Sleeve done in canberra

[scoots 883]

Hi all, just wondering if anyone has had the sleeve done in canberra? I'm sure people have i just haven't been able to find anyone in this site in my browsing. Was wondering if this might be coz canberra bariatric push people more towards banding? I'm currently thinking the sleeve will suit me better....

[cdazzle 106]

Hi i am seeing Dr Mosse on Monday , I just Dr chau ( miranda) this week , He said the band has too many issues and the sleeve would be heaps better

I dont know but cant you say I want the sleeve?

I know there are a couple of people who have had a band done in Canberra on the forums

[scoots 883]

I went to the info session earlier this week and feel much more reassured that they are happy to do the sleeve, in fact i got the impression that they were starting to prefer the sleeve. I've got an appointment with Siva (dr G) on friday next week, i was going to go with Charlie as he's previously operated on me but i would have had to wait till feb to see him, plus i'll almost certainly need to have a gastroscopy prior to surgery (due to my previous stomach surgery for reflux) and Siva will do them himself but Charlie refers you to someone else to have it done, and having been referred to people in canberra for gastroscopy's before i know that it is not a quick process!

[cdazzle 106]

That sounds good :0 Its great that the choice is there to chose it worries me , because I dont want to get talked into something else. Thats good news its good to have a one stop approach to your surgery My appointment is tomorrow with Dr Mosse , So i will let you know what he says:)

[cdazzle 106]

when i saw the surgeon in sydney he said that endoscopy is not needed as if there were any hernias . he would fix them while he was in there lol

[scoots 883]

I would love not to have one but it was Siva who told me i probably would need to, just coz of the previous surgery, so that they can make sure there isn't anything happening as a result of that would mean i couldn't get the sleeve done....though maybe at my appointment on friday he'll just look at he record of my previous operation and decide its not needed, they really are not something i enjoy, i out off having my first one for years till i ended up in ED coz the pain in my stomach got so bad, then i ended up waking up in the middle of it, i have a very clear memory of thinking "i'm going to vomit i need to get this tube out of my mouth", i then grabbed hold of the camera/tube and attempted to pull it out, needless say i had people grabbing me fro everywhere and telling me to let it go....then they gave me more drugs and i don't remember what happened after....i've had two gastroscopy's since then which i haven't woken ip during, needless to say i'm sure to tell them that i woke up once so they make sure i'm well and truly sedated!

Look forward to hearing how your appointment goes tomorrow!

[cdazzle 106]

wow that sounds scary:( . The appointment went well Dr Mosse was wonderful and understood why i would chose the sleeve , he explained that more weightloss would occur anyway and went on to say that most people after ten years get the band removed. He wants me to see a psyscologist , Im happy with that as i want it to be an all in one treatment. Our health insurance doesn't cover it until April ( 12 months waiting period) So I will come back and see him in January and see the dietician too . The did the letter to apply for super this afternoon which we will pick up. I was overall impressed with the facility itself and the nurse. I loved that he was frank and said i dont call it weightloss surgery as its just surgery. it still takes loads of work. He explained that sleeves can stretch over time and the importance of proper food coaching and emotional control over food. I feel very safe and comfortable to call him my surgeon. I didnt walk out feeling uneasy , I woke out feeling like I had been educated. Some of it worried me , but its a huge lifestyle change and im sure it will take ages to wrap my head around it all.AT this moment I am more than happy to proceed forwards and have the surgery ,

[scoots 883]

awesome, sounds like you had a great appointment! did he refer you to a specific psychologist or give you a list to choose from? I'm already seeing a psychologist so hopefully that part won't be an issue for me Well that's true, it is "surgery" and weightloss is the side effect as long as you follow the rules that come with the surgery. I've got both my surgeon and dietician appointment on Friday, they just happened to have a free dietician appointment about an hour and half after my surgeon appointment so i decided to go with it all in one day. I'm going over to WA to see all my family for christmas, haven't decided yet whether i'm going to tell any of them about the possibility of surgery, well i mentioned it briefly to my brother the other day but asked him not to tell anyone, but if i do tell any of them will be good to be armed with all of the information!

