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Are you an independent contractor renting the space, or an actual employee? Do you work full-time? How many employees work for your company? If you're a full-time employee, and your company has enough employees to qualify, you'll be protected by the Family Medical Leave Act, as long as your health issue is documented by your doctor. You can research if you qualify for FMLA here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/ . However, you'll have to tell the truth that during your vacation you had a medial procedure (you don't have to tell her what it is) and that you had complications from it. And you'll potentially have to fill out some FMLA paperwork for her. Tell her ASAP. She's probably going to be deeply annoyed that she only has a couple of days notice, but if you qualify for FMLA protection, she legally *can't* fire you.

Nope - I absolutely did not cheat on my 3 week pre-op diet. Not one lick, bite, nothing. I wanted my surgery to go as smoothly as possible, with no complications - so for me, it was worth it. It SUCKED - but it was worth it.

Realize band is a low pressure system and Lap-band is a high pressure system. I have no idea what difference it makes but J&J says that it means food doesn't get stuck as much and it's more comfortable. I have no idea how'd you prove that with clinical data though. Realize band is softer and wider and has a bigger reservoir. It comes with a low profile port. The port has these little claw things that stick it to your muscle wall. There is also an option to sew it to the wall like the lap-band port. Some people like that and some think the lap-band seems "sturdier." Lap-band comes pre-formed into a circle and the reservoir is pre-creased so it has these little pockets. The port is higher profile but a low-profile port is available as an option. Realize-C, the newest version of the Realize, also comes pre-formed in a circle, but without the creases. In terms of weight loss and complications, the studies don't show a big difference. It's possible to find a study where one performs better than the other, but overall, taken all studies into account, they are essentially the same that way.

I am seriously considering having this procedure done. But, because of distance, income, and benefit constrictions I would like to ask a few questions of those who have been there. I would seriously hate to wast a full day driving to Las Vegas only to find that I cannot afford to meet the pre-op requirements. 1: How many times a week or month did you have to see your doctor or dietitian during the counseling period? 2: In general, sans complications, what is the recovery period....how long before I could go back to work at a desk job? 3: How often will I have to see my dr in the period immediately after the surgery? I am quite sure that everyone is different, but I am looking for generalities from which I can piece together some probabilities to base my plans on

Hello all, I had my band with plication surgery back in Sept. It's been 2 1/2 mos and I'm loving life! Have had no complications at all (thank goodness)...I've also haven't need a fill yet (feeling satisfied on 3 meals and one small snack between lunch and dinner). I usually stay around 1000 cals for the day. I was a food grazer pre-banding and would constantly crave food all the time...since the surgery that is gone. I had 1 hershey kiss today and that was it...didnt "need" anymore. Pre-band/plication I would have had to consume the bag. It's a whole new world. I eat every food (except triscuits--found out they just make me feel uncomfortable-think they swell up too much)....There is no deprivation at all and I'm feeling good now that I'm down 55 lbs. I do follow all of my docs "rules" and walk for exercise. It's nice not to have food ruling my life anymore. Hoping for continued success in all areas of this WLS journey that I've begun!!

I spent a better part of the day yesterday in the ER. I am unable to extend my left foot toward my body. I can currently bend it down and to the side, it also drags when I walk. After they ruled out a stroke and ran many tests they diagnosed me with nerve palsy with drop foot. Nothing hurts, my brain simply will not communicate with my foot to move. There were several PAs and Dr's seeing me, and out of the 7 or 8 of them, they have only seen this a few times and each patient was a weight loss surgery patient. They think that it might be temporary, but could be permanent. Sometimes it is linked to a deficiency in B12 or B1 but my labs were perfect. It could also be linked to an injury, but I did not have any. Lastly, it can be caused from crossing your legs for long periods of time, and not moving around much. I am constantly on the go since my surgery, and never sitting for too long (ie a desk job etc) Their best guess is that it happens due to your nerves not catching up with your new size and there is nothing there to connect. I wanted to warn all of you that have recently had this surgery to avoid this complication in any way possible. I know some of you have not been able to cross your legs in some time, but do your best not to. Make sure you take those Vitamins every day, and add B1 if your vitamins do not include it. Although none of these are related to my condition, they frequently are. It is hard to walk, let alone run. I have started training for a 5k which will have to stop. I can barely drive and am quite scared that it will not go away. I will keep you all updated, but please be aware of this complication, as I have never heard of it.

Mikkey asking this question on a mainly US based site won’t give you true answers. Their health insurance is different and therefore no of nights in hospital would be different. In Aus most Drs will tell you between 3 and 4 nights for RNY. I ended up staying in 5 nights as I had a complication

Amy ~ You are in my prayers. You have a great perspective on this and I'm thankful for the docs being so cautious. No surgery is worth it if there are complications that could result in a negative outcome. Perhaps there are some blood tests that can be done here in the states to check the clotting feature (for lack of a better term) of your blood. Maybe a nurse or doc will see this thread and have some advice. I pray for the Lord's will and guidance.

