Regrets?

[betrthnever 107]

I'm curious if anyone regrets this surgery? I can't say I regret getting the band (as my life hasn't been miserable with it). I just think that the sleeve might have been a better choice for me. Thanks much!

[Lisanne 5]

I dont have any regrets with my Sleeve...however, I think that I might have done better with something a bit more drastic like the DS. I had such a high BMI when I got my Sleeve and my Sleeve wasnt made as small as it needed to be. At this point, a year and half later, I am at a stand still with weight loss, but thats mostly my part and I take the blame. But I got WLS to make it easier to lose the weight....to give me a fighting chance. It did that in the beginning, but now its really hard again and Im having to struggle to lose anything and as with pre-surgery, that struggle is getting the best of me.

[AJW 18]

No regrets whatsoever. Ladiesassie, maybe the bypass would have worked better for you, IDK....keep working at it because I know you can do it.

[TennJenn 9]

No regrets here either. I am just 2 months post op though.

ladiesassie- Have you considered revising to the DS? I know sometimes the DS is performed in two procedures, the sleeve being the first part.

[*susan* 1,709]

Jenn, I was going to mention the same thing, about moving forward to the DS.

As far as regrets, my only regret was that I didn't get the sleeve sooner.

[burnsun 27]

My regret..... I get to wear my band wardrome again...... I wanted to by all new clothes..... welll Maybe my sleeve will eve make me skinnier than the band did! then I could get all new clothes!

[DownInSocal 12]

No regrets but I am only 12 days out.

[PhotoSteve 0]

No regrets here!

[mist3blue 1]

I've had a few, but then again, to few to mention..(Think Sinatra and Elvis did the song too)

Could not resist, that song has been running through my head since I first saw the post lol

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I have no regrets at all. Eating out can be difficult because no matter where you go, it's expensive if you can only eat 1/4 of what they bring you. I do bring a lot of food home, but some food just doesn't reheat well.

I still don't regret if for even one second. I just regret spending the money to get the band, but I would have never learned about the sleeve if I hadn't had the band first.

[Rosebud2 26]

No regrets here. I'm a happy camper. I think that stalls are EVIL, but they do end. I only have about a half of an ounce until I'm officially 'fat'. It's been a while since I was there.

[ryansgirl 1]

i still dont know..................i'm on my third week of being out. so. it funny 6 million people done ask me this and all i can say is ask me in a month or two right now i'm in limbo.

Edited September 10, 2009 by ryansgirl
spellig

[MacMadame 81]

I didn't want to answer this because I didn't want to sound negative but I decided to be honest because I want to help you.

I have been on the various WLS for 1.5 years. In that time I have seen this question asked a ZILLION times about all the various types of WLS and I have seen <1% responses of "I have regrets" and everyone else -- 95-99% of which are less than a year out -- says they have no regrets. Yet, if you hang out where people are more than a year out with any surgery, you will see people having troubles and regrets and revisions to other surgery types.

You'll see bandsters getting RnY and sleeved. You'll see RnYers getting bands put over their pouches or revised to the DS. You'll see sleevesters getting the DS. You'll see people with the DS getting theirs "taken down" (this is essentially converting it to a sleeve by restoring the intestines) or being revised to RnY (converting their intestinal switch into a different configuration). You'll see people who are struggling with regaining their weight.

Are these the majority? Absolutely not. But they exist and we can learn from them. It can be very helpful to know why people's surgeries didn't work for them because something about their story may be like your story. Maybe they had a certain approach to life that you share and they picked the wrong surgery for that approach. That's helpful to know. Or maybe they aren't anything like you and their problems are unlikely to be your problems. That's also helpful to know.

But you aren't going to find these stories by starting a thread saying "Any regrets?" (even though that seems like a logical thing to do) You have to hunt them out because the less successful aren't as active on the boards as the successful. They either aren't around or they don't say much. Maybe they won't say anything out of fear of the response (sometimes some early pre-ops are brutal to those whose surgery didn't work well, probably out of fear that it will happen to them -- not here so much, thank goodness) or because they feel like their problems are all their own doing (even when they aren't) or because they don't want to publicly admit they aren't doing as well as handful of stars.

To find them, my advice is to do the following:

-Go to boards with Revision forums and Regret forums and read and read people's stories.

-Go to boards with a different surgery type from the one you are thinking about getting and asking if there are any "Your-type-to-their-type" revisions and why they revised. (For example, a DS forum is a great place to find VSG revisions because a lot of sleevesters who can't lose all their weight revise to the DS.)

-Go to boards for your surgery type and listen to the stories of people farther out. Notice when people have problems, what kind of problems they have.

I did this when I was planning to get a band and, as a result, I decided not to get one. There were too many stories of people who did everything right and couldn't get proper restriction and so were always hungry. I knew I couldn't keep my weight off if I was always hungry and I didn't want a surgery where so many people end up fighting hunger.

But my point isn't my conclusion about me. It's about the process ... it's the only way I've seen to find out what long-term life with a particular surgery type is *really* like and if it's the life for you.

Good luck!

[JageK 0]

Thank you so much for that MacMadame! I am struggling with my sleeve right now (granted, I just hit my first stall :sad0: ) I think I've been doing everything right but this stall makes me feel like I'm doing everything wrong! Not only did I stall, but I gained a pound! I wanted find out from people who "failed" and make sure I'm not on the same path. I am only a little over 3 weeks out and I don't think I have any regrets but my emotions are all out of whack because of this stall! Any advice?

[cajun 46]

Please don't sweat gaining a pound! It's probably just Water weight. When I eat canned salmon, I gain several lbs overnight! It happened today! If I lay off the salt, it goes away fast. Try weighing less often...maybe once a week.

Forward HO!