I Definitely Regret Surgery.... So Far!

[*susan* 1,709]

I am so sorry you are continuing to experience problems. I had some problems the first few weeks after my surgery. My surgeon was out of the country, so I had to deal with local doctors. I was seeing one, and he just didn't seem to be hearing or helping me. I ended up going to four different doctors before I found one who really sat down, listened to exactly what I was experiencing, did a very comprehensive exam and was able to properly diagnose my problems. For me, I learned that finding the right doctor is so important.

As for the sleeve itself, while I understand your experience hasn't been good at all, and I absolutely do not blame you for regretting it, people reading this need to understand this is not the norm for most people who have this surgery. Most people are very pleased with their results. I know I am. And lets face it, whether you are looking at weight loss surgery, heart surgery, back surgery, cosmetic surgery, or whatever, we all know going into it there are risks and there are going to be those whom the surgery is unsuccessful for. It is the chance we take. We just have to weigh the pros versus the cons and decide what choice we want to make. For me, I knew if I didn't have the sleeve, my life span was going to be drastically decreased and my quality of life was going to continue to decline. So, I took the risk and have never once regretted it.

I continue to keep you in my thoughts and hope you recover soon and learn to live with and love your sleeve, and see all the wonderful things it can bring to your life. One day at a time, sweetie, you have lots of love and support here.

[jasleeve 440]

i agree, most do love their sleeve. i think ppl only begin loving their sleeve when life jumps back on track & their sleeve isnt a fulltime job! when the only time ur reminded that u even have asleeve is when u eat, drink, look at clothes or see someone else over weight & want to tell them about it or when you see someone thin & say i wanna look like that. i started to feel thisway til my leak wasdiscovered. ive never embraced this because ive only really felt like crap except those 2 small weeks. in fact, with this leak & everything else, i may not embrace it for a long time. it has thrown my life off track! its asecret to my family so i keep having to lie about what is really going on. its bad! but its my experience. ppl may "know" the risk because a dr tells us but drs make it seem like awalk in the park!!!

this is a walk in hell. i like to talk in detail to put ppl in my shoes so they can understand it.

i cant wait to atleast embrace my sleeve. :/

I am so sorry you are continuing to experience problems. I had some problems the first few weeks after my surgery. My surgeon was out of the country, so I had to deal with local doctors. I was seeing one, and he just didn't seem to be hearing or helping me. I ended up going to four different doctors before I found one who really sat down, listened to exactly what I was experiencing, did a very comprehensive exam and was able to properly diagnose my problems. For me, I learned that finding the right doctor is so important.

As for the sleeve itself, while I understand your experience hasn't been good at all, and I absolutely do not blame you for regretting it, people reading this need to understand this is not the norm for most people who have this surgery. Most people are very pleased with their results. I know I am. And lets face it, whether you are looking at weight loss surgery, heart surgery, back surgery, cosmetic surgery, or whatever, we all know going into it there are risks and there are going to be those whom the surgery is unsuccessful for. It is the chance we take. We just have to weigh the pros versus the cons and decide what choice we want to make. For me, I knew if I didn't have the sleeve, my life span was going to be drastically decreased and my quality of life was going to continue to decline. So, I took the risk and have never once regretted it.

I continue to keep you in my thoughts and hope you recover soon and learn to live with and love your sleeve, and see all the wonderful things it can bring to your life. One day at a time, sweetie, you have lots of love and support here.

[M2G 1,836]

I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry you are going through all of this. It sounds awful, painful, horrible and just plain exhausting. Add on top of that losing your job, your boyfriend, and basically having zero support, I think that any one of us in the same situation would feel a ton of regret, wishing to hit the "rewind" button and go back to life before surgery.

Also I think many of us *know* and *understand* that with any surgery there are RISKS. We realize there are risks, but *hope* that we fall into the 98% of people who DON'T have ANY complications at all. I know for a fact at support group there were people who were banded 3-5 years and yet when things like "erosion" and "slippage" were mentioned they acted shocked. A few of them asked for clarification, and I was thinking, "I've never even had the band and I knew all about those possible risks of being banded!" So I think a lot of times we go into this just hoping and praying that complications do not come our way.

