I was 100% sure about the gastric sleeve until I read some of the posts on this site. Now I'm scared shitless and I'm meeting with the surgeon in 3 days. Anyone else back out after reading some threads here???

I have read many posts on this site, I didn't see many that would scare me. Surgery and peoples reaction to surgery is many faceted. I know people that complain about getting their teeth cleaned. Can you believe that? I only know personally of one person who had a terrible time with her surgery. I felt so so sorry for her. She is a good friend and had her surgery about the same time as I did. But even with her complications she is still very happy with the results.

Let me ask you, what did you read that scared you so badly? Was it complications? The recovery? The changes in your eating habits what. I would really like to know could you please expand on it for us? Perhaps by knowing that we could help you to alleviate your fears and make you feel a little bit more comfortable about the procedure.

Of course if you haven't had it yet, it is not too late for you to cancel. It really is all up to you.

Best wishes, Mark

i believe she already decided to not have surgery.

Everyone goes through an anxious period pre-op. I've had 6 major surgeries in the last 6 years including 2 neurosurgeries, and an almost fatal infection, but I'm still here. Compared to the other surgeries getting the sleeve was easy. I say stay informed but don't thing the rants or negative experiences of a few will be your fate. I'm 16 months out and 128lbs lighter and have no regrets. I still need to have another neurosurgery and am newly diagnosed with MS. Even through all of this, I don't regret getting sleeved, and know being lighter helps with my recovery and condition. Good luck and stop taking only the bad to heart. The complication rate is .01%.

I have read many posts on this site, I didn't see many that would scare me. Surgery and peoples reaction to surgery is many faceted. I know people that complain about getting their teeth cleaned. Can you believe that? I only know personally of one person who had a terrible time with her surgery. I felt so so sorry for her. She is a good friend and had her surgery about the same time as I did. But even with her complications she is still very happy with the results. Let me ask you, what did you read that scared you so badly? Was it complications? The recovery? The changes in your eating habits what. I would really like to know could you please expand on it for us? Perhaps by knowing that we could help you to alleviate your fears and make you feel a little bit more comfortable about the procedure. Of course if you haven't had it yet, it is not too late for you to cancel. It really is all up to you. Best wishes, Mark

It was the complications, future surgeries/revisions and pain that scared me. I'm still approved for surgery and still on the fence...I'm just going to take this decision slowly :-)

Oh and the hair falling out...

You won't be bald, just thinner with littly whispies as it comes back in. Mine is down past the middle of my back and I'm loosing handfulls, but I lost it when I had my kid and after the hcg diet. hair grows back

I have not experienced any hair loss. I know 8 people that had bariatric surgery. 4 sleeve and 4 bypass and not a single one of them regrets it. We had different experiences, but no one had complications. Pain is definitely to be expected, you can't drive for a couple of weeks. They all vomited quite a bit when learning to eat again, I never did once. We all took about 8 weeks off of work and couldn't lift anything til at least 6 weeks. The first 4-6 weeks are the hardest, after that it gets really easy. Actually none of us experienced hair loss but make sure you take your vitamins. I promise you won't regret it!!! Good luck!!

Lucky you didnt experience hair loss!! i guess its give or take.

I did drive the first week, had to!!. And I only took 5 days off work.

Our jobs are extremely physically demanding. We have to lift up to 60lbs, a lot of walking, 16hr shifts, climbing, squaring, squeezing into really tight spaces, and consistently being thrown around and coming home with bruises all over. We were all very careful not to return to work to early and really hurt ourselves. Plus I was in the hospital for 4 days so coming back in 5 was impossible. I was on pain med's off and on for two weeks so I didn't dare drive. If I get caught driving my personal vehicle with any substance in my system I lose my job. We took every precaution necessary. We know going into it how long we had to be off. Everybody has different experiences and needs.

Definitely glad hair loss was not an issue. I made sure to take my Vitamins and Biotin religiously.

..I'm just going to take this decision slowly :-)

You have to make this decision when you are ready. I've been on this board for over 1 ½ years, and considered the sleeve for a couple of years prior to that. The enormity of what I would be facing post-op was really overwhelming to me, and I kept telling myself "I'll just try to lose on my own one more time." I'm am now completely sure of my decision and I'm glad I took the time to do research and to make sure this is what I needed to do.

Oh and the hair falling out...

you said you have kids... my hair loss was pretty much the same as after my kids were born.

if you take care of yourself after the surgery, the hair loss is minimized. people who seem to have the worst hair loss seem to have other issues also related to poor nutrition.

you def need to be ready to have this surgery. if the surgery scares you more than being morbidly obese, you arent ready.

you said you have kids... my hair loss was pretty much the same as after my kids were born. if you take care of yourself after the surgery, the hair loss is minimized. people who seem to have the worst hair loss seem to have other issues also related to poor nutrition. you def need to be ready to have this surgery. if the surgery scares you more than being morbidly obese, you arent ready.

First of all I don't consider myself morbidly obese...lol. And yes when I make the decision I will be ready.

I am so glad you women had great recoveries!! God bless you and thank you Lord because I know how hard recoveries are especially with kids. I can't wait to see what you guys look like a year from now :-)

First of all I don't consider myself morbidly obese...lol. And yes when I make the decision I will be ready.

well then, you are probably right that the risks are too great. this surgery is for people who feel they have no other good options available to them to recover from obesity and the illnesses that come with that.

I have fatty liver, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, PCOS, and BMI is 40...

You may not consider yourself morbidly obese, but you fit the medically accepted criteria for morbid obesity:

- More than 100 lbs. over your ideal body weight

- Have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 40

- Have a BMI of over 35 and are experiencing severe negative health effects, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, related to being severely overweight

- Unable to achieve a healthy body weight for a sustained period of time, even through medically supervised dieting