Yesterday I shared the news with my boss that I was planning on being sleeved in January. She was so supportive - I was on cloud 9!!

I decided that it would also be a good day for my brother and sister in law to know. I am an open book the majority of the time and wanted to share my special news with them. My brother was worried and asked questions which I happily answered. My sister in law who is a nurse had NOT ONE nice thing to say to me. She asked "Why are you giving up?" "Do you know the risks, my patients almost die!"

I have been a mess ever since the conversation. I know that not everyone will support me - But I do expect that they should respect MY DECISIONS! I have attended my seminar, met with my surgeon and will begin my psych clearance next week. I've been thinking about doing this for months - And one bad reaction scared the crap out of me!!!

I intend to prove her wrong and I will be moving ahead with my process but I do want to know - Do you regret your surgery? Did you ever regret it?

Thanks

Absolutely NOT! It took me 8 months to get this approved and every day of those 8 months I researched the pros and cons. I looked everywhere for anything negative about doing this. Please don't listen to what one person tells you. Yes, this is surgery and yes, the first couple of days were not pleasant, but all these years of struggling were not pleasant either. You risk dying because of being overweight too. Does she care about that? Just thank her for caring and go on your way. I had lots of negative remarks too and some of them were just because people cared about me and were concerned that something would go wrong, and some were because they were used to fat Kathy and I guess it made them feel better about themselves whether they were overweight or not. But the people that truly care about me also knew how unhappy I was weighing what I did. I wish you lots of luck!

I'm 2 weeks out today and absolutely no regrets! I think once you decide for yourself that this is what you want...go for it! No matter what someone else says...they are not you.

I am not even 3 months out and I can say NO WAY. I also had a lot of people discourage me, saying "you're not that big, you can do it on your on etc." well actually, I couldn't. I am very happy with my sleeve of steel!

Yesterday I shared the news with my boss that I was planning on being sleeved in January. She was so supportive - I was on cloud 9!!

I decided that it would also be a good day for my brother and sister in law to know. I am an open book the majority of the time and wanted to share my special news with them. My brother was worried and asked questions which I happily answered. My sister in law who is a nurse had NOT ONE nice thing to say to me. She asked "Why are you giving up?" "Do you know the risks, my patients almost die!"

I have been a mess ever since the conversation. I know that not everyone will support me - But I do expect that they should respect MY DECISIONS! I have attended my seminar, met with my surgeon and will begin my psych clearance next week. I've been thinking about doing this for months - And one bad reaction scared the crap out of me!!!

I intend to prove her wrong and I will be moving ahead with my process but I do want to know - Do you regret your surgery? Did you ever regret it?

Thanks

Stacey, search for this question, it has been asked many times, and you will see many answers, most but not all are positive. I have never regretted my decision... 9 months out and 8 pounds from "normal".

I had my surgery May 9th of this year. Like the other's I researched and had lots of planning, classes and testing done (I am a Kaiser patient). Anyway I NEVER had once ounce of regret EVER!!!!!!!! AND being 6 months out now and being so close to my goal weight is something that I could have never done on my own! I also know that I will never be 280lbs EVER AGAIN!

No way do I ever have once ounce of buyer's remorse. I would do it agian tomorrow if I needed to. I love my sleeve!!!!

Kelly

Well actually yes, I did have some fleeting feelings of regret in the very beginning. It was not an easy transition for me at all. I had some issues post op where my heeling wasn't as fabulous as most others, so naturally I questioned my decision of having this surgery done.

This is very common and there is not one thing wrong with feeling like that. It is a human emotion and is one to be explored and to be discovered as to reasons behind it.

Know this though, after my few weeks of feeling this way I centered myself and had to become patient with the process. It's so easy to want to just wake up right out of surgery and to be able to jump up and run around like I was used to doing. That's me and my persona, who I am. I don't like being sick or being in pain. I do have a high tolerance for pain but when it's enough to bring me down I can be a little negative about it.

It was pretty much a 2 week process with me. I'm pretty sure lack of calories and fluids didn't help the situation either. However today, I feel absolutely and completely different!!! I'm one of the biggest (well maybe not biggest anymore... LOL) cheerleaders for the sleeve!! I love love LOVE my sleeve and now have ZERO regret on having this done. It literally saved my life, my sanity and gave me everything I used to dream about. I would do this again in a heartbeat if I had to.

Best wishes in your journey! Don't let anyone talk you down or question your willingness to become that person you've been longing to be.

Like MissDiva just after the sleeve we almost always have our doubts, regrets and fears. Now 10+ months out I do not have ANY regrets except for the fact that I didn't do it earlier.

As far as "giving up" and "almost dying" I would say that I most certainly did NOT give up, if anything I gave IN, gave in to common sense and the realization that I was slowly killing myself for sure. I had to do SOMETHING and the surgery was IT for me. I've lost 165+ pounds, lowered my blood pressure, stabilized my blood sugar and eliminated a bunch of other issues.

