I have been attending L&D since September 2016 seeing the surgeon and dietitian. I went on the milk diet for 4 weeks until 6th December, achieved the 5% weight loss and was then put on 900 cal per day which I struggled with. At least the milk diet takes away all choices.
I saw the dietitian again on 26 Jan 2017 and she said it was time to move me on for surgery. I had an appointment yesterday with the anaesthetist who gave me the okay for surgery and Mr Jain gave me a date for 26 April - with a warning that I must lose a further 8 kg before surgery date so I am facing some serious weeks on the milk diet.
So I ahve my date, I have my target and I am off.
Wow Suffolkjoy, things have move incredibly fast for you, I don't understand how they work, I'm at L and D been told my assessment will be 1 year which will be June 17 and that my surgery will be "up to a year" after that, and I know of others, 1 in particular who are on the 6 month assessment ( which was up in December 16) that haven't even had their MDT yet so no sign of surgery date, I understand why my assessment was a year and not 6 months but really don't understand the rest, I do however wish you lots of luck for your journey and have no doubt you'll smash the 8kg, how exciting for you X
Hi Bling Babe
Yes it does seem very quick but I got referred as a matter of patient safety by Addenbrookes last August as I was so malnourished (19 tabs a day to correct levels). My food choices are severely limited. I have a band in place but all water has been removed 2.5 years ago but massive scar tissue leaves a restriction that allows minimal food through. As a result my oesophagus has been permanently distended. Currently maize based foods go down, moist foods and foods that have high fat content go down. I have a thing for lattes as they seem to soothe their way down. Having said all that I am sick most days - even on a cup of tea is my system feels like it.
Mr Jain advised me to have the band out along with scar tissue before the bypass and allow the tissue to recover and get softer and more healthy but I am so very frightened about anaesthetics (I don't cope well with them) he has agreed to do the band removal and bypass all together. I can't say he totally agrees with my decision as he says that the making of the pouch may be more difficult because of the scar tissue but says "well we are where we are". He is also not impressed with my weight loss over the past 6 months (20lbs) hence having to lose another 8kg before surgery date.
I am nervous, I can't say I am excited - just feels very overwhelming at the moment.
SJ x
Bless your heart, you've really been through the mill haven't you, so much suffering, that is quite possibly why things are moving quickly for you, have you spoken to the anaesthetist yet as anaesthetic have come on a long way in the past few years. I really do wish you good luck Suffolk joy x
Hi Bling Babe
Anaethetist was really nice - and said that my recovery will be monitored closely which I know they will its just that I hate the whole process. I know it is for the best and goodness I have no wish to be awake whilst anyone does any op on me but I fear never waking up. And then when I do my bode seems to think breathing is just too much trouble to bother with. After the band in 2006 my husband and nurse were taking it in turn to shout at me to breathe. All i wanted to do was slip back into oblivion! However, once the worst is over I then fight to stay awake and want to be moving asap and get out of there as soon as possible. I am totally irrational!!
I was sitting here last night eating a crackerbread and marmite thinking "should i just have the band removed and go back to slimming world?" Then I will spend the rest of my life losing, gaining, losing gaining and gaining and gaining and then back to losing. Its the long term living with the bypass I need to look into more. I have found a diary that I want to read through so I get an idea of what it is like a year of two on from the bypass. I have a good idea of the stages of post-op diet etc, and you can track the problems some people have but its the day to day living with that I need to get an idea on. All in all - I am going forward, I will have it done but any person who says that WLS is an easy option is obviously a skinny idiot in my book.
SJ x
Here here people who have no weight problem simply have no idea whatsoever, I've spent all my life yo yo dieting and now that I've lost some in preparation for, hopefully, surgery people say you can do it on your own you don't need surgery..... BUT what they cannot grasp is that losing it is the relatively easy part, iykwim, it's keeping it off that's the huge challenge. Bless you it sounds like you really suffered last time,it must of been very scary for your husband too, maybe your body wanted to make the most of a good sleep lol, good luck SJ xx
I am quite miffed at the moment. I have seen the anesthetist and he has okay'ed for surgery. I have seen the surgeon, signed the consent form in readiness for surgery and now have received two appointments the week before surgery. One is to see the bariatric nurse and one is to have a pre-operative health check. Can someone tell me what the pre-op health check entails? I am assuming the nurse one is to see if I have achieved the weight loss they want. I was just given the impression that the last time I went it was all systems go. Pre-op meds would come via my GP etc so the next time i went to L&D was with my overnight bag in hand.
