Has anybody had, or know anybody who has had, a Gastric Band fitted?

[dalek]

Just wondering? Was watching this morning yesterday and Fern looks fab - wondering whether real people had this done or not?

Yes, i have a relative who has had this done. It is still unusual but people do have it.

How is she? Was she able to stabilise her weight?

Hi
I had a band fitted, self funded, 4 1/2 yrs ago when my dd was a few months old, am diabetic and older so desperate to stay well. Was a complete disaster for me. You need to make sure all avenues tried(which I had done) BUT the most important thing is that you get the right op. I have spent the first few yrs of my childs life unable to eat a meal without vomiting, when I finally had the band emptied my dd would sit and watch me eat!!!! Please feel free to contact me privately if I can help or go to www.wlsinfo.org.uk, join and really do your research....... its not the easy option by any stretch....( mind you I had done all that and still picked wrong op )

Hi Pipme

Thank you for your post - I have lots of questions.

Firstly are you ok - you said it was a complete disaster for you - hope you are well now.

Did you get a GP referral? Did you go on somebody elses's recommendation? Did you have the op in the UK or did you go abroad?

How overweight were you?

How much did it cost?

How long did recovery take? Do you have scarring?

Did you tell anyone? Did anybody try to dissuade you?

Was the vomitting due to overeating?

Has it affected your DD's relationship with food or her body image? Was she worried that you were ill when you were vomitting?

Re the diabetes, how is your weight and health now?

Have your teeth been ruined by all the vomitting?

I have struggled with my weight most of my life, did lighterlife but have regained most of the weight (not blaming lighterlife - it does what is says but is SO difficult to maintain), tried hypnotheraphy, Paul Mckenna, Cambridge diet - you name it - I own more diet books than waterstones.

Thank you for offering to answer my questions.

Hi Dalek

Now thats what I call a list of questions

I am ok ish but am waiting for revision surgery to bypass.....long and boring story!

I had to go private at that time as the band was not available on nhs in my area so my gp referred me to surgeon. I did not consider surgery abroad as was too scared but would do so now as some very reputable ones with follow up lnks in uk.

My bmi was about 43 at that point, it cost £7600 for complete 2 yr package. I was in over night and very uncomfortable for a week but then ok.Minimal scarring as laproscopic surgery.

My close friends and mum knew but did not tell anyone else at the time although others have been told over the years.No one really tried to dissuade me cos of the diabetes.

Have to go, will answer others later :-) Can you cat?

xx

pipme, glad you are feeling somewhat better - despite your band being a disaster, did you lose any weight?

Hi James. I had one fitted last september. I have lost 5 stones and have another 3 to go. It has been fantastic.

I will try to answer youe questions.

1. Wnt to my GP for advice. It is available on the NHS in my area but I would have had to wait years for the op so ended up going with The Hospital Group.

2.8 stones overweight, BMI 41

1. £5000. plus 4 fills at £100 each

4.Drove home (250 miles) next day. Back to work 14 days later. Scarring...5 tiny dots/slits on my tummy

5.Told no-one until weight loss became really obvious. Then came out and told everyone. Everyone very supportive and in awe and curious.

6.Vomitted about 4 times in the past eight months. Literally, one mouthfull.....more like an expulsive burp. Us bandits call it 'productive burping' and is caused by eating too quickly. So eat slowly.

It has been brilliant for me and I haven't looked back. Please go on UKGastricband.co.uk and you will find lots of info. You can contact me from that site, I am called Pacific on there too.

OOps, sorry, just realised that Dalek was the OP and I replied to James

That's okay, I enjoyed reading your account too! Glad to hear it's worked out for you. Shame it's just such expensive surgery.

I'm desperate to lose weight but I just have no money at all and my credit rating is rubbish so I can't lend any either, it's just impossible. I feel like I'm going to be trapped in this fat sugar-addicted body forever. I just don't have the willpower to lose 11+ stones on my own.

James, you could investgate the Belgian surgeons. They are very reputable. I have had my aftercare by Dr Chris Debrunne and have no reservations. Also, go to your GP. There are more and more areas doing this on the NHS and if you need to lose 11 stones you will definitely fit the NHS criteria.

Hi Pacific

Glad to hear it all went well for you, sounds similar to my friend who had it done the same time as me. I lost 4 stone but have put 3 back on. As for the vomiting, unfortunately my restriction has been very difficult to get right and have been times when could not swallow saliva without vomiting. I have to say that my gut instinct is that there is something wrong with the band position as original surgery complicated by bleeding. My port has also migrated so can not have fills. It will be interesting to hear what they find when they have a look( if they tell me).The thing is I should have had the bypass in the beginning, I have extreme insulin resistance and even on very low cals do not lose a normal amount which is why dalek, you need to think carefully about your individual health etc before making the decision. xx

btw, teeth ok for a nag of my age :-) As for overeating, god, chance would have been a fine thing, lived on sips of fluid, soups and crackers!

Thanks for all of your replies everyone - i will have a look at the websites mentioned. Had a horrible day today trying on dresses that are either too small or look incredibly voluminous for a do tomorrow - how did I et myself get like this? I worked so hard to lose the weight on Lighterlife and have tried every (quick fix - maybe that's the problem) diet going and I'm still round and fat!

