Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums

Hello everyone I'm coming up to my surgery date and I'm starting to feel really nervous here. I'm 6ft 330 and I'm hope to get down to 220 I don't no how realalistic that is but I plan on giving it 110 percent to reach my goal.

I am having my operation on this Friday. I am a real Food and Wine lover. I know that my life is going to change, and I am welcoming the challenge. I would like to have any help available. Let me know if your are interested. Thanks

My psychiatrist at the psych eval recommended 3 books for me to read (since I love to read) in order to help me get the most information possible to support me pre and post surgery. If anyone else is interested here they are: Weight Loss surgery for Dummies (I am sure a lot of you have already read this book) The End of Overeating: Taking control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David A. Kessler, MD (This is more just an educationonal book on why we eat the way we do, why we dont seem to have the control over our eating sometimes to stop eating the bad foods. Very interesting and a good read) I found this book on ebay for $3.75! The Emotional First+Aid Kit…

Hi Folks, My other half and I are both considering having the gastric sleeve and we are thinking about Mexico - I am not sure how gay friendly Mexico is (We are from the UK) Do you think us being partners would be problematic? Does anyone have any experience? Thanks so much!! Brie

if you are attending college did this surgery interfere at all with living a "normal" life?

Hi everyone, I was sleeved on may 17,2012 at New York Hospital Queens. I am looking for WLS buddies. If you're interested add me as friend or send a PM. Thanks guys and so excited to meet you all. Happy Memorial Day.

Hi, I'm 14 days post op today. This weekend I started to have problems urinating, burning etc. I've had urinary tract infections before so I knew that's what it was pretty much right away. I went to urgent care and they confirmed it and gave me an antibiotic to knock it out. Just a little worried though, does anyone know if this could be a symptom of some kind of complication with the vsg? Thanks, Cliff

Need help getting back on track I have totally lost it . I dnt know where to start over again ..

Just got approved for my surgery in 3 days!! I am so excited! I'm sure there will times when I won't be so thrilled, but the roller coaster ride will be worth it in the end.

I Have a question why are some lap bander's going back for the Sleeve?? Just curious how long did you have it and did it stop working for the weight loss. Thanks for the info in advance

Today is the day!!! It is storming!!!! I am choosing to think that the storm is here is wash away my past of obesity, depression, and low self esteem. I am claiming today a low weight loss, a low blood pressure, a healthy surgery, a doctor is will do his absolute best, a quick and healthy recovery, and I just claim VICTORY over it all!!!!!!!! Please have me in your thoughts and prayers today! Thank you In Jesus name Amen

So I am 5 weeks almost 6 post op. I was doing very well and now that i am almost done with all my post op restrictions I find my self starting to eat whatever I feel like. The soft stuff just does not even taste good to me. I ate a few sugar cookies today...not too proud of my self. Last night I had a couple too. The day before i ate some m and ms and pretzles bits with hot wing flavor. I just seem to be eating whatever i can put my hands on and what is good for me and I have no desire for anything else. I am having struggles in my personal life and I am an emotional eater so that is where the problem is lying. I feel sad about my marriage and I feel alone and then I jus…

Hey! I wanted to invite all of your June Sleevers to a chat session. As much as I love reading through the message boards each and every day, I thought it'd be fun to get as many of us together in the chat room to bond. Date: May 31 Time: 8:30 Eastern, 7:30 Central, 6:30 Mountain, 5:30 Pacific I don't want to set an ending time, so come and hang out as much as you can! Can't wait to meet you all!

While I love that I am down 27 pounds and I know there are stalls, I still want to feel sorry for myself today. In the beginning I was losing a pound a day and getting on the scale was a joy. Now that I am closer to my goal weight, I am only losing 1-2 pounds per week. I hate the cycle of working out, then that making me more hunrgy than I would if I had not worked out. Ugh, just feeling sad today.

I am recovering from the flu and one of the lingering issues is an occassional cough. No fever, otherwise feeling good. I am scheduled for surgery three days away. Anybody have a cough before/after surgery and if so can you share your experience with recovery and coughing? In particular, I am worried that with my sore middle-section it will make coughing painful and/or do something bad to the sutures/drain/sleeve. Thanks in advance for any experiences/perspectives.

