futureskinnygirl

My surgery is scheduled for Feb 11th with Dr. Fielding. He is great and I love him. However, because I didn't want to wait for the next date available at NYU, which would have been at the end of Feb, I agreed to have it done at Northern Westchester Hospital and so I am a little nervous about that because I have never heard of this hospital. Has anyone worked with him? Had it at that hospital? I'm so excited!!! Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated. FutureSkinnyGirl

I am 6 days out, down 11.4 lbs., and feeling better than I have in years. Knock on wood, I have had no complications except some constipation until I stopped my pain killers. I am able to get down a huge variety of liquid foods, just not more than a couple of ounces at a time. I am so happy; this is the best decision I eve made. 11 down, 74 to go!

I am 35 and have been struggling with my weight for over 10 years now. I was scheduled for sleeve today actually. My father was against the surgery in general, but accepted my decision and has been trying to be supportive. He wanted to meet the surgeon and have a lot of questions answered. We went in to see surgeon on Thursday and I came out more confused than ever. They basically all (mom, dad, and dr.) ganged up and made me feel that band is soooo much safer and a much better option. Truthfully, I never even read up on the band because I didn't like the idea of having something inside me forever and was not comfortable with the idea of it slipping and having to come in for adjustments (fills), etc., so I dismissed it completely initially. After that appointment on Thursday, I came away feeling like the band was so obviously the way to go, but every time I thought of having that thing inside me it brought me to tears. Obviously I had to make a decision fast bc they had to make sure to get the approval for the switch from my insurance and my surgery was scheduled in four days. I was so confused and felt so much pressure to decide that I thought it was not the right way to make the decision, so I have postponed the surgery and I have two new dates tentatively set in February depending on which surgery I choose to go with. I have to decide by the end of the week. Can you all please tell me your stories? Successes, failures, revisions, etc. I want to hear it all so I can make the most informed decision. I am still hung up on having the band in me forever, but I believe I will get over it if I really feel it is the best option. One thing that is for certain, is that the band is many times more safe (in terms of the surgery and chance of death) than the sleeve. But if the chances of success overall are lower and I will end up having the sleeve in a few years anyway, then I don't want to do that. I welcome any comments. Thanks in advance.

My father is the difficult one in my family and I was very concerned about talking to him about it. He is very judgmental and opinionated. As much as I know he loves me more than life itself and just wants me to be happy, his way of expressing himself is usually aggressive, antagonistic, leaves no room for discussion, and can be very hurtful. I couldn't have the surgery without telling my parents and my brother, though. I knew it would be difficult so I prepared myself for the worst. There was strong resistance initially, but after I contained my desire to yell and argue and I was able to express my feelings about why I wanted to have the surgery and why I think it is the right choice for me, my family surprised me beyond belief and no one more than my father. You may want to give her the benefit of the doubt. I am not saying it will be easy. For me it took the entire 6 months pre-op while getting insurance clearance to get through, but we never argued because I did not let myself get roped into arguments. A few weeks ago I scheduled an appointment with my surgeon for my parents to join me at so they could ask all their questions in the hopes that it would bring them peace of mind. I went in prepared for my father to be a jerk to the surgeon. I even told the surgeon in advance that my father is against the surgery, but has accepted my decision and is being supportive, though he has a lot of questions and may get a little obnoxious. You can imagine my shock when, instead of antagonizing the surgeon and challenging him, my father's eye's welled with tears as he told my doctor that he is just so afraid to lose me and then proceeded to have a very rational and fair discussion about his concerns. My surgery is scheduled for Monday and my whole family is behind me and I am so grateful for that. At the end of the day, I was going to make my decision for myself one way or the other, but it means so much to have my family's support. My situation is a little different, though, because I am single and have no children so my parents and brother are still my main support system. I hope you can talk to your mother and can get her support in the end. Like me, you may be surprised to find that her positively awful way of expressing her feelings may just be the only way she can deal with being absolutely terrified of losing you and hurting so much seeing you unhappy with your body. I don't know if it will work for you, but over the last 6 months I have learned that so much of the pain I have dealt with as a result of my father's way of expressing himself has to do with how I react to the things he says. Now, I listen to what he says and I process it completely differently than I did before. I take the words he uses and convert them into what I know he means. This way my response is always to what he means and not to the way he says it so we just don't argue anymore. It has done wonders for our relationship and for my own self esteem. Whatever you decide, I wish you the very best. This is you taking control of the problem and helping yourself so don't let anyone make you feel bad about that. Good luck!!

I am 35 and have been struggling with my weight for over 10 years now. I was scheduled for sleeve today actually. My father was against the surgery in general, but accepted my decision and has been trying to be supportive. He wanted to meet the surgeon and have a lot of questions answered. We went in to see surgeon on Thursday and I came out more confused than ever. They basically all (mom, dad, and dr.) ganged up and made me feel that band is soooo much safer and a much better option. Truthfully, I never even read up on the band because I didn't like the idea of having something inside me forever and was not comfortable with the idea of it slipping and having to come in for adjustments (fills), etc., so I dismissed it completely initially. After that appointment on Thursday, I came away feeling like the band was so obviously the way to go, but every time I thought of having that thing inside me it brought me to tears. Obviously I had to make a decision fast bc they had to make sure to get the approval for the switch from my insurance and my surgery was scheduled in four days. I was so confused and felt so much pressure to decide that I thought it was not the right way to make the decision, so I have postponed the surgery and I have two new dates tentatively set in February depending on which surgery I choose to go with. I have to decide by the end of the week. Can you all please tell me your stories? Successes, failures, revisions, etc. I want to hear it all so I can make the most informed decision. I am still hung up on having the band in me forever, but I believe I will get over it if I really feel it is the best option. One thing that is for certain, is that the band is many times more safe (in terms of the surgery and chance of death) than the sleeve. But if the chances of success overall are lower and I will end up having the sleeve in a few years anyway, then I don't want to do that. I welcome any comments. Thanks in advance.

LOL! I meant 100% confident!

LOL!!!! Thanks! I meant 100% confident!

Janice, my surgery is on February 11th and I am a little scared but mostly excited You will be fine and this will change your life. You had your surgery today and I am sure you are awake and recovering and so happy it's done. I wish you the best and would love to hear details about your experience. Post or private message me when you can. It's the beginning of a new life! Yay!!!

Thanks so much for your responses and words of encouragement. I have decided on the sleeve and i am 10% confident that that is the one that's right for me. I'm scheduled for February 11th, so excited!!!!

Thanks so much for your responses and words of encouragement. I have decided on the sleeve and i am 10% confident that that is the one that's right for me. I'm scheduled for February 11th, so excited!!!!