Skywalker

My (potential) doctor told me it wasn't necessary, although they do go by the two days pre-op. I'm thinking of putting myself on a one week liquid/protein pre-op diet regardless.

Does having a supplement like Gas-X help dissolve it?

Wow, really some insensitive comments there. About the people who tell you you might have more worth if you weren't fat, I'd pretty much leave them in the dust when you lose the weight. If they can't stand by you at your worst, they don't deserve you at your best. #ShamelessMemePlug

I got my lapband remove 3 days ago. I will be having my revision surgery in about 2months. My doctor wants me to get the sleeve and at the beginning I was up to it, but asked some friends that had the gastric bypass and are doing great and had lost a lot of weight. Now I'm so confused. Don't really know which one to have. I haven't had either surgery, so I'm no expert, but based on my research: (1) The sleeve is not malabsorptive, whereas the bypass is. This means you'll run less risk of bone problems, Vitamin deficiencies, and probably not have to be on diligent consumption of Vitamins and supplements. (2) The sleeve seems to have a lower complication rate than the bypass and be simpler. (3) The bypass has a slightly higher average of weight loss. However, from what I've seen, the optimal candidate for the bypass is someone who is morbidly obese (by obese standards), and has let their weight spiral up to 500 or so, where they are having difficulty even ambulating and need a drastic intervention. My advice? Get the sleeve.

That's cool, you look younger too! I noticed that when I have lost weight in the past, it seems to shave years off my appearance (if favorable). At one point when I was overweight, I was only about 17 but looked like 45 because I had such a puffy face. When I lost weight and started putting on makeup, I realized how pretty I could be (no ego, but just discovering a new person, kind of).

That sucks, I'm sorry to hear that. If it makes you feel any better, you're not alone. I had a friend who was putting me down in numerous small ways, and would deflect the issue when I tried to talk to him about it. I wanted this guy to be a friend for life, and stuck by him through a lot. Ultimately, I got tired of the verbal abuse (as well as being his ATM machine), so I walked away. After several years away from him, I had a new perspective. I found I didn't need him as much as I once thought I did, and saw his behaviors (that have not changed) as ridiculous, where once I had accepted them as part of dealing with him. True friends are few. When we find the genuine ones, we should hang on and really nurture that friendship. For the others, don't waste too much energy on them, since the time/energy we have to spend in this life is limited anyway. And to supplement what gman said, here's a quote by Robin Williams that has really stood out for me:

Congratulations to you, and I'm sure your weight loss has only just begun. Very excited myself to get on this journey already.

Looks awesome! Are you still at 226 lbs like your signature says? Because you look a lot slimmer than that....

I don't know if he had a monetary stake in this, but what studies show isn't stacking up with what your Dr. said (about sleeve's efficacy): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20622654

This reminds me of a "friend" of mine (and I use that term loosely), who would refuse to answer my emails to talk about our issues for years on end, and then when he needed something, come to my husband and go, "Is she still mad at me? Does she still hate me? She's so mean." #whine And gmanbat, great response. This site is good not only for WLS info, but also some great psychological insights. Good stuff as always.

Dragonfly, She sounds like a pain in the ass, and I don't know why she can't be happy with you. Knowing me, I would probably get pissed and make some snarky comment back about her surgery, but I'm not sure that would help the situation. I'd just let her know in no uncertain terms that she doesn't have any moral high ground to you just because she chose the more drastic measure. Each WLS works for a certain group of people, she should be happy for you and STFU, and that's all there is to it. It sounds like she just needs the spotlight on herself (ongoing complements) constantly, for some reason. I can't stand it when people act like morally superior attention whores.

So, your starting weight is 195 lbs? May I ask how tall you are? I guess I would ask what you want to get out of surgery, both weight wise, short/long term complication wise, and price wise. The band is the easiest upfront and usually the cheapest, with no cutting, however it requires long term maintenance. The sleeve or gastric bypass (which can be covered by insurance) is more drastic but you lose more weight and when it heals there's generally no upkeep or return visits. It also costs up to 10K more upfront than the band, but that's balanced out usually over time by not having to worry about fills/unfills. Edit: And regarding liposuction, I wouldn't really look at that unless there's one part of your body that consistently bothers you, and nothing else (for instance, that stubborn love handle on your stomach ever since you've had a child, etc.). Otherwise, it just seems kind of like mopping only one area on a large kitchen floor.

