Taking the plunge....I think

No not Townsville sorry.

I too am worried about the 'saggy baggy' factor post surgery, and am hoping once some weight falls off I will be more comfortable to exercise. Well thats the plan anyway!

I think dehydration can be a real problem in the first couple of weeks but I think regular sipping is the way to go. You'll be home resting anyway so that should be easy to do, not like when you are at work ad get busy and think, at the end of the day, I haven't had a drop to drink!!

Good luck with the decision making!

J

Thanks guys, any of you QLDers from Tville????? I have had some doubts in the last few days........ Where to have it done or not??? Do any of you there go the gym and work out after the operation??? How is your water intake and do you get dehydrated from having the sleeve??

I am plainning on attempting to hit the gym once I have the sleeve, rather hard to try and stop the problem of having all that extra skin.... Any suggestions???

Hi Shaggy and Welcome,

Both Big Daz and I are getting ours done on the 30th Nov so have a month of anticipation, doubts, excitement and optifast ahead! Come and have a look at the 'Sleevers Monthly' thread and you'll see all the people having a sleeve in November and follow their (our) journey.

I really haven't seen anyone on here yet (and I haven't read it all) that hates their sleeve or regrets it. Very different story from the band which seems to be more trouble than its worth.

Good luck with your last 2 weeks, you're doing well to last a month on the Optifast!

J

Not long to go for you Shaggy,all the best with your op...As for me ,I love love love my sleeve...
Best wishes,
Sharon.

I am getting my sleeve on the 17th of November, starting the optislim stuff tomorrow.. I have been on it for the last two mths just twice a day, I have lost 11kg's...... So 3 times day tomorrow... How are you guys going that have the sleeve????

I started opti last night as I was getting too far into the "I'll enjoy this one last time" attitude and found myself eating copious amount of crap = not good my liver pre-op so I decided to discipline myself. Been 24 hours and I havent cheated yet, that included a trip with Mrs Wifey and Son to the local shops which of course included the food court. It wasnt easy but I survived.
See the surgeon again Monday will update then, wait to hear from you again for more on how you and your other half are going.
Cheers
BigDaz

Hi Big Daz!
Thanks for the encouraging words. I am telling everyone I am going for a hernia repair - because no doubt he will have to repair my hiatus hernia at the same time! Knowing my luck, if I used the Gall bladder excuse, in 12 months time I'd have to have my GB out for real!! hehe

Only 1 month tomorrow for us, its going to come around so quickly (maybe not quickly enough once we have to do the Optifast!) Are you only doing 2 weeks also? My other half can't have his done til Feb so he's a bit jeolous I get to go first i think.

Anyway, keep me posted on your progress - at least you know someone else is in the same boat at the same time!

J

welcome jaijai!
I too have my sleeve booked in for 30th November.
As for your drama with telling people as Jigglypuff said it is your choice and you definately do not have to justify yourself to any ignoramous who questions your decision to go ahead with this life saving and changing surgery.
Personally I have only told 3 people outside of GSS.com and thats because I rely on their support to get through this.
Mrs Wifey, however has told every man and his dog because she is both excited and proud for me to be doing this but also nervous as it is really a major decision to have major surgery.
As everyone has said already congratulations on your decision on what is probably the biggest step in this whole process.
You have taken control of your weight and doing something to fix it. And that is admirable no matter which way you look at it.
Good Luck!!

Hi again,

Thanks again for all your advice and encouragement.

Okay, saw the Dietitian today which was really good and then rang the surgeon to talk dates - I'm pencilled in for the 30th November! Yikes! So hopefully by christmas I'll be on 'soft moist' diet, which she tells me included Turkey - but probably only a teaspoon full! Ha!

I guess I might have to miss a couple of Christmas parties - or just wander round nursing a glass for the night, but a small price to pay for better health I think. So I better go join the November sleevers thread now. The other half is booking in for Feb when his PHI kicks in and we are off to see the surgeon Wednesday for consenting etc. Wish us luck!! Wonder if we'll like each other skinny??

J

Jigglypuff wrote:

jaijai44, I think who we tell is a very personal preference, some people are happy to announce it to the world and others only tell those who they are very close to.

