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Long Termers

HI all my tablets are working thank you and its good to hear people still sharing issues on here. Hope you all have a great Christmas xx
 
I haven't visited here in a loooooong time, but I directed a friend here for support so thought I would pop by and say hello. 9 year post op next week! That definitely qualifies as long term. Bumpy road, but still the best journey I've ever taken.
 
Well done you that's fantastic :)
 
Hello all. I have not been on the site for a long time. I would like to encourage any long termers who are out there and who may be lurking as I was to come back. Your wealth of experience would be of great assistance to those embarking on the journey, those newly post op and people like me who are a long way down the road and may be feeling a little lost.

WLS is life changing. It can literally save your life. My journey has not been an easy one. I had my first surgery in 2010. I went in for a bypass and woke up with a band. The operation went wrong, to this day the hospital have never explained what happened and I long gave up fighting them about it. I worked with the tool given to me and it saved me from a very early death. Since then I have had revision surgery from the band to a sleeve, then hernia repair and on 26 November 2018 I had a revision surgery from a sleeve to the bypass. In 2016 my beloved Mr TB was struck down with a rare brain virus which rendered him totally disabled. I nearly lost him. He spent a year on hospital and I then had to battle to get him home with a package of care that meant I could work and keep a roof over our heads. During his illness and he is still very ill, I developed acute acid reflux which made me very ill. If I stop to think about it too long in terms of what we have been through I think I would completely break down so I try not to.

The revision surgery was difficult but they did it after 6 hours. I have struggled since the op and I am seeing the GP on Monday to hopefully agree a phased return to work. I am dreading it. I have had a follow up appointment at the hospital and they took loads of blood and are running a host of tests to try and get to the bottom of why I am feeling so ill. I cannot face anymore surgery so unless they find something life threatening this is it for me.

Having had the revision surgery I must admit to feeling a little lost. I have followed the guidelines given to me by my team to the letter. Having had three lots of WLS and not having been able to eat properly for so long with the acid reflux they did warn me that I would probably not have much restriction and would put on weight. I have gained weight since the op but to be honest it is not worrying me. The hospital were not concerned. They are more bothered about me being able to keep food in my system. They said we can worry about the weight side of things later.

I am now at the eating properly stage. I am still having to cut up food and struggle trying to eat food whole. I am just taking my time. I have decided to stop weighing myself and to go by my clothes as I still seem to be losing inches despite gaining a little weight. I had to buy a belt today and always buy men's belts as they tend to be a bit more sturdy. I eventually got one marked medium/small:). I have come a long long way from where I was in 2010 and I am grateful to be alive and practically half the size I used to be.

I am sorry for this long post. However I just wanted to say please continue to support this site, the moderators and let's all be kind to one another whatever type of surgery we have had or are hoping to have. They are all tools and demand a lot of hard work and commitment.

Best wishes to all.

TB x
 
Its great to have you back TB and I hope we can all support you on this leg of your journey.

Since converting to a sleeve, I've not really posted much (apart from early days) and stuck to moderating, for my sins. My fellow sleevers/bypassers from 2016 have all but gone. As for the 2009 crew, around for my band op? Well there's only you now @tranquil_butterfly.

Support for long termers is something that is much needed but also lacking. It's all so easy just to occasionally update our diaries, then fade into the distance. We have a lot to offer the newbies but sometimes this falls on deaf ears. So I for one will be making use of this resurrected thread x
 
Good for you. I really do feel quite lost. The hospital were more concerned about the op working to cure the reflux rather than what I can expect as a converted person not just once but twice.

I am feeling my way through food. There are so many things I am frightened to try because I just couldn't eat them with the reflux. I have fallen out of love with food which may be a good thing. I just don't know.

It would be good to have some input from long termers and how they are finding things. I know some regain and it would be good to hear how they have coped with that and what if any support they have had from this teams. I would like to think that I am never going to go back to how I was but you just don't know.

Mazza thank you for all the hard work you are doing to keep this site going. You are a brave woman. I could not do it.

