justhere4theshow

@@Aggiemae my panties are pleasantly un-bunched, just in case mine are the panties to which you refer. Just offering a different perspective than yours.

I am 47 years old and I am on Medicare because I am disabled. I worked for many years, and I worked hard. I earned every bit of my benefits; they are not entitlements. I worked in health care and encountered all types of people with all types of insurance coverage. To stereotype and judge people based on what type of insurance they have is pretty crappy. There will always be people who aren't necessarily the most gracious, but I have encountered some real a**holes with private insurance, too. I draw conclusions about people based on behavior. It's really none of anyone's business what kind of insurance other people have. Jerks are jerks. Kind people are rare. Life is harder for some than others.

My RNY feels very different from my sleeve. The sleeve was very restrictive, which is good, but it felt much more uncomfortable. I have good restriction with my pouch also, but it doesn't feel uncomfortable. I just feel satisfied--not stretched or stuffed. I am so glad to be rid of the reflux!

My RNY feels very different from my sleeve. The sleeve was very restrictive, which is good, but it felt much more uncomfortable. I have good restriction with my pouch also, but it doesn't feel uncomfortable. I just feel satisfied--not stretched or stuffed. I am so glad to be rid of the reflux!

I am curious as to how you know how you will feel 6 years from now? You feel how you want to feel, and I am sorry that you feel that you must live your life without hope. You create the future that you want to create, but life is not absolute. No one "alwayses" or "nevers". I don't intend to discount your feelings or take anything away from your experience, but I was once a pessimistic person myself. I chose at some point to change my outlook to preserve my sanity. No one knows what the future holds, and your situation has just as much of a chance to improve as it does to not improve. I think you are doing yourself an extreme injustice by making up your mind that the rest of your life is going to be miserable because you don't want to admit that things can get better just as easily as they can get worse. You are sure to manifest what you believe to be your reality. This is just another opinion and is in no way meant to disrespect your feelings, but I am sad for you that you are making up your mind to be miserable permanently. I sincerely hope things get better for you, but if you don't want or believe it to be possible, I can guarantee it won't. I wish you the best, even if you don't wish that for yourself.

@@bearhugs1975 So sorry to hear that things are not going well for you. The conversion to bypass absolutely cured my reflux. I am glad you are taking some time to think about it. It's a difficult surgery. It is more complicated than the sleeve, and the recovery has been so different from my first surgery. The two incisions on the left side hurt! Just prepare yourself for a little bit harder recovery than before. It's definitely worth it, though. I still have a long way to go, but now I am free of the reflux, and the pain from the surgery is temporary. I wish you all the best. Keep us posted on how things go for you!

I will just tell you this: I felt so much better having no more reflux. THEN, I got sore. OMG the belly soreness is vicious with this surgery! DON'T overdo it! I felt good and went on a short shopping trip yesterday and it was a mistake. It set me back a bit. Be easy on yourself and let your belly heal.
I am 6 days out and have lost 5 pounds. Might be Fluid, but I don't care, lol. Oh, and your abdomen may be swollen worse than last time. This surgery is just longer and more involved, so I have more swelling and bruising. I am so happy to have these problems, though. It means I had my surgery and I am on my way again! I wish y'all good luck and I hope you do well!

I can advance my diet today and I am so happy! I am very pleased with my restriction when I eat, rather than drinking everything. My pain is *almost* gone, but still have some soreness on the left side. I don't anticipate it lasting much longer. I hope all is well for all of you!

I am home from the hospital and sore as all hell! My nausea and burning reflux are gone! I got to have Tomato Soup and orange Crystal Light in the hospital and NO burning! I am not very hungry, and I do have a lot of abdominal pain, so I am taking it very easy and sipping my Water. I hope you all are well!

I will just tell you this: I felt so much better having no more reflux. THEN, I got sore. OMG the belly soreness is vicious with this surgery! DON'T overdo it! I felt good and went on a short shopping trip yesterday and it was a mistake. It set me back a bit. Be easy on yourself and let your belly heal.
I am 6 days out and have lost 5 pounds. Might be Fluid, but I don't care, lol. Oh, and your abdomen may be swollen worse than last time. This surgery is just longer and more involved, so I have more swelling and bruising. I am so happy to have these problems, though. It means I had my surgery and I am on my way again! I wish y'all good luck and I hope you do well!

@@bearhugs1975 So sorry to hear that things are not going well for you. The conversion to bypass absolutely cured my reflux. I am glad you are taking some time to think about it. It's a difficult surgery. It is more complicated than the sleeve, and the recovery has been so different from my first surgery. The two incisions on the left side hurt! Just prepare yourself for a little bit harder recovery than before. It's definitely worth it, though. I still have a long way to go, but now I am free of the reflux, and the pain from the surgery is temporary. I wish you all the best. Keep us posted on how things go for you!

My RNY feels very different from my sleeve. The sleeve was very restrictive, which is good, but it felt much more uncomfortable. I have good restriction with my pouch also, but it doesn't feel uncomfortable. I just feel satisfied--not stretched or stuffed. I am so glad to be rid of the reflux!

