Scared to get wls

[indecidedgirl 0]

Hi i am about a month away fron getting sleeved and this is my second time trying to get the surgery but then i get scared and back up from it i love to google and recently read so many bad things about the sleeve this lady even has a picture of what your stomach looks like and it looks so drastic and horrible i feel like not getting the surgery again but this time for good im tired of thinking every single second of my existence about whether i should or should'nt do the surgery ! Its become an obsession , and because of this my depression has gotten worst i feel like a coward and a failure because i know i have to loose weitght one way or another and cant do something about it. Sometimes i have even thought that the best thing would b just to die that way i wouldnt have to decide or loose weight or suffer anymore ! I am 39 years old have suffered being overweight all my life i currently weigh 241 lbs at 5'2 and have most of the comorbidities of being over weight : hb pressure sleep apnea etc etc... I tried to loose the weight on my own and i do accomplish to loose but then i fall off thw wagon and regain so its yoyoing for me all my life and im exhausted but im shitting on my self of fright of the drastic meassures you have to take to feel some what normal in this cruel world. Congratulations to all who have had the surgery and my prayers go out to you so all is well and you continue to b successfull ! My children are very supportive of the surgery but my husband has begged me not to get it because he knows someone that died after the surgery due to complications, but i need something to give one way or another as i am very un happy with my self and very unhealthy! I always ask god for guidance and to help me do whats right ! Love this forum i spend most of my free time here godbless

[Billy363627 15]

Well first of all you have to make the decesion.. Second you cant let what ifs make you second guess your decesion. YOu sound like you have a lot of complications with your weight right now and they dont get better with time they get worse.. When I made a decesion to have my surger almost 6 months ago I didn't look back. I lold my wife that I loved her and if anything happened to tell the kids that I loved them.. I never looked back and didn't let my second guessing get in the way. Sure we all nerves and wonder if I really need the surgery. YOu are doing this for your health and longevity. Benefits include no sleep apnea,no blood pressure problem,losing weight , controlling diabetes and on and on and on. I feel soo much better about the standing I have in society. I love to go into stores like tommy and rue 21 and look on the shelf and buy the clothes and not going to the big and tall to find shirts that fit me. Sure your stomach is small after surgery but when it heals there is nothing limited that you can eat other than carbs in moderation. When your stomach is healed it is just like the one you have but a lot smaller. But I will tell you seeing the pictures of the surgery and what your stomach looks like. OF course you will be in a little pain , but you will not ever feel like you've had anything done until you start eating again. When that weight starts falling off I promise you will turn that frown upside down and start smiling again.

[SKCUNNINGHAM 298]

If you go to www.surgery.com, it will tell you the following (I got this from typing "deaths from sleeve gastrectomy" into my search engine)

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery lists the complication rate in vertical sleeve gastrectomy to be relatively low, even among patients considered to be at high risk. Cumulatively the overall mortality (death) from vertical sleeve gastrectomy is 0.39 percent—lower than with traditional bariatric surgeries. (last updated 11/24/2009)

From an article on www.gastricbypassfacts.com, here is a extract from "How Does the Sleeve Gastrectomy Work?"

The risks and complications of the sleeve gastrectomy:As with all forms of weight loss surgery, the vertical gastrectomy does carry risk and these will clearly vary from one patient to the next and must be discussed with your physician. Complications might include:

• Gastric leakage and fistula 1.0%
• Deep vein thrombosis 0.5%
• Non-fatal pulmonary embolus 0.5%
• Post-operative bleeding 0.5%
• Splenectomy 0.5%
• Acute respiratory distress 0.25%
• Pneumonia 0.2%
• Death 0.25%

http://healthengine.com.au/article/sleeve-gastrectomy.html

This article quotes " The mortality rate in gastric sleeve is 1:500 and it lies between the gastric band, which is the safest, and the laparoscopic gastric bypass, which carries the highest risk."

So the first source says 3.9 patients out of 1000, the second source says 2.5 patients out of 1000 and the third says 2 out of 1000. So I would feel comfortable (based on these 3 sources) saying the death rate is somewhere between 2 and 4 per 1000.

To contrast that - imagine 1000 people walking around that are your height and weight - with your exact health problems. How many of them would die in the next year from their health problems?

From something I was reading this week on another forum - surgeons who perform 100 or more sleeves per year have lower risk rates. Hospitals that perform over 150 sleeves per year have lower risk rates.

If you are considering a surgeon, ask how many procedures he/she has performed in a year, and how many he/she has performed in total. Then ask the same two questions about how many of his patients died. This will give you an idea where your surgeon is versus the norms. Also ask about the hospital you will have the surgery performed in - how many procedures do they do a year?

Any surgery is scary and has risks. You can't go through life avoiding all risks. For me - the risk of dying of heart problems from NOT DOING this surgery and staying obese was much higher than the risks from the surgery. My dad dropped dead of a massive heart attack when he was my age - he was only 20 pounds overweight, and had passed a flight physical 6 weeks before his death. This surgery was the right decision for me. I wish you good luck on making your decision.

[Happylife 6]

I saw that ad too. It was scary. I think it was meant to be. If you look closer and read between the lines it seems to be pushing the lap band. Also, if you displayed any internal body part the way they did it would look scary. I too am the leary type. I Research til no end. But, the risks are low. Yes, there are risks. I just got a call from my BFF she is havivg kidney troubles due to diebetes. I lost my dear dad to it about four years ago. The risks of just living with obesity are nothing to sneeze at. Especially as we get older. I made my decision. I am not fretting over it anymore.