Did you decide on the sleeve or was it recommended to you?

4 hours ago, jess9395 said:

I think it’s important to remember message board posters are not representative of the population. People who post and look for validation or complain are a specific type. Sorta like how people who review a restaurant or hotel or whatever on yelp usually had a strong reaction—positive or negative—and you don’t hear the silent majority.

Jess is making an excellent point. There are lurkers here, and many others who rarely, if ever, participate in forums such as this one. We're a bunch of outliers and people who pop in for whatever reason need to understand that.

6 hours ago, Frustr8 said:

Hey if the Reverse Trendelenburg is basically standing me up I could have stayed awake for that! Of course, I would want to give advice as they proceeded, they would need a mouth gag or tape my 👄 mouth shut! I'm 72, I've lived forever, I'm just brimming with advice!!

I dare you... no, I double-dare you, Frustr8 , to ask your surgeon if he'll be performing the reverse Trendelenburg position on you! Then again, you're probably ornery enough to do it without being dared.

I've had my share of colonoscopies... it's not very pretty to think about. I just remind being asked to roll to one side, which would have ruled out the reverse Trendelenburg position!

47 minutes ago, Matt Z said:

This study had a 2.5% failure rate requiring revision
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5406732/

This sentence stood out in the study you cited:

Under general anaesthesia the patients were placed in the reverse Trendelenburg position with the surgeon standing between the legs.

59 minutes ago, Orchids&Dragons said:

Because my specific issues were excessive hunger and Portion Control. The sleeve addressed both of these. I wanted the ghrelin reduced and I wanted the restriction.

I find the specific reasons why people chose one procedure over the other interesting. Your reasons were unmistakably well-thought out and geared toward your needs. Not everyone is as sure about what they want or can expect from their choice. Did you believe that the sleeve was your best option from the beginning or did you briefly consider the bypass or any of the other WLS procedures?

I was only given the option between the sleeve and bypass.

I know there are people who can't have the bypass for medical reasons (Crohn's disease, for example). What I don't understand is the other procedures: duodenal switch, mini bypass, gastric balloon. Are there specific conditions that make these procedures the best choice? (Just curious. Always eager to learn.)

....this was one of the things that steered me toward a sleeve - to preserve as much of my digestive system as possible and still lose enough weight to make me healthier.

But with a sleeve, a part of your body is removed permanently. How does that compare with a bypass in which nothing is removed? With a bypass, one's digestive system is rejiggered, nothing is removed. Do surgeon's tell their patients how much stomach they intend to remove? What if they inadvertently remove too of your stomach? How would you even know? It's not likely that they'll mention it.

I have never had signficant GERD issues or I might have considered the bypass.

But one can develop GERD (with the sleeve) even without a history of it. I don't think there's any way to predict who will develop GERD and who won't. I didn't want to take that chance.

One egg. Never two.

I don’t even know why I’m posting this other than I need to get it out.

By processing your feelings in part (here), you're already helping yourself to grieve in a healthier way. While I can't feel your pain (no one can), I can sense a great deal of strength in your words. And it's that strength and your determination to get through this without food that will help you to become even stronger. You're already stronger than you think. That said, don't walk around with a brave face. Now isn't the time. Strong doesn't mean numbing out or denying your feelings. I've always found crying to be very cleansing. Big girls do cry.

By not allowing yourself to head down a destructive path to cope with your loss, you are, in a sense, honoring yourself... and by honoring yourself, you are honoring your brother. And your mother. And your young daughter who must be hurting terribly seeing you in so much pain. Comfort your daughter. Sometimes when we look beyond our own pain, by comforting another, we are able to comfort ourselves, too.

The Veteran's Forum is respected (for WL veterans only), is it not? If that's the case, why are the other "only" forums treated any differently?

30 minutes ago, Gundy said:

On August 21, 2018 at 7:31 AM, Missouri-Lee's Summit said:

The suggestion of self-sabotage doesn't make sense for me when considering one weight-loss surgery over another. Real self-sabotage is doing nothing, taking no steps toward reclaiming one's life via the tools of WLS.

I often wonder why some people have opted into a revision (from sleeve to bypass). Did they make a mistake in choosing the sleeve in the first place? I have no regrets in selecting the bypass. None. I think I'd be upset if I'd had ended up with the sleeve, though.

The RN at my Bariatric Center stated that many times people seek revision after the sleeve due to GERD. This isn’t an issue for me.

