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I was also de-banded and sleeved in one operation. I was in the hospital for two nights with no complications or issues. I will begin my puree food phase in three more days. I hope it continues to go well for me.

I followed my surgeons plan... but it allowed me to have purée as tolerated immediately after surgery. I sure didn't slurp more than a bite at a time. I took it slow and some days didn't feel like having purée anything, but it was nice knowing I was allowed if I wanted to. I was careful with what I had and did not have any complications. HW - 283 SW- 238 CW- ?

So I am starting this topic because I just had double hernia surgery, two weeks after having my RNY. I was wondering what other people's complications were after surgery even ages six months after.

I'm 12 weeks out and have yet to experience a single complication. Sure hope my luck continues.

Hi, I agree with what others said above. Re my own decision. Like you I was initially interested in bypass surgery. I knew I had a lot of weight to lose (although my PCP's scales went to 350, the past two years, I weighed more than 350 so I didn't know exactly how much I needed to lose). When I went to the orientation session, I learned about the sleeve and that it had fewer complications than the bypass, which interested me because I knew my weight and age (62) put me at greater risk for complications. When I had my surgeon consultation a few weeks later in May, I learned I weighed 385.5, which shocked me. I told the surgeon I was conflicted about the bypass vs. sleeve. On the one hand concerned about complications, on the other concerned about less weight loss. He told me recent research showed success rates about the same after two years and that he didn't really see any advantage for me with the bypass. If I had diabetes, he said he would have recommended the bypass because he thought it worked better for diabetes (but several people on this board have diabetes and they have done really well!!). He said if I were a member of his family, he'd recommend the sleeve. So I chose the sleeve because of fear of complications and a belief that the outcome would be about the same as the bypass. Results so far: Starting weight 385.5; goal weight: 150. Preop diet began 6/14 - lost 19 pounds; surgery 6/29. By December 29 I had lost 105 pounds total. Won't weigh again until January 29. My mini-goal was to lose half of my excess weight (117.75 pounds) by end of December but that didn't happen. As you can see I got really close though. I have severe arthritis so I can't execise as vigorously as some others on this board, but I do execise. My doctor's goal for me is to lose 70% of my excess weight or down to about 200 pounds. However, I firmly believe I can make MY goal of 100% loss of excess weight or down to 150. I figure it will take 18-20 months total, but I am sure I can do it with the sleeve. My doctor says if we use our weapons, we can lose weight indefinitely -- no stopping point until we want to stop. WEPNs = Water, execise, Protein, nutrients. Btw, our guest speaker this week at surgeon's support group was a woman who had lost well over 200 pounds through bypass (she was in such bad shape she was in assisted living and was in her early 50s I think) and had kept it fof for a number of years. She was talking briefly to me before the meeting began and when I said I had the sleeve, she said that she would have had it had it been available at the time she had surgery. The sleeve was the right decision for me. Best wishes in deciding which is best for you! Hang around on the board and you'll learn a lot more. People here are so inspiring to me.

I wanted to sleeve to begin with but my insurance didn't cover it at the time. And I was impatient and didn't want to wait for the time that my insurance would cover it. So I went with the band. The first Year I did pretty well with it, I lost about 35 pounds and kept it off for about 5 years but I didn't put in as much effort as I should have to lose more. But as time went on food started to get stuck more and more frequently and it got to the point that I was vomiting every day....so soft foods were my go to. And soft foods are not the healthiest thing in the world...so the weight came back on and the vomiting continued. I finally had enough and went to my doc and he recommended the revision which I wanted anyway. I have had more trouble with it than what she it's been worth. There are some people that have been very successful and happy with it, but I'm not one. My surgeon even said he doesn't do lapbands anymore from the high rate of complications he's seen. He told me the sleeve has been the most successful with the lowest rate of long term complications that he has seen in his practice. I hope this helps. No matter what you decide just remember WLS is a tool and it still takes a lot of work on your part. Good luck to you.

