Search the Community

Welcome to the forums. Congratulations on your progress toward getting your WLS. Many, dare I say most WLS folks had health issues as part of their consideration for having surgery. It is not at all unusual. Surgeries have complications. Living has complications. As with all things, you need to do the math to determine which is the riskier option: WLS or no WLS, that is the question. Nearly the last thing my Doc said to me before wheeling me into surgery was "You know you can die from this surgery? Do you want to continue?" I had already done the math. I was gonna be immobile and a burden to everyone around me within 5 years. Even death on the table was preferable. I spoke with my spouse and parents about it and we were all on the same page. I don't want to spoil the ending of the story, but I didn't die. Since the surgery many of my health issues self-resolved. I'm on fewer meds now than I was pre-op. I've done things I never imagined I would do. Since you're well into satisfying your requirement it seems like you did the math. Good luck Tek

I am a PA with many years experience in AGB. Was the erosion found on an EGD or a barium swallow? Did you have any port infection or any other surgical infection in your past history? If there is truly an erosion, the band must be removed and another should not be placed in the future. A gastric sleeve would be risky and many surgeons will not attempt it. Bypass may be an option but consult with a surgeon with experience in doing bariatric revisions. You shouldn't have to regain your weight back, a letter from a surgeon that reads "in order to preserve his excellent weight loss and return of comorbidities, a revision surgery should be performed" would help. I tell my cash pay patients they better have at least 10K saved up for future complications.

I am facing the same situation! I have lost over 100lbs over the past 7 yrs, my band has slipped. I can have mine replaced but at my own expense and I don't have the money for that...plus if there were any further complications I would have to cover it myself. I am so depressed over losing my band, I know I am going to regain my weight, I am scared to death!

CAJUN while your weight loss at 3 months out is huge and congrats is in order, I am more concerned with your overall health and this complication which has manifested. I am extraordinarily impressed with your knowledge and ability to convey what you know and are progressively learning. I'm equally impressed with your ability to keep your cool regarding this complication. It seems all too easy to dismiss minor to sometimes major/temporary discomfort as par for the course from maybe eating a little too much etc. I too am 3 months out and at my last visit a couple of weeks ago my surgeon made no mention whatsoever of having upper GI testing. His attitude is so cavalier in assuming that anything and everything I am concerned about is "normal" and advises just to "give it time". Can you tell me what is involved in having Upper GI testing and advise as to how I might approach this matter with my surgeon? Or would I be better off having my PCP (who is very responsive) refer me to a gastroenterologist to have this test? I am also curious to know if you are on any PPI and if so which one and the frequency in which you take it? Thanks for this important post.

I'm doing good. I was released within 24 hours of my surgery. The first major bummer was that as my husband and I were on the way to the hospital - the hospital called me and asked me when I was getting there. I was told to be there by 11:30 and the surgery was at 1:30. Apparently they changed my surgery time to 11:45 and never told me. Oh thank you. So we had to wait once we got there for 3 1/2 hours since they had to let someone else go ahead of my. Surgery went well - my surgeon did a lot of extra investigating to make sure all was okay (I am his first or second Sleeve) He said I lost the equivalent of 8 drops of blood. Biggest complaint - dying of thirst. Went 36 hours before I could put anything in my mouth and I will never again take for granted how wonderful ice chips are. = ) Pain isn't bad - just the gas startles me sometimes but that seems to be getting better. I'm having a hard time keeping my liquid pain meds down - they seem to make me puke. All I"m supposed to be able to eat for the first week is broth and Jello. But just a couple of bites and I'm good. Anyways - I'm still alive and while I was there I saw a few people dealing with their complications from the lap band - I'm so glad I skipped that option and went straight to the sleeve.

