I read some interesting comments today and I wanted to make something really clear.

Out of all these people around the globe that are on this website, there are going to be some of us that have found post op, that this surgery was the wrong decision.

If you want this website to be honest and truthful, a source of good solid information for people considering surgery and a source of support for people post op, then everyone's experiences should be welcome.

The reason's I think this surgery was wrong for me has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with my post op complications!

And as for comments about people who regret their surgeries and have complications because:

• "houses were dirty"

• "they didn't follow instructions"

• "they haven't seen the great results yet"

• "they are just negative people and negative people are more vocal

So, just let me tell you this, some of us simply made a mistake.

We thought this was a good plan, we took advice, did our research, attended the seminars and weigh ins (in my case, two years attending).

We met our surgeons, we discussed our pre existing conditions, we spoke to our family and friends.

I myself have a counsellor, did CBT counselling for the entire two years pre op and am deemed emotionally and mentally sound. (just as an aside, my NHS CBT counsellor did not agree with this surgery).

I checked with my pain mgt team about the efficacy of my medications post op.

And it was still a mistake!

And so what?

It happens. And people like me should be able to explain these things without others trying to negate our admission of this mistake by offering excuses as to why we are unhappy with our decision.

I could have floated onto a cloud, had magical unicorns lick away my stomach, and woke up in paradise fully healed, sipping a cocktail in the sun and I would still tell you that this was a mistake for ME. And for many of my friends.

It doesn't matter how many years post op I get, I will consider this a mistake.

My house is not dirty, I followed instructions to the letter, I consider my bariatric discharge booklet my life guideline and I never variate.

I keep in touch with anyone and everyone in my medical care stream that might be helpful.

And complications happened. And yes, to many of us in our bariatric system. But again, it was not the complications that disturb us.

We all have different reasons for regretting it.

Most of us feel that we were misinformed, which doesn't help. My neighbour regrets her bypass because of her now permanent diarrhea and no improvement in her diabetes. She tells me that she has to think about food most of the day just to keep herself fed (choosing the right foods so as not to vomit), and she could have simply dieted harder if she had known she would have to think of food all day. She is three years post op and she still struggles with dehydration. Her hair never grew back after the initial drop out.

I myself am only 9 weeks post op and have had complications so I can't know what my future holds.

I miss eating quickly and simply in a way that doesn't have to be well thought out.

I want to be able to eat a full salad, maybe even with dressings, without worrying about which component might not agree with me.

I want to be able to eat any kind of meat I want cooked how I want in the quantity I want.

I want to drink beverages with my meals.

I miss a morning coffee or afternoon tea. I miss ice tea. (I know other people can drink it but I can't now).

I don't want to have to plan my food day meticulously or be different from others around me eating.

I want my medications to work again in the way they did pre op to control my fibromyalgia symptoms.

And I have definitely seen weightloss results. As I was lying there starving to death for seven weeks, I have lost all but 20lbs of my expected and required excess weight to satisfy my healthcare team. ( I am still only getting around 500 cals a day in, but have constant diarrhea so who knows how much stays in).

I now look "normal" except for the grey pallor in my skin and the nappy I now have to wear because of fecal incontinence (my IBS-d was totally controlled before surgery).

I am six dress sizes smaller but can only leave my house if I don't eat anything and wear adult protection in case of Water causing an "accident". Or in case I become faint from lack of food and fall.

So I do actually feel that had I read a forum entry like this, I might have thought twice.

And that's a good thing. If people are scared, that's okay. Let them hear more than just "don't worry, I was fine, you will be too!" Because maybe they won't!

So this is not about complications, it's about people.

One size does not fit all. Some of us should have simply accepted our weight, or worked harder to diet it off. Had I taken in only 300 to 500 calories a day for 9 weeks pre op, I would have lost all this weight anyway.

If you are happy, well done! If you are dead set on going ahead, ignore this. If you are a high BMI person (think 600lb life), God bless you, this may save your life, if you are a food addict, I feel your pain.

