I have an appt. to begin the classes in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'm trying to eat healthily, exercise and pray about what to do! I'm also doing a lot of reading on the surgery. I have a few questions.

1. Are complications after surgery common? I've seen a few people mention leaks, abscesses, etc. I just don't want to be sick or deal with anything else, but learning to eat in a new way afterward.

2. Eventually, can you have any kind of food, but just in moderation? I'm talking an event or festive holiday occasion where I might want a sip of a margarita or bite of chocolate. Could I ever do that again?

Seriously...this is stressing me out. I'm also worrying about putting myself under surgery when I have young children and a husband.

Great forum. Thanks so much!

Forgot to also ask.....how long is the average stay in the hospital after surgery?

When I was trying to decide I had someone give me great advice. It is just a tool, not a miracle worker. My doctor stressed to me that after surgery there could be no more bread, pasta, rice, or potatoes. I freaked out and thought how could I live like that. So I tried it for a week. I did fine. The thing is that you can eat that stuff, it won't hurt you, but it defeats the whole purpose of the surgery. I was worried about special occasions, but my birthday just passed and my parents got me a sugar free cake. If you are determined to lose weight then there are ways to do it and be happy!

Hi optasia, other than the complications you mention, some people suffer with nausea, but your doc should give you meds for this, so you should be OK.

Eventually you should be able to have some chocolate and a margarita on festive occasions. You'll just have to try and gauge it yourself by how it affects you on the scale as to what you can get away with.

1. Are complications after surgery common? I've seen a few people mention leaks, abscesses, etc. I just don't want to be sick or deal with anything else, but learning to eat in a new way afterward.

No complications are not all too common, but they are possible. No one wants to come out with any kind of complications, I'm sure but they do happen - and is something you will have to be willing to work out should it occur and be mentally prepared for.

2. Eventually, can you have any kind of food, but just in moderation? I'm talking an event or festive holiday occasion where I might want a sip of a margarita or bite of chocolate. Could I ever do that again?

Yes, over time you will get back to pretty much eating most everything you ate pre surgery. I'm six months out and I can eat everything I did pre surgery. Just not nearly as much, and for me that is one of the reasons why I chose this surgery.

Wishing you well!

I have a few questions.

1. Are complications after surgery common? I've seen a few people mention leaks, abscesses, etc. I just don't want to be sick or deal with anything else, but learning to eat in a new way afterward.

Complications are possible but not probable. A vast majority of sleevers have no problems or very few. Just like an surgical procedure things can and have gone horribly wrong. I know someone who practically died from complications after a simple bunion surgery. I've heard of another that DID die from complications after wisdom tooth extraction. The risk for complications is small although real.

That being said the risk of complications of remaining obese are practically 100%. High blood pressure, diabetes, hip / knew / back pain and etc. Stay fat and you WILL have problems.

2. Eventually, can you have any kind of food, but just in moderation? I'm talking an event or festive holiday occasion where I might want a sip of a margarita or bite of chocolate. Could I ever do that again?

In actuality unless you develop an intolerance for a food, YES you CAN eat anything. However in order to lose weight you need to cut calories. To KEEP it off you need to manage calories. There is also the fact that we now have a physical restriction to the AMOUNT we can eat, filling up with non Protein foods can effect your muscle mass, non protein foods are typically higher in calories too. Post op you should always CHOOSE protein first, then carbs.

Alcohol consumption is up to you, it is high in calories and should be avoided at first and LIMITED after a few months. Because the stomach usually dilutes booze and we have very little stomach left, you may get drunk faster or MORE drunk. It is a matter of your metabolism too so there is no simple answer.

Forgot to also ask.....how long is the average stay in the hospital after surgery?

This varies by hospital and surgeon and insurance allowance. It varies from NONE to 3 days with perhaps 2 days the norm. Mine was ONE night in the hospital and 2 nights in a recovery house.

I have an appt. to begin the classes in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'm trying to eat healthily, exercise and pray about what to do! I'm also doing a lot of reading on the surgery. I have a few questions.

1. Are complications after surgery common? I've seen a few people mention leaks, abscesses, etc. I just don't want to be sick or deal with anything else, but learning to eat in a new way afterward.

2. Eventually, can you have any kind of food, but just in moderation? I'm talking an event or festive holiday occasion where I might want a sip of a margarita or bite of chocolate. Could I ever do that again?

Seriously...this is stressing me out. I'm also worrying about putting myself under surgery when I have young children and a husband.

Great forum. Thanks so much!

Good for you in doing research and really thinking this through.

I agree with the other answers-complications can happen for any surgery, so check out your doctor and your hospital, too as part of your research. But if you trust them, don't let this be the stopping point. As someone said, there are complications with remaining overweight, too and mine were starting to affect every day.

I already "can" eat lots of things, including chocolate. When I do, and I have, of course the needle on the scale doesn't move as quickly. This is easier than a 1000 diets I have been on in that I am not hungry all the time. BUT, I still have to think about what i choose to put into my mouth, and it isn't always easy. It is a journey, and I know I am on the road to better health. I personally struggle with the no to limited carbs part as I have realized I am a carb-aholic. Carbs still call my name. I just try really hard to be choosy and to always fill on Protein first, leaving little room for carbs.

