catwoman7

first week is from the IV fluids they gave you in the hospital. Some people gain as much as 10 lbs from that (I can't remember how much I "gained" - maybe 4 or 5 lbs). It can take up to a week for it to work its way out. Also, almost everyone has their first stall within the first 4-6 weeks after surgery. It's usually the third week (thus, the "three-week stall"), but not always. Mine was weeks 2 & 3. During week 4, it broke and I dropped like 6-8 lbs practically overnight.

I was apple-shaped before surgery (and "rectangle-shaped" now), so my hips and thighs were never a huge problem - I carried most of my weight in my gut. But after losing over 200 lbs, I do have some loose skin there, but it's not awful. They're pretty thin so I look fine in pants (capris and long pants - even skintight leggings) - in fact, i have "thigh gap" for the first time in my life. But they don't look good enough to wear short shorts or mini-skirts. But at my age (60), those days are long gone, so it's not really an issue for me.

the risk of complications is lower with the sleeve, that is true, but major complications with either surgery is pretty uncommon. I don't think anyone knows about long-term complications with sleeve since it's not a very old surgery. It became popular about 7 or 8 years ago and replaced the lapband as the non-RNY option (a version had been around before that since it's phase 1 of the duodenal switch (DS) surgery, but the DS is not a very common surgery. Stand-alone VSG is still just a few years old). There really aren't any long-term research studies on the sleeve because it hasn't been around long enough. So I don't know if it's true if it has fewer long-term complications than the RNY. It might - but it doesn't have the long-term research behind it to say one way or the other at this point.

for some it gets better, but for about 30%, it gets worse. I'm surprised your surgeon is recommending it, to be honest. He may be more comfortable doing that surgery - it's less complicated. But I don't really like his comment about how you can always revise to bypass. Yea, but... I had GERD before surgery. I didn't want to take the risk of it getting worse.

the first few days and weeks post-surgery can be rough, and "buyer's remorse" is common. But...most of us get through that stage and are happy with our decision to have surgery. I have no regrets at all other than I wish I'd done it 20 years ago. btw - let your clinic know about the vomiting. Maybe they can prescribe Zofran or something similar.

I think it's definitely the minority. I've been hanging out on bariatric forums for the last six years, and it seems like most people have little to no issues with recovery. I've never watched the youtube videos. It could be related to the fact that people are more apt to reach out to others when they're having negative issues (looking for advice or support) than positive issues, but still, I see way more positive or neutral responses to recovery on here than I do negative.

I'm not sure if there's a WLS solution for heartburn in your case since you've already had bypass - that's usually the revision they recommend for sleeve for those sleevers who have severe heartburn (i.e. sleeve to bypass). Although maybe there's some other type of surgery (non-WLS- related) they can do for that?? Not sure. the only "revision" they can do for bypass is tightening the stoma, but I've read mixed reviews of that. And I've heard the same as the above poster - people usually lose about 20 lbs with that. as for insurance coverage, some policies will cover revisions if they're done for medical reasons (GERD is one - but then, you've already had bypass, but again, maybe there's some GERD specific medical treatment out there? Not sure). I don't think many policies, if any, would cover it for weight gain. I'd talk to your PCP or a bariatric surgeon. I don't know what your options are since you've already had bypass. Sorry you're going through this - GERD is awful!!

not sure where you're hearing that recovery is horrible. Mine was a breeze - at first I thought they didn't really do the surgery! Some people do have pain with this, but usually just for the first few days. A majority of us seem to have little to no pain with it, though. Even if you're one of the people who does have pain, they'll send you home with pain meds so you can manage it.

I had mine here, so no personal experience, but check for reviews on the internet - there are a lot of them. Also, this forum ....and other bariatric forums....are good places to check as well, so kudos to you for checking here. Hopefully you'll get some good responses!

just so you know, only about 30% of us have true dumping (it seems like some people call any time they throw up "dumping", but that's not true dumping). I've never dumped - and a lot of us haven't. If you turn out to be a dumper, you can manage it by limiting or avoiding sugar and fats (which we all should be doing regardless!). I've been really happy with my RNY -- one of the best decisions I've ever made!

