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my weight loss journey by Gail Michelle

Gail-michelle

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My weight loss journey happened or should I say started on the 8th of July 2009. I had yet another doctors appointment for my bad chest and wheeziness, although I did feel a lot better in myself this paticular day, I asked him not to give me any more steroids as I had not long finished a course. Anyway the appointment got more onto a conversation of weight. He had commented on how much I had put on in the last 12/18 months (I dont go to g.p very offten) therefore he realy didnt see me as I truly were. All the appointments previous to this I had been muffled up in coats and scalfs due to winter. Anyway I then said now I am feeling better could I have something to help me to slim as the summer was uppon us and I had never been as big as I was at the time 18s 4lb. He then said Gail please go onto the scales which I did and yes it conferemed my mass weight gain. This might not sound a lot of weight to some but dont forget my height is only 5`2" . after taking a seat this is how it all started. :eek: He said to me now then gail you can do 1 of 2 things you can have the tablets or surgery the choice is entirely upto you as either way I will back you up 100% no matter which desision you take. My BMI was nearly 50, I have athritus in my ankles, knees, and shoulders, I will have full on diabetis by the time I am 53 (both my parents have diabetis) The only good thing I had going for me was the fact I didnt drink or smoke L.O.L . On the 23rd April I received a letter stating that my very first appointment was the 13th May at the Salford royal Manchester with Dr New. and how excited I was I dont think that I slept the night before. I got up that morning as bright as a button showered, dressed, hair, make-up, and off we went hubby & me. My name was called and the I went in not knowing what to expect, Dr new wasnt present but a lovely Doctor by the name of Dr Shakoor was and he just asked me so many questions, which I answered fairly & as truthfully as I could . Dont forget this guy needs to know as it is so if you eat a full pack of bikkies then say so cause he does not judge how much you eat he is there to help you so no porkies eh!! anyway the only person you would be lieing to would be yourself, cause how can he assess you if your not telling him everything. On the 17th of May I received a copy of my report from Doctor Shakoor to ask my G.P to apply for funding for a gastric Bypass, all I could do was punch the air going "YES" me hubby thought I had gone tapped. My next appointment wasnt to far away it was for the sleep apnea test (sleep study) that was going to be done at the Salford Royal Cardiorespiratory,Investigations In the red area. on Tuesday 19th May 2009. I came back home the following day to find out that My PCT had passed my Gastric bypass funding, so it was all systems go at this point. I must admit I am a workaholic and most weeks do 7 days a week, I have my own business of swimwear, textiles, & childrens wear, I pay a lot of taxes therefore I do like to keep staff to a minimum if possible. So then I thought OMG:eek: ime going to be off for weeks but hey!! guess what that was the least of my problems right now Ive got a new body to sort out. and a new birth which was going to be the 10th July 2009 at the Spire hospital Manchester with the lovely godsend ""Mr Basil Ammori"" oh he does make me laugh when he giggles, and what a sexy voice he has, you know the one dont you! where you could just listen to all night long ahhhhhh ANYWAY!! back to my story L.O.L (I was getting a bit carried away there hey peeps) . My next appointment was going to be on the 30th June with a lovely lady called Kath Rothwell she is in charge of all the NHS patients within the spire hospital Manchester she is also the barriatric nurse for Mr Ammori. Kath has also had weight loss surgery so who better to explain the real truth on how your diet will change in the near future. On this day I had my blood preasure done wich was 100/70 mrsa swab 1 x up my nostril & 1 x in my groin. 4 x bloods. temperature, and then a discussion of my pre-op diet to which you MUST adhere to as it has been known in the past to be opened for surgery then closed back up as they cannot progress with your operation due to you cheating and your liver has not shrunk. so there you go. Going onto my next appointment which wasnt much longer and that was going to be 1 week later with Mr Ammori when I went into his office it was realy just to explain the formalaties of my operation and the do and dont realy, I thought OMG:eek: the next time I see him is the day of my op which was within the next two days, YES!! my new birthday the 10th JULY 2009 . THE DAY OF MY SURGERY IS HERE!!!! I woke up on a lovely fresh friday morning knowing this is IT!! I had a long shower got my new black velour tracky and I bought a baby pink strapless top to go underneath it . I took minis advice into getting something comfy to come home in and by god that was. The tracky was bought as separates from mattalan and let me add NOT a bloody hipster one L.O.L they go upto a size 30 mine was a 22 cost no more than £30 and my bube tube top they also come in big sizes was £3 cause you cant wear a bra this held me perfect so a bargain all in all. We arrived at the Spire at 7.00am then my name was called out my hubby, daughter (age32) and I followed