Well - a few responses for you. First, I was nauseas for about 6 months. It was not fun. I took Zofran and it helped. You have to stay hydrated for Zofran to work. Ask your dr to prescribe it (the generic brand and preferably the one that dissolves under your tongue as it works faster). Second, you have to stay hydrated. (I wasn't great at that.) If you aren't hydrated, it can cause nausea. Now lastly, it could be that you have a stricture - which is what I ended up having and they found right at 3 months post-op. It is a complication that occurs typically between 8 and 12 weeks post-op. It is VERY easily fixed with a balloon dilation via an endoscopy. If you keep feeling nauseated and/or reach a point where you cannot keep stuff down (like I did), insist that your surgeon do something such as an endoscopy to see if there is a stricture. I'm sorry. I know you are miserable. It will get better. Just hang in there and stay after your dr.

Hello all. I'm hoping that I can get some advice or at least confirmation that I'm not the only one having this issue. I had my RNY 7/21/16, so I'm about 8 weeks out. Im back on normal foods, theoretically, but the issue I've been having the last couple of weeks is that pretty much everything I eat makes me nauseous. I've tried everything. Grilled chicken, ground beef, chili, turkey, cheese, tuna, Beans. Nothing seems to sit well, and I'm at a point where I don't even want to eat because it's not worth being nauseous for the next hour. Even thinking about food just makes my stomach (or what's left of it) turn. The only things I seem to be able to tolerate are my Protein shakes and yogurt. And even those are iffy sometimes. Even though it's hard to believe I'm even thinking this, I'm just so tired of feeling like this that I don't even want to bother with food anymore. Is this normal? My NUT said it takes about 3 months for everything to settle down, but this constant sick feeling is driving me nuts. I did not/have not had any post op complications. Any advice on what I could eat or what I should do? Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

RinRin, Sorry to read about your struggles. I am fortunate in that I do not struggle with depression, or more importantly medication to treat depression; keep this in mind while reading my response. Your body is going through some major changes during rapid weight loss, this includes changes in your hormones. Again, not knowing how your medication works I would be curious if the weight loss and change in hormones due to it are complicating matters. My only suggestion is to be in close contact with your primary doc since he/she is the one treating you and to reach out to a psych doc if your primary can't get things under control. Maybe get psych on board now rather than later. I wish you all the best. Keep reaching out and doing what you need to get yourself where you need to be.

I had surgery August 7, 2012. No complications. Felt great the second day. A little nauseous this morning, but meds took care of that. I'll be going home in the morning. Overall, can't believe how good I feel after having major surgery. I had bypass and the doctor also found and fixed a hyatial hernia. Hope this helps.

You can ask your clinic for advice, but it's probably going to be up to you to figure out, mainly because you have to work it around your schedule. It can seem complicated at first, but you get used to it. I take a multivitamin with iron plus an additional iron supplement, calcium 3x/day, B12, biotin, and D3. Calcium and iron are supposed to be at least 2 hours apart, and I also take a prescription thyroid medication that's supposed to be 4 hours apart from calcium and iron. I use a free app called Medisafe to track my medications and remind me. It's really useful because you can track what time you took everything, and it also tracks how many of each you have left and reminds you to refill. You can set reminders at whatever time you want. I set reminders as follows, but I usually stay ahead of schedule. 6:00 am - Thyroid prescription 10:30 am - Multivitamin with iron, B12, Biotin, D3 1:00 pm - 1st calcium 3:30 pm - iron 6:00 pm - 2nd calcium 8:30 pm - 3rd calcium I also recommend getting a pill organizer with 3 or 4 compartments for each day, where each day has its own removable box (the one I have looks like this one: https://smile.amazon.com/Organizer-Compartments-Moisture-Proof-Medication-Supplements/dp/B07Q9JSHMP). I distribute my pills in that once per week, and then I can just grab the box for the day.

