Andrew0929

This poster is correct - your odds of survival are better with the surgery. Leaks do happen, but they are pretty rare. You are probably more likely to get severely injured in a car crash in the next week. If you choose a doctor with a good reputation and follow his/her orders, you are fairly likely to have a good outcome - and improve your overall health and quality of life - probably your best bet for seeing your child graduate from college!
I won't lie - there are times when this is emotionally and mentally difficult, especially in the first month or so when your hormones are all out of whack and you want a piece of that pizza that your family is eating. Or when you are having extreme stomach cramps from eating 3 jelly Beans (I seem to have dumping issues from concentrated sugar). But overall, I LOVE my sleeve, I am SO HAPPY I did this, and HAVE NO REGRETS. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat - just wish I would have done this years ago!!

My highest BMI was 52. Surgery was fine. Staying fat was gonna kill me, not the surgery... Good luck.

Thank you to everyone who has posted on this comment. I too was concerned, but I went to my surgeon for a consult yesterday and he was so honest and informative; that any anxiety I may have had before this was put to rest. I know it is difficult to get your head in that place of comfort regarding the whole process at first, but it was very clear when he asked me, where will you be in 10 years with your health? More weight, older, more health issues, the list goes on. There is so much support on this site; it has really helped me get through the concerns. Be sure you have a surgeon that you really feel comfortable with.. for me that is the greatest part of it all. Good Luck to you!!

I totally agree with you.

I really believe the benefits more then outweigh the risks. If you follow your Dr's pre and post-op instructions to the letter, without interpretation or rationalization you should do fine. Poop happens.... but leaks are rare. I'm not a religious person... but God knows your needs and challenges. Don't live your life in fear. Good luck with your decision. Start losing weight now.... while you're deciding. Even a 5% weight loss makes a huge difference in your risks.

My BMI is 65. The way I look at it is like this. The chance of a leak is very slim. Less than 3%. The chance of me dying with a weight related issue in the next 5 yrs is more like 95%. I like my odds better with surgery than without.

Agree with Amy. I would just add to make sure you research and select the best possible surgeon. Ask him/her about complication and death rates (I did even though it was a tad awkward). I selected a Center of Excellence Surgeon and have had 0 issues. I think most people have no issues but it's the ones who do who tend to stick out so I understand your concerns. This is the best thing I've ever done and I was terrified going into surgery. Best wishes to you.

Hit send before I meant too. If you are a religious person, pray about it. Don't let the fear hold you back. You will be in my thoughts and prayers. Good luck with your decision.

I think there is always a lot of things to think about. Ask your surgeon. There are risks when you get in a car, risks when you wake up in the morning. Life surrounds us with risk. This is a very controlled risk. The reason I went with my surgeon,( as I had three to choose from ) was the first day I met him. He sat down and looked at me and said, "Ask me anything" , then he asked me things. To this day, every time I see him he starts with , "Ask me anything, Tell me any concerns or thoughts" then he goes over blood work etc. I asked him his success rate, etc. I also asked about leaks, and other complications. He told me how he "double" seals and has not had one leak. So, I figure he wouldn't want to break that streak with me! It is scary, I was scared because I had to get two loans to pay for it, and if something went wrong, not only would I not be working but I would have to pay for everything out of pocket. It was already $18,000. No one can tell you it "can't" or "won't" happen, but the risk you are taking by having all the health issues you have currently, controlled or not is a higher risk.
When I left the hospital I was nauseated, and that night heaved quite a bit. I called him, and he called me back within an hour, as I was afraid I'd pop every seal that he put in. He gave me something to help with the nausea and he said, "Don't worry, I tie really good knots"

As for food addiction that several have raised in this thread, even when you think it is conquered, it is still there. Perhaps not in the same way. Wanting to eat and eat returned for me in a big way at month 6. However, I do not turn to comforts of the past. Instead, I will eat an extra ounce of Protein here an extra 2 ounces of Protein there. It helps.
Unfortunately , I have recently been having an extra Protein Bar in between meals. Need to be careful because even the low carb ones pack 150-200 calories. I suppose I have justified the extra calories because it still puts me at 1300-1400 and I an very active every day. However, eating Protein Bars "just because" I have an issue with eating the right number of calories is not helping me.
It brings back the worry in me that I might repeat the past. The eating to replacd dealing with issues. I do not think I have that issue any longer, but I must not let it occur because I put my life on the line for this last ditch effort at keeping food bondage at bay. I try and throw in an extra HIIT workout to counter it, but know this is not addressing the core issue. It is merely putting some distance between myself and a food issue.
I have been to therapy, but not specifically to psychoanalyze my eating and why it is different from a natural thin person. Do I need to? Not sure. I would not be here if I was like a naturally thin person. However, I eat fairly healthy now and try to only east Paleo if possible. It is the Protein Bars that I am concerned about.
Yes, I do struggle with eating, but I see no reason for this to be associated with regret for WLS. It is still a game changer for me.

One of there restrictions added in may was 3 months = 90 days, or something similar. once you've got all of their requirements filled, they'll approve you.

