Sunnyway

It’s okay to have some concerns. It’s a surgery you’ve never experienced before. You have nothing to compare it or life post surgery with. The reality is the complications are pretty low especially compared with other surgeries or just from being obese. Many are minor & are related to how you individually react & heal & they pass in time or are easily remedied.
Yep, the Hair loss can be a bit scary but it’s a short term side effect: 3-4 months usually. While your natural hair loss cycle is temporarily accelerated your natural new growth cycle remain unchanged. So while you’re losing more you’re still growing new hair - it just takes a couple of months for the new growth to get to a length you can notice it (likely as fluffy bits). I mean you don’t usually notice your new hair growing in but it is all the time. No one noticed my hair loss other than my hairdresser & my mum but she was looking for it. I’d so much rather temporarily lose some hair then still be obese - small price to pay really. Much like ending up with loose skin - loose skin wins over obesity every time.
All the best & I hope you get your official approval soon.

*raises hand*
I cancelled. Twice.
I was approved in March 2017, and backed out TWICE out of fear and/or laziness until I finally just said eff it, I'm doing it, and had it done in Oct 2018. I was 46.
Looking back i wish I just got it done the first time as I would have had had over a full extra year of being "normal" sized. In fact, I wish I had it done when I qualified for it back around 2012, when I reached the morbid obesity range.
Better late than never, I say.
Yes, I did lose quite a bit of hair, but its all back now (plus some!) at 3 years out. Would I go through those few months of thin hair again to look as fab as I do now? H*lls, YEAH. Temporary thinning hair was an infinitesimally small, tiny, minuscule, insignificant price to pay.
Yes, I was scared. I remember starting to tear up when they put the anaesthesia mask on me. I also remember thinking to myself, "YESSSSS! I'm alive!!!" when I woke up in the recovery room.
The way I see it, I just wasn't ready until I was ready. And when I finally was, it was all downhill from there.
So no, I do not regret it one iota.
You will find a few folks on here who DO regret it, but really, their experiences (nor mine, for that matter) will not give you any indication of how YOU will fare.
You won't know until you know.
Good Luck! ❤️

1 year post op - ZERO regrets. Hair loss - From about month 3-4 until about 7-8 for me. At around 8-9 months it all started growing back and you would never know it was thinned out some. On the plus side, it dried a HECK of a lot faster than it does now.

4 years post VSG. No regrets. I was 310 lbs at 22 years old. I'm now ~230 lbs but at one point I was down to ~198 lbs. I didn't have any Hair loss, but I have very thick hair anyway. I have PCOS so my hormones are messed up anyway too so I was on birth control for the extra estrogen, this could have helped prevent hair loss. My mom had the surgery (same doctor and procedure) at 51 about a year before I did. She has naturally thin hair and was post-menopausal. She didn't lose hair either. It really is just chance and your hormones (particularly cortisol and estrogen/testosterone ratios). You can talk to your doctor about your medical options to help lessen hair loss. But if you do have hair loss, I think you should just embrace it! It will only last a couple of months (usually) and then it will start growing back. But this could be your opportunity to do something to your hair that you've never done before, cut it super short, dye it as close to your skin color as possible can sometimes disguise hair loss, add hair accessories, etc.
Neither of us had complications, she even had a hernia fixed for free at the same time! I was up and walking around within hours of waking up. My mom was walking laps the next day (she isn't that great with anesthesia).
If I hadn't gotten the surgery I have no doubt I would have been recruited for "My 600 lb life" by now.

zero regrets. I'd do it again in a heart beat, and I should have done it years ago. I sat on the decision for ten years, for the same reasons you are, but I'm so glad I finally decided to go through with it.
It's very common for pre-ops and early post-ops to be terrified about Hair loss, but most people who are a ways out will tell you that in the grand scheme of things, the hair loss phase was more-or-less just a temporary annoyance. Losing the excess weight FAR outweighs the temporary hair loss. Besides, for many of us, the hair loss isn't enough for others to notice (although WE notice it!). I really didn't lose all that much hair - so I know no one else noticed it.
major complications aren't that common. Some of us have no complications at all - and for those who have them, most are minor. You're much more likely to develop complications from being obese than you are from weight loss surgery.

My advice is. DO IT. DO IT. DO IT! I would do it over again in a heartbeat. I am happier than I have been in many many years.

