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Is there anyone with a VSG or RNY surgery date at the end of February? My band has been out for about 3 weeks. Feeling good that I made it through the Holidays without gaining any weight. I have been trying to stay within the eating restrictions I had with the band for 14 years. Post op has been much better than expected. I must admit it has been a bit liberating to eat without restriction. I really appreciate the recent posts and comments on the complications with GERDS and acid reflux with VSG. They confirmed our decision to change course from VSG to RNY, because of my history with GERDS and acid reflux with my band. My by-pass surgery is scheduled for the end of February. In the meantime, I have a couple more "boxes" to check off to complete the requirements for Medicare.

For me it was absolutely worth it. But then, I am having great success with no complications. Hang in there. Hopefully when your weight loss starts to slow down, your body will start to recover. Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

I had surgery on the 13th with massive complications I almost died ... i havent lost a single pound Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

I had complications during my recovery but I would do it all over again I dont want to discourage you I would go through what I went through it's the best thing I ever did Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

As long as you’re sensible and follow what they tell you , there’s no reason why you should have complications. Of course , none of us can predict what can or can’t happen , even if you follow the diet and rules to the letter, you could still get complications that aren’t your fault, but the key is to make good food choices and excercise , and of course , keep to the golden rules! I read and researched everything I could . I wish you every success on your journey 😊

@Purplepaige70 there are no dumb questions *smile* Not sure what you mean by sick? Stomach is upset as you heal from surgery? Flu bug? Complications? GERD? You can always call your dietitian for advice on what to eat and let them know you are not able to tolerate protein or hit your protein goal for the day. Most of us have a hard time getting food in as you heal. It takes time. Personally, I would follow my plan If its not a complication/medical issue.

Surgery was 12/16/19 I have been on liquid diet 2 weeks prior to date as well. Protein shakes and water been maintaining along with some broth has been holding me up. Lately been craving for some other healthy ideas I have had no troubles as far as holding things down and complications from surgery. So far I am down 31 lbs I started this journey at 408.7 yesterday I checked in at 377.2 so I am staying focused just thought I would reach out to others for some ideas thank you

Yeah, its likely fluid. Don't want to complicate anything, but if you have the time (and the inclination), you could calculate your moving average (or download an app that does it for you) which could soften the blow of any visual fluctuations on the scale, on paper at least

I'm coming from a different perspective because I loved my big boobs and missed them when they disappeared. I'm now 2.5 weeks post op from 450 cc silicone implants. Here are my opinions from tons of reading I've done + multiple consults I am nervous to get implants because of the percentage that need to be swapped out after 10-15 years I'm skeptical on what this real percentage is. I feel like implant manufactures put a life expectancy on them to set low expectations. I think of it like an expiration date on canned vegetables. 😂 I also have known many women who have had the same implants for 10-20-30 years (I live in LA) Capsular Contraction is the most common cause for explantation and it is now believed it is caused by bacteria entering the pocket from the outside of the body during surgery. So silicone vs. saline has no bearing on that complication I also had a full nipple graft so I am not even sure if they can do another lift or implants??? A lift is generally needed if your nipples point downward vs. forward when standing up. A lift is optional if your nipples point outward, but are lower on the breast than you prefer. The standard is at or below the breast fold and/or if your nipples are more than 21 cm from your sternum notch (this one confused me, won't it be different on tall people vs. short people?). Mine was 22 cm (but nipples pointing outward), and all my consults except the surgeon I went with recommended a lift. My surgeon did not, as long as I was ok with a more mature looking breast, not a 20 year old's. Also some surgeons are better at getting an implant alone to look like a lift than others (Don't ask how many boob pics I have looked at in the last year 😂) As far as your nipple goes. For an implant alone, they can go under your breast, in the inframammary fold. This is believed to have the lowest instance of capsular contraction. downside is the scar on the underside of your breast. This might be your best choice since you already have reduction scars and it doesn't affect your nipple. I have Peri-areolar incision. Basically a half moon around the bottom half of my nipples. I'm personally very happy with this. I can already tell my scars are going to end up being nearly completely invisible. I also have full nipple sensation. I don't know if it's related to my incision placement, but I've had almost zero pain from my ba. Trans-axillary: A small incision is made under the armpit. This has fallen out of favor because of a higher rate of capsular contraction. The surgeon also has less control over where they make the pocket and these implants sometimes sit high long term. Transumbilical: An incision is made above the navel and can only be used on saline implants. Not as popular as surgeons again have less control over creating the pocket. As far as gummy bear implants. I originally thought I wanted these in a tear drop shape. But consult after consult told me they just don't end up looking as natural as silicone gel, especially if you have little natural breast tissue. Saline's big downside is rippling and unnatural feel. Rippling is especially apparent when there is little breast tissue. Additionally the shell is still silicone, so it's not as if you won't have silicone in your body if you go with saline. Fat grafting has quite a few downsides as well. The biggest one IMO, is that not all the fat stays, it dies, gets absorbed and migrates away. And there is no control over that process. So you may end up with asymmetry. There you go ... that's my dissertation on all things boob related 😂

