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Honestly, I have so many metabolic issues that I feel the RNY with the "reset" it provides is the right path for me. The only thing complicating it is that I have some pre-cancerous cells in my duodenum and inflammatory cells in my stomach and pre-cancerous cells in my esophagus. They wouldn't be able to monitor them after an RNY. But these were caused by GERD, so I'm really afraid to do the VSG, cuz the last thing I want is a second surgery and for the GERD to come back (it's in remission through diet right now)...I will find out on my 3rd visit, Monday, what the verdict is--will I be having surgery or will she say I'm just not a good candidate for either. I don't exactly know what I will do if she says "no".

I don’t want to be a Debbie downer, so I am starting a new topic, I don’t want all the newbies to read this a freak out thinking this is typical. I am 5 weeks out of bypass surgery and am having major complications. I was told I have a stretchier and ulcer. I am at home with a PICC line, doing two bags of IV fluids a day. Back on a full liquids diet, and struggling with getting that down. And on top of it all, I have not lost any weight in three weeks, no, really, I have lost a total of one pound, I kid you not. Talk about feeling LOUSY. I am really needing a good buddy to chat with. Really someone who can talk about anything just so I can talk to someone else who is going through this. My family is super supportive but I feel like a broken record and they must be tired of it because i am tired of hearing me complain!

Very good advice -- I am a good example of someone who waited too long and is dealing with complications.

Loving my journey thus far despite few complications. I wouldnt trade it for anything. Feeling great. Me with my mom. I completely look different with my weightloss but I am happy. Sent from my SM-G930F using BariatricPal mobile app

I had my Sleeve this morning at approximately 9:00am. My surgeon was Dr. Stegemann who is fantastic! Actually the other surgeon in their practice Dr. Gopal assisted so I was in very capable hands. I had to have an arterial line placed for monitoring BP, HR, O2 because I have an AICD (defibrillator & pacemaker) for a rare congenital heart defect called ARVD. And still everything went great. He told my son after surgery all surgeries should go that smoothly 🙂. I had some sharp, burning pain in recovery when I first woke up that was quickly relieved with Dilaudid. Then when they moved me to a room they switched me to morphine which I had a total of 3 times, the last time less than prescribed and that was around 4:00 this afternoon. It is currently 9:48! I also have Norco if necessary but right now my only pain is the left over gas from the procedure. I have no bowel sounds yet so as long as I feel the way I do now I will not be asking for anymore narcotics because they will work against me and I'd rather have a little pain and have bowel sounds and know they're working again. I've been nervous for days ahead of time, (nurses are worriers because we know all about the complications lol) and because of my heart. But that is why I had the surgery, I need to take any added strain off my heart that I can. I had some nausea a few times earlier in the day but it was always brief, maybe a minute or 2 at the most, and I haven't had that in several hours as well, and they did give me Zofran twice but, I'm going to try not to take it again because all nausea meds can potentially cause a serious arrythmia. I've been taking tiny sips with a spoon of water, ice chips, and even smaller bites of jello. I walked the hall, I'm using my spirometer, taking deep breaths and coughing, I want this to be as successful as it can be. I'm sorry it's long-winded, but I wanted to give as much detailed info as possible for those who are getting close to their surgery date. I will check in tomorrow evening to let you know how day 2 went and if I went home or stayed another night. Love & Light to you all. Sent from my Alcatel 6055U using BariatricPal mobile app

Zip, zero, zilch. The first couple weeks post op I often found myself thinking "maybe I should have just stayed fat", but as the pain faded, so did the regret. I'm very lucky in that I was able to go through a VERY comprehensive program where I saw a psychologist, dietician, and nurse over many months, so I was well and truly prepared for what was ahead and I had the tools to make things work for me. I'm also lucky in that I've had no complications whatsoever. But even people I know who have had LOTS of complications, once they got through them (which took a few months, not going to lie) their regrets faded, too. So no major regrets whatsoever, and I'd never take back this choice. However, sometimes I do feel little brief pangs of regret: 1. When I go out to all you can eat places and there are so many things I want to try but I can't. The other day a bunch of us went to all you can eat sushi and I was looking at yam rolls and agedashi tofu and edamame and and and... then got an ala carte order of tuna tataki. Was still delicious and satisfying, but I do feel sad sometimes I can't have that kind of variety/volume anymore, even on special occasions. 2. When it's hot out and someone nearby opens a cold can of soda covered in condensation and you hear that PSSHT noise. I can watch it go by at restaurants and fast food joints without issue, but the sound of a can being cracked open has me craving a Pepsi every time! I do miss Pepsi some days. I'm not going to lie. But then I go to a store and they HAVE MY SIZE and I don't have to hopelessly dig to the back of the rack and get disappointed when they don't carry anything for me, and when I go shopping with my friends I don't have to stand around feeling miserable that nothing in the stores they shop at will ever fit me and why am I even there. Or I will need to chase after someone but rather than getting winded after ten feet, I'm able to sprint down the block without issues, or run across a soccer field, or dance the night away! It's a worthwhile trade, but you do have to mentally and emotionally prepared for what you're about to do. Because it's a big change, and it is HARD. You need all the support and preparation you can get!