I'm about a week away from surgery and I know these feelings are real!
But I'm here to say I got past that. I got past that by looking at this site and at the people who've changed their whole lives. I got past that by looking at the things I want to be able to do (I have a whole list, written in purple dry-erase on the whiteboard next to my desk in my home office). And by talking to a friend who went through it.
It's normal to have the freak-outs. "Will I ever be able to eat like a normal human?" (yes, but not in the quantities you used to) "Will it work for me?" (yes, if you put in the work to use this tool) "Will I wake up a hideous half-dragon creature with a blue tongue and scales? " (almost certainly not)

I'm 47 and had my surgery in March, and while the Hair loss is real along with the loose skin, I would absolutely do it again. I actually started losing in October so I've lost a total of 115 - 70 of that since surgery - and while I have a few seconds of - oh look at that - or well, there's more hair, honestly, fitting into my oldest daughter's clothes takes that right away. I am no longer diabetic. This summer, I got to ride roller coasters and kept up with my family on vacation.
Nerves are real. I had them. I think almost everyone does. But I would do it again, and I had a freak reaction to a shot that shouldn't have been a problem that needed 4 extra days in the hospital and a second surgery - and I would STILL do it again. Everyone is different though, and you have to do what's best for YOU.

I wouldn’t ask for input from only people who had regrets and/or canceled, because… well that’s all you’re going to hear about and you’ll definitely not go through with it (which is fine, it’s your choice of course).
I’d ask “can everyone here who is at least a year post op give me a “would do it again” or “would not do it again” please”
This forum is a great place. It really is. There are tons of helpful people, funny people, honest people. The downside to a forum like this is it’s much more common for someone who is having a problem to post a question looking for help or advice or just to vent. It vastly skews the perception of the number and severity of problems. The reality is for most people surgery works and works well at achieving sustained weight loss. Very few people statistically have what I would call a major complication. When compared to the statistics of complications (or co-morbidities) of being obese, it’s not even a fair contest.
You are not alone in having worries and doubts though, not by a long shot. I had them too, many of us did. But I didn’t cancel and I most definitely do NOT regret having surgery. It was probably the best true free will choice I’ve ever made in my life… no, it definitely was. Being a guy who doesn’t care about his hair, I can’t share my advice about Hair loss. It’s a thing that can happen. It didn’t happen to me, but again I wouldn’t have cared if I lost all my hair, I’d have done this again without a second thought. In fact, I would go so far as to say that… based on how GREAT I feel today, even if I had a major complication that required hospitalization post op, I would still go through with it knowing what I know now. I wish I did this years ago, but I didn’t. I feel like I lost some of the best years with myself, my kids, just in general…

The following is a cheeze-ball comment but it’s true….
This new me… this is the me that was hiding inside a fat suit almost all of my life… sad, pretty lonely, afraid to come out and just enjoy life like I am now. I wish I met him when I was younger. I wish I was strong enough to do this on my own at a much younger age, but in the end I don’t care how this new me got here… I’m here and I’m not going back inside that fat suit ever again. I am 46 and feel like I’m about to turn 27.
I wish you the best, no matter what you decide. But don’t only look for the negatives, because that’s what you’ll find. There’s a lot of us “hell yah I’d do this again!!” people out there, we’re just quiet about it in general compared to the people who do really need help getting through a tough spot.

I also take Magnesium daily and Lunesta at bed time. I also take my hypertension drug, Losartan, at bedtime. I use a CPAP with a pressure of 13.
I have a script for Trazadone also. I only take the Trazadone if I have not fallen asleep within 90 minutes of taking the Lunesta, perhaps twice a month. Before I started drinking 64 oz of Water daily, I didn't wake up to pee. Now I wake at 3 a.m., 5 a.m. but immediately go back to sleep. As long as I can fall asleep again I don't mind early waking.

Hi there,
I just started my bariatric journey and am awaiting my one-on-one appointment with my surgeon.
My basic healthy history is High Blood Pressure, NAFLD, PCOS, sleep Apnea, Anxiety/Depression. I had my gallbladder removed 5 years ago, just had my colonoscopy and was just diagnosed with Type II Diabetes (A1C was 7.8).
The 2 options for surgery are either gastric sleeve or RNY. According to all the charts, etc., looks like RNY may be best but of course it's more invasive. My surgeon only does RNYs laparoscopically, not open.
Not sure what the final outcome will be but...would like anyone's 2 cents about which surgery they chose if they have a similar medical profile.
I just changed my diet - and rather drastically - because of the diabetes. As low carb as possible, lots of Water, veggies, etc.
I'm hoping to bring my weight down as much as I can before surgery and then of course, there's the liquid diet yet to come....
My largest concerns are my liver - I've been taking Organic Milk Thistle for quite a while, not sure it helped much according to recent bloodwork - guessing my diet is what's going to help? I've also had a liver biopsy when I had the gallbladder removal. Second concern is getting that A1C down. Diabetes came as a surprise as my A1C had been in the 5 range for the longest time. Of course, I gained weight over COVID...and have been stressed, you name it. Going through perimenopause, etc.
Any advice, I'm all ears! Thanks!

