snowkitten

I know every one is different but im hoping i can get a general idea to base my goal weight off of. How much did you weigh when you were a size 16?12? 10? 6??

Good to know there similar. I was expecting to have to do some type of a liquid diet but my surgeon just wanted high protein. I'm releived, I get sick without eating meat so I was dreading an all liquid diet. What kind of post op diet is your surgeon requiring?

Haha I'm all too familiar with the food funerals lately. Oreos, doritoes, ice cream cake, and every type of carb centered big dinners. I'm already getting sick of the goodies. By the time my pre op diet is here I think my body will like it.

Im scheduled "tentatively" for the 5th. My paperwork was submitted to my insurance company on monday so hopefully ill hear back soon. I dont anticipate any problems though, my surgeons admin team is pretty thorough. I start my pre-op diet on july 22. My surgeon only requires a high Protein no carb diet for 2 weeks. What kind of pre-op diet are you doing?

I asked my surgeon and he said he doesn't do drains.

I have numerous reason for choosing the sleeve. 1. The risk for malabsorption was unacceptable. I have cvid which already causes a Protein deficiency. 2. Because of my cvid (common variable immune deficiency) I have a very high chance of stomach cancer. Having a left over stomach that isn't easily accessible to scope (think every couple months) would be asking for trouble. 3. because the RNY leaves the stomach in the body, it doesn't decrease the ghrelin hormone like the sleeve does. Decreasing my hunger is a big thing for me. Another side effect of cvid is stomach issues. I'm used to having diarrhea. I'm afraid that if I have the RNY I will still be constantly hungry, but because the pouch is so small I'll eat the WRONG things (like chocolate) and because I'm used to dumping syndrome it won't deter me. 4. Rerouting my whole system just freaks me out 5. The sleeve has nearly comparable weight loss stats (and if u look at the 2+ year studies it actually has more) 6. the sleeve also changes how the guts bile acids bind to a receptor called fxr. In the absence of fxr weight loss occurs. So aside from restrictive and hormonal changes the sleeve causes a change in your metabolism. That's huge for me! 7. I don't like the idea that I might not be able to absorb needed medications 8. If I find the sleeve doesn't help, I can revise it to add the malabsorption part. I suggest writing out a pro/cons list and going with what feels right to you. Good luck!!

I was planning to do the same thing! I was going to ask my mom to do a whole bunch of befores but she's really sick so i might have to suck it up and have my hubby do it.

Thank you all so much for your responses. I knew it would be varried because of height, body shape, etc... but the info does help.

I'm a big ball of emotions! Nervous (eek, what if I fail) excited (can't wait to have energy and no pain!), guilty (work), shocked (its really happening) etc... over all I'm more excited then anything. I've been planning this for 2 years and it's finally becoming reality!!

Im also tentatively scheduled for Aug 5. Just need the insurance approval.

My surgeon reviewed all my preop paperwork and approved me for surgery. The office staff sent it all off to the insurance company today and I was given a "tentative" surgery date of Aug 5th! Im so excited... and nervous. I didn't expect to get the surgery date untill the insurance company approved me but apparently they wanted a date first. so YAY! They were ALMOST unable to send my paperwork in though. I took an idea from this site to be proactive and highlight the important information so it would be easier to be reviewed. Unfortunately i used orange which faxes through with the highlighted areas as black. luckily i coppied all my records beforehand so i was able to replace them. So as a tip for anyone wanting to be proactive, ONLY use yellow highlighter !!

I'm so happy this thread can help other people. To tell or not to tell a boss is a really tough spot to be in. I think being general will work and I like your idea of telling them it's been in the works for awhile. Good luck and let us know how it goes. I'm waiting until I have a date to put in my notice. I'm still torn what to do too!

Wow, that's crazy! I'm so glad you were able to get something done anyways. Congrats!!!

Thank you all for your input. I appreciate the ideas.

How did things go when they all discovered what your surgery was for? We're they upset with you for taking the time off? my boss is new and relies HEAVILY on me. I've hired a new employee so we won't be in the hole with workload, but I do the work of 3 people so I still forsee a backlog and I'm concerned I will be frowned upon for taking even more time off

Yeah the situation is really hard. So many people think of WLS as a cosmetic elective surgery. I'm especially concerned if work knew they would judge me for leaving work to get something "frivolous" done. But for me it's to save my life. I just don't think they will "GET" that. I think I'm gonna be vague and say I'm having surgery on my stomach for my immune system issue. I'm really concerned I'll feel pressured to elaborate tho. I hope you figure out what to do. Good luck

So I don't plan to tell HR a lie. I just don't think telling my boss would go over well. Shes great but my office thrives on gossip and shes not immune. A coworker who has had the surgery warns me not to tell anyone and i think shes right. I think I'll go with telling her I'm having surgery on my stomach for my immune system and leave it at that.

JCP- colon surgery is a good idea, thanks cmoore25- OH! a fellow coder. I am as well. Your right, we are doing this for our health, but unfortunately people will not think of it that way. Katesuccess- Thank you SO much for your support and suggestions. Its extreamly helpfull and i will definetly use them. Pookeyism- not exactly, i DO have short term disability i can apply for but my boss wont need to see that paperwork. But i still need to tell her SOMETHING so we can arrange coverage. I know i dont have to say anything, but in reality people are going to ask. Candypants81- Thanks, its nice to know others understand

I realize i dont HAVE to tell my boss anything, my dilemma is that its not in my nature not to tell people what going on. Wynnie- all the preop work was done at the hospital i work at but the procedure, and the surgeon are at another hospital. I do like the idea of a hiatial hernia, its close enough to the truth that i wont feel weird saying it. AND i love the idea that the diets are the same. Thank you all so much for your ideas and support.

Ugh, i know that a real procedure! can you imagine having to have that done!? I gag just thinking of it. How long was your recovery time for the hiatial hernia?

I dont HAVE to tell my boss why. but like i said, were pretty close so it would look suspicious if i refused to tell her what it was.

I totally understand your concerns because I've had the exact same ones. But because I've been too intimidated to ask I've increased my research on the subject (to the point of obsession). In my research I've found two very important things that differentiates the sleeve from a normal diet. 1) grehlin hormone: hunger hormone that is reduced. (Which you already know) 2) The bile acids are changed: the acids don't bind to a nuclear receptor called FXR. Research has shown that In the absence of FXR weight-loss occurs So to answer your question, the point of the surgery is to restrict your stomach so you won't eat as much, reduce your want to eat, and change how your bile acids work. You will absolutely have to work at it but all these things combined cannot be done without the surgery. Hope this helps

I just got all my preop testing done and the way my health care is set up I'm able to view my lab test results online. I'm concerned the surgeon will deny me because a few of them. The two I'm most concerned about is the hpylori and ptt (blood clotting) test. My hpylori is positive and my ptt came back low (just barely). Has anyone had experience with either of these results and were u still able to get the sleeve?

I was hoping that would be the case. What did they do to treat the hpylori for you?

So i want real life data... Age, your starting weight and how much did you lose at 1mo, 3mo, 6mo, 9mo, 1 year, 18mo?? And most importantly how well did you adhere to the diet and exercise requirements?? Did you do both, one more than the other, or neither?? If i get enough response I'll post the results. Thanks!