iwannabslim

June 4th here.
I made a list of all the June sleevers up to this point and if you all keep adding to this section, I'll post the list in a new section for Good Lucks, Well Wishes or Prayers. I will edit and add to it as people continuing posting their dates. If there any mistakes please feel to send me a note.

June 28th here. It is taking soooooo long!

I am new to the forum I have been booked for surgery on the 26th June and I'm so excited, I'm sure as the date gets closer I may experience some other feelings

Hot mama! What you have accomplished with your sleeve is AMAZING! You inspire us all to keep reaching higher because after watching you, we KNOW we can!!!

BTW, someone posted on another thread that they wanted to know where to get motivation to exercise? These pictures motivate the heck out of me!! I want to be where she is!!! This proves that it's possible... and notice that little tiny tummy? That's with NO surgery!! Yeah, Irene, YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reminds me of salty sprite.

No one has ever explained it to me. It is so funny to see the drastic differences in both preop and postop eating plans. It boggles the mind.

YES, you CAN do this!!
I had the option of doing a similar meal plan, but I figured I would rather go with what I know. The glucerna shakes aren't great, but I know I can stomach them. I have tried several Protein supplements over the years. None of them are great to me. I am hoping that after surgery, I will still like the few that I find I can stomach now. I am trying not to go overboard with buying things ahead of time for fear that my tastes change drastically. I found, the last time I had to do a preop diet, that after the first few days, I got over being hungry. By the end, I wasn't even able to finish all of the stuff per day that I COULD have.

oh no...hubby and i were just having a conversation about Albert Manzo from Real Housewives of NJ (yah...) who got the lap band. Hubby said, well cant the sleeve be removed? GRRRR i KNEW HE WAS NOT LISTENING TO ME!!!
My reply: "I'll explain it to you when i get out of recovery ". LOL

"I can't wait for my husband to be able to pick me up. That is what I want my GOAL pic to be; my hubby holding me in his arms like a rescued princess"
I totally understand. I told Ken, my fiance, that we couldn't actually set a date to get married until he was able to carry me over the threshold. He says he could do that now and I let him know that carrying me slung over his shoulder fireman style doesn't count. lol

I can't wait to buy off the rack in the obnoxious cheap teenage stores.

I can't wait for my husband to be able to pick me up. That is what I want my GOAL pic to be; my hubby holding me in his arms like a rescued princess :wub:

I'm a June sleever, but I won't start my preop diet until the 14th. I am trying to ease my way into now by making healthier choices and working out. My preop diet will consist of 6 Glucerna shakes a day, 2 servings of low/no fat low/no sugar yogurt, two 8oz servings of juice, and all of the no calorie drinks I can stand. I currently have the lapband and have gone through this before, but it's still going to be a struggle. I have my surgery the week before the 4th of July. I don't plan to have a party then either. I'm sure that my husband and son will cookout, but I shall abstain. Maybe I can lick the BBQ Sauce. :0)