The band has changed a lot since then. I think the truth is though, the band is a foreign object in the body. It only does so much. So if people are unhappy you have to see why. I had my band done, one incision through the belly button, I ended up with an infection, other than that, I have been golden. The band is a medical device that is put into your body, of course there are chances of complications. Having the Gastric Bypass you can leak and poison your body, the sleeve has complications, etc. I do not recommend doing something like this unless someone has tried EVERY OTHER OPTION.... Honestly, I hope to get down to a good weight, then I would like them to remove all the liquid from the band and give myself six months and see if I can keep it off. To me this is a tool, not the cure all. IF you read lots of posts, you will still gain weight if you make poor dietary choices, or drink alcohol (lots of empty calories) and don't exercise. Many people over restrict and cause trouble for themselves. Some people it just doesn't work for. In the end this is a very personal decision and one that should not be taken lightly. I believe if you have concerns about the media coverage, talk to your doctor. They can tell you the changes that have been made to the band, etc. Good luck, I did it and I don't regret it at all. I am nearly half way to my goal. To me that is amazing. I am in a size 16, haven't been there in 8 years, no matter how much I watched what I ate and exercised. I have medical things that were going on that once I put on the weight it is nearly impossible to take off. I think for me, it was the right decision, maybe not for others.

I had insurance problems for a year before my surgery. When I was finally approved it was like a bolt. I also went from excitement to OMG what am I doing? But I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Even complications with the band are relatively minor and most don't have any. I did, I have a tendency to swell and my stomach pretty much swelled closed right after surgery. I had to have an NG tube inserted for 3 days, but even though I'm not a real fast loser, I am so happy with the band and the weight I have lost so far. Until the band, I had given up all hope. I have been able to stop walking with a cane and my blood pressure is under control. I'm looking forward to the day I am off meds and I no longer have sleep apnea. Can't wait. Best of luck to you and don't worry, it will be fine.

The need for the preop diet is crucial. It reduces the the size of you liver and makes it less fatty. The liver has to be life out of the way to get to the stomach. The smaller liver makes this easier and reduces the risk/chance of complications of the sleeve gasterectomy. Like the chances of knicking another organ or bowel. It is extremely important for a successful surgery. I don't want to scare anyone, but those are the medical facts.

Just curious. They told us to expect to go home the same day as the surgery. That makes me both scared and happy. I kinda want to be at the hospital in case -in case of what? I dunno-reaction to the anesthesia? pain? or ? or ? Now I don't want to stay overnight. But it still makes me nervous anyway. So? Who went home the same day and who stayed overnight. If you stayed overnight was it due complications? or just the way your doc does it? Thanks in advance

Ty Rachele, Sheryl and CCBSTX, Your words of encouragement and support and objectiveness is exactly what we all need to hear. We need to talk about differences and indifference. It's healthy I think. As far as hitting my goal.. I know it sounds crazy but I know it can really happen. Not just for me but for everyone that really put forth the effort. Some of us are in this, with complications beyond our control. There are others with no complications, no co-morbidities and are just not doing right for themselves or the band. Then there are others that have no complications and no hold backs and are just gung-ho about their weight loss. There are banded people that can lose just as much weight and just as fast as a Gastric Bypass/RNY patient, with the right mindset and determination, anything and everything is possible. Hell.. it's even possible to pull through this and reach goal and not ever need a TT or Breast Augmentation. I received a post today in my doctor's forum and something that the poster said struck... in a good way. She said, and I quote her verbatim: Hi ______, I lost about 25 lbs in the first month after surgery and gained about 5lbs back waiting the 2 weeks until my first fill. I know it is all about lifestyle change, but the whole point of needing the surgery was to help to restrict what I could eat. Until your band is properly restricted, you probably won't see huge victories on the scale. Patience is the most important part of banding! Some people start this journey with an amazing gusto and ability to instantly change their lifestyle drastically. I was ready to change whatever it took to be successful, but I also needed the band to make a believer out of me. I needed to see it working, and then go from there. Lucky for me, it started showing me results right away and it made it easy for me to work with it... You can't get discouraged so early in your journey! Stay positive and be patient. You may need a few fills under your belt to get going! I know I am late in responding but I hope this helps in some way! Take care! ----------Anonymous After analyzing what she said, I realized what she meant. She meant that the band does the same thing for everyone. Some rely on it wholely and some don't. Either way and at the end of the day, the WLS is serving the same purpose.

