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Hi all! My name is Stephanie and I was sleeved on January 29th, 2014. Today I am 6 days post op and feeling ok. I only spent 2 days in the hospital and had no complications. Gas was my biggest problem and still is. Wish it would go away! My stomach is really messing with my head by gurgling and growling ALL DAY LONG. I feel hungry, so I eat. Most of the time eating makes me sick. No problems with Water or sugar free Powerade, etc., but I will crave something more substantial and be sorry I ate a creamy Soup. So back to water and then I get hungry again and it starts all over. I'm confused whether it's head hunger, why I feel hungry...all that. Energy level is ok and today I didn't have any pain. I walk a mile every morning. I'm having trouble getting Protein in because I am tired of Protein shakes. Getting used to a life that doesn't revolve around food is so hard!

Quick recap- I had the sleeve on 2/5/2014 and had tons of complications. I was in the hospital a lot, I had a PICC line and then a feeding tube. It was a rough 6 months. My stomach basically didn’t tolerate food or drink, so there was a lot of puking. Fast forward to needing a revision to bypass on 6/26/2018 due to severe reflux and damage. The surgery went great, I healed well, no nausea. I was rocking it. I am doing great on full liquids but am failing miserably on soft foods. I don’t know if it’s psychological or what. I can do one cheese stick a day if I chew very well. I am okay with yogurt, just small amounts. I get sick on refried beans, cottage cheese, eggs, etc. I just keep going back to full liquids. Anyone else? Any advice?

You hear a lot of stories of complications and terrible outcomes but it dawned on me that of course the most vocal people on forums will usually be people who have issues to discuss. People who have the surgery and have a really easy and smooth journey wont be online talking about it on a regular basis. So sure, there are horror stories but I believe they're rare

I can't begin to describe how blessed I have been this year. Before I was banded, I was lost. I would wake up most mornings and just say to myself "where do I even begin to dig myself out of this hole". Yes I was referring to the massive weight gain that I had in the past 2.5/3 years. I was falling into a depression but no one knew about it because I was putting up this front that I was the most confidence "fat chick", because I had to...it was my defense mechanism. May of 2009 rolls around and I am desperately searching on the internet for a surgeon to finance my surgery because I am a part time employee and full time student with no health insurance. That's a different story though! The angels sent to me Dr. Webber at Harper Hospital in Detroit MI. This was the start of a new life for me, it was the end of my sorrows, the beginning of a lifetime of happiness. I wasn't going to be overweight for all of my 20's, I will enjoy the last 5 years of my 20's shopping in the same stores as my girlfriends...going to a party and not cry because I have nothing to wear, attract guys with my real confidence and not just a pretty face. More importantly I was going to live to get married and have children w/o any complications. So this Thanksgiving I want to give the greatest Thanks to my Dr. Webber, who without him, I would still be lost and in the deepest hole that I wouldn't be able to get out of. I want to give thanks to him for convincing me to have the surgery and reassuring me that it was going to be OK when I was scared and crying the morning of surgery and about to change my mind. I want to give thanks to him for keeping me safe when my life was in his hands for the 2 hours of surgery. I want to give thanks to him for being the person that saved my mind, body and soul! So thank you Dr. Webber I love you! I was banded May 22nd 2009 and 6 months later I am down almost 70 lbs!! I am happier than ever, and I wish that everyone reading this is as happy as I am and has the greatest success as I have had so far. Goodluck to everyone....and God Bless!

My Dr. also uses a 40fr Bougie and I was worried also. However, after researching it, there is minimal difference between a 32 and a 40. My doctor explained that the smaller the bougie, the more chance of complications such as strictures so that is why he uses what he does. I spoke to many of his patients and they have no problems with weightloss at all! That made me feel much better. I searched here also and basically came up with the same info. Size is minimal! I am only 1 week out from surgery so I'll keep you updated on my personal weightloss with the 40 fr bougie.

