Elipse Weight Loss Balloon - Monkhouse Surgical

07/08/2022

15/03/2022

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/mums-almost-immediate-24lb-weight-23390286

'I feel fitter than I have in a decade. I’m so glad I’ve done this for myself.'

06/12/2021

The Allurion balloon…

17/08/2021

Updated webpage

https://www.simonmonkhouse.com/allurion-weight-loss-balloon-pill/

The Allurion weight loss balloon pill If you struggle to lose the weight on diet and exercise alone and have a BMI of 27 or greater the Allurion swallowable pill may be the answer. The Allurion weight loss balloon pill (formerly

06/08/2021

Our incredible patients, Vix and Georgie, sharing their journey on the Allurion programme- outpatient stomach balloon with a dietician led programme to change your relationship with food in the long term … and lose 10-15% body weight ⁣
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06/08/2021

28/07/2021

The Allurion Elipse balloon programme now comes with an additional health coach provided to work on the psychology around eating behaviour. This is for a limited time as we are part of an international trial. The real success from the programme comes from the long term change in relationship with food. We provide a registered experienced dietician for you and assign them for the whole 4 months- no online courses, an actual person!

At our Weybridge site we can also price match any sequential balloon offers you may have seen advertised elsewhere. Sequential balloons are where you have a second balloon after the first- the evidence suggests that weight loss is 50% of the first with a higher intolerance rate so it’s not for everyone but we have seen some great success with sequential balloons.

We remain the only U.K. centre of excellence for the procedure and I have personally placed over 460 balloons.

Below is a Q&A about the Allurion Elipse balloon and a live insertion of a trickier balloon..

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments
Live Q&A on Elipse

https://www.facebook.com/weightlosssurgeryUK/videos/421167205179322/

Live placement of an Elipse

https://fb.watch/4v7lrLVhSZ/

25/07/2021

Fabulous progress for our Allurion Elipse balloon pair Georgie and Vix

04/07/2021

So the NHS is getting busier and busier and the pressures we would normal see on bad winter days are now a daily “summer” occurrence. Last week we had -81 beds which essentially means there were 81 more patients than beds in the hospital. Staff have emerged from the covid pandemic straight into a new problem and quite frankly everyone is exhausted. The good will is fading, the “going the extra mile” mindset is turning into “doing enough to survive” mindset. What I noticed the other day is that there is a suggestion of tunnel vision going on. No longer the panoramic appreciation of the bigger picture, rather a blinkered focus on the immediate surroundings. This worries me and there are going to be casualties

I can see it in my own life. Too busy to notice the subtle signs of mental distress in those around me. I’m not talking overt crisis, I’m talking subtleties. Too busy to notice colleagues behaving differently, too busy to notice patients reaching out, too busy to notice the kids interacting differently. There’s always a plausible explanation-with the kids it’s hormones kicking in, with the work colleagues it’s workplace stress, with the patients it’s lockdown troubles.. but what are we missing? Why is everything that bit different ?

I think I have the answer. It’s because we no longer just stop and be. There’s always something to do. Taking time to do nothing and just observe is so cathartic - somtimes words are not needed, sometimes the conversation is not necessary- but time to hold, hug and time to breathe is everything.
Putting the phone down, turning off the tele, going for a walk. All these easy things to do, make such a difference.

I implore you to do this. Just take time to notice and time to be. Don’t lose the bigger picture before it’s too late. Remove the blinkers and engage the peripheral vision.

Someone near to you needs that hug.

Have a great Sunday x

03/07/2021

Georgie and Vix- besties and both had their Elipse balloons with us. Absolutely smashing their journeys
Now we are offering patients additional psychological support (voluntary) in package too as part of an international trial (only a handful of centres worldwide selected for this)

27/06/2021

With all the Tory party shenanigans going on, I’d forgotten that Dominic Cummins was the mastermind behind “Vote Leave” in the Brexit debarcle. His tag link was emotive… “take back control”
This gave the voter a hint of a rosy life past, where the citizen of these shores had jobs for all and full control of the borders. Emotions were stirred with the big red bus which promised fictional money for the one thing that unites us all, the NHS - free at the point of care and non discriminatory. The problem with all this electioneering and campaigning was that the reality of the life past was not as luscious and vibrant as made out. I started thinking about the parallels here with what we do- we encourage patients to “take back control” of eating behaviours and relationship with food suggesting that at some point previous behaviours were on point and something to aspire too.

