Hello - newbie considering surgery :)

[Dibspl]

Hello, a bit of background first. A couple of years ago 2007-9 maybe i went on the cambridge diet and joined minimins Lost 9.5 stone at my peak, was still very overweight, started at just under 28 stone. Over the following couple of years the weight just started to pile back on and when i had put 5 stone back on i just thought enough was enough so i visited my GP expecting him to be very unsympathetic as the previous time i asked for help he told me to go away and lose some weight to prove i was serious about it! If it was that simple, i would never have darkened his door, but hey ho, that's what sent my off to CD at that point.
Anyway, i told him i was considering paying privately for a band but wanted some advice beforehand, luckily my timing was spot on and he told me that Plymouth had created a weight managment program that now dealt with that and he would refer me.
That was last July, it's a two year program with access to GPs, specialist nurses, dieticians, psychologists etc. After 10 weeks on the program you can ask for a referral to discuss surgery and before they will refer on again for the actual surgery you need to lose 10% of your starting weight. Since I have been on the program my weight has fluctuated as they try to get you eating correctly and healthily while re-educating you on your choice of food and exercise. I think i have now got things in balance and the weight has started to drop (incidentally, i am using Free Calorie Counter, Diet & Exercise Journal | MyFitnessPal.com to manage my calorie intake and record my exercise and finding it a very useful tool if anyone is interested). I have now asked for my referral but i have a number of questions, most they would technically answer for me but there is no substitute for experience so i would like to discuss the pros and cons with people that have actually already been through the experience.
I will have the option of a gastric band or a gastric bypass, i am worried about the surgery, recovery and life afterwards. I live a very social life and much of it seems to centre around meeting for meals etc i know that will have to change but would like to know how you handle that change. What things can you eat, how often does dumping occur and why, i hear diahorrea (sp?) can be an issue and it also concerns me that there are reports to say that long term 10yr studies show that some people regain the lost weight.....??
Sorry to go on a bit, but all views and experiences good or bad would be appreciated
Thanks

 

[Sambucca]

Hi Dibspl and welcome to WLSurgery.com

I remember you from your CD days as I would have been on CD at around the same time. I used to be known as wannalose8stone back then.

Im glad you had a supportive GP, that can be half the battle for some people getting a referral in the first place.

As for which surgery to go for, its a very personal decision but I would say be totally honest with yourself about your eating habits and your expectations.

Bypass can help to curb a sweet tooth due to the risk of dumping, but not all bypassers dump. Dumping is not what it sounds like! but is similar to a diabetic hypo and can make you sick, shaky, sweaty, faint... Most unpleasant. Bypass will also hugely restrict your portion sizes, but in time your capacity to eat more will increase. I can eat anything I choose but in moderation. A typical meal size for me is similar in size to what my 6 year old daughter eats. Bypass is likely to get the weight off you more quickly, but longer term the results are similar for both bypass and band, both operations require a certain degree of willpower and hard work.

Im not a bander, so will wait for a bander to point out the good/bad points of banding to you.

I dont suffer from diarrhoea unless I have eaten something too fatty which is occasional. Its usually self inflicted and if I eat healthily as I should then I dont suffer.

 

[Dibspl]

Hi Sam, i remember your old moniker Thanks for the reply, I don't really have a sweet tooth, i'm more a savoury and meat eater. Another thing i believe is an issue - eating meat, well red meat - steak? We had a pre surgery presentation where they explained what was actually entailed in the surgery and possible side effects and the obvious good bits but i am a real wimp, having my gall bladder out was bad enough and the bypass just seems such a severe operation that i don't want to go into it lightly but think it would be a better long term solution for me than a band.... Do you have any regrets at all?
PS certainly has worked well for you, looking great

 

[Mazza]

Hi

I dabbled with the Cambridge diet too, it seems like some sort of rite of passage!

I had a band and have recently changed my goal to a bit lower than my original but I was only a few pounds away from it.

I had a band because I was a volume eater, no sweet tooth plus I didnt have as much as some to lose as some.

As Sam said the losses with a bypass are greater initially, whereas a band an be tightened or loosened to maintain good restriction and losses over the years. It can however take some time to get the restriction with a band right, hence the slower losses.

My journey has been straightforward and I still enjoy socialising.

Again as Sam said be honest about your eating habbits and let them guide you. Are you a volume eater or grazer for instance.

Good luck x

 

[phatmomma]

I'm a bypasser but haven't lost the weight as quick as some and have found a bit of a stall going on at the minute... However i would not change my surgery type for anything. I was a sweet tooth (still am and fight it ferociously at times) but also volume.

