catwoman7

I stayed overnight in the hospital (like most of us). I didn't have any issues, but I'm glad I was there being monitored just in case I did. When I had plastic surgery, part of the reason I chose the surgeon that I did is that he required an overnight stay in the hospital. I felt safer being there and being monitored just in case something came up (nothing did - but I'm still glad I was in the hospital for a night *just in case*)

Dental issues due to WLS aren't unheard of, but based on the number of posts I've seen about it during the eight years I've been on this and other boards (i.e., hardly any) it seems like it's pretty uncommon. I talked to my dentist about it before I had RNY because I was really freaked out about it. He said he'd read about it in the professional literature, but he's never actually seen it in his patients who've had WLS. He said it's most likely due to acid - from either vomiting or GERD (or silent GERD - when people don't realize they have GERD). He had me start using a prescription high fluoride toothpaste before going to bed, and his hygienist puts a fluoride varnish on my teeth every six months. He said both would go a long way toward preventing any issues. To be honest, I think he probably did that to placate me because I was so freaked out, but that's fine - I'd just as soon do whatever I can to protect my teeth, especially now that I'm in my 60s when even non-WLS people start having issues. anyway, sorry this is happening to you. P.S. dry mouth can also cause dental problems because bacteria is more likely to grow in that environment. Could that be a culprit? (there are a lot of meds that can cause dry mouth)

I haven't heard of them, but I just googled them and also checked realself. Not much on Dr. Pablo Fok Russell. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean anything negative - but...there's just not much on him. Tons of comments/reviews on Dr. Mayortena. They look pretty good to me!

I had "buyer's remorse" the first couple of weeks. It's common - and people usually get over that pretty quickly. a lot of women notice crazy hormones the first few weeks or months of surgery (weird menstrual cycles and emotions all over the place). It's because estrogen is stored in fat cells, and it's released during rapid weight loss. It'll stabilize once your weight loss slows down.

mortality rate on gastric bypass is 0.3%, and it's even lower on sleeve (can't remember the percentage on sleeve other than it's lower). That means you have at least a 99.7% chance of making it through just fine. Those are better odds than hip replacement surgeries. major complications are pretty rare. The most common complication with bypass is a stricture (also known as a stenosis), which happens to about 5% of bypass patients. That's a very minor issue and is easily "fixable". I had two of them - one at four weeks out and the second at eight weeks out. They just do an upper endoscopy and stretch it out. Easy peasy. You're right in that complications, if you do have them, will usually crop up during the first three months after surgery (strictures do - they're extremely rare after that), but that doesn't mean you're at any great risk. It just means they usually show up early, if they show up at all. Lots of people on here have never had any complications at all. And again, the vast majority are minor and can be fixed. After the first three months, you're pretty much home free (that's not to say that complications will never show up after the first three months, but they're very rare after that). quit reading the horror stories. I read those too and they scared the crap out of me, so I made myself quit reading them. I've been on this board for eight years, and most of us have no complications at all or very minor ones that can be fixed. you are at much greater risk by staying obese than you are having the surgery.

the first BM often takes up to a week. First of all, there's not much in there - second, the anesthesia can affect that. And just a warning - the first one can be a doozy. You might want to start taking stool softeners or Miralax to make the "passage" a little easier... and just so you know, you may have issues even after this. Chronic constipation is a common issue for us (not everyone deals with it, but a lot of us do). I've been taking a capful of Miralax every morning for at least seven years just to keep on top of it.

I'd check to see if they can put you on something else. There's so many birth control med options that I'm sure there are some that don't have those effects. I was on one once that made me really depressed - and I'm not a depressive person. My PCP put me on a different pill, and the depression lifted after about a week.

that's a distal bypass. It's not very common, but yes, I've heard of it.

oh - not that this affects you, but to someone else who might wonder - I forgot to include family practice physicians. They're also considered PCPs.

yep. Normal. You just went through major surgery. It took about two months before I felt completely back to normal, but you get better and better every day. The first couple weeks are the hardest. BUT....they'll soon be over!

OB/GYNs, internal medicine people, and pediatricians are all considered PCPs. So yes - a letter from an OB/GYN should work. Although if you want to be absolutely sure, check with your insurance company or the bariatric clinic (whichever one keeps bringing it up in their literature)

dizziness can also be related to low blood pressure. It's not uncommon after bariatric surgery, and it's usually temporary. Just transition slowly when you're going from sitting or lying to standing up.

