Frequently Asked Questions

[Cococat 119]

Hi,

I am a young 60 sommething who is planning to have the surgery in late January. I am currently at 345 lbs and 5'6" tall. I am blessed in that I do have controlled hypertension and beginning arthritis of the knees but all else is well,. I definitley am going forward but I have to say I am a bit frightened of the procedure and what I will need in emotional strength to make this successful for me. I want to dance again,....any support will be great. Sunshine 69

Hello, Sunshine,

I am 67 and had my sleeve on Sept. 10. I am 5 ft. 5 inches tall and weighed 286 at the beginning. I now weigh 235. I have hypertension but it went down dramatically - not sure of the exact numbers, but my current ones are

normalish. Lipids are going towards normal too.

The arthritis in my knees has all but disappeared! I can get out of a chair easily. I can walk a distance now. Every pound I lose is great for my knees. I have seen people get knee and hip surgery and sleeve surgery is a snap compared to those. The only thing that has been a bother is Constipation - mainly because we have to eat so much Protein and also because I can't get all my exrcise in. (I am not the gym type) Drink as much Water as you can, according to your doctor's rules. Miralax and prune juice can work. Take your doctor's advice to the letter in all things. Take your Vitamins and supplements.

Everybody goes through some anxiety prior to the operation. It does change your life. If you are like me, you will no longer drool over hamburger ads on TV and will find them gross. You might see how much we viewers have been manipulated by commercials! food will no longer have its fascination for you. You will not see your refrigerator as your friend - it is your enemy and has been for years.

Don't let any relatives or friends frighten or discourage you. Everyone has at least one relative who will try to discourage them from the operation. Ignore them. They are undoubtedly fat and unconsciously do not want to lose an "eating buddy" like you have been. I finally had to tell my sister-in-law to quit bringing up the worst scenarios, that she was undercutting my confidence and making me miserable, even though I was absolutely committed to the sleeve. I told her she could not discourage my decision and that all she could do was to make me miserable. She stopped when I got serious.

The sleeve was almost painless (with hospital and doctor's medications). My doctor gave me prescriptions for stomach acidity and nausea. If you get nausea after surgery (as I do) tell the anesthesiologist before surgery and he will give you meds during the operation which will counteract nausea. Don't expect to feel great just after surgery, but in a week you will be soooo glad you got it. For us 60ish folks, we heal a bit more slowly, but four months after surgery, I feel a lot better than I did prior to surgery!

[Cody's mom 247]

@@sunshine69 I had surgery Sept 14, I had a hard time walking the pain in my feet would cause me dread to do anything. I'm 53 and was fed up with being out of breath and feet that would hurt. If I did a little activity I could hardly make it to the bathroom in the middle of the night my feet would hurt so bad. Doing the slightest of activities would cause me to pant out of breath like a dog who ran for miles. This past Friday I spent the entire day shopping and went for a hike out to see my horse which was about half a mile, then did several loads of laundry (up and down many flights of stairs), and really didn't notice till I went to bed that night, there was no pain, none! That alone is the biggest Christmas present..

[minniegirl 258]

Oh this was great, thank you! I found things here that I have not read in hours and hours of scouring the internet.

[Dolce_xxv 4]

'm 3 days post-op doing well, I just wanted to know if it's normal that I'm thirsty I been drinking a lot of Water and crystal light which I water down ( I take small sips) also another question once in awhile I feel pressure on the right side well it's kinda feels like pressure or tightening its only lasts a few seconds. Also feels like it growls even if im not hungry ? Any advice ????

[richieoneal411@gmail.com 19]

Thank you for this I been given my surgery date for June 2 im scared, nervous, excited, and happy all at the same time! This forum was helpful, gave me an onsite on what I can possibly go through!

[PrettyWingz 2]

Thanks so much! Your covered in awesome sauce for doing this. Lol no offense just my personal phat girl joke

[mare81 0]

I wish someone who had the lap band would do this

[Onyx999 4]

Thank you for this! This answered a lot of my questions Im bouncing between bypass and VSG

[IMS1985 1]

Awesome post!!!❤️

[sring15 0]

Great post!! Any insight on the gassiness people talk about after surgery? I'm really nervous about that the discomfort it comes with. Thanks!

[Cococat 119]

Sring15:

I had no gas pains at all. Some people do have some, but others do not. They say that one can walk gas pains off - that is, exercise. Keep in motion. But as i said, I did not have the experience of gas pains. Chances are that you will not experience any, but ask your physician what his results generally are - do his patients experience gas pains after his surgery. And ask him to recommend a remedy for them.

[Ellie Meenk 0]

This is great, thank you!

[reetthebeat 2]

Exactly the information I craved. Thank you so very much.

[cmhueto 167]

@@Lilee84 thank you so much for sharing!!

[AvalonNeeCee 127]

thank you for this post. Going to be sure to try the antiacid trick