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So, today was the day for my psych eval. Not sure to know what to think about it. I went in and the psychologist was very nice. Gave me a piece of paper and asked that I write my name and dob on it and Dr. to do my surgery. He then had me answer a list of questions he had wrote down such as: where did I here about the bypass surgery, why did I want bypass surgery, have I attended a seminar yet, have I seen the dietitian and if so how many times, what family support do I have, what are the complications of bypass surgery, and what type of diet/exercise changes do I plan to make. Last but not least, what will be the hardest change I will have to make after having the bypass surgery. Then he proceeded to have me fill out the standardized psychology test MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Test) 300+ true/false questions I had to answer. Once I finished he told me thank you so much, I will send the results to Dr. by beginning of the week and took my fee. Kinda perplexed feeling perplexed right now! I have another dietitian appoint the 27th and not sure what will happen next. I also called my insurance company to see if the office has submitted a request for approval and they had not so far. I sure would like to get confirmation on something! Waiting is hard! Unknown if you are covered is even harder. Not knowing if you will be able to even get the revision surgery is the hardest!😟

If you need more time you could always say there was a complication or infection.

Is this a complication directly from the sleeve? The reason I ask is, i had an endoscopy 15 years ago and they told me i had bile backup into my stomach.

my weight loss journey is not complete, but I have had my balloon removed (my 6 months was up). I had no major complications or problems with it. The most negative part of the experience was the cramping/nausea during the first 7-10 days after insertion. I am still losing, although more slowly than when I had the balloon, which is more because I've not been sticking to my clean eating plan as much (just a long string of life events getting in the way), but I'm confident that once I return to my "new normal" eating plan, my rate of weight loss will increase.

I loved my MGB, I had no issues for 11 months and lost 95% of my excess weight. I started having left sided abdo pain, had blood work and ultrasounds that were fine. I began having severe pain with nausea and vomiting 10 times a day for 3 weeks and ended up in hospital. Despite scope and CT I didn't get a diagnosis until 4 months and 4 re admissions to the hospital later. The area I live has very few bariatric surgery resources. I am now thankfully getting a revision to Roux n Y which should eliminate the problem, I was trialed on medication to help with the bile reflux and it ultimately failed. My surgery is in 10 days I am so relieved. I am still glad I did surgery despite my complications. You just never expect to be the low percentage of people with this complication. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

I would get a second (and even third,) opinion on any kind of revision surgery. Partly due to the added complication in doing revisions, and in the wider range of underlying problems that may create the need for a revision. Different doctors have different experiences (even if they are equally "experienced") which can give them a different perspective in solving a problem. On these forums, we certainly see some come through who have hiatal hernias repaired post sleeve; there is also wide variation with amount of sleeve experience that surgeons can have, given that it has been gaining popularity rapidly, so many surgeons are not as experienced with sleeves as they are bypasses. This leaves many in the situation of not really knowing how to correct a problem that occurs with a sleeve, and instead stay within their comfort zone and revise to a bypass instead of fixing it. So, in short, you may be in a situation where some surgeons can correct the hernia fairly easily while others would have difficulty, or it may be something that no one can correct without doing the revision. We forum lackeys can't make that judgement, but that is what second opinions are for. Good luck,

Hi everyone, I'm having a hard time finding a chewable/liquid/ez-melt calcium/D3 vitamin that's (1) vegetarian or vegan and (2) with no added sugar OR sugar alcohol (fructose is OK). I haven't considered vitamin patches - but I have an allergy to adhesive (tape, bandaids), so that complicates things! I figured I'd ask here in case someone has any good calcium products they can recommend. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! xxx

Mousecat distance is huge But also consider where the surgeon has hospital rights. My PS office is in Bethesda and procedure in DC If complications are a concern then perhaps the office is the more important location. Also being able to get in touch have your phone calls returned feel confident that this is going to be done correctly is huge!!!!! My PS does WLS - it is his thing. PM for details. Good to see someone from the area.

So far I’m loving not being constantly hungry, I enjoy food more when I’m not inhaling it and I find healthier things more tasty than before. I haven’t had any complications or severe side effects and I barely feel like anything has been done (except when I’m eating of course). The not so great part at this point is not being able to drink water like I used to. I loooove chugging a huge glass of ice cold water and now I feel like I’m always thirsty even though I carry a bottle with me and sip constantly. Plus, I still can’t sleep on my stomach and it bugs me, but at least that’s temporary so it’s all good. All in all, everything is going well and in my case it’s definitely worth it even though it has only been four weeks.

Good luck tomorrow! I just had mine on 5/23 & honestly - it's been great. First 24 hours were way more painful than I expected. Everything else has been easier than I expected. The day after when they finally gave me fluids, it was not hard to get them down. I did the 2oz sipped. Watched the clock and paced myself, but easy. The first 2 weeks of nothing but soups I was climbing the walls. I'm literally... 18 days post op and no complications. I can easily easily drink. I woke up this morning & probably drank 8oz in one sip. I'm being careful to never drink at least 30 min past eating & have made it a personal challenge to get down 65oz of just water per day, but it's not been hard. Liquids go down super easy for me. Meals, 4oz. I'm eating eggs, ground meats, yogurts. A lot of quiche - eggs and cheese & veggies. I've also had no issues whatsoever with swallowing any pills.

