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You've made the choice to have surgery to stop yourself from yo-yoing and to give you a lifelong tool to success. There is absolutely no shame in that. I had feelings of sadness when I had my surgery. Mainly that I had waited so long to do it - and I was 32 at the time! I had a sleeve and I'm having an extremely rare complication now so I'm revising to gastric bypass. I lost 150 lbs with my sleeve and was still obese because I was so heavy to start with. Now, I'm just looking forward to feeling healthy again (it's been a long, rough year of sickness and diagnosing my complication) and losing all the weight I intended to lose when I had my sleeve. We all struggle. Even "skinny" people struggle. Being overweight is due to so many factors, none of which can be changed at this point. Did I contribute to my own obesity? Sure, but now I'm working on resolving it. Being sad does nothing but keep you feeling bad about yourself, and you are a strong person to take all the steps needed to get to your surgery date. I congratulate you on the hard work you've put in so far and wish you a fast recovery and great success in the future. You haven't failed a thing! You're still alive to keep fighting! <3

The options keep expanding, that's for sure! I think the biggest concern with the mini is the potential for bile reflux. There was a person on the board that had it happen, but I'm not sure if/how she got sorted out. It sure would be nice if there was a "perfect procedure", but so far it hasn't been created. At this point, from what I see, all 4 main surgical options have semi-equivalent benefits. It's the complications that vary so much. (So that is what I would focus on to make a decision).

I've enjoyed this thread - just like losing weight, surgery and pain levels are different for everyone. 9 weeks out and I had no complications and one night in the hospital. No swallow test after surgery, must have been done while under. Minimal pain first night, nothing the pain meds didn't take care of. Had trouble sleeping in the hospital which is why I went home on day 2. Slept like a baby at home, no pain meds after day 3, needed Zofran for a week for nausea - that's a lifesaver folks - and was off work for 6 weeks and was glad to have every day of them. My only problem was weakness up until about week 4 when I could eat a little more. Way easier than my gallbladder surgery 15 years ago. I'm 57 and I read everything I could read up the sleeve, asked tons of questions and was amazed how easy it was. Now if the weight would come off a little faster - down 18 pounds in 9 weeks. Had a 5 week stall at the 3 week mark. Frustrating. I'm a slow loser.

Devil's advocate here... Complications happen in about 1 in 20 surgeries. Bleeding, infection, leaks, blood clots, etc. Death is very rare, but these other things can and do happen. We all take a risk by undergoing the surgery, but the rewards ARE great when things go well. Only you can say whether the reward would be worth the risk for you. Personally, my health was deteriorating rapidly, so both paths were risky (surgery vs. no surgery). Do as much research as you can so you understand what the surgery can and can't do, and really get a grasp on your own "issues" that may or may not be helped. The surgery helps our bodies, but does nothing with our minds.

The concern is the skins on the popcorn getting "stuck". Chances are you're fine, but I'd hate to see someone get a complication from it. At this point, just go on with your life and don't worry. Just don't do it again until your surgeon clears it.

I had another serious health issue crop up (now thankfully resloved) and that necessitatated putting off my initial WLS assessments. I told my husband when he was accompanying me to an appointment for the other health issue. I knew they would bring up the scheduled bariatric evaluations. Hubby is reasonably supportive, and worried about complications. I have told my children. They are older teens. They are living at home. They are supportive. I have told no one else! And, I don't want to. I made the decision for myself and my health. I never appreciated anyone commenting on my weight or what I was eating before this, and I don't want to hear other's opinions now. Many members of my family have struggled with their weight. Some have successfully lost weight for a while... I think they would "try" to be supportive, but I think I would quickly become annoyed. Additionally, I don't want this to be a regular topic of discussion. If a family member or friend is considering WLS, then I would tell them. I don't consider it a secret - just private. If there are major complications, then people will need to know. However, I believe that all will go reasonably well. If in the future one of my kids had surgery without telling me, then I would be upset. Also, we have asked the kids not to tell people. Those are the only two things give me pause about my decision to keep the WLS private. Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm curious how much time are you taking from your job to recover after surgery are you taking? What is typical, barring any complications? I have a relatively sedentary job, medical setting at a desk mostly, so nothing too strenuous.

