JJCool

@@Ruby81 What information *were* you given Ruby? Perhaps we can help you to understand it.

Ooh, interesting suggestions! I don't much like Peanut Butter but I do like snickers, so will have to give those bars a try. This stuff is like a whole new world to me - Protein products were always something just for body builders before I had this surgery (I thought).. Jo x

I've not had any bars yet though I've looked at loads. What would you recommend?

I also live alone and it didn't cause any problems after surgery. I did have some pain and had to literally hold my belly with my hand if I wanted to bend but that was about the worst of it. I kept a long pair of bbq tongs handy for when I dropped things on the floor so I didn't have to bend too far Jo x Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Hi Ruby, I am in the UK and had my surgery recently on the NHS. I posted some scans of my food stages on a previous thread which you can see here http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/372970-sleeve-soon/page-2 However it's important to remember that you need to follow the plan that you would have been given as you might have different requirements to anyone else. Did your bariatric team give you a booklet like this? Jo x

Actually I just discovered my fav shop for Aussie food here in the UK (sanza.co.uk) has them! I'm buying them up as we speak. Jo x

@ I will definitely do that! Especially now that I won't be needing the space in my suitcase for Timtams, Kingstons, Minties, Fantales, etc etc etc Jo x

They are sort of aerated and puffed up, not as dense as Ryvita. Almost like a rice cracker, though I think they are wheat based. Actually, I have no idea. But I like them Also, I grew up in Australia so don't know if they are available elsewhere. I've not seen them here in the UK sadly. Jo x