During my graduating year in High School (1977) I got the biggest kick out of the TV commercial featuring the winners of the Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. The two mild mannered, plainly dressed, farm folk declared (with more drawl and twang than Gomer Pile) “What luck! We Mays are in luck. We have just won a million dollars! Our lives will never be the same!” Yep, they are lucky, I thought. I am a May too, so how come I’m not so lucky? Though many spend a considerable amount of time, effort, and energy entering sweepstakes – hoping to get ‘lucky,’ I have adopted a different philosophy. “The harder you work the luckier you get!” Time and time again that has proven to be the case. Following my weight-loss surgery in 1995, I recall mustering up the nerve to call a few of my friends to tell them what I had done. The first call I made was to a long time nurse friend. I will forever remember her immediate reply after I told her where I was and that I had just had a gastric bypass. “You are so lucky!” she exclaimed. “Lucky?” I replied. “What do you mean lucky?” I have spent my entire life fighting my weight and finally, finally, I had the courage to make this gigantic commitment. It took great thought, planning, preparation, prayer, not to mention a support of my family, and a 2nd mortgage to do this. Luck had nothing to do with it!” The first year was a dream come true. The weight seemed to fall off. I lost 125 pounds. No complications, no bumps, and very little effort on my part. Wow was I lucky! I would find myself eating something I shouldn’t. Or skipping a few days of exercise only to weigh in to find that I lost another pound! “Dodged a bullet this week; Man I am so lucky!” I thought. And then…. I found that the next month, was not so lucky. I learned by experience that I was not invincible, and that maintaining my weight loss requires much more than luck. It requires dedication, commitment, thought, focus, and constant effort. Indeed I found, that in weight issues too, the harder I work, the luckier I am. It has been over 19 years now and my weight continues to fluctuate up and down 20 pounds or so. Interesting, when I work hard at it, I lose - when I don’t, I gain. Go figure. It seems that this weight management thing will always require effort. Throughout your journey, you too, will have ups and downs, good days and bad days. We have a remarkable tool, but we will always reap what we sow. As you work to reach and maintain your weight-loss goals, remember to stay committed to your Success Habits, stay in tune with your body, work hard; and oh, good luck!

My question is why bypass? Have you seen the regain stats for the super morbidly obese? Are you willing to trade in a lifetime of nutrient and Vitamin deficiencies for maximum of 2 years of calories malabsorption? What will happen after you start absorbing calories again? Those were all my concerns when I was researching. At least with the sleeve if you do not get to your goal, you can go DS for malabsorption without the regain stats of RNY. Each surgery has it's pros and cons, but honestly the long term complications with RNY are downright scary. There are a few members on OH that have lost all their weight with BMIs over 65. I'm talking 200-250lbs withing 16-20 months post-op, and they didn't have to have a second procedure. I know you are frustrated, but really research the good, bad and ugly of the surgeries. I recommend checking out the struggling, failed and revision forums on obesityhelp.com so you can see for yourself just how many out there struggle with RNY. Best wishes, and hang in there.

How can I say this? When we know better, we do better...this is especially true in medicine.. My aunt was heavy, too heavy. Really high BMI. I don't know what she weighed, but very short and very heavy. Eventually couldn't hardly walk at all. The surgery they offered then was state of the art for that time. It was some kind of lap band that she got that got all wrapped around her insides to the point that it had be removed b/c she couldn't get food down at all. But that time has passed, it was the first lap band or stomach stapling and that was gosh, 30 years ago. She died 13 years ago or so, from being overweight. She was in her late 50's, and otherwise she had been healthy - just heart problems from being overweight for so long, loss of muscle tissue, etc. She prayed for that magic pill to lose weight. In time the magic weight loss pill came along and it damaged people's heart valves, not hers I guess bc she was already gone, but it did damage my dad's valve. Then there was the more modern lap band, then the bypass/RNY/DS, etc. and now the sleeve. And actually now the sleeve plication. You gotta realize your doctor is working with the most up to date information. We get used to hearing about things like lap band and it was great for some, or gastric bypass, which some people did well. But now the sleeve is better than those. Maybe you really do need to look at data. Kinda sounds like you really wanted gastric bypass, but what if this is better? I weighed 220 and I was paying cash bc my insurance did not cover ANY WLS or complications from WLS. I asked my doctor which surgery would be best for me long term, most effective, safest, etc. I didn't ask which was cheapest, because I didn't care. He immediately said sleeve. I went to a nutrition meeting with like 6 other people getting WLS. Some lap band and some gastric bypass. All of them were on insurance. They were all getting the lap band or gastric bypass, but all wished they were getting the sleeve. Their insurance did not cover it bc it was too new, That was a year ago so since then a lot are covering it. At a certain point you gotta pick a doctor and trust him. I do have one question though. The sleeve plication is even less risky than the sleeve, from the little I've read here, so if you were not able to lose weight to have the surgery (the 100 lbs) then could you get the plication at least temporarily to keep you from being able to overeat? I just wondered if you had spoken with your doctor about that. The plication is where the stomach is not cut but it is rolled up and stiched so that only a small portion of the stomach is available to put food into. I was wondering though. 100 lbs seems like a lot to lose before surgery, but I know he is trying to help you. I wish you the best.

