Considering the Sleeve

Good morning from Brooklyn, NY!  

I am new to this community; I signed up less than an hour ago.

Today I have my consultation with one of the leading Bariatric Surgical teams in the USA at NYU Langone in Manhattan.  After extensive review of first person results over a long period of time, I decided that the LapBand would cause more problems than solutions and if I were going to do this, I should do it right from the outset.  Therefore, I will be discussing with the surgeon whether or not the sleeve will be right for me.  

When I was 18, I promised myself that I would NEVER get bariatric surgery.  My mother had a gastric bypass in 1999 when the surgery was still very new.  The surgeon had to slice her open from her pubic bone to her ribs to perform the surgery and she had serious complications almost immediately.  Over time, she became an alcoholic - a common symptom in women since they are unable to tell when they've had enough before becoming completely inebriated.  Although she is still thin after a decade, her life is miserable.  I never want to live that life.

With that being said, I did not realize until I began to seriously consider WLS myself how much of her complications were self-imposed.  The staples in her stomach had come undone and stomach acid had been flowing into her chest cavity for a year.  She had been in so much pain that she began to self-medicate.  The staples became undone because she had overeaten consistently when her stomach was still healing.  It was her choice and her behavior which caused the problem.

Although I feel better knowing that my mother's experience is extraordinary, I didn't start considering WLS myself until a study was released in November of 2015 that stated that NYU Langone has seen impressive results in the submission of Psoratic Arthritis in patients.  I have been suffering for 2 and a half years with PsA and am desperate to get my life back.  Losing the weight that plagues me AND becoming disease free-ish?!  SIGN ME UP!!!!

So that's where I am today.  I will meet with the doctor and begin the process.  I have no idea whether or not I'll have complications with getting it passed with my insurance.  Nor do I know how long it will take to schedule the surgery or even if I am a candidate for the surgery.  I will update as soon as I have more information after today's meeting.

One day at a time.

Thank you!

Dani

I have been lurking on this forum in a pretty similar situation as you. I signed up before the holidays, and managed to gain 15 pounds of holiday cheer on my stomach in the last 2-3 weeks. 

I was considering the RNY or duodenal switch as they seemed to have the highest effectiveness, but the other members here talked about how they thought the VSG would be a better option. Now that I've researched VSG it seems to bypass a bunch of issues associated with the more complicated surgeries. 

I'm going to my first appointment at the obesity clinic today, and see what the bariatric specialist says. 

It seems that if you follow the instructions and do things right, then you will get real results. 

There is  so much more support and information available to us, then there was previously. I also know a friend that had surgery a while before and ended up with nutrient deficiencies and terrible liver problems. Now there are forums like this, or support groups where you can ask questions, advice, insights from people who have been there. 

Good luck today at the doctor :D 

Wecome, Dani! I'm glad that you've done your research and haven't let your mom's negative experiences color your view of WL surgery.  Yes, complications happen but many times the reasons for those are self-induced, like you described. 

It sounds like you've found a well-respected doctor to handle your care.  I'm excited for your journey! 

You're right, Dani, behavior and habits determine everything, good and bad.

Although VSG is extreme surgery, I think it's the least extreme of all the effective surgery options. You're right to steer clear of the lap-band -- it's nothing but trouble and doesn't work at all for 60% of the patients who get it. If you're still considering it, look up the stats. They're just awful. I had one for 10 years -- worse than useless.

But your doctor and you will be the final deciders of which procedure is best for you. VSG isn't for everyone. 

Regarding your mom, it's a shame her WLS turned out the way it did, regardless of who is to blame. In a kind of backward way, her experience will help you by showing you how to avoid some of the pitfalls of having WLS. Good luck to you.

psychoticparrot

Well hello fellow Brooklynite! I had my surgery done at NYU in Manhattan & am very happy with my choice. They have bariatric seminars which are pretty informative, not to mention an insurance "guru", that has a good amount of experience dealing with insurance companies. I know when I went they had a pamphlet that showed the various insurance companies & their requirements for wls.

I do hope the surgery will help you become either disease free, or at least make it more manageable. Good Luck! 

YAY!  Hello!  I also will be having the surgery at NYU in Manhattan.  Yesterday when I was walking to the hospital, all I could think of was, "geez, they really make you work for WLS here."  You have to WANT it to walk all those Manhattan blocks! lol.  I met the guru and she was confident that I can get surgery in March/April.  WOW!  So soon!  It really makes it easier to hear from someone local.  Thanks for reaching out!  

