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I've slipped the idea of surgery around my husband a few times a month for the last 8 months... he's strongly considering it for next March. It's whatever to me though -I just want him to be happy and healthy.

If you are taking Latuda, be aware that the sleeve will alter your ability to eat that 350 calorie meal and therefore may knock your meds off balance.. otherwise, best of luck. My only regret is that I didn't get it sooner.

Make sure you are taking your vitamins! Deficiencies cause cravings for really unhealthy stuff, too. And 8 months out - sometimes that one day of 1000+ calories is followed by a 3 or 4 pound loss for me.

Yes. Prior to surgery, Rocker Bottom shoes (like the skechers, but they're not the only ones) + Ibuprofen more than once per day. Post surgery (and 100# weight loss), I can wear whatever shoes I want. There are still mornings my feet hurt when I hit the floor, but if I wear the splints at night, they don't. ETA: I've gone from a 9.5 W to a 7.5 W or an 8 M

1. Trouble wiping - must loose weight! 2. Coworker had sleeve - very successful. 3. Research, research, research on physiological and psychological effect of sleeve on my children vs. overweight mom. 4. My body hurt. 5. I had lost over 200 pounds, total, and gained 250, total... I wanted a more permanent solution, and the research indicated the sleeve was it.

For me, with liquids, 'full' was a non issue. I was tired of sipping before I felt 'full', and I just sipped when I felt like it. The weight fell off. You just can't get enough calories from liquid - unless it's milkshakes or liquid butter - to avoid losing weight those first couple of weeks. On yogurt type stuff, it was half a container - about 3 oz. Full was a slightly nauseous feeling that didn't continue into pain. I measured when I felt that feeling - and ate one less bite after that. If I was still hungry at that point, I ate the extra bite. With real food - for me - it was five child size bites. I ate 7 the first couple of times, and I was sick both times. So I cut back to 6 - had the nauseous feeling - cut back to five - no problem. Now, I eat about 9 bites, but I cut my food small, I chew it into submission, and I put my silverware down between bites. I eat the first five bites without really paying attention to sleevie, then I listen after each additional bite. If she starts to get pre-nauseous, I don't eat any more.

Yes. All of me is now back down to the size I was as a college freshman, including my now floppy 38 G boobs that were, at my biggest, 48 DD. It is my intent to have them lifted and possibly plumped up after weight is stabilized.

I've kind of skipped through this thread - but wanted to share some of the things I don't miss about being bigger... 1. I don't have to wonder if a chair will hold me. 2. I can sit anywhere in a restaurant. 3. I can shop in just about any store (size 16.. a few stores don't carry that). 4. I can wear more stylish shoes, even after MS diagnosis, because my feet don't hurt. 5. I'm rarely hot, and even when I am, 6. I don't sweat 1/10th as much. Things I do miss: 1. I've lost my butt padding. Sitting gets very uncomfortable, very fast. 2. I have to shop for clothes, both because I am no longer what size I am and because stretchy and elastic covers many more sizes than buttons and zippers... and because I have the capability to 'look cute' so I feel compelled to put the effort in.

I am 35. I've lost 130 lbs; I'm 5'6. I have enough loose skin on my upper thighs that I wear a skirted swim suit. I have lose skin and still a lot of fat on my stomach and my upper arms are developing that 'bat wing' deformity crap. My face is looking pretty good, though. I have 70 pounds left to lose.

I concur with Joatsaint. You have to be mentally ready or the surgery seems to come with hell for side effects. It is uncomfortable to eat off plan, but not impossible. I can still stuff myself - and depending on if it's one bite or five determines if I'm uncomfortably stretching out my sleeve or puking. Regardless, you have to be in the right headspace to make it work, and to avoid being miserable with it. I also dealt with more fatigue the first couple of weeks after surgery than I had before. My clothes fit weird - loose skin in my stomach area keeps pants from fitting my rear end unless I want the belly skin hanging over the side (I don't)... so I wear a lot of dresses. My cpap is gone, but there are people who still need it post surgery. Comfort food is no longer comforting or comfortable. I'd do it again tomorrow.

I am at the same size, so nothing to send - but if you have a Goodwill, you might check their color specials. Each week, a different color barb is $1 per item. I go through and get what I like that is my size and smaller, sorting the smaller in my closet as I progress.

@ Stuart85, It is all in where you live (and buy your insurance). It wasn't covered on my policy, either.. I saw dr. Ponce de leon in Tijuana Mexico and financed the 5k for my surgery and travel. I'm paying it off at 300 a month for two years, and if it weren't for all the extra shopping I'm having to do 'cause my clothes won't shrink, I'd be saving enough on my food bill to cover it.

Stretchy dresses are easy to hem and forgive 20 pounds of loss... and I hesitate to suggest that any grown woman shop girls clothing, but the fact is some of those styles are much more mature than you'd think and many of the jeans are identical - but shorter and priced a helluvalot cheaper.

Thank you for the brief, smart reminder.

