Would You Get The Sleeve Again? If So, Why? If No, Why? Would You Change Anything?

[rxkid2384 28]

hi guys, my date is January 8th and im getting nervous and excited. just trying to compare some pros n cons.

thanks

[enigmachik 403]

yep, I would def do it again

[lilly's journey 41]

I'm only about 5weeks post op and yes I like my progress so far

[sexy_sleevegirl 101]

sleeved sept 24th 50 pounds down i sure would do it again pain and all my life has changed i can breathe again and im not even at goal yet i love it thank u god for a second chance

[Velena 122]

I was sleeved on Sep 5th, it was hard to deal with at first but I would do it again. I'm off the high blood pressure medicine and most of the diabetes meds and high cholesterol meds. I feel great, have a ton of energy and love looking better and feeling better. I should have done it sooner!

[TheGamer 406]

Would totally do it again. If I could do it over again, I wouldn't overprepare like I did for post-surgery. All the preparation I did was for nothing because my body had a totally different response to surgery than I planned for.

[Dooter 1,457]

I would do it a hundred times over again. I feel like I got my life back!

[RickM 1,747]

At this point, 18 months out and maintaining things for most of this year, most certainly this would be a do-again. The only second thoughts about it would be if I couldn't hold my weight and got into a regain problem in the coming years, which would indicate that the DS would have been the better choice to start with.

[iggychic 1,405]

It wasn't worth the risks and the pain. I would never do it again and will likely always feel great guilt about having done it.

[allnewme 262]

I would most definitely do it again. Easy surgery but some of the days after are a challenge. Three months out and doing very well now.

[rxkid2384 28]

hey everyone, thank you all so much i really appreciate it.

@iggychic ~ i am sorry to hear that. could you explain what happened? i wish you had a better outcome

so I have to fast for 6 weeks prior to surgery. i started a little early. carnation shake for Breakfast, Protein Shake for lunch, and a healthy choice for dinner. maybe a high Protein greek yogurt for a snack.< /p>

[barbi1281 112]

Today is my one month and I'd do it again in a second. It was worth it a hundred times over for me... Prior to my sleeve I was in the process of getting into a clinical trial because I'm one of the few people with asthma so bad that I was on all of the top meds at the top doses and still not controlled - they were going to try to open my airways surgically, but so far in the month since my sleeve I've been able to come off 5 of my asthma medications and I physically feel better than I have in years. I was prepared for anything when I had my sleeve done and I think that helped a bit with making rough Patches easier.

[Faganberry 43]

Heck yes. That is taking into account the first 6 weeks being awful and wondering a million times why you did this to yourself.

[iggychic 1,405]

hey everyone' date=' thank you all so much i really appreciate it.

@iggychic ~ i am sorry to hear that. could you explain what happened? i wish you had a better outcome

so I have to fast for 6 weeks prior to surgery. i started a little early. carnation shake for breakfast, Protein Shake for lunch, and a healthy choice for dinner. maybe a high Protein greek yogurt for a snack.[/quote']

I was low bmi with no comorbidities...only doing this to ward off a family history of being overweight...but none of them had comorbidities either so really, it was for my looks more than anything...I always want to share that because I think it's important to weigh (no pun intended LOL) your situation as you consider this drastic surgery. I also had a small child with special needs, so being out of commission on my part is very hard for him developmentally.

So, given I was to have no issues (ya right) I scheduled the surgery for the first week of school. I had the surgery at a day surgery center (which I don't recommend). I did that because I'd spent so many years in hospital with my son and didn't want to even spend a night. I hate hospitals with a passion (but know their value). During the surgery I had a major bleed, which is not an uncommon side effect of cutting blood vessels (they're on your stomach). Mine didn't seal off quick enough and this caused me to have about a pint of blood that was in my abdomen after the surgery was completed. The blood can cause many issues, including what I experienced which was seizures or uncontrollable spasm's that were full body. They lasted over 24 hours and let me tell you, it was hell...kind of like a charlie horse over your whole body. I couldn't stop them, and I couldn't speak so I just sat in that recovery chair having spasm after spasm after spasm. That alone was hell.

