A thread for those of us banded at DCH by Mr Leeder.

I was banded there and have now lost 110 pounds in eight months. I had excellent care from the whole team and everything has turned out well for me. The support is great from the whole bariatric team.

How did you get on?

What are your experiences?

How much have you lost?

Have you been to a support meeting?

Are you going to be banded there? How are you feeling about it?

Hi there.. I was banded by Mr Leeder just two days ago... I was on ward 311 and I had fantastic care. I am thrilled he was able to do it this time around because the first time Professor Larvin couldn't do it, my liver was still too big and my liver is predominately on my left side where everyone elses is on their right side :wub:

Mr Leeder had allowed extra time for me so he could take it slowly he said... he also said it was still difficult to do because of the location of my liver. But I was so happy to hear those words when I came round... The operation went well... this time... PHEW! I have had the best care ever thank god for the NHS.

I'm really pleased all went well for you. You now have such a lot to look forward to. The team there are planning to expand their services to include gastic bypass as well as band. I would encourage you to go to one of their support meetings if you can. Very friendly and informative.

Good luck to you.

Thank you so much Steve... would you mind if I lean on you for some support hun?... if not I understand totally... I just don't know of anyone else who has had the same surgeon as me. Helen.

Bit about me... I am happily married to an American and I have two children a son and daughter and a cat lol... I am 45 and hopefully embarking on a new life.

Thank you so much Steve... would you mind if I lean on you for some support hun?... if not I understand totally... I just don't know of anyone else who has had the same surgeon as me. Helen.

Bit about me... I am happily married to an American and I have two children a son and daughter and a cat lol... I am 45 and hopefully embarking on a new life.

I'd love to offer support. Ask anything you like.

You can find out about me by viewing my website http://www.milward.org.uk, or visit my blog (address in the signature below), or view some images at www.flickr.com/photos/milward

I'm married to the wonderful Denise, have a daughter Jennifer and 9 cats (utter madness).

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thank you Steve X I am taking each day at a time... I am having liquids only but finding it a struggle to get it all in so I don't force it. I am so far having strained thin Soups and Protein shakes and Vitamins and Biotin for the hair. I bought cod liver oil with added vitamins and bleurgh spit spit.... never touching that hideous stuff ever again.

Tomorrow I am making home made soups that I can thin out because tinned Soup is beginning to all taste the same now.... have been on ww soup for almost 6 weeks now, pre op.

Hi, I remember that stage. Soup. More soup.

I had a wide variety of soups, some home made. I loved the lentil soup - still do. When you do try solids, remember to chew, chew and chew again. All this will pay off in the end.

I've got my first appointment at Derby next Monday, I'm soooo excited !!!

I've got the book (questionnaire) to fill in before then, as I glanced through I started looking for where I had to fill in the weight of my daily poop lol

What kind of things can I expect on Monday & how long am I likely to be there?

I've also got a qualm about my type 2 diabetes & insulin post op - I've posted a question about it on the Diabetics Board, if anyone would like to have a look & give me some advice.

I have to say, everything I've read so far about Mr Leeder & his team & the level of care at Derby has been so positive & I even find that nothing is too much trouble for the receptionists when I've had to phone. Even if I was told I could go to closer hossie now I don't think I'd want to.

I was banded at derby 30th may 08, good luck for mon

Ann x

What kind of things can I expect on Monday & how long am I likely to be there?

Hi there,

When you go for your first appointment, you will probably see the lead bariatric nurse, Kay Cresswell and the dietician, Lindsay. They will go through the procedure with you and give you lots of information, especially about post-op. You may also see Mr Leeder. When I went, I didn't see him because he was doing other things, but he did phone me the next day and we had a long detailed chat about the operation and what it entailed. I don't remember having any tests done at that visit. I was almost certainly weighed.

This visit is to decide whether you are a candidate for the operation, so it is very important. My visit lasted maybe an hour or so. If you are accepted, there is a five to six month waiting list for the operation itself. Then you have a pre-op visit, about two weeks before the operation. Various tests are done at that visit, including blood tests and an ECG. I saw the anethetist then as well.

Everyone is very friendly and supportive. Perhaps you would like to make a note of any questions that you may want to ask them whilst you are there.

Good luck for Monday and let us know how you get on. Just a thought - parking is usually OK at the Royal and the City hospitals in Derby, but best to give yourself plenty of time. Lots of new building work going on at the City.

Thanks for the info Steve.

My friend was going to take me in car, but it's fallen wrong for his work so I'm going back to plan A & gonna travel on the train cos it's pretty easy from here & I know the train station is not far from the hossie.

My GP had to send pre-op blood test results (that's what it said on my blood test form) with the referral.

The twice I've phoned the hossie everyone in the bariatric department has been so helpful, every single one of them making me feel like an individual & that they have time for me. On the last call Judy Hand, the appointments clerk, told me the waiting list has been drastically reduced, they now have another consultant in to help with that. Waiting times can be as little as 3 months.

I've got a couple of questions, mainly about diabetes & insulin. I'll write them down - good idea Steve, ty.

I can't wait !!!!! :thumbup:

On Monday I had my initial appointment at Derby Royal Infirmary. I saw the new guy on the team Mr (Dr?) Ahmed. Very nice bloke. If anyone's expecting to see him have no qualms whatsoever, he's lovely.