Walk down Wilshire Blvd and you can't help but run into a few of them! As with everything, it is a trade off. PS certainly has a higher risk of mild to moderate complications - some of which can be handled with email and selfies while others need a hands-on office exam, so being close is a big help. The compromise is on what you need to have done and how much experience the PS has with the extensive reconstruction that is often needed after massive weight loss. There can be a big difference between an abdominoplasty or lower body lift after losing 100-200lb and a "mommy make over". If all you need is an arm lift or maybe a minor tummy tuck, a "regular" PS that you know and trust may be just fine. Talk to him and see what he says. My bariatric surgeon has gotten into doing the post bariatric reconstruction, but for some of the more "artistic" jobs like the breast implants and reconstruction he brings in a breast guy to do that part of the job.

Good evening, June Siblings! I am finally coherent enough to post. I had my surgery at 12:30 pm today. Praise God, I’m feeling pretty good. Ice chips and water have been going down well. Pain is being managed well. Moved from bed to chair. Waiting on a protein shake to arrive. Went the the restroom with no issues. The only weird thing is that my lip is swollen. I seem to have a had an allergic reaction to something. No one is sure what, but they think it may be from the tube in my mouth during surgery. There were no complications. Although the doc found a hernia, which he took care of, as he thought it might contribute to reflux. Glad he did that. Anyway—just wanted update you all. I’ve appreciated reading all of your experiences and learned from everyone of you. I’m expected to be here for two days due to my hip and knee issues. I’ll post agin after the pain meds wear off😉 thanks for sending good thought and prayers my way!

When I lost weight before I was down to a 18 and I looked really good ! People were complicating me and I felt good !! My now ex husband never made a comment or statement 🙄 This is my 3rd time going for the surgery ! I think the first 2 were because every dr said I needed it ! I have Epilepsy with uncontrollable seizures and the last 2 times my seizures stopped my surgery! This time I want it for me and for making me happy and healthy!! The sad thing is yes I’m really fat and people are judging me from that ! If I was skinny I would be noticed more ! Society is not fair but life only happens once and I had a crappy 25 years and I want the next chapter to be wonderful!!!!

The compression garment is supposed to be tight, and you neeeeeed to wear it. I stopped wearing mine too soon, and had complications that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. It sounds like yours is much tighter than mine, though - it was like a tight girdle or spanx, but not so intrusive that I couldn’t sleep or that was actually painful. I’d talk to the surgeon’s team about that one. As for the drains, there really is nothing to worry about. It’s a small tugging sensation that lasts a couple of seconds at most, with absolutely no pain.

I want to go to the plastic surgeon that did my breast reduction because he did an awesome job and is 30 min away. My bariatric office said I should see someone that focuses on bariatric patients and skin removal, and referred me to someone 2 hours away (longer during rush-hour - DC traffic UGH). I tried calling them twice and no one calls back, which is VERY discouraging. Also, after every surgery I've had (including the two plastics), I've had complications. I don't want to have to drive 2 hours for check-ups and emergencies??? I called several other plastic surgeons a bit closer and none do arm lifts, EXCEPT my plastic surgeon. My bariatric office says they like my guy personally, but his interest is on breast reconstruction so they refer people to this other person who is far away. I haven't consulted yet with my guy, but his office says that yes, they do them. Does it truly matter if I go to a "specialist" surgeon? The distance is very scary to me, given my history... and I already know my guy does awesome work. Did you go to someone that focuses on bariatric patients?