All I can say is ... the haters can kiss my (thanks to my band) cute, small(er..) bee-hind!! I find that kind of thing so ridiculous. All of these kinds of surgery seem to work really well when done by good surgeons and on people who work the tool they are given. I don't view one as better than another -- I think it's really a matter of personal situation and preference. That said, I'm hearing good things about the sleeve from a few former bandsters who had to revise to the sleeve due to complications. But, otherwise, I don't know too much about it. The band worked very well for me -- I'll be 4 years out in October, and I've been at or under goal for more than 2 years. Best, Catherine

To me it means your golden year is your best time frame for weight loss. Weight loss surgery restriction is fantastic in your first months. Your surgery restriction will become less over time and weight loss slows down. “Taking advantage” means don’t waste this time frame. Follow your surgeons’ plan/instructions. Log your food, hit your calories and macro goals for the day, hydrate, exercise/activity and make behavior changes for the long term. We cannot control the “luck factor” Sex, age, medical issues, medications, complications, hormones and body physiology. What you can control is “working your plan” Decide how lax or strict you want to work this. Decide what you want out of your first year.

Hi! You guys have some experience here! So please let me pick your brains! I was banded in 2013 lost about 60 pounds, and have gained some back due to many complications from the band and other health issues. Here I am now with a total band slip and prolapse miserable can't keep much down without feeling sick 23 out of 24 hours. Dr. has me scheduled for band removal on August 9th. I'm wondering what the recovery will be like...will I be able to get that nutrition in again because right now I am feeling just weak and tired from not being able to eat more than ice cream or shakes! I am taking my vitamins. We have also talked about having a sleeve revision in a couple of months after I go through the insurance gambit of medical testing etc. all over again. I'm not looking forward to yet another surgery...and I'm wondering if the sleeve is the way to go, or if I am going to go through all this medical testing again for approval I should just push for the bypass and get the weight off without "guessing" if the sleeve is going to work out for me or not. I'm always the one that falls in the failure percentage rates...I been using this analogy alot lately...you know if birth control pills are 98% effective to prevent pregnancy well yep I am the 2% who got pregnant while on them taking them without fail every day even after I was pregnant and Dr.'s couldn't believe it, his name is Christopher and he's now a healthy 22 year old! What is your advise? Also how painful is recovery from the band removal? I am hearing the port site muscle is sectioned and that causes some major discomfort and pain for a while....

Well I never though I'd say this.........but I'm actually going in for my 4th WLS surgery / procedure this week [emoji15], I'm 3 days away from it on the 21st of July 2017 [emoji106][emoji4] My weight loss journey so far....back in 2004 I weighed 136kg / 300 pounds and am 182cm / 6ft. My GP in the UK wouldn't approve SAGB on the NHS so I self funded the operation at a hospital in the South of France. Operation went well, weight loss was good, got down to 90kg / 198 pounds. However, gradually I had more and more complications with the band, slippage and erosion. Weight went up to 116kg / 255 pounds. No matter how much fluids were put in or removed from my band, my restriction was either that tight I couldn't get water down or too loose so I could eat whatever I liked. I also developed reflux and experienced frequent vomiting. I had a revision from band to sleeve in the same operation in Australia 3 years ago (2014) got down to 84kg / 144 pounds with the sleeve. My sleeve stretched over a couple of years, partly due to the poor shape of the sleeve due to the damage done by the band (after my operation my surgeon said to me that my stomach was in such bad condition it looked looked "like a dogs breakfast in there!!") and if I'm honest partly due to me falling off the wagon, eating too much junk food and drinking a serious amount of alcohol, so my weight crept back up to 103kg / 227 pound. So anyway I finally stumped up the courage to go for the full gastric bypass 1 year ago at a weight of 103kg / 227 pound. Weight loss was great, felt full quickly, no major dumping, no complications / side effects. Got down to 80kg / 176 pound then recently crept back up to 93kg / 205 pound, so now I'm having the Overstitch this week, which I hope will be my final weight loss operation ever this Friday! In hindsight I wish I'd never had the band and sleeve and gone straight for the bypass all those years ago, but still grateful for the overall weight loss to date. I must have been quite lucky with the operations, I had no infections, significant pain or gas pain, I was waking around the ward on day of the bypass, got 1.5ltr of fluids down me same day and after the TT I was doing laps of the ward on day 2! Only real issue is I've become severely anaemic this week. I'm on iron tablets and Vit B12 injects. Now when I was in the mid-80kgs I had a fair bit of excess skin and I think the weight loss and the natural getting older process had made me look older than my years, so I went in for some plastic surgery to get my self sorted out. I had upper and lower blepharoplasty (reduction of loose skin above and below my eyes, liposuction to my neck, 2 separate neck lifts (first one unsatisfactory), liposuction to remaining man boobs, stomach, hips and back. Full abdominoplasty with new belly button. Oh and a complimentary mid-face lift whilst the surgeon was in doing my lower eyes, I actually didn't ask for the mid face lift but my surgeon couldn't resist doing it once he had perfect access to the areas / structures required to hitch up the face a little. I woke up to the unexpected news about the face lift and was thrilled with the results and even happier that is was for free!! I also had a fat transfer, where they sucked some fat out of my abdominal area and had it pumped in the jowls / cheeks / nasolabial folds to fill out my face a little!!! Now I just have a little Botox and some dermal fillers as maintenance to the face. Also had a vampire facelift lol. And OMG for those of you who have had full tummy tucks, as in skin and muscles, jeez how painful is the recovery from that bad boy!! Worst of all the WLS surgeries I've had and the other cosmetic procedure. You can't sit up, you can't laugh, sneeze, burp, fart, go for number 2's, well that was my experience with the TT recovery although I recovered very well form all of the procedures with no issues at all, thank-fully [emoji106] The Tummy Tuck for me is what makes me want to stay at around 80kg, any heavier and I feel the skin on my belly stretching because of the tightened skin. I gets quite uncomfortable so I have to get it oI don't want to ruin the effects of the surgery. All in all the procedure took 3 seperate operations they were 11 hours, 5 hours and 9 hours in duration. After the 11 hour operation I ended up in ICU on a cardiac monitor with a special one to one nurse as I was at risk of an adverse cardiac even due to excessive fluid loss. The three cosmetic operations cost me over $70k. Anyway, that's my story in its entirety, I thought I'd share this information with you as I have had so much done and gone through so many procedures, so please feel free to comment and ask me any questions. Thanks John [emoji4][emoji106] PS: No judgement please lol

