Hi Everyone,
Just discovered this site as I was searching around the web and thought I would join up and say hello.
My story is (I think!) quite an interesting one, so I thought I'd share it with you, as it might help someone else who is in the position I was in a few years ago.
I had my gastric band op in September 2007. I decided to do it on a whim, as I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and I thought it was going to be my magic solution. We also wanted to start a family, and I knew it wouldn't be easy if I was 8 stone overweight.
I went for the nearest place to me at the time (Tunbridge Wells) and didn't do any other research. Not a good move and not one I would recommend. I never really gelled with the team who did my op, which should have been a sign to look elsewhere, but I just kept going. I was evaluated in April that year, and had the op in September. It is nobody's fault but mine that I jumped in feet first hoping for the best.
About a year later, despite having restriction, I had only lost just over a stone - a very expensive stone at that! I had had a couple of follow up appointments with my surgeon and a dietician, but as I say, it just wasn't working. The surgeon's role was basically completed once the op was, and the dietician (weirdly) just kept telling me to eat custard! As I felt I couldn't talk to the team, I organised, on my own, a massive fill which almost took me to maximum restriction and thought that this should do the trick. I could barely eat anything, and just drinking water was an effort. As an aside, I don't think that the Hospital should have allowed that fill, but they did, and again, it was my choice to have it.
I lost nothing over the following 2 years. I can't begin to tell you how upset I was. :sigh: I was still doing the faddy diets which I'd sworn I'd never do again, exercising daily and stubbornly not shifting a single pound. I didn't think there was anyone I could talk to, and I basically wrote the whole thing off as a failure.:cry:I went back to eating all the things I shouldn't and the only miracle was I didn't put on any weight, probably because I wasn't getting a whole load of food past the band. I was making myself sick up to 10 times a day and had very maladapted eating.
In March 2010, I had a gynae op to remove some cysts and other issues, as we had decided we couldn't wait any longer for me to lose weight, and had decided to try for a family. This was the turning point that I really hadn't expected. Literally a week after the op, the weight started falling off.
I lost over the next 9 months just over 6 stone. It was AMAZING!
I went from a size 22 to a size 8, and by last December, I was positively skinny. My BMI was normal for the first time in my life, and I looked younger than I had for ages - even being asked for ID when I went out!!
Obviously, the hormonal issues caused by my cysts had a massive amount to do with why I wasn't losing weight, and I think that had these been dealt with earlier, maybe I wouldn't even have needed the band.
Regardless, I am where I am, and I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with having a band. Its a great safety harness for when your eating gets out of control. The calorie restriction it gave me explains how I lost the weight so quickly when it started coming off.
I would therefore make the following recommendations to anyone who is thinking of having or recently has had a gastric band fitted;
1. If going private, don't pick a place based on convenience or just cost. You need to work with the whole team to get you where you want to be. You need to have professionals to speak to throughout, and to keep you on the straight and narrow. Make sure that you like all the people you deal with, and remember that you are using their professional expertise to help you lose the weight that you haven't been able to lose on your own.
2. Eat the right food - it sounds silly, but there's no point eating un-nutritious junk once you've had such a major operation. Eat within the rules (proteins, low-carb, lots of water) and treat yourself occasionally. The goal is to eat like someone who is not on a diet, just smaller portions.
3. The band should be your best friend, but cannot be your guardian. The band will stop you from binging, but won't be able to stop you from eating things if you are determined to do so. All of us are here because we do, to some extent, have serious issues with food. Use the band as a tool to help you get to where you want to be, but stay alert and do not let yourself down by cheating!
I hope that this is helpful to someone out there, and I'm looking forward to reading everyone else's stories. I know there are a million versions of my tale, but I just wanted to share this with you, in case it helps a little.
Take care,
Mia
Ps I got to my goal weight in December last year, and have put on quite a bit of weight since then - but it is for the best possible reason - I'm having a baby next month!
Once that's all done and dusted, I'll go and top up my band and hopefully get back down to 9st again.