I think that 1-2% leakage rate sounds really minimal until you ARE that 1-2% that has a severe complication then it's 100% for you! And that is the awful truth. And I'm sorry you are living through this and all the pain it has caused you, physically, emotionally, financially, and every other way. But I'm glad you are alive, and I know deep down you are a fighter because you are worth fighting for. I am glad you have a forum like this that is a place for you to vent and kick and scream and to SHARE. Thank you for sharing. I hope you feel like the people here care about you and I hope since you are lacking support from your real-life friends and family that you can at least come here and feel like everyone is cheering you on and hoping that soon you will have healed and that this will all be a distant horrid memory.

Please keep sharing, and we can keep lifting you up and for those of us who are the sort to pray that we can continue to include you in our prayers. Stay strong, and may better days lie ahead for you! HUGS!

[jasleeve 440]

when ppl tell you that there is a 1-2% chance that u will get a leak, you tend to think theres NO CHANCE!!!!! lol. i know thats what i thought. when he told me that i had a leak... i think it was like telling someone that they won the lotto! like NO F!&@ING WAY!!!!!!!!! cant be! but its true. too bad it wasnt the lotto lol

thank u for the post! <3 hugs xo

I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry you are going through all of this. It sounds awful, painful, horrible and just plain exhausting. Add on top of that losing your job, your boyfriend, and basically having zero support, I think that any one of us in the same situation would feel a ton of regret, wishing to hit the "rewind" button and go back to life before surgery.

Also I think many of us *know* and *understand* that with any surgery there are RISKS. We realize there are risks, but *hope* that we fall into the 98% of people who DON'T have ANY complications at all. I know for a fact at support group there were people who were banded 3-5 years and yet when things like "erosion" and "slippage" were mentioned they acted shocked. A few of them asked for clarification, and I was thinking, "I've never even had the band and I knew all about those possible risks of being banded!" So I think a lot of times we go into this just hoping and praying that complications do not come our way.

I think that 1-2% leakage rate sounds really minimal until you ARE that 1-2% that has a severe complication then it's 100% for you! And that is the awful truth. And I'm sorry you are living through this and all the pain it has caused you, physically, emotionally, financially, and every other way. But I'm glad you are alive, and I know deep down you are a fighter because you are worth fighting for. I am glad you have a forum like this that is a place for you to vent and kick and scream and to SHARE. Thank you for sharing. I hope you feel like the people here care about you and I hope since you are lacking support from your real-life friends and family that you can at least come here and feel like everyone is cheering you on and hoping that soon you will have healed and that this will all be a distant horrid memory.

Please keep sharing, and we can keep lifting you up and for those of us who are the sort to pray that we can continue to include you in our prayers. Stay strong, and may better days lie ahead for you! HUGS!

[tamou37 2]

Hi Jasleeve, hopefully things get better soon for you.

Did your doctor do the leak test next day post op or during operaton??? do people get leak post op despite passing leak test in hospital? Thanks

[jasleeve 440]

yes. i had the leak test done the following day and there was no leak shown but also, theres a lot of swelling so who knows. my leak didnt show until week 5.

Hi Jasleeve, hopefully things get better soon for you.

Did your doctor do the leak test next day post op or during operaton??? do people get leak post op despite passing leak test in hospital? Thanks

[tamou37 2]

oh wow so passing the leak test doesnt mean we are immune. .....I am scared and already moved my surgery few times.

[SleeveDreamer 383]

I take the generic for protonix by prescription. Seems to work really well.

[jasleeve 440]

youre not in the clear unless your stomach is 100% healed & you take another swallow test. they dont ask u to do so but its the only time youre in the clear 100%.

oh wow so passing the leak test doesnt mean we are immune. .....I am scared and already moved my surgery few times.

[tamou37 2]

youre not in the clear unless your stomach is 100% healed & you take another swallow test. they dont ask u to do so but its the only time youre in the clear 100%.

wishing the best. Really a difficult time for you but I am sure soon things will get better. keep us posted.

[KellyL 173]

I'm so sorry to hear about the leak! You've been through so much, I can completely understand your stress and emotions. Then on top of that having to keep all this from your family and not being able to get 100% support from them, and then fighting with your bf. No one blames you at all for hating and resenting your sleeve right now sweetheart. I do believe you will come to hate it less, but not while you are going through the leak. I'm hoping you will have some relieve soon from your issues and will be able to begin to heal both physically and emotionally. Keep posting and venting daily, it will probably help a little. I'm thinking of you and sending healing vibes your way!!!

