Newbie here!

[Ellzee]

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie to this forum having used minimins a couple of years ago when I lost 4 stone doing a VLCD. Unfortunately I went on to gain it all back plus a little but more and that's pretty much the story of my life. Having tried everything I'm feeling more miserable than ever.
I'm turning 29 this year and I've taken the plunge to have the gastric band fitted and give myself the chance to enjoy my 30s since I've wasted my 20s.
I met with Mr Toh at spire last October and had a full consultation a couple of weeks ago, now my mind is made up. I'm trying to pencil myself in for a late May/early June slot and hopefully will be all confirmed soon.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared, I'm fully aware of the pros and cons. I'm barely telling anyone I know apart from my amazingly supportive husband and parents. After being so scared of telling my dad (and even getting my mum to tell him) he actually gave me some money toward sthe op. We don't do words too well in my family, but I know it was his way of giving me his seal of approval. He knows how unhappy I am and how a young confident girl has turned into a shy wall flower.
I have around 7stone to lose but I am starting to get to that point where just getting on with day to day life is getting difficult. Someone close to me has had a gastric bypass and says it is in no way an easy option but they haven't regretted it for a second.
I'm looking forward to starting a diary on here once mr Toh's secretary eventually agrees my date and I can't wait to read about everyone else's experiences.
The rest of my life starts soon x

 

[MrsDuck]

Hello and welcome...

I'm a pre op too, having surgery the first week in May. I've found this site sooooo helpful and friendly, if there's any questions you have, someone always has the answer, it's fab. I don't know what I'd do without it.

Good luck on your WL journey x

 

[princess4d4]

hi welcome and good luck

 

[Tiggerific]

:welcome2:

Just wanted to say hello and wish you luck on your weight loss journey xx

 

[Ellzee]

Thanks everyone! Having a mooch on this forum has renewed my enthusiasm all over again!
You must be getting excited by now MrsDuck! Early May will fly round! I have a holiday in early May which I have to say I was tempted to cancel to get this done sooner but them at isn't fair on my husband! It's just once my mind is made up I don't like waiting! So I'll be getting back on 11th May and then potentially starting my 2 week pre op a week later ready for the op on 31st.
I have to say the only problem I've encountered so far is actually scheduling the op in! I really like and trust my surgeon but he is out of the office and it seems his secretary and the hospital are struggling to agree surgery dates without him there. He is back in a couple of weeks though so hopefully then I can get it all confirmed. I just hate waiting!
I will start a diary on here when I am on the final countdown and will be sure to ask any questions which pop into my mind! I do feel very blessed though to have the support of my husband and parents who understand that while I might have lost weight on diets before year on year my weight is increasing quite significantly. My BMI is 37 and I just feel so unhealthy, I worry where I'll be in a year, or two or five, and now I've made this decision I don't have to find out!
Thanks all and wishing you MrsDuck the best of luck for May!! x

 

[Ellzee]

I called the surgeons secretary again today but she has now confirmed he is out of the country and won't be back until 28th April so I'll have to wait until then to book. I'm still gunning for end of May but it all being up in the air is killing me.
I'm finding now my mind is made up I'm really struggling to maintain my weight. Has anyone else had this problem?
Anyway, fingers crossed I'll be starting all my pre op stuff in around a month, I'll try and stay focused on that got to stay positive!

 

[Butterfly_lady]

Hi and good luck xx

 

[Tinkerbelle64]

Hello and welcome to a great helpful site

 

[Ellzee]

I'm so disappointed, after 5 weeks of trying to book this in the hospital have just said they won't be offering gastric banding anymore and they have to refer me to someone else at a different location. It's so frustrating, I've had my mind made up about this for a while and I'm willing to pay good money to have it done and I can't get it booked in!
Apparently I'm being referred to shaw smith who is quite well known, does anyone have any experience of him? From what I can see on the streamline website he is more expensive than everyone else so I don't know if that would be money well spent or not?
I'm off on holiday for a week now, so hopefully I'll be getting this sorted once and for all when I get home. Fingers crossed!

