JuliusJ

Each one of us attended a two year program where we lost weight if we could naturally, went to meetings, seminars, bariatric team discussions etc. We had exhaustive tests and each were either given the sleeve or bypass. My friend who had bypass was in a program that offered Excess skin removal after year one. They moved the goalposts to year two. Then they discontinued the excess skin removal agreement. She can only eat a few foods so lost all of her hair because she can't eat Proteins and has constant diarrhea. She is miserable.
All of us feel that during the two years, we were not given full and honest information regarding after effects. We weren't given any medication to prevent damage to our gallbladders nor were we warned they might have to be removed.
We weren't given information regarding food revulsion, inability to eat through the food stages, constant diarrhea, lactose intolerance etc.
We also were not told of the amount of people in our program who had complications after surgery, and we asked. My surgeon still says my surgery was "textbook" and declares his record as problem free despite my having severe complications and still being ill 8 weeks post op.
So we feel mislead. All three of us that had sleeves had severe post op complications. One had an abscess on her spleen and Fluid on her lungs and spent weeks in hospital on IV antibiotics. Her sleeve leaked and had to be re done. She is still really ill.
One of us was in intensive care for six weeks, had to have a tracheotomy and was on the critical list, he is still gravely ill.
I had a 6.6 cm abdominal abscess that nearly killed me, spent weeks in hospital, dropped over 60lbs in 4 weeks, which might have killed my gallbladder, was given a near fatal dose of Cyclizine which caused lingering stroke symptoms and I am still ill on fluids at 8 week post op and can't eat any Proteins, am now lactose intolerant, I will have my gallbladder out once the abscess clears, if I am brave enough. My wounds haven't healed yet from the sleeve op yet. I can't tolerate any Vitamins etc I am supposed to take. And the aftercare we receive has been awful and totally confusing.
We all also feel that we were not fully informed about eating after the sleeve. We were told that once we got through the stages, we would be eating normally, just small portions.
We weren't told how many of us die each year from malnutrition here in the UK.
On discharge, we were given a booklet regarding food stages and foods that might cause problems.
None of us would have had our surgeries if we had had this booklet before our sleeves.
So no, we can't get together as we are all at home, ill, mostly on antibiotics and other treatments, facing more serious ops and treatments, months after our sleeves. Most of us battling dehydration.
Another lady we know has lost over 120lbs in 8 weeks. She is still in hospital and they don't know what's wrong yet.
We feel that we have been made permanently disabled by this surgery and not given accurate information so that we could make informed decisions.
I researched this thoroughly and asked questions and was told not to worry, that they rarely had problems. They split the statistics up so that the complications are shown as ward aftercare etc.
Four out of four of us is not rare, but a 100% complication rate.
Yes, we will all have to accept our stupid decision. Our families will get over the trauma of us nearly dying from complications. I am in counselling via telephone.
We are all just hoping to be well enough to drive a car again, go to church again, eat enough food to live again. (I am still only getting 300 or so calories but I am up from 100 calories a day for six weeks).
I am not "fighting" this sleeve. I am learning to live with an elective disablement.
Maybe this is just the difference in healthcare between countries. None of us were above 250lbs, all of us could walk normally, only one of us had diabetes and still has it two years post op after all the weight was lost.
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I had heard you only need a week off of work but I don't know if this includes heavy lifting jobs. It probably requires several weeks off. I have a job where I work in the field traveling to people's home and in the office at my computer. I don't really do heavy lifting but a lot of driving and stressful situations. I think I am going to take two weeks off when I have the surgery.

Thank you all for your replies. I read them all and most were very helpful. The consensus was that I should go talk to a therapist and nutritionist. Well I did see a therapist to get clearance and she gave me clearance but it was brief and I didn't tell her everything. I also saw a nutritionist who lectured me about my eating habits (rightfully so) and told me I have to do something because in 5 years I will have diabetes. I see the nutritionist once a month for 6 months before they will do the surgery. Yeah I need to go to ongoing therapy but I have to find the right one for me which I think will be a challenge. I have other issues besides being overweight that I know I need help with. I kind of thought getting thin would build my confidence and help me with some of those other issues I have. I don't really have a support network at home so I don't know if I can do this without having that. I have to decide if I can work on issues with a therapist concurrently while I get the surgery OR wait a year or two go to therapy and figure some things out. I am leaning towards the latter. My family isn't really supportive of this decision and both my brothers tell me "Why don't you just exercise?" I don't think I've given that option enough merit to be honest. When you get to be nearly 300 pounds, exercise can hurt! However, all my doctors feel I should have the surgery based on my health issues and my obesity. I just don't want to regret it afterwards and I don't want to play the lotto with my health - both mental and physical.
I have a lot to think about and I will certainly make a decision one way or another by default but this much is certain....something has to change. Thank you again. I will be sure to let you guys know what I end up doing. I'd love to continue to hear from people who've had the surgery and if you have any regrets however small. I want to hear what is good about the surgery and not so good. I want to know if there were others who enjoy "bad" food as much as I do and how they were able to kick the habit. Is it possible to still eat some of those foods but just a bite or two? I could tolerate that. I will keep checking this board for answers to those questions. I know everyone will say you shouldn't be eating those foods anyway. Well, then why don't I just start eating the right foods NOW and exercising daily without the surgery? I think that's my path for now until I am convinced surgery is the only way.
Thanks again!

When you have gastric sleeve surgery your whole outlook on food changes. My surgery was April 26th so I am only two months into this but once you get past healing from the surgery, it's not hard. I am a foodie, love to cook, love to shop for groceries, and watch cooking shows non-stop. Now I can still cook and do all the other things, I just can't eat very much. The focus has to be on Protein, Protein, protein. I have just started eating vegetables and can't eat very much of them. My nutritionist said to eat your protein first, 1-1/2 oz for now, then if you still have room you can eat vegetables. No carbohydrates, no sugar. It's really not difficult when you follow the instructions. I get full very fast and I am learning to eat very slowly to avoid indigestion. As to being hungry, no I don't really get hungry. I have to be sure to get 90 grams of protein every day and I keep a food diary to keep track of what I am eating. It's hard to eat 90 grams of protein - you have to drink Protein shakes to be able to make the goal. So far I am doing very well and have lost close to 50 lbs.
It's not that you won't ever be able to eat the foods you like. Instead you won't be able to eat them until you lose the weight and then you will only eat a taste of those foods. If you want to keep the weight off, you will avoid carbs and sweets. Drinking the Protein Shakes helps with craving something sweet - or chocolate. It is indeed a complete life change but it's a change for the better. I no longer have diabetes, no more high blood pressure, no more swelling in my legs and feet, and my knees don't hurt nearly as much as they did before. It's pretty nice to be able to buy some new clothes because nothing fits as the weight comes off.
Keep coming back to this forum for support. There are lots of good people here who have been through what you are going through. You can do this!

You can eat some things if you're feeling super dizzy and hungry but I don't think bacon was a wise choice this early. But previous posters, you're being a lil' harsh. You appear to miss where OP said they were dizzy and felt malnourished.
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