I have to say i've been blessed with the fact i've only been sick a couple of times when food stuck early on. I enjoy eating out, i love steak and enjoy it a lot.... If me and himself go out i tend to order a side salad and other side dish and pinch a bit of Trev's mixed grill or whatever he has. Alternatively take a tupperware tub and bring leftovers home for another day or the dog!

Good luck with your choices.

Best advice would be as others say, be honest at your consultation and listen to your surgeons advice xx

 

[dizzybizzi]

Hi ya.
I went to Chichester to discuss having the band. I had already got the funding from the NHS. When i got there I had interviews with 8 different professionals. Every single one said that I should go for the bypass not the band. I was shocked and hadn't even thought about the bypass-it just seemed so definate and final. It also seemed like such a massive decision to make. The reason they suggested the bypass is because I had shown that I can lose weight but I can't keep it off. I binge/have been bulemic/near anorexic. They said the band helps you lose weight but people struggle keeping the weight off and often put it back on again. Each person is different and I am sure it is great for some people, but for me they recognised I would cheat it. it is like being on a normal diet and therefore u need so much will power. It is the will power that I have lost. So anyway,after crying at the hospital as it was all too real and scary I decided to go for the bypass.I had it done 5 days ago. Am so happy I went for the bypass and not the band. When I was in hosp all I heard were bad stories about the band (sorry if these are not true-for people that have been successful). I am 27 and most of my life involves eating out-lunch, dinner, most nights! I love it. Right now I am scared because that means no more chinese buffets, but that is what got me to nearly 21 stone. I have made the right decision and later on down the line I know I will be able to have a little of what I fancy. Once the weight comes off I am sure I will not dwell on the fact I cannot eat things i want to! Hope this helps x

 

[Mazza]

Each person is different and I am sure it is great for some people, but for me they recognised I would cheat it. it is like being on a normal diet and therefore u need so much will power.

Im glad you are pleased with your surgery but I have to say this comment is just not true, you have a band placed round your stomach to physically restrict the volume you can eat. Its not like a normal diet at all. I appreciate you are relaying what you have been told but either procedure requires will power and committment AND you can cheat both too.


Once the weight comes off I am sure I will not dwell on the fact I cannot eat things i want to! Hope this helps x

I hope your bypass is as succesful for you as you hope! x

 

[dizzybizzi]

Thanks Maryann. U have done so well! Well done x

 

[Dibspl]

Thanks for your posts, i would say i am a volume eater, i like to feel full and try, even now on salads, to feel full up so that i am not tempted to cheat and eat rubbish because i am hungry. Don't get me wrong i can eat chocolate and puddings with the best of them but if made to choose i would rather have a starter than a dessert
I also usually eat all the wrong things but i would hope that having to go through something as drastic as a bypass, i would have more sense than to revert to my old ways but having been there so many times before, losing massive amounts of weight on various diets, swearing never to get back to the size i was before then a couple of years later, find myself back where i started and then some

Dizzy, i read your diary and it's good to see you are starting to feel better, best of luck and let us know how the weight loss goes. I did originally start this thinking i would get a band but i am leaning much more towards the bypass now but will discuss that further with the specialists.
I am not 100% sure my head is in the right place as yet and that makes me wary of going ahead at this time, but that said, even if i decide to ask for the referral to the surgeons it will be 3-4 months before i actually get to have the op......i just need to hear other peoples experiences to weigh up my choices really so thanks for your input

 

[Dibspl]

Oh and i have another question, has anyone needed surgery for excess skin after the weight loss? I have been very big and already suffer from overhang, i am concerned that this will also become a problem after surgery?

 

[Mazza]

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, its such a big decision x

Some people do have / need plastic surgery after the dramatic weight loss that WLS can bring but it affects peoples bodies in different ways x

 

[Sambucca]

Thank you for your lovely compliments. I have absolutely no regrets about my bypass and it was definitely the correct choice for me.

As Mazza said in a post on this thread, any surgery can be cheated so whilst its important to be guided by your eating habits, if you are a grazer for example then neither surgery will help you unless you are able to curb your grazing.

I have been extremely lucky in that I lost the bulk of my weight very quickly and have been fairly stable for about 6 months now or more. I still have to fight the demons to overeat every day though and dont always make the right choices. I did make a commitment to exercise quite early on though too and that has helped me enormously, although depression at the end of the year meant I stopped exercising regularly and havent got into the routine again just yet - my bad!

