terrified!

[vicki s 146]

I hope i can get some emotional support here since i cant get any from home, i am getting sleeved on 11/1 and i am 54 yrs old. i have had the lapband for 2 1/2 yrs, but after an initial loss of 104 lbs i had a prolapse in march and an emergency revision and have since gained 40 lbs back. My doc had reccomended the sleeve, and everyone i need to help me get thru the fear and surgery are totally against it. one min. i am having the surgery and the next i am cancelling it due to fear...i am sooooo scared, i cant function or sleep.....thanks for listening.

[Maddie 9]

First, I have to say that I hope you can relief from your stress. It's a scary time especially when you don't get the support that you so need.

There are SEVERAL peeps here who have had the revision from the band to the sleeve. They are all so happy they did it as they are very successful with it.

You are the only one who knows what is right for you. Sometimes you have to tune out those who don't agree with you, so you can make your own choice.

There is tons of info here that you will find helpful. Please ask any questions you have. We are here to help and are pulling for you.

Best of luck to you. Keep us posted.

[sstoots 0]

Hi Maddie, my name is Sara and I getting sleeved just one day after you on Nov 2nd. I don't have much support from home either. I have lost 44 pounds on my own with just diet and exercise since July so now my whole family feels like I can just lose it all on my own. It's been a constant point of contention between my husband and I mostly becuase I think he is insecure about me losing weight but also he's really afraid of the surgery itself. One thing that helped a ton for me with my mom was to have her get on this website and read the peoples stories that have been through it already and for her to see that almost everyone was pleased with their decision. She had to read it from other people that "have been there done that" to pursuade her that I'm not making a mistake.

If you don't mind me asking, what are the reasons that your support people are against you having surgery?

All in all you have to do what you need to do to be healthy both physically and mentally and as long as you are making an informed desicion and you are not choosing surgery for the wrong reasons than everything will be fine.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Sara

I hope i can get some emotional support here since i cant get any from home, i am getting sleeved on 11/1 and i am 54 yrs old. i have had the lapband for 2 1/2 yrs, but after an initial loss of 104 lbs i had a prolapse in march and an emergency revision and have since gained 40 lbs back. My doc had reccomended the sleeve, and everyone i need to help me get thru the fear and surgery are totally against it. one min. i am having the surgery and the next i am cancelling it due to fear...i am sooooo scared, i cant function or sleep.....thanks for listening.

[Eureka-C 20]

I find that it helps me to calm the fears if I write down all the reasons that I am doing this. I basically argue with myself.

[Becca 108]

Hi there,

I am in the same situation as you are. My band is broken and my doctor wants me to have the sleeve. Everyone is against it mainly because they feel it is dangerous to remove part of the stomach. Looking back, I think it is dangerous to have a foreign object in your body like the band. I wish I just had the sleeve to begin with! I am always here to talk to if you need someone. I totally understand what you are going through!

[vicki s 146]

thanks everyone, Sarah, the reason they are against it is pretty much the same as your family, they say i should do it on my own lol..if i could, i wouldnt be fat, and they say it is dangerous because i am removing most of my stomach, and when i say it, it does sound extreme, but if i cant lose the weight with diet excersise and the band, whats left? I am too scared to do bypass, so this is the only answer it seems for me... i am scared of leaks or infection, how long does it take before the suture line is healed and leak is not a concern anymore and how do you know your not eating or drinking too much to break the staples. Is the surgery extremely painful, im sorry if im a pain, but i am just so scared, especially since my neighbor and friend who is an anesthesiologist says she has seen this surg and it is radical......grrrrrrrr why do people make things harder than it has to be? thanks for listening...soryy im whining...........vicki

[M2G 1,836]

Vicki, glad you are here for support, I'm sorry you aren't getting it from those closest to you. I hope you will find some here.

And I do agree that this is major surgery, not sure what constitues 'radical', but I know for me WLS is not something that I just woke up one day and wanted to do. It has been years that I have thought of it, but was always too scared to act on. Having been banded twice, I'm sure you don't want to keep having band surgery. I think you will find a lot of people here who have revised from band to sleeve and much prefer the sleeve over the things they experienced with the band.

If you are truly experiencing agony over the decision to have or cancel surgery, is there a therapist that you can reach out to and go for a visit just to talk and clear things out of your head? I'm sure you probably had to have a physch eval just to have the band, or maybe you know of someone who would be willing to listen and give you an objective opinion. Or as Eureka said, to sit and write things down.

Good luck with whatever you end up doing, just remember that you are doing this for YOU and no one else.