Hi Dani! Let me tell you I spent 2 years researching before I had surgery. I just kept thinking I could lose it on my own, but at 5'6 and 323 pounds with a BMI of 50 I was so emotionally down, my depression had gotten very bad, I often had suicidal thoughts that I did not act on but I had them. I knew that long term exercise and diet did not work for me because I've been overweight since I was 8 (I'm 28 now). I spent a year seeing a primary care doctor who wouldn't even consider recommending me for surgery but luckily my insurance doesn't require a referral. She told me to just eat right and exercise, if it was that easy everyone in this country would be thin. Obesity is a disease whether people (including doctors) believe that or not. I am sorry your mom had so many troubles regardless whether she caused them herself that would still be heartbreaking to watch unfold. Just know if it takes you awhile to decide; I would do surgery again, I would do it once a year if I had to. I've only lost 17 lbs since my surgery  (12/17/15) but 40 lbs overall with pre-op diet, and yet even losing a small amount my depression and anxiety are phenomenally better, I don't feel tired all the time, my sleep is more restful, and I feel so much better about my looks (shallow as that is), I have less pain, I feel like I can take deep breaths now. It doesn't mean I don't struggle or want bad foods, but having surgery has made me part of a loving and supportive group of people whom I care for dearly already and I've only been on the forums since November. Ask as many questions as you think of, there are no dumb questions for newbies/people researching, listen to the veterans on the boards (you'll get a feel for who they are the more you interact on here look at their signatures for weight loss and date info if you need a clue) and know that while it's a hard decision this could be the pivotal decision that turns your life around. And welcome!

Wow!  Thank you, everyone, for your support!  

I saw Dr. Benjamin Schwack yesterday and he cleared me for the vertical sleeve.  I had thought I would have to fight him, prove that I deserve the surgery and that it is the chance I need to get my weight and disease under control, but I didn't.  He is the first doctor to ever take my weight seriously enough to offer a real solution.  My primary care doctor is under the impression that I live like Cleopatra and have servants carry me everywhere I want to go instead of walking on my own two feet.  "Walk everywhere, watch your calories, and exercise.  That's all you need to get your weight under control."  So says a skinny doctor who has never had any extra weight on him in his life.  Bah to him!  My rhemy thinks that weight doesn't matter.  That even if I lost all the weight in the world that it wouldn't help my disease.  Thanks for that bode of confidence, doc.  

Anyway, I am now included in the study that originally led me to thin of WLS as an option.  Ironic. lol.  And the insurance coordinator has assured me that all requirements for surgery will be met in March and I can have the surgery in April.  I figured it would take a year to get to the surgery.  I'm oddly contented and nervous at the swiftness the whole procedure is taking.

I have been fat for so long that I don't remember what I look like thin.  

I began to gain weight when my mom remarried.  My step-father made me uneasy.  As I got older, he would make Donald Trump like statements to me.  "If I were thirty years younger, I'd be dating you instead of your mother."  Yuck!  I felt so vulnerable to men that I put on weight as a way to keep myself safe, I think.  After high school, I got married and had my oldest daughter.  The marriage was abusive and ended when I was 21.  The weight kept piling on in the years it took for me to meet my current husband.  Two kids later, I see 300 pounds looming in my future; a very real possibility despite the impossibility of the number.

The only thing I can think of is that by summertime, I will be shopping for a new set of clothes.  Smaller clothes.  I doubt I'll be in the single digits by then, but maybe a size 12.  There is very little to be upset about in a size 12.  I can dream of that size 6 all I want, but it seems as unreal as 300 pounds had once sounded, so many years ago.

Thank you for your kind words and help!

Dani

Yay! Sounds like you are starting out nicely on the journey! Fellow NYC'er here (Brooklyn and Queens - back and forth). :)

Keep us updated! I'm excited for you!! 

Danielle, welcome to the journey!  Good choice not to go with the lapband.  There are several in my support group that are having revision surgery because their lapband has damaged their esophagus.  I don't think you will be disappointed in the sleeve.  My only regret is that I didn't get it done sooner.  I am very pleased.  Stick to the plan and everything will be good.