You will still have to diet post op! You will still have to exercise.

If you are undecided, then simply take a breath, think about it, really examine your food issues. Could you do more to lose weight? Could you move a bit more and eat a bit less?

Anyway, I am where I am and I plan to make the best of what I have left. And I intend to keep making sure that pre op people have a good think and post op people like me have someone they can talk to.

Thanks to everyone who is supporting me.

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I used to drink coffee everyday. Now i cant even stand the smell of it. I think about foods I used to eat, now I know a lot of it I can't have, or I can but only 2 or 3 bites of it.

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@@silverwhitemoon You are 2 months post-op but already know you will have reflux forever? Hmmm...too bad you didn't have that future prediction ability prior to surgery!

I'll let you know in a year, how does that sound? Is that the appropriate time?

@@silverwhitemoon You said: *Exactly. I was under the impression that I would be able to eat anything - just in smaller amounts. That really isn't the case. I feel like I have set myself up for having digestive problems for the rest of my life. Also, I can't ever just eat. I have to worry about eating too fast, not chewing enough, whether the food I am going to eat will digest properly or whether it will contribute to the reflux that I now have after VSG that I didn't have before. I am two months out and regret doing this to myself. *

Your sidebar says that you joined this group 10 years ago, and had surgery this June. I can't see how, since you had 10 years to research, you could possibly have held this impression about eating anything you want? I KNEW going in to this that I'd likely have foods I'd never eat again. That I can't 'just eat'. That reflux was a very real possibility of the surgery. The more I see 'regret' stories like this, the more I wonder if there should be a test of some sort that people have to take and pass before they're allowed to have a surgery like this. What on earth did you THINK having 3/4 of your stomach removed was going to do to you? Just make you full faster?
What were your expectations, seriously?

@@ShelterDog64

How dare you be logical. Stop.

I used to drink coffee everyday. Now i cant even stand the smell of it. I think about foods I used to eat, now I know a lot of it I can't have, or I can but only 2 or 3 bites of it.

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I couldn't stand the smell off coffee for about the first 5 months. I'm 6 months out now and I have 2 cups a day. Things change.

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... I think if people were honest with themselves, some of us could have done more to lose weight. That's a hard truth...

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Waaaaait a minute!!!!

So now you are FULLY admitting that your issues were caused by your team's lack of information, nonhygenic practices, staffing issues, inattentive behavior, etc. yet I, along with everyone else who had great success with our WLS procedures really should have just "worked harder"?

You know my weight loss history better than I do? You know my exercise routines, dietary choices made, battles won and lost pre surgery?

You get to judge all of us because your weight fell off through unfortunate circumstances making it "easy" to get to your goal through "starvation"?

I've said it again and again. I'm sorry you've suffered and if I had a magic wand to put you back where you were, I'd all but beat you with it to make it work, but you have no right to say the rest of us should have simply "worked harder" to lose the weight.

I worked da^m hard to get where I am and I've worked harder over the last three years to maintain it. That remark was blatantly offensive, judgemental and unwarranted.

WLS is no walk in the park for most people, complications or no. It's definitely not the " easy way out", even for those of us who have not had your same issues.

Thanks all. Because of the bank holiday, my surgeon being on holiday and my GP surgery having no appts, I have no choice but to wait for any further help with the C dif.

I don't know what my post surgery sleeve could have been like.

I don't know what my new normal will be like because I have been so ill since day one.

Is the diarrhea C Dif now or surgery related? Who knows?

I am 13 1/2 weeks out now and I do feel completely abandoned by the bariatric team that insisted that post op support would be there.

I do have the support of the other patients who are suffering too and that helps.

I understand that other people wish they could have the surgery. I wish we could swap places too!

I want my life back. I don't want to be held hostage by a life changing surgery and post op complications. I miss my family! How many people could stay away from their family this long?

I didn't sign up for this much hellish suffering.