I agree with the others. Gastric band aftercare is not always black and white. You'll want someone who is very knowledgeable on the ins and outs of fills, the variances of how different people's bodies react to the band, etc. There's a lot more to being a good band surgeon than the actual surgery. The long term care can be very variable, and you'll want someone who has first hand experience in dealing with patients after the surgery is completed. He could be the most competent surgeon in the world, but if he's not in practice with an experienced gastric band surgeon, you may be his first patient to experience a complication that he's not seen first hand. I wouldn't want to be that patient.

As far as I know I don't have Barrett's esophagus, at least the doctor has never indicated any need for biopsies. I also would prefer the sleeve but was told that is not really an alternative given the situation of the esophagus. I still seem to get food stuck in the pouch in the esophagus occasionally and have to vomit to get rid of it. At least I assume that is what I assume is happening. Good luck with your surgery. What differences between eating with the band and eating with bypass do you expect to deal with? What complications do you expect, i.e. dumping rather than vomiting?

Norton's say its because they want to make sure there are no complications before they send you home. I have never spent the night in a hospital, but oh well. Yeah those Atkins shakes save me tons of time because I am always running late for work in the morning! Lol

I had to go to a specialist for my reactive hypoglycemia. Nothing is working. I have tried it all so far and have passed out several times. Anyway. I went two days ago and I am not saying the guy was a jerk because he wasn't. He was very nice and said that he can help me....They are sending me to a dietitian that specializes in difficult situations like mine where nothing is working. He said I was a survivor not a success at WLS. He told me that I am going to be turned into someone that Bariatrics does not like and that is a grazer. I am going to eat every hour. All day long. And the food that I will be given will regulate my sugars. This is his plan..... Now back to my shock and hurt over his comment. I said what are you talking about...I am at goal, and thin....He said so what it is healthy we aim for not thin. Sounded right to me. But then I asked if he had ever been fat in his life and he said..NO..Well I said, You have not got one clue what it is like to be fat and what we go through....He said true but I recommend WLS to a lot of my patients because of Diabetes. I said almost before he finished...And then what!? they get the surgery and are left hanging with no support or help from the medical community. He asked me what I meant and I told him that for most of the complications I have had they have sent me right back to my original surgeon. And there were times when it was not necessary. He said. That's not fair. I said that didn't matter it is the way it is around my area. He said that the wait time is now 7 years here. I said well then a person who really needs it has 2 problems right. He looked at me...first they are in a place where you feel they need this surgery and then they can't get it because of the lists.....Why don't you just write a death certificate and get it over with. He told me to stop crying and put myself together. He asked me why I was so upset. I told him that losing my weight was me being a success story and he repeated again. No! I said I am alive and I was dead before just not in the ground. He said look at you...You are weak and sick and now I have to find out why this stuff keeps happening to you. You obviously have unresolved food issues. I said yes doesn't everyone. Doesn't every one go through periods in their lives where they eat to be happy. Look at the new WW commercial. He then asked me if I would like to see a shrink and I said NO..I have been to enough of them to know they know less them me.. ( sorry if any of you are shrinks, it is not personal ) So I left his office after 2 hours of questions and tears and a solution to my hypoglycemia problem...Soon... So I am still upset and I talk to someone I trust and still crying and in the conversation she says to me. I really don't understand why you even bother with Bariatric Pal. They have not helped you and the only thing you could say to anyone is maybe how to live through a botched surgery....Crushed I listened to the rest of the call without much commenting. This place has been a home for me for over 2 years......And then someone says that I have no right to be here. That I am not needed here. This has really sent me into a spin.... I am not looking for compliments. I want to know what you think about the situation. Am I unsuccessful or should I leave this site that has helped me so much? If there is nothing to offer others then my place here is for not!? Am I only a survivor of WLS? Are others going through similar things as I am? I feel so disheartened!

RJ - never doubt that you belong here. Things members say resonate with you. Things you say resonate with other members. You. Belong. Here. You are a complication survivor but that isn't all you are. You don't let it define you but you use it to support and educate others. Your voice is strong - not just the voice you use to communicate with us, but your inner voice too. When it is at odds with what others are saying, listen to it. ((Hugs to you))

Well RJ, I think you can garner from all the responses here the indication as to whether or not you should be posting on this site! Quite a testament to your value here. Your advice is always well thought out in your responses to others. We need to hear about all the different outcomes and complications of WLS, including the less desirable ones and how to persevere through them. There is so much to be said for the voice of experience. Yes, you are a successful survivor! You are invaluable.

