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?

If you were on purées from the beginning I'm so having Ready brek for dinner !

That was another thing she said I wasn't allowed for a month

Well all clinics are different. I was on protein yoghurts and purées straight away although I don’t think I had egg for about a month. Just eat very slowly and carefully.

When I say walking I only mean around the house to prevent blood clots and ease lingering gas pain don’t go tramping up hills! Sounds like you’re listening to your body which is good.

P.S. I wished I hadn’t done it for six weeks. Honestly I did. I cried every day. It got better though and it was so, so worth it.

Gas pain shoots aeons everywhere and is awful. Try to shuffle around the house when it happens. Getting up and down is awful but it does help to shift it.

Some people were back to work in a fortnight but I took a long time to recover. You’re doing great even if it doesn’t feel like it.

Managing a whole 3000 steps a day

I'm at work today, actually started Monday

Really wishing I could take a month off. I'm so pleased to hear that you also hated it every day for 6 weeks - I'm so fucking mega pissed off 😡 like a ball or annoyance right now

I’m having weight loss surgery in three weeks. Starting my liver reducing diet tomorrow. You can PM me if you like, as I know a lot of people on here don’t get it.

There’s a really busy helpful group on Facebook too, it’s called “uk bariatric women’s support group”.

Scrap that OP, jsut realised this is a really old thread, and you’re actually an old hand at this by now! Good luck and I hope you’re feeling fab by now x

Hi @LaurieFairyCake - I hope things are slowly coming round for you. You're being very brave - I'm trying to prepare myself for a difficult couple of months after the op. Fingers crossed you get a bit more comfortable soon.

@nandaandm

Well done I'm sure you will not look back. Not long to wait either so very best of luck. I went to Turkey too and the care was second to none and much much cheaper

@LaurieFairyCake

Just be careful with what you are having as I was only allowed liquid for first 2 weeks and then only slightly thicker consistency for another 2 weeks ? Your stomach is not healed and you might be causing the pain with what you are having ? Just take it slow and make sure you are drinking enough water so you don't get dehydrated we were told sip and walk and I was absolutely fine and back at work a week after op I ordered a good book from Amazon also if you're interested called The Bariatric Bible

I had tomato soup earlier and then 40 minutes later had horrific yellow Diarrhea

So I'm now wiped out, still in pain and now can't eat plain soup

Yesterday was better than this

I should probably consider this but I will not

Hearing the restrictions on what you can and can’t eat - I honestly would rather be bmi 52

BUT

I am a serious foodie and a trained chef

The reasons I am overweight are plentiful but it’s mainly around alcohol, boredom and crisps

I was this weight 25 years ago and lost it all - 22 stone down to 10 - stayed that way for five years and became a runner and lifted weights. I’m 5ft 3 as well so that’s worse than it sounds - except I carry it very well and am only a size 20 - think o still have decent muscle mass under the blubber

Then I busted my leg in four places and continued to eat like I was still running. Then the frustration at being out of shape kicked in and I kicked the exercise into touch

I’m two weeks into the same thing I did 25 years ago and it’s working

DH wants me to get surgery - but I can’t. The thought of having to eat starters for ever or being so limited just is not for me. I know I can do it as I’ve done it before

The thing is - you have to lose 5-10 percent of your weight first - that’s the hard part for me

Once I get there I can keep it going - so why have surgery

I’m just musing out loud so sorry for hijacking - I just can’t imagine ever being so desperate

Well it's only limited until you recover (though it's much more limited long term if you have a bypass)

And I'm going to be very pleased to eat starter sized incredible food if it satisfies me. The tenth cheese and biscuit is never as good as the first few - you're just eating because you're not satisfied.

I can't think of anything more amazing that getting back to eating all the food I love and not being restricted apart from naturally by my OWN appetite

I can only say it's really hard right now but I do expect like all the amazing stories on this thread that it will get better

I didn't have to lose weight beforehand, are you hoping to get it on the nhs?

I’m not having it at all and I certainly would not pay for it!

Reading this just reaffirms it’s not for me.

@ACautionaryTale I think you're the very reason why people opt for surgery. You lost it all the natural way but regained. You'll probably be able to do it again like you said, but statistics show you're likely to regain again. That puts untold strain on your body & plays havoc with your endocrine system.

The hard part isn't losing the weight its keeping it off & that's where surgery tends to prove it's worth.

I don't think all people who do choose surgery are desperate. I think most are just realistic & content to prioritise health over love of food.

My mother is one of the few. Exactly the same history as me - almost exactly to the same ages when we lost and regained. She’s kept the weight off now for over 20 years

Hope you're feeling a bit better @LaurieFairyCake

I'm doing MUCH better @KAMMA89

I'm eating much more. I do think a lot of my feeling awful was just not being able to eat enough. On Saturday/Sunday I was able to eat 5/6 small meals.

