Gastric Sleeve

[ThePastKnocks]

I'm trying to decide whether to go for it. I have two young children and I'm so worried about the risks but I don't want to die young like all of my grandparents and one of my parents. My kids need me and I've been yoyo dieting for far too long. I'm starting therapy soon and hope to cover some of the triggers for my disordered eating so I'm hoping if I had a GS I'd stick with it.

If you've had one, please can you tell me:

How much you've lost (if you're happy to share
your start weight, please do)
Pros
Cons
Bottom line if you'd recommend it or not
Who your surgeon was and where in the world you had it done

If you've got any other perspective you'd like to add, I'd like to hear it.

i had a sleeve in Dec 2021. I was 15 stone 1, now I’m 9 stone 7. I was a size 18 now an 8. It is the best thing I have ever done. I am 50, and went on my first diet at 19. Apart from when I was pregnant I was either dieting or bingeing. It was a horrendous cycle. I never stayed the same weight for more than a few weeks.
I went to Dr Tamer in Egypt. He is one of the very best weight loss surgeons in the world. My surgery cost £2,800, flights £400, hotel for two nights £250. I went alone, was terrified but it was so easy.

@lucywiltshire thank you. Very interesting and same sort of cycle I'm in.

Can I ask how the vitamins go down? How many do you take? Is there a particular brand you buy?

I am rubbish at swallowing pills so I buy gummies which taste delicious. I can’t remember all the ones I take but I just buy in bulk. I take four different ones a day, and an iron supplement

Hello

I had a gastric sleeve almost 10 months ago. My heaviest weight was 19stone, and I was 18 and a half when I had surgery. I am now 12 stone and size 10/12 (I’m 5’7”). I went to Turkey (alone) and had surgery with Dr Deniz in Izmir. My costs were similar to @lucywiltshire. I am also 50 (was 49 at the time) and had always been slim until my forties, but piled it on then for various emotional reasons, which lead to binge eating.

I am half a stone off my BMI ‘healthy’ and hospital target weight of 11 and a half stone, but I probably want to get down to 10 and a half (I weighed this when younger and know this weight suits me).

I would do it again and wish I had done it when I first starting researching a few years ago. It is like any other diet in that there are ways to ‘chest’ if you want to and it is not easy for the first few months, but you soon get used to it and the fact that the weight actually comes off is a huge motivator.

I'm booked in to have a VSG at Apera Health on 3rd July.

I'm 42 and now 20 stone and a size 22/24 the early medically enforced menopause has kicked my ass!

I'm looking forward to getting my life back.

It will change your life @kittykatrawks! Start weaning yourself off caffeine, alcohol, sugar beforehand as I didn’t and had a terrible withdrawal headache for the first few days. I feel like I have my life back, like the person I used to be before I put the weight on.

I'm having this in Riga at the end of this month. Cost has been around £5k. I chose it as it is in the EU, clinic have very low adverse outcome stats and a short direct flight but did consider Dr Tamer as he has excellent stats also, is cheaper but longer flight. I'm travelling alone which is why I went for the shorter flight.

I've been overweight/obese all of my adult life, even pre DC the lowest I've got down to is 12 stone which is still 1 stone overweight for me. I then maintain for a few months and then it slowly goes back on. Currently at 16 stone. Im getting married in Mexico next October and I want to look and feel amazing. Doing the liver reduction diet now and I honestly can't wait. I will update once I've had it done.

Yes, it's time for me too. I think I was about 7 the last time I was a healthy weight

Can anyone recommend questions to ask a surgeon at the first consultation? It's online and just going over medical history and to discuss what might be right for me.

Where can I get information on their stats or reviews?

They come highly recommended but I think aftercare is only a year so I'm toying with looking into others. What should I be looking for?

Bump

I had mine in London 2017 and lost 10 stone altogether. Recovery was fine with no issues.

I had skin removal surgery after

after 5 years it started to lose its effect which I was warned about, I had barely any restriction and started to put on weight. I’ve put on about 2/3 stone of the weight that I originally lost and started Ozempic a few days ago and it’s given me the exact same feelings of when I had the GS.

Start weight: 29st
Lost 16st
Had 3 children
Regained 7st
Now around 15st

It's a tool, but remember it's one that you must use to be successful. As soon as you stop using it, you will regain. As an example, I couldn't eat a whole apple, but I could eat 5 digestive biscuits (thanks clusterfeeding!) in one go. It also left me with long-term vitamin/mineral deficiencies.

Do you research, especially the longer-term outcomes. I think the average is 60% of excess weight still lost after 5 years.

Jumping on to this thread because I have a consultation with a surgeon on Friday afternoon. I have been considering a gastric sleeve for about a year and have done a lot of research but a few things have happened in my personal life that have flipped a switch in my head, so I'm seriously looking into it now.

I have been fat since I was about 12, I first joined Weight Watchers when I was 17 and I have yo-yoed ever since. I am 5' 5", the lightest I've ever been was 12st (which I achieved very unhealthily and was not sustainable), the heaviest was 18st 5. Currently 15st, which is the weight my body seems to like as I always find myself here no matter what. I have chronic physical health conditions so exercise is difficult and the only way I can lose weight is through extreme calorie restriction, which isn't sustainable for the rest of my life as it triggers binge eating.

I have a list of questions for the surgeon and I have spoken to a couple of online friends who had the surgery about a year ago. They both had it on the NHS but I'll be going private because when I spoke to my GP last year, she was lovely but told me flat-out they won't even look at me. She said she has patients twice my weight with comorbidities who have been turned down. Medical options like Ozempic aren't available here in Scotland yet and I tried Saxenda on private prescription but it was awful. I'm at the end of my rope

How did your consultation go @amusedbush? I've been preliminarily accepted, pending blood tests a few weeks before the surgery date. I'm much bigger than you and embarrassed to say that a lot of the surgeons don't like operating at my weight.

I'm going to start the pre-op diet (which they kindly sent to me in advance with what pre and post op food intake should be like) a few weeks before they suggest to see if I can lose a stone and a bit before surgery.

I've committed to more exercise now as well, I do love walking so it's not hard but first steps were to take my kids out for a long evening playing outside in a park. It did us all good and was the lifestyle change I want for my family.

I’ve had both GS & recently bypass
I wasn’t particularly heavy and carried the weight well

had it done abroad kept the weight off
had the bypass recently due to reflux / gerd and have lost a further 20 lbs since Feb

both surgeries privately abroad
i had no loose skin but I wasn’t that overweight just struggled to lose weight and keep it off over 20 years

if very overweight then a tummy tuck / lose skin removal is something to consider as a further cost