CowgirlJane

I was filled with terror. I put off the decision for a long time, mostly because I fear all medical procedures. It wasn't actually nearly as bad as I had feared it would be and I am so glad I went for it. Look at my stats, dropping 85+ pounds since December, wow - I am now starting to live a life that i want - it was so worth it! A week before the surgery I had my final appointment with the surgeon. I told him that I was totally committed to doing this, I knew I needed it, but I was having a hard time controlling my anxiety. It would hit me at night when trying to fall asleep especially, and it was escalating... getting worse and worse the closer I got to the date. He gave me a mild sedative that I used for the next week right before bedtime and it made a huge difference! Being able to sleep helped me feel better overall so the anxiety started to lose it's grip on me. By the day of the surgery, I was a little worried, but my much stronger feeling was "Let's do this!!! Can't wait to get started and lose this weight." Just having a little help getting my anxiety under control really turned it around and I went into the operating room (unmedicated) with normal vital signs and not feeling that crushing anxiety feeling. I remember talking to the anesthesialogist and actually being more curious about things then fearful. I think I need to get that for dental work too - I really am a medicalphobe.

Welcome! My experience is that the sleeve is much better then the band. I don't have any of the problems I had with the lapband.

A bit of advice, stop being so focused on the scale, on how you "compare" to what you PERCEIVE to be expected weight loss. Focus on the journey, new habits, following the rules. Focus on your new life that will becoming so real as the pounds come off. I personally went through a bit of a "malaise" when I was about 6-8 weeks out. I am not sure why... but maybe it was because I had gone through it all, i was still pretty dang fat, nobody could see the difference and I didn't like that food didn't taste good anymore. I was also SOOO tired. My advice on the exhaustion is to get plenty of sleep, be sure you are getting adequate fluids and try to do at least some gentle exercise because that will actually help your energy pick up. I would say that my energy wasn't really back to normal until I was two months out. You will find, that one day you are wearing clothes several sizes smaller, people are saying "wow, you look great" and you notice you can move and do things so much easier. It is like it just takes a while but it really does add up and in a few more months i promise you will feel better. Just keep on following the rules and keep the faith.

There must be other hospitals where you can have the surgery! Maybe it is my age, I don't know, but i have reached the point where it just doesn't matter much what others think. They weren't the ones hauling around an extra 150# like I was... they weren't the ones facing the health issues.. physical pain and of course losing the ability to do the stuff I want to do. Even so, have the surgery somewhere else. When you lose weight and people comment, just smile and thank them for noticing and walk away. When they ask why you eat so little, tell them you are on a a diet where you eat smaller portions more times per day and trying to get healthier - if you feel the need to say anything at all. This is your struggle, this is your journey and if people wont support you, the heck with em, it is none of their business!

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea a few years ago. What I was told is that there is no increased risk DURING surgery, it is the first 24 hours after because the after effect of the anethesia suppresses your breathing. This has really become a big deal since so many surgeries are outpatient now (I am talking all surgeries, not specific to sleeve). Anyway, I took so long to decide to get the sleeve, that the rules changed while I was in the process. I too had to stay the night and the main reason was to monitor my oxygen level. In my case, it never went below like 96 even though i did doze off a few times without my CPAP. Some people have a really bad attitude toward being treated for their sleep apnea. I was reading local death statistics. I was amazed at how many people that are not exactly elderly (40s-60s) die of "natural causes." I think that means drop dead due to no obvious illness - and I often wonder how much of that is rooted in sleep apnea? That condition increases your odds of so many issues (stroke, obesity etc). Anyway, it made me take it seriously.

I did a two week very low carb diet prior to surgery. I could eat food and I still thought it was really tough! Probably the toughest thing was actually coming to grips with the decision to proceed. I was pretty torn, I knew I needed something, but I didn't really want to do it. The worst single moment was waking up from the surgery. My first memory was of some mean people (haha) making me get up to walk to another recliner to rest on. They said, the sooner you walk, the better you will feel. At that moment, if I had the strength, I would have slapped somebody. lol. I felt better in a few minutes. Maybe because I was expecting the worst.... overall things weren't as bad as I expected them to be!

