you've got some good responses above. I just wanted to add that yes, many of us deal with loose skin and hair loss (although not everyone loses hair and even for those who do, it does grow back...), but I would take loose skin and hair loss any day of the week over weighing 373 lbs again. ANY FREAKING DAY!! (and I think I can speak on behalf of most if not all of us who are a ways out and have lost a lot of weight thanks to WLS!)

Hey Partlypollyanna,

Thank you for responding.

I trust the surgeon in that he has the credentials and a respectable hospital position - it just would have been nice if he didn't exacerbate my worries by just not caring about them. I felt like I was dealing with a used car salesman who just wanted to close the deal.

When you put it that way per the mortality rate, that does make me feel better. I guess I never really considered other types of surgeries in the same manner, because those have been going on for decades, so you wouldn't think I might die from a hip replacement.

What was your experience with surgery, weight loss, hanging skin and hair loss?

Thanks.

I had my sleeve in October last year. I wasn't sure I was going to do it until after they drugged me up and we rolled out of pre-op to go to the operating room. I didn't love the way I looked with the weight, but I have a higher self esteem about it than most people, but my motivator was decrease risk of diabetes and getting rid of insulin resistance. My mother has really bad diabetes and she takes good care of it, but if I can avoid it, that's what I want to do. I also have a chronic pain problem due to failed neck surgeries, so I couldn't just exercise to lose weight. Because I can't exercise I'm probably losing a lot less than most at the same stage of post-op, so I try to keep that in perspective.

I have a real hard time after surgery with nausea. Nausea after stomach surgery is not fun and despite their best efforts I still felt so sick! The doc offered for me to stay an extra day if I wanted so I could get extra support with the nausea. I ended up wanting to leave at the normal discharge time because the IV fluid was making me have to pee every hour or more and I was exhausted. I won't lie, at that time I regretted the surgery, but once I got home and could take 2 Zofran instead of 1 and then sleep without having to pee, I woke up the next morning feeling a lot better!

Now, has everything been easy? No. There are still challenges, like heartburn or constipation, which I struggled with before surgery some, too. Add in the slow weight loss, I have had bouts of was this worth it? But 95% of the time I am certain I did the right thing. I've already found I'm more active with my kids and some clothes fit better and I'm socializing more like I was before the big weight gain. So overall? I'm happy. My anxiety is better, too and my hair loss hasn't been bad. Oh and I've been able to decrease doses of medication, too! To me that's huge!

Good luck!! You have people (us) rooting for you!

I understand your concerns. You're about to undergo a life changing process. It's normal to worry about the unknown.

May I make a suggestion? Is there a therapist that you could talk specializing in the area of wls and obesity? You want piece of mind.

I'm one of the rare people that did have complications from my rny, (some stitching broke, led to pancreatitis, and somehow got a fungal infection in the lungs). Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! It made me realize how fragile life is. And how strong my will to live was.

Greetings All,

I am am having gastric sleeve surgery soon and I wish I could be excited about it like many people are about their surgeries, but I am kind of dreading it for numerous reasons.

I completely acknowledge that I need the surgery, so that isn't the issue - but I do have anxiety about some things that may or may not be an actual problem. I am diagnosed with anxiety in general and I have ADD, so I hyper focus on things that worry me.

I don't like my surgeon. He is perfectly qualified and and all that, but he has horrible bedside manner and is very transactional. I am just another obese person in his revolving door of obese patients. I am just a number to him and he didn't really care about my concerns. It's a business to him.

I have to admit the death rate is still pretty high in my mind and scary. Recent info that I saw is that 1 person dies per 1000 surgeries. If someone wants to correct me in case that info is wrong, please do - but a 1000 people is not a lot. I would feel somewhat better if it was 100,000+ people.

I am worried about all the new problems I am going to have when I do lose the weight with the hanging skin - that is already hanging pretty low. I will have to move the skin aside to use the bathroom. I know OHIP covers panniculectomy surgery and there are specific requirements to qualify, but I am sure I will have other loose skin issues that are not covered and quite frankly I cannot afford, so will have to live with the hanging skin.

Those 3 reasons are pretty much the main thing outside of some smaller worries like hair loss. Has anyone here had the sleeve surgery and had hair loss and did it come back after a certain period?

I would greatly appreciate any feedback from people - especially from people who have had the sleeve surgery and even skin surgery removal to maybe put my mind at ease. I am happy to answer any further questions as well. I start the Optifast next month.

Thank you.

FW