Is Sleeving the easy way out?

[O.T.R. sleever 3,386]

I'm asking this not because I think going through this process is easy by any means. It takes courage and determination to make those lifestyle changes that are needed to be successful with sleeving. I'm asking this because I'm a little scared about committing to this surgery. I read and read the forums' date=' and I am packed full of information. But in my stupid little head i keep thinking. "if you do this then your a failure, you can lose weight on your own without getting cut open and parts removed". I'm 47, 320 lbs, and on every blood pressure/choloesterol med known to man if feels like. My dad died of a heart attack at 38 and my doctor says they are treating me like I've already had a cardiac event.. which i havent.

Did any body else out there struggle with making the decision to sleeve? Did you feel like a failure because you couldnt do it "on your own"? How did you over come those voices?

Congrats to all of you and many successes in the future.

Mike[/quote']

Mike, this is going to sound bad, but looking at your post I really think your evaluation a failure might be a bit off.

I can somewhat relate to your situation. Fortunately my dad is still around, but he had his first heart attack at 36 years old. He was in the army and fell out in the middle of a morning PT run. He was taken to the hospital where they determined it was a cardiac arrest, and performed his first angioplasty.

23 years later I am 39 years old (3years older than he was) and about 130lbs heavier than he was.

tick tick tick tick

That was the time bomb I had become. How much time could I have had left? Probably not much. I had tried a few times to lose weight unsuccessfully. But I remember back to building hot rods there was a number of occasions when a part was just too tight to slide into place by hand. The answer was to get the proper tool to accomplish the job. Usually that meant a big prybar or a Big F-ing Hammer. The end result was the modification was completed. No, I couldn't accomplish it without additional leverage, but the end result was success.

My sleeve was 1year ago next month. So far I've lost 100lbs(188 now) and that's even with a couple slips.

The best news for me is that due to my success my father was sleeved in February and has so far lost over 50lbs & is on his way to coming off many of the meds that he has been on for years.

Now it's your turn. Grab that B-F-H and start hammering your way to success.

You are NOT a failure till you stop trying.

[bikermike5094 2]

Mike, this is going to sound bad, but looking at your post I really think your evaluation a failure might be a bit off.

I can somewhat relate to your situation. Fortunately my dad is still around, but he had his first heart attack at 36 years old. He was in the army and fell out in the middle of a morning PT run. He was taken to the hospital where they determined it was a cardiac arrest, and performed his first angioplasty.

23 years later I am 39 years old (3years older than he was) and about 130lbs heavier than he was.

tick tick tick tick

That was the time bomb I had become. How much time could I have had left? Probably not much. I had tried a few times to lose weight unsuccessfully. But I remember back to building hot rods there was a number of occasions when a part was just too tight to slide into place by hand. The answer was to get the proper tool to accomplish the job. Usually that meant a big prybar or a Big F-ing Hammer. The end result was the modification was completed. No, I couldn't accomplish it without additional leverage, but the end result was success.

My sleeve was 1year ago next month. So far I've lost 100lbs(188 now) and that's even with a couple slips.

The best news for me is that due to my success my father was sleeved in February and has so far lost over 50lbs & is on his way to coming off many of the meds that he has been on for years.

Now it's your turn. Grab that B-F-H and start hammering your way to success.

You are NOT a failure till you stop trying.

Dude, your speaking my language, if at first you dont succeed, get a bigger F**n hammer! Thanks for the great analogy!

[CWAM 8]

I once had those thoughts too, and it took me a year to decide to do it. I was sleeved April 4th and I promise there is nothing easy about this process. Is it worth it? To me yes, but as others have said before you have to pour your blood sweat and tears into this process. Luckily I have an amazing support system that will let me cry on their shoulders when I need too and their to remind how strong I was to make this decision