Madam Reverie

I dunno.. I get in about 4-6 bites.. rest a bit.. another 3-4 bites. Admittedly they're small... But I think its quite plentiful for 14 days out. I may have to re-strategise the protein thing....

I am finding if I eat carbs, I get hungry very quickly afterwards. I made a soft tortilla with lots of deli ham and a little bit of cheese in it. I portioned it into 8. I ate two pieces today and I swear, I was hungry 1 hour later. I'm starting to get worried about this hunger thing.. Nothing seems to last longer than 2 hours, at the most and I'm getting 1500ml of fluid in a day.. what's that? 50 oz? I am, as the Irish would say, confushed....

Being situated in the far north of the UK, it is already very dark and very gloomy, with little sunshine or warmth. Subsequently, I have an electric blanket that I don't put on my bed - I sit on it and wrap it around, so it warms me all over. Food wise, in winter I tend to do a lot of meat, vegetables and gravy dinners. As for snacking, being a savoury hound, I'm more likely to have a bit of hummus on a cracker. If my sweet tooth kicks in (which is rare), I'll head for a bit of rice pudding made with evaporated milk (as opposed to condensed milk and cream) and top it off with some nutmeg, shove it in the oven and serve with a dollop of fruit compote. I'm sure at some point, I'll get some unflavoured protein powder and whack it in there.... As for hot tea? I normally drink about 5 cups a day anyhow.. However, this has markedly decreased now I have a stomach the size of my index finger! Booooooooo!

You're very welcome and don't worry, It'll appear soon. I, myself, am waiting on the nirvana whereby I can chow down on a plate of vegetables or salad.. And not the mushed-up beyond recognition variety!

If your painful incision is on the left hand side, on the waistband, in the middle of the line of incisions, it is likely to be the one they pulled the remnants of your stomach out of. Apparently and according to sources, that particular incision is far more sensitive because there is allegedly some tethering done with the stomach muscles. That aside, I am 14 days out today and I can barely feel it any more. Only if I scrunch myself up on that side, or eat a bit too much, am I reminded its there. As for the gas, mine went after 7 days. Don't panic everything you are experiencing is totally normal. Take your drugs, drink your fluids, sleep when you can and you'll be golden in a couple of days. Promise x

Aww, that's very sweet, thank you. So she started off well by hitting a rather raw nerve.... As an aside though, other than to express empathy with your employment efforts; what in the holy-blue-hell was she passing comment about employment prospects for females in certain age groups???!! Is she pinning that on you for a reason as to why you're eating, or was it just general comment? Are you paying for this privately, or is health insurance covering it? I hope it's the latter. Judging by that comment, I would definitely put her in the 'flippant' category and if she did it again, I'd be very tempted to say 'Excuse me, no disrespect intended, but unless the commentary about the lack of employment opportunities for women in their 50's is in some way going to be tied into my endeavors to lose weight and my long-term relationship with food; I'd prefer it if we could get on with the task in hand please... Hmm.. I think this therapist talks too much... (Says the woman who talks far too much herself ) How about asking her straight about what her therapy entails. If you tie her down to methodology and expected deliverables it might focus the discussion more; as opposed to you having to suffer her commentary on social employment issues and whatever other random things pop into her head at any moment!

Hmm.. If she's witty and asked good questions, maybe she's trying to put you at ease - albeit in a bit of a clumsy way... Is it a possibility that because you're a bit brighter than your average, it has left you a little bit skeptical about the profession and their representatives? I can imagine that as a consequence of her perceived 'flippancy', it has got your guard up a bit. There's no judgement in this - and I, certainly, would have raised a few eyebrows about the familial history interrogation. Fundamentally, she should be shutting up a bit and letting you speak; THEN asking some questions. Bottom line, I think this chick means well, but has a bit of.. hmm.. what could we call it? Mission drift... My advice? Give it one more go and if she goes 'off plan', get your verbal scythe out. After all, if you don't, you'll only be wasting your time and hers. x

I think you'll find if they're specialist in Anorexia and Bullimia, they're going to be well academically versed on subnormal relationships with food...In whatever form it comes....

I wouldn't mind doing a PG degree with Johns Hopkins, but I guess that's not relevant. I shall shut up now!

If you can get soup in.. get it down your neck, girl!

Depends how you view this person, whether its your first date and whether you would like to be upfront or not? If not, just say you're nervous and it wrecks your appetite!

