CowgirlJane

Thanks for the inspiration! I too am very scared/worried about this surgery.

My PCP had not heard of the gastric sleeve either. She was fairly anti-WLS previously, but has recently changed her mind. Her reason? She has had several patients in the 40-60 age range, that were 100+ pounds overweight just up and DIE in their sleep. She tells me that being so overweight, and being middle aged is a deadly combination. She would prefer that I lose weight without WLS, but, most importantly is to get the weight OFF.

The port isn't near the bellybutton. I will tell you that my port scar was very different then the little keyholes for the laproscopic surgery - the port scar was more of a thin line. I think the people in the docs office are just saying band since that is what they mostly do...

Well, my insurance has approved both surgeries, but I am having trouble figuring out a good window to take a bunch of time off from work. I am also having some scheduling challenges on the homefront I am so looking forward to having the band removed, but I am still pretty nervous about the sleeve - I have decided to proceed, but I feel like I want some things in life settled before taking on such a major thing. I have been gaining weight (up 5 pounds in 2 months) ever since I started seriously investigating the sleeve, so I absolutely must do something! I am having some challenges on the homefront due to my husband having a serious health issue he simply refuses to address; this has been going on since mid June. I wind up feeling guilty about planning to have the sleeve, and asking for the family help and support while in the meantime he is getting sicker. It is a strange set of emotions and I fear proceeding with the surgery until this is sorted out. I am frustrated because I don't see any progress on sorting this out - feels like long term limbo.

I can see both sides of this. I think you will still be the same person, so I wouldn't worry so much about that. For me, the question would be how much will a new relationship distract me from the goal of getting this weight off? the honeymoon period for WLs is short, and I plan to try to do everything in my power to not be distracted from that complete focus. Of course, I already have hubby and kids.... so have plenty of distractions...lol

Thanks for sharing this info. It is great to hear that your wife is doing so well so many years out. My thought is that if i really can;'t keep the weight of with the sleeve, i would consider the DS, but not the bypass, for the reasons you mention.

I sorta think blenders are a pain to clean properly... but I like their ice crushing ability. What do you think is the most convenient, easy to clean, handiest way of mixing Protein? I never really liked using a shaker since not all mix that well (although it has been years since I tried this).

I was diagnosed last year. I use the "nasal pillows" which work great for me. My son (skinny and young so not all apnea is weight related) cant stand that type of mask and does better with something that is more of a traditional mask. I find that you just have to persist (and change masks if you need to). I go through periods of time when i wake up with the mask laying on the bed next to me. It is like i took it off and dont remember it.... it is still worth it to keep trying because most of the time I sleep through the night now (except for one potty wake) and I never used to.

I am still trying to get scheduled on the band removal, but i just got word my insurance approved the sleeve! woo hoo!

Yes, my biggest problem is that my husband has some serious issues going on right now... so it is hard to committ to when I can take on the necessary changes brought on by being sleeved. I also have some big work deadlines coming up in the fall... so just working out the logistics is a challenge. I NEED to do this, my weight is such a major issue for me (arthritis pain the biggest concern)... but i have to think of my family and work committments too.

That sounds perfect, and priced quite reasonably! thank you.

My surgeon essentially gave me a choice, but recommended two separate procedures. Here was the reasoning - the risk of leaks is much higher for revisions from the band then normal sleeve surgery. I knew leaks were bad, but reading some of the recovery stories on this board, I have concluded that sometimes they are REALLY bad. The reason for increased incidence of leaks is due to scar tissue and swelling. From what I understood the scar tissue is both thick and doesn't heal quite like "virgin" tissue does. The thickness means sometimes they don't get as good of a staple line. The swelling is just from having a foreign object wrapped around your stomach. He also said that some times there is alike.. an "encrustation" which he tries to peel away. So, he prefers at least 30 days between because it allows at least the swelling to go down. I am not really sure how much it improves the scar tissue. I thought i read a study that there really wasn't much difference in outcomes between doing it all in one versus two separate ones, but i have decided to follow the surgeon's advice. I am pretty scared of a leak and hope to minimize the odds.