@RJ'S/beginning First, you belong here on BP. You are a wonderful host, and you bring a different perspective. All that you have been through makes you uniquely qualified to discuss the painful complications you've had that others would benefit from hearing. If I were going through something like that, I would come to sites like this and look for someone like you, because I would want to know that there is hope. You offer that people. Second, you are a success, and no one can take that away from you, and most certainly not with words. One thing I've learned about the medical community, is that they tend to be single minded in approach, and their single mind is focused around their specialty. If you had back pain and you went to a surgeon, he'd want to operate. If you went to a pain specialist, he'd want to inject you. If you went to a psychiatrist, he'd want to treat you with imagery. If you went to a GP, he'd try to manage it with pain meds. If you went to a sports medicine, he'd try to treat you with physical therapy. All of that's a little simplistic, but you get the picture. I wonder if you aren't focusing too much on his words? Just because he is calling you a survivor, it doesn't take away the fact that you are also successful, does it? It's just semantics, and in truth, he's right. You've survived A LOT, and are still dealing with that outcome. And I think surviving all that you have speaks to your wonderful spirit! I think you should be proud that you survived AND succeeded! He's just simply looking at it from his perspective, and that is treating the reactive hypoglycemia. I do hope he can figure out how to make that happen soon, so you can feel better an move on with the wonderful life you have successfully created for yourself!

RJ I have posted directly to you on several occasions. I do that rarely with others. My comments are usually more general in nature. But your advice, responses, etc have always been so helpful to me, and always said with kindness. That is what I think of whenever I see your name in a post. I actually seek out your responses. I know they will be factual, and to the point, and NEVER in a condescending manner. I can only hope that you get as much advice, support and return kindness from the rest of us. Please stay the course. Someday you will turn the corner and the pestering complications will be behind you. You deserve good things. If I have learned anything from your posts it is to pay it forward and emulate what you do.... Provide responses that I hope will follow your example.......Being helpful with ultimate Kindness being priority one! Yup, just like you do!

I had a Breast Reduction and Brachioplasty on 22nd April. To be honest - Although I had NO pain from it (which surprised me) Had I had my legs done also - To be able to lift yourself up might make things complicated - I stupidly lifted a small bag of potatoes and felt a pulling sensation and had to go back to the Hosp to get checked out - And it was only a small bag! I would say to stick to one end of the body at a time - As eventhough it might save time under the knife - It might end up making you have to re-do some things if anything should happen and it is really easy to over-do things... My Dr also says that to do more than a couple of things would be overdoing it) I wanted a Tummy Tuck - Thighs and Bum done - and he told me that would be too much (he is probably very right) Good luck to those about to have something done :-)

I also was banded on the 4th with no complications. Staying within the program but I want to eat a cow ! :scared2: 3 shakes per day plus one mushie (i.e. cottage cheese, sugar free pudding, scrambled egg). How's the walking going ??????

I have no answers for you, only prayers. How long ago did your complications start? I haven't seen someone on this site yet who truly regretted it everyday.

