soon to be sleever. i have a lot of questions and concerns..can anyone help me?

[TiffanyLM 11]

hello everyone I am new to all of this...I am scared, nervous and excited all at the same time. I have already chosen a surgeon and I have started the process of getting me surgery approved through my insurance. I am almost on my 2nd month of a 6month supervised diet with my regular doctor. I am scared about the pain I will feel after surgery and I am terrified I will immediately regret it. I have wanted this for a long time but now it all just seams so real and kind of scary . I am wondering if any one who has already had the sleeve has had the same fears and or thoughts I am. I guess I just need people who understands what I'm feeling and may have advice for me. no one in my area that I know of is having or does have the sleeve and I just would really like some people who won't criticize me for having this done.

[JenniferP1 75]

I was sleeved on 11/5/2015 and was pretty scared too. There was some discomfort for the first few days, but nothing really painful. My biggest piece of advice is to make sure you get your Water in the first few days after leaving hospital so you don't get dehydrated (I learned that the hard way). Down 42 lbs to date -- def no regrets!

[TiffanyLM 11]

Thank you I will try my best to do so . I appreciate your advice . I am also worried about having complications as well. I have heard nothing but good things about the sleeve but I just over think things sometimes.

[slvarltx 332]

I think we all had the same fears before hand. The 3 days before diet (Clear liquids only) and the 10 days after surgery are not a lot of fun. But basically I am talking about 2 weeks in a lifetime. 8 months later I lost 125 lbs without really being hungry. My blood pressure is back to normal without medication (110/58 with resting pulse of 56). I have lost 12 inches off my waist, I fit comfortable in airplane seats, and can stand on my feet all day!

Most of us go through the "what did I do to myself" phase for a day or two. You will probably hit the "3 week" stall and then stall again as your body adjusts to the new normal on caloric intake. You will probably begin to want to exercise, as you won't have excessive eating as a stress reliever anymore.

This operation won't fix your life or "make" you happy. But if you follow the program (you can read A LOT about folks NOT following the program on this forum) you will have a significant tool to lose significant weight. Complications, while possible, are extremely rare with this surgery. Make sure you pick a "bariatric center of excellence" for you surgery. I went to 3 different surgeons and I picked the guy who told me that he has never had a patient who had a leak.

Best of luck to you.

[kranky813 477]

@@TiffanyLM

Every single person is different and has a different experience with surgery. I can only tell you what I went through. I was very nervous before surgery with a lot of the same concerns that you are having. Will it hurt? Will I regret it? Etc...

For me it didn't really hurt at all. After surgery they kept me pretty drugged up and I slept most of the day of surgery. I had surgery at 7am and was in my hospital room at about 8:30am. I do remember getting up several times to go to the bathroom and walk around a bit but I slept a lot. On day 2 I still went to the bathroom a lot (darn IVs) and walked a lot. I felt pretty good for just having surgery. Again not a lot of pain. The weird thing was having no desire to eat or drink anything. It was a weird sensation of not wanting to put anything in my mouth.

Anyway - I had surgery on a Thursday and went home Friday late afternoon and slept all the way through to Saturday at 10am. When I woke up I had the weirdest feeling. Like I was floating outside of my body. Something didn't feel right and I called my surgeon who told me to come in. This was on a Saturday so he sent me to the ER and met me there. I was severely dehydrated so they hospitalized me for 3 days. This is why it is so important to sip Water constantly. I slept so much I didn't drink anything and I got dehydrated. So once I was released from the hospital to go home it was my mission to sip all day long. I set a timer on my phone so that every 7 minutes I would take 1/2 oz of Water. It sort of sucked and I hated drinking but I knew I had to do it. My favorite part of the day was when my water app on my phone said I reached 64oz of water and I didn't have to drink the rest of the day, lol.

Then came day 4. That is when regret set in. What no one really went into depth on is that when you start losing the weight your hormones go a little crazy. Your fat stores a lot of hormones and as you lose the fat there is no where for the hormones to go except crazy in your body. So I cried for about 5 days. I regretted my decision and hated myself for what I did to myself and knew there was nothing I could do to turn back time. Now this is different for everyone but for me it was awful. OK... wait... don't cancel surgery yet.... Once I got to day 9 things started to change. The hormones calmed down and I started feeling a ton better. I didn't regret my decision anymore. I also didn't cry anymore. Each day after that things got better and better. I felt better and could drink easier. I was on a very slow plan so I was only able to have Clear Liquids for 2 weeks, then full liquids for 2 weeks then pureed for 2 weeks, soft foods for 2 weeks and then a regular diet as tolerated. I think this had something to do with the horrible 5 days as well. Anyway, my surgeon and nurse were awesome and talked me through it when ever I called them (seriously every day for the first 9 days) and like I said each day after day 9 got better. I am 4 months out today and love life. I am down almost 60 pounds and only have 40 left to reach my goal. I feel AMAZING! I look AMAZING!! I couldn't be happier. When people ask me if I would do it all over again knowing for me that the first 9 days were hell I tell them I would in a heartbeat. It was the best $18,000 I have ever spent and I would pay double if I had to.

