Hello from Montana

**billedeaux** · 10-13-2012 11:35 AM

Hello! I found this site due to a conversation with my doctor. I had never heard of a gastric sleeve before - I hope to find out more about them. How they work, what kind of results can be accomplished, etc. Afterall, fore warned is fore armed!

**lovinlifeagain** · 10-13-2012 11:56 AM

Welcome to the the site!! You will learn a lot of good information from reading others blogs, comments, forum questions. Take it all in and do the research that way you will be well advised in the gastric sleeve. Good luck to you.

**Everdreamer** · 10-13-2012 01:12 PM

I agree...you will get a lot of info on here about what to expect, the good and the bad. If you google sleeve gastrectomy you will find lots of info. You can also google sleeve gastrectomy vs lapband or gastric bypass. There are also plenty of youtube videos that have good info. the sleeve is a fairly new procedure compared to the others although it has been used for a couple of decades I found out for people who had stomach cancer. Out of the procedures, it seems to be the one with least complications for a permanent weight loss solution. There is no disconnecting and rerouting of your digestive system as in the bypass, and no foreign object put into your body as in the Lapband. It is permanent though so you have to be ready to take on the journey.But the good thing is, if you are a big eater, you can rest assured knowing you will never be able to eat like you did in the past!! It is the best thing I have ever done for myself and many on here feel the same way. If you decide to do it, just keep a positive mental attitude and focus on a long term goal of about a year because there will be ups and downs with weight and stalls as well! hope that helps! Good luck with your decision! Keep us posted!

**marilynlw** · 10-13-2012 01:28 PM

Welcome. I am still waiting to have my sleeve but if you keep on reading everything you can about the sleeve you sill probably come to the same conclusion I have. My daughter had her WLS 3 years age. Her starting weight was 300. She didn't make it all the way to her goal of 160 but she is 180 which looks really good on her. She has a lot of excess skin on her thighs, which she wants to have removed. If that was taken care of she probably would be very close to goal as she is very muscular from all the exercising she does. Best of luck in your research. Keep reading.

**billedeaux** · 10-14-2012 10:11 AM

Thanks everyone. I didn't even know this procedure existed until I injured my back and my neurosurgeon recomended looking into it. I have seen different people in my life get the various other surgeries to help lose weight, and I do think if I have WLS this would be the way I go. I will keep up the research - thank you all for welcoming me! If you have any suggestions on where to go from here information wise, let me know! It can be intimidating getting all of this info at once!