I'm a new forum postee, so if this is in the wrong catagory feel free to point me in the right direction.

Wondering how long you thought about getting VSG before you decided to do it. I've decided on VSG, but I've only been thinking about it a short time. I've done a lot of research so far and plan on doing more so that I'm well informed and safe... Plus I'm a self-pay so I'll have to start saving, built-in pondering time I suppose.

Just curious if I'm the only one who decided pretty quickly that it was the right thing for me. I'm a single mom; I've been overweight since I graduated, freshman 15 or 50 or whatever. I've lost and gained a variety of ways including good ol' diet and exercise and I plan to continue being active, but I need more control that I don't feel I can self-impose I guess.

It's great to find a community of people that support unconditionally. I've only told a few people of my desire and from their reactions, I'll be limiting the future "bean-spillage" to close family.

Thanks for your lovin!

Well complete honesty? Not long, a couple of weeks at most..

I began pursue WLS in September of last year I had my first appointment with the surgeon mid September and was sleeved in November. I had never heard of the sleeve until that first day.. I had only thought about the band when thinking of weight loss surgery. After my consultation I researched both and very quickly knew that the sleeve was the right WLS for me.

It took me some time to make the decision but after I watched several close family members do terrific with it I knew that was what I wanted to do. Once I made my decision it was a matter of 2 months that I was sleeved. I would have done it sooner but I work in a high school and wanted to wait for summer break. I was a self pay as well and paid $10,500 with a surgeon in Boca Raton. I felt very fortunate to find a doctor that would do it for that price. Good luck on your journey!!

I didn't take to long to decide on WLS my, I have a friend that had VSG done last year and she looks great. I also see a lot of patients that comes to my department for recovery. Hope to have my surgery April/May 2014, only thing in my way is the dreaded 6mnths diet required by insurance..wish I could fast forward time :-)

It took me a year to decide on VSG. Ive known for 3 years I wanted to do some type of WLS but didnt have the money to do it. Well that was a blessing in disguise because then i would of got the lap band. And if you have done your research you have heard all the problems with that. Good luck on your journey what ever choice you make.

My stepsister had VSG over 2 years ago & she has done very well. Last fall, my orthopedic surgeon told me that there was nothing else he could do to hold off on having to replace both of my knees. He said we needed to plan surgery for this year. I knew that having my knees replaced while I was still in my 40's would mean I'd be facing at least one more replacement in 15 or so years & also I knew that carrying the extra weight would make the life of my new knees much shorter. On the way home, I decided to email my stepsister (who's also a nurse) for details about VSG. It took me about a month to do enough research that I was convinced. I scheduled my first appt with my surgeon in January & was sleeved in June. I'm down just about 80 lbs so far & the difference in my knees is incredible. Now I'm hoping to be able to hold off on knee replacement surgery for another decade, but even if I don't make it 10 more years with my OEM knees, every year I gain will be a big bonus.

After multiple failures with diets and diet pills and nutritionists and personal trainers, etc. my doctor recommended Gastric surgery in February 2012. I broke down crying because I felt like I had failed myself and having surgery was really hard for me to accept. In February of this year 2013 I started researching the surgery and by June I decided I wanted to have the gastric sleeve surgery done and by October I decided I wanted to go to Mexico for my surgery since my insurance doesn't cover any of it. My scheduled surgery date is February 2014! So it's been two years since my doctor recommended it to me and a year since I started thinking about it.

I had a few friends that had done the surgery and seeing all they had to do and change seemed pretty hard to me, giving up soda? Noooo way I said! But then a few years later I saw myself in a picture and broke down as I saw myself I was not happy with what I saw, so I started a diet cut out all soda, juice, rice, pasta, and starting counting calories, exercise, water water water! I did lose weight but I did not keep it on then after multiple attempts of trying to diet I just gained and gained, so I made the life changing decision to get Rny, I am pre op I'm hoping for feb or mar surgery date! I am now ready to make the change and get a new lease on life!!!!!!

I was set on the band. It was recommended to me a year before I started researching it. I did six months of research and lurking on the LBT site before realizing a ton of folks were revising to sleeves. I researched the sleeve and was completely opposed to such a drastic surgery at first. But after seeing the misery of a huge number of band folks and also after reading testimonies on VST by people that revised and were anti-band, I chose to research the sleeve.

I did research and lurked here for A YEAR before deciding on my surgery. I was self pay and wanted to be 100% sure.

Almost nobody else does this. I swear, I take things to extremes. The plus to my lengthy research time is that the only thing I was blindsided by was lactose intolerance. Beyond that, I had reasonable expectations for the most part.

I'd continue to research. I'd read every positive and negative outcome you can. Especially read about people with regrets and people with complications! Make a plan and start thinking about what hurdles you'll need to overcome to have long term success with a sleeve. Once you know what to expect and once you have a reasonable plan in place, go for it. And if that only takes a short period of time, so be it.

