I have gone back and forth the last 4 months whether or not I felt the complications were worth the results, and today, after blacking out in Walmart and having to sit on the floor to regroup numerous times throughout the day so I could do simple tasks like pick something up off the floor, I have officially decided I made a terrible decision. I am happy for those of you who have seen benefits of this surgery, but I am just... existing... day by day. I have lost no weight in 2 months (stalling at the same weight I did on Atkins, but with a crapload more complications). I feel awful. I could deal with an ulcer and the gallbladder and the hernia, but this low blood pressure is actually ruining my life - not to be dramatic. I have gotten lightheaded and confused at work during important meetings, I can hardly exercise without having to sit or lay down and I already paid for a trainer... I can't even lift a basket of laundry without falling on my butt. I sent a desperate email to my surgeon to try a prescription to raise my BP. I'm ending up on far more pills than I ever was pre-op. Losing 60 stupid pounds is not worth this. And I have no one I can vent to because my mother "told me" I always have problems with surgery and I'd regret this and I do. So I feel very alone. Someone please tell me this gets better....

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I had pneumonia twice in the first couple of month with another hospital stay.

I am now 1/2 the person I was prior to my sleeve. I would absolutely do it again with the pneumonia!

Bypass is reversible and I am deeply considering discussing this option at my 6 month. I don't care if I regain the weight. I haven't even lost that much and still have all my clothes so whatever. I just want to be able to function again and not feel this way. I've been so proud that I've championed this new diet and have been rocking exercise and just hired a trainer, and yet have not lost anything in 2 months. And have just had more and more complications. As soon as one resolves, another appears. I am beat down.

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I had no clue it's reversible that's good to know, I'm schedule for gastric bypass surgery April 19 but having cold feet from reading reviews like this. I know everyone body is different but I'm a nervous reck right now. But knowing it's reversible if having complications calms me down a little.


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16 hours ago, Charlie75 said:

I had pneumonia twice in the first couple of month with another hospital stay.

I am now 1/2 the person I was prior to my sleeve. I would absolutely do it again with the pneumonia!

I just feel discouraged because I am impatient and have 64 more lbs to lose and don't feel like it's going to happen. And I will be super disappointed if it doesn't. Especially after all the BS.

15 hours ago, shanshan said:

I had no clue it's reversible that's good to know, I'm schedule for gastric bypass surgery April 19 but having cold feet from reading reviews like this. I know everyone body is different but I'm a nervous reck right now. But knowing it's reversible if having complications calms me down a little.


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I would just say do it if you're having health problems from obesity, not just out of vanity. I pretty much did it out of vanity - I didn't have any obesity-related conditions except, supposedly, pseudotumor, which now some docs are saying I never even had (???!!!) But if it's something that will help fix some problems in your life, go for it. Things are easier... I can sit in chairs better and forcing myself to exercise has made me not hate having to park at the far end of the parking lot, etc. lol. But I dunno... ask me 64lbs from now and I'll tell you if it was worth it. lol.

Someone I know purposely gained weight to have the surgery. Now a month later she is down to the weight she was before she had surgery. It's absurdddd. Definitely shouldn't have passed the psych eval, imo.

Gastric bypass is not reversible. They are separating your intestines from your stomach


Gastric bypass, also called Roux-en-Y (roo-en-wy) gastric bypass, is a type of weight-loss surgery that involves creating a small pouch from the stomach and connecting the newly created pouch directly to the small intestine. After gastric bypass, swallowed food will go into this small pouch of stomach and then directly into the small intestine, thereby bypassing most of your stomach and the first section of your small intestine.

7 minutes ago, Mj77803 said:

Gastric bypass is not reversible. They are separating your intestines from your stomach


Gastric bypass, also called Roux-en-Y (roo-en-wy) gastric bypass, is a type of weight-loss surgery that involves creating a small pouch from the stomach and connecting the newly created pouch directly to the small intestine. After gastric bypass, swallowed food will go into this small pouch of stomach and then directly into the small intestine, thereby bypassing most of your stomach and the first section of your small intestine.

