Sleeve Gastrectomy Experience ???

simply_healthy

Hey All,

I have been struggling with my weight for a long long time now... I have been considering sleeve gastrectomy and wondering if anyone on this forum has had an experience with sleeve gastrectomy...Procedure.. Side Effects ?? I am 32 yr old female and unmarried... I am still to get married and undergo pregnancies....

It will be really helpful if you can please share your experience.

Regards,
Sophie

amyk0202

I had a sleeve gastrectomy April 2012. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I haven't lost weight as fast as some, but I have lost nearly 100 lbs & still losing, so I'm happy. I am 14 lbs away from the upper range of my "normal" bmi & started out as morbidly obese. I also haven't had any kind of side effects---no vomiting or diarrhea that you can get with a lap band or gastric bypass. There are many people on MFP who look down on WLS & they all know someone who has died from it apparently. My sister had it done about 2 years before me & she has also done great--lost about 150 lbs. As long as you work closely with your surgical team & realize that it is still a lot of work, you can be very successful. The surgery is just another tool to use, if you eat around the surgery, it will not work for you. If you go into it with the awareness that the surgery itself will not magically solve all of you problems, it will work for you. I know that I will have to track every piece of food that passes my lips for the rest of my life. I have a talent for underestimating the actual calories I'm eating & rationalizing my food decisions. If I am not diligent, I will regain & that is that.

For me, the best part of the surgery is hunger control. I am now able to eat the small portions that everyone is supposed to eat--1/2 cup of this, 4 oz. of that, etc, & be full. Before the surgery, I would eat those portions, lose weight, & always be starving. I never, ever got to that magical place where I was satisfied with the food I was eating. Eventually, I would just get tired of being hungry & I would give up & eat whatever I wanted. Then I would regain the weight. This happened on many different diets, over years & years. I would lose 20, 30, 50 lbs. & gain it all back & more. I finally realized that my weight was making me miss out on things that I would never get back--I had to wait at the bottom of the mountain while my husband took the kids up while we were camping, I could barely climb the steps out of a cave in WV (soooo embarrassing). I couldn't run along side my youngest to teach him to ride his bike. I couldn't bend over to do laundry or load the dishwasher without back pain. I tried taking karate which I loved in my younger, skinnier days & my knees & hips couldn't take the strain. Now I eat a small amount & I am full. Since I'm no longer hungry all the time, it is easy for me to think about what I should eat & plan out what I'm going to have for the day.

When I was thinking about WLS, I was originally looking to get the lap band. My surgeon said that he had done them in the past, but no longer did them because the complications seemed to be greater than the benefits. He recommended either the VSG or the gastric bypass. I was familiar with the VSG because of my sister & I was scared of the malabsorption issues of the full bypass. So I ended up picking the VSG. I had to see a psychiatrist, get an EKG, & see a nutritionist for 6 months prior to my surgery. My local hospital also has weekly support groups & informational classes & discounts at the fitness center for WLS patients. I am so much happier now. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I have 4 children & am done with that, but my surgeon did say that you can get pregnant after a VSG. I think he said you should wait at least 18 months after the surgery.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

trud72

Hi honey if you only have 28kg to lose why a sleeve? they are for life and not easy to work with there will be a lot of food stuff you have to live without it should be a LAST option! you will have to take medicines for the rest of your life alos as well as putting the weight on again afterwards they do not operate on your head! Belive me I wish they did!
good luck x

JewelsinBigD

I also considered using surgery - but the bottom line is this- you will have to watch what you eat forever either way you go. So either pay for the surgery, take the risks and watch your diet. or don't pay for the surgery, don't take the risks and watch your diet. There is no magic. And if you eat healthily for a while- your stomach will shrink. Last week I actually ate my hamburger and skipped the salad, appetizers and everything else because I knew if I ate anything other than the hamburger I would be too full to eat the hamburger and I wanted to eat it, I needed the protein for the day and I had planned for it (it was a cookout!). So instead of eating all that other stuff too- I ate what I came there to eat. This is after 19 months of eating better.
I am slowly getting to my goal weight- but I will get there. Don't give up on you yet- in the end it will still be you losing the weight anyway. I saw a quote-
"I am learning that sometimes I don't think we want real change, we really want magic. We want it quick. But real change takes time and work."