Gastric Balloon

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Cornishgal said:
Hello,
I am really looking for some advise. I am having my balloon fitted on the 11th March. I notice there are a number of mixed opinions on here, which I would expect to see, but one person seems to have had a very bad experience. I am very frightened about having it done but feel I am mentally ready as well as physcially and I have passed all that. I just wanted to get peoples views on the journey and how sucessful the weight loss was after having the balloon out. I notice some people have lost up to 5 stone in the 6 months and thats amazing! I am looking to loss 6stone 10lb to bring me down to my ideal weight, which I know I probably cant do in the six/eight months...But any help or suggestions would be fantastic :)
Thank you lots in advance
Cornishgal x :waving::waving::waving:
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Ive lost 13 pounds in a little over a month, so thats almost a stone. a lot of that was from the liquid diet the first week and all the nausea and vomiting. I think a steady 1-2 pounds per week is achievable. thing is you have to want to work at it, someone can sit there drinking high calorie milkshakes all day then say the balloon didnt work. its very good for making you feel full with little food. also I find its good that I cannot drink pop (makes you way too gassy and you burp all the time) and cannot eat restaurant meals (that was always my downfall when dieting, my willpower could not stop me eating large meals) so those 2 things in itself will help me finally lose the weight.
 
Week 4

Hi quick update i had my 4th weigh in today,all together i have lost 23lb so i am happy with that. Still suffering with sickness though and tried alcohol which didnt go down too well. Keep up the good work everyone.
 
I know a guy who knows a guy that had a sister who got a gastric balloon put inside of her to help her lose weight, but before they did the surgery, the doctor twisted the balloon into the shape of a dinosaur and wished her a happy birthday. I don't think they were doing it right.
 
wow

Hey that's great news! Is that just in four weeks? x



colly777 said:
Hi quick update i had my 4th weigh in today,all together i have lost 23lb so i am happy with that. Still suffering with sickness though and tried alcohol which didnt go down too well. Keep up the good work everyone.
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hiccups are no different than without the balloon, I had them yesterday!!
burps on the other hand are worse with the balloon as there seems to be way more gas in my stomach, and when you burp you get this gross gassy taste in your mouth!! and they can last a while, I never have burped so much!!
 
Can Anyone advise what are the best things to eat throughout this. I do not eat fish or meat. So I feel it's going to be a little hard to find things to eat. Please could someone help, in how to make this a success after the 6-8 months, as there are a few people on here that say it doesn't, which I just don't understand, as surely this can't NOT work?? I am worried as it is costing me alot of money, which I am having to borrow, so this is my last chance.
Thanks in advance :) x
 
I've been told to stick to a minimum of 55grams of protein (will be harder if you don't eat meat), and to be sure that all fruits and veggies are peeled/skinned. I've been told to avoid high gas producing foods like cabbage and broccoli. I've also been told that dairy after the first few days in the form of yogurt especially is great. Supposedly, I should be cutting my meal size at least in half. I also (after the first week) will need to make sure I am getting an absolute minimum of 900 calories per day but less than 1300. I think this will be hard to do if I'm eating so little.
Who knows...I may not even be getting the balloon. If I do, though, I feel very fortunate that all the expenses are being paid by the research company doing the clinical trial. (In fact, they are actually paying me $1400 to be a participant in the study, but I would have done it without payment for sure).
 
Tina -How's it going

I Tina, hope you're still on here after your great success. I am having mine fitted on Weds and I live just along the valley.
Any help would be gratefully received.
D
 
Cornishgal said:
Can Anyone advise what are the best things to eat throughout this. I do not eat fish or meat. So I feel it's going to be a little hard to find things to eat. Please could someone help, in how to make this a success after the 6-8 months, as there are a few people on here that say it doesn't, which I just don't understand, as surely this can't NOT work?? I am worried as it is costing me alot of money, which I am having to borrow, so this is my last chance.
Thanks in advance :) x
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Im a very fussy eater so have been finding it hard what to eat too. honestly im eating more or less the same just about half the portions. Icant drink pop as it makes you burp and gassy and I avoid large restaurant meals as they just come up again, so both those things are helping with the weight loss. Ive lost just over 16 pounds since the beginning of january. I could probably do better if I chose even healthier meals, but Im fussy and dont like salad or veggies. I didnt have a good week this week and ate a lot of fast foods and usually would gain, but I lost almost half a pound. Ive never been able to diet before so the balloon for me is amazing.
 
