summerseeker

Fear of the unknown is huge. We are human, it is hard wired into our DNA to protect us in prehistory. My fears keep me awake at night too, I hate that. You can jump ship or postpone the surgery but you will wish you went through with it. Hold your nerve and get it done and you will be overjoyed. This surgery is life changing. You wont be alone when you wake, the nurse assigned to you will be watching your progress. You shouldn't be in pain because that would be bad practise. They need you to get up and walk around asap. You couldn't do that in pain. I had zero pain when I woke because they gave me meds in my drip. You will not wake up screaming in pain. You might feel tender in your mid section. I hugged a pillow to my stomach for a few days while standing. Breathe, take each day as a chance to stay or jump. Get yourself to the morning of surgery and then decide.

Did you go with a company/ nhs hospital in the UK ? I am surprised to hear you are getting no help if that's the case. If your surgery was abroad then you need to tell them if they don't respond to your questions then you will be leaving them a truthful bad review. People are really searching these sites for honest feedback and will take note of yours. If its a UK company you need to email the hospital director and ask why you are getting no help. No one can do this without the help of a team, its a huge change for all of us to master, both body and mind. I am maintaining now on 1500 calories a day which I log every meal. I lost weight on anything around 1200 - 1400 calories a day building in 60 grams of protein a day. To loose now you may struggle because your hunger is back. I would imagine that it will be hard to go back to protein and vegetables when you are hungry, leaving the filling carbs off your plate. Keep us posted, you are not alone.

As @toodlerue says our help is very limited. We send our love and best wishes. Please keep in touch, at least you can rant on here and we will listen.

My first poop was a doozy. I woke from surgery with terrible diarrhoea. After that I didn't go for 15 days. I really struggled with that one and had to manually help myself go. The protein in the protein products make me terribly constipated. I only have them when I really need too now. It took me an age to work out what was causing it. Now I can eat fruit and veg it is easier.

I had the Pho broth from week one, I made it myself so it was not too salty or chilli hot. It was so good I could have bathed in it. At 2 years + now, I can manage a couple of spoons of noodles at the end of the meal. I don't crave mountains of noodles now, I am used to just a few for the mouth feel.

I just could not do puree, I did soups instead. I chewed any big lumps or squished them with the back of my spoon. I found a lot of these forward steps difficult. My team were very happy with me going at a slow and steady pace that suited my new stomach. When I was ready I went straight to regular foods like minced meats and vegetables and well cooked stews and casseroles. You will find what you can eat one day will not be ok another day. My new stomach has tantrums even now. Just do your best. I was so turned off food and was never hungry. I had a filthy taste in my mouth all the time, numerous tooth brushings never altered this. I too had deep regrets, everything I ever knew about eating was altered. I had to find new ways to find pleasure because now we have to eat to live and not the other way around. You will get there, just ride this out. Your hormones are running wild at the moment so it is all against you at the moment. Weight gains and stalls are all par for the course. You will get them all the time. A full bowel, a salty meal or salty broth can cause a temporary weight gain. Just stick to the plan and believe , it works. Soon you will be able to make your teams water and protein goals then you will feel so much better. People think that doing WLS is the easy option. Its not, especially early on. Contact your team and tell them your struggles. Get counselling if you need it. Chat and vent on here, we all have. Everyone has had similar issues.

You have done really well with your weight loss and I understand your worry of messing up. I do too, which is why I calorie and protein count every little morsel that passes my lips. I still struggle to eat enough protein Your meal looks fine portion wise but it looks to me like you have lots of oily dressing on the salad, but I am a million miles away and wear very thick varifocals. If you are in maintenance , this seems fine to me.

Hello @ihoneyyou, You are doing so well. I think you look great too. Have you had children ? I ask because you may need a muscle repair to rectify your tummy shape. It may not be all weight loss related

I wish I could have a drool emoji for these posts

This is a kind place, its not Facebook so no- one will judge you. We have all been helped by the people who went before us. I stay because it keeps me accountable, like getting to target at Slimming world and continuing to go to weigh ins

I think its a good thing to see that others have had a bad result with one surgery. Its not all plain sailing. People have high expectations and seeing the negative is good. You have a lot of great information to give. If you have the knowledge where you went wrong or the surgery failed you, its always good to pass this forward too Good luck with your next chapter.

My restriction is still fierce. I eat 5 small meals a day. To get some decent amounts of veg in I have to make it into soups. I eat these at least once a day. I love soup Carrot and coriander Lentil, harissa and carrot Celery and stilton Mediterranean with Orzo pasta Gazpacho Beetroot and feta French onion and cheddar cheese Creamy mushroom

You may need to eat a lot more calories than you think in order to maintain. It all depends on your body and activity. My team told me to up my calories by 100 per day until I found the sweet spot. Being fairly inactive this winter, I am ok on 1400 as an average

I went to theatre in my own night wear and woke in my own. What happened in-between ? I can't guess.

If you want to try something with flavour, try tinned soups with the contents sieved out or Pho broth. I was allowed any liquid so I had Lattes and frozen popsicles too.