:hug:

[peacequeen 434]

this is verrrrry true! the only reason i got this surgery is because i did tons and tons and tons of research! 85% of the ppl say they would do it again! i watched over a billion youtube videos & read blogs & lived on here day & night. 1,000s of hours of research. no one couldve changed my mind!!! but something i didnt have was the opportunity to talk to someone going through complications. i talked to ppl who survived complications but never anyone going through it!

maybe in a year, ill be happy i did this! when the feeling of hate & betrayal (not exactly who or what betrayed me but it describes the feeling) subsides, maybe ill recommend it & say its just hard and strap urself in because its a long ride! but right now, im telling EVERYONE to run. my friend is having surgery in a few weeks & i had to tell her that i feel bad as a friend telling her not to have but id be worse of a friend if i told her i agreed with her having it! i feel so bad for her. i pray she comes out better than i.

it also depends on surgeons & their methods. i have afriend who is a billion times worse than me. shes about 12 weeks out & has been in the hospital for about a month now & has many complications from a leak to infections & so on! its horrible! now she.... has it bad!

so like the name of this post says, "i definitely regret surgery.... SO FAR" so far is the 2key words. i dont know what my future holds but right now, its not looking how i want it to look or need it to look.

When i was going through my own complications,,I had a leak too..I tried to keep on the down low. I knew at that time that my opinion would be harsh where the sleeve was concerned so I only gave updates instead of giving my opinion of the sleeve. I am slowly beginning to feel better,,still have a few issues but with time, I think it will all pass and I will be very happy with my decision. I didn't want to sway people from making a life changing decision by bashing the surgery. It may have its problems but I think for the most part it is a great thing. It's like if you have cancer,,,chemo has side effects,,horrible ones but one may go through without because of it being a last resort and desperation for healing. I think the sleeve is not the same but similar to certain extent.

[jasleeve 440]

thank u!!

wishing the best. Really a difficult time for you but I am sure soon things will get better. keep us posted.

[jasleeve 440]

thank you!! im glad u guys accept me & understand my pain. i can definitely use all the support i can get.

I'm so sorry to hear about the leak! You've been through so much, I can completely understand your stress and emotions. Then on top of that having to keep all this from your family and not being able to get 100% support from them, and then fighting with your bf. No one blames you at all for hating and resenting your sleeve right now sweetheart. I do believe you will come to hate it less, but not while you are going through the leak. I'm hoping you will have some relieve soon from your issues and will be able to begin to heal both physically and emotionally. Keep posting and venting daily, it will probably help a little. I'm thinking of you and sending healing vibes your way!!!

:hug:

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

I can't help but feel compelled to comment on this. Truth is an interesting concept, because each and every one of us will have our own truth. I think that the truth most members of this forum live is that this surgery has changed their lives for the better and they would do it again in an instant.

Ja's truth is scary to read about for sure, but the risk of these things happening are SO LOW. You are more likely to suffer severe complications from obesity than you are from this surgery. I certainly don't want to minimize what Ja is going through, because it's seriously awful stuff- but please keep in mind that she's not telling the 'truth about how awful this surgery is".... she's just telling her story of complications that are quite rare.

I hope that you spend more time reading this forum and see how many wonderful success stories are here of people who are so happy with their results in order to make a more balanced decision.

hi jasleeve, i have been reeding your journey since you first started talked about getting your sleeve and how excited you were. Most people feel like that before their surgery and are happy with their success.

I feel so very terrible for everything you have endured. Nobody deserves to go through your horrifying experience and i hope you will be on the mend sooner than later. You have told the awful stories, trials and tribulations of your journy. that being said....

luckily, the majority of sleevers don't go through these problems - telling about your horrific stories is understandable. Telling the story of your journey is welcome. My husband says "it helps provide balance since some patients do have severe side effects." I think he is right that all journeys have a story to tell.

Please do not stop telling your story. We want to hear your "diary." I have to temper this with a hope and a prayer that you can find it in your heart to allow people to make up their own minds.

kathy