What is life like for those of you who have been sleeved long term?

I keep reading things about people a couple of years out struggling and it is really worrying me and making me second guess if doing this is worth it. I have read a million times how the sleeve is a tool and that you have to do the work and I get that. What I'm looking for is a too for life that will be there to help me forever. Sometimes I get the feeling that this just helps us lose it quickly and reset and that after some time passes it just isn't all that effective anymore and we are on our own just us and our buddy willpower which has clearly not worked out well for any of us in the past.

Is this the experience you guys have had? I am not willing to have a surgery and remove most of my stomach if I'm going to be in the same situation a few years out. For me I can lose the weight, I just cannot keep it off. Again what I'm needing is a tool that will help me forever and I just don't know if this is it. I get that I cannot lose the weight and then eat like a pig againand expect to keep it off. But will the sleeve actually help me with not doing this when I'm say three years out?

I'm am also wondering what eating is like for you long timers? I was talking to my family about how I'd get full at first off of a small amount of food, like half a cup. I was so shocked at their reaction because they are all normal weight and don't have food issues but they all thought I was nuts for wanting to be stuck only eating that much. I know it would be VERY hard at first but it is something I'm ready to deal with to have some sort of a life back. But I'm wondering what eating is like years out. Are you able to eat normally but just in very small portions while still following protein first then veggies then carbs? I'm wondering so I can maybe let my family know that it won't always be just a half cup of food or maybe it will? Either way is fine with me just wanting to know.

I'm only 8 months out however, I think you're right when you say, "Sometimes I get the feeling that this just helps us lose it quickly and reset and that after some time passes it just isn't all that effective anymore and we are on our own just us and our buddy willpower which has clearly not worked out well for any of us in the past."  

Which is why I've chosen a multi-pronged approach to Obesity Recovery and have been doing a ton of mental work as well as the physical stuff.  I see a therapist, I take better care of myself, I'm working hard to fix my brain during this time immediately post-op so that when I am farther along, and my sleeve has reached max capacity, I'll have all the tools I need to utilize a robust willpower.  

It is possible and there are lots of successful people in this forum who prove it to me every day.  :)

So Gwen are you saying that what I said has pretty much been your experience with the sleeve? I admire what you are doing with the mental work. It is truly difficult and sometimes I wonder if I will ever be able to undo so many years of twisted beliefs but I am certainly trying! Thank you for your honesty by the way.

I also want to say I hope nobody here thinks I'm trying to be negative because I'm not. I'm just trying to get the full honest picture so I completely understand what I'm signing up for.

I'm only 8 months out, so I don't know what will be the case in a year or two, you know?  But I'm preparing for the sleeve to be less useful so that if it is, I'll be ready.  

It shouldn't be, though.  If I eat the portions I'm supposed to, I won't stretch my stomach and I'll be satisfied with those portions.  

What I do know is that my life is 100% different than it was at the beginning of the year.  I believe that I truly have changed my lifestyle around and that the sleeve has giving me the breathing room that I needed to do that.  Sure, I still make bad choices from time to time, but they're nowhere near the bad choices I used to make.  For example, I'll eat 2 rolls of sushi every other month or so. Before I was eating 10 rolls all in one sitting at least once a month.  Some would say that sushi is a bad choice, due to the rice, but I'm happy that I can eat it occasionally in a sane amount.  (The two rolls last me for four meals...)  

I feel that a lot of us treat food like alcoholics treat alcohol..their struggle is for life and so is ours. Luckily we are able to get a tool that will help us reverse a lot of the damage we've caused. I feel like looking at it in that perspective makes it definitely worth it. After the immediate and rapid weight loss the rest is up to us. Go into it knowing that ultimately it is up to you whether this tool works for a long time or little while. I know that this fight is for life so even though my WLS date is 4 months out, I am adopting a 1,500 calorie low carb high protein diet now! Good luck to you in whatever you choose [:

this tool has been working great for me , but you need to use it properly or it will not work

 you need to follow your surgeon or nuts plan , eat 4 oz protein and some veggies every meal

 80 gm protein a day about 20-30 gm carbs 65 oz of water

 this has kept me full almost all the time I only get hungry once in a while at meal time and a few bites cures that 

 this surgery does not stop working after a time like some of the others do , weight loss will slow down when you weigh less there is less of you to burn calories, but if you stay on plan you will keep losing 

As someone who is 18 months out I'm not qualified to really answer this...but I'm going to take a whack at it anyway:  

My whole reason for having this surgery was to have a tool to keep the weight off in the long-term.  And my doctor agrees that it's more of a tool for keeping it off than getting it off.  I could always lose weight...I just could never keep it off.  

The reason that people further out are struggling (if you read all the stories you will find a common theme) is that they STOPPED DOING WHAT WAS WORKING!  They introduced simple carbs back into their diet, started eating desserts/sugar/fast food again, started drinking with meals, began drinking too much booze...in short, they stopped doing all the stuff that made them successful in the first place.   

At 18 months out I'm no longer limited to a half cup of food at a meal.   It's probably more like a cup, which is actually quite a bit of food.  Honestly, I don't think I stand out as someone who eats an amazingly small amount.  If you saw me eating at a restaurant you'd probably say, "that's why she stays so slim - look at what/how she eats!"   I eat like all those skinny *****es who order a meal, eat half of it or less and leave the rest (except I take it home for the next day).  

Tracy thanks so much for your reply! Everything you said makes sense. What I'm wondering though is for you do you find it easier now with your sleeve to eat the way you are supposed to? I worry that if I can't do what I'm supposed to now how will I be able to do it then? For instance I'm prediabetic and terrified of it yet I just ate three oreos. I am in therapy working on why I do what I do with food but I don't know if that is all of the answer.

It's so much easier with the sleeve, I never could have maintained this way of eating without it.  Why?  Because if I tried to live on 4 ounces a meal, I would have been hungry and miserable all the time.  Now I'm full and satisfied.  And -that- is because of the sleeve.  

Easier?  Yes, in that the sleeve helps me control amounts.   No, it doesn't remove the desire or the obsessive thinking about simple carbs.  

Therapy is a perfect way to help you get a handle on this before surgery...and you'll need it afterward to because the challenges change post-op.  I also regularly attend Overeater's Anonymous because I am a compulsive overeater and no surgery in the land can fix THAT!  

It's all about getting all the tools you need in your toolbelt to fight the disease of obesity.  For me, I need ALL the tools...therapy, OA, the surgery and regular doctor appts to hold me accountable.  

I'm a Type II diabetic with a family history of heart disease and cancer.  None of that ever kept me from eating exactly what I wanted, when I wanted it.  I reached maintenance on Dec. 31st of last year and I've kept it off for the last 10 months.  THAT is a miracle and something that has never happened before.