Hi, @Summermoose. I am having the same issues as you. My arms are awful and the wobble goes on after my elbow. I am happy with them until holidays come around and then I wish they were done. My dilemma is - is it worth the pain, cost and trouble for 11 each months a year ? My scars are always hypertrophic, so they would look worse than most. I am a member of a few Facebook Brachioplasty groups and TBH it does put me off.

Hello @Bypass2Freedom I used the Spire group too. I had wonderful care and was totally happy with my team. I stayed in hospital 4 days because of a few minor issues I was having and then a 5th day because of a power cut in my town. They said I couldn't go home to a cold house. No extra charges were levied either. I had zero pain. The head nurse and the dietician gave me their personal phone numbers in case I had any problems or questions along the way. My pre op was 3 weeks of milk and veg basically but your surgeon may want different. They asked me to take dressing gown, nightwear and slippers to the hospital. No need for a long telephone charger cable in our hospitals. Take some lip balm. My surgeon was against protein shakes so after my op I had milky coffee, home made shakes and Bovril or broth to drink. Puree was not for me, I had either tinned or home made soups sieved or mashed any lumps. When I came home I bought a bed wedge because I got reflux. I needed a thermos cup because my hot drinks were always going cold. It takes a long time to drink anything in the first few weeks. With Amazon having next day delivery, if you need something its so quick, its pointless stock piling stuff you may not need in advance. The hormonal changes are something that I had. I was very tearful and had full on PMT. I was 60+ so it came as a shock to me. There have been a few people on here who have become pregnant very quick after the surgery. If that's a problem then a chat with your GP might help.

Congrats on your surgery and your perfect recovery. Your woolly symptoms are from the anaesthetic. It might take a few more days until you recover from the baby brain. Not everyone has the internal gurgle but I am told its quite loud and funny. I had the hormone storm in a big way at about a week out too. It wasn't a side effect that anyone had explained to me beforehand. I had to ask my questions on here. Female bodies are wonderous, mysterious things. I didn't feel my smaller stomach at all but I did think that it had been moved into my chest as soon as I began eating.

I have a choice of 2 breakfasts, either 150 grams full fat Greek yoghurt with berries 170 cals and a homemade latte, 100 cals and all this adds to about 25 grams of protein or a 27 gram sachet of porridge oats with milk and added ginger jam to sweeten it and a latte. I love ginger jam. This adds up to 25 grams of protein and 280 calories Lunch is either home made soup with lentils and bacon/ chicken added for protein or a 2 egg cheese omelette, scrambled eggs or fried eggs. Around 250 calories and up to 20 grams of protein. Snack, Milky coffee, a piece of fruit and some blue cheese 200 cals and 8 grams of protein Evening meal, Homemade family meal minus the carbs or a salad with fish or meat. About 250 cals and 15 grams of protein. Snacks of either fruit and cheese, fruit lolly or a almond magnum, packet of low fat crisps and a homemade cheese dip. I aim for 60 grams of protein and 1500 calories for maintenance. Once a week I may go over on a hungry day and one day I will forget to eat and be miles under so it all balances out. I realise I eat a lot of dairy but my cholesterol is ok at the moment.

On here we are all kind and very helpful. Its not Facebook, there is no one-upmanship here. If we can, we will help in anyway we can. I hope you get the answers soon

I have just realised that the skin over my knuckles doesn't dimple anymore. When I make a fist I can see my knuckles. I treated myself to new rings too. The original ones I got married in were stolen in 1986. Rings looked awful on my short fat fingers so I wore none

As the people above have said you have done great. You had a taste, we all do. Its not an issue if you do not let it become a landslide. Now that I am over 2 years out, I do not want these foods. They taste awful to me, thank you new taste buds and the foamies. It takes a while to not be in the Diet mentality anymore. We are not on a diet, we are just eating to live. We have no reason to feel guilt anymore. Would some therapy help you?

Congratulations, it sure feel great to just be overweight doesn't it. I remember your struggles. You had it tough. Are you managing to eat better now ? I am happy at this weight so am not bothering with going down another category even if my GP says it would be good for me.

I would imagine running around after two small tots you really don't need any more exercise. You have done remarkably well considering. You may never get to your goal weight, not everyone does. I will say if you want to run at it then it may be slow going. The nearer you get then the harder and slower the weight loss will get. Your restriction should still be there, could you still have a chat with your team for guidance ? I have picked up a few tips that I have stored on the back burner just in case I need them in the future. Go back to basics, Eat good clean food. Protein first, vegetables and fruit second and then add in the carbs. Track your foods on a app, everyone has their fav. Weigh your food because your luck will be out just eyeballing it now. I am maintaining on 1500 cals and loose on anything lower than that. I walk but its cold and wintery here yet so I am not inspired to get out at the moment. If I did I could perhaps eat a little more. Good luck

There are a few ancients on here. I was 62. I had a few issues with the surgery early on. My scars always swell and my internal stitch line was no different. It took a while for the swelling to go down so that I could eat again. I lost slow but continually for two years until I had found a weight that pleased me. I then increased my calories to stabilise and its working. I have massive amounts of loose skin. At my age the elasticity went years ago. This seems to be the only issue for older patients.