bariatric Advantage vs. Premier shakes

Susan,

Thanks for your concern. Honestly, I was going to go with the Lapband, but regarding how the insurance pays out for the procedure and my low/fixed income, I can not guarantee I would have the funds available for even the first adjustment after the initial surgery let alone any future visits (it would be my luck that the adjustments would take forever to get right, too). The group I am going through has a high success rate with their lapbands with no mortality rate. However, due to the said above issue and speaking about my options with my doctor (who would prefer I go with the Lapband), I have opted for the Sleeve.

I have reviewed all the information and thanks to the fact that my mother works in a company that has had several individuals who have gone through various types of surgery, what I do know is not to touch any of the surgeries altering the intestines. They have had way too many complications, and as you stated, many wish they hadn't gone through with the procedure. Some of this is the fault of the surgeons taking off too much and others because they refuse to do a lifestyle change, even when their altered bodies will not allow them to take in the foods they are trying to force on themselves, to the point of being threatened with GI tubing for food intake. Again, those are the individuals who opted for one of the two surgeries that rerouted the intestines.

As for myself, I have tried everything from Weight Watchers, pills (I am one of those who can not handle the effects of diet pills...they make me feel anxious, jumpy, and uncomfortable), various diets, etc. However, the reason I am here now is because of my health issues that limit my ability to do anything productive. I have several specialists between my fibromyalgia, RA, and countless other issues (thankfully I am not diabetic, but believe me, I have enough diagnoses to fill a medical book; the amount of meds I take is ridiculous). So dieting and the lack of ability to fully exercise have left me to go down this road. It was not something I chose, but was recommended by my PCP after he saw me struggle with my weight and thanks to a treatment my Pain Management doctor gave me through Trigger Point Injections involving steroids, I gained approximately 50 pounds in a six month period, making me my heaviest. I had him stop the treatment between the weight gain and the benefits of TPI only lasted about two weeks each time.

Also, my mother got the sleeve done almost a year ago. Overall, she is doing good. She has made some mistakes regarding it (as in not following the protocol regarding what to eat versus not what to eat, but she's also an emotional eater, so she has to deal with those dragons). One side effect I have noticed is her hair loss, but she also has not been taking her vitamins the way she should either. I have a friend who has done the Lapband, which ironically, she was adamant I would not want to do. Her's slipped, so she opted for the Sleeve instead. When I discussed the issue of why it slipped at the doctor's office, I was advised by the psychologist why it would have happened. As it is, 95% of slips are because of issues with not eating your food correctly, which is required by the Lapband. Certain foods you can't have. You can't drink water before, during, or after a meal for 30 minutes. 2 minutes between bites. Otherwise, if you avoid these new behaviors, you will overfill the smaller pouch and force the lapband to move.

Additionally, I was required to work one on one with the nutritionist. I was able to lose approximately 25 lbs in a six month period (not as much as my doctor would have liked, but I understand what I did wrong, so those behaviors are being fixed at my end). I also had to work one on one with a psychologist to discuss my emotional issues, which I was one of the few who only needed to see her twice. Usually, the average patient sees her every month until their surgery. But I understand what my issues are, including a) why the weight was a defense mechanism and b) stress triggers the weight gain, not because of an emotional comfort, but rather because of the insomnia, which results in me trying to find an alternative manner to gain energy since sleep isn't helping me rest and gain energy. It also turns out I require a CPAP because I stop breathing 22 times an hour. This was another requirement of the Lapband: clearance from a sleep specialist and cardiologist.

The cardiologist just verified what I already knew: high blood pressure, but it was nice to know that even though I have been overweight most of my life, I don't have heart disease. However, between the obesity and family history of heart disease, I have a high risk for it.

Now the sleep specialist I found interesting and would never have considered going myself. When I spoke to my sleep specialist, he advised me I have probably had sleep apnea since I was a teenager. He advised me my hypertension, insomnia, weight issues, among many of my other health issues have been a direct result of the sleep apnea issues. Now I do have a CPAP machine now, but trying to keep it on at night is a battle. I have actually gotten an abscess in my nose, resulting in my inability to wear the mask for two weeks while I waited for it to heal.