Update from my husband: His CPAP fitting is next Tuesday (August 8) and it is 100% covered by insurance - good news there! Arterial Blood Gas - He needs to get this done at the Main Hospital and have an appointment for that. He is calling now to obtain an appointment. Chest X-Ray - he will get it done tomorrow I am worry about all of these things, naturally. I am mostly worried about him having complications during the surgery due to the sleep apnea. It can't come fast enough so we can move forward!!

joeibaby- With the band you physically cannot eat certain things because no matter how much you chew it won't go past the band. I don't regret getting it, but if I knew then what I know now, I would have went for the sleeve first. I never really got the "full" feeling from the band. throwing up became a common thing to me because I'd eat too fast or too much. I couldn't even eat salad because the lettuce wouldn't go down right. I didnt have any complications, just couldn't get the hang of it. On Mother's Day, I started having chest pains and thought I was having a heart attack. Im 46 and people die all the time at my age and my weight from that. After two hospital emergency room visits I find out its my band causing all these issues. I'm currently stuck at home due to a recent spinal fusion surgery so I can't exercise(not that i was big into that anyway) so for now I'm finishing all my "Bad food" in the house and will switch over to the protein shakes and one meal. I do enjoy them and half of this process is wrapping your mind around the fact that it is a life style change. You have to let go of the quantity of food and go for quality of food. I might be a "Newbie" here, but trust me Ive been battling this for 8 years. Time to go with the sleeve. I feel like the fact that it will shrink my stomach, and take the hunger feeling away, I can focus on other stuff in my life and get healthy.

@smb you would think your insurance would approve everything quickly to save them money down the road!! Fingers crossed for you!! Geri- if loving food makes us mental then we're all mad! What complications with the band have you had? I was leaning towards that until I found this forum. My first session the nutritionist scared me with the sleeve! Or maybe it was because another guy in there was adamant about drinking whiskey after having sleeve surgery

First off take a deep breath and realize on the internet you can't always believe everything you read. Part of the issue with message boards and internet sites is many of the people who report are those with complications. I understand fear and regret, I had some myself but this is literally the best choice I've ever made. I've been overweight since I was 12, morbidly obese most my adult life and now for the first time in years I have my freedom back. I had the sleeve 12/30/16. I've had no issues with my surgery and my recovery was smooth and as easy as to be expected after major surgery. My physical pain lasted about 2 weeks with minor aches lasting about a month. I returned to work at the 2 week mark and other than being tired, I had no issues going back to work. The worst part for me was the gas pain, which you can help minimize with gas meds and walking as well as pain where my drain was but that was removed on Day 2 post op. I also has nausea on Day 1 but that is a side effect of anesthesia for me and had it after every surgery I've had. I was allowed to begin sipping about 24 hours after surgery and had no issues taking small sips. I had no swallowing issues, no pain with swallowing and have yet to have an issue eating or drinking as I move through the stages. I did have some minor heartburn early on and was prescribed Protonix once a day for 3 months. I no longer have had any issues in terms of heartburn. It's was a minor issue for me and taking a pill once a day didn't effect my life negatively or set me back. To this day, I've been able to eat almost everything I did pre surgery (though I chose to avoid unhealthy foods). I've also been able to tolerate straws, caffeine and carbonation with no issues. I also enjoy going out to eat on a regular basis with my friends and family. I've lost 101 pounds so far and wouldn't change a single thing. I had no co-morbidities but it would have only been a manner of time as I was at the highest weight of my life. My lab work (blood sugar on the climb, cholesterol was high, thyroid was off) was not great the last time I had a physical and my body ached. Now I'm in perfect health, just had my yearly physical and I was 100 pounds down since last year, my lab work was perfect and I feel 10 years younger. As for sleeve effectiveness, I have not heard that it's not recommended for weightloss. In fact at my clinic it's replaced all over forms of weightloss surgery in popularity. I have people in my local support group who are 3-5 years out and have success still.

I had gastric sleeve in April 2014. I lost 60 pounds and still wanted to loose about 20 more. No complications or issues with surgery or recovery. After a year and a half of weight loss my family had a sudden and stressful move. I had to move to a small town and leave the fitness classes that I loved. I had to leave a job I love and suddenly be looking for work. Our small town is 45 minutes from a grocery store so even healthy meals and shopping became a challenge. In the past year and a half I have regained 40 pounds. I have tried doing paleo and primal to get the weight off but have a hard time sticking to it. I have tried just tracking my food intake but get frustrated feeling like it take so much time. I still feel restriction and can't eat as much in one sitting, but I am eating way too often and too much sugar and processed foods and much higher amount than post surgery. I knew people who gained weight after surgery and I always said that wouldn't be me, if I got the chance to loose that weight I would ever gain it back. Now I Now here I m feeling totally defeated and disappointed in myself and lack of motivation or belief in myself. Loosing weight is hard enough but loosing weight that you already lost and looking at post op photos upset me me to the point of depression rather than motivation. I am looking for any advice or tips from this group. Have any of you come back from a huge gain after surgery? I've thought about giving paleo another try or possibly back to a protein shake for breakfast and lunch with a healthy dinner and snacks. Should I track everything or just work on eating healthy foods? AM exercise tips at home. I'm open to everything right now.

