I had weightloss surgery abroad

[penguinkisses]

Ask me anything 😊

How did you find out a reputable surgeon?

What procedure did you have ?

Did you have any complications?

How much was it?

Lots of research, Facebook pages and recommendations through them.

I had gastric sleeve.

No complications.

I paid £3100 for a bikini sleeve, a special type of incision where there is no visible scarring. This included the stay in the hospital but did not include hotel or flights

Why did you decide to have the procedure aboard?
Where you concerned about what would happen in case of complications wither while there or aftercare when back home? Would you be able to seek compensation in court if there were long term implications?

Which country?

@qazxc cost to be quite honest was the factor for going abroad.

I was concerned, but equally I know of people who have had the same surgery here in the UK (privately and NHS) and had complications. This particular doctor is registered with the GMC in the UK and I felt confident with him. There's specialist health insurance you can take out too if you're having surgery abroad.

@cantlosebabyweight Egypt.

How soon can you eat normally? I’m having mine in london in October

Why did you not use diet and exercise

Presumably now your diet will have a level of restriction (volume at least)

@SuffolkUnicorn normally in terms of the types of food you can eat, a couple of months. But some foods may never agree with you again, I don't eat bread, rice or pasta anymore and there's certain foods I used to enjoy and now cannot abide the taste. Weirdly; houmous- used to love it now can't stand it.

Obviously anything you do eat after surgery will be in a much smaller quantity than pre surgery and it's important to focus on eating lots of protein rather than carbs, because you fill up quickly you find you don't eat many carbs and focus on protein rich food instead.

@Ohmylovejune had been trying every diet and exercise under the sun since a teenager. As well as CBT and being hypnotised.

Had my kids and suffered terribly with gestational diabetes in pregnancy. Type 2 runs in my family and all of the women in my family struggle with their weight. I knew that I'd never maintain a healthy weight without something drastic and know I don't want to develop type 2 and to be fit and healthy for my children.

Now I'm a healthy weight, have higher self esteem and exercise regularly.

Just to say good on you :) I had mine in February, 5 stone down, 3 to go!

@Giraffeinaplane congratulations to you! X

How much did you weigh pre op ?

@woodlandtrees my weight on the day of surgery was 16 stone 9lb
I'm now 10 stone 3 - BMI 20

Best of luck but I’ve never known anyone to survive past 5 years.

@BlueKaftan survive???

What does that mean?

That's interesting. I've just had a quick google and the first research paper seems to suggest an increase in life expectancy of around 6.7 years.

Better, enjoy the remainder of your days then, OP! 🤣🤣🤣

I had mine 6 years ago and am very much alive 🤪

Wow ! Unless your really tiny I'm surprised that they would do such a procedure on that weight.

I suppose that is why you went abroad ?

I think you're very brave seeking this type of op abroad. Wish you all the best.

@determinedtomakethiswork wasn't expecting to find out I only had 4 years left to live when I started this thread 😂😂😂😂

I'll make the most of the time I have left.

👋🏻 🪦

@woodlandtrees my understanding is, in the UK clinics want your BMI above 35... (though do make exceptions) mine wasn't far off but not quite at 35.

Clinics abroad are more considerate to BMIs over 30... though my clinic did have a full review of my medical history because of the lower end of the BMI and did speak with me about the risk of the surgery versus the low BMI.

I'm tall so have a lot of "surface area" for the weight. I'm now a comfortable size 10/12 which suits my frame.

How have friends and family reacted to your weight loss?

What's the biggest benefit you’ve experienced?

I haven't told everybody I had the surgery. But everyone has reacted positively to my weight loss on the whole. (To my face anyway!)

Biggest benefit is being able to enjoy wearing clothes again and feeling confident, particularly when it's warmer, wearing what I want to wear and not constantly dressing to hide lumps/bumps/problem areas. I've always loved fashion and now can wear what I like and feel confident.