chrissyypie

I got a call from a friend yesterday asking me for information about my bariatric surgeon. Apparently she's got a friend who's suing a doctor in the same town I had my surgery in and was wondering if it might be the same doctor (small town). That opened up wounds that are just NOW starting to be dealt with - not even close to being healed. Essentially, I had a Lap Band installed in 2011 and after dedicating myself to the dietary and exercise requirements to take my life BACK at 38 yrs. old, and only 75lbs. success (150+ lbs to go to achieve goal), I experienced a major setback and my band slipped and my stomach prolapsed. I was told that it might heal itself so they removed all the fluid and I tried to be patient and wait for it to heal itself (my body's always been great about that and I'm physically strong - regardless of weight). After a year or so of waiting, it was recommended that I have it removed. That was hard. Here I'd finally had a tool installed to help me with a lifetime of being overweight and they were "threatening" to remove it. I decided, instead, to have it removed but have corrective surgery performed and have the Gastric Sleeve done. Long story short, the surgery did not go as planned and not only did I suffer a severe abscess in my lower abdomen immediately after my surgery and was bed-ridden for 2 months following it, but about 18 months later found out that there was a HUGE abscess growing in my left chest cavity that took 10 weeks, 7 surgeries and 3 "procedures" to clean, treat and correct. I lost over 1,100 hours of work between all that time to illness, had been barely able to work let alone be an active participant in my life (all the while wondering why I was SO tired all the time and suffering from severe neck, shoulder and back pain), and wracked up a healthy amount of medical bills. I was informed, when all was said and done, that because the State of Texas put a $250,000 cap on malpractice, my suit was worthless. Insurance bills alone totaled over $500K. After the attorneys took their 1/2 and the insurance company got the other 1/2, there would still be a balance of about $375K owed to the insurance company so it would essentially be at least 2 years worth of work for nothing. I lost over $35,000 in pay and time from my job, am suffering from credit issues that are holding me back on future plans we'd had, and my husband suffered injuries during the period while and due to taking care of me. So, here we are, worse for the wear and people ask me every week, at least, "If you had it to do over again, would you?" ARE YOU NUTS? I almost DIED! Had to call my children (21 & 26 yrs old) in and have "the" conversation with each of them about how much I love them, why I love them, their best and worst qualities, how I wanted my funeral to be conducted and what I wanted to wear...or not. (I hate shoes! ) No, I wouldn't do it again. That's not to say that it won't be fine for everyone else. It has worked out wonderfully for thousands, I know....and I DID eventually lose the weight. Shoot, I lost 165lbs. just last year but definitely not the way to do it. So, I may never have a million - or even what I started with (nor my health quite yet) but I am hopefully that one in a million. I pray everyone else's experiences go better! My Bariatric Journey.pdf

Just wondering if there are others out there who have gone through two bariatric surgeries to attain their goals, what the outcomes and differences have been thus far, and if you've had any complications along the way. In June of 2011 I weighed in at a stealthy 375lbs. at 38 years of age and my parents offered to provide LapBand surgery for myself and my Little Sister, who had the same surgery, same day. After the initial healing period, we began a strict regiment of eating right and working out. We made sure we got our daily intake of protien and worked out 50-80 minutes 5-6 days per week for over a year solid. We both saw great results and lost about 75lbs. Unfortunately, I seemed to plateau after that and just maintained that weight loss for another year though I'd toned up considerably. All totaled, I ended up losing 95lbs. in about 2 years' time. In the winter of 2013 I became very ill and my LapBand went wonky on me. In Spring 2014 I was told that my stomach had prolapsed (pushed itself through the band) and since it was refusing to relax, the band would have to be completely drained, adjusted, and/or removed. It broke my heart. My parents paid for my surgery and I was not in a position to do so again. I fell into depression and, without the Band, gained back almost 40lbs. My wonderful husband encouraged me to look into my health insurance, which I found would pay once for about 70% of surgery costs and I qualified because my LapBand was determined to be a obstructionto my health. We headed to the bank and got a signature loan for the other amount needed and I was on my way to fixing the problem. I was scheduled for LapBand removal and Gastric Sleeve surgery on January 5, 2015. I weighed in at 309lbs. The surgery seemed to go well for the first 5 days but at the end of day 6 something went wrong and extreme pain doubled me over. We rushed back to the hospital and the surgeon initially accused me of having eaten something in that first week (liquids only). I insisted that I hadn't and he later apologized when a contract CT scan showed that I had two holes in the TOP of my stomach and an abcess growing in my gut. I was hospitalized for the next week, put on strong antibiotics and pain killers, and my doctor told me on day 9 that he must have put the holes in my stomach with the coterizing tool. I appreciated his honesty and just asked him to fix it. They installed a J-Pouch drain in my abdoment and I fought a nasty infection for the next 2 months, losing over 60lbs. in the process while fairly bed-ridden. To my doctor's credit, he worked things out with the hospital and home-health so I owed nothing for the stay or the vast majority of services received from either. Here we are, almost 7 months post-op and I weighed in at 238lbs. this morning! Funny to think that I will gladly give any stranger my weight now - one of the odd things that happens after WLS. I began in a size 30 and am currently wearing size 16 hand-me-downs from my best friend. I became lactose intolerant with the Gastric Sleeve surgery in January but that's probably a good thing with Blue Bell trying to recover! It's made Protein intake difficult so I know I'm deficient there but I've finally worked in my Vitamins and whatnot into my regimen. I lost 1/3 of my hair following surgery, also, but started taking 10,000 mg. of Biotin/day and it's growing back. All tolled - I'm better for the wear!

Congratulations on your decision to take your health into your hands, regardless of your ultimate decision regarding WLS. How long does the process take from initial consultation to surgery date? My first surgery (LapBand) was within a week of the consultation and paid for in cash. My second (Gastric Sleeve) took about 2 weeks to schedule since I used my health insurance. Did anyone feel that people in their environment judged them for having surgery vs 'trying to lose weight' the natural way? Honestly, the only response I've ever gotten is, "Good for you!" and "You look GREAT!" I've never had anyone that didn't agree that I needed to do SOMETHING drastic and since I'd always been overweight, I don't think it took anyone by surprise. However, if they didn't agree, they never let me catch wind of it. I think mostly they were happy I'd be around more than 10 years or so. How long was the hospital stay? How long does recovery take? Hospital stays varied - LapBand was 45 minutes. Gastric Sleeve was 90 minutes. I had complications with the Sleeve and ended up hospitalized for a while about 6 days into recovery but it's generally an outpatient surgery. Actual recovery time - I'd say on the average 2 weeks 'til you feel good - 3 weeks before you feel like yourself.

So happy for you to begin your journey. Best of luck tomorrow!