Hello All,
Please look at the flyers attached. Frederica is looking for people who are dealing with excess skin from weight loss, specifically women. She intends to gather feedback and information on the experiences women deal with. The goal is the develop well suited undergarments intended to address the needs and wants of women who live with excess skin .If you are interested, feel free to reach out. I am 8 months post op from a gastric sleeve. So far, I am 77lbs down. I have noticed loose skin around my thighs and arms. The skin around my chest is also starting to look saggy. Even though the flyer says 100+ weight loss, any female experiencing noticeable loose skin can reach out. Thank you!

I had surgery on Monday 8/30. Since then I have had 1 of my 6 incision site continuously been extremely painful. It's the only site that's bruised, steri-strip is bloody and it hurts soooo much. When ever I move or have to engage that part of my core (sitting up, going to the bathroom, laying in bed, even just standing up) it hurts. It's like a burning, sharp ripping feeling and it legit makes me see stars and lose my breath. I called and sent a photo to my doctor and they said it was normal. They gave me a stronger pain medication but it only makes me high and doesn't tough the pain when I move. Could they have stitched me up a little off? Anyone else experience this? I need it to be tolerable by Monday so I can go to my work office for 1 hour. I feel alone and absolutely hate doing anything right now because of this.
Sent from my SM-G981U using BariatricPal mobile app

I'd find a new doctor. No one should have to put up with this BS.

Yah that’s garbage (the doctor’s behavior not your note, the note is well deserved). I’d have him put all that in writing and forward that to your governing medical board for review. At the very least if he has a pattern of this kind of behavior your report will help others who have reported similar.

I have a whole coterie of doctors at this point, as I'm sure many of us do, to fix the various systems.

One of them makes me take my shoes and socks off at every appointment so he can poke my feet to see if I can feel the poke. It drives me insane. He insists I must be at least pre-diabetic because I'm so fat, and assumes that I've just gone off and "put a bandaid on my poor diet" for a while to pass his blood glucose screenings. He also insists I tell my primary care physician that I need to be on statins (presumably also because I'm fat). When I point out my cholesterol is just fine, he comes up with some "new fact" or other; the latest was there is something wrong with the SHAPE of my fat cells or some such b0ll0cks.

Well... as part of my pre-op testing, the surgeon pulled my lipids and blood glucose. Lipids were in the bottom half of the normal range (142 total, HDL 53, LDL 67, triglycerides 94, so right exactly where they needed to be), and my A1c is 5.2.

I printed a copy of the results from MyChart and mailed them to the offending MD with a polite but passive-aggressive note. Childish? Perhaps. But cathartic. I cannot wait until they can't use my weight as an excuse for being trash people.

When I was younger, I could eat anything and never gain weight. I haven't always been big. I tried all ways to lose weight. 5 years ago, I watched what I ate and exercised. I got down to 310. I was on what some people would call the " broke" diet. I lost a lot of weight because I wasn't eating right. As soon as I got a better job, I started eating more, not better. I gained 90 pounds. Then the pandemic happened and I was sent home to work. I gained 60 pounds in a year and couldn't lose it.
Every doctor I ever had told me I couldn't get the surgery, due to health reasons. Finally I get a PCP this year that suggested it to me. That was in April 2021. I got a referral in a week, went to a seminar and scheduled my first surgeon appointment in May 2021. I fully expected to be told no but the surgeon said I was a good candidate and started the ball rolling.
I have great insurance and didn't need a lot of requirements. Just proof I tried to lose weight supervised, which I had been seeing a nutritionist. Upper endoscopy, psych eval, dietitian appointment, and blood work. I had all that done by July 2021 and got scheduled for surgery August 25, 2021.
I am less then 2 weeks post op and already feel better. More energy, not thinking about food all the time, saving money from not eating out.
My stats are 40 F, 5'10", HW 463 SW 430 CW 410 GW 200
Sent from my SM-G991U using BariatricPal mobile app

Oddly enough I also never lie to strangers or casual acquaintances. It feels very low risk for me.

However the people I interact with often or know well is another story. I’ve learned to read the room.
If someone earnestly/ privately asks I usually just tell them. They are also so happy to see someone in person that is happy with the their results and doing well/not struggling.
But I’ve also had experiences where people very publicly/ loudly (nearly shouting across a room) ask how I lost weight. These interactions feel disingenuous and shaming so I don’t take them seriously. I usually tell these people the most complex set of layered diets and activities (Keto, fasting, glucose monitoring, cheat days, mercury retrograde, belly dancing, etc.) in great detail until they are satisfied. Those people can speculate but will never get the (whole) truth from me.
BTW Congratulations on your success!

