jeffrey

Goodness--no offense, but you mother seems like a troubled person. I could never under mine my daughter that way. It is about her, not you. My mom can be that way--a real know it all, and like if someone succeeds where she has not, she has to belittle them. Please ignore her, and maybe don't confide so much in such a toxic person. Choose not to give her such power, so much information. Just do your own thing and let her do hers. Good luck! I have been researching for over a year and truly believe this tool will be a big help, particularly during moments of frustration or weakness. You can regain or fail to lose around any WLS method if you try hard enough, but if you prepare, commit, then do, I believe you will succeed and remain a success. BTW I am scheduled for 4/18! In spite of my name, I am a mid-50ish woman. Looking forward to this new life and new relationship with food, and to shopping in the "regular" sizes again!

My surgery is scheduled for 4/18, and I, too, am down almost 15 lbs. since I started really watching it. Ten more days on low carb/high Protein food and smoothies should knock a few more off before the surgery. Instead of craving the "last meal", I am finding it strangely easy to do what needs to be done and avoid harmful choices. Don't know why. Just happy. Good luck to you on Monday, and keep us posted. Congratulations on your successes so far. You are a good role model!

I agree--waiting is hard and nerve wracking. I too am scheduled for 4/18! It is just so rewarding to hear all of the success stories and be on the receiving end of all this encouragement. Hang in there and think positive thoughts! I know you will be happy once it is behind you. Don't worry if it's tough for a few days or a week afterwards--it's normal. I know one woman in our support group who had hers on a Tuesday, and by the weekend went to the grocery store on her own. She looks and feels great and is a real inspiration. Good luck! Stay in touch!

I am scheduled for 4/18 surgery. I, too, am a good weight loser--have lost the same 40 or 50 pounds over and over again, but have never found the key to keeping the weight off. I hope this surgery will help me through the times when it gets out of control and allow me to achieve a healthy weight and maintain it. As I told my doctor, (as blood sugar and blood pressure and other health issues beginning to creep in), "I'm trying to lose weight again, but fear I am going to die trying". I want to LIVE trying instead!

This discussion has been so helpful! I am scheduled for 4/18, and worry so much about not being able to enjoy food afterwards. I love healthy eating, but also have overindulged way too many times. The idea of repositioning thinking is so helpful, as is the reassurance that it can be mostly portion size which changes. Thanks all. What a great group! Wish me luck! Starting two weeks of low carb/higher protein, experimenting and stockpiling protein powders and stevia-sweetened drinks, etc., and determined to make this work once and for all.

Honey, You have a right to your privacy.!!! Your husband needs to settle down and not be so judgmental about what constitutes honesty. Does he tell everyone about every private body function on a daily basis? I mean, really, you decide how you feel about your personal right to privacy, and let him decide about his. You are very brave and wise to be seeking a reasonable solution to a serious health problem. Have the surgery, if anyone asks about your weight loss just say you are trying to achieve a healthier weight and are working on diet and exercise, and appreciate their support in helping you achieve your health goals and maintain them. There are hundreds of ways people achieve healthy weights, and, it's just not any one else's business to know and judge your choices. Sounds like you are surrounded by family you feel are judging you. Give yourself a break. This on-line support group should give you some relief from all that. Well meaning or not, it sounds like this potential judgmental atmosphere is weighing heavier on you than the surgery itself. You may need to carve out this private place for you and only you! This is a nice group and provides so much support. I am facing the same issues--am scheduled for April 18!!!- and have decided that for now, only my husband and adult daughter will know. When I am on the other side and see how I (emphasis on I) feel about it, will decide then whether to share this personal decision with anyone else. Until then, it is not for my husband or daughter to share this with anyone, and they won't. Neither will they push me or make me feel like I am being less than honest by maintaining my right to privacy. In this crazy world of reality TV shows and confessionals, the idea of privacy may seem quaint. Well, it's not! Good luck to you! I admire your courage and wish you all the best!

Check with the hospital and see if a hotel close by offers a hospital rate. It can be a substantial discount.

Thanks so much for this post! I am scheduled for 4/18, and vacillate between excitement and fear. It doesn't worry me to have a kind of rough time for a while--it's just so nice to have people sharing how fast it gets better, and to not get too concerned that a few rough days. BTW--where did you do your surgery?

I wouldn't choose this as the place to economize. You will lost so much of the potential benefit and trace elements, and possibly be ingesting who knows what with the nonorganic ingredients.

