girliegirl

i see a few people saying the sleeve cannot ever stretch. I have read and heard from doctors that YES it can stretch if you over eat . so im confused now. im just curious what everyone else heard on that topic?

wow....you look awesome. im just curious if you can tell us how you were able to adapt to your new way of eating after surgery? i mean, how did you turn off that voice in your head that was always telling you to eat? was it the surgery that makes it so easy in the beginning? if we cant stick to diets that great now before the sleeve, what makes us think we can do it afterwards?

i had the band and had issues too. i had it removed after a few years because the band slipped 2x. I was able to lose around 70 lbs with my band but after it was removed I gained it all back over the past 5 years. I am now still deciding if I want the sleeve or I should say IF im brave enough to get the sleeve. im so afraid!

i had a band too and now im debating on getting the sleeve for the past 2 years. i just cant take that step because I wonder what the long term effects will be down the road too. I mean like you said, you just cant reverse this and its a huge step.

i know its so hard and somedays its just harder then other to NOT give into our favorite foods. I find temptation in my own home sometimes. Im not sleeved yet, but i do have a family and children and they do like goodies. I buy icecream and treats for school and stuff. i have to choose to not eat them. of course i dont buy potatoe chips...thats my biggest trigger...

i was banded a few years back too and had it slip and needed it removed. to make a long story short, I regained the 75 lbs i lost plus about 10 more over the past 5 years without the band. I have been on the fence about getting sleeved too only because I hear its still the same amount of work to lose the weight as before being sleeved. if thats the case then why risk myself and have another surgery? If there is no benefit on having the sleeve done then why do it? i hear so many people say they work just as hard after being sleeved as they did before the sleeve. This all confuses me and just makes me think Ill keep trying at it on my own. Im feeling so hopeless...

Hi, Just wondering if anyone around the Long Island Area would recommend a certain doctor and why?

hi okay so i know that we need to change our lifestyle even with the sleeve. Im wondering how much easier is it to stick to a good eating plan with the sleeve as compared to before you were sleeved? is the struggle just as hard?

i think he is just afraid for me. he is afrid of complications. so am I, but I'm going to put my faith in God and pray for the best for me. My father doesn't have a weight issue so I know he doesn't truly understand how difficult it is to lose a large amount of weight. thanks for everyone sharing their stories, it helps!

i seem to be in a daze of some sort. I can't believe I'm actually going to take the steps that will get me closer to a surgery date. my mom asked me the other day if i were going to have it done or not. I said I'm just taking it one day/test at a time. sounds weird, but I'm scared to admit it to myself. is this happening? i know i need it, but i really struggle with the voices inside my head that say, just try it one more time on your own, or you can do it yourself, or your not big enough. anyone else know what I'm experiencing???

Thank you all for those word. thats what I need to hear every so often. I am sick and tired of being this heavy. I know I can't do it by myself, I can't lose it all without help. I have had the lap band in the past and I know the problems I had with the band make me really afraid of the sleeve. I'm worrying about things that might not even happen to me. I have been in research mode for almost 2 years and i think i researched everything I can right now. I have the support of my husband and dear friend and my mother. My father would rather me not do it and do it on my own so thats why I think Ive been procrastinating this past year, trying that one more time just for him, but in reality Im wasting time and its time to do for me now! ill keep you posted on my progress!! I met with a few doctors and i ended up really liking 2 of them. it was a hard choice but Im picking one over the other because he seems to have more experience if they are issues.

i met with the last dr i wanted to see this past friday and he didn't seem overly concerned with my issues of having the lap band and then the revision and then it removed. he was also happy that i had have a 5 yr span since the last surgery until now. he said of course the surgery will take a little longer but he really won't know what type of scar tissue if any until he gets in there. he seemed confident, as he also deals with hard to handle cases from other doctors as well. now ill start some of the testing that needs to be done. I'm nervous, but taking it one step at a time. i want this so bad. he also said it sounds to him like I'm only focusing on the bad things that COULD happen, which are rare. he says i need to stay focused on the good!! i think he is right. I'm worrying about leaks and things that didn't and hopefully won't ever happen to me. i guess its because of the troubles i had with the band. trying to stay positive and not such a worrier in the future!!

