Hello all, I am considering the sleeve and doing my research. I will be a self-pay patient. I have seen and read plenty of success stories, even with the struggles of stalls. However, what I would like to know about is folks that have not had big weight loss after the surgery. I am hoping to feedback from real people that have struggled to lose weight. Is it something about the surgery that didn't work? Or it is the diet? Or the challenges of diet after the surgery. Thank you for your feedback.

I had very poor results with lapband, but have been maintaining a huge weight loss post sleeve (over 160# lost). I think there is a real difference between the two procedures, but I also think there were real differences in ME too.

I was better educated, less defensive, considerably more desparate for success by the time I was sleeved. I mean, I felt like it was life or death to get some weight off. That level of motivation and unrelenting effort for about 14 months got me to goal. It is pretty easy to slack off once you have had initial success, but if you have alot of weight to lose like I did, you just can't slack off or you won't make your goal.

I am a revision patient, had a band now have a sleeve. The band may be great for many but it was not the right tool for me.

I think success depends on 3 things.

First. Make sure you have the right tool you need to lose weight. If the sleeve is the one you believe will be the one that can help you eat less and lose weight do that one. If not choose another surgery! Do not do this because everyone else is.

Secondly. I also believe that having the best sleeve done is important. I see many people getting resleeved because they find out their sleeves are now too big or were not done the correct way. Investigate and see who is doing sleeves that work.

Thirdly. Do our part honestly, commit to the changes.These need to permanent changes for the most part. You will only be cheating yourself if you do not.

Good luck !

I have been on this forum for over 3 years (I had my surgery in Oct 2011) and have been at goal weight and maintained it for 2 years. But in all the thousands of posts I have read, I rarely see a post where the people who have been sleeved have not been happy with the results. There are some that don't quite reach goal, but they still have lost 70% of their excess weight. Some start to gain back after a period of a few years but usually get it under control because their quality of life is so much higher as a thin person.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I would ask yourself the question. What is your alternative? I suspect you are considering this because all of the traditional methods have failed. I think you will find in your research, that this surgery has been a life saver and life changing event for the majority of people who have had it. Talk to your surgeon on the best option for you, but from what I have learned, I would not recommend the lap band. Hope that helps. And if you want some inspiration, read my blog and see how this surgery has changed my life; or just look at the photos! Trust me, I am grateful every single day I had this done. I am 61 and living a dream life.

Reasons why people have less success? I'm only newly post-op but I've done my research and what I've found is that a lot of it comes down to they weren't emotionally ready to make the lifelong changes necessary. the sleeve is only a tool, what you do with it matters! We're talking people who don't incorporate exercise into their lifestyle, people who drink calories (sweet tea, milkshakes, fruit juices, alcohol), people who eat unhealthy food too often (even if in smaller portions it's still going to add up!), people who trade large meals for small frequent ones (ie: a bag of chips eaten in one sitting pre-surgery is the same amount of calories as one eaten over the course of a day a handful at a time!), people who eat around their surgery in other ways, people who don't track or stay accountable to themselves or others, people who don't take advantage of support groups and don't have support systems in place to help them make lifelong changes...

Basically, the sleeve will help you lose weight and may have a role in re-setting your body's "set point", but it's not a miracle procedure that lets you do whatever and still be skinny. Some people either genuinely don't realize that, refuse to believe it, or they really do want to make changes but don't have the support/preparation/mental-headspace to do so.

I remember being on a bariatric surgery forum and a woman posted saying "why are y'all so worried about what you eat and obsessed with exercising? I'm eating whatever I want and never working out and still losing!"... but she was six months out from her procedure, when losing weight is easiest. that attitude will do nothing to help her once the honeymoon period is over. if she doesn't change her attitude and behaviour, then she will likely regain.

I used to be slim and then gained a lot of weight over 20 years that I simply couldn't shift so I am using the surgery to reset myself. I also know from the time when I was slim, that I had slim habits. Treats were exactly that and didn't happen daily. I ate meals slowly, putting my fork down between mouthfuls, I rarely drank my calories. I also never ate at parties, I ate at home and would drink one glass of wine at the party, most parties have only high calorie foods. I didn't eat while reading or watching tv, I would drink water or tea. All these little habits that I lost along the way meant I got fat and now that i have the sleeve, i know that if I go back to my slim eating, I will return to that healthier body. The lack of hunger thanks to the sleeve is a big help. To be successful, I think a real effort to change habits during the 6 month honeymoon period is key. You also need to use it to get the maximum weight loss because afterwards, the weight loss will slow considerably. I'm using a mindfulness app to help me eat mindfully. It's called Headspace. For exercise, I'm starting with a 7 min home exercise app called 7 mins. You can do it in your bedroom and only takes 7 mins. Little good habits add up as do little bad habits. Good luck with your decision. From the time i heard about the gastric sleeve to my surgery date was only one month. (I'm not in the US & I have excellent insurance.) The moment I heard about it, I knew it was exactly what I needed. The more I looked into it the more perfect it looked. I found my surgeon on my first consult thanks to recommendations from a former patient. The surgery does not make weight loss effortless, it makes it sustainable but only with effort and commitment. For me, this is the best decision ever for my health and for my looks. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Thanks for this post! I am almost 6 years out and just this past year I have started gaining weight again....7 lbs in one year! And although, like you , I didn't have terrible eating habits; it was just a slow gain over a number of years before my surgery, this weight gain is due to bad habits and I must get control over it. Thanks for inspiring me. I am not in the US either , and went from learning about the sleeve to having it done within a month. (Self pay). I was early on in the Sleeve game....so wrote a book about it. Where are you? In Europe? I'm in Amsterdam, but I'm American.