Gastric Band inserted in France on 9 October 2015 - what should I expect?

Signs and symptoms
1

Hi interested in a discussion here...

Has anyone else gone abroad and private for the procedure?

I decided to have a gastric band inserted as I have a BMI of a tad under 40 and have had for many years. The NHS were not interested, In my part of GB the NHS will only help if you have a BMI of over 60. 

So, after considerable research I opted for a private operation and to some money I went to France and had the procedure done there - but still had to find £3,300. 

If you have to go private I would recommend this route and happy to pass details of the company and process to anyone. It took a few days this way - day one travel to France, have consultation and blood tests, day two spend free, day three operation and overnight in hospital, day four discharged and sent back to hotel, day five final meeting with doctor and then back home.

I have started my liquid diet. So far, I have lots of wind,am a bit tender, but not much hunger yet. Will be taking multi-vitamin supplements, particularly iron and living off soup and yoghurt for the next three or four weeks.

When I went in to hospital I was 121KG (19 stone), I shall be interested and hopeful to see how I progress.

One startling stastic the consultant told me - five year failure rate is 85%!

Fingers crossed that I shall be one of the lucky 15!

 

2

I'm really interested in were ur aftercare takes place after travelling so far for procedure.. Well done but I only needed to stay on liquids for 2 wks and soft sloppy food for nxt 2 wks. I've 18 lbs off in 10 wks..Good luck

3

The French company has an arrangement with a Birmingham clinic (which is local for me, they have others) clinic - who I visit after six weeks for check up and fill. If I need further surgery then, yes, I have to return to France - but there is no additional charge. (Other than travel). This may result in additional cost, but the difference between UK and France costs was so significant that I felt this was a risk worth taking. The French team were excellent, they provided me with a list of about 100 previous UK customers and telephone numbers for me to reference check them, I called about half of them and gor positive reviews about the company and after care - not all positive about the success of the band itself though!

You are right, of course, 2 weeks liquids, 2 weeks soft food. 

I will be happy with 18lb in 10 weeks!

Keep you / me posted!

Cheers f'now

4

Did u say success rate of band is 85% ? I havn been told anything like thid from the hospital group..Not very positive statistic is it really 😓

5

Alas, I said failure rate of 85%! This from the very surgeon who did the job!

He said the issues were that the band really only works for 2 years, during that time you have to lose your weight and change your lifestlye. Many patients regain all they have lost in year three! Also he said that people cheat the band by having too much sugar and too many high-calorie small snacks (say cheese, for example)

If this happens, he told me, that the only optionis to remove the band, wait three months and then have bypass. 

I think he was trying to give me a kick start with tales of woe!

Needless to say, this was not mentioned before I handed over the cash!

 

6

Why do people regain the weight after the 2 yrs tho ? The band will still b n place and able to have fills

7

According to the doctor, it ceases to be very effective after two years. It has still some effect but less as you cannot refill in perpertuity and valve will eventually let the air out soon after it has been put in, as it starts to disintegrate...

Nothing stands the test of time, it seems

 

8

According to the doctor, it ceases to be very effective after two years. It has still some effect but less as you cannot refill in perpertuity and valve will eventually let the air out soon after it has been put in, as it starts to disintegrate...

Nothing stands the test of time, it seems 

9

I have never been told the band is ineffective after 2 yrs and ive had mine now for over 7 yrs - the window of opportunity for losing wgt is at its highest during the first 2 yrs so poss this is what the surgeon meant and yes you do need to change yr eating habits and lifestyle in order to succeed - the band is not a magic wand - its a tool to aid wgt loss - but it is still possible to keep having fills after those initial 2 yrs and indeed it does lose some of the liquid through natural wastage and requires a top up every so often but most bands last a lot longer than 2 yrs - i have friends who have had theirs for over ten yrs and still doing well - regain can occur with any type of wgt loss surgery and it def does happen - but it is usually the person who is at fault cos they went for the wrong type of wgt loss surgery or they didnt stick to the rules necessary for their particular type of surgery to succeed and complacency can set in over the yrs and it is very easy to slip back into old ways - the band will not stop you from eating the wrong foods - that is something you have to control with your own willpower - and this is why after several yrs their can be regain - i often wish i had a band around m y mouth to control such urges - the band is not filled with air by the way - it is filled with saline - my band was def as effective after 2 yrs as it was when it was new - in fact more so cos when it was new it was hardly operational at all cos i had not reached full restriction till i was almost a yr out - full restriction is reached by a series of small fills - good luck with every thing by the way

