Bornagainbabe

Hi, I had to do a milk and yogurt diet for 10 days prior to my band op and again for my revision. I found that the best way for me to cope with it was to have a complete blow-out the night before of my favourite takeaway and then I was sorted and my head was in the right place to get on with the pre-op! I had milk for Breakfast, milk for lunch and milk for tea. I didn't have much yogurt as I can't stand the taste or consistency but I did have the odd oxo cube to satisfy my cravings for savoury. I heated the milk up, whisked it like mad and had it with coffee as a Cappuccino, I drank whenever I felt hungry or had a craving, I let my family prepare their own meals and went upstairs whilst they ate and did everything I could to keep occupied and not thinking about food. I was also mindful of the fact that my liver needed to shrink for the op and that my surgeon would know if I hadn't stuck to the diet and would possibly cancel as a result. I kept this in mind all the time that by doing this it would make the op easier and safer to perform. It's not easy but just keep thinking about why you want this op and that you are going to succeed. You can have a moan on here anytime you want and we will all support you! Good luck!

Yes I do! I decided that at one year out a change was in order! I am the new 'me' now!

A lot of people don't really understand WLS and why anyone would resort to going under the knife. They only absorb the negative implications by way of the media focussing on disasters (and there aren't that many of those anymore) and immediately form an opinion based on those. I was lucky. Most of my family and friends were wholly supportive as they knew how much I had struggled for years but there were odd people, and still are, who thought it was too drastic and just couldn't comprehend why I would want to do it. I have another 28lbs or so to lose to get down to my ideal weight and BMI but when I tell people that they cannot believe it and tell me I don't want to lose anymore, I would look ill, it is too thin etc. etc. but it isn't as that's what I weighed when I got married 23 years ago and I certainly wasn't skinny then, plus they are comparing me with what I used to be at 314lbs as well as being conditioned to accept obesity as being 'normal' nowadays. I say just ignore them and don't let it get you down. You know you have done the right thing and will ultimately become healthier and happier for it.

12 months out since I had my revision and although I still have a little way to go before reaching my goal I am happy, happy, happy and above all healthy! No regrets whatsoever x

I had horrendous reflux with my band and don't get that anymore although I can still get really bad heartburn/indigestion occasionally which makes me retch and want to vomit. Like Tiff I still take my PPI in the morning as the consequences of too frequent vomiting after several hernia repairs are worse for me than staying on the Lansoprazole.

I can eat anything I want now. Rice, Pasta and bread were troublesome for the first 6 months or so and I tended to avoid them. If I crave a burger, which is only very occasionally, I will eat about half and throw the rest away. I can quite easily graze on leftovers later if they are there and that's not because I am hungry but more to do with head-hunger which I still addressing. I can maintain my weight like this but at the moment am choosing not to do that or buy in high calorie foods in order to lose more and get closer to my goal. Tiff is right about the slider foods and ice-cream, chocolate, chips, biscuits can go right through with little problem. I like salads and will eat a lot in the summer but need the Protein as well or I will be feeling hungry again later. meat, chicken, fish etc. fill me up and so does brown rice of which I only need a tablespoon of. If I do eat too much it will come back up within half an hour. I can eat quite a lot more than I could 6 months ago but it is still a lot less than I could pre-wls.

You can do it. Keep in mind that by sticking to it you will be helping your surgeon as well as yourself by shrinking your liver and ensuring that your op goes smoothly. I have done it twice and mine was just milk and yogurt (which I hate) but I stuck to it as I didn't want to pose any risk of my op being tricky or not going ahead in the first place. Good luck. We are all here for you to have a good old moan to when you want to vent!

I'm sorry you were feeling so miserable. As the others said it will take a while. It's early days at the moment and you have just had a big op. Now whilst I don't want to adopt a bossy or bullying tone, you really must do as your doctor says and follow the diet guidelines. I saw another post on here last week where someone was 'testing' their restriction to see how far it would go, but you really do need to be very strong and do exactly as you are told or you may get yourself into real trouble. When I had my band fitted 3 years ago I went for my second fill and despite knowing what I should do, which was stick to liquids for the first few days, I didn't and ate some prawns just to see if I could. Big big mistake. In fact it was a massively stupid thing to do as I ended up with a blockage and in horrendous pain, vomiting saliva all night and most of the next day until the hospital could get hold of the doctor to defill my band. Plus it slipped and that was at only 2 months out. Now I know that the sleeve is very different to the band but the consequences of not doing as you are told are very similar whatever type of surgery you opt for. There will be people here who can tell you exactly what may happen in more detail. As I said, I'm not being bullying, I wasn't an angel myself and curiosity and cravings got the better of me, but please please do as you are told. It won't be too long before you can have something nice to eat again plus you are going to lose lots and lots of weight and be healthy and beautiful. Good luck, Hels xxx

