Hi all

I have booked my op for 18th April 2016 with Beautiful Beings in Czech Republic. Nervous, excited and scared are just some the feelings I'm getting.

I've had relatively little information from BB, they've just said 'eat healthily' until I go and to take Omeprazole twice daily. There's loads of silly questions that keep popping up, like:-

• What should I pack?
• How will I get my bag in the storage unit above my head on the plane on my way home?
• Is there a shop in the hospital, how much Czech money will I need?

Has anyone else been who can answer these for me, any help appreciated.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about the op but truthfully, I think it's a positive thing I'm doing. Whatever the outcome, I can't be any more miserable than I am now. I can barely walk couple of hundred yards without huffing and puffing, my knees are killing me, I go up and down stairs like a two year old, one at a time, nothing fits me and when it does, I look horrible. Everything I own looks like a huge black bin bag etc....

Two years ago I lost five-and-a-half stone on the Cambridge diet but I've put it all back on in less than half the time it took me to loose it. I'm so angry with myself but I'm sure a lot of you have been there.

All in all, I'm feeling pretty good about the op and am raring to go.

The embassy delayed my visa then refused it. So along with being extremely disappointed and depressed that I didn't have the surgery that I was 100% ready for, I also lost around 216 pounds for the train and another 74 for the visa fees :-( And believe me, as a student who isn't working, it's a lot of money to lose.

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Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'll keep my fingers crossed things go more smoothly for Czech. x

Good luck

I'm three days post op xx

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How you doing Emma, where did you have it done?

Thanks RosieCheeks I will update with what goes on in Czech.

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I went private with Pheonix health in Chester xxx

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Welcome Emma. Hope it's all going well for you. I had my op July 16 2015 best thing I ever did

I'm really struggling to reach Protein levels as I hate Protein shakes but I've been to the local supplement shop and bought some unflavoured powder and have started to add a spoonful or two to everything I can. A lot of people on here are quite vocal about reaching Water and protein levels, it's a shame my clinic didn't emphasise it so much.

Any advice from the veterans, Chris/Jinty?

Edited May 18, 201610 yr by RosieCheeks

Hiya hon, first bit of advice is don't stress and don't try to be the WLS Superwoman!!!!! Take your time to get used to a new way of eating.

I got my unflavoured Protein powder online as I hated the artificial taste of the flavoured ones. I used to get a banana, some Protein Powder, some skimmed milk powder, skimmed milk and ice and whizz it in the blender. It would normally last me a couple of days as my Breakfast. I did that for months. I also discovered PB2 Peanut Butter powder-Amazon-yummy! Added to shakes it's great-there's a peanut/chocolate version too. Get some cacao powder too as it can be added to shakes to get a chocolate hit. I must admit to playing around to get shakes that I liked but there were some that went down the drain!!!!!!

I ate tons of lightly scrambled eggs when I first went onto food and bought cartons of egg whites (I found them in Waitrose around about the chilled pastry) and added them to get the extra protein content. I also perfected the art of chilli made with turkey mince. To start with, try making the chilli with just a TEENY bit of spice mix, enough to make it interesting but still gentle on your tummy. I found that I could eat salmon (in any form) easily and I've now made a yummy salmon pate in the food processor with Aldi Kiln Roasted Salmon and Waitrose lowest fat cream cheese. You can use smoked mackerel as an alternative. This works if you like fish!!!!!! A good standby once you start chewing again is to have some cooked chicken and salmon fillet in the fridge. I would cook a bundle of chicken thigh fillets and a lump of salmon so I always had a protein snack on hand. At the moment I'm going through a phase of having Parma, Serrano and Prosciutto ham and Bresaola in the fridge to nibble on. I know that purists might scorn that it's processed ham and meat and that there is a lot of salt in it but a bit of that and some juicy melon just hits the spot for me. Talking of which............I'm off for my elevenses of, yep, meat and melon in a minute.

Let me know how you go but again I'm stressing the point-DON'T YOU STRESS!!!!!!!

This journey is not a short one. There is no rush. Just enjoy all the little things that make you smile. Believe me, there will be lots

Thanks Jinty.

I hate shakes of any kind whatsoever so I've just been adding the Protein powder to Soups, yoghurt, cottage pie.... anything really. The other thing is I'm allergic to fish and eggs. I've been eating Waitrose calorie counted cottage pie topped with swede rather than potato, occasionally. My favourite thing so far though is my new Soup maker, I love it. Throw some stuff in and 20 mins later you've got gorgeous soup and you can choose chunky or smooth. Today I've made the most delicious mushroom and bacon. I'm also making a conscious effort to up my Water intake.

The best decision I've made is to put the scales in the shed, I was becoming obsessed so I'm now only going to weight myself once a month on the anniversary of my op. Can't believe it was a month ago tomorrow!

I'm taking your advice and will refrain from stressing!

I forgot soup!!!! I ate loads of it. Shame about the eggs and fish. Let me have a think back properly to my first few months and I'll get back to you later x

Do you guys know any other places in Europe for the surgery other than Belgium/Czech?

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Are you still struggling LuLu? There's Lithuannia with Nordbariatric.

I've been waiting since two weeks for my appointment with the Czech visa and it was today. Shockingly, my phone decided to break and my alarm not to work and I missed my appointment today + 148 pounds flight non refundable + 18 pounds non refundable train tickets...

Wow. Is God or the universe trying to tell me something? It's depressing and funny at the same time lol!

I have to wait now another two weeks for an appointment.

And Thanks I checked Lithuania.

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Some very good advice there from Jinty. I ate loads of tuna and also baked beans. Chicken is still my favourite food. I had lots of soup in the beginning but I don't have it much now. Turkey mince is fab and I make no pasta lasagna with it.

Water intake still not as much as I should but trying every day to have more !