Contemplating bariatric surgery.... advice?

[Seriouslyconfused3]

Hi as the title states I am contemplating a gastric sleeve. I am a serial yo yo dieter and my metabolism is fucked. I have pcos and have tried Xenical, saxenda etc- successful until I stop using and the weight piles back on.

I’ve seen an endocrinologist and he said that, in his opinion, sometimes surgery is the only viable option. I’d be paying for it myself as I don’t quite meet the nhs criteria yet.

I’m miserable- I don’t lose weight unless I starve myself ie 600 calories a day and then I’m even more unhappy. I’m worried about my health in the long term, but then the prospect of surgery scares me too.

Any advice from those who have been there before?

600 calories a day to lose weight? How is that possible?

I don't really understand it because when you get surgery, you have to radically change your diet after. If you can do that, why do you need surgery? Just radically change your diet now?

Because living on 600 calories a day is exhausting being constantly hungry. Endocrinologist reckoned the combination of pcos and the yo-yo dieting had fucked my metabolism and my body would constantly try and regain the weight. He said surgery would give me a ‘clean slate’ as such

Please note, I am not a doctor!

My own experience with pcos - it is linked with insulin resistance, and so the only way I can ever lose weight is by doing low carb. Have you tried that or read up on it? Have you discussed this option with your doctor/endocrinologist?

Sorry if thats really obvious and you have tried already, but I used to get so demoralised counting calories and seeing little result, until I read up on pcos and the link to insulin.

What will be the difference after surgery? Will you be able to lose weight on more than 600 calories a day?

@monsteracheeseplant well for a start i won’t feel as hungry and be tempted to over eat...

@Itsnotlikemilkingacow thanks for that advice- I have tried doing very low carb but it made me utterly miserable and as soon as I ate carbs the weight piled back on.

Have you tried metformin? I have PCOS and was prescribed metformin and it really helped with weight loss.

I have @Puddlesplasher unfortunately it had no effect whatsoever- endo said some people don’t have any reaction to it- I’m just one of the unlucky ones

I had a gastric sleeve operation in Aug 2018. Best decision I have ever made and wish I had done it years ago. I also went private, although I would qualify for the NHS treatment I had the funds to pay for it myself and I wanted to be able to choose my clinic and surgeon and felt that if I could afford it, I shouldn't use the NHS for something I had 'done' to myself.

How overweight are you? Happy to answer any questions you hve.

Thanks @Addler I’m about 6 stone overweight- although I’d be more than comfortable to lose 4. How long did the process take from enquiry to operation? Have u had any regrets?

I contacted my clinic and had an initial consultation with my surgeon the next week. I was then booked in for my surgery a month later. I could've had it two weeks later but I was recovering from breaking my leg so he wanted me to be out of the moon boot so I would be able to he as mobile as possible post-op. You also need to have 2/4 weeks of a a pre-op liver diet to shrink your liver, depending on your BMI. You would probably only need 10-14 days of that.

No regrets at all. Before my surgery I had been overweight since I was a small child and in recent years it was just increasing. I was beginning to get worried about the stress on my heart, joints and the possibility of obesity related diseases in the future. My surgeon said it was a miracle that I didn't have any already.

I wish I had done it years ago, even on the NHS when I couldn't afford it myself.

While it is a permanent procedure and I will never be able to eat 'normal' portions, I can eat any food I want now, just smaller sizes. And I feel as full as I would when I would eat a huge huge portion, so I'm just as satisfied. And because I can't eat a lot it's taken away all of the obsession around eating. There's no point me ordering takeaways because I can't finish it etc.

OP I think you should go for it if you can afford it. For many it’s a losing battle and your doctor is right that your body will be battling with you to regain the weight if you do lose it all. While it might seem nice and simple to imagine that we can all be slim if we do 5:2/low carb/MFP, the reality is different and the chances of keeping such a large amount of weight off if you lose it are slim, especially if it requires starvation to get there. Bariatric surgery at least means you have a really good chance of being successful. The best thing is to get advice from the surgeon though rather than people on the Internet :)

There's research somewhere that it you are over a certain weight the only way to loose weight and keep it off is surgery. Vitality healthcare policy pay a huge chunk of it if you have it.

I think you need to understand why you overeat.

I know someone and it transpired the overeating was actually masking many other problems and to be honest it was the worst thing they could have done. Because they could not eat everything else came to the surface.

I'm considering the same OP. I am in a country where I'd pay but there is no minimum BMI requirement. I am not clincially obese but have tried everything yet every year my weight increases. As I age the extra weight is causing other issues.
I'm doing a final low carb attempt during lockdown and then plan om going to see a consultant as soon as they reopen.

Thanks for the kind advice everyone. To be honest it’s the Coronavirus pandemic that’s given me the impetus to do it- life’s too short and I’ve been unhappy with my weight for years. I’m sick of the judgement! I’m happy to work hard and eat right but it just seems like a thankless task at the moment.

@Addler did you tell many people irl? I think a lot of family would be very judgemental. Also how do you manage social occasions and what’s your daily diet like? How much weight have you lost?

Hope all the questions are ok?

@Seriouslyconfused3 What was it about a low carb diet that made you miserable? It's supposed to be very effective for people with PCOS so might be worth exploring again. It also depends what you mean by 'very low carb' - were you trying to exclude carbs altogether?

@biwi I cut all complex carbs ie bread pasta etc, all sugar based products. I basically followed the Michael Mosley plan. It just very much wasn’t for me- I lost weight but there’s no way I could sustain it long term

Writing as someone who has been inspired by the threat of Covid to lose two stone and counting, please don’t delay while you wait for surgery. Get a copy of the Blood Sugar Diet and follow that. You won’t be hungry and the weight will fall off. You need to relearn to eat and it will really help.

I was actually really surprised by how many people I ended up telling, I was initially very worried about my family's reaction and some wider circles of friends, but actually my family were so supportive which made me realise how bad things must have become with my weight.

I began telling friends one by one and every time I did it was really freeing, and it gave me more confidence talking about. Now I'm very matter of fact about it with new people if it comes up/they question why I'm apparently full after a tiny plate of food!

When I go out for dinner I usually will get a starter to come out at the same time as the main, or I'll get a main but will take most of it home in a doggy bag. It makes eating out very cheap!

Main thing diet wise now is protein- that's the most important thing. So I try and eat as much meat and eggs as I can, then vegetables, and not much in the way of carbs as I find them very filling and they don't provide much in the way of nutrition. I'll never be able to get all nutrients my body needs through my diet now so I take vitamins and will for the rest of my life.

I was much much more overweight than you, I was incredibly super-super-morbidly obese. When I met my consultant I had a BMI of 60! And I weighed 170kg. Now I weigh 105. But I'm pregnant so that's going up a little now!

You can lose up to 30% of your total body weight through the sleeve alone, then afterwards any progress is down to how hard you work with your diet and exercise. But it's an incredible jump start to change your way of life and approach to food.

Lol at cross post - but the issue is you need good fats not just to take out carbs.

Have you read the obesity code? Thoroughly recommend.

Thank you for all of your advice. A think I’m going to book a consultation to speak to a bariatric specialist and see what they think

PM me if you would like buddy on your journey.