I am 6 months post op. I haven't regretted it for one single moment.

Stacy, I am also a nurse and also a sleever. I certainly understand her concerns. I also faced opposition from the Dr I work for as he is NOT a bariatric surgery advocate. However, as Dr Oz says, "If you are morbidly obese at the age of 50 you have the same mortality rate as someone will a solid cancer. Would I recommend surgery for them? Yes.The same goes for the bariatric patient."

You have the chance to show her that if done correctly with dedication, and proper follow-up, the sleeve can be lifechanging, and often lifesaving. You might be the one to change her mind, and even make her an advocate for her patients who need this tool. Good luck!

I am only 4 days out and I can't say that I regret having the sleeve. What I found very interesting was the one thing I was dreading after the surgery (drinking the dye) was just as bad as I expected. I had little pain more soreness but the dye made me very sick and I throw up for a day and half. I have been home for two days now and I feel so much better. Now I have to be patient to add more things to my diet. I am currently drinking 4 ounces of water, broth, jello or sugar-free ice pops an hour (only the awake hours). I can't decide if I'm hungry or is it just the memory of food that I was eating two week agos. lol

My sister in law messaged me today to apologize. I was relieved.

I have definitely seen some people with regrets....they are the small percentage of people that have had the very serious problems that can come along with the sleeve.

I can understand questioning actions and small amounts of regret in the beginning - especially before eating real food is reintroduced!

I am so greatful to all of you for the endless support I receive on here everyday!

My primary care doc (now, former primary care doc) had never heard of the sleeve, so no matter how I tried to describe it to her, she thought it was the gastric bypass surgery. the note she sent to the bariatric doctor was not supportive as she says too many people have complications and regain weight too. She is basing that on her gastric bypass patients! Not every doctor or nurse is really educated on bariatric issues - so - it could be your SIL is not informed about this specific procedure.

Hi Stacey

This is so ironic to me that I saw this post today. I had TERRIBLE post op complications from a puncture. I was in hospital for two weeks after I got home (Canada) and then an IV Pump for 6 more weeks that made my life a living hell. Had this question been posed two weeks ago I would have said if I could turn back time I would have never done it. However, today a friend of mine chatted with me about the surgery and much to my surprise my answer to her when she asked, was, that I would do it again. I have regrets that I had a complication. I have come to terms with the fact that I had lousy luck and that it could have happened to anyone and am now seeing the positives about my surgery. I have lost 42 pounds in two months without stepping foot in a gym. This is amazing to me as I had a lower BMI and was told that I would not lose this fast. I know I am the minority as all the other patients who had the surgery at the same time did really well. I think you just have to know that all surgeries run the risk of complications. If you know your body and you think something is wrong, don't do what I did!! I tried to make believe that all was fine but deep down knew there was something wrong. Trust your instincts, you and only you know your body best.

I kind of feel this journey was like giving birth. During labor I vowed to never have sex EVER again...but when I held that beautiful little baby all seemed to be forgotten. This is the only thing I can really equate my journey to. Hope this is a help. I wish you the best in making your decision. If you need to know anything further please do not hesitate to PM me.

Good Luck!!

Pam

I am not quite three weeks out and I have definitely had my moments where I wondered what I had done to myself. My first couple days home from the hospital were pretty rough. However, I am a little more than 25 lbs down (including my 1 week preop diet) and I know in my heart that I would not have been able to do that without the surgery. There is a period of adjustment, but it is necessary.

If you know in your heart that you want to do this, don't let anyone stop you. Keep a response in your back pocket to be able to quickly respond to those who are negative. I had to tell someone that I wouldn't let someone cut the majority of my stomach out just because I am lazy. Some people don't get it and aren't going to get it, regardless of what you tell them.

I am almost 3 months out. Up until last week I felt off, couldn't eat what my NUT wanted me to in calories or protein, even my vitamins started to make me sick. I kept wondering and asking when does it get better? I kept passing by when everyone said it got better for them and it didn't get better for me. Nothing terrible, just feeling off and thinking I was failing at the eating thing. Then they accidentally discovered I had an abscess in my abdomen. They were shocked I wasn't very ill from it and scheduled me for surgery last Friday. Well my body decided Thursday if they said I was supposed to be sick I would be and I woke up with pneumonia. It was a very scary day for me. They didn't do the surgery that day but did move me up several hours on Friday. I woke up with a feeding tube and drain. But I felt so much better by Friday afternoon. I have had some up and down days since then, I don't like being sick and have never been this sick in my life. On those down days? I was definitely regretting. But now I have been home 3 days and eating the foods I was before this - I can eat more, closer to where my NUT wants me calorie wise. I feel better in general (still lack the energy but I think that is because of the surgery). I don't think I have regrets. Things are beginning to be how they were supposed to. I am still scared, I have a drain hanging from my side that I empty infection from and a feeding tube I am using to give myself protein a few times a day. I don't like it. But I think the regrets are fading quickly.