I think it's really normal to have some fear. Surgery is life changing, but it's life changing in a positive way.

I asked myself one question when I first considered surgery - can I do this on my own? My answer was "maybe", and maybe was not good enough for me. I have made SO many attempts to lose weight and I never had long term success. I was ready to make a change that would save my life. Having surgery was the best decision I ever made. I have my health and my quality of life back, and I would do it all over again.

Fear is something that is very common. It should not deter you from the fact that this will change your life for the better. I questioned if I needed this surgery. My wife also kept at me constantly, are you sure you want to do this? Truth of the matter is I have suffered with the constant struggle of weight my entire life. Honestly it was exhausting and daunting. Never truly happy with life because of this weight. Never seeing who I was in the mirror, just the disappointment over a fact I had little power to control. In my 30's as my metabolism slowed, the weight kept on increasing. I have never had an issue losing weight, but keeping it off is another story. I am an addict in its truest form. I smoked for a long time, I drank for a long time, and I gorged on food expanding my stomach till I felt the comfort of dopamine releasing through my body. The issue with folks who have weight issues is we don't understand that we are addicts who feel miserable about our weight, we lean back on food to console our discontent only to feel miserable over what we have done.

This surgery has saved my life in more ways then one. In regards to pain, their really is none, some discomfort like you did to many sit ups, and some learning curve of getting to understand what comfortable portions are. But the truth is you will be able to eat what ever you desire, just in a smaller healthier portion. The other night my wife showed me a Colombian dish on instagram. After I put our little one to bed, I suggested we order the dish. We enjoyed it and my urge was satisfied, but the urge was satisfied not by consuming the entire plate, but by sampling small portions of each thing. Caloric wise I consumed about 300 calories, but I was content, my itch was scratched, and I did not hate myself for consuming 3000 calories in one sitting.

Listen, don't be afraid, Yea their are possible complications, but they are so rare, and if you listen to your doctors, the risk are minuscule. Trust me that you will love the results. I had mine on the 13th of May, I am now down 78lbs and I feel INCREDIBLE. I am eating healthier, I am sleeping like a baby, I am jumping out of bed without fear of feeling that weight coming down on my heals. Its literally a NEW world for me, and I am sure it will be also for you. Don't let fear get the better of you. Trust that this opportunity has been put in front of you for a reason.

Fear is something that is very common. It should not deter you from the fact that this will change your life for the better. I questioned if I needed this surgery. My wife also kept at me constantly, are you sure you want to do this? Truth of the matter is I have suffered with the constant struggle of weight my entire life. Honestly it was exhausting and daunting. Never truly happy with life because of this weight. Never seeing who I was in the mirror, just the disappointment over a fact I had little power to control. In my 30's as my metabolism slowed, the weight kept on increasing. I have never had an issue losing weight, but keeping it off is another story. I am an addict in its truest form. I smoked for a long time, I drank for a long time, and I gorged on food expanding my stomach till I felt the comfort of dopamine releasing through my body. The issue with folks who have weight issues is we don't understand that we are addicts who feel miserable about our weight, we lean back on food to console our discontent only to feel miserable over what we have done.

This surgery has saved my life in more ways then one. In regards to pain, their really is none, some discomfort like you did to many sit ups, and some learning curve of getting to understand what comfortable portions are. But the truth is you will be able to eat what ever you desire, just in a smaller healthier portion. The other night my wife showed me a Colombian dish on instagram. After I put our little one to bed, I suggested we order the dish. We enjoyed it and my urge was satisfied, but the urge was satisfied not by consuming the entire plate, but by sampling small portions of each thing. Caloric wise I consumed about 300 calories, but I was content, my itch was scratched, and I did not hate myself for consuming 3000 calories in one sitting.

Listen, don't be afraid, Yea their are possible complications, but they are so rare, and if you listen to your doctors, the risk are minuscule. Trust me that you will love the results. I had mine on the 13th of May, I am now down 78lbs and I feel INCREDIBLE. I am eating healthier, I am sleeping like a baby, I am jumping out of bed without fear of feeling that weight coming down on my heals. Its literally a NEW world for me, and I am sure it will be also for you. Don't let fear get the better of you. Trust that this opportunity has been put in front of you for a reason.

Well said! Very well said!!

