LOOKING FOR ANSWERS

LUCYCAT · January 16, 2011

Hi There. I have been considering vertical sleeve gastrectomy surgery for a very long time. I am starting to take the steps toward having the surgery and I have some questions. Anyone out there that has already had VSG if you could give me some advice I would greatly appreciate it.

1. What is a good way to talk about this decision with my boyfriend? I have tip toed around the subject a couple of times he seems to have a very negative view on bariatric surgery in general. Anyone else had to deal with this?

2. Do you lose a lot of hair? I have done some reasearch and Hair loss seems to be pretty common. Is there anything that can be done to keep this from happening?

3. Is excess skin a common problem? I am 36- no spring chicken and I have been overweight my entire life- so my skin is used to being big!

4. Can you stop? I know that is a bit of an odd question, but I am not so very sure that I want to be ultra skinny. I would love to make it down to around 150- 160. But I am not sure that I would want to weigh less than that. I have watched Video Journals of people that have the surgery and they get down to the 150's and say that they plan to stay there and the next video they are 132....what happened? Makes me a little nervous.

5. How do you handle prying coworkers? I am a very private person, I do not want the entire office to know that I have had surgery- but obviously they will notice when I start to lose weight. What is the best way to handle this? i know them well enought to know that even though we are not close they will feel it is their right and duty to A. Talk trash about my decision and B. think it is an open door for them to tell me what I should and should not be doing.

6. Do you regret it? Are there days when you regret it. I know it isn't a magic cure. It has to be something that is both difficult and rewarding to go through. Are there days when the reward is not worth the struggle?

THIS IS ALL I CAN THINK OF FOR NOW- ANY ADVICE YOU COULD THROW MY DIRECTION I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE.

seniorsleever · January 16, 2011

Lucycat, I haven't had my surgery yet, (8 more days!) but I felt like you do until I spent some time reading these forums. All of your fears are legitimate, and you can find answers to all of them and to many more questions here. Spend some time going through the topics that interest you, and I guarantee someone has asked the same questions before and there are lots of good advice in the answers. This site rocks! Everyone is supportive. They won't sugarcoat the answers, either. You'll get true experiences here. Good luck with your decision!

drysdale · January 16, 2011

HI there,

I am only going to answer the questions that apply to me, so hopefully, they will help. I'm married, so #1 is out. I'm am too early to know about #3 & #4.

2. I'm only 6 wks out so I haven't lost any hair yet. Hair loss is attributed to 2 factors. One is an avoidable and one isn't. Any time you have surgery with a general anesthesia, you will lose hair between 3-6 months. Don't know why but it happens, so no control. The other factor (controllable) is hair loss due to lack of nutrition. If you take your Vitamins and eat your Proteins, then you can avoid some hair loss for this reason. Now, there is no way to prevent it from falling out, but you can promote new Hair growth before you start losing yours so it's not as noticable. I take Biotin, zinc and Iron which all promote hair growth and I use nioxin Shampoo. It's kind of pricey, but this is what I am doing to help generate new hair growth which can take up to 2 months before it starts.

5. AS soon as I started the pre op diet, I started telling everyone who asked that I was going to make 2011 the yr of health....weight loss, exercise etc. I was a soft drink fanantic and gave those up. People really didn't notice my eating habits changing because they just thought I started a diet. About 4 wks into it, people started noticing the weight and were actually encouraging me on my diet and telling me to keep up the good work.

6. I had one complete total pity party about day 8 when I just didn't think I could stand one more liquid. That was it. I don't regret one minute. Now, granted, I have only done this for 6 weeks and am down 20 lbs. But I just love it. I love the restriction. I don't miss the food and I don't miss or crave soft drinks which was my fear. I am 48 yrs old with an 8 yr old and I am going to put on a swimsuit and go swimming with her this year!! I wish I would have done it sooner.

Good luck to you. I know it's a hard decision with a lot to think about, but I definitely think it is worth it. And, my husband is very happy that I did, too.

txbina · January 16, 2011

Hi LucyCat. First, I want to compliment you because you have obviously done your homework regarding this procedure. I am a newbie; sleeved 12-16-10. I am also fortunate to have a family member who had it done oct of 09 and a friend in june 10. I am down 25 pounds in just a month. Yay!!

1. I was fortunate that my hubby was supportive from the beginning. I was totally expecting an "absolutely not" decision when I first started "dancing" around the subject. I think it took a while for my dh to realize that I was being serious. I would hope that the person you love would be supportive of you making a decision toward better health. Maybe present him with what you would like to do and explain the why and how of the procedure. Also it's important to point out the differences between the different procedures. sometimes people don't realize that there are major differences between the surgeries.

2. I am only 4 weeks out, so I have not begun the hair loss stage. My MIL and my friend have stated that they have lost hair, but I must say it isn't overly obvious and they both had very thin hair to begin with.

5. I too am a VERY private person. My immediate family and two best friends are the only one's I've told. It's not that I am in any way ashamed of my decision; I am actually quite proud of it. BUT I don't want everyone monitoring every bite that goes into my mouth or examining me at every visit. Just like my friend who got "new boobs" if you know what I mean. As someone mentioned earlier, I just state that I am on a diet and trying to make better choices. I have been a yo-yo all of my life. I will say that do be careful who you tell if you don't want everyone to know. Once you tell, you can't change your mind and take it back. I am currently in nursing school and know all too well about the things ppl say behind other's backs. it's really very sad. I'm sure in the right situation I will be more than happy to share but it will be on my terms, not someone else's.

6. I absolutely do NOT regret it. I have had a few pity parties for myself and will be happy to share my decorations LOL! I was not prepared for the "head hunger" that followed the first week or so. also I cried over Jello, or more specifically lack of having Jello when I wanted some! Also because of school I had to schedule my operation over Christmas break. I did not want to wait another five months to make this life changing step. A liquid Christmas was kinda rough; however this was more a timing issue than anything else.

I have been fighting with weight all of my life. Obviously 34 years of this diet or that pill was not working. I did not make the decision to have this surgery lightly, and I did my research. I am proud of my strength to admit that I needed help. It isn't easy and it's a big change to the way of life; But I am on my way to a new smaller, healthier me!

Good luck to you. This site is wonderful; full of info and support.