Would you sleeve again?

[Ellie4me 1]

I've been reading these posts for several weeks and these seems to be lots of issues people have had both big or small but it's rare to see anyone that wished they didn't do it. I've been on the fence about the sleeve. I don't have any medical issue....outside of 100 lbs overweight and I'm afraid of all the issues that seem to come with having the sleeve. I was wondering from all you post-ops.....would you do it again ??

[meggspeggs 0]

In all honesty, at this point, no. But let me explain. I am a total hypochondriac. I am not wracked with anxiety about the long run. I am angry at myself for taking such a drastic measure as taking out part of my body. But with that being said, I have no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't have shed the 100+ pounds on my own. It saddens me that I did not have enough will power to do it on my own. But on the other hand I know that this surgery probably saved my life. Heart disease, diabetes, immobility did not appeal to me. I am a RN and see the effects of obesity daily. They scare me to death. Now ask me in 6 months and my anwer will likely have changed. I have heard nothing but praise about this procedure from patients and doctors. Good luck on your journey, and feel free to message me if you evern need to chant. xoxoxoxoxoxxlo

[GreginMI 76]

I would do it again in a hearbeat! I'm down 74 lbs in 3 months and only have 56 lbs to go until goal. I could NEVER have done this without the surgery. I can finally eat like a normal thin person. I've had no problems at all. Good luck to you!

I've been reading these posts for several weeks and these seems to be lots of issues people have had both big or small but it's rare to see anyone that wished they didn't do it. I've been on the fence about the sleeve. I don't have any medical issue....outside of 100 lbs overweight and I'm afraid of all the issues that seem to come with having the sleeve. I was wondering from all you post-ops.....would you do it again ??

[Ellie4me 1]

Greg- you had No problems at all? do you mean no major problems or none?

[GreginMI 76]

Well I had a little nausea when introducing solids back into my diet but I think that was normal after eating nothing but liquids and mushy stuff for so long. Other than the normal right-after-surgery stuff I've had zero problems. I can eat pretty normally although I choose to stay away from bread, Pasta, and rice. I also don't eat fried food or food too high in carbs. I stick to mainly Protein most of the time.

Greg- you had No problems at all? do you mean no major problems or none?

[Ellie4me 1]

Meggspeggs- Thank you for your honesty. You capture EXACTLY how I am feeling. I'm sad that I don't seem to be able to handle this weight on my own but know that likely without surgery I will never be able to maintain any serious weight loss.

In all honesty, at this point, no. But let me explain. I am a total hypochondriac. I am not wracked with anxiety about the long run. I am angry at myself for taking such a drastic measure as taking out part of my body. But with that being said, I have no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't have shed the 100+ pounds on my own. It saddens me that I did not have enough will power to do it on my own. But on the other hand I know that this surgery probably saved my life. Heart disease, diabetes, immobility did not appeal to me. I am a RN and see the effects of obesity daily. They scare me to death. Now ask me in 6 months and my anwer will likely have changed. I have heard nothing but praise about this procedure from patients and doctors. Good luck on your journey, and feel free to message me if you evern need to chant. xoxoxoxoxoxxlo

[meggspeggs 0]

Meggspeggs- Thank you for your honesty. You capture EXACTLY how I am feeling. I'm sad that I don't seem to be able to handle this weight on my own but know that likely without surgery I will never be able to maintain any serious weight loss.

ELLIE you are very welcome. I wish that someone would have said that to me before surgery. All I got were the butterflys and rainbows about it! I think if someone would have mentioned to me that there may be some guilt or buyers remorse after choosing to remove a part of my body, I would have thought a little differently about it. It terrifies me knowing that for the rest of my life I am going to have to worry about side effects of taking out most of my stomach. But like I said, there is a flip side. How likely was I to develop Diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease if I had not had this surgery.....VERY LIKELY!!!! Which in turn would of led to a shortened life. I pray daily for the thousands of us sleevers that God keep us safe and free from harm after making this choice to alter our bodies.

[meggspeggs 0]

And please make sure to check out the thread about depression after WLS. It can happen....

[Ellie4me 1]

Meg- I too have often thought about the long term with the sleeve. It seems that many have issues in the beginning and at some point, buyers remorse, but what about in 4 years...in 10 years...in 20 years??

I recently had an MRI on my knee, and I was wondering could I have this with the sleeve? all those staples?

My husband thinks I've lost my mind. So extreme...and my insurance doesn't cover it, so I would be self pay. I just keep researching and reading these forums It's really helped.

[Khy 16]

My only regret is that I didn't do it earlier. I have had a pretty problem free recovery. Yes I did feel tired a couple of weeks after surgery but then I think that is normal. While I can't claim the weight loss some have had, I have had much more weight loss than if I had tried to do it on my own. It has given me the chance to deal with my food issues. 5 year data suggests that I have a good chance of this being permanent weight loss.