It depends on the day. Haha. In the early days, I ate 4-6 times per day. Now days I do a complicated rotation. It's the way I maintain my weight. This morning I was 129.4lbs--a Christmas Miracle I'm waiting to see if it sticks or not! If it does yay, if it doesn't I won't be devastated). But I'm at the bottom of a maintenance window I would not be sad to reduce by another 5 lbs to my BDG Goal = Barbie Dream Girl Goal. So it's business as usual for a Thursday for me = Meal 1: B1 - 3 protein lattes with 1oz of Premier Protein + 7 drops Vitacost Liquid Stevia + Decaff + ground cinnamon 1 cup tea (green decaff tea + Earl Grey decaff tea + 1 shot of unfiltered ACV + 1 lemon wedge + cayenne + ground cinnamon) Meal 2 (optional): B2 - I will either eat around 10-11 or I will skip if not hungry. Meal 3: L-Big Ass Salad (1 1/2-2c of salad + 2-3oz dense lean protein + 2-3tbsp Zero Cal Dressing + 1 serving healthy fat (I will eat this until full. Sometimes it's the whole thing and sometimes I finish the balance as my afternoon snack) OR Turkey Cheese Rollup with raw greens and veggies OR Green Soup OR Green Smoothie with fiber OR Can of Sardines and Raw Veggies Meal 4 (optional and regulated by hunger): AS-Either leftovers from lunch OR cup of Herb OX no sodium broth + baby greens + mushrooms OR 1 hardboiled egg OR 3-5 oz of raw veggies + 1/4c fat free Greek Yogurt Dip (Tzaziki, Ranch, Onion, Asian) Meal 5: D-3oz protein + 1-2oz veg + 1oz avo/1oz tom + 1 serving healthy fat or extra cheese Meal 6 (optional and regulated by hunger): BS-usually a decaff + 1oz Premier Protein OR 1-2oz underripe GS Apple or pear + 1tbsp nut butter OR 14g walnuts or almonds OR 1 square 90% Lindt Chocolate + 14g walnuts or almonds

Yeah, probably all depends on each personal journey. Different factors would come into play, complications, healing process, personal pain tolerance. Always a good choice to follow the doctors orders.

I had my revision on 12/17/19. I too had complications of GERD from my sleeve that I had almost 13 years ago. Since surgery no GERD. I've been on a liquid diet until yesterday and I was able to start protein shakes with no problem. Prior to the surgery everything including water at times would come up. I lost over one hundred pounds with the sleeve and I did keep it off. I'm currently a bit underweight, but soon I will be able to eat healthier and hopefully live a better life. I must admit the conversion was a bit more painful, but I'm also a lot older too and my body has been traumatized a lot for the last two years. I had my surgery at the # 1 hospital in the country. I won't give the name because I don't want to put something they told me without their permission. Prior to the sleeve I had no problems with GERD. The surgeon told me they no longer do the sleeve there because they have had so many patients come to them for revisions after the sleeve due to GERD. I hope your surgery went as well as mine and you are on the road to recovery.

I had surgery on the 18th. Every time I eat, I have shudders or waves of pain. Everyone else seems to be pain free by this point and not suffering when they eat. Thoughts? I really hope I don't have complications. Red Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

