(I should note: My highest weight ever, in life, was 293. That number is listed on my profile information. I lost weight when I went Vegan, then had to lose more for surgery. I was 227 when weighed at the hospital the day of surgery. I am 227 this morning.)

I had surgery on Tuesday, June 12th of 2012 at Buffalo General Hospital.

My surgeon was Dr. Alan Posner.

My situation is different for several reasons:

First, I'm Vegan. I've been Vegetarian since the age of 4 (going on 32 now), and Vegan since 6.15.2010. Dr. Posner had told me prior to the surgery that he wanted to make my sleeve bigger than usual, because of being vegan. He also stated that he would not have considered me for a gastric bypass, because of being vegan. There were concerns about nutrition and absorption- so that choice was out of my hands. The only area that I have not been perfectly vegan in, is vitamins/medications. It is near impossible to avoid all animal products with the medications I take..

Second, I have other medical issues going on (I need back surgery as soon as I heal up from this, for starters). They found a hiatal hernia during the endoscopy that was a part of pre-op testing. When Dr. Posner went to repair the hernia during the sleeve surgery, it was apparently "stuck." Dr. Posner told my husband that it appeared to have been there for quite some time, and that he really had to yank to get it out (the part of my stomach that had slipped through a hole in my diaphragm- that is a hiatal hernia).

Then, he said all my organs were "squished" together in an abnormal way. Additionally, my spleen was bigger on top than on the bottom, and not sitting in the normal position. He had to hold it to the side through the entire surgery, and due to that, the outer casing of my spleen cracked ever-so-slightly. (So, not necessarily his fault, my body is abnormal).. Usually spleens are hyper-bleeders, but since it was an itty bitty crack on the outermost layer, he claims there were only two drops of blood and they patched it right away with some kind of fibrous lining (I cannot recall the technical name of what he said).

Besides the pre-existing severe back pain, the hiatal hernia issue, and the spleen incident- apparently my diaphragm muscle started to bleed on the opposite side of where the hernia was when the last laparoscopic port was going to be closed- so more stitching. Meaning, I got stitched on *both* sides of my diaphragm muscle (equates to more pain) because of the hiatal hernia and then the muscle bleed.

Now, to be fair to the doctor and in respect of full disclosure- I had gained weight prior to surgery. My Grand-mother died unexpectedly. She had been in spectacular health; I fully expected her to be a centenarian. She was the woman who raised me, and my only real parent. I did not take her passing well at all (so-called family forced her to be dehydrated and starved to death and dared to call it a 'compassionate choice'. It was the most traumatizing thing I have ever been through to watch her be killed. I thank God, and her, that I was the one holding her hand and singing Amazing Grace to her when she passed). Emotional eating ensued.

I called the office to tell them I had fallen off the wagon, and was told to just get back on program, and come in on May 29th to see where I was, and we'd go from there. I was prepared for that. But instead, a few days later I suddenly got a call from Leslie (Dr. Posner's secretary) informing me that my insurance company had approved my surgery and that my surgery date was going to be June 12th, that May 29th would now be my final weigh-in appointment, AND that if I was even ONE pound over on that weigh-in appointment, that my surgery would be CANCELLED.

Needless to say, I PANICKED. I had worked almost NINE months to get this surgery- I couldn't let all that hard work and time be thrown away now! So, I drastically reduced food intake and began walking despite enormous amounts of pain (due to my back). I thought that I had to make a miracle happen if I wanted this surgery. Leslie told me that if I was so much as ONE POUND over, MY SURGERY WOULD BE CANCELLED. She did NOT tell me if it was cancelled that it could be easily rescheduled when I got the weight down.

Dr. Posner believes and says that I made assumptions, and that the entire situation was misinterpretation on my part, and stressed repeatedly that "no one in his office told me to starve myself." Dr. Posner was so personally frustrated that he raised his voice and (I felt) demeaned me upon hearing I had starved myself prior to surgery (at my first post-op appointment). He got so loud and animated that he felt the need to shut the door at one point, and the nurse tried to console me and my husband after the encounter, telling us repeatedly that "You handled yourself beautifully" and "I'm so sorry."