Hello everybody, I am new to the group. I have waited a year to get my surgery going, and I finally have a date set. I will be getting the gastric sleeve on June 6. The only problem is that I am going to college to get my nursing degree, and I will be in school at that time. I wanted to know if it could all be done. Has anyone still managed to go to school while recovering from this surgery? I don't know how I should handle all of this. I have beein waiting to have this surgery for so long that I don't want to postpone another minute of it. If anyone has had this problem can you give me some advice. Thanks.

Just wanted to introduce myself I was sleeved on April 25th. So far Ive lost 29lbs, a little mad because I would have thought I would have lost more by 6 weeks out Starting Wed I'm on real food finally though so thats something to look forward to

Today I had a "i'm going to rebel day" so I didn't eat the best. Don't get me wrong, I didn't eat even close to what I would have eaten before but still didn't do great. Here I am on a tough day, I am sure on this Sleeve journey of mine I will have many of these days, but even on this bad day it felt better then my good days before surgery ....I just wanted to hope that for everyone

Well I'm always a little sad when I don't see a weekly check in thread for us and I hate to be the one that always starts it LOL SO maybe now that we are all hitting 9 months out it's time to move to a monthly check in? I lost 6.2 in the last month. I am getting close to my initial goal of 130. I know I will want to continue to lose, just haven't been below 124 in my adult life so not sure where I can go. My loose skin is starting to bother me on my tummy, would love to look in to plastics but don't think I can until at least a year. How is everyone else doing??

Hello, I have my consult next Friday, June 8. So excited! My insurance requires a 40 bmi. I have had a little bug this past week, and have lost weight. I am not quite at 40- barely under. I could wear heavy clothes, eat a bunch of food, I don't want to be under for the appointment. Do they weigh you with or without clothes, and any suggestions would be appreciated!!! I don't want to change my appointment.

Hello VS Fam, Im 5'2 my weight is 213 as of today and im in a size 18 clothes with a BMI of 40. I am so tired of being fat. I know surgery is up to me however, many people say I don't need it, they say im not that fat, if I do it I will get to skinny. Im Tired of being depressed and in size 16 -18 since 1990. Im 38 years old and I want to look, shop where I choose instead of at the big girl store. Also, I want to syop instead of buying things for the home when clothes don't fit. Currently enrooled in Options @ Kaiser and I will be done Aug 2nd. No, I dont want to be a stick, I do want to keep a few curves

I'm suppose to have the sleeve in June in Mexico. I'm scared to go there for one. Scared about all the stories about what the food does to them. Scared about getting it done and not losing any weight..don't really have anyone to talk to about my feeling and thoughts.

I'm currently in my six months supervised diet stage. Planning on a late october...early november surgery date. Was wondering if anyone else out there is planning for something around that time... the dr I am seeing is matthew mancini in knoxville tennessee

I had my band put in in Cancun by Dr verboonen in July 2010. (They were great by the way.) At first it went well, and I have a good local doctor for fills and I lost about 80 pounds. But then I started getting terrible reflux, and it went on and on, and Prilosec and then Nexium were not working. I had an endoscopy last fall they found a couple of ulcerations in my esophagus. So I had to drain my fills. I'm on omeprazole now but still get reflux several times a week and still have to sleep propped up. It's nowhere near as bad as before, but still an issue. My weight loss has stopped. Thankfully I only gained 8 pounds after the "un-fill" and have stuck there. But …

I am a Catholic who was confirmed in 2010. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that is received during confirmation is the gift of Wonder and Awe. Through the process of deciding whether or not to have surgery, I kept praying to God to give me a sign if this is what I was supposed to do. I pray that He helps me get healthy so that I may serve Him better. After contemplating for three years and praying on it for a year, I took the leap of faith on April 29th and began the long process of doctor visits, thinking I may be able to have the surgery in July. I work in a school and have good insurance, but found out that my insurance is changing July 1st and that if I did…

I knew this would happen but it's so depressing! I lost 16 pounds preop, another 21 in the first month, now...nothing for a week. I'm getting 60+ grams of protein, 700ish calories a day and I'm walking. So frustrating!!