Good luck though. At least with the sleeve, once your stomach is completely healed up, you won't have the hassle of aftercare (fills/unfills)

? Did you fall asleep on the keyboard?

May I suggest the sleeve? Unless you're extremely heavy (like 600 or so) or looking for a quick diabetes reversal, I think the sleeve is able to help you drop some lbs, while being simpler/lower complication than the bypass and also not being malabsorptive--you can still keep the Vitamins from food you ingest.

Sounds straightforward, but since you're spoiling your diet on sliders, I'd say scale them back to around 10-15% of your diet maximum. You really need to put more vegetables/fruits, Protein, and some carbohydrates in there, and I'm sure once you do (even something really tasty like pasta) you will fill up in a hurry.

I understand how you feel--about any surgery. I'd recommend these tips: Read only success stories prior to surgery; don't get bogged down in reading the horrors of occasional complications once you've made your choice because it will just psychologically torment you for no good reason. If you worry you're taking a lazy/pointless risk, think of it this way--your short and long term health is in more danger, statistically, staying this way than having a proven and effective surgery. That's one way I look at it--I can either have this surgery now under controlled conditions, or wait for them to rush me to the hospital 10 years from now with a heart attack and have major emergency surgery. Just some tips, good luck, I'm sure you'll do great!

Yea i want to have a baby slso thats why i didnt get sleeve got bypass instead didnt want my stomach cut either You guys are correct about the sleeve not being reversible; however, I don't think it has a negative impact on becoming pregnant (providing you are willing to wait a year after the surgery to stabilize weight): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23306797 http://www.marinahospital.com/blog/will-i-be-able-to-get-pregnant-after-gastric-sleeve-surgery Studies stated, "Barring very uncommon complications of surgery, this should eventually make it easier both to conceive and to carry a child to term with less risk of negative consequences."

I can understand the rationale of getting the band. Being a little gun shy about surgery myself, the band is really, really tempting--it promises to help us lose weight with minimal invasiveness, very low up front complications, and no stomach cutting. Each surgery fits a different need and different demographic of people. All surgeries can have complications and whatnot, and from what I read they all improve in technique and efficacy over time. But I do understand wanting to get the sleeve, because I've been leaning that direction myself (yes, more short term risk but lower long term maintenance and risk).

So I've heard about a liquid or Protein fasting diet....what do your surgeons put you on before surgery, and for what purpose? I'm wondering if all carbs have to go, including good carbs like fruit.

I'm not doing it just to become fertile, but I learned that was one of the possible benefits so I'm definitely welcoming it. Of course, they say to wait at least a year once you reach your goal weight so your body's not all over the place, so I'm going to try to do that. If you want to see more about stuff like this, you can actually watch "My 600 lb life: Melissa" streaming on Netflix (http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/my-600-lb-life/videos/my-600-lb-life-where-are-they-now.htm). She started out young and huge, got a weight loss surgery, and she and her husband were finally able to conceive and had a little girl.

That sucks. I probably don't need to remind you at this juncture to take care of yourself, your body, and not overeat. The last time I had a depression, I gained almost 100 lbs (that I can't get off), which has led me to where I am today--WLS.

I don't know, but I would guess you are drinking milkshakes and other "sliders". If I was trying to cheat the band and have fun, that's how I would do it.

I agree with recycled that once you choose, you're done. What is the point of beating oneself up or second guessing, even if they did happen to make a less than optimal choice? Forums are only personal/anecdotal data. Scientific studies, if they have any constructive use, are probably best for helping someone formulate their goals and what they want/expect out of surgery before any surgery has taken place.

It will be interesting to see what newer studies show; unfortunately, we're here and living with it now, so we all just have to make the best decision with the data available to us. There are some sources that are quite obviously biased in either direction (Failed Bands and www.lapband.com), so I prefer to check out WebMD, sometimes, and nih/PubMed sources if I can find them. Dated a couple years ago, for everyone's reference, if they want some thick (but accurate) reading: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3339264/