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?

Ah well. It will a pleasant place to be anyway.

What is the recovery time like, from surgery to going back to a full on, full time job? I am no wimp, back to work in a month after a hysterectomy, but I'm a bit 'sicky' with my digestion.

@Joswis impossible to say really & might depend on how full on your job is, how physical it is etc. I'm almost 4 weeks out & exercising/walking as normal but still hurts a bit to bend on one incision. Also, not able to get many calories in so energy pretty low. I should say I'm relatively young, have zero health issues & was on the lower end of BMI scale for this sort of surgery.

I could have gone back to my desk job after about 7 days but had annual leave to use so booked 2 weeks & was glad for it. Not had any sickness past the first few days in hospital but I've been super strict on sticking to diet stages & watching fat/sugar content like a hawk.

@Joswis pain wise I was ok from about day 4 (off meds about day 3) but I didn’t account for the exhaustion. Even walking dc to school left me feeling ill until after 2 weeks or so

As there isn't really room for carbs, are you effectively in keto, do you think?

I have been @picklemewalnuts. I’ve tried incorporating carbs as per my nutritional plan but they kill me, so I’ve just been protein heavy

That's interesting.

You've seriously inspired me. I've been overweight all my adult life. I think if my contract is renewed for next year, I'm going to do it in the next summer holiday.

@DoctorYang

I'm going to Turkey on Jan 4th for a mini bypass.

What is a mini bypass please?

So, I've been reading old post about gastric surgery and lots of it is negative. Mostly people saying don't do it! And then stories about weight gain and hair loss.

This is the most positive thread to date!

So things I'm worried about:
Telling friends and family
Loose skin
Regrets
Missing out on never eating a Sunday Roast ever again
Not being invited in nights out
Getting a vomiting bug
Never enjoying apple crumble again
Not having my DH 100% support when I need it post op

@scryingeyes when you think about the pros for getting it done, I'm pretty sure that ^ list will be tiny in comparison! I haven't got it done yet but am booked for January in Turkey.

I slid it into conversation with DP about how many people I know that have had it done and what amazing results they had. He wasn't convinced at all so I joined the facebook page for the place I am going to in Turkey then asked DP if he would read some of the reviews if I added him. So I did and he was shocked at the great reviews and results. He also saw some posts from people he knew and asked them in person about recovery and how safe they felt having it done in Turkey. One of them is an NHS nurse and said the standard of care she received was shockingly better than the NHS here and they were so thorough with tests etc beforehand.

Loose skin, I am dreading. To be honest though, I hate my fat body so if I even look ok in clothes then I will try to accept my body naked. I know this is a part I will struggle with but I am going ahead anyway.

I was dreading telling my sister. She can be quite judgemental and to be honest her opinion would have been really important to me and if she had had a negative reaction to it I think it would have made me wobble. So I held off until I knew 100% it was what I was going to do. She is thrilled for me. She knows how much I've struggled with the weight and how hard it is to diet and keep it off.

Why wouldn't you be invited on nights out? You can still drink/eat, you just need to know your limits. I will test mine at home with a few drinks before ever having a night out.

People vomit after the op, so a vomiting bug wouldn't be any worse than that. And those people haven't said it was horrible pain, just uncomfortable.

Apple crumble won't taste as good as you'll feel seeing yourself slimmer in 10/12 months.

As I said, I haven't got the op yet but I am so excited about it now. Yes I am scared at times but I am also terrified of how bad my health will get (it's bad enough now) so I need to do this now.

I think when it comes to discussing gastric surgery scryingeyes, it’s important people are talking about the same procedures. A thread mainly focused on a gastric band will be heavily more negative, many doctors/surgeons won’t perform a gastric band now as the risks are much greater.
A gastric sleeve operation is different to a gastric bypass. Both will give you the best chance of weight loss and maintaining weight loss (people with an obese bmi and the stats for diet based weight loss aren’t great without surgical intervention) but they can have different side effects. I believe lots of old threads have the ‘my friends had a band and...’ negative stories.

Another one for Turkey here,total cost for 4 nights in hospital and 2 in beautiful hotel with all tests (very thorough) £3750 and then just flight to pay which was around £220 ? Very good level of care. So if you are struggling with the financial cost it is worth thinking about to get your dreams realised. Over 9 months out and 7 stone lost and no regrets what's so ever

I had the sleeve btw

Gosh, luckylady. That's a bargain!

Thank you for putting my mind at rest. I only know two people who've had the procedure done - one is my DSIL who'm I never see and don't really keep in touch with (and I don't know if she knows that I know she's had it done.) The other lady is a shop assistant who tells everyone so I might approach her.

One thing is for sure, if I go ahead (and still a big if at the moment) it won't be on the NHS. I can't be doing with the wait and the hoops you need to jump through. I'm struggling with my weight. I have joined SW more times than I care to remember, tried everything else, I've had a gym referral which was going great until covid. So I don't need to convince anyone that this is the last resort.

So Turkey, including flights would be around £4k? Now where's my credit card......

Can anyone point me in the direction of the face group please or mention the hopsital in Turkey.
Thanks

@chocolatespiders search Get Slim in Turkey

Get Slim In Turkey use Gozde and Ekol hospitals. There's a good Facebook group that you can join and there's plenty of info on there.

I went with Istanbul bariatric clinic who use the memorial sisli hospital which you can google, very swish private hospital and the surgeon is dr Murat Ustun, can't recommend them highly enough. I also looked at Erdem hospital and dr Ali solmaz which seem to have a good reputation also and they have a Facebook group you can join ?

Well, just got confirmation that after discussing my case, I have been referred for surgery. I’m really pleased, excited and scared in equal measure!

Congrats @RalphtheMouth! Not be be corny but Its the start of a life changing journey. Keep us updated

Thanks @Seriouslyconfused3. How are you getting on?

Really well thanks- I finally broke my stall after three very long weeks trying to get another stone off before Christmas!

Can I ask if you are struggling with portion control?