Bryn

I can't really see how wls is any different from other elective surgeries or procedures people have. if someone has a root canal or needs a filling, well isn't it their fault for not keeping up with their oral hygiene? how could they let their teeth get to this point? can they fix it on their own now w/o a surgeon's intervention? the answer is no. same questions they ask you, are the same questions in the situation above (partly). people choose to straighten their teeth, their hair, get a nose job, get fake nails, lip peircings, tattoos, etc. these things all have risks. but if we don't take action with our health now, who's to say we may live long enough to see the little things people take for granted every day? don't let it get you down, but let it be your motivation to keep going with your journey.

wowzers! absolutely amazing. you looked great during the liquid diet phase :omg_smile:

i believe it is completely do-able for people to eat no carbs and drink a ton of Water a day and lose weight. but not everyone wants to do it. is it healthy? ya, maybe so. but you have to realize these people are in the spot light, and they have money. we see celebrities lose weight and gain weight in a matter of months. they do it for movie roles, etc. it's because they can afford to do so. i mean if i had a chef, a personal trainer and a life coach pushing me 24/7 and a slew of people around me eye balling what i'm doing/eating, then yep, i'm sure i'd lose the weight too. i don't think Kelly Osborne had any surgery. she's been yo-yo-ing ever since i've seen her on tv and in the spot light. as for Oprah, she has dealt with her weight her whole life it seems. sure she can pay for any surgery she wanted and then some, but i'm sure she is a firm believer in eating right and exercising: the non-surgical route. and plenty of obese people it as well. some people do not want surgery, that's normal i can't think of anyone else in hollywood who would have WLS other than those who have already come out and mentioned it. but if they did have it, it would come out eventually. people like to talk

I recently did a detox for myself just to see if if worked, and it did I only ate fruits and vegetables for one week. and only drank Water. nothing else. also no exercise because with no Protein coming in, it's not good. i stuck by it, the week went by surprisingly fast. i limited myself to 3 servings of fruit a day, and an unlimited amount of veggies (most raw or steamed). i lost 6.5 lbs in one week, another coworker lost 10 lbs. granted this is just water weight, but eh, the numbers are smaller on the scale.

i would love to get my brows done. mainly cause i over pluck and then i need to fill in so that's annoying but not too sure how it will look considering it's my face

truly amazing and inspirational video like someone mentioned before, I appreciate that celebrities and public figures come out to admitting they have undergone WLS. Maybe others won't look at it as "weird"

1) not feeling so bloated and tired all the time 2) wearing cute clothes i can buy in the "normal" section of department store 3) allowing the athlete in me to come out and having everyone see it

I just figure that everyday, people lose some part of their body and go on to live full and health lives. so many people require amputations, removal of organs and tissue, sadly a disease may overcome someone and they may lose any part of their body. and for the most part people learn to adapt. there's so much technology out in the world that we are able to sustain and live our lives without certain parts of our bodies when the time comes for it. i don't feel doctors and researchers would invest such time and effort into something that they know could cause harm down the road with something as removing the majority of the stomach. while it is a wow factor to think about, i think that is what fears others when they hear someone is removing most of their stomach. it is a foreign concept to think about. but these days people are having their gallbladders removed often, and when you think of someone donating a kidney , they can fully function on just one kidney. so i think that fear is in most people, but when they come out of surgery and live complete and healthier lives they come to realize that they actually can do w/o most of their stomach

probably numb due to the nerves regenerating, pretty common i have a scar on my abdomen from 2005 and in certain areas it is always numb. sensation never returned to normal. really not a big deal, i only notice when i have an itch in that area

I haven't even had my sleeve surgery but i have 5 laparoscopic scars on my abdomen and one 5 inch incision near my bikini line due to previous pelvic surgeries so i am not really worried about scars, i'll just be adding to the loot! lol

I have my endoscopy set for the 23rd of November.

I have my endoscopy set for the 23rd of November.

some docs who require bowel preps do it so that the bowels lay flat during operation and is not "in the way" keep the bathroom open just for you cause you'll be needing it lol

woo-hoo!!! awesome and good luck

maybe you can have a girls night out and just chat with her. I am assuming she is a teenager? and if she is, maybe you two can do activities together like bike riding, going to the gym, hiking etc. to help lose weight together. let her know that she's young and she can change and become healthier so she does not have to take the surgical route. sort of make her feel proud about losing weight and becoming healthier; with you supporting her all the way. being a kid in today's world is hard enough, let alone if someone is even 10lbs overweight, it just sucks. first step is just to talk to her and she how she feels

