green*eyed*girl

There is this conversation going on in the Research section of the forum, it might help you , I am not sure but probably worth to read it. I hope you will get better! http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/297214-intractable-and-severe-pain-in-the-feet/

OMG I sooo feel you on this was, NHS is impossible if you are under 50BMI, and even then the waiting list is mile long, I'm talking about years. I will have my surgery in Hungary and my GP is flat out refusing to do any pre-op testing, only EKG I was able to get out of him! So I will have to have all my pre-ops in Hungary and I will only have a week to do so, so I am very worried! I hope I will be able to squeeze in everything I need for the surgery. By the way mine cost about $5500. (Where did you go in the Czech Republic? You can PM me if you prefer! Thanks!)

You look amazing, congrats! You worked really hard I can tell. 150 ounces of water????? Oh my that is 4 liter I do not think I drink that in a week. I must really set myself up for big changes after my surgery.

I like this. And I think you are right, or at least I hope you are, and when I am there I will feel it is totally possible and doable to lose 100. I mean in a way I still think it is as I see so many of you losing much more then that, but I also think if I feel comfortable with less weightloss I might just settle for that. It is truly going to be a journey...

Yes, I am worried every day that this will not work for me. But as I am getting ready for surgery I'm thinking I will be able to eat only so little there is no way I will not lose weight since my body got used to getting so much more! I will have to discipline myself every single day.

Oh my ladies, April is still so far, I am counting the days!!!! Also I am absolutely distracted, all I can think about is my surgery! How about you?

Hi, can I ask how much do you pay in Belgium? Are you travelling from the UK? Best luck to you!

How are you AnaBanana? :hugs:

Hello! I am a 39 years old relatively healthy female - well, except my weight! After years or research I have decided to undergo gastric sleeve surgery. I have read and researched it for a long time, so I feel pretty confident that this is the procedure I need. I understand that I will have to carefully watch what I eat after surgery, I know everything about the Protein first rule, I am commited to excersize as soon as I lose a few pounds. I feel I am ready. So I went to see the choice of my surgeon and he is absolutely pushing for the bypass! I know because of the malabsorption it is probably easier to lose weight (?), he is also saying weight loss will last longer and with the sleeve I will only lose a little and I will come back to him for the bypass. I was pretty confused, and felt uncomfortable, because I have already made up my mind, and it is almost like me against him and his expertise? But exactly what he likes about the bypass is the thing I do not like : abnormality in absorption. I do not want to take Vitamins and have injections til the end of my life. He says Vitamin deficiency only occur in 50% of the cases... We agreed that I will think about the type of surgery I want til my date. I am self pay and my DOS is 14th of April. But I already know I want the sleeve and I will make it work for me. Why is he so against it? Any idea?

Oh God, no way, he doesn't know. I am sooo ashamed of my size and I think he would guess I am at least 50 pounds less what I really am. He never asks, clearly he can see I am fat but he knows it is really something that bothers me so he leaves it alone. I am very shy, if he wants to come to the bathroom while I'm in the shower I get a nervous breakdown and screaming at him not to dare to enter or I will make his life a living hell.lol He likes me to sit on the edge of the bathtub while he is bathing so we can chat - I can not imagine letting him sit there while I'm in the tub. It would be really nice to share my journey with him but then I would have to tell him my "number" and that is not going to happen...:/

AnaBanana, please do not give up. I am getting ready for my journey and I come here regularly to check on those people who's are having rough time with their sleeves. My heart goes out for all of you... You will do this, you've got this, you have to believe in this. Do not worry about your house,in fact I wish I could clean it for you but I am far away from you, I am sending you virtual hugs and I have you in my thoughts! RJ you are truly a blessing. Every time somebody is going through complicatins you are the first to give advise and say it in such lovely and respectful way, I just want to hug you and tell you how important you are for all of us, sleeved and pre-sleevers.

Yes I know there are plenty of doctors in the UK, but as I said in an earlier post on the first page I am going to have this surgery in the country of my origin, and there is only one doctor who do these surgeries, even he is travelling there from Austria to do these surgeries. But it cost half as much as in the UK - I could not afford to do it in the UK.

