Mid West

After the fluids and mush weeks, my dietician isn't very strict or prescriptive as to what we should eat. We have guidelines of course which I'll stick to. But their thinking is that we should eat as normal a diet as possible so I won't have x amount of grams of this and y amount of that. Just an instruction to make sure I eat my protien first. The pre op diet is the same, he wants us to low fat eat food sticking to around 1000 cals, rather than liquids and again it's non prescriptive. I lost 9 stone (126lb) last year, quite quickly and put 6 stone (84lb) of it back on this year. I've always been able to lose weight but never keep it off, hence choosing the bypass over the sleeve. I'm happy to lose the weight after the surgery slowly this time, trying to eat as I will eat for my future rather than eating as if I'm on another diet - that way, the losing phase my be longer but I'll be learning how I'll be eating for the rest of my life and (hopefully, please God, touch wood), learning how to maintain :-)

Blimey, that is cheap! $8500 Canadian Dollars is about £5200 pounds and I'm paying double that - and I believe that in the US, the operation costs about $22,000 US Dollars which is about £14,000 so you really are saving money. It sounds like you've done your research and you trust this guy and that's the main thing. How long is the journey to Costa Rica and will you have to stay there for a while?

Blimey, that is cheap! $8500 Canadian Dollars is about £5200 pounds and I'm paying double that - and I believe that in the US, the operation costs about $22,000 US Dollars which is about £14,000 so you really are saving money. It sounds like you've done your research and you trust this guy and that's the main thing. How long is the journey to Costa Rica and will you have to stay there for a while?

Thanks Molly. I had the band in 2010 and can't say it worked in any great way. We could never reach a fill point between nothing going down then being sick and anything being able to go down. I'll be glad to get it out to be honest. I was offered the sleeve at the time but I thought it was too extreme! Now I realise I need all the help I can get to keep it off, the losing bit is the easy bit. I started Lighter Life at 19 stone and got down to 10 stone 4. Once I'd finished the 'diet', despite every week trying something to keep it off; the 5/2 diet, counting calories, going back on Lighter Life, nothing worked and I've put 6 stone back on. I'm very hopeful that with the bypass, this issue may not dominate the next 40 years as it has the last 40 :-) Lainey x

Thanks Molly. I had the band in 2010 and can't say it worked in any great way. We could never reach a fill point between nothing going down then being sick and anything being able to go down. I'll be glad to get it out to be honest. I was offered the sleeve at the time but I thought it was too extreme! Now I realise I need all the help I can get to keep it off, the losing bit is the easy bit. I started Lighter Life at 19 stone and got down to 10 stone 4. Once I'd finished the 'diet', despite every week trying something to keep it off; the 5/2 diet, counting calories, going back on Lighter Life, nothing worked and I've put 6 stone back on. I'm very hopeful that with the bypass, this issue may not dominate the next 40 years as it has the last 40 :-) Lainey x

Hi, I'm in on 10th October so I know how you feel :-) Good luck Lx

Hi, I'm in Edinburgh and paying private too. Just back from a night away in London, now I can focus on the fact I'm having major surgery in 5 days, lol. My starting weight is 230lb and I'm 5'3''. I lose all my weight last year, every lb on Lighter Life and it has been a losing battle to keep it off. As you can see from my user name, I was originally going to have a sleeve (and was on the sleeve forum) but last week changed to the bypass :-)

Hi Molly. Good to see someone else here from the UK. I'm having a band taken out and a bypass done on 10th October, next Thursday ... Eek, lol. Bloods on Tuesday. Keep me updated how you go. Where in UK are you? Are you going private or NHS?

I was all set for the sleeve but have changed to the bypass as there's many more years' evidence behind it and is still considered the gold standard of WLS. What really struck me was that there's a group of people here who are revising from sleeve to RNY! I do not want to be going through all this again in x years time.

I went to see my bariatric nurse today and my mum came with me. I asked all the remaining questions I had about the sleeve and my mum brought up the bypass. She thinks this will be better for me because there's more information on it, it has been done for the last 40 years. Also I'm a grazer and the sleeve isn't supposed to work so well for us. Also the recommended revision for people who have had bands is the bypass. So now I'm thinking perhaps I'll have the bypass instead. But all my research so far has been on the sleeve. Does anyone have any advice or input they'd like to share on their decision?

Can your doctor/nurse prescribe you an antiemetic?

Good luck :-)

4.30pm next Thursday 10/10 ... What am I going to do with myself all day? Lol

I wouldn't do it. You'll spend the first two nights in hospital and then you'll just want to be at home until you feel comfortable. From everything I've seen and read, those first few days are extremely tender and the last thing you'll feel like is being politely sociable, sorry :-(

Ok people. We know there are risks. But let's try and keep in mind that the death rate world wide is 0.1%. Thats still a risk of course but once we've decided and chosen a good team, we must focus on the positive effect this surgery will have on our lives. Good luck to us all :-) Lx

Hi guys, I'm having my band out and RNY done on 10th October - next Thursday, eek! Not nervous yet, following the low fat pre-op diet as best as I can. My arrival time at the hospital is 4.30 pm - shame it's not first thing in the morning but it'll be fine. Any one else scheduled for next week? How are you feeling? Just for info, I'm 40, 230lb and 5'3''.

I'm also having the band out and a bypass on 10th October, a week today! I'm not nervous yet, I'm away this weekend so that's all I'm really thinking about at the moment. I won't be nervous until Thursday morning knowing me - and my checkin time is 4.30pm. I might be a nightmare all day, lol.

My sister had this about 4 weeks ago. She did have an edema on the night of the surgery and had to go back in to have fluid drained the following morning. But other than that, she's been fine. The bruising went really quickly and the scars look great already! I'll be having mine done too once I reach goal. Good luck to you. I hope you love your new arms :-)

In the UK, we don't have health insurance per se. We have the NHS and some regions fund WLS but most don't and with those that do, it seems they make people jump through many hoops and wait a long time until they're approved - it's rare here. So, I'm self pay. Yes, it'll take a while to pay off but it's an investment in my next 40+ years (God willing). Good luck to you all.

UK-Sleever (now choosing bypass) 10/10/13

But, of course, it's totally your choice and I hope whatever you have goes well. :-)

Please don't have the band. My surgeon doesn't even do them anymore as they don't work. I'm going for a band to bypass revision on 10/10. I did look at the sleeve but as someone else said, I want the gold package this time. Good luck :-)

I blooming well hope so, lol. I'll let you know :-)

Thanks everyone - I agree with you all! Good luck with your journies and let us all know how you go :-)

I had been dead set on the sleeve but my mum had been sceptical, she knows I'm a grazer and sleeves aren't the best for that. I also have a band and we can be less successful with sleeves than those who just go straight for the sleeve (part mental, part mechanical seems to be the theory). But the thing that swung it was the data, there's 40 years' worth behind the bypass and my problem isn't losing the weight, I've done that over and over - my problem is keeping it off. I read people here talking about putting weight back on and there's only 5+ years data on the sleeve. On the Bypass forum which is exactly the same as this and just as helpful, there's actually a whole section on people who are going from sleeve to bypass - I can't do this again, this is my last shot so I'm going all the way :-)