They transferred me to hospital the next day because they aren't open over the weekend (thank god). I had two blood transfusions which stopped the spasming and after a couple of nights they sent me home on two narcotics to recover. But I was still sick. I was incredibly weak and kept getting weaker. I had breathing issues and pain in my left side. All of this was dismissed as complications due to the hematoma in my abdomen despite my asking for a leak test with each doctors visit.

I was in and out of ER for days with the pain and weakness, not to mention the inability to breath deeply. Eventually they discovered that my lung was being crushed by Fluid in the plural sac (which is the balloon your lung sits in). I had three procedures where they stick what looks like a knitting needle in your back with only topical anesthesia (which hurts like an SOB) to draw out the fluids but they kept coming back. I had to be transferred (actually I insisted because our little hospital is known for their ability to kill people by sending them home sick) to a larger hospital in Seattle. I ended up at Virginia Mason...a wonderful hospital by the way. There they cut a hole in my chest, spread my ribs and shoved a garden hose (ok maybe not but it looked like it) into my lungs to pump out the fluid continually, but it kept coming back.

It was discovered that the issue was due to a small leak high up in my stomach, perhaps caused by the spasms, who knows, certainly not by me as I wasn't eating anything and followed all rules. I was too weak to do otherwise. The leak was flowing into my esophagus which was swollen with fluid, sending the fluid up to the plural sacs...again, not a terribly uncommon response for a body to have with a high leak. I had to have another surgery to repair the leak, but because my stomach was so damaged (the tissues) by the infection and swelling, they had to use something called a "claw" which is basically a clamp. It's a new procedure and not successful the majority of the time, but you can't staple or sew damaged tissue...it just shreds. After that second surgery, which was five weeks after the first, I pretty quickly recovered, much like after a first surgery is supposed to be. But I spent 46 days laying in bed during the trauma time, 22 in hospital far away from my child. I had to have a PICC line which caused blood clots (common) that had to be monitored after I went home. I have long term damage to my lungs which will last a few years. I still don't know that the claw has healed my stomach, but will find out on the 26th when they do final testing. It typically fails within the first couple of weeks though so that outcome is expected to be good.

I journaled all of this here but opted to remove it when my first doctor found it stressful. During the time I was sick I was so weak and beaten down. It's a horrible feeling to face possible death because I chose what was in many ways a cosmetic procedure for me.

My hope is that those who read it takeaway a few things. First that they should be prepared for the worst, and hope for the best. If I hadn't had dear friends, my mother and a nanny who all pitched in and helped take care of my son and my home, I'd have been screwed. Little things, like going shopping and doing laundry can be impossible after surgery for many. My husband runs a large company and couldn't do it all and be with me every time I had a procedure so having help at hand, just in case, is very important.

The second thing to takeaway is that this is a major surgery. I shouldn't have had it when my son was so young and needed me so much. I didn't need it for health reasons. I only had about 70 lbs to lose.

The third is to really educate yourself as to the symptoms of issues and INSIST on proper care from your physician or at hospital. I took my physicians word that it was the blood causing my issues, which was dangerously wrong. It could have resulted in my death. I fought back after the hospital was going to release me (local) and send me home because they felt the first drain had cured me...they were dead wrong (and that doc never came back to apologize LOL). I looked online to find out who was the best to help me with the lung issues that also had a strong bariatric program, and insisted I be transferred there, much against her will...and that was what saved me. It's hard to have a backbone when you are suffering so much pain. I was basically medicated beyond a backbone so the other issue is having an advocate when you go to the docs or the hospital. My husband was that for me. I could communicate my needs to him and he fought for me when I was just too weak.

And that's it in a tiny nutshell that encompassed about 50 pages of posts LOL The other takeaway to get is that the people here were a huge strength to me. They know what you are going through, even if they haven't had the same experience. They were invaluable to me as I fought for my life. I highly recommend leaning on them when you need to.

[A Sleeve4me 26]

I would do it again in a heart beat! I have more energy, my knees have improved without aching pain constantly.Recovery wasn't near as bad as I expected and It was the best decision I could have made for my health and well being..yesterday made 8weeks out and I'm feeling great. I was nervous as well but I'm so glad I did it.