Any sleevers 3 years +

People who have had this operation 10 or more yrs ago;

Hi everyone, suppose I could wait and ask the Dr but I just want to know, if I go ahead with this operation, is it going to last a lifetime? Or is it like an operation that sort of lasts 10yrs, monitoring your food intake?>>

I understand that some people have had a few setbacks or problems, but if you dont mind me asking, what where those set backs? How many can you expect can go wrong? Can an operation just go perfect with no complications?

Hi BingoButt:

Ask the doctor about blowing up balloons. I've read on several sites that surgeons ask their smoking patients to begin blowing up 30 balloons (regular birthday party baloons) each day while they count down their time for surgery. Even if you are a smoker it will strengthen your lungs and help with recovery. It was even recommended for non-smokers to I might do it. If nothing else, it might get me over my fear of balloons.

Once again thank you Gutless Wonder and Applesauce for your fantastic info and inspiration about the sleeve, by the way I had a look at your photos Gutless and obviously you look so much different but the biggest different is how happy and confident you look in your after photo.

Bring it on sleeves, we love them

HEY add me to having a fantastic 2010!!!!
two angels im going to the oclinic also, i went to the info night at the mater, about a lap band....
but i knew i always wanted the sleeve i was just checking it out..

good luck not long now..

twoangels72 wrote:

Hi Everyone,
I'm scheduled for the sleeve procedure on the 25th January and i'm really interested to hear from anyone who is 3+ years post-op. Have you had any complications? Any health issues as a result of the surgery? Any regrets? Hardest thing to cope with?
Melanie

Hi Melanie, in February I would have had my sleeve for 3 years.
No I have not had any complications or any health issues relating to having the sleeve, except perhaps needing vitamin B12 shots a few times.
I never vomit. I can eat anything I want, just not much.
NO REGRETS. Hardest thing to cope with? I would say that would be the amount of money I have spent on my new size 12 wardrobe.
I lost 64 kilos, and decided that was too much , so I gained 10 kilos and I have stayed at my ideal weight without any problem.
I didn't do any exercise. I never think in 'diet mode' or choose diet options. The weight just dropped off effortlessly.
It has been fantastic for me, and I wish I was able to do it 20 years ago.
I have a before and after photo in the gallery, if you want to have a nose, follow this link.
http://www.gastricsleevesupport.com/gallery/Personal-album-of-Gutless-Wonder-cat_u1476.htm

Hi,
I was talking to a customer about the fact that I had the surgery (she noticed the weight loss) and she told me that she had the same surgery 16 years ago. For something completely different but her stomach is exactly the same size as mine etc etc. Said that even though she hadn't had it for weight loss she was grateful every day for her healthy fantastic body.

Cheers Gail

thanks for the info you put on here. it was great to know that this procedure has been sucsessful for quiet a while. i'm so glad that i have done this and can start 2010 being positive ,
regards, trish

Hi Twoangels

I had been looking into the lap band for a few years but always iffy about it with so many people saying they had issues. At one stage I was like right regardless I gotta get this done but hubby had seen and article about a death which put me right off.

So a few months ago my sis was actually looking around at wls and she came across the sleeve and told me about it...Sounded to good to be true.

I joined the forum here,read read read and thought F**** It bring it on!

From what I have read so far the positives out weigh any negatives ,which I've seen little of anyhow...

My only concern is waking up....I can deal with the rest. I am a heavy smoker about 40 a day maybe 50. I have not cut down and like I said my only worry is god I hope I wake up...or I be coming back to haunt the doc lol.

When I met Craig he asked why I chose the sleeve over the band and I was honest and tole him, I really didnt want a foriegn object in my body,knowing my luck my stomach will want to eat that too, I am lazy and never keep appointments so going for re-fills would be a pain in the butt for me.

The sleeve is the perfect answer in my case.

Looks like we both going to have a Fantastic 2010!

Hi Bingobutt (he he),
I'm having my surgery on the 25th January, so not long to go now. At The Mater.
Did you do any more research on Dr Taylor? You having the sleeve?
I actually went to see him about a lap band but he spoke to me about the sleeve as well. I had never heard of the sleeve before so now i've done my homework i'm much more impressed with the sleeve than the band. Its taken a while to get my head around it all, but it looks great with impressive results.
Thanks for your reply!

Hi Twoangels

I am also having surgery with Dr Taylor March 3rd- I found him to be very genuine and caring and felt he seriously loves to help people.

That made me very comfortable

Good Luck, When's your surgery?

A lot of people on the forum have used that doctor (I've seen it in their signatures haha). There is a surgeons sub forum here so maybe check there as well. From what I've read people really love this surgeon and he has done a LOT of successful sleeve surgeries.

Al the best :)

Thank you so much guys. The reason I got so worried was that I told a VERY good friend (who also struggles with weight issues) about my surgery and I didn't get the reaction I was hoping for. And its amazing how it really made me doubt myself and my decision.

I'm having surgery with Dr Craig Taylor at the OClinic in Sydney. I really clicked with him and he seemed very professional and confident. Any ideas if I can get any more information on him? I have read his bio on the website and he is very well qualified and seems to have a lot of procedures under his belt. I might try to google him....

Merry Christmas and thanks so much for the information! I love this website. Its magic - thank you so much!

Thank you Applesauce for the fantastic information.

Did I tell you I LOVE this forum and my new SLEEVE!

Hi Twoangels and Merry Christmas! In line with what applesauce said, my brother in law had this surgery done nearly 10 years ago for stomach cancer and , thank god, after radiotherapy was given the all clear. Healthwise you wouldn't know, he is in his early 60's and has always been a lanky build...these days you couldn't pin fat on him! I, too, was concerned when they said there wasn't a lot of data regarding the sleeve long term, but you only have to read people's stories on this forum to see that it does work and, if you adhere to your Dr's and dietitians advice, there is no reason why it shouldn't continue to work. Cheers,

The sleeve has been done for more than 40 years now for things like stomach cancer and other serious conditions of the stomach. the ONLY side effect ever reported from it was if the patient was over weight that they lost weight. it has also been used as the first part of bypass surgery for more than 20 years. They started doing the sleeve part on the really large patients as it was safer than the full bypass then planning to wait for them to lose a bit of weight and go ahead and do the bypass part of the surgery when they where a safer weight. Funny thing was they ended up seeing the same or very similar weight loss in those with just the sleeve as those with a bypass. so unless the patients where in excess of about 200kg and could not get below 100kg they just stopped going ahead with the bypass part of the surgery and the sleeve as a stand alone surgery was born. so the reality is the sleeve is one of the most researched and tested weight loss surgeries out there. Once the silly season is over I am sure one of the regulars on here will pop on whose I think it was mother had it done more than 20 years ago.
The sleeve MUST be done well for it to work, you MUST pick your surgeon with great care. If your surgery is done well you will have a life time of a tiny little tummy that holds once healed about 250ml. the ONLY time this doesn't work is if the surgery itself is done badly. Hence my saying pick your surgeon with care.
Late regain of 10% is normal and expected but put that into reality you are talking 3 - 5kg. I go up and down 5kg I even went up 7kg while away on holidays within a week of being back and doing NOTHING I had dropped 3kg. So was well back within my normal 5kg variable

applesauce

Hi Everyone,

I'm scheduled for the sleeve procedure on the 25th January and i'm really interested to hear from anyone who is 3+ years post-op. Have you had any complications? Any health issues as a result of the surgery? Any regrets? Hardest thing to cope with?

My single biggest concern (and its playing on my mind) is the minimal long term data around the procedure and i'm hoping this question will help me.

Thanks everyone and have a wonderful Christmas!
Melanie