[cdazzle 106]

hi again umm they said there is one that works out of there , which i am seeing next week:) Probably if you already see one then that won't be an issue

Surgery has been pencilled in for April. Have a wonderful time in WA , thats up to you , its a hard one. I intended on telling nobody but a friend does know as i have watched her struggle so long with her weight and i knew questions would get asked. As it was anyway she was considering her options also But i dont want anyone else to know , Its more about the headache ill get from them. My partner asked if we could go and see family in june and i said no way !! After all i will need to take time to get my head around everything and june is most likely the puree stage. I really dont want to have to provide answers to people . I also think that emotionally it will take a bit for my head to get around and i dont want to lash out at anyone:) I am at this moment going through a stage where i am a little angry that i need surgery , well at least one part of me is , the other part thinks i should give myself a break . I'm worried about what all the emotional release will cause , I am incredibly sensitive about my weight , I don't want to get to that part where i feel im unloved unless i do this .. you know bad thoughts . But if the mind is like a computer i just need to reprogram it

[scoots 883]

Sounds like you are in a good place for therapy/seeing a psychologist got things that you want to work on. Excellent on having april pencilled in, i'm hoping for anytime after 18 feb, but as close to that as possible, i can't get time off work till then, got my first appointment tomorrow, so excited! Yeah my best friend knows, and i have discussed a lot with her, but other than the brief mention to my brother thats it, i probably won't tell, when i did optifast last year i told everyone (i figured i wouldn't be able to keep it secret as people at work would see me drinking shakes) and figured that by being open about it i would avoid some of the negative comments, which i did, but then i also got all the judgement about whether i should be eating "that", and also i found it hard that all anyone wanted to talk to me about was my weigh loss, it was like nothing else about me existed, and that mentally took its toll, so would like to avoid that as much as possible this time and i think by not telling people i will do that, at least to a point.

Will let you know my outcome after appointment tomorrow! Sooooooo excited!

[scoots 883]

Ok, so had appointment with Siva today. As expected i have to have a gastroscopy, which should be on the 29th of Jan, also have to have a barium swallow sometime in Jan and some bloods which is pretty standard. He is concerned that my previous reflux may be an issue that will prevent me having the sleeve, they will have to undo the operation i previously had to fix my reflux to do the sleeve and then he sleeve puts you at more risk of reflux anyway. I think if the test results all come back with the right results he will go ahead with the sleeve but the test results have to come back with the right results, including no big hiatus hernias, and no damage to my oesophagus from reflux (also known as Barrett's Oesophagus). Also my risk of a leak is double that of a normal person, so 2% instead of 1%, so still small and a risk i am willing to accept, my surgeon has never had a leak, though of course that doesn't mean he never will but historically its promising. And finally, if i have the sleeve and then develop severe reflux that is unable to be controlled by medication i would need to have a gastric bypass, this is a risk that all sleevers have, just higher for me coz of my pre-existing reflux. S, i still would like to go ahead with the sleeve, i think its the best option for me, we did briefly discuss the band though that has increased risk for me also, particularly with things such as erosion. I am glad that my surgeon isn't being all gung ho and ignoring my increased risks, means that if i do get to have a sleeve done there is less chance of things going wrong because i do have a diligent surgeon, just keeping my fingers crossed that my test results all come back with the right answers!

[cdazzle 106]

hi Scoots , fx for all the right answers Yep its great that they are not gung ho !! how long have you had the reflux for?

I had it years ago and took nexium , when i did the endoscopy there wasnt a problem. I do get it now when i over eat loads:)

Bring on Jan for more answers

[scoots 883]

I had it as a kid but never knew thats what it was, thought it was normal to have burning in the back your throat and that everyone got it, wasn't until i was around 20 and started getting really bad pains in my stomach that i went to the doctor and got diagnosed and put on meds, the meds worked but i had to keep going on higher and higher doses, which now that i think about it coincided with my weight getting higher and higher also. Apparently my last gastroscopy showed that the sphincter at the top of my stomach sits slightly open all the time (prior to reflux surgery), hence why i get reflux, unfortunately i also tend to hold a lot of my weight right over my stomach which not only increases your risk of developing things such a s diabetes but also puts a lot of pressure on your stomach, hence reflux gets worse when i am heavier.

Lol, in the last month or so i've started to get a little bit of reflux again when i eat too much, so i know what you mean there!

Yup, let the countdown to january begin! The way its looking now, presuming i can get sleeved it may well be about the same time you are!

[scoots 883]

Got phinecall from the hospital today confirming my date for gastroscopy, 29 Jan, need to get to the hospital at 1215. So glad it is actually happening on this date, when i get back to canberra in a few weeks i'll make an appointment for my barium swallow and go have my fasting bloods done too, things are progressing....

[kazbo 5,052]

hey scoots...Siva was my surgeon (for banding) and he definitely prefers the sleeve...they do double stitching (or something) to make doubly sure there are no leaks and with any procedure spend the extra time and make the effort to be as perfect as possible...You are an great hands with him and I really like his 'bedside manner' (although I do tease him)

[scoots 883]

Yeah i liked him, just keeping my fingers crossed the gastroscopy doesn't find anything that will preclude me from getting the sleeve. Though i am a little cranky that my gastroscopy date had to be changed to 26 february, thats a whole extra month! Hospital rang me this week to tell me, so by the time i have that done, then see Siva again, then give myself enough time to get super released and give work enough notice it's going to be at least april, if not later

[kazbo 5,052]

urgh! how frustrating! but time will fly and you will be sleeved before you know it! Hopefully the gastroscopy goes well!!