Just discovered this site as I was searching around the web and thought I would join up and say hello.
My story is (I think!) quite an interesting one, so I thought I'd share it with you, as it might help someone else who is in the position I was in a few years ago.
I had my gastric band op in September 2007. I decided to do it on a whim, as I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and I thought it was going to be my magic solution. We also wanted to start a family, and I knew it wouldn't be easy if I was 8 stone overweight.
I went for the nearest place to me at the time (Tunbridge Wells) and didn't do any other research. Not a good move and not one I would recommend. I never really gelled with the team who did my op, which should have been a sign to look elsewhere, but I just kept going. I was evaluated in April that year, and had the op in September. It is nobody's fault but mine that I jumped in feet first hoping for the best.
About a year later, despite having restriction, I had only lost just over a stone - a very expensive stone at that! I had had a couple of follow up appointments with my surgeon and a dietician, but as I say, it just wasn't working. The surgeon's role was basically completed once the op was, and the dietician (weirdly) just kept telling me to eat custard! As I felt I couldn't talk to the team, I organised, on my own, a massive fill which almost took me to maximum restriction and thought that this should do the trick. I could barely eat anything, and just drinking water was an effort. As an aside, I don't think that the Hospital should have allowed that fill, but they did, and again, it was my choice to have it.
I lost nothing over the following 2 years. I can't begin to tell you how upset I was. :sigh: I was still doing the faddy diets which I'd sworn I'd never do again, exercising daily and stubbornly not shifting a single pound. I didn't think there was anyone I could talk to, and I basically wrote the whole thing off as a failure.:cry:I went back to eating all the things I shouldn't and the only miracle was I didn't put on any weight, probably because I wasn't getting a whole load of food past the band. I was making myself sick up to 10 times a day and had very maladapted eating.
In March 2010, I had a gynae op to remove some cysts and other issues, as we had decided we couldn't wait any longer for me to lose weight, and had decided to try for a family. This was the turning point that I really hadn't expected. Literally a week after the op, the weight started falling off.
I lost over the next 9 months just over 6 stone. It was AMAZING!
I went from a size 22 to a size 8, and by last December, I was positively skinny. My BMI was normal for the first time in my life, and I looked younger than I had for ages - even being asked for ID when I went out!!Obviously, the hormonal issues caused by my cysts had a massive amount to do with why I wasn't losing weight, and I think that had these been dealt with earlier, maybe I wouldn't even have needed the band.
Regardless, I am where I am, and I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with having a band. Its a great safety harness for when your eating gets out of control. The calorie restriction it gave me explains how I lost the weight so quickly when it started coming off.
I would therefore make the following recommendations to anyone who is thinking of having or recently has had a gastric band fitted;
1. If going private, don't pick a place based on convenience or just cost. You need to work with the whole team to get you where you want to be. You need to have professionals to speak to throughout, and to keep you on the straight and narrow. Make sure that you like all the people you deal with, and remember that you are using their professional expertise to help you lose the weight that you haven't been able to lose on your own.
2. Eat the right food - it sounds silly, but there's no point eating un-nutritious junk once you've had such a major operation. Eat within the rules (proteins, low-carb, lots of water) and treat yourself occasionally. The goal is to eat like someone who is not on a diet, just smaller portions.
3. The band should be your best friend, but cannot be your guardian. The band will stop you from binging, but won't be able to stop you from eating things if you are determined to do so. All of us are here because we do, to some extent, have serious issues with food. Use the band as a tool to help you get to where you want to be, but stay alert and do not let yourself down by cheating!
I hope that this is helpful to someone out there, and I'm looking forward to reading everyone else's stories. I know there are a million versions of my tale, but I just wanted to share this with you, in case it helps a little.
Take care,
Mia
Ps I got to my goal weight in December last year, and have put on quite a bit of weight since then - but it is for the best possible reason - I'm having a baby next month!
Once that's all done and dusted, I'll go and top up my band and hopefully get back down to 9st again.