I was going to do rny but bc if complex medical issues..chronic pain treated with narcotics and sometimes steroids, psych meds, and so on, my surgeon felt sleeve was better bc I could still properly metabolize meds but rny often messed that up. My psychiatrist even backed that when he told me he has a really hard time adjusting meds in his bypass patients. So consider your health history and potential for future health issues as much as one can predict...lol
Sleeve can bring about lots of weight loss too but you have to likely work a bit harder for it then with rny so they both have pros and cons.
Rny been around the longest so there is much more data available but sleeve is showing lots of longitudinal positivity!!
Good fortune

I guess what I'm trying to understand is why there's so much anger and vitriol instead of compassion and more understanding. None of us get to a place where we need surgery because we've made good choices or had 100% transparency or honesty with ourselves or with others. Sometimes there are issues that run a lot deeper with some folks than others. You just never know a person's background or story.
I also know from my own past (I'm almost nine years out) and many of my friends in the WLS community we all had experiences where when we first had surgery and were doing remarkably well, we felt invincible and full of conviction and top of the world with our choices and actions. It's easy to get to a place of high-ground when you feel that way, which is why I think it's important to remember that it doesn't always stay that way. There are always going to be times when you question others actions, and that's normal and fine. But remember, there are probably others doing the same to you. Extend the same kindness you'd want for yourself.

Being judgemental with each other NEVER helps. Support is not judgemental. Support is support. You're there through the good times and the bad listening, lending an ear, giving the best advice you can through a supportive and encouraging lens that won't further damage someone(s) already struggling.

I had the sleeve in May 2016, and my mild, occasional reflux became reflux from hell. I had a revision to bypass October 26. I am not sure if my experience is normal, but I have had a lot more difficulty healing from the revision than the sleeve. I am still very sore internally, and it seems like it is taking forever to heal this time. I can't help but wonder if I would have had a better experience had I gone with the bypass initially. Don't let this discourage you, but if you have ever had issues with reflux, do NOT have the sleeve. Best of luck to you!

I had RNY bypass 2 years ago, lost 152lbs and have been at goal since March. I chose bypass because I had gerd and that can get much worse with the sleeve requiring a revision to bypass anyway.
I have had NO complications at all. I can literally eat anything that I want, not that I do. The only exception is eggs, my stomach just feels heavy when i eat them so I dont.
If you get your blood work done on schedule and take your Vitamins everyday, bypass is an extremely effective surgery. By the way, you have to have your blood work done and take Vitamins with the sleeve as well.
Both surgeries are aggressive but effective. RNY creates a small pouch for your new stomach and reroutes which provides a malabsorption factor that assists greatly in weight loss. On the other hand the sleeve creates a banana shaped pouch and removes the other 90% of your stomach. As you can see.....both aggressive.
RNY is the gold standard in WLS surgery but the sleeve is fast becoming just as popular however there is less long term data available.
The important thing is to choose a surgeon you are comfortable with and do your research.

English Breakfast tea (decaffeinated)...Alex and Ani bangle bracelets, and waiting patiently for the day when I can see my collar bones again.

Here is what I would do: tell the family members that you are going to do it, and wouldn't they want to come with you to make sure you are safe? They'll feel guilty and it will go your way. They are trying to push you, via fear, to not do the surgery. If it was my family, I would sure as hell go, even if I didn't want them to do it, just so I could help.
that's my 2 cents!

Does your insurance not cover surgery here in the states? I ask because it would help you and your family to understand why bariatric surgery is necessary.
Many times they dont get that not having the surgery could be even more dangerous than having it. Obesity is a metabolic disease that if treated properly can be cured.
I know it was very important for my husband to go with me to my second appointment so that he understood why it was most critical.
I had to take the time with my grown boys to also help them understand that without surgery I would likely fail to keep the weight off after losing it.
Just take some time with them and help them understand your reasons for having surgery.
As far as Mexico goes, that is a personal decision and I dont believe it is like Iraq for petes sake.
That being said, for follow up reasons if you can have your surgery here in the US the better off you are. Just my opinion!

Don't worry about Mexico. No additional organs were harvested from me and we were treated like family. Better care there than anything we have received in the states. I'm more willing to go back there and have surgery than to get a flu shot here.

I am also shocked that your GP said you don't need it. Mine was almost giddy when i told her I was getting it and I had a BMI of about 42 at the time. She went down the list of things on my blood work etc and it was basically....this will be fixed after surgery...and this will be fixed after surgery ...and this should get better etc.
As for family...I think that is coming from a place of fear and worry. Hopefully they will come around. You are doing this for your health. I for one, want to be around to see my 7 year old get married, have kids etc. etc.

English Breakfast tea (decaffeinated)...Alex and Ani bangle bracelets, and waiting patiently for the day when I can see my collar bones again.

I definitely would go with the RNY. I had a friend tho that has Barrets syndrome and her surgeon didn't want to do her Sleeve because of the outcome for most people. She insisted on the Sleeve. But with the idea that he might need to wrap her stoma. Now I'm not totally sure what that meant but her other Dr for her Barretts told her not to let him wrap it. Anyway, she seems to be ok so far. She had her Sleeve in 2014. But I have heard of so many others having the revision from the Sleeve to the RNY. It would be better just to have the one surgery I would think. Good Luck

English Breakfast tea (decaffeinated)...Alex and Ani bangle bracelets, and waiting patiently for the day when I can see my collar bones again.

I just had my sleeve converted to RNY 10/26/16. I had to do it because of severe reflux. My reflux is gone and I am losing weight pretty well. I had slowed down a lot losing weight with the sleeve. The best advice I can give you is just be prepared for a little more pain after the RNY compared to the sleeve. My incisions are very sore, and any movement pulls them and makes them painful. It's temporary, so I am fine with it. I think my results are going to be so much better with the RNY. Just follow your doctor's plan for your recovery, and take it easy until you get healed up. Best wishes to you!