catwoman7

I totally understand. I'm always worrying about gaining weight - and I always think I look "fat". I sometimes see pictures of myself taken several months ago - or maybe a year ago - and think "wow - I looked pretty good at that weight - I should try to get back to that again" only to check my records and see that I weighed exactly the same as I do now - or maybe only 2 or 3 lbs more. ARRRRGGGH. It's the body dysmorphia - and it's not uncommon. Yes - I do think therapy might help.

it's not that uncommon the first few weeks after surgery when you're healing and your stomach is pretty sensitive. You'll learn through trial & error that there are some things it won't tolerate - but in most cases, it'll eventually tolerate those things again - it's just the initial sensitivity. but beyond that, no - throwing up a lot is pretty unusual. I probably throw up maybe three or four times a year - really not that much more often than I did pre-surgery. And mine is usually due to the fact I overate. So...you learn... also, like someone else said, throwing up after surgery is different than before. First of all, your stomach is so small that there's not much in there to throw up - and also, there's not nearly as much acid in there, so you don't get that awful taste in your mouth. Let's just say it's a lot less "unpleasant" now. I don't dread it as much as I used to. btw - almost seven years out here - and after the first month or so, I rarely throw up.

Yep - I've taken a capful of Miralax every morning for the last six or so years. It usually does the trick - although still maybe once a month or so I'll get backed up - but a night or two of milk of magnesia will usually fix that. My doctor said daily Miralax is fine, but check with yours just in case.

nope. Your stomach will let you know if you're overdoing it.

I'm not a revision patient - I had a "virgin" bypass - but I didn't feel restriction until I started eating solid food. That's not at all uncommon. So there's definitely a chance you might start feeling it soon...

it's common to lose your sense of hunger after surgery - but it usually comes back sometime within the first year. Mine came back at five months out. I didn't necessarily struggle to eat, but I had zero interest in food and had to REMIND myself to eat. Honestly, I wish my hunger had never come back. It was so much easier to lose weight when I didn't give a flip about food! But if yours is causing pain or something, I'd let your clinic know - could be something else going on. Or if not, it'll just give you peace of mind.

They lengthen the part of the intestine that was bypassed, so you don't absorb as much. This isn't a common "thing", but I've heard of a couple of other people having this done.

^^^^ agreed. That's what I've always heard as well

trial and error. You'll know when something doesn't agree with you. You'll most likely be heading for the bathroom.... Fortunately, you'll figure it out pretty quickly, so these kinds of incidents are usually only common during the early weeks....

It's a short surgery, so most of us don't have catheters. I didn't have one. I did have one when I had plastic surgery (which was a much longer surgery), but they don't place those until you're under. You likely won't even have one with this surgery, though. also, being chronically ill after bypass is extremely rare. and pain - although some people deal with pain, the vast majority of us have little to no pain with these surgeries. Even if you do, they'll send you home with pain meds. I never took any of mine (no pain here), but if you do, just keep on top of the meds and it should really keep it manageable. Should only last the first two or three days tops. But again, most of us have little to no pain with these surgeries. just try to relax. I'm sure everything will go fine. I'm almost seven years out and would do this again in a heartbeat. Should have done it years ago.

I don't want to tell you what to do, but if you're afraid of reflux, I'd strongly consider the RNY.

I had surgery after I'd already gone through menopause, so I have no experience with this - or at least post-surgical experience, but I'd be careful with things like implants and Depo-Provera (the shot). Both are notorious for weight gain. I don't know if that's true after surgery, too, but...

RNY here - but I agree about the scars. I can't even see mine anymore. Maybe if I used a magnifying glass I could, but...

my clinic had us take them for a year (both the RNY and VSG patients), but that was seven years ago, before the not-so-great news came out about PPIs. I think most surgeons (including my clinic) have people on them for 3-6 months now. You're much more likely to develop post-surgery GERD with VSG than you are RNY. About 30% of VSG patients have GERD issues after surgery (some of whom never had it before surgery), whereas RNY often improves if not outright cures GERD. That's the main reason that patients who had reflux issues prior to surgery are often told to consider RNY. I had some reflux issues before surgery, so my surgeon suggested I at least *consider* RNY, although he said he'd do either surgery. Some people are willing to take the risk because 70% of people do NOT have reflux issues after VSG, but I wasn't willing to take the risk.

