HI, im an ex lap-bander, and had it removed in 2015. Unsurprisingly the weight has gone on. My surgeon has offered bypass as an option for me, but after the bad lap band experience im very worried.

Clearly the best thing about bypass is the weight loss...… but.....

I'd be keen to hear about all your "bad" experiences just so I can work out if these things are OK for me - the bypass seems much bigger and more permanent! is there anyone who regrets having this done years later?

Thanks in advance for your help.

On 2/26/2019 at 4:01 PM, insta_adventurer said:

7.5 months post op. Only complaint is the constipation.
Otherwise, I tolerate most things (in moderation). The only things that get me sick are when dry meats get stuck.

Adventurer, what do you do to resolve the problem when meat gets stuck? That sounds really unpleasant.

i can't think of anything negative.

oh -- i can't chug water like i used to. you know how when it's super hot and you haven't hydrated and you get a cold bottle of water and down that **** all at once? yea i can't do that anymore. i miss that.

i can't think of anything negative.
oh -- i can't chug Water like i used to. you know how when it's super hot and you haven't hydrated and you get a cold bottle of water and down that **** all at once? yea i can't do that anymore. i miss that.

This is what I miss the most[emoji46]

On 2/27/2019 at 6:20 PM, Recidivist said:

Froufrou, did your surgeon tell you how long after your surgery you could take a bath? Can you shower more or less immediately? (I'm having bypass on March 4 and am starting to think about life on the other side!)

They say you can have a bath 3-6 weeks, depending on whether your incisions are healed or not. I have a seroma which just isn't healing up, so I can't have a bath yet. I can have showers, but I just don't feel like they get me as clean as soaking in a bath. Plus I just love the relaxing factor of baths. Just hoping my incisions heal soon.

These are all really good pieces of advice

I've had several complications (hernia, gallbladder, hypotension, ulcer) but I won't go into those. I think the worst, aside from those, is that I can't eat meat like I used to. No matter how slow I eat or how much I chew, it's hit or miss whether it will get "stuck" and I will end up sliming up stomach snot. I hear a lot of people have a hard time tolerating chicken. Chicken and fish seem to be the worst for me. Also I've lost about 40% of my hair, so that's annoying... but the least of my concerns.

Mousecat, did you have sleeve or bypass

111 days out from my bypass. Other then scars I really don’t feel that different physically. The first 6-8 weeks were rough - regret, slimmies, constipation, lack of fluids, learning what I can and can’t eat, etc. I’m down 52 lbs since surgery and I still get hungry but can not eat as much and couple that with a desire to succeed I learned portion control habits. I haven’t come across anything I can’t eat but quantity is definitely the issue. I like being thinner but I have to keep reminding myself why I did it and it’s a permanent life time change. I went out to dinner with my wife tonight and really missed having a glass of wine, in fact not drinking with my meal is one of the hardest things to deal with it.

I’m glad to hear all these stories. I had sleeve aug 2017 and developed severe GERD and gastroparesis so I’m looking at bypass revision. I already have “dumping” without really having it because I eat and instantly explode so that part doesn’t worry me. Poop your pants enough and the threat of pooping your pants more is an empty threat! No date yet. Waiting on insurance to approve it as medically necessary.

Ok the term I want to use is "Non- Resilience". Oh I had heard about Restriction, it's in the fine shiny Bariatric Folder and other literature. Now today is my 6 month Surgiversity, Whoop Whoop for for me, except I have very little to Whoop about. Those of you who know my story , and most must cause I tend to bounce all over BP like a demented BouncyBall, I have not had a pretty as a picture recovery. My tiny tummy scars are the best of it, sad right? I have had a stomal stricture, jujeneal ulcerations, so many EGJ the Endoscopy/ Hepatology Suite people at Ohio State greet me by name instead of Medical Case #, and they still aren't over, forecast is 2 more at lelast.
So here I be, had a PICC line from November 29 to February 26, when my CNP and OSU capriciously ordered it removed. Their excuse, maybe it was an focus for systemic infection, and had caused my pneumonia and fluid on my right shoulder joint. Well Ha Ha to them, there was NOTHING there on all the cultures. Now what? I have a hole in my upper left arm, change the bandaid everyday , still hasn't scabbed over, until then I can't shower unless I wrap my arm in Saran wrap. Right shoulder still sore after fluid removal, may not get better until my plate and screws which I have had for 9 years for a humeral repair are removed. Admitted it would be only be outpatient/ambulatory but " maybe we ought to wait until GI system settles down" Bull feathers, I can't lift anything over 5-10 pounds already.
But back to my" Rny which makes me cry" When they removed the PICC line it was Good Luck Eating! Now I have been on a liquid/ thin puree diet for what seems like forevermore. Protein shakes since my Liver shrink back last August, because of the stomal stricture, pureed must be very thin, because Precious Pouch doesn't drain well, I feel she is no longer stomach tissue, more like a Ziploc bag with a tiny pinhole. I was willing to let TPN supply the bulk of my calories and try to add what P,O. foods my pouch would allow. Nope, pull the line, throw me into the Ohio River at flood stage and shout " hope you make it to shore!" At least that's how I feel.
Now correct me if I am incorrect , but it seems my VSG cousins with their neat new bananarama pouch, the pouch relaxes and they go from 1/8. to 1/4 to 1/3 to 1/2 cup foods, meanwhile I am at 2 oz if protein or veggies that have had the snarf cooked out of them, in between my perpetual 2 oz cuplet of fluids, calories free drinks. etc. By my year anniversary I will either be insane and dropping or in line with Mousecat singing out " put her back the way she was" oh I have loved the weight loss, the diminishment of my bulky body, but there is a verse in the Gospel of St Matthew, if I remember correctly " What does it gain a man to gain the whole world if he loses his immortal soul?" Have I sold my health for this operation, was the trade- off good for ME?
A happy thought, if my orthopaedic surgeon's scale is correct, I now weigh less than Tomkitten my son, this even endengeres fear, last time I dropped a equal amount I ended up in OSU with malnutrition and protein- anemia, and then I I got the PICC line so I could get in more protein than I could PO.
I really don't resent to surgery itself as much as the fact I didn't heal right, very disgruntled with my 73 year old body who has been faithless.
Will I ever get to the point where I can eat small normal portions of anything?

On 3/5/2019 at 4:21 AM, KateBruin said:

I’m glad to hear all these stories. I had sleeve aug 2017 and developed severe GERD and gastroparesis so I’m looking at bypass revision. I already have “dumping” without really having it because I eat and instantly explode so that part doesn’t worry me. Poop your pants enough and the threat of pooping your pants more is an empty threat! No date yet. Waiting on insurance to approve it as medically necessary.

I had pretty bad GERD pre-op and was up to 100 mg of Omeprazole and now 112 days post op take only 20 mg 2x daily of Famotidine and have yet to experience GERD. I don't eat spaghetti and drink a bottle of red wine before bed either!.... but so far no GERD, no problem sleeping on either side, stomach or ONE PILLOW!

All the vitamins and supplements I have to take each day. Just annoying really