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Seven months out next week and I was one who had a few complications (minor) post op. Slight stricture, difficulty passing the food stages, major Water poop anywhere/anytime, lots of time spent sliming or vomiting (still happens once or twice a week). That said... BEST.DECISION.EVER.

I was so worried pre-op that I almost backed out the morning of surgery. I am SO GLAD that I didn't. Best decision I have ever made. Like previous posters, before the sleeve I too could lose some weight but eventually it would slow down, then stop. Frustration sets in and then I would gain everything back plus 10 or more pounds. I was very fortunate in that I didn't have any complications, very minimal pain, very little gas pain and I was able to drink fairly easily right away...I actually thought the surgery may not have worked because I had so little side effects. I do have to say I believe I was VERY mentally prepared for this...which I think made it easier...even on the pre-op diet it was like I had switched a switch and that was it...this was going to be my way of life for the rest of my life...not sure how I got there but probably was just so tired of being overweight and not feeling well because of it. It has been 6 months and I am down about 70 lbs and am about 25 pounds from goal. My self-esteem has sky-rocketed...for the first time I can remember I am not embarrased to have my picture taken and I feel cute again. It took a long time before people even started to notice that I was losing weight (prob about 50 pounds) but now everyone is always complimenting how I look...it feels really nice. I don't ever want to go back to the way I was - and I think this time I will be able to keep it off...thanks to the sleeve! I have not been strict with my choices for the last month and a half and don't plan to be over the holidays...which may be making a BIG mistake...but I would like to just hold my own through December and then start again in January being very conscientious with my food choices and stricter with my exercise routines. Now that is not to say that I am making crazy stupid food choices - just not as strict. I plan on going back to my Protein shakes for lunch and dinner with a sensible dinner for the first week to get back in the swing. I definitely notice the difference in hunger on the days that I have more carbs than I should...be warned One piece of advice I would give is to try the Premier Protein Shakes (I just love the chocolate and add a heaping tablespoon of instant coffee-deelish They aren't quite as sweet as some of the others... I wish you the best of luck...you will just love your sleeve! Take the advice of others and really put the work in during the first 4 - 6 months...had it not been for vacation and then the holidays I would have worked hard the first 6 months instead of the first 4.5 months...but I am not complaining!

WOW! These reasons are all so moving. My last straw or moving reason to decide to do this were: 1. My health. Diabetes runs in my family. My grandmother, aunt and mother all died from complications of diabetes. I had my kids in my 30s and I was gestational diabetic with both pregnancies. 2. My kids. I want to see them grow up and I'd like to know my grandchildren. My mother didn't get a chance to meet mine.

Hello fellow Sleevers, has anyone ever needed regular check up and how many after you get your sleeve done? and has anyone ever had any complications with their surgery?

Thanks for everyones response. Bamaxpress78, yes I have comorbs. I have an autoimmune disease called Myasthenia Gravis, it's in the muscular distrophy family..complicated. Anyway, I do have sleep apnea and use a bipap for my MG but it also helps for apnea. I am prediabetic (would be diabetic if i was still on steroids), anemic, osteoarthritis and malacia, hashimotos thyroiditis..so on and so on... I also have a level of anxiety and depression due to my list of health issues. I currently carry a bmi well over 40 but if UHC has that requirement to be morbid obese for 5 full years, I fail that, I was just severe obese before that...how dare me! ldydrgnkpr, I did call them and they told me I had to be over 21, have a bmi of 40 or above, a list of 5 years 40+ bmi. No diet to follow though. I guess what I'm wanting to know is how strict that 5 year bmi rule is,,has anyone been approved without meeting it?

Hi Kris, I also struggled with an eating disorder. I know that can only complicate things more. I have been sitting around without anything to do and this makes things worse. I think that once I am up and moving, things will get better. I will be able to occupy myself more. I know that a therapist will have to be a part of my journey. I have a great support system, including all of you.

The compression garment is supposed to be tight, and you neeeeeed to wear it. I stopped wearing mine too soon, and had complications that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. It sounds like yours is much tighter than mine, though - it was like a tight girdle or spanx, but not so intrusive that I couldn’t sleep or that was actually painful. I’d talk to the surgeon’s team about that one. As for the drains, there really is nothing to worry about. It’s a small tugging sensation that lasts a couple of seconds at most, with absolutely no pain.

