Is there anyone here who has had sleeve surgery who regrets it? If so, why?

I second the probiotic...it worked wonderfully for me too...it takes a week or two to get settled in but the benefits are great [emoji106][emoji2]. Hope you get well soon. I'm sorry you and your friends are going through this. [emoji26]

My point about the "normal and workable" stuff is that we were never given that information beforehand so our expectations were different than what happened to us. When asked questions, we were told not to worry, these things are rare. Would you want this surgical team and hospital to take out your gallbladder? Would you feel comfortable going straight back into surgery after finally absorbing an abdominal abscess?

Probiotics have not helped my diarrhea, so far.

I sip fluids from 7 am to midnight. Having diarrhea means that I am always behind in my fluids. I have accepted dehydration as yet another part of my new problems.

Hopefully, I can get a referral to someone in gastro quickly to find out why I am having cramps and spasms but I expect a six week wait.

As I have explained, we are all being treated by the NHS. These are not private doctors that we "hire".

We still have to depend on this service for our healthcare. We can't just make a complaint, then have our complaints addressed without consequence. We can even be removed from our GP surgery should our behaviour be deemed "inappropriate".

I have expressed my concern about my individual care, which is all I can do.

I get that expressing my feelings about my experience might not be popular but I will do all I can to make sure that anyone in the UK considering bariatric surgery, gets proper, genuine information from the NHS.

This surgery is not always right for everyone for many reasons.

Not everyone will move through the food stages normally. Not everyone will be able to get Protein in. Not everyone will be "eating normally" just smaller portions. Not everyone will ever eat meat, eggs, lettuce again.

We are told just to order our liquid meds from our GP, no problem. Getting your liquid meds for the six weeks after surgery may be almost impossible so prepare to go without a few days. Most GP surgeries will refuse to do it and the bariatric team won't pre order them for you. If your surgeon tells you to take large pills (as mine did), don't do it. They can get stuck and hurt you.

Not everyone will understand what a dramatic lifestyle change this will be. If thinking about food and dieting each day is too challenging, then thinking about food and Water in detail each day may be also.

I am disabled and find cooking hot meals awkward due to losing control of my hands and dropping hot things (even from the microwave). I used sandwiches and Cereal mostly beforehand for meals. I was told not to worry, that I could use Protein shakes, slim fast etc. Well no, I can't.

I want the seminars and meetings to say these things. I want the discharge booklet (that goes into more details about foods that might be problematic) to be available pre surgery.

I want people who have rapid weight loss due to complications to be given medication to protect their gallbladder.

The drug Cyclizine should be banned from NHS hospitals. Staff were overheard saying that they "pray each time they administer" this drug.

I also think that the incidences of people who have these surgeries and then later die of malnutrition or other post op complications, should be addressed pre surgery.

Then we can all give informed consent.

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We all had the same team but different surgeons. We are in Yorkshire, England. Why would I have an attorney?

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The reason I asked if you had an attorney is because this sounds like malpractice.

But seeing that you're in England and get "free healthcare" from the government, I guess you can't.

Best of luck and I would seek help elsewhere.

Edited July 27, 20169 yr by Cape Crooner

@@GinaCampbell - I was wondering if you were using NHS. That has been one of my concerns about government run health care. I didn't really care for military medical either, and my dad always had problems with the US VA (veterans care). I have seen cases where the NHS has sent cancer patients home without telling them, because there wasn't enough money in the budget to treat them.

Thanks for sharing. Very insightful and possibly it may serve as a warning to others in your country to check out self pay alternatives.

Going back to the original question, NO REGRETS. I have loved every moment of this second chance and life has gone from pretty good, the freakin fantastic.

I wish it was "free". We are taxed to the hilt for it so it's only free if you have never worked. Ironically, the same surgeons who do our bariatric work are also the surgeons who do the private bariatric surgery at the local private hospital.

Your statement about cancer patients does shock me. I do hope you blew the whistle on anyone who did that!

