Weight loss surgery....'I want a gastric sleeve next'

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shandi_b
shandi_b Posts: 153 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Not me! But I was out to dinner tonight with some guys I went to high school with 20 years ago. This one guy comes in with his fiancé. She announces to the table that she can't eat rice because she has a gastric band. Fair enough, she needs to follow her diet plan. She then proceeds to say that she has lost 20kg in 12 months of having the band which is "really good" and then followed it up by "I want to have a gastric sleeve done next, as that would be a really good". (Very casually like someone was saying they why going to change their hair colour)

When the comment was made I nearly choked on my food! How can someone have what I consider to be a flippant attitude towards major surgery?!?!? I know it's my opinion but am I missing something? Would anyone else consider having a band and then a sleeve done in quick succession?
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Replies

  • Lyerin
    Lyerin Posts: 818 Member
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    It could be that she had the band because it is reversible and not permanent. Because she is pleased with the results, she may be considering a more permanent option.
  • danarandallreed
    danarandallreed Posts: 132 Member
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    Well no. That sounds crazy. But what is a gastric sleeve? I have heard of by-pass and band, but not sleeve.

    I am always jealous of people who have weight loss surgery. It seems to me they have it easy.

    I am overweight even when I consider myself at a healthy weight, but I am never obese enough to get surgery.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
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    I have a friend who is going into the WLS field for work. She wants to be a counselor for those undergoing WLS, which I think is commendable. Unfortunately, it's often a "skipped" step, as people think - like your friend - it's only minor surgery. But WLS affects not only your body, but your whole mind. So taking care of the mental health aspect of WLS is very, very important.

    It's saddening that your friend treats it so lightly. It's a very big thing and should be treated with care.
  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
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    I wish I was at the table, I could have said "I lost 41.4kg in 12 months by eating all my favourite foods, good job to you..."
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
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    I wish I was at the table, I could have said "I lost 41.4kg in 12 months by eating all my favourite foods, good job to you..."

    this lol
  • Minks_esposa
    Minks_esposa Posts: 54
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    I had sleeve surgery almost a year ago and after hearing about the complications from the band (slippage, eroding, esophagus dilation, constant fills/unfills, etc) I honestly don't blame her for considering something more permanent. Plus once the band is removed weight gain usually follows. The band is temporary and not something that you can have in your body for 20+ years. There are a lot of band to sleeve revisions. The band also makes it hard to eat certain things and experience a "stuck" feeling. Plus the daily vomiting would suck. WLS isn't right for everyone but I can definitely understand why she would want to have a revision surgery. FWIW I can eat whatever I want but I don't feel that overwhelming sense of hunger that I had prior to surgery and this allows me to easily stay within a healthy calorie range (1200-1600), whereas before I would be starving and miserable.

    *I'm not trying to convince anyone to have surgery but I can definitely relate to some of the comments because I felt the same way before I had surgery.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    the biggest problem I see is I see less about teaching people how to live a healthy life- with balance moderation and a balanced view on food- and more about solving a problem they have.

    There is a guy at work who had surgery done- he has lost weight for sure- but I've been here for a year- (he was out for this surgery when I officially came to this office)... and he has yet to lose any weight since then- he drinks a lot of fluids... and he looks EXACTLY the same... but maybe it's because he drinks sweet tea by the bubba mug full.

    I don't know- but despite the surgery- he hasn't learned anything- and still doesn't know how to feed himself or realize he is just eating way to much- that's the biggest issue I see with this.
  • MsPudding
    MsPudding Posts: 562 Member
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    When the comment was made I nearly choked on my food! How can someone have what I consider to be a flippant attitude towards major surgery?!?!? I know it's my opinion but am I missing something? Would anyone else consider having a band and then a sleeve done in quick succession?


    Not really any different to one of the plethora of cosmetically enhanced women out there who flippantly talk about getting a boob job and wanting a facelift next. Some people simply have different attitudes towards the risks of surgery.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
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    People have become really flippant about this.
    People have also become rather demanding about it and would rather GAIN weight to meet the BMI criteria for an op on the NHS rather than actually make an effort to lose some.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
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    When the comment was made I nearly choked on my food! How can someone have what I consider to be a flippant attitude towards major surgery?!?!? I know it's my opinion but am I missing something? Would anyone else consider having a band and then a sleeve done in quick succession?


    Not really any different to one of the plethora of cosmetically enhanced women out there who flippantly talk about getting a boob job and wanting a facelift next. Some people simply have different attitudes towards the risks of surgery.

    Plastic surgery doesn't usually come out of the public purse.
  • lcfairbairn74
    lcfairbairn74 Posts: 412 Member
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    I wish I was at the table, I could have said "I lost 41.4kg in 12 months by eating all my favourite foods, good job to you..."

    Ha ha! Me too! *high five*
  • hboensch
    hboensch Posts: 2
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    .
  • hboensch
    hboensch Posts: 2
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    Well no. That sounds crazy. But what is a gastric sleeve? I have heard of by-pass and band, but not sleeve.

    I am always jealous of people who have weight loss surgery. It seems to me they have it easy.

    I am overweight even when I consider myself at a healthy weight, but I am never obese enough to get surgery.