I gotta admit, that's the only thing that I'm really terrified about. I'm not sleeved yet, but I'm not really worried about complications or recovery or even adjusting to the diet. I am only really scared that I'm going to go through all of this just to start gaining weight again. I keep having to remind myself that I've already made most of the changes that are required to convert to a "normal-sized person lifestyle", but just need to get this last piece of the puzzle done so that I can be successful long term. I lost 115 pounds within the last few years and put 50 of it back on, which is what made me consider surgery again. I think we're all going to have some level of lingering fear that we could gain it back. I think that's what tells us that it's important to us and just might be the thing that keeps us on track in general. For me, the key is going to be to continue food journaling and weighing every day so that if I'm up a pound or three and can't attribute it to unusually hot weather, a higher than normal intake of sodium, or hormone flux, I dial things back or do an extra couple workouts before it gets out of control. It's still going to be hard, but I know that we can do it. I think that it's the people that get lulled into depending on the sleeve and not paying attention to food and exercise that are at highest risk for gaining. Well, in the world according to me, anyway...

I remember having intense hunger around day 4-7. You need to stick to your post-op diet and what your doctor tells you to eat. If necessary, sleep more or distract yourself, but don't stray from the diet plan because you would risk complications. Just be careful please and don't eat chicken.

Hi April 8'ers. Sorry for not being good about responding. Just got first fill July 9th...have had complications.....swelling around band, started mid-May, on predisone, hard to lose on predisone, was hospitalized, was not keeping even clear liquids down. Husband has also been in hospital due to fall day before my father died. Husband also in motorcyle accident. Have had two vacations absolutely cancelled. Dang. Too much going on. Somehow have managed to lose 45 lbs. Not sure how. Started at 256 down to 211. Was at a complete stall while on predisone (for 4 weeks). Sounds like everyone is doing really well. Can't believe it's been 3 months.

Exactly - anyone who was banded 16 years ago has nothing like our band. People often tell us 'Oh I had that same band surgery 20 years ago" - but it's a common mistake on their part. The non-adjustable band isn't new or unique. It's an older surgery, older procedure - and they are many of them around. Nor were they done Laproscopically very often back then. So the current LapBand (which has improved in technology & technique, since I got my LapBand 5 1/2 yrs ago) is light-years away from the non-adjustable one, which has significant complications & regain. Like all technology, things improve - ten years from now maybe there will be something newer and hipper than the LapBand. For now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed....

They did the insert and the removal while I was snoozing. Never felt a thing. Although, my doctor recently mentioned he may stop requiring it because of complications, urinary infections would be my guess.

Yay, another July sleever! I'm set for the 15th! Oh boy, I can relate to your dilemma. I am also getting this done at our busiest time and I know my boss isn't so pleased. But I am getting worse with all the extra the weight, plus other medical issues that are dragging me down. I am looking at it basically as an emergency. I have been at my job for 4+ years and I NEED this time to take care of me for a change. I am the only office person who does EVERYTHING including emergency dispatching but my boss is just gonna have to get someone to help. I go above and beyond my job almost daily so I am not really thinking twice about it. Now if I have any complications, that will be a different story. I PRAY everything will go smooth. You have been waiting such a LONG time. If it's not gonna risk your job then just do it. Good luck!

