Bariatric surgery thread 3

[HotSteppa]

Relocating to shiny new thread for all those going through or considering weightless surgery in all its forms.

Mediterranean healing hospital in turkey. End of July. Eeek

I’ve taken the plunge and booked. I’m now utterly terrified!

When are you booked for Jane?

things I am worried about

pain
will I regret it?
DVT
long term (like very long) effects?
what if I die?
am I selfish/shallow/weak?
should I just do fatclub instead. Again?
what if people find out?
what should I tell people?
will I never eat pizza again?
maybe I’ll die
pain

@WitchesWalk I’m just back from the Mediterranean healing hospital last week… fab bunch! Bugra the translator/liaison is utterly fab! He took us on a city tour on our last day… his driving is questionable but his care for patients is brilliant 😂 the surgeons are a jolly bunch too, just a word of warning, the day starts early, blood rounds are 6am at the latest, ward rounds around 8am and the mosque call to prayer is unimpeded by the double glazing- take some earplugs or comfy headphones!

in other news I feel fab, all wounds healing nicely, bruising going down, I can drive again (6 days post op I was back doing school runs!) getting to grips with starting to eat very slowly on thicker liquids and looking forward to some mash and tuna next week!

Oh and @WitchesWalk I got sent home with a full file of all results, a disc of all my scan images etc and wait for it… the endoscopic video of my surgery 🤢 if anyone fancies a watch I can oblige 😂

Hey @WitchesWalk, I’m booked for the 6th June. Your list is pretty much my list. I’m also worried about scarring as I know some surgeons are better at the aesthetics than others even when the quality of their surgical procedure is comparable. I’d like to wear a bikini again without the scars looking too obvious.

Oh and one of my biggest worries is it going wrong and causing me long term pain and damage meaning I never get the health benefits I’m so desperate for.

Has anyone tried semiglutide prior to surgery? Now approved by Nice buy not available in our area.

Hi everyone. I'm new to the thread. I'm ready to take the plunge for a gastric sleeve (8st to lose) and I'm wondering how you went about broaching the subject with your partner's. My husband is amazing, but I think he will probably be concerned about risks, especially if I say I want to go to Turkey for the surgery. We have two young children and if I'm honest I'm worried about the risks too. How did your partner's take it when you told them your plan to have gastric surgery?

If I’m totally honest I broached it by selling it as a way to finally get my gallbladder removed, I had regular attacks which were affecting family life and work and an NHS wait of over 2 years more (already had been waiting since Feb 2020), that would have been £9k alone privately in the UK which I couldn’t justify, so I first talked about it being a solution to that and then introduced the concept of the sleeve, he didn’t bat an eyelid about what I planned and just went with what I wanted, but he’s a gem in that if I wanted to live in a caravan in the Hebrides he’d agree just for a quiet life 😂 we arranged it around weeks he was quiet at work and he stayed home with the kids while I went, he fully supports it and he’s been away a few days and came home and commented that he could see I’d lost weight already (I can’t tell yet). One of the conditions for both of us was the gallbladder went at the same time! Very little recovery difference between the 2 ops so it was almost buy one get one free for a 1/3rd of the price 😁

i didn’t show any fear or nerves in the run up, which was hard and I had someone outside the family to talk to about it but I think they all saw me totally confident about it so were fine. There are risks with everything but choose a good surgeon and a good clinic, listen to the instructions and take the meds and you reduce the risks significantly.

JK. I suspect he thinks I’m not actually serious. He knows I was looking and I told him about price differences and NHS wait times. He’s also horizontally laid back and just accepts my more interesting doings without batting an eyelid.

bunny. No I haven’t. I did try saxenda last year but same as everything. It worked for about a month and then I reverted into the pig I am.

@coldandverytired @WitchesWalk your husband's sound very similar to mine. Very laid back. I'm sure he will support me and go with the flow.