I read this the other day, but wanted to think a little before responding. I think the OP and the discussion raises some enormously important points.
I am a project manager, I make "risk based" decisions everyday. That means, weighing the possible outcomes, trying to judge the probabilty and impact of those outcomes - and making a decision. I basically did that when I got the sleeve, and it took me a long time. I am not a medical expert, but i listened to them. I read as much pros and cons as I could and threw some grains of salt into the glowing pros because early euphoria is not really what I was looking for - I want long term success at weight management with minimal risk of bad side effects or consequences. I had EXACTLY the same reservations that are expressed here.
I was banded in 2001, right before it was FDA approved. I thought I had reseached it, but I was fooled by a group like this one, (it was a yahoo group called Bandsters). At that time, there was a lot of peer pressure - people who weren't having big success simply didn't reveal. There were a couple of dominant personalities in that group and basically, anybody who wasn't successful had "compliance" issues.
I did okay at first, but I was never super successful with the band. Worse then that, the reflux was a nightmare. I can go on and on. Anyway, I had the Fluid out about 2003/early 2004 due to uncontrolled reflux and lived with the band until 2011. I didn't feel shame for being fat, I felt shame for FAILING at a WLS that I thought pretty much everybody else succeeded with. It made me very skeptical of all the claims about WLS, it made me skeptical of myself. I was convinced that I had a "compliance issue" and would surely fail with the gastric bypass or anything else too. In hindsight, I realize I was pretty hard on myself.
I lost weight on weight watchers - kept that off for quite awhile, but then in recent years tried everything and couldn't keep weight off for more a few monhts... the regain was always so fast. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me, I saw counselors to find and hopefully cure my "eating disorders". They kept asking me how I felt when I wanted to eat... they didn't think "hungry" was a legitimate answer.. I really didn't make progress on that front either.
I was pushed hard by my sleep apnea doctor to get some weight off. The doctor that looked at my arthritic kneed and told me it needs replacing soon, practically begged me to get weight off. They were both compassionate, but very firm. I could always say "I am healthy" but in truth, I at 47 I was starting to have physical issues. They shared with me real stories of patients, and in the case of the surgeon, about his mother. They painted a picture of the road I was on... 300+ at 47; what is life going to be like at 57, 67... if I made it that long. They shook me up.
The sleep doctor convinced me to meet with a surgeon that he knew. Great guy, great reputation but he felt strongly I would fail with a restrictive procedure (oh, the non compliance thing again) so steered me toward the gastric bypass. I started the process, but at some point decided that I was just too scared and would rather die young then do that procedure. This may not be rational, but it is where my head was at.
I came across another place that advertised "weight management" services that required a two year commitment to their program and as I read about their program and thought... I need to try again. I got lucky and the director/founder of that business is who I talked to. She listened to my story and said... have you considered the gastric sleeve? I told her about me failing at the band etc etc and she said, please, before you do anything - talk to these guys and referred me to the surgeons they work with. (they have a weight management program that is non surgical but she identified that I was not a good candidate for that due to lifelong obesity and high BMI at the time. The stats don't lie - deck is stacked against people in that situation). She said something that stuck with me.... as much as the deck was stacked against me, a lifetime of obesity, one failed surgery she said I had going for me one very important thing - I never gave up. That little comment gave me some hope.
I met Dr Billing and he spent the time to really talk to me about obesity and theories, research and surgeries. He spent such a long time with me, I am so grateful for that. He gave a sobering assessment too about risks of revisions - things can happen. He agreed that the revision to the gastric bypass was riskier and stongly recommended the sleeve. One of the docs in their practice has had the sleeve, and another one's wife has had it done - they really believe in this procedure. He also referred me to a bariatric doctor (non surgeon) to work with. She, combined with Dr Billing changed my view of the whole thing.
There are physical reasons I am hungry all the freaking time!!!! I am not denying personal responsibility, i realize it is lifestyle and choices, but, I was swimming upstream trying to overcome the obesity cycle I had been deeply caught up in my whole life! He told me that it is possible to break free without surgery, but the odds aren't good.
He also told me my band needed to come OUT as it had slipped, I had pouch dialiation - it needed to go. I was not mentally ready for it, but I went ahead with the band removal surgery... still deciding about the sleeve.
About 2 days after the band came out, I was hungry hungry hungry even more! I couldn't believe it, even my failed band had been helping somewhat. My gosh, wonder if I would have weighed 400# if I hadn't had that crapband in there - maybe I should give it some credit.
I went to the bariatric doc (not the surgeon) and followed her program which kept me from gaining 50# but I was becoming frantic and even depressed over what was happening. The drive to eat was out of control. I am not sure what clicked, but at some point, I could no longer deny that I needed a tool to help me. I could not deny that my life was being negatively impacted by my obesity. I could not deny that I was starting to not be able to do the things I love and that everything was such an effort. (I could still wipe my butt, but I know what she meant, everything just gets so hard when you are that heavy). And I was miserable always feeling like food was the most important thing in my life since I just had a drive to eat.
I am reminded of the quote "I was going downhill faster then I could lower my standards"
So, because i had one foot in the door on this whole deal, I had some of the presurgery things taken care of including insurance approval. Then, in November 2011, I found out my insurance was changing. The new insurance specifically excluded the Gastric Sleeve, but still covered the gastric bypass. I did some soul searching and then booked it for December before the new insurance kicked in. At the time, I didn't like that pressure, but in hindsight, it was the kick in the butt I needed after dallying with this whole subject for a year.
I wound up with a different surgeon (who is also amazing) in the same practice because my doc was on vacation in December.
It was a huge leap of faith. I still don't really know what problems, or weight regain I might have in 5 years, 10 years. I have risked being "fooled again" by the hype - I know that.
For me, the risk was worth taking because I just could not keep gaining weight. I could not remain in that high BMI catagory - that wasn't me and wasn't the life I want.
Anyway, I am only 5 months out, but my success has already surpassed anything I achieved with the band. It has also been easier so far, and so far, I don't experience hunger all the time. My whole relationship with food is changing. I am not claiming the war is over, but I have been winning many battles. I have heard it said on this forum "the sleeve is everything the band promised but didn't deliver" - I agree with that statement.
My blood work is the envy of the medical and nutritionalist staff (like wow, fasting blood sugar of 77 for example and I was pre-diabetic, triglicerides all that are in the outstanding excellent catagory). I feel like a million bucks. I am doing stuff with my horses again and loving on it. I am so active, I have so many choices of what to do, where to go, where to shop - all that. I no longer feel like the morbidly obese person who has no business doing horse things. I no longer feel the constant drive to EAT. I feel more like ME. I still have lots of weight to lose (I am still obese even, but in a whole different weight class now), but I am so happy with how this is going I can't even express it adequately.
My life is becoming a life I want to live.
So, back to the original point. Yeah, I am skeptical. I still wonder sometimes when the shoe will drop and I suddenly have "mental issues" with food. There is a part of me that still believes this whole situation is a character flaw on my part, even though I fight that. Seems to me that my issues with food have pretty much gone away since I am not starving 24/7, but time will tell. My docs openly disclosed the limited data on long term results of this exact procedure, based on the stomach size they are currently using. I just couldn't wait another 10 years to see how the studies turned out, so for me the risks as I understand them now, are totally worth the benefits, as I understand them now.
Here's to a great next 10 years - I am determined to be one of the good statistics!
(my signature shows I still have 66# to lose, but I have lost over 80# in the 5 months and am much closer to normal sized person now)