I would follow all of this advice and not be discouraged. It is generally harder to lose as we age (I am 57), and after yoyo dieting. The idea of varying the calories is spot on. I have lost more on diets when I went from extra low calorie days to higher ones, (like going to a party or out to eat and not watching it as carefully). The variation keeps the body not used to living on lower calories all the time, which can slow down the metabolism. Not pigging out on unhealthy food, but stepping calories up and down a bit. And, exercise, water, and protein (not at all fun, huh?) can all help. I have always been a big plateauer, so, be patient and don't give up! Congratulations--46 pounds is a lot of unhealthy fat to leave behind.

We sound a lot alike. Even about the same weight, and similar history of yo-yo dieting. I don't know what else to do. It just takes all of my mental energy to plan and prepare what I know I need to eat. I think it would help so much to not be so damned hungry all the time, and to be satisfied with a small quantity of food. I know what to do and do it 80% of the time, but then "fall off the wagon" and things get out of control, and up goes the weight. This is a last resort for me, but I am afraidI will not live to see grandchildren if I don't do something. As I told my doctor, I fear I will die trying to lose weight. Just had a setback--finished all of the pre-surgery testing and was prepared to schedule surgery in a few weeks, but got an EKG that may be a problem. But, from checking out EKG procedures, they were very sloppy with mine. The cardiologist says he doesn't think I have a problem, but has ordered expensive and scary sounding chemical stress tests for me to confirm. I have no confidence in him or his staff now, so am in the process of researching cardiologists as carefully as I did bariatric surgeons (Dr. Jawad in Ocala will do mine). But, I know we can do it. Stay in touch? Are you scheduled yet?

I would love to hear how people who are years out, maintaining,etc. How is it going? What are the issues? Are you able to maintain and are there health issues surfacing? Thanks for everyone here being so open and helpful!

Has it stopped now? I am having the surgery in a few weeks and this worries me. Did your surgeon use a small bougie? What size?

It's so great to hear from someone well over a year out. You are amazing! Couldn't agree more--you are just adorable in both before and after, but your health has got to be improved by the after. Congratulations! I am eagerly awaiting my surgery date! Please keep posting so we can keep up with the sleevers with more months of experience.

Wow! Your positive energy and this new life are a true inspiration. If you don't mind me asking--are you male or female? Somehow I'm guessing male. But, reading your post and some of the responses, I am getting past my few remaining doubts about the surgery. Don't have a date yet but hope to know by mid week. I am eager to hear from people who have had the sleeve for a while--one to three or four years (I know there are not many out there from the early years), to see how they are doing. My husband really wants to get some of that information too. Thoughts? And, again, congratulations on what you have accomplished for yourself, but for sharing it with others. This post WILL make a difference for others.

Dr. Mohammad Jawad in Ocala, Fl is a pioneer with a great reputation and track record. Check him out.

Check out Dr. Jawad in Ocala, FL. He is a pioneer in bariatric surgery and has a ton of experience with the sleeve. Self pay is $14,000--you pay the psych, nutritionist, and cardiac/etc pretest (which some insurance companies will pay). I am scheduling my surgery later this week for, hopefully, sometime in the next few weeks. I have done tons of research and he is a really top guy in the field. About a 9 hour drive from Asheville, or, hope the AirTran direct flight to Orlando from Asheville. He is a Center of Excellence and has the best safety record in FL. The hospital is rated one of the top 50 hospitals in the country. He has a private section of the hospital and his own staff to minimize infections, etc. I live part of the year in Asheville, and realized it is an awful place for anyone who needs this kind of medical help. What a shame, given the rampant obesity you see all over the place there. Good luck! Don't give up--you can work this out.

Thank you so much. It's interesting. I had my appointment with Dr. Jawad on Tuesday. He mentioned the same thing. He plans to go soon to observe and learn the surgery, but since hunger is a big issue for me, it seems wise to go ahead with the gastric sleeve rather than plication, even if plication was readily available. I finish my pre-op testing (gallbladder ultrasound, cardiac clearance, and nutritionist visit) on Monday, then will schedule asap. Went to a support group of his on Thursday night, met two sleeve patients--the five month out woman was really happy with her choice, and one woman was 3 1/2 weeks out. Feeling great, no problems, and already over 20 pounds down. I am ready to take the plunge with the sleeve. The bypass and band patients there seemed to have more management issues. The sleeve people just sounded and looked better and happier. More later, and thanks everyone.