I think most of us are nervous about "failing" a second time. I had the band for 10 years and was not successful. The band is not a great tool, but I spent some time reflecting on how I contributed to the less then stellar results. I feel that thinking about that, and vowing to not repeat those same mistakes has helped me so far in my success the sleeve. I have heard that some revisions don't do that well - because they have become desensitized to having a "full" feeling up near the espophogus. I don't know if that is true, but i had pouch dialiatino pretty bad after my 10 years with the band, so I guess that applies to me. i have been super aware and really taking seriously the eating rules. I also picked a medical practice that has tons of followup. I didn't get that with the band (just fills and unfills) and I think that has also helped me. I have lost 85+ pounds since I started my preop diet Dec 1 (lost 8 pounds before my surgery on 12/12/11). I am really happy with that progress, the nutrionalist says that is every bit as good as a typical sleeve patient so i have so far avoided making those mistakes.

Don't be embarrassed! Stalls are a normal part of this jouney and one about 2-3 weeks out hits most people. Here is a short article that explains it well: http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html

I do high intensity Water aerobics most every Tuesday and Thursday. On Tuesday, my swimsuit about fell off (I bought it in February when I was still about a 24W or thereabouts) so when I saw that Macys had clorine resistant suits for 50% off I had to snap one up. I was so excited to pick a black suit with hot pink trim including a zipper up the front! My inner thighs are gross so I wear these sorta bicycle short things under the suit. the total effect isn't too hideous. The suit I had before was a tankini worn with shorts which was great at first, but when it got too big, it was a little bit of a train wreck. It did cover my thighs, but I was in danger of stepping out of the pool and leaving the suit behind - something I DON'T want to have happen! Anyway, NSV #1 - I fit into and 18! Not an 18W, and actual honest to goodness 18! I started in the 26W range, and what a difference! NSV #2 - I had 3 people in my water aerobics class come up and tell me how good I looked, how i must have lost weight suddenly and how much they liked the suit. I saw these same people on Tuesday, but wearing a dumpy looking too big suit just isn't flattering and they really noticed the difference. I am starting to feel so much closer to "normal" sized even though I still have a lot to lose.

YES! I have written a few long posts about how this has changed my life - in summary, I am living a life I want to live now. I started out 150 pounds overweight - it is pretty hard to emjoy a full life carrying that load. I have had no serious complications and LOVE being free of the overwhelming drive to eat.

What a great post! I admire any of you that can succeed at losing anything in the 6 months pre-op phase. It wasn't required by my insurance, and I was actually GAINING weight in the months leading up to surgery. My eating was out of control and no matter what i tried, i just couldn't seem to reign it in. I too am so happy with my sleeve and will be six months out June 12. These are happy days!

Exercise will tone muscles, but I am skeptical that it solves loose skin. I started much bigger then you, but my problem is more my inner thighs and stomache and arm batwings. My butt is shrinking, but not having any problem with sagging ... yet. I strength train and all that and under the fat and lose skin I can definately tell I am getting toned muscles under there. I suggest elliptical, or if you walk, hills will really help too. You can do squats, lunges and a number of other good exercises too. check out this link http://exercise.about.com/od/butthipsthighs/tp/butt.htm