Just wanted to thank you all for your kind words and advice. I wanted to post my appeal letter... I think it came out well. My goal was to appeal to their sensitivty... we'll see if that works : P Dear Sir or Madam; I recently received a denial of benefits for the proposed Laparascopy, a longitudinal gastrectomy (i.e. sleeve gastrectomy) based on the fact that I have not been at a BMI of 40 or higher for 5 consecutive years. I am appealing this decision and hope that based on the facts that I present in the following letter, that the decision will be overturned and I can be approved for surgery as soon as possible. I have attached a copy of the denial to this letter for your records. I understand that the policy states that I must be at the current BMI or higher for a minimum of 5 years, however I firmly believe that in 5 years, not only will I be much heavier, but I will also have a long list of comorbidities to add to my current morbid obesity. In 2005 I weighed 193 lbs. In 2010 I now weigh over 230 lbs. At the rate at which I am gaining weight I will easily weigh 280 lbs by 2015, which far exceeds the title of morbid obesity. It is this hypothesis that has led me to the option of bariatric surgery, which for someone like me, will literally save a life. I come from a long line of obese individuals. Not one person in my immediate family is not classified as obese, and many of my extended family member s are morbidly obese. I have a cousin who died of morbid obesity in 2005 at a weight of 650 lbs. She was living life in a wheelchair because she had lost mobility and eventually had a heart attack and died at the age of 35. Diabetes also runs rampant on both sides of my family; my father, sister, uncles, aunt, grandmother, and grandfather all have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I tested borderline for gestational diabetes for both of my pregnancies and one of my biggest fears is being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. In addition, hypertension and high cholesterol also permeate my family?s medical history. My mother, father, sister, aunts, uncles, and cousins ALL have hypertension so severe that they are on medication. My grandmother, mother, and father all have high cholesterol, also severe enough for medication. I see myself as next in line. Currently, I have chronic heartburn which I fear will transition into GERD in no time. And I have begun snoring, which has the potential to turn to sleep apnea as time passes and my weight increases. You see, I simply do not have 5 years to wait and see how sick I become. I am attempting to be proactive and save my life. If not for myself, for my 2 young children. My daughter is 2 and a half, and my son is 9 months old. My prayer is that I can have this surgery not only to lose weight, but to bestow upon them proper eating habits and nutrition as well as the love of exercise. As it stands right now, my mobility is affected by my weight and it breaks my heart that I can?t be the mom I want to be simply because of how heavy I am. I am essentially dragging around at least 100 extra pounds with me every single day, which makes it difficult to do simple things like walk up the stairs in my home. I don?t want to write a research paper about the benefits of the sleeve gastrectomy because I do trust that you are an informed medical professional. But I want to explain why I am choosing this surgery over all of the other options out there. The reason why I am not simply accepting gastric bypass (e.g. Roux-n-Y) or gastric banding (Lap-Band? or Realize?) is because both have very high rates of long term failure. And the reason why I have chosen not to apply for the Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch is because I feel as though the surgery is A) extreme for someone with my BMI and also leads to nutritional deficiencies and high rates of osteoporosis as the malabsorptive properties of the surgery are almost ?too effective? and can lead to malnutrition. I do believe that the vertical sleeve portion of the DS surgery (sleeve gastrectomy) is the best option for me because it is a highly successful restrictive procedure and I can still absorb the essential nutrients that my body requires without extreme amounts of Vitamin supplementation. Supporting Literature A systematic review of the literature covering LSG through January 2009[1] was published in June last year. Conclusion: From the current evidence, including 36 studies and 2570 patients, LSG is an effective weight loss procedure that can be performed safely as a first stage or primary procedure. From this large volume of case series data, a matched cohort analysis, and 2 randomized trials, LSG results in excellent weight loss and co-morbidity reduction that exceeds, or is comparable to, that of other accepted bariatric procedures. The postoperative major complication rates and mortality rates have been acceptably low. Long-term data are limited, but the 3- and 5-year follow-up data have demonstrated the durability of the SG procedure. A handful of additional work has been published since that literature review concluded, with additional long term durability data and adding considerable support to the efficacy of LSG in resolving diabetes.[2],[3],[4],[5],[6],[7],[8] Two International Consensus Summits for Sleeve Gastrectomy have been held, the first[9] 10/25-27/2007 and the second[10] 3/19-21/2009. At the second conference, during the consensus part, the audience responded that there was enough evidence published to support the use of SG as a primary procedure to treat morbid obesity and indicated that it is on par with adjustable gastric banding and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, with a yes vote at 77%. In conclusion, I ask that you please approve the Sleeve Gastrectomy surgery for me based on the medical information that I have provided as well as personal consideration and kindess. I truly need this surgery to save my life, and I pray every day that it can happen. I appreciate your time and sincerely hope that you can assist me in changing my life and my children?s lives. Kind Regards, Alexis

I sleeved on 11/20/2013. All I can put down is sugar free popcicles. Can anyone tell me if, this sudden tightness in my chest every other hour is from gas or complications?