He's 24 and a total knob. Glad you're back on your home turf for the operation. You take all the time you need up there to heal and get things together. Nothing like having your crew around you. As for he posh shower gel? Hell, you have at it! If that's as bad as it gets, you're going to be just fine! When I split from my ex fiance, I think i blew a cool £1,000 on 'making me feel better' stuff! Barclaycard, MAC and House of Fraser were very happy, I can tell you! x

OMG did someone just say 'Maccy D's'?! <salivates so much she drowns in her own sputum and sails off into a reverie of saturated fat heaven>

I paid £9950 all in. That's for everything - tests, nutritionist, psychologist (although I wasn't referred), surgery, residential stay and follow up care for one year afterwards. This includes as many counseling sessions with the psyche and nutritionist as is required, even in-extremis surgery, should it be required. On balance, I think its good value as I am near my home and feel well cared for. I went with the Spire hospital group.

Darlin', when you've done weeks of nothing but yoghurt and Protein drinks, you will sell your kidney or the rights to your first unborn child for a mouthful of pizza.. In fact.. a mouthful of anything that has some taste to it. One piece of pizza is not going stop the world from spinning on its axis...

Yep. I'm a self-payer.

Nathalie, I am so very very sorry. It is never easy to find those things out - it is particularly painful when you're informed that it has been going on for some time and you are the last to know. (I had a similar thing). May I ask how old your boyfriend is? Do you know what you're going to do now? Stay and fight for it? Go back to Manchester? If it is any consolation - you found out now. Right before an AMAZING transformation is going to take place in your life. As painful as it is right now, give it 10 months and this will seem like a dim and distant memory and whilst he's inspecting his shoes, realising what a total idiot (I could think of many more choice words to use here, but would probably get banned if I did) he is; you'll be spreading your magnificent wings and truly flying... You're absolutely right to focus on you and continue to do so. This Jackass doesn't deserve you and is fundamentally a coward. Plain and simple - a coward. If he wasn't happy, he should have had the balls to call it - not, as he appears to have been doing - coveting the attentions of someone else to give him an 'out'. You, on the other hand, are facing your greatest fear which is no mean feat and with such courage. And you WILL conquer it. Eyes on the prize, baby-girl. Eyes on the prize... I know this is an awful time for you, but whatever you choose to do, we all want the best for you and will be here whenever you need us. Hang on in there, honey. Nirvana is just around the corner xxx

Omeprazole. I love it so much, I think I may attempt to become a pharmaceutical rep for the company who makes it....

And so you should feel happy! You look fabulous. Well done you :)x

I think you need to be praying NOT to have H Pylori. The treatment is no picnic.... How's about we aspire for a conclusive diagnosis as to why you feel so worn out all the time, get that sorted and then you're free to choose whether or not you want to be sleeved and by whom. Also, you may want to be a bit careful about waving academic research journals in front of Doctors. As I found out, they tend to get a bit 'bristly' if you go in FULLY armed! lol Go get 'em, tiger x

I think this is largely fan related (and nerves)... Have a hot shower and a hot cup of tea.... get those juices moving and you'll be great. If you're still worried when you get there, tell them to have a look down your throat and in your ears. They'll soon be able to tell if something is up! Best of luck for your surgery x

H Pylori is either symptomatic or more commonly a-symptomatic. Half the world has it, but don't know it. The only reason I was picked up, was because I was one of the unfortunate few who was symptomatic.. and let me tell you.. it aint pretty. If you're worried about it, you could drop it casually into the conversation the next meeting you have with the GP... 'I heard of people who tested positive for HPylori after the surgery and then had to ingest a whole horrid cocktail of chemicals on their damaged stomachs. Do you test for that prior to surgery? Because I don't fancy having to do the treatment afterwards...' See what they say... That aside, try not to panic. Although there are linkages in the academic research, there is no way, given your medical history, symptoms and medications, that a doctor will overlook these factors when presented with them in consideration of your VSG. Particularly if you have an established Iron deficiency. I, too, had my gallbladder out in 2005. I recovered swimmingly from that and to be honest, if I were suffering symptoms from it, I wouldn't have known. Primarily, because my PCOS which was left undiagnosed until 2007, was royally kicking my butt both with my energy levels, hair loss on my scalp and too much growth on my body. Hair loss can be caused by a number of things, but fundamentally and with regards to this surgery, the loss of it is largely thought to be down to the shock of the surgery and low Protein levels. Although many people on here have had sufficient protein, hair loss has still occurred. Sadly, I think it's just one of those things we have to anticipate, try not to worry about and deal with if and when it happens. Try not to sweat it too much at this stage. Get your eggs in order with the quack first and foremost - ideally getting a diagnosis on why it is you feel like you've been run over by a bus every day and then take it from there. Better to go into the surgery match-fit, than go in already depleted of your levels. Best of luck for November. Let us know how you get on x

In the UK, it's 40 minimum standard and down to 35 with co-morbidities.

Hell no! If you can get the fluids in, you do that! At 5 days, I couldn't get much in and had to rely on other ingestion methods. Be very thankful you can get it in - it really is a blessing and won't cause you any harm, as it'll pass straight through you. Keep doing what you're doing, I'd say

That's cracking and you look fabulous. Well done you x