Considering the Sleeve...

Do it - for you, not for your husband or anyone else.  For you!!! I did and I am so grateful - I'm a different person, I actually love myself again and because of that I'm a better person!!

I'm a newbie - just got a sleeve on 6/30 - so I'm not a huge fan of the sleeve just yet. I am 5'6" and HW 314 SW 300 CW 268

Everyone else has given a sunshine and rainbows look at the sleeve. Let me point out some of the negatives and some of things I should have really thought about before doing this: 

1. I have loved food all of my life. I used to love to cook for my family and eat with my family.  After surgery, with the drastic removal of most of the ghrelin, I now have no desire to eat or shop for food, or prepare food. I am completely out of the mealtime hunger and eating cycle that my family is still in. I don't even want to go into the kitchen and make anything. I've been the mom and the food preparer for so long that my family wants me to make them food and I just don't care. It makes me sad. That is a huge part of my life that just suddenly disappeared post  surgery. I know some vets will say that comes back but it's a huge change and a huge adjustment for me. 
2. You will lose that "hungry-craving- eat- satisfied" feeling. There is a happiness in that. I never thought about it. I just wanted to get rid of what seemed like constant hunger. Well, be careful what you wish for. I've gone from thinking about lunch at breakfast and thinking about dinner at lunch to not wanting to eat or caring about eating. I put something in my mouth because I have to. I really miss the normal cycle of being hungry and wanting something and then eating it. 
3. Yes, you will have a smaller stomach - true. But - it will NOT function exactly like your old stomach - oh no. I wish I'd really thought about that one. You will not be able to eat too fast and you will not be able to put too much in there without being sick or vomiting. And, that "too much" can be just one more bite of food. You may no longer be able to tolerate some foods - especially food that is too greasy or tough. And, again you might throw up. Seeing a trend? I even hear vets say stuff like "I throw up from time to time when I eat too fast or too much but I LOVE my sleeve!"  So, how do you feel about nausea and vomiting? 
4. GERD - omg I really wish I'd thought about that. Two days after surgery the GERD hit me. Some people said they never had any trouble with it. One prilosec per day for a few months and now they only need a tums from time to time. Well, that would be nice, but there is no way to tell if you are going to be one of the lucky ones. You might have it bad for a while or you might even be one of the ones who can't keep anything down for weeks or months because it's so bad you need TPN. OR - you might even be one of the really unlucky ones who need conversion to bypass just to keep from aspirating their own acid at night. Don't have GERD now? Still doesn't mean you won't get it after the sleeve. Some people never completely get over it. And, again ,I hear vet say things like "I have heartburn every day and take two or three different PPIs daily and sometimes wake up at night with acid up my throat, but... I LOVE my sleeve!"  I took a trip to the ER a few weeks ago because my blood pressure was really high and the ER doc told me that I was lucky with my sleeve. He has seen sleeved people come through the ER vomiting and unable to keep anything down.  Some people say it's no big deal - I'd rather take a pill every day than be fat. But, those PPIs have side effects and long term consequences. There is a reason you are only supposed to take them for a few weeks. 
5. This is PERMANENT. You will never be able to go back. This should be #1. I wanted this, but I have thought so many times recently about what a huge mistake I have made. Everyone tells me I will happy about it later. hmmm....hard to see it now. 
6. hormone dump - you will lose weight so fast at first that the estrogen stored in your fat cells will come pouring out - it's like menopause on steroids. (I have also heard that it is the drastic drop in estrogen - whatever it is - it's rough) I have cried -no - sobbed more times in the last few weeks than I did when my parents died. I have been a wreck. 
7. And, then last but not least - just like every other bariatric surgery - there are risks and complications. Most are lucky and have no complications or minor ones. But, if you become one of the unlucky few will it be worth it? 

Most people are completely "off" food for the first few months. This is not permanent.

The people who say "I eat until I'm sick but love my sleeve" are generally NOT those who see long-term success.

If you have GERD pre-WLS, even a teeny bit, don't have the sleeve. Research and firm medical advice can save you headaches.

Amen to each and every word of this post.

I have to respectfully disagree to a lot of this.  I was sleeved in May, 2014 and had to convert to Bypass in July of this year to treat out of control GERD.  Even with my "complications" (If you want to call them that, I would have WLS every single month for the rest of my life if need be)

