Whoooooooosh

I'd love to be able to come to one of the Support Group meeetings, Kay Cresswell encouraged me to when I was dickering in my decision over band or bypass. But unfortunately I live 40 miles away & although it's quite a doddle on the train I won't travel alone on them that late at night after a previous bad experience. I was told if I opted for the bypass I would be referred to Leeds for my op, which is 50 miles north of me. Then I'm guessing there's the chance that Leeds would say my BMI isn't high enough for them to take me. Such a shame Sheffield won't do my band, just for sheer convenience, it's less than 20 miles away. But my BMI is too low for them to accept me. Mind you, now after all I've read about Derby & the contact I've had with the team, I think I'd still go for Derby even if I had the choice of Sheffield put to me. I just wish it was a bit closer as it's too far for my family to visit me on the evening of the op & I'm hoping my sis will fetch me out the next day & I don't want to impose on her too much.

I'm due to go for my initial consultation in Derby next Monday (18th August) & I am hoping my concerns will be addressed there, but I thought I'd ask here too beforehand. I've had type II diabetes for the last 4 years (at least), managed by insulin (novomix 30 twice a day) & metformin (1000mg twice a day) since my heart attack 2 years ago. I've got on with the insulin very well so they kept me on it beyond the initially planned 6 months. Naturally I am hoping that eventually my weight will end up low enough for me come come off all diabetes medications, however my concern at the moment is eating so little post-op & knowing how much insulin to take. I've never had a hypo (luckily) so I have no experience of what it actually feels like & I live alone too so the thought of it happening is scaring me quite a lot. I'd love to hear the experiences of anyone else in the same position.

You've had me studying fish recipes Kev :biggrin: Congrats, I love reading your blog :smile:

You will be banded by now Shanaz, hope everything's gone great & you're feeling well xxxx

Oooh Ann, you just made me feel so good that your op was performed by Mr Ahmed :biggrin: You're the first person I've met who has known him. Sorry to hear about your flipped port, I hope it's sorted now. Steve, Derby haven't started doing bypasses yet. I phoned Kay on Friday to discuss my options & she told me that they are hoping to start doing them in January, but at the moment they send their bypass patients to Leeds. She threw another spanner into my decision works because she told me that with my relatively 'low' BMI of 38.1, Leeds may not accept me for bypass surgery. My weight is 17st 9lb, but my considerations for bypass aren't so much about weight, it's about type 2 diabetes. Emotionally I cope with diabetes pretty well & manage my blood sugars fairly well too. Kay told me that 48% of type 2 diabetics see a total reversal of their diabetes eventually after a band, due to weight loss alone. This is a great figure, but it's not as good as 84% seeing instantaneous results after bypass. Friday, Saturday, now Sunday & my sway is towards band again. Monday isn't here yet, I might change my mind again lol

June, that's all such fantatic news & I had a massive grin spreading across my face the more I read into your story :biggrin: Friday, Saturday, now Sunday my decision is stuck on BAND - that doesn't mean I'll not change my mind again on Monday lol I talked to my bariatric team nurse on Friday & I've made an appointment with my diabetic nurse for 2nd September to discuss coming straight off insulin. Then what the bariatric nurse has suggested is watch my sugar levels & weight closely over the next month, whilst I'm also exercising hard at the gym & phone her for another chat at the end of the month. She's still supportive of my being on the band waiting list (still waiting for confirmation of that in writing) & she urged me not to rush any decision. She also told me that 48% of type 2 diabetics eventually see a total reversal of their diabetes after banding due to their weight loss alone. That's not a bad figure but 84% & instantaneous is better. Anyone got a coin for me to flip? lol (only j/k)