Hi my name is Ashley Osgood, living in Colorado Springs CO. I started my journey for weight loss in December 2014. I had my gall bladder out in December by Dr Wilcox. He happened to be the head surgeon for weight loss surgery at Ft. Carson. That was the beginning for a whole new outlook on life then. I took a few months to think about the surgery and its complications. My mother in law lives with my husband and I. She was less than thrilled to hear of my decision for weight loss surgery. She is absolutely against it and is very vocal about it. Praying for our own place away from her very soon. Anyways I have completed my extensive checklist for tricare approval for surgery. I was finally cleared for surgery on 05/14/15, I was so excited I almost bawled!!! I made the soonest appointment with my surgeon June 10, yeah that seems like such a long wait for something you are looking forward to. Hopefully I can be seen earlier if possible. The wait times for actual surgery after you see your surgeon is about 3 weeks. looks like i might be a July sleever.

I wouldn't have done it but I was "under" anyway due to breast revision. They actually dont use much fat at all, so you don't need to have much to do this and it came from my inner thigh.. I had it done with other procedures so cost was low. Quote I got stand alone was 1200 by a Seattle plastic surgeon. It lasts longer, for most people, than juvaderm etc. I asked doc about doing lipo around my waist etc..and he said, nope, I dont have excess fat, it's my muscles and the only way to further reduce loose skin is upper body lift or the vertical/anchor cut - and we both agreed totally not worth it. The mistake I made in all this is that my upper inner thighs had gotten worse over time. I had weird cellulite pockets there that were vastly improved with the small thigh lift, but over the 2 years, it was worse again. Thighs do that.. Anyway Dr was hopeful he could do some lipo and very small skin removal - not a full thigh lift. When I came out of recovery, he told me it hadn't gone well and he had to do alot more than expected to get decent results. Then, I had a complication. I don't blame the doc, I blame me. I should have not gotten greedy and pursued it. Recovery has been hell, I have had a recent setback, had to cancel my MAui trip...etc.

2 years ago I had RNY, and at the beginning of this summer I had lost 150 lbs. I am at goal. June 30 I had my panni and he took another 3.5 lbs of skin. I am very happy with it. It does take longer to heal than I had expected. After surgery they immediately had the compression brace on and am still wearing it almost 24/7. i gained some water weight (up to 131 from 117) but am now down to 126. my biggest fear is I will continue to gain if I dont get back on my walking/jogging routine soon. i had to have a section of my incision reopened due to a tiny complication, so I am having to pack an open 3" foe a month until it heals, so the major walking is off the table and "strolls" just arent cutting it weightloss wise. Good luck on your journey. I am very happy with my results. Now I wish I could do my arms and thighs.

