Having second thoughts

[monikapaintsstuff 2]

I started the surgery process a couple months ago, and just had my second nutrition appointment....and now I'm getting very overwhelmed and having second thoughts. I have my psych appointment next week and my endoscopy in two weeks and I'm thinking about cancelling them cause I feel like this is really rushed and that this is such a big decision I should take some time to think it through and everything.

I'm very worried about possible complications and things going wrong. I have had GERD in the past (this was several years ago and I did weigh more then) and have been on pantoprazole for years. I am tapering off, so it might not be an issue, but my doc kinda pushes the sleeve and I'm worried about getting bad heartburn afterwards, even tho he said there's a 50/50 chance. I've read accounts of people getting crazy bad heartburn afterwards, or just being ravenously hungry all the time, which would be absolute torture for me. Also, I'm on depression, anxiety, and ADHD meds and I just learned about possible malabsorption issues, or even the difficulty of taking pills after surgery. I'm worried enough about remembering everything you're supposed to do post-surgery and not getting totally overwhelmed, it will pretty much be impossible if my depression gets worse....

I wish there were less permanent options available, the idea that you can't go back if anything goes wrong is terrifying....I know the chances of something going wrong are low, but I don't want to rush into anything and regret it afterwards.

[learn2cook 618]

There’s no rush. Maybe a Sadi might be a better option? Take your time.

[monikapaintsstuff 2]

I don't know much about that, is it different from the sleeve and the bypass?

[summerseeker 2,342]

Just take some time out. You are right not to procede if you feel rushed or feel your surgeon is not the one for you. You will know when its your time to do this.

If you have had GERD in the past then I think they recommend a Bypass. I ended up with Gerd after surgery. Its not a major issue if I eat early in the evening and avoid very spicy foods.

We all felt anxiety before this surgery because it is a leap into the unknown. The after surgery meds and routines do seem all to much to take in. After surgery it all becomes clear as you progress along the different stages what you need to be doing. It really is not something that you need to worry about.

There are people on this forum with your medications and have managed very well. If they are about they will chip in to reassure you.

What ever you decide this forum will help you any way it can, you will only find kindness here

[SpartanMaker 1,172]

I totally get it.

This is scary stuff and we humans are wired to not be very good at measuring TRUE risk. In other words, we can completely ignore the risks inherent in obesity since that's the norm for us, all the while overinflating the risks involved in bariatric surgery since that's unknown territory.

It's the same reason some people are deathly afraid of flying, all the while ignoring the fact that they are significantly more likely to die in a car crash.

I think at the end of the day, you have to do you. If you feel rushed, there's nothing wrong with taking longer to work your way through the process. That said, I don't think I'd advise cancelling the psych and endo appointments, since you can do those now and still put off or cancel your surgery. If you cancel those appointments and decide later you do want to go through with the surgery, you may have to restart the process.

In the interim, you might consider discussing these fears with your therapist?

I know you didn't ask, but I think you'll find that the vast majority of us that have that the surgery have no regrets at all. If anything, I personally wish I'd done it when I was much younger instead of wasting so many of my younger years living an unhealthy life.

[SpartanMaker 1,172]

I wanted to address the GERD fears as well.

Overall, I think the number of people that develop GERD after gastric sleeve is pretty low. That said, I personally am a bit concerned when you say your surgeon "pushes the sleeve". Any doctor that pushes one surgery over another is a bit of a red flag to me? I personally would want them to advise on what they think is best for ME, not what's best for them.

My surgeon felt like I was pretty likely to develop GERD if I did go with sleeve, so they advised against it due to what they saw on the endo. FWIW, I didn't even have a history of GERD. It might have helped that I went into the process with an open mind and not fixated on a specific surgery?

Lots of people are successful with sleeve surgery even if they have a history of GERD, but this was one I wasn't willing to risk personally. Knowing that bypass is often the revision surgery of choice for sleevers that do develop severe GERD, it made sense to me to avoid all that and go straight to bypass.

[SpartanMaker 1,172]

2 hours ago, learn2cook said:

Maybe a Sadi might be a better option?

Can you explain what you mean? I might be misunderstanding, but SADI has the same risks of GERD as Sleeve so I'm not getting why you'd suggest that? SADI also has greater issues with malabsorption than either sleeve or gastric bypass, so it seems like a poor choice on that front since the OP is also worried about malabsorption.

Keep in mind too that insurance almost never covers SADI.

[SpartanMaker 1,172]

Regarding malabsorption of gastric bypass, I find that most people contemplating surgery way overestimate the impact of this. In gastric bypass, only a small part of your small intestine is bypassed. Just from a nutrient absorption perspective, the amount of malabsorption is around 5 to 10%. That's really an oversimplification however, because different nutrients are absorbed differently across various parts of the small intestine.

I'm not an expert on depression meds, but if that's your major concern, it's entirely possible your current prescription might work just fine if you did end up having bypass surgery. I don't take any depression meds, but I do take a pretty high number of other medications and have not had to take MORE of any of those meds due to malabsorption. In fact, most of them I've had to reduce or stop entirely because I'm a healthier, smaller person than I was before.

Even if it did become an issue for you, I'm sure your doctors would be able to find the right combo of meds for you.

Regarding remembering to take Vitamins, it's really not a big deal. Like anything, you get used to it over time and there are ways to remind you if you need those reminders.