Gastric Sleeve

Hello, my name is Renee and I had the gastric sleeve on Monday. Very excited to see a New Me , but I have to say that I've been nervous about the procedure. Thankfully, I'm doing well three days out except for wanting to gulp water like I have always done when very thirsty.
Hope to meet some friends on here that can give me encouragement and advise me on issues that may arise. Also, I hope to offer support to those who come behind me in this new life adventure. Thanks!

Replies

  • Mangopickle
    Mangopickle Posts: 1,509 Member
    Join the VSG group. You can get support from fellow pts. Feel free to friend me. I have open diary.
  • I had my sleeve surgery last week and I'm on a quest to find the right board to join - see you there! :)
  • Hi, my name is Cheri and I am in the process of completing all of my required appointments for the Gastric Sleeve surgery.

    I have had my initial appointment with my doctor. I had an EGD done after my first appointment so the doctor could see what my stomach and such looked like. I have to undergo 3 months of physician supervised weight loss according to my insurance before I can have surgery. He would like me to lose 37 pounds by the time I go in for surgery. I am somewhat worried because what if I don't lose much at all?

    I go see him again this week, along with a nutritionist and an exercise physiologist. Then next week I go for my psychological evaluation. Once those are complete, I have one more visit with him and a pre-op class and then I should be having the surgery. I am very anxious about it all. I know I am doing this for all the right reasons....I just turned 30 in November and I want a better life for myself.
  • Niki4583
    Niki4583 Posts: 2 Member
    Hi everyone!! I am Nicole and my surgery is on Wednesday!! I am super excited and super nervous all at the same time! I don't think it is the sleeve surgery itself or after the surgery, I think it's just the risks of surgery. I will be more relaxed once I wake up, lol. This is something I had been thinking about for a few years now, I could always lose weight but I could never keep it off. The final straw was not quite a year ago, one month before I turned 30. I had noticed my legs and feet had been swelling so I made an appointment with my Primary care Dr and my blood pressure was ridiculously high and my bloodwork showed that I was borderline diabetic!! I am too young for this crap!! My weight was also at the highest it has EVER been at 353. My Dr knew this was something that I had been thinking about and told me maybe it was time to see a bariatric surgeon, luckily I knew exactly who I wanted to go to and made an appointment for an educational seminar followed by an appointment with the surgeon himself. Long story short, we decided the sleeve was right for me and I started the process in September, lots of appointments to make and I thought I would never get it done! It was not that bad!! I also had to lose weight before surgery, just to reduce the risk of complications, which I did and surpassed what he wanted for surgery!! Now here I am, 4 days before surgery at 292, and I am super excited to use this new "tool" to see how much further I can go. Everyone keeps asking me why have the surgery if I am doing so good? Like I said I can lose weight but I can't keep it off, and when the pounds come back they also bring some friends!!
    I am glad to see the posts from everyone that have had the surgery , even though my surgical team is great, I still want to hear it from people, not in the medical office that have gone thru it.
  • Hi I have the sleeve surgery on the 29th of January I'm really nervous about it do you feel any pain during surgery and after
  • Hi Renee--my name is Robin and I am having my sleeve 1/20/2014---how do you feel pain wise?
  • Hello!

    My mother had her gastric sleeve surgery in March of 2012. If you need any advice or anything, let me know and I can ask her questions.

    If it's any help, she has lost over 130 pounds from the surgery! :)
  • SmittyNYMD
    SmittyNYMD Posts: 2 Member
    Hi Everyone, I was sleeved in July 2013 and feel fantastic! I have lost 85 lbs that includes pre-diet and post op. I have another 85 to go. Just like you I was nervous about the surgery...but it was one of the best thing I've done for myself in awhile. I'm not going to lie to you but the first couple of weeks are rough. About 4 week after my surgery I started feeling like myself again.

    Yes you will feel pain. It's surgery. :) The pain will go away. To give you a example. I went back to work 8 days after my surgery and felt fine.
  • PBaxter72
    PBaxter72 Posts: 4 Member
    Hi Everyone!

    I had my surgery on 12/9 and to date I have lost 35 pounds. Hands down it was the best decision I ever made, and I will be brutally honest, I was a skeptic of weight loss surgery patients for many years.... Goes to show how little I knew about the whole process.

    From a medical standpoint, surgery was pretty easy for me Ive had 2 C-sections :-)

    I suffered from a tremendous amount of gas paint for about 5 days afterwards, as well as detoxed from sugar and carbs during this time too... so suffice it to say, I wanted to claw my own skin....

    So my recommendation to anyone is that if they give you a specific meal plan to follow pre-surgery.... DO IT !!!!
    My weekly weight loss is starting to slow down slightly, so I just started at the gym this week because I know that this is a key component in this journey.

    I still have a lot of behavioral changes that I need to make and this will be my biggest battle. I was clearly a compulsive over eater before surgery and that does not go away. I have to really learn the difference between physical hunger and mental hunger and that wont happen over night.

    I am happy to answer any and all questions to anyone considering surgery and would love the added support from those that could be struggling like me.

    Good luck to everyone on their various stages of their own journeys!
    Pookie
  • dj59lane
    dj59lane Posts: 52 Member
    Hi had my surgery July 2012 lost 90 lbs best thing I ever did.
    Advice:
    Take it slow listen to your body and DO NOT be discouraged if you hit a plateau stick with the program and it will pass. Rmemebr your body takes time to adjust.

    For me this last 10 is tough but doable. Good luck
  • shockley2589
    shockley2589 Posts: 8 Member
    Good morning everyone, today I am in day 1 pre op for the Gastric Sleeve. I am very excited to start my journey, if anyone has any advise I welcome them all. Have a good day, I'm looking forward to tomorrow!!! Yaaahhhhhh
  • Watson_20
    Watson_20 Posts: 50 Member
    Hi Renee,

    I had my Gastric Sleeve done in 2010. The VSG is the best thing I did in my life. Now I'm enjoying life. Feel free to friend me.
  • I had mine done in November. You have gas pains from anesthesia, some soreness. My surgery was on a Tuesday, I was back at work by Monday. Do take it slow though. As with any surgery, let your body heal. Food wise, it was an adjustment for sure. But, you get used to it and start to feel better when the weight starts coming off. Good luck!
  • Hello, my name is Cheryl and I'm from Tennessee. I've been trying to get approved for Gastric Sleeve for over two years. I went through all pre-op testing including psychological. I went through my six month Dr. assisted weight loss as my insurance company required. Just as I finished the six month diet, the surgery office changed hospitals and my insurance would not cover that particular hospital. I was crushed. I had gotten so excited and thought I'd be able to have the surgery in May 2013. Just last month, my insurance approved the new facility so I'm back on track. Thank goodness they would let me use the diet from previously so I'm on track. I'm getting the money together and hope to have something scheduled by the end of this month. I've been overweight most of my adult life. At age 26 to 33, I was in pretty good shape and was an exercise machine. Then as time went on my exercising stopped and the pounds piled on. Now at 55, I'm 100 lbs overweight and have Rheumatoid Arthritis and can't exercise until I get some of this weight off. I realized my only option is to have surgery and feel extremely comfortable with my choice. I work with another lady who had sleeve surgery along with her daughter and son-in-law and they have done great. I'm just so excited to start down this path and want to be able to converse with others that are getting ready or have already gone through the procedure.
  • Hi LexysNana,
    I can imagine your frustration. I had to go through the six month requirement also. I was recently sleeved (the beginning of Jan). It's definitely a learning curve. I'm excited to see where this journey leads. Good luck with your surgery!