jbart0973

Congrats! I also had surgery the 10th and am down 12 lbs since surgery! Yay for us sleeve sisters!

Wow! You look amazing! Congrats on your weight loss! Great family pics as well! Very inspiring!

I was also struggling with this issue. In my case I am 39. I have a 2 yr old and would have like to be pregnant already but it hasn't happened yet. For all I know maybe i am not getting pregnant because of my weight. I decided to go ahead with my surgery on Dec 10th. My surgeon encouraged me to have the surgery first so I will have a healthier pregnancy. Optimally he would like me to wait at least a year to get pregnant but when I expressed my concerns about being 39 already, he said if all goes well I might be able to start trying after 6 months. I just hope I don't miss out on having another baby because I chose to do this surgery first.

You look awesome! Congrats!

Wow! Your transformation is amazing. I really needed this inspiration today as my surgery date is a little over 2 weeks away and I'm so nervous about whether I am doing the right thing.

I'm December 10th!

Thank you JerseyGirl. I had my gall bladder out on Oct 12th and am being sleeved on Dec 10th.

What a cutie! Congrats on your weight loss so far...looking good!

Dec 10th sleeve buddies!

Hi Mandy! I was actually putting on weight for quite a while because my band slipped and was no longer working...I had put on about 45 lbs since I had my son a little over 2 years ago. Due to my gall bladder issues I lost 17 lbs in about a month. Each time I had a gall bladder attack I just didn't eat for several days. I joked with my Dr that maybe I should just keep my gall bladder because it was helping me lose weight...lol. Since having my band removed I have gone back and forth between gaining and losing about 3 lbs. I am trying to stick to a high Protein diet and low fat but admittedly now that I can eat again I have just gone a little crazy eating junk. But I will go back to eating better after this weekend. My Dr doesn't want me to gain weight before surgery.

I'm getting my sleeve done on Dec 10th. I had my lap band and gall bladder removed about 3 weeks ago and I have to wait until Dec so I have time to heal from the band removal.

My pre op diet is 1 day of liquids and a bowel cleanse. When I told my Dr that I heard varied pre op diets such as a 2 week liquid diet first he joked that I've been reading too much on the internet lol. Then he said the purpose of that is to shrink the liver but he would only suggest that in patients who are extremely large. He didn't really feel it was necessary in all cases. Then he joked again saying that a 2 week diet is only going to make me cranky for 2 weeks...lmao. I love my Dr.

I had the lap band put in 4 yrs ago. Due to a slip I had it removed 2 weeks ago. I lost about 75 lbs with it but I want to lose a lot more. I could have had the band repositioned but my surgeon, Dr Abkin suggested that it may be time to think about a revision instead since I had a lot more weight to lose. He didn't think the lap band would get me the results I was looking for. I knew initially when I got the band that it may not give me the results I wanted but I couldn't wrap my head around having such a drastic surgery like the bypass. Now I am glad there is an adoption for the sleeve. While it is a permanent surgery because they remove 85% of your stomach I like the fact that they don't have to reroute intestines etc. I am scheduled to be sleeved Dec 10th. While I am very nervous about surgery I am completely confident in my surgeon's abilities and I am sure everything will go well.

Your NUT is definitely a NUT! Do not let her opinion deter you. You can do this! If you really want this you can make it happen. As far as her telling you that you don't have time, that's rediculous! If you have a busy schedule then you make adjustments...prepare food ahead of time so you always have something healthy on hand if you are on the go a lot. It's about managing the little time you do have to make it work for you. It's about committing to a new lifestyle. Go see your surgeon an talk to him about what the NUT said and reaffirm your commitment to wanting to do this.

He really is a wonderful Dr. I have been a patient of his for about 4 1/2 years now. He did my lap band 4 yrs ago. He just removed my gall bladder and lap band due to a slip. I decided to go with the sleeve because although i lost weight with the band (about 75 lbs), it didn't get me to where I want to be. Dr Abkin suggested either bypass or sleeve as a revision because more than likely repositioning the band would not give me the results I was looking for. Throughout this whole process Dr Abkin and his staff have been so professional and efficient. I have never dealt with a Dr's office that was so efficient. It's obvious that his staff is very well trained. I would highly recommend him to everyone.

I am also going to Advanced Laparoscopic Surgeons in Florham Park. My surgeon is Dr Abkin and my surgery is Dec 10th!

You are quite an inspiration! Your transformation is amazing!

Congrats on the new you!

Yes...I'm actually excited about this! It's been quite an adventurous month with this pain in the a$$ gall bladder of mine. I've had 2 trips to the ER, an endoscopy, an ERCP, and was within minutes of getting this surgery 2 weeks ago just to be cancelled at the last minute. I had my last gall bladder attack this past weekend that lasted 2 days. (I hope I didn't just jinx myself by saying I had my last attack because there's still time for another one!) I just can't wait for this to be over. It's just not fun living in fear of another attack. As an added bonus I am getting my Lapland removed as well. I made the decision to get the sleeve an that surgery is scheduled for Dec 10th. I've had my band for 4 years and it has slipped so it's time to get rid of it!

Surgery went very well! I'm so happy it's over. I had no nausea from the anesthesia at all which was what was frightening me the most. They gave me a patch behind my ear before surgery and anti nausea meds before i woke up from surgery. The Dr said my gall bladder was very inflamed and enlarged. So far the pain isn't too bad. I just went 12 hours without a pain pill but decided to take it because one of the incisions is bothering me a bit. Definitely not too bad overall though. I am on a clear liquid diet today and can go back to eating slowly tomorrow. I'm not really even hungry anyway. My Lapland was also removed do I'm interested in seeing how life is without it. I have until Dec 10th to get my sleeve so I am going to try not to gain weight in the meantime.

I can't speak for other doctors but in my case my surgery was scheduled before insurance approval. In fact, I was told by the insurance person at my doctor's office that they had to schedule a date before the paperwork was submitted to insurance. So it may be a standard procedure.

You look great! Congrats!

Wow! Stunning! You look absolutely amazing! And I love your shirt in your after pic!