    I take some offense to this comment. I just had the "sleeve" 8 weeks ago. I have been overweight my entire life. I have tried all of the diets and exercise plans out there and will lose some weight and then gain it all back again plus more. The "sleeve" or Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, is a major surgery and permanent option for weight loss surgery. My surgeon removed about 75-80% of my stomach. He literally took it out of my body. I can never have that back. I don't want it back, but for someone to think that I "took the easy way out", you have no idea what you are talking about. I struggle daily with trying to get in the amount of water that everyone needs in order to stay hydrated. I struggle also to get in the minimum amount of protein that we need to survive also. There is little room for anything else, including healthy options like fruits and vegetables. I will be on vitamin supplements for the rest of my life in order to get these nutrients that I am not able to consume on my own.

    And for those of you that think that the lap-band is something you just have removed when you have lost all the weight, that is a common misconception. No surgeon will risk going in to remove it, unless there is a problem which has put the patient in jeopardy.

    I know that you didn't mean any offense, but I just think you should really think before you say something like "they took they easy way out". Ask any WLS patient and they will tell you, it is definitely not easy way out. It is very easy to slip into old habits and gain all the weight back, but with this "tool" many people have achieved lifelong weight loss and if they stick to their diet, they keep it off for life.

    I have lost 48 lbs so far, but still have a long way to go. VSG 6/25/13
  • kshell422
    kshell422 Posts: 3
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    Gastric sleeve is a procedure in which a large portion of your stomach is removed. You end up with a stomach about the size of a small banana.

    I had the surgery after years of struggling with my weight and loosing the best Dad in the world to diabetes related illnesses. Though I don't have these health issues now, it would only be a matter of time before I did. I don't want to struggle with weight and diabetes for the rest of my life and I certainly don't want to die at 63.

    As for "having it easy" I will have to LMAO. Having this surgery has been one of the hardest things I've ever set out to do. And I don't mean pain from surgery, that was a breeze. I mean the drastic eating behavior changes one is forced to make. Being healthy requires lots of physical activity too so that's another hurdle for some to overcome. After talking with many people and my surgeon, I know the difficult time I'm going through now (it's been almost a month since I had my surgery) will not last forever and I haven't heard one person more than a year out from surgery say they regret having it done. I'm trying to be patient and meet all the nutritional requirements, both of which are extremely difficult.

    So no, surgery isn't for everyone. It is no walk in the park. But it has afforded thousands of people the tool to improve their health, get off meds, and get out and do anything they've dreamed of doing. I'm already reaping the benefits of my hard work; I've lost 21lbs since the day of my surgery.
  • kshell422
    kshell422 Posts: 3
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    Congratulations on your new lease on life!!
  • kshell422
    kshell422 Posts: 3
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    Hats off to all the sleevers out there!!
  • CRBalck
    CRBalck Posts: 4 Member
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    I had the sleeve 3 months ago and have lost 53 pounds since January 2013. It is serious surgery and is not right for everyone. People don't understand the struggle that leads people to WLS. It wasn't that I was uninformed about the correct things to eat and how to exercise, I know all the relevant information. I was constantly hungry before surgery, my weight had ballooned up to over 300 pounds and I had a series of foot / ankle issues that make it very difficult to exercise. Having surgery was one of the biggest decisions I have ever made in my life. The surgery is a tool, to assist in losing weight. It isn't a magic bullet or a jump to the end of the journey. If I could have lost weight without surgery I would have, I certainly tried many many times over the past 20 years.
  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
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    Well no. That sounds crazy. But what is a gastric sleeve? I have heard of by-pass and band, but not sleeve.

    I am always jealous of people who have weight loss surgery. It seems to me they have it easy.

    I am overweight even when I consider myself at a healthy weight, but I am never obese enough to get surgery.

    Weight loss surgery is not easy - it is a tool to assist people in managing appetite. It is not easy. I know I said it twice but I wanted to make this clear to people.

    Weight loss surgery can be cheated. All it takes is to easy lots of high calorie junk foods, or drink caloric dense drinks like softdrink and juice and you will not lose weight or even gain. I know people who have succeeded with it and some who have failed.

    People who have had weight loss surgery still need to eat right and exercise.
  • Brige2269
    Brige2269 Posts: 354 Member
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    The sleeve is actually the orginal surgery from over 20 years ago. The ol staple the stomache in half. But now they cut and staple it in half and remove the half they cut. My aunt did it in 82 and my friend did it in 2011.
  • candylilacs
    candylilacs Posts: 614 Member
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    As for "having it easy" I will have to LMAO. Having this surgery has been one of the hardest things I've ever set out to do. And I don't mean pain from surgery, that was a breeze. I mean the drastic eating behavior changes one is forced to make. Being healthy requires lots of physical activity too so that's another hurdle for some to overcome. After talking with many people and my surgeon, I know the difficult time I'm going through now (it's been almost a month since I had my surgery) will not last forever and I haven't heard one person more than a year out from surgery say they regret having it done. I'm trying to be patient and meet all the nutritional requirements, both of which are extremely difficult.

    What do you think about the process now? I know that many doctors require patients to take off some weight before the surgery and start an exercise program -- I guess in hopes those behaviors stick afterwards?

    I believe, as you mentioned, unless the person is really ready and committed to making a lifestyle change towards food and exercise, nothing -- even surgery -- is going to work.

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