TXJess

Just like people who fight over natural child birth vs. an epidural. Whatever - at the end you still have a baby. Other than that, it should be what works for the person.
I actually didn't have the surgery to lose weight. I can do that without surgery. What I have been unable to do in the past 15 years is KEEP IT OFF. When I tell people that, anyone who has ever dieted understands that struggle.
BUT, I do think it is a disservice to pitch WLS as a magic bullet, miracle cure. I hope doctors educate people that this is not the case because there is the same hard work to lose the weight as if you didn't have the surgery.

Chap stick. I couldn't have any Water until the next day for the leak test.
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Chap stick. I couldn't have any Water until the next day for the leak test.
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Yup. Same thing happened to me and I am so thankful! I had severe gerd and my bypass cured it among many other health issues.

Chap stick. I couldn't have any Water until the next day for the leak test.
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My 6 week long stall has finally broke and my scale hit 200.0.
I smell Onderland by this weekend.
I t just goes to note to stay on plan, and we will make progress.
My cloths have been getting bigger this month, but the scale was frustrating mentally.

So, I had to tell too. By the time I told them, I had missed so much work for dr appointments, they thought I was either interviewing or had cancer. So I told them of my decision, and explained why surgery was necessary instead of just diet and exercise. The support I've received from them has been amazing.
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Everyone knows all of my business. It actually really helped to have so many cheerleaders and a wide support system.
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It's been one year today since I had my sleeve done. My life has changed in every aspect.
My start weight was 333.1lbs
My weight this morning was 137.8lbs
That's a total loss of 195.3lbs!!
I've also lost a total of 95 inches...I'm a size 6 now...used to be a size 30.
I have accomplished this by being very focused and strict with my eating and exercise.
I eat very low carb, and always get in my Protein, Vitamins and Water every day.
For all of you just starting out, just know that anything is possible, and if you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything!! 
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I thought It was taking forever for this checklist.... Then I realized I saw my surgeon for the first time on Dec 20th. I've been cleared my my primary, I just made my appointment with my psychology and nutritionist then we can submit to insurance all by early February!
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This is my first day after surgery. The swallow test went well. My stomach still fell queezy, but I feel great. Just walked the hospital floor twice. Balance is good. Ready for the rest of this Weight loss journey.
Tie Hill Samsung S6+

I was a big Pasta eater before my surgery. I have not been able to handle any Pasta since. That is until I found chick pea pasta and chick pea flour.
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I've lost more than 50 pounds, but I swear this is the first time I've REALLY felt it: sitting on an airplane and easily putting on the seatbelt. Not only did I put it on [something I couldn't always do before QQ] but I put it on without tugging, pulling, or "sucking it in". And then, when I dropped my tray table, it didn't immediately bounce back up off my belly -- NAY! THERE WAS ROOM BETWEEN THE TOP OF MY THIGHS AND THE TRAY TABLE!
I can't remember the last time I could use a tray table on an airplane. It's dumb, but it's horribly exciting.

Down 29.4lbs one month post op from surgery!
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I have to say the first few weeks where very challenging. I ate times wonder why I did this and yet I sit here today 40 pounds down and it's been 9 weeks since I have had to take my diabetes medicine. I don't enjoy the gym but I am determined to go. I've pushed myself to work out 6 days a week for an hour. I am still trying to see what I can and cannot eat. It's an long process and I'm finally glad I did it.
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Hi waterwoman,
I am also 60 years old. Good to meet you!! You have done excellent with your weight. I have a story about the Lap Band, my hubby had his for 13years. It malfunctioned (pretty common)he went to have it removed and do a revision to the RNY, that didn't go well. The band had eroded into his liver. So they took out his band and his gallbladder. So he ended up with abscesses and was so sick for 9 months and 3 of the months he doesn't remember. He did finally go to Mexico and had the Sleeve done. This was in June. He is doing ok. I had my RNY 3 and 1/2 years go. I lost 132#'s in 6 months. I did have a few problems with strictures so I think this is why I lost so fast. I gained 8#'s back, but both of my Dr's were ok They said I was losing muscle so it was a good thing. I have maintained my 124#' weight loss for 3 years. I feel the same as you about being one of the very best things I have ever done. I am so Thankful that I am now a normal sized person which I have not been since I was 20 years old. I look forward to following your Journey. Again Welcome.

Celebrating my 75 pound loss over the last 7 months and only 25 to go.
The lap band didn't work for me - it was one of the worst decisions of my life.
I had it removed in March and in June I had the Gastric Bypass. It was one of the best decisions of my life.
I can eat anything healthy. Tried a Protein Bar that was a little high in sugar and got sick - so I assume I'm a dumper, which is a good thing.
I'm in my mid-60's.
My surgeon expected me to lose about 40 pounds - so reality was a pleasant surprise.
Bypass is not for everyone - but it is definitely awesome for me.

Just like people who fight over natural child birth vs. an epidural. Whatever - at the end you still have a baby. Other than that, it should be what works for the person.
I actually didn't have the surgery to lose weight. I can do that without surgery. What I have been unable to do in the past 15 years is KEEP IT OFF. When I tell people that, anyone who has ever dieted understands that struggle.
BUT, I do think it is a disservice to pitch WLS as a magic bullet, miracle cure. I hope doctors educate people that this is not the case because there is the same hard work to lose the weight as if you didn't have the surgery.

