Hey Y'all! After decades of misery caused by compulsive overeating and gaining and losing weight, I am considering Gastric Sleeve surgery. (I'm 45 years old and about 60-70 lbs overweight, my heaviest ever.)

If you are 1+ years post op, can you share your thoughts...

~Are you glad you did this?

~What do you wish you had known before you had the surgery?

~Do you think you will be able to stay at a healthy weight long term?

~Would you recommend this surgery for someone in my situation?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

I'm 3.5 years post op.

Super glad I did it:) Wish I'd done it years ago.

I wish I'd known the true statistics of what percentage of people have outcomes they are happy with. I'm extremely happy, but I know several people who are struggling and revising and in my opinion have not gotten the help they need to address the core issues....the disordered eating that drives obesity.

This surgery will fix your guts temporarity so it's difficult to overeat. It doesn't fix your head. Eventually, you will be able to eat pretty freely again and can easily self sabotage if you don't fix your eating issues.

I do think I'll be able to stay at a healthy weight for the long term. Last year, my yearly exam was a phone exam due to Covid. This year I went in and was weighed for the first time in two years...and was within one pound of what I weighed two years ago. I'm stupid proud of that. If I gain five pounds, I see the bariatric therapist ASAP. I talk about all the events leading up to the gain and try to figure out what triggered it and how to avoid the behaviors, and replace them with different coping mechanisms. I always feel better, and in short order, am back down 5 pounds. See the therapist. It works and can be just as important as the surgery.

If you qualify for the surgery, I would absolutely recommend it.

Best wishes!

Edited June 26, 20215 yr by Creekimp13

I’m 25 months post my sleeve. I was almost 54 when I had my surgery and I’m so glad I did.

I had a friend who’d had sleeve surgery & I did a lot of reading before seeing my surgeon so generally I felt pretty prepared. But because we’re different, there will be differences in our experience too. You just never know how your body will respond after surgery to the change. For example my occasional blood pressure drops have become something that occurs every day - annoying but manageable. The parasite that hid out in my tummy (multiple antibiotics over years couldn’t kill it) was cut out with the bulk of my tummy & now I’m not sensitive to lactose anymore - unexpected win!

As @Creekimp13 said the surgery will give you a tool to aid weight loss by reducing your tummy but it doesn’t do anything for what drives us to eat. That’s the work you have to do. Many do the head work with the help of a therapist, short or long term, others do it alone. It’s an essential component to the success of your surgery because the things that drove you to eat will always be there. You just have to learn & develop strategies to manage those drives.

The surgery doesn’t educate us on how to eat better & in a healthier way either. Keep in touch with your dietician while you lose & maintain. I also did a lot of reading, ignored all the fad diet stuff & worked out how I wanted to eat long term to maintain my weight loss & still enjoy my life without feeling I’m missing out.

What drove us to eat & bad eating habits & food choices are the reason why we always regained after we lost in the past.

I don’t know what the further will bring. None of us do. Life can throw a heap of sh*t at us sometimes. But I do know I’m going to try to keep working at this every day.

5 hours ago, TreesPlease said:

Hey Y'all! After decades of misery caused by compulsive overeating and gaining and losing weight, I am considering Gastric Sleeve surgery. (I'm 45 years old and about 60-70 lbs overweight, my heaviest ever.)

If you are 1+ years post op, can you share your thoughts...

~Are you glad you did this?

~What do you wish you had known before you had the surgery?

~Do you think you will be able to stay at a healthy weight long term?

~Would you recommend this surgery for someone in my situation?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

I'm super glad I did it. I've lost all the weight I needed to lose and I've adjusted to a new way of eating. It's not effortless, but it's not a big struggle to stay on program, either. It takes a bit of discipline and dedication but the surgery itself changed my desire for food (in a good way). My appetite is much more tame now and even my cravings are not nearly as strong. Not everyone has that experience, so your mileage may vary.

I was prepped pretty well before surgery. I only wish I had read a few more first-hand accounts so I would have been aware of how miserable the first few days can be, but also that the misery passes pretty quickly.

I do think I will be able to maintain my weight. I'm learning how to maintain, while still participating in special occasions, traditional meals, etc. So far, I'm staying squarely within my maintenance window (120-125).

Only you can decide if you're ready to take the plunge. It is a pretty radical life change. Your relationship with food will be permanently changed and you'll have to be mindful about what and how you eat, forever. In the beginning, the diet is pretty restricted, but before long you'll have more options and in the end, there will probably be few things you can't eat (if any). You'll have to learn what works for you and what doesn't, post-surgery. The surgery helps a lot, but the commitment has to come from you. And as everyone has said, if there's an emotional or psychological component to your overeating, the surgery won't fix that. You'll have to work on that so that, as you lose weight, you also heal the root cause of why you became overweight to begin with. Many people have had bariatric surgery, lost an amazing amount of weight, and then gained most of it back because they were still using food to cope. So you have to work on your inside as much as you do your outside.

I wish you the best in making your decision, the surgery is a big commitment, but for me it was totally worth it.

I am 10 years post sleeve. I got my sleeve at 54 years old. I was 5'3 and 320 pounds.

Best thing I ever did.

Honestly, I have never gotten down as low as some folks ..... nor as low as my surgeon would have liked.... but he actually told me that the goal is to lose and keep off 70% of your excess weight - that is considered a medical success. For me, that was losing and keeping off about 130 pounds. I am 65 years old. I went from a PLUS size 28 to about a 14/16 petite regular womens clothing. I work 40 hours a week, keep my house and raise chickens, and other critters up, support my adult daughter who has some medical issues. I organic garden vegetables and fruit , swim, take walks and feel great. I am healthier than I was at 40.

I eat well - protein, salads, veggies and fruits. I watch carbs. I have learned how to eat so that I am satisfied - and eating a good balance of healthy fats and variety of foods. I also eat a treat every day. Heck, I'm 65 and I deserve my chocolate !

A couple of my good friends know about my surgery. They "would never" .... and they haven't. Both are not able to work, and have several weight and age related issues that I have managed to dodge. Sure I have my aches and pains... but I am moving and DOING and I am out there happy as heck !