To ask you about bariatric surgery?

[Merryoldgoat]

My doctor wants me to do it. I’ve accepted the referral but I’m really worried for lots of reasons:

I’m very fat largely because I suspect I have highly disordered eating and worry it will therefore not work

I’ll never be able to enjoy food again

The risks of surgery at my size.

Could anyone who has had it please give me some realistic idea of what it’s like?

Feeling low.

Inbox me if you want. I had vsg (a sleeve) last year it’s the best thing I ever did. I still enjoy food. But I have such a better relationship

There is a great community on Facebook and Instagram too

Thank you I will PM you

Best thing I ever did.

7 stone down and now enjoy all foods and enjoy a massively varied diet (just much smaller portions)

Once you’ve had the surgery it turns the noise off in your head that makes you compulsively overeat. I had highly disordered eating too. I’m sure most fat people do

I have a family member who had the surgery and it has saved his life. He was diabetic and his sleep apnea was that bad he was literally dying in his sleep. He had disordered eating and would try to diet and then binge. He looks a new man and really has a bounce in his step. I would say his confidence has gone though the roof. He is part of the Facebook community and is quite evangelical about having this surgery. Certainly been a great decision for him

The referral will also put you in a position for receiving medication and therapy on the NHS, both of which have a lower risk of death than surgery. Perhaps having access to those might be what you need, rather than surgery, perhaps after trying those, it might turn out that surgery is the best and most suitable option for you. Either way, it's the referral that gives you access to those things.

Have you tried medication?

Im on Ozempic, similar to Saxenda, I only found out about it through this forum, GP has never spoken to me about it.

I am only a week in but as someone references above about noise in your head to compulsively eat, it has turned that off for me. I have stuck to 1k caloreis a day, sometimes less for the week. Its turned off my cravings and hunger. Its like being freed

I am interested in surgery but then found out about this stuff, so Im giving it time to work, probably want to look at about 8 stone, so around 10 months I would assume. If that doesnt work, then I need to look at surgery.

Hi OP I am 6 years post op, I had a gastric bypass. I lost 10st and gradually put about 4 st back on.

It's not easy, at all. But keep in mind there is NO easy way to lose a lot of weight.

You will enjoy food again.

Surgery will not fix disordered eating, I learned this the hard way and I'm having therapy for this now years later.

Keep your options open but make sure you talk to as many people as possible, and try to talk to people at different stages of their journey. Join lots of relevant Facebook / Reddit groups.

Good luck 😃

My friend is 1 year over the operation.

She is doing well, it took time for her mind to catch up with her body with cravings.

She has some bowel issue constipation and finds going hard without laxative.

The positive side she has lost a whopping 7 stone, she looks great, no longer has to plan an outfit weeks in advance, she walks 2/3 miles every day, no more panting.

She doesn't feel hungry anymore she doesn't have the guilt when yoyo dieting, or worried about heart attacks.

She'll have a McDonalds burger without the bun but has been pleasantly surprised how nice lighter food is.
Her confidence has grown hugely.

Her DD aged 10 is overweight she also lost 2 stone walking with DM.

So you can still eat ‘normally’?

DH is a massive foodie and we love eating out on special occasions and I’d still like to enjoy that (3/4 times a year)

The rest of the time it wouldn’t bother me but going to a Michelin Star restaurant and not being able to eat would be upsetting.

Not a reason not to do it but I’m just trying to understand the reality.

Thank you all so much.

It’s good to know meds and therapy are part of the referral and that gives me a bit more confidence.

With eating, I can have a starter in a restaurant or a small main.

Personally: I wouldn’t not have the surgery for 3/4 meals out a year.

Food just won’t give you the same pleasure afterwards and really: that’s an amazing thing (for me anyway) now my pleasure is from shopping anywhere i want, sitting on a train without worrying who is going to be next to me, flying in an aeroplane with no extender seatbelt, getting 15000 steps a day, not worrying about fitting in etc etc

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/weight_loss_chat/4409464-bariatric-surgery-thread-3?msgid=116064078

There’s threads in weight loss chat on this.

I have a sleeve last week so can’t tell you the long term pros and cons, but so far no regrets. I too have disordered eating, but I am not a foodie so I am happy that when I can eat food I can still go out and pick a small side or starter or something.

It is very much an individual choice, and you have to be sure you want to do it. I had mine privately and never doubted having it but still had a few tears on the day as it is a big thing to do. But a week on from the op and I am 6.6 lb down plus 12 lb down from the pre op diet. I feel much happier already.

