Sharon Lane

So sorry hun! sounds like you have been thru a lot. I have not had the surgery yet so I can't tell you how the pain is, but based on reading others stories I can see that they all vary and everyone is different. I'm guessing since you had to go in for emergency surgery they had to completely cut you open which is why the pain was so high. During the sleeve, it is almost always done laprascopically which will decrease the pain and healing about 80-90%. There is a huge difference between being cut open and just having small incisions. I'm sure you will do great, take advantage of those pain meds while your in the hospital thats why they are there I never heard of someone complaining about the pain while using the meds. Think positive

How bad is the bruising? You may have just slightly hit it or something and it bruised a little. This happened to me like 6 months ago where I had this HUGE bruise on my stomach when I woke up one morning (no idea what happened) and gave myself a slight hematoma. My Dr said the more fatty tissue you have, the more your are prone to bruising it or causing a slight hematoma even with the slightest bump or hit or whatever. Im sure you will be fine. If it gets bigger or worse then id contact your primary.

That is awesome!! I also had a good wake up call about my morbid obesity. I never thought of myself "that big". My husband has never ever mentioned to me that I am big, god bless him. Well I calculated my BMI as I started this journey and surprisingly I was a 50!!! I have managed to lose about 7 lbs and brought it down to a 49, almost 48. But, talk about wake up call!! Im morbidly obese class III. That is when I KNEW I had to do something about it. COngrats on your decision and your new life!!!

Thank you guys so much! That was very, very informative and a bit comforting I can't wait to begin the journey officialy!!

I was Just wondering if everyone who goes in to have the Gastric sleeve done has to have pre operative imaging done? Like an x-ray of some sort to see everything before they go in. Also, I am just beginning this journey and have done quite a bit of research and have a few other questions I can't seem to find. 1) What other pre operative testing is done to make sure you are healthy enough to have surgery, like your heart, liver, etc? I mean I don't want to go into surgery and have something wrong somewhere else and find out later or during surgery, yanno? Im not sure why this is scary to me, but it is a little. 2) When the stomach is stapled during the procedure, the the staples stay there forever? How does it completely close off like a natural stomach would? 3) When do the highest risks fall off? Meaning is there a certain amount of time after the surgery where your risk for certain things drastically decrease or are you ALWAYS at risk of something happening due to the surgery. I'll Give an example, A woman delivers her baby vaginally and every few hours they come and check to see if you are bleeding more or hemorrhaging and they say the greatest risk of this happening is within 72 hours, but then after 6 weeks the risk is gone and you no longer have to worry about it really. Okay sorry for the silly questions. I really couldn't seem to find "sound" answers that settled with me well so figured maybe some of you would know? Thanks Everyone!

Awesome, what a change already!!! Keep it up

Oh I am doing it. Hes actually quite better after we talked a bit more. Hes supportive of it and we discussed it again without getting upset at each other so we are ok now. Congrats on your successful surgery!! glad everything went great! Now your finally on the losers bench woohoo!!

Hello Ladies!! I am fairly new here and this is actually my first post. I am just starting my GSV journey now, after looking into it for about 4 yrs or so. SOO here goes... I am 28 yrs old, married to my husband who I have been with since I was 16. We had our first child at 17, married at 22, then over the past 4-5 yrs we have had 3 more children, literally leaving me no time to lose weight. When I met my husband I weighed about 150-160 lbs. I now weigh in at 306 lbs. Now, my husband is great and I sincerely know that he is not bothered by my size now and that is only an issue within myself. I personally, can't imagine how being over weight is attractive in anyone's eyes, no offense to those who are big and very confident in how attractive you look, in fact, I wish I had that view of myself. Anyway, I just recently brought it to my husbands attention that I was really going for it this time and it's like he just shuts down. He is the type of person who is a "just do it and get it over with and stop talking about it" kind of person and I am the complete opposite and its driving me (and I'm sure, him as well) CRAZY!! He likes to worry about things as they happen and not "pre-think" them. So I was asking him how he would feel about me after I lost all this weight, about the potential loose skin, the emotional part, the physical and mental changes in myself, etc. just basic talk. I could tell he started getting frustrated and just kept saying give me an exact topic, pinpoint it? I have no Idea, I just wanted to have a general talk about the surgery, before, during, after, etc. So needless to say we argued and he said "personally, I think you can do it on your own and I think you're just using this as a clutch" ......YUP, I got soo mad inside!! A CLUTCH!?!?! so I broke it down and explained everything to him about the sleeve surgery and how very difficult it is to be 306 lbs. For some strange reason he thinks it's easy to work out, eat right AND eat the right amount of portions. I CANT!! I have told myself over the past 4 yrs "I dont need this surgery, I can do this on my own" I've tried, tried, and tried again and over those 4 years I haven't gotten anything but bigger!!! I've actually gained 31 lbs over the past 4 yrs, after 3 babies. Something isn't working. He said I am all wrong and that anyone with WILL POWER can do it. Are you kidding me? so now he's saying I have no will power. I am soo frustrated sitting here at 2am now online looking for support forums because my husband obviously isn't interested in being one at this point. Now, we are generally really great and rarely argue, and idk if it is because he in nervous, don't want me to have it because he is scared or what but he just won't open up to me and talk about it because hes a "doer" not a "talker". Am I wrong? Should I not be thinking about all of these things in advance because they arent here yet or am I doing the right thing by preparing myself for everything that I can? I entered a contest to win a free weight loss surgery and the finalists will be announced on July 25th so this is why I have started looking into it more because IF I am chosen I want to be as prepared as possible and if not, I still plan on taking this journey anyway just not as soon as it would be if I were to win. My biggest concern besides the actual risks of the surgery itself is how my body and mind will change after as well as his. He assures me he just wants me to be healthy and the looks are just a plus, but I worry that he has no idea how I may look or how my potential loose skin may affect my looks and my body image. It's just very stressful that he doesnt like to talk about it. Am I the only one whos husband is like this?? he will avoid talking about it at all costs. He is my main source of "support". We live far from any other family and I just wish he'd be a bit more attentive and caring about whats to come. OR maybe I should have his look on it and just take it as it happens??

