bypass doesnt work for everyone

[tray]

july 2010 i thought that was the day that i was going to finally get my life back, id lost 2 stone for the post op diet, the day came i was terrified, i was going to die, luckily i came out of it ok, with no problems, the next few weeks were hell, if the drs had of said they could attach my stomach back, i would of taken it, the emotional side of not being able to eat, made me so very depressed that at times id wished i was dead, than have to live a life with out being able to eat. i guess thats due to me having bad eating disorders.

well after a couple of months the weight and inches came of ( yay) great, i thought wow this time next year ill be about 12 stone, oh by the way at my heaviest i weighed 23 stone, the day of op i was 20st 4 lbs, the hardest part was for 8 weeks after the op i didnt lose anything, this does get you down as you think why did i have this op only to not lose anything.

i joined the gym and also went swimming, my diet was crap, i couldnt eat protein, and i found if i ate more than a couple of mouthfulls i was sick, well 18 months out, i still cant eat protein very well if i eat meat, i can only eat 3 bites then it gets stuck and i have to be sick, so the dreaded old eating habits are now back.
due to only being able to eat a small amount of a healthy dinner, eg: meant lots of vet a bit of mash, well i think i can eat 5 small bites then am full, yes great i hear you all say, but half an hour later im hungry so what do i do, i pick, yep i know try picking healthy foods , no that doesnt work, i reach for the good old comfort food because they slide down so well, ie crisps, chocolate, toast, biscuits, because, see what they dont tell you, is that you have this op and then your left alone to deal with your food demons alone, if you cant eat the diet they tell you to, then you reach for food that you know wont hurt when you eat, and wont make you sick,
well anyway since the day of my op i had lost 4 stone, but now i have put on a stones and 5 lbs

before i had my op i was obsessed with this web site ( wow look at these people how good they looked i cant wait to be like them) but it is only a tool, and can only work, if your lucky enough to be able to tolerate the diet they recommend after the op, but im not alone, as several people i have been in contact with, have said the same thing as me, they have struggled to lose weight and most have put weight on again,
ok you might say but you have still lost weight yes your right, i have but when you have this op your under the impression that the weight will drop of, and before you know it your that size 10.

for some people this is so, but for other its a hard slog, im now joining slimming world, just to try and get back on track, but the trouble is i cant eat meat, pasta, rice, so i guess it will be a hard task.

just everyone please dont go into this op, thinking it will change your life, and you will be a size 10, go in with your eyes wide open and read about the success stories, as well as the unsuccessful sories.

i havent written this to put people off, i just want you all to know about the pitfulls, when i was on this site, i wish someone had of told me how much of a struggle this op could actually be,

 

[Cicca]

Thank you for posting and being so honest!

I read all the horror stories before my surgery, it's very important to know both sides. There is no miracle cure there's only one way and it's hard work - the tool is a tool and can not work without help.

All is not lost though, any day you can wake up and turn this round - its in your hands.

xx.

Sent from my iPhone using WLSurgery

 

[MissB21]

This is a really honest and i think helpful post to some who are making this life changing decission.
When i first came round from my op i felt the same, i cried the first 3 days as i was in soooo much pain and that battle with my mind of the foods i wanted to eat and i knew i couldnt.
So many people claim we are taking the easy way out..... well i wish they could walk a week in my shoes and the daily struggles we all go through.
Each day i have to make those wise decissions, make the healthy choices, monitor my intakes to ensure im remaining healthy while loosing weight!!
Everyone should hear both sides, your very right there!!

Wishing you all the best with slimming world xxxx

 

[Kizzy70]

Thank you for being so honest, I am waiting for my bypass and I think we all need to hear the good and the bad experiences.

I hope slimming world helps you, and good luck for the future

Kim xx

 

[lyndajoan]

omg thanks for your honesty i am due to have my op today i just whish i hadnt read this thread today i have read all the horror storys my self i really hope after my op i can cope with protine.

