catwoman7

there's probably some things that aren't well understood about weight loss surgeries in general, so he/you may be right. It is different from what I've heard elsewhere, though. Eight years out, and I'm definitely not malnourished! (although there are times I do miss the months when I was at my lowest weight - which was admittedly too low for me....but it was a kick being told I needed to gain a few lbs (for the first time in my life..))

everything I've heard is that malabsorption of calories (in bypass) is temporary - lasts a year or two at best. Malabsorption of vitamins, however, is permanent, which is why we have to take supplements (in duodenal switch, the calorie malabsorption is also permanent - which is why it's a stronger surgery). I didn't listen to this whole video, but I think this is essentially what he is saying (I just listened to a couple more minutes of it - he did say we need supplements of some things like calcium and iron, because we don't absorb those well - I'll listen to the rest later to see if he mentions other vitamins - but i'm on my way out the door at the moment...). But that whole thing about carbsi in the intestines and diarrhea - that refers more to DS patients since that is truly a malabsortive surgery - and the malabsorption (of calories and everything else) with the DS is permanent.

dumping happens to about 30% of bypass patients. It's much less common in sleeve patients, so it's very unlikely that you'll have that (since you'll be a sleever). But for people who do have it (both bypass and sleeve), you can prevent it by not eating tons of sugar at one sitting. So I would not worry about dumping syndrome. nausea and vomiting are not uncommon early on when you're trying to see what your stomach will tolerate. BUT..you learn quickly, and most of the time foods that are intolerable early out you can eat later on. Besides, vomiting after surgery is different from vomiting before. Your stomach is tiny and there's a lot less acid in there, so not much comes up and you don't get that horrible taste in your mouth. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's "pleasant", but I don't dread it nearly as much anymore. I probably don't vomit any more often than I did pre-surgery at this point, and haven't for a long time. water - yes you'll be mostly sipping it the first few weeks, but at some point you'll be able to drink it like you probably do now. I know almost no one who regrets the surgery. The first few weeks can be rough and you may have second thoughts because of that, but after that, no. The only regret most of us have is that we didn't have it sooner.

I didn't need help, either. My husband took a week off but ended up going back to work after two days. It was nice having him get things for me (like my protein shakes), although I could have done it myself. I think I was restricted to lifting up to 10 lbs max for the first month or so - so lifting your dog may be a bit much. Pet stairs would be a good solution (my 18-year-old arthritic cat uses those to get up on my bed)

I had GERD and my surgeon said because of that I should at least consider bypass, although he'd do either surgery I wanted. Bypass usually improves if not outright cures GERD. My GERD completely went away for the first three years post-surgery. I have it again, although it's milder than it was before. I just take an over-the-counter antacid (like Rolaids) when it acts up, which is maybe a couple of times a week. no cautionary advice - I love my bypass and would do it again in a heartbeat.

this surgery is so commonplace these days that there's really no need to travel - unless you're self-pay and the surgeon in Texas is a lot less expensive. But then you have to factor in travel and hotel costs, too.

nope - I never got a medic alert bracelet, for the same reasons The Greater Fool listed.

^^^^ 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.

yep - mixed reviews. They seem to work for some but not for others. I've personally never tried them because with my luck, I'd be one of those whom they don't work for.

not all surgeons require a pre-op diet, so consider yourself lucky. Most of us find the pre-op diet the worst part of the whole ordeal, I was relieved the morning that I was rolled in to surgery that the stupid thing was finally OVER!! I think you're worrying needlessly about the surgery. Major complications are very rare - and minor ones, while also not that common, are "fixable". But then again, if you're not mentally ready for it, then there's that... Being nervous before a big surgery is totally normal, though. I've had four surgeries and have freaked out beforehand every time. But as far as my bariatric surgery goes, I'd do it again in a heart beat. I had it at age 55 and should have done it years before.

I don't know how willing you are to travel, but there are two nationally-known ones in California - Dr. Rabkin in San Francisco and Dr. Keshishian in Pasadena. They both do traditional DS.

pre-op diets vary tremendously, and some surgeons don't require them at all. Only your clinic can tell you what their requirements are. Milke (and oatmeal) were not allowed on mine.

it's very common to have a 10-20 lb rebound weight gain after hitting your lowest weight. It's more your body "settling in" to its new set point. Happens to most of us in year 2 or 3. However, beyond that, it's up to you. If you continue to monitor your food intake and keep active, you'll be able to maintain your new weight. If you let old habits slip back in and start eating like you did before surgery, you'll end up gaining most of it back.