The issue a lot of people have is that they really feel like things will move quickly because they're in a rush once they have surgery. Or they feel like the sleeve is going to solve all their problems - that the only thing they have going on is obesity, and so being thin is going to make it all easier. That's not always the case. So come prepared and you can avoid that disappointment and frustration.

~Cheri

I spent TOO LONG thinking about it. I wish I had started this process years ago, but everyone comes into their own on their own timeline. My doctor had been speaking to me about it for 2 years before I began the process and I haven't even been sleeved yet!

Probably 1 month before going to the info session. Researched, and researched prior to that.

My insurance partnership health counselor suggested I would be a good candidate for bariatric surgery. I had considered the lap band several years ago but decided against it. This time I started researching various surgeries online and after looking seriously at the lap band, gastric bypass, duodenal switch, and sleeve, I decided on the sleeve within 48 hours. It took me a couple of weeks after that to settle on a local surgeon and make an appointment to get started. I had moments of hesitation and cold feet going forward, but nothing major.

I'm a new forum postee, so if this is in the wrong catagory feel free to point me in the right direction.

Wondering how long you thought about getting VSG before you decided to do it. I've decided on VSG, but I've only been thinking about it a short time. I've done a lot of research so far and plan on doing more so that I'm well informed and safe... Plus I'm a self-pay so I'll have to start saving, built-in pondering time I suppose.

Just curious if I'm the only one who decided pretty quickly that it was the right thing for me. I'm a single mom; I've been overweight since I graduated, freshman 15 or 50 or whatever. I've lost and gained a variety of ways including good ol' diet and exercise and I plan to continue being active, but I need more control that I don't feel I can self-impose I guess.

It's great to find a community of people that support unconditionally. I've only told a few people of my desire and from their reactions, I'll be limiting the future "bean-spillage" to close family.

Thanks for your lovin!

I've thought about WLS for 15 years. Back then it was all about bypass. It scared me because it wasn't as safe then as it is now. I knew someone who passed away due to complications. So after that I didn't think about it again until the Lapband came around several years later. At that point I really liked the sound of it but this was early on before problems like erosion were more openly reported. I probably got serious about surgery and started researching band and bypass again about 2 years ago. Along the way, I read about the sleeve. Once I read about it, choosing the sleeve felt easy. I settled on it through a process of elimination. I was still leery about bypass and the reports that a Lapband wasn't meant to stay in for a lifetime- meaning two surgeries at least- the sleeve just seemed right for me. That decision was instantaneous and I've never looked back.

Man, I WISH I could make a decision as quickly as some of the other folks here. I've been debating it with myself for two years. Last ditch attempt at loosing the weight was using Phentremine for about 8 months. I lost 40lbs but that is a horrible drug that does horrible things to your brain (phen-rage, bi-polar symptoms, inability to sleep). I took myself off of it and within two or three months had gain all the weight back....just like every other attempt over the past 15 years. That was one year ago. I've been lurking here, doing research, weighing all of it DAILY in my mind. I am also a self-pay.

I am thisclose to finally throwing the towel in on my excuses and fears....I want to LIVE MY LIFE not chained to food.

Man, I WISH I could make a decision as quickly as some of the other folks here. I've been debating it with myself for two years. Last ditch attempt at loosing the weight was using Phentremine for about 8 months. I lost 40lbs but that is a horrible drug that does horrible things to your brain (phen-rage, bi-polar symptoms, inability to sleep). I took myself off of it and within two or three months had gain all the weight back....just like every other attempt over the past 15 years. That was one year ago. I've been lurking here, doing research, weighing all of it DAILY in my mind. I am also a self-pay. I am thisclose to finally throwing the towel in on my excuses and fears....I want to LIVE MY LIFE not chained to food.

iTunes tried the phentermine as a last resort. After dealing with the inability to sleep and the insane mood changes and just overall feeling lousy, my doctor suggested the weight-loss surgery. After that point I just gave up I ate whatever I wanted stopped working out I stopped taking my vitamins I pretty much stopped everything that was healthy for me… it was only then when I came to the end of my rope and realized I didn't want to live like this I started to consider the surgery myself and after much research I decided that it was the best route for me. I'm excited for the changes it will bring to my life in the new year! I don't remember the last time I felt excited for my future!

My good friend told me in August of 2012 that she had started the WLS process with her PCP and that she had a visit scheduled with the surgeon. After she met with him she had to jump through 6-8 months of hoops with her insurance but she was a shoo-in with her BMI and comorbidities. She got approved in late April and scheduled her surgery for early June.

In July I called for my first appointment, which was early in August. My insurance was far less complicated and I sailed through the requirements. By October 2nd we were ready to submit, I had approval in a week, and surgery on October 24.

When I went in in August, VSG was sort of vague to me. My friend had explained it to me but I didn't really understand it. After I met with the surgeon I realized it made the most sense to me. They wanted to do a band, but after I thought about it and did my own research, I requested that we change our plans to the sleeve. No regrets.