Estella

I know of someone who had a similar problem, she couldn't even keep Water down and vomited everything. Turned out she was suffering from dehydration, because she didn't drink enough post-op, and she's better now. I'm no doctor and I suppose your friends' doc ruled out this option already though. Did he?

From what I read, not all doctors perform band-to-sleeve surgery, and those who do don't remove the lap band. They leave it there and drain all the fluids from it, to make it inactive, and perform the sleeve. I'm glad I don't live in The States, we have universal health care (Israel). Problem is my country really tries to be American and our governments have been draining the budgets from the national health plans. A lot of people who choose to go through bariatric surgeries pay for them with private health insurance. I have to wait in long wait lists because all the privately-insured people are using the same surgeons as everyone and pay extra for faster queues.

I did the exact same thing! I went to H&M a few days ago and they had this amazing sailor jacket. While the store usually has a separate section for plus size clothes, where I usually purchase my stuff (I'm EU size 48, UK size 20 and US size 16 - you only learn that when you're overweight and forced to order clothes online from abroad like I usually do). This jacket's highest size was 44 (UK size 16, US size 12). The sleeves were way too tight to wear, but I figured that after the operation it'll be usable. I don't even have a date for the operation yet, but it gives me hope somehow.

Thank you for the replies. For years I tried to get used to being overweight with no success, I'm glad I finally had the guts to do something about it. The three of you were very reassuring. I'm 100% sure I want to go through the surgery, I was and I still am. Unlike others, I have no other options but my healthcare provider, so it takes a lot of patience. I noticed yours tickers, and all of you had higher BMIs than my current number when you went under the knife - if you could do it I think I can too.

Everyone keeps telling me that the operation will only have an effect on me if I participate in regular weight-loss support meetings, go to a dietician and exercise regularly. Well, if I could do those regularly for the rest of my life and persist on doing them, I wouldn't need the operation anyway, right? Will I regain all the weight I lose from VSGS a few years later? Thing is I already tried weight-loss support groups and dieticians and I ever exercised 30 mins every day for two years. Whenever I quit I regained the weight I lost. I started the process towards a VSGS because I read it has such huge success rates compared to those other methods I tried. I guess what I want to hear is that while will power, persistence, exercise and healthy eating habits are important, the medical procedure will make the real difference. I know from past experience that if it depends on my willpower to fight the desire for a sandwich by 100%, the chances of success are slim. I also read that VSGS is a relatively new procedure and that there are no statistics about the success rate after 5-6 years. Is that true? (My BMI is almost 40 and I'm still battling against my insurance provider to get the operation.