the gentleman to the lift where he then took us where my venture was going to start, it was room 225, it was more like a hotel than a hospital realy , you had carpet, free vending machine (me was on nil by mouth by the way L.O.L) sky t.v, on suite with beautiful pure white fluffy towels (Ime fussy about towels I tend to compare Ha! Ha!) I took my own pink fluffies , what more can I say other than WOW! The blood doctor came into my room and took more blood this time it was to match for my operation in case I needed a transfusion. I then had the anaethatist come in to see me and explaine what his procedure was, apparantly I was the 4th on the list. There was 1 x bypass, and 2 x strobe opps before mine and my god did I feel like It was an eternity. Then in came the staff nurse with my glamorous gown no joke it would have fitted 3 of me in it and my daughter nicky, hubby and me was littereley crying with laughter the knickers well my god I know Ime big but bloody hell you could have fitted king kong in them blyters Ha! Ha!:8855:Then it happened yes!!! they came for me 12.00 on the dot I walked down to theatre with my hubby and nicky and me in the middle we were all holding hands I felt like a little girl crossing the road holding on to my mum & dads hand for grim death. The moment came when we all had to let go at the double doors entrance to the theatre (I am crying now for real) and for once in my life I have never felt so alone. I lay on the bed while the anaethatist put the needle cap thing in my hand (cant remember the name of it) he then said I am going to give you something to make you relax first as he could see how upset I was, the next minute I felt like a wierd sensation going through my body WOW!!! it was sureal. The nure in there was telling me something about her baby daughter but heyyyyyyy Ime in flower power land and didnt want to be rude so every now and then I kept saying ahhhhhhhh bless her!! to be honest I hadnt a clue what she was on about L.O.L Then the anaethatist came back and said O.K Gail this is it Ime going to put you to sleep now and dont worry you are in safe hands with Mr Ammori and me ( I never did get his name but he was tall dark and handsome) just before he put the needle in I said I wont wee myself will I He laughed at me and said no you wont but mr ammori might, (what did he mean:eek:) Oh well. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ I woke up in the recovery room and you realy do feel like you cant get your breath the only way I can describe it is when you go on holliday and they open the plane door the other side at your destination its so hot it takes your breath away well thats the same feeling I had. I was not there long when I was took back upto my room where my lovely hubby and beautiful daughter was waiting for me I then felt a wonderful feeling of calmness it was hard to explaine to any-one how I felt. I remember my daughter Nicky wiping my face with a baby wipe saying to my husband ahhh bless her. Within 1 hour my sense of humour had come back!!! the nurse came to give me a sip of water and straight after I said OOOhh Ime full now!! I have to say to all of you who are waiting to have this operation I know every-one is so much different but aIthough I had my morphine button on demand I never used it once, Purely because I didnt need it, I also read on minis it can make you feel sick. I got up within a couple of hours of comming around, I also learned that off minis too!! cause it gets rid of any trapped wind, I went to the loo for a wee Oh By the way I forgot to tell you all mr Ammori allows you to use your own knickers so long as they are 100% cotton, but be aware they are not pure white when you get back they are orange, this does wash out though. I had my moon legs plugged in until about 6ish next morning. Night time came and went, I then was woken by the little birds singing and I thought to my self "well Gail this is a new you!!" and also a new birth in life so use it well . and by god I will believe me life is to short. I have always had a dream of being whisked off to the carribean for a beautiful beach wedding , to wear a lovely 3/4 flowy dress, (no shoes though) and all my family around me. This dream is now a reality as it actualy happens on the 20th January 2010, My Hubby and I are re-taking our wedding vows of 30yrs ago on the carribean Island of the Dominican Republic, My daughter Nicky, My son in law Philip (they have been married for 14yrs) my beautiful grandaughter Abigail age 13yrs and grandson Cory Jai age 8yrs, My Mother age 73, and my father age 74 (they have been married 54yrs also) So I realy have so many beautiful things going to happen in the near future along with my 50th birthday on 17th Oct . I hope you all enjoyed my story and although mine was quite quick (12 weeks from beginning to end) some are not as fortunate and mostly it depends on your PCT of your area but DONT EVER GIVE UP HOPE!! there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Conclussion: An extremely happy lady and thank you so much to all you ladies and gents on mini mins for all your support in this you have all been fab!! thank you especialy to Hopelesscase, Phatgirl, Helen, Margaret, 2bandzliz, and most of all my bestest friend in world My mate soon 2 be slinky sue, who is next let me just say her operation is on 15th July this wed:eek:, Mini Mins and all of you on here have been the best eva God Bless you all Gail-Michelle:thankyou::thankyou::thankyou:
 