I stayed at home for three weeks but could have gone back to work after two. I felt fine and wouldn't have needed any accommodations.

you won't be eating 4 oz meals for the rest of your life - that's only early out. I had bypass (not sleeve, but it's the same for sleeve patients) and although I eat much less than I used to, I can go out to dinner and eat enough that no one would ever expect that I had bariatric surgery. I'll usually order an appetizer - or I'll order an entree and eat half of it, and take the rest home with me. Honestly, that's about as much as many of my never-been-obese women friends eat. As I said, no one would ever guess at this point that I've had surgery.

most surgeons quote you the average amount that most people lose. With bypass, the average loss is 70% of your excess weight. With sleeve, average loss is 65% of your excess weight. that being said, as with any average, that's all it is - an average. There are people who fall on either side of that average. We have people on here who have lost 100% of their excess weight, and others who have only lost 20 or 30 lbs. It comes down to how committed you are. I was very committed to my program - I almost never "cheated" until I hit maintenance - and I lost 100% of my excess weight. There are several others on here who have done the same. So it really depends on how committed you are and how hard you work at it. If you want to lose more than 60 lbs, you probably can.

when I woke up all I really felt was nauseated, so I let the nurses know and they put Zofran in my IV line. I don't remember being in any pain. Actually, I never felt any pain. I didn't want to use my morphine pump in the hospital because I really didn't hurt anywhere, but the nurses said I should anyway so it would be easier to get out of bed to walk (my abs were pretty sore - and were for a few days after I got home, too. I didn't hurt while I was lying down - or sitting up - or standing - but the transitions from one to other (e.g., lying down to sitting up) were hard on the abs. I felt like I'd done 1000 crunches). they sent me home with pain meds, but I never opened them. I never felt nauseated, either - that was just my first day in the hospital (and the Zofran helped a lot). As I said before, all I remember was sore abs that only bothered me while I was trying to transition. I can't remember if I had gas pains or not. I just remember the abs. I couldn't feel my stomach or intestines and still can't. I didn't feel any different than I did before surgery. In fact, at first I wondered if they'd even done the surgery!

it depends on the company. Some (actually, it seems like most) require you to have at least two co-morbidities if your BMI is under 40. They may have their own list of "accepted" co-morbidities - but things like diabetes, GERD, sleep apnea are pretty common.

I didn't bake for probably a year after surgery. My husband was on board because he really wanted to be as helpful as he could with helping me on my weight loss journey. If he wanted a baked good, he went out somewhere and bought it. I do bake sometimes now (I'm almost seven years out) - but I use artificial sweeteners, use Greek yogurt or unsweetened applesauce to replace the fat, and use something like bran to replace part of the flour. And I usually add unflavored or vanilla protein powder, too.

just so you know, a lot of people have trouble with chicken the first few months. It can be pretty dry. I agree with everything the other commenters said.

I didn't have sleeve, but this is true of either surgery - it's a real individual thing, and largely dependent on how committed you are to your program. You'll find people who are tremendously successful with both surgeries - and others who have failed both surgeries. And lots of people in the middle. statistically you'll lose a bit more with the bypass, but it's not really that significant of a difference. And SO MUCH depends on how committed you are. There are lots of people on here who've lost all or most of their excess weight with the sleeve, because they've followed their programs to a "T". It takes a lot of work -but if you're determined and willing to put the work in, you'll be successful regardless of surgery. P.S. that weight he gave you (230) is based on statistics. Statistically, that's where you're likely to end up. But with any statistic, you'll find people who fall on either side of that. Again, depending on how committed they are.

Honestly, they're both good surgeries, and you'll find people on here who have been extremely successful with both. If you have a medical condition that would make one or the other more appropriate for you, then listen to your surgeon. But if you don't, it really comes down to personal preference. I don't think you can go wrong with either choice.

surgical techniques have improved quite a but since 25 years ago, so I wouldn't have worried about blood transfusions. In fact, this is the first time I've ever read about someone needing those, and I've been hanging around this site for about seven years. Sorry she's going through this, though. I don't know if that was common back then, but it's definitely not now. But again, techniques are different now. Years ago some people used to get "candy cane syndrome", too, but you almost never hear about that anymore. They do the surgeries differently now.

you're not going to be eating enough in the early weeks to worry about calories. Your focus should just be on protein and fluids (esp fluids).