Hi Everyone

I had my band fitted in Birmingham on the 7th Feb 07

I have been receiving my aftercare at Manchester and have found that there has been no group support as they promised prior to the surgery.

I have seen the dietician twice and really found her little help.

I have not had a fill as yet and feel that I have no restriction. I have been on a conference today and have eaten as I did previously without exception. I am really struggling to revert to my old eating habits and feel thta all the great work that I have achieved in the past coulpe of months as the scales are slowly going back up.

Has anyone else had the same experience with the Hospital Group or is it just me that feels like they have had my money and now they are not interested?

Thinking that I may go on the Cambridge diet as a form of damage limitation prior to me getting my fill.

[Agreed.

Banded in September 2006 with hospital group and have only lost 10Ibs. Had two fills and after that I have to pay. So I am trying to do it without having another fill. Might join Weight Watchers.

Also like you they said that they had a support group in my area but when it came to the crunch I had to travel one hour away to get to a support group. I needed a local support group so If I had known that then I would had chosen a different consultant/ hospital. Looking on the bright side I have dropped two dress sizes and have not put any weight on. I would probably be another stone heavier if I had not had the operation.

Good luck, speak again

Labradoodle

quote=ukangel;453743]Hi Everyone

I had my band fitted in Birmingham on the 7th Feb 07

I have been receiving my aftercare at Manchester and have found that there has been no group support as they promised prior to the surgery.

I have seen the dietician twice and really found her little help.

I have not had a fill as yet and feel that I have no restriction. I have been on a conference today and have eaten as I did previously without exception. I am really struggling to revert to my old eating habits and feel thta all the great work that I have achieved in the past coulpe of months as the scales are slowly going back up.

Has anyone else had the same experience with the Hospital Group or is it just me that feels like they have had my money and now they are not interested?

Thinking that I may go on the Cambridge diet as a form of damage limitation prior to me getting my fill.

I called the Hopsital Group about 2 weeks ago when I was really down about my weight loss and had a right go at the lady on the end of the phone saying that I paid all this money for the op and I was given misleading information i.e. the fact I was told that there would be support groups etc and I was also told that a fitness adviser would contact me to give me advice if I needed it. The lady was very apologetic and said that they are reinstating the groups and a fitness adviser called me up that night so it made me a little happier.

I am glad you have had a good response. In the north there seems to be no movement with a support group.

It was one of the main reasons that I went with the company was the lady that I met as the advisor. She was called JUdy and she had had the surgery herself and she met people individually and grouped people together if you wanted.

I am so fed up with the service that I have received from the Hospital group that I am writing a formal complaint although I know that i will not be the first they have received it may get some action! I wish I would have found this web site before the surgery and then I may have researched the Hospital Group a little more!

On the up side I have had my first fill and it has given me some good restriction. Praise the Lord something is going right for a change!

hi i had my op april 06, ive lost 4 stone now and at my goal, i was shocked to find out that after 2 fills u have to pay for them, costing £100 each time, paying nearly £8,000 FOR AN OP THEN PAYING FOR A FILL I THINK IS TERRIBLE,AS FOR THG GETTIN IN TOUCH WIV ME IT WAS VERY RARELY THEY DID...

I know

All the blurb they spout to get you to sign up with them and then its bye bye once they receive your cash.

I am so disappointed. Well done you for loosing your weight. Obviously the band has worked really well for you even without the support from the Hospital group. Well done.

To be honest if I had to do it again I would prob go with BUPA as their package is cheaper and they do unlimited fills which are worth their weight in gold! The only reason I went with the HG is because they are well known and I wanted Dr Somers who is meant to be the best in the UK and I had a fantastic experience with him.

hi everybody don't despair i had my opp in Manchester with Mr Basil Ammori, great fellow and i paid 7,200 with 3 fills included. I hated my band at first because i could eat and drink everything even after 2 fills of a total of 5ccs. My brother who had it done in Belgium however was doing great 10 stone in 12 months on 1 fill, just had my 3rd fill and wow its everything i was hoping for 7lds in 7 days and full when i look at food i only had 1cc added and it found my sweet spot started at 323lbs 280lbs now was banded January 12th 2007 . So stay with it you just need to find your sweet spot, pay for fills if you have to.

