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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Bikini sleeve trend, to not think it deserves so much praise!

186 replies

marbleeffect · 27/03/2024 18:33

Huge trend here at the moment of several Mum friends / colleagues going to Egypt for the fashionable new trend of having a Bikini Sleeve operation. I have 4 friends and several more acquaintances that have had it done recently. Off to Egypt they go, return home, disappear for a few weeks then slowly reappear several stone slimmer. The 4 friends I know have lost 33 stone between them.
AIBU to think having this procedure done doesn't deserve as much adoring praise as it gets?
Lots of FB / Insta comments of "Well done!"
They are all in debt from having it done and now considering getting in more debt for follow up operations to rid them of the excess skin.
I'm probably very naive at the recovery process, I've no doubt it is difficult and painful but I worry about the example it is setting.
Thoughts?

OP posts:
FlyingDuck5 · 27/03/2024 21:01

I wouldn’t holiday in Egypt let alone fly there for surgery

Candleab · 27/03/2024 21:02

theeyeofdoe · 27/03/2024 20:54

Well she’s obviously in less pain as she was overweight before.

the only thing the op does is stop you eating too much.
You can do that yourself - without the scar.

Not when it's an addiction. Not when you have psychological issues around food.

crepedechine · 27/03/2024 21:05

Candleab · 27/03/2024 18:54

So just a gastric sleeve?

I had this done abroad. My BMI was 46 and I'd suffered my whole life with an eating disorder.

I had borderline thyroid issues.
I was prediabetic
I had digestion issues
I felt suicidal.

My BMI is now 26 and I have a life. I can play with my kids, walk places and not be ashamed of myself.

It wasn't for cosmetic reasons, it was to save my own life.

Edited

Fair play to you. Must be absolutely amazing to feel you’ve your life to enjoy after suffering so long.

StaunchMomma · 27/03/2024 21:07

The simple solution to all this is of course not go get fat in the first place

Yeah, lardy arses! You need to turn back TIME!! 🙄

theeyeofdoe · 27/03/2024 21:10

TheSolstices · 27/03/2024 21:00

No one has ever thought of this before you.

What’s your point?

theeyeofdoe · 27/03/2024 21:11

StaunchMomma · 27/03/2024 21:07

The simple solution to all this is of course not go get fat in the first place

Yeah, lardy arses! You need to turn back TIME!! 🙄

Eh? So you stop eating too much, exercise more and then you loose weight. Surely you know that.

freyastar · 27/03/2024 21:15

marbleeffect · 27/03/2024 19:02

@Candleab I don't doubt it is a difficult recovery process, I've heard the stories about liquid diets and introducing foods etc. but if there's that much work following the procedure, surely the same amount of work could have been put in losing the weight in the first place, without being a thousands of pounds worse off?

I’ve not had that surgery but are you really that dense/naive to be asking that?

Just mind your business about your friends. No one is asking you to pay to have it done yourself.

NannyGythaOgg · 27/03/2024 21:15

Namerchanger1 · 27/03/2024 19:20

Good for you, but can I ask how it fixed your eating disorder? Surely it doesnt change the desire to continue eating?

Yes it does

ElBandito · 27/03/2024 21:20

I'm half way through reading "Why we eat (too much)" by Andrew Jenkinson who's a bariatric surgeon. He outlines the many reasons obese people will find it nigh on impossible to lose weight. It's an eye opener.

Reading it would certainly help some posters gain a little more compassion and understanding. If it was really as easy as 'simply not getting fat' or 'putting in a little bit of work' to lose weight then no one would be obese.

Having said that I don't think I would want to go abroad for surgery.

Also there seems to be a lot of people here who think the only reputable doctors in this world work in Europe or the USA.

marbleeffect · 27/03/2024 21:23

@freyastar Take it easy, I'm neither dense nor naive. Open to being educated and interested in others opinions, hence starting the thread for discussion. Not a single thing I've said on this thread that I haven't spoken to said Friends about in real life, we talked about it at great length in fact. I've no doubt they don't agree with some of the choices I've made and that's absolutely fine.

OP posts:
theeyeofdoe · 27/03/2024 21:31

Lanawashington · 27/03/2024 20:15

This is one of those things where people just can’t win no matter what they do. You only have to look at a few mumsnet threads each day to see how much a lot of mumsnetters despise fat people and think someone being fat is some kind of massive failure. Posters talk about people being overweight with such disgust. Constant comments about how much obese people cost the NHS etc. Then you get people paying privately to resolve it by doing something which is extremely hard and they get judged and berated for that too🤦🏻‍♀️

the other option now seems to be to accept that people are fat, which is worse as they’ll die younger and cost the economy more. (And also look awful)
why would anyone want that?

TheSolstices · 27/03/2024 21:34

theeyeofdoe · 27/03/2024 21:10

What’s your point?

OK. Why do you think 25% of the population of the UK is obese and something like 37% is overweight? Is it because it has never occurred to them to eat less?

Medstudent12 · 27/03/2024 21:38

Candleab · 27/03/2024 20:04

I've had all my follow up bloodwork on the NHS via my GP who I went to see immediately after getting back from Turkey. She checked me over and booked my first blood test.

She congratulated me on my weightloss last time I saw her and joked about me saving the NHS thousands as I was heading towards diabetes previously. She's never chasisted me.

I've only had 1 negative reaction from a nurse when I first got back.

