tammymoore

Wanting to join your group...my plan is to have the surgery the week before Christmas (due to time off and my deductible for the year has been met). My last of the 6 month required visits by insurance is Dec. 1st and hopefully my insurance will get it approved quickly. So ready to get this going!!

There are lots of places to stop and walk. thanks for your input.

I will be released the same day...They are only paying for a hotel the night before the surgery so I am assuming he is ok with me going back. The place is on the west side of Houston and we live far east of San Antonio so we can make it in about 3-31/2 hours. Of course will take a lot longer having to stop and walk. But I would do that either way. Thanks for your advice!

Hi my name is Jason. My journey has been a long one. I have struggled with my weight most of my life. I am tall, 6'5", so the weight seemed to slowly distribute itself all over. I have had high blood pressure since I was 15 and in the past 2 years was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. I guess I was also a bit depressed at times, that I had let my life get this far out of control. Difficulty finding clothes, breaking chairs. Before I knew it, I had hit an all time high (or low, depending on how you look at it). My weight reached 412 lbs this past February. That was when I had decided I had had enough. Things needed to change. My father had passed a year before of heart attack and with the all of the problems I was developing, I needed to. Not just for myself, but for my family (beautiful wife and two adorable daughters). I have a couple of relatives who did the gastric bypass surgery and had good results so I looked into it. Going in to the decision, I was going to try to do the lap-band. The RNY seemed too drastic and to me didn't look like the thing for me to do. Not saying that it doesn't work for some people, just needed to find out more. I connected with the Memorial Weight Loss and Wellness Center in Springfield, IL. They are a multi-level support group based program. They have many different physicians, dietitians, psychiatrists, and physical therapists working together to ensure that you are well educated and are able to be successful in your journey. They showed me the different surgeries available to me, and got me pointed toward the gastric sleeve bypass. After about 4 months of preparing my mind for the lifestyle changes and my body for the eating changes, I was ready for surgery. On July 21, I was reborn. Surgery was a success. Recovery room experience was rough, but only because I had a bad pain med pump. Once they got that worked out, everything smoothed out. I was up and walking the same day as my surgery and checked out of the hospital in 3 days.
It has now been 4 months since my surgery. It has been quite the journey. My sleeve is holding out. It is taking food and drink well. Not usually very well together. I am down to 307 lbs.. I am off of my blood pressure medicines and my cpap machine. I have more energy than I know what to do with. I feel great and I am beginning to look at myself in a more positive way. My body is starting to look more like a healthy persons. Anyway, that is my journey so far.

Sorry...that's supposed to read "140 pounds lost and holding" but it wouldn't let me edit the title.....
I haven't updated in a while, so I thought I would share a pic I snapped from this morning, a little over 14 months post op. I've lost 140 pounds and I am holding steady, rocking a size 4!!! I would love to lose 5 more, but hey....considering where I started, if I never lose another pound, I am ok with that too. My life has definitely transformed in a lot of ways. I have more confidence, more energy, I've run a 5K, 10K, 1/2 marathon, and am currently training for my first full marathon, and I'm healthy which is one of the best parts! I know that I have a much better chance of being around for a long time for my kids. I've learned a ton about myself, loving myself, and my vices through this process.
Good luck to all of you at the beginning or in the middle of this crazy journey!

I get that it isn't related to the surgery just thought it was incredibly sad. I can't even begin to imagine this mans pain, anger, etc. I've had many surgeries myself and I am so thankful to have come through them all ok. ✌️

So, clearly it wasn't the gastric sleeve that nearly killed him, since he never got it. He lost his legs due to the ineptitude of the surgical team. If I had been their patient for so much as a tonsilectomy, I would be lucky to be alive. I hope by the time his lawyers are done that this guys owns the hospital!
I have even heard that sometimes a doctor will be opeating in one room while a student doctor is doing a similar operation in another room while the surgeon with the creditials monitors via closed circuit TV. Several years ago, it was exposed that this was happening at a teaching hospital here in Chicago when one orthopedist was doing knee replacements.
The one thing I hate the worst about surgery (and I have had many in my 62 years) is not being in control of my body for a period of time. But if I totally freaked out about that, I would never allow myself to fall asleep. Unless one decides to be a hermit and never seek medical attention of anykind, the other options are blind faith in a higher being or cautious optimism with the medical profession.
Mobid obesity (300 - 400 pounds plus) runs in my family. My parents and most of my aunts and uncles are now gone, and my cousins are dying way too young from the afflcations that come with obesity. My mother died just four years older than I am now from complications of her obesity. I was so quickly stepping onto her path that I could not bear to do nothing. So, I went ahead and opted for a sleeve gastrectomy.
I count my blessings that I emerged a couple of hours later with a new lease on life. My heart goes out to those with horrendous complications. Had this man's physicians been exercising due care and best practices, his result would have been totally different. I would suggest that even if you have to travel an inconvenient distance to get your surgery at a Center of Excellence, it is well worth the trip. Many insurance companies require this before they will approve the surgery.

This is an EXTREME case. Any surgery has risks. For every few unfortunate incidents like this, there are literally hundreds of thousands of successful surgeries. For the record, the Gastric Sleeve (I'm not sure why they titled the story Gastric Bypass?) has one of the lowest complication rates. Doesn't mean it's zero, but it's low. I'm sure the story is just feeding off of the "anti weight loss surgery" hype....

I will be going home the same day as well unless there are complications. It worries me too!!

My insurance requires a six month process before surgery. I just had my third visit so half way there. I'm so impatient I just wanna get it done already. I've decided on the sleeve after lots of research I feel that is the best option for me. I love reading everyone's stories and appreciate all the honesty from individual experiences. I'm 5'2" at 246lbs. Can't wait to share my journey after surgery.