Weight Loss Surgery

[freshhead]

My mum lost her life after having a gastric sleeve that went wrong, then having to have the full bypass. She was very poorly and bedbound for nearly 2 years before finally passing away from sepsis after pulling out her feeding tube that went straight to her bowel for extra nutrients. She was 49.
Do not have these operations. You will never live a normal life after, and worse case scenario it will take your life.

 

[Gossgirl12]

This takes me back to how I used to feel. At my biggest, I was a size 24, around 18 months ago, I decided enough was enough. I was so unhealthy, always binging, grabbing convenience foods, eating big share bars to myself in one sitting. I have a young son, I knew I didn't want to risk dying young because of my health. I was so unfit, I'd walk up a small hill and be gasping for breath so I started walking for 20-30 minutes every day, come rain or shine. I started calorie counting, 3 meals a day, only snacking on fruit, crackerbreads, nuts, low fat yoghurts and jelly when I have a sweet tooth, every single Saturday, I'll have a takeaway and a bar of chocolate, this kept me on track with something to look forward too. My energy levels are so good now, I found the first 2 weeks the hardest but by week 3, I genuinely felt so much better and that feeling gave me the motivation to carry on. I'm now a size 16, aiming for a size 12. It's never been about the numbers on the scale for me. I was so lazy beforehand but honestly, it's the best thing I've ever done. A friend of mine had a gastric band abroad and has had nothing but problems, but another of my friends had the sleeve in Turkey and hasn't really suffered any major after affects and has lost 5st in quite a short period of time. Its something you really have to work with, it's not a miracle cure. Weight loss is hard however you decide to do it, I read the quote, losing weight is hard, being fat is hard, choose your hard and that resonated with me. Good luck. X

 

[DCICassieStuart]

A friend of mine had it a few years ago. She was overweight, but I would never have classed her as obese. She could probably have done it with diet and exercise, but the same lady wants a quick fix for everything.
She had it done privately and initially lost weight, but has put it all back on again now because like @Snippysnips said, her actual food hasn't changed. She never cooked or ate healthily before the surgery and she still doesn't. Everything is still takeaways, but now she's bringing home Big Macs and LIQUIDISING them in the blender!

She was told that because she wasn't obese, she should be able to tighten up the excess skin through exercise and was unlikely to need surgery for that, but yet again, she wanted the quick fix. Never bothered exercising and had skin removal surgery as well. She has pretty visible scars up along her arms and ended up with a bad infection after the surgery.

 

[PinkMariner]

I know two people that had the sleeve surgery. Both lost massive amounts, one even had a tummy tuck because of the loose skin. A few years later theyve both gained it all back. They eat stuff like peanut butter and milkshakes that slip through but are high in calories. I would try calories again, there must be a reason why it’s not sustainable - are you trying to eat at too much of a deficit when you count?

I am lazy. It's shameful but I am - so by the time I get home at night, the thought of cooking or preparing food is the last thing I want, it is so much easier to grab a takeaway on the way home. I tried meal prep, but I forget to defrost it in a morning so then the back up plan is takeaway again!
It is a catch-22 situation. I am tired and lazy because I am fat, and I am fat because I am tired and lazy.

I joined a local fitness group just before lockdown, and at first I enjoyed it, but it made every part of me hurt - my joints would be screaming for days afterwards.

I feel lost tbh.

 

[PinkMariner]

My mum lost her life after having a gastric sleeve that went wrong, then having to have the full bypass. She was very poorly and bedbound for nearly 2 years before finally passing away from sepsis after pulling out her feeding tube that went straight to her bowel for extra nutrients. She was 49.
Do not have these operations. You will never live a normal life after, and worse case scenario it will take your life.

I am so sorry for your loss.

Thank you all for your advise. I am feeling a bit more positive today. I am going to enjoy Christmas then try calorie counting and exercise in the new year again. xx

 

[Cathoops]

I had a gastic sleeve in Turkey in July 2020 at age 38 after being overweight and a serial yo yo dieter for pretty much 20 years. At my heaviest i was 18.5 stone. I got to my target weight 10st10 a year after the surgery in July 2021 and have managed to maintain it since then. 100 percent the best thing I have ever done. Like a lot of the people on here it changed my life. i generally eat pretty healthy (well maybe not so well over xmas) and do got to the gym a few times a week. No regrets from me!

 

[Cocobongo]

Give yourself a year. Start saving now but see how far you can get in a year. You may decide that you can do this on your own and you will have that money saved up for new clothes, maybe even a holiday.
I’m in the middle of my weight loss journey and here are some things that have helped me:

type in calorie calculator into Google and use any of the top few options to work out what the current amount of calories you should be eating are to lose weight - this will gradually go down as your weight does

try to get a little more active, it’ll all add up. Park the car a little further away from where you’re going. Take a couple of flights of stairs before you get the lift. Go for a 15 minute walk etc.

