• Hi, If you cannot get into the site, be sure to Contact Us. Please be advised that the app is no longer in use!

Countdown to Balloon Launch

Msgb, I. Having mine a month after you, so I'd love to see how your journey goes x


Tilii, the balloon was my choice because I needed to have something to give me a good start. I'm thinking long and hard about the changes I'll have to make before I get it and after. I would have liked to be as brave as these people you talk with here who's undergone surgery, they are courageous and have worked very hard!

Look forward to keeping in touch x
 
Yvessa said:
I can't tell you what to do - I can only tell you what made me choose the bypass. I was 30 stone, teaching full time and then coming home to family life. I was exhausted all the time - we'd have dinner and I'd fall asleep. That's when I was diagnosed with sleep apnoea. And it finally hit me that no matter what diet I tried, no matter how motivated I was, without significant help I would lose the battle. My mobility was getting worse by the day and I just felt like I was killing myself. I wasn't scared for me. But for my family, my daughter and my partner who both depend on me. I went to my gp who had been offering surgery for some time. I got funding and the rest is history. I couldn't have done it without the op.
Click to expand...

Thanks Yvessa. You mentioned your gp had offered surgery for some time - I take it you were hesitant at first too? Maybe there is hope for me to overcome my fear too then :)

Your pics are very inspirational btw. You look great!
 
treacles1977 said:
Msgb, I. Having mine a month after you, so I'd love to see how your journey goes x


Tilii, the balloon was my choice because I needed to have something to give me a good start. I'm thinking long and hard about the changes I'll have to make before I get it and after. I would have liked to be as brave as these people you talk with here who's undergone surgery, they are courageous and have worked very hard!

Look forward to keeping in touch x
Click to expand...


Absolutely. I'm getting my balloon a couple of days after you so we'll be sick and nauseous together ;) Which hospital are you with, if you don't mind me asking?
 
tiili said:
Thanks Yvessa. You mentioned your gp had offered surgery for some time - I take it you were hesitant at first too? Maybe there is hope for me to overcome my fear too then :)

Your pics are very inspirational btw. You look great!
Click to expand...
I initially got funding in 2008 with a previous GP and changed my mind. Told her I could do it by myself (i'm nothing if not strong willed). And so it went for another two years before I finally got it through my thick skull that I was kidding myself. Part of it was simply that I wasn't ready at the time to make the kind of lifestyle changes I have made post-op. When I finally decided to go for it I made the choices because I was ready and I wanted to commit to everything and anything that would give me the weight loss I desperately needed. It is very hard for me to accept help - I'm independent by nature and I like to do things my own way. My partner despairs lol. But it took me realising that if I didn't do something about it, everything I had worked so hard to achieve - education, home, career, family would be lost a little at a time and I would eventually leave my child without a mother. My partner depends on me as well due to mh issues and I had to do something for them both. Ultimately now I can see that I deserved to be healthy and happy and that I mattered too, but I'd given up on myself at that point.
 
Yvessa said:
I initially got funding in 2008 with a previous GP and changed my mind. Told her I could do it by myself (i'm nothing if not strong willed). And so it went for another two years before I finally got it through my thick skull that I was kidding myself. Part of it was simply that I wasn't ready at the time to make the kind of lifestyle changes I have made post-op. When I finally decided to go for it I made the choices because I was ready and I wanted to commit to everything and anything that would give me the weight loss I desperately needed. It is very hard for me to accept help - I'm independent by nature and I like to do things my own way. My partner despairs lol. But it took me realising that if I didn't do something about it, everything I had worked so hard to achieve - education, home, career, family would be lost a little at a time and I would eventually leave my child without a mother. My partner depends on me as well due to mh issues and I had to do something for them both. Ultimately now I can see that I deserved to be healthy and happy and that I mattered too, but I'd given up on myself at that point.
Click to expand...

We sound very much alike Yvessa. Thank you for sharing, that is actually very helpful. x
 
A trainer said that to you!!!! Where do you work? That's awful I train people and you give positive feed back to help then strengthen weaknesses I would complain
 