To his credit, he attempted to apologize on the phone when a question had to be called in. I did not even want to speak to him- I had my husband call, I originally had NO intention of ever speaking to him again and was fully prepared to seek alternate post-op care. However, after my husband called in the question, and then Dr. Posner called my cell phone. He did attempt an apology, but it was the kind of apology where the person says, sorry I got frustrated- but everything I said and did was really justified. Felt gross to me, though his tone of voice seemed sincere.

***Additionally in Dr. Posner's defense (this part added Saturday evening, 6.23.2012) .. He has the added pressure and responsibility that if something goes wrong it affects his practice- and if something were to go wrong because I was undernourished at the time of surgery without his knowledge; it would put him in a bad spot. I spoke with him again tonight. He called back within 5 minutes, and even took a moment to ask me how I felt and how my eating was going. I think the entire situation described earlier in this post was an unfortunate misunderstanding. I like his overall disposition. He takes the medical aspect of everything very seriously, but also usually has an upbeat demeanor with a few dry delivery jokes (endearing).

*AND NOW* for the REAL insanity........

I GAINED TEN POUNDS WHILE IN THE HOSPITAL (OVER ABOUT 2 1/2 DAYS) WHILE ONLY CONSUMING ICE CHIPS!!!!!!!!!!

Depressing much??? Beyond.

Dr. Posner says this is because I starved myself prior to surgery. Okay, I can buy that to explain the crazy weight gain Feasible. However, I am now 11 days out from surgery, and only just now got back DOWN to the weight I was immediately PRIOR to surgery!!! SO*** that means I have literally not lost one net pound yet!!!

And all the while, I am VEGAN and have been Only been ingesting a soy based Protein shake (prepared with light soy milk), pureed vegetable Soup (only since the post-op appt when I was told I could progress to pureed), real fruit frozen bars (in lieu of 100% fruit juice,because I couldn't find sugar free vegan frozen pops- so the nutritionists agreed that was an acceptable trade off)....

So, I'm 11 days out from surgery, on all liquid mush, AND I DON'T HAVE ONE NET POUND LOST TO SPEAK OF AND SHOW FOR ALL THE PAIN OF SURGERY (AND THE NINE MONTHS OF WORK LEADING UP TO IT)!

OH* AND- I *ALWAYS* feel hungry! Which was the MAIN reason I had wanted surgery- to NOT feel hungry!!! I thought that would give me a fighting chance... But no- I STILL >always< feel hungry. And my stomach FEELS HUGE INSIDE. Now, clearly that could just be a weird physical feeling- however, I'm really nervous since Dr. Posner said prior to surgery that he was planning on making my sleeve larger just because I'm vegan.. that maybe it IS too big. What if the part of the stomach that produces ghrelin (hormone that tells your brain you're hungry)- what if that part of my stomach didn't get removed?? (I will have to remember to ask this particular question at my next appointment).

I'm desperately afraid that I've gotten this surgery for nothing- that I will still have to work as hard as ever to lose the weight with no ascertainable benefit from getting major surgery.

I mean, I'm only on liquids and all I've been able to do is break even as far as weight goes!

HAS ANYONE ELSE EXPERIENCED ANYTHING EVEN REMOTELY CLOSE TO THIS???

The way that I read it, Sarabee took responsibility for her part and gave the surgeon credit as well. However, I probably wouldn't have used his name in a public post and there seems to be some info missing with regard to why he was yelling. Anyway, there are 2 sides of every story and regardless where the truth lies, the pupose of this forum is to offer support.

The surgery was not a waste in that you got a repaired hernia AND a sleeve. Dont throw in the towel because you havnt lost in 11 days. Your body is going thru shock and needs time to adjust with such a low caloric intake. I am curious what size bougie your doctor used, but it shouldnt affect your weight loss in that the differences in sizes are so minimal. In a way, I felt I was starving myself prior to surgery by limiting my diet to liquids. But I trust the bariatric process.