I’m one week out from surgery and my husband and best friend are making menhavwbsecond thoughts. They have no idea they both agree. My husband says I’ve had enough surgeries during my lifetime from car accidents and complications post car accident. I’ve also have a history of sepsis (infection) every time I get opens up for surgery. He know what I went through with all that.ni think he’s just afraid of what could happen or me not pulling through this time ans my friend said likewise. I really and and nee this surgery but now I feel like I’m second guessing myself. My initial plan was to have the sleev but the doctor takes me into duodenal switch because it’s less likely for weight gain. I agreed but also has second thoughts about that particular lad surgery just because of all the additional nutrients you malabsorption va the other surgeries. In my head I was also think duodenal would allow me to lose weight faster than the sleeve. Then again i don’t want to loose too much I don’t want to be looking too skinny from excessive weight lost from duodenal (CW 232 GW 150-160). Although not reversible the sleeve is less invasive and not switching around parts. Then again I’ve had a gastric ballon (obera ballon) and maybe lost 10 pound at most so that was also my reasoning for wanting duodenal switch more aggressive than sleeve as to me the obera balloonMimics restriction just like sleeve but it’s temporary. As you can see I’m a week out from surgery and all over the place. HELP!!! Has anyone that is slightly obese or obese who has extremely hard time losing weight even with diet or excercise had success from the sleeve? How fast did you lose weight?

1. First of all, don't let their opinions make you falter. Yes, some people DO fail. However, most of the time that can be traced back to them getting back into bad eating habits... i.e fast food, drinking soda again, eating cake, cookies, ice cream, and massive amounts of bread and pasta. And statistically ANY surgery can cause nerve damage not just weight loss surgery. It depends a lot on your own body, how many other prior surgeries you've had, if you have nerve disorders like different types of neuralgia, Fibromyalgia, etc. 2. I read up on statistics when deciding on my surgery and Gastric Bypass has a 0.14% chance of mortality in the operating room (essentially 1 in every 1000 people), 1% in the first 30 days and 6% in five years. However, you have to think about the fact that many of us have been overweight for a very long time and it takes a toll on our bodies which is likely the reason for the 6%. Some people just waited too long to do anything about it. Avoid NSAIDS like the plague though because once you have Gastric Bypass that causes massive bleeding and you'll land yourself in the hospital. No ibuprofen or asprin for you! (though you likely already know this lol) And I TOTALLY understand the facial pain! I have TN (trigeminal neuralgia) and it was misdiagnosed for YEARS which means it didn't get the proper treatment and led to it getting worse and worse until I was in constant pain for MONTHS! I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't talk because of the sheer amount of pain I was in and I would cry myself dry. I was exhausted, in agony, miserable and desperate to find an end to the pain. I would literally go to work and cry while I worked. I had brain surgery in 2017 and it had a similar mortality rate to the GB surgery and had some other rare complications and even some common ones. I was at peace with whatever happened. If I was one of the rare 1 in 1000 that died then it'd be an end to the pain, if I was one of the other 999 people then I had a 95% chance that the surgery would work for me and a 5% chance that it'd do nothing to help me. Even then, I knew it was just a temporary solution since TN has no cure. And it did work. For two years. The pain came back last year, but the surgery is amazing in the fact that it's kept the most debilitating type 1 pain away. I have atypical TN (which is apparently rare) and have had both type 1 and type 2 pain. I had the surgery because the type 1 pain is like being stabbed repeatedly in the face with a scalding hot poker where it twists and twists and twists and then repeats. When I have flares I only suffer from the type 2 pains now and hope that the type 1 never comes back! Also, I haven't had a flare since August! I hope that everything goes well for you in your surgery and I hope they can eventually figure out what's causing your other health issues so that you can get the necessary treatment without those issues getting worse. I wish you the best!

