Bariatric Surgery

repeatoffender

Beware Long Post:
Hi is there anybody out there who has had Bariatric Surgery or who decided against surgery and is prepared to tell me which option they had and the truth about how it has affected them today?
I have very recently attended a seminar on Bariatric Surgery. Due to the appointment process, screening tests and waiting time the surgeon said actual surgery would take place approx 1 year from now. My BMI is currently 41 and as one of the conditions of surgery is losing weight beforehand then my BMI will be within the 35 - 40 range with other complications. ie medical and the fact that i keep regaining weight that i have previously lost. I think my GP has referred me to scare me into losing the weight and i think it has worked.:eek:
The seminar covered 4 types of surgery and the risks associated with each. The surgeon was very informative on the details and risks of each procedure and explained that he was not prepared to waste NHS money on patients who were not fully committed, this op is for your health therefore he would not consider a smoker and he will not consider skin surgery etc. However I could not get my head around the food side of things. For starters you have to live on milk, yogurt and fruit for 10 days before the op to shrink your liver and pureed food for up to 4 weeks after, depending on which procedure you have. I cant help thinking that if i could do this i wouldn't need surgery?
Then the dietician said that you could still eat chocolate, ice cream etc as it would slip down and you would not lose weight, so comfort eaters and snackers may not do so well. She also said you would need to live on softer foods the rest of your life as red meat, bread etc would stick. (Sunday Roasts ) Also that after 3 years people can put weight back on?? I asked lots of questions and she sort of backtracked a little by saying but you will only be able to eat off a teaplate for the rest of your life and your tastes will change.
I have a month to decide whether to opt in for procedure. I suppose one option is to opt in and see how i do by the time the appointments come around but i dont want to bump someone else down the list. Im so confused can anybody shed any light on their choice and regrets or not?

Crisp_£_note

I went to a seminar at my Drs which was on weight loss. They talked a lot about Bariatric Surgery, showed quite a few graphic slides of the proceedure and also touched the surface of what it was all about.

I was invited by my Dr as I had been to see them yet again about the fact I couldnt lose weight and it had to be something medicaly wrong or the tablets I was taking preventing me from sheding it. Personaly I was close to thinking surgerey was my only option drastic as it was.

However the talk put me off completely, even after knowing a couple of friends who had had the proceedure done.
At that same meeting they also introduced the Food for though programme and also the Why Weight Program and having already completed with little success the Food for though scheme I went back to my Dr and asked to be refered to the Why Weight program. From there on I havent looked back. I received 12 weeks free membership to Weight Watchers, where I lost just under a stone, and then I continued paying as a monthly pass member myself (£20 a month at the mo) which I gamnled my 'sweeties' money on the first month as I had weaned myself off the chocolate.

Now 8 months on I have lost 2 stone, all by myself! I look back and know I just needed some help and to stop making excuses and most of all to beleive I could do it and acheive it.

The best thing is I can eat what I want, when I want and even have chocolate if I feel like it. But its not comfort eating anymore, its a treat

Hope this helps and sorry if it seems like a bit of an ad for WW not intentional.
Thanks.
Good luck and best wishes in whatever you decide to do.

repeatoffender

Thanks in my heart and head i know this is the best way thats why im convinced my GP has referred me to warn me of what lies ahead if i do not just do it. His problem with me is that i have done it by myself before and lost over 5 stone and then over the years put it back on and he wants to stop this cycle as there are medical complications to take into account. My GP has put me on a programme i dont know what its called but i have 12 weeks membership of SW to start next week and 12 weeks membership of the local leisure centre and a 12 week course on nutrition and healthy eating (i think). I hadnt researched or considered the surgery which is why i thought some real life experiences might help.

Crisp_£_note

repeatoffender wrote: »

Thanks in my heart and head i know this is the best way thats why im convinced my GP has referred me to warn me of what lies ahead if i do not just do it. His problem with me is that i have done it by myself before and lost over 5 stone and then over the years put it back on and he wants to stop this cycle as there are medical complications to take into account. My GP has put me on a programme i dont know what its called but i have 12 weeks membership of SW to start next week and 12 weeks membership of the local leisure centre and a 12 week course on nutrition and healthy eating (i think). I hadnt researched or considered the surgery which is why i thought some real life experiences might help.

No problem. Like you I had done it myself before (but it was very slow as I wasnt with any 'group' so had little support).

I would like to know the name of the programme you have been refered to if thats ok? As I would like to get 12 weeks at my local leisure centre free as I need to introduce exercise now

I was refered via the 'green card passport to fitness' scheme once a long time ago by my Dr but it wasnt free just discounted and not by much so I had to decline after getting really enthusiastic and turning up for the initial assessment only to be told I had to pay a gym menbership joining fee and all sorts :mad:, wasnt even allowed a cup of water free!

Anyway you are amazing and I beleive you can do it again. PM me anytime you want. Thanks

Gingernutty

I'm obese. There is a cigarette paper's width between me and morbidly obese

I also work in a hospital where bariatric surgery of a few types is performed.

Would I go for such surgery? No.

The preparation leading up to surgery is not much fun.

The surgery itself is brutal even if it goes well and recovery is unimpaired.

The aftermath and the complications which can occur are beyond horrible.

There is precious little by way of aftercare - because of the massive and sudden weight loss, skin surgery at some stage will be a necessity and there are no health authorities who will fund it.

You will remain dependent on vitamins, supplements and special high protein foods for the rest of your days.

You will never eat a normal meal again.

You will require special follow up for the rest of your natural life and remain at risk from a number of medical conditions caused by malabsorption of nutrients.

And - there is precious little mental health help around. The comfort eaters and bingers will find a way to eat around it. We've had patients who've managed to GAIN weight after surgery.