I am a singer, and I had sleeve with a hiatal hernia repair on September 18th and I had a very hard time taking deep breaths for about 5 days. I was back teaching choir and voice lessons a week later and felt no pain, but I was actually practicing my diaphragmatic deep breathing every hour I was awake, so that could have helped. My doctor is of the opinion that I healed faster than most because I actively engage my diaphragm every day, and that helped speed things along, but I definitely think the wiser thing is to schedule your surgery later just to avoid the possibility of complication. Best of luck to you in both your surgery and your concert

I am giving this yet another shot. I KNOW I have it in me somewhere to lose this regain. I just can't seem to see that light in the tunnel at the moment. I have been fighting this war for several months now. I have an EGD this week to look at my sleeve and assess my GERD. hopefully my doc will be able to give me some good direction after that. I am still lost on this journey and simply cannot seem to get control. I could use your good vibes, prayers, positive thoughts, etc. First for an easy EGD and no complications, but also for the support that I need to get back on the wagon. thanks

My surgery was two hours and a half. Thats the normal. No complications as per the Dr. I was a complete mess emotionally before my surgery too. Its normal. Keep in mind the WHYs you are doing this surgery remember you are in great hands Dr. Merola is the Cheif so really of the bat you in great hands. Also it helped me i wrote down everything from my meals following my surgery what I was going to wear I left my home impecable so I spent alot of time cleaning and organizing. For Nauseousness I asked the Anesthesiologist to give me Zofran in my IV and they said they did. But I would get this heavy chest feeeling where I would swallow and just more spit would come up and i would just have to throw up and gag that lasted about three days after surgery. I was told its a normal for most patients to experience this nasty episode of spitting up saliva. Change that emotional state girl you got this.[emoji5] Sent from my LG-K540 using BariatricPal mobile app

You look marvelous! You could try baking in smaller portions then freezing. I've learned that I CAN make cheesecake! (I was always told it was too complicated.) Instead of using a large springform pan, I bake the cheesecakes in muffin tins using liners. I can then take them out of my muffin pans and freeze. Then we just take out what we want after dinner. The hubs usually eats one or two and then finishes mine. I've made them in standard and mini-muffin sizes. I am experimenting with different ingredients to decrease calories. Each recipe is added in Bariastic so I can keep track of my daily calories. Surgery - RNY GBP Surgery Date - 5/16/2017 HW - 368 SW - 352 GW - 150 Sent from my Note Edge

TODAY IS THE DAY!!!!! PRAYING FOR EVERYONE WHO IS ABOUT TO OR HAS ALREADY GONE THROUGH SURGERY! Praying for a surgery free of complication [emoji1487] and [emoji1488] for a speedy recovery! AMEN!!!

@johnnycakes - please stop ending ur posts with "people will ##%* about anything". Its deflating and makes people feel bad when they already feel bad. I believe u had a great weightloss journey and rhats great, but others may need extra support, which is okay! Others have expectations, legit ones or not, set by feedback on these boards or in our support groups, and they're not being met and it's frustrating. Please say less harsh words, if u really want to be empathetic and supportive, as I know u can because I've seen other supportive posts uv made that do not say things like that. So please, its not helpful when u chastise. Its just not. Many people have told u that, so my request to u shouldnt be surprising. Can u just try?@mom@teamjack - i can appreciate your question and concern. When we see all the 'melting off of lbs' posts or when in support groups with thin women who say their journey was with high monthly pound losses, u wonder if there something wrong with what ur doing or if theres anything else we can incorporate into our plans in order to have those same results. My journey has been slow as well, and its frustrating. Started at 310lbs 1 month ago when i had bypass surgery. Im at 298 now. 12lb loss (which in and of itself would be good), but the first 9lbs loss was in the first week post op. Been going up and down with the 3lbs these last 3 weeks and i have no clue why. Ive had zero postop complications, which is awesome! But am feeling a ways about the last 3 weeks. I was so hopeful that first week post op with 9lbs down too... anyway, good luck with the downward momentum from here on out! Hopefully it will be just that...downward, no matter how fast or slow! [emoji4]