I finally finished reading the thread. Your stories are amazing. It's really helped me make a decision. I was considering the balloon but now I'm leaning towards a sleeve.

For those who didn't tell people about the surgery, how did you explain the weight loss to those who asked? I don't really want to tell anyone, it's no one's business. I don't even want to tell my Mum, but I don't think I'll be able to hide weeks of eating liquids then purees etc. I really don't think she will understand this and won't be supportive. Has anyone else experienced unsupportive family members?

@JKRowlingDevilWoman I was lucky to have the gallbladder excuse to everyone tbh, it wasn’t a lie but I neglected to tell everyone about the additional sleeve 🤷🏼‍♀️ I have yo-yo dieted most of my adult life, so people are used to seeing me at various sizes, hopefully the difference this time will be that I keep it off! I’m also in the middle of moving into a farm and renovating the property so everyone knows I’m going to be doing some fairly hard work so I can pass it off as that. Only my partner knows I’ve had a sleeve, and I didn’t publicise that I was travelling to turkey for surgery either, just that I was going into hospital for an op, I’m SMT and a partner at work so no-one questioned a sick note etc, just booked me out of the business for 2 weeks, but they already knew how ill the gallbladder was making me.

Feel free to ask questions, I’m day 12 post op, back to driving, popped into work a few days ago and I’ve been pottering on some project stuff this week, I feel back to normal in the main, a few twinges as my wounds heal but no pain. Learning to eat again and amazed by my weight loss already! 10.1kg since my LRD 😲

@coldandverytired 10kg? That's amazing! Where in Turkey did you go? Did you travel on your own? How have you found adjusting to the new way of eating?

@JKRowlingDevilWoman I went to the Mediterranean healing hospital in turkey, travelled alone, ‘met’ a fellow patient beforehand on the Facebook group and we supported each other as she was also travelling alone.

Eating wise, I’m learning, I bought a tray of 100ml jam jars and I make them up with various things and have 1 per meal and find it’s just right at the moment. Sugar free jelly is a fab treat; about 6 calories a pot, tonight I had a tiny pot of corned beef hash made with celeriac and potato mash and ‘low fat’ sliced corned beef, I’m full and not even contemplating snacking but for supper I’ll have some Greek yoghurt for the protein. Yesterday I pushed it too far and felt my restriction so I’m learning where my limit is.

Well I decided to discuss it with my husband and he was very supportive. He does have some concerns, especially about going to Turkey. He would much rather me stay in the UK to have it and he says we'll find the money. We can afford it, but I feel so guilty about spending that amount of money to have it done here. I like the idea of having it in the UK as I'd be able to get home faster, but I can't ignore the difference in cost. Now I don't know what to do. I'm sure I would be fine going to Turkey, but I'd be further away, and if it eases my husband's concerns by staying in the UK I think perhaps I should explore this route.

@JKRowlingDevilWoman it’s a decision you have to make and take into consideration other’s feelings. But just in case it might help put worries at bay, when you travel to turkey you can take someone (obvs you have to pay for flights) but companions stay and are looked after free of charge at the hospital, so perhaps having someone travel with you might help ease concerns?

Tonic in the UK seem to be quite popular but I do not know what quality they are.

I decided on turkey and the hospital I did after reading lots of reviews and knowing how many surgeries they do weekly- they were more experienced than the Spire, yes the travel worried me and on day 2 post-op I wondered how the heck I’d sit on a plane for 4.5hrs to get home but by day 4 I was walking around Antalya and actually my 5 days away was really good for my mental health, I was focussed on myself for the first time in ages without having to worry about dealing with the kids, or the house, or work, or my partner, it was liberating sitting watching out of the window with my headphones on doing essentially nothing for a few days.