I know what you are going through. I am 8 years out. My high since surgery and regain was up to 189 in 2016. I lost roughly 20 pounds just making better choices in 2 years. In June this year was at 168. That’s when I said enough was enough. I still had the tool to help me be successful. I went back to basics. Today I am down to 130. That’s 38 pounds in 6.5 months. I stopped snacking, and that’s hard with an overweight hubby and an 11 year old. I started protein shakes again, and only drinking water. I stopped all sugar and artificial sugars. I also stopped any added carbs to my food. My biggest help was logging all of my food. I’m not going to say it’s been easy. It sure as heck wasn’t. I chose surgery in the first place to be healthy and around longer for my family. Then the hell I was put through with 8 months in the hospital with many complications and more surgeries because of it. I finally snapped out of my PTSD and depression from it all. Try going back to basics. Log all of your protein, watch carbs and sugar intakes. I am now 3 pounds lower than my lowest after surgery weight. IF isn’t for everyone, but it worked wonders for me. I came back to this site, got the needed support I needed. I made sure with all the crap my family eats that I had better options in the house. I started taking a bariatric multi vitamin again. I also tracked down my surgeon who had left the Army after we had moved on as well. He is the only one who truly knows what my post multiple surgery body is like. He has been a big help to get my digestion back that no other doctors and specialists could help me with. I took back my health, that’s why we all chose this path anyways. Good luck in this new journey. Know that we are all here for you. You’ve got this.

you will wake up. Mortality rate on these surgeries is ridiculously low. It's one of the safest surgeries out there. Pain - some people do have it, but I would say a majority of us have very little. If you have it, let your team know. They'll give you something for it. complications aren't very common. Many of us have never had any.

Hello everyone I am new here. I am 27 years old and I will be having Gastric Sleeve Surgery January 23, 2020 and I am so scared. I have a great support system but I want to hear advise from those who will be or have been through this journey. I am scared about not waking up, pain, and or complications. My kids birthday is a couple days afterwards so I guess this is weighing on me. No negative comments, like I said I am new to this. Thanks!

I gave this some more thought, Assuming you are not especially fatigued at the end of the day or other days, and you get enough sleep, and your nutrient balance is correct for your post-op diet, and you are of course drinking the more than the minimum amount of water, I would say your exercise regimen is more exercise related and not diet. I wish it was as easy as "eat more carbs, lift more weights," but its far more complicated than that. Nutritionists are not athletic trainers, and neither are athletic trainers nutritionists. If hitting a wall when weightlifting if the only thing of note (no other non-normal post op feelings or notes), then I believe your issue is more directly relate to the gym than an overall carb or calorie intake. Ask the gym operator for someone to get advice from, they either know a knowledgeable trainer that works at the gym (not all trainers are knowledgeable) or a client you can ask questions to. Post-op, you have a heavier than normal protein diet, because you are on a very low calorie diet, and that makes your body want to draw a higher proportion of calories from its ready muscle. So, you should bump up your protein. Post-op unknowingly put myself on a keto diet, low, very low carb and higher fat, because I was very lean meat oriented and string cheese for snacks. I didn't hit such walls. But no one just adds 5 lbs of weights to exercises every week, or even every month. Your body needs water to process, everything. Whatever amount of water you are drinking now, add to it. I was drinking about 80oz a day, and I learned that was not enough for me once I lost alot of weight - 80oz could not support a run every other day without severe shin splints. Now, to your weight lifting. Without knowing what your regiment is, STOP! take a break. Take a 2 week break. Don't worry, your weight loss is far, far more dependent on what you eat than weightlifting. Go for walks instead. Use that time to make sure you lifting right, and lifting with the right form. If you are lifting everyday, it may not be fatigue, it could be pain. You MUST NOT mix up muscle groups back to back. For example, you should not be doing a lat pull down on a monday, and then a deltoid on a tuesday. They share the same muscle group and they are share common muscles. Triceps and biceps are similar, they should be done on the same day, so the shared muscles between those exercises can rest on the off days. You need a rest day for them. Google some suggest workout patterns. I spent 4 months in physical therapy because a "certified" trainer let me do chest press-shoulder-press-incline press everyday. I learned the hard way... not to trust a trainer. I broke my shoulders down, and threw one out fencing, and then later threw the other out trying to grab my dog. If you are lifting every other day, you might need an extra day to recovery. Recovery is super, super important. You do not build muscle mass at the gym, and never will. It happens after you leave the gym, when your muscle fibers go about repairing themselves. Perhaps, being new to lifting, and being older, you just need an extra day. Also, 6 months is TOO LONG to be doing the same thing. Do different exercises in different orders. If you are doing bicep curls, do hammer curls. If you are doing chest presses, do incline chest presses. or more ideally, mix them all up. Doing the same exercises too long will put you into a rut. Make sure you're not doing too many of the same group. Doing 3 sets each of shoulder, incline and chest press on the same day is the same as asking to be admitted for a physical therapist to fix an impinged shoulder. When you leave the gym, that is the best time to eat. Your muscles are craving fuel, and so is the rest of your body, its the best time to absorb food. Also, it wouldn't hurt to have a snack before you go to the gym either. Just also make sure you are hydrated before going to the gym. Back off the weights. Start doing less weights and see how your reps go. When you do sets, you might need a longer rest time between them. Your fatigue might be related to lactic acid, and you need extra time to flush some more of it out. Warm up your muscles before lifting. You might need to stretch, or do a lightweight set before you do your main sets s a warmup.

