catwoman7

not sure where you live, but lapband is rarely done in the US anymore - it's largely been replaced by the sleeve (VSG) as the non-RNY option.

don't take much to the hospital - you'll likely be sleeping most of the time. Phone and phone charger for sure. Comfy, easy-to-put-on clothes for going home (I just wore the same thing that I wore *to* the hospital). I brought toiletries (shampoo, deodorant, toothbrush and paste), but didn't need to because the hospital gave me a bag of them. some people have dry mouth after surgery and like having Chapstick and Biotene mouth spray with them (I brought them but didn't need them) other than that, not much else...

^^^ agreed. My surgeon said that only about 10-15% of his patients make it to a normal BMI, and the research I've read seems to bear that out. Most successful people end up in the "overweight" or "class 1 obese" categories (which is like 30 lbs overweight - WAY better than being morbidly obese!!)

revisions always seem to be slower than virgin surgeries. That said, you can always lose more weight by cutting calories....I mean if you're willing to do that (I know I could lose more by cutting them, but evidently I'm not willing to do that because here I sit....still 10-ish lbs heavier than what I want to be...)

I was post-menopausal when I had surgery, so I wasn't affected at all, but many younger women experience changes in their cycles, moodiness, etc the first few months after surgery. It's supposedly because estrogen is stored in fat cells, and a lot of it is released during rapid weight loss. It stabilizes again after the first few months, though.

you need to watch this. It's very easy to slip back into old habits and stall your weight loss permanently - or worse yet, gain all the weight back. I almost never went off plan until I hit maintenance at 20 months out.

chronic constipation is a problem for many of us. It's due to the high protein diet plus iron and calcium supplements. Many of us take Miralax, stool softeners, or magnesium tablets daily to keep on top of it. You may have to experiment with different things to see what works for you. And yes - fiber can help, too. If you can't handle things like grains or beans yet, you can always take something like Benefiber.

I sometimes eat yogurt for a meal if I'm not particularly hungry. Although I do generally try to eat balanced meals since bodies need the nutrients from vegetables, etc. But as an occasional thing, I don't think having yogurt for dinner (or lunch) is bad. I have it for breakfast almost every morning, in fact.

I started at 373. I was asked before surgery where I wanted to be, and I said "199" - which at the time sounded like a pipe dream - so I was shocked when I was told that was totally do-able. When I got to around 210 or 220, I said I wanted to shoot for 170-ish. They said it would be a challenge, but if it I really worked hard at it, I could get there (I eventually got down lower than that - although I've bounced up a bit in the last few years - but still OK..)

didn't think of that - overall carb withdrawal (and caffeine withdrawal) can cause issues, too

this would be a question for your clinic. It's pretty standard to withhold supplements for a week or so before a major surgery, but I can't remember if I was told that before my WLS or not (it's been too many years), and I'm not 100% sure if that would include calcium and magnesium. At any rate, what you're experiencing isn't normal - or at least not common. I've been hanging out on this site for over seven years, and I don't ever remember reading anything about this. I guess it could also be weather-related since most of the country is under a heatwave (my arthritis acts up when the humidity is high), but I don't know. At any rate, that sounds miserable! I hope you can get through to someone today to get some answers.

raw vegetables are kind of tough on a lot of people's stomachs early out. I think I was about 4-5 months out before I could eat salad.

I didn't set a normal BMI as my goal because I was told only about 10-15% of patients make it that far (and the statistics I read bear that out), but I ended getting there anyway (although I had a rebound and am now a few lbs over). my first goal was 199 and my second was 170, both of which I was told were attainable if I really worked at it.

I had to take a test online that took at least an hour. It asked some of the same questions in different ways. It's been so many years that I forgot what was on it, but I'm pretty sure none of the questions had anything to do with food. It might have been the MMPI or some version of it - to gauge if you have any mental health issues. afterward I talked to the clinic's psychologist for about 30 minutes. We talked about my history of eating and weight, what my expectations were of the surgery, etc. It all went fine.

most people spend one night at the hospital, but that varies...

back when I had surgery seven years ago, most people were eating about 600-800 calories a day at that point, but it seems like a lot of surgeons now want you higher than that.

bypass here. Zero regrets. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Best decision I ever made.

Centrum Silver (or the generic equivalent) for me. 2x per day. I also have to take a few odds and ends ones - like D, B complex, B12, iron, and calcium.

re: the fear of dying = banish that thought. You're not going to die. Weight loss surgeries years ago were dangerous, but they just aren't anymore. Techniques have vastly improved, and these have become very common, routine surgeries. They're really no more risky than any other abdominal surgery. The mortality rate on gastric bypass is 0.3 %. It's even lower for sleeve. So you have at least a 99.7% chance of not dying. Those are excellent odds. Better odds than hip replacement surgeries, and they do those all the time. Honestly, you're more like to experience complications and death by remaining obese than you will be having the surgery. the pre-op diet is tough - and the first few weeks post-op can be tough, too (although in many cases, the pre-op part is worse). But you'll be through this before you know it. I would have this surgery again in a heart beat. No regrets whatsoever.

are you taking iron? That can also cause black stools. like others have said, you're still healing, so that might be all this is. If the stoma remains too tight (known as a stricture), that's an easy fix - they can stretch it out during an upper endoscopy. I had that done twice (strictures, when they occur, are almost always 1-3 months post-op - they're very rare once you're three months out)

hair loss is super common after bariatric surgery (actually, it can be a side effect of ANY major surgery because of trauma to the body - but I think we see it more after bariatric surgery because in addition to surgery trauma, we're also taking in very few calories those first few months) I had it from months 5-9, but fortunately, I didn't lose very much. I doubt anyone noticed besides me. about the only thing you can do is keep on top of your vitamins and protein to keep it from getting any worse that it would otherwise. Some people swear by things like biotin, but others say it did nothing for them, so....

yes - I know. But she asked the following question near the end of her post - so I was responding to it: "just out of curiosity has anyone had a bypass and went to sleeve?"

I also think it's probably more likely due to the E. coli. This far out I'd be surprised if it was due to the bypass.

dumping can happen with sleevers, but it's uncommon. I suspect you've either become lactose intolerant (which is common after surgery - and often temporary), or it's the artificial sweetener in the protein shake that set that off, which is also common.

I doubt anyone has gone from bypass to sleeve since bypass is the more powerful surgery of the two. there are people who go from bypass to duodenal switch (which has a sleeved stomach and a bypassed small intestine), but to standalone sleeve, no. statistically, bypass has slightly better results, but statistics are statistics. It depends much more on your level of commitment than it does on which surgery you have. We have several people on here who've lost 100% of their excess weight - or close to it - with sleeve. revisions typically have slower weight loss than virgin surgeries.