galm37
New Member
Hello everyone
My story so far...
As a teenager I was my perfect weight 9st (god, was it that long ago) but still looked at myself as fat. At the age of 15 I started dabbling in weight loss pills, Apisate, Tenuate Dospan or anything else I could get my hands on, legally or not!
By the time I was pregnant with my son (20yrs) I weighed a not too unhealthy 12 ½ st. 3 Months after he was born, again by any means possible I was in a size 10 for my 21st Birthday.
I was in a crappy relationship that wasn’t working and then my weight started creeping up. Went to 14 st after having one pill injection by Oct 1992 and no matter what I did, I couldn’t shift any of it.
On the 9th Sep 1993 I found out I was pregnant with my daughter and half an hour later my dad died. I think this was a major trigger for me. I couldn’t let my dad’s passing ‘get’ to me for my baby’s sake and took comfort in food. I was eating for two, so how could it be bad?
Amy was born prematurely 9 wks early weighing in at 3lb 6.5 oz and spent 4 weeks in the special care baby unit. Around this time, I had a light bulb moment and decided that my crappy relationship was never going to get any better and so now I was on my own, two kids under 3, no social life, no money and no hope. On went another stone.
In the years between 1994 – 2006 my weight fluctuated with the help of WW & SW. Then in Oct 06 I had a simple trip accident that left me unable to walk for 4 months and with a permanent disability.
So now with mobility problems by the time I decided to take my life back in Oct 08 I weighed in at 17st 5lb (my heaviest), but still not at the time heavy enough for surgery. But thankfully I won an appeal as my knee is so badly damaged I need a total replacement and at 37yrs old, I was considered too young for this op, so my PCT granted my funding for my WLS.
I spent 6 months with the dietician where again my weight was up and down to the point where she decided she wouldn’t refer me to the surgeon as I couldn’t demonstrate a sustained weight loss and had actually put on 5lbs at my last appointment! I was devastated, and after a very emotional appointment I swore that I’d be back in 2 weeks with that 5lb gone plus some more....
Two weeks of slim fast later my referral to the surgeon went through, with my One Stop Clinic appointment arriving for the 6th August 09.
My surgeon, Mr Ammouri agreed with me that I could have the Bypass I wanted and he said he hoped to fit me in before Christmas.
My sleep studies were completed on 8th Sep 09 – no problems
My Psychology appointment was on 29th Oct 09 – I saw a new psychologist, not the lovely Carly I’d heard so much about from other pre-ops. We had an open & honest chat, to which she advised me that she disagreed with surgeons being involved in weight loss & that it should be left to dieticians & psychologists to help me overcome my weight problem. She also told me that she felt I was punishing myself by having such a drastic operation. Was she right?
When her letter finally arrived, 4 weeks later! Mr Ammouri’s secretary advised me that she couldn’t put me on the surgical list yet because of some of the comments the psychologist had made. Because I had suffered from depression in the past, she felt that I couldn’t make an “informed decision” about the surgery.
Back to my G.P. – Another letter from him promising ongoing psychological support if I wanted it throughout the process got me on the surgical waiting list and my 18 week countdown started from the 29th Oct 09 (my last clinical appointment).
On Monday 18th January 2010 I received the call letting me know my surgery was booked for the 1st February! 2 weeks! I started to panic.
My pre-op diet sheet arrived on Friday 22nd Jan, so I decided that weekend would be my ‘last bad one’. On the following Monday I got on my scales and weighed in at 17st 5lbs again! It seemed to be my magnetic figure, but again, only myself to blame so on with the liver reduction.
My fear had gone and positivity took over. I didn’t think about any of the possible problems that could occur on the 1st Feb. 7 days and my life could start again. Couldn’t wait.
Monday 1st Feb 2010 – 1st day of the rest of my life – weight 16st 9lb
Arrived at Hope Hospital at 7 a.m. to find I was the 1st one down. All the medical team arrived within an hour, bloods done, surgical stockings done, gown done (1st time the wrong way round!! Ha ha, this one tied at the front not at the back, why do I always get this one wrong?).
The surgical team arrived, talked about the aesthetic and finally I met my surgeon, Miss Formella. 1st impressions were that she was lovely and my life saver.
Walking down to surgery with two nurses we had a great chat about how I didn’t look 38 years old and I had no wrinkles, to which my theory is that it’s the fat in my face that’s pushing them out and I’ll see if I still have no wrinkles in 6 months time! Still no nerves...
I’m in the room now where they wire you up and plug you in and it’s 8:40 a.m. The gas mask came and the next time I look at a clock and it’s 5 p.m. I’m still in recovery.
The lovely nurse told me that my surgery had taken 3 hours but I’d had a little problem coming out of the aesthetic.
I was on the ward by 6:30 p.m. but was so tired I’d asked the nurses to phone my family and ask them not to visit as I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I drifted in and out until about 10:30 p.m. when I was hit with a searing pain that left me short of breath and felt like I had a concrete slab lodged in my chest. This pain got increasingly worse and by 5 a.m. the next morning my blood pressure was 189/139. I was whizzed down for a chest x-ray, went through an arterial blood test (took 30 minutes to get my bloods) and had an ECG done.