You need further follow up. Not just one blood test. Please speak to your Gp. It’s usually hospital follow up initially.

Medstudent12 · 27/03/2024 21:39

Judylicious · 27/03/2024 20:04

One of the best surgeons for the world at this surgery is based in Egypt, in Alexandria, Dr Tamer. I had mine done in Turkey, by Dr Deniz, again well known for performing this surgery successfully. For those who have tried everything else this is live saving surgery, and the complication rate is lower than that of the NHS.

Most aftercare I've had done privately, but I'm immensely grateful I had the chance to do this in a hospital far cleaner and more modern than any here and by a surgeon who is renowned for it. 15 months out and no regrets.

Well renowned? As in good reviews online from patients? Or by their peers? Are they producing research (good quality peer reviewed articles). Where did they train?

theeyeofdoe · 27/03/2024 21:40

TheSolstices · 27/03/2024 21:34

OK. Why do you think 25% of the population of the UK is obese and something like 37% is overweight? Is it because it has never occurred to them to eat less?

Clearly they haven’t.

My son has recently lost an enormous amount of weight by (wait for it)..,,,,

eating less and exercising more.

Candleab · 27/03/2024 21:40

Medstudent12 · 27/03/2024 21:38

You need further follow up. Not just one blood test. Please speak to your Gp. It’s usually hospital follow up initially.

I'm 3 years out, who said I've only had one blood test?

theeyeofdoe · 27/03/2024 21:42

Oh and yes before he was - eating too much (annoyingly late at night when we couldn’t police it) and not doing enough exercise

Candleab · 27/03/2024 21:44

theeyeofdoe · 27/03/2024 21:40

Clearly they haven’t.

My son has recently lost an enormous amount of weight by (wait for it)..,,,,

eating less and exercising more.

Is your son Autistic? Have PTSD? Addictive personality? Does he have depression? Is he a young carer? Is he on an extremely limited income? Does he have a physical disability that hinders exercise? Or a mental one?

I mean why did you let him get fat in the first place? If he's lost a load of weight he was really irresponsible to have gained it.

Couldn't he have just ate well and exercised from the start? Why waste time gaining the weight if it was so easy to lose it?

Why didn't he stop after the first 7lbs gain and lose it? Why carry on getting fatter and fatter?

breakfastdinnerandtea · 27/03/2024 21:45

Good to see that us fat people are judged for being fat and judged for trying to do something about it. Damned if you do...
It's only okay if we lose weight in the "proper" way, even though you have to change your diet for bariatric surgery to work anyway.

Mayflower282 · 27/03/2024 21:46

Isn’t it cheaper and less risky to just get Wegovy injections? 🤨

Judylicious · 27/03/2024 21:47

Medstudent12 · 27/03/2024 21:39

Well renowned? As in good reviews online from patients? Or by their peers? Are they producing research (good quality peer reviewed articles). Where did they train?

Well I'm sure you have the same access to Google as I do. He's a professor at the University of Alexandria. He is a fellow of two US universities, a member of the UK college of Surgeons, his published articles are here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tamer-Abdelbaki

Is your problem that he's Egyptian, based in his home country and incidentally also receives good patient reviews?

Candleab · 27/03/2024 21:48

Mayflower282 · 27/03/2024 21:46

Isn’t it cheaper and less risky to just get Wegovy injections? 🤨

I had saxenda injections and had a reaction to them.
And probably would have regained the weight as soon as they stopped.

Pretty sure my stomach won't grow back.

Medstudent12 · 27/03/2024 21:48

Candleab · 27/03/2024 21:40

I'm 3 years out, who said I've only had one blood test?

I’m glad that (so far) you’ve had no complications. But this article https://www.bmj.com/content/384/bmj.q583#:~:text=The%20society%20warned%20that%20some,having%20weight%20loss%20surgery%20abroad. from earlier this year in the British medical journal states otherwise, it’s a very well regarded publications and states the nhs experts in this have grave concerns.

Please please can posters stop recommending surgery abroad based on their own good experience. You are n=1, it’s an anecdote, it’s a couple of people’s experience. In medicine we don’t make life changing decisions based on an anecdote. We make it based on evidence. Which shows people increase their risk of death and serious complications by choosing to go abroad.

I understand people feel that they have no choice. But it’s irresponsible to recommend it to others and to not highlight the very real and published risks associated with this.

All the posters saying “eat less move more” are talking nonsense. I’ve recently been to a conference earlier this year and some of the doctors who are experts in obesity agree it is much more complicated than that.

Weight loss surgery: Patients need clearer warnings of risks from overseas care, say doctors

UK doctors are calling for a national public awareness campaign to inform people of the risks of going overseas for weight loss surgery, including that their GP may not provide routine follow-up care once they return. The British Obesity and Metabolic...

https://www.bmj.com/content/384/bmj.q583#:~:text=The%20society%20warned%20that%20some,having%20weight%20loss%20surgery%20abroad.

Judylicious · 27/03/2024 21:49

Mayflower282 · 27/03/2024 21:46

Isn’t it cheaper and less risky to just get Wegovy injections? 🤨

I tried them, the issue is you pile the weight back on when you stop, and extended use can cause damage to your pancreas.

Candleab · 27/03/2024 21:50

I'll continue to recommend it based on my own personal experience. That's all anyone can do when recommending anything.

I had a wonderful experience. I'm very healthy now. Turkey was fantastic, the care was excellent. The price was affordable.

I'm a hundred times happier.