If you started out with a small amount to lose, losing 35 pounds in two months might be a really good rate of weight loss! If you started out with 70# to lose - that is half!!! I can't see your stats, so I don't know if that is your situation, but consider thinking in terms of excess weight lost instead of just number of pounds. Some of the really big guys can lose like 60 or more in a single month!!! It is just not fair to compare yourself to others, especially if they have more to lose, are younger, etc etc. I had a failed lapband that was implanted in 2001. i wasn't really successful with that, and while I can blame the band for it's failings, the truth of the matter is I contributed to that lack of stellar success because I didn't really know how to properly use the tool to it's full advantage. I can go on and on about that, but a couple of the things that really held me back was thinking I could still eat like people around me did, just small portions. Small portions - ha! i would go to a business lunch and not even be able to clear a spot on my plate before needing to hurl. It was awful and humiliating I now understand and keep myself out of those situations - early out, I need to eat REALLY small portions. A few years out, maybe it is different, but for right now I avoid social situations that are beyond my ability to manage the food. (It is easier though with the sleeve for lots of reasons and I don't hurl when I eat at a public event). Another mistake I made was believing some of the conventional wisdom at the time. I lost 70# in the first year, lots of exercise, trying to diet etc. I was told by a nurse and "experienced bandster" that if I didn't lose 100# in the first year, I had pretty much failed. What the !$%?? I fell for that and felt like a failure even after losing 70#. It is all well and good that a doctor is disappointed with your weight loss, too bad, makes his stats look bad? In my mind, the thing to do is follow the rules, follow the guidelines and your body will lose on it's own sweet timeline. So what if it takes longer then other people's preconceived notions? Ok, i see what yo mean by eating normal foods. I eat dinner with my family. That is pretty much all homecooked, but we do occasionally have a restaurant meal or a frozen entree (at home convenience food). I personally have made the choice to basically avoid fast food but that is just because I eat so little - i want the good stuff! Of course, sometimes it is all there is available. Due to work and school, we don't tend to share other meals and Snacks. I veer off course from what they are eating then - especially the snacks. I have a Protein snack and they tend to have junk food or dessert or fruit for snacks. I moved all the snacky foods to a special cabinet that I just don't open the door. Before that, i was sampling chips or crackers or a cookie from time to time - and it wasn't what I really wanted it is just the visual cue set me off. The drinking with eating thing... I am told that is a big deal. What is strange is that it has two problems that are almost opposites. First, it can make you too full (without you maybe realizing it) and an overfull tummy will start to lose its feeling of restriction. That is a bad thing, a little bit of stretching that happens over a period of time. The opposite problem is that a tummy that has had liquids shortly before eating seems like some "slider" foods go down too easy and you might overeat. We all have to make our choices, and I personally have found this one of the hardest changes to make but I have made it. I "failed" with a lapband and I have learned my lesson and more, again, my personal decision to be pretty strict about following the guidelines. In the past, I have always drank Water with meals. In fact, I have always drank a very large glass, with meals. I wonder in restrospect if that is how I made my stomach so big before surgery? I think it is very normal to get hungry 3 hours after eating - I generally do. The key is to plan meals and snacks around that so you are not tempted to have BLTs (you know, bites, licks and tastes) or graze. A high protein snack like beef jerky or whatever you like will fill that stomach and make it easier to avoid snacky food. This journey requires ALOT more planning then how i used to eat. Actually, I think that was my fundamental problem before. I would get over hungry and then not be able to resist eating whatever was convenient and/or have too big of portions. One time, since being sleeved, I came home famished after about 6-7 hours of not eating and I had been out doing trail riding with my friends - so exerting energy in that whole process (more then just riding, horse stuff takes exertion!). I came home and started to eat something and I realized I was just about inhaling it. I removed myself from the kitchen and gave it 20-30 minutes for my brain to catch up so I didn't over eat. It was really hard though because I was starving and when you eat fast, you don't give your stomach a chance to report to the brain that it is full. I really try to eat a snack now if I am more then about 3-4 hours since eating, especially if I have been exercising or otherwise exerting. For what it is worth I have a few suggestions. If you don't journal your food (100%!) start doing that. If you don't weigh and measure - start doing that too. I am 5 1/2 months out and I eat about 1/2 cup of food at a time if it is relatively dense, a bit more if it is something that smushes down alot when you chew it. What this can do is make you really deliberate on what you are eating, quantity at a time, how much protein, how much water etc. If you are already weighing, measuring and recording obsessively (I was) consider stopping that for a while. My nutrtionalist has me use tiny plate, my "bowl" is 4 oz filled to the rim and I eat with appetizer utinsils. Because I always use those, I can estimate serving sizes pretty well. It sounds crazy, but my weight loss rate picked up again AFTER I stopped recording food! The NUT felt I was eating "by the numbers" rather then listening to my body. Now, I try to stop when I am no longer hungry (not waiting until I am full). I don't know if I am eating more or less than I was before, but it is working. My biggest downfall is I want to eat late in the evening. I know it is a bad habit, but I haven't been able to break it. What I do instead is plan a snack for it. I used to just try to resist and then I would eat anyway.... now it is part of my overall "daily plan" . I truly believe that kicking the exercise intensity up is what is helping me keep losing now. I realize I could hit a long stall at anytime and it will bum me out.... everytime I see a slowdown in my average weekly weight loss (I don't worry about a single week, I am talking about trends here) I change SOMETHING up. So far, that has worked. I lost more weight in months 4 and 5 then I did months 2 and 3 and alot of that is figuring some of this stuff out. So, I am sorry if this sounds like a lecture. I don't mean it that way, but I made alot of mistakes when I was banded and I am working hard to not repeat that. I am sharing what I learned from the school of hard knocks so hopefully others can benefit from some of my education without having to do it themselves.

