I had weight loss surgery on the NHS. 5 months ago. AMA

[smallereveryday]

I had a Sleeve gastrectomy in October after 8 yrs of obesity and god knows how many attempts at Conventional diet and exercise including ww /sw/ Atkins/low carb/ 5:2 /Cambridge /blood diets. I have gone from a size 24 to 14 in just under 4 months and feel amazing and healthy at last.

Oh btw, I absolutely do believe you are ignorant, you think you actually know better than health professionals who’ve studied obesity and it’s treatment for years. It’s laughable.

It may save money in the long run but you know what saves even more money? Taking care of yourself. Not abusing your body to a degree that surgery will save your life. As for telling me what I think? That’s a new one. How are you able to tell me my thoughts? Gone from ignorant to downright magical. Your delusion is laughable

sorry if it's already been asked but does this mean that for the rest of your life you can only eat smaller portions? If so Does that affect you emotionally/mentally in any way?

It may save money in the long run but you know what saves even more money? Taking care of yourself. Not abusing your body to a degree that surgery will save your life

Well duh! That doesn’t help the people who are already that size though, does it?

How are you able to tell me my thoughts?

Because you just wrote them down

So basically, your advice is to not get fat in the first place?

I'm actually not going to engage with people who are wilfully ignorant. Anyone who can come out with a line like 'it may save money in the long run ' and then continue with you shouldn't have got fat in the first place - is so far from logical that engagement in debate is futile.

Anyway - back to the questions from sensible people.
Yes I probably will have small portions my whole life. I have a small stomach . I do not feel deprived. I feel satisfied in the exact same way you do when you have had a good meal. Except I have about an eighth of the amount.

Well done on your weight loss anyway op. I’ve had the surgery, best thing I ever did and yes, small portions for life.

I do want people healthy but the nhs is crippled right now and people could change their lives by eating right and exercising

t may save money in the long run*
*
We have an obesity epidemic. The diet and exercise aren't working but this does AND saves money as you say yourself.

This is such an interesting thread, thank you for posting it, smallereveryday. It's so, so easy for people who don't have weight issues/poor relationships with food to judge others. Ignorance abounds with some people, that and an "I'm alright, Jack, why aren't you?" attitude.

Keep on going and never mind what ignorant people think, they really don't matter.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe Thank you so much for your comments. I know you to be a regular poster with calm sensible measures contribution to debates - and value your opinion.
It's very easy to feel almost evangelical about weight loss surgery, now I am released from the non stop 'THIS is the diet that will work' mentality ... and feel like I literally have a new lease of life. !
Portion control and expending more calories than I put it, is of course the only way to lose weight (prisonbreak mantra of diet and exercise is actually correct to a degree) What is now becoming reality is the myriad reasons for the difficulties to control the 'what goes in ' aspect of this regime. It boils down to a combination of biological and mind misfunctions that make this impossible for all but a very few.

You only have to look on here at the hundreds of threads of people desperately clinging to the idea that the latest diet will be the 'holy grail' , having lost and regained time and again - to realise they work in the short term only.
The research from both imperial and ucl confirm that these barriers become even further entrenched at BMI 35 and over.

The reasons for obesity are so varied that 'diet and exercise ' often doesn't make any logical sense . At least the exercise part certainly doesn't. An 11 stone woman would have to run 5 miles at 6mph to burn 600 calories. A feet beyond the average 50 yr old. There is NO doubt that exercise makes you healthier than you otherwise would be - but it's the amount of food you eat that effects weight above all else.
So be it medication , physical disability, mental health causing comfort or disordered eating. The bottom line is that they cause to much food to be consumed. Therefore , to me at least it seems that something in the body has broken (the control mechanism that regulates consumption). and WLS fixes this.

Do you know what the rate is for people putting weight back on again in the long term and are you worried about that?

The reason for asking is I know someone who had a gastric bypass and they lost huge amounts of weight but after a couple of years they have started to put it back on again as they just snack again on things like crisps and biscuits. To go to all that effort and pain of surgery and end up heading back to the start is saddening to see as they were so happy with the weight lose initially but clearly didn't address the underlying issue.

This is really interesting! I've battled with weight loss, losing 6 stone in my early 20's, (16 stone to 10 stone) though dieting.

I did keep it off (fluctuating between 10 and 11st) for around 8 years until I fell pregnant with DS1 a couple of years ago. I then gained 5 stone over the last three years (two pregnancies, with no weight loss in between), I'm now 34. I've lost about 3 stone since DS2 was born in October and have another 2 to lose to get back to 10st but I'm very motivated at the moment, so hopefully will get there by the summer.