Good luck! A lot of ur story mirrors my own. Had the lapbad and only lost 30lbs (that was in 2007). Now on Sept 13 2017 (10 yrs later), I had bypass. I thought this was going to finally be the tool to help me. In 1 month since my bypass, I've only lost 12lbs, and 9 of those 12 were lost in the first week post op! So frustrating! Especially with how excited i was to get bypass surgery! I am not trying to discourage you by any means, I just want to put realistic expectations out there for u. All the wonder tales posted here and told in group settings, about 40lbs lost 1st month or 70lbs down in 3 months, stuff like that, isn't necessarily a given. I dont know how they're doing that kind of loss and I'm not, but everybody's different. This procedures gotta help tho, right?! I gotta keep telling myself that. [emoji4] I hope your journey goes better than mine has so far. I wish i could give u advice to ensure urs goes amazingly but I'm following by the book and none too happy, so not sure what advice to give u. Although, the MOST positive thing is that I've had zero postop complications. None. That is fantastic and I'm happy about that part. On a separate note, Valley of the Sun, huh? Awesome! I am here too!! Who's your bypass surgeon, if ur comfortable answering? Mine is Dr Swain, whom I adore!

I had gastric sleeve surgery 5/20/14, weighed in at 250 and was very successful. I lost 75 pounds, felt great, stuck to most of the rules and had a new start on life at 44 years old. Now, 3 years later, my acid reflux is back in full swing with regurgitation waking me up from sleep. I got to my bariatric surgeon who does an Endoscopy and finds a hiatal hernia. After all the success I thought I enjoyed, I am scheduled for a hernia repair and revision to bypass. It's been a whirlwind. The surgeon said regurgitation is dangerous and I have it often enough that it's a serious concern. I am a bit miserable from the reflux. I was advised that with my severe GERD before surgery I should never have been allowed the sleeve. I am scheduled for bypass and repair on Nov. 1. I am nervous. I never wanted the bypass because I hear of so many complications with ulcers and deficiencies. Does anyone have first hand knowledge of this conversion or are you more than 8 years post op bypass and can offer any words of wisdom?

makes me wonder why they don't just do it as a precaution... it would rule out gallbladder right away and save time if a patient had complications Sent from my SM-S907VL using BariatricPal mobile app

I’m so sorry honey. Please don’t be disappointed in yourself. This is NOT your fault. It is your surgeons responsibility to inform you of all of the pros and cons of surgery. He should have been absolutely clear about the extremely high rate of complications that come with the band and, in my opinion, it is medically negligent that he failed to do so. You did nothing wrong! We are supposed to be able to trust our doctors and trust that they won’t lead us down a dangerous path. But, you are right, you are here now and must make the best of it. Unfortunately, the fills are just trial and error. I don’t know about you but my insurance wouldn’t paid for any of the fills so it became quite expensive. Hopefully yours will pay. You definitely don’t want to gain weight after you’ve worked this hard. Maybe they’ll let you adjust it prior to 4 weeks if you let them know you’re feeling this way and gaining weight? Just keep doing the best that you can. Don’t give up. You’ve come a long way. You’re not giving up on this. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

That is exactly what he said. He felt that I would lose a large amount of weight in a short time considering I was only 228 when I first started. He is a bariatric surgeon but from what I recently found out, he barely does Lapband’s anymore since they are fading out. He did not tell me the complications (I’m now hearing more about them since I’m having issues). I researched the issues on my own and felt that I would be ok before I did the surgery, but I was wrong. I truly feel it was the wrong decision, but the only thing I can do now is deal with it until I can hopefully have a revision. He did inform me that patients lose much slower then the other surgeries and that is another reason why he pushed for the Lapband. I just want a restriction without throwing up constantly. I felt the 3ccs was good enough but then I started feeling it was too tight. I’ve heard people get up to 9ccs and I’m having issues at 3ccs☹️ I’m so sorry to hear that you had issues with the Lapband. I’ve been on this forum for a while and people keep mentioning issues. I’m so disappointed in myself because I should’ve researched a little more before settling. Please don’t be angry, your words definitely helped me and I know things will get better. I just hope I can get a fill before 4 weeks because I’m wanting to eat everything at this point. [emoji52]