I know it sounds crazy, but about a month ago our whole family decided to start eating more natural foods, less processed stuff, no fast food, no sugary food, really trying to clean up our acts. Not a diet, no counting of calories or carbs, but definately a healthier balance of food. I have gained a few pounds doing this and I am pretty freaked out. I think I am eating a lot more fruit, which can be sweet, but seems like it would be a good replacement for the ice cream I used to have for dessert! My husband lost 5 pounds and (grown sons who are living here have stayed the same but one of them is doing yard work as his summer job so has gotten pretty buff from all the hard work so I don't associate that with the dietary changes). I have been circling around trying to learn to eat low carb. I have done nearly every diet out there, but have never done low carb so I am not educated on it. People on here shared some ideas, but I feel like I need structure - I am just feeling the need for a clear plan. I was looking at the atkins website, and I think I could do that induction phase for awhile. I have NO experience with sticking with low carb longer then about 8 hours, so I could really use advice if this is a good jump starter. I just need structure since my habit is definately to eat higher carb foods... i love good / high quality breads and of course my favorite veggies are the starchy ones... I have a business trip coming up in late Sept and dropping a few pounds would really help my comfort level - fitting in the seat as all my recent gain is in the midsection...ugggh. I am trying to get my band removal scheduled as i just got insurance approval, i am a few months away from getting sleeved and I would like to lose, not gain weight between now and then!

Can someone point me to example menus or other suggestions how to stay under 40 G of carbs per day? thanks!

I didn't have great results with the band, but in the early days, the only option was to convert to gastric bypass and I didn't want that, so I just left it in Fluid removed and the band just sat for many years. I was banded in 2001, and weigh more now then when I was banded. I decided to have it removed and replaced with some other WLS a year ago, before I knew it had slipped. I actually think it slipped more recently because i used to have about zero restriction and now I notice I have some. My advice to others is to not do what I did - I should have had it removed 5+ years ago even if it meant no help with keeping weight off.

Were you allowed any Snacks, or was it just the two shakes and the lean and green dinner? thanks!

I checked out my state, eh, i would not say this is a good resource. It listed the 3 surgeons all from the same place, that only does lapbands. I am sure they are fine, but they are not the local "leaders" in bariatric surgery.

Inspiring! thanks for sharing

So, I have known for weeks that my band has slipped and needs to come out. I have GREAT (read expensive) insurance that covers WLS and yet, the approval for the band removal is taking forever. They wanted the psych eval and nutrition assessment for the band removal, which seemed so strange. Luckily, I had those since I had started down the path of a revision to RNY previously... but I still don't have approval to get de-banded! I am super happy with the doctor and support I have found. There is a lot of excitement because they have many successful patients and they have a comprehensive support program. They do a pretty high volume of sleeves and conversions from the band to sleeve, are a center of excellence, all the things you want. I also find the surgeon himself to be well recommended and a real pleasure to interact with. Even with all that, I find that my nagging doubts about the sleeve procedure just won't go away. I feel like I am doing the same thing that I did 10+ years ago when I was banded... which was get pretty excited, see a lot of evidence that it works well in the short term and really going blind in terms of what the future holds. I think I could even get comfortable with taking that risk, since my weight has become such a HUGE obstacle for me - Healthwise and enjoyment of life wise - except for the feeling that I am going to need to stay on a low carb/low cal diet for the rest of my life even with the sleeve... which keeps leading me back to the circle of "why don't I just do that" without surgery. Of course, I have not been successful at keeping weight off long term by dieting. I really worry that I will be one of the "regainers" because although I so much want to make lifestyle changes, I want to not be an overeater, but I have not yet broken free of that so far. I am not a clasic binge eater, but I pretty consistently overeat and it definately has an emotional component. Eating has become sort of an emotional ballast for me - keeps life even and on course I guess. I have been to counseling, I have done alot of different things to try to resolve that - so it is hard for me to understand, really understand, how it will be different this time. It seems like I will do really well, say with weight watchers or something, for a long time and then "boom" something breaks the pattern or disrupts me and I simply cannot get it back. When I was active in the "bandster" support online groups, there was a real focus on basically writing every failure off to the "it's just a tool, you need to make lifestyle changes". I understand, couldn't agree more, except for some of us staying permanently on a diet has not worked well so far. I want it to work, I am very motivated to make it work but I have these visions of being 5+ years out, suffering from terrible reflux (this appears to be a big issue for long term and I don't fully understand why) and being told to follow Atkins or something to keep the weight off. That is a scenerio that makes me feel discouraged. I have thought about the RNY, even considered the more dangerous DS - but I feel very very uncomfortable with both of those procedures as they are even more drastic/invasive then being sleeved. Anyway, that is my vent of the day. This process of making the committment to the procedure, especially if you have been down the road of a procedure (band) that did not deliver what was promised, is a complicated one - at least for me.

