AIBU to consider bariatric surgery

[MrsJackSpratt]

I need to lose a lot of weight. A LOT of weight. A combination of over eating and chronic illness and now lockdown has led to my weight spiralling out of control.

I need surgery for the chronic illness, but need to lose around 8 stone in order to have it. I've also recently started to become really scared about survival rates of things like covid at this weight.

Last time I lost any significant weight was around 5 years ago. The only thing that worked was carb free, low fat and 800 calories a day. I lost 3 stone in 5 months like that. But I was miserable. I have tried meal replacement diets but they all taste like shit (I don't have a sweet tooth and detest milkshakes for a start). I tried 5:2 and lost small amounts of weight. I tried orlistat and didn't lose weight.

I want help. I need help. GP offered "lifestyle classes" that only meet during my working hours. I can have support at local council gym on "exercise by referral", but again, only during working hours. GP suggested considering bariatric surgery. But, with a chronic illness that was caused by surgery, more surgery for something else really scares me. The side effects of gastric sleeve really scare me - but is gastric banding worth while?

I'd really be keen to hear any experiences

I had a gastric sleeve 3 years ago and went from 21 stone 11lbs to 13 stone and now have a bmi under 25. Its not easy getting used to eating very small portions, but the weight just falls off and I am so much more healthy now. Wish I had done it years ago.

Sorry what I should have said is that if your an emotional eater or just can’t control food then don’t bother with the band - ballon
Because as soon as it’s removed if you haven’t learned to eat properly within the time you will just put back on the weight and probably more
I don’t even think they do the band - ballon any more on the NHS as it’s not got good results after it’s removed

@ dragoncena
I had mine done privately abroad with flights it cost about 4000 this was a few years ago
I wasn’t massively overweight though
The one thing I did pick up on is lots of patients in the clinic were like WTF are you having it done - your not even that overweight 😂
And although I didn’t say I was thinking “well exactly I don’t want to get like you “😂 and when I did say something along those lines but a bit politer they all agreed that they wished they had done it when they were only 2-3 stone overweight instead of 8-10stone
I honestly think if people who like me have always struggled with weight loss had it done when they were only 2-3 stone overweight they wouldn’t get to 8- 10 stone overweight and all the associated health problems that go with such a heavy weight .
Hope that makes sense
Even the Doctors and nurses agreed that if your a lifetime yo - yo dieter ( I was ) then doing surgery before you get to big and then even bigger is a much better option .

Watch Fat Fiction on Amazon Prime. X

I've had a gastric bypass but privately so can't speak to the NHS system much. My own GP was useless on anything and everything so I knew it would be slog to get a referral, as well as my understanding of the 'moral' hoops that the NHS want you to jump through. I could afford it privately and have frankly never been happier.

I should say that I had a very textbook recovery, possibly as I didn't have any previous underlying health conditions and not everyone is this lucky. However, it really has been the best thing I've ever done for myself. You need to understand the reasons for your weight gain and that it is a tool not a cure.

Happy to answer any questions.

I honestly think if people who like me have always struggled with weight loss had it done when they were only 2-3 stone overweight they wouldn’t get to 8- 10 stone overweight and all the associated health problems that go with such a heavy weight .
Hope that makes sense

Really? Interesting. That hugely surprises me.

I’ve started reading threads and articles like this because I am mobility impaired and weight has been creeping on, more with lockdown and I’m wondering what the end game is if it keeps creeping up.

2.5 stone overweight is exactly where I am - my BMI is 27.5 - and I wouldn’t have even thought there was a physical/surgical solution yet, but it is so scary when your metabolic shifts and you just can’t burn it off the way you used to.

Are there many surgeons or doctors who would recommend surgery as an early(ish) intervention?

@Wegobshite I missed that you went abroad. Maybe that makes a difference. Can I be nosey and ask which country you went to?

@RampantIvy

It's my understanding (and I am happy to be corrected) that you need to lose weight before bariatric surgery anyway to show that you can control your eating. You won't be able to continue eating the way you do now after surgey.

I can confirm that no, there is no such requirement.

