NeonRaven8919

I chose the sleeve. My mother had the bypass back in 2008 and had a lot of problems. She couldn't keep anything down for months after the sugery and the had to operate again and they made a mistake. So she basically couldn't really eat anything at all and suffered for years. She had a bowel perforation due to clot in April of 2023 that they couldn't diagnose until a month later and they couldn't repair because of what went wrong with her bypass surgery and she died in May of 2023. So I'm too afraid of having the same kind of problems. It's not the same hospital or the same surgeon, but I'm still scared. I did wonder if I should even consider any type of surgery at all, but my mother did lose weight and it did extend her life.

I'm in the exact same situation. (Also in the UK). I'm going through the NHS. I wasn't expecting to have to start the diet so soon either. I was hoping to at least get my birthday and my friend's wedding out of the way before having to be restricted. I wasted a lot of food as I just bought groceries before my appointment. I'm not sure if the whole 12 weeks is the liver shrinking diet or just the last three weeks. I did mess up in a moment of feeling like I was starving and I had 4 slices of toast. If the whole 12 weeks is to shrink the liver, I wouldn't risk eating anything not on the list if it can be avoided. If just the last three weeks is the liver shrinking diet, maybe one "proper meal" a week is fine?

Good Luck with everything tomorrow!

I live in London and there's a lot of great things to do! You will definitely enjoy it!

Yes, some people would.

I hate eating in restaurants sometimes because I worried that people are watching me eat and thinking "of course the fat girl would be eating that". It's really hard not to see myself that way. The old expression "If you knew how little they thought of you, you wouldn't care how little they thought of you." is true, but it's hard to remember.

I see your point, but I think the psych eval is necessary. Weight loss surgery outcomes are much better when used along side pysch evals, dietician visits etc. This is all documented and confirmed by the medical community. I think if I was an insurance company, I would prefer to pay out for a surgery that it likely to be successful because the patient is using all the tools in their tool belt and is more likely to be successful. I would also think that more than one appointment with a psychologist should be the norm. You can sometimes do more harm than good with only one therapy session. I don't see it as discrimination because ultimately, it's an elective surgery. We can live (albeit less well) if we are overweight. There are also other surgeries that require psychiatric evaluation too, for example gender surgeries. It's not really discriminatory to require that the person getting certain surgery is likely to have a successful outcome because the require life changes to be successful. However, I definitely agree that it shouldn't be down to the insurance companies to determine the requirements, it should be medial professionals. Insurers should never get the final say in what procedures a patient can or can't get if the doctor disagrees with the insurance company. I also don't think a tick box appointment should be enough to get approved for a major surgery which is what insurance requires.

I'm pre-op and my surgery is much sooner along than I expected. I was expecting to have a few weeks to try and ease into the liver shrinking diet and buy foods that I can have on hand, but it was just sprung on me that I would need 12 weeks of liquids. No easing into it, no chance to have my favourite foods one last time (which isn't a bad thing really, but it feels like it. I lost control and cheated and I had 4 slices of toast and then felt so bad. Knowing it's only another 11 weeks to go is a short time, but it feels like years. I just got really upset at the idea that I won't be able to eat solid foods until December. It makes cravings so bad.

I love MyProtein for powders. For shakes, I also like Ufit, Grenade and For Goodness Shakes. I hate protein bars. I've never found a good one.

I'm actually getting my surgery on the NHS. To be honest, I feel like I won the lottery because I was approved for surgery in May 2024 and I'm getting it in October 2024. The surgeon said to me it was extremely unlikely it would happen before next year! But I guess the downside is they gave me the option of sleeve or bypass and those were the only options. I would love a last fry up, but sadly, I'm on milk diet for 12 weeks until surgery and then after that, I don't suppose I'll really want food for at least a month.

Sorry to hear you've had to go through this. My surgery is in October and I'm a bundle of nerves. I've been put on a 12 week liquid diet, and I couldn't imagine going through all this and then having to reschedule. Good Luck to you!

Fantastic! Well done! You look amazing!

Mine is scheduled for October 7th! It seems like ages away, but too soon, but not soon enough! I know what you mean about being excited and anxious at the same time! There's a million emotions. Since I'm getting my surgery done on the National Health Service, I didn't really get a choice in surgeries or times. I was given the choice of bypass of sleeve and then an assessment that told me the doctor was going to do a sleeve.

Thanks! I'm definitely focusing on protein! I'm going to see how it goes until my follow up appointment in two weeks and discuss with the doctor.

Congratulations! I'm still pre-op and just started my journey and this is inspiring! I also struggle with mental health and take medication for it so I understand. All the best to you!

Thanks for the support! I've been told just liquids. I've lost .4kg (.8) after 1 day so imagine feeling encouraged! I've been told no food because I need to lose weight quickly for the surgery and I need 1000-1200 calories a day. But I also ride my bike everywhere so ai think that helps with the weight loss.

Thank you!

Yes the doctor wants me to lose 10% of my weight before the surgery. Being on the national health service, I guess they want to take extra precautions to make the surgery approved by their boards and directors. 12 weeks seems a really long time, but I've had weight problems for over 30 years so in the grand scheme of things, it's no time at all. Thanks for the suggestion about ways to celebrate my birthday! I've made plans to get my nails done with a friend so that will be great!

Hi! I got approved for the surgery in May of 2024. Doctor first told me that I would most likely have to wait until 2025 because of how the long the hospital waiting list is. Suddenly, I got called last week saying they were able to do it in October of 2024. So this is the first day of a 12 week liquid diet to lose 10% of my body weight before the surgery. My birthday is coming up and I have wedding that I'm going to next week! I'm happy that this is happening this year, but I also feel bummed because I feel like this is bad timing. I'm really happy that this journey is starting. I've always been overweight and so was my mother. We were the only one's in the family who were. We moved to the UK when I was 14 and my stepfather was also overweight and he passed away in 2022 due to pneumonia and other weight related complications. My mother had gastric bypass in 2008 and due to surgical complication, they couldn't fix a bowel perforation and she passed in 2023. She and my stepdad were the only people in my life who were really supportive of anything I did. I fell a little bit alone going through this now, but I'm feeling optimistic at the same time. Just looking for other people to share my story with.