[Maybel 38]

Hi fellow Canberrians (is that a word?)

 

This is my first post since joining last year.  I saw Charlie Mosse in March last year and he suggested the sleeve would be best for me.  I had no health insurance at that stage, so have been waiting out my 12 months.  I have another appointment to see him on 4 Feb and a surgery date pencilled in for April.  Hope evrything goes well for you Scoots and CDazzle and well done kazbo on your weight loss.

[kazbo 5,052]

hey Maybel...welcome! how excitement that your 12 months is about done!!! are you excited? it won;t be long and you'll be on the optifast pre-op diet and on your way

[cdazzle 106]

Hi girls , sorry I have been Mia , scoots I just had a gastroscopy I'm jan on the 24th , he said it didn't look too bad but did take some biopsys . I am seeing dr mosse next week . We just got a letter to say the first part of our super had been approved , we now need to wait to see if the super itself approves it . I am getting scared , I am hoping to get the sleeve in April , but I have to be able to take the time off work . I do know that part of me wants to cop out but I will not allow that . I have just given up all fizzy drinks as I am finding that it burns my whole system when I drink it . So apart frm seeing the dietician I am on track I do have a few questions re sleeve , which I must remember to ask the surgeon

These are if I get pregnant in the future , how does my body adjust to eating more ? Like does the sleeve stretch?

You start of eating small amounts but how does your body maintain its weight you are at goal , do you simply eat more calorie rich foods ( healthy versions)

And lastly I suffer from chronic constipation will the sleeve mean this will continue to happen ?

I think that's it , I am looking forward to the new me being able to shine through. I did after going to see the therapist g through a had time . But I think it was just part of accepting this new chapter in my life and what it means for me

[cdazzle 106]

Wow Maybe March is next month , we will all be here cheering you on

[kazbo 5,052]

Hey cdazzle...good to hear your gastroscopy went well!

 

I have a band so can't help you re: pregnancy and the sleeve...but there are sleevers that had successful pregnancies - not sure how they got on re: nutrition

 

With either the band or the sleeve, this is how Siva explained maintenance to me...he said that your body will continue to drop weight until it gets to it's own 'goal' - anything less than that will be very hard to lose and maintain. You keep eating the same as for the weightloss phase but your body will simply stop dropping the weight. So no, you don't eat more or eat more calories.

 

You might still suffer constipation because you simply won't be able to get the quantity of food through your system - I usually 'go' once a week (twice if I'm lucky!) and if it's getting uncomfortable, i take a laxative. The dietician at the clinic recommends benefibre. I take dulcolax tablets every now and again to get things moving (usually on the weekend so I'm in the comfort of my own home for the dash)!

 

It's perfectly normal to feel nervous/scared and want to cop out - I know I did several times, even on the day of surgery!

 

It is a whole new world post-op...learning to eat again, remembering to chew, making sure you get all the good nutrition in each meal, etc...but it's so, so worth it my blood tests speak for themselves regarding the benefits of WLS!

[Maybel 38]

Thanks Kazbo,

 

I saw Dr Mosse yesterday and confirmed my surgery date for a gastic sleeve in April.  I'm excited but a bit nervous at the same time. Trying to decide who I am going to tell prior to surgery.  Have already had my children so don't need to worry about the pregancy issue with a sleeve but  cdazzle that is something I would definately be enquiring about before the surgery.  Cheers everyone

[kazbo 5,052]

Hey Maybel - April is so close! WHOOT!

 

I'm an open book...I tell all and sundry about it (but that's my preference). In some respects I do wish I'd kept my trap shut because sometimes I wonder if people who don't know me all THAT well wonder if it was worth me getting it done because my weightloss has been slower than expected. But hey - their problem not mine!

[scoots 883]

Hey cdazzle, don't worry, i've been a bit mia lately too. I've got my gastroscopy in just over 2 weeks, got my barium swallow booked in for a week before that also and will have my fasting bloods the same day. Have booked my next appt with Siva for the 1st of march so will find out then if we are all good to go ahead (fingers crossed), though i now probably won't be able to get it done till early May, i was off work the last few months oflast year with a back injury, i've just started an intensive rehab program coz i got better to a point then just stopped, and started going backwards a little, anyway thar rehab program won't finish till probably end of april, so i thought it would be better to wait till then, that'll also give me 2 months to apply for and get my super.....fingers crossed everything over the next month goes my way!