Because I experienced some serious complications 5 days out of surgery and had to return to the hospital, my recovery was slowed considerably. My hubby had to drive me to all appointments and I went with him whenever he had to run an errand for us (I wasn't cleared for driving for a few weeks following 2nd discharge), so I considered every trip to the store a physical activity; each trip was exhausting for me, but every step I took in a store (using a buggy for support) and, every PT appointment to build-up my strength counted. Give yourself time to heal completely before returning to your pre-surgery normal workout. Everybody's recovery is a little different. As another BP member suggested - check in with your Dr. for his recommendation, esp. about the hot yoga.

When I went for my appt with the nutritionist, I was told based on my weight, etc. I needed to take in 77 grams of Protein a day while healing. No one has told me to have less and my surgery was 8 weeks ago. I know that SOMEWHERE I saw a formula for figuring out how much protein I should have now that I'm over 40 pounds thinner. Just can't find it of course. Does anyone know the formula to which I'm referring? It wasn't the .4% g/lb....it was a more complicated formula. If anyone knows it, or if anyone weighs about 270 and was given an amount, that's what I'd go by. Thanks very much.

I’ll make this quick. I am 17 days post op. I see the dietician on 8/22. 4 days away. Zero complications after the surgery. I’m still on liquids. I’ve read other ppl are on puréed phase after like 10 days…etc. I’d like to start before Tuesday. I’m not hungry, just tired of only water and protein drinks. Thoughts. I have a feeling what most posters will say but wanted to put the question out there…lol Thanks!

Has anyone on this website heard of Texas True Choice, it will be my new ins. carrier effective in the fall. Do they cover bariatric surgery? If you know anything about this carrier, please let me know. My surgery is already covered, I would need aftercare for fills, or complications. I will try to call the 1*800 number, but I'm not sure they will give me info, since technically, I am not an official member on their plan.

Straight from the mushy stage I was able to eat anything as long as I chewed it to mush. The danger in doing this is that you may unknowingly begin to swallow bigger bites than you are supposed to. You actually have to concentrate on chewing and make sure it goes down completely mushed. Otherwise, you are risking complications.

hi all, I am now 6 months post op and have been stuck at the same weight now for about a month, i have had a couple of pounds loss then its gone back on, i am getting a little desperate here now , things have been going so well up to this point, i never had any complications after the surgery, can get plenty of liquids down and hardly any trouble eating, it has been really great, i have lost about 80lbs so far, which i feel so pleased about, i know i was going to hit a stall at some point but next week i am going to the dietician and i feel that she will be really disappointed that i haven't lost much since i last saw her, i don't really know what to do, should i cancel my appoint and hope that i have lost some weight by the time i get another appointment or should i just go and accept this is all i have been able to so far. thanks for listening viv

I guess I can see that, kinda.... Sure. What's missing in the second instance is the personal interaction. In my case, (and I DO support civil unions, BTW) I have been over to my gay friends' house, and I have been out drinking with them. They are fully aware of my gay marriage stance (the reasons of which are complicated). Does it hurt their feelings? Maybe. Probably. But we're still friends. I'm not exactly certain of what you're asking. Am I ok with a gay couple having a ceremony in their church? Sure. Do I support civil unions that grant all legal rights to homosexual couples? Sure. And Ms Cali.....she's doing her damndest to hold on to her 15 minutes of fame. Funny how nobody called her out on how crappy she answered the question (And I ain't talking about the content of the answer, either).

I gained 13 pounds from the surgery. Within the first month I lost that plus 16 pounds. I was losing about a pound a day. I had a lot of complications that made it terribly difficult to exercise, drink my fluids and get my protein in. So I stalled a few times. I'm down 38 pounds now, in 7 weeks. Funny, I've been thinking in my head that I'm not losing as fast as others, but when I put it down to paper here that's a really good number. I know some of us get tired of hearing that we all heal and lose differently, but the truth of the matter is that is a very accurate statement. Congratulations to us all!!!

I believe any complications from VSG surgery done in Mexico are treated and covered by insurance in the U.S. If you have a leak while in Mexico, it is treated there. Dr. Aceves has done over 600 sleeves and has no leaks.