TB x
 
tranquil_butterfly said:
Hello all. I have not been on the site for a long time. I would like to encourage any long termers who are out there and who may be lurking as I was to come back. Your wealth of experience would be of great assistance to those embarking on the journey, those newly post op and people like me who are a long way down the road and may be feeling a little lost.

WLS is life changing. It can literally save your life. My journey has not been an easy one. I had my first surgery in 2010. I went in for a bypass and woke up with a band. The operation went wrong, to this day the hospital have never explained what happened and I long gave up fighting them about it. I worked with the tool given to me and it saved me from a very early death. Since then I have had revision surgery from the band to a sleeve, then hernia repair and on 26 November 2018 I had a revision surgery from a sleeve to the bypass. In 2016 my beloved Mr TB was struck down with a rare brain virus which rendered him totally disabled. I nearly lost him. He spent a year on hospital and I then had to battle to get him home with a package of care that meant I could work and keep a roof over our heads. During his illness and he is still very ill, I developed acute acid reflux which made me very ill. If I stop to think about it too long in terms of what we have been through I think I would completely break down so I try not to.

The revision surgery was difficult but they did it after 6 hours. I have struggled since the op and I am seeing the GP on Monday to hopefully agree a phased return to work. I am dreading it. I have had a follow up appointment at the hospital and they took loads of blood and are running a host of tests to try and get to the bottom of why I am feeling so ill. I cannot face anymore surgery so unless they find something life threatening this is it for me.

Having had the revision surgery I must admit to feeling a little lost. I have followed the guidelines given to me by my team to the letter. Having had three lots of WLS and not having been able to eat properly for so long with the acid reflux they did warn me that I would probably not have much restriction and would put on weight. I have gained weight since the op but to be honest it is not worrying me. The hospital were not concerned. They are more bothered about me being able to keep food in my system. They said we can worry about the weight side of things later.

I am now at the eating properly stage. I am still having to cut up food and struggle trying to eat food whole. I am just taking my time. I have decided to stop weighing myself and to go by my clothes as I still seem to be losing inches despite gaining a little weight. I had to buy a belt today and always buy men's belts as they tend to be a bit more sturdy. I eventually got one marked medium/small:). I have come a long long way from where I was in 2010 and I am grateful to be alive and practically half the size I used to be.

I am sorry for this long post. However I just wanted to say please continue to support this site, the moderators and let's all be kind to one another whatever type of surgery we have had or are hoping to have. They are all tools and demand a lot of hard work and commitment.

Best wishes to all.

TB x
Click to expand...
Thanks for coming back and sharing your story, you certainly have gone through a hell of a lot to get where you are now. I really hope both you and your husbands health improve x
 
tranquil_butterfly said:
Hello all. I have not been on the site for a long time. I would like to encourage any long termers who are out there and who may be lurking as I was to come back. Your wealth of experience would be of great assistance to those embarking on the journey, those newly post op and people like me who are a long way down the road and may be feeling a little lost.

WLS is life changing. It can literally save your life. My journey has not been an easy one. I had my first surgery in 2010. I went in for a bypass and woke up with a band. The operation went wrong, to this day the hospital have never explained what happened and I long gave up fighting them about it. I worked with the tool given to me and it saved me from a very early death. Since then I have had revision surgery from the band to a sleeve, then hernia repair and on 26 November 2018 I had a revision surgery from a sleeve to the bypass. In 2016 my beloved Mr TB was struck down with a rare brain virus which rendered him totally disabled. I nearly lost him. He spent a year on hospital and I then had to battle to get him home with a package of care that meant I could work and keep a roof over our heads. During his illness and he is still very ill, I developed acute acid reflux which made me very ill. If I stop to think about it too long in terms of what we have been through I think I would completely break down so I try not to.