So sorry to hear of this, i hope it turns out to be "nothing" and you can get rescheduled. i too would have been horribly disappointed {{hugs}} Good remarks in here about the preop diet. Mine was 2 weeks of lowcarb, under 40 total carbs a day. I was so paranoid that the second week I was staying under 20 total carbs a day. I about passed out I felt so horrible and weak, but doc reported no fatty liver so I was happy. Seems weird I only lost 8 pounds, but I wasn't necessarily eating low calorie. I don't really understand the docs that have people do the colon cleanse or whatever - to the best of my knowledge, liver shrinking which is done by low carbing is the purpose of the preop diet.

Oh, and I took me longer then 6 weeks before I needed new clothes! Honestly, the first 35-45 pounds seemed hardly noticable but now people say they do a double take when they see me. I was wearing 26-28W and then one day, I was in 22Ws - I somehow skipped right over the 24W! Now, I am wearing 18W and it is incredible how much smaller that is then the 26Ws I was wearing just a few months ago! Sometimes you just can't see the progress, but it really is happening.

What do you mean by "eating normally"? Most of us have instructions to eat several small meals a day, to not have beverages with food, to chew slowly, to eat Protein first followed by healthy veggies... not really room for other stuff. I eat a variety of foods but i don't think most people would consider what I just described as "eating normally" - especially the no beverages with food. I am sorry you are depressed, it is easy to get caught up in comparing yourself to others. It helped me alot to think in terms of percentage of excess weight. If you have 50 to lose, losing 25 is half way there. It isn't fair to compare yourself to someone who has 200 to lose for example. I have done great, am thrilled with my progress, 85 pounds in just over 5 months - couldn't be happier. However, if i get caught up in comparing, i read lots of people talking about how awful it is to be basically the same weight i am now! They are STARTING where I am at now and I feel like i have already scaled a mountain. Anyway, my point is really that this is an individual journey. We all lose at different rates. Some are steady, some seem to do it in sprints and then have a stall. If you are following doctors instructions, and avoiding snacking while following the "rules" the weight will come off. At about 6 weeks out, I upped my exercise intensity as I had been walking and wanted to kick it up a notch. That has worked great for me and I am loving a more intense routine.

I am guessing that people who decided against the surgery would not post to or read this forum regularly. For me, i know from my history the last few years that i just regain... like was already said, I need help with the keeping it off too!

I disagree that vomiting is common with the beginning with the sleeve. I have vomited (small) 2-3 times max in the 5+ months since surgery and each time was due to eating too fast right around month 2 or 3 as I was expanding my food etc. Since then, NOT a problem - it is great! I think the sleeve is SO much better then that lapband (had it for 10 years!), but you do need to exercise and follow eating guidelines to acheive the best results. I think you are likely to do much better with the sleeve, but it doesn't change the underlying "rules" - I just think it is so much easier to follow the rules now.

I didn't start wearing spanx etc until after significant weight loss. It takes like a size off me!

I am so glad you are reaching out. I of course don't know your life situation, but that first few months, just post op changes creates such emotional upheaval. I would NOT make any major /life altering decisions the first few months post op.

If you have had a chance to read some of the threads on here you will hear lots of revision stories. In summary, no food intolerances, little portions of healthy food. I love it that I can eat a bit of salad and so far no problems with any veggies. Sleeve is just a whole different experience. You are wise to seek a surgeon with lots of revision experience.

Started at 51/ 5 months out and i am at 37 now!

I have a hard time with that statement "there is no downside". It seems like he is talking about as it relates to hormones, reproductive health etc, not as a broad statement.

I looked alot worse at 308 then their model does...

BeaniesMom, there is a thread on the revision board called something like "are we jumping into this too soon". It is a great discussion with inputs from many people on exactly the topic of why people are making the leap to the sleeve. In summary, for me, it is because I was out of options and I wanted to live a normal life instead of one with so much excess weight i cant do the things I love. We don't have all the long term data on the sleeve yet, and it is a bit of a gamble, but a calculated one. i have gacked up with the sleeve I think twice in 5 months, lets just say that I probably averaged 2x a WEEK with the band during the era when it had any fill in it. Both times it happened I was just eating too fast. With the sleeve I do not need to eat super slow, but I need to give time for my head to catch up to my stomach's signals of "enough" and few times I wasn't successful at that. I do not have problems with specific foods with the sleeve, but I don't tolerate spicy food as well and honestly my TASTE BUDS have changed. I can't explain that one, but some foods I just can't stand the taste of now and nothing tastes as good as I remember it. It is a little sad, but I also consider it a huge benefit - things that used to make my mouth Water at just the thought are now kinda "ho hum". What a relief!