 

[heavenlykaty]

Hello there, welcome along
It's Shaw summers who works for streamline, they are excellent, Shaw is based in Portsmouth now, but he was at St Richards in Chichester for years, I chose St Richards just because I wanted Shaw to do my bypass, but I am happy to have Chris Pring, who also works at streamline do it now (hopefully)
You will find many answers to your questions here, its a very friendly site

Good luck with your journey

Kate x

 

[Ellzee]

Ok I spoke with streamline directly and they are so much easier to deal with than spire.
I now have a consultation with guy shaw on 30th May with a view to doing the op at the end of June. It's further in the future than I wanted but since I'm starting from scratch again it's probably for the best.
I will feel much better when it's all booked and confirmed x

 

[Ellzee]

So it's my consultation this evening with guy slater (not shaw as I wrote before!) and I actually feel so excited. It's been months since I tried to get the ball rolling on this and I feel even better now knowing I've had more time and opportunities to change my mind, but I feel more determined than ever.
Hopefully mr. Slater will agree with the last surgeon that I am suitable for banding and I can get myself booked in for the end of June. I'm more than ready to change my life and start to feel how I've always wanted to.
I'm interested to see what pre-op diet they'll put me on and also how many appointments (dietician etc ) I'll need before I can start. I assume once the surgeon agrees and you're booked in there isn't anything that can then put the brakes on?
Anyway, fingers crossed for this evening, it's been a long time coming!! X

 

[los in it]

hello you!

 

[melarnz]

Have you thought about a sleeve?

 

[Ellzee]

Hi both, I haven't considered a sleeve as after initially discussing with the surgeon we agreed was the band would probably be best for me. I'm still young, haven't started a family yet and in the scheme of things don't need anything more drastic. I want something that will keep me on track for life but don't need a quick fix for weight loss as I'm willing to go the slow route to lose this 5 stone.
So my meeting with the surgeon went well and I also saw the dietician. I have to do the milk diet for a week but I know I've got the determination to do it. I'm all on track for 27th June and couldn't feel more ready.
I'm about to read through all my paperwork now and I'm sure I'll be back on here with more questions! Once my deposit is paid I won't feel like such a fraud on here and will be able to start my proper diary and countdown the hard work starts soon, but so does the rest of my life x

 

[Ellzee]

Ok, it's confirmed. I'm all booked in with guy slater at nuffield Guildford on 27th June. I have to do the milk diet for one week before but I have to admit that I'm considering doing it a few days longer as a week before is the weekend and I have plans. I can live with doing the diet while I'm at a party but I can't live with feeling ill for a long car journey, so I'm hoping by starting a few days earlier I will have settled down into it before we go away.
I'm still trying to get my head round the fact it's all confirmed now. I decided to do this at the end of March so it has been a long time coming.
I need to start thinking about shopping for while I'm on the milk diet and how I'll cater for my husband, but more importantly I want to prepare some mush for the days afterwards and freeze it. My husband is now on a course the day of my op so my mum is taking me to the hospital, but I will have both of them for 3 days afterwards and my mum as long as I need her.
I don't intend on telling work what I'm having done, the surgeon said he writes a generic certificate anyway. Has anyone had any experience of this? Have employers been understanding or do they expect to be told what your having done?

 

[princess4d4]

congrats on getting a date and good luck for your journey

 

[Ellzee]

Thanks very much, I'm excited to get started and trying to cut down my food intake now to prepare myself. It feels like it's been a long wait but I feel I'm definitely ready now!

 

[Ellzee]

Hi world! I told work and my manager about this yesterday and all was fine. They looked concerned that I was having an operation but not saying what for but I just said I didn't really want to discuss it.
I am hoping the one week recovery that guy slater said I'd need will be enough. When I had my gall bladder removed I was signed off for 2 but the second week was mainly just building my strength back up. I work at a desk and can really move about as much or as little as I want to so providing I'm comfortable to sit straight I should be fine. I'm interested to hear how anyone else found week 2 after surgery though x

 

[Ellzee]

3 weeks to go! I guess I should hear something about my pre op assessment soon. Is that usually 2 weeks before the op?