OK, went to Dr. Jawad yesterday and am planning on proceeding with the sleeve. Does anyone have advice on how much time to carve out post surgery? I am self employed, and can often work from home, but do have things requiring travel coming up this spring. BTW though my screen name is Jeffrey, I am a 57 y.o. woman. And, some of the posts sound like some people experience extreme nausea and diarrhea--it's hard to tell how common it is. And, Dr. Jawad has done about 150 sleeves, but has done thousands of GBS, so should be great with the staples. He has also been doing laproscopic surgery for a long time. He is a Center of Excellence. He said he has had three sleeve patients with leaks (sounds like mostly from early on), and uses a bougie (sp) of 40 something now--had problems with the 30 something being too small, again, early on. It's a little hard to know how to interpret the technical stuff. He has been doing WLS for decades. Does this all sound ok? What an amazing, supportive, informative group. I am scared, but excited!

Do how's it going at this point? Do you know how many sleeves he has done at this point?

I am about to schedule surgery, and admit I have had these fears. I worry not about not having much of a stomach--just the risks of cutting a major organ which absorbs nutrients out of the body. Do the nutrients get absorbed in the small intestine? And, are you still hungry all the time? When you go out or eat with friends, do you just really stick out or can you get part way through an appetizer at least or some soup? How about drinking--I don't drink much at all, but enjoy a glass of wine a few evenings a week and the occasional beer in the summer. One thing which is true--if I had known in my 20s how irreversible the extreme weight gain would ultimately be, I might have prevented it. But, I didn't. Coulda, woulda, shoulda isn't going to get me golden years with my dear husband and a chance to be Gammie to yet unborn grandchildren. Whatever the downsides are, I accept them, but just want to be realistic and very, very careful about what procedure and which surgeon. Thanks everyone. Don't know what I would do without this group.

VST addict--did Dr. Aceves do the plication or regular sleeve? I was checking out his clinic on line, and it sounds like people think he is great, but, there is'nt that "Center of Excellence" designation like Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana. How did you decide on him? I am a self pay, but will not make this decision to save a few bucks.

Thanks so much for the advice. I have spent the last few days reading, reading, researching, and reading some more. It is scary the seeming disconnect between the advertising for the band and the actual experience of so many. The trend that even those who are happy with it at first become disenchanted is alarming. Which raises the question for me--most of the posts/advice, etc. are for people who were recently sleeved. Is there much experience years down the road, given how new the technique is? Will it lose effectiveness in time like the band does? At least there are no foreign bodies floating around and becoming embedded. Are there different techniques used to create the sleeve? If so, how so,j and what might be safest? The surgeon in my area, Dr. Jawad, appears to be really exceptional, has done somewhere around 200+ sleeves I think, but has been doing bypass for decades and was an early laproscopic surgeon and of course has done tons of bands. He was quite discouraging about the band. But, there is something about removing 80%+ of an organ and stitching up a big cut which seems inherently riskier and more extreme. In my reading, I have learned about a twist on the sleeve surgery--the plication technique, which sounds like rather than removing a big part of the stomach, it is kind of folded in and sewn tight, reducing the stomach like the regular sleeve surgery, but leaving the stomach intact so it can absorb nutrients (unlike the traditional VSG). But, it seems it is under FDA testing now, and I can't tell if it is really available (safely) in the U.S. (Also it is generally billed as being reversible at any time, though there are also reports that it is only reversible in the few days following surgery). There is mention of a few clinics involved in the studies, but I am having trouble following these references to anything definitive. I am willing to travel, but get very conflicting reports on the Mexican clinics, some of which seem to be really into the plication. Sounds like some of them are top notch, but how do you tell? Individual surgeons have reports of everything from butcher to savior (for the same surgeon!) I have an appointment with Dr. Jawad this week. He didn't mention plication in the seminar, but, maybe he knows something about it. Thoughts? I no longer am considering the band--thanks to everyone for the support and information. I cannot wait to post my own countdown. Your weight loss is amazing and inspiring. I am so tired of being fat, and so discouraged by losing and regaining the same 50 pounds over and over. As I told my doctor, I fear I will die trying to get this under control. I am 57, and would like to think I have a couple of good decades left if I can get beyond the excess weight and related health problems.