I chose my doctor because she was a 'Center of Excellence', which means meeting pretty strict requirements - good education both pre and post-op, lots of different things like that. I also liked her when I went to the seminar - I think you get a good 'feel' for someone when you hear them speak. Also, I had been told to go to a doctor who had done a lot of lap bands and she had done like 3000 with very few complications and an above average rate of weight loss among her patients. I tell everyone the most important thing is safety/skill of the doctor but also to make sure your doctor has an extensive education program set up. I see so many people on this site that have no idea what they are supposed to be eating, what they can and can't do after surgery...the lap band is kind of labor intensive in that you really need to do certain things and behave in certain ways to have success (not like Gastric bypass, where the weight will come off no matter what) and if you aren't really well informed beforehand it is very hard to know what you are supposed to be doing. Check that out amongst your choices. Good luck!

As a healthy young person you are less likely to have surgery-related complications (other than malabsorption). At least that's what I was told by the doctors who did my clearances. I am 25 and just had roux en y I think I made a great choice. I bounced back really quickly too, only 3 weeks out!

Hi, I've been to Monterey on a several trips. I've had surgery twice with Dr. Rumbaut. He uses a hospital which is chosen by the US Secret Service for a US president to be taken to in case of a medical emergency in Monterey. Bush has frequented Monterey several times for conferences. In fact the president had just left Monterey on my last visit and the Secret Service was taking down phone lines that had been installed in the ER if needed. They have an air filter system in the OR which is the best in Mexico and probably half of the hospitals in the US. They do heart and kidney transplants , trauma etc. I tell you this because I personally want to have the best care and facility available if needed. Instead of metal instruments and cheaper materials which may not be properly disinfected by the hospitals or clinic--San Jose hospital uses mostly disposables. This costs more money. They use IV drug anesthesia for bands instead of Gas anesthesia because they want the patient awake and moving after the procedure and also poses less complications such as nausea and other side effects. This costs more money. This is not a small clinic but a well established hospital with excellent care. This costs more money. And then you have Dr. Rumbaut who is banded himself, has banded more patients and longer than any other Surgeon in North America and has probably mentored more Mexican and US surgeons then any other. I can go on but you catch the drift. You pay for what you get. . I understand if you are closer to Tijuana or Mexacali because they have some good surgeons and costs and flight time can be a deciding influence. But if you are in need of a top notch facility /Surgeon either because of your morbidity factors, location in the US or wanting the most experienced I would choose Dr. Rumbaut. Joanne in Seattle

Just like what Kelly said, if you have 100 pounds to lose, will you be satisfied losing only 50, then having to diet? That should be the first and last question you ask yourself before going through a drastic surgery. It's lots of money, lots of potential complications, lots of downs... and lots of UPS! I would do it all over again. Yep, absolutely.

As I was getting close to my surgery date, many other dr.'s had people on an all liquid diet for 2 weeks. geeesh! All I had to do was eat low carb, have no red meat 48 hours before surgery and fast 12 hours before surgery. I tried my own self imposed version of the liquid diet and failed miserably. I did manage to have only liquids 24 hours prior even though it wasn't a requirement. I ended up losing 12 pounds in 3 weeks. I was pretty happy with that. Supposedly, nothing in the stomach and bowel tract greatly decreases your discomfort after surgery. I adopted that theory and had minimul complications and minimul gas.

It went awesome! I have no regrets about going to Mexico and Dr. Casteneda and Premiere Hospital were both fabulous. The hospital facility is very nice. I had no complications and everything went as planned. Cecelia the coordinator is very helpful and she too has had the surgery. Let me know if there are any specific questions I can answer for you.

I'm so sorry to hear you are having these complications! Sending you good vibes to feel better fast! Sent from my SM-G930VL using BariatricPal mobile app

Congratulations! Glad you didn't have any complications or issues and that you're doing well.