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Hair loss is temporary, and foamies can be controlled by being mindful of what/how you eat. Neither are terrible "complications" when it comes to the benefits of WLS vs staying morbidly obese and suffering much worse health issues down that road. Post surgery, I've been very prone to developing stomach ulcers which are 100% no fun at all, but can be controlled by Pantoprazole which I was taking pre-surgery for GERD anyway. I consider that a post-surgery complication, but it's no disaster, and like Summerseeker said - I'd do this all again in a heartbeat because even with the constant ulcer threat, my life and health now is so much better. I also went in armed with as much knowledge as possible about what might go wrong and what to honestly expect and I was still so ready because living the way I was had me on a downhill trajectory. I was FAR more concerned with the complications that lay ahead of me if I didn't have the surgery.

I read all the nightmare stories too in my research of WLS but it was never enough to deter me. The majority say they would do it again in a heartbeat and wish they had done it sooner. The pro's simply outweigh the cons. Good luck!

Bad habits Before... holding in burps and gas because it wasn't ladylike. To my discomfort. After... letting it loose to ease my discomfort. Before...wearing all black to disguise my size. After...wearing all black because I think it's chic. Before... picking up fast food every Friday night. After....picking up fast food every Friday night. (Bariatric friendly)

Mari3997, Pre-op diet will definitely help you and helps get "your head" into the right place for your new fabulous healthy life. Support system? I have no one. My husband tried to talk me out of it, NOPE! My body, my life, I make my own decisions...autonomy. Find support groups here, Facebook, IG, etc, research youtube videos on bariatric surgeries. Some FEAR is normal but still wasted energy and can become crippling. Find a way to reduce fear to a reasonable concern. I responded to another post with this...it might help you, I hope so, just do it. Definitely do it! At 71, 100lbs overweight, in pain constantly, both knees destroyed by arthritis, peripheral neuropathy in both feet with hot burning pins and needles when standing and walking, back pain. My journey started in orthopedics with knees, steroid injections, worked well most of the time, but didn't stop the occasional fall [3 to 4 times a year]. I knew sooner or later something would break. I would have had knee replacement sooner except for covid & elective surgeries were cancelled for two years [socialized medicine ***] weight gain, but developed hypertension. Researched weight loss thru ***, and because I had obstructive sleep apnea, I would qualify, and found this bariatric surgery should be first before the knees. I researched, attended classes, youtube videos, surgeons, after care, supplements etc. I wanted the Roux-N-Y but at my age surgeon said no, VSG. The surgeon recommended to me, is EXTREMELY strict and no BS kind of guy, he canceled my first surgery date because he didn't like something I did, so I really buckled down to his protocol. I knew I would have nausea and vomiting from anesthesia so I told EVERYONE, to give me whatever so this didn't happen. Well...it happened, no medication, and postop recovery the uncontrollable violent projectile dry heaves started, nurse good, gave IV Zofran, the IV Reglan and within a few minutes it stopped, but it was bad. I went home the next day. I had all my foods for week two, supplements etc. I am keeping up with supplements and fluids but not hungry. Dr said eat 1/4 cup every 2-3 hours otherwise your body will try to hold on to everything and the metabolism shifts. I'm going to add the vitamin patches from Bariatric Pal to my daily regimen of chews and capsules, [ I am very fatigued] for a while and see how this works. I use Mira Lax/:axa Clear equivalent in my morning water bottle and use a stool softener at night. Find whatever works for you, the stool softeners alone did not work for me. Trying to find my new normal, I knew it would be a process. I have NO regrets, and would tell anyone considering surgery to 'go for it' and FOLLOW directions strictly. Once I pass the phase of full liquids and get into pureed foods it will be another advancement. During surgery found a hiatal hernia and did the repair. Who Knew?! I didn't, glad it's done. My significant weight loss will help me in recovery for total knee replacement. I'm looking forward to repairing the rest of my body in my older age. Best wishes to you. Surgery May 15. 

^^^^ what the above person described is what I would consider one of those "horror stories" (read lots of those before my surgery before I made myself stop - because they're very rare, and I was scaring myself about something that was very unlikely to happen). Hair loss (which as others have said is temporary and often not noticeable by others - if you even experience hair loss at all) is temporary) and foamies (which are controllable) are just minor annoyances.

I had my band removed in April 2023 and began to gain weight immediately. I was suddenly able to eat breakfast again, so I did! I am having RNY in June (6 weeks after the band removal), and my surgeon was upfront that the vast majority of patients who have their bands removed will unfortunately regain at least some weight since the stomach is almost back to its pre-band state without restriction.

don't worry about the issue, just stay on top of it. As I said above, I take a capful of Miralax every morning. Lots of us do - that or stool softeners, fiber (like Benefiber or Metamucil), eat a few prunes every day - whatever it takes to stay on top of it. I rarely have problems with it since I've started the daily Miralax - but if I skip it for a couple of days, yep - the constipation comes back. It's just one of those "features" with WLS - at least for some of us. Taking daily MIralax vs weighing 373 lbs again is a no-brainer for me.

Hey everyone, been nearly 24 hours and I feel pretty good. Surgery went great. Spent the night in hdu because of my sleep apnoea. I think I'd have been here anyway as my blood pressure was 180. Settled now but still on high side so I'll monitorat home and see my gp to review. Could just be the whole experience right now raising it. I've been having IV fluids mostly and can have 50mls fluid an hour. I'm doing a barium swallow shortly and if there's no leaks I can have full clear liquids. Going to bariatric ward in about 90 minutes too where I'll have my own room. My pain is manageable, only discomfort at the higher incision sites. It was quite painful in recovery initially. I had nausea then too and felt like I needed to burp. Gas pain does hurt but I don't have much of it and when it comes it's only a few seconds only. Going home tomorrow as long as I'm drinking around 1 litre.

yes! Gastric sleeve for years was phase 1 of the DS, back in the days when a lot of surgeons did the DS in two stages - first, they created a sleeved stomach, and then, several months later, they'd go back in and bypass most of the small intestine. However, enough people lost enough weight on stage 1 alone that they started offering it as a standalone surgery - and the VSG was born! long way of saying - of couse you can, since the sleeve is the first stage of the DS.

Hello. I am about 6 weeks post op and have lost 21 lbs. I realize that I am losing slowly but still losing. I have some medical conditions that are contributors to me losing slowly and I am ok with that. It's a process. We will have good weeks and have not so good weeks. Keep your protein and water intake good and maybe start tracking your food. I have started exercising this week and have only done two days, but it's a start. Slow and steady wins the race.