels with De Chris De Breuyne - can't wait - very excited. Claire:smile2:

UPDATE I am now booked for the 30th July arriving in Brussels on the 29th July. Very excited - just want to get started now and on the right path.

Hello All, I'm Claire from Northants and I lost a significant amount of weight (5 stone) and then had another baby and it just doesn't want to shift. I have read some amazing weight loss testimonials on this site. Well done to everyone. I have seriously been considering a lap band since October 2009. I was referred into the NHS but my GP wasn't confident that I would be able to get funding as I don't have anything wrong with me (Yet!) i.e. diabetes. Although I see this as a preventative; I have a family health history of diabetes from both sides, a triple bypass on paternal side and just feel like I am a ticking bomb just waiting to turn a certain age and boooooom! I had an ACL replacement in 2008 and it is stable but I am forever being told you need to lose weight. At the referral I felt so bullied as I do genuinely think that the lack of exercise (since the knee op) and an underactive thyroid contribute to my excess weight. I was bullied by the Consultant and it was a horrible experience. He told me that I was a secret binge eater in the fridge in the early hours and that he would get me to admit it before he would agree to any surgery. I wish I am so tired I go to bed and sleep. Just appalling to be treated like this. I came away feeling very disheartened and quite shell shocked that people are treated in this way when they are genuinely asking for help. I was advised to join a weight loss group. I went along and the lady who ran it could see that I knew what I was talking about as we eat very healthily and cook (low fat) and she blatantly told me that exercise in her view made absolutely no difference. Having been a PE teacher and sports mad for many years I had to disagree and choose not to go back (what a surprise). So I have mulled and mulled and finally came to a decision and confided in my husband and my mum. I am provisionally booked in with Dr Chris in Belgium for the 30th July 2010 subject to deposit and borrowing some money. I am saving like crazy and every little bit is in an envelope. I don't have any doubts as I feel that this forum and others blogs have helped me. I am planning to use Herbalife as a supplement as it is not just a weight loss product but used to build people up and maintain weight. In some ways I see this as a new era in my life I have two lovely children, we would have had more but we have chosen not to. So I want to move forward positively as I have been on the receiving end of some nasty comments from employers e.g. "you don't fit the image of a PE teacher" okay so I don't represent my country and I'm not stick thin but the kids I taught loved PE and had positive experiences. I am not doing this for vanity I am doing it so that I feel happy being in a photograph, so that I can run around with my children playing footie and not risk rupturing the repair and so that I can feel more positive. I'll put up with anything that the surgery wants to throw at me and afterwards. Sorry for going on but oh it feels so good to have that off my chest. If I don't manage to get all the money together I will postpone July but I will defnately be getting it done. Take care and thank you for reading if you have got this far.