elffie01

Im Meellttinngg!! :)
what a lovely story I had tears in my eyes about the walk to the theatre as Im struggling to decide if I want to go down to theatre on my own. Dont fancy sobbing infront of me mum lol.

You sound like you were up and away fairly soon after, how long were you in hospital for ? I dont think you said but its morning you could have done lol

Brilliant story though, cant wait for the next update of that big big weight loss :D
 

tendersage

New Member
Great to hear it all went smoothly, loved reading it and am looking forward to the coming instalments. You have the right attitude to do well with yur Weight loss and i am sure things will continue in the same way
 

elffie01

Im Meellttinngg!! :)
Wow thats quick :) thats what Im after although I have been told already that I could be in up to 5 days.... 5 days leaving the kids and house to the hubby !! perish the thought lol

Glad to hear you have no pain :)
 

Fashionably Late

is a skinny size XS & 6!
What a wonderful story! I am really so pleased for you!
 

fuze

New Member
Wow!!! everything has happened so fast for you that really is fantastic!!! Im hopefully having mine done with Mr Ammori at the start of August and im sooooo scared but reading your post makes me feel so much better. Thanks you for sharing.
 

Mazza

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Gail

Thanks for sharing your story, Im sure it will help reassure all the post oppers on here.

Hope you continue to recover well x
 

fuze

New Member
Ide like to know how you had your op so quick when ive been waiting since March and now ime told its going to be Oct/Nov and ime a 56 BMI good luck to you and this isnt a dig at you but it pisses me off waiting and seeing other people operated on b4 me though i have no god given right to be quicker than any 1 else.

I know its strange, I was first referred July last year (2008) (no dig at anyone its just interesting to see how long people wait in different areas). I was told that it has alot to deal with the PCT your under, however different people say different things). Anyway, good luck IRJ, i hope you get a date soon, and I hope anyone else waiting for dates gets them soon. xxxxx :)
 

Gail-michelle

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I have put my story on here for you all to read and please believe me it was not put on to gloat, I have no Idea how your PCT works in your area, and as I said in my story every bodies pct is different. I hope you get your date very soon .Kind regards Gail.x
Ide like to know how you had your op so quick when ive been waiting since March and now ime told its going to be Oct/Nov and ime a 56 BMI good luck to you and this isnt a dig at you but it pisses me off waiting and seeing other people operated on b4 me though i have no god given right to be quicker than any 1 else.
 

LizzieBee

Loving being a loser!
Glad you're home safe and all went well.

Lx
 

fuze

New Member
Gail- Michelle i think its fantastic that you got your surgery so quickly, I am hoping that it is a sign of things to come. My PCT has just recently implemented a new funding strategy which should hopefully make the whole process alot smoother. The aim is to get from referral (for funding) to surgery in a maximum of 18 weeks as they want to bring it under the national waiting list time frame which states that patients should have their definitive treatment within 18 weeks of referral (normally referral means referral from GP to hospital but in the case of bariatric surgery it is from referral for funding as bariatric surgery is one of a few things that have to be pre-approved before it can go ahead).

Anyway im sorry your story thread has been a bit highjacked Gail-Michelle, you should never apologise for things happening quickly for you, I think it is fantastic and I cant wait to be in your shoes, please keep us informed of how it goes it helps to know what to expect in 3 weeks time!!!!!! Have a safe happy recovery from surgery.
 
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