FifiLux

So my update..... On Friday afternoon I sent my CT scan imaging and report from the week before to the professor who is giving me my second opinion on whether I needed further surgery. Within two hours he rang me to say that it is not a case that the clip should come out because it could impact my quality of life or a reaction but that it MUST come out asap as the area around it is infected and I have what is called a superinfection. It appears that one of the leaks from two years ago has not healed, it was just being held together by the clip and if the clip is removed the leak is there!! He wants to remove the clip and then put in a pigtail (coil tube thingy) into the hole so the stomach will heal around it and then the pigtail will either pass through in a few months or can be removed easily at a later date - this is what he did before to stop the other leak and it worked successfully. And just for clarification, his hospital are not the ones who fitted the clip, that was done by my original local hospital who did the sleeve surgery. Anyway it is a special machine that has to be brought on site to do the procedure so I will travel there (Belgium) at the weekend and have the procedure this day next week. I still don't feel great but the antibiotics are helping though I am struggling to eat (no interest) so have lost almost 3kg in the last two weeks.

Thanks, they are my Victoria Beckham jeans which I treated myself to with birthday money I received. Wish I could afford them in various colours but not until I win the lottery.

So tomorrow is two years from when I had my sleeve surgery, though it is only just over one year since my last procedure due to all my post of complications, and a few weeks ago I turned 50. Here is a picture of me at 40 and a picture at 50. My weight back in May 2015 was about 130kg (20st / 286lb), it went up and down in the years between to where I was 120kg before surgery and now I am between 63 & 65kg (10st/141lb) so I am now half the person I used to be. 40yrs vs 50yrs The last two weeks I have had really bad abdominal pain on and off and when it showed no signs of improvement I went to the emergency department where my bariatric surgeon had some of his team waiting for me. After CT scan and blood tests it showed my abdominal area was very inflamed but no infection thankfully so they hooked me up to painkillers and sent me home with a prescription for more pain killers (tramadol) and muscle relaxers. Yesterday I had my follow up and the surgeon has said that following a review of my results it looks like the clip that they had to place when I had my leak is now causing a reaction so I have to continue on the pain meds plus add in antibiotics for a couple of weeks. The surgeon has said the clip has to come out as it is a matter of quality of life for me going forward as he says the pain can come back any time in the future if left it. The choices he gave are that it can be done by open surgery to remove (which he says is his second choice) and his preference is to do a revision surgery to bypass. Given all the sleeve post op complications I told him that I didn’t want to go down a surgical route, especially back in the same hospital but he feels this is the best option though he did say I could of course get a second opinion. So I have done just that, I contacted one of the surgeons (a mentor of my bariatric surgeon) who I had to be transferred to when my leak would not heal (the one who had to ft the pigtail/tube in my stomach) and he has said from looking at my files he believes it can be removed without the need for surgery and can see me in two weeks time to review my case and check scans so fingers crossed he can do something endoscopic wise. I am due to get my arm lift surgery end of October so if I had to have stomach surgery in the next few months I wouldn’t then be able to get my lift. Obviously that is not a reason to decline the surgery if it is the best and only option but it would be great to get everything resolved without stomach surgery and still be able to get my arm lift.

I found pilates great as my first exercise to do regularly post sleeve. I did it once or twice a week for six months and it helped build up my strength. I would have stayed going but the place closed down and I joined a gym instead (can't afford both) .

I'm exhausted just reading all that 😂

Delighted to hear how well you are doing and the impact you can already see (and not feel 😁) in your daily life. How did the immediate recovery period go, did you need a lot of help, bed rest etc.?

I used to regularly get similar cramps but since my sleeve surgery, doing more exercise and losing weight they are thankfully less frequent though when I do still get one they can still be so bad I almost vomit. Something I am using most nights is a massage roller on my feet and legs and I find it can help. When I do get a cramp, if I can manage it (sometimes is too bad to do more than walk and stretch it out) I will roll on the area and massage it out. I also take electrolyte powder a few nights a week if needed.

