DeanBean

WL Warrior, What? No! The gastric sleeve is overtaking all other forms of bariatric surgery as the most popular. It has nearly the same effectiveness as the gastric bypass without all of the complications. My surgeon is no longer doing the band because of the problems of slippage and because it does not work long-term. Many band patients are undergoing band-to-sleeve revisions. I don't know who this young doctor is, but the impression he gave you that nobody does the vertical sleeve gastrectomy anymore is totally wrong. Look at the chart on this page: http://connect.asmbs.org/may-2014-bariatric-surgery-growth.html You can see how the popularity of the band is dropping significantly by year as the popularity of the gastric sleeve is growing exponentially. In comparison, the rates of those getting the gastric bypass remain about the same.

First of all, I think it shows incredible inner strength for you to recognize that your friend's response was controlling and unhealthy, and even more self-control for you not to respond to her right away. I would give her a call and make it clear that you are not asking for advice as to whether or not you should get bariatric surgery. It has been recommended by your team of physicians and you will be following their medical advice. That is not what the call is about. I would state explicitly that you plan to surround yourself only with encouraging and supportive voices over the next year or so, as you go through this transition into a healthier you. Any person who is negative toward you will have to wait a few years before they can re-enter your life. Your contact with her is to see if she is interested in being one of your cheerleaders during this difficult process, because she has been such a strength to you in the past and she is someone you hold dear to your heart. While it seems counter-intuitive, it may help in the long run to allow your friend to feel heard. She has heard some negative stories about bariatric surgery, and it would help both of you to let her get it off her chest. I would ask questions about dates, what kind of surgery it was, how much weight was lost and regained. Ask if you may be able to speak with these people to find out what complications they had. I am guessing that once she airs her concerns, she will be better able to listen to your point of view. I hope that she would then ask you why you are considering bariatric surgery. I would be concerned if she did not. If she continues to behave in a controlling way toward you, I would thank her for her concern and perhaps even mention that you are disappointed by her response, and then wrap up the conversation. I hope you can find wonderful cheerleaders to be there with you through the process, in addition to the friends you will make here. There may be a support group in your area where you can meet people.

Milk adds Protein and makes a Protein shake creamy and delicious. If not milk, maybe yogurt?

@@VSGAnn2014, I agree! It is because of these long-term studies that we now know that patients need to take Calcium supplements (etc.) for the rest of their lives. The long-term prognosis is excellent as long as patients are armed with the correct supplementation.

My breaking point was Diabetes. Up to that point, I was quite happy being the kind of person who could eat anything I wanted to. I certainly was never going to join a gym or eat salads every day. I went many years without even trying a single diet plan. The trade offs of not being able to go on roller coasters or sit at a booth at a restaurant didn't have that much of an impact. My knee started to deteriorate, but even that didn't bother me until an accident damaged the only good knee I had left. When I couldn't climb stairs or pick something up off the floor AT ALL, that should have bothered me, but it didn't. Diabetes did the trick, though. I started eating a low carb diet and exercising to maintain my blood sugar. I ended up joining a gym and eventually adopted the daily salad habit. I hit the grieving process pretty hard when I stopped eating my favorite foods. Through that diagnosis, I was pushed to become a healthier person and had to fight the battle between the behaviors I should be adopting (the healthy ones) with the habits I really missed (the unhealthy ones).