I have read about quite a few people who develop orthostatic hypotension after wls for one reason or another. Ive subscribed to a few ppl on youtube who have this same issue since surgery. I hope it gets better

yaaaay!!! great job!! yea, now you can get kickin on that ticker, lol

Welcome!!! I'm new myself. You can do it, I heard the liquid phase is one of the hardest, but like you said keep your eye on the prize!!

Good question, I was wondering the same thing! Like if you get the stomach bug, I have 4 kids and every year it goes thru the house so I was wondering if it makes a difference like u said.

That is awesome! I too, am just beginning my journey to the sleeve. Glad to meet you You sound like a pretty decent guy. I am 307 lbs with a BMI of like 49, its scary and I'm also one who does'nt "feel" 306 lbs. I look at others who are the same height/weight and Im like wow I dont feel that way, but yes here I am. Glad you are sticking to it this time. This is also my 2nd attempt. The first time, I got too scared of having to have surgery I decided Id keep attempting to lose weight on my own. This was 4 yrs ago and now I'm 26 lbs heavier so needless to say, that plan didn't work LOL...I've decided enough is enough its time to be serious and just do it.

Prayers for you during your surgery & to everyone involved. Angels will be surrounding you and give you a peace of mind!!! God Bless you!

thats awesome!!!! May god bless you with a fast, smooth recovery. You look great now so Im sure you will look amazing in the months to come as well as feel amazing!! :)

my sister in law had the band almost 2 yrs ago, she has done OK as well. I guess much time hasn't passed to see it if works longer. I think it really is dependent upon who the person is and what kid of "tool" they need. For me, I think I need something a little more permanent and safer so that's why I made the decision to go along with the sleeve. I didn't like the idea of the band being foreign and having to continue getting fills often. I also opted out of the bypass cuz I don't really believe in changing the way things are meant to work in there,lol....I think you made a good choice though

Thank you so much! as much as I'd hate to admit it, I think you're right. I may have been pushing my insecurities on my husband and after reading this I may have to even sit down and apologize to him for my "selfish" behavior. I have to do this for me and no one else, not even him. He probably is dealing with it "silently". Deep inside, I do know that he loves me and that he doesn't care what size I am and that it really is my own insecurities and I am so glad that you brought that point up to me so I could sit back and look at myself. I have always been insecure, never really had a chance to be happy with who I was and my body. I feel like this surgery will give me that chance. Thank you so much I would love to keep in touch with you. I still have a long way to go in my journey as I am just starting, but eventually I will get there! I need support

LOL omg exactly!! my oldest is 10, then I have a 4 yr old, 2 yr old, and 10 month old!! I actually (with my husband help) just got caught up on the laundry and he also works long hours. He helps a lot though, but like i said, my weight is a barrier for a lot....I literally get winded and things start to hurt minutes after I stand up, LITERALLY!! I sit down as much and as fast as possible. I feel like the worst mom on the plante because of my weight and no one understands. I am definitely here to talk/support although I am quite the worrier/hypochondriac myself lol. All I do is worry. I am just beginning my journey and already looking into how to prevent blood clots after the surgery and how to do this and "what if" this and that! I could go on and on.

Sorry about the paragraphs, I was really on a rant! lol. Also, when I attended the seminar 4 yrs ago he attended with me (his own idea). Seemed to have been fine at the time, but again didn't say much about it nor ask any questions. I am attending another one next month so maybe when he sees this one it will be different?