Khy

[nraeh 23]

I have absolutely NO regrets. I haven't had any complications from the surgery and I have basically lost my desire to eat so much. I am satisfied with my little helpings and don't feel denied at all. I can eat whatever I want but I too stay away from breads and pastas. I am very comfortable with what I can eat. I couldn't be happier that I made this drastic decision. It has changed my life already so much and I am only half way to goal.

[fern 195]

Ellie- as far as I know-yes to the MRI. It doesn't affect the staples.

As far as would I do it again?? Definately!! I know I couldn't do it on my own so here I am at my goal weight 6 months later. I had no complications other than that my tummy doesn't like cold stuff anymore ( weird I know).

There have been lots of threads about buyers remorse and complications ( even about the staples/MRI), you just need to search for them.

Meg- if I remember right ( I can't see profiles from my phone), you are very early out and I think it's a good thing to let Khy know that. Alot of people have buyers remorse for the first couple months because... Well..... The first couple of months kinda suck. You are healing from major surgery and you need to relearn how to eat and drink all over again. Plus you are going through withdrawals of all the crap you ate beforehand. those feelings disappear ( at least they did for me) once I was able to start eating like a normal person again ( in smaller portions). Plus you feel so much better - mentally and physically when the extra weight starts to shed off!!

Khy- use that search box- you'll find lots of threads about the topics you are asking about. But like I said ... If it were me, I'd do it again in a millisecond!!!

[meggspeggs 0]

Yes, I am only 16 days out and I have no doubt that That plays a huge part in how I'm feeling right now

[MegInNOLA 531]

Well, I'm one who had serious buyer's remorse and now is really happy that I did it. I had no comorbidities other than being a little more than 100 pounds overweight. I had the surgery to prevent future issues, as I have a family history of heart disease and diabetes, and I had tried numerous times to lose the weight on my own without long-term success.

I had the surgery and had no surgical complications. I woke up from anesthesia really angry at myself for getting to the point that I had to cut out a piece of my body in order to lose weight---SERIOUS buyer's remorse, I'm not kidding. As i recovered, it became clear that I did and do have a very small and very picky sleeve that tolerates only a limited repertoire of food and a VERY small amount of it at one time. Okay, that wasn't what I signed on for initially, but it was my new reality, and I have learned to not only "live with it" but to use it to my advantage. Every bad thing that happened--throwing up routinely, being severely dehydrated, feeling like an absolute failure in every way--every bad thing has turned around with time and persistence. As the weight has come off, I cannot tell you how absolutely happy I am about it. I don't feel very different physically, unlike a lot of folks, but I feel 100% better about myself and am so much happier. Plus, I'm really glad that my weight won't be the thing that takes me away from my sweet husband before it's time--I know I'm going to die at some point, but I honestly don't think about it on a daily basis any more (I used to worry about things like having a heart attack or stroke and being unable to physically recover because of my weight).

So yeah, I had a tough recovery, but it's okay. It got okay about 8 weeks out--those first couple of months were not pleasant. I should tell you that my husband was sleeved a year ahead of me and had absolutely no complications AT ALL and was able to eat, drink, and go about his business with virtually no down time after surgery. Not me! But that's okay--it's working out just fine all around. It's different from before, but that's also okay--what I was doing before wasn't really helping me be healthy or look better, and what I'm doing now is, so I'm cool with it. No, I can't eat very much. Yes, I'm satisfied--I get to enjoy my food, but my food doesn't run my life any more.

It's good for you to think about the possible down sides. It's good to try to imagine what it will be like. But you can't really know until you do it if it's going to be something you regret--and even if you do regret it at first (I think a lot of people have buyer's remorse!), you probably won't later. I know I definitely do not regret it at all, and I couldn't say that right away after surgery.

Best wishes! Meg

[Disney 20]

Meg- I too have often thought about the long term with the sleeve. It seems that many have issues in the beginning and at some point, buyers remorse, but what about in 4 years...in 10 years...in 20 years??

I recently had an MRI on my knee, and I was wondering could I have this with the sleeve? all those staples?

My husband thinks I've lost my mind. So extreme...and my insurance doesn't cover it, so I would be self pay. I just keep researching and reading these forums It's really helped.

The staples they use are Titanium, they will not be affected by the MRI.

As for the issues we might have in 4, 10 or 20 years? Well, we just all hope for the best. Know one can know for sure, but there have been lots of cases of stomach cancer, etc where patients had this much of their stomach removed and have done very well. Those are the only real long-term examples we can look at. I am sure if you did a search on google, you could find out some info on those kinds of cases. Remember, hindsight's 20/20. In 20 years, we might be regretting this. Maybe not, though! On the other hand, if we didn't have this surgery, we might just be 6 feet under in 10 or 20 years. I like my chances with the surgery!