I now see this as flawed. There is not a magical rewind button where everything becomes fine again- it’s about the fast forward button discovering a new relationship with food, not a rediscovery. How you handle and see food post surgery is new, there is no precedent in your previous life at any point. Your brain needs retraining and educating. For at one time, all was ok with food until it transgressed into a poor relationship - this means that if you go back to that place of control it can transgress again

You see? So let’s conceptually reinvent this and think differently. Post surgery is not about taking back control it’s about seeking new relationships. Food is fuel and only fuel. That’s the way it has to be - that’s the sacrifice we must make for health. The moment food becomes a reward or a soother, is the moment that old behaviours resurface

Surgery is not the cure for obesity. Surgery at best puts obesity into remission but just like with anything in remission it can surge out of control. Learning new ways of thinking and practicing new actions around food and new ways of handling extreme emotion is key. This is not easy, this is why we are here supporting you on this difficult but ultimately rewarding journey. Surgery is a damn fine tool to be used well- how well you use it is up to you and us in combo.

So from today let’s abandon the cumminsesque mantra of taking back control and switch it around to finding new relationships with food and it’s accomplices (drink and socialising).

This pic pleases me so here it is with no context

Happy Sunday folks x

26/06/2021

One of only 6 centres worldwide to get this accolade for the balloon. Beyond proud of our team (dieticians - Lucy, Isabelle and Leanne) and radiology (Helen, Mandy, Caroline, Vince, Kim, Rich, Eloise and others )

20/06/2021

A quick one today as I’m away for the weekend. Covert blogging. Anyway, the idea of standing up for yourself is really interesting . The voice on the left shoulder says, “this is going to cause confrontation, best leave it alone” and the voice on the right is saying “if you don’t do this you will always be treated like this and be a doormat”.

I think which voice becomes most dominant and listened to depends entirely on your self esteem levels. When you are feeling low, not worthy and want the world to swallow you up, it’s all about the left shoulder. “My opinion doesn’t count because I don’t count”
When you have a boost to your confidence (be it weight loss or otherwise) then you start to believe that you have worth and those bullies who dominate no longer need to.

It’s a choice to make. Short term awkwardness for longer term peace . Cutting out negative influences from your life and making your circle smaller and tighter is cathartic.

Your self worth is only something that you can measure- other people don’t have access to that - only you. They measure you by what matters to them

Sod them.

Have a great Sunday folks x

17/06/2021

I’ve been asked twice today , what’s happened if you can’t swallow the pill balloon (Elipse) yourself. Here is a recorded placement in real time for some one that needed a helping hand- superstar Georgie!
Live placement of an Elipse

https://fb.watch/4v7lrLVhSZ/

09/06/2021

Too profound not to share - well done Jessica

Hi everyone, I've seen lots of posts recently about weight *regain* so wanted to share my story! Sorry it's a long one 🤣🙈 I was banded May 2018 and lost a lot of weight that year.... and put a lot back on the next! I went through a time where I didn't really care what I was eating and with a band, chocolate and sweets go down lovely. As you can see from my rollercoaster graph 😳😁 I decided in May 20 that i'd had enough and restarted. I knew I still had the tools I needed, it was just about decided to work with it again. I didn't exercise at all, other than walking the dog, and just focused on my diet. I lost weight slowly, and then by autumn last year I was ready to take it up a notch. I started exercising 5 days a week. Strength training and some cardio. It's really helped shape my body, which at nearly 40 is really something! I'd say to anyone who has slipped up that this isn't over, you absolutely can do it. It's all about mindset and setting achievable targets. I wrote my affirmations and read them every day several times for months, why I wanted to lose weight, what I would benefit from eg being healthier. You may find it silly at first but trust me, this works. Also the best tip I got was willpower is like a muscle, the more you use it, the easier it gets and that's definitely true. I applaud everyone who has the guts to say "I messed up" it's not easy but know you are far from alone and your journey is not over. Just start from right now, you just woke up from surgery... today is day 1 💕 ###

06/06/2021

Own your choice...