Wow so restrictive on the veg, did the doctor tell you why? I have never heard of that before, I was made have veg from day one on liquids by way of soup. If your bariatric team are not going to allow you veg (fruit I can understand being a no) then surely they should provide you with a bit of a menu guide, my team gave me recopies and food lists for each stage, and veg and even fruit were allowed throughout by way of a slow reintroduction. In the puree stage I had a homemade bolognese (though it had tomatoes and bit of carrot) and chili con carne (again has tomatoes but pureed right down so might be ok for you depending on why you are so restricted) and the kidney beans are a good protein, dhal. What about some hummus, can get different flavoured ones to kick up the flavour a bit? Omelets that you can then add seasoning/spices to?

Sorry you are in so much pain. I have a B12 deficiency (pernicious anemia) and a some of your symptoms are what I suffered from before my diagnosis and now when my level starts to drop, though I was diagnosed about 12 years ago so way before my WLS. My anaemia cannot be managed through oral supplements or food (as my body does not break down the B12 sufficiently) but the bariatric multivitamin I take daily and dairy products do help maintain my levels in addition to regular B12 injections (every four to six weeks). I think getting a B12 supplement and multivitamins should be top of your list, if you don't already take them but obviously that is not going to solve all the issues you are having with hernia and such. Make sure you get an appointment with the bariatric team to discuss everything with them and request full bloodwork and then also keep the appointment for the ultrasound etc. Hopefully you will get some answers soon that result in a course of action that will treat the cause and end the pain.

So my win yesterday was being able to comfortably fit into my new Victoria Beckham jeans, size 8UK / 4US, and eat a meal (2 mini slider burgers less the buns) without fearing I would split the zip

Thanks. I am happy with how I look, most days I guess like most people. I never had any belief that my legs would miraculously get thin following the WLS so never contemplated shorts, skirts etc but did hope that I might manage to fit in to industry standard boots or possibly look ok in leggings, neither of which look possible at the moment anyway and with summer now approaching I can't wear most styles of sandals due to the fatty deposits on each foot so my trust Skechers it will be for the foreseeable Compression garments are prescribed for lipoedema, at least in the EU. The compression was to help ease the swelling and pain and they did a bit but they are now too big for me so don't serve their purpose.

Yes, I have type III lipoedema as diagnosed by two GP and a specialist consultant plus confirmed by my bariatric team and a cosmetic surgeon and in addition other female family members have the same condition. Before my sleeve I was at stage 3 but now I am, thankfully, closer to a stage 2 appearance wise. I have been prescribed compression clothing in the past but it just helped ease the pain/heaviness, I did not see any physical improvement. I have prescriptions for drainage massage which does help a bit. It is on each leg but not as pronounced in the upper area now that I have lost weight and is not an issue for me the way the lower part is, from just above my knees to my feet. I just did not see the need to go into all of this personal information to ask the question I did above. About the machines I am having my doubts as the more I read about it, people have to keep going to maintain the losses they may be achieving which then means it is not sustainable as far as I can tell and becomes a money pit. I will be postponing my appointment this weekend, for other reasons, and unless I come across some startling new information I will probably not reschedule.

I am doing a trial session of hypoxi (https://www.hypoxi.com/en/) on Saturday as I am hoping it will help with the bad lipoedema in my calves and ankles which I feel kind of takes away from all the weight loss and how well I have done over the last almost two years as I still can't wear anything that does not cover it all up as I am so self conscious about and it depresses me a bit as I can't see that I will ever reach my dream of being able to wear calf high boots. I haven't been given a price list yet, as Saturday is a trial, but I am sure it will be very costly so don't want to get sucked into a gimmick and I was wondering if anyone else has done sessions to help with toning (not necessarily lipoedema related) and if you have any feedback? The one immediate good thing I can see from what I have read is that I won't have a problem following their nutrition guidelines which is not to have high fat or high carb foods a couple of hours before a session and or for a few hours after a session.

It could be from the gas used during the operation and if so it is totally normal and takes a few days to leave the body, walking helps. I had it when I had my gall bladder removed many years ago and it was so bad I felt physically ill. I was expecting it again after sleeve was prepared with wind-eze which I did indeed need for a couple of days to help.

Congratulations. Look forward to hearing your updates.