There are times when I have had good care here. Recently, not so much.

The reason I can't seek medical care elsewhere is because no one wants to touch another person's problems.

People do bring lawsuits here, but that is something that I wouldn't do. Any compensation I got would mean that someone else went without care.

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WLS, no regrets.

Not doing it sooner, yes.

No Regrets at all.

I feel the best in many years, and the lack of issues from WLS done 23 yrs. ago are gone, so I am really enjoying life even better than before that.

I work with a person that her husband has RNY and regrets it, but he never followed the Dr. directions, and refuses to get help with his mental and physical problems, so WLS really was not given a chance and is really his problem directly.

No regrets at all, I'm loving my new life and feel so much more confident then ever before. I'm 52 years old and really wish I did it sooner, but I am very happy and very happy for my future ! I have some food issues and constipation issues and can never seem to get enough Water in the day, but the way I look and feel definitely out way those issues . I'm 8 months post op and still learning, I'm not perfect, but I definitely wasn't perfect before WLS. I'm still learning what I can and cannot eat and I try like heck to get to the 64oz of water a day. Sometimes I do sometimes I don't . Most importantly I follow my Drs orders and get my Protein in and workout each and every day. The rest will fall into place.

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No regrets and not one complication. Lost all excess weight in 10 months, maintaining for five months. I would urge anyone contemplating WLS to thoroughly research surgeons, hospitals and their programs. My surgery was done by a very experienced surgeon at a Center of Excellence. There was a great deal of education and great follow up. A good surgeon makes all the difference imho.

Gina. .you CAN complain without repercussions. That's what PALS are for. You can also try and sue if you wanted...trusts pay millions every year for insurance to cover claims. I'm just very concerned about many of your comments. There are people on here who may be waiting for surgery on the NHS and it needs to be made clear that your experience IS rare. For instance.. I wouldn't have got through WITHOUT cyclizine post op! We use it regularly without problems. I know many people who have had successful, uncomplicated surgery with the NHS. Same about your post op Meds. I didn't have a problem getting my GP to prescribe them. What medication can be given to prevent gallbladder problems? I don't know of any...it's a side effect of rapid weight loss, with or without surgery. I understand you're upset and frustrated but people need to know it is not common to go through what you have. Once we lose the NHS people need to worry.

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"There are good foods and bad foods after wls, just like before. And just like before, your diet should consist of 90% good foods."

Yeah, see. This sort of mentality is a MAJOR problem for me. I don't look at food in a moral context. It's too triggering.

"There are good foods and bad foods after wls, just like before. And just like before, your diet should consist of 90% good foods."

Yeah, see. This sort of mentality is a MAJOR problem for me. I don't look at food in a moral context. It's too triggering.

Huh?

@@GinaCampbell What a nightmare for you and your friends. I can absolutely understand your frustrations, and agree that the booklet you mention should've been given first.

I'm in the US and self-pay, so the idea of complications is pretty terrifying, since I have to cover them myself. I already have irritable bowel syndrome, and a lot of foods I can't eat, so that's another concern... that it will make it worse. I've heard about lactose intolerance issues post-op and since I love milk and yogurt, that is also a concern.

I nearly died due to my gallbladder issues, and it was removed almost 6 years ago, so I don't have to worry about that. I was aware of that risk, however.

Your story is one of the reasons that I, personally, am opposed to WLS being done on smaller people who don't have any health problems. Because I think that it just invites the risk of too many permanent side effects that people could've avoided. But then I hold the unpopular opinions that fat doesn't automatically equal unhealthy anymore than thin automatically equals healthy. I believe you can be fat, athletic, happy and healthy. I believe you can be thin and terribly unhealthy, and no one ever knows because you "look healthy."

I have fibromyalgia and I'm far heavier than you and your friends were. I have a hard time getting adequate medical care/tests and while I think that's crap, and that people shouldn't have to resort to measures as drastic as WLS in order to get proper care, we live in this world, not the one I think we should live in.