Sometimes in life, many times in fact, we make decisions with short term importance and no long term consequences- these are the easy decisions. What to wear, what to do on your day off, what colour to paint the shed... all short term dilemmas with minimal, if any sequelae. The key definer of these is that they haven’t been mused over for a long time and the outcome is not critically important.

Now, the other decisions in life matter more. They have real impact on self and those around you. Examples could be career choice, marriage/divorce or whether to have weight loss surgery etc. Decisions that need careful balance of pros and cons or risks versus benefit. The key definer of these decisions is they are one way, life changers. We can call these decisions “lifer decisions”

We have several mantras in our service which we obsessively, repeatedly discuss so that they become automated. One of our mantras is “the only way is forward”. We keep moving and can’t go back. This is a way of saying forget and park what has gone before and embrace the future. So back to the lifer decisions...

If we fuse those with our mantra, there is no choice but to accept and embrace them. Time spent missing what went before, or time spent worrying what others think is wasted time that does not serve you and actually wastes your precious time. A day feeling sad about what you might be missing is a days worth of time on Earth wasted. COVID has taught us this. Life is precious and short. Sad retrospective reflections often glamorise how you THINK you felt, but actually the reality of that time was not quite as good. You get the point? If you think back to a time looking at a photo - smiling faces, what was behind the smile? Not always remembered in the photo...

You have made a decision- a decision that was based on information and personal circumstance. You made a good decision, a brave decision, now own it. For your detractors or haters, cut them out. Really important to keep your circle small with only genuine vibes. The best way to identify a narcissist is to call them out on their behaviours and see how quickly they run away- no one has time for the narco’s in their lives. Your life should be enriched by your circle and should be joyful. Your lifer decision should be celebrated by them and this should bring your validated powerful ownership - “I made this decision, I’m owning this decision and those who make me feel sad, ciao bye”

Today, reflect on your lifer decision and smile that little bit wider.

Have a great Sunday folks x

23/05/2021

You know it’s hard to make changes. We have big plans, we envisage the line in the sand and plan for a different future path. It’s easy to say and easy to plan for but is it easy to do?- hell no! For those of us who are in the professional position to give advice based on experience, science, evidence etc are we really doing the recipient a service? It’s easy for me to say “food is fuel now- focus on the ambience and people not the food in front of you” but actually what I’m overlooking is often a lifetime of a broken relationship with food. That can’t be fixed by a rearrangement of the intestines or chopping out the majority of the stomach. It’s easy to do well in the run up to surgery -you have your people cheerleading you and we take away thoughts around food because of the liver shrink diet- you don’t get consumed with thoughts when you know it’s three shakes a day. It’s easy to do well in the immediate post op phase because we are in your grill and helping you. But the real question is what happens when the cheerleading stops and the focus is on others? The regular phone calls with the team slow down, the random support from strangers within the group wains.

This is the hard time. This is when the written down plans can go to pot, this is when the old thoughts and comfort feelings are sought after, this is when weight loss begins to stall. Of course it’s normal physiology after metabolic change, but your mind goes into panic mode- and what has been the historical response to stress/panic?

You can see the issue. How do we fix the issue? The answer is not easily but recognising it is key. One of the comments we hear a lot is that support group seems to be mainly the newbies getting excited and having their time and we don’t hear so much from the veterans - those who had their surgery years ago. This might be for most that they are living their best life and actually want to embrace the new life and close the chapter on surgery - this is great. But there are a significant majority struggling with regain and negative feelings- this is the time to shout out but most don’t. How do we fix this? I wish I had the answers.

Look at the picture. What do you see? Most see the young tree cut off at its root being held up by the older tree- today I see different in view of my thoughts above. I see the older tree flourishing because it has additional support

Today, on this rainy Sunday, shout out if you have been struggling in silence- you might just surprise yourself about the results .

Have a great Sunday folks x