Questions For Veterans

[5DoxieMom 87]

I am scheduled for VSG 3/12/12, and I too, ran across the suethsayings blog thing. It scared me so much, I was seriously considering cancelling. I also ran across a couple different blogs, the one that I can remember was 'waning woman'. She talks about experiencing nausea and vomiting at over 2 years out. Is this typical? Nausea in the short term I can tolerate, but for years, I don't think so. I'm really starting to wonder about the long term outcomes Any thoughts?

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

No, I have not had nausea or vomitting. Most people are thrilled to be sleeved and very happy. That whole blog made me mad because the woman did not know what she was talking about.

[SKCUNNINGHAM 298]

I think if someone is nauseuous and vomiting 2 years after surgery, they are eating more than their sleeve can handle, or eating things that upset their stomach. I am a year out and have not vomited since the day I left the hospital. If I eat too much, I get nauseous for a time. Solution - I don't overeat. There are a few foods my sleeve doesn't like - and I avoid them. Problem solved for me!

I had a teacher in high school who has lived with gastrectomy for years. He didn't have cancer - just really bad ulcers. He is alive and well some 35 years after his surgery.

If I hadn't had the sleeve, I would not have lived 30 years - I would have been dead long before from a heart problems. So, for me, life is much better without most of my stomach than it would have been.I am not going to worry about what may turn up 10, 20 or 30 years in the future.

[SKCUNNINGHAM 298]

If I hadn't had the sleeve, I would not have lived 30 years - I would have been dead long before from a heart problems. So, for me, life is much better without most of my stomach than it would have been.I am not going to worry about what may turn up 10, 20 or 30 years in the future.

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

I am scheduled for VSG 3/12/12, and I too, ran across the suethsayings blog thing. It scared me so much, I was seriously considering cancelling. I also ran across a couple different blogs, the one that I can remember was 'waning woman'. She talks about experiencing nausea and vomiting at over 2 years out. Is this typical? Nausea in the short term I can tolerate, but for years, I don't think so. I'm really starting to wonder about the long term outcomes Any thoughts?

Sharon's post above is exactly right. Same for me, I only feel nauseated if I eat something my sleeve doesn't like, and typically it's anything way too high in fat or sugar. Now, I know these things are bad for me anyway, so I can't argue!! Also I do feel ugly if I eat too much, which is exactly what the sleeve is designed to do.

If you're making excuses for reasons why not to get the sleeve, then you probably need to continue to research and think about it. This is going to change your life, and is not something to go into lightly. You need to be 100% ready to do this and commit your whole life to the process. I certainly don't regret having this surgery for anything, it helped me lose all my excess weight, and right now it's keeping me in line while my life is bumpy right now. Something I've learned about myself is when my life's order is out of whack is when I have the worst success keeping weight off. So far, I've done good.

All the best to you.

[Catracks 865]

I am scheduled for VSG 3/12/12, and I too, ran across the suethsayings blog thing. It scared me so much, I was seriously considering cancelling. I also ran across a couple different blogs, the one that I can remember was 'waning woman'. She talks about experiencing nausea and vomiting at over 2 years out. Is this typical? Nausea in the short term I can tolerate, but for years, I don't think so. I'm really starting to wonder about the long term outcomes Any thoughts?

Read more of waning woman's blog. That is one happy woman with NO regrets. The thing is, even at two years out, if you eat too fast or too much, you will get sick for a short while. There will be days when your stomach will be unsettled so just feed it un-irritating things.. Your sleeve might object to a particular food and be fine with it later. The nausea tends to teach you what you are doing wrong. It says, "Not that" or "Slow down" or "Too much." You just have to listen.

Personally, this is the best thing that ever happened to me. The only problem I have is cooking or ordering food, enjoying the hell out of it and only being able to eat a little of it. It's like, "yummmmmmmmmmm, shrimp scampi ... oh damn! I'm full!"

I still get to eat the good food though, but it was two larger shrimp and a piece of broccoli instead of 10 shrimp, a baked potato with butter and sour cream and dessert. Plus, I get to take the rest home and incorporate it into my lunches and dinners.

Glad to hear about the 35 year gastrectomy patient. I wish there was more literature on them. I'm only 7-8 weeks out, but I am happy with how my sleeve works. It's saving my life and I can do so many things now.

[circa 333]

First of all, this is someone talking about a person who they say isn't happy. A lot of what is said isn't even relevant to the sleeve. Also, if this person's main concern is not being able to enjoy food in quantities, that's an issue that got them the sleeve in the first place.