Will1984 said:
Morning Everyone,

I found this board and thought that I should write and let you all know my experiences of the Gastric Balloon and the worst case scenarios that can happen. When I was 22 I had Gastric Balloon fitted at St.Jans hospital weighing 23stone. A fantastic little place in brugge very high medical care but as so many of you have found very little aftercare. The ballon procedure is to numb the back of your throat and give you a seditive they then slope and endoscopy down your throat to check your stomach and ask you to swallow the balloon down. This is in the least very uncomfortable. After the procedure I waited for 30mins for the aneasthetic to wear off and left to return to England.

On the way home the dreaded pain began. You start vomitting but because your stomach is fairly empty it is just green goo as you havent eaten 12-24 hours before the procedure. 12 hours on because of the level of acid in your stomach and a balloon now being in there you get heart burn. The level of stomach acid is to high and it hurts like buggery. along with the dry wretching.

for the first 4 days you will have a hell off a time but with simple over the counter medicine such as Zantac this can be controlled. Your stomach usualy becomes accustimed rapidly a max of 2 weeks and your not vommiting. For me it was the standard 4 days.

Then the liquid diet starts and you start your normal tasks.

Let me tell you this is the best bit you start loosing weight rapidly. I went to the gym 4 times a week and became healthier fitter and stronger for the first time in my life. I looked great! And boy did people notice. The designer clothes came on and the energy that I had transformed me. Being overweight makes you feel awfull and less outgoing also I found during my various sizes people take you less seriously when you are over weight maybe because you look comical or because they feel that there better because they have the ability to limit there intake. There are many reasons people are overweight but thats another thread......

So 4 months in I had gone from 23stone to 15:10! 6 months 14.5 then I plateued your stomach can handle normal sizes and is used to the balloon and you just dont get the weight loss anymore at this stage.

This balloon was such a radical change in my life that I stupidly kept it in far to long 10 months then the enevitable happened and it slipped into my large intestine. I was admitted and at first the doctors thought I had constipation and kept me in for 12 days whilst I lost a further 2 stone in 12 days! Bloody NHS! They finally conceeded removed the balloon by cutting through my abdomen and stitched me back up.

13 months on I'm back to the same size I was at the beginning (well close).

Heres the kicker I'm off to have a second placed in Prague in a month. It is an amazing piece of kit and the temporary discomfort at the beginning is worth it for the change in your life. But you have to learn about eating from this and healthy exercise you also have to be very strict and dont leave it in to long. When it does come out your stomach is still the stretched over sized stomach it was before the only differance is you havent got a large part of it filled now so you will start eating more but if you strict in this phase your stomach will shrink again to a normal healthy persons size and you've done it. But all of us will have to struggle to watch our food intake for the rest of our lives.

This can help it does help just take my story of how not to do it and learn the lessons of doing it safely. I didnt want to have it removed because it made such a change in my life but it almost cost me my life. This is the only danger with the gastric balloon (well not only but the mayor one) leaving it inserted to long.

Good luck to everybody.
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Did u get your 2nd Balloon fitted yet, how do u feel...
I had my balloon fitted on friday 27th Feb. Feeling bad still :ack2:
xx
 
Hi Shellywelly, how are you feeling nearly a week on. I am having mine fitted this afternoon and would really like to know how you got on in the first week.
Blueiis
 
Im getting excited...