Yes. I would love to be a healthy weight but bariatric surgery is an appalling prospect.

Sorry if I'm too much of a Debbie Downer.

wondercollie

Totally agree with everything Gingernutty posted. I used to work on a unit that did Bariatric Surgery. We also cared for the trainwrecks that some patients became after these surgeries.

I can honestly say I'd never do it. We had patients blow their bands because they just had to have something that was on the forbidden list. One especially memorable patient had her surgery on vacation (our health service had turned her down and told her she could easily lose the 30 kilos over a few years of diet control and exercise). So she had the surgery on holiday, went septic on her return flight. Plane had to be diverted to a hospital, medivac'd home and multiple stays and surgeries. She's cost over $1million to date. Even she admits she should never had the surgery but was looking for an easy fix.

The successful patients have to be mentally fit to be willing to follow up. I met one of the patients a few years later on a different ward. He said it was hard and was waiting for the skin removal surgery.

Any surgery has risks. But knowing what I know, I'd never do it. The diet restrictions, the never having a fizzy drink again...

Gingernutty

wondercollie - And the gastroscopies at Christmas - the video tubes down the throat to what's left of the stomach to break up the lumps of spud trapped in there after the patients decide they want wedges!

Don't they ever chew!!?

Even I chew and I'm built like a ball......:(

outtawork

I am the list for a gastric band since last summer as I am morbidly obese and have a BMI of 45. I was also diagnosed with sleep apnoea soon after, the Op was my last chance to lead a normal/safer life.I have been losing/gaining weight for the last 20 years I am now 55 with grandchildren and would like to be around to see them grow up.Since last Sept when my last daughter left home to go to Uni ( my income halved) I have been managing on a budget of £25 a week for food and it is healthy.I don't use the word diet anymore and I don't exercise any more than walking to the shops as I have osteo arthuritus and I have lost 2st 5lbs.I feel better,the neighbours and I are getting more sleep,my snoring used to keep them awake and wake me up.I used portion control and have smaller plates I eat much better than I did before.I reached a platou recently and had stopped losing weight,so reduced my portions again.

Quillion

I had a sleeve gastrectomy in may 2009 and it was the best thing apart from my kids I have ever done. I had no complications and as the food goes the same way as before just smaller portions I can eat everything. A tea plate is about right I agree on that bit.
When thinking of surgery you have to research and be brutally honest. If chocolate and crisps and crap food are your thing then band is not for you. You can chew chew anything through the band. Bypass would be better. If your portions are massive then sleeve would be great simlpy reduces the amount you can eat.
I run a non medical support group set up by my friend and i. We are just ordinary people who support eachother after wls. We have peeps who have had bypass, sleeve and band and one who had the two parter duodenal switch. We meet with the aim to support and socialise and when new people come along we have the been there done that knowledge that people who have not had surgery dont have. Remember the surgeries are only a tool which when used correctly are fabulous. If only the surgeon could operate on the head issues then it would be easy.
Yes I agree pre op diet not great and eating mushy food for 4 weeks is weird but by no means awful.
Today I am 7 stone lighter my friend is 13 stone lighter and the only thing we would do different is have the op years ago.
If anyone has questions feel free to ask xxx

In_Search_Of_Me

I think it is a very personal decision and not for someone else to suggest. In my experience having a gastric bypass (roux-en y) was the last chance. With a BMI of 51, pain every day, no quality of life and no hope as I tried everything else (ligterlife, ww etc).
Having said that it NOT the easy option as you do have to relearn eating (I discoverd yesterday that chicken on its own is a no no!), can be painful as you do and you can no longer stuff your face at every opportunity. I had my surgery 5 weeks ago and am still learning but wouldnt change it for a second and as others have said wish I had done it years ago but that's just my experience.
If you dont take your vitamins then you can suffer malnutrition but like any proceedure if you dont follow the advice given then you have to accept the consequences! However if you do it can be a positive life change and I know lots of people who now lead a happy and healthy life that they never would have been able to being so big.
Its not a decision to be taken lightly and with a BMI of 41 there is room for change...if you can follow a diet and get and keep the weight off then thats great but if, like me, you are addicted to food and literally have to be stopped eating then its worth considering. The psychological isssues are a concern though..I am fortunate to have had councelling but I do think this is an area in the UK that falls far below what is needed. If food has been your crutch/hiding place/emotion supressor those things are no longer possible after surgery because you can only eat a limited amount so you have to find other ways...ie talking to people about how you feel!
Also lucky you if youve been referred on teh NHS...I tried twice and was turned down so had to pay 10,000+ for my op but best money ever spent! Have lost 37ibs so far and know, for the first time that it will stay off. My thinking about food has changed and what I eat now is healthy, no sugar and very little fat. Its a journey but a positive and exciting one! Please feel free to ask questions or pm me...happy to answer!

ackroydsbabe

I cant believe the comments on here- all based on the minorities and horror stories that surround baraiatric surgery. I attend a group with hundreds of happy patients who have a new life and thanks god every day to be able to function normally again. yes you can eat normally again when you are healed but smaller portions. Pleae do your homework before surgery and find out as much as you can before undergoing surgery as its not for everyone-but dont home in on horror stories as there are many thousands who have undergone surgery without problem. For me its been a new beginning- other co-morbidities didnt allow me to get fit- i was always slim and fit all my life but other factors occurred and i went on a downward spiral which i couldnt get out of-i have now lost over 10stone and feel 21 again. I would always urge you to find the support group in your area and link into that before thinking about surgery as the knowledge in the groups is REAL and informative. For anyone undergoing surgery -all the best for the future and thanks for listening x:T