Also, because of everything I do have on my plate, between being a single mom to three kids; a master's program; dealing with the kids' emotional/psychological issues; contending with any special ed needs (oldest daughter has reading comprehension and retention issues; son and youngest daughter have dealt with speech pathology, which the oldest had the worst of that--age 1 1/2 to 4th grade); but more importantly, contending with issues of with the biological dad who always causes problems for me and the kids. We have dealt with cops at my house, his house, his mom's house, schools, and doctor's offices. I have had him harass doctors and schools, in person and over the phone. He doesn't pay child support, is not involved with his kids and only wants his mama to raise our kids because he feels I'm a bad mom. Last month I dealt with him "kidnapping" our oldest daughter from school on Thursday (no longer his visitation day per a Good Faith agreement), where she sent Help Me text messages to me and my son because she did not want to be with him (had to get a police escort over to grandma's house to get my daughter back). I put kidnap in quotation marks because a Good Faith agreement is just that; we are supposed to honor the agreement, but there is no legal standing. However, the child can determine where they want to go and the police/schools will adhere to it. His latest BS move was cancelling a surgery for our son (tonsillectomy & adenoidectomy) because he didn't feel it was needed. Once the surgical nurse advised him that both of us would have to agree to a date, he advised her that "since we both have to agree to a date, then I will not agree to any surgery. There will be no surgery at all." The loophole was he had changed the surgery date from 5/31 to 6/21. By doing so, even after his declaration, he originally showed consent. So I had to wait until 6/21 to have my son's surgery.

So stress leads to insomnia (and while I have Trazadone, if I don't take it in time, which I can't always do most of the time based on my hectic schedule--I won't take it after 11pm to ensure I can get up to handle my mommy duties-- the meds will knock me out til doomsday otherwise), which leads to lack of sleep and much needed rest and energy. When my respiratory therapist reviewed my SD card readout for the CPAP, she found I average 3 hours a night (I sleep a little bit more than that, but end up dragging the damn thing off my face during the night. She noticed, other than the two weeks regarding the abscess, that I only had one day without a reading. That was one of my all night insomnia nights...no sleep at all. I would say I average 2 to 5 hours of CPAP sleep, as the CPAP machine is still uncomfortable, including naps. However, I also will state I average another 2 hours of sleep without the CPAP...which equals not sleeping at all because of the lack of sleeping with constant interruptions in my breathing. For years I have complained that I feel exhausted when I wake up because I feel as if I participated in my vivid dreams. This is because I keep interrupting my own sleep pattern by stopping to breathe.

Even with my healthy eating choices (most of the time. I cut out a lot of bad things when I started having Gall Bladder issues). And don't get me wrong, I still have some bad habits...my biggest one is I still inhale my food. This was instilled in me at the workplace where I would skip my 30 minute lunches to try to make extra money and I would only have 10 minutes to eat. Another bad habit was only eating once a day, and often I would miss that meal. I have cut out a lot of bad foods over the years and either have completely eliminated them or treat myself occasionally to them. So it's been an uphill battle and the fibromyalgia and RA aren't helping any. My pain management doctor only recommends aquatic therapy. I have recently tried yoga and water aerobics again (I used to do them all the time) and found my body couldn't handle it. I was so sore and for long periods of time, that it wasn't worth the effort to try. Not being able to control the pain is another issue; I have not found a pain medicine to control the pain, to the point that the only two things I am taking now are Tramadol and Gabapentin, along with Cymbalta. I can't take Lyrica, which is ironic since it's specifically made for fibromyalgia (sent me to the hospital with excruciating pain). And the combo I am taking now doesn't do much either. I am still waiting on another approval for the aquatic therapy, as that did help a little.

So as you can see, this isn't a light decision for me. I have been dealing with the battle since I was a teenager. When I was able to exercise at the gym regularly and eat healthier, I still only lost about 25 pounds and maintained that. After my last child's horrendous pregnancy, which ironically I lost a lot of weight, I ended up gaining 20 pounds after and was diagnosed with the fibromyalgia about six months after her birth. The trauma of that pregnancy and some other issues surrounding her bio dad catapulted me my body going into distress. The issues have been exacerbated since that pregnancy. It's to the point that I have been in a two year battle with disability because the fibromyalgia and other issues keep me from being productive.

Amber