You did say one thing that I really agree with...you are in the beginning and your opinions may change. In one month I will be two years out, and I have changed my way of thinking about food on so many levels so many times. Saying that I didn't do this surgery to be on a diet is very true for me. I wanted to be able to enjoy food still...just not to much of it. I was a strong food addict...very bad before surgery. My every thought was about food. I would wake up wandering what I would eat, then right after Breakfast I would already be imagining what I was going to eat next. I would sneak away to eat. I would go to the store and buy 4-6 candy bars and eat them all in one sitting. I would finish all of my food and sit there watching everyone else eating their food and if they had left overs would sometimes take theirs.
It was really bad. That was one thing I was scared about was not being able to control myself and eating all of the wrong foods and failing at this. But the opposite happened. This surgery has helped me retrain my brain. I no longer live to eat, I eat to live. It is so incredably freeing not to have every thought be about food. I have to remind myself to eat at times!
When I say I did not do this surgery to be on a diet for the rest of my life it means to me that I don't want to count calories, carbs, Protein, and eat diet food for the rest of my life....constantly saying to myself....oh no, you can't eat that...you are on a diet. I did this to live again, and well, mission accomplished. I can honestly say that I am no longer addicted to food! I also can say for the first time in 19 years that no, I am not on a diet, I just have a new outlook on food and I chose not to let it rule my life anymore. Good luck to you!

Best of luck. I'm sure you'll do great.

Congratulations on your success. It is genuinely inspirational to me, being pre-op and undecided.

From a man's perspective, my advice is to wait until you get to know him better and then just mention it casually. Regarding your eating small portions at dinner, that's not something you need to elaborate on with him. Lots of people are watching their weight, eating smaller portions ...

I was on Metformin for Diabetes & Lisinopril for my blood pressure prior to surgery. Just prior to surgery they had me off the Metformin & I did not have to take it again. I was taking my blood pressure medication for a few days after, but almost passed out in the shower. I asked my PCP if I could discontinue the medication. It was still above what he wanted it to be at the time (I don't remember the exact #) but he felt that with my changes that it wouldn't be long that I wouldn't need it. Almost 3 months off the medication my blood pressure was 99/71 as of yesterday.

I lovrvwhen people say its dumb or the easy way out. I believe this is tge hard way out of obesity. We are just brave enough to take that chance. Not only is it a new"diet" that involves way less than the normal diet. ..at first there is no cheating at all. You physically can't handle it. Then you've gone through major surgery so it is incentive not to ever get out of control. We all know how the old fashion way works. Its a never ending cycle! My brother wasnt supportive. He thinks I can just eat less. I told him that I don't need judgement or opinions and he has no clue. I just need his support. He said he was sorry!

I've been stuck for a couple of weeks...finally had a2 lb loss to make it an even 100 lb loss. 90 of those came off since surgery January 21st...just 5 months ago:)

I just finished my "Farewell to Fattie" tour. It wasn't an over the top food funeral, but I did have a few of my favorite foods this weekend, and I refused to feel guilty about having a small piece of carrot cake among those faves - since I'll be just finishing my post op liquid diet on the day of my birthday, my husband and our best friend made a special birthday cake for me as part of the "tour". I've still managed to lose 3 lbs over the last 5 days, so I don't think I carried it too far
Today the pre-op diet begins in earnest and goes through next Monday, with surgery on the 2nd. I did some trial runs so I know I've got this, but I'm still a bit nervous. Good luck, everyone!
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Yep I was the same way. After my first dr visit I ate like a pig on the way home.

I had to do 4 weeks of clear liquid diet before my lap band surgery and 4 weeks post op. Miserable. However, the first time trying to eat a forbidden food it got stuck really stuck hurt like hell and since then I am nervous about any thing that may get stuck. Waiting for band to come out this Friday and get the almighty sleeve. A lot of people I know do the last supper before surgery. Normal I think after nobody gets fat because they hate food right?

So great to see this topic!!! I start my Options Classes with KP and their office called me to schedule my appt with the surgeon and since those calls I have been grazing like crazy....Not alot of junk but just eating alllll dayyyy long. Can't wait for my first class (on Friday)! Seems like it took forever to get to 28 June. Excited and anxious all at the same time. *btw - how does someone start a post on this site???*

I'm in the same boat. I've planned several "food funeral" meals in my head that I want to get in before my august 3rd surgery. But like someone stated above - we can eventually take a bite or 2 of those fav foods one day so... It's just a phase. We will be in a whole new chapter soon!

Heather - I know it may be hard to believe, but the surgery gives you the tool needed to literally get past that fail point that we all often hit over our diet filled lives. I hit them hard and often too, but what I needed was a complete reset. I needed to change my relationship with food, fitness and people before it was too late. Surgery provided that and then gave me the time to adequately change my relationship with food, people, fitness, and more importantly, myself. I hope this offers some glimpse of hope.

I've been using a CPAP machine since 1989 and have been through a few big weight losses (down 120 lbs once). After the big weight loss, my pulmonologist chose to have me continue using the machine but on a very low setting.
Regarding your current situation, my experience has been that if it feels like there's too much pressure, there definitely is too much. You should contact your cpap supply company and ask them to lower your setting a little bit.
Although it is not recommended, I've always adjusted my own machine. Found the clinician's manual on the internet.