The statistics of maintaining weight loss are disheartening but totally believable. Given the unlikeliness that myself and others will be able to maintain their significant weight loss do you think the NHS should consider offering surgery to those who have lost a lot of weight through diet and exercise to help prevent them regaining it so easily?

That's a difficult one. I think my answer is probably no. Just based on simple finance issues for the NHS. It's offered at the moment through simple costs based analysis of the health costs to the health services of looking after those with associated health issues which are shown to increase dramatically at a BMI of over 35.
and the almost certain probability of there becoming a need at BMI of 40 even if none are yet present.
However - that said - and if I had the money to pay for it and had spent my life losing and regaining like so many , I would definitely do it if I was technically obese . As an investment in my own health. I have met several people who have done this . The criteria in the private sector is BMI 30.

Most of those who have done so have gone abroad , mostly to Poland or Czech where the price is half the cost as here, have amazing track records and great facilities. Research is essential though. Most of the WLS forums have a section on overseas surgery with people who have done this.
I took 3 years researching this to be sure and did think about it rather than jump through the MHS hoops. But decided to go here simply because the post op support of two years is not available privately abroad and here the cost is 8k .

Hi smaller everyday,
Firstly well done for addressing the issue and taking control of your life.

I have a couple of practical questions - do you get heartburn from your stomach being smaller? Also, what happens if you do eat too much?

I'm also curious as to why the NHS don't do gastric bands now. Are the alternative surgeries much more successful?

Thanks

Batsarecool it is of course a concern but thankfully quite rare. The statistics of ten year studies show that on average 13 percent will gain up to 30% of the lost weight. The reality of those statistics are that someone who is 25 stone would go down to about 12 and the vast majority are still there (or less) 5 yrs later . However for this 13% they regain on average 22-30 percent of the lost weight. So will be around 15 stone 5 at the top end.
Whilst this is sad for them and not good for health - it is significantly below 25 stone.

Bariatric surgery is not a magic solution. It's a fantastic tool to help you help yourself. There is still a need for personal accountability and will power.

Does your friend not 'dump' when they eat anything with more than 5g of sugar ? ?? I did it once , not long after surgery when I accidentally gave my daughter the wrong cup of tea.she has 2 sugars and I have sweetener..... I can tell you that it was an experience that I never want again !! Cold sweats, shaking, and OMG diarrhoea like I have never experienced before . (and I had IBS prior to surgery, so have experienced tricky bowels for years). I look at cakes and sweets with slight horror.. a big difference to before.
As I said in a pp - I'm not a big sweet eater. That doesn't mean I didn't eat sweets - it just wasn't my go-to food. But I was obese and I would literally eat anything. If there was a choc bar in front of me, despite not actively seeking it out - I would nonetheless have hoovered it up...

The number of problems connected to the band have made it a much less efficient choice financially for the NHS . The slippage rate and the need for revision surgery are one of the reasons.
The other major reason is that people who have disordered eating and especially sugar addiction (which is mostly related to emotional eating as it produces a temporary 'high' and thus a feel good factor) need something that actually prevents the eating of sugar. With a band, it tightens around a small section of stomach making it small. The band is tightened through saline being injected into a 'port hole' placed just under the skin. Get the tightening wrong and either too much food can be eaten or none at all.
Add to that, there is no real consequence for sugar. With a band, you can liquidise a mars bar and it will slip through no problem!!

No -I don't have reflux. Eating too much is very very uncomfortable. One of the learning curves is identifying when you are full but not stuffed. It took me weeks to differentiate between real hunger and head hunger. That is probably the hardest part.
Eating something yummy and leaving loads uneaten. Something I didn't think possible but eat too much now and it is not a pleasant feeling and takes away the joy of what - until that point was a satisfying meal.
It's all a new way of eating and I'm still learning.....

This idea of the "sugar dump" is interesting. I didn't know about that. I definitely seek the high of sugar. Despite everything I know, I still do it.

That's why I didn't consider WLS before this thread - because I know all I'd do is melt chocolate spread and suck it through a straw.

The idea of food being something that I can leave is quite foreign to me. This thread has challenged my thinking and beliefs about my eating in a way that nothing ever has before.

Fascinating.

How do you deal with head hunger once you've identified it, then?

