Thinking of Gastric Sleeve Surgery? What To Consider
READ TIME: 5.5 mins.
Have you tried every diet and exercise plan out there and feel that it’s time to consider weight loss surgery, such as gastric sleeve surgery? Is it becoming more and more exhausting to find weight loss plans that actually work for your body and lifestyle?
If you’re nodding your head or saying, “Yes,” to any of these questions, you’ve come to the right place, and it’s probably time you begin exploring how gastric sleeve surgery can significantly benefit your life.
You might be completely unfamiliar with gastric sleeve surgery, but that’s ok! You have to start somewhere, right? The more educated and informed you are about this particular weight loss surgery, the easier time you’ll have deciding if gastric sleeve surgery is right for you.
Let’s first start with the basics. The gastric sleeve surgery is a type of weight loss surgery where a surgeon removes a part of your stomach and creates a narrow tube or “sleeve” out of the rest. The dramatic decrease in stomach size significantly restricts the amount of food you’re able to consume, making weight loss a much more achievable goal.
The gastric sleeve surgery is permanent, and you’ll likely be in the hospital for about two days following the procedure. However, this weight loss surgery is different from gastric bypass surgery in many ways.
General Surgery News published an article on the differences that provides a better understanding of the differences and similarities of the two operations, Gastric Bypass or Sleeve Gastrectomy?
When considering any weight loss surgery like gastric sleeve surgery, you certainly owe it to yourself to feel well-informed and that you have a total understanding of everything the procedure entails. Not only is it essential to learn about pre-op procedures, but recovery and post-surgery success are just as critical.
Gastric Sleeve Surgery: Research, Preparation, and Guidance
Weight loss surgery is no different from other surgeries when it comes to finding the right doctor and learning from patients who’ve previously gone through it. It’s up to you to put in the hours and do the research of the best doctors and reviews in your area.
You might even find that you’d benefit more to travel a little outside of your city if that means you’ll have the opportunity to have access to more qualified doctors. Remember, this is your body, and you are in control of your weight loss journey.
Never Settle, Especially For A Mediocre Doctor
Meeting with multiple doctors and learning their knowledge, background, and expertise on gastric sleeve surgery is something we can’t stress enough.
One of the most important aspects of accepting and trusting the surgery is finding a qualified team of medical professionals who feel the same way as you. It’s necessary your doctor sells you on not just the surgery, but that you’ll be in the best care possible.
It can be challenging at times to find a healthy balance of a doctor who is empathetic while also professional. However, the right doctor for you is out there.
Speaking of finding the right doctor, don’t make the mistake of going out of the country to get gastric sleeve surgery. It might seem pretty enticing, primarily because of the affordability of doing so. But trust us on this one, the research has shown that it’s often not safe!
Read an article we recently published on gastric sleeve safety, Is Gastric Sleeve Surgery Safe: Answered.
It might take you months of meeting with doctors until you find the one you feel the most comfortable with. But, don’t let that discourage you. Instead, use it as motivation. Be proud that you care so much about your health because of how willing you are to wait to find the right doctor.
You want a doctor who can partner and team up with you, as you begin your journey of achieving the best and healthiest version of yourself.
Reviewing The Reviews
What’s something you make sure to do before you purchase a shiny, new, and expensive TV online? Or before you start searching for a new car? Typically, you read reviews!
Reviews don’t have to be solely online, either. You might obtain reviews by word of mouth or from a friend who just bought the car you’ve been looking at.
The same goes for gastric sleeve surgery. Even though weight loss surgery isn’t a tangible item, like a new TV, it’s a service that requires some research on your end. There’s nothing more authentic than learning about the surgery from people just like you, who’ve gone through it.
First-hand, real-life experience stories are one of the best ways to prepare you for what’s to come. Of course, everyone is different. Some patient stories you may read about might seem horrifying, and others might seem like the surgery was a walk in the park.
It’s important to remember that all reviews are relative, and many different factors go into the surgery, such as the weight or health of the patient, the expertise of the doctor, and how someone’s body can recover. However, having a collection of different reviews gives you much better insight into how your body might react.
Awareness and Understanding of Recovery
Throughout this article, we’ve mentioned post-op recovery a few times. We feel it’s essential you have a broad understanding of common recovery issues and ones that you could potentially prevent. Remember, any operation brings risks. However, that shouldn’t stray you away.
We’ve listed the top 5 most common gastric sleeve recovery issues that we feel are not just the most common, but also issues that aren’t always discussed.
Food Intolerance: Just because the gastric sleeve surgery doesn’t prohibit you from eating specific foods, doesn’t mean your body will be up for tolerating all food groups. You may find that after surgery, the foods that settle the most are ones that are more subtle (such as chicken noodle soup or plain toast) with the least amount of flavoring—signaling to you to stray away from spicy or acidic foods.
Lacking Nutritional Supplements: Many patients require vitamin or mineral supplements after surgery. The need for these supplements isn’t necessarily because of your inability to absorb nutrients, but more because of the intake of food (or lack thereof.) Since your stomach size has shrunk, the decrease in food intake can lead to difficulties when it comes to adequate nutrition.
Addiction Transfer: Addiction or dependency upon food is sometimes something we don’t initially think of when we talk about weight loss and weight loss surgery. However, you might have depended on eating more than you think you have. When you’re no longer able to use food as a way to make yourself feel better or cure your mind of a rough day at work, it’s a possibility (and a risk) that you turn to something else. However, we’re not in any way saying that a gastric sleeve procedure will make you form addictive habits—but it’s something to acknowledge.
Weight Regain: Typically, most weight gain seems to show up about 2-3 years after the surgery takes place, once your body has had enough time to get used to its new stomach. It’s up to you to change the unhealthy habits that brought you to the surgery in the first place. Without a total change in mindset and lifestyle, you might not see the results you’re looking for.
Physical Symptoms: Many symptoms can follow this procedure, such as gallstones, nausea, or stomach ulcers. However, choosing an experienced doctor should help alleviate your inability of knowing that these symptoms might come up. Remember, everyone recovers differently. As long as you continue to see slow and gradual results, you’re headed in the right direction.
To learn more about some of the best ways to recover after surgery, read our article, After Sleeve Gastrectomy: 7 Secrets for Success.
At BariBoss, our goals are your goals. The more informative information and coaching we can bring to you, the more success you’ll have on your journey to weight loss and healthy living. Even though the idea of weight loss surgery may seem scary, we’re dedicated to providing you with the tools and resources to make the process a little easier.
If you have more questions on gastric sleeve surgery, recovery, or weight loss coaching, reach out to us here. We’ll walk on the path with you as you become a healthier you and teach you how to become your own BariBoss.