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Just got done pre-op! My plastic surgeon is so thrilled with my weight loss and working out. He said it has made his job a lot easier. It is likely he won't need to suture my muscles very much because I have a strong core. He also said since I have virtually no fat on my abdomen, which is rare for a bypass patient, that it's doubtful I will need much, if any, lipo of my flanks and it should be a super easy recovery for me since it's basically ALL skin and nothing else. Having no fat makes the moving of your belly button a lot simpler and less prone to complication. I am stoookkkeeddd. I've lost 10lbs since I first consulted with him and he noticed immediately. Sent from my SM-G930R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

I had my surgery 10/24 and went back to work 10/31. My surgery was a bit more complicated than anticipated. I was a revision and they didn't think my band had slipped, but it had and it was very difficult for them to remove. I have had some problems with my heart rate shooting really high just from walking a short distance. I feel like it's slowly trying to get better, so I'm just taking that one day at a time. I have another appointment on Wednesday to see if any answers can be found. Other than that, everything has gone great and I'm essentially pain free minus where I had a drain after surgery. I did buy a decent bit of protein powder to have after surgery and now I only like one of the flavors.. I knew that would happen, but it's still a bit of a bummer. 🤣

Dr. Oviedo was really nice. I really didn't get a whole lot of time with him, but I knew I was fine with him doing my surgery once I met him. I've had complications with an elevated heart rate, but that's not his fault, just my crazy body marching to the beat of it's own drum. I hope your pre-op today goes well and you get all of your quesitons answered!!

That was a long stay. I was in for 5 nights but that was because I had a complication. Glad you are ok. Were you able to get someone to pick you up and drive you home?

I have 1-2 drinks maybe 3-5 days a week. Some days I have 1 daily. Occasionally I have more like when I went to Vegas. I just make sure I’m not driving because how it hits me is unpredictable and I make sure I use low calorie mixers and include it in my daily macros. I found FitVine and it’s damn good wine for lower carbs and keeps the alcohol content like normal wines. After my sleeve my first drink was about 3 months out (had 1 for thanksgiving). After sleeve revision I waited a couple months. I’ve had a complication that’s either ulcers or something else (getting my cat scanned Thursday). So for now I’ve put away all coffee, alcohol and most caffeine but I’m a slave to Diet Coke so I have one every other day. I’m secretly hoping it’s some easy to fix complication vs ulcers because I desperately need to start using my topical NSAID for a double shoulder repair. No pain meds and I’m suffering!

Forget weight watchers you need to back to your doctor and your dietician, talk things out, work on a plan to get you back on track You also need to get back on the program, one week out I would have thought you would be on liquids only? Solid food at this this may do damage to your new stomach and could cause you health complications.

Hello, First post... I will be getting the gastric sleeve soon. I received approval finally from my insurance and now have an appt for all the preop details on Monday at my surgeon’s office. I live alone and I don’t want to stay with anyone after the hospital. I wouldn’t even know who to ask. I think I have one night in the hospital and then come home. Did any of you stay home alone afterward? My only fear is that there will be an emergency or complication and I would not be lucid to help myself?

Yes. Is there anything else to deal with - like a hiatal hernia that will be repaired at the same time? Has chronic GERD done damage to the esophagus - like Barrett's? Are there any ulcers that need to be healed up prior to surgery? Are there any polyps that need to be removed and sent for biopsy? Chronic gastritis that needs medication? There are lots of things the surgeon needs to know before rearranging your anatomy, and the EGD is the best way to take a peek on the inside and see what there is. The surgeon does not want to find surprises or have complications.

How is everyone doing? It's almost 2 years already !!!! I hope life is treating y'all well, life at Goal is looking good, no complications happened, regain never came y'all way , etc etc 💙 But If you need a challenge join me:

I apologize if someone has already responded. Sleeve creates a high pressure system within your stomach, worsening GERD or creating it (me!). Bypass makes your stomach so small it produces little acid. I will say that I’ve had a complication of mini ulcers in my duodenum because it’s never been exposed to acid or there’s something else wrong. Getting a barium CT next week. ZERO regrets going from sleeve to bypass. I’ll take the pain and, quite frankly, pooping myself once over the 24/7, wake up choking on vomit that I had with the sleeve.