I'm not surprised by the comments nor the terminology used by abc news because to be honest, this is new to the public pretty much. it's the media, they're gonna use it to grasp the attention of the public and of course i don't agree with some things mentioned in the piece, i think that weight loss surgery in general is going to become quite the "norm" or more popular, say 20-30 years from now. Obesity is such a huge epidemic, that it takes something "drastic" to "cure" it. people can sit around and say so and so had liposuction, or a tummy tuck or botox to not have wrinkles or not sweat, women can get artificial nails, hair, tans etc which all have their health risks but it isn't as publicized as much as a fat person getting weight loss surgery. so many people say the obese are driving up health care costs, and when we finally do something to change that fact and to improve our health, it's still looked down upon. so darn if we do , and darn if we don't. no one will be satisfied but then again, the only people who need to be satisfied are ourselves. people will always judge and disagree, but we cannot let other peoples thoughts and ideas ruin what we are determined to do to fight for our lives and our place in society.

I wonder about this topic with me and my bf. I have a feeling it won't go well, but am determined to make it work. i think that if the surgery is a success, i won't be able to resist temptation as horrible as that sounds

My doctor charged a $450 program fee. she said she recently started it a few years ago mainly because so many people would start the process, she would offer her services, education, etc. and then people would quit halfway or towards the end. but the fee also includes: -3 sessions with the nutritionist (1 before surgery, 2 after) -10 cardiac rehab/exercise visits -education those happen to be the things that most insurances(that she takes) do not pay for unless medically warranted. $1k seems a bit excessive if it does not include anything. may be a different story if it covers something

lol, same thing with me va_viv

to be honest, doctors are looking for a success rate for themselves to use for statistics and marketing. LAP-BAND® has it's complications (all surgeries do) but it seems doctors feel that LAP-BAND® is slower, and can have more complications after surgery than any of the other wls types. so of course they're going to gear you in a direction where it benefits them. sooner than later we'll probably see LAP-BAND® surgeries diminish because doctors are probably going to want to perform the sleeve, duo switch or gastric bypass. and we, as health care consumers aren't going to have a choice because docs can choose what they want to perform, especially w/in a private practice. find a surgeon that is willing to work with you and hear you out, and wants to help you on your path to losing weight and will perform LAP-BAND® without any huffs or puffs. i think what most people aren't looking at is that healthcare is a business. doctors these days are not making the money we think they are so they need to look out for themselves and their business on what is going to benefit them if not more than the patient

Hi Cocoabean :cursing: I did read about strictures and asked my surgeon about them. she said strictures occur more commonly with those who have a 32fr or smaller. that being said, she said the most common sizes were 32-40fr and she has not personally had any patients who have had a stricture. but said that if patients experience a stricture they may experience some difficulties with digesting food, food feeling stuck or vomiting, etc. ways to correct it would be dilation of the sleeve in that area which generally corrects itself or last resort would be re-operation here is a youtube vid on size of tubes (bougie sizes) sorry to say i haven't seen or searched for info on size of sleeve related to weight loss

i have been seeing the commercials for this show for about a week now. will be interesting to watch

doctors advise not using bc a few weeks before/after surgery to reduce the risk of blood clots

My first choice in a WLS procedure was lap-band. did my research and was set on it for the most part. I truly did not hear about the sleeve until i went to the seminar but thought nothing of the sleeve because it wasn't performed as much (from what i read months before). I think people tend to focus on what is presented publicly (gastric bypass/lapband); so people tend to gear towards those two. the doctor mentioned/advised i go home and do more research on which procedure i wanted since i did like the idea of the vertical sleeve in her office. i decided on the sleeve and she too thought it was a good idea. for the most part i decided against the band because i did not want to deal with possibility of erosion, fill/unfill, slippage, etc. while the idea of the majority of my stomach being removed did not sit well with me at first, i did realize that tons of people live w/o parts of their organs, limbs, etc. and function well. just knowing that i wouldn't have to go in and out of a doctors office for fills/unfills; worrying about what if insurance no longer covered them, etc just made me feel better. it's all personal choice and i also felt i'd be more successful with weight loss with the sleeve because the majority of my stomach would be gone. i hate to say that i would take it to that extreme to remove most of my stomach, but in the end, we all want the goal of weight loss. just research extensively. i know i watched a lot of youtube vids on eroded, slipped bands and port flips, etc and made me feel glad i decided with the sleeve each surgery has its pro's and con's. make sure you're weighing the situation accordingly to you. ultimately it's your choice

what kind of gym is this? like the above poster mentioned, most personal trainers have no education in caring for patients after any type of surgery let alone bariatric surgery and is the nutritionist an employee of the gym? if so, check their certifications/degree because 1800 calories seem like a lot for a bariatric patient. if the nutritionist can't provide any certification in their education...LEAVE!! chain gyms as a whole are usually a rip off unfortunately when it comes to education, guidance and training; if people attend those type of gyms. i find they benefit those who work out independently good luck to you!