Hi everyone! I am new to this forum and have really enjoyed reading all of your posts so far! I was recently approved for surgery and will be getting my band on May 11th with Dr. Diaz at St. Vincent hospital in Carmel, IN. I am VERY excited! However, I have a question about recovery time. The day after I received my surgery date, I received an offer for a new job. Unfortunately, they need me to start on May 16th - only 5 days after surgery! I am really worried that this will not be enough time for recovery and I will have to cancel my surgery. I called my surgeon's office to get more information, but they didn't offer much. I spoke with a nurse that I was unfamiliar with and she kind of laughed when I told her I would need to return to work so soon. This made me even more nervious than I was before! She transferred me to my doctor's Physician Assistant, but I have been playing phone tag with her for a few days and have yet to receive a response. I know everyone's experience is different, but I wanted to see how it was for everyone else. How long was it before you returned to work or felt like you COULD return to work? Any input would be greatly appreciated. I feel like I have waited for this for a very long time and would hate to have to postpone it indefinitely! My new boss is aware that I will be having surgery and has agreed to work with me if I have complications, but I really don't want to miss any necessary training. Also - any recipes/recommendations from Protein Shakes are also welcome! Thanks!

Sounds interesting, I'll have a look and see if I can find it. It's amazing how complicated our bodies are, and for us who suffer/ed from obesity it's not that straight forward the concept of losing weight.

I had a rash once that was similar to what you have but it was covering my hands. I had the tingling and numbness. It was really awful. I could barely close my hands to zip zippers, type or anything else. When I had the rash it had nothing to do with surgery though. I went to the doctor and he told me I was having an allergic reaction. At the time their was nothing new in my diet accept for new type of wine I had tried. He said that many times the allergen is never found, but it is often a type of red dye used in many foods. I'm not sure what you are allowed to take right now but I was bet that benadryl would help you. As you recently had surgery, you may be more susceptible to complications so you may want to contact a doctor right away.

Welcome to all of our new exercise friends! Sorry I haven't been around much. (Working too hard!) Betty, I'm going to get a small unfill, also. These darn allergies really tighten things up. It is just too risky to be too tight. Of course we want to drop weight, but the worst thing we could do is be so restricted that we end up with a slip or dialated pouch, or some other complication. Thanks for the info on the TT, Julie. Fiona, you are not a drama queen. We just have to all deal with life and pain, now that there is no option to use food as an anesthetic.

everything that has happened this far, i have been prepared for. between the big sleeve book, a couple of other books, this site, and several post op friends, i was VERY well informed. that said...i think i wish i would have known that even though a lot of people have complications, it CAN be a fairly easy ride for many, and that all of my worrying was in vain. i have had no issues, feel GREAT and down 25 lbs 13 days post op.

Welcome Scandido! Advice? Follow your doctors instruction for pre-op and post op eating to avoid complications. Know that you'll most likely be sore for 2 to 5 days after surgery ( sometimes people are a lttle depressed, too right after surgery. Know that you will eat real food again. You are NOT giving up food forever,just temporarily. You will give up the big portions you once ate. You might not lose as fast as you're hoping to, as long as the scale goes down a little, it's going in the right direction. Most of us are nervous before surgery, that's very normal. We were all excited, too! Find the group on the forum of people that are being banded the same month as you. It's great to follow along with people at the same post op phase as you are. There are also groups based on age, or how many pounds you have to lose or info about exercise etc. The forum is a great resource and The band is a great thing!

Just because she is self-pay please don't make her lack of research a generality for all self-payers. There are many of us who paid for this procedure ourselves, including ALL of our post surgery adjustments, who researched the heck out of what we were getting ourselves in to, because if something happens to our band, we're on the hook for the complications, not the insurane company.

Frankie...I am so sorry to hear you are having such a hard time emotionally with having the surgery. Given your age you have a lot of life ahead of you, so it is possible you haven't experienced a lot of "life changers" yet. This is certainly a huge life changer. How did you feel about it before you did it? Was there still doubts as they sent you into the O.R., or did you believe you were doing the right thing? That could be where the problems began... Either way you are here now, it is done. Stressing the "what ifs" will not help you one bit at this point. You have to live your life, and that is now a life with the sleeve. I strongly encourage you to seek some counseling. You may need something to help balance out your emotions during this early time with your new and improving body. But you also need to focus on the positives, not the negatives. You made it through surgery. You had no complications. You cared enough about yourself and your future to seek out this surgery to begin with. There was obviously a need to change yourself physically, at least you felt that at the time. Now it is done. Sometimes you just have to give things over to whatever higher power you believe in. Find some positives to cling to in these difficult days, no matter how small they may be. Eventually the positives will grow larger as you grow smaller. There will be so many opportunities to live your life in ways you probably can't even begin to fathom yet. The saying "it is always darkest before the dawn" is running through my head right now. It may seem very dark. But you found VST and let it be your light until the dawn comes. Try to believe it WILL get better. Each day find one thing to be thankful for or happy about. It may be hard at first, but it will become so much easier over time. I think your fear of the unknown is taking over, don't let it. Our whole lives are unknown, no matter how carefully we try to plan them. Live your life. Understand that you are worth this. You are giving yourself the chance to be healthy. Find your supports and use them, wherever or whoever they may be. In time you won't need the support anymore and will soar on your own!!! I hope you find peace soon...

