emp409

Hi! I'm in NC too - Wake Forest. Had DS with Dr. Ng at Rex Surgical about 3 weeks ago. I've heard good things about Dr. Sudan too but I've had an excellent experience with Rex Surgical Specialists. Let me know if I can answer any questions! Best of luck to you! By the way, I switched docs/practices mid-stream and they accepted all of the testing I had already done.

@@Mojo56 congrats on the wt loss!! Sorry to hear about the complications. I am having surgery with enochs in the next month or so - what did he attribute the issue to? Another surgery and 3 more days in the hospital is awful! How has your diet been? Eating normal foods?

My BMI was at my highest 55; I started my sleeve journey at a BMI of 51 3 years ago. I have lost in the ballpark of 160# and been maintaining since Feb 2013.

i think high BMI people have some unique challenges and as someone who was banded before sleeve - I agree with your surgeon that the band is not the right tool.

I will be honest, i would consider the DS if I was over 60 BMI. That is a scary procedure in the sense of it being riskier and more prone to nutrient deficiencies but I think it is worth at least investigating check out website called dsfacts (google it). One downsode to the DS, is when I did plastics consults i was told by surgeons that those are the patients they feel are higher risk due to nutrient deficiencies (you MUST supplement consistently).

Back to the sleeve.. it has been great for me however, it is possible to overeat with it. Actually, i think it is possible to over eat with any of the procedures (although DS is most malabsorptive) over the long haul. Most people have very good restriction in the first 6-18 months of the sleeve and then it gets harder. At 3 years post op, I am not sure how much I can eat, but it is enough that people guess I am a light eater (watching my weight!) but not that I had WLS. I can eat like a shrimp skewer and a small side salad for example.

So, my perspective is this, the sleeve is a tremendous tool and can really make getting out of super morbid obesity a reality - BUT - you really need to be "over" using and abusing food. That does not happen in an instant and almost nobody is really fully there pre-op (or maybe ever!). Even after all this time, I make a very conscious effort to manage a healthy relationship with food, fitness, activity etc.

Someone once said on these very forums "none of us got over 300# without having some kind of food issue" and it does not magically disappear so getting your head around being comfortable with eating small portions, with making a permanent committment to this new way of relating to food etc. is really important.

Good luck to you - my life is so much better and I have so many wonderful experiences and opportunities that eluded me when I was morbidly obese.

check out my before and after pictures on my profile if you want to see how far I have come! it is still a wonder to me!

Cowgirl I can't see the before after pics on your profile but would love to see them! Congrats on your continued success!! Thanks for your post - makes a lot of sense to me and really resonates with what I am hoping to achieve with wls.

Adriane how's recovery going?!

@@Mojo56 how did it go? I had my initial consult with dr. Enochs last week and he discussed the sips procedure with me. Would love to hear from someone who has had it! Hope you're doing great!!

@@emp409 - My BMI was 59 when I decided I had to make a change. Most of what I have lost was before surgery. I finally decided to have the sleeve to help get me to my goal and not regain the weight. If you are interested you can read about it in this post I made a couple months ago:

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/324809-my-story-so-far/

Thanks for sharing this! I have some of the same fears you did prior to surgery. Nice to know you've come out on the other side and are happy with your choice. Best of luck to you!

Super Dave - thanks, great perspective and helps a lot!

Thanks for the replies. You're right - I have definitely overate my whole life. I like the idea of finding a new normal. Anyone on here with a bmi near 60 - would love to hear success stories of the sleeve with that much weight to lose!

So I'm totally new and still trying to figure all of this out. Had my initial consult with surgeon last week and have my workup next week. I am not sure which surgery to do - sleeve, band, or new sips procedure (sleeve + bypass). As silly as it sounds, I'm worried that I won't be able to eat like a normal person ever again. Will I always just eat a few bites and be full? Can I enjoy a meal with my family? Is there a difference in how or what you eat based on the type of wls you have? My bmi is almost 60 so my surgeon is recommending something other than the band. Thanks for any advice!!