Wound separation is a pretty common side effect. Sorry you are unpleased. The doctors I have used have plans of care for complications and problems. It sounds as though your surgeon was able to provide a follow up care - I wish you continued success and a little bit more luck in your healing. Board certification and medical licenses and site-specific to plastic surgery are probably the best places to obtain reviews and practice information.

I have been approved by my insurance company but my surgery is not until Dec 10th. My BMI has been just under 36. I have type 2 diabetes, GERD and sleep apnea. From what I have read, people don’t seem to lose too much unless they have some sort of complication. My surgeon allows us to select our own goal weight as long as it is a healthy weight. Good luck with your journey!

Theoretically, yes. BUT, apparently FMLA does not have to be approved for cosmetic surgeries. I recently got a warning that if I used ANY more sick leave, I would be fired. I missed a lot of work this year due to bariatric complications and most recently my back injury, and didn't know enough about FMLA to know I should have requested those issues be covered so they weren't. They had already approved the FMLA for these dates and if I go and change the dates and ask for new FMLA forms to be completed, I am 100% sure they would deny it. I am going to really go over all this next Monday with the plastic surgeon. I also have an appointment scheduled with my rheumatologist on December 6th, the Friday before I would be returning to work post-op, in case I move forward with the surgery but am still in pain. He would be able to prescribe antiinflammatories or something else to hopefully get me through.

Try to be relaxed is my advice. Remember you are the consumer since you are self pay. Then ask all the questions you can think of. How long is your hospital stay? How many surgeries has your surgeon done? What is the most common adverse outcome (complication)? How often does your surgeon see that outcome? Who else is on your "team"? What does post-surgery care look like? If you're going out of country, who will see you post-op in the US? Who can you call with questions or concerns throughout your process? Scour the threads here to see what people are most concerned about and have questions with, this forum is a great resource for you. Wishing you the best!

Did anyone have a significantly elevated heart rate post-op? If so, when did it normalize, did they ever find out why? I had my revision surgery on Thursday, October 24, 2019. It ended up being more complicated than anticipated, my band was slipped (I told them!!) all the way around my esophagus with the top of my stomach incarcerated in the band and a significant amount of scar tissue. My revision was anticipated to take 2 hours and ended up taking over 4 hours. As soon as I went under anesthesia (before even cutting) my resting heart rate went into the 130s and stayed elevated. During my stay they had me on metoprolol to bring it down, which it did, but still in the high range. Since I have been home, my resting heart rate is about 110 and walking the stairs, scooping protein powder into a shaker, walking to the bathroom, has it shooting as high as 147 with me instantly feeling drained of all energy. I have also had low grade fevers around 99.5. My surgeon's office sent me to the ER today and I had an EKG, CT scan, and labwork showing nothing of significance. The ER doc was trying to sell me on some people's resting heart rates normally stay at 110, which I know mine is usually in the 60s. He then said it could be mild dehydration or just left over adrenaline. My blood pressure is normal, so I couldn't be sent home on beta blockers to try and help with the heart rate again. I did have 2 abnormalities on my EKG pre-op that no one seemed concerned about. I know time will tell, I just know when my heart rate goes into the 130/140s I feel tired beyond just normal surgery tired. I'm trying to get even more water down to see if that helps. I'm just hoping someone else might have some experience with this. Thank you so much for any advice or experiences you give!

WLS is sometimes to complicated for grown people..... how will a 12 y/o understand this..... I would say the cut off should be 18.

@it'sonlythefirststep and @Moodychic Sorry to hear that you have surgery complications. Did you discuss revision with your Surgeons office?