Thank you very much. I appreciate that. I had RNY surgery. “Not obese enough”??? If you medically qualified for the lapband then I don’t understand why you wouldn’t have medically qualified for the sleeve as well. They go by BMI and I believe it is the same for sleeve and band. (40 or, if you have comorbidities then it can be 35) It sounds like you likely used a general surgeon instead of a bariatric surgeon. Both are qualified to do the procedure but a bariatric surgeon is far more educated on the actual Bariatrics aspect. They are much more informed and actually take a couple of years to specialize in WLS. As opposed to a general surgeon who only learns the procedure and then does it. He doesn’t take that extra time to learn the ins and outs of it all. Even being on the smaller side of overweight, I still don’t understand why a surgeon would perform a procedure that has SO MANY complications and such an incredibly small rate of success. Why would he perform this operation at all? It is such common knowledge within the bariatric community that the band is a hugely bad idea. If you said you had it done several years ago then I might understand more, but you had this in 2017. The surgeon should be ashamed. Did he tell you the complication rate is far higher with the band than with any other procedure? Did he tell you people lose far less weight with the band and the rate of regain over a 5 year period is almost double that of the sleeve and RNY? My surgeon told me it won’t be long before we are seeing commercials saying “if you’ve had the lapband and had complications, call the law office of...” I’m very sorry this happened to you. I am super angry for you, to be honest. Your surgeon did you a huge disservice. I actually had a lapband for a long time and the loss was incredibly slow. After several years, I developed complications and nearly died. I had to have the band removed. I chose to also have a revision to RNY and it is a completely different experience. It’s so much better. If you continue experiencing pain or the other issues you mentioned, I would strongly suggest finding a new surgeon and having a consultation. Try your best to find someone who specializes in Bariatrics rather than just a general surgeon. I had a general surgeon with my band too because I really didn’t know the difference, to be honest. It was a huge mistake. I wasted a lot of years of my life with that awful band. Again, I’m very sorry. I’m seriously angry right now. I can’t believe these surgeons are still doing this procedure. Please don’t give up. I know this is hard. It’s so hard. But just remember why you did this. You wanted a healthier, better quality life. You can still have that. It may just happen a little differently than planned, that’s all. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

I’m very sorry you’re having difficulties. That must be scary and frustrating. May I ask why you chose the lapband in the first place? I ask because there is so much research out there that says it is 1. Ineffective and 2. Has a very high rate of complications. There’s actually not a surgeon in my entire state who will even perform the lapband surgery anymore. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

Sosewsue61 Thank you very much for mentioning this possible complication (ulcer in the unused stomach). As much as I've been on this board and done research elsewhere, this was the very first time I've heard of this. It makes SENSE, I just never thought of it! It would take a special procedure to even get in there and LOOK at the unused portion of stomach, so how many bypass patients have this problem and don't even know it? Scary. I wish they would figure out an effective procedure that wasn't so full of potential complications (the sleeve isn't perfect, either). Sigh...

I had my revision from band to sleeve on Apr2016 and at that time I was a floor nurse on a telemetry unit. My revision was done in one surgery and only had to spend one night in the hospital and was released the next day with no complications. I took two weeks off and went back to work doing light duty for another two weeks. The first couple of days was very difficult for me, meaning that my abdomen was still sore and I had to be extra careful not to be doing any lifting or bending. I was mainly doing administration work such as patient admits and discharges and passing meds for those who needed help. After about one week of light duty I was feeling much better and had lots of energy. I still took it easy and followed my doctor's advice because I did not want to hurt myself in the healing process and I did not want to take more time off than I needed to. One of my co-workers had gastric bypass and she took six weeks off of work, not because she had complications but because she had that much time that she could use to take off of work. You know your body best and you don't know exactly how much time you need to take off before returning to work until after you have the procedure. I was ready to go back to work after two weeks but my body was telling me differently and that's why I was placed on light duty. I remember leaving work crying my first day back because I was in a lot of discomfort and felt I returned to work too soon. Listen to your body and take the time to heal and enjoy the new you.

My doctor called me about 48 hours after I got my lap band plus had given me his number in case I had any issues and said to call. That was several years ago. When my lap band was removed in February 2017, my current doctors office called me the following day to check on me. I appreciate the follow up and think it is very thoughtful of them to do this as I know it can be time consuming. But let's face it, there might be little things going on that we don't think anything about and by asking you a couple questions and giving you an opportunity to tell them how you feel you very well could proactively catch any post op complications before they get worse rather than wait a few days until you are miserable enough for feel justified to call them to ask if XYZ is normal. Better to be proactive rather than just reactive. 🤗 Sent from my XT1635-01 using BariatricPal mobile app

This is horrendous. I am so sorry you have had these complications. Some care in Mexico needs to be greatly improved and in my opinion they release patients too soon from any care. I have read where patients get released the same day and fly home the next. How can that be good medical care? My physician doesn't allow anything by mouth for 24 hours and after the fluoroscopic swallow test. And you might even stay an additional night.

I have had many complications from my sleeve surgery a year ago. After 11 endoscopy with dilation, 2 stents and 5 second opinions I was told a bypass is the only way to go. Has anyone had a bypass due to complications? I haven't ever progressed past soft food and am malnourished as I can hardly get my vitamins or medications in due to two closures at the ge junction. Any info on someone with similar issue would be helpful.

I finally did it. God brought me through this surgery without any complications. My doctor removed my gallbladder and repaired my hernia. I’m home now from the hospital. Only had to stay one night. All the staff and my doctor really took care of me. Now, that this is out of the way, the real journey begins...