I just did a quick google search. It said abdominal pain can be common (I didn't see anything about stomachs per se, though). I do get that occasionally. Mine is usually related to constipation (which is very common - with both surgeries, actually...)

I've never heard that, and I've been hanging out on this and other boards for about six years. if you have GERD, you really should seriously consider RNY. Sleeve can make that worse. That's the reason I went with RNY...

arms supposedly scar worse than a lot of other areas. I'm not sure why - I think the skin is thinner there, and also, it's next to impossible to not use your arms for weeks on end after a brachioplasty. You sometimes end up tugging on some of the incisions when you inadvertently reach to get something. Anyway, my arms scars have faded a lot (I'm almost two years out from my brachioplasty), but then, I can barely see my breast lift scars and my LBL scars - so my arms are definitely "worse", even though they're not that bad (plus no one can see them anyway unless I have my arms up in the air...)

they will, but your body needs the protein. You need to drink the shakes. You'll get sick pretty fast if your body doesn't have enough protein.

I didn't eat it until I was at least a year out since it's not very nutrient dense, but I do eat it occasionally now. Watch it, though - it's easy to scarf down a ton of it. It's kind of weird how much of it you can eat - although when you figure 1/4 C of kernels will pop up to about 2 cups of popcorn, then it makes sense - most of the popped part is just water, so they go back down to pretty much nothing in your pouch.

I've read about the PS thing, too - not sure if it was that article or another one. I think all of those are probably factors - fat cells having been removed, increase in body satisfaction, people don't want to screw up after spending tens of thousands of dollars on plastic surgery - or another factor might be that people who can spring for plastic surgery can (usually) also afford gym memberships, fitness classes, high quality food, etc. For whatever reason, yes - I've read people who've had PS usually have more success at keeping their weight off.

I've never heard about heart palpitations from protein shakes. In the five or six years that I've been on here I've seen a couple of posts about (US) surgeons not wanting people to do protein shakes, but it seems like almost all of them do recommend them. Interesting thought about it being a cultural difference. I suppose that could be....

Kind of. I occasionally bring home something that I personally can't eat (like maybe some new kind of cookies that catch my eye), and I give them to my husband to eat. I live vicariously through him sometimes when it comes to things like baked goods.

yep - the closer you are to goal, the harder it gets. I used to roll my eyes at these never-been-obese women who would b*tch and scream about losing five lbs or ten lbs. Now I totally get it! It is a BEAR!

Mine lasted two weeks, but a friend of mine (another RNY patient) had her first stall last three weeks - so it's not unheard of. Just stick to your plan and stay off the scale if you need to, and it WILL break - it always does!

I know this isn't helpful, but post-op eating plans can vary quite a bit. Some surgeons want their patients to follow an ultra-low carb diet, others a moderately low-carb diet, and still others really don't talk about carbs at all. My clinic was into balanced diets, so they never addressed carbs. Although given the high protein requirements (and that seems to be universal - at least 60 grams), and the fact my stomach couldn't hold much food the first few months, it was very rare that I went over 80 grams of carbs that first year.

she's only three weeks out - it's the infamous three-week stall. Pretty much everyone has that. Best thing to do is just stay the course - and stay off the scale 🙂

just stick to your plan and stay off your scale. Your weight loss WILL start up again. Trust me. No need to do anything with your calories. I would answer this differently if you were several months out and had stalled for more than a month, but with you being less than a month out, no. This early stall happens to everyone, and it typically lasts 1-3 weeks. Just stay the course and follow your surgeon's plan. you're in a different position than the original poster since you're 10 months out. Six weeks is a bit long for a stall - you may be in maintenance. Are you still tracking all your food? I would think you'd still be losing at 750-900 calories. I guess it COULD be a really long stall = in which case, it might be worth it to switch things up like the others have said - but if you're not still weighing/measuring and tracking your food, I'd start with that..

there can be a lot of variation even with the same insurance company. If it's through your employer, they can contract with the insurance company to include some services and exclude others - or do partial payment for some procedures and full payment for others. The best way to find out what exactly your policy covers is to give them a call..

it's a minor complication, and easily fixable. You'll feel differently after it's been "fixed".