wow….really? i met with dr angstadt a while ago but i didn't think too much of him afterwards. so i was looking for other options. how do you know what a dr.s death rate is? how can i find out how many sleeves they have done, besides asking them. i mean, can't they tell you whatever they want to?

i have one more consult with a dr this week before picking the dr i want to use. I'm so nervous to take the step though. its been long road of research for me. I'm drained!!!

thats wonderful. how long of a process has it been for you?

hi, I was told by the 1st doctor i went to that he wouldn't touch me unless i did a bypass. he said there would just be too much scar tissue. I had a band place back in 2006, it slipped and i had a revision and a new band placed in 2007 and in 2009 it slipped again so i had the band removed. so my band has been out now for about 5 years. i didn't want a bypass and wouldn't even consider it at this point. I then went to 2 other doctors who were fine with doing the sleeve. I'm seeing one more doctor this friday for a consult and ill hear what he thinks as well. so far just the 1st doctor told me to do a bypass, everyone else had no issues. maybe the 1st dr was just more comfortable with a bypass, i have no clue. i didn't like him much anyway so i wouldn't use him no matter what. the point I'm getting at is to get more opinions and listen to what other doctors think before making a choice.

i ask myself those same question and I'm still not sure i even know those answers. who knows what will happen after 30 years, but i often wonder how healthy i will be in 30 ears if i keep myself at my current weight or gain more. I've been struggling with the idea of surgery too, for about 1 1/2 yrs. I'm ring to meet with one other dr next week and ill ask him some of those questions you mentioned!

i thought you wrote and explained that perfectly because as so many of us have stated, it was and is all of us at some point. i too, sat not in the back of the room, but on the side, alone. i too, always wear dark colors, never wanting to be noticed. and like everyone else, I'm tugging at the ole shirt and of course never putting it in the dryer because then it will just shrink and feel smaller. i have thought of having this surgery for a long time and I'm pretty sure I'm going to go for it, even though I'm very afraid. its reading your stories that holp me and others to be strong and brave like you guys are.

hi, i know of one person who left he hospital with drains after having a sleeve. she claims it was normal. is it? how many people have had drains put in and sent home? i would think they do that only if they suspect a leak?

i was banded in 2006. i did well and lost around 75 lbs, wanting to lose another 20 or so. about a yr out the band slipped. i had a revision surgery and the dr replaced that band with another band. again about a yr later another slip and then i opted to have it taken out. he mentioned the sleeve to me after that but since i was of a more normal weight i didn't want to take that option. myself and dr thought id be able to maintain my loss. well over the past 4 years or so i regained all the weight. i wouldn't recommend the band to anyone. i hear too many stories of problems with it. i have been researching the sleeve for about 1 1/2 yrs , back and forth and i think I'm coming to decision. take your time. you will be ready, when you feel you are. research as much as you can and even get a few opinions. each time you learn more and more.

I'm sure you found a great dr in the city though, right?

i noticed this doctor seemed to stitch over the staple line. seems like a pod idea. i wonder how many doctors do that as well.

i would hope you wouldn't struggle as much after you are sleeved then before you have it. i mean if you did then why have it done right? im not sleeved yet but i was a lap bander. lol i had a slip 2x and then had it removed. not sure why it slipped, doctor can't really say why, but he did say once it slips the first time its common for the 2nd band it slip as well. i was successful with the weightless when i was banded but once it was removed i ended up over the years regaining. i wish you and your husband lots of luck in your new journey!!

OMG thats scary. that would make me not even want it. did he say thats the risk if you do the procedure at once? what if you wait? how much safer does he say it is?

how do you get past the fear? I'm so nervous to have it done because I suffered with a slip 2x and I'm so afraid something bad will happened with the sleeve.