Tiili like Yve I cannot help you make your mind up about what surgery is best.. That's what your bariatric team are there to do ;) but I will say that if I had been given the option of surgery without the balloon first I would have grabbed it with both hands. I was at an all time low with health issues all of which were not being helped by my weight (170kg) I was seeing 4 different consultants at the time as my health was spiralling downwards but it took a very astute orthopaedic surgeon to really lay it on the line for me when he told me that there was absolutely nothing he could do for my crumbling spine as my weight was effectively crushing my discs to dust and my knees were now arthritic & no longer able to support me safely. I was a ticking time bomb & If I didn't do something I was going to be wheelchair bound for the rest of my life. Given that I was just 50 and was due to be a first time granny 5 months later you could imagine my reaction....I am not an overly emotional person but I literally burst into tears. He was incredible and started talking about medical intervention for my weight and had I ever thought about it? I told him I had but my gp had said there was nowhere in Scotland that would do it. Which wasn't quite correct but I later found out that he technically was right. In Scotland only a consultant can put you forward for bariatric surgery and the only people getting offered it were diabetic(I'm not). Anyhow I left that app very dubious that it would go any further and this was just a man who was desperate to get an emotional woman out of his consulting room so that he could get on with treating others a bit more deserving than me! I did tell hubby but we quickly put it out of our minds while I struggled to diet myself.
Imagine our surprise when 2 month later a letter appears on my door mat carrying an appointment to go see the local hospital bariatric team. Knowing the criteria by now i braced myself for a bitter disappointment in getting funding seeing as i just didn't meet it the criteria at all. The bariatric consultant was bloody fantastic and after hearing my life story of battling weight, health etc etc he told my husband & I that he would fight tooth and nail to get funding for me as it was very clear that I had reached a point in my life where I was willing to do anything to lose the weight and in order to get my life back. 5 months later I was meeting my medical team in Glasgow!
I owe so much to those 2 initial consultants who could see the despair I was in. I know that they literally talked to everyone involved with my health over the years to get that vital backing for funding & I will be eternally grateful to them for acting on it and for all the effort that they put in to get me here.
Tiili you will know yourself if you are ready for surgery. The risks won't go away but they are far less than they were a decade ago and you need to logically weigh these up against what health issues you have or could have in the future. If like me you have yoyo dieted only to pile it all back on and more later then is the balloon really going to do the job for you on its own? Once the balloon is taken out your stomach instantly goes back to its original size and all resistance is gone. You very much have to keep those good habits going for life...but then again with any WLS you have to have that mind set too but at leat there is a "Safety Net" so to speak.
At the moment it's weird for me... I go from being really excited to really daunted and full of dread. One thing for sure is i know i am doing what is best for me and i have no regrets. I would be worried though if I didn't have those feelings ;) xx
 
Last edited:
Oh dear I've been really poorly this week :( only drinking water and eating dry ryvitas for 5 days, i just don't fancy anything else. At least it made me lose a pound or 3!

Really makes you think about eating though when you're ill, was terrified incase I was going to be sick, so I just stayed away!

Been thinking a lot about how it will be after my balloon, know that I could also be getting anxious!

Thinking about a little medium term target and would love to be under 100kg by Christmas,
that means I have to lose 19 kg or 43lbs in 5 months from 29th July-29th December.
If I WAS a statistical person, that works out at about.......2 lbs a week. Achievable??? Hmmm yes I think so. With a lot of hard work!!

Oh by the was it is. 43 degrees here today... No the wonder I can't eat and feel sick!!

Look forward to hearing from you all soon and how your journey is going x
 
treacles1977 said:
Oh dear I've been really poorly this week :( only drinking water and eating dry ryvitas for 5 days, i just don't fancy anything else. At least it made me lose a pound or 3!

Really makes you think about eating though when you're ill, was terrified incase I was going to be sick, so I just stayed away!

Been thinking a lot about how it will be after my balloon, know that I could also be getting anxious!

Thinking about a little medium term target and would love to be under 100kg by Christmas,
that means I have to lose 19 kg or 43lbs in 5 months from 29th July-29th December.
If I WAS a statistical person, that works out at about.......2 lbs a week. Achievable??? Hmmm yes I think so. With a lot of hard work!!

Oh by the was it is. 43 degrees here today... No the wonder I can't eat and feel sick!!

Look forward to hearing from you all soon and how your journey is going x
Click to expand...

Poor u!!! Hope u feel better soon ?
I'm down another 2lb this week!!! Yay!!!!
I'm getting there!
Oh yea IM IN THE 12S!!!!!!! ??
Finally!!!!!!!
I am so close to goal!!!!
Although my provider thought I would get to where I am now by August!!!! So I'm 6 weeks ahead of time!!!! Lets be having ye :)
Have this in till September or it can stay in for longer if I want :)
But I can't believe it's come around so quick! Nearly done!!!!
I need to keep focused!!!!

carol b :)
 
Hope you feel better soon hun. reember to drink plenty ;).
As long as you are willing to put the effort in then yes it is very achievable treacle ...4 & half month in & I'm nearing the 50lb mark with the balloon. Xx
 
Good here hun a real busy couple of days with it being the local gala here and today hubby and I decided to really gut out the kitchen .... It had got so bad as I can really only surface clean if you know what I mean. We still aren't finished but at least we can now see where we are at & when it comes to decorating (soon) we won't be needing to move half the kitchen first lol. Tomorrow is my birthday so another busy day :) x
 
What a coincidence lol. I hope you have a good one hun :) x
 
Love it Yve :). My 51st year has been absolutely amazing but I think my 52nd is going to be even more so hehe .... I am indeed one lucky woman :D xxx
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

N
Gastric Balloon Gastric Balloon Information/Chat
2 3
Replies
51
Views
24K
ginzeh
G
B
New Gastric Balloon
2
Replies
25
Views
4K
bellabell
B
W
Gastric Balloon Consultation
Replies
7
Views
2K
BlondeMoment
BlondeMoment
G
my little blue balloon
2
Replies
28
Views
5K
Nickynoodles
Nickynoodles
tiili
Gastric Balloon Balloon triplets
2
Replies
25
Views
5K
mamalishious
mamalishious
Back
Top