I'm having mine done next Wednesday, does anyone know of what my expectations should be? I'm 17stone and would love to loss as much as possible, has anyone else been about that starting weight? x :auto:
 
New to this

Hi

I have been reading this forum with great intrest over the last few weeks, I had a gastric balloon fitted on Tuesday 24th February, I am very heavy and weighted 24 stone 1llb on the day of the procedure, my husband weighted me on Monday 3rd I week later and I was so shocked to be 19 llb lighter, I had him weigh me about 5 times but it was right, I suppose i did eat a real load of rubbish before so a big weight loss in the first week is par for the course

I was really terrified of actually getting the procedure done but did not remember a thing, and have been really well and only been sick once about an hour after it was done and never been sick again, I do have some discomfort in my shoulder blade and under the breastbone at times but not sore more annoying

I got this procedure done as the consultant says in order to do gastric bypass or band I would need to lose 5 stone to be safe for the anesetic, feel this is my last chance to get this weight off for surgery so need to stick to healthy eating still on WW soup and low fat yoghurts and custard, 1 week down 25 to go

Hope this help someone as i was so terrified i nearly got off the bed just before it was inserted but glad now that i did it[/COLOR]
 
Only a few days to go :)

Hi everyone, I'm getting excited now, I'm having mine done on Wednesday, can anyone give some updates on theirs? X
 
Hi Cornish Gal
I have had mine since last Thurs. I can't remember a thing about the actual procedure. I am sure I was asleep, even though you are only sedated. I have not been sick once, have felt sick twice for a couple of minutes. Had a few tiny stomach cramps but breathed through them and they were gone in seconds.
My consultant put a seasick patch behind my ear to last for 72hrs, sure that helped.
I did feel like I had just had flu so your body kinda knows what you can eat. I have had fluids for the 3 days, went to the pub for lunch yesterday but only had soup. Have lost 7lbs in 4 days. Had liquidised risotto last night but only a tiny amount. I am just not hungry. I weighed 13st 7lbs and the scales today said 12st 13 7/8 yipee! Can't drink enough water though, so have to sip almost constantly
 
well done

thats brilliant at least you know its working and you being sensible about your limits, i did wonder about water cos i drink lots in big doses so i suppose i will have to just sip away myself, I just cant wait to get mine done, i know its going to change my life.
 
LauginBlueiis said:
Hi Cornish Gal
I have had mine since last Thurs. I can't remember a thing about the actual procedure. I am sure I was asleep, even though you are only sedated. I have not been sick once, have felt sick twice for a couple of minutes. Had a few tiny stomach cramps but breathed through them and they were gone in seconds.
My consultant put a seasick patch behind my ear to last for 72hrs, sure that helped.
I did feel like I had just had flu so your body kinda knows what you can eat. I have had fluids for the 3 days, went to the pub for lunch yesterday but only had soup. Have lost 7lbs in 4 days. Had liquidised risotto last night but only a tiny amount. I am just not hungry. I weighed 13st 7lbs and the scales today said 12st 13 7/8 yipee! Can't drink enough water though, so have to sip almost constantly
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wow thats crazy you have barely been sick. do you have a saline filled balloon? I was really sick the first week and had terrible acid reflux too, I was really ill. even the 2nd week was bad. you are making it sound so easy!
a sea sickness patch will get rid of nausea but it is not going to change your stomach trying to get rid of the balloon the first little while. thats good you had such a good recovery and great you have lost that already!! I will be interested to hear how the recovery is for the new people going this month, good luck everyone!!
 
ishmbishm said:
thats brilliant at least you know its working and you being sensible about your limits, i did wonder about water cos i drink lots in big doses so i suppose i will have to just sip away myself, I just cant wait to get mine done, i know its going to change my life.
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im 7 weeks post procedure and I can drink water completely normally, the first few weeks I couldnt had to take small amounts.
 
good recovery and water

slctoronto said:
im 7 weeks post procedure and I can drink water completely normally, the first few weeks I couldnt had to take small amounts.
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thats great about the water i love it but I will take it carefully until I can manage it, and I hope I have a good recovery first week cos i am going to see tina turner a week after my procedure and i dont want to be heaving and retching :ack2::ack2:when i am in the concert venue :ack2:
 
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