Newbie - advice needed!

[fatmax14]

Hello one and all!

I'm so glad I have found this forum and plucked the courage up to register and post.
I'm a single Mum of 2, i'm 29 nearly and i'm classed as morbidly obese at 122kg. I recently went to a doctors appointment and mentioned a gastric band as i've always struggled to get down to a healthy weight and BMI. I was surprised at how easy it went down. She weighed me, took my height, said I meet the current criteria and she could refer me. She advised that I had to loose weight over the next 12 weeks to show my commitment.
I've been eating healthy and upped my exercise levels and in a week i lost nearly a stone. I'm 115.4kg at the moment and i'm due back to see my doctor on the 16th jan.
i had the children with me at the time of the appointment, so we didnt get to go into too much detail, i have loads of questions whizzing through my head now and I cant seem to hold back and wait to see her again.
I know lots of you have already gone through similar so I was hoping maybe someone could advise. Having lost weight, and continue to loose, wont it be likely they will turn around and say, well youve done well on your own, just carry on. You dont need a gastric band? That is my worst fear. I'm only trying so hard in these 12 weeks because i desperately want that band. I know its my only way to change my life so drastically. I want to be a healthier Mum for my children and set an healthy lifestyle for us all.
Does anyone know how likely id be to actually get one? And how long from the 12 weeks dieting id be having the operation.
My doctor mentioned that id have a counselling session at the hospital in Birmingham to make sure the op is for me, what sort of things do they ask? What boxes do I need to tick?
This really does feel like my last lifeline,i need this so much.

Thankyou so much for reading, i looks forward to hearing from someone soon x

 

[marcusbm]

Welcome to the forum and to the start of your journey.

Personally I'd advise against a band due to the high long term complication rate and consider a gastric bypass or a sleeve, while more invasive it's much safer. Some surgeons are now refusing to do band surgery for this reason.

How tall are you? Weight doesn't mean much without height to calculate BMI.

I don't have any experiences with counselling as I wasn't ever able to get a referral from my GP as I don't have diabetes.

 

[bex.wils]

First of all let me start off by saying Hello and welcome to a brill forum, everybody is so helpful and friendly, no question goes unanswered!!
I've got a band and had it since October, I'm still getting used to it but it's doing the trick for me.
I think it all depends on what your eating habits are and how tall and big u r along with how much u need to lose. The reason I got my band was to help my lifestyle long term, not just to lose weight.
Come on, let's be honest if we all ate great and exercised enough and did both of those things for long enough without fail and relapse, nobody would need surgery.
But the fact of the matter is we cannot maintain a. The diet and exercise lifestyle long enough to get down to our healthy ideal weight and b. We cannot maintain.
I say we as I believe alot of is can't but I know I can't.
For me I needed the band to get me where I need to be and with the correct amount of fill fluid, I will be able to firmly stay at that weight.
I'm sorry I can't answer any of your questions with regards to NHS procedures policies and timescales but u sincerely hope u get where u want to be, if u need anything, drop me a message xx

 

[Lilacglittergirl]

Personally I'd advise against a band due to the high long term complication rate and consider a gastric bypass or a sleeve, while more invasive it's much safer. Some surgeons are now refusing to do band surgery for this reason.

Totally agree with Marcus.

 

[nicola1723]

Welcome! I also agree - bypass all the way! I've lost 12 stone in a year with it good luck xx

 

[los in it]

Hello and welcome
I too am a bypasser and its the best thing ive ever done but each to their own the band does work for some people but I cant lie I have read of others having issues with the band , and the same can also be said of the band and any other type of WLS
it seems to me that at least on the NHS they dont seem to be doing bands so much instead opting for the sleeve or bypass
all I can do is strongly advise that you do a lot of reseach all all WLS that is available talk with your team and hear what they have to say
good luck with every thing you wish for

 

[mouse57]

Hi welcome to a great forum, I would be interested in what hospital because both myself and another woman SHARONA had bypasses at heartland recently and we never had any such intervention, which would have been great especially for me I feel. Do your own research but I would also be agents a band because there are more and more who are having problems, that's not to say there are others who have a great deal of success but you need to make yourself aware of all the pitfalls and all the gold results.

 

[samp24]

please, please do your research, there are more options than just the band, you need to understand what each procedure does and doesn't do, until then you cant make an informed decision about which is likely to work the best for you. the more you know about each procedure the better. I had a bypass and don't regret it one bit, I knew a band was not for me as i wanted as many things working in my favour as possible, smaller stomach, less calories being absorbed as 1 metre of small intestine bypassed and of course the fear factor of possible dumping syndrome to keep me on the straight and narrow! which it is doing so far! however there are risks with it, for example leaks, malabsorption issues etc (this is where you need to do your research) but i felt that if i was going to risk an anaesthetic i may as well go the whole hog and have a bypass done (lots of people go on to have problems with bands and end up getting them revised to a bypass anyway if possible). don't forget the sleeve, many have success with that too and i'm sure sleevers will be along shortly to tell you of their experience. my mum had real problems with her band and after watching what she went through i knew that that was not the way i wanted to go. so best advice is to read up on all the operations and that should give you a better idea. x x

 

[Kar8858]

Hi and welcome! I chose a sleeve over the band due to researching both and deciding the sleeve would be best. I was a binge eater before as opposed to a grazer. It's stopped my bad habits dead! I have no regrets at all with my choice so far.
Good luck!