I've started on cottage cheese/cream cheese/proper protein yoghurts and providing I eat slowly I'm fine. I can also eat lower sugar ice cream and jelly - this is good as it means I can get more calories in. At the start I don't think I got above 300, now I'm eating 600/700 and that's much better for me as I don't feel spacey. The other 'food' that's worked for me is Wotsits/French fries - providing I dip them in soup then they just crumble to dust in my mouth (I wouldn't attempt real crisps but dust is fine). That's giving me proper crunch mouth feel which I'm missing.

I'm hugely missing TOAST but I'm looking forward to mashed potato/cod this evening.

I still have pain when I try to turn in bed and sitting completely upright is also still painful. I'm on much less paracetamol now.

My isolation ends in a few days, can't wait to get out for a walk.

And I've lost a stone without being hungry once - so weird

That sounds so encouraging. Very pleased for you! A stone so quickly is brilliant too. Please update us along the way

I’m glad you’re feeling better Laurie, I know what you mean when you just need some calories. I’d be careful about introducing too many of those snacky high calorie foods Like crisps and ice cream though, the weight can still go on with bariatric surgery if you become best friends with the slider foods.

I won't have a problem with slider foods once I get to eat actual food again - I've never had an issue with them before.

I'm so sick of soft foods - that's why I'm dipping French fry crisps (only 79 calories) into hummus/cottage cheese and chewing them to dust.

I'm missing my favourite foods so much - I have a garden full of beautifully ripe tomatoes I can't eat and I've got terrible cravings for beetroot (my favourite food, I eat a jar every couple of days) I think that's why the french fry crisps work as there's actual salty taste to them.

I've still got horrible pain turning in bed next to and below the belly button but I am working full days now - not bad in just under 2 weeks. Though it is affecting my sleep, getting only 5 hours a night.

Coughing and sneezing are so painful

It takes me a long time to feel hungry in the morning, about 11-12 ish. Once I've 'eaten' (2 tablespoons of whatever) I'm then hungry every couple of hours. Still eating a lot of the jelly pots (only 6 calories) as I want to use them up and they don't irritate my stomach.

Hi everyone,
This thread is amazing especially because most of them i've come across on mumsnet, people can be right judgemental.
Hows everyone getting on? Ive been wanting to do surgery for a while now and have got in touch with the GP. I have been referred to a weight loss team? i think and have a telephone appt booked for tuesday. I think this is a 12 week weight loss programme from what i've researched but not too sure. Im hoping Ill be eligible on the NHS (bmi is over 50).
Has anyone had any recent experience with the NHS with a similar bmi? please get in touch. Would love to hear.
Also how js everyone doing that has had the surgery recently?

@MaMaMyCorona

I was due to have a gastric bypass on 23/03 but due to corona virus obviously this was cancelled so I should be getting it when elective surgeries are back up and running. I had to go to appointments with a dietician in the bariatric department in the hospital for a year (every 4/6 weeks) and in that year I had to lose 5% of my body weight (as the bare minimum requirement) and keep it off for the year before I could then be considered for bariatric surgery. I then had to see a psychologist twice, a bariatric nurse, have an ecg twice, full blood tests multiple times, see an anethetist and have two appointments with a bariatric surgeon. I was then finally given a surgery date, so it was a long process with a lot of hoops to jump through. Luckily despite my weight I have no other medical issues at all so it was a lot quicker process for me and more straight forward than a lot of other patients. I obviously haven't had surgery yet but i.know this is completely the right decision for me (as the surgeons etc agree) I have to practically starve myself to lose any weight at all (600 calories a day maximum) from years of messing up my metabolism. Gastric bypass doesn't just make your stomach physically smaller it also for some reason completely resets your metabolic system and that is unfortunately what I need. I don't care if other people believe it is the 'easy' way, this will be the only thing that will work for me and will stop me getting weight related illnesses in the future (thus saving the nhs money in the long run)

Do you mind me asking what your bmi was?

@wibblewobblex
I had my gastric sleeve in Feb and am just short of 7 stone lost so very happy I was hitting 21stone and am now 14 stone 2 lbs. I went abroad for my surgery as NHS wouldn't entertain me as I had no other co-morbidities and I couldn't afford to pay well over 10k to go private in the UK. I had a fantastic experience and have no regrets. I have only shared with close family and friends and that can sometimes be difficult as difficult to eat normal sized portions if out for food but coronavirus has helped with that as early on everywhere was shut! It's a very private matter and your body your choice and I didn't want to get into discussions with people about it.Good luck to you with your journey