Fed up with weight... gastric sleeve abs advice needed.

[Ilivetosleep]

Morning all,
I have just woken up with the reality that if I do not sort out my weight I am just going to be fat forever. I had booked to have a GS completed in Istanbul last December. But I panicked and cancelled it last minute. I'm now £500 put of pocket for the deposit. But I can still rebook within the 12 months.
I am still no slimmer. I'm still fat. I'm 5 foot 2 and my weight fluctuates between 12/14 stone. Sometimes up to 14. I look like a squished ball. I recently joined the gym and they did blood works on me and said that I'm pre-diabetic.

I now have the option of doing the GS again in July. I'm not really sure what I am expecting from this thread. I think I just needed to rant.

Arghhhhh.

Well done for cancelling. The U.K. foreign office advises against travelling to Turkey for surgery because of the number of deaths.

If you want a kickstart then the money would buy a lot of Wegovy or mountjaro . However the best thing would be to contact your gp to start classes to address your lifestyle as ultimately with surgery or medicine this is what has to change and it is very difficult , even with support.

slow , sustainable weight loss is what has the best long term effects and if you are pre diabetic you have an excellent motivator. Get this checked with the gp , take what support you can get and lose weight safely.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/turkey/health

Thanks. I'm not actually worried about having surgery in Turkey. I have had cousins and friends do this surgery and it has been successful
I keep seeing posts about Wegovy. What is this?

The foreign office has advised against all travel to Turkey, so even if you are not worried about government warnings about dangers of surgery there, your travel insurance will be invalid and consular support very curtailed. It is really not a good idea to travel there for any reason at the moment. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/turkey

I would talk to your gp about weight loss and Wegovy and mountjaro. They are drugs derived from diabetic drugs , which involve a daily injection. Like every medical intervention there can be serious side effects and consequences but much less risky than gastric sleeve surgery , which even in best conditions has a risk of death. You should be fully informed if you are thinking about taking a drug and even though you will have to fund it privately your gp can advise you fully of the pros and cons.

No way!! If you want a gastric sleeve then make sure that you book to see a reputable bariatric surgeon in the uk.
They might suggest ozempic first!

a close friend of mine had it done in Turkey about 18 months ago. It has been life changing for her. However she was significantly heavier than you. She researched extensively and never went for a very cheap option. She also went with her husband and never travelled home for 3 weeks post op which enabled her to have proper after care which is where a lot of the issues rise. Tbh im not sure at you weight you would even qualify for the op at a reputable clinic.

I've had a look at the FCO advice and that advices against travel to the boarders near Iran and Iraq. Istanbul is so far from there!

My cousins who had the op were roughly the same weight as me and are very happy with the result.

But I will look at the medication options. I wasn't aware of these.

OP, seriously look into mounjaro. I am on Wegovy and will eventually move to Mounjaro, it has been a life changer for me. Yes, I know I am still on it and will possibly gain weight again when I come off, but I am changing the way I eat and the way I see food in the hope that it will help me long term. Also, that possibility of putting the weight back on is the same for any diet/regime - with the exception of actually completely changing your whole life, which is what I'm trying to achieve with a little help.

Definitely try medications first. I've lost 2st on prescription WL tablets, it's changed my relationship with food.

Look at the threads on here about mounjaro and weegovy. But also, have a really good look at reputable sites (with sources cited) online about these drugs - side effects, what you can expect, the cost, contraindications to them etc. Talk to your doctor even. Do some really thorough research and please don't choose something so life changing just because you knew someone who did it and were fine.

I will look into these I am abroad at the moment back in my home country and the fact I'm so fat has been compounded by the comments. Aunties and people I know just look at me like I'm the worst person ever ad I've put on so much weight.

What weight loss tablets have you been on?

OP a couple of things

Personally I would advise trying the injections first, there are a myriad of different ones out there. Please do your research about why and how they work and what to expect from it. I found them life changing but simply didnt like (and couldnt tolerate) injecting myself and was finding that I was missing doses and avoiding taking it. If I had been able to continue, I think that would have been the solution for me. I then moved to tablets but they made me ill, yet the injections gave me no side effects at all

I therefore moved to a sleeve. My doctor started talking about it long before I seriously considered it as an option and then I got thinking about it. He wanted to refer me onto the tier 3 programme with a view for me to get surgery. However once I realised surgery could be for me, I didnt want to go through al that and decided I would self fund. I did my research. Worked out what would need to change in order to do this, what would life be like after surgery, what would I tolerate about that. Did I want a sleeve or bypass, or band or balloon (there are a number of options out there, why are you looking at a sleeve for example rather than the others)
Then I picked the company/surgeon I wanted. This was overwhelming to be honest, there are so many options out there and so many surgeons work for different companies and different hospitals, who to go for and why, and where. Then there is the cost. I borrowed money to do it. Im still paying this back

You dont sound particularly heavy for your height, although are probably in the obese category, not by much perhaps? I would start with looking at the least intrusive option.

I dont have any advice about Turkey over the UK (or anywhere else) but I know that lots of people have success wherever they go and some dont.

Have you tried Orlestat?

I work in a school and when I'm working my mind is completely occupied by the daily mundane. But I'm off work now and on holiday and started to look into all this!

I had a mini gastric bypass last year in the UK, I paid privately, and it was expensive, but did my research into the company I chose and the surgeon I wanted to do it, I would never have considered going abroad for surgery, have heard too many horror stories. I have since heard that you can get insurance with a company called Vitality, here in the UK and can have surgery through them after a year, and it costs roughly the same as going abroad.