It is scary- and I make fun of myself all the time that I had to pay good money to have a perfectly healthy part of my body removed- how is that not insane?! But I did need to do it - and it works. And everything is scary- I live in Jersey City and work in Newark NJ- between the two there's a dead body every morning- I know that sounds dramatic but it's true- and if I can risk those odds every day- I felt like I could risk a talented surgeon doing something he does 10x a day and giving me a chance at a healthy life.

Fear is normal but remember, the sleeve isn't doing anything more than surgically reducing the size of your stomach. It still functions the same way, nothing is disconnected or rerouted, it simply holds a lot less. Most of who have the sleeve chose it because it's the most natural of the WLSs available. Truth is, I've found this a very effective surgery with no complications. As long as I don't overeat, I'm great.

I'm afraid that I would lose a perfectly great functioning organ for failure to lose much.

Hi there! I was a bit worried about this as well.... but what helped me was looking up success stories of people who lived post gastrectomy for reasons OTHER than weight loss! Many people live perfectly normal lives with partial stomachs (or no stomach at all... there is a pro-chef that I read about who lost his entire stomach to cancer I believe but I forgot his name) because they had to deal with either an illness (cancer, extreme ulcers, etc) or accident. It calmed me to realize that while a "vertical sleeve gastrectomy" is fairly new in the surgery world- a plain ole gastrectomy absolutely is NOT! Also, the "sleeve" part of our surgery was the first stage in the old duodenal switch... so it is only new ON ITS OWN. I found that comforting.

To conquer your fear of failing- i'm not entirely sure how to help with that one. It is such a personal thing, every one deals with it in their own way. I dealt with it by making a plan and not relying on the sleeve. I kept thinking about the sleeve as my lifevest and I was floating in the middle of the ocean- I still had to swim to shore on my own. It just kept me from drowning.

Fear of complications? Do your research. Know what the minor and major complications are and how they are dealt with. That way if you draw the short stick out of thousands you won't be caught unawares. "Okay so if I end up with chronic heartburn, I may have to take a PPI once a day for awhile, okay if there is an infection, i will have to be on antibiotics and possibly re-hospitalized for observation, okay if there is a leak... etc etc". It helped me to know that there are very few complications that would destroy my life. I have heard horror stories, and I have met a few people personally who have had these problems... I still felt better just with the knowledge of the "could haves" and how they are fixed.

Good luck! I truly love my sleeve and had a positive experience with it and I do recommend it personally (for the right people).

My surgery is next Tuesday and I am also starting to get a little scared and nervous. I appreciated everyone's responses to the OP; they were very reassuring. I am just trying to keep myself as busy as I can over the next week, so I don't have time to dwell on the fear and anxiety.

@ garayjoh OMGosh, you lost 87 from May to July - same year or was that '13-'14?

Ditto the responses so far re: fear being normal! But really, the risks are minimal and manageable. For me, I was MORE afraid of the slow, insidious slide of my scale upwards! Too much stroke and heart problems in my family, and after 30+ years of losing and regaining he same 20-30#, after years on BP meds, after adding NEW and hideous equipment to my life (a C-pap machine for my deafening snoring).... I was more afraid of NOT doing something. I didn't have "that much" to lose according to WLS surgery standards, but yet had never been able to do it on my own. Long talks with my doc (who refuses to call this WLS - it's metabolic surgery for him and useful for all shapes and sizes of people who struggle with metabolic conditions including close-to-normal weight diabetics) convinced me this would be a great tool for me, and it has been. No more meds of any kind, no more sleep apnea - lots more energy. No complications.

It is a tool - I like the lifevest analogy! We can still screw even this up! But truly, it's been a blessing and I love my sleeve. Still on my journey, still have a little ways to go, but glad I have this tool in my arsenal now!

Don't be afraid. You will be okay. There is fear in the unknown, but you will be fine, actually you will be better! You will be so happy that you did it. Have faith in your doctor and the team of nurses. My surgery took 1 hour 15 minutes. It was a good nap, best sleep I had in a long time. 4 years ago I had vaginal cancer (pretty rare, especially considering I was 38 at the time) and had to have several surgeries and then 28 treatments of radiation. After that, I don't really fear a whole lot, but I realized that I no longer wanted to take things for granted. Once I put my health and my heart first I became a better wife and mother. I love the new me, and you will be so glad you did it.