I listen to the nurse tell me that this has never happened in over six years, when I know the other patients personally who are also suffering many post op issues. So I know now that lying comes easy to the very people I trusted with my life.

And that is now beginning to anger me.

If I can get treatment for the c dif, and get well from it, I will close the door on the sleeve issue.

I can't risk whistleblowing formally because I rely on the NHS for my healthcare. That angers me too. Just because I can't afford private healthcare, doesn't mean that I shouldn't have sufficiently adequate care.

I do believe that I received substandard care and that basic hygiene standards were not maintained while I was hospitalised due to a change in pay and conditions for the healthcare staff, which led to industrial action. They were distracted and inattentive. I asked one to help me clean a drip stand that I was attached to. I was told "it is not my job". Gloves weren't worn, people relied on the gel to clean their hands etc.

None of this could have been predicted by me. But by raising awareness, perhaps others will know what to look for.

I am distraught that I still have to go for a colonoscopy there.

I see now that I didn't need a vsg to lose weight. Starving my body clearly works to lose weight. Because that is how my sleeve affects me, combined with multiple antibiotic assaults, c dif and abscesses etc.

The weight is off but my body is in crisis. My body is ravaged and failing. My existing medical conditions (fibro, CFS and IBS) are worsened. My mental health is compromised. My family relationships impacted.

I was so sick and so weak that I contracted c dif. Who knows how long this will go on?

So I can't just work through the program, say "wow, what a great idea this was".

It was wrong for me. And I think if people were honest with themselves, some of us could have done more to lose weight. That's a hard truth.

I met all the criteria for their program but I wasn't a good candidate at all.

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If you took my statement that "some of us" could have worked harder to lose weight (because I clearly could have starved myself to lose weight, that's what my sleeve is doing), as a personal judgment against you, then it has clearly struck a nerve in your psyche, not mine.

I was clearly referring to pre op weight loss.

Get a grip and go find a less contentious thread to post on.

It is becoming quite obvious that a certain few here have a personal vendetta against me and my stance here.

If you are so happy, go be happy on one of the "I love my sleeve" threads.

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I believe in a pre-op post you indicated you were 90% incapacitated and homebound because of your illnesses. You also said you knew the risks but it was worth it. You were also encouraged to go to the hospital right after surgery when you were experiencing complications and you didn't feel like waiting there all day. You didn't follow up with problems you were having but now blame the care you received and the infection control at the hospital. I honestly can't believe this thread is still active. We all know you regret surgery and are miserable but please stop blaming your surgeon, NHS or suggesting those of us who have surgery could have lost weight on our own.

My bariatric team admit that none of my problems were created by my actions. I monitored my temperature every day post op. I was in telephone contact with the hospital from the moment my temperature spiked. I presented to the post surgical ward continuously.

I followed up continously or I would be dead now.

No one followed up with ME!

I did contract c dif from the NHS healthcare system, an abscess did form that should not have, serious errors were made and the PALs system here agree and are going to try to work on my behalf to better my care and others. I am not the only one.

If it bothers you that I think "some" people could lose more weight naturally, that's your problem.

Check out "people's" pre op diet weight loss stats.

I do NOT blame my surgeon. I DO think the NHS should review my LOCAL hospital's bariatric, post op and c dif care regimes.

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I used to drink coffee everyday. Now i cant even stand the smell of it. I think about foods I used to eat, now I know a lot of it I can't have, or I can but only 2 or 3 bites of it.

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I couldn't stand the smell off coffee for about the first 5 months. I'm 6 months out now and I have 2 cups a day. Things change.

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That is great for you!

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I believe in a pre-op post you indicated you were 90% incapacitated and homebound because of your illnesses. You also said you knew the risks but it was worth it. You were also encouraged to go to the hospital right after surgery when you were experiencing complications and you didn't feel like waiting there all day. You didn't follow up with problems you were having but now blame the care you received and the infection control at the hospital. I honestly can't believe this thread is still active. We all know you regret surgery and are miserable but please stop blaming your surgeon, NHS or suggesting those of us who have surgery could have lost weight on our own.

