Looking for people who have done the Sleeve or Bypass

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mari_moulin
mari_moulin Posts: 3,717 Member
Hello everyone, my name is Mari.

I am going to be getting weight loss surgery. I had my first appointment with my surgeon today and we are getting things into gear for WLS. I have to do everything the same for either surgeries so we can get things moving even though I didn't have to decide today which one to have done. I still have time do so some research before my final decision. I have had the Gastric Band before but it failed for me and I am now going to get a second WLS. The thing is after reading all kinds of info online I just want some first hand information and advice. I want to know how it has been for people who have actually had these surgeries done. How you feel about it in general. Are you happy with your surgery? Any regrets? What has been the hardest part for you? Do you recommend the surgery you got?

Replies

  • J3J3Real
    J3J3Real Posts: 8 Member
    edited September 2016
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    Hi my name is Jeanna,
    I have had the gastric sleeve done on Aug 19th. I must say life has truly changed especially with my eating habits. Portion size is really small. The hardest thing for me was getting thru the initial 7 weeks. I was on liquids for 2weeks before surgery then 3 weeks after then puréed foods for two weeks after. Also, if you have a food addiction it is very hard! Mainly because pictures of food is everywhere. People are always asking you to go to lunch and everything. the willpower has to be strong for sure. Right now I'm getting the hang of things because I'm on soft foods now. Keep your carbs low and protein high. Hit me up for more info. Stats before weight 246 day of surgery 227 current weight 200 off blood pressure mess and diabetes meds.
  • atchison1969
    atchison1969 Posts: 3 Member
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    Hi, my name is Charlene and I had the Gastric Sleeve done on 7/21/16.
  • semelton0308
    semelton0308 Posts: 1 Member
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    I was sleeved 10/25/16. I'm down 96 lbs as of today. First few weeks are tough. I haven't found any certain foods that do not sit well with my sleeve other than scrambled eggs. While most non-sleevers may feel that it is the "easy way out", it is far from easy. The struggle to eat right and get in your protein and water is real. However, if you were to ask me do I recommend it... the answer is yes yes yes, a thousand times yes. I am happier with what I see in the mirror now than I have ever been. My husband is also sleeved and will tell you it is one of the best decisions he has ever made. He was sleeved 5/10/16 and is down 125 lbs
  • mari_moulin
    mari_moulin Posts: 3,717 Member
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    Thank you all for your replies and all your information. I have now done all the appointments with the specialists and have a surgery date. I decided on having the gastric bypass surgery as opposed to the sleeve. I leaned more toward the sleeve but after hearing all the advice from my doctors (all the specialists, my GP, and my surgeon) and also having discussed it for well over a year with my husband, family and friends, this is the decision I thought was best. My surgery is scheduled for June 13th. Strange enough they did not put me on any special diet before surgery. They didn't ask me to lose weight either but I assumed this was because I have already lost 70 lbs in the last year. My highest weight was 338.8 lbs and I am now at 268.7 lbs. I am still trying to lose as much as I can before surgery.
  • Southpaw303
    Southpaw303 Posts: 3 Member
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    I had the sleeve done back in 2015. I dropped close to 200 lbs until a motorcycle accident kept me side lined for 7 months I gained 60lbs back :(. So I started again a few days ago and hitting it hard.
  • Squeaks1977
    Squeaks1977 Posts: 5 Member
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    I had the sleeve done 11/17/16 and to date have dropped 70lbs. My first week was tough because of trying to hold down liquids. Even though I loved my protein shakes after surgery it was just too sweet. But after the first week and my stomach was more healed I was able to start holding down liquids. Especially hot liquids. Cold liquids were a killer but now I can handle them. You basically have to relearn every thing on eating again. Any questions feel free to ask. :-D
  • TracyFalk69
    TracyFalk69 Posts: 10 Member
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    Sleeved 3/20/17; the first two weeks or so felt like I had a really bad flu, no appetite and just really tired, but no problems after that. Still adjusting to how much and what foods I can eat, getting that right balance of macros. Down 50 since my highest pre-op and 25 since surgery. No regrets!! Wish I would have asked my Dr about it sooner!!
  • DartloverAz
    DartloverAz Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi folks,
    I guess I'd be like the veteran in this discussion. I had my sleeve gastrectomy in Feb 2010. When I started my weight loss journey I weighed 425 Lbs, was taking lotsa meds, pre-diabedic, high BP, sleep aphnea, many aches and pains in back hips knees etc. and in general very close to death. Went through the whole pre-qualification for surgery over the course of 8 months. Was approved for surgery and did Medifast for pre-op diet. Lost 60 Lbs before surgery! I wanted to shrink my fatty liver to increase my chances of having a trouble free sleeve surgery. I lost another 115 Lbs post-op within about 4 months but I looked sickly like I was being treated for a terminal illness and felt poorly quite often, like I was malnourished. I tried to level off on my dieting at 240 Lbs but kept ending up in the ER with dehydration and nutritional deficiancies. So I upped my calories and put 40 lbs back on! Yes I gained weight intentionally. The sleeve works great if you want to stop hearing your stomach tell you you're hungry and that you need to eat. My sleeve took all that away. In fact when I stick to a low carb diet 40 30 30, I have no appetite and have to stick to an eating schedule to keep my nutrition up. So fast forward to 2017.. I spent years eating less and less healthy and my weight slowly crept back up due to eating more processed food and more fast food. I saw the scale hit 318 early this year and I said to myself WTF am I doing!!! At that point I went back on my post-op diet and went back to MFP for tracking (this isn't an ad, I'm not even a premium member ;). This is back in March 2017. So everything was going pretty well until I started having these incredible abdominal spasm attacks that landed me in the ER. Well turns out the rapid weight loss I had started up again this year pushed my gallbladder over the edge and it was time for another trip to the abdomial surgeon. Forgot to mention.. my abdominal surgeon is the absolute best in the field, Dr. Daniel Fang (this man saved my life, 2X!). So here I am.. nearly 7 years post-op my sleeve surgery, about 2 months post-op my GB surgery, I've lost about 45 Lbs since March (nice and slowly) and I feel really, really well! It's like they taught us in pre-op class, the sleeve is a tool and you can learn to use it or you can defeat it. There is no magic switch that you click to make you loose the weight. It all comes down to discepline in your diet and exercise. The bariatric surgeries simply alter the production of grelin in your stretched out and oversized stomach. This makes that constant need for incredible will power all but go away and have a much lower impact on your weight loss journey. Please let me know if you have any questions. It's not easy to crush down a 7 year weight loss journey into a few paragraphs...
  • melissaglover5823
    melissaglover5823 Posts: 18 Member
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    Hello my name is Melissa and I was sleeved May 2014