Desmond Longbottom

i'm not sure if they are really ready for prime time Might post one later, but real busy all day long as we are having a christmas party in the house tonight. Des x

Good morning all. Well i'm a happy camper today. Three weeks of fluids only time has been served so i'm currently tucking into a soft-boiled egg right now and i feel like actual royalty.

I have asthma so it's sort of par for the winter course. I was also santa clause at the weekend. The room was hot stuffy and infested with children. Might as well have been a petri dish.

Well all was going well until today. Developed a chest infection over the weekend (bronchitis if you are on the other side of the pond) and truly "ain't nobody got time for that". The annoying part is my clarithromyacin keeps getting returned to sender. Been given a different antibiotic now so hopefully all will be well. Mucus-riddenly yours Des x Hope every body else is doing well.

Scream if you hate protein shakes! On week 11 of the putrid illegitimate feckers now. I swear if I ever meet the CEO of solgar I'm going to tear him or her a fresh one!

So week and a bit since surgery. Things are normalising.... ish.... eating is a difficult (and thankless lol) job each day. Still super unhungry. Have to remind myself to eat all the time. I'm also coming nowhere near the 4 protein shakes a day target... I make em.... but barely manage half. But anyway. Things are going well. Getting more comfortable each day and closing in on 80lbs down which is exciting and means that a little bit of new clothes were in order. Trouser size down from 44 inches to 38. Spent today making Christmas cakes which I might/will never eat. Was never so unenthused for the whole process. My sweet tooth seems to have fallen out. Had a coffee earlier and tried a bit of tofee syrup. Needless to say it went undrank. So well that's the news September sleever folks. Lots a love Des Half way to being non obese person.

You've got the luck of the Irish on your side now. Go knock em assunder!

Good luck megan. I had mine last Thursday. You'll do swimmingly.

If it can't then I'm doomed. .. lol. Milk is the only friend I have left.

Well vomiting isn't fun.... not that it ever was but fecking he'll that was unpleasant. Had some watered down apple juice and some skim milk for snack which just got returned to sender! Hope this is not the start of a pattern. Any thoughts folks??

Good news des fans. I've be sprung. My consultant who didn't appear all day yesterday finally showed at 12 today. I'm not all that bothered in the end though. Had the last of my opiate based painkiller last night. Slept like a proverbial.

well here i am. Fecking hell but it's not been that pleasant an experience. the trapped gas causing referred pain to my shoulders was breathtakingly painful. That being said it could have been a hell of a lot worse. My surgeon was delighted with how well i had done losing weight pre-op. I'm also a wondering how much i've lost in hospital as the only nutrition i've been having here has been pain meds..... delicious delicious opiate based pain meds... lol. What's interesting is how utterly unhungry I am. I can't imagine wanting food ever again. But I presume that wears off eventually. Either way it's looking fairly likely that i will be off home today. with any luck the shoulder pain will be off on it's merry way too as it has seriously outstayed it's welcome. So onwards brave bariatric soldiers. I'll give another quick update when/if i get discharged. lotsa love Des Non obese person in the making!

Hey folks. Not been to bad since surgery yesterday but not been hectic either. My shoulder is killing me! I'm seriously in want of my pain Medstead when they crop up. Otherwise I'm good and should be our tomorrow.

Surgical stockings on (fortunately no assistance was needed as I managed to get the brutes on all by myself) Surgery is likely to be before 10 and is a relatively brief 1 hr long affair. Be back on ward by lunchtime and will update when I'm feeling up to it. Fyi thanks everybody for all your support. I feel even more supported by you guys than my lower legs currently are by all your lovely messages. Adios all. Des x

Well good news des fans. I'm typing this entry from my hospital bed. I am good to go for surgery tomorrow. Super happy if a little nervous irish dude here. No more delays. Fasting starts shortly. I'll update again tomorrow evening if i can. Des x

first target achieved. current weight is 280lbs so i believe a rather large wohoooo is in order. next target is 100kg or 220 lbs.

I'm at the cinema snacking on sparkling water and some fruit I smuggled in. The seat feels enormous.... like huge!

well. It's a week until surgery now and after a bit of soul searching and chatting to the correct people (that's you guys and a few friends and family) I am back on track. It's one week until my surgery next Thursday. I am extremely excited about it again. I am drinking my Protein with a newfound verve and determination. I am six weeks behind schedule as regards my surgery recovery but seeing as i have lost so much weight from 6+weeks of protein shakes i think i can probably chalk that off as even. Right now my outlook is a lot cheerier and determined. Thanks folks for helping me with that blip a few days ago. Des x

Urgh i am full of doubts tonight. I've had a mass glut of friends tell me that i don't need the surgery. I had been counting on them for support. It would seem that they had been biding their time. The problem is they are right. I have done really really well. I'm not morbidly obese any ore. my bmi is down to a much healthier yet still shocking 39. i look better than i have in years and i am a lot more confident. this has led to quite a few of my mates and family second guessing my situation. It's very tiring. My immediate family are also wrapped in other problems and i feel a little sidelined. The truth is that i had been ready 6 weeks ago. i feel particularly tonight that i have lost my nerve somewhat. I'm sure it will return but i just feel empty. (and if i'm honest a little bit hungry) The seriously annoying thing about all this is that i'm starting to get real benefits. I went to pennys and was able to pick a jumper off the shelf and try it on. this was the first non "internet purchased" piece of clothing that i have bought in a long time. I'm rambling here. Anyway... fair to say the doubts have surfaced. They were easy to dismiss 20lbs agowhen my first surgery was due. The air is just thinner here.... as am i but hey ho. I'm sure i will just sleep all these doubts away like one too many gins. Until Next time Lotsa love Des Soon to be non obese person.