It is reversible if there are serious complications, such as ulcers on the outside of the pouch, malnutrition, or chronic marginal ulcers. The surgery to reverse is very dangerous, so they only do it if you have persistent complications. They basically disassemble everything they took apart and sew you back to normal again. The second link below has pics of the new "whole stomach" again.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22810420

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4196428/

Edited March 22, 20197 yr by mousecat88

Interesting. My doc said that they couldn't do that, which is why they do sleeves, and only do by pass if medically necessary ( and I've done both) I wouldn't say I've regretted bypass I'm only going on 3 weeks, and my acid reflux has resolved, but the dumping syndrome is no joke. I only had it twice in the 17 months I was sleeved. Adjusting to bypass has been harder, while recovery has been much easier. Would I do bypass again? 90% sure, my acid flux was pretty severe, and the restriction the inflammation caused was pretty painful. It did the job it was suppose to. I was in your same boat after I had my sleeve, chronic nausea, my surgeon didn't know what caused it, and it eventual resolved on it's own and I was able to eat and drink normally and had no reflux. Until about 6 mo ago. But everyone is different. You're still fairly new out. Did they give you any zofran? Reglan is what I usually take for my nausea. I also take it for onset migraines, works wonders!

6 minutes ago, Mj77803 said:

Interesting. My doc said that they couldn't do that, which is why they do sleeves, and only do by pass if medically necessary ( and I've done both) I wouldn't say I've regretted bypass I'm only going on 3 weeks, and my acid reflux has resolved, but the dumping syndrome is no joke. I only had it twice in the 17 months I was sleeved. Adjusting to bypass has been harder, while recovery has been much easier. Would I do bypass again? 90% sure, my acid flux was pretty severe, and the restriction the inflammation caused was pretty painful. It did the job it was suppose to. I was in your same boat after I had my sleeve, chronic nausea, my surgeon didn't know what caused it, and it eventual resolved on it's own and I was able to eat and drink normally and had no reflux. Until about 6 mo ago. But everyone is different. You're still fairly new out. Did they give you any zofran? Reglan is what I usually take for my nausea. I also take it for onset Migraines, works wonders!

I was on Zofran, Phenergan, Scopolamine, Nexium, and Pepcid simultaneously. lol. My nausea and all that has resolved - turns out it was my gallbladder. They wouldn't do the sleeve on me because I had severe acid reflux prior to surgery and the sleeve makes that worse, so bypass was the only option given to me. I didn't want sleeve though because something about them physically removing and tossing part of your stomach in the trash creeps me out. lmao.

I only had severe dumping once about 3 weeks out when I had some condensed soup. When I drink anything with whey in it I get really hot and nauseous for about an hour, but it's not unbearable.

Edited March 22, 20197 yr by mousecat88

So things are better? Do you still regret it? I may have misunderstood throughout the thread. I wanted the bypass to start because I read I'd lose more weight, but when he told me they don't do that, they do the sleeve and convert if needed because they can't revert, I was like well it's better then nothing! I lost 85 with the sleeve in 16 mo. I stalled for about 3 months it was so frustrating. But I was only 230 when I was approved which I barely qualified and was told to no lose any weight. Sometimes I feel like I should have lost more- but I have to remind myself I was on the low end and barely made it. But I still see that "fat girl" in the mirror. So I'm working on that.

14 minutes ago, Mj77803 said:

So things are better? Do you still regret it? I may have misunderstood throughout the thread. I wanted the bypass to start because I read I'd lose more weight, but when he told me they don't do that, they do the sleeve and convert if needed because they can't revert, I was like well it's better then nothing! I lost 85 with the sleeve in 16 mo. I stalled for about 3 months it was so frustrating. But I was only 230 when I was approved which I barely qualified and was told to no lose any weight. Sometimes I feel like I should have lost more- but I have to remind myself I was on the low end and barely made it. But I still see that "fat girl" in the mirror. So I'm working on that.

