Bariatric surgery no.2 thread

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For everyone following from the last thread...

If you’re new please feel free to join in and share your experiences

Good luck two of you! So exciting

@RalphtheMouth and @PUER125 - good luck!! You’ll be fine and looking forward to hearing your updates.

Good luck to all!

Good luck @RalptheMouth, and thank you all for your good wishes

Why are people choosing a bypass over a sleeve and vice versa?

The surgeon will make recommendations based on your eating habits.

Good luck @RalphtheMouth and @PUER125 thinking of you

Good luck guys! You’re about to get the biggest fresh start ever!

Good luck @RalphtheMouth and @PUER125

Hope all goes well

Just joining in this thread. I had my first chat with my surgeon, Guy Slater, on Tuesday.

I've been recommended for NHS Bypass at St Richards, and told I'm now on a 9 month waiting list.

Looking forward to chatting along with you.

Thanks for all the good wishes, much appreciated. Bypass went well and feeling ok. Bad night with pain in my side and back, but sitting up in the chair now on drip and oxygen (sats low). I’ve been for a walk up and down the corridor and will do again later. Just had my first sip of tea and will have some soup later.

Good luck Puer!

I found the first 24 hrs post op the worst by far Ralph- once you get back home and get settled you will hopefully feel much better.

Do keep moving gently it helps to get all the air out. I spent the first week after shuffling up and down my landing but it really helped.

I'm taking it people must lose weight in the first instance due to the surgery? Can't be eating much in the days after surgery?

Thanks@CoronaCurls

Well done @RalphtheMouth - the first few days are definitely the worst. Keep sipping water and shuffling about! I felt a lot better when I was home too.

@summeriscomingsoon - most surgeons ask you to do a 2 week liver reduction diet which is very low calorie. It’s to shrink the liver so that surgery can take place easily and safely. It’s not really to lose weight beforehand although this is usually a result too.

@summeriscomingsoon The “weight loss” in the early weeks post op is mostly from dehydration as it’s so hard to get all your water in, never mind the protein shakes or soups.

Real fat loss starts happening a few weeks post op.

My LRD starts tomorrow. I'm wondering what to have as a last supper tonight.

For my last supper I had lasagne, chips, garlic bread and a big glass of red wine. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hi again. Has anyone else read the Living with Bariatric Surgery book? I bought a copy and it's really good but she does seem to mention that we shouldn't be drinking alcohol post surgery. She doesn't say for the 'transition period' and implies it's a lifetime cessation. Is this the case? I have to admit, the thought of no glasses of wine at any point in my future feels quite, erm...sobering!

I’ve read bits of it, kinda wish I’d bought a physical copy as I find it quite tedious on my kindle.

I thought the general rule was a year post op without alcohol, but on the letter from my surgeon to my GP he says six months post op without it.

I haven’t really been too bothered yet. I think I’ll certainly have a few sips of champagne when I finally complete on my new house, I’m 12 weeks post op tomorrow. Not expecting house to complete for several more weeks yet.

I’m not a house drinker, much prefer to do it out with friends so feel quite sure I’m not likely to transfer food addiction to drink instead. I just don’t really want the empty calories during this first year where I’m getting the most benefit from the surgery that I’m ever going to have.

Hello everyone. Just read trough this and the previous thread. What a lovely supportive group. Would love to join. I've been thinking about surgery for a couple of months. Initially I thought about going to Dr Tamer in Egypt but the flight post surgery is of putting. I contacted Tonic last week who were very helpful and I'm having a chat with a surgeon this week. I've also investigated going direct with surgeons too as it's cheaper. Has anyone used Tonic or gone direct? Trying to work out if the price difference is worth it. Thanks

Morning all, just popped back to update on my post surgery anxiety which I posted about a few weeks back. Safe to say I am much less anxious and starting to feel mostly back to normal mentally.

I do feel very lucky that post op I had no pain whatsoever, not even gas pain. I was walking the corridor a few hours after surgery and continued to do that for the 3 days I spent in hospital and it seemed to have helped so much.

I'm 5 weeks post op today and things are going well. Food is pretty hit and miss, sometimes I'll eat 2-3 spoonfuls and find that it's just enough to fill me up whereas other times I'll eat the same amount and find myself bringing it back up in the form of foamies (ugh) so it's still pretty hard to find a good balance.

Can I ask what you are all eating now at whatever weeks? I can't eat much, yesterday I had a tablespoon of mash potato and one protein sausage. I ate half of it all and a slice of ham in the evening and that's it. Some days I am a bit sad that I can't eat much but I know (hope) that this stage isn't forever and in a few months/a year I'll be able to eat a side plate size dinner.

I've around 1st 10lbs off so far, it's what I've put on this past year or so, so it doesn't really feel like I've lost much yet but I love seeing the numbers come down. Getting impatient now though to see the next stone bracket!

At 5 weeks post op I was still on soft diet and tbh everything was very hit and miss. Appetite was patchy and unreliable and eating was a chore.

12 weeks post op today and appetite and I take much more reliable. It gets better. Can manage more now than the early weeks too.

*and intake

Hi @GreenEyedMonsterMunch - I’m now 20 weeks post op. I’ve lost 4 stone 2lbs. My daily diet is something like this:

Breakfast: one egg either boiled or fried. Normally half a piece of buttered toast but sometimes no toast.
Morning: lots of tea and coffee no food snacks.
Lunch: salad (lettuce cucumber red pepper) with protein (cottage cheese or prawns or cheese or tuna) with dessert spoon of dressing. Side plate size. Maybe a satsuma.

Afternoon snack: aim for something mostly protein and about 100 calories so a piece of cheese, small packet of biltong, pot of kvarg.
Dinner: whatever family is having but focus on protein and veg. So I eat a lot of fish, Bolognese (no pasta), chicken etc. Again, side plate or small bowl size.

I hope this is helpful. I feel like I eat really healthily and like naturally slim people. I avoid sugar and sweet stuff which I don’t find difficult now. My overall carb intake is also quite low because by the time I’ve got my protein and veg in, I’m full.

Hi @Jubilate - I have read that book and found it very helpful. On alcohol my dietitian and surgeon advised no alcohol for 1 year. They gave me the following reasons:

1. Avoid risk of stomach ulcers (I had a sleeve)
2. Empty calories in drinks and any snacks eaten together
3. Risk of transference addiction (ie swapping over eating for alcohol)

There’s no two ways about it, weight loss surgery is life changing and you do have to make changes. Only you can decide if those changes are worth making.