North25guy

I had my sleeve done on April 9th so I'm a little over 1 month out. I've lost 35 lbs so far and the entire experience hasn't been that bad at all. The pain after surgery isn't too bad and the recovery afterwards was a lot easier than I expected. In the hospital, take some gas-x strips with you, drink water when you're supposed to, and walk as much as you can. In the weeks after surgery, you'll get sick of your protein shakes, but keep taking them. Plus make sure you take a multivitiamin (gummies are great), a calcium and b vitamins in liquid form until you fully heal. You're going to do great.

I have Blue Shield of California and it took 5-7 days to receive my approval.

When I was researching the different bariatric options, I definately didn't want to do the lap band because of how easy it is to cheat on it plus I don't want another medical implant in my body. Plus, I've read too many horror stories about problems with the lap band. When reseraching the gastric bypass, there are numerous side effects such as dumping syndrome and malnurishment. Plus when researching it, it honestly felt like the bypass is for someone that is extremly overweight. example: BMI over 50 - (just my opinion). The sleeve seemed like the logical choice. It wasn't as extreme as the bypass and doesn't have as many negative side effects. Plus, it's harder to cheat on than if I were on the lapband. Many people are concerned about the long term side effects of the sleeve since there aren't many studies out there. I'm going off memory, but I thought I once read that the Sleeve procedure has been around for quite a while now. Originally it was used for people that had stomach cancer - they would cut out part of the persons stomach. Given the weight loss results, it was adapted for an official weight loss surgery. Has anyone else heard of this or am I just on crack this morning? FYI - I just completed all of my pre-op appointments and I go for my sugery on April 9th.

Talk to your Doctor, but in one of my pre-op classes, I'm pretty certain they mentioned the time release pills won't work like they used to. I think they said that with people with gastric sleeves or bypasses, you pass the time release pill through your system too fast for it to be used completely. Instead of a time release pill, I wouldn't be suprised if you have to take something twice a day until your stomach fully heals. Make sure you talk to your bariactic doctor and not your PCP about this.

My doctor only requires 24 hour pre-op liquid diet. He said that he has the tools to push your liver out of the way for the surgery. I was kinda or relieved that he doesn't believe in being as strict as some doctors.

My surgery is April 6th. I'm doing my "Farewell Tour" before I go on the pre-op liquid diet. Basically I'm going to places like buffets, places I know I'll never be able to go to again. I'm getting in a last bite of naughtiness before I this life changing surgery. It will be worth it though.

My sleeve is scheduled for April 6th. After a 6 month wait, I'm getting excited for this to finally happen. I decided to get the sleeve because my weight has been steadily creeping up for years. It wasn't so bad in high school and college, but with age and working in a cubicle i've just been gaining too much weight. 3 years ago, I found out I had a heart problem (not related to my weight) and had to get a mechianical valve installed. Now I'm stuck with heart problems for the rest of my life. Excerising is difficult because of my heart issues so I finally decided to do the surgery as a means of losing weight and to help relieve some stress on my heart. I go in for my pre-op appointment this Thursday March 28th. Glad you posted this thread because it will be nice to talk to others having surgery around the same time as myself.