Bariatric surgery thread 3

[HotSteppa]

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

Hi @bellac11 I had my surgery at Spire, they've been great so far but unfortunately not cheap! Lots of people go to Turkey and seem really happy but there have been some horror stories on the news recently (if you look back through this thread I think there are some recommendations on which overseas clinics they've gone for). I can't advise on the medication side as I didn't go down this route, but having looked at the stats for long term success in keeping the weight off, WLS has very good results. Good luck with whatever you decide x

Can I ask those that are post surgery, what did you tell people?

(I’d rather not discuss this with my in-laws particularly, but they’re going to notice the post surgery diet at family meals)

Thank you

I did think about abroad as its much cheaper but I think I would get overwhelmed with travelling/hotel stay while just recovering in the early moments or days after surgery, would rather be in my own car and own home but also to be in reasy reach of the hospital in case of needing follow ups etc

Could you tell a white lie and say you've got a gall bladder issue thats being investigated and cant eat easily/weight loss

@Bumblebeehum I'm just telling people who ask that I'm doing a healthy eating plan, most people don't seem to notice or care that much anyway what I'm eating as they're usually busy with their own meal! But gallbladder could work too as the diet is very restricted for that as well. I've found that the people I've told about the WLS have a range of reactions, a lot of them related to their own issues with food/weight I think x

I’m a ‘secret sleever’ I just told people I was on a VLCD with only shakes. I avoided eating completely in front of people and just had soft drinks at restaurants for a few weeks. I’ve done them before so it was believable. I think a couple of people may suspect now that I’ve lost so much weight but no one has accused me directly. I’ve had a bikini sleeve so I don’t have visible scars.
I eat out a lot and have dinner parties all the time. As the previous poster said most people are too wrapped up in their own food etc to notice. My husband knows so he will discreetly take some of my food if needs be.

Thanks, the shakes sound like a good idea, I’ve never used them for weight loss before (but have never been this far gone before, looking forward to having a forever solution to yoyo-ing)

@bellac11 i used Dr Tuna at the Mediterranean weightloss clinic in Turkey. They were absolutely fantastic and ive had absolutely no problems. Ive lost 7stone so far. I would say the only bad thing is that its two flights rather than just the one.

@bloodyplanes when did you have surgery 7 stone loss is amazing!!

@Twinsandsome i had surgery at the end of April, best thing I've ever done.

@bloodyplanes I had surgery in April with dr tuna too! Did you have bypass or sleeve? X

Oh wow that's great, he's fantastic isnt he? I had a bypass. How are you getting on?

I wish I had the bypass I was too scared at the time but now if I had my time again I’d go for bypass. I could really do with the dumping syndrome as I have stalled for the past maybe 7-8 weeks and still have so much left to lose I’ve just got 5 off maybe another 10 left to go so I am very disheartened at the minute and reaching for sliders which is making the situ worse. I can’t stop thinking I want to reverse from sleep to bypass as my golden year will be up with so much still left to lose but if I was to do that I’d only let dr tuna do it. He’s fantastic at what he does. Xx

Im still trying to get my head around the different types and last night was in the frame of mind to want a sleeve. I felt that the bypass is too much mucking about with how the body works etc and worried that if something goes wrong with a bypass then thats your whole digestive system up the spout

What do you mean by dumping syndrome and what are sliders?

Also does anyone know why surgeons in the Uk are called Mr x and abroad they seem to be Dr x? Is there something I should be looking out for in terms of qualifications?

What did you have and do you mind saying how much you needed to lose?

@bellac11 i had a bypass and i need to lose about 10 stone

UK tradition is to call medical Dr's 'Dr' and surgical Dr's 'Mr/Miss/Mrs/Ms' in honour of the origins back to the barber surgeons (literally hairdressing barbers with no medical qualifications, therefore Mr not Dr) It's a British historic quirk, all other countries use Dr for surgeons. We're the odd ones.

I need to lose about that.

My worry about a bypass is that its fiddling with the plumbing and I thought I read that the sleeve actually cuts off the bit of your stomach that produces the hunger hormone, thats what I need, to stop craving the food all the time.

So I’ve taken the plunge and my surgery is booked for early Jan in the Uk. Decided sleeve is what I want.

feeling very nervous but also excited.

@Scoundrella good luck! I had my sleeve 2 weeks ago in the UK, all fine so far. It's a huge decision but I haven't regretted it so far (and 2 stone down already)

Where are you having this done and what made you choose this?

I'm thinking of going ahead with this but I have a young baby. Realistically how soon could I book this? My baby is approx. 12lb (for reference to lifting, if anyone knows the maximum you can lift after) and how soon could I get back to my baby who I'm the main carer for?

I had a sleeve last month. I was told not to lift more than 10lbs for 6 weeks.

@bellac11 I had the bypass and have had no hunger at all since surgery. It's a weird feeling since I've spent my whole life hungry 🤣

Im continuing to research all the options but havent had an y consultations yet but wonder about the risk of malnutrition and whether taking supplements are enough, does the stomach still absorb nutrients in the same way if you have a sleeve? This is a huge worry of mine