Hi, I'm a year out and have absolutely no regrets. You will find the advice and support you get from members here invaluable. Welcome and I look forward to sharing your journey x

It's easy for people to keep responding that you will be fine when you're sat worrying about it all but you really will be. I didn't have those kind of worries at all as I was more excited by the prospect of finally getting something done that would empower me to lose weight once and for all. I was worried about surgery and diet afterwards etc. but it really isn't that much of an issue as long as you do as they tell you and follow the pre and post-op diet guidelines. Everyone on this site is always here to help answer questions too and many know far more about it than I do. I say chill out, do your pre-op diet and then take each day as it comes after surgery. You will be losing loads of weight and looking great day by day so concentrate on that. I can't comment on the work issue as I didn't work at the time and told all my friends and family all about it. Everyone was very supportive and they still are but if you don't want anyone knowing don't tell them. I am sure that there are other people here who can advise you on that. Good luck x

I think you will do just fine as well with all the exercising you do. It's quite normal to have last minute fears and doubts but just think how great you are going to look and feel. You will still be able to enjoy eating with your husband, only thing is you will need much less and can share with him. It all seems such an issue at first but it really isn't after a while. I still have good old English fish and chips at the seaside - only thing is I have a bit off everyone elses and that's enough. They don't mind as they would only stuff themselves for the sake of it otherwise! All will be fine. The sleeve is great. Good luck and let us know how you get on x

Thanks Tiff, I found all that really interesting as well! I think I was about 7/8 months out before I could tolerate bread, pasta etc. and even now there are still some random foods that one day I can manage quite well and other days not much at all. I can eat anything now but haven't identified what fills me more than something else yet as my tolerance is still erratic.

I didn't want the permanence 3 years ago when I had my band as I believed that once I lost weight there was no way I would ever put all that back on and then the band could be removed. I also deluded myself that I was that big and really didn't need that extreme a surgery. Wrong! Neither of my surgeries has fixed the issues I have with food. Physical restriction is the only thing that prevents me from stuffing myself and then I do still do that occasionally with my sleeve until I am sick. I have a few friends who have bands and they have all suffered severe slippage, erosion, pouch dilation etc. My sleeve has been great and I have no regrets - I should have gone for that in the first place. You need to have a good think about why you are considering surgery and be truly honest with yourself and if you are like most of us and can admit that you have always had and will always have issues with food then go for the permanent option. Don't have a band.

I have experienced hunger from the start and if I haven't eaten for a while and am really hungry I will eat too much and too fast and end up being sick. I don't know when to stop either so have to plate up small portions and not go back for seconds. I never had that problem with my band and have to admit that that was only advantage it had over my sleeve as I rarely felt hungry and was quickly satiated on very small portions. Have no regrets though as the sleeve has stopped me regaining weight.

Just reading through these posts and found it very interesting that I'm not the only one who is struggling a bit just now. I am nearly a year out and am finding it really hard to lose anymore weight without having to actually go on a proper diet which is something I never thought I would have to do. And the problem with that is the more I am thinking about what I should and shouldn't eat, the more of an issue it is all becoming and all I do all day is think about food. From the very start I have never experienced any 'fullness' signals and would vomit (and still do) on a fairly regular basis. I easily maintained a weight of 184lbs for over 6 months by eating smaller portions of whatever I wanted and regularly snacking on biscuits and crisps etc. Now I know that's no good and I decided that I must address that a few weeks ago as I felt that over time I could be one of those unfortunate people to regain weight. Now I'm not stupid and I'm not saying that anyone is, but I have a real issue withe food. We all do or we wouldn't be here. I cannot do moderation. I cannot resist cravings at all and low-fat alternatives are no use to me. I HAVE to eat and regardless of all the surgery I have undergone and how great I feel after losing weight and looking good in nice clothes, nothing at all will stop me reaching for chocolate, biscuits etc. Now the one good thing is that I cannot eat as much of it as I used to, BUT I will go back for more later on. Anyway, (phew), on a not too pessimistic note, I believe that the best thing for me and people similar to me is to get rid of all the high fat Snacks and just indulge occasionally when out for a treat. I never eat much when I'm out as I daren't risk being sick. I do envy those you who have reached goal and are maintaining now. I still have another 30lbs to go. And I do envy those of you who don't feel hungry. I do get very hungry sometimes and my stomach literally growls so I guess that I need to choose more slow releasing types of foods that are going to satisfy me for longer. Any help and advice will be appreciated. I have been keeping a food diary on My Fitness Pal but am struggling to lose anymore weight despite sticking to around 1000 calories most days. And as I said, it's all becoming a bit of an issue again and getting me down. Saying all that, anyone pre-op reading this, I wouldn't let it put you off surgery at all. We are all different and as Tiffy said it's a tool we have been given to use wisely and empower us to make the necessary changes for ourselves. I have had a fairly easy ride until now and now I really need to get a grip. Good luck everyone. You can do it!