Thankfully I wasn’t having a heart attack but the pain was still there. The lack of sleep and constant pain left me very emotional. I was visited by a member of the surgical team by 8 a.m. and was told that it was possible that I had trapped wind. TRAPPED WIND!! OMG, I’ve never experienced pain like this in my life (and I’m not a softy, two caesareans & major orthopaedic surgery putting two metal plates and 6 pins in my left leg) and I’d have gladly swopped the pain of all 3 of those operations added together for this.
I asked for my drip to be taken out so I could get moving, I couldn’t settle, couldn’t sit down or lie down so I started to walk around. Miss Formella didn’t visit me until after 3 p.m. and because of the pain I was told I’d be staying another night.
By day two, because of my constant movement I’d dislodged most of my discomfort. I felt brighter and was now on free fluids. I took myself off to the shower at 7 a.m., got dressed (no P.J’s, I was going home!). I met with the dietician and was advised I’d be on liquids for the next 3 weeks, was given advice and had to inject myself, met with the physiotherapist, given my meds and at 12:00 my friend came to collect me to take me home.
For the past two weeks I’ve felt great. The pain from the Bypass itself is minimal. The odd twang if I cough or sneeze. I’ve been cooking all homemade soups full of protein from some recipes I found in WLS books and on this sight.
I weighed myself on Thursday and I’d lost 15lbs in 11 days!
My BIG mistake was that I weighed myself on Friday, still 15lbs down, so then on Saturday the same, Sunday the same, Monday the same (thoughts of OMG it’s not worked!!!!!!!)
Read lots of posts on this sight, decided I was an idiot.... How could I not lose weight, even without the surgery anyone living on milk & soup for two weeks would end up losing something!
Decided this morning that I was weighing myself for the last time and finally one more pound down! Phew...
I am not weighing myself any more (well not for a week at least he he!)
One more week on liquids & on to puree’s.
I’m thinking of going back in work next week as I’m bored, but I’ll see how I feel on Friday when I see my G.P.
I’m already feeling a bit of benefit from my op – My pain meds for my dodgy knee are down, I’m at least one of my chins down & my outlook is very optimistic.
I’ve been really inspired by all the other story’s on here and feel thankful that I’ve now joined the world of losers.
Best wishes to everyone x
Gail
My story so far...
As a teenager I was my perfect weight 9st (god, was it that long ago) but still looked at myself as fat. At the age of 15 I started dabbling in weight loss pills, Apisate, Tenuate Dospan or anything else I could get my hands on, legally or not!
By the time I was pregnant with my son (20yrs) I weighed a not too unhealthy 12 ½ st. 3 Months after he was born, again by any means possible I was in a size 10 for my 21st Birthday.
I was in a crappy relationship that wasn’t working and then my weight started creeping up. Went to 14 st after having one pill injection by Oct 1992 and no matter what I did, I couldn’t shift any of it.
On the 9th Sep 1993 I found out I was pregnant with my daughter and half an hour later my dad died. I think this was a major trigger for me. I couldn’t let my dad’s passing ‘get’ to me for my baby’s sake and took comfort in food. I was eating for two, so how could it be bad?
Amy was born prematurely 9 wks early weighing in at 3lb 6.5 oz and spent 4 weeks in the special care baby unit. Around this time, I had a light bulb moment and decided that my crappy relationship was never going to get any better and so now I was on my own, two kids under 3, no social life, no money and no hope. On went another stone.
In the years between 1994 – 2006 my weight fluctuated with the help of WW & SW. Then in Oct 06 I had a simple trip accident that left me unable to walk for 4 months and with a permanent disability.
So now with mobility problems by the time I decided to take my life back in Oct 08 I weighed in at 17st 5lb (my heaviest), but still not at the time heavy enough for surgery. But thankfully I won an appeal as my knee is so badly damaged I need a total replacement and at 37yrs old, I was considered too young for this op, so my PCT granted my funding for my WLS.
I spent 6 months with the dietician where again my weight was up and down to the point where she decided she wouldn’t refer me to the surgeon as I couldn’t demonstrate a sustained weight loss and had actually put on 5lbs at my last appointment! I was devastated, and after a very emotional appointment I swore that I’d be back in 2 weeks with that 5lb gone plus some more....
Two weeks of slim fast later my referral to the surgeon went through, with my One Stop Clinic appointment arriving for the 6th August 09.
My surgeon, Mr Ammouri agreed with me that I could have the Bypass I wanted and he said he hoped to fit me in before Christmas.
My sleep studies were completed on 8th Sep 09 – no problems
My Psychology appointment was on 29th Oct 09 – I saw a new psychologist, not the lovely Carly I’d heard so much about from other pre-ops. We had an open & honest chat, to which she advised me that she disagreed with surgeons being involved in weight loss & that it should be left to dieticians & psychologists to help me overcome my weight problem. She also told me that she felt I was punishing myself by having such a drastic operation. Was she right?
