Step 1: Attend an Informational Meeting on Gastric Surgery
Just before Thanksgiving I attended the information session at Pennsylvania Hospital. I elected to stay with Penn Medicine so all of my doctors can share my information with each other. Plus, they have an app where I can access all my labs. Love an app!At this session, I was presented with 3 surgical options: Gastric Bypass, Sleeve, or Lap-band. I've always been afraid of Bypass due to the severity of the surgery and the several week recovery time. Being 38 and unmarried, I do not have the luxury of having a second income coming in, or my very own nursemaid. I learned that Lap-band has a nice success rate and is less invasive, but has a 50% chance of returning for a second surgery due to side effects. No thank you! So that left gastric sleeve. Which is exactly what I went to this meeting wanting. Boy was I surprised to learn that I had no friggin clue what a "sleeve" really was. Gastric Sleeve- Wed MD
So, I've been through a few stages so far, but have decided to back track and blog about my experiences so I can remember, take ownership, and maybe help just one person who is going to undergo the same choices.
After being shocked to learn there really is no "sleeve" that it's literally removing two-thirds of your stomach, I was even more determined this was for me. Laproscopic, a few week recovery, home next day, I'm in! I really honed in on the procedure, the options, and what was expected from me. The first, finding support groups and people that have undergone such surgeries. Lucky for me, my sister was going through the same thing. (As I write this, she is now a week and a half out of surgery and is doing great!) The real sell on this surgery is that I HAVE TO. If I don't, I will die. It's that simple.
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