 

[genevive57]

what a very brave and honest lady you are tray.
my heart goes out to you darlin but, i also thank you for sharing your experience with others.
i am pre-op and some days i am dead set on having my op and on others i feel the oh i'm not so sure, am i doing the right thing thoughts.
the whole journey so far for me personally has been either very high or very low - no happy medium [maybe that's just my personality] but i have actually dreamt that on the day of my surgery as i'm asked to get on the trolley, i change my mind and bolt out the door.
did you have feelings like this tray or did you believe/know in your heart that you definitely wanted the op and nothing would have changed your mind?
i genuinely wish you every success for the future and, once again, thanks for your honesty

 

[Karlos]

A very brave an honest post that I wish all who are considering WLS could read. Anyone who thinks that WLS is a cure for obesity or the panacea that will make them the happiest person on earth is sadly mistaken. If you have psychological issues pre op they will still be there post op, as was clearly the case here.

To say the procedure doesn't work for everyone is half true. The bypass gives you something to work with and it's a question of physics. If you eat less and exercise more so you burn more fuel than you put in then you will lose weight, that is the same for any weight loss regime, WLS just takes away the grind is all, if we fail to do our bit it will not work alone

The OP struggled with certain foods and couldn't get by on the small amount of food that she was able to eat. How much of this was/is psychological? "I can't eat meat but I can eat crap" I'm not in any way criticizing you Tray or questioning your effort but what investigation did your surgical team carry out to see why only healthy foods get stuck whereas crap carbs are ok? If there is a physical reason for this then why didn't they intervene to help you, if the issue is as we suspect psychological then why haven't they given you the help with these issues?

The bypass rarely fails us, more often we fail it, for whatever reason. The operation can and very often does change our lives very much for the better, the number of successful post op patients speaks for itself, but it's not the answer for everyone. You hear of people cheating the procedure, blending fast food at the pureed stage, drinking booze a few days out, eating crap instead of following the plan. These are the usual reasons for failure and they are down to us, not the procedure.

The pre op psychological testing over here is a joke. Some people should never have been permitted to have WLS as they simply do not have what it takes to make it work, to cope with the rigours of post op life, these people should receive help with their demons long before a surgeon is let any where near them.

Good luck with your future Tray, I hope you get the results from SW that you have failed to get with WLS. There are lots of other options to get sufficient amounts of protein in other than meat, and rice and pasta are carbs you can do without anyway so not being able to eat those is a good thing. Make the right choices and I'm sure you will be successful in time, but you should get the help with as you put it your "eating disorders and food demons" as there lies the road to success

Good luck and again a brave post x

 

[tray]

hun up untill 10 mins before my op, i was in two minds to jump of the trolly and run. but in my heart i had to think where will i be in 5 years, if i dont have it, my diabeties was out of control, my blood pressure was high, my joints were so bad i couldnt get on the floor and play with my grandkids. i also did truly think it was going to be a miricle cure, even though i had read all the stories but hey i was going to be one of the ones it worked for. it just had to as why would god give me this chance, if i was going to fail. yes my health has improved, yes i do look a bit better but, i havent lost any where near the amount i wanted to, and thats the hard thing, you put yourself through a very risky operation, hoping and praying that it will work, but when it doesnt go the way you dreamed it would, it kills you inside, and the dark days you had when you are at your highest weight, come back to haunt you, then comes the comfort eating again. so the cycle comes back again . as in you look in the mirror, you still see the fat, you also have the added excess skin to deal with, its a bloody hard thing to cope with . even the social part of food is hard as in going out with family or friends for that meal, you crave to be able to eat that 3 course, with some wine, but all you can manage is a kiddies portion, and then have to be sick. it does get you down, but in time you learn to cope with it im 18 months out and i dont hate my bypass, i just wish i had of had more education from my bariatric team. luton are crap for that, but hun you may well be one of the lucky ones that the weight just drops of you xxx

 

[Miss DeeDee]

Personally, I think you should go back to your gp and get referred to another team, and one that can help you - after going through the op you need back up big time - and if nothing else they can check that the op is done correctly, i too have problems eating protein, but have been told to try other things and find out what works, rather than return to old habits, I find prawns go down really really well, i cannot eat red meat at all - I guess you have tried all the alternatives, but really i think you should get to see a bariatric person who can advise you and help you.