Oh wow one_more_time, thank you for your input, such story...lot to "digest" no pun intended I wish you much deserved success on your journey!

But here in the UK it really depends on what city you live in, right? I checked last year and loads of places only look at you if your BMI is over 50!!! My doc flat out refused to help me when I mentioned the idea of weight loss surgery. He said I am not fat enough and threw some diet pills at me. Also, I've heard it is a quite lenghty process... So I decided to have it done in Hungary for $5500 plus travel cost (with 5 days hospital stay that is standard in Hungary).

Hi Amy! I can only speak for myself as why I prefer the sleeve. With bypass I hate the idea of malabsorption, and I do not think I want to deal with taking Vitamins and injections till the end of my life or at least for a long time. And going in for bloodwork often... But I never knew the complication rate is higher with the sleeve??? Is that true??? The heartburn is true...unfortunately, it can happen as far as I know, but sleeve can be converted to bypass if GERD occur. (not that I'd love that but if I had to deal with GERD probably it would come down to that...)

My knees are not exactly happy about carrying around my 250pound body. They are painful some days, and fine the next day, so I'm pretty sure with weight loss I will be fine. Other than that I am perfectly healthy, I should say no comorbidities, as I can not say I am healthy coz I am morbidly obese. And I agree, doctors should offer the sleeve before bypass as sleeve is less invasive and god forbid it doesn't work it can always be converted to bypass...go figure

You are right, that pretty much sums it up, I know what I want and I will do my best to not fail it.

Thanks everybody who commented. As far as getting a second opinion I do not see why I should, as my doctor already said that I am a perfect candidate for the sleeve, and he will absolutely do the surgery for me if that's what I really want, but he thinks I will not lose enough weight and I will come back for the bypass. However I do not agree, and I told him my point of view and that feels pretty funny, me the simple PlainJane and the big KnowItAll Doctor hehehe, but I know I will go with the sleeeve. Also as far as finding an other doctor - it is not going to happen. This one has loads of experience under his belt (gotta admit mainly bypass but he has done plenty of sleeves too), and believe it or not I simply have no other choice, in my country of origin (where I will have the procedure done) he is the only doctor who performs this surgery. So I can not just switch to somebody else coz there is nobody else I was thinking maybe it is a pride thing for him and for so many other surgeons, as 2Big2Skate's doctor said "malabsorptive aspect of the bypass increases your odds of success greatly", so they want assurance we will lose weight and it will look good on their records...But they do not have to deal with the consequences, we will have to and I would much rather lose 80% of my stomach as it just made me fat and wants me to put food in it all the time, then deal with vitamin deficieency for the rest of my life.

Are you going to the same Dr. You mean same Dr as you? No I am in Europe, only our date of surgery is going to be very close

I was always fat. All my life is about being heavy and trying to live a normal life, but lately it's getting harder and harder by the minute. My mom told me when I was born I had asthma and she had to leave me in the hospital for 6 weeks. I was the only baby who gained weight even in the hospital! Chubby cute little girl turned into a chubby not so cute anymore teen, and after age 25 (now I am 39) things got out of hand and I am gaining some kilos every year. Done every diet possible but I always gain everything back. About 3 years ago I moved to the UK and my God I have never in my life had to climb so many stairs I have to climb in this country. My knees gave out pretty fast. That's when I knew I have to lose the weight for good but I had no idea how am I going to do that. My mom asked me if I would consider the gastric band and I was all about it until I've learned more about it and decided it's not for me. That's when I came across gastric sleeve, researched it for a year and had my consultation a few weeks ago. I will have my surgery in April. I have to fly quite a lot, using these charter flights whithin Europe is a complete nightmare for a heavy person, I have to fight my seatbelt every time, sweating bullets by the time it finally clicks - trying to do this gracefully is an art I've mastered! I am tired of being fat. I am so heavy I can barely do my work, being on my feet all day is killing me and I could cry by the end of the day I am looking forward to live a healthier life.

Hi, I am April 14th. We are going to be sleeve sisters I am self pay in Hungary!

And you should. You look stunning!!!

I am April 14th. More than ready