My plan is Aetna and they prefer at Center of Excellence but will pay at a greatly reduced rate for a non center of excellence per my plan(it varies so check your plan specifically). So basically, I'd pay more out of pocket for less assurance (in theory) that my surgeon is capable, culpable, and able to meet my needs. That's how I look at it. I chose a center of excellence because I want to know that I'm getting the best for my money and hopefully can avoid un wanted complications from a less experienced surgeon.

Hi!! It is so nice to meet you! My name is Stacie. I have between 130 and 150 to lose. I am also going with the sleeve! I have a friend that had it in Nov. And she did great! My best friend had gastric bipass and was in and out of the hospital due to complications. I feel more comfortable with the sleeve. I'm so glad you responded! . I love this app and I'm so glad my friend told me about it! Where do you live? I am in IL!

Zanthina suffered necrosis. What happened is here http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/12850-unexpected-complication-from-plication-surgery/

I had no complications @ all. I'm sure you will have a great surgery.

My surgery is coming up next week and I am starting to get nervous. I'm just wondering if anyone had any complications during surgery such as breathing/lung problems, heart problems (fast heart rate, high bp on anesthesia) or any other problems. I guess I'm just looking for reassurance but I do want to know truthfully if any of you had problems, what caused them, what you or your doctor could have done to prevent them (if anything), etc. I have been recently diagnosed w/ mild apnea and have a bipap machine but I have not found a mask yet that I can sleep with so I have not been wearing it while sleeping. Does anyone know if this will cause complications? I am going to take it to surgery with me. Thanks.

How Many people have a slip and have to have surgery. I read that there is 88% chance of a band complication over 3 years and slips are the most common. I am scheduled for surgery in one week. I don't want to go blindly into something that could cause major problems but I want the change so bad. Has anyone else asked their dr how frequent slip rate is? I plan to do so ASAP. Please lete know about slips and if you had one if you still liked the band. Any other info as well. If u have gone yrs without a slip please post also! Trying to gauge things.

Well I got some interesting information at two appointments I've been to. At Cornell Weill, the surgeon I met with was Gregory Dakin. He said because of my RA the only surgery I would be a candidate for is VSG. By-pass can be in complete conflict with the absorption of oral medications you have to take with RA and you have complications from By-pass surgery or BPD. So, that was something I'd not heard thus far. However, he said the VSG is not contraindicated in any way with RA. Just a side comment: Mobic is kind of a crappy medicine... if you can get on Sulfasalazine, it is much more effective. Ask your Dr about it as an option for you.... well, you don't have to, but I took mobic and was switched to sulfasalazine and it made a huge difference for me. But there could certainly be reasons your Dr has you on it... I'll keep you updated as I go along! Good luck to you, too!

YOU POOR THING!!!!! I can't imagine needing to be off meds for 2 months. That seems too long... but I'm not on mtx or cimzia. I am taking Humira and sulfasalzine, and tramadol. But I also have to take a thyroid medicine, or I'll get palpitations. Stupid thyroid! Auto-immune treatment and the disease, complicate everything so much. People who don't have to deal with it can't understand what it is like. I don't have a date yet for my surgery, but I find myself with a lot of fear over it that I don't quite understand yet. Perhaps the waiting for approval is the time to get our game faces on, huh? I would love for you to keep me in the knowledge of your process, and if you need support - I'm here! Hope to hear from you again, lsmargiassi

I'm 3 1/2 yrs post lapband. No soda is allowed with the lapband because it can cause band erosion or slippage. I occasionally will have a sip of hubbys soda if we're out to eat, but basically don't drink it anymore. My band is slipped now (thanks to my frequent vomiting) and I'm revising to a sleeve soon. From what I've been reading, they say no to soda because of discomfort. banders are sposed to have discomfort with soda too, but I have none. So is it medically ok to drink soda but it's up to the individual on whether it causes pain - or is it across the board a no-no? Just curious....

I am also 22 and had gastric sleeve on April 5th. I actually posted concerns like this on here about a month ago but have had not one complication since my surgery. The only thing that happened after was I threw up from all the pain meds and anaistesia. I don't do well with pain meds. I will be straight honest with you that it will be a very big challenge for you in the beginning but I am 3 months out and struggled terribly in after but am now doing better and do not regret my decision. I did horribly the first couple months but I truly know I would of ate myself to death if I did not choose this option. The struggle is all mental and I still deal with anxiety and depression but I have always had it but masked it with food. I am now forced to face my demons head on and not hide behind food but I feel like that I really did need that. I have lost 35 pounds so far and already have so much more energy and no pain in my back and neck. It will be scary at first but I promise you will make it through. 4 members of my family had gastric bypass and are 10 years out with no complications. If you ever need someone to talk to you can message me ❤ Sent from my 0PM92 using the BariatricPal App