I felt that my appointment went well. They have a case conference after the day's appointments & let you know if they're accepting you for surgery in about 4 weeks' time. The nurse said that she couldn't see any reason why I'd be turned down & she thinks I'd benefit from it.

I was so relaxed, not at all nervous. I've researched the band very well, I know all about pre & post-op diets & what my life & my eating habits need to be like after the op. I'd looked at gastric bypass, just basically to see what it was, but considered it far too drastic for me & dismissed the idea. One thing I like about the band is that it IS fully adjustable & in extreme circumstances also completely reversible. I'm not viewing it as reversible, but I know the safety net is there. Obviously this is not the case with the gastric bypass.

Now this is where I need advice. Mr Ahmed recommended the bypass rather than the band for me. His reason for this is because of the basically amazing results for diabetics. Although a band would help my diabetes because any weight loss helps, there are frankly astounding results with bypasses. I read one study last night involving over 22,000 patients (so not just a paltry 100) & 84% either had their diabetes totally reversed & went home after THREE DAYS on either no medication or very little. I don't feel that I can ignore such statistics, so now I'm in such turmoil. I felt comfortable enough to be able to tell him the thought of the bypass op terrifies me but I will go home & research it much more fully.

The way Mr Ahmed left it with me is that he's going to recommend to the rest of the team that I am put on the band waiting list, but if I feel I want to transfer to the bypass one I can do that. I can also make another appointment with him to discuss it further if I want to.

I thought I was so confident in my decisions, but now I am not. With all the reading I did in relation to the bypass & diabetes by midnight on Monday I was convinced I wanted a bypass. My next big read has to be diet & eating habits post-op for bypass, I've not read much on that.

I'd love to hear any information anyone has on any of the subjects I've mentioned & any advice is very, very welcome. I'd particularly like to hear from anyone who's had a gastric bypass or knows anyone who has.

hi whooossssss

I cant give any advice on the bypass, pleased they didnt offer me that. as told them point blank that i didnt want a bypass. they told me i wasnt big enough for that. @ 21 stone.

yes dr ahmed is good he did my op in the end instead of dr leeder. so I didnt actually meet him till morn of my op.

the only problem i have now is a fliped port so may need it stitch back in place. if its not stayed where it should be, when i went for a fill the nurse moved it back. hope its stayed in place. find out in sept.

hope you dont have to wait too long . I actually never heard anything that was having it done until 4 weeks before the day of op. good for me as born worrier. lol

Ann xx

Hi there,

Derby are only just starting to do gastric bypass operations. I too have heard of dramatic results re. diabetes with the bypass, particularly on the 'Fat Doctor' and 'Family Fat Doctor' TV programmes. I've also heard of it with the band, but the results are not as quick.

As for band v. bypass, that can only be your decision after taking advice. I thought that bypass was really designed for people with extreme obesity. The bypass also implies that it takes choice of what you eat away in that your body will not easily accept some foods. I am not diabetic, so I don't know the emotional aspect of having diabetes personally. That may be a factor for you, I don't know. You are clearly doing your research and I hope that people come forward with their experiences.

Oooh Ann, you just made me feel so good that your op was performed by Mr Ahmed :biggrin: You're the first person I've met who has known him. Sorry to hear about your flipped port, I hope it's sorted now.

Steve, Derby haven't started doing bypasses yet. I phoned Kay on Friday to discuss my options & she told me that they are hoping to start doing them in January, but at the moment they send their bypass patients to Leeds. She threw another spanner into my decision works because she told me that with my relatively 'low' BMI of 38.1, Leeds may not accept me for bypass surgery. My weight is 17st 9lb, but my considerations for bypass aren't so much about weight, it's about type 2 diabetes.

Emotionally I cope with diabetes pretty well & manage my blood sugars fairly well too. Kay told me that 48% of type 2 diabetics see a total reversal of their diabetes eventually after a band, due to weight loss alone. This is a great figure, but it's not as good as 84% seeing instantaneous results after bypass.

Friday, Saturday, now Sunday & my sway is towards band again. Monday isn't here yet, I might change my mind again lol

Hi everyone!

Hello to you all, its great to read actual stories of surgery in Derby rather than an advertisement for a consmetic surgery clinic! :biggrin:

Basically, my problem is this. I have a BMI of 39, I weigh in at just over 20 stone and I am miserable as hell. I have tried all sorts of diets over the past years and NOTHING has worked. I am so depressed I then comfort eat which makes things worse! I am so desperate to have this motivation that in say 12 months time I will be well on the way to acheiving my goal of becomming fit and healthy again. I am asthmatic and I know this is enchanced by my weight, I am constantly lathargic and a real misery for my poor husband who I rarely let near me! (although he is wonderful and adores me as I am- he too knows how much my size is getting me down.)- I am becomming a recluse. I have joined a gym but i am too ashamed to go :smile:

I feel like I am dying, that I am killing myself with food. I have read and read about gastric bands and feel so much that this is what will basically save my life.

But can I go to my doc and ask for this?? Whill he/she laugh at me or just say no?- I cant afford to go privately, and I have bad credit so I cant get finance. Its on my mind every day, and I am not feeling brave enough to go and talk to the doc due to fears of being rejected, which I know would really make it worse.

Can anyone tell me if they were referred to have NHS treatment by a doc in Derby? I would love to know how it went , then this may take away some of my worries.

Thankyou

Anna xxxxx