Hi,

I was surprised to see that there's not a UK specific group, anyone know how to get it started?

I know that a the WLS site has a lot of members but you have to pay :omg: and I'm saving all my money for the op! Anyway, this site is more fun - I find the tickers fascinating!!

Any ideas?? :help:

Tazza

OH my God! SaraMoss, That Pre-operative list is frightenning. Seriously bandster, YOU DO NOT NEED them at all. At the end of the day, it really is down to common sense and it really is NOT that difficult to follow. Just like anyohe going for any operations, you just have to take it easy for a couple of days. After the op, there WOULD NOT BE a great deal of restriction as yr doc wud hv just insert the ring band around yr stomach. U will need a few FILLS before you will feel any restriction, and that would be in the duration of a least 6months before you will feel your weight seriously going down. The doc did say it will be a duration of 1-2yrs before we will lose 80% of our overweight weights. Just be careful because you just had an operation. Stay off solid food as instructed, stock up on liquid low calory drinks, non-fat yogurts, light clear soup for the 1st couple of weeks. Stay off cabonated drinks. By week 2, I was already on pureed food and creamy soup. The hosp you going to should be giving you some chewable pain killers when you check out of the hosp anyway. Yr wound should heal in a week's time. It's more scarry than it is painful, truthfully. Good luck to those going for the op. And to answer yr question Sara Moss, I have lose 24pounds since Sept. I suffer from my underactive thyroid which means I should celebrate even if I lose 1 pound cos I have a non existence metabolism and weight gain are usually associated with this disfuntional thyroid problem. I went underactive 3yrs ago and put on 3stones, which wont buldge despite all my exercise & diets. Thats why I finally seek the banding option.

UKAngel I cannot belive 2 stone in 2 weeks!! omg!you have done brilliantly and really encourages me to carry on .. I have just paid the balance on this op and just hope it's all worth it. I have a fridge full of slimfast for the pre op stage :¬[

Saggi I have to tell you I went to an all inclusive in Cuba last summer - It was the only time I lost weight on a holiday!! there is only so much you can take of buffet style food- the thing you need to watch out for it the unlimited alcohol!

annie

No worry there annie as I dont 'think' I drink too much on the alcohol compartment. My greatest vice is 'desertsssssss' Im already planning to aim for soup and the 'desert' table and not bother with main meal cos it would just block me up. But you are right, there's only so much we can eat these days, cos that is why we have the band put in in the first place to stop us overeating. Yet sometimes, I see food and I think oh.....if only I could eat as before again...... Stop it! I got to snap myself out of that self-pity feeling. Not long now to my Dom Rep trip, I'll let u all know how I fare. Gd news. Lose another 3pounds. Total lost - 24lbs now.

Thanks for your advice SaggiJ, I will stock up with soups and slim fast, have about 10 days worth of LighterLife sachets too! lol...and I'll take your advice!

Well losing 24lbs is practically 2 stones, thats fantastic! Where did you have your op? Im book in in Winchester, about a 2hr drive away

Thanks for your advice SaggiJ, I will stock up with soups and slim fast, have about 10 days worth of LighterLife sachets too! lol...and I'll take your advice!

Well losing 24lbs is practically 2 stones, thats fantastic! Where did you have your op? Im book in in Winchester, about a 2hr drive away

Had my op done in Chimay, Belgium with Elysea. Consultation was Dr Mignon, but Dr Debray op on me. Diedre, oh bless her, lovely lovely lady, she was our translator. Had my fill at London with Radiologist Toni. My radiologist advised me that once we have our fill, not to go for any diet food ie Weight watches food which I used to take but to eat properly, 3meals a day (and if needed 3 Snacks, and a cup of tea is consider as snack) She encouraged us to take Protein food as much as possible. So I try to bite on tiny pcs of chicken, or cheese during meal time. Any thing liquid will go straight through and will defeat the purpose and wont fill us up. Good luck to you. You will get there. We all will.

It's like my fill consultant..or whatever he calls himself. Consider the way of eating as a minimised Atkins diet. Which I thought was great, I knew all about the Atkins.

So, I thought I would treat myself to a small piece of steak. A nice bit of rump steak, medium rare. It was a pleasure to eat and I took a long time to consume it. Sounds perfect doesn't it? Unfortunately I suffered the worst PB I have ever had. The steak didn't even get digested before it came back up.

This is the gross bit, my dogs ate it up lol. It was quicker to go out in the garden rather than get to the loo. :sick Mind you it was just mushed up steak, so at least it wasn't wasted :guess . So I am going to avoid steak like the plague now. Have you noticed a change in what you want to eat, compared to before the band? It certainly has changed for me, I am trying different fish and I used to hate fish!!!

Hope everyone is well

Sxxxx

It's like my fill consultant..or whatever he calls himself. Consider the way of eating as a minimised Atkins diet. Which I thought was great, I knew all about the Atkins.