Hi there

I had my surgery in Nov 2006.

To date I have lost nearly 4 stones and want to lose 2 more to reach my goal weight.

I have lost this weight with the band and after having 3 fills.

I have lost this weight through reduction of food portions,exercising like a fool and with the support of a fellow bandster.

The band as we are told is a tool and not a magic wand(more's the pity).

As for the Hospital Group they are a business first and foremost.

My experience with them like many other people has not been too positive.

I have found them to be uncaring and negligent and I dearly wish I had used another party but I was desperate and I fell for their hype and I did not do enough research/shopping around.

The great thing though is that we have the support and knowledge of others who have had this surgery and are successful on this forum and that for me is invaluable.

We all want to lose this excess weight to become slim, healthy and HAPPY so we have to do our best with what we have.

I have promised myself that this is my last diet EVER and that is why I am giving this my best shot.

Believe me when you have the right restriction with your band the whole weightloss thing becomes so much easier.

I wish you all the v.best and know you can be successful.

hi - I am also with hospital group - absolute waste of time - i was given a support number by a lovely lady when i first joined up - and he#ave tried contacting her loads of time - to no avail. when i call the hospital group head office everything takes so long or they just forget! My band was fitted march and I started off well, but with no restriction i just went back to my old ways and worse (disillusion set in) Eventually i got a fill date in sheffield, but when i turned up (100 m round trip) they discovered the port was flipped - so I have just come back from another op to reposition it, (that took about 6 weeks to organise) now i have to wait again for a fill.......... aaagghhh .. i daren't think of the money, but just pray when i eventually get the 'fill' things will speed up. In meantime i have joined slimming world and am doing quite well!!

I know it is so frustrating..... I have also joined slimming world too!!! and have been doing really well until last night when I gained a pound!!!!

I have had another fill and the restriction is good but I am wondering if it is too tight. I can not get anything down until late afternoon. I have given up even contacting the Hospital Group for advice and use this site as my sounding board.

I have made a formal complaint to the Hospital Group and have written all my complaints down in a letter and have not heard anything as yet. I have also sent a copy letter to my surgeon and the Healthcare Commission.

I await their response!

Well after 8 weeks I have received a response from the Hospital Group with my complaint! They had no answers to my complaints and said that they have decided to stop support groups and advisors as they found clients did not find them beneficial!!!!!

Are they for real! That is what I paid the extra for.

Its a good job that I found this site or I would have gone completely mad!

The hospital group did not have any support to start of with its all about the ££££££££ with them i would stay well away.

to late for me

Finally I have a response to my complaint to the hospital Group....I quote....

"The North of England is not to have a replacement advisor as there are two other ones to cover from the rest of the country!"

"The Hospital Group reconsidered the use of Obesity Surgery Support Meetings and felt that patients respond better to individually tailored support from a dietician whether face to face or over the phone. Therefore we disbanded the group."

"The letter ended that he was sorry to hear that they had not met my expectations. They treat a large number of patients and the majority go on to recommend the service to other patients. It is always regretful when he hears of someone's disapointment."

I have yet to meet or talk to anyone who has something to is happy to recommend the Hospital Group

that makes two of us

I am doing a complaint letter to Dolan Park today as I have had enough!!!!! My weight has pretty much not moved for a while and I have called for a fill only to be told that there is only 1 lady in the whole of London that does the fills and she only does 1 day a week!! I can't get in for a fill until the middle of November. I let rip at the lady on the phone today to say that in the marketing material they sent me it said that the reason to choose The HG was because they offer a better service than their competitors i.e. we can have fills as and when we need them (we have to pay of course!) and the support groups which have never happened since I had my op in Jan. Will let you know how I get on.

Rant over!!