The revision surgery was difficult but they did it after 6 hours. I have struggled since the op and I am seeing the GP on Monday to hopefully agree a phased return to work. I am dreading it. I have had a follow up appointment at the hospital and they took loads of blood and are running a host of tests to try and get to the bottom of why I am feeling so ill. I cannot face anymore surgery so unless they find something life threatening this is it for me.

Having had the revision surgery I must admit to feeling a little lost. I have followed the guidelines given to me by my team to the letter. Having had three lots of WLS and not having been able to eat properly for so long with the acid reflux they did warn me that I would probably not have much restriction and would put on weight. I have gained weight since the op but to be honest it is not worrying me. The hospital were not concerned. They are more bothered about me being able to keep food in my system. They said we can worry about the weight side of things later.

I am now at the eating properly stage. I am still having to cut up food and struggle trying to eat food whole. I am just taking my time. I have decided to stop weighing myself and to go by my clothes as I still seem to be losing inches despite gaining a little weight. I had to buy a belt today and always buy men's belts as they tend to be a bit more sturdy. I eventually got one marked medium/small:). I have come a long long way from where I was in 2010 and I am grateful to be alive and practically half the size I used to be.

I am sorry for this long post. However I just wanted to say please continue to support this site, the moderators and let's all be kind to one another whatever type of surgery we have had or are hoping to have. They are all tools and demand a lot of hard work and commitment.

Best wishes to all.

TB x
Click to expand...
Thank you for sharing your story and I am so very sorry for all the struggles you and your husband are going through. Love and hugs xxx
 
Thank you all for your kind words. It means a lot. Life goes on. Mr TB is cared for and he is home with me. He is non verbal now and I miss hearing his lovely voice the most.

I have my bypass to come to terms with and that is a huge challenge. My brain has not come to terms with the fact I have had more surgery and I am trying to get to grips with whether things feel differently from the sleeve if that makes sense. I am fearful of dumping and that is stopping me from experimenting with food so my intake is bland. That cannot last forever so at some point I am going to have to take the plunge with a few things. I did not have any problems with sweet things with the sleeve but I am not tempting fate!

I am out today getting my hair done by a friend. It is in very poor condition and it has been 10 months since I did anything with it. I had thought about getting a wig to be honest it is so bad. I think it needs a rest and time to recover but with going back to work this week I need to do something with it.

I need to try and stay positive!

TB x
 
Bless you lovely. It sounds like your hair is suffering as a result of the trauma you've been through. I hope your friend can get it looking nice for you x

Do you take vitamins, I know you said you've had some bloods done recently, maybe they'll show something that needs addressing? They'll also help bridge the gap nutritionally if your diet is limited.

How about we share some meal ideas and tips on here? I cant tolerate anything with more than 5% sugar in, which isn't a bad thing and cooked peppers have become a bit of a nemesis! Apart from that, I stick to tried and tested for sleeve/bypass - half of my plate protein and the other half, mostly veg with the smallest bit reserved for carbs.

I still take my x 2 a-z multi vitamins, as well as the prescribed vitamin d with calcium. However, and I've probably not mentioned it on here before, I've been suffering with alopecia arretta for a while. So I'm under the dermatologist for that, treatment so far has consisted of applying a steroid cream to the area and over the xmas period, I had some very painful injections in my scalp.

They think this was caused by a trauma, which I'm putting down to how ill I was until my band went. Apart from my hair and being malnourished, everything else has been ok and I seem to have recovered. Having the hernia repair was the final stage to this but boy did that knock me for six!

The only issues I have now are my joints, mainly fingers and my skin, bad flare ups on my face. Which I know I really need to see my GP about!

Are you doing a phased return to work? I hope it goes well x
 
Mazza said:
Bless you lovely. It sounds like your hair is suffering as a result of the trauma you've been through. I hope your friend can get it looking nice for you x

Do you take vitamins, I know you said you've had some bloods done recently, maybe they'll show something that needs addressing? They'll also help bridge the gap nutritionally if your diet is limited.