I have only told my husband and one of my 4 children- my kids are 13,16, 18 & 20. I told the 18 year old. I also told 2 friends at work and 2 close friends out of work. That's it. Hubby told his family and they blabbed it to everyone. He still feels like he gets weird looks from people and comments like he took the easy way out- believe me this is not easy and he has so many complications. So no- only tell people you trust. It is no ones business but yours. No one else has a right to know. If you feel like you have to tell her something make up another surgery. I told people I was having surgery to fix my bile ducts and a haiatal hernia. I have ended up in the hospital once or twice a year for bile ducts in my liver being clogged. The dr said losing weight might help that so technically this surgery will fix that (lol). I hope this helps. Mich W Hw 223, SW 217 CW 195 GW 135

Well damn! You look amazing! Wonderful reward for all your hard work! I am so happy for you that you've managed the pain so well- and all this without any major complications ) you're a rock star! How about any tips for those of us that have plateaued? I don't think I'll ever get to goal - so frustrating! Any word of wisdom would be great! Thanks, Love! Keep up the good work and keep us posted please?

I had the VGS, hiatal hernia repair and gall bladder removal. I was unable to get in and out of bed on my own for 10 days. I needed 12 weeks recovery till I was able to move normally again and it took 6 months to fully heal. I had a lot of regret in the first 4 weeks post op and then I got over it. There were a lot of hard moments, dealing with trying to eat on a healing stomach, dealing with getting sick from over-doing the sugars, etc. Yet NONE of these things were ever worse or as close to as bad as the issues I had from being obese. I was FAR more miserable every moment of my life fat than I was post surgery. There is no guarantee for you, you know the complication possibilities. You are nervous and scared. I was too!! But now, 10 months in? I'm a whole new person that is happier, more active and more alive than I have been since I was about 16. I'm 42 now. Good luck with everything!! You are a warrior, this is no easy feat. I wish you all the joy and success!!

I agree. I felt my C-Section was much worse. The worst part of this surgery for me was the gas pain and the pain from my drain which I had out day 2 in the hospital. My program does require a longer stay, I was in Fri-Sun with my surgery, no complications. It does get better! Before you know it it will be just a normal way of living for you!

Girl, You are in full-blown panic mode. I get it, what we are doing is very scary, there can be complications and, if I'm perfectly honest, I tried to talk myself out of the surgery several times. I was scared and just like you - minus the throwing up. I was trying to make deals with god, I was trying to figure out how I could cancel without disappointing people, etc. But in the end I acknowledged that this is what I need to do to live past my 40's. I did regret it for the 1st 4 weeks, cause those were hard weeks. But then I healed and life opened up for me in a way I've never known. I've been obese since high-school. I've never been a size 10-12 as an adult, I've never been able to fly without worry, or ride a rollercoaster without fear of not fitting in the seat, I walk by windows and am proud of who I see rather than shamed. And let me just address the lack of shame issue. I no longer walk around feeling total shame and embarrassment over what I look like and what I've become. That has improved my overall happiness as a person. I respect myself more and I can't even quantify for you what that full impact on my life has been... There are going to be side-effects and complications. But, for 99% of us, the side effects of obesity are FAR worse than the side effects from the Gastric Sleeve. Your life is NOT over, I promise promise promise promise!!! It might feel like that now but in 6 months, if you allow yourself to follow through with this, you will most likely be happier than you have been in years, moving like you would not believe and experiencing joy and success in this process. But it's NOT easy, there IS pain and struggle and tears. But there is with being obese as well. Look, what we do here, with this surgery, altering our bodies, taking a step off into the abyss, it's terrifying. But that's what makes each of us such bad-asses!!! We are freaking WARRIORS!! Anyone who says this is the easy way out is just showing their stunning ignorance. This is, by far, the hardest, most rewarding, most amazing thing I've ever done. I weighed 375 lbs 5 years ago. I lost 100lbs on an all liquid diet over 16 months. That was SOOOOOO much worse and harder in the long run. Because I had to eat the same thing, chocolate protein shake, 5 times a day for 16 MONTHS. MONTHS. lol! This is so much easier. I take all that willpower and self-control and now apply it to my exercise and keeping my head right. You are gonna be OK no matter what you decide. It's OK to say I'm too scared and not ready for this. There can be complications, nothing is a guarantee. I wish you all the luck and success!!