To tell a person that's 6 years out that they don't have enough experience to know what they're talking about was quite a bit ridiculous as well.

Her "common" complications of the sleeve aren't common at all - unless you consider common to be 1-2%, which I don't.

This woman sounds pissy because she can't eat a whole cheesecake when she wants to.

to tell someone that they could have done it without surgery is a slap in the face. MANY people tried for YEARS to do it without surgery and were unsuccessful - so she's saying you never really tried. I think she's someone who is sad and missing her food because she didn't deal with mental and emotional addiction to food.

[Stacey Nicole 40]

Why is this woman preaching about WLS results for ten years out when she's only kept her weight off for a year? People like her shouldn't be stating opinions on topics like this - she has no first hand experience!

[Jesusislove 26]

This was a good question; because I have wondered about the ones who had it 10 years or longer. However, that blog is a bunch of confusion. I am still glad I had the sleeve, I think if you maintain your sleeve we will live long and prospersous.

[Shoppingbeemom 31]

Your stomach is used to break down your food, your intestine's absorb the food value. We have all the parts we have had before, the sleeve just reduces the size of the stomach. Best wishes

[DNLMom 2]

Hi Everyone,

I am just now in the process of waiting for insurance approval for my sleeve. My question to you veterans is ... What have you done about/with all of the extra skin you were left with? I already have a belly flap and can't imagine what I'll do with it after the weight comes off.

Thanks in advance for any responses and for your willingness to share your experiences with those of us looking ahead!

Susan

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Research papers with small sample 5 year results only started coming out late last year(2011) so anything said about the VSG longer out than that is pretty much hear say. I would ONLY listen to those who actually had it done earlier for longer term personal results.

I do have one friend who had much of her stomach removed over 30 years ago. She lost lots of weight at the time, and has gained lots in the last 6 years. No one ever told her she might lose weight from her stomach being removed... and no one ever told her how to eat to keep the weight off (protein first and such) She has never had problems with her stomach the whole time. She can lose weight and feel good about eating small portions of Protein and low carb veggies when she weans off the refined carb goodies.

[LindaS 316]

This is a picture of my dad and me when I was about 16 years old. My dad weighed over 400 pounds. This is the only picture I have where you can see his stomach because he was very good at making sure his shirt was long enough to cover it up.

He died in 2006. I was 35, and I was so MAD at him because he died from complications of his weight. For the last 10 years of his life, the quality of his life was horrible. For the last 5 years, he spent most of it in and out of hospitals.

His highest weight was almost 500 pounds. When I married in 1989, he was at the lowest he had weighed in many years at about 350 pounds.

I loved/love my dad. I never saw him as fat.

But when he left me (died), I was so angry at him. At the time of his death, I wasn't that overweight. I weighed about 180. I gained weight after he died. And when I finally realized what the weight was preventing me to do, I tried losing it. This is why I finally decided to have WLS. When I was about 10, my dad was going to have WLS. It was scheduled. He made it into the surgery room and something the anesthesiologist told him scared him. The guy said my dad had a 50/50 chance of not making it through the surgery. There was some concerns about his weight pressing down on his lungs.

I wonder now that if he had gone through it, what would my memories of him have been like? I remember him sitting or laying down on things. He would tell me to get this or do that for him. He had a bell he would ring to get my attention. I was his legs. He didn't go to my concerts or games or talk to my teachers.

If he had weighed less, he would have been more a part of my life. He would have been a full participant in my life instead of someone watching from the car or hearing about it later. My kids would know him.

As an adult, I remember thinking how great wheelchairs were because it allowed my dad to go with us places he couldn't walk to.

I loved my dad. I love my kids. I chose this surgery to give my kids something that they don't even know they would have missed.

In grad school, I wrote a memoir titled "Fat Man's Daughter," where I dealt with many of my issues about my dad and myself. Here's a link to the first chapter: http://lindasherwood.com/wp/category/fat-mans-daughter/chapter-one/

This Suethsayings blog talks about the "conspiracy of silence" surrounding weight loss surgery. I want people to know about the impact not doing something has on lives. If my dad had WLS, I think he might still be here.

[BlackBerryJuice 349]

Wow, what a powerful post, LindaS! It's too bad your dad had to leave so early.

[Tana_Q 20]

Thank you Linda for that powerful post. My Dad dies when he was only 40, from a massive heart attack. I was barely 13. I do NOT want to do that to my own son and that is one of my reasons for doing this surgery. That blog is ridiculous and her bias is crystal clear.