I'm just curious as to whether any statistics are available in the US regarding band successes versus failures. It just seems that there are so many people having the same kinds of problems over and over and yet the operation is still being performed. I know it's not that many but I know of 4 people including myself who have had serious slippage problems through no fault of their own. The other 3 are stuck at the moment as they cannot get the funding on the NHS for revision surgery. I think it would be very interesting to know the ratio of success to failure.

Hathery, I was just about to say the same thing re. Dr Nick ha ha!

Another point worth mentioning is that gastrectomies, i.e. for stomach cancers etc., have been performed for years with relatively few complications in later years.

Keep at it! The pre-op diet is always a challenge - I had to drink just milk for 10 days prior to both my ops and it was difficult, but it is worth it and will make surgery easier.

I didn't notice a huge hair loss - nothing that concerned me too much anyway, although I did notice some in the shower. Don't worry about it too much as you will soon be on the other side and looking and feeling fab! Good luck x

Thanks Jane, like your friend we have considered du exposure and the vaccinations from Gulf as well but I now suspect that it may be genetic as my husband's family (including him and my older daughter) all display traits that I and my friends can all recognise, plus his brother's second-born twins have not fully-developed speech and display suspect signs at 3 and a half. I have had lots of therapy etc. and it always ended up with them telling me the same thing - that my problems lay with finding more help with James. Whatever the reasons I am now hoping that I can find ways to help myself without using alcohol, food etc. as a crutch and look forward to a much healthier lifestyle. Being slimmer is a huge boost to my confidence and looking and feeling great in lovely clothes has got to be better than any drug!

I've known for a long time that I have probably drunk more than I should. I have never drunk during the day or felt I have 'needed' a drink but as soon as evening came I would open the wine and in the old days pre-op would easily manage the bottle. Post-op it was usually half the bottle. I think it started when my husband was in the first Gulf War in 1991 and me and the other army wives would sit and get drunk most nights. I never drank during either of my pregnancies but when my son was diagnosed as autistic I always wondered whether or not I had overdone it prior to discovering I was pregnant and therefore caused it. Anyway, I have suffered from major stress, anxiety and depression for the last 12 years as a result of my son's daily challenging behaviour and also the interminable sadness I feel for him having autism (he hates it and every day tells me he wants to be a 'normal' boy like the other boys - it's so sad and it never leaves me no matter what I do). So I drank, ate and smoked, not caring at all what I was doing to myself. I still feel a bit like that now, despite tackling the obesity, smoking and now drinking ,and don't enjoy my life at all. I have no optimism for the future but I have to keep going for my family's sake don't I? Sorry for hijacking this thread but I think that Tiffy is absolutely right in highlighting the transference of addictive behaviours and I for one am one of those people who just cannot stop despite being well aware of the damage I am doing. Hopefully I will now embrace the gym and exercise (not entirely convinced of that as not a gym bunny at all) but it has got to be done.

Thanks for your good wishes. I am sure that you will all be ok but I was quite a heavy drinker although I would never have admitted it to anyone. Prior to my accident I was knocking it back as I was under a lot of stress but in some ways I think it has done me a favour and made me take a good look at myself. I haven't admitted it to any of my friends or family, you guys are the only people I have told, that I was drunk that night although people did ask and I denied it. After a few months out I could down quite a lot of wine, although never as much as before my op, and it was slowing my weight loss down significantly. I have an addictive nature and cannot do anything in moderation, eat, smoke or drink. It's all or nothing with me and for me quitting the booze is the best thing I have done. Only 5 weeks out though and it's not easy now I am feeling better and summer is on the way. We went to a barbecue yesterday and it was quite difficult watching everyone around me drinking but I stuck to orange juice and was fine. I am determined to stick to this as the upset and stress I caused my husband and children has made me sick with guilt. They were devastated. I was stupid with alcohol. I'm sure you lot will be able to control it better than I did!

I don't drink at all now. I did drink quite a lot of red wine and was using that and occasionally vodka to help me cope with stress. It affected me really quickly and I didn't need much to feel seriously lightheaded, so lightheaded that just over 5 weeks ago I slipped on the stairs, fell backwards and fractured the base of my skull causing a major csf leak with lasted until last week. I was ashamed. I didn't tell the doctor I had been drinking and made my family promise not to tell anyone. I think I must have blacked out on the way down as I only remember slipping and then finding myself at the bottom of the stairs. From that night I promised myself and my husband that I wouldn't drink again as I just cannot handle it anymore with my new stomach. I gulp. I don't do sipping delicately at anything. I have joined the gym now and intend to use that to help me cope with the stress I feel 24/7.