BlackBerryJuice

Well, one way to think about it is that you'll have less tissue where something could go wrong! Kind of like skin cancer being the most common cancer out there - you just have so much damn skin, once you get to a certain age, something is pretty much guaranteed to go wrong in one of those millions of cells. You are also likely going to be hypervigilant about any GI symptoms because you have a sleeve, so if you do develop an ulcer or something like that, you are probably much more likely to get checked for a mild stomachache than a non-sleeved person! And if you are worried about stomach cancer, it's quite rare, and one of the symptoms is early satiety (due to tumor obstruction) - but for a non-sleeved person, this symptom would be a very late one, whereas a sleever would notice it very quickly because are stomachs are so much smaller, so it's easier to notice if you suddenly can't eat as much. The main risk for stomach cancer is long-standing H. pylori infection; when they do pathology on your stomach tissue post-op, they will check for it. And if you ever get stomachaches, they can do an easy breath test for H. pylori. H. pylori is also quite easily treated, with a round of PPI and antibiotics for 3 weeks, I believe.

Psych's interesting, because it's such a "soft" science. I remember going to this talk where a forensic psychiatrist talked about how nebulous it is, and he showed us a case where this guy was basically raging hardcore, threatening to kill his family members, etc. Then they committed him for a few days, and suddenly like 5 days later he does a complete turnaround and becomes an angel on Earth, so they release him a week after. Same night, he hacks 2 of his relatives into pieces. The psychiatrist in that case was sued, but won the case, because he basically said there was no way to predict this could've happened. I have an acquaintance in med school who really shouldn't be there, and he said he wants to be a psychiatrist "because no one can ever prove you made a mistake." Kinda makes you think twice. Bottom line, unless you wander into their office naked rambling about aliens sending you messages, you can argue that you're healthy as a horse and you are guaranteed to find another shrink who'll tell you just that.

3 months as per my doc.

I agree with Globetrotter in that it's best to try to find something close to home. There are quite a few European sleevers on this forum, I know there are people who've gotten sleeves in Spain and Czech republic, and I'm sure there's lots of options in the UK, as they have a major issue with obesity there, as well. I've heard lots about sleeves done in India, as well - not super-close, but still closer to you than Mexico. I mean, you are PROBABLY going to be ok, but it's one thing to have a medical emergency when flying over Europe where a plane can land practically anywhere and you can get medical care within half an hour and another to have a medical emergency over the Atlantic ocean - where it could take 5 hours for you to get help, at which point it may be too late.

Got mine at 25. 3 months later, hit my lowest weight in a decade; now I'm at my lowest weight since I was a tween. Why wait if you've got the financial means or insurance approval now? All you get from being fat for another couple of years is atherosclerosis and degenerative arthritis that much sooner than if you were at a normal weight. And like MRSKoubik said earlier, the psychosocial benefits are amazing! Only downside - everything I try on these days seem to fit, so "browsing" always turns into buying!

Wow, even found some dumb bimbo to wear a white coat and pretend to be a PhD!

Lately, I've felt that my sleeve seems to empty fast. I've always had a tendency to eat frequently, including pre-sleeve - it wasn't uncommon that I'd stuff myself silly, yet 3 hours later, would be hungry again. Well, same thing here! I actually paid attention to the timing today. I had a canelloni with veal for lunch around 12:15 (ground veal rolled into a sheet of pasta) and was full after. Then, around 1:30 I started feeling hungry again! I distracted myself by drinking some tea, but by 2 o'clock, I HAD to eat again. Packed away a whole cup of strawberries, so obviously, my sleeve was empty by then, even though less than 2 hours had passed. Is it just me or does anyone else seem to have rapid emptying?

Maybe I'll try that, thanks. I don't wanna take a PPI unless I actually have the burning symptoms. I'd rather eat more and maybe risk regaining 2 lbs than break a hip at 40, lol.

