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You are going to be in pain. Quite a lot of pain. If you're being medicated with morphine, you will drift in and out of consciousness a lot and have weirdo dreams nearly every time you close your eyes. Your belly will be HUGE with the gas they used to operate on you laparoscopically, and that will hurt. They will want you up and walking as soon as possible to get that gas moving around and out of your body. Your goal in life is suddenly to fart a lot. Putting warm blankets or a heating pad on your belly will help with the pain and the gas, but the walking is key. It will be hard to sit up because it uses your abs. Try rolling onto your side, then pushing yourself up sideways, using your back and shoulders to lift your body instead. When you walk you may feel a "pulling" sensation on your incisions, or like your belly is going to fall off/open. It's not, but it feels that way. Walk with a pillow held to your abdomen, or just straight up carry your belly around with your hand to help alleviate that feeling. You can also try a post-surgical binder or control top underwear/shorts. Your mouth will be very very dry and you may or may not be allowed anything to relieve it. Try asking for mouth wetting sponges from the nurse, just in case. You will not get to eat or drink until after you pass your swallow test, which is where they make sure your stomach has no leaks. You will have to stand and drink for that procedure. My technician gave me a straw, but I did not use it because in our clinic we are not allowed straws. Your sense of taste will completely change when you get your first meal. Things will taste too sweet. Eat and drink veryyyyyy slooooooowly, but make sure you're getting your fluids in so they can get you off the IV fluids and you can go home. Experiment with water temperatures if you're having a hard time drinking it. Nurses will come in and take your vitals frequently, and also give you MULTIPLE injections of blood thinners. Those shots leave a hella bruise, but after the first one they don't hurt nearly as much for some mysterious reason. Stay on a pain med schedule. Ask the nurses to write down when your last dose was and how often you can have them. It's a good idea for the first night to ask for meds (or use your pain pump) as soon as you're due a dose instead of waiting for the pain to make you ask. If you stay ahead of it, you hurt less. If you're sent home with codeine, use it as necessary but try to taper off as soon as you can because codeine makes you constipated and the last thing you want is to be constipated, TRUST ME. Within 5 days, if you don't have complications, the pain will massively subside. I am 13 days out and only rarely hurt.

Sometimes it comes from jealousy but the longer I have been on this path the more I realize most people are straight up clueless about what is actually healthy. Most restaurants make 12 ounce steaks the norm, but that is 3-4 times the amount of steak you should eat at once. 3-4 ounces of steak is not a barbaric portion, that is a proper portion size. That is what everyone is supposed to eat. That is why is so annoying when people whine about only being able to eat a little bit for the rest of their life. No, you will actually be eating how everyone else is supposed to be eating. We are a society of gluttons and gluttony is encouraged at every turn. When you eat right around people that eating wrong, fat or skinny they know already they are eating wrong and you eating right it makes them self conscious. The more weight I lose with more results, people look at how I eat, everyone gets pizza, I get a chicken Cesar salad, and eating the toppings off a piece or 2 of pizza, everyone gorging on pizza looks at how I eat. Not because it is so different but because it really isn't terrible, especially to get the results I have. So now people are thinking, wow why can't I do that? How people feel about you losing weight is really complicated and they may not even know why they are in their feelings. Having your fat friend go healthy is just like having your party buddy get married or give up liquor. Now you lost your partner in crime. Not eating with your fat friends is the same thing. I was lucky post-op that I lived in a new area, where I did not know anyone. I never had to worry about how anyone felt because I never saw anyone for more than a few hours at a time. If I treated myself the every 2 to 3 months I hung out with someone I knew it didn't matter. My macros were still fine, and my idea of a treat is different than most people. I suggest people distance themselves from people they enjoyed their old habits with until they really have a good handle on their new lifestyle. Just like any other addict.

(I tried posting this in the plastic surgery section but it didn't give me permission so I am posting this question here, I hope that's OK) I have two questions: 1. I am looking for a good plastic surgeon in the Midwest. I am having a hard time finding someone who really specializes in plastic surgery after massive weight loss. I looked on real self.com but could only find regular plastic surgeons and not one to really specialize in huge body reconstruction. 2. I understand that the likelihood of getting plastic surgery covered by insurance is minimal. I know that the cost out-of-pocket will be expensive but what worries me even more is if there are complications, that would probably be very costly and insurance would probably not cover those complications right? I don't know what the incidence is of complications but I know that there is always a chance. Has anyone had problems with complications and self-pay?