I have had multiple complications since my RYGB on 7/18/16. I have had emergency kidney stone surgery, multiple hospitalizations for what was finally determined to be a marginal ulcer, and dysautonomia which is uncontrolled low blood pressure (60/40 or less). In addition I still have to vomit 2-3 times a month or more after a meal when I hurt for 2 hours & know whatever I ate won't go down. I am not complaining, but also I rarely (once every 3 months or so) have upper abdominal pain that is so intense that I can't breathe, let alone drive, walk, speak. It puts me down for 5-10 minutes and scares the hell out of my family, my patients, and my staff. The intense pain usually subsides after a few minutes of lying on my right side. The chief of the Bariatric Surgery dep't here thinks I'm having temporary small bowel intussusception. I know I don't have an internal hernia as my RYGB surgeon was very careful about that. Usually intussusception advances to bowel death requiring surgery, but mine resolves after a few minutes in the right position. Has anyone else experienced this?

I would do this surgery again in a minute. That being said I had a few complications and I was basically on full liquids to watery softs for 2.5 months post-op. I was exhausted all the time, I can't imagine doing any vacation other than a relaxing one. Just working, kids, life in general I think I am asleep before my head hits the pillow. Now at almost 5 months out I am so much stronger with more energy. Give yourself time

I feel it is the best available surgery and best chance of long term success and to help cure my diabetes and other issues. I didn't want to worry about having 2 surgeries if I went to vsg and had any issues or complications.

Time is really flying! I am doing well overall. Side effects/complications from surgery were minimal. In the hospital I had 2 dry heave events that felt like I needed to happen to release some pressure/gas or something, and only a couple nausea episodes after discharge. Abdominal pain subsided pretty quickly, except for that main incision site which would have occasional stabbing pain if I moved in a way it didn't like. I haven't had that for about 2 weeks now. Incisions healed very nicely. Energy level is improving, however when I overdo it I am definitely still wiped out. I am much more awake during the day. I can stay up much later than I did before, and still rise early. I sleep better. Still on my CPAP, but I no longer take my medication to help me fall asleep and stay asleep. Haven't taken it for at least a week, maybe two weeks. I also didn't take my restless leg syndrome medication last night and was fine. Wondering if I will be able to stop taking it altogether. Not sure on that one. That leaves me with my metoprolol (for tachycardia/fast heart rate) in the AM, along with Protronix which was prescribed for me to take for 60 days. I haven't had ANY acid reflux since surgery, so once the script is up I will probably go off of it unless I start having symptoms. I think I will be fine, and doc prefers to not continue it unless necessary. Yay! And at night I have to take my Lipitor for high cholesterol, but I am going to ask my doc if I can attempt to wean off of it when I lose a little more weight. Cholesterol has been controlled for a couple of years already and losing weight and eating healthier gives me hope that maybe I won't need it anymore. Seriously, the thought of only taking my metoprolol and no other medications daily has me really excited. Diet: I am doing well, but struggling with measuring and tracking. Need to improve on that for sure! I am finding that things that are higher carbs/higher fat do not sit well with my stomach, but that is fine with me since those are things I shouldn't be eating anyway! I usually take a bite or two and then just don't want them. What can I eat? I do well with ground beef, chicken, and beans as real food sources of protein. I love them when they are in some kind of a broth. I still really enjoy my homemade chili. I made a huge batch a couple weeks post op and froze most of it... and over the last month I finally finished ALL of it off. It seems to be my most complete meal that I actually enjoy. Debating whether or not to make another batch lol... on the fence since I don't want to get sick of it, you would think I would be already! I am fine with cooked veggies but don't feel quite ready to attempt many raw veggies. I am not doing any breads, rice, pastas etc. I have had a few whole wheat crackers with tuna/chicken salad twice... but not sure how much I want to eat of that even at this point. While I have definitely felt the effects of over eating... I have NOT thrown up even once. (Thank goodness lol) Weight loss? I am doing great, although I am on my 2nd stall right now. The first stall was at 4.5 weeks and lasted probably 5-6 days. Maybe it wouldn't have lasted so long, but I was at Disney with my daughter lol. This time I think it was triggered by me ordering take out from my favorite Mexican restaurant. I ordered healthy options and took several meals to eat it... but I am sure it was loaded with salt and such. I also find that when I order something, I am having a harder time keeping my portions small like they should be. Happened at Disney (though less so) and is happening again this week. Guess I need to not order any food for a while! Anyhow... since last May, I have lost 47 pounds, with 26 of those being post op. I wish it was more, but I think I am still on par considering I started at a lower BMI. I have officially lost more than 50% of my weight to get to MY goal (and only 19 pounds away from the docs goal). And as for the BMI... only a few pounds away from being "overweight" instead of obese! I am walking at least 2 miles every day. I hope to increase to doing this twice a day. I am also debating when to start pilates. Anyhow... for any lower BMI people on the fence about surgery... I don't regret doing this for one minute! It is a lot of work. It requires a lot of lifestyle change, with regards to diet and exercise... but it is SO worth it! Personal goals going forward: Do better with measuring and recording Walk more, twice a day preferred Consistently make a green smoothie with protein for breakfast (started this week). Attempt to eat small salads for lunch soon