You are correct to say that OP won’t be able to continue eating the way they do after the surgery though. That is exactly the point of the surgery.

The OP will be physically incapable of eating the same portion size as a normal person because their stomach will be a fraction of the size of a regular human being. Importantly though, they won’t want to either and will be happy with mini portions.

I can confirm that no, there is no such requirement.

Is that the difference between NHS and private treatment, though?

Do it!!

You know your own self.

I've had my band over 12 years got it down in my early 40s , wish I had it years and years ago.

I've got a band which I chose as it's "reversible" not sure why PP said you can only lose 50% of your weight with a band.

I had it emptied at Christmas and has all the things I'd missed over the last 12 years. Yorkshire puddings, sweet corn, mushrooms!

Managed to maintain my weight. But if it gets out of control again, I fill it up again. A quick process.

I lost 10 stone and am now 9 stone 10.

@dragoncena I did lose a lot of weight but I've also gained quite a bit of muscle so 'the weight loss' has become less relevant and am more about the clothes sizes now. I've experienced the following changes:

• No longer obsess over food
• Can't drink and eat at the same time
• Rarely drink alcohol as went without for so long I don't enjoy it anymore and can tolerate less of it
• Embraced a healthy lifestyle that I enjoy
• Developed new emotional coping strategies as opposed to eating
• Exercise 6 days a week, am actually fit
• Don't struggle with activities, clothes shopping or ever worrying about being too fat. My weight no longer rules my life.
• Although I had no other health conditions, I'm at now little to no risk of developing these through obesity.
• Not on constant yoyo dieting cycle. I do still watch what I eat, BUT this has become much easier, I don't feel I'm on a diet. A balance rather than a burden.

Things that are still the same:

• I eat out regularly (covid permitting)
• I enjoy the food I eat and don't fear it
• Other than binge eat, or have lots of sugary fatty food, there is nothing I can't do now that I could do before.

@RickiTarr my understanding is (within the UK, think it's different abroad), NHS wants a BMI of 40+ or 35+ with other comorbidity factors and privately they usually expect a BMI of 30+, so you may be too low for UK surgeons but many offer a free consultation to discuss. Due to your mobility concerns there may be caveats.

@ RickiTarr I’ve sent you a pm as to where I had mine done
I think from my memory EU surgery is slightly stricter than outside of the EUi terms of what your BMI needs to be and your weight .
So England I think it’s a BMI of 40 ‘maybe less with co - morbidity like diabetes
EU between 30 -35 BMI
Outside of the EU 27-30 BMI
I think the problem is that most people don’t start to think about gastric surgery until they are seriously overweight with BMI of into the 40s
So they have often had years of dieting unsuccessfully losing and putting the weight back on . Not to mention all the other stuff that can go with it .
Whereas if you do something before you actually get that big you benefit from it so much more .
Everyone who’s done it even at there heaviest all pretty much say that they wish they did it years ago .
I had struggle with that 25 -30 lbs for years lose it put it back on lose it - get it back
If got to the point where I was miserable and had aching joints I knew that if I put on anymore then that would be it - I wouldn’t stop and my weight would just keep on going up .
By having surgery after surgery it’s meant that my weight for the first time has come off and stayed stable

Even during lockdown my weight didn’t move by more than 1-2lbs

TY @Wegobshite

I haven't read the replies as people talk all sorts of crap about weight loss. (&some sense!) I'm on the waiting list for surgery. I've gone through the numerous appointments and tests. I've also done extensive research.

I have health issues and medication which led to weight gain and bad eating habits. Anyway I don't need to justify my weight I just want to explain I understand that weight gain and loss is really difficult in some circumstances. I'm at the smaller end of the eligibility spectrum and I'm only eligible because of my health issues.

From my research it seems that there is very little chance of losing weight and keeping it off when you need to lose as much as you do. You've likely tried, I know I have. People will tell you it's a simple matter of calories in and out. But for me, with my health issues it's not as simple. I'm not here to argue either! I suspect you feel the same. If you could lose weight alone and keep it off I think you would have done it.