PS I think you look fab in that blue dress - if i looked like that id be dancing round the room xx

 

[joffy01582]

at the l&d no two dietitians tell you the same thing

 

[tray]

hun i have only seen my team twice in 8 months, the last time i saw them and i told them how i was feeling and i wasnt coping at well, thats why they got me to see them, i only saw a stuck up nurse that said this web site should be shut down as we all lose weight at different levels and i shouldnt read the stories, and she also said you know what you should be eating just stop eating the bad food, oh and apparently meat doesnt get stuck its impossible, the stupid woman hadnt got a clue i dont sit at home stuffing my face like i used to before the op. in a day i might have a slice of toast for breakfast, thats if i have breakfast, then lunch will be a sandwich snacks might be fruit or a pack of crisps, then tea will be something like fish mash and veg or spag boll but only a few month fulls, then im hungry in 20/30 mins so i pick and that might be a couple of biscuits or a bit of bread as bread is my comfort food, but then before i go to bed im hungry again i have tried the drinking but cant drink a lot as it makes me sick, so yep i turn to another slice of bread, so really its not that many calories compared to my god how much i would and could eat, there are also days where i might only have a slice of toast and a banana all day then there might be a day where all i want to do is eat. yes i do have mental health issues and food has always been a big part of my depression,

 

[tray]

very true. there bloody useless, and i have spoken to 5 other luton opers, and they have all got this problem were wondering if the op was done right in the first place, but were never going to know one woman has to eat fatty foods every 2 hours as since her op her sugar levels are only at 2 and she faints so they told her to eat every 2 hours fatty foods. she had only lost 2 stone since her op on the same day as my op. and now she has put on over a stone shes devastated with it

 

[Miss DeeDee]

hun i have only seen my team twice in 8 months, the last time i saw them and i told them how i was feeling and i wasnt coping at well, thats why they got me to see them, i only saw a stuck up nurse that said this web site should be shut down as we all lose weight at different levels and i shouldnt read the stories, and she also said you know what you should be eating just stop eating the bad food, oh and apparently meat doesnt get stuck its impossible, the stupid woman hadnt got a clue i dont sit at home stuffing my face like i used to before the op. in a day i might have a slice of toast for breakfast, thats if i have breakfast, then lunch will be a sandwich snacks might be fruit or a pack of crisps, then tea will be something like fish mash and veg or spag boll but only a few month fulls, then im hungry in 20/30 mins so i pick and that might be a couple of biscuits or a bit of bread as bread is my comfort food, but then before i go to bed im hungry again i have tried the drinking but cant drink a lot as it makes me sick, so yep i turn to another slice of bread, so really its not that many calories compared to my god how much i would and could eat, there are also days where i might only have a slice of toast and a banana all day then there might be a day where all i want to do is eat. yes i do have mental health issues and food has always been a big part of my depression,

I really think you should ask for referall to a diff hospital - you do need the support after the op - meat does get stuck it does for me, try some prawns and avacado - they really do go down well, please ask your gp to refer you somewhere else, xx

 

[Sharonimo]

very true. there bloody useless, and i have spoken to 5 other luton opers, and they have all got this problem were wondering if the op was done right in the first place

I must admit I feel very fortunate that I was referred to the Whittington. They offer monthly patient support groups organised by the main Bariatric Nurse, and includes some post-oppers and a lot of pre-oppers coming with questions.

At this month's meeting (Thursday last week, 16 Feb) one of the men (who as it happened had had a sleeve so I got chatting to him) had had his op at the Homerton and said he felt the follow up support at the Homerton was very poor ..... he was only attending the meeting at the Whittington because his girlfriend is now on the list at the Whittington.

i couldnt eat protein, and i found if i ate more than a couple of mouthfulls i was sick, well 18 months out, i still cant eat protein very well if i eat meat, i can only eat 3 bites then it gets stuck and i have to be sick, so the dreaded old eating habits are now back.

--- What about mince meat?
--- What about mashed up crab?
--- What about scrambled eggs?
--- What about tuna?
--- What about cottage cheese and Light Philadelpha?
--- What about protein drinks?
--- What about soft salmon?
--- What about good quality soft meat pate (high protein) on low cal crackerbread?

I don't totally understand how you can eat BREAD so easily (you mention turning to a few slices a day) if you cannot eat protein ...... as BREAD is usually *said to be* one of the most difficult things to eat (usually followed by pasta, then rice, then stringy meat).

ALSO: what about very soft tenderised meat and chewing 20 times ...?