Get ready meals for around 500calories and bulk them out with veggies. If you’re lazy get them both from the freezer section, the ones you can just microwave.

log everything you eat with my fitness pal and weigh in once a week. But remember that if you eat more carbs one day, you will be heavier the next couple of days. This is not fat, it is water retention. Do not let it dishearten you. The clue is in the name carboHYDRATE.

Do it to be kind to yourself, not to punish yourself. I promise it will work.

Good luck x

 

[PinkMariner]

Just wondering if anyone here has had weight loss surgery?
I am so so so fed up with being fat, and I’m not just a little bit fat- I’m a size 28. It’s disgusting. I hate myself.
I’ve tried slimming world, weight watchers, calorie counting & exercise, Atkins, paleo, keto, dodgy pills of eBay that made my poo slimy. You name it, I’ve tried it. I lose about a stone then slip back into old habits.
I desperately want to have surgery and I’ve seen packages in Turkey. I am considering asking my mum to lend me £2k towards it.
Any thoughts?!

 

[Snippysnips]

The thing with the NHS making sure you are willing to try an lose the weight before you go for it is because even with the gastric band you still actually have to do the work into trying to lose weight, it's not a here's the band now the weight will come off, it's only there as a stepping stone into losing weight, it's why my brothers MIL an BIL are still as heavy as they always were, because once they had it they thought they could keep eating whatever they wanted and doing nothing an it would come off but it hasn't, the only difference now is their portions at one time are child sized, they just end up eating more portions through the day than they did before, the food itself hasn't changed

It's why it's maybe better into looking at how you can change habits rather than this, it will never be quick,. I was always told the quicker it comes off the quicker it goes back on, the slow route will feel hard but its the best way, I know a girl who was easily into size 30s, took almost two years but she's down to size 12/14 now an it's staying off, she's never had to go for skin removal either as she did toning work while she lost it

 

[PinkMariner]

Thanks everybody! Lots of great advise there.

I am not sure what else to do. I will try calorie counting again after Christmas! <3

 

[Oohthedrama]

The word desperate seems to come up a lot, not the mindset you need to be in to make a decision like this,
I like that the NHS make you prove you’re willing to lose weight yourself before they offer any surgery.
Taking the easy route isn’t always the best route. And realistically it won’t be a long term solution to your problems,

 

[Oohthedrama]

Speak to your doctor, you may need more support than any quick fix operation in a foreign country can offer. You didn’t get where you are because you’re always hungry, I’m sure there is more going on that needs to be addressed at the same time.

honestly, borrowing such a large amount of money from anyone seems like a very bad idea, I think it’s important you find a solution yourself without needing others to bankroll you, you’ll be more willing to make real changes if it’s not a quick fix, handed to you so easily, and it’s a hard position to put your mother in, she can hardly say no without there being resentment there.

 

[Snippysnips]

Thanks everybody! Lots of great advise there.

I am not sure what else to do. I will try calorie counting again after Christmas! <3

Have you tried noting down everything you eat per day, even the small things? The girl I know that lost it all was told to make a diary of everything she ate in one day every day, even if it was somthing small like 1 rich tea biscuit, it helped her to become more aware of her eating habits as she wasn't even realising just what she was doing, she would sit down to a cup of tea an have 3 biscuits but she didn't take notice of them an would only ever note down her meals so when she looked back she couldn't understand how she was getting no where, it wasn't till she was told to write everything down she started to see just how many times she would have that 1 or 2 biscuits in between meals an it all added up

She also looked to find alternatives for cravings, nuts for example provide the same satisfaction as chocolate in the body so therefore she was able to cut out chocolate, I think she said somthing like 3 or 4 almonds helped

I do agree meals is the worst, I myself find meal times to be hard as I just cannot be bothered with it, an I actually hate defrosted meals, I usually make sure whatever I make takes no more than 20mins an that way I can say to myself in 20mins ill be sitting eating, sounds stupid but it helps me get through it an everything I make is from scratch

 

[Murphygirl]

It's £3000 for Turkey you're back home 2 days later ,while the healthcare is excellent and they do a lot of checks before it I don't think 2 days post op is enough for that type of surgery I also think some sort of counselling is needed beforehand to access if you're mentally reading for it ,whily my relative has lost weight and the actual surgery was carried out properly her life has changed for the worst in all other aspects.

agreed 2 days post op isn't enough before sending you on a flight back to the UK. My husband was also kept in a couple of extra days as a precaution. He needed extra oxygen to come round from the anaesthetic then had really bad trapped wind which is apparently very common post surgery. He was therefore given an additional scan to ensure there was no other reason for the pain before he was allowed home. He also had a consultation with the surgeon and bariatric nurse pre op to ensure he was aware of all the facts before deciding to proceed, and will continue to have support from them post op. The surgeon is also one of the top surgeons in the country who performs these operations every day so you know you are in safe hands. Turkey just feels like a false economy and you can't scrimp when it comes to your health. I appreciate though that not everyone can afford to get this done privately in the UK and have to consider other options.