So, I thought I would treat myself to a small piece of steak. A nice bit of rump steak, medium rare. It was a pleasure to eat and I took a long time to consume it. Sounds perfect doesn't it? Unfortunately I suffered the worst PB I have ever had. The steak didn't even get digested before it came back up.

This is the gross bit, my dogs ate it up lol. It was quicker to go out in the garden rather than get to the loo. :sick Mind you it was just mushed up steak, so at least it wasn't wasted :guess . So I am going to avoid steak like the plague now. Have you noticed a change in what you want to eat, compared to before the band? It certainly has changed for me, I am trying different fish and I used to hate fish!!!

Hope everyone is well

Sxxxx

U r right, that is truly gross. For me its nearer to run to the downstairs loo. I truly agreed with you, I L-O-V-E steak, but now avoid it like a plague. The pain is not worth it. And its just mince pies, cottage pie, shepperd pie, fish pie, mash me these days.Thank God I love fish (basically I love ALL seafood so am quite dissappointed I cant eat mussels, tiger prawns. lobsters, oyster....my god the list go on cos I DO love my food, and I have to choose between a better FIGURE or FOOD. And vainity won.

OMG....what are the typical foods you cant eat anymore? You mentioned steak, tiger prawns (they are just delious!)...tell me more please...

It's not as bad as it sounds Sara, honest! I think it is different for every person. Not everyone is stopped from eating steak or any other food that they love. But, your tastes do change. I didn't believe it would happen, even though the specialist said it would! I was proved wrong, but it is all good. It has kerbed my appetite for sweet stuff. So I can't complain!

Sara I'm with the hospital group too - it is expensive compared to others - but i couldn't do a trip to Belgium or france. I just hope that they have the back up and support I'll need.

Well everyone my Op is on tuesday everything is organized pretty much, although you will not belive I twisted my ankle badly yesterday so am hobbling around like a right idiot! at least it's taken the focus off the op but I'm still anxious as hell! :cry

:eek: Annie, you'll be fine! At least you will be able to rest your ankle!

If the support isn't as strong as you hope, remeber you will always have your friends here. Everyone has different levels of experience so you should get all the information and advice you need.

Good luck and enjoy!

thanks suzanne! how are you getting on with your band - have you had a good week? where do you go to get a fill? have you got a family?

I had my first fill at the Tellford and Wrekin hospital. I think it's called the Apperly clinic and the doc is called Dr Diggory.

This week has been an odd one, after recovering from flu I then had a stomach bug! Now completely well and have treated myself to a size 16 jumper, in the new 60's style. It is stretchy material but it wouldn't have fitted on my shoulders 2 months ago. So the tummy bug may of helped :eek: .

I have also upped my walking as well, mind you it's bit like the old saying 'learning to run before you can walk!' I haven't done much exercise for years due to wibbly joints and I have managed to damage my ankle. But, I am just as smug because I walked for over a mile! Just need to give my ankle some tlc.

It is amazing what the lapband does actually give you. It's not just about losing weight it is giving you back control. You are now in the driving seat and psychologically it is better than a huge box of roses or ahem sex :biggrin1: .

As you may have gathered I am having a REALLY good day! I'm not even out of my PJs yet, being lazy. Although I have to do a serious shopping trip to do, I forgot my sisters birthday. My nephew left a message on my answering machine, he could have warned me earlier!!!

So I better get my butt into gear and get out of my cosy PJs

aaaaaaah now - nearly 2 years ago when I first researched the possibility of doing this I got in touch with Nurse Diggory! but she honestly gave me to believe that I needed to be well over my weight to be considered for the op, at that time I was about 15 1/2 stone. Telford was also a bit too far away for me and it wasn't practicable. It wasn't till I watched Ann Diamond on fit club and notched her problems with the band that I thought I'd had a lucky escape not having it done.. then a few months ago I saw her again with the weight loss etc .. and here I am : a slave to bloomin celebrity!

Anyway I need to go and do something - well done on your size 16 status - I haven't seen that for a long time, keep having a good day and thanks for your support!

I know the only reason I had a chance at having the lapband was by having a BMI of 40 or above. It's a pity I didn't even consider the NHS route, may of saved me some money :eek:

I must admit I was shocked when I was bang on 40. I even checked myself and I couldn't ignore the numbers. That is the point when you are 'clinically' obese. It was a shock I can tell you.

As for Ann Diamond, I have mixed feelings about her. If you read her story about her lapband disaster in Belgium it showed that she hadn't done any research and just toook the recommendation of a friend. From teh very beginning Iw ould have been very suspicious as she had no pre-op preparations, it was an in and out scenario.

The story came out just as I was going for my op, some women who were booked in the same time as me cancelled because of it. They really did miss out, the service was superb and it was more like a holiday than a hospital stay.

Anne was lucky she was a celebrity and the hospital group needed some good press, their rep is somewhat questionable. I have no doubt if things had continued the way they had for Anne, her own Dr would have stepped in and we would never of heard anything about it!

So I'm not a fan of Anne. Sorry she really does irk me, but I shall shut up now.