I'm currently in my six month supervised diet. I'm going to ut medical center...dr mancini... so far its been great! My third visit is the sixth I'm super excited hopefully having surgery late october..early november..anyone else planning around that date?

Being short and fat has been an exceptional challenge. The wider my waist had gotten, the more difficult it is to reach things; up in the cupboards, etc. because my large belly reduced my arm's length by about 3 inches. Also being short, I think I have a short esophagus because I feel full very fast as it is, sometimes the food just feels stuck. But this is a symptom that started after my waist expanded. Has anyone else ever experienced this?

Hi I jsut got my band to sleeve revision on May 29th. Recovery is good so far and I'm looking foward to going on this journey with other band to sleevers. I only lost 25 lbs with the band so I'm worried the sleeve won't work either but I'm following the plan well so far so hopefully i'll get to goal. I didn't have any problems with the band, it jus didn't control my apetite. My doctor said they sleeve would help with hunger so I'm hoping he's right. So far I've had no hunger bit its only been a few days since surgery. I also noticed the side effect that i'm not "hot" all the time anymore. I saw that someone else posted about this and its true! I love this side e…

I've been waking up in the morning with a headache. Even though I get more than 64 oz water a day in, I thought I might need water, so I tried drinking some, but that didn't help. It's not TOM either. Tylenol doesn't help either and I can't take NSAIDS. Anyone know of a magic potion for headaches?

I am scheduled to have my surgery June 4th. My boss of course knows I'm having the surgery and one other co worker. My question for everyone is when did you start telling co workers? I work in the same hospital I'm having surgery in. I work will ALL women. I haven't said anything to anyone but it's going to be obvious when I come back to work when I am on a liquid diet, then puréed. Guess I'm just wondering how everyone else handle it. Thanks

Hello all. strange question...not sure if this is WLS related or not but I thought that I would ask. Over the last two weeks my feet and ankles have been swelling and just this weeked they have gotten so swollen that they wont go down and I have pitting...where you can push in and the indention stays there. I am a bit worried and not sure why this is happening. I know that I am not eating more salt than i would have before. Im almost sure its less and I have never had this issue. I am drinking water too...Any ideas?

Monday is the day!!! Nervous, excited, scared!!!!

I have heard so many great things from so many people on this site. I am still very scared that I'll do this and totally regret it like the Lap-Band. I don't yet understand the Bougie sizes, and I am not sure which is best? Bigger so that you don't throw up? Or smaller because you can eat less food? I need to lose this weight. I am 26.5 years old and I have back problems, chronic migraines, depression & anxiety, joint pain, and high blood pressure. I just don't know if I can lose it keep it off on my own. I am worried about the psychological aspect of this whole thing too. I truly believe I am addicted to food. It is my joy, comfort, best friend (and obviousl…

Outside of my immediate family and my bff, I have not told anyone that I will be sleeved until today. I was talking with a co-worker about end of year pressures and such and the conversation turned to summer plans. She asked if I was going away and before I knew it I told her that I planned to spend my summer recuperating from surgery. She was very concerned and then I told her about the sleeve and what I hoped to achieve through the surgery. She was very supportive. Now, let's see how fast this travels through the rumor mill.

So the last time I pooped was Thursday, May 17th - diarrhea if that's relevant. I saw my surgeon on May 23rd and he said to add a Fiber supplement. I asked if Citrucel was okay and he said yes. NO POOP. I have tried apple juice and Dulcolax suppositories. NO POOP. I am not in any pain, but I can tell that something needs to get the hell out of there. Is it time for an enema? If so, is there a preferred brand? At this point, I'm willing to try a hammer and chisel.

I haven't been in the chatroom for awhile so I have no idea if people have been using it. It's a great way to get questions answered, or just talk about how things are going with other people who know how you feel. I'm going to leave the chat room window open for awhile if anyone wants to talk! Just click on chat , above!

I am wondering and I bet a few others might be too but.... I have seen it common for a rather large group of us to experience the "three week stall" (right after surgery) - but are there any other common stall times that commonly occur during the post sleeve journey?

