Hello Everyone,

I understand that most of you live in the U.S. or Canada and had or plan to have your surgery there or travel South to Mexico. However, I live in Ireland and would like to link up with anyone who had or plan to have their sleeve this side of the Atlantic.

I am particularily interested in hearing experiences with the different places, and any recommendations you may have.

I am not covered by insurance, so I will be funding this myself. Nevertheless, I do not intend to put the cost as the top priority, although I probably will take it into consideration to some extent!

Is anyone aware of any "Centres of Excellence" over here? I have heard of some places that have an exceedingly high reputation for gastric banding, but would that necessarily mean that they would be good at VSG's too?

I also consider India and Jerusalem too far away, although I see plenty of references to them.

All comments welcome,

Regards,

Bookleen :confused1:

Good Luck on Wednesday.

I stayed in the Holiday Inn, which is miles and miles away from the hospital. The hotel is near Ghent/Gent which is a beautiful place and well worth a visit. There is a tram line just directly outside the hotel which is very useful indeed especially if you have someone travelling over with you.

You will be treated like a queen, and back home before you know it.

The Best of good luck to you and a successful weight loss too.

Bookleen

Booklean, how are you doing now that your 2 months out? I was thinking about going to mexico to have mine sometime next year but I have always wanted to travel. How much was your surgery and flight? Did you go alone?

If any of the Belgium sleevers are still around, would you mind sharing the details of your surgeon? And how much you paid for the surgery?

Thanks in advance, and hope you're sitting pretty on the losers' bench!

Hi swizzly

I was sleeved on 5 May by Dr Marc Focquet in Brussels. The cost was 6200 euros for the surgery, hotel and hospital stay. I was in hospital for 2 nights.

For me the surgery was very straighforward and uneventful. I had little or no pain and was back on my feet very quickly.

Eleven weeks out I have lost a total of 48lbs - and I am feeling great.

The doctor's attitude seemed a lot more relaxed in Europe - the guidelines on food were pretty much stay on liquids - Soups, broth, yogurt - for the first 10 days and then gradually introduce solids if/when it feels ok.

Other than burping a lot in the beginning and being a bit constipated now and again I haven't had any side effects.

If there's anything else you want to know feel free to ask either through the posts or pm me.

I'd recommend the surgery and depending on how much post-op support you want from your surgeon (I didn't) I think Belgium is a good option.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Lyn

Swizzly - my ticker isn't up to date as I haven't worked out how to update it yet!!!

Lyn, that is extremely helpful -- and quite an encouraging outcome you've had! Thanks so much for sharing all the information. I am waiting to see what happens here, as it would be covered under my insurance, but I don't want to be told what I can/can't have in terms of surgery. If they want me to do GBS or DS, I will probably just self-pay, and Belgium would be quite convenient. The price is very good too!

Thanks again, I will PM you for more details if I go that route. I hope you keep losing so fast and feeling so good. :thumbup:

Best,

Dee

Hi Dee, take a look at Cosmetic Bliss too. I used them and was very impressed. Their price includes airfare as well as hotel, clinic, all medical fees. I could not fault them.

Jane x

Thanks for that, Jane -- I had not even heard of that one before.

If any of the Belgium sleevers are still around, would you mind sharing the details of your surgeon? And how much you paid for the surgery?

Thanks in advance, and hope you're sitting pretty on the losers' bench!

Hi Swizzy,

It is exactly 3 months for me today and I have already given the details here on this thread of where I got it done in Belgium, which is exactly the same as Snoop101.

Today, I would like to emphasise again just how pleased I am with this surgery, the surgeons and the whole trip to Belgium.

I have had no problems and am enjoying this new lifestyle.

I would not hesitate in recommending Belgium.

Regards,

Booklean

I would recommmend without any hesitation Dr Ceirny in the Czec epublic. I went with a company called Cosmetic Bliss. They are brilliant and also include insurance to cover the cost of complications should there be any.

You have a night in a 4 star hotel and then a day full of tests including xray, scans, bloods, gastroscopy and a chat with a psychologist. After the op, you are kept in ICU for a day for close observation before being transferred back to the ward. If all is well you travel home 2 days later after they are sure you are fit to travel. The hospital is spotless and the team very good. Look them up, they have many recommendations

Good luck