I did a search to see if there was a thread like this and didn't find one, so I apologize in advance if there is one.

I'm pre-op and I've read all I can from "official" sources in terms of what problems can occur due to the procedure. This forum is filled with a lot of positive stories because lets face it, problems are pretty rare statistically, but they do happen. I'd like for everyone who had any issue, even if it was a minor one, to post about it briefly here and what happened after and how your doing now. It would greatly help someone like me know all the risks.

There's a lot of changes that occur within the first 6 months that are truly just learning to eat with the sleeve, facing the mental and emotional challenges of not being able to eat like we did pre-op, and some side effects/symptoms do not hit all of us.

I wasn't prepared to have zero appetite. I knew I'd lose my hunger, but I wasn't prepared to hate food. After years of loving food in large quantities, many huge meals, it was definitely a huge change to all of a sudden dread eating. It wasn't because eating was painful or uncomfortable, I simply hated the way things tasted. Nothing sounded good, nothing smelled good, everything was just blah. I had to force myself to eat, and had to really get creative just to be able to eat. It didn't last, but it was a very trying time for me. I also had to set an alarm on my phone that would remind me to eat. My appetite did return, my tastebuds went back to how they were pre-op. Food did taste good again, but it took some time. Essentially, eating became a chore. It did help change my relationship with food. I learned to eat to live instead of living to eat.

I became lactose intolerant which was not fun. Yogurt and cheese was about the only thing I could eat. Protein drinks were out. whey is a milk product so anything with whey made me puke. I tried the other varieties of protein soy, and veggie Proteins, but they were disgusting.

I was prepared for the hair loss, I was prepared for the small portions, chewing everything to mush, and eating slowly. I had most of the eating learning curve beat because of my band experience. When anyone asks me for pre-op advice, I tell them the same things: stretch your meal out to 20 minutes, stop drinking with your meals now, and don't drink for 30 minutes after your meal, eat your meat first, switch over to a salad plate to cut your portions down, put your eating utensil down in between bites to help slow down your meal, when eating out get a to-go box as soon as your food is delivered and divide the meal in half, box up half of it to take home. Start drinking 60+ ounces of clear fluids now because it's a tough a habit to get into, but it's essential post-op.

My other advice is to confront your food issues before you have surgery. This will help with the food funerals, mourning the loss of being able to eat big meals, figure out what works for you. I had a different mindset than some other vsg'ers. I wanted to get to goal quickly and worry about maintenance when I got there. I was super strict with food choices through my losing phase. BUT, I knew that I would not be in deprivation mode for the rest of my life. I think it worked best for me.

Best wishes! ! !

Immediately Post-Op (in the hospital) I could not pee. The anesthesia slowed my system down I guess, and I had to be straight-cathed twice in the hospital, just so I could pee. That pretty much sucked and wasn't expected.

I had some anxiety and anxiousness for a few days in the hospital and at home... like restless, walk from chair to chair to bed, time ticking on slowly, not knowing what to do with myself. That was weird and thankfully settled down by post-op day 5.

When I started to transition to pureed foods (from clear liquids) I had nausea and had trouble. Had to go back to Clear liquids for a day or so and start over. vanilla yogurt and scrambled eggs was the best "1st foods" that worked for me.

Not too bad, if these were my only complications. I'd say I had a pretty okay time, compared to other things I've read that could happen. Good luck to you!

I'm 8 weeks out. I had major stomach acid once I started on the mushie stage, and it continued into my regular food stage. The acid refluxed up my throat once, but aside from that it was a roil-y, slightly nauseated feeling in my stomach, caused huge burping/belching/upward pressure issues no matter what I ate (and prevented me from eating much because there wasn't any room from the gas!), and often felt like hunger. Nexium, which my surgeon recommended, didn't touch it, and my old standby Prilosec, which I took twice a day before surgery for heartburn, was a little better. I started taking Pepcid every so often (as much as twice a day, some days), along with a Tums at bedtime and avoiding eating up to 3 hours before bedtime, and that made another good difference. And then switching to Prevacid 24 put me over the top. I'm now pretty much past it. All together I guess I went through maybe 4 weeks of figuring it out, getting a little better with each thing I tried.

I will say that the burping/belching/pressure was a major reduction in quality of life, and I had a moment or two of "what have I done", but then I just pulled myself up, decided it was a problem with a solution (which it was), and went about figuring out how to solve it. No regrets at all now - and I still burp a little while eating or when I get full. In fact, it's my "signal" that I should either slow down or stop eating altogether.

I had postop pneumonia in one lung and a partially collapsed lung on the other side. This was just because I have a lot of resp history. Not due to anything the doc did or didn't do. I followed instructions to the letter, and yet I still had the complications. Sometimes, just surgery by itself ups the risks.

But I have been sooooo lucky otherwise. I have not experienced any nausea, vomiting, sliming, foaming, regrets or anything else. The only thing I'd do differently is I would have had this 20 yrs ago were it available by a great doc like I had.

GG