How about we share some meal ideas and tips on here? I cant tolerate anything with more than 5% sugar in, which isn't a bad thing and cooked peppers have become a bit of a nemesis! Apart from that, I stick to tried and tested for sleeve/bypass - half of my plate protein and the other half, mostly veg with the smallest bit reserved for carbs.

I still take my x 2 a-z multi vitamins, as well as the prescribed vitamin d with calcium. However, and I've probably not mentioned it on here before, I've been suffering with alopecia arretta for a while. So I'm under the dermatologist for that, treatment so far has consisted of applying a steroid cream to the area and over the xmas period, I had some very painful injections in my scalp.

They think this was caused by a trauma, which I'm putting down to how ill I was until my band went. Apart from my hair and being malnourished, everything else has been ok and I seem to have recovered. Having the hernia repair was the final stage to this but boy did that knock me for six!

The only issues I have now are my joints, mainly fingers and my skin, bad flare ups on my face. Which I know I really need to see my GP about!

Are you doing a phased return to work? I hope it goes well x
Click to expand...
Aw Mazza you’ve really been through it, injections in the scalp.....oh my days they sound horrendous xx
 
tranquil_butterfly said:
Hello all. I have not been on the site for a long time. I would like to encourage any long termers who are out there and who may be lurking as I was to come back. Your wealth of experience would be of great assistance to those embarking on the journey, those newly post op and people like me who are a long way down the road and may be feeling a little lost.

WLS is life changing. It can literally save your life. My journey has not been an easy one. I had my first surgery in 2010. I went in for a bypass and woke up with a band. The operation went wrong, to this day the hospital have never explained what happened and I long gave up fighting them about it. I worked with the tool given to me and it saved me from a very early death. Since then I have had revision surgery from the band to a sleeve, then hernia repair and on 26 November 2018 I had a revision surgery from a sleeve to the bypass. In 2016 my beloved Mr TB was struck down with a rare brain virus which rendered him totally disabled. I nearly lost him. He spent a year on hospital and I then had to battle to get him home with a package of care that meant I could work and keep a roof over our heads. During his illness and he is still very ill, I developed acute acid reflux which made me very ill. If I stop to think about it too long in terms of what we have been through I think I would completely break down so I try not to.

The revision surgery was difficult but they did it after 6 hours. I have struggled since the op and I am seeing the GP on Monday to hopefully agree a phased return to work. I am dreading it. I have had a follow up appointment at the hospital and they took loads of blood and are running a host of tests to try and get to the bottom of why I am feeling so ill. I cannot face anymore surgery so unless they find something life threatening this is it for me.

Having had the revision surgery I must admit to feeling a little lost. I have followed the guidelines given to me by my team to the letter. Having had three lots of WLS and not having been able to eat properly for so long with the acid reflux they did warn me that I would probably not have much restriction and would put on weight. I have gained weight since the op but to be honest it is not worrying me. The hospital were not concerned. They are more bothered about me being able to keep food in my system. They said we can worry about the weight side of things later.

I am now at the eating properly stage. I am still having to cut up food and struggle trying to eat food whole. I am just taking my time. I have decided to stop weighing myself and to go by my clothes as I still seem to be losing inches despite gaining a little weight. I had to buy a belt today and always buy men's belts as they tend to be a bit more sturdy. I eventually got one marked medium/small:). I have come a long long way from where I was in 2010 and I am grateful to be alive and practically half the size I used to be.

I am sorry for this long post. However I just wanted to say please continue to support this site, the moderators and let's all be kind to one another whatever type of surgery we have had or are hoping to have. They are all tools and demand a lot of hard work and commitment.

Best wishes to all.

TB x
Click to expand...
I know I said it yesterday but I’m so sad for you with everything you’ve been through, it’s just so awful for you, I hope your hairdresser friend can help to brighten your day, so sad that you lovely hubby cannot communicate with you any longer, it must be heartbreaking. Hugs to you xxx
 
tranquil_butterfly said:
Thank you all for your kind words. It means a lot. Life goes on. Mr TB is cared for and he is home with me. He is non verbal now and I miss hearing his lovely voice the most.