My stay in the hospital was overnight. My immediate thought upon waking up was "What the h*** did I do to myself?" as I was in pain. But I had the surgery on Thursday and by Tuesday felt good and took no pain killers at all after that.

This forum is a great place to get support, so stick with that too!

Good luck

Thanks everyone for the response. I see these posts about depression, abscesses, leaks, slime, vomiting and head hunger and I freak out. : ) I want to not feel as hungry and feel energetic! I don't want to choke and vomit and feel regrets. Don't know what to do.

Optasia, I don't have a whole lot of value to add to this conversation, but I do want to acknowledge that your concerns are legitimate, and I think most people have the same concerns pre-surgery. And I can honestly tell you that if you can successfully lose weight on your own without surgery, do it. Pretty much everyone who has this surgery has tried many, many times to lose weight and keep it off and has failed. It's never going to be anyone's first choice to have such a major life changing surgery. However, I can honestly say that for me, the good things that come after being sleeved far outweigh the bad.

I'm just over 2 months out and I can eat a lot of different foods, but bread, Pasta, and rice are still pretty much a no-go for me; those foods just don't sit well inside me. I actually consider that a good thing because carbs are my downfall. Since my surgery I have lost nearly all desire for sweets, and I am much more sensitive to sweetness in foods than I was pre-surgery -- also a good thing. I used to eat LOADS of bread and butter pre-surgery, and since my surgery I have not had any butter at all and maybe a total of 4 bites of bread. 99% of the time I am totally fine with not having bread, pasta, and rice. These were foods I would eat with pretty much every meal, so that is a HUGE change for me.

Since my surgery, I haven't had any problems at all with sliming, vomiting, or depression (I think everyone has a "WTF did I do to myself" moment the first few weeks after surgery -- I certainly did -- and really the first month after surgery for me was not fun). But once I got a month out and was able to start eating solid foods again, and get my calories up to a better level, I have been feeling great and very happy with my decision.

I do still battle head hunger (especially at my traditional daily snack time between 3-4 pm) but I would have that with or without the sleeve. If anything, the sleeve helps me cope much better with head hunger because if I cave and eat something I shouldn't, my sleeve prevents me from eating excessive amounts of it, and so I don't go into a massive downhill binge cycle like I would pre-sleeve.

It's no lie that surgery will totally change not only what you eat but how you look at food. Part of it is wanting to do the right and healthy thing for yourself and eat foods that are helpful to weight loss, part of it is you will likely have some food intolerances for at least the first few months, and part of it is knowing you will only have a few bites per meal and you will need to make those bites count so you get decent nutrition. I still have trigger foods that go down way too easy and in a far larger quantity than dense Protein (snacky salty things like chips, crackers, etc.). I really have to watch my intake of those foods and I know I'll have to do that the rest of my life. I still have hunger pains (a lot of people don't, so it's kind of a crap shoot whether you will or won't) but my hunger pains are not as intense as pre-surgery and are easily satisfied with just a few bites.

Sometimes I still get bummed that I can't eat much (especially when I'm eating something fantastic and want to eat more than my sleeve can hold) but I am more used to my sleeve's capacity and am dealing with it.

I love that I am basically losing weight without effort -- this is BY FAR the easiest weight loss I've ever had in my life. I don't feel deprived at all, my energy is good, and I am optimistic about the future. I used to have a lot of trouble with one of my knees, and even though I've only lost about 35 lbs. that has made a world of difference in how my knee feels. I am really excited about doing physical activities I wasn't able to do pre-sleeve. And it is very exciting and fun to donate clothes that are now too big and buy smaller sizes, sizes I haven't fit in for a LONG time.

I know this is a major life decision everyone has to make, but for me it has been one of the best things I have ever done for myself and I have zero regrets. I wish you the best with your decision!

I have an appt. to begin the classes in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'm trying to eat healthily, exercise and pray about what to do! I'm also doing a lot of reading on the surgery. I have a few questions.

1. Are complications after surgery common? I've seen a few people mention leaks, abscesses, etc. I just don't want to be sick or deal with anything else, but learning to eat in a new way afterward.

2. Eventually, can you have any kind of food, but just in moderation? I'm talking an event or festive holiday occasion where I might want a sip of a margarita or bite of chocolate. Could I ever do that again?

Seriously...this is stressing me out. I'm also worrying about putting myself under surgery when I have young children and a husband.

Great forum. Thanks so much!

1. I have heard of a few but I was lucky and was OK.

2. Yes you can eat anything, just in small amounts when your stomach has healed completely.

Good luck.

Jane x

I am 8 months out and I got sick yesterday but you know why I got sick because I ate too much at one time... The information above is great and everyone's experience will be different complications do happen and yes there are some problems with my energy level sometimes and I am still working out the emotions of my love affair with food and the naussea that comes from eating the right things.

I often order too much food, I have eaten most everything I ate before surgery just in much less quantitiy the only thing I know I will never have again is carbonation and that is tough because I used to consume quite a bit of beer and soda but my doctor said this is a big no-no following surgery.

If you follow the doctor and nutritionists advise this will work great for you, if you are going to try to find ways around the tool you won't be as successful... I'm living proof first 6 months I lost 100+ lbs the last 2 months i've lost 12 lbs because I stopped doing the right things.