So yanbu to consider it. I think society and the medical profession have loads of learning to do about obesity and its causes. I really hope in 10 or 20 years time the stigma around surgery will have been reduced.

Also the NHS are very brutal with their cost benefit analysis. If it didn't make over all financial sense then they wouldn't do it.

Finally I have absolutely no qualms about the cost to the NHS. I haven't had children so I'm not costing the tax payer for their birth and education. And I can't emphasise enough my weight isn't a choice.

@RickiTarr my understanding is (within the UK, think it's different abroad), NHS wants a BMI of 40+ or 35+ with other comorbidity factors and privately they usually expect a BMI of 30+, so you may be too low for UK surgeons but many offer a free consultation to discuss. Due to your mobility concerns there may be caveats.

What drives me mad is every medical appointment about my spine ends with an exhortation to try to lose a stone or so, and I think “HOW”?

It still feels a little bit premature, or just still a very new idea, I don’t know. I know I’m in trouble, in that I can’t do any conventional exercise. Before COVID, I was having swimming lessons to try to become a stronger swimmer as well as taking other exercise in water, but it wasn’t going great and lockdown really has made me realise the realities of my situation.

I’m the same as many other women I read, in that if I diet drastically (like salad and grapes for weeks) I can lose weight, but I can’t maintain it.

There does seem to be increasing evidence that yo-yo dieting dooms you to problems, too, which I always did and which is probably what landed many of us in difficulty. So that’s interesting, too.

Sorry, I’ve just emptied the contents of head on you. It’s an intriguing possibility.

@ RickiTarr
😂 I’ve sent you another message outlining everything that I did 😂 I can honestly say I look back now and I think WTF was I thinking 😂 but honestly it’s the best thing ever
It’s not a magic cure but nothing is but it’s defiantly something that I would recommend and consider
Failing that Omeprezic the new diabetes drug is fucking amazing
It’s only on available if your a diabetic at the moment but if you know where to look you can get it ( perfectly legally ) and you can get the tablet version rybeleus I think is the name
I have it as I’m diabetic and my levels are crazy The bonus is that you have no appetite 😂 my stomach - well what’s left of it thinks my mouths been sewed up 😂
I’ve lost over 15 lbs since Feb 25 and still going strong but I think I will need to go to once a fortnight rather than every week as I may have to choose between my ass or my face 😂

I think the NHS could save so much money if they allowed gastric sleeves at a much lower weight so a preventive treatment.
Think of stuff like diabetes that is weight related, bone and joint issues problems with your heart and lungs and general well being .
If the one thing that Covid did seem to highlight Is the mainly the bullshit that being obese - morbidly obese is fine and that you can be perfectly healthy .
If the NHS was willing to help people even if they had to maybe co-pay for the surgery the benefits would massive

@Wegobshite that is exactly my thinking. I have 3-4 stone to lose that has crept up on me in the last five years. I don't lose weight unless I stick to under 1000 calories and I can't maintain that long term so I think it is much better to do it now when it is safer than when I am 8-10 stone overweight which inevitably will happen.

Gastric sleeve three years ago. Before : 20stone 11

Urinary incontinence .
Knees so bad I was advised to have replacement in one.
BP 140/90 (pills)
Couldn't walk more than 70 m without stinking backache.
Exercise of any type v painful.
WORST OF ALL WAS MY SELF ESTEEM ... and immune system. In the GPS for minor infections every other month.

Sleeve on NHS at Chichester 2019

No incontinence
BP now 90/65
I can walk for MILES
I'm really really HAPPY !!
(13 st 1lb)

No drugs . 58 years old

Worth its weight (!) in gold and saves the nHS a fortune .. haven't been to the GPS in two years...

It's far from easy...

@dragoncena
That’s exactly my thinking and like you said hit know that you will put on more weight it’s inevitable for some people
Why wait till your 8 -10 stone overweight
Do it while your 3 -4 stone and it will be so much more beneficial to you
I do wish that the NHS would see this at doing it a much lower weight would benefit people and the health system so much
I’m don’t know anyone else who have had the GS at my the weight I was but I would definitely recommend it
Even if it means going abroad to get it done