Another one saying 'Ozempic' it's very good and non invasive.

I have lost weight on it, my daughter has lost 3 stone too.

I take it for diabetes but it can be prescribed for weight loss too as it's very, very good at that.

You may be offered medication like saxenda at the weight loss clinic. If you can afford it it’s worth looking into now.
I started saxenda last week and it has switched off the part of my brain that makes me want to constantly eat, it’s so freeing. So far I’ve lost at least 6lbs.

I honestly thought it was the answer I needed until I read a thread on here and realised peoples lived experiences were out of line with my expectations.

Best of luck.
The surgery is scary, though if you had a car accident you'd have no choice in surgery, this one you have choices you can prepare first, resting your body, eating well, the risks to your health without the operation are going to get higher as time goes on.

You can and can’t eat normally
You can eat leave the food then go back to it later
if you do this you will put on the weight so it’s better to eat and throw away the leftovers

Eat protein first as this will fill you up

A fair amount of people who are 5 years out put some of the weight back on .

If your extremely overweight you may have to factor in loose & saggy skin which can often be as bad as being overweight and you may need surgery for this which can be very expensive
women tend to have this worse than men .

Saxenda & Omezepic work for a while but everyone I know that’s taken that find that after a while it slows down and it’s not as effective

The gastric sleeve Is a tool to use to help you lose weight but if you carry on eating like before you will eventually put some if not all of the weight back on

The golden period is around 18 months - 2 years you will lose the most weight in year 1
It stabilises in year 2
After that it really is up to you

You've got a referral, which is great. My friend was told that unless she went private she wouldn't be alive by the time she got an op. She's in low salary and is on her own, but had a small inheritance which she used to get it done in Turkey. She had a gastric bypass.

She's lost half her original body weight and is more active, gets out more as a result. She's still alive. Is she happy? Not really, no. But there are a lot of contributing factors. She was ripped off for some building work she had done, they left the job half done and she now has to find the money to put it right. She's been in hospital for gallbladder pancreatitis so will need surgery to remove it. She's had bouts of sickness, so rarely keeps down what she eats. She doesn't enjoy food any more. I suspect she is depressed and she's said she wishes she'd stayed fat and happy and enjoyed whatever time she had left. But then she has no dependents or parents so feels there's nothing much left to live for. She believes that everything she's tried to do to improve her life has fallen apart so there's no point.

Last time she lost weight (through dieting) she was left with folds of skin that destroyed her self confidence. She said at least when she was fat she filled her body properly. And post surgery cosmetic surgery is about as rare as rocking horse shit on the NHS, so she's now worried about how she'll get the skin folds dealt with while she also has to find the money to put the building work right.

I feel desperately sorry for her. She got the surgery because her mum's dying wish was for her to live.

Surgery is a life saver, but I had no idea about the psychological impact and links to depression in the aftermath. You should check what after care there is in terms of access to mental health services and cosmetic surgery. That hasn't been there for my friend and her life is spiralling downwards.

Good luck op. I'm sorry if what I've said worries you, but felt it important to say that it's not necessarily the fix most people think it is. But as I said, my friend has been dealing with other issues too, including the death of her mum, so she's very low.

I’m watching this with interest as I am thinking of asking my GP for a referral also.
I have issues surround food and alcohol that have contributed to my weight gain and have been through CBT etc. to no avail.

Gastric sleeve
5 years post op
Weight loss 10st
Weight gain post op 2st

Skin removal
Tummy tuck 270 degree
Arm lift
Thigh lift

Happy? Hell yeah

Can I eat - yes a whole pizza, crusty bread, toast!
Pasta, rice, potatoes - nope feels me up really quick and leaves me hungry 10 minutes later. You learn what to eat though.

Health problems none, no low vitamin levels even though I was told I would be on them for life!

I was under GA for 45 minutes for the gastric sleeve.

Going out - I can eat a starter and main if I pick sensibly like soup or seafood and then protein and salad but add carbs and it would be main only.

Exercise wise you can do so much more which spurs me on to keep moving because if I stop the weight will go back on. I still have to eat sensibly and exercise and the sleeve effect has nearly gone now my stomach has stretched back and I have normal hunger feelings.

Slider foods - these are foods that do not affect your restriction, quavers, crackers, food that “melts” in your mouth - they need to be carefully consumed.

Also you will need to shrink your liver which covers your tummy, most surgeons will ask for you to do either a very low calorie diet (under 1000 per day) or a milk/soup diet but not all do this.

Good luck whatever you decide - it changed my life and I’m very grateful I got the opportunity