Personally I have only told a few people, my feeling is I have enough emotional things to deal with leading up to surgery, I don't want to have to defend my decision to those who dont or cant be bothered trying to understand. I told work I was having reflux surgery and left it at that.



good luck with your appointmet....Jiggly

Very well said Jiggly.

I have only told 3 people, that may change down the track or it may not.

jaijai44, I think who we tell is a very personal preference, some people are happy to announce it to the world and others only tell those who they are very close to.

Personally I have only told a few people, my feeling is I have enough emotional things to deal with leading up to surgery, I don't want to have to defend my decision to those who dont or cant be bothered trying to understand. I told work I was having reflux surgery and left it at that.



good luck with your appointmet....Jiggly

Hi Again,

Was just wondering how people went telling others about their surgery. I had decided that I didn't really want anyone to know, except my partner who is also wanting to have it done. I was not really feeling the love from him, not sure whether he is jealous because he has to wait for his PHI to kick in, or whether he is just completely indifferent. So I caved and told a friend last night, probably just to see what her reaction would be. Unfortunately I picked a skinny, fitness freak friend who really has no insight into the misery of a fat person, but she was OK with it.

Anyway, will see how I feel after seeing the dietician. The other half is coming to the appointment to so will be interesting!

Thanks for listening,

J

Thankyou again for all your replies - so nice to hear real stories!

Well the dietitian is booked, now just to find time to do it. Its so easy to make excuses isn't it! Every meal I look at now I think what it will be like when 1/4 of that or even less fills me up! Will be awesome.
I read peoples stories about the 'saggy baggy elephant' issues and think I'm a sure fire candidate for this - my skin does not stretch well - as evidenced by all the stretch marks I have already. Guess i'll have to save and have that fixed too - can use all that money I used to spend on food!

Sorry for rambling and thanks again

J

Hi Jai Jai
I agree with all that the other people have said, and will add my two cents worth!

If you have a very responsible job - and want to stay well enough to keep working at it - then believe me, I would never recommend the band. I had one for 10 years and the number of times I had to take time off work for a fill or an empty of the band, for gastroscopies, for checkups etc, I really put my job at risk. My employer has been very understanding, but it is not a good way to work. I have had the band removed, and my health has improved, and my working life has improved too.
I am about to be sleeved later this month, and place my trust in its "irreversability".
Best wishes with your decision and weight loss success.
This site is a great way to investigate to assist you in making decisions.
Ozzieloz

Hey Gail *wavey wavey*
Can I just support what Gail said....I too find I am enjoying food with no sense of guilt at all now. There is no more of that "I shouldn't be eating this" guilt trip that I used to do all the time. Food has lost its control over me now. I eat what I like but the thing is what I like has changed and its good stuff!

Hi,

Just wanted to pop in and tell you that I too was a foodie, still am.
AND last night at my friday night glass of wine debrief with my best friend he told me that it was fantastic that I was enjoying food so much now because it was guilt free !!!

Do you know that I hadn't even realised that I was loving food even more because I didn't feel guilty about it LOL

Good luck with it all.
Hugs Gail

Thankyou all so much for your replies, its so nice to hear real experiences.

So I definately don't want a band - I have seen enough failures myself to know that. And even the bad stories I have heard about the sleeve seem to resolve themselves in a few months. I'm going to make the Dietitian appt and see what dates my surgeon has to offer! Woohoo! I cannot wait to walk into any shop and buy something that fits, I don't think my credit card is going to like it!


Please feel free to let me know your story, good or bad, and I'll keep you posted on my progress!

J

Hi JaiJai,

I had a band for 5 years. All was wonderful...at first. After 8 months the tubing detached and I needed a further surgery to have it reattached. After this things were never the same, I couldnt eat salad, fruit, vegies, meat, eggs... certainly not bread or pasta. Basically all I could live off as soup and yogurt, but this really doesn't ease the hunger pains so I resorted to chocolate and crisps from desperation (I was always so hungry).

Anyway, I have just had the band removed (last month) and am booked in for the sleeve in 6 weeks time. I thank my lucky stars that no permanent damage was done by the band, not everyone is this lucky. I now weigh more than I did when I had the band put in.