Interesting. I've been following this now very long thread because I'm pre op and want to hear all the perspectives. I looked back and found the post in question and you're right, this is the post.

• GinaCampbell

  Junior Guru

• Posts: 344
• Joined: May 2016
• Gender: Female
• Location: ENGLAND
• Surgery: Gastric Sleeve
• Surgery Date: May 2016
• Height: 5 feet 2 inches
• Starting Weight: 266 lbs
• Weight Lost: 76 lbs
• Current Weight: 190 lbs
• Goal Weight: 125 lbs
• BMI: 34.7

• @Mention

Posted May 28, 2016 - 6:36 AM

#9

My daughter thinks that I have not given conventional dieting enough of a chance. She feels that I could lose weight normally if I tried harder. I explained that I am addicted to food, cannot stop overeating and that my disability prevents me from exercising. I now am 95% bedbound. She just sees this surgery as a shortcut to weightloss. Also she feels that after surgery that I will simply overeat again so it won't be successful.

No, she is not obese.

Thank you all for being so supportive, it really helps.

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Gina, it sounds like you had a LOT of health problems before the surgery and now you're trying to scare others away with your horror story but you're not giving the full picture. If you're truly trying to "inform the public", you should include the backstory as well.

As you clearly see, the backstory is there to be read.

Thank you for being so interested in me and my health.

It keeps this thread alive and raises awareness!

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I believe in a pre-op post you indicated you were 90% incapacitated and homebound because of your illnesses. You also said you knew the risks but it was worth it. You were also encouraged to go to the hospital right after surgery when you were experiencing complications and you didn't feel like waiting there all day. You didn't follow up with problems you were having but now blame the care you received and the infection control at the hospital. I honestly can't believe this thread is still active. We all know you regret surgery and are miserable but please stop blaming your surgeon, NHS or suggesting those of us who have surgery could have lost weight on our own.

Interesting. I've been following this now very long thread because I'm pre op and want to hear all the perspectives. I looked back and found the post in question and you're right, this is the post.

• GinaCampbell

  Junior Guru

• Posts: 344
• Joined: May 2016
• Gender: Female
• Location: ENGLAND
• Surgery: Gastric Sleeve
• Surgery Date: May 2016
• Height: 5 feet 2 inches
• Starting Weight: 266 lbs
• Weight Lost: 76 lbs
• Current Weight: 190 lbs
• Goal Weight: 125 lbs
• BMI: 34.7

• @Mention

Posted May 28, 2016 - 6:36 AM[/size]

#9

My daughter thinks that I have not given conventional dieting enough of a chance. She feels that I could lose weight normally if I tried harder. I explained that I am addicted to food, cannot stop overeating and that my disability prevents me from exercising. I now am 95% bedbound. She just sees this surgery as a shortcut to weightloss. Also she feels that after surgery that I will simply overeat again so it won't be successful.

No, she is not obese.

Thank you all for being so supportive, it really helps.

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Gina, it sounds like you had a LOT of health problems before the surgery and now you're trying to scare others away with your horror story but you're not giving the full picture. If you're truly trying to "inform the public", you should include the backstory as well.

Well, now. Isn't that interesting? If one was already 95% bed ridden and in such shoddy health, why would one bla... Oh. Never mind.

Exactly. I was not a good candidate. I pointed this out and was assured that this was the "answer".

Now I am just malnourished, infected with c dif and then the rest, blah, blah, blah

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If I were mentally, emotionally and physically strong enough to "suck it up", I wouldn't need surgery myself. I am bedbound and housebound so cannot exercise, or even walk but a few steps a day, because of severe fibromyalgia and cfs. That's why I am having surgery. I also have a bowel condition and severe IBS D. Everyday, what I eat is a struggle because of the effect it has on my body. Yes, I am weak and yes, I am reaching out and whining. Because I am alone, no one understands and I am sad. So I came here to ask for help. I did not get fat from being indulgent, I got fat because I can no longer move. I haven't posted all of this because I didn't think I had to.

