SylviaMom

Congratulations Amber! I get this thing out on the 6th and hope to be joining you on revision winners' team (winners because we will be losing).

Congratulations kspye and thanks for sharing. I look forward to your progress!

I'm scheduled with Dr. Aceves too. He seems to be the 'go to' doctor for revisions ( I am a lap to sleeve) and has a great track record. The hospital he works with is a full service hospital with an ICU and emergency center which is one of the reasons why he stood out for me. Also, Nina the coordinator is very responsive and wonderful.

*hugs*. Hope you have a speedy recovery.

Hi. As a revision, I wanted to find the doc who had lots of success with lap to sleeve procedures. After hearing from a few folks, I decided to go with Dr. Aceves. Nina, his coordinator, is an angel and gets back to me within 24 hours with all questions. I am scheduled for the 6th. With this sort of surgery, cost was certainly a consideration (10,500) but finding someone with tons of experience, a low complication rate, high rate of success and on site access to ICU was more important. I could not find someone in the pacific northwest his level of experience and track record. Plus he has a great nustache.

Super foxy and inspirational! Thanks for leading us ( I hope to be posting such fabulous pix one day too).

I'm scheduled for revision (lap to sleeve) June 6th and I have been dreaming body skinny...meaning, in my dreams, I was thin but my brain was still 'fat.' Having spent nearly all of my life as either dieting and/or obese, I have been thinking about the difficulties of such a dramatic change. I am super excited about all the good things-getting healthy, fitting in seats, feeling pretty, wearing cute clothes, higher wages/credibility, etc. And I know my weight has forced me to overcompensate in a hundred different ways but frankly has given me lots of freedom. While I am usually the widest one in the room, I also don't feel like men sexualize me in a work/professional context so I don't have to worry about those issues- the irony is that being fat helps you to be invisible sexually which is sometimes a relief. Also, for those who self-soothe with food, my crutch has always been one bag of chips away... I know...I got lots of work I need to do with a shrink and am working on it. But, I am interested in hearing from those who made it or are on their way to the other side and can tell me what skinny vision is like. In particular I'd love hear how folks have coped and made some of the difficult transitions.

Are you taking a PPI? I hear that acid mimics the feeling of hunger.

Thanks for living fabulously! I am really inspired by your update.

Oh no. I hope this isn't anything serious!

Congrats and wishing you a speedy recovery. Keep us posted with all your NSVs!

What a great birthday gift! You look faaaaabulous, dahling!

Hi denalisa! Glad you posted your story...I still have to do that but figure I'll be in the hospital recovering for several days and can do it then . I am scheduled with Dr. Aceves on June 6th and starting pre-op next week. I can't wait to follow your progress as us June sleeves lose and lose.

I'm not a doctor a but i do have sleep apnea. When I lose about 25 lbs. or so the sleep apnea seems to go away so I am hoping that will happen post op. aside from not getting restful sleep, which may hamper your recovery, I have not heard that sleep apnea poses any additional risks. Getting a sleep test was only important for my lap band surgery 9 years ago because it was a co-morbidity and we had hoped that the procedure would be covered by insurance (it was ultimately denied). Since you, like me are self pay, I don't see why it would be an issue....and will hopefully go away once we join the losers bench.

Hi mamaM, where are you going. I am lap to sleeve with Dr. Aceves in Mexicali on the 6th.

You are so fabulous! Loved the vlog.

To be identified as "the funny one", the "smart one" or even the "dumb one". Just something other than the "fat one." To feel "at home" in this body. To have confidence that I will live to see retirement.

What a horrible nightmare! It's time for a change of luck. Glad you found a good doc.

I start next week with a lower fat Atkins-like regimen as required by Dr Aceves. I know it's been said before but it astounds me how different these pre-op diets are (especially those without any preop). I understand the shrinking of the liver to reduce complications but has anyone received the 'why' these preops are so vastly different and why it is that some of us have full liquids for two weeks?

I just got a book from Amazon called The Weight Loss Surgery Comapnion Book by Tania Kabla. Helps identify and address issues many of us go through like head hunger, stress eating, loneliness, and our changing bodies. Hope this helps. And remember, this too will pass and a brighter day is right around the corner.

Thank you CowGirlJane.

You look fabulous! Thankfully, I have a decade of yo-yo dieting clothes from size 12 to size 22. :-). That's the one good thing about having had the lap band already.

Thanks everyone for your perspectives. This is so awesome to have such a resource. So I've been thinking a lot about this too. I just finished a great book called "A Sleeved Life" by Pennie Nicola (available from amazon and it's just $2.99 for the ebook) and one of the chapters was about this very question. She obviously wrote a book so is fairly open about the surgery but that was after lots of concerns too. She had some great responses to the judgmental statements and one in particular was the 'this is the easy way out' comment. To those folks she simply shares that this was the effective and efficient way to lose weight-and you should be proud, not ashamed to do things efficiently and effectively. I had the lap band 9 years ago. Obviously, I was not working with the band and had some real troubles. In particular, sliming, getting stuck regurgitating all the time. It mabred dining with people very awkward. I kept the band secret (except to my family and close friends) and I think it was mostly because I had been relatively unsuccessful in my weight loss journey-I was ashamed that I wasn't the type of loser that I hoped to be. I am sure people thought I was a freak as I would go to the bathroom 2-5 times over the course of a meal. As the lbs go away for the next year, I intend to respond truthfully to anyone who asks how I lost all that weight. I am getting too old to give a rat's butt what people think about me. Btw/ highly recommend the book!

Hey ladies (and gents are welcome too)-- Any interest in a monthly pedicure and clothes exchange meetup? I live in Federal Way but we can rotate locations. SInce we in various stages of shrinking (or did our shrinking) maybe it would be great to meet up, swap clothes ( am currently a size 20/22 and hoping to be smaller soon--surgery date on 6/4), and use those extra dollars on a pedicure! There is a great place off of 1-5 in Federal Way for the first meet up. In addition to the clothes, I am hoping to meet some folks with similar challenges and joys so we can provide support and encouragement. Let me know if you are interested and I will email you offline with dates. I am thinking the first one would be in late June, where I hope to bring LOTS of size 22/20 clothes. :-)