Iam soooo happy to hear that you are going with Dr. Gagner. Please tell them I said hello when you go...ESPECIALLY to nurse Azadeh. She is a gift! Iam now just over 4 months in (March 29th was 4th month anniversary) and NO REGRETS, and so far NO COMPLICATIONS. I have lost 47lbs. Iam currently 163lbs and feeling soooooo much better. The worst thing for me is and probably will always be not being able to REALLLLY enjoy a dinner again. Even now, my portions are so so small its crazy. I find grazing the only way to get in the nutrients I need. So, for example breakfast is either a high protein oatmeal, or 1 oz of cheese with apple slices. I have raw veggies with hummus for a mid morning snack. Lunch is soup or leftovers or a protein shake. Dinner small amount of meat with a small veggie. It does suck - no doubt about that but the rewards of being that smaller person I have been dreaming about far outweighs the disappointment of the meal. My biggest struggle is getting in the protein requirements for the day. Some days are better than others. Best of luck on your journey, honestly it is hard at first and I did have regrets the first few days but that quickly goes away as the scale successes make for so much happiness!!! Take Care!

Part of it is genetic... I have a friend with a very low bmi and pretty tenacious sagging skin and stretch marks after having children. She has never been overweight a day in her life, even pregnant. Her skin just is unfriendly. I on the other hand have been overweight my whole life. A him between 30-35 most of the time. On the few occasions I managed to drop the same 70lbs again, I have very little loose skin and my stretch marks fine and nearly invisible. The same can be said for scarring, some people scars are more noticeable with darker pigments and more raised while others scars nearly disappear. Obviously size and complications like infections certainly play a role too though. Just going to have to wait and see! Good luck

Hi. I found this thread through another thread. Can I just be super blunt here? From reading all of these comments in sounds to me that eating very little is what needs to happen for anyone to loose the weight (Hypo, Hashi, AF myself). If the point is to starve yourself then why bother to get a major surgery and risk complications? Starvation is the ONLY way I have ever lost weight in the past. I am not trying to be sassy but just being real. Comments? Thoughts? Contemplation? I have reached a breaking point with my body's failure to cooperate with trying to get the weight off with lots of exercise and calorie counting plus clean eating.

Can I be honest? I said the same thing before my surgery, that I needed the restriction to lose weight so that's why I was getting surgery. Honestly my restriction is there, but you can cheat the system after surgery. Carbs do not fill up your tummy like Protein and you can slowly munch and graze every hour on high carb high fat food if you wanted. Some people don't have much restriction at all so be prepared that it might happen that way. You have to resist those foods and change your eating habits before surgery. That's why the preop diet comes in handy because it is a real reality of what your life will be like over the next few months. Why not just try low carb/sugar free (that's essentially the diet you will be on after surgery) while waiting for the surgery? See what it's like and make sure you are committed to this lifestyle change because temptation is unbelievable and you can slide so easy back into old habits without even realizing you've done it. That being said, this was the best decision I've ever made even with the complications. I knew that I needed to save my life, and without this surgery giving me the kick in the butt to get it done, I would still be 255 lbs and hating my life.

My name is Charlene. I am 45yrs old, never married, no children (I blame my weight for both if these, since it causes me to have NO confidance) I work with 2 yr olds ft. I have been overweight (morbidly obese) since I was about 10yrs old and put on massive doses of steroids for a hormonal imbalance, which I later found out I never had. I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and back,knee and shoulder arthritis. I have always loved softball, and hope to play again some day. I am having my sleeve done in June, and I am scared. I am not scared of the life changes, I am more afraid of complications. I am having the surgery not only for my health, but also so I can START living my life!

I told tall tales? And you know this because...??? I never said anything untruthful. What would be my motivation to make anything up anyway? What would be the point? I had bypass. Had complications. My bypass was converted to a sleeve. I got a bad bad stricture. I relapsed into anorexia. I got therapy. Got my stricture dilated. I got even more therapy. Recovered from anorexia. Gave up dieting. Found balance. I have dumping with my sleeve.. but otherwise I'm well. That's all true. What sounds TALL to you about that? My story hasn't changed cause that's what happened. It sucked. I survived. I simply told of my experiences. People didn't want to believe me because the complications I went through are rare... well that's up to them. But nothing I ever said was a lie. I don't know why you care anyway. You don't know me! I was never banned. I just took a break. [emoji1303] a lot of people don't want to hear about potential complications when they begin this process and I don't blame them. But they do happen and happened to me. I went through a lot. And many people on here were very mean to me. But it's okay. Water under the bridge. I'm just here to give support to whom I can. [emoji4]

Without knowing what complications you had, yes. Just keep eating and you will have more capacity as time passes.