I'm in this place of confusion at the moment Nicole. I saw the consultant & his team for my initial appointment last Monday, all organised, researched, prepared & even excited about the thought of a band. THEN I saw him last of the day & he says he thinks bypass would be the better option for me, mainly because of the frankly amazing & instantaneous results on 84% of type 2 diabetics undergoing bypass surgery. My BMI is 'only' 38.1 so I'd considered bypass too drastic an op for me, now I'm just confused & changing my mind daily & sometimes even hourly. My family & friends are 100% supportive of whatever I decide, but all have said they would feel happier about me going for the less invasive procedure of the band. I phoned the team nurse Friday & she was very helpful, but confused me more really because she said she didn't mention bypass to me as she thinks I'd succeed with a band & my BMI being relatively 'low'. She also told me that 48% of type 2 diabetics find their diabetes 'reversed' within 2 yrs of banding, basically due to the weight loss. 48% is a great figure, but 84% & instant is better..... oh I'm :confused2: Another consideration that the nurse told me is that Derby don't currently do bypass surgery but are hoping to from January. They currently send their bypass patients to Leeds - who may not consider my BMI of 38.1 high enough to perform a bypass. Good news is, they let me know within 4 weeks if they are accepting me for surgery. Both the consultant & the nurse have now told me they were recommending me for it & the consultant said he would recommend putting me on the band waiting list & then I can change to bypass if I want after reading more about it. So I am under no pressure to make my decision :thumbup: Got job, innit? :smile:

On Monday I had my initial appointment at Derby Royal Infirmary. I saw the new guy on the team Mr (Dr?) Ahmed. Very nice bloke. If anyone's expecting to see him have no qualms whatsoever, he's lovely. I felt that my appointment went well. They have a case conference after the day's appointments & let you know if they're accepting you for surgery in about 4 weeks' time. The nurse said that she couldn't see any reason why I'd be turned down & she thinks I'd benefit from it. I was so relaxed, not at all nervous. I've researched the band very well, I know all about pre & post-op diets & what my life & my eating habits need to be like after the op. I'd looked at gastric bypass, just basically to see what it was, but considered it far too drastic for me & dismissed the idea. One thing I like about the band is that it IS fully adjustable & in extreme circumstances also completely reversible. I'm not viewing it as reversible, but I know the safety net is there. Obviously this is not the case with the gastric bypass. Now this is where I need advice. Mr Ahmed recommended the bypass rather than the band for me. His reason for this is because of the basically amazing results for diabetics. Although a band would help my diabetes because any weight loss helps, there are frankly astounding results with bypasses. I read one study last night involving over 22,000 patients (so not just a paltry 100) & 84% either had their diabetes totally reversed & went home after THREE DAYS on either no medication or very little. I don't feel that I can ignore such statistics, so now I'm in such turmoil. I felt comfortable enough to be able to tell him the thought of the bypass op terrifies me but I will go home & research it much more fully. The way Mr Ahmed left it with me is that he's going to recommend to the rest of the team that I am put on the band waiting list, but if I feel I want to transfer to the bypass one I can do that. I can also make another appointment with him to discuss it further if I want to. I thought I was so confident in my decisions, but now I am not. With all the reading I did in relation to the bypass & diabetes by midnight on Monday I was convinced I wanted a bypass. My next big read has to be diet & eating habits post-op for bypass, I've not read much on that. I'd love to hear any information anyone has on any of the subjects I've mentioned & any advice is very, very welcome. I'd particularly like to hear from anyone who's had a gastric bypass or knows anyone who has.

Wow, that's good that you are off all meds though double I had my initial consultation on Monday. The nurse can't understand why they kept me on insulin so long, so she's suggested I see my diabetic nurse & ask to come off it asap. The surgeon has suggested I have a bypass rather than a band, although he's happy to put me on the waiting list for a band. That's thrown me into complete turmoil now, as I'd considered a bypass far too drastic surgery for me. I've done lots of reading up since Monday on what he told me - he's basically recommending bypass because of the amazing & instantaneous results on diabetes in 84% of cases. I've now read & verified this & I can't ignore such figures. I think I'm now going to change to the bypass waiting list, but not made up my mind for certain yet. I've given myself a deadline of midnight Sunday otherwise I'll be dickering forever.

One more sleep & I have my initial consult tomorrow at Derby Royal Infirmary with Mr Leeder & co. I'm really excited & not at all nervous yet. Waiting lists in Derby are currently running at approx 4 months, so if I get approved I too should be banded by Christmas. I'd really like that more than anything. Vixon & I have gone through all this almost hand in hand so far, it'd be great if we continue that right down the line. I think I'd have still got here eventually but the journey definitely wouldn't have been so comfortable without her support :mad2:

Wishing you all the best travelman :thumbup:

Thanks for the info Steve. My friend was going to take me in car, but it's fallen wrong for his work so I'm going back to plan A & gonna travel on the train cos it's pretty easy from here & I know the train station is not far from the hossie. My GP had to send pre-op blood test results (that's what it said on my blood test form) with the referral. The twice I've phoned the hossie everyone in the bariatric department has been so helpful, every single one of them making me feel like an individual & that they have time for me. On the last call Judy Hand, the appointments clerk, told me the waiting list has been drastically reduced, they now have another consultant in to help with that. Waiting times can be as little as 3 months. I've got a couple of questions, mainly about diabetes & insulin. I'll write them down - good idea Steve, ty. I can't wait !!!!! :thumbup:

Good luck to all of you, especially my darling friend Vix, who holds my hand tight at every stage xxxxxx

Yeah, that'd be the Diabetic Nurse at my local GP's surgery. ty :Banane37:

I've got my first appointment at Derby next Monday, I'm soooo excited !!! I've got the book (questionnaire) to fill in before then, as I glanced through I started looking for where I had to fill in the weight of my daily poop lol What kind of things can I expect on Monday & how long am I likely to be there? I've also got a qualm about my type 2 diabetes & insulin post op - I've posted a question about it on the Diabetics Board, if anyone would like to have a look & give me some advice. I have to say, everything I've read so far about Mr Leeder & his team & the level of care at Derby has been so positive & I even find that nothing is too much trouble for the receptionists when I've had to phone. Even if I was told I could go to closer hossie now I don't think I'd want to.

That's such excellent news Susan & tis where I'm aiming for

ty for reply Lisa. I have glucose tablets or drinks in at all times, but have never needed to use them yet. My blood sugar readings tend to veer on the high side of OK. I've never been low ever. I never thought about my tablets, I'm on so many since heart attack & the metformin is a great big one, so is the atorvasatin 80mg. I'll have to give this more thought if I get the OK for surgery. Last but not least, what's an endocrinologist? I've never heard the word before. Would it be an American phrase for Diabetic Nurse?

Sassy hon, Steve's advice to you was good, supportive advice. He didn't deserve you to attack him because you're in a bad mood, whatever your reasons for that bad mood. You can't just dismiss good advice because you don't like it. You're going to be cut during this operation. Did you know that smoking impedes skin healing? That's on top of all the other bad things smoking does to your body, including added complications under general anaesthetic. The hospital know what they are talking about. I know what I'm talking about too. I had a heart attack at 38 years old, mainly caused by smoking. I haven't had a cigarette since that day, it scared the life out of me. I know I was smoking more than you are, but it's all still very, very bad for you. I've now become the kind of ex-smoker I never wanted to be. I wish the Government would ban it although I know that's never going to happen. Like Steve I want to run up to children in the street & snatch cigs out of their hands & lecture them, but I know I can't do that. I think you owe Steve an apology Sassy & I really hope he hasn't left this forum for good.

That's brilliant news nataflee, at least you got over the first hurdle now :cool: I'm currently under referral to Derby. There's a 7 page referral form your doc has to fill in, detailing things like your previous weight loss history etc, then they ask for blood tests. The actual hospital replied to me within days of receiving my referral, just to let me know they'd received it. My bloods were done a week ago, so I'm hoping for another letter with an appointment date this week. I'm really impressed with everything I've read on this forum & others about Mr Leeder at Derby. Good luck xxx

That's me SickNTired - I'm living on memories atm lol

Ladies (& gents) you've had me in hysterics - great thread !!! (Can I submit my app to the 'whore club too? I'm told I have excellent credentials lol)

Sounds like a good plan to me nataflee lol I too was lucky like serenityyy. I went into the surgery fully prepared to beg, but my GP was all for it instantly, she reckons I'll be an ideal candidate. I've tried many slimming tablets over the years, so that's already on my files, as yours will be. If I were you, especially with your BMI, I'd read up as much as I can on the subject & be prepared to argue the point with her if need be. Try to get her to justify why she's refusing you, if she does. I'd also see another doctor in the surgery too if she says no again. Good luck xxxx

wtg Ann - you go girl !!!! I'm planning to just tell my family & friends - they've all been part of my discussion & consideration process anyway & most are very supportive. No-one's actually been negative although a couple are worried about me going under for the general anaestetic. My parents & sis are 100% supportive though & they are the most important to me :sad:

Hi Carolyn :sad: Good luck to both you & your hubby with your weight losses & even more good luck with your fertility treatment when you eventually get there. Carrie xx