Insurance is a puzzle. I knew that my insurance covers WLS and I met all the criteria, but we had a few extra hoops to jump through to get approval for a revision. That extra hoop was easy once I was diagnosed with a slip. Basically, if you had a "failure" of the previous surgery like a slippage it didn't matter your BMI or co-morbidities. Even so, they wanted my NUt and psych assessment to approve the band removal... I think they got wires crossed because that makes no sense. The insurance person said, oh we needed it anyway for the sleeve procedure approval. Anyway, my doc was alarmed by my slip too because even though all Fluid is out he said the band was too tight and it had slipped alot. It is strange because I feel basically no restriction. He too warned me that I could suddenly be totally blocked and require emergency surgery. Tomorrow, I have my EKG which is the last step before the removal - I somehow missed that I needed to do that. Only after the EKG is done will they schedule the removal. Ask your doctor how often the "repositioning" actually works or if it is likely to slip again.

Oh no, don't give up! You are worth more then this - you deserve to get this after all the committment you have already demonstrated. Do a day or two on just protein shakes, go back in and ask to be reweighed and I bet you wil get under that .5 pound. It seems very strange that this happened since our weight fluctuates a bit day to day even if we are on a perfect diet, or even after WLS!!! Demand a recount! Wear lighter shoes! Half a pound - this is really ridiculous.

So, I found out I was approved for band removal, which is done on an outpatient basis. My insurance company called me and reassured me that if I needed to go to the hospital, and stay overnight(s) that would be no problem. They haven't yet approved me for the sleeve, but she told me there were no obstacles - basically indirectly saying I will be approved. I told her that it was a little strange to me to do that in a surgical center (surgery in the am, recover there for the day, go home and then come back the next day for IV fluids and a check - I live 30 minutes away). Anyway, I asked her about that and she said that it is becoming very common for the Band and Sleeve and many other surgeries now. She repeated what my doctor had said - that there are good reasons to NOT be in a hospital with all those sick people...lol. Anyway,I just thought it was interesting as it sounds like recovering at home, in a recovery house, or in a hotel is becoming more common. I have a friend who is a nurse who has volunteered to stay with me for the first day or two if I want... I hate hospitals, so i am very open to this idea and figure that if I am really bad I will ask to be admitted rather then go home as my insurance will cover that.

Good luck and I am sure you will be just fine! BTW, I change my mind about 10 times a day, good thing it will be awhile before I can get the surgery.

I would like to also add that the way death info is gathered is flawed. My sister died of breast cancer that spread to her bones. She died when her spine and ribs essentially collapsed in on her organs. Cause of death on the certificate "heart failure with cancer contributing" what? I was sharing this story with a friend and he told me about his SIL who had terminal lung cancer. She was in the hospital for a treatment and got MRSA and died probably a year sooner due to that. Her death certificate however did not list MRSA, but did list cancer. It makes me very skeptical of WLS death reporting since I suppose that if it happens after surgery it isn't counted as due to WLS. It probably all says heart failure...

It seems to me you have lost ALOT! You are doing great! It does sound like you may be dehydrated - that makes me feel terrible (I havve not been sleeved, but have had dehydration and it is awful). If it were me, I would be confiding in the surgeon on this... and perhaps even ASK for the IV fluids to get you jump started. I hope you feel better soon.