Hi All,
Although this is my first post on the site, I have been using the site for the last 4 months or so. I had a sleeve on the NHS at the Luton & Dunstable in February of this year. Whilst I do not regret having this elective surgery, it has been extremely difficult not least because I discovered that I am lactose intolerant and was re-admitted because of severe pain and dehydration. Most of my difficulties have resolved themselve and whilst many sleevers experience no pain, this is a major operation and I would advise others that we are all different and there is no way to predict outcomes, you just have to roll with the punches.
In response to the messages of Bookleen and Jane_J, I would comment the following
Drugs
My Protein daily pump inhibitor is 60mg Nexium per day. I was on 30mg Lansoprazole but this was changed by the hospital. I believe Nexium is less common in the UK as it is very expensive (pharmacist won't tell me how much) but is more effective. I am unaware of a requirement to be weaned off these drugs and as far as I am aware will stop taking Nexium 3 months after my operation.
I currently take Iron daily but that will be reviewed 1 year post op and I have been told that I will not require Vitamin B12 shots or daily multi-vitamins as I am now on a "normal diet".
I was intially given calcuim but told to stop taking these as they are not necessary.
I suffered from a lot of pain post op, and took and still do occassionally take Tramadol which is a strong pain killer.
I was on tablets for high blood pressure but this has resolved itself post op after 5 weeks so I do not take anything.
food
I use the word normal because the reality is that my relationship with food is different and my main focus is eating sufficient protein each day (I had chicken for Breakfast this morning). This is made more difficult because in addition to being unable to tolerate any form of milk whether soya, rice, oats, I can no longer eat butter or any dairy derieved fats. I hope this will pass in time, but don't know. Crackers and a slice of toast is ok, but normal bread leaves me very bloated like having a brick in my stomach. Vegetables, well don't eat them because I would have to eat less protein to them in. Fruit, only fruit juice. Tried lettuce and peeled cucumber yesterday. Think they went down okay.
It is recommended that I should eat 50g of protein per day which if you can tolerate milk is pretty easy. You will find that it is your protein levels which you focus on not calories. Many of the products which our US comrades refer to are whey based products which equivalents are available widely in the UK.
NHS Hospitals
As I mentioned my op was at Luton & Dunstable which has a very large obesity practice with about 4/5 bariatric surgeons and a large team of dieticians, bariatric nurses, a GP, psychologists and others. I believe that this practice has been going for some time and they have been awarded a marking of Excellent for their work. Mr Jain whilst not my consultant is lovely and very caring (wonderful beside manner), I would prefer not comment on the others including my own consultant.
My impression is that the sleeve is less common not because it is not effective but as many folks requiring weight loss surgery have diabetes as a co-morbitity, they are given a gastric bypass not sleeve as it seems to resolve this condition almost immediately. I was unusual given my pre-op BMI of over 50 not to have diabetes so I had a choice of which surgery I could have, however this is not the case I believe for most patients at the L&D.
I would make the following observation that suffice it to say that with the likely budget cuts to come following the election, getting this surgery on the NHS is likely to become more difficult. The L&D has its own protocol for deciding which referral patients are put forward for actual surgery and meeting one of the surgeons which includes the requirement to loose 5% of your body weight over period of up to 9 weeks. Failure to achieve this can result in being removed from the list. Whether this is also true of other hospitals I do not know.
The pre and post op follow up does take a lot of time, but it is thorough and any problems are fully investigated, I have had both an CT scan and endoscope to investigate problems. All the surgeons also have private practices at the Spire Hospital in Harpenden, which is just outside Luton and I understand that the pre and post aftercare follows the same structure as their NHS work.
I understand that there is an establish team at the Charing Cross Hospital in London.
hair Loss
Although I have not fully started to loose my hair, my hairdresser has commented on the fact that my hair has changed in the 7 weeks between appointments. It seems that hair loss is not unique to this surgery but is possible after any major operation.
Advice
I would advise anyone about to have a sleeve to keep a diary of everything they eat and drink post op. Doesn't need to be anything fancy but it made it easier when I had post op issues to review what I had consumed and any changes than trying to remember.
Also do not underestimate the effect of the operation on your cognitive skills. You will find thinking takes longer and even that you may speak more slowly. As for remembering things you will forget so get used to writing things down. It will pass as your diet improves but it is something that does not seem to be mentioned much on the site. I did come across a Bariatric Surgery Guide produced by the North Shore Medical Center in the US. Found it very comprehensive and it deals with many of the challenges your new life presents. It is far better than anything I have received here in the UK.