They also separately sent me my post-op check up dates for 15 June - the week following my return from holiday so I am hoping I will be slightly thinner and a whole lot more tanned at that stage.
As far as eating goes and within my limitations I am fixated on the fact that this is the last 2 weeks of normal eating. Does everyone else have the same mindset? I keep on ticking off the last time I will eat things and I must have some of that before the deadline and its certainly a challenge for the scales. I am obsessed with achieving the weight loss required but on one one shoulder I have the devil saying - drink the champagne/eat the chocolates/have the curry now before its too late and then the angel on the other shoulder saying - don't blow your opportunity and disgrace yourself, show some backbone etc etc.
I am also dreaming of going shopping for a dress for a family wedding in August and actually being able to buy something that isn't necessarily from Evans, Simply Be or Curvissa. I am excited about the idea of shopping in M&S and Debenhams - and so middle aged as well!!!!! Still that is in the future and seems an awful long way off. The idea of being thinner, weighing less than my husband (never in 30 years has that been the case) and in sociological terms being 'normal' (whatever that is) is exciting, frightening, daunting and mystical.
Hi SJ,
Last time I had pre-op (2 years ago for gallbladder removal) they took a blood sample, MRSA swabs, weight and height, blood pressure and asked about my general health.
Good luck
Hi SJ,
Last time I had pre-op (2 years ago for gallbladder removal) they took a blood sample, MRSA swabs, weight and height, blood pressure and asked about my general health.
Good luck
Hi Ian
Many thanks. How's it going for you. I start my pre-op milk diet (6 weeks) on 13th March with the aim of losing 8 kg before op date. I am stocking (please excuse the pun!) up on stock cubes in readiness. I am also buying a cow as I am sure that will be cheaper than buying 5 pts a day at Tesco!
SJ xx
Hi Ian
Many thanks. How's it going for you. I start my pre-op milk diet (6 weeks) on 13th March with the aim of losing 8 kg before op date. I am stocking (please excuse the pun!) up on stock cubes in readiness. I am also buying a cow as I am sure that will be cheaper than buying 5 pts a day at Tesco!
SJ xx
It is going fine thanks , 9 days left of Milk Diet and only about 0.5kg off their target, so should come in under target. Feeling a lot better for doing it.
Not sure buying a cow is quite the answer:
1) They come in various colours but only do a full fat model.
2) Where are you going to put it.
3) Lot more to dispose off then a milk carton.
Ian
It is going fine thanks , 9 days left of Milk Diet and only about 0.5kg off their target, so should come in under target. Feeling a lot better for doing it.
Not sure buying a cow is quite the answer:
1) They come in various colours but only do a full fat model.
2) Where are you going to put it.
3) Lot more to dispose off then a milk carton.
Ian
We thought a Fresian could share the garden with our Westie and Alaskan Malamute. Husband will have to do more poo patrols though!! Ha Ha! Tescos it is then!
SJ x
Well I the 6 week milk diet on Monday so I am on day 6 of 43, and am obsessing with reading books on post surgery recovery, post-surgery diet stages etc and planning to get prepared including a delivery of a new frost free freezer in which i can place the many mini meals I have an idea to prep before hand. As I am an organiser I do feel that it gives me a focus on "the other side", less focus on '"the op and immediate recovery period" and less on how much I really really want to eat. One of my darling sons has just waved a freshly toasted crumpet in my face as a laugh - I am not laughing!!
But a blissful oxo is just waiting to be downed. I am also attempting to only weigh myself once a week - its my Monday treat!! otherwise goodness knows how many times I will hop on and off, place it on a different part of the tiled bathroom to get an alternative reading. So I will be back on Monday morning to update my weight and check in on how others are doing.
SJ x
Well done on being so focussed! Crumpetgate would not have had me laughing either - a work colleague who knew I was on the LRD sat in front of me at coffee (I had a lot of my milk as lattes) and stuffed a Belgian chocolate brownie down herself - she even offered me some!
Grrrr!
