WASaBubbleButt

Oh oh oh!!!!!!!!!! I know this!!!!!!!!! Dr. A is fine with NSAIDs and BCs. He's cool with both of them!

See what I mean now? The sleeve is like a band that actually works without all the risks and complications. It's one of those things (like restriction) that you have to experience before you can really understand.

Hey, I've been held responsible for what I said due to drugs (Versed). You are NO exception! ;o) Seriously, surgery - and especially this one - is not what you might think. It's not all that bad and totally worth it! I would have accepted 10x the pain/discomfort for having a sleeve. I'll even make that 20x the pain/discomfort. It's all worth it in the end.

Dr. Aceves told me that his revision patients sleep a lot, much more than newbie sleeves do. I proved him right on that one, too! ;o)

HA! We'll do a conference call when you have surgery and remind you of this post! HAHA ;o))))

HA! Already did! I called her at 5:40AM this morning and again when she was back in her room for about half an hour. I told her to WAKE UP! ;o) She sounds kinda loopy. We should do that conference call, that would be fun!

I just talked to Nina (again) and Daisy is back in her room and doing well. I called at 1:30 and she was in recovery. She's back in her room. I might give her another one of those "20 minutes" and call. Heh.... She slept enough in OR, she doesn't need more sleep. ;o))))))

No surgery type fixes head hunger, that is something you learn to deal with as you go. It does happen, you do eventually learn to find other ways to deal with emotions and such.

The sleeve is great, this is just another reason!

You can't go the rest of your life without soda? What will happen if you don't drink it? ;o) Carbonation sucks the Calcium right out of your bones. It's really bad for you. Nope, not supposed to drink carbonation with sleeves. No skins are band issues, not sleeve issues. It is nothing but a smaller version of your own stomach. Skins are absolutely fine. I think they are using band guidelines for sleeves. NSAIDs are not a problem for sleeves nor are birth control pills. No idea where they are getting the BC issue. I didn't know most had soy. I'd try: Netrition.com - The Internet's Premier Nutrition Superstore! They have everything.

Did you know that 1 in 5 bypass fails? You won't always malabsorb calories, just during your honeymoon phase. You will always malabsorb Vitamins. If your bypass fails your options for revision are extremely limited. If bypass is honestly what you want, great! Go for it! But don't get a procedure that isn't a perfect fit for you because you'd have to have records transferred to another doctor who does sleeves.

What about a sleeve? Better weight loss than banding, no malabsorption like bypass, and safer than bands or bypass.

I decided you didn't need that extra 20 minutes of sleep. You need to be up and EXCITED about your big day!! You have plenty of time to sleep during surgery. You needed to talk to ME at 5:40AM this morning! HA!

I know of him. He's over $25K for a lousy sleeve and he's only done 25 of them. I wouldn't dream of going to anyone that has done less than 250 sleeves AND 250 bypass (staple line experience). Since he's only done 25 sleeves I would hope he hasn't had a leak! ;o)

I'm so excited for you! Your big day is finally here! I'm hoping your phone works at the hospital. I''m going to call you in a bit. You should still be at the hotel since it's 5:40AM! I'll give you 20 minutes and I'll call you then. ;o)

Dr. Teng?????????????

Awww, Susan... I'm so happy to read this! You get your life back with a sleeve. You can eat and live like a normal person AND lose weight. All the best things rolled into one! When I talk to a miserable banded person I just don't have the vocabulary to describe the difference in quality of life. You just have to experience it. And that, you are. It wasn't all that long ago that you had the guts to come out of the banded closet. LOL You told your story, you were brave enough to go get it fixed and now life is good once again. I'm happy for you. The fear of surgery, Mexico, Mexican surgeons... it's all worth it now, eh? ;o)

HAHA! Wouldn't that be unfundused? We need to start our own damn medical dictionary! We'd do it better-er!

HA! Bet it does. Think of a turkey timer. When the red poky thing sticks out the turkey is done. When your port sticks out you are done losing! ;o) That is one thing I did not like about being banded. I didn't like the port sticking out. I couldn't wear spandex shirts because you could see my port sticking out.

Yep, I did the same thing when I was losing. I watched my BMR and BMI go down together. ;o) And, I used TheDailyPlate as well. I still have my weight loss graph and I still record reading here and there when I think of it.

Cool, 1 down and 4 to go. ;o) Amazingly, nobody ever accused me of being PC. ;o) I am thinking it won't happen in the near future, either. HA~

Well, what does the fundus of your stomach do that you will miss? ;o)

The band has a 25% failure rate. Stats show that there is a 30-50% re-op rate within the first 5 years. There is a LOT more that can go wrong with a band than a sleeve. The band produces the lowest and the slowest weight loss. It can cause esophageal motility issues. You'll be maintaining that band for the rest of your life. The maintenance never ends. The higher your BMI the less chance you have of ever getting even close to goal. First they started off with a mesh band. That didn't work. Then they had the non adjustable band. That didn't work. Then they had the small adjustable band. That didn't work. Now they have the large adjustable band saying that will cut down on erosion, slips, etc. Yeah, not so much. That isn't working either. Most of all, Inamed has been making the band for 18 years. US citizens have been going to Mexico for 18 years for banding. Find 5 people, just 5 that have been banded for 10 years or more. I'm not talking about someone that knows someone who has been banded, or studies that make claims. YOU find 5 people that have been banded for 10 years or more and see how they like their band. I've been posting on band boards for almost 3 years and I haven't met one yet. If you can find 5 banded people for 10 years or longer, go for it. Get a band. I don't think you'll find those 5 people. Speaking with your surgeon will only help if he does ALL the major procedures. If he doesn't do sleeves he's going to push you into bands or bypass, or whatever procedures he does. If he doesn't do sleeves he isn't going to tell you how great a sleeve is. That would be like a honda dealer telling you how great a Toyota is. Go to a surgeon that does all the major procedures AND has a LOT of experience in all.

Thank you, J. Thank you. The one thing about sleeves... it's your stomach... just smaller. That's all. Just your stomach but smaller. The sleeve I can deal with. The band I could never deal with. Lucky for us the sleeve is not new in the least. It's verrrry old.

Wow... my story over and over again. I adore my surgeon, but I do blame him for assuming that my problems were due to not following some magical set of rules. Today, he knows better. I do believe I was his learning curve on the band. That's okay, I can deal with that. He believed Inamed.