Ohh Cruskits. I LIVED on those as a teenager! Love 'em. Jo x

I wanted to write this to help anyone considering the surgery the benefit of my experience. I don’t represent the NHS or anyone else’s journey – I just want to be open about what mine has been like. For those who have been through it, sorry if this is all familiar to you and boring. I hadn’t ever had surgery before this and had never stayed in hospital before so I enjoyed reading about the experiences of others to help me understand what to expect. And there isn’t that many to fine online from people in the UK going through the NHS so just wanted to add mine. Before October 2015 I had been meeting with my GP (local doctor) regularly to treat an anxiety disorder that I have had at a serious level for about a year, as well as to facilitate my recovery from a lower back injury. After a few months of counselling, drug treatments and physiotherapy he suggested to me that he thought both could be relieved to some degree by a serious weight loss and he referred me to meet with a bariatric surgeon. I’ll try to explain some of how the National Health Service works in the UK, as I understand it. I’m not a professional in this area, this is just as it has been explained to me. In the UK a governing body called NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellent) set recommendations for our medical trusts (all the hospitals etc in a region that make up a group, and that group has an amount of funding allocated to it.) The management for that trust then decides how that money is allocated, and usually bases these decisions on the guidelines set by NICE. In regards to bariatric surgeries, NICE recommends: · Patients with a BMI above 50 be referred for bariatric surgery assessment · Adults with a BMI of 30 or more for whom interventions such as weight loss clinics and programs have been unsuccessful can have a discussion about alternative interventions for weight management such as bariatric surgery · Adults with a BMI of 35 or more who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within the past 10 years are offered an expedited referral for bariatric surgery assessment As well as some other particulars (you can read more about that here Soup (both of a particular brand) and a pint of milk a day. I don’t know if this is the way my bariatric team work or if they made this specific to me but it was fine and it worked. On the day of surgery, I met with the nurse surgeon and anaesthesiologist separately to discuss any last minute questions and to talk through what I was to expect. It was such a nice experience, the worst part of my day was when I had to change into the hospital gown and realised that the dressing gown I brought from home (which was a short one) wouldn’t actually cover my backside. So if any of you happened to see someone with a red face clutching their gown closed at the back with both hands while walking through a hospital – yeah that was probably me. I was reassured at every stage leading up to the operation and wasn’t really scared at all. Such a relief! I didn’t wake up for many hours after the surgery and I found out later that they thought I might have to be moved into ICU (Intensive care unit) afterwards because of this. But I did wake up finally in the recovery suite that evening and in my hazy state I apparently fought with the oxygen mask enough to amuse the nurses so they knew I was ok. I was moved to a ward with three other women – only one other had a bariatric procedure but she didn’t speak English so no one I could compare notes with. I had two days in hospital – I won’t go through it in detail but will just note that in that time I had the most wonderful care from the hospital staff. I was visited by my surgeon and the bariatric nurse each day and they were both happy with my recovery. I started taking small amounts of Water on the first day and by the second was allowed other liquids such as tea, milk etc. The thing I found the most difficult about being in hospital was that they wanted to weigh each wee I had, so had to wee into a cardboard bowl. I don’t know why but this led to me being a bit wee-shy, but they weren’t going to let me go until they were sure that the liquids I was drinking was going through as expected so I had to just get on with it! I had a drain in my right side while I was in hospital to drain away any internal bleeding from the surgery and that was removed on the day I left the hospital. I had water proof dressings on each of my 5 wounds so could shower without any issues straight away and didn’t have to have the dressings changed until about a week later. When I was discharged I was sent off with a load of medications, which is all part of the NHS service. I was pretty surprised; it took two large carrier bags to carry them all! Included was: liquid paracetamol (for the pain) and ibuprofen (for pain and inflammation) Liquid sytron (Iron supplement) Effervescent Adcal D3 (Calcium and Vitamin D supplement) Multivitamin pills (to be crushed and mixed with water for the first few weeks – yuck!) Enoxaparin injections (for the avoidance of blood clotting) Lactulose solution (for, erm, regularity) Lanzoprazole tablets (to reduce stomach acid, and heartburn) And I was sent on my way! I had a pretty sharp internal pain and a big dent behind my biggest incision for the first few weeks that made getting about quite difficult. I rang the nurse and she explained to me about how the remaining stomach was given an internal stich to the inner muscle/fat lining of my skin to stop it from twisting while it heals. And as she predicted it popped around week 3 as the internal stitch dissolved. It gave me a bit of a scare at the time, I was bent over shaving my legs and literally felt a *pop* and I was too scared to move! But then I remembered what it was and was so relieved that all the pain suddenly left so I was happy. And it’s been plain sailing ever since. I have been able to move through the food stages as planned and haven’t have any vomiting or diarrhoea. I met with the nurse again at about 6 weeks and she was happy with my progress and my healing. I have an appointment with the surgeon in about a month and will continue to meet with them both over the course of the next two years at least – or longer if necessary. So that’s me, I fully appreciate that everyone’s journey is different so please don’t use this as canon. But I hope I can help anyone doing research for their own operation. Based on my experience I would recommend it whole-heartedly. Jo x

Lol, I thought this thread was going to be about bikes - and as I'm keen to get myself one when I've dropped a bit of weight I was hoping to find some good recommendations here haha! If it helps my menstrual cycle has been all over the place since my op, but it was sort of like that beforehand anyway so not much help. Sorry Jo x

Hey Lulu, glad to hear you're doing ok. I'm not sure about the rushing to the loo thing, but I know that for the first few days whenever I drank a protein or milk based drink (even tea!) it went straight through me (diarrhoea). It only lasted a few days through and I'm fine now - hope it's just a temporary thing with you too. I also had very low energy levels which I put down to low calorie intake. It improved as I was able to move through the food stages and now I'm fine at 6 weeks out. I would suggest you take it as your body just wanting to rest and recover from the surgery so it's ok to have a few days pegged out on the sofa watching the olympics guilt-free Jo x