One week you may lose nothing and then will automatically lose 3 pounds over night. On average, though, you should be able to expect 1-2 pounds per week. Give it 2 months and see. You may also want to use myfitnesspal to track your Protein, Water, calories and exercise. You can also see what other people are doing and eating. I am thepamperedkat.

I am a slow loser but I have been consistent, but I have questioned whether my bougie was too big and felt I ate more than others to feel restriction (5-6 ounces). However, that is my fear talking. I need to trust the process and the weight will come off. I trust yours will too. I know it is discouraging after putting ourselves through so much. My surgery was almost cancelled because I had a dark stool the day before surgery. I was mad but I know the surgeon was only protecting myself and his license.

Good luck...I know you will succeed!

First, take a breath!

Seriously....count to ten, deep breathe.

I think that it sounds like you've gone quite a bit overboard. Please hear me out before you get mad about that statement. If you have been waiting for this surgery for nine months, why didn't you clarify with the doctor's office whether you could reschedule or tell them that you felt stressed about it being so soon instead of starving yourself? I think this part of the situation you need to take some responsibility for.

Second, give your body a break. You are putting a ton of pressure on yourself talking about school and papers and recovery taking too long. You put your body under a major surgery. There are risks of complications, and I'm so sorry to hear that there were many difficulties, but being upset at your body is only going to make you feel worse. What your body needs right now is support, rest, and good follow-up medical care. While I understand that school is a priority too, health comes first. Period.

If you basically starve your body (Which puts it in a mode where it wants to hold onto as many calories as possible to survive), cut it up, and then shove it full of fluids, yes your body is gonna freak a little bit! Eleven days is not much and your body is still probably retaining Water trying to heal. I know it can be stressful not to see the scale move, but maybe you need to put the scale in a closet for a while and focus on recovery. Health and weight are not synonymous.

Plus, not everyone's bodies are the same. Your body and your neighbor's are not the same. Maybe you had more comorbidities? Maybe your surgery was more complicated? Maybe your body just needs more time to heal?

Have you thought about finding someone to talk this stuff out with? It sounds like maybe you have a lot pent up, not just food, but also general emotional stressors. It is not a sign of weakness to need to find someone to talk to. Years out from my first therapy session and I still use some of the coping techniques I learned when times get tough.

Anyway, I do genuinely hope that since your last post you've had time to both heal and reflect on the situation. Surgery is a difficult thing and when we decide to do it, we own all of the risks that we agreed to. Take care of your body, you deserve it. The weight will come off eventually.

I had surgery June 12 also. in nj down 50 lbs but I go to the gym almost everyday

Please remember to be respectful to others while giving your own opinions.

I like Dr. Posner (for the person that freaked out disrespectfully up there). I did not like him raising his voice at me. I had gained some weight back BECAUSE MY GRANDMOTHER WAS MURDERED, and** I had lost it all by the time I made it to the pre-op final weigh in.

On January 12th, I will be 7 months out from surgery. I have (as of tonight) lost only 17 pounds. I went from Vegan to only Vegetarian- just to increase my Protein intake (which was a concern).

To the person that commented that they exercise every day-- I had to have back surgery on September 11th, 2012. I might need more surgery (bone fusion/disc removal in my back.. and possibly knee surgery). I am in a tremendous amount of pain all day long and all night long. I *WISH* I could exercise daily! It is emotionally uplifting, besides being physically good for all of us.

And to the person upset that I mentioned Dr. Posner by name- When I registered with this site, giving my surgeon's name was a prerequisite for having a membership here. That information was already publicly visible, regardless of my surgeon being named in this particular post.

I do find Dr. Posner funny and endearing. We worked through that difficult time, and he hugged me on the way out of my last appointment.

I came back on here after MONTHS of not checking up on anything related to this site (or anything else related to bariatric support). I thought that I could use support now, since I am only 17 pounds down since surgery- almost 7 months from surgery. Unfortunately, I found terrible judgment and nastiness. I guess this isn't a safe place after all.

Come too nj I had my sleeve done june 12 down 125 lbs advance laparoscopic is the best in the country good luck

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