Bookie
Member
Hi, all members old and new.
I'll try to keep it short, but even so, summing up is probably to take time, so make yourself a cuppa.
Banded in France in June 2013, as my BMI was steadfastly refusing to go over the point at which NHS would fund.
It all went wonderfully, weight was coming down steadily but firmly, I went from a 26-28 to a firm 18, and I was aiming for a size 16 as my perfect goal (I am very tall!). It was all good.
Unfortunately, I started getting more and more reflux, to the point I got referred for a barium meal, and long story short, it got confirmed that the band had slipped. We then went on the not-so-merry roundabout of deciding what to do next.
I ideally wanted a conversion to bypass done at the same time, but because I got the band done privately in France, they won't do it. They officially use the excuse that it's safer for me to have it done in 2 stages, bt the consultant let is slip that it's against CGC policy to provide funding for conversion ops when you have had the original done abroad, because they're having so many "repairs" surgeries from botched ops abroad. But they won't even put me on waiting list for conversion, oh no: I have to get the band out, then put all the weight back up to the required BMI criteria to trigger an other op, no matter how long this may take or the damage it may cause my body in the meantime. :-(
I was put on waiting list for band removal a few months ago, but in the last couple of months, the reflux has got so bad, I'll spare you the gross details, I finally phoned them the other day, and I was told there were over 200 people on the waiting list (this is St George's Hospital in Tooting) and no date as to when I'd be done. It's only when I explained that absolutely nothing was staying down, and that I was throwing up every night, no matter how early or how little I ate in the day, that someone bumped me up the list. Out of nowhere, the next day, that was last week, they phoned me to get me in for a pre-op assessment this Thursday coming.
At this point, I am unsure how soon I'll get the op, but hopefully not too long after the assessment; No idea how long it's going to take, or how much damage it's going to be, it will depend on how much thickened scar tissue is around the band, how much rummaging they have to do to take it and the port out, whether they need to cut out a lot of tissue, and whether (hopefully not!) there is any necrosis anywhere... all in all, a very uncertain time. :-(
So, that's me: from very happy times, thinking this was the best thing I had ever done, to feeling definitely unhappy at having to go back under the knife.
Then again, I did lose over 5 stone and got 3 years of being very happy with my weight loss... so, I don't know. Basically, I wished this bl**dy band hadn't slipped and that I didn't have to go through all this again.
I'll update this thread after my pre-op assessment.
Wish me luck.
I'll try to keep it short, but even so, summing up is probably to take time, so make yourself a cuppa.
Banded in France in June 2013, as my BMI was steadfastly refusing to go over the point at which NHS would fund.
It all went wonderfully, weight was coming down steadily but firmly, I went from a 26-28 to a firm 18, and I was aiming for a size 16 as my perfect goal (I am very tall!). It was all good.
Unfortunately, I started getting more and more reflux, to the point I got referred for a barium meal, and long story short, it got confirmed that the band had slipped. We then went on the not-so-merry roundabout of deciding what to do next.
I ideally wanted a conversion to bypass done at the same time, but because I got the band done privately in France, they won't do it. They officially use the excuse that it's safer for me to have it done in 2 stages, bt the consultant let is slip that it's against CGC policy to provide funding for conversion ops when you have had the original done abroad, because they're having so many "repairs" surgeries from botched ops abroad. But they won't even put me on waiting list for conversion, oh no: I have to get the band out, then put all the weight back up to the required BMI criteria to trigger an other op, no matter how long this may take or the damage it may cause my body in the meantime. :-(
I was put on waiting list for band removal a few months ago, but in the last couple of months, the reflux has got so bad, I'll spare you the gross details, I finally phoned them the other day, and I was told there were over 200 people on the waiting list (this is St George's Hospital in Tooting) and no date as to when I'd be done. It's only when I explained that absolutely nothing was staying down, and that I was throwing up every night, no matter how early or how little I ate in the day, that someone bumped me up the list. Out of nowhere, the next day, that was last week, they phoned me to get me in for a pre-op assessment this Thursday coming.
At this point, I am unsure how soon I'll get the op, but hopefully not too long after the assessment; No idea how long it's going to take, or how much damage it's going to be, it will depend on how much thickened scar tissue is around the band, how much rummaging they have to do to take it and the port out, whether they need to cut out a lot of tissue, and whether (hopefully not!) there is any necrosis anywhere... all in all, a very uncertain time. :-(
So, that's me: from very happy times, thinking this was the best thing I had ever done, to feeling definitely unhappy at having to go back under the knife.
Then again, I did lose over 5 stone and got 3 years of being very happy with my weight loss... so, I don't know. Basically, I wished this bl**dy band hadn't slipped and that I didn't have to go through all this again.
I'll update this thread after my pre-op assessment.
Wish me luck.