I agree with everyone I've read so far - definitely do your research. Like ShrinkingPeach & Miss Mac, I wanted the fewest complications and the least rerouting. I also suck at taking pills, and I haven't had to increase my Vitamins after the sleeve - my Protein shake has most of them in there. Five and a half months after surgery, I have lost 115 from my high weight and 72 from my surgery day.... my loss was very fast at first and has slowed to about 10 pounds per month because of crappy food choices and the fact that I was recently diagnosed with MS and now take a medication (Tecfidera) that is much less horrible when you eat it with 200 calories of fatty food twice a day. The Lyrica that was added to my routine at the same time has a side effect of weight gain - but it is worth slow loss not to hurt. I last weighed today's weight when I graduated from college the first time. I've been so busy and so stressed out that I haven't been smart in my food choices and my exercise has been pretty much walking to the car, to class, to work, to bed, to the bathroom, and repeat. I finish classes in one month, at which time my routine will totally change, and I anticipate making my goal well before the one year mark. I am so grateful that I had the sleeve, and glad that I chose it when I did.

I don't really look at post pictures on here often - but if I say you look good, I think you do... and if I think a different bra or a different cut would be more flattering, in person or online, I say so. I'm likely to say, "You look amazing, but that __ doesn't really seem to do you justice." And if you disagree, I certainly don't get offended. I am a good friend to take clothes shopping, because I resort to cell phone pictures of too tight white pants if you want to see. I hope you'll do the same for me.

@@foodfighter78, I'm glad you got an answer. @@proudgrammy - a stricture is when a band of scar tissue forms around something and causes it to get tight - they can get small enough to keep any food from passing through, and they can be stretched via endoscopy with a balloon. They can happen in the esophagus, the new stomach, or anywhere in the intestines... more common at the junctions, but they can occur with no surgery at all in some people.

I chose a sleeve because I wanted the minimum amount of rerouting with the maximum odds of success. I also didn't want to have to give up Ibuprofen forever, and the surgeon I used didn't say I'd have to - although I do limit NSAIDS now. I also suck at remembering to take pills, so the Vitamin regimen was somewhat daunting to me. From a physiological standpoint, I also know the body increases its resorptive capacity in response to malnutrition, and the pouch can stretch... I work with several nurses who had roux en y, many regained after a rapid weightloss... they have many of the complications of wls, with few of the 'benefits'. I work with 3 who have had the sleeve, and none have not regained. They lost slower, but it stayed off. My highest weight was 335; I was 315 when I decided to have surgery and 295 day of. That was 5 months and 2 days ago, and this morning I weighed 227. I haven't done much exercise and I'm not the most careful with my diet. I found out a couple of months ago that I have MS. There's one oral medication, Tecfidera, that would theoretically have a LOT more side effects with bypass than it does with my sleeve - simply because it would absorb more quickly. Potato chips seem to reduce much of the side effect - and half a serving of potato chips twice a day with my medicine has slowed my weight loss down to 8 pounds this month. I had 150 pounds to lose when I got my sleeve, and I believe I will make my goal and maintain with it. I might already be at goal if I were more careful with what I put in my mouth and made it a priority to exercise, but I'm ok with the pace I'm going at.

I think I stayed two nights.

Bread of any kind except for a couple of dry crackers was - and still is - a recipe for pain for me. At 5 weeks out, yogurt and Soup were still my best friend. 1/2 a small baked potato with greek yogurt Turkey bacon Baked potato soup with greek yogurt and turkey bacon Applesauce with a tablespoon of PB2 powder Protein drinks chicken salad with a couple of crackers Tuna salad with a couple of crackers 2 oz hamburger patty - chew, chew, chew, chew, chew 2 oz chicken fajita strips with a little bit of queso Greek yogurt

I'm sure that the emotions behind it are exactly what you describe, but in case they weren't - fwiw, as a nurse I frequently saw horrific injuries and scars from surviving them. If there was disgust on my face, it was because - based on personal history - the scars reminded me of the trauma inflicted by others that result in those scars. It wasn't - isn't about the appearance of the person with the scars or the scars themselves. For me, anger @ the theoretical perpetrator kept me from crying at the pain these people went through. There's a lot of nurses who think they know what a 'sleeve' is and don't know jack. Of course, if your surgical history was there for all to see - not sure what there was to be surprised or disgusted at. *hugs* I'm sorry you went through those feelings, regardless of what was in the provider's head.

Insulin doesn't turn into fat. It's a storage hormone that is released to move glucose (sugar) from your bloodstream into cells, where it can be used as fuel or stored as fat. That would be like having a key turn into a house. With regards to the original post - there's a test they can do based off of your respiratory byproducts to determine how much cellular waste is being produced by your 'metabolism'. http://www.fitnesswave.com/portal/portal/getdunked/services/restingmetabolic They can also do something similar while you're on a treadmill / bike / etc and tell you exactly how many calories you're burning. It's expensive, but were I doing a research project on pre / post bariatric energy expenditure or surgery vs. non surgery groups, it's the only place I'd start.

Yep - I was there just after the sleeve; I can't imagine having to deal with malabsorption on top of it. Are you taking the Vitamins - being monitored for deficiencies? Protein, Essential Fatty Acids, Iron, B6, B12 are the ones that I can think of off the top of my head that will make you feel like a train hit... especially recovering from surgery and blood loss. I like the pink lemonade concentrate from HealthSmart at http://www.nashuanutrition.com/store/cold-drinks/healthsmart-liquid-concentrate-pink-lemonade-7-box.html It is liquid, so it doesn't hang out - and it's low calorie protein. It's not terribly sweet, especially if you add a little more Water - and I have to drink the water anyway. At the same time, Premier Protein's ready to drink chocolate has almost all my vitamins for the day in two of them... so they're useful to me, too. I didn't feel *GOOD* till a solid 6 weeks after surgery.