I'm not going to judge you. I have not had the band yet and my surgery is Friday. Overall, I decided to get the band due to the ability to have it removed. I read reviews of the sleeve and was not impressed with the results. Please review all the options and rate if success. Although its newer here in the US, its been done elsewhere for awhile. I am concerned about the suture and staple line over the years and the fact that IF you are not diligent in your efforts your stomach will expand again over time. Please know I'm not trying to discourage you, just look on reputable sites before getting any procedure. I chose the lap band after 10 yrs. because of the success rate and complications. I'm not saying wait like I did, but logically look at how successful your procedure will be in the long run. Good luck to you in whatever you decide!! Current pre-op wt 344

2-3 months sounds like the average after you enter the pre op stage. I too was self pay and had a BLIS certified surgeon (best ones to go to since they have the lowest complication stats) Cost me about $17,000 so you're not too far off that amount.

Everything Berry78 said! I would also read the complications forum. This is might be odd advice. But it's best you know the real complications regardless of how rare they are.

I just saw this and was going to tell you no, you will not have to go thru the 6 month waiting period since you have already had the surgery and are having complications.

I'm 5 weeks out today. I think you read about a lot of people who have miserable recoveries, or loads of regret in the first few weeks. Keep in mind, that those people need a place to vent, so they come here. I think most people have a much better recovery, they just don't post about it (what's there to post? I'm two weeks post op. Feeling good. The end. LOL). If these boards were your only measuring stick, you wouldn't believe that the complications rate for this surgery are very low. I've had a very smooth recovery. My surgeon had me on real food very early, so that helped (sometimes I think the misery in the first few weeks comes from the liquid diet. I would imagine it's mentally and physically tough). I have zero regrets. I still have minor muscle pain, but am otherwise back to normal- well, except for the 37 pounds I've shed along the way (including 2 wk pre-op diet). It's good to have realistic expectations, that there may be pain, nausea, etc, but know that it may also be much easier than you expect. Try to remember the big picture, and know that the hard parts are such a tiny part of this whole journey. People on these boards may disagree on a lot of things, but the overwhelming majority are glad they had they had the surgery. You can't count the people who regret it in the period immediately post op, as that nearly always passes. Follow your surgeon's instructions. Don't be afraid to take the pain medicine (that's what it's for!). Walk as soon as you can. Get your Water and Protein in. Rest, and let yourself heal. Some things are out of your control, but these are the things YOU can do to make your recovery as smooth as possible. Good luck!! ~*~ Find me on YouTube: Trisha's Sleeve Story ~*~

I'm single and I live alone. I chose the sleeve because of the easier recovery and lower complications. It also requires a lower level of life long maintenance. I didn't have GERD so the Sleeve was an was an easy choice. What surgery you want is really a personal choice. A couple things to consider is what surgery does your Surgeon perform the most of? That is the one they are probably skilled with the best. And then your other medical conditions. Long term they are about the same as far as weight loss, how much weight you lose is up to you.

First, are you type 1 or 2? Type 1 .. well, I have no experience. Have to defer that to more knowledgeable peeps. As for type 2.. I live with an insulin dependent type 2 diabetic. We do notice that his eating can vary widely on a day to day basis at home. When that is the case, he invariably needs more and more insulin. When he is in the hospital or rehab (unfortunately a frequent occurrence), the regular, consistent, counted meals result in his needing less insulin and weight loss. He is a hopeless case, and there is no fixing his home habits, so don't worry about him. But we can learn from him. In order to get control of things, you need to set up an eating schedule with counted carbs, and stick to it. Be extra conscientious about taking your blood sugar levels and adjust your insulin accordingly (if it's a system you can make modifications yourself). At first, don't change your eating habits, just keep track of them for at least a week. Once you know what you are eating, you can make tweaks. Drastic changes will likely result in low blood sugar levels, so make changes slowly. Meal management does become a full time job, but with your condition, that's part of the deal. The alternative, as you have discovered, is more insulin, weight gain, and possibly all the other diabetic complications.