 

[emma-louise]

I wasn't given a choice of surgeries as such...on the first appointment they asked what my eating habits was like and decided which operation would suit me.
As I was a grazer of naughty stuff the bypass was better suited due to the dumping side.
And it has certainly kept me from eating sweets and fatty things...as I dump very easily.

 

[fatmax14]

Firstly i'd just like to thank everyone for such a warm welcome and replying!

I've still not got the hang of posting on this site, it's took me all this long trying to get back on, the app didnt seem to want to load on my phone. I'm not sure how to go back now and re read individual posts to reply to you all, so please forgive me if I don't answer you. X

I remember being asked about my height, I'm 5'4 @ 122kg (starting weight)
I'm so glad you all said about researching the right operation - i had just set my heart on a band, know it seems silly but im sure some of you can relate. I'm now thinking more the bypass, but still not really sure how much my say in things goes. I will research things more thoroughly.
Someone asked about which hospital in Birmingham? I have no idea! Lol! The doctor just said, they dont do it around here (Northamptonshire) and that I would have to go Luton or Birmingham. I figured it's easier to get to Brum so sort of told myself it would be there.
I go back to my doctor on the 16th, I'm now weighing 114.0kg. I have lost two approx stone in 3 weeks. Official weigh in today, i'm chuffed!
The more I am getting obsessed about loosing the weight in these 12 weeks, the more i'm stressing and worrying about not getting the bypass. The appointment with the doctor can't come soon enough.
I done school run today, and two Mums i dont usually stand with, commented on how much slimmer I look. I proudly took the compliments and thought to myself, you aint seen nothing yet lovelies!
I walked away feeling that 2015, must be my year? Surely!
Xxxxx

 

[marcusbm]

Yeah. Weight alone can be misleading. I'm the same BMI as you (43.1) while my weight is 139.5kg, it's because I'm 5'11". I started four stone heavier at 163.3kg (50.2 BMI).

Short term weight loss can be dramatic but keeping it off is the challenge. You've done well so far. How far do you think you can go without surgery? Do you have a history of yoyo dieting?

 

[Bear]

Did I read somewhere that they've stopped doing bands on the NHS? It might be just at certain hospitals.

Welcome to the forum Max

 

[mouse57]

There is talk that the NHS might stop doing bands but I don't think a decision has been made yet.

 

[marcusbm]

There is talk that the NHS might stop doing bands but I don't think a decision has been made yet.

I heard this as well. The long term complication rate is higher than bypass and sleeve so some surgeons have stopped doing bands and it looks like the NHS will stop.

I bet this will be misreported.

 

[fatmax14]

Hi guys.

I had my appointment with my doctor yesterday. I asked the dreaded question, you know the;
"So, i'm worried because if i loose all this weight successfully in the next 12 weeks, what if they turn around and say, you've done well on your own so far, just carry on as you are"
She smiled and assurred me it would'nt be like that. It best not be!
I didn't really get to find much else out to be fair. Bit disapointing, but she was pleased with my weight loss, has asked me to go back in 2 weeks, if ive lost more then she said she can refer me to the dietician? Am i on the right track now? Is this the way forward?
I hope so! I'm struggling with the dieting at the moment. I had chinese last night as a little treat, time to get back on it! Eeeek back in two weeks this time, no sneaky mars bars this week!

It's just a poo week in general for me, feeling a bit down. Need someone to talk to! But i'm holding on to that little piece of hope that i'm going in the right direction with seeing the dietician next. Can anyone put me right? X

 

[samp24]

You are doing great! Keep at it, with the dieting, they need to see that you are prepared to make changes. If they haven't set you a set amount of weight to lose then just make sure you haven't put on any weight. Try to have lost a little bit more for the next appointment in two weeks time. I understand yr nervous that they will think you can do it without the surgery if you appear to be losing well. But they know that it's the maintenance of it that's the tricky bit. When you see the dietitian run yr questions past her, she will probably be able to put yr mind at rest over a lot of things. Don't give up, crappy time of year, just try to stay positive x

 

[fatmax14]

Thanks everso much for your words of support! Means alot.
I'm trying to keep focused, but i'm bloody starving lol!
They havent set any goal weights or targets to reach, just said to keep going as I am.
I suffer from depression and panic attacks, not been my best week. Time of year I guess!
Should be pleased with myself, ive nearly finished my xmas shopping for this year, everyone apart from my own kids, ordered vouchers from park for their presents nearer the time. Im well on it this year, happy positive thoughts all the way!! Sigh... i wish i was that easy to cheer myself along!
Is there anyone else in from Northants area?

 

[samp24]

When you're hungry have a real good drink of water. Used to help me anyway, and fill me up! Doesn't sort yr brain out from wanting food, but we still suffer from head hunger even after surgery! X