Personal story till surgery
I have had problems with weight since I was 9 years old. There is a history of weight problems in my family and I was to be no exception.

Your diet experiences
My mother first put me on Weight-Watchers when she discovered I was at least 2 stone heavier than the rest of my classmates. For the next 30 plus years I have yo-yo dieted always managing to loose weight, and always putting what I have lost (plus more) back on. I have tried every type of programme and diet available including, Sure Slim, Jenny Graig, Nutri-System and slimming clubs. I have cut calories, fat, carbs. I have tried Hypnosis, and Acu-puncture. I even succumbed to prescription drugs like Xenecol, and slimming pills. But nothing has worked permanently. I have had periods of fairly normal weight (never at my so called target) but over the past 5/6 years things seemed to get out of control. By early 2005 I had more or less given up. I no longer felt that I had the will power to diet and even at my heaviest weight, 17 stone told myself I did not care. However in October I was doing some Internet research for work, and once again found myself searching the net for new miracle slimming products. I found some sites about developments in surgical procedures for obesity. Until this time I had always imagined any such procedures to be drastic and life threatening, involving the wiring of teeth or the removal of stomachs. I was surprised, and started to see a glimmer of hope for myself. Further research brought me to the website of EOC. By then I knew that a gastric band would be appropriate for me and my particular eating patterns. And I knew that I wanted to have it done by an expert. Surgery in Britain was not an option, UK surgeons I discovered are fairly new to this type of procedure and I heard horror stories of complications. Also the cost was prohibitive. I therefore opted to have my surgery carried out by Dr Dillemans in Bruges.

The surgery
My surgery was booked for 13 th Jan 06. One week prior to surgery I put myself of a low fat/carb eating plan to prepare myself for whatever lay ahead. I travelled to Bruges the day before Surgery, all arrangements had been made by EOC who had been efficient and professional and had left me feeling that I was in very safe hands. Once in Bruges I had all the pre-surgery tests and consultation with Dr Dillemans, all went very smoothly and I was scheduled for surgery on the following morning. I don't think it really hit me what I was doing until I lay in the pre-op area waiting to be taken into theatre. Then I felt a mixture of fear, relief and excitement. Perhaps finally my weight problems would be over, and also a realisation of the huge event that I was about to undergo and what it would mean in terms of lifestyle change. All I remember after surgery was feeling dazed and dis-orientated. My throat was sore and I had a job to move, as my stomach was very tender. Dr Dillemans came to see me to tell me surgery had gone very well and he was pleased with the outcome. By next morning I was able to sit up and move about slowly. I had met a number of other British patients the day before and there was quiet a celebratory feeling as we swapped surgery stories. I was discharged the same day and spent a further 48 hours recovering in Bruges. Upon leaving Bruges I returned home to London, and have spent a further 10 days recovering at home. I could have gone back to work after one week, but decided to take things easy and come to terms with the huge emotional and lifestyle changes that were taking place.

Results after 1 month - 3 months
My thoughts post surgery are extremely positive. The procedure was actually more involved and uncomfortable than I had anticipated, but this has been important to me as it has emphasised the seriousness of what I have done, and how I need to make it work for me (it is not a magical cure, that can wipe out 30 years of diet hell). I am currently on the puree stage of my eating plan, and am surprised to find that I am not hungry at all after a very small meal. Whilst I crave some texture in my food I realise that it is only for a further 4 weeks, and then I can start to re-introduce ordinary food. My family have been very supportive, and my husband has started the Cambridge diet in-order that I don't have to cook family meals for the moment. My friends are a different matter, as it suited them to have a 'fat friend', and I think it is going to take some time for them to get used to the more restrained/moderate me. In summary I am delighted with my surgery and particularly the ease at which it was carried out, from deciding to go ahead to having the procedure took 3 weeks and during that time EOC were in constant contact reassuring me when I got the wobbles, and being particularly warm and supportive in Bruges at a time when I felt very frightened and vulnerable.

Would you do it over again?
I am determined to be realistic about my future weight loss, in the past I have only been happy if I have lost a lot of weight very quickly. With the gastric band I will be content to loose weight slowly over a long period, as I know this time it will never go back on.