I guess the way I look at it...band = 100% future surgery at some stage (your surgeon will confirm this as bands only last 10-15yrs). Sleeve = one surgery...and thats it.

I can understand your concerns about eating out with the sleeve, when I had my band I felt like a freak trying to dine out. I would excuse myself to throw up and then come back to the table, and once you have pb'd you really cant eat again successfully for 24hrs.

Good luck with your decision, just remember it has to be one you are comfortable with.

Jiggly

Hi JaiJai,

I had the band first - only for 6 months though, it was absolutely horrible. You can read my diary if you want gory details but basically I became a vomiting machine. I couldn't eat bread, pasta, meat and lots of other things. I would be so fearful to eat (and even eventually drink) in public! I was always on the lookout for toilets to either vomit in or at the very least carry copious amounts of clean tissues to spit excess salivia into when things got stuck.

I know I've grossed everyone out now.

I was TERRIFIED at the thought of signing up for another weight loss procedure after my lapband experience, especially a permanent one. But I did so much research on here and I really felt that I was making the right decision. Although right before I was knocked out for my sleeve surgery I said to my gorgeous surgeon 'don't make it too small!'.......I reckon with everyone else begging for tiny sleeves this must have given everyone a good laugh in the operating theatre.

I am now 4 months out from having my sleeve surgery and it is, by far, the greatest thing I have ever done for myself in my life. Yes, yes, I have had beautiful babies and married my soulmate - but in terms of something FOR ME - the sleeve has given me everything.

I have never been sick, only felt nauseous twice and I can eat absolutely anything at all without incident. I was not huge when i was sleeved (105kg with only about 26kg to lose to hit goal) and in the last 4 months I have lost almost 15kg. It has just slipped off gently without much hard work from me! I am exercising and trying to make correct food choices and drinking my water, but compared to every other time in my life when I have been 'on a diet' - this just couldn't be easier.

I wish you only the best and hope that your sleeve journey is as easy as mine,

xxxHuggyBear

Hi Jai Jai

Welcome to the site and good luck with the decision making. I started out looking at the band but had decided before I saw the surgeon that the sleeve was the better option for me...my reasons were:
-- I had seen someone else banded...after initial weight loss success it seemed to me that they were not getting any smaller and maybe were putting more weight back on..
-- I work long hours and did not want to have the hassle of needing to go back frequently for fills and things
-- I love bread and meat and similar foods...wanted to lose weight and eat less generally -- didn't want to be missing out on eating such food favourites
-- I hate vomiting!


Must admit sleeve surgery has delivered on every level and every day I am even more pleased I didn't have the band.

I eat out a lot and have lots of formal work dinners etc. I may not be able to eat that much at them but it hasn't stopped me enjoying my food -- or the events... I think my first formal meal out was less than a month after surgery...

S

Hi Carrie,

I am definately considering a sleeve. I like the 'reversibility factor' of the band, but also don't think you should do this if you are thinking about backing out afterwards. I also have a fairly responsible job and worry about feeling so terrible afterwards that I can't do it well for a while. I also just found someone who has had trouble maintaining weight after the procedure, but I don't see that being a problem for me! hehe.

Thanks again,
Jaijai

Hi JaiJai,

Are you having a band or a sleeve? I originally went to the Dr to enquire about a band but will be eternally grateful that My Dr told me about the sleeve. I know the band does work for some people, but after reading the horror stories, I could never recommend the band to anyone.

Cheers - Carrie

Hi guys,

I too have been snooping around here for a while and I think I'm ready to book for my surgery. I have seen my surgeon, just need to see the dietitian, have blood tests and to MAKE UP MY MIND!! I guess my reservations are about how life will be after the surgery. You see, I am a bit of a foodie (which is obviously half of my problem) and dining with friends makes up an important part of my social life. My partner is also planning on having a band, and I don't want us to end up sitting at home every night as we can't eat a meal if we go out. So I guess one of my questions is how long does it take to get back to eating 'normal food' and how do you deal with eating out. My other issue is pregnancy after the band - hopefully it will be much easier, but has anyone had any problems. And also how long did people have to have off work? If i dont work I don't get paid so obviously this is also an issue.

Thanks for your help in advance, mind 90% made up but still not totally sure.