10

Hi I am going to France in April for gastric sleeve. X

11

Best of luck to you. I'm now four months down the line. Lost almost 2 Stone so far (was 19) a bit of a roller coaster. Sometimes I just feel the need to eat and so indulge in things I can eat too much.

The France service is very good and much less of a fuss than the uk nhs one seems to be. If you are going ke havre then the hospital, doctors and nurses are very good. The only downside is that I need a saline full every month which is £95 every time and I expect will continue for a year or more, factor that in.

The band experience so so far is mostly positive. I have to avoid bread and meat now and if I eat too quickly the consequences are unpleasant as all who have gone before me will testify.

I aim to lose a further 3 stone by end of 2016 and as I have the band filled more and more so my appetite reduces, so it is well within the realms of possible...

Bon chance

12

Interesting to reread this after a few months. So far you're 100% correct!

13

Hi there, i have just found your information about your gastric band in France.  I hope you are still doing well and the weight is still coming off.  I live in Folkestone so transport to & fro are very easy fo me.  Could you give me the name of the hospital that you had it done in ? and any other information that would be useful ?  My bmi is about 35 so unlikey to get it on the NHS, and the £10k price tag in the uk makes it a non starter here aswell.  Would really appreciate any thoughts.

Many thanks

Sally

 

14

Hi - not sure if my reply made it.

I dealt with Mrs Tullia Law, who spoke perfect English. The operation was done at a French National Health hospital in Le Havre - I had a prvate en-suite room.

I have lost 30K in six months, so gone from 135 to 105 - and while Iam still heavier than I want to be, the difference is amazing (I am 1.85M, early 50s and feel and look better than I have in ages.

The French approach is a little diffterent to the British. I did not have a pre-op diet, I simply arrived in Le Havre on Tuesday, had a check up (bloods etc) on Wednesday, operaion on Thursday, one night in hospital, check up on Friday, follow up on Saurday home that evening.

I meet with a Bariatric Nurse for band fills and general check each Month or as required (note this costs £95 each time).

All in all, a very good and sraightforward process. The hopital was superb, as was the hotel - I even got to enjoy some excellent sea food restaurants before the operation! The nurses were attentive and friendly, the doctor spoke perfect Engiish albeit a little perfuntory in manner

I have had no post-operative issues and while I still make the mistake of eating the wrong food and too quickly sometimes (I have had to more or less give up meet, others I spoke to had to give up bread), I can honestl say that, so far, this was the best investment I have ever made.

Saved £5K+ also smile

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15

Hi im looking to go to france to have a gastric band fitted can you please tell me where you went your review ans how have you been getting on now

16

Hey which hospital in france is this? 

17

It is unlikely that you would need monthly fills for a year unless the fills were miniscule in which case I would be requesting larger fills less frequently because what you have described is going to cost a lot of money and I do not know anyone who has undergone such aftercare.   Most bandsters reach their ultimate level of restriction in  less than 12 fills but if you have been told otherwise it might be an idea to join a forum  or support group such as WLSinfo where you can chat to other people with a band to find out what the norm  is   - most band patients have fills further apart than every month  so it might well take longer to reach restriction– I had 2.5 mls put in a 9 ml band and 4 fills in my first yr with a further 2 fills over the next yr making a total of 6 – you might well need fills for a year but I doubt they would be at mthly intervals for a whole yr – this is quite an old thread so would be good if the original poster came back to let us know how he got on and how the fills went