I was reading those stories in the days before my surgery and had to make myself stop. I knew that those kinds of stories are very rare, but still, they scared the crap out of me. the people above are correct in that people are a lot more likely to post when they have issues or questions or concerns. They're looking for advice and support. People usually don't post to say that everything is great (I know some do - but it's way more likely they'll post when they're having issues). Most of us don't have complications, and of those who do, they're almost always minor things that are treatable to "fixable". I had strictures at weeks 4 and 8. They're the most common complication in bypass patients (they can happen to sleevers, too, but they're pretty rare with sleeve). But about 5% of bypass patients get them. I would hardly call something that only 5% of people get "common", but there you go. (strictures can happen within the first three months post-op - they're very rare after that. And they're a super easy fix. They just do an upper endoscopy and use a tool to stretch it out. You feel 100% better afterward). yes I am so happy I had my surgery and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. If I had to go back every year and do it again, I would. Honestly, it was one of the best decisions I"ve ever made - if not THE best. It's changed my life! another thing to consider - you are at much greater risk staying obese than you are having the surgery. These surgeries at one time were very risky and some people died from them. But that was 30+ years ago and they've come a LONG way since then. They've become very routine surgeries, and they're quite safe these days. There's a 0.3% mortality rate for bypass, and less than that for a sleeve (I can't remember the rate on the sleeve, other than it's lower than bypass). That means you have at least a 99.7% chance of making it through just fine. And you will. That rate is actually even better than the rate for hip replacement surgeries, and they do those all the time.

I had to look that up. It's the same thing as Barrett's esophagus. It doesn't always evolve into cancer, but there's a risk. I'm a little surprised she's going to proceed with the sleeve and not do the bypass instead - but she's a doctor, I'm not. And she's seen your stomach - I haven't.

they happen to most of us. The first major one usually hits sometime during the first month post-op. We call it the "three week stall" because it's most often the third week, but not always. mine was weeks 2 & 3. they typically last 1-3 weeks, but I've heard of them lasting longer (although USUALLY 1-3 weeks), Just stick to your program and stay off the scale for a few days - and know that it WILL break.

I kept losing for almost two years. It slows down the further out you go, but my weight loss didn't stop until I was 20 months out. I think I'd lost about 80 lbs before people started to notice.

I just checked my spreadsheet. I'd lost 57 lbs by that point, and I started out at 373 lbs. honestly, people's rate of weight loss is such an individual thing that it's kind of pointless to compare yourself to someone else. There are so many factors that influence your rate of weight loss, and most of them you have little to no control over - like age, gender, starting BMI, genetics, the percentage of muscle you have, whether or not you lost a lot of weight before surgery, etc. The only two factors you really have a lot of control over is how closely you stick to your program, and your activity level. If you do well with both of those, you're golden. The weight WILL come off if you stay compliant, whether fast or slow. I was a below average loser from the get-go, and I ended up losing over 200 lbs , 100% of my excess weight. In the end, your success (or not) is due to how well you stick to your plan, not how quickly you lose. P.S. if your expectations come from shows like "My 600 lb Life", then remember that those people start out at 800+ lbs (I don't think I've ever seen a contestant weighing 600 - it's almost always higher than that). AND...starting BMI is big factor in how fast you'll lose the weight. So unless you're of similar size, I wouldn't worry about "only" losing 52 lbs so far. That's a respectable loss for us "normal" WLS patients.

P.S. it may not be "normal" for people to gain 30+ lbs after quitting smoking, but we're not really normal. I think most of us are more prone than most people to gain weight. If I know that some drug is likely to make me gain weight, and the average is 5 lbs, I can pretty much guarantee that I'll gain at least 10.

I definitely eat faster than I did the first few months out - not sure if it's as fast as I did pre-surgery, though. And although I chew more than I did pre-surgery, I often forget about the "20 times" rule (you really are supposed to chew things pretty thoroughly, though, because our stomachs don't churn nearly as much as they used to - so some of the "churning" needs to take place before the food even hits your stomach - thus...chewing thoroughly) if I do a really bad job of chewing, my stomach will usually let me know. It'll either be really uncomfortable, or it'll come back up.

lol - yes, you're correct - I cut & pasted the name from an article a quickly googled because I couldn't remember the medical term off the top of my head. I thought that looked weird!

it's been over 20 years since I quit, but yes - I think I gained around 30 lbs.

I'm 7.5 years out and according to my clinic, I'm still supposed to wait at least 30 minutes after eating to drink (and I do...). I'd say for most clinics, that rule is for life. I don't dump, but dumping occurs once your food goes into your small intestine - so yes, that would probably take about 30 minutes, give or take... Some people call any kind of vomiting after eating something "dumping", but that's not true dumping. Dumping is when your small intestine goes into overdrive trying to deal with the all the sugar or fat you managed to consume in one sitting. Sweating or chills, dizziness, heart palpitations, cramps, and diarrhea are all common reactions. Nausea can be as well, but not as common.

wow - that's the first time I've heard this. Hmmm. Not sure what to make of it. Well, I guess they have their reasons..

we were told to take calcium citrate. I don't know how well AlgaeCal is absorbed by us - you might want to ask your clinic.

yes - hunger comes back for almost all of us sometime during the first year. Mine came roaring back at five months out. I know it sounds weird, but enjoy it while it lasts. Although I was weirded out by it at first, I soon found it very liberating to never be hungry. By the end I wish it had never ended - it was so much easier to lose weight when I was never hungry and didn't give a flip about food! p.s. are you still supposed to drink protein shakes? The RD at my clinic said we could give them up once we were able to get all of our protein requirements in from food.