1.  I loved food and loved to cook prior to my surgery and I still do.  I get great joy now in trying new recipes and trying to create healthy food that is full of flavor.  The first month or two are more difficult because you are limited to the types of food you can have and maybe you don't want to cook as much or cook for others what you can't eat.  Anne O. presented one view and I'm not here to discount it, but to offer the other side.  Believe me, unlike her characterization, I'm not all sunshine and unicorns (see above, re conversion which I'll talk more about below).  But WLS is a huge adjustment and if you go into surgery without making the mental adjustments, I can see where it would be difficult.  Is is the overwhelming "feed me now or I'm going to die" hunger of days past???  No.  But I get hungry and want to eat.  Again, I'm not speaking for everyone, but for me.
2. See above, I get hungry.  I eat until I'm satisfied.  3-4 hours go by and I'm hungry again. I get hungry. I get a "craving" for what I want to eat. The difference is I now crave really healthy foods. What has disappeared is the all thoughts consuming hunger.  Food no longer rules my life.  Again, for many (including me) hunger returns.  WLS just makes it more manageable.  
3. Is not being able to eat fast really a bad thing?  Eating fast is what got most people to the point of needing WLS.  It takes 20 minutes for the stomach to signal the brain that it's full.  Guess how long a Dr. or dietician or NUT tells you a meal should last . . . 20 minutes.  Also, the point is not to shove as much food as you can into your sleeve.  If it's the overwhelming full feeling you crave, you need to work on that issue before surgery.  I measure my food, and eat until I'm satisfied.  Do some people think that measuring is an imposition on their life or on their enjoyment of food?  Maybe, but I now look at food a different way.  Don't get me wrong, I love food.  What this surgery has done is give me a reset and allow me to eat PROPER PORTIONS of food.  There is no need for anyone to eat until they feel like they're going to burst a seam.  The sleeve is a restrictive procedure and the  sole purpose is to limit the amount of food you can consume.  I don't see the downside to that.  And if you're eating until you vomit, that's a problem with your head, not with the sleeve.  Finally, I had my sleeve for 2 years and almost 2 months.  I didn't throw up a SINGLE time and could eat anything I wanted including fried foods, cake, and ice cream. I can, but don't make it an every day occurrence.  If your overriding thought is "I don't want to live without my sweets, chips, fried foods, pasta, etc." then maybe surgery isn't right for you.  In my mind, if you're not willing to change your relationship with food, there's no point in having the surgery.  
4. GERD - Yep, GERD sucks.  I had no, zero, none before my sleeve surgery.  I was one of the unlucky few who developed it after my surgery.  Prior to my surgery, when meeting with my surgeon, he asked extensively about reflux, heartburn, GERD, etc.  If I had stated I had it prior to surgery, he would not have approved VSG for me, given that it is a well known and recognized "complication" (giving that word a very broad interpretation).  I know there are plenty of people on this site who had reflux prior to being sleeved who were completely cured by the surgery, and I'm happy for them.  But, in my opinion (as is true for the rest of this post) if I had GERD prior to surgery I would have picked RNY from the start.  With that said, even with the hell I went through (and it was hell) I still believe in VSG as a surgery, mourn my sleeve, and am grateful EVERY SINGLE DAY for the 2+ years I had and the life it allowed me to lead.
5. Yep, permanent.  I really have nothing to say about this point, as I'm glad that I have a permanent tool that will keep me walking down the correct path.
6. Hormone dump.  Nothing to say. . . it was not bad for me and even if I did have some post surgery mood swings, they were greatly reduced when I started to see the weight fall off and started to feel better physically.
7. The risk of complications is low . . . the risk of dying early from complications from obesity is high.  Significantly higher than the risk of surgery.  It was most definitely a risk I was willing to take.

I didn't mean this post to be a pile on on Anne O and I hope it's not taken that way.  From other posts, I think she's coming from a place of frustration with GERD which from experience, can cloud your world view.  What I did want to do is provide you with a response from someone who suffered complications who would still be sleeved every single day, and twice on Sunday if that's what it took to maintain the life I lead now.

EXCELLENTLY put! 

There's certainly something to be said for hearing what life is like immediately post-op, but it's rather like asking a sleep-deprived parent of a two-week old why you should have a kid.

Thanks stacyrg.  I can see where you are coming from. You are right. I would feel different if it weren't for the GERD. I feel better about the sleeve on days where I don't have as much acid and get really stressed when the acid is bad. The acid is always there. I know if I could get this acid under control I would like the sleeve better. Also, on days where the sleeve behaves differently than the band, I like it better. And, I am still on my bp meds at the same dose as before...and have to take PPIs and I'm taking Wellbutrin for the first time. I have more meds now than I had before surgery. And, now I can't sleep all night. I wake up about every 2 hours. My doc gave me a sleeping medication for sleep maintenance and when I take that I only wake up once - at about 3:30 and then can't get back to sleep. 

And, although I've lost a lot of weight and am still losing, I am still morbidly obese at 43 BMI (which is a whole lot better than where I started at a 50 BMI.) And, my labs were much, much better at my last doctor visit.  

I sincerely hope you can get control of the GERD and the resulting depression.  Like I said, living with GERD post sleeve is truly hell, and only someone who has gone through it can understand.  I get that not all post ops get to the point where they love their sleeves; and some may wake up every single day regretting the surgery, but I just wanted to hold out hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.  Also, like I said, even with acid 409% higher than normal, I loved my sleeve up to the day they wheeled me in to the OR for my conversion.  I just wanted to present the opposing view for balance.  I'm glad you took my post in the spirit in which it was intended.

Most of your comments/thoughts/feelings are classic for someone early out.

Not to discount anything you said..... because it is your reality.

Just believe me when I tell you that it is much different 1 year out vs. 1 month out.

It took me about 6 months before new normals started to kick in......

frisco

Just being honest here. These are things that I wish someone had told me before I went into this. I didn't have any pre-op counseling and I wish I had. Instead what I heard was a lot of vets talking about how much they love their sleeves and how they had no regrets, yada, yada.  

I just wish I was better prepared for the post-op period. Just trying to help out anyone who is thinking about getting this surgery based on what I know so far. 

-Anne