Scared and excited!

Hi and welcome.

This is a fantastic site and the sleeve is just a fantastic thing. Those of us that have had it rave about it LOL

I was one of the lucky ones, didn't get banded first went straight for the sleeve. My life has changed so much in the last 11 months since surgery. The rewards are just imesurable.

Good luck on the journey.
Hugs Gail

Hi slimjim....

Good luck with the decision making and the process....

I also started out looking at the band but am very thankful I found the sleeve option...I would not have coped with the need to be constantly managing the band (fills etc) and HATE vomiting (which I have managed to avoid so far...touch wood). Am very very happy with the sleeve...have lost a quarter of my body weight and more than half my excess weight in under four months...

cheers

S

Thanks for the replies! I started out looking into the lapband as it seems to be the thing everyone gets. The more I read about it, the less enthusiastic I am. I will let the surgeon decide at the end of the day, but I hate the thought of not being able to eat a varied diet, albeit in smaller portions.

I am also worried about the permanency of the decision, but as everyone here says, if it wasn't suppose to be a permanent change, why get it done at all! Scared and excited about the whole thing, I don't want to spend another year fat.

Up until about 10 years ago I was a pretty normal weight, slightly overweight, but only by 10ish kilos. Decided to look at starting a family, came off the pill and wham, more kilos than I can poke a magnum at with no signs of getting it under control.

I've really bad PCOS and it seems that no matter what I do, I can't get the weight down and I crave all the things that are bad for you - all types of chocolate included. Time for a permanent solution and it seems like the lapband doesn't really do that for PCOS women.

Hi Slimjim, great name!

Like Carrie said I also don't know if I would have had this op without this site (spent a year to make up my mind). Don't get me started on the band (ex bander) but one thing I never knew until I read this site is that you may not be covered with the band (insurance wise) if you travel. Much better choice to go sleeve, good luck.

Hi Slim Jim

Welcome to the site. I started out looking at the band too, but from the moment I heard about the sleeve I knew it was the right thing for me.

Having a read around this site is a great idea, I don't know how I would have got through without the knowledge and support of the wonderful members. Here's some links to get you started:The Diaries are a great place to start, and the Pre-op & Post-op sections should both be helpful.

Have a read of the Welcome to Newbies section too, it will give you an idea of how the site works.

I look forward to talking to you around the site.

Cheers - Carrie

welcome SlimJim.

it is a huge desision and i made mine, now just jumping through the apra hoops while waiting for the 20th september.

ummmmm... lol start a diary, read the diary's and welcome again!!1

Hi,

This is my very first post. On Monday I got an appointment to see a surgeon after reading about lapbands and gastric sleeves pretty much all weekend. I have done a fair bit of research already and feel that the gastric sleeve would be better for me as it is permanent, you can't cheat, a complete lifestyle change and not as much mucking about with the band longer term. We also plan to travel extensively in the next few years and would hate to be stuck in Vietnam with a chicken bone in my lapband!

My referral is to Peter Nottle in Melbourne - has anyone used him? My doctor speaks highly of him.

I am also working my way through older topics on the board - it is interesting reading and the fact that no one seems to have a bad word to say about the sleeve is encouraging!