(This was something mentioned at this month's Whittington support meeting -- the need to chew between 20 - 22 times before swallowing.)

 

[Dinda]

I'm not an expert or a medical professional - so feel free to ignore me, but I have had depression (and no B*oody wonder!) and a by-pass. On the day of my surgery my head was telling me to change my mind and leave the hospital right up until the mask covering my face sent me off to oblivion for a bit, but I knew I didn't have the strength for another massive weight loss fight without this weapon - and I knew I was lucky because so many people are waiting and hoping for the procedure.

I have not posted my feelings about the hospital stay or my initial recovery here because it was 'just' my experience and others won't have the same - but 2 days after the surgery I told the staff if I had to have anything else done to me they should just 'put me down' because it was more humane. It could be down to my tendancy towards being dramatic, but I was really unhappy. Once all the tubes etc were taken out I felt miles better, and coming home was the turning point for me.

It is my responsibility to look after myself, and if I don't the only person paying for it will be me - mentally and physically. Yep, I'm only about 6 weeks out and I'm still learning to live with my new tummy and the things it will accept and reject. I'm using protein powder in my food because at the moment (mashed food stage) my pouch returns eggs to me and most of the Quorn stuff is a bit hard to digest, I'm a vegetarian so meat and fish are not an option. I'm really trying to avoid total carb based foods because they are not really giving me anything I need - I was a total carb bandit pre-op, so I know it's really hard. You do know biscuits and bread are not doing you any good, and maybe that is the point? you might be struggling emotionally because you are not being nourished properly? maybe you need a blood test to check your vitamin and mineral levels? or perhaps you are having a bout of depression and your weight is a target/trigger? either way a trip to the GP would be a good start. Have you tried OA for addressing your 'eating disorder'? I went a couple of times before deciding it wasn't for me, but it might be a way of meeting helpful people and developing a support network?

I think the difference in your pictures is great, you look lovely - but I know that will seem an empty statement if you don't feel it.

I'm trying really hard not to compare myself with anyone else, reading those 'I've lost 12 stones in 10 minutes' posts makes me green with envy (even though I'm happy for them) and I'm convinced the 'I've gained 12 stones in 10 minutes post surgery' are going to be me.

Take stock, look after yourself, get the support you need and I hope things are better really soon x

And finally, I apologise if any of this sounds patronising - that was 100% not my intention. Heaven knows what I'll be like 18 months down the road!

 

[shelbell]

Just out of interest Tray, did you have a psyche assessment pre-op?

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

 

[tray]

every one has a different journey, for months i stuck to the diet but still not much weight came of, they do say it only helps us to lose 50 to 70 % of the overall weight well i now weigh 17 st.5 lbs i did get down to 16 st but for some reason the weight has crept back on yes i know its only me that can do this, but when you cant eat mince or tuna or any meat as the sight of it also turns your stomach i did do the protein powder but im also not much of a drinker some days i might have 2 coffees and maybe a glas of no added juice, i do drink semi skimmed milk, i cant stomach cottage cheese i do eat philli i try and eat beans, but i think my body has just come to a platu now this is what gets to me but hey all i can say is my health is a bit better for having the op so im thankful for that, im passed the feeling upset about it i have come to except that i wont ever be a size 14 or weigh 12 stone but you have to make the most of what you have got and so i do well try to ..lol

 

[tray]

yes shell i did and i made sure i pulled the wool over there eyes and this is because people i had talked to had told me the questions they ask, so as im a bloody good actress i was able to make them think i was fine. because i wanted the op so bad as i thought it was going to be my miracle cure, even tho they knew i used to be bulemic and had comfort eating disorders, they didnt really look deep enough, i truly think that people with servre food addictions should have a lot more therepy before the op and a hell of a lot of support after the op but i guess i just slipped through the system, plus living over 100 miles away from the closest bariatric hospital didnt help

 

[stuckinafatsuit]

Reading these threads have given me a kick up the backside. Ive realised over the past few days just how much work this is going to take from me. I have been on "normal" foods for 3 weeks and have not lost an ounce since. I just took it for granted it would just fall off!! but it wont. Starting from this post things are gonna change.
Kim

 

[tray]

good on ya kim it is after all only a tool. i wish you well hun xx