*susan*

I am so pleased to hear you are doing well and happy with your sleeve. Congrats!

Wow, she sounds like a real case. Perhaps we should "discreetly" direct her members over her to get the real facts.

Hayley, I am so sorry. That is awful that you are being put through so much. I wish there was something more we could do for you. But do know that you are in our thoughts.

I am so glad to hear I am not the only one who experiences it that. And, it is usually within the first one or two bites of food that I take. That is strange.

I agree, I don't want to deprive myself, I just want to be able to enjoy food in a more controlled manner. I have had quite a few goodies, and I never feel guilty about it. Vegas, I can't eat ice cream or anything with milk in it anymore. I think I have become lactose intolerant since my surgery. I miss my milk, I was a major milk drinker prior to surgery. But now, it just makes me incredibly sick to my stomach.

Alisia, thank for checking in and letting us know how are you doing. I am glad everything went well for you.

You guys are so goofy. I talked to Alex yesterday. He has been pretty busy and is going to be out of town. You should see the winner announced by the end of next week. So, be on the lookout!

Hey Rebekah, thought I would bump this for you in case there is a patient of his on here that hasn't seen your post.

Very impressive! I like it, I like it a lot! G4E hasn't been posting on facebook either. I am worried about her too.

Dang, things are really hopping here!

I just want to know why everyone can't follow the rules of this board? I don't remember us adding anything to the rules saying these rules apply to everyone with the exception of certain people. One of those rules is we attack the idea, not the person and if you want to fight, take it to pm. And, for the record, I am waiting to hear from Alex on this issue. But until such time as we are told otherwise, the moderator team will continue to enforce the rules as we know them on this board.

I am going to be talking to Alex today and will let you know.

Hi, and welcome to our forums. Both the band and the sleeve offer you a restrictive type surgery. I have had both. With the band, you do have to visit your doctor on a regular basis in order to get fills. Most people do not achieve proper restriction on the first fill, it usually takes 2-3 fills before they get there. As you lose weight, your band becomes looser and you will once again need to go in for another fill to achieve proper restriction. In my opinion, it is better to go slow and work your way up to achieving proper restriction than to be too aggressive. If you are aggressive, it can result in being overfilled. When that happens, you are miserable and have trouble even swallowing your own saliva. Also, with the band, you have to be very careful with eating. You tend to be more restricted in the mornings, and most bandsters find they are only able to drink liquids first thing in the am. You have to be very careful about chewing your food to mush, taking baby size bites and eating slowly. If you do not consciously do this, your food may get stuck and you will experience what we refer to as pb, which is basically very, very uncomfortable and you will find yourself running for the nearest restroom because that stuck food is most likely going to come back up. There are various complications with the band, such as your port flipping, slippage and/or erosion of the band. There are also several foods that you may find you are no longer able to eat. This primarily occurs with breads and Pasta type products. With the sleeve, you have immediate restriction following surgery. They also remove the part of the stomach that produces ghrelin, which is the hormone that makes you feel hungry. So, obviously, this is a huge aide in weight loss. However, do understand that our bodies are pretty amazing, and eventually you will start producing it again, just not anywhere near to the extent that one did prior to the surgery. Once you are sleeved, you are basically done. No need for fills, no worrying about slippage, or anything else. There is a risk of a leak, but the risk is very low, especially if you choose a doctor who has a great amount of experience in sleeve surgery and you follow the post-op guidelines. You can eat all the foods you did prior to getting sleeved, just in much, much smaller quantities. You have a fully functioning stomach, it is just smaller than most peoples. If you do overeat with the sleeve, which is possible, you will feel very, very uncomfortable and may also end up bringing food back up. Whether you choose the band or the sleeve, it is important to remember that both are tools to help you loose weight. Regardless of which one you decide to go with, you still have to be ready and willing to make the commitment to change to a healthier lifestyle of eating right and exercising.

I did go through it, for about three weeks. My prozac couldn't touch my moodiness.

Hayley, our thoughts are with you as you go into surgery tomorrow. Take care and let us know how you are doing.

Same here, I never have to get up in the night anymore, and seldom, if ever, feel like I have to rush to the bathroom.

Size Seven, thanks for checking in with us and letting us know how you are doing. It sounds like everything is working fabulously and life is wonderful for you! Congrats.

Your body is going through so many changes right now, and your hormones are probably all over the place as well. Not to mention, you are probably tired of the post-op diet and still in the recovery phase. I wouldn't worry too much, I am sure you will be back to your old self in no time.

Hello to both of you and welcome to our forums. It is perfectly normal to get nervous and have second thoughts about weight loss surgery, or any type of surgery for that matter. I didn't once think of it in terms of mutilating my stomach. For me, I knew I would still have a fully functioning stomach, it would just finally be the size it needed to be for me to better be able to control my food intake. In terms of pain, I was actually very surprised at how minimal the pain was. I have had numerous surgeries, and of all the ones I had, the sleeve was the least painful. I think as others post in this thread, and as you read more through the forums, you will find that most people find the amount of pain one encounters with this surgery to be very minimal.

Tiffy, that is wonderful. And the best thing of all, it is going to keep on getting better!

Glad you are home and feeling well. I hope your recovery is quick.

We try to keep the doctor bashing down on these boards and stick with facts only.

Alisia already won her appeal and is having her surgery today! We are all very excited for her.

Let me know if you post one on Facebook, I really want to see what you guys did!