gsleeved

Glad to hear you're on your way. You can choose either hospital to have your procedure in. Very exciting times ahead for you. Start testing different Protein shakes . G

B&W has an insurance coordinator who will take care of all the insurance approvals. When you go to your info session they will tell you about that person and how to follow-up with them. I suspect one of the people at the info session will be able to give you an informed and up-to-date update on your insurance requirements. Also - I HIGHLY recommend Dr Shikora as the surgeon and having the procedure performed at the Faulkner facility. Private rooms make a big difference.

Hang in there and remember to take it slow. Each person is different and will recover individually. You stomach is swollen and inflamed from the surgery. It will take a few weeks to fully subside. If liquids still give you trouble then focus on Protein shakes - find the ones with the highest grams of protein (with low carb and fat content). Some people have trouble with warmer liquids and need to drink things ice cold. Others cannot tolerate cold liquids and need everything to be at room temperature. Now is a good time to really start identifying what 'feels' best for you and your sleeve. Start getting to know each other. Like any new relationship - remember to take things slow. G

Not necessarily but talk to your surgeon. I've been on omeprazol since my surgery and I've had no issues but I also don't venture into very spicy foods. The acid reflux is a potential problem with the sleeve you should be aware of. I also think that obesity contributes to reflux so as you lose weight the reflux severity goes down. G

By the way - there is another reason people opt for bypass over sleeve. Some sleeve patients do experience extremely severe acid reflux which sometimes cannot be controlled with medication. There would be no acid reflux with the bypass.

When I went to my info seminar the doctor there was clearly biased towards the bypass. I chose the VSG to avoid the food restrictions and malabsorption. It also just seemed more physiological - it's not rerouting the plumbing but rather resizes and reshapes the stomach. One reason I have heard that people opt for the bypass is reportedly people lose more weight - percentage wise - than the sleeve. I have trouble with this statistic - it's far to generalized and of course also include people who regain their weight back. I haven't seen any really useful data broken down by age, gender, weightloss level etc. Also, much about what you hear about the sleeve data incorporates results from early surgeries. When the sleeve was used as a first step before getting the bypass the sleeves were bigger. Today's sleeve bouge sizes are typically 32-40 fr. Most early sleeve bougies were over 60 fr in size since they were expected to precede a gastric bypass. Another reason why people opt for the bypass is it theoretically reversible. You can theoretically reconnect the stomach. This reversal is extremely rare - it is a far more invasive surgery and far riskier (and far more expensive) than the original bypass. Ultimately, as everyone else said - you need to determine the best option for you. Most importantly - fine a surgeon you trust and are confident with. G

I had Shikora - he is the best. Really amazing. You're going to be in great hands. Quick Tip: Shikora and the rest of his team split their time between B&W and Faulkner (also a B&W hospital). Faulkner has private recovery rooms whereas B&W does not. When you schedule your surgery, schedule it at the Faulkner Hospital.

I had my surgery at B&W on March 19th and they took amazing care of me. Who is your surgeon? Do you know yet?

Slim - Another idea that I'm trying that I can suggest. Consider creating a video blog of your journey. Post it on Youtube and make it either public or private. Even if nobody else watches it you will always be able to go back and retrace the journey and maybe the little added focus on the journey itself will have keep you committed to the things you need to do to make the most of the surgery and the new lease on life. If you want to see the videos I started you can see them at: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCBOYp0ZuHJHLoKhsJV3LLA/videos G

Slim - I know what you mean. This is very much out of our control. But ask yourself - what are you afraid of? a. The surgery itself: obviously a scary thing. Not sure about you but I've never had surgery before so I don't know really what to expect, what will happen, how I'll react etc.. You're probably feeling the same. The only advice I can give here is to remind you that thousands of people have gone through the surgery before us without any problems. And since we can't control the outcome, there is not much point in worrying about it. It will all be fine. Have faith in yourself and your surgical team. b. What comes after the surgery: this one is tougher. What happens after surgery is largely in our control. How we respond; how we behave; and how we adapt will ultimately determine the success we'll have. The fact that you're here and have gone through all those hoops shows your commitment to success. Even though the future is unknown - how will I eat? what food will I tolerate? what foods will make me throw up etc.. - just commit to yourself that whatever happens and whatever comes along you will adapt to it - and roll with the punches. It's not going to be easy - so don't expect it to be. But we know that this is the right path for us - the path that we were on was leading to disease, pain and an early grave. For the first time we have a tool - a weapon - that will make a difference in this life or death battle with weight. Now is our chance to start winning. It starts on Tuesday! G

I'm happy to provide as much support as I can. March 19 is my date too.