I was worried about anemia and my blood count was normal at my 3-month check-up. I probably won't have another one until 1 year out, unless I start feeling funny. I take B12 and Iron maybe 2-3 times a week. Re: saggy skin, yeah, it's not esthetically pleasant, but someone who's slim with sagging skin will still look fine in clothes, whereas someone who's obese won't have that advantage. Plus saggy skin is not a serious medical condition which will shorten your lifespan, whereas obesity is. Last but not least, if you are very big and expect major loose skin problems, there's always surgery for that.

I didn't realize how silly this was until I related it to my counselor the other day. He asked me how I've been doing with weight, and first I said I was terrified of gaining weight and told him about our trip to the mountains the weekend before where I ate a ton of sweets, drank daiquiris, etc. Then I felt like I could grab more skin/fat on my stomach than usual the day after, so I was absolutely convinced I put on a bit of weight. Then I got home, got on the scale, and I was actually down a pound! Then under the same breath, I told him about how I'm terrified of wasting away because of my sleeve, and how I don't want to end up a bony size zero or something. Then I realized how funny it was that these 2 fears can somehow coexist in my head at the same time and not contradict each other. I guess if I put them all together under the umbrella of "fear of the unknown," it starts to make more sense.

That sucks. I've never been a happy perky cheerleader, so this will never be a concern for me, haha.

IV and a drain. No catheter for me.

I wasn't sure why it was a bad thing, but then I found a good article on it. I guess there are actual diseases for which low LDL is a symptom, and treatments do exist. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/121975-overview

You have to remember it's also very swollen right after the operation, when the first image was taken. Just think back to how little you could eat when you first tried mushy foods - I could barely eat half an egg! Now I can eat 2 eggs.

My spine's really prominent in the lumbar/lower thoracic area now, it kind of freaks me out when I run my hand up my back and feel these huge vertebrae. I remember falling off a horse on a pile of pointy gravel pretty hard a few years ago and landing right on my lower back. At 200 lbs, I came out with just muscle spasms and a bad bruise on my lower back, but I bet if it happened now, I'd definitely crack a vertebra!

Wow! You've lost at least 10 years, too!

38DD --> 34D so far. Still look nice in a bra, but the skin is definitely looser and a bit wrinkly now. It's only obvious if I wear something tight that cuts across them, though, like some of those one-piece swimsuits that are meant for actual lap swimming.

It's ok to break open the capsule and wash down the granules with something if it works for you (but don't grind the granules down!). However, PPIs work best when taken on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning, and it's best to wait 30 mins before eating. So I'd suggest trying to wash it down with just water first; if it doesn't work for you at all, do the yogurt thing, but once you can do it without the yogurt, switch.

I couldn't even use the site - dark purple background with black font and ominous background music do not a helpful site make....

Weird, I've been able to eat pasta without a problem for months. Never tried elbow macaroni, either. But I agree, if it's not tasty AND isn't good for you, why bother eating it?

I've never gotten to the point where I threw up, but I've had maybe 2-3 experiences where I felt absolutely horrible because I inadvertently overate. I gave it some thought and realized it was always at social events and always with people who don't know about my sleeve. I'd never eat myself to the point of nausea at home or with friends who know about my surgery. It was a problem back in the days in particular, when I couldn't eat much and was self-conscious about that with strangers, as I didn't want random people to know. Do you think this could be the case for you? I found once I reasoned that through, I could deal with it, and I could choose foods that take up a lot of room on my plate, but not so much in my stomach (salads are the best for this), or repeatedly invite my boyfriend to "have another taste of this delicious steak!" at parties so people wouldn't pester me about eating too little or whatever.

I had an eczema-like rash on my face about a week after surgery. I contacted Dr. Aceves and he said he had never heard of anything like that, but then a week later, he e-mailed me to say he just had a patient with the same issue, so maybe it IS possible that it's a delayed reaction to an anesthetic or some other medications they give you. I had also gotten a pertussis shot the day it started, and it has been linked to eczema, especially in children who've had eczema before (which I did as a child), so I figured it was most likely due to the vaccination, but I guess a medication reaction from surgery is also possible. Some medication reactions, including scary ones like Stevens-Johnson, take up to 6 months to develop! I self-medicated with topical corticosteroids (I'm terrible, I know), but it didn't completely clear up for a good month.