LipstickLady

Only you can decide that. I was determined not to have surgery. I lost weight so many times "the right way". I exercised daily and was in great health with the exception of my obesity. I finally decided that I was tired. Bone tired. I couldn't continue to put the strain on my feet, knees and hips. The yo yo dieting was horrible for my heart. The mental stress of obsessing about diets and points and carbs and fat and measuring and logging and everything else diet related was totally wearing my arse out. I finally decided that enough was enough. That was just me, though. You can't do this unless you are sure it's the choice for you. That may never be the case.

I came on here to share what I thought was an interesting experience. That was all. As I said before, I wasn't judging everyone. I believe most of us that are only a few months out would be curious to go to something like that and I believe my reaction was human nature. I left an honest post on here about something that caught me off guard and I think, whether everyone wants to admit it or not, if you'd gone you'd have had the same thoughts. Unsettling I disagree. I think there are many of us who wouldn't have shared your thoughts. I suspect that your surgeon performs thousands of procedures each year and for the most part, those who are successful no longer need the support and stop going to such events. Those who are struggling, still need the support, or need to feel better about themselves attend.

Agree. I just wrap my head around judging anyone's progress in their weight loss journey, especially having never walked in their shoes.

Did you see where they started?

@@HotButterFly? Where are you?

@@gmanbat? Where you be?

Whajoosay @@gmanbat!?

@gmanbat

@gmanbat

@@gmanbat

Good for you. No one needs "friends" like that.

Nope! Not case sensitive, @@Band2Sleever!

@@HotButterFly

Yup. Do laundry pre op. Stock up on water, Gatorade, broth, pudding and Popsicles. You'll eat so little and sleep so much, it won't matter if anyone is there or not. Rent a few movies, buy a few books and you're set!

If you had to recover alone, you'd be fine. I had surgery Wednesday, home Thursday, driving Friday.

Is there a patient advocate on premise?

I used spaces to summon, @@Alex Brecher, @band2sleever. Alex may regret this...

You, too! Snort!

@@Alex Brecher

Did it work, @@Alex Brecher?

Neato mosquito! Thanks @@Alex Brecher!

I will support anyone's decision on their journey to health no matter what surgery they choose. I will never claim to be an expert in ANY surgery, including the WLS I chose, but I can tell you why I chose the sleeve. In my area, most WLS surgeons are abandoning the band. They are seeing far too many complications, removals and revisions and are finding greater success in bypass or VSG. Two of my good friends had their bands removed due to erosion, nothing they could help, and had little success in weight loss. That said, you will find MANY success stories regarding the band, it was something I just didn't feel comfortable with. Again, I am not an expert on anything other than myself, so I can only tell you about my journey with the sleeve. I have lost 109 pounds in 10 months with my VSG. I can eat almost anything I want, save bread, rice and dry chicken. It is up to me to make good choices, focus on my Protein and avoid bad carbs, While I cannot eat much due to the current capacity of my tummy, I can certainly graze on crap all day and fail to lose or even start to gain. I am one of the lucky ones who seems to have lost their grehlin production factory. I am rarely hungry and I no longer have the same cravings I used to. It could be because of my surgery or it could be because of the fact that I've cut out almost all bad carbs. I don't know and I don't care, HA!! What's important is that I have a miraculous tool that has gotten me from a size 20 to a size 6. I can run and jump and cartwheel and do anything I want to do. I made the best possible choice for my body and I am thrilled. Someone once claimed that one had to be stronger to succeed with one type of surgery over another and that's utter nonsense. (It's my thought that if one was that strong, they never would have gotten fat in the first place, or they would have lost it without surgery, but whatever.) Every surgery can be eaten around. Every surgery will have it's pluses and minuses. Every surgery takes hard work, determination and will power. I know people who have succeeded with the sleeve and who have failed with the sleeve. Same with Bypass. I only know two people who have had lapband and neither faired well, but that's not a big pool to judge by, so I won't. Good luck to you with your journey! Make sure you do your research, ask your doctor what his or her recommendations are based on your body's needs and go from there. (My doctor recommends bypass to diabetics, FYI.) I am sure you will make the right choice.

So happy for you!!

It's another one of those mixed opinion things. Some docs say no straw, some don't care. Mine says no, but it's the only way I can get my liquids down and it hasn't hurt me yet, so...

Swim. Swim, swim, swim, swim, swim. And then swim some more. You can do this!!