Hey everyone Today it really hit me just how thankful I am for my sleeve. Recently I was in a very high-stress situation. During the time my weight loss was... sketchy. I did lose, but I would plateau for about 3 weeks and then I would drop, but only a pound or two. I didn't realize at the time that it was the stress. I thought I was doing something wrong or that maybe my body was shifting into maintenance or it was just being stubborn. During this time I also wasn't sleeping well. A couple weeks ago I moved back home and the change is... incredible. I've lost 7 lbs, I'm sleeping soundly every night (with the only exception being the frequent gut checks my 6 year ol…

Would figure I'd be the first to fail at this! My day of surgery weight was 187. Of course I went up a bit afterwards and my first goal was to get back to that weight. I thought it would be an easy goal but yesterday I was 187.6 and today back to 188. I'm at a loss. I'm exercising and eating pretty well, though not perfectly. But I'm so freakin frustrated I can hardly function. Any thoughts or suggestions?????? HELP!!?!?!!??!?!

I am a year out of being sleeved... I finally was able to fit a whole sandwich (cutting edges off/reg bread slices -not the big ones with oats and stuff)... how did I go from only being able to chow down 1/2 a sandwich to a whole one over night? It worries me that I stretched my tummy out? oh no!!! how do I shrink it back! I wouldn't mind eating this little forever!! I am freaking out... is this normal to finally be able to eat "normal"?

Had my revision May 9th. I know I'll be slow to lose since I only have 50 lbs to lose total but I'm only down 2 lbs from pre-surgery weight. For a while I was up a few lbs, due to swelling I imagine. Should this be kicking in soon or is this rate what I need to expect? I know we're all different and I'm probably just being impatient but did anyone who started out at a lower weight have to wait a while for the loss to start? I have a friend at work who was sleeved April 23rd at 360 lbs and is already down around 35 lbs. I've been walking a ton and following the diet and during the pre-op week diet I lost around 8.

So I am 8 weeks out and I still have pain right under my right side bottom of the rib cage..is this common? It's annoying! Not a stabbing sharp pain...just a raw dull pain that gets me attention. Does anyone else have this?? I see my GI doc on the 15th of June so I will be addressing this with him? Anybody else have this problem/symptom??

I am trying to figure out which one I want. Can you guys share what made you decide on the sleeve.

hey guys! I'm about 4 weeks out & I've been trying to get my head wrapped around the feeling of not being able to "party" like most my age. I say this because i know i'll never indulge in alcohol like my peers. I feel like I'm going to be missing the experiences and fun I should be having. anyone feel the same? (don't get me wrong, I don't regret my sleeve AT ALL)

I visited with the psychologist yesterday for evaluation, and I have my meeting with the nutrition counselor on Monday. That is the final step before we schedule surgery! I am so excited I can't see straight!

Hello everybody. So, the hospital I'm trying to go to isnt having another seminar until late summer. On top of that I'll likely be having surgery at a military hospital which I've been told can be wait list for 6-9mo. So it may be a full year before I can have surgery. I feel trapped. I don't want to just remain this weight for another year but I am worried if I lose too much I wont qualify. I dont have comorbidities and I'm a 41 bmi. My insurance requires I be 40+ without comorbids. So to those who had to wait, what did you do in the meantime?

Any Arizona nurses sleeved out there? Thought it would be fun to have a group of nurses comparing notes and having a sleeved lunch together now and then!

OK, I was sleeved April 30th. I lost 10 pounds the first week but haven't lost anything in 2 weeks. I don't know what to do. I'm not allowed to exercise yet. I'm not eating much. I'm drinking all of my water. I have had a couple of glasses of iced tea....

Thought I would give everyone an update. Insurance won't pay for a "second type" of surgery. My Realize band has a leak and insurance company, BCBSAL, agreed the band malfunctioned and wrote, pending the physician's request, they would approve to reband me. They had already approved the band to be removed, but I wanted revision to return to the restriction I once had. (Doc removed the remaining Fluid when I was having an Upper GI in mid April.) If the doc's office can get an approval letter to reband, then that is the route I will take. I suppose if this one fails, I can always choose to pay for the sleeve. My choices: Remove the band Remove and replace the band …