I am so sorry to read of the above respondents' leak complications. I had surgery on Wednesday and have had (getting better) horrible pain. I'm nervous, and am curious if if anyone knows what actually causes a leak, or what lends itself to the increased likelihood of getting one. Again, so sorry for all your troubles. Wishing for health and healing for all of you. Red Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

She was 3 days out...at 3 days out barring complications you should be walking as much and often as possible. When feeling that way get up walk do ur spirometer or deep breathing!!!

Hi Everyone! I was sleeved 23.08.19 but due to complications I have been in and out of hospital since. To resolve the complications, I had conversion to by pass surgery on 13.12.19. Surgery went well, I was discharged a few days later. However this time is completely different! After my sleeve, I was never hungry. This time round I am constantly hungry, I never feel full, I am craving solid food terribly and I am so emotional. I’ve also had more pain in my abdomen ( not the incisions but inside of that makes sense). Has anyone else had an experience like this? Or started food earlier? I was just thinking something like skips or breadsticks with hummus/cream cheese high protein yet dissolve to nothing. If you have any advice or tips please let me know

What type of foods are you eating? Any chance you are swallowing too much air? This may be useful to you...https://www.southwestsurgery.com.au/sleeve-gastrectomy/complications-of-laparoscopic-sleeve-gastrectomy/burping-after-sleeve-gastrectomy If it continues you may want to check with your doctor or surgeon.

The way I see it is that you have to take the good with the bad. Ultimately it's all about which is the lesser of two evils. To stay at an unhealthy weight and all the complications that come along with that or to make some lifestyle changes that enable you to work with your revised plumbing. I'm still finding the balance but I've got faith that I will and that in the end, this will be a life saving and life enabling decision. I miss the guy I was 9 years ago and I'm bringing him back!

Don't be discouraged by the early experience you are having. I'm praying for you to get better and pain free. Have you tried the sugar free Popsicles to aid in hydration yet? Try to meditate on healing & taking it moment by moment so you won't feel overwhelmed or frustrated. That isn't conducive to healing, I hope that you are complication free. Side note, I took Saxenda for awhile, it made me very nauseous and miserable. I so wanted to love it and be a success story, not so much for me.

I'm on a revision path. Due to complications, I had my band (2005) removed 10 days ago. Met with surgeon in first of September to discuss revision to VSG or RNY with Medicare and Supplement. While the surgeon's staff gave me a list of requirements for Medicare, they encouraged me to research the Medicare requirements on my own. I verified the listed requirements were accurate. I called my Supplement plan, and they said they would follow whatever Medicare required. The surgeon also stated that Medicare has no pre-approval process, which seems crazy. He commented, if the hospital agreed to move forward with the revision based on satisfactory completion of the Medicare requirements it would be approved. I still would like to have a confirmation from Medicare for piece of mind, don't like surprise medical bills $$. I have lost 13 lbs. (5%), so far, in the 3 months I have been in the medically supervised weight control program. I have not heard of being denied for losing too much weight, my BMI 40.3. Good luck, it's a bit of a maze to work through.

Thank you! It’s rather concerning how different each team does it to me, too! I mean, really, how complicated does it need to be? It’s confusing, but I am following mine to the T. It just gets frustrating, errg! So, I was supposed to have been advanced 2 weeks ago, but I didn’t get to because the office canceled my appointment 3 hours before it was supposed to happen. Then, when I couldn’t get time off from work the next week to make the trip down to see them, they placated me with a phone appointment. Certainly not ideal, and even then, at the phone appointment because I couldn’t make it in to see them (arrg) they said I couldn’t advance because I have to be seen. All around disappointing, I expressed how that is seriously really hard on me and just got the same answer. “Have to be seen”. So, now they can’t fit me in until 1/16/20. So SOL for me I guess. Sorry, I’m ranting because I’m pissed off and feel like I’m getting pushed aside. Thank you for understanding :)