Hey November fam! My pre-op appointment is on the 28th, so I’ll find out the details of my pre-op diet then. Until then I’m on the “Tour de Fat” — enjoying things I won’t be able to for a long time. 😂 Also, today marks 3 weeks since I quit smoking. Terrible habit, I know. But complications can occur with surgery if you smoke, so there you go. My husband quit with me in solidarity, which is nice. Anyone else in the group a quitter? Also, how are your SOs/loved ones supporting you in this journey?

Well, this could be an "it depends" answer. Everyone recovers and heals at a different pace. That being said, I probably would not want to go to theme parks or places where I have to walk a lot at 3 weeks. At 3 weeks, barring any infections or complications, your incisions should be healed with scabs over them. However, your insides are still healing. The suture line of your stomach will still be healing and I probably wouldn't recommend lifting luggage. Remember, you will have just had major surgery. While you may look OK on the outside, your body will still be recovering. That, combined with the major change in your dietary intake, you will more than likely have fatigue. It's one thing to walk around your house or try to walk a little in your neighborhood, it's an entirely different thing to have the energy and endurance to walk a theme park. Then, there's the logistics of your diet. You will not be eating "regular" food by then. At best, you'll be on soft foods and possibly still on puree. It's hard enough to get through the stages of food in recovery without the added stress of trying to find food that you can eat. You ask how long would anyone suggest. I'm not sure there's a good answer to address the kind of holiday you're describing. I went on vacation at about 6 weeks out. At that point, I had the energy for an 1100 mile road trip. I helped pack/unpack the vehicle and walked my dogs. However, the vacation was more of a visit to family/friends. I engaged in no activity that required strength or endurance. I struggled quite a bit with maintaining my diet and finding "safe" foods. I found myself placed in situations where there was food I hadn't tried or food I shouldn't eat. Protein shakes and bars only go so far.

I live in Central Texas and my surgeon was Dr. David Provost at Baylor Scott and White in Temple. He is a bariatric surgery pioneer in TX and has been doing bariatric surgery for many years. After meeting him and checking his credentials (I am a nurse practitioner so I investigate every health care provider I see 🙄) I felt very comfortable with him and had absolutely no post op complications. I had the sleeve in May 2018 since I never had any significant reflux. I think the reflux is the main reason people get conversion since you don't want to be on prilosec long term and you don't want chronic inflammation of your esophagus. There are a couple of others on here in maintenance who had the sleeve converted to bypass and have done very well so hopefully one of them will respond.

You know me, the complication queen. 😋 But the final straw, when I quit work, was not wls related.