As for loose skin, it is something i suffer with and I have had an inital consultation with a PS for a TT and boob reduction. In all honesty, with the kind of weight most of us have to lose I think most of us would like to have plastics to complete our journeys x

 

[Dibspl]

Thanks again for your replies. I am starting to work my way through the other threads and i'm sure i'll learn a lot from everyone on the site.
Sam, I'm trying to get into exercise and this week is my second week of trying to make sure i do at least 30 mins 3 times a week (have to start somewhere) and looking on target so far, maybe we can compare sessions, i need all the encouragement i can get

 

[hsmel]

Hi - just read your introduction and though I would say hello.

I think I was probably similar to you - volume eater and savoury lover (but wouldnt say no to a pud either as I always had room!).

I was going for a band privately but after some discussion with another lady on this site and reading various threads and then seeing Shaw Somers I went ahead (with great trepidation I may add) with a bypass.

For me it has been great. Like you I enjoy socialising and still do . . I just eat much less. I have had no real issues at all and love my bypass.

Everyone is different and there are some wonderful success stories for banders and bypassers. Good luck on your journey whichever wls you decide on. xx

 

[Dibspl]

Hi - just read your introduction and though I would say hello.

Hello
I must say in just a couple of days i am feeling a lot more inclined to go ahead, you all seem to have have excellent results, the weight losses are amazing :clap:. At the end of the day, my motivation for surgery is to lose weight but obviously i will discuss it further when i get to see the doc to discuss my options 1-2-1. Just waiting for an appointment date but it is likely to April now. If i lose some weight before then, he may refer me for surgery and then my funding is guaranteed at least

 

[magicbeans]

hey op!!

what did u decide then. althought bypasses do really well, there is a lot more malabsorption with a bypass then a band....just thought id add that as well

 

[i-wanna-be-slim]

Hi there, I am going to go with what the surgeon says to me after they know what will be best us. I have a friend that has had a bypass and when we eat out she has two starters maybe thats something you could think about, best of luck with your journey.

 

[Patd95]

It will affect your meals. I was the Pizza Hut Buffet King with piles of crusts & eyes looking at me with disgust.
Now I can't eat full meals out (hate wasting money on leftover food if expensive) but I occasionally still go for pizza. I buy the smallest, eat a half (2 slices), & box the rest.

 

[Dibspl]

hello, sorry not ignoring you, just got back from a holiday to Rome via Strabourg on route and Montreaux in the Alps on the way back! Had a fabulous time, never been to Italy before. Rome was amazing, so much to see around every corner. I tried to be sensible and although i put on a couple of pounds, it was only that, whereas a year ago i would have probably put on a stone or more.
Anyway, had a weight programme review and i weigh less than last time so going in the right direction, had a chat to the nurse and she said it is very much a personal decision and to talk it over more with the Doc - i am seeing him at the beginning of May.
On a personal level i still am undecided, it just seemed the bypass is such a serious and final operation and i don't want to get it wrong and regret it after, so there is still a bit of me holding back on making the decision Don't know what to do, although i am pleased to know i can eat two slices of pizza, i think i have a mental image of being able to eat about a teaspoon of anything. Maybe i just need some more realistic information of what i will be able to eat post op?!?!

 

[angie790]

hello, sorry not ignoring you, just got back from a holiday to Rome via Strabourg on route and Montreaux in the Alps on the way back! Had a fabulous time, never been to Italy before. Rome was amazing, so much to see around every corner. I tried to be sensible and although i put on a couple of pounds, it was only that, whereas a year ago i would have probably put on a stone or more.
Anyway, had a weight programme review and i weigh less than last time so going in the right direction, had a chat to the nurse and she said it is very much a personal decision and to talk it over more with the Doc - i am seeing him at the beginning of May.
On a personal level i still am undecided, it just seemed the bypass is such a serious and final operation and i don't want to get it wrong and regret it after, so there is still a bit of me holding back on making the decision Don't know what to do, although i am pleased to know i can eat two slices of pizza, i think i have a mental image of being able to eat about a teaspoon of anything. Maybe i just need some more realistic information of what i will be able to eat post op?!?!

Having WLS is not an easy decision by any means & it is a very personal thing.

Rest assured, you do eventually return to normality, although you need to remember that what you considered 'normal' portions before, aren't necessarily going to marry up together with what you can eat after WLS. Another consideration is that literally day to day can vary with what I can eat portion wise, depending on what I eat. All I can say, is not to try to 'persuade' you, but to reassure you that hell yes, it's a big thing, but I have never, for one second, regretted having my bypass. I was headed down the immobility, disabled & early mortalilty route, and I'm sure as hell not going there now & I can't begin to tell you how my life has changed for the better...and for me, what makes it all the more worthwhile, is knowing I'm never going to get that fat again, becuase I literally can't eat the way I used to. Do I miss it? NO! I'm living life now, why would I want to go back to where I was before just for the sake of momentarily stuffing my face?!!!!