So, I'm a complicated widow of almost 4 years. I've tried the online dating thing a few times. Once quite recently. Because of my size I hate my full body picture taken. So I don't have many. I actually found one on my phone the other day and sent it to a man I'd been speaking to (texting with) and within hours of receiving the picture, he mysteriously loses his phone we've been texting on and he starts texting from a phone with a number from another state! I had high hopes for this one,too. It took a lot of guts on my part to send him that picture to begin with. Now I'm questioning all the strength I built up to send it in the first place. It's like it's gone. If I can't trust someone to like or even love me for what's inside of me now, then how am I supposed to trust anyone to like or even love me when I'm a skinny Minnie? Had anyone had these feelings or gone through this? Do you know anyone who's had the surgery and then met their one and them not question why now and not then?

I've had a couple or complications but now I'm back on track, my issue is I can't eat! I'm 6.5 weeks out and can eat 2oz of yogurt, or 1.5oz of chicken salad, or 1 slice of deli meat. At what point should I expect to eat a somewhat reduced regular diet?

You look fantastic! Crazy that we still have to worry about complications 6 weeks out, but glad you're finally on the mend!!

I had both surgeries done at the same time and it took about five hours. With the band removal there is of course scar tissue so it made it a bit more complicated but everything has been great.

So sorry.. this is a VERY long update on what I have been doing these last several months!! GOALS - My goal is 145 now... It was originally 150 but now that I am dancing between 147-149, I changed my goal to 145. EXERCISE - After surgery I never worked out, although I wish I did. I am doing random TaeBo here and there, but nothing serious.. I do find it a lot easier to jog now. I jog to my car from my apartment sometimes to get something I need. Before I didn't make it all the way without running out of air but now it's SO easy. WEIGHT - My weight hasn't changed since December... Would I call that a stall? I don't know because I'm very happy at my current weight although I would like to lose 20 more pounds because when I get pregnant, I'll want to gain weight without a worry... Yes, I will try to get pregnant soon before the recommended 18 months. I've discussed it with my doctor. I am more than excited I will finally be a mother hopefully before I turn 35 which is when it's high risk for birth defects. FOOD - I eat a lot when my period is coming and regular on non period days.. but I never gain weight... I hardly eat sweets.. I just snack on fruits and veggies.. mostly jicama or mangos.. I drink AT LEAST 32oz of water day. I have the very low calorie orange juice sometimes because I get tired of water. I also drink coffee here and there. It's good and I can't stop. DUMPING - I only get pre-dumps now... I usually know when to stop.. when I eat sugar such as coffee, cakes, chocolate, cookies I get the pre-dumps... I don't eat too many sweets but during that special week, I can't help myself. I have absolutely no problems with constipation, reflux or any other complications.. the only thing I get is pre-dumps after I cause them after sweets.. I always know when to stop eating regular food but when it comes to sweets... I don't know.. also, I experienced​ what it means for food to get stuck.. I had eaten an orange at the time. It was the worst pain ever. Very different from dumping. The last time I had full on dumping episode was back October. I had to leave work early. CLOTHES - My brain doesn't believe I am 100 pounds lighter and when I shop, I shop like a plus sized woman.. I am now a size 8/9 which is what I always wanted.. but when I see clothes, my brain says... "Ummmm no, you'll need at least a 12/13 and that will for you tight.." how do I get my brain to believe my eyes!? I bought my first bathing suit size 10-12. When I received it in the mail I tried it on and it was too big. So I got a 6-8 and a 8-10.. my brain keeps telling me that I won't fit the 6-8 but my eyes tell me I'll look hot! OTHER - My regular doctor officially changed my chart to normal weight.. it was a big deal for me and I am very happy about it. My loose skin never bothered me before but now it's starting to bug me. My butt looks like a deflated balloon.. [emoji17] after I have a baby/ies, I plan on dancing around the idea of a butt lift and definitely a breast lift.. I'm still not used to people telling me they want to be skinny like me. Or implying that I am skinny.. it's so new to me.. I was carried by a man for the first time in my life. It was amazing.. I felt like a princess.. Chairs.. I am able to sit in a chair with handles and not feel pain!! In fact, there is space.. and I can always sit Indian style ANYWHERE I sit.. I'm always cold, sometimes I feel pain when I sit because there's no meat/cushion protecting my bones from piercing my skin. I also feel that kind of pain on my shoulder blades. I can see my bones!!! My ribs.. it's truly amazing.. Please let me know your updates and what you guys have been through such as dumping, appearance thoughts, what do you guys eat?

Hi and thanks. I have a few co morbidities as well. High blood pressure, borderline diabetic, high triglycerides, moderate sleep apnea as well as fibromyalgia. Otherwise I wouldn't have even considered it. All my other tests came back pretty good tho. I really thought I wouldn't have any complications. I just need to know exactly what happened and whether or not it's safe to go forward.