I was banded October 2011 and had complications from day 1. I had a very large hiatal hernia that needed to be repaired, and it wasn't. It took me 5 years and 3 months and 4 doctors later to find one that would remove it December 2016. It then took me another two doctors to make the hernia repair and do the gastric bypass for me on June 18.

Hi! Im concerned that RNY is a more complicated surgery. Also the “potential for dumping”. I am 58 and have had 7 prior orthopedic surgeries with 6 of them having complications, as have a lot of fear.

Hey there- I’m a lower BMI patient and do not meet my insurance criteria for coverage. Have decided to self pay at blossom Bariatrics. I have such fear over complications and my normal insurance not covering them bc they would be the result of an uncovered surgery. Does anyone know of any supplemental insurance coverage you can buy for this type of elective procedure?

I had very mild sleep apnea, only 2.5 occurrences more than normal. At the initial appointment my sleep doctor said a CPAP wasn't required but recommended to help decrease surgery complications. My surgery was April 20th. I saw the sleep doctor this week and he said I can return the machine since my case is mild and I had lost 28lbs since my last appointment with him. He scheduled a sleep study in 3 months to review how the weight loss affects my sleep and make sure the apnea has improved. Every case is different and depends on the severity of your apnea and your progress. Best of luck!

Over the last two weeks I've started to develop rapid onset hypoglycaemic episodes. These are very different from dumping and seem to happen about 20minutes into a meal and I become drowsy and confused. Fortunately the situation resolves with a piece of chocolate or glucose tablet but means I'm having to eat more chocolate than I'd like and that's screwing up my weight loss which had finally got back on track. I've read up on it and it's a rare complication - http://www.healio.com/endocrinology/diabetes/news/print/endocrine-today/%7B1dc23215-49dc-4ad7-90da-346ba16663d6%7D/post-gastric-bypass-hypoglycemia-a-serious-complication-of-bariatric-surgery It seems it's a known late complication of RNY and I'm getting it investigated to rule out insulinoma but wondered if anyone else had experience of it and had any tips on managing it?

I had the revision from sleeve to RNY last August due to severe gerd. Have lost all my excess weight and I can finally sleep restfully all night long. No severe gerd. I can't say whether you will screw up again but I assure you, with the RNY, it'll be much harder to slide back into bad habits. I'm in my 10th month and it's been a lovely journey for me so far. I am still elated that I can get full on 2 eggs. Unfortunately, complications can happen with all surgeries. I had a complication with the lap band and the VSG. No fault of my own. RNY is no longer a permanent surgery, but it is a risky procedure to reverse it. The sleeve is considered permanent. As for vitamins, I had a complete bloodwork 2 weeks ago and I was not deficient in any vitamins, minerals or protein. Cholesterol, triglycerides, sugar, all perfect. I only take a vitamin patch by patchaid. It may not work for others but it sure works for me. I hope this helps.

If everything goes smoothly with surgery you should have no problems as long as you have the relatives to help out. I couldn't drive for 5 days post op so my hubbie was in charge of going to the store if I needed something. However, if one of you has complications, the other would be in a very weakened state and probably unable to provide the support they would want to give. Statistically, it probably wont happen, but it is a consideration. Good luck to you both! (BTW, I have Aetna insurance and was in for one night)

never heard of a 4 cc band so not sure what the complications could be most of use have a 10 cc or a 14 cc.. No matter what it is call your surgeon he can tell you everything about the band and whats going on and will refer you to your own doctor if it isn't the band... PCP or er don't know a thing about the band and the complication.

I was sleeved 8/31/12 by Dr Aceves. I've lost 55# since surgery and I feel incredible! Not a single complication, Still can't eat more than 2 oz of meat in a meal and I like it that way. :wub: Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! But I'm glad I don't have to LOL

I am just wondering how many have been able to get PS and have it covered by their insurance. I've heard that it is more likely to be covered if there are complications, such as infections, etc.