New Blog Website!

I have now started re-blogging about my life in general at this new addy http://ricke17.tumblr.com/

Rick xx

A Year today!

Just a quick update.

Today is my Oppiversary - I had my RnY 1 year ago and have lost 13 stone in total!

Dad's Funeral

Well, it's been 19 days since dad died and today is his funeral and celebration of his life.

I know it will be hard, but with such loving family and friends around us I know it will go well.

Rest In Peace dad.

My Coffee Obsession

I hated coffee pre-op and, in fact, tea also. I would drink 4-6 litres of Diet Coke a day.

Now my tastes have totally change, which isn't unusual after weightloss surgery. Initially all I could drink was de-caff tea with special sweetener (Xylitol) and Lacto-free milk.

When I went to France with my late father and my brothers, I had developed a Hot Chocolate obsession and I pressed the wrong button on a service station machine and out popped a Cafe Latte.

Well now I cannot get enough of Latte's. My local Costa sees me everyday and all I have to do is walk in and a Large Skinny Latte in a Takeaway Cup is ready for me. At £2.50 a go it's proving quite expensive so I bought a Dolce Gusto machine from eBay and I can highly recommend this. A pack of 8 pods cost about £3.21 which is, obviously, much cheaper than a Costa!

I can eat anything and not dump, grrrr

I can eat chocolate, cake, sweets etc and not dump at all - I have asked my bruv not to buy these as I will only nick them and eat them. Grrrrr

OMG!!!!!!!

My brother has only proposed to his chick and she said yes!!!

Congratulations bruv, mum & dad would be VERY proud of you xxx

Hairloss woes

For a few weeks I have noticed that my hair is thining slightly and my hair has been falling out. I kidded myself that with all the vitamins I have been taking it would not happen. I was so fucking wrong, grrrrrr

Dad's Obituary is online

Dad's obituary was printed in todays local paper - sign the guestbook if you like.

Rick.

Dad's died

After a short illness my beloved father died on Friday 4th September 2009.

Rest in Peace dad, you are now together with mum.

OMFG - What a difference!

A friend of mine done this picture for me - can you tell the difference??

Food glorious food

Since my enforced incarceration in April in the nuthouse, I was forced to eat food that I had been avoiding mainly due to the fact I had developed intolerances to shed-loads of things.

One thing that came out of the CBT session on Friday was my lack of dietary intake, so I have been trying newish food again and seem to be able to tolerate a lot of different food as well as being able to eat more of it.

The foods I deffo wanna avoid is bread and cheese as these were my "downfalls" pre-op.

I know what I am like, if I can eat the, ahem, naughty foods again then I will revert to my old habits again which I wanna avoid.

I have also increased my vitamin intake and, FYI, I take the following everyday:

5 x Vitamin B12 Complex tablets
1 x Multivitamins with Iron
1 x Calcium with Vit D
1 x High Strength Vit C

I rattle like a druggie but am feeling a little better from a physical point of view plus I wanna avoid having to have a regular Vit B12 injection.

I am off to my GP's on Friday and a mate of mine recommended I ask for the following blood tests on a regular basis considering Homerton have been so crap with aftercare:

FBC
Renal Function
Liver Function
Calcium
Vitamin B12
Ferratin

Oh, and am drink Skinny Latte's like they're outta fashion!!!

CBT

Well I had my second session of CBT on Friday which went well. I am not a big fan of CBT since I think it is just a quick fix, but the techniques I was taught seem to be useful in helping me change my attitude to my body image.

I gotta see her again in a few months and take a CBT diary with me which I gotta try to keep.

Plastic Fantastic!

Well I went to Homerton Hospital today with my mates and saw the plastic surgeon!

I can have plastics and he said I can have my moobs, arms, thighs and total tummy tuck done!

Now gotta wait for him to write to my GP to ask the GP to write for funding from the local PCT!

Rick x

Good and Bad News....... Grrrrrrr

First the bad news...........

I was referred to Queens Square Neurological Hospital a while ago and my appointment was on Tuesday. I had 2.5hrs of tests on my lower legs and arms (I have developed foot drop in my right and left feet) - it was a very bizarre procedure where they tested my nerves and muscles - it was uncomfortable but bearable. Then I saw the physiotherapist who fitted me with a foot brace which, although weird, kinda resolved my foot drop in my right foot and then I saw the consultant who said he'd call me on Thursday with the results. Thursday came and the doc called me to tell me that I had Nerve Compression problems which could be related to my previous morbid obesity, it could be "just one of those things" or it could be hereditary. I gotta go for DNA blood tests as some point to determine whether it is hereditary or not. There is NO treatment and the condition MAY improve. Dead upset about this.

Now the good news.......

I had a letter from Homerton Hospital to say that I had been refereed to the plastic surgery team and asking me to ring for an appointment! The appointment is this Monday at 7PM!!!! Am dead excited and I have already got the Hampshire PCT guidelines to refer too!

OMFG!!!!!! I is so shocked!

I just worked out my BMI and it is 24.7 - WTF??!!

I am now in the NORMAL weight range for my height!

Dead chuffed.

Rick xxxxx

A positive article about WLS

This is interesting reading!

Rick x

A lovely weekend

Once a month, since January 2009, I attend an East London WLS Support Group which I and a friend set up.

This months group was in Walthamstow and boy what a huge turn out - Cost Coffee must have been rubbing their hands together! It was good to see all my friends and their changing body sizes. It's reassuring when people you don't often see, can see that you are changing even if you feel you aren't. We were gossiping until 6ish and I got back to Aldershot around 8pm.

That evening my brother and his chick and I went to the local fag bar and after a few mouthfuls of wine I was pissed!!! I boogied until 2am and then, a little worse for wear, came home. It was fun!

The downside of Rapid Weight Loss

Well, I seem to have plateaued at the moment with my weight just over 15stone.

I have shedloads of excess skin mainly on my tummy, back, above my cock and my butt. It really gets me down as I still think I look fat and when looking at myself in the mirror butt naked, I look awful.

Being gay and appearing this way is awful too. I thought that losing all this weight would have all these cute gay guys falling at my knees; how wrong I was. I've had a bit of attention in some of the gay bars but not that much. It draws me to the conclusion that I was correct in my assumption that I will NEVER meet anyone in gay places as the MAJORITY of guys who go here are pretentious body fascists. Grrrrr.

I will, hopefully, get funding from my PCT for plastic surgery and wonder once I have all my excess skin removed whether I will feel differently about the gay scene and, most importantly, about myself.

I have joined a different gay social networking website and am hoping to meet like-minded non-pretentious guys from there!

Stay tuned!!

A night out with the gays!!

Since my rapid weight-loss I have grown in confidence in some ways.

I have been to London a few times on my own to go shopping and ventured into a few gay bars!

This time last year I would NEVER EVER go since, I am fat and ugly init.

Now tonight my brother cannot make it to accompany me to the local gay bar in Aldershot - The Lord Campbell - so I may venture there on my own. I went there last Saturday and it was pretty empty but the people there were real friendly. The other option is to go to Guildford and the gay bar there is called Scrumptious - I went there once before and it was pretty empty too. It looks like local fags go to London which I cannot afford at the moment.

Rick xx