...so it's been 6 weeks and I'm really happy with my results. I'll post several comparative before/after pictures below. I have had a complication where I have an incision dehiscence (opened wound) that started out just as an irritation but Dr took out some deep sutures that were causing the problem so it's healing now.

In general, the fact that you are experiencing constant nausea indicates that there is a condition that should be looked at. According to the internet: Nausea and vomiting are the most common complaints after bariatric surgery, and they are typically associated with inappropriate diet and noncompliance with a gastroplasty diet (ie, eat undisturbed, chew meticulously, never drink with meals, and wait 2 hours before drinking after solid food is consumed). If these symptoms are associated with epigastric pain, significant dehydration, or not explained by dietary indiscretions, an alternative diagnosis must be explored. One of the most common complications causing nausea and vomiting in gastric bypass patients is anastomotic ulcers, with and without stomal stenosis. Ulceration or stenosis at the gastrojejunostomy of the gastric bypass has a reported incidence of 3% to 20%. Although no unifying explanation for the etiology of anastomotic ulcers exists, most experts agree that the pathogenesis is likely multifactorial. These ulcers are thought to be due to a combination of preserved acid secretion in the pouch, tension from the Roux limb, ischemia from the operation, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use, and perhaps Helicobacter pylori infection. Evidence suggests that little acid is secreted in the gastric bypass pouch; however, staple line dehiscence may lead to excessive acid bathing of the anastomosis. Treatment for both marginal ulcers and stomal ulcers should include avoidance of NSAIDs, antisecretory therapy with proton-pump inhibitors, and/or sucralfate. In addition, H pylori infection should be identified and treated, if present.

That's terrible to hear! I am in a mind set of not eating that type of food. I've been working hard and cutting out refined sugars little by little. Why would a person do that to their self after going through getting the sleeve? It's a wonderful tool that should not be taken for granted! Sounds like your friend needs to see a doctor and get his/her mind set right regarding food. Sounds like they are eating Oreos in stead of doing what's right for their body and getting that Water in. I hope your friend becomes more aware, successful and feels better!!!! Maybe you're seeing stuff you're not supposed to do. I only hear of complications from people who bring in the same ol'yummy but bad habits back to their selfs. I hope you are stronger than that and prevail! I'm gunna try too! [emoji182]

I had my surgery on 3-29 @10:30 am. Was able to get outta bed myself immediately once I was in my room cause I had to pee so bad. The nurses couldn't believe when I didn't need help and wasn't in pain. I was so hot, tho! I had them turn the air down to 65 degrees. On Wednesday, my pain was mostly internal. It felt like bad period cramps where my stomach is. My incisions do not hurt at all. I was given morphine every couple of hours but it did not help. I slept most of Wednesday away and got up to walk at 10pm that night. I was able to suck on ice chips all day Wednesday. My mouth was so damn dry. Thursday, I still had cramping and what felt like a bad hunger pain@. But I did not feel hungry. That morning I had my sleeve leak test. I was so surprised when they told me to take 2 big gulps at a time of the horrible medicine which tasted like a lemon house cleaner. Most disgusting taste ever. I had to gulp down more then half a Styrofoam cup and my stomach did not have pain. Couldn't believe it! After thatn I went back to my room and was given water and tiny cups to sip from. They also brought me broth, Sf Popsicles, and Sf lemonade. At first, I was able to sip the water down with no complications but after 2 of the tiny cups my stomach started to cramp. I also was able to sucks on a Sf popsicle but started cramping shortly afterward. I wonder if that is my new full feeling. Later in the afternoon, I began to have diarrhea and still have it. I have also needed to go pee many times throught the day since surgery. Thursday night I was given a lil concoction of tylenol and hydrocodone which takes my pain away and knocks me out but is so disgusting. I was able to go home around 230pm on Friday. I still have cramping when I drink or suck on a popsicle. I have not tried broth yet. I was given a 30day supply of heparin that I have to inject in my belly twice a day. Also, they lowered my blood pressure meds to just lisinopril. Also got pantoprazole which helps reduce acid and the concoction of Tylenol and hydrocodone. I came home and went straight to bed since I was given pain meds before I left and woke up feeling sore on my lower tummy and cramping. I got up to walk around my house a bit and drank a few 30ml cups and ate a popsicle. Now I am about to take a shower and take my pain meds so I can sleep. I hope everyone who just had surgery is doing okay. I weighed myself on the hospital scale and it showed that I lost 4lbs. My home scale is another story. Says I still weigh the same as I did surgery morning. Grrrr! Lol

You are going to get a lot of responses for him. I went to him and my experience was awesome. He and the hospital staff were the best. The care was better than state side. I had no complications and I work with 3 other patients of his. All of us are very happy! Make sure to talk to the Coordinator, Bill.

