Mandy2021

Hi all, I have my first appointment with a surgeon next week and I am looking at the option of a gastric sleeve. I've been up and down HUGE amounts all my life. Was an extremely obese teenager, a decent weight in my early twenties which was maintained through excessive exercise/occasional vomiting/diet pills and a severely restricted diet. However, I ended up slowly gaining and I hit over 100kg after each of my children were born. On and off I took diet pills/tried intermittant fasting/exercised manically etc to go up and down throughout my 30's and early 40's. I maintained 66 - 68kgs for about three years but was ALWAYS hungry. During the Covid lockdowns last year (I'm based in Melbourne , Australia) I gained 15 kilos. Over summer, I lost five, but have now put them back on plus another 7-8 kg. My weight is currently 91kg (I'm 165cm) and I'm tired and really depressed. I can't even look at myself in the mirror and I'm dreading going back to work. I feel as though I don't have it in me for another huge weight loss, without some type of surgery, as I've struggled with multiple family and financial issues over the past 2 years and am at a really low ebb. My goal weight is actually 60kg, but I only reached this weight in my early twenties when I was doing 15 hours exercise a week. Anyway, I'd love to hear from other people who have experienced a similar predicament. How bad was the sleeve recovery? What about reflux? Has it made a difference to your appetite? Would you recommend it? I just love the idea of my life not revolving around self hatred and guilt and obsession with food. Thank you in advance!

Thank you so much to everyone for taking time to share your experiences!!! Those personal stories have told me much more than the 'official' surgeon's information! it is good to hear that you can eat most foods but in much smaller portions. What about drinking wine? Is that possible? I enjoy a couple of glasses when entertaining or eating out but am concerned about the lack of nutrition/ effect on my appetite. Whenever I have 1 or 2 wines, I crave sugar and carbs about an hour later. I have another question ; did you tell most people about the sleeve? Or only close family and friends? Why or why not? What was the response? I'm tossing up what to do. I'm pretty sure a friend of mine, who lost about 40 kilos quite quickly, and has kept it off even during the long covid lockdowns, has had some type of WLS. She eats very little (tiny serves) but told me she lost it all by sticking to 900 calories a day. I'm pleased for her but feel a hurt that she has not confided in me as we have both struggled with our weight throughout our friendship. However, I respect that for personal reasons she has chosen to keep it private. I'm not sure what I would do!