posted this in the november sleever section earlier in the week. I was originally scheduled for an October 1st Sleeving which meant i was prepping way back in September. I have now had more Protein shakes than i could ever have dreamed possible yet still have not had surgery and won't have until November 19th. Either way I am through week 1 of round two of liver shrinking and as I have been saying on the september sleevers page it's not just my liver that is shrinking. I have lost about 25kg or 56lbs give or take. The most exciting part of that is there is a whole 7 inches missing from the biggest part of me..... my waist.... well technically where my bellybutton is... is that where thin people keep their waist?? So I'm going into surgery having already lost 33% of what i need to lose this is brilliant as the less I have to lose after surgery the better the eventual result should be. My eventual (some might say lofty) goal is somewhere about 70kg (154 lb or 11st) which is just under half what I weighed when I started at 156kg (344 lb) and what I weighed when I was about 11 years old circa 1993. Anyway the long story short or as I like to call it "the skinny"is that I'd love to chat to another fine individual getting sleeved on or around the 19th of November. Are you such a fine individual?? Just let your fingers and your broadband internet connection do the walking as I'd be utterly delighted to hear from you. Lotsa love Des Non obese Irish man in waiting!

i'll be one day ahead of you. I'm scheduled for the 19th! Suffice to say I'm super excited!

I was originally scheduled for an October 1st Sleeving which meant i was prepping way back in September. I have now had more Protein shakes than i could ever have dreamed possible yet still have not had surgery and won't have until November 19th. Either way I am through week 1 of round two of liver shrinking and as I have been saying on the september sleevers page it's not just my liver that is shrinking. I have lost about 25kg or 56lbs give or take. The most exciting part of that is there is a whole 7 inches missing from the biggest part of me..... my waist.... well technically where my bellybutton is... is that where thin people keep their waist?? So I'm going into surgery having already lost 33% of what i need to lose this is brilliant as the less I have to lose after surgery the better the eventual result should be. My eventual (some might say lofty) goal is somewhere about 70kg (154 lb or 11st) which is just under half what I weighed when I started at 156kg (344 lb) and what I weighed when I was about 11 years old circa 1993. Anyway the long story short or as I like to call it "the skinny"is that I'd love to chat to another fine individual getting sleeved on or around the 19th of November. Are you such a fine individual?? Just let your fingers and your broadband internet connection do the walking as I'd be utterly delighted to hear from you. Lotsa love Des Non obese Irish man in waiting!

note to self. Trousers seem to be fraternising with gravity it's looking like they could be meant for each other. Must purchase belt before their carry on leaves you in an embarrassing situation...... smaller boxers may also be in order..... its a wardrobe malfunction nobody wants to endure or see. Regards Des

Well.... How is everyone doing? Just checking in with my first day of round two of liver shrinking. I stayed on it for the most part of the interim since my original surgery date of October first with the exception of the past week where i had a wedding to attend in England. Now however I am back on shakes, fruit, yoghurt, and salad veg.... yahooooo! So lemme see. Whats changed... Due to 3 weeks of liver shrinking in september, and 4 weeks of nearly liver shrinking in October I have lost already to date about 50lbs. I have avoided the scales for about a week and a half now and intend to keep avoiding them for the first week of this fresh stretch of liver shrinking. I don't want to look at the scales and start to admonish myself for the indulgences of the wedding week just past. God dammit I was a fricking Maid of honour and furthermore I have no idea how to convey the male version of that role... "Male" of honour??? Chief Bride's Male??? Bride's male in chief????? Clearly I had earned a break. I didn't go crazy anyway so all is prob still fine, but i flat out refuse to invest my current happiness as detailed below on a three digit figure conjured up by an inanimate object. The best thing about where I am now though is that I can actually see my own progress. I can actually see it..... with my own eyes. I must have been in denial previous to this, yet I just didn't/couldn't/wouldn't see any changes. Of course, clothes were looser and belts needed tightening while old "retired" clothes got put back in rotation, but i still saw the same portly Des looking balefully back at me from the mirror as I brushed my teeth each morning. Fast forward to when I was at a rehearsal last night and we were in a dance studio replete oh horror upon horror with three walls of mirrors. I could not take my eyes off of me (who could like?). The director was delighted as she thought I was taking direction well and keeping my head up as instructed. Honestly we were in that mirror room in August and I was not all that happy with what was on display. Last night was a fortifying and revitalising change. Otherwise things are going smoothly in life. I'd imagine that all you September Sleevers are for the most part over surgery with it's minor complications etc and are moving on with things. I am lime green, positively verdant with envy, but confident that round three will not happen and come November 19th I shall finally be accepted into the fold as a sleever. Faithfully yours Des Non obese person in waiting.

Well my identity is now confirmed. I am now a september sleever due to have his operation in November. The 19th to be precise. 50 days after i was originally supposed to be operated on. Still it's all good news. How is everyone here recovering? I'd like to say i'm jealous and in some ways i am but had i been sleeved two weeks ago i'd have not been able to go surfing yesterday. In other news weightloss to date is 50lbs. I am delighted with this. Although i think i am weighing myself too often and am gonna put the scales in a mates house so i'm not hopping on the blessed thing every other half hour. So that's the news for now. See you in the next update. Your September sleever having his op in November. Des x