I don't have the complications anymore, but my gripe is that I am not sure the complications I went through were worth the amount of weight I've lost so far. You never know if you're going to be "the one" that gets the short end of the stick. My surgeons assured me that I was "so young and healthy and everything would go perfect" and it was nonstop crap for the last 4+ months. I just hope it's over with now. I may feel differently if I hit my goal weight... people tend to forget the horribleness as time passes. But right now it's still fresh and I am slightly bitter. lol. I guess I am irritated because a) my first surgeon told me I would "definitely" get to 125 within a year and then he retired and my new surgeon said that was impossible and the surgery would "stop helping" once I hit 160-170 (I was told this AFTER I had the surgery) and b) I was told nonstop that "everything would be fine because I was so young, blahblahblah" that I naively believed it.

Edited March 22, 20197 yr by mousecat88

2 hours ago, mousecat88 said:

my gripe is that I am not sure the complications I went through were worth the amount of weight I've lost so far.

For me, I've lost 75 since surgery (59.5% EWL - so pretty much the average total loss with the sleeve in 4.5 months), 89 since pre-op diet. I did it because I was concerned that I was starting to have some health complications (pre-diabetic, joint problems, generally hard to get around and travel). And it still wasn't worth it at this point for me. I would 100% go back and not do it if I knew then what I know now. I feel SO much worse now than I did before the surgery - even with the weight loss. I feel a bit like I've ruined my life.

BUT for other people contemplating surgery, it's worth noting that the people who tend to post for support are the people who have problems - the people who are out there happily living their lives generally don't post that all is well. So, its best to have candid conversations with your doctor, read the research, and decide for yourself, not based on anecdotes on the internet.

I think there is a misconception with wls. I had a friend go from 285 to 130. I think I was told I'd lose like 60 lbs? My goal for myself was 150. I said I'd be excited to hit 140. Which is where I am now. I didn't really put any expectations on this, other then I just wanted to be healthy. I have a chronic lung condition, I was mid diagnosed as a teen with a condition and was put on steroids for 3 months on a very high dose- I gained 80 lbs in 2 months. And could never get it off. A few years ago I had a lung mass found and because of the location and size no surgeon will remove it since it's considered "stable" so they choose to treat it with steroids, 5 months of that cause weight gained again I couldn't get off. I was diagnosed with svt in 2015 and had an ablation at 33.So for me it was important to try to do everything I could to get the weight off, just to be able to give my lungs a fighting chance, and to avoid a pacemaker. I'm 36. I have a 15 year old that I want to see graduate high school, so I knew I needed to consider what my pcp was suggesting. It took me a full year to consider gastric surgery. At 230, I wasn't sure I was "fat enough" to qualify, but I had enough co-morbidities that got me approved.

You may be in a stall right now, but keep going. Trust me I've delt with fair share of complications from it too. You're going to get there. Some journeys are tougher then others. But I bet in a few months you'll be one to tell someone who is doubting " you got this! I've been in that same spot!"

I know exactly how you feel. I feel terrible. I passed out in the shower. Feel light headed, heart rate fast, high blood pressure. It just to drink water. I’m so miserable it’s not even funny. Every tells me it’s takes time. But feeling like crap wasn’t suppose to be permanent. I got my period after 5 months and the pains are 10x worse. I can’t even get out of bed. I cry everyday and it’s affecting my relationship with my husband and my baby boy.

On 3/22/2019 at 7:25 PM, Mj77803 said:

I think there is a misconception with wls. I had a friend go from 285 to 130. I think I was told I'd lose like 60 lbs? My goal for myself was 150. I said I'd be excited to hit 140. Which is where I am now. I didn't really put any expectations on this, other then I just wanted to be healthy. I have a chronic lung condition, I was mid diagnosed as a teen with a condition and was put on steroids for 3 months on a very high dose- I gained 80 lbs in 2 months. And could never get it off.

Steroids are awful. I was on them for a respiratory infection and gained 30lbs and developed a fatty buffalo hump on the back of my neck I had surgically removed. I tell doctors I am allergic to them so I don't get prescribed them ever again. Even though they worked fabulously on my arthritis.

Right now allergies here are crazy stupid and I spent almost all of last week miserable with sinus crap.
I had a regularly scheduled Dr appt last week and she offered me a steroid shot.
I refused it and told her I’d just have to get over it more slowly on my own.
Today is about the first day I’ve felt like I’m turning the corner, so I’m really glad I turned down the shot