Ok, so at 22mths post op I am still not at goal... and I am still obese... but you know what... photos don't lie!
I am attatching two pics; fir from May 2010 at my heaviest 238lbs and the second from May 2012 at my current weight of 165lb.
Like I said, I am 14-24lbs away from goal and still obese... so work this out!


Now, I don't want to sound cocky but I think I am looking ok in the second one... I absolutely hate the first one, and this is one of my 'better' pre op pictures!
Those of you out there who aren't at goal or in the stall from hell, I hope that seeing these pics help you to realise that the scale and the BMI are JUST numbers and there is more to success than the numbers.

Was hoping for sooner but I got my date today!!! Super excited

WELCOME!!!! This forum is a awesome resource!! It can become addictive!! LOL...
Getting sleeved was one of the best decisions I could have made... I'm not dropping huge amounts of pounds, but I'm 60lbs from my highest weight, lost about 40 since surgery.. but I've gone from a 30/32 to mostly 22s... I feel so much better!!!!! Best wishes!!!

Hi! It is very easy to stalk around here. I did it for weeks before joining as well. Good luck to you!

Had my revision from band to sleeve on Wed! I'm currently up about 2 lbs from day of surgery due to what I imagine is swelling. I know I'll be a slow loser due to having 'only' 50 lbs to lose but I'm ready for it to begin!

I'd be on the phone, too. I'm impatient!!!

Yeouch. Have you called your surgeon's office? I was scheduled during the same call when they told me I was approved (which I already knew b/c I had been hounding my insurance co).

Ok BCBS has the request on file! Calling back Monday to check the status.

Thank you for the kind words!

I hope that they are able to do it in one surgery with no complications. I know that dealing with two surgeries would be stressful AND very expensive. Hopefully the damage won't be very extensive. As for the recovery after the band removal, I don't know. I have known only a couple of people that had their bands out without getting a revision, but they didn't really talk about anything special as far as the diet. I'm sorry that I couldn't help with that part. Good luck and many prayers for you with your surgery.