Just like people who fight over natural child birth vs. an epidural. Whatever - at the end you still have a baby. Other than that, it should be what works for the person.
I actually didn't have the surgery to lose weight. I can do that without surgery. What I have been unable to do in the past 15 years is KEEP IT OFF. When I tell people that, anyone who has ever dieted understands that struggle.
BUT, I do think it is a disservice to pitch WLS as a magic bullet, miracle cure. I hope doctors educate people that this is not the case because there is the same hard work to lose the weight as if you didn't have the surgery.

.
So Zizi is right - the larger the size, the larger the range it will accommodate. Generally, in the double digit regular sizes it is 20 pounds = one size. I think in the Woman's sizes it is a wider range.
Also - how is your body shaped? Can you go down in a size on top, but not bottom, or vice versa. And also - focus on other NSV's (non-scale victories) for now. You are doing amazing!

Hi - my BMI was 35.5 so I was barely eligible. It was actually kind of hard because I had to show some weight loss over the 6 month period of doctor supervised "weight loss", but not go below the threshhold BMI.
Anyway - this Friday will be one month since I started pre-op diet, and will be 2 weeks post op. I've lost 22 pounds. That's almost 10% of my body weight. I know it will slow down as time goes on.
Oh - and you are a guy so you'll probably drop weight a little quicker. Good luck.

And even more importantly, who is the idiot who thought it would be a good idea to buy? I was canvassing the house looking for a small cooler. I need to be able to transport a couple of meals of refrigerated items from time to time, and I knew we had something somewhere. I queried Mrs. LittleBill through the modern miracle of texting. She replied that she was pretty sure we had a soft sided one down in the laundry room. I found it. It was some sort of corporate gift, as evidenced by the company name proudly emblazoned on the top. And, it looked like it would probably be a serviceable, if not ideal cooler. But then I pulled it off the shelf.
Some mental giant designed the thing with two CUP HOLDERS in the top. Now, on the face of it, that might seem like a great idea. Cup holders on your cooler. It evokes images of happy people sitting around on the ground, or even a bench somewhere, quaffing their drinks, which are ready to hand at a convenient location, because their soft sided cooler has cup holders in the top! But let's think about this for just a moment.
Soft sided coolers, by definition, are SOFT! They have no real structural rigidity of their own. While they may be very good at containing items, they really aren't designed to HOLD THINGS UP. They can't even hold THEMSELVES up! You have to stuff them FULL of something to get that. But wait! When you stuff your soft sided cooler FULL, where are the cup holders going to go!?!?! Do you make two little holes in your food, ice, and extra drinks? How do you close the thing up? Maybe you wiggle your cup slowly and gently every time you push it into the holder, so whatever is inside is pushed to the sides as the holder extends itself into the interior of the cooler. One thing is for sure. You ain't a gonna put an opened drink into that cup holder while the flap of a lid is open, and then slam it down to close it. :P
In the whole scheme of things, this really isn't that important. But I am sitting here with not a whole lot to do at the moment, and I felt like venting my spleen where it concerns the wiz bang brain trusts of the corporate world. On the plus side, I found a rigid Little Playmate that cleaned up real nice. It has no cup holders, but I can make do. What it DOES have, is a bullet hole decal someone put on it years ago. At the least, it will help me establish my redneck credentials without any effort on my part. And the way things are around here, this is as close as I am getting to anything that is described by the term Playmate.

According to the internet:
A hiatal hernia occurs when part of your stomach pushes upward through your diaphragm. Your diaphragm normally has a small opening (hiatus) through which your food tube (esophagus) passes on its way to connect to your stomach. A hiatal hernias may cause acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux (GERD).
So after reading your post, it appears that you do not know if you have a hiatal hernia. I believe that many times when patients undergo bariatric surgery, they discover a hernia, sometimes it is a hiatal hernia. In many cases they correct the condition at the same time they perform bariatric surgery.
I had a RNY gastric bypass surgery because I had severe acid reflux (GERD). It is my understanding that sleeve surgery will only make this condition worse. Some posters on this site had sleeve surgery only to go through another round of surgery later because of GERD made their surgery intolerable.

I've been wrestling with a similar dilemma. There was no medical reason compelling one surgery over another since I don't have diabetes or binge eat sweets. The doctor recommended sleeve because there are fewer potential complications. Also, he feels I have a higher than average risk for ulcers due to a previous ulcer.
Earlier this week I was panicking because I felt like my diet was deteriorating and maybe I needed dumping syndrome as a tool. I called and spoke to the dietician. She had me read my food diaries to her and told me she thought I was actually making reasonable decisions, and that I would do well with the sleeve.
I feel relieved. I think anxiety just increases as surgery approaches. Also, it's hard to make a decision because I don't have any experience of not feeling too much hunger for my body. So I don't know what life will be like if I don't feel that degree of hunger.
I can really empathize with your agonizing over which one, especially if two different docs are telling you two different things. My doc's reasoning was: bypass is better for diabetics, people with severe sweet cravings leading to binging, and people with serious GERD. Sleeve is the better option without those indicators, and for people with a history of ulcers. I really trust him a lot.