When both options (sleeve and bypass) were presented to me, and I was told that I could develop GERD even without a history of it if I had the sleeve, I was convinced that I wanted nothing to do with the sleeve. Taking Vitamins is no hardship, but having to contend with something like GERD was a dealbreaker. And sleeve people have to take vitamins, too, so why not go with he bypass.

@James Marusek Have you conducted any experiments with essential oils that could possibly alter our skin's microbiota/odor signature?

Since we have an estimated 1m bacteria per square cm of skin, often comprising hundreds of species, it would seem that there is too much variation from person to person.

Still, it's fascinating to think about! I love science!!!

2 hours ago, Orchids&Dragons said:

In my experience the tailoring for men's suits is not included in the price.

One thing I will grant - men's suits usually have plenty of fabric to hem the pants. Women's suits usually have very little fabric to work with, making it very difficult for tall women.

2 hours ago, enjoyinglife said:

You will fail don't worry. We all gain our weight back. Life is not a survivable event!

Like J San, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Either you're feeling desperately low or your account has been hijacked. What's going on? Do you need to vent? We're here! We're here! Bariatric Evangelists aren't supposed to treat Newbies like this, enjoyinglife. Pick on someone your own size, assuming you are enjoyinglife.

duplicate post

duplicate post

So, I'm confused, if men are forced to pay more for 2 categories of dress, and only 1 for women, how is this statement from your title accurate? "but almost exclusively on women's clothing, not men's" Plus-sized Men also have the added "benefit" of having to pay extra for suits, that pretty much always have to be tailored to fit, another fun additional cost, just to have something they can wear to work.

I'm not sure where I heard it, and I may be mistaken, but I thought men received altering services for free in most places (where they bought their suit), but women were nearly always expected to pay for the same services.

Shoes aren't priced according to size, are they? There's a big difference in a woman's 5 and 11, no? A lot more leather, more bling, more everything.

Don't have a driving, fishing or hunting license currently.

In many states, fishing and hunting licenses are free for seniors (65+). There are exemptions for certain fish/game, but free is free.

So, I'm confused, if men are forced to pay more for 2 categories of dress, and only 1 for women, how is this statement from your title accurate?

My title reflects the news articles I found. I didn't create the news, I just shared it. And when have titles ever represented the content of an article accurately? Titles like this are created to draw readers in. To titillate and confuse, to poke and pester... No reason to blame the messenger.

I have no interest in misrepresenting a title to draw readers in here. What's the prize?

Men don't have much variety in terms of clothing anyway: pants/shorts, shirts... what else is there?

Women have skirts, dresses, pants, blouses, shirts (in a multitude of styles).

I'm not disagreeing that men also pay more... but, in general, they are excepted to pay for TALL and BIG.

Tall women aren't penalized, mostly just plus-sized women.

22 minutes ago, Sosewsue61 said:

This was a UK store.

But I will say a couple places where women get gouged is undergarments - bras and panties and such are outrageously priced when compared to the amount of fabric contained, and shoes too.

Yes, but this store is by no means the only store. There are plenty of stores in the U.S. that quietly but deliberately fat-tax plus-size women. I linked to this example because it was the most publicized (and one of the more egregious) examples. Also, this forum is a global community (I've seen members from the UK, Australia, Canada and elsewhere), so it shouldn't really matter if it is a UK store; we're all in the same fat-shaming, fat-taxed boat.

The suggestion of self-sabotage doesn't make sense for me when considering one weight-loss surgery over another. Real self-sabotage is doing nothing, taking no steps toward reclaiming one's life via the tools of WLS.

I often wonder why some people have opted into a revision (from sleeve to bypass). Did they make a mistake in choosing the sleeve in the first place? I have no regrets in selecting the bypass. None. I think I'd be upset if I'd had ended up with the sleeve, though.

I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis* It's hereditary, going back to my great-great grandmother and many other close female relatives.

Yes, Biotin will absolutely mess with your doctor's tests. Don't take it!

BEWARE OF BIOTIN: biotin can skew test results to be either falsely high or falsely low.

https://endocrinenews.endocrine.org/january-2016-thyroid-month-beware-of-biotin/

My body is still compensating (churning out some thyroid hormone), so my endocrinologist doesn't want me to take levothyroxine yet.

*Actually, it's not entirely accurate to refer to Hashimoto's as hypothyroidism since in its early stages and sometimes later you can teeter between hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. Of course, since the body is destroying one's thyroid, one will ultimately and exclusively exhibit symptoms of hypothyroidism, but that's down the road for some (including me).