It seems like you're all set for your revision. I just wanted to share why I eventually opted for RNY over the sleeve. I initially really, really wanted the sleeve. I suffered from mild to moderate GERD with a hiatal hernia. My doctor strongly advised against the sleeve because of this. He said patients with GERD fare much better with the bypass in the long run, and that those who get sleeved usually have to have the revision done within five years. This occurs even after their GERD issues seemingly disappear. You didn't mention if you have a hiatal hernia, but I did. He also said that while the hernia could be repaired if I got sleeved, it would also likely reoccur within five years. The reason why bypass works so much better compared to the sleeve is because your small intestines anchors the new stomach pouch, preventing it from slipping back up through the diaphragm and causing acid reflux. When my approval went through, it was for the sleeve. Ultimately, I didn't want to risk having a revision in a few years. I wanted this to be one and done. I asked about just repairing the hernia separately later on if I got sleeved and was told hiatal hernia surgery itself is a much more major surgery with greater complications and risks than any weight loss surgery. My surgeon also pointed out that even those who get sleeved still have to take vitamins for the rest of their lives, so there really isn't much difference. I also want to lose as much weight as possible to allow for natural and reasonable weight gain that comes with aging. Bypass weight loss gives you more wiggle room to work with. So I changed my mind and had my paperwork resubmitted for RNY. I didn't have to meet any additional or separate requirements; it was only the matter of updating the insurance code. I'm now 4 days post-op and I don't regret my decision at all.

Hi everyone! I had sleeve surgery in May 2013. Initially I lost about 140lbs, but then about a year and half post op I got pregnant. I gained some weight during and after pregnancy, and then lost some weight as well, and now I'm having a complication of some esophageal issues where I'm not able to swallow correctly. I have an appointment with a really great surgeon at an exceptional hospital in the Chicago area. I will have my first visit with them in April. I was hospitalized in January for Fluid build up and severe infection of my right lung. This was caused by aspirating food and fluid due to my esophageal problem. They did an esophogram and upper GI while I was in the hospital, and the gastroenterologist who was treating me in the hospital informed me that my sleeve had stretched, my stomach was nearly the size of a normal stomach. Additionally, the lower part of my esophagus where it connects to the stomach is dilated, as if my lower esophagus has been acting as a food pouch for quite some time. I was really shocked by this, as I had no issues post op from my sleeve and only stopped losing weight when I became pregnant, which I figured was to be expected. But since I had my baby in May 2015, I have struggled to lose anything. I was doing a keto diet at the end of last year and that was working, until I got sick in January. Now that my esophageal issues have been diagnosed, I have trouble eating anything solid. My weight has maintained since I was admitted in January but I haven't had any significant loss since then. Long story short, my primary focus is to get my esophagus issues figured out and fixed, but they referred me to two different docs - one that specializes in swallowing disorders, and the other is a GI/bariatric surgeon to address my stretched pouch. Since I'll likely need surgery to fix my esophagus, it would make sense to do any revision to my sleeve at the same time. I feel like I have 2 options (maybe 3) to discuss with regard to fixing the sleeve. Either re-sleeve, DS, or revise to gastric bypass. I should note that my highest weight was around 460, so even when I was at my lowest weight before getting pregnant, I was still at 306ish. I'm currently around 340-345 putting my BMI around 48. When I first started thinking of going the surgical route for WLS, something about the gastric bypass didn't appeal to me. So now I am struggling with if I should re-sleeve or go for the DS. I'm thinking since I still have so much to lose, the DS might be a better choice, but I honestly don't know enough about it to make a decision. I've read the limited info I could find about DS, I realize it's not a particularly popular surgical choice, but I want to hear from people who've had it, possibly people who had it after having a sleeve. I'd love to hear your stories and thoughts on the DS!

Yikes...that sucks. I had complications as well, although nothing nearly as bad as what you went through. I had a spleen bleed on day 3 that put me in ICU for a few days. My supposed to be 3 day stay turned into a week. Luckily I was okay after that episode. I chose surgery not for the sole purpose of being skinny but to get through some horrible sciatica/back pain that I'd been fighting for years. We never want to be part of the small group that comes out with complications. This first few weeks can be rough enough as it is with a normal surgery. I can't imagine having to deal with everything else. Hopefully you're on the road to a full recovery and will get through all this soon. Best of luck to you!