Just a word on the prep of food for post op - don't do too much of one thing - I did prepare some stuff but you won't know what you can tolerate or how much until pot op so I ended up throwing quite a bit away. Cheesy mash, cauliflower cheese, blended soups and puréed casseroles were ok and mostly used!
Good on you for picking a weigh in day! It helps focus the mind and I only (mostly!) take my weight on a Thursday! That is the weight I update on here.
To maintain focus when things get difficult have a photo you don't like of yourself and a list of things you want to change post op/aims post op I put mine up in the kitchen and it really helped keep my focus on the diet!
Well done on being so focussed! Crumpetgate would not have had me laughing either - a work colleague who knew I was on the LRD sat in front of me at coffee (I had a lot of my milk as lattes) and stuffed a Belgian chocolate brownie down herself - she even offered me some!
Grrrr!
Just a word on the prep of food for post op - don't do too much of one thing - I did prepare some stuff but you won't know what you can tolerate or how much until pot op so I ended up throwing quite a bit away. Cheesy mash, cauliflower cheese, blended soups and puréed casseroles were ok and mostly used!
Good on you for picking a weigh in day! It helps focus the mind and I only (mostly!) take my weight on a Thursday! That is the weight I update on here.
To maintain focus when things get difficult have a photo you don't like of yourself and a list of things you want to change post op/aims post op I put mine up in the kitchen and it really helped keep my focus on the diet!
Many thanks for the heads up about keeping the prep down to dull roar - I like the idea of mash and cheese - add baked beans to it and it is exactly what the boys used to have when they were starting on solids! I make soup for the family every week so I will pilfer some of each into a little pot that can then be whizzed to the right consistency.
As most large people I have spent 52 years trying not to be pictured - handily being the one with the camera directing the others but yes I have a few that are soooooo depressing! Just before I had the band done many years ago I got my hubby to take a picture in my swimming cossie. This continued for a few months until I plateaued so I think I will get one of those out to stare at. They are in a sealed envelope in my bedside drawer - not for general consumption!
Anyway, feeling a bit more positive about the diet as I lost 8 lb this week which I am pleased with. It will slow down but I have another 5 weeks to lose the minimum of 11 lbs more.
SJ xx
I am now starting to consider the need for exercise post surgery. I used to go to a gym (many years ago) on the way to work and because I got there at 6 am it was practically empty and I felt okay being seen there. I also I found that perversely I enjoyed a daily challenge and felt good afterwards. Well I don't work anymore so I have looked at the local gyms around here. Now, if you want to display yourself to those who are swimming in the pool below, shoppers going in the car park or others having a spa day there are many options. One other is a real mans cave of sweaty men pumping iron and grunting - not for me. So I have found a franchise called Gymphobics which is for women only and the one I visited was nice. I explained that I wouldn't be coming till after my post-op surgeons appointment but wanted to know if they could help me with a programme. They want a Drs letter to say its okay to do gym work ( meeting their insurance needs) but can fit the programme around my needs. So that's another box ticked. Now I just need to find a suitable swimming pool - without waves, flumes or other people staring at me waiting for me to create a tidal wave as I get in the water.
I wish I had the courage to go to the gym, I'd never manage to get up to be there for 6am though I struggle to get up at6.40 for work lol, it's great that your planning ahead and gymphobics sounds perfect for you. How are you getting on with the milk diet ? X
I wish I had the courage to go to the gym, I'd never manage to get up to be there for 6am though I struggle to get up at6.40 for work lol, it's great that your planning ahead and gymphobics sounds perfect for you. How are you getting on with the milk diet ? X
Hi
I think I am becoming accustomed to the milk diet now but there are still moments when food drives me mad. My eldest made a pasta bake with chrozio, garlic, roasted veg etc tonight and I had to go upstairs to sit in my bedroom as it was driving me mad. I took a glass of milk, glass of coke and an oxo drink up to fill me up and take my mind off of the glorious smells wafting around. I am using all my distraction activities as much as possible. I play games on my kindle, read, do some tapestry, do some colouring and work on the family tree. So lots to distract me as long as I engage with it. Plus today my little Westie has been spayed so I am nursing her as well. Thought I had better get her op over before mine.
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I'd not have laughed at the crumpet waving either because it's just mean!