My surgeon says my surgery went well with no complications. Once I woke up i was in a lot of pain in my abdomen. It feels like you are being stabbed over and over and in waves of pain. I do have gas but it's subsiding as I walk and pass gas. When I got back to my room the pain would not subside. My 1st nurse was rude and told me that I'm only allowed a certain amount of pain medication at a certain time as it was prescibed. I put up with pain until I got mad cause I felt like I was being tortured. She came at 430pm and gave me morphine. It did nothing I called for her 4 times after and she was ignoring me. I was in so much pain. My bf had left to walk our dog and I was alone so I text my sister because I couldn't even talk from the pain. I told her what was happening let's just say that lady rushed in my room and gave me propofol and I passed out with no pain finally. After that my nurse switched shifts and I have a great nurse who is giving me my nauseous and pain meds that work. Point of story: You should not be in pain at the hospital!!! Day 2 which is today took my drink test and I passed. I'm feeling so much better today. Only taking ice chips. Tried to sip a bit of soup yesterday and my tummy got tight. So for now only ice chips. Sent from my SM-G920T1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Awesome! Do keep in mind that those videos of people postop are put out there by people that are happy and successful. If they weren't, they either wouldn't be making a video or they would title it "fail", or "complications" or something like that. But, it's true... the vast majority of people do well, and a wonderful transformation is possible... even probable. My hubby commented the other day on how much smaller my bottom was

I had the band in 2008. Went from 310 to 175. After six years severe complications began. Feb 2016 needed emergency removal and switch to gastric bypass. Six weeks later i could not drink liquids. Er called it stricture. From 11/2016 had ten ballon endoscopies , a stent which broke lose causing three surgeries, two surgeries for total small bowel obstructions . In the six months since removal of band my weight went from 175 to 235 my weight one year post revision is 157. Rough ride but what in life comes easy I switched hospitals to columbia presbyterian in NYC to finally get it fixed It was worth the rough journey but risk of adhesions is always present

In your poll are only the short term complications listed. I didn't have any of these but I had lots of adhesions that made adhesiolysis necessary recently. Before that I had terrible reflux and a migrating lap band and needed conversion to bypass. So I definitely have complications but not immediate ones.

It's a good question - because the nature of an internet forum is going to distort what you see. Assume that you will always hear more from the people who had problems, There appear to be a wide spectrum of people but that's an illusion (this is the case for ALL self selecting forums on the net) the site is populated by people who have chosen to be here, subsequently they aren't representative (they may have had issues they want to air, a need to share, they may crave a sense of belonging... none of these things are wrong but is DOESN'T make them average). Plenty of people may find these forums don't suit them, feel the surgery was routine and subsequently doesn't merit talking about or simply want to move on from the surgery and get on with life (personally I think I'm falling into this camp already). So you won't hear their experiences in places like this. So, like any other self-selecting internet forum the contributors here are likely to be people who have something, rather than nothing, to report... so complications, issues, trauma and problems will ALWAYS be over-represented. That doesn't make it a bad thing, far from it those experiences are valuable, but it's not the same as this being representative. If you want to know about incidence of complications you need some kind of inclusive audit of ALL surgeries. In the UK we have the National Bariatric Surgery Register (NSBR). The report from 2014 (which covers a 3 year period) gives the following headline figures: 161 surgeons from 137 hospitals recorded 32,073 operations The observed in-hospital mortality rate after primary surgery was 0.07% overall The recorded surgical complication rate overall for primary operations was 2.9% It also states that those are comparable rates to other international data sources. All of which suggests they're worth taking notice of. What they don't include are the minor complications you hear about a lot on here, so nausea and the like. All I can say about that is that the people who have nothing to tell are probably not here and if they are here are probably not posting much - it's the way of the web. For me? No complications. Remarkably pain free and easy, despite the anxiety beforehand. And yes, I wish I'd done it years ago.

I've seen a lot of folks summarize their surgeries with something like, "It's been wonderful, I wish I had done it sooner! I had a/some complication/s but they were fixed and now I'm doing great!" I would love to hear some experiences from folks who have had complications - whether mild or severe. I've obviously read about different complications you can experience but would love to hear personal stories.

Amen Nikki!!! For someone who is having so many complications and cannot be worried about food phases he has plenty of time to bash anyone that tries to give words of encouragement.

You never said you puréed the food. You originally came on in severe pain and people were suggesting some things to look into that might help. I am the queen of research. I'm a badass researching Mom so don't even try it. None of us that were asking about the food were insulting you we were just offering something to look into. If you don't want anybody commenting why post at all. I'm very sorry your going through complications. I do hope you feel better soon. And why would you purée cheese or even how. The number one suggestion for complications and pain is to step back on food to liquid and call your Surgeon. You said yourself they pushed on your stomach and sent you home even though you had a fever. Doesn't sound right.