Is anyone scheduled for surgery next week? Another other questions for you all :)

[Blueeyes]

This may be the wrong forum to be asking, but I am scheduled to have a re-sleeve done next week (on April 9th) in Tijuana with Dr. Almanza, and I'm wondering if anyone else is also planning to have surgery during the same week. Last time I had the VSG i was there with several other people, and thought it would be great if I could connect with anyone beforehand who is having the procedure at the same time as me so we could give eachother moral support. I'm starting to really freak out, I'm remembering the excruciating pain I was in after surgery and being really dehydrated, and not being able to get in enough liquids when I returned home and almost going to the ER for an IV due to dehydration. I know that after the first couple weeks it gets a lot easier, but I'm scared I'm going to talk myself out of it. I wasn't able to keep the weight off after my first sleeve, mainly due to the fact that the sleeve stretched and it was too easy to accommodate enough food that would get my calories over the limit, and although i reached my goal in only 2 months, I regained it just a few months later. It's been 3 years since my first surgery and I hope that with the revision, and learning from past mistakes I made that I can lose the weight again. I'm scared I won't lose very fast, I only need to lose about 35 lbs total, but due to a severe hormone imbalance (lack of estrogen and progesterone) it has made me in the fat storage mode. Has anyone that has gone through peri-menopause or menopause had this procedure and successful with it? Also, I normally exercise on an elliptical or arc trainer everyday for 1-2 hours, how soon has anyone been able to start exercising on these machines afterward? I really hate to wait very long to workout again because it helps keep my sanity in check. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Jillian

[bergamini]

I'm glad you are taking a pro-active stance to get rid of those 35#. I have thought about this since last night because I really want to support everyone on their journey to wellness -- and I admire you for being so dedicated to fitness and your wellness by wanting to be at an ideal weight. Most of the people on this forum, myself included, had much, much, more weight to lose. So we were willing to take the risk.

My original "goal" was 30# higher than where I am now. I was happy when I was there, it just turned out that (at least for now), I went much lower than that. At the time of my surgery, I was pre-diabetic, had metabolic syndrome, gout, was constantly getting injured from 130# of excess weight on my joints and with a family history of obesity related cancers, my life was probably not going to be very long and physical suffering was sure to be a component. So I took the plunge of going to Tijuana, MX, and having an organ modified -- a pretty serious procedure!

Your pic is beautiful and even if it was 35# lighter than you are now, I have no doubts you are still quite beautiful. I have been on this board almost a year and a half, and other forums. I've seen enough to know that Almanza goes pretty tight on his sleeves and that increases the risk for complications, include long-term food intolerances, acid, capacity, etc. What I'm trying to say is that I would strongly encourage you to re-think the risk of this surgery, and especially a surgeon known for tight or constrictive sleeves, to lose this last 35#.

I've had plenty of people tell me back in the day that if I just buckled down and exercised, ate better, etc., that I could lose the weight. I'm not going to tell you that because it's BS, it's hard and I know that not being able to lose 35# is probably just as frustrating as not being able to lose 130#. But the differences sort of end there. Your BMI is probably in the 25-28 range, whereas mine was 41 ("morbidly obese"). Many chronic illnesses actually have BETTER outcomes for people in the 25-30 BMI range ("overweight") than for those in the 18-25 ("ideal") range.

Most people have great outcomes with the surgery, but it is a risk. I have seen at least one person on this forum who died post-op after TJ and I don't blame the surgeon, it's a risk that could happen anywhere. I've also known at least 5 people who have had to go on feeding tubes because of sleeve and leak issues. This is a risk and I could have been one of those people. You could be one of those people. You have a sleeve now and even if it is too loose, it is probably going to prevent you from gaining much more.

My advice is to use your existing sleeve as much as possible, stay active and accept that you are beautiful and can be pretty much as healthy with or without those last 35# gone.

[amykarryn]

Why would you sleeve yourself for 35 pounds? I have never even heard of "re-sleeving". If it didn't work for you the first time, what makes you think you are going to be successful the second time? Why would you put yourself through what you already described as an unpleasant experience the first time around for 35 pounds???? This seems crazy to me, and not the intention of the surgery AT ALL. IMO you need to seek counseling to figure out why you can't control your eating and make healthy lifestyle changes that last, not have another surgery.

[azladyrider]

This may be the wrong forum to be asking, but I am scheduled to have a re-sleeve done next week (on April 9th) in Tijuana with Dr. Almanza, and I'm wondering if anyone else is also planning to have surgery during the same week. Last time I had the VSG i was there with several other people, and thought it would be great if I could connect with anyone beforehand who is having the procedure at the same time as me so we could give eachother moral support. I'm starting to really freak out, I'm remembering the excruciating pain I was in after surgery and being really dehydrated, and not being able to get in enough liquids when I returned home and almost going to the ER for an IV due to dehydration. I know that after the first couple weeks it gets a lot easier, but I'm scared I'm going to talk myself out of it. I wasn't able to keep the weight off after my first sleeve, mainly due to the fact that the sleeve stretched and it was too easy to accommodate enough food that would get my calories over the limit, and although i reached my goal in only 2 months, I regained it just a few months later. It's been 3 years since my first surgery and I hope that with the revision, and learning from past mistakes I made that I can lose the weight again. I'm scared I won't lose very fast, I only need to lose about 35 lbs total, but due to a severe hormone imbalance (lack of estrogen and progesterone) it has made me in the fat storage mode. Has anyone that has gone through peri-menopause or menopause had this procedure and successful with it? Also, I normally exercise on an elliptical or arc trainer everyday for 1-2 hours, how soon has anyone been able to start exercising on these machines afterward? I really hate to wait very long to workout again because it helps keep my sanity in check. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Jillian

They are doing your resleeve with just 35 pounds to lose? I am also deathly afraid of gaining and having to re-sleeve. So you didn't have to get back to a 30 or above BMI? (Mine was a 30 when I had mine done in June 2012) I just sent you a private message - will look to see your reply when I get home later

Good luck in this

[gregorygirl]

I've never heard of being re-sleeved......