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And HERE you state you already had IBS and severe bowel problems pre-op?

Post op you blamed the sleeve?

Now it's possible CDif?

Color me confused.

The IBS was being controlled by two medications that I can no longer take due to a post op abscess and c dif infection.

It's not "possible" c dif. I was finally diagnosed 29th June 2016 and INFORMED weeks later. First round of metronidazole completed. Can't get a retest or treatment as there are no GP appts, bariatric team won't help, surgeon on holiday. I will present to GP surgery when they open Tuesday for triage.

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As you clearly see, the backstory is there to be read.

Thank you for being so interested in me and my health.

It keeps this thread alive and raises awareness!

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Yes, the backstory is right there for everyone who takes the time to look through your old posts and find it. I am interested in everyone's stories and health, but you are not "raising awareness". You're giving 1/2 of a story that starts with you being 95% bedridden with MANY other problems and unable to lose weight by any other means and blaming all these problems on your surgery. You seem to have an excuse for everything as well as a snarky reply that you then pretend is the other person's problem. I suppose misery loves to spread misery (even though you go on and on about how not miserable you are, it's clear to anyone who reads your posts that you are a very unhappy person). I truly hope someday you become more content.

Good luck.

At the end of the day Gina doesn't want any advice or help from us. I tried weeks ago to give advice but she just becomes aggressive/ defensive and downright rude. Not being funny Gina but you need some serious help. Mentally. You need some counselling. You think I'm on the side of the NHS but in one of my first posts I told you to take it further. Your trust pays millions every year in insurance policies for people who try and sue. Get a solicitor if you think it's the fault of the hospital. Get a second opinion. Go to a different hospital. Do anything you can but PLEASE STOP having a go at people who are only trying to help!!!

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And I told you that I have both a counsellor and a GP, AND a PALs advisor who agree with me.

You are not trying to help. You are trying to silence me here.

You are definitely wasting your time there.

I AM going to a different hospital where possible and if you are as obsessed as you appear to be, you will have read that.

I have also said that I am starting the process of using PALs to address failings and IF I have permanent injury due to any of the treatment I received, I will address it.

I don't believe in suing the NHS, as I said.

Whistleblowers will always get bullied, and that is why people die. No one wants to speak out.

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Yes, yes, and yes! It's like there is a cult of the almighty Sleeve and any negative talk is met with, "Give it time!" and "You'll feel differently later."

A thousand times THIS!! People who offer kind, supportive and encouraging words should definitely be taken out back and shot.

Shame on them!!!

If only "they" would stop following this thread and go post their "support" elsewhere!

And yes, shame on you!

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Anyone who got major surgery for weight loss and expected to eat anything a few months post-op clearly had their heads up their asses! I'm sorry but I'm sick of the whining and bitching about what you can't eat! You were obese because you ate whatever you wanted! As you should have known before having surgery - the sleeve is just a tool - you have to do the work! If people don't realize that before surgery - that's all on them! You should know the risks too! The risks that are far less than if you remain obese by the way!!!

Why not just move along? Reading this thread is a choice.

You just like the argument.

I wasn't obese because I ate what I wanted, I became obese following a period of a five year illness which left me bedbound.

Anyone following the low FODMAP plan for IBS will tell you, you cannot just eat what you want.

But I clearly could have gone on a starvation liquid diet and lost weight, as that is what has happened to me and several of my friends, post op.

What "work" are you talking about? I "work" now to STOP weightloss!

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@@silverwhitemoon You are 2 months post-op but already know you will have reflux forever? Hmmm...too bad you didn't have that future prediction ability prior to surgery!

Ah, sarcasm! How intelligent and insightful!

Now you are bullying anyone who supports my opinion.

Why not stop following and move along?

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