First…. I 100% support YOUR decision to tell people about your surgery or not. I am in no way saying you should or should not….
I recently went on a trip and on this trip I had to show my old ID a few times. When I applied to TSA PreCheck I got a triple take when they looked at my passport photo vs the new me… so I explained… then on the trip I just decided to preemptively say “yeah I’ve lost a lot of weight since then” when they looked at my ID. Twice I had the person (quietly) ask “mind if I ask how? It’s none of my business I’m just wondering.” Both times I told them the truth, both times they said they’ve been thinking about it. Both times they smiled when I told them how stupidly amazing I feel and how I wish I had done this sooner. Both times we held up the line entirely too long while they and I both opened up about our weight issues and weight wishes. They were great moments and they wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t open up to them.
My wife does not want me to share my story with her side of the family and I’ve respected her wishes in that regard. I don’t personally care if they know but she has her reasons and that’s good enough for me. I totally understand that someone you know and will see repeatedly is an entirely different story….
But a stranger I’ll never see again? Someone who is like I was and clearly is looking for help? I’ll never lie to them. They deserve to know that traditional diets are damn hard if not impossible for most of us. I feel like it would make them feel worse about their own diet failures and their self esteem if I lied about how I did what I did. I’ll share my story with anyone going forward with joy, because I’m so happy about it and I want them to feel this way too. I gave both of those people info on this forum and my username. If you’re here reading this now, welcome. I’m glad you made the effort. Please don’t feel the need to introduce yourself just yet. Read, absorb, self reflect. But welcome nonetheless. I’m happy that you’re here.

Hi KittyHawk,
I can honestly say everyone is different. I know most will say 20 pounds is the standard number for losing after revision but there are cases where you can lose more. My original sleeve surgery needed to be revised for a couple of reasons and I regained about 30 pounds of the 60 I had lost. I went into the RNY revision weighing 181 pounds after losing around 9 or so during pre-op. I had the revision in February and I now weigh 143 pounds and the weight is still coming off. I also weigh 12 pounds less than what I was on the sleeve. It is definitely true about slower loss: I've stalled a couple times and this last one lasted almost 2 months. But it will come off. Good luck!

Hey Friends,
I saw a few posts about sleeve to RYGB but not as much discussion as I thought there’d be.
I’m having revision this month due to some weight regain (partly my fault and partly due to having a baby). In addition to the the regain I also have a twist in my stomach which is cutting off blood supply to that section of stomach (due to previous sleeve surgery) this has to be rectified. My surgeon says while weightloss is slower he believes I will loose more than my original sleeve surgery. Anyone that has been through this with good or bad results I would love to hear your story. I’m worried that I won’t have the weightloss I’m looking for within a reasonable timeframe.
Looking for support, thank you!

I think it's very introspective that you are asking yourself that question! I had a gastric bypass and I regained 55 pounds from the 100 I lost. I stopped my support group meetings, and stopped using many of the tools I learned before I had surgery. For me, stopping the carb intake is huge. Eating carbs I am constantly hungry. I went back to see the weight management people, I am seeing a dietician again, and I started Ozempic for appetite suppression as well as treatment for diabetes. Don't despair, you have sooo many options available to you. I think if you can get the carbs under control, you will see you still have the tool of the RNY available to you! You've just learned to eat around it.
Much luck to you!

I guess I will have to try something new now. I had my surgery Friday and they were unsuccessful doing the revision because of so much scar tissue from my perforated ulcer in 2012. He was able to repair my hiatal hernia but that’s all. Not sure how I’m feeling about it yet. I’m sure it will sink in sooner or later. Thanks for the reading references too.

Yes, makes perfect sense. When I do what I'm supposed to do I can take off weight fairly easily but not as easily with the band and I haven't been as motivated to keep it off. I had my band removed in 2018 and I am now 2 weeks post op VSG. I'm glad to hear that you have done the work and have a supportive circle. Now, it's up to us to commit, remain consistent and do what we know to do.

LisaMarrie, I appreciate your reply. Have you had your revision surgery yet? I am taking all your words in and have been thinking about this all morning. I have had mental health therapy along with my eating disorder and have worked on a lot of this in the past. I just sometimes doubt myself. If I already know what to do, why do I ignore myself? I am super grateful I have a loving husband and a best friend that both support my decision. My family is on board too but it’s my own shame of having to do this again that is difficult. I guess that’s another subject I can touch on but after 17 years of living with bypass surgery, I almost have to starve myself to lose any weight at all. Is that ring true for you too? It’s so hard to lose weight now that my stomach is stretched and having to eat 800 to 900 calories to lose weight makes for a very cranky lady.

I just want to feel like this time it’s forever. I feel ready and want these thoughts I’m having are normal and others might have felt the same way. Make sense?