they seem to work for some but not for others. I've never tried them because I figured I'd be one of those for whom they wouldn't work. Some clinics seem to be OK with them, others advise against them (probably because they don't work for everyone)

P.S. the other option - staying obese - isn't good for your health, either. In fact, it's probably worse.

not everyone loses hair - and some don't lose enough that others notice (like me). Some do lose more - but it's more like shedding - not big clumps of hair like people on chemo lose. And it grows back. I lost hair from about month 5-9, and again, it was pretty minimal so no one else would have noticed. In the end, it's a small price to pay for what you get from the surgery nausea/foamies - not uncommon in the early weeks out when you're trying to experiment to see what your stomach is going to tolerate (and often things you can't tolerate early on you CAN tolerate later). I really don't deal with that at all anymore would I do this again? HELL YES! In a heart beat. I'd go back and have it done every year if I had to. Totally worth it. One of the best decisions I've every made.

personally, no - but I've run into several who have.

Dr. Laura Carmina Cardenas in Tijuana has done a lot of plastic surgery for massive weight loss patients (in fact, she's a bariatric patient herself and she specializes in plastic surgery for bariatric patients). Dr. Francisco Sauceda in Monterrey also specializes in massive weight loss patients and has done many of us WLS patients. there used to be a nationally-known plastic surgeon in San Antonio who specialized in WLS patients, too, but he retired a year or two ago. there are lots of plastic surgeons in Miami and it's one of the cheaper areas in the country to have it done, but I don't know any names. There are people on here who've had their surgeries done there, though, so they may respond. Just be sure to go with someone who either specializes in massive weight loss patients or, at minimum, has at least done a boatload of them. It's a complicated surgery, so you want someone who's had a lot of experience with it.

Not everyone develops reflux issues after sleeve - it's something like 30%, and for most it can be managed medically (i.e., with PPI's). There are some who have it pretty severely so their only option is revision, although again, for most, it can be managed in other ways. I had reflux before surgery and went with the RNY because I figured I'd end up being one of the 30%, and I didn't want to take the risk. But others take it - and they end up doing fine. It's really kind of a crap shoot. I think a lot of surgeons prefer the sleeve because it's a much simpler surgery, so they're probably more likely to recommend that one. Luckily, mine did recommend RNY for me, although he said he'd be glad to do either. He's also been doing these surgeries for 30+ years, so he's done a ton of RNY's. I think some of the younger ones have most of their experience with sleeve since that's been the popular of the two surgeries for the last 10 years or so.

What were you expecting to lose? If you're looking for 30+ lbs the first month, that's pretty rare unless you're the size of someone on "My 600 lb Life". For most of us "average" WLS patients, that much loss the first month is pretty unusual. Most of us lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range. Plus most people don't lose much the first week because of the "gain" from the IV fluids you get in the hospital (which of course is just water) - and then there's the infamous "three-week stall" that many of us experience, where you can go a couple of weeks (usually 1-3) without any loss, because your body is kind of recalibrating after the surgery - so you may be experiencing that as well. you're not going to lose the weight any faster than if you ate the same thing without surgery. With the extreme calorie deficit we have the first few months out, you'd probably lose about the same regardless if you had surgery or not. The difference is, it's much more easy to sustain that deficit with the surgery. Most people probably could not go for months on end eating something like 800 calories. But with the surgery, you can. Your hunger is suppressed, your stomach is tiny, etc. The most I could ever lose before surgery was about 50-60 lbs. With this, I lost over 200, and have kept it off for eight years. No way could I have done that without the surgery.

hmmmm...from what you described, it doesn't sound like true dumping, but maybe there was more to it then what you put to paper (or...computer screen!) dumping usually involves things like abdominal cramps, sweating or chills, heart palpitations, and severe diarrhea (sometimes vomiting, too - but that's not as common because the "action" is in your intestines). It's basically caused by your intestines going into overdrive to deal with the sugar. I've never dumped in my eight years post-surgery, but from what I've heard from people who do, it can go on for quite awhile. And once people dump, they're not likely to repeat whatever they did to cause it in the first place!

your drinking speed will definitely slow down for awhile, but I think I drink just as quickly now as I did before surgery - and have been for several years (I'm eight years out)

mine lasted 3-4 months (started in month 5 - stopped around month 8 or 9). Although I really didn't lose that much - it wasn't noticeable to anyone but me.

dumping is when you eat too much sugar at one sitting, so taking the pills shouldn't cause that...

no need to wait 30 minutes, unless the medication says to not take it with food (which none of the ones you listed do)