neworleanslady

Uh oh! I am not having any preop testing done at all. My internist said I am young (36) and besides the weight healthy so I won't need anything besides labs. Should I be concerned?

I am so so happy I am scheduled for Feb 18, 2009 for the gastric sleeve. But I am trying to decide if I need to get help the first few days after surgery. I have 4 kids and the oldest is 7 and youngest are 4. Am I naively thinking I will be okay the next day to get them up and send them to school? And just caring for them when they get home. Or should I expect my husband to take off work and help with that? And if so how long? How do you know when you have eaten just the right amount of food? Is it trial and error, where if you vomit you have just learned that yep, that was too much? Or is it painful if you overeat? I am not planning on overeating but I would think that everyone needs to learn their own limit. So how does everyone learn that lesson?

Congrats on your surgery as well! Are you having it done in Mexico or US? Would you mind letting me know how you manage your immediate post op recovery and how you are able to handle day to day things? Also, I guess you are following the dreaded preop diet. How is that going? Is it as hard as I think it will be? Are you following the Optifast diet or something else? I know it is a lot of questions but as I get closer to the surgery I am starting to get nervous. But definitely not cold feet!

Thanks for your input. Sounds like the recovery won't be too bad. Is there anything you can tell me about the overeating?

Well, it definitely made me feel better. Thanks.

Thanks for the positive feed back on the sleeve. I see you have to take chewable vitamins after the surgery. Are you able to take any pills after the surgery or is everything liquid?

Sorry to hear that you gained some of the weight back. You make me reassured that I made the right decision to go with the sleeve. My first appt was Jan 9th. They told me the surgery could be as soon as the beginning of Feb. I have to do all of the things you are listed except instead of seeing a psych person I just had to take a $150 psych eval. Self pay started at $13,600. But I had to take an H-pylori test at $50 and then the Optifast diet is another $150 and liquid vitamins, liquid iron, and B12 are who knows how much, ouch! Unfortunately I can only have the optifast and 2 to 4 oz of lean meat depending on the day. So I will have to be a strong as possible during that time. Good luck and I would appreciate any info from the nutrionist.

Yes, I am planning on the sleeve. Hopefully it will be Mid February - I want to have it close to Mardi Gras b/c that is a holiday here and my kids will be home from school. Maybe that is not such a good idea? Dr. Tom Lavin will be performing the surgery. I have been asking for years and his name is always the one that has been given to me. That includes patients, doctors, and some of my nurse friends that work with him. His office NP told me so far they have not had any leaks with the sleeve (knock on wood). I know it sounds petty but I am not sure I can do a liquid diet for 2 WEEKS. :cursing: How do I cook for my kids while I am starving? Has anyone done the Optifast 2 week diet? They also said I will need to do B12 injections or sublingual. What have most people been doing? I read on some of the sleeve forums about not drinking with meals. My doctors office has not told me anything about that. Is that something I am supposed to know already or learn as I go? I am really glad to have found these websites for info.

I had a band and couldn't stand it anymore. I absolutely hated my band. I tried and tried to make it work but after 4 months on liquids I couldn't do it anymore. I was getting very sick and I was getting sick enough that I wouldn't have been safe to have surgery... meaning, to remove the band. So I finally got a sleeve. Now, i was sleeved at goal so I can't tell you personal examples of weight loss with the sleeve but I can tell you that I maintain without any effort whatsoever at a size 4/6. That is incredible! I can't wait to have the surgery done. How was the recovery from the lap band to the sleeve?

To Macmadame, What do you think is a good number of sleeve surgeries or years of performing them? Also, my surgeon just calls if the "Gastric Sleeve" not the vertical gastric sleeve. I would think it is the same surgery but I guess I will double check. Are they all laproscopic procedures?

I appreciate you sharing your info with me. Are you able to eat larger quantities of food than you expected? There seems to be a wide array of answers to that question. Is it that you are hungry or just the habits of any overweight person where we eat just because, I know I am guilty of that. I know that you are not trying to make me decide against the lap band but hearing of stories like yours and knowing how I am I really think the sleeve is my best option. I see a NP on Jan 9 and will get things started. I will keep you posted on how I do with the sleeve and such.

I was sure I was getting the lap band until a few days ago when I started reading that many people are unsuccessful with it. I wanted the safest procedure possible and thought that the band was it. I read on some of the sites that people could eat two pieces of pizza (after lap band) and others replied that just b/c she could eat it doesn't mean she should eat it. That is worrisome for me b/c if I had the will power to say no to food I wouldn't be having WLS in the first place. Also, I am making a loan to pay for my surgery so I really need to find the safest surgery but with the highest success rate. I can't afford to have another surgery in a few years if this one fails. Especially if I am still paying on my 3 year loan for this surgery. I haven't heard of people gaining significant amounts of weight back with the sleeve. And it seems to be a safer procedure than the bypass. I do plan on doing everything I can to eat sensibly but I know how weak I can get when it comes to food. I hope this answers your question and I didn't ramble on too much. How long has it been since you had the lap band done? And why do you think it is not working for you? I just want as much as info as possible to be sure I make the right decision. Thanks.

What they have found is that when they first started doing the procedure, initial weight loss was excellent. However, at around the 2-3 year point, regain became a problem. So now they do the sleeves with a 32f boughie and regain is not an issue. How many years have docs been performing the sleeve with the 32f boughie? What is the rate of mortality for the sleeve or is it per MD rate that I should be concerned with? I am almost positive I am switching from the lap band to the sleeve but just want to be reassured.

It seems like you have a lot of info on the sleeve. Do you know if people just don't lose weight with the sleeve like sometimes happens with the lap band? Is the lap band a safer procedure than the sleeve? Thanks.

Does anyone have any info regarding which is a safer procedure, the lap band or the gastric sleeve. I think I want to have the sleeve done but I am scared. Thanks.