It's hard. You begin by eating. At the start you will be eating 3 or 4 tsps of puréed food. You do that for 4 weeks. You eat as often as you feel hungry even if it's 7 or 8 times a day.. but it's a faff.. it takes 20 minutes to eat that amount.. so , I don't know really, somehow you just work out that you can't be arsed.. and that you aren't really hungry. Then when you increase your intake after about a month having eaten so little for 5/6 weeks ..a meal fills you up. (Ie you won't be able to finish half a baked potato let alone the filling- which you should eat first as you need to begin with protein).
What I do (and every one is different) is go do something if I think it's head hunger - because it mostly is. I have noticed this because I only ever 'feel hungry' when I'm at home. I am lucky to have a challenging and stimulating job, which I love. I have noticed that I am never hungry at work even though the same amount of cakes and biscuits are there to tempt me - yet when I'm home with not to much to do ..
so even if it's just changing a duvet, worming the cat 🙄 or cleaning out the chickens , I find something that needs doing. If I'm not distracted by hunger whilst doing it - then it's my head and I tell myself that I haven't been given this tool for nothing and to get a grip and HAVE A GLASS OF WATER !! (I'm so shit at hydration but trying to be better)

I hadn't realised that there was a consequence for sugar once you've had the surgery. Interesting.

I appreciate that the head hunger vs real hunger must be difficult. Not finishing a meal is a difficult concept for me. I suppose that's how we end up so overweight in the first place.

It sounds like you are well on your way to success, and as you say, the surgery is a tool. Thanks for sharing your experience.

I think that the lack of knowledge regarding 'the sugar consequence ' is one of the reasons people are so disparaging of Bariatric surgery. Most of the headline grabbers are about the weightloss. It doesn't sell papers to go into the mechanics about a surgical procedure and why it works. Why let facts get in the way ???

. Much more exciting to get everyone to pull on their big judgy knickers and start shouting about how diet and exercise would be better for everyone all round.

Sometimes a little more knowledge is required.

Great thread amd well done for getting to where you are now! A friend is having surgery in a few weeks. What is the best way I can support her? Previously we'd have take away treat nights at the weekends what can I offer instead in the future? I'm hoping once she gets to a healthier weight, more activities such as going for a bike ride with the children could happen, at present this would be a massive physical struggle for her so things like that tend to not happen at all.

What a lovely friend you are.
I would say the most important thing is to try and remove the mindset of 'treat' = high sugar/high fat food. In fact try to look at a way to disassociate food/treat. (and as a result, the lack of food with deprivation.
The best thing would be to start reinforcing a whole new non food focus. As she loses weight, she will start to feel better about herself so things like a home manicure, face mask/skin pamper evening.. develop a new skill together, either teach one an other a skill each has (eg knitting/crochet, crafting , genealogy, )or both learn together by book or internet tutorials.

Keep food as a basic necessity only - and put the emphasis on your friends new life and new behaviours . Good luck.

56 lbs now 😀

OP I hope you come back to this thread. It's so informative and detailed. You've inspired me. I have no idea what I weigh but I've recently dropped from a size 34 to 24. I've got type 2 diabetes and I need help. I did inquire about surgery but the gp laughed at me and said no chance. Our district cant afford it. However that was years ago. I'm sick of being fat. I'm sick of not doing things I want to do because I'm frightened. I've never been on a plane. I turn down invitations because I'm self conscious. In regards to the pp who said it was a drain on the NHS, just eat less move more etc. My issues are deeply ingrained. My mum thought I was too fat and took me to the doctor. I was 6lb overweight. He told her to leave me be. What she actually did was to severely reduce my food intake to such an extent that I started stealing food from my classmates lunchboxes. I'd steal food from friends and family. I'd hide food so I could eat it when everyone was in bed. My mum couldn't understand why I was getting bigger and didnt put two and two together that her behaviour was the cause. Things got worse when my dad suddenly died. I had to keep my grief private. For reasons known only to herself my mum decided that the death of the father of her children would be a secret I was forced to keep from my brothers. So as I was sat alone in my bedroom crying for my dad, the one way I could make myself feel less pain was by eating in secret. Of course it was a catch 22 situation. I was getting fat, I was beginning to get bullied, I had no friends and was grieving... food food fucking food. I'm utterly ashamed of myself.once I left home my mum had no say about anything in my life anymore. Why didnt I try to lose weight then? I struggled to get past 1 date with blokes as they simply didn't want a fat girlfriend. Why didnt I try then? I had people screaming disgusting things at me in the street. Someone even threw a McDonald's milkshake at me from a passing car. Why? Because I took up a bit more space and decided not to stay in and wallow in my misery. I applaud those folk who find it easy to lose weight/tone up/maintain etc. I wish I had the willpower. But please don't bring people down and say its lazy, cheating or the easy way out. Of course it isn't. Just think, the person you are berating has decided that it's so hard to lose weight alone that they need invasive and life saving surgery and to have barely any choice in their diet again. I think it's very brave. Thanks to ops Frank and informative AMA I've finally decided that I can be brave too.