I look at it as my price to pay for feeling and looking so great. 9 days of hell. To be honest when I was in it, it was horrible but now that I am past it it doesn't seem like it was that bad at all.

Good luck and let us know if you have any other questions. I know I did in my pre-op phase.

[atontor 1,068]

I definitely know how you're feeling. I was sleeved 5/29/15 and I didn't sleep the last 2 weeks before surgery since I have never been to a hospital setting. I was excited and scared. It was s new opportunity to change my bad habits. I followed all of my pre op and post op diets to the letter and I'm still amazed of the results.

My SW 320 CW 200 GW 190.

  

If you have any questions feel free to ask away.

1st pic is 3 weeks before surgery, the last 2 are from thanksgiving and Christmas

[TiffanyLM 11]

I'm kinda worried about having loose skin afterwards. Is their any way to make it no so loose?

[TiffanyLM 11]

Everyone in my family fuses at me for "over analyzing" everything. They say I'm obsessive because I talk about the sleeve all the time. I can't help it I just want to research and know all I can know. And I'm just excited. Ya know?

[ssguthrie 7]

@@TiffanyLM I'm glad you posted started this thread - you've mentioned some of the things I'm nervous about.

and @@kranky813, THANK YOU for sharing your '9 days of hell' because, as a newbie, I really do want to know what might happen and it is encouraging to know that bad times can be temporary.

My (current) fears are:

1 - turning into a fussy food person. Right now, I can eat almost anything, and dislike very little. I don't want to become one of those people that are fussy about food and don't "like" anything.

2 - giving up alcohol. I don't drink all the time, but I do like to have cocktails with the girls, happy hour now and then, a bottle of wine with a fancy dinner. I don't want to give that up. I have no idea how WLS affects drinking alcohol.

3 - floppy skin. I'm older (56 this week) and don't think my skin has the same elasticity it used to have. I'm afraid of becoming an old chick with wrinkles and excess loose skin everywhere.

4 - being sick. I have a "rock gut" and almost never get ill. I don't want to sign up for daily vomiting, nausea, or sick tummy because something I ate didn't agree with me. Especially if it is meats or veggies or fruits that make me sick!

I have a lot to learn still, but any advice or encouragement - especially if my fears are not valid! - is appreciated. Like @@TiffanyLM, I am a newbie and just getting started on the prep.

[TiffanyLM 11]

I'm glad I'm not the only one That is feeling this way . I I am hoping that since I'm 23 maybe my skin will not be that loose and floppy lol .

[Fat2Phat2016 541]

I wasn't too scared, but it really was easier and less painful than I thought it would be.

My biggest pain was gas in my chest. Make sure you have some gas-x strips at the hospital. Also walk as much as you can. Those things helped me a lot!

I didn't have any regrets but I have found myself missing food. Especially during pms. That was some of my biggest eating times.

I am still getting use to all the noises my new stomach sounds!

[cslove 141]

I can't say I was fearful! My mind was made up and I was eager to get it done. My only concern was in regards to any complications because I was a self pay. My sleeve date was 8/31/15. I am down 69lbs and feeling great. The first week was the toughest, but it wasn't unbearable. I have zero regrets and would do it again with no hesitation!! Best Wishes

[kranky813 477]

@@ssguthrie So one of the concerns I had was like you about throwing up or not being able to eat certain things. I again will say that everyone is different but at 4 months out (actually at about 2 months out) I could eat what ever I wanted and it didn't affect me. I laugh and say I have the stomach of steel My doc was shocked that I ate beef Jerky at 2 months out. Not that he didn't want me to have it but that I handled it very well. I am not one to throw up either. If I eat too much I do not throw up. Now that being said I will also say that I have made myself throw up 2 times because I ate one bite too many. It was a very uncomfortable feeling where the food felt like it was stuck in my esophagus and the only way to make it feel better was to vomit. I did and the feeling went away. It has only happened one other time. I learned my lesson to slow down and not eat so fast so my tummy can tell me when it's full instead of having one too many bites.

Skin... aaahhh yes the dreaded loose skin. I have it, it's not horrible, you can't tell when my clothes are on. PS.. my boobs touch my belly button now I just feel like the loose skin is a reminder of what I used to do to myself and where I don't want to be again. I gained 100 pounds in 6 months when I was pregnant due to pre eclampsia... I have a road map of stretch marks and scars and loose skin.