@JKRowlingDevilWoman, my husband’s one stipulation was that I had it done in the uk. I think some of the Turkish clinics are excellent and of course, so much cheaper. However, he was still stuck in the mindset of botched surgery in dodgy overseas clinics so would only agree if I had it done locally. I also hate flying on my own so that really didn’t appeal. My hospital is 25min drive from home which I’m now really pleased about. I have 3wks until my surgery on 6/6 so start my LRD next week. Excited but nervous not so much about it not working but about it causing long term damage. 😥
@coldandverytired, good tip re the jam jars. I don’t like jelly so I’ll try and think of something else although I don’t have a particularly sweet tooth and I’m hoping one doesn’t appear after the surgery. Good to hear you’re doing so well.

My best friends niece had Dr Tamar in Egypt. He is a Cardiff University professor too.

Hi how is everyone getting on? X

Hi @Twinsandsome , I’m doing great 😁 I’m 3.5 weeks post op, 14kg’s down so far, starting to see changes in my shape and people are commenting on how good I look in myself! Still being fairly careful with food but loving every minute of post-sleeve life, no complications at all (except weird periods but I suspect that’s from hormone disruption).

how are you doing now?

@coldandverytired thats amazing 14kg is loads in such a short timeframe. I’m doing good too I’m 6 weeks out now and dont regret it at all I’ve lot nearly 3 stone but nobody has noticed yet and neither can I lol I have a fair bit to lose tho so that’s likely why. So far I’ve been able to eat anything which im glad but its def noticeable that I can eat much at mealtimes which is hard when eating socially as I haven’t told anyone xx

@Twinsandsome well done! That’s a fab loss! You’ll start noticing it soon, I find people who see me once a week are noticing it more than anyone else because it’s a gradual thing but my other half did cuddle me in bed and mentioned that my arse was shrinking significantly and he could feel my hip bones… although I know he loved me at whatever size I’ve been he’s quite taken with my new found energy and confidence 😁

i don’t notice it in the mirror round my middle but my face has changed shape and my shoulders have some shape again, I’m a dungaree girl and I put my most trusted pair on yesterday and noticed I actually have a waist again and there’s 6inches of spare material each side of my dungarees which makes them look like clown trousers 😂

one day at a time is the way I’m looking at it and having been so overweight my brain will take a while to catch up and notice it properly but I feel great! Wounds all healed, starting with the bio oil and have a follow up with my surgeon next week 😁

how’s everyone else doing? Those travelling or booked in soon, how are
you feeling? I know there is people going to the Mediterranean healing hospital and if you want to ask anything then fire away; there’s a few things I wish I’d known, not least to make sure you have enough room for a tonne of medications on the way home, a long charger cable and decent headphones 🙈

This is really useful and so good to see you doing so well.

packing tips please. I’ve only got hand luggage. Should I pay for a proper case?

@WitchesWalk nope, I just took hand luggage, wore a set of clothes to travel (they got mucky when I was having tests so unwearable home) surgery day changed into pj’s from surgery gown etc late afternoon, stayed in them for 2 days until drain removed and I was more mobile, loose dress/ jumpsuit until I got home! I took 2 pairs of pj’s, a light dressing gown, underwear, crop top, baggy jumpsuit and wore a big cardigan on the way so used that on the way back too. Take a soft crop top type of thing for the pj days because you’ll be wandering around the landing walking out the gas pains and it makes everything more comfortable if you’re secure and everything’s held where it should be 😂! If you are going to the same place I did don’t bother with slippers: they give you a pair! Shampoo and shower gel was provided too. Make sure you have room for medication on the way back. Long charger and adapter plug, download everything you might want to watch as you’ll struggle to access some things from turkey and the Wi-Fi isn’t up to much streaming tbh. Earplugs or comfy headphones and a good book or kindle; I found I kept dropping off halfway through watching something so I gave up and read instead 🙂

Oh and @WitchesWalk have you joined the hospital Facebook group? You may find someone travelling at the same time which is what I did and we got to know each other beforehand; it meant that we were in it together from the start and we keep in touch now to share recipes, weight loss and general queries- it’s lovely to have someone you can ask all the daft or tmi questions after surgery and compare notes!