I have my bypass to come to terms with and that is a huge challenge. My brain has not come to terms with the fact I have had more surgery and I am trying to get to grips with whether things feel differently from the sleeve if that makes sense. I am fearful of dumping and that is stopping me from experimenting with food so my intake is bland. That cannot last forever so at some point I am going to have to take the plunge with a few things. I did not have any problems with sweet things with the sleeve but I am not tempting fate!

I am out today getting my hair done by a friend. It is in very poor condition and it has been 10 months since I did anything with it. I had thought about getting a wig to be honest it is so bad. I think it needs a rest and time to recover but with going back to work this week I need to do something with it.

I need to try and stay positive!

TB x
Click to expand...
That is so sad about your husband, that must be hard for you at times. I can understand that fear about eating, maybe just try one new thing at a time, just a very small amount to see how it goes. When my hair started falling out and going thin I got some Biotin and Zinc tablets and taking those have made a big difference, my hair us growing back and getting thicker, so might be worth a go for you. Getting it cut will make it feel better x
 
Mazza said:
Bless you lovely. It sounds like your hair is suffering as a result of the trauma you've been through. I hope your friend can get it looking nice for you x

Do you take vitamins, I know you said you've had some bloods done recently, maybe they'll show something that needs addressing? They'll also help bridge the gap nutritionally if your diet is limited.

How about we share some meal ideas and tips on here? I cant tolerate anything with more than 5% sugar in, which isn't a bad thing and cooked peppers have become a bit of a nemesis! Apart from that, I stick to tried and tested for sleeve/bypass - half of my plate protein and the other half, mostly veg with the smallest bit reserved for carbs.

I still take my x 2 a-z multi vitamins, as well as the prescribed vitamin d with calcium. However, and I've probably not mentioned it on here before, I've been suffering with alopecia arretta for a while. So I'm under the dermatologist for that, treatment so far has consisted of applying a steroid cream to the area and over the xmas period, I had some very painful injections in my scalp.

They think this was caused by a trauma, which I'm putting down to how ill I was until my band went. Apart from my hair and being malnourished, everything else has been ok and I seem to have recovered. Having the hernia repair was the final stage to this but boy did that knock me for six!

The only issues I have now are my joints, mainly fingers and my skin, bad flare ups on my face. Which I know I really need to see my GP about!

Are you doing a phased return to work? I hope it goes well x
Click to expand...
Oh Mazza. You have been through the wars and are still battling. That hair condition and the treatment sounds horrendous.

I am not a big fan of the docs but it sounds like you could do with them taking some bloods and doing some tests to determine why you are experiencing these various things. It must be very worrying for you. It could be all the trauma from before your revision and the hernia. I know with my hernia and the acid reflux they were so debilitating.

I am all for sharing meal ideas. I said I would not weigh myself but did after getting my hair done today. I had twist extensions put in which is how I normally have and it weighs a bit so I was expecting a further gain. I was shocked to find I am back to where I was on the day I had my op. I am eating healthily and trying to make sure it is protein first then veg. I try and eat three meals a day and drink plenty. I suppose I am doing the right things, I am just a bit shocked as I was expecting to keep gaining weight having not been able to eat properly for years. I will try and resist becoming scales obsessed.

I am expecting the blood tests to come back and show I am deficient in something. I have been running on empty since Mr TB became ill. I do take a good multivitamin every day and a high strength vitamin C and have done so religiously for years and I really think that has helped.

I just need to wait for the hospital to come back to me once all the results are in. They did warn me some of them may take a while.

I have a doc appointment in the morning and I am sure he is going to send me back to work but I am going to ask for a phased return. I have to look after Mr TB on my own from 7 to 9 pm because they will not fund 24 care at home so I have a really stressful journey to get home in time to take over from the carer. I need time to get back to doing that. It is going to be hard.

We will all get there. It is just a question of time.

TB x
 
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