Hi Gina, I have been reading through your story and am so so sorry to hear of the terrible experience you have had. I was excited to find someone else who had been through a sleeve gastrectomy on the NHS but then I was shocked to see how different our experiences were. I think the way your bariatric team run their surgeries, based on what you have said, certainly sound like a dreadful mismanagement which I think is particular to them – I can only base that on a comparison to mine but it certainly seems like yours are (sorry for the language but..) totally crap! I understand what you mean about not wanting to take legal action against them – things work differently here in the UK and that’s not the way things get fixed here generally. But I would urge you to lodge a complaint so that your treatment – and those of your friends who have also been given a terrible service in your area – can be assessed at a higher level. You may have already looked into that, and may or may not have decided to or not to. I don’t mean to tell you what to do but want to help if I can! I’m also wondering if your GP can give you a referral to specialists for your bowel and other issues rather than asking your surgeon to continue to deal with them? When I moved home halfway through my assessment period for surgery I was glad to discover that as patients we now have more choice where we go to get treatments now and don’t just have to go wherever the GP thinks best to send us, or even within our home PCT. For me this meant sticking with the Bariatric team I had already begun to meet with although I moved to a new area – for you it may mean some travel but treatment somewhere that can help rather than hinder you further with your complications? Anyway you are very likely to know all this already and I don’t mean to suggest you do anything other than what you have already chosen is the best treatment for you going forward. I would like to help though, if there is anything I can do please let me know. And I am glad to hear that you have been able to keep your spirits up throughout, I hope your health improves and that your house move isn’t too difficult. All the best Jo x

I hope you don't mind me weighing in, although I got a sleeve. When I was making the decision my surgeon suggested the sleeve would be best for me for surgical access reasons. People carry their fat in different places and sometimes it can make it hard for the surgeon to get to the bits they need to operate on. For instance, she told me it can be difficult to do a RNY on men who carry their fat in front like a pregnant belly (no offence meant to any men who are that shape, it's just so you know what I mean). I carry mine differently, more like a tyre (if you know what I mean lol) and still she suggested the sleeve would be better for me for this reason. Hope that makes sense! Jo x Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Thank you! I know some others on here have had a totally different patient journey within the NHS, but I hate to see it given a bad rap. We in the UK are so lucky to have this wonderful service and though it is currently woefully underfunded the staff still manage to do an excellent job for the majority of the time. Jo x Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

That salad looks so good it has made my tummy rumble - I didn't think it even had the ability to do that anymore! I'm totally going to have to copy you and have that for dinner Jo x

This thread made me laugh, not because of anything anyone said (though naturally I appreciate you are all very funny) but because when I looked at the nutrition values pic that was posted I read the cholesterol line as 'cholesterol, OMG - 0%'! But actually it was 0 milligrams. Doh! Ps @ I don't know what cheese-itz are either but I bet they are not as good as twisties! Jo x Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

@D'Sleeved Then I wish you all the best for your surgery. You DO certainly look well prepared and I'm sure that having your things with you in the hospital will be a great source of comfort for you. Better to be safe than sorry Jo x

Can you help us understand what you wanted to get from posting this, if it wasn't the sorts of responses that people have given? It might help us to give you the sort of support you would like. Wishing you all the best with your hospital stay and your wl journey. Jo x Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Hi guys, Does anyone have any fab and easy snack ideas for me to have when I've got a few friends round to watch the Olympic Opening ceremony? I won't be making a habit of having Snacks in front of the telly but it's kind of a special occasion. My riends who are non-sleevers will be having the usually sort of thing - wine, chips, pizza etc. I'm 6 weeks out of surgery and can eat most things now. Any ideas would be most welcome! Jo x Ps I'm in the UK so generic ideas for things that I can make would be great.

Hey, welcome home Lulu, glad to hear you're doing well. I had my dressings removed after a week - Rosie do you still have yours? Are your wounds not healing? Hope you're ok. Jo x

You guys are awesome, thanks so much for the ideas! I'm going to head off to the supermarket to see what ingredients I can find. Jo x Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Wow, you're looking great! Well done on the amazing loss. Jo x Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I had exactly the same conversation at my appointment today too! If you weren't in another country I'd think we have the same nurse. I think we should be totally proud, 40lbs down is an amazing achievement. Jo x

Glad to see you're up and about Lulu! Have a safe trip home. Jo x