Given my mobility issues, exercise is very hard for me. I have no idea if surgery will make that better or not. I'm not naive enough to believe it's going to "cure" anything. I can only hope MAYBE it helps, and MAYBE I can get some improvement.

Thank you for sharing your story and being so honest. I feel like the people who have experiences like yours are shunned on most WLS forums, and viewed as being overly negative. But your experience is valuable in helping people make truly informed decisions.

@@Cape Crooner as a reminder, in most cases surgeons only have to count complications for the first 30 days. After that, it isn't considered a complication of the surgery, even if it would clearly not have happened without the surgery.

All you have to do is Google the adverse reaction rates in IV administered Cyclizine. I would put a link here but there are so many, choosing one would take forever. It makes shocking reading. I have registered a yellow card for this med officially. It should be administered with extreme care direct into a cannula for the first time. I could not speak, walk, read or write for nearly 24 hours. I could not make words in the right order and suffered stammering and spasms for two weeks. Clearly, the administering ward sister has had problems because the conversation about praying before she administers it and how many problems they have is not something I made up. Two doctors thought that I had had a near fatal stroke during the first six hours.

I explained why I won't put

in a formal complaint and as you read all my posts, you will know that. I have spoken to PALs about this matter and their advice was exactly as I said, I am still under these people's care for another two years, making a formal complaint at this point would achieve nothing good for me.

It is people who bring lawsuits that will sink the NHS, not me pointing out truths about my WLS experience.

Because you work for the NHS, you won't like what I am saying, obviously.

IF my experience is rare, and not common, then how do you explain all of my other bariatric friends?

My GP refused to prescribe liquid meds, my friend's GP's refused to prescribe liquid meds. My bariatric team said it was a common problem. You were lucky.

According to these forums, the medication Ursodiol, Actigall, URSO etc can be prescribed (and is prescribed for six months after surgery for some) after WLS to try and protect the gallbladder.

I am not frustrated, I am being honest.

As I said, they are your employer, so you are biased.

Anyone that wants WLS on the NHS will make up their own minds.

But they might ask better questions, check if they are allergic to cyclizine, check out the care plan for their gallbladder, put in a plan for several re admissions to the hospital, not rely on Protein shakes etc and make a plan B.

And I stand by my statement that the national incidence of mortality due to malnutrition and complications of WLS should be looked into by everyone considering this.

Maybe the bariatric team, ward system, surgical team and hospital in your area is a centre of excellence. Mine clearly is not.

Today I rang my bariatric team in agony with my 4th day of abdominal cramps, spasms and diarrhea. When I was asked why I was still on fluids, I reminded them that they told me to stay on them until further notice in case my gallbladder was a problem. They forgot. They asked if I was still taking lansoprazole. I said no because my GP had not put that on repeat. Apparently, they had not read the discharge letter properly.

Then they tell me that because there is no team meeting for a few weeks (holidays you see), the results of my ultrasound won't be available for a decision on my gallbladder. However, I do have a significant cyst on my kidney. That information (what size? Inside, outside, treatment plan etc) will also have to wait.

So what do I tell my GP tomorrow so she can help me effectively? Why is there not a better aftercare program?

Wouldn't it be better to concentrate on all of us who have had complications rather than to continue with further surgeries?

How much NHS money is being wasted in repeat admissions etc?

I know that you work for the NHS. And that you are happy with your level of care. And that's great!

But that isn't the main reason I (and my friends) regret my surgery. It was not the right decision for me.

My medical issues and disability have been made worse by having this done.

My friend with the abscess on her spleen and Fluid on her lungs actually worked on the ward where WLS patients recover. For the NHS. She may not be able to work again for many months. she tells me that she doesn't know if she or her family will ever get over what happened to her.

So this isn't just me being "frustrated and upset".

As you and I don't agree, perhaps you should simply contact me privately in future.

The OP asked "Does anyone regret their surgery". I do.

And I will continue to support my position.

I am only urging people to make sure that they are giving informed consent.

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