Good luck with whatever you decide x

Dalek. I hope you enjoy your 'do' today. I lost a huge amount of weight on Lipotrim which is similar to lighterlife and put it all back on just as quickly. That's when I decided to go for the band.

As I said, it has worked brilliantly for me. You do have to work with it and one of the hardest things is never being able to eat a normal meal. I dread eating out because it takes me an hour to eat a small starter.

Visiting my parents is also a problem because my mum has to feed everyone huge portions and gets upset if you leave the table without being absolutely stuffed. (Guess where my problems came from?) Eating at work is a problem because I often only get 15 minutes for lunch which is barely enough time to eat a biscuit. But I knew without any shadow of a doubt that I would accept all that in order to lose weight.

Please contact me from the site mentioned above. I will quite happily chat to you further.

I got the band in 5 years ago and lost 6 stone within a year. I soon got tired of the permanent diet I was on and began to get all the old cravings back. I stupidly began to overeat, make myself sick, overeat more, get sick again etc. I did this for a few months, then the band shifted position. Within a few days I couldn't hold down anything, even water, and I got seriously dehydrated. I was terrified. I had to have emergency surgery (more money). I was given the option of having the band re-positioned or taken out. I chose to take it out as I got the fright of my life.

The band works for some people, Fern Britton being the best example, but it doesn't work for everyone.

The main problem I have with it is this:

It fixes the physical but it does nothing to address the emotional reasons of why you overeat. You won't feel hungry, but how many seriously overweight people can say they only ever eat when they are hungry ?????? Very few.

I wish I had known this before I had the surgery. I could have had counselling to help stop me drifting into binge mode once my cravings returned.

I'll never know if my band shifted due to my own actions (I didn't tell the Surgeon the full extent of what I did), but he did say a certain % of people need corrective surgery to have the band re-positioned after a couple of years, so its not uncommon.

If you have a compulsive eating disorder, don't underestimate what it will take to overcome it, its a compulsion after all, and only fixing the physical is not the only answer to such a complex problem.

Fern Britton has had the best of advice and obviously she has the resources to get all emotional help/counselling she needs. But she has said her weight loss has not made her happy - thats very telling, and it ties in with my own experiences.

Anyway, good luck to anyone thinking of going down this route. I would not like to put you off, but do plenty of research and go into it with your eyes open, and ask lots of questions!

showmeheaven has touched on what I dont understand about gastric banding.

I overeat from a deep and horrible compulsion to fill my empty void (not hunger)with food . I am the origingal comfort eater.

if I got a band I could not physically eat all that food .

But would the desire not still be there?

In fact how is gastric banding any different from having your jaws wired together? (which has completely fallen out of favour - not heard about it in years)

Please can someone answer this?

Yes bigted, that was my problem. After getting the band I couldn't physically eat all the food, so I would eat a huge meal (with several trips to the bathroom to vomit it up) come back and keep eating! Just like a bulimic, i suppose.

I could never be bulimic before I had the band because my stomach was so stretched, I suppose, but once I had the band, it was easy. I only had to flex a few stomach muscels and I would be sick. But I had dire consequences, as described in my last post.

Oh, I forgot to say, the desire to eat did go away for many months - I was thrilled with my new body, buying nice clothes, getting great comments etc. BUT after about 9 months the old feelings came back and once I discovered how I could eat what I liked (and not re-gain the weight) the desire to binge eat came back with a vengence. It was a terrible downwards spiral for me from then on until I got the band out.

showmeheaven thanks for that.

That is just what I thought. SO how does banding ever work for some people?

And more interestingly , what do you think is behind the desire to binge eat?
It can disappear for months for me then BANG it's back with no warning. It is a real problem for me

Reading this thread with interest as it is something I am seriously considering asking the doctor. I have over 11 stone to lose.
(Hi James )

Oh bigted, I wish I knew. Five years later I'm back to where I started still looking for a way to overcome my problems with overeating.

I've tried every diet/programme going and none of them have ever worked for me. I'm over 16 stone now and I feel its now or never.

I've made an appointment with a Motivation Weightloss Clinic for next Monday. Its a 20-week programme and its not cheap, but I have heard great things about it.

Its done on a 1 to 1 basis, they do you up an individual programme, get to the root cause of your overeating etc. I spoke to a lady on the phone and told them I am a desperate case and I need their most experienced counsellor!!! The lady was really nice and told me they will be able to help me, so I feel very positive.

I will certainly let you know how I get on. In the meantime I am very busy eating all around me until next Monday

showmeheaven please do report back.I have not heard of that.

I have even thought I would not mind being a bit fat so long as the compusion to binge would just go.

I can be really out of control around food

I live in Dublin but I'm sure Motivation have clinics in the UK. I got all the information on Rollercoaster, the Irish version of Mumsnet, amazing weight loss stories - here is the link:

www.rollercoaster.ie/boards/mc.asp?ID=102506&G=59&forumdb=5

Btw, I'm "Cira" on Rollercoaster!

thanks for this SMH I will watch with interest