When her letter finally arrived, 4 weeks later! Mr Ammouri’s secretary advised me that she couldn’t put me on the surgical list yet because of some of the comments the psychologist had made. Because I had suffered from depression in the past, she felt that I couldn’t make an “informed decision” about the surgery.
Back to my G.P. – Another letter from him promising ongoing psychological support if I wanted it throughout the process got me on the surgical waiting list and my 18 week countdown started from the 29th Oct 09 (my last clinical appointment).
On Monday 18th January 2010 I received the call letting me know my surgery was booked for the 1st February! 2 weeks! I started to panic.
My pre-op diet sheet arrived on Friday 22nd Jan, so I decided that weekend would be my ‘last bad one’. On the following Monday I got on my scales and weighed in at 17st 5lbs again! It seemed to be my magnetic figure, but again, only myself to blame so on with the liver reduction.
My fear had gone and positivity took over. I didn’t think about any of the possible problems that could occur on the 1st Feb. 7 days and my life could start again. Couldn’t wait.
Monday 1st Feb 2010 – 1st day of the rest of my life – weight 16st 9lb
Arrived at Hope Hospital at 7 a.m. to find I was the 1st one down. All the medical team arrived within an hour, bloods done, surgical stockings done, gown done (1st time the wrong way round!! Ha ha, this one tied at the front not at the back, why do I always get this one wrong?).
The surgical team arrived, talked about the aesthetic and finally I met my surgeon, Miss Formella. 1st impressions were that she was lovely and my life saver.
Walking down to surgery with two nurses we had a great chat about how I didn’t look 38 years old and I had no wrinkles, to which my theory is that it’s the fat in my face that’s pushing them out and I’ll see if I still have no wrinkles in 6 months time! Still no nerves...
I’m in the room now where they wire you up and plug you in and it’s 8:40 a.m. The gas mask came and the next time I look at a clock and it’s 5 p.m. I’m still in recovery.
The lovely nurse told me that my surgery had taken 3 hours but I’d had a little problem coming out of the aesthetic.
I was on the ward by 6:30 p.m. but was so tired I’d asked the nurses to phone my family and ask them not to visit as I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I drifted in and out until about 10:30 p.m. when I was hit with a searing pain that left me short of breath and felt like I had a concrete slab lodged in my chest. This pain got increasingly worse and by 5 a.m. the next morning my blood pressure was 189/139. I was whizzed down for a chest x-ray, went through an arterial blood test (took 30 minutes to get my bloods) and had an ECG done.
Thankfully I wasn’t having a heart attack but the pain was still there. The lack of sleep and constant pain left me very emotional. I was visited by a member of the surgical team by 8 a.m. and was told that it was possible that I had trapped wind. TRAPPED WIND!! OMG, I’ve never experienced pain like this in my life (and I’m not a softy, two caesareans & major orthopaedic surgery putting two metal plates and 6 pins in my left leg) and I’d have gladly swopped the pain of all 3 of those operations added together for this.
I asked for my drip to be taken out so I could get moving, I couldn’t settle, couldn’t sit down or lie down so I started to walk around. Miss Formella didn’t visit me until after 3 p.m. and because of the pain I was told I’d be staying another night.
By day two, because of my constant movement I’d dislodged most of my discomfort. I felt brighter and was now on free fluids. I took myself off to the shower at 7 a.m., got dressed (no P.J’s, I was going home!). I met with the dietician and was advised I’d be on liquids for the next 3 weeks, was given advice and had to inject myself, met with the physiotherapist, given my meds and at 12:00 my friend came to collect me to take me home.
For the past two weeks I’ve felt great. The pain from the Bypass itself is minimal. The odd twang if I cough or sneeze. I’ve been cooking all homemade soups full of protein from some recipes I found in WLS books and on this sight.
I weighed myself on Thursday and I’d lost 15lbs in 11 days!
My BIG mistake was that I weighed myself on Friday, still 15lbs down, so then on Saturday the same, Sunday the same, Monday the same (thoughts of OMG it’s not worked!!!!!!!)
Read lots of posts on this sight, decided I was an idiot.... How could I not lose weight, even without the surgery anyone living on milk & soup for two weeks would end up losing something!
Decided this morning that I was weighing myself for the last time and finally one more pound down! Phew...
I am not weighing myself any more (well not for a week at least he he!)
One more week on liquids & on to puree’s.
I’m thinking of going back in work next week as I’m bored, but I’ll see how I feel on Friday when I see my G.P.
I’m already feeling a bit of benefit from my op – My pain meds for my dodgy knee are down, I’m at least one of my chins down & my outlook is very optimistic.
I’ve been really inspired by all the other story’s on here and feel thankful that I’ve now joined the world of losers.
Best wishes to everyone x
Gail
Welcome Gail