 

[Murphygirl]

A friend of mine had it a few years ago. She was overweight, but I would never have classed her as obese. She could probably have done it with diet and exercise, but the same lady wants a quick fix for everything.
She had it done privately and initially lost weight, but has put it all back on again now because like @Snippysnips said, her actual food hasn't changed. She never cooked or ate healthily before the surgery and she still doesn't. Everything is still takeaways, but now she's bringing home Big Macs and LIQUIDISING them in the blender!

She was told that because she wasn't obese, she should be able to tighten up the excess skin through exercise and was unlikely to need surgery for that, but yet again, she wanted the quick fix. Never bothered exercising and had skin removal surgery as well. She has pretty visible scars up along her arms and ended up with a bad infection after the surgery.

Unfortunately that's what a lot of people fail to realise, the operation is only the start. Unless you are committed to making permanent changes to your eating habits you're throwing your money down the drain.

 

[Snippysnips]

I went to my GP about 4 years ago- he made me tick 5 boxes a piece of paper, told me I was depressed and sent me away with anti depressants for a week! I got the impression he didn’t take me seriously at all!

it seems so cheap in Turkey.

maybe I am being stupid, I don’t know. I just feel desperate tonight.

I'd definitely seek out a new GP, he sounds like an asshole, they shouldn't have treated you like that, have you tried a nutritionist?

The fact it's cheap in Turkey would send alarm bells ringing in my head, I dare say you wouldn't get any of the before care or after care there and flying is a huge risk as well

My SIL was going for it, she seen her GP who referred her to the NHS, she had to go for counselling for so long before it as they need to make sure you are mentally ready, she then had to lose so much weight per week to show she would be dedicated to trying and then after it she was told she would have more counselling, they said she would be on a liquid diet for a few months before slowly introducing solid food and they didn't recommend for her to fly, she was actually due to go for it 4 weeks before going to Orlando an was told it wasn't a good idea an even some insurance company's weren't going to cover her, somthing about the band an the air pressure when it had only been done recently

I dare say foreign country's would never say about any of this and it would probably be a get you in an get you out, which again would send alarm bells to me as she was told she would be in the hospital a minimum of 3 days

It's nothing to feel stupid about, I understand things get desperate, I've never been great with my weight either, but I do think the best thing would be to speak to a GP again but this time one who isn't a arse an maybe they can help out, maybe even see about counselling to see if there's certain habits you don't realise your doing, I'd definitely be wary of going abroad especially after hearing just how much the NHS does here before they put you through it

 

[judgejohndeed]

I know two people that had the sleeve surgery. Both lost massive amounts, one even had a tummy tuck because of the loose skin. A few years later theyve both gained it all back. They eat stuff like peanut butter and milkshakes that slip through but are high in calories. I would try calories again, there must be a reason why it’s not sustainable - are you trying to eat at too much of a deficit when you count?

 

[wifeyfaefife]

Quite a few people on tiktok have been for the gastric sleeve in Turkey. One woman has lost 10 stone, but each time I look at her posts, she says she’s been sick and not able to eat much. So could that contribute more to the weight loss, than the actual procedure?

 

[judgejohndeed]

I am lazy.

Honestly I’m lazy with food as well, I have a really demanding job and I hate cooking. When I try to lose weight I rely quite heavily on ready meals because I’m the same with take aways, could you do that and have a snack on the way home to tide you over? Also most take aways you can calorie count really easily, Nando’s and Pizza Express are my go to. You don’t need to start doing loads of exercise yet, could you take the stairs or walk a slightly longer way home? Go for a 15-20 min walk on your lunch break? All you need to do is get into a calorie deficit, you don’t have to do any activity at all if you don’t want to, it just means you can eat a bit more. I’d try a smaller food deficit and add in a few more steps and see if you find that easier to stick to, it will be much easier than what you have to do with a band or sleeve

 

[Shivla]

Hi
I had a mini gastric bypass 2 years ago in Turkey. They were brilliant and dis so many thorough tests and medical checks before approving me for the surgery. I was there for 6 nights and they sent me back with lots of paperwork for my gp. I get my bit rodents regularly checked over here but have never had an issue with malnutrition. I'd been on diets all my life so this was really the serious change I needed. 2 years out I can eat child portions but I can eat many of the things I shouldn't of I wanted to so you really have to get your head in the right place. I count my calories and work out 6 days a week. There are some good books out there to help with the mental side of things