I am even farther out, 9 monthsn my same complication as Briswife started at under 3 weeks, confirmed at 1st endoscopym They didn't believe me, tried to tell me I just had remaining surgical swelling. And my stricture doesn't seem to want to leave me. I Have been on Carafate since then, let's see, I started it October 12th it's almost June 12th so 8 months? How do I like it? Well it has become second nature like most of my other meds, I take it 6AM, noon, 6 PM and Midnight. I would complaint it keeps me from sleeping but I wasn't sleeping that solid anyway. I take the pill Forman mainly because my Medicare Part D medication insurance provider is too dang cheap to grant me the liquid. With. the pills, you dissolve it in water, my surgeon told me originally boiling but it will disolve in room temprature, just takes a little longer, stir up the slurry I usually drink,it down before it stops moving, if you wait it takes 2 medicine cups of water to get it all, I liken the taste to white flour water, not especially lovely. Although I am still ulcerated the few times I am late they hurt more. And although most people after having their stomas stretched get all better, I believe Briswife' s has progressed I nay be the exception to the rule. Every time they try to dialate it ,seems prone to snap shut. But this Wednesday we shall try again, I'm assigned a different doctor for this one. I believe it is my 12th or 13th EGJ, see when you're post RNY they look at.your esophagus, stomach pouch and your jejunem, the second part of your small intestine that your pouch attaches to, you never can see your duodenum and residual stomach again without a lot of fancy-pants maneuvering or being. cut open with a open incision. I just read recently some. of the surgeons can still do it laprascopically. But I remain optimistic, I believe I still will be repaired, even if it takes more surgery, even if it is an "open" incision, that's how my galk- bladder and appendix were removed, that was before laprascopic was prevalent. I know how long it takes for an abdominal incision to heal, and, although they vastly prefer to do things laprascopically, every surgeon worth their salt knows how to do things the other, and you really can see things perfect with it. In the meantime I am still stuck on thin- like purees, broths/soups, protein shakes. Doesn't sound too fun? Well I'm used to it, I make sure I take all my vitamins and other meds, stri protein powder into every thing where it doesn't occur naturally. Still taking a PPI, omeprazole DOES NOT WORK for me, in fact every ulceration I have had was while on omeprazole so I am on Dexilent, the Ferarri of PPIs, would cost over $300 monthly without insurance, I am lucky I only pay a $6 co-pay. Still also take Zofran, if I try cutting it back the vomiting returns in force. Now for the thing which is good and keeps me moving forward! I have lost almost 120 pounds since surgery, 165 since my highest weight in October 2017. And I needed badly to lose the weight. I have had arthiritis since age 25, in fact I had to stop having babies after 3 because my hipbones were starting to spot-weld, any more would have been C section and with my weight, although I was not quite as big, I was still a Big Girl. And although I did finally have to have both knees replaced , they hurt a lot less now. I can do things better, move quicker, maybe now I could escape fires. Since my surgery I have been much more vigilant about my health status, had many more testing done, found some minor things that had been hiding, No Big Thing , they are all managed now. Before I was a Walking Time Bomb- in my family we had ❤disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, depressions- it was by God's Grace I dodged as many of those bullets as I did. My PCO was threatening I would not make it to 75, would be wheelchair- dependant because my joints were screaming No More No More! Now I am ready to drop into a size 18 after being a 28- 30 womens. To be honest I mostly wore mens sweats in the autumn, winter and into spring, even Wal-Mart didn't have that big a selection in that big a size! And my quality of Life was bottoming out, didn't get up if I didn't have to, didn't walk if I could stand still, didn't stand still if I could sit, and why sit if I could lie back down? Figured I was rated to just die, so stop moving so the Death Angel could find me! Then I heard from someone about Bariatric Surgery, asked my PCP and , surprise , he said I should at least try. And if I was going to die anyway, what did I have to lose? If died on the Operating table, at least I would have died trying, and my life wasn't that great anyhow. Do I started seeking, most places seemed to say I was too dang old, well my red-headed stubborness was firing up! How dare they say i wasnt good enough, deserving enough, worthy of their time? I went through one program not once, but twice, quite a backstory there, only to be refused by their head surgeon! Did ibstop there? Nope! Fueled by the fact that Dr Doofus and his minions bled so much insurance monies off and then said I WAS DEFECTIVE! I had known these people for 2 and a half years and now they're trying to say there is Something Wrong with ME? Their diagnostic skills seemed pretty crappy to ME. So I set out on my Fact- Finding Journey. I had taken my PCP at his word that Program #1 would be best for ME, Now I would search for the ONE best for ME! And why not the Premier, the one I truly wanted, the one centered at our Land Grant university, the place I had even once dreamed of being educated at, the Ohio State University, well I went to their seminar in March 2018, after being " kicked to the curb" by Program 1 in February, and my oh my I Liked What I Heard!! Program #1 had assigned me someone now I could make a chouce! Pulled up their bios and studied them like finals, well in a way that WAS what this was, instead of risking a career I would be risking my LIFE! And then waited for a call- back, I. wanted THEM but did they want ME? Didn't have a very long wait, maybe 5- 6 days, and not only did they WANT ME, they wanted to work with me to make it a Good Experience! And I had made sure I had excellent references and acknowledgement of all the pre- consults I had already done. Wasn't too difficult because I had an excellent lawyer in Columbus, and there was something not kosher with these people, at the very least a breach of trust if not promise. And since they didn't want their dirty laundry examined..... Anyway the next month I met with a Staff Psychologist who just happened to be a specialist in a condition I have which was not public knowledge, perfect recommendation, next month met dietician and exercise physiologist and nurse-practioner, met again with her for a more in depth in late May/ early June, still everybody wanted ME, didn't think I was neither foolish or too old for seeking this, they met with my surgeon, the one I CHOSE in July, had a PreSurgical exam, found little to Barr me, actually something I could repair myself, a fatty liver,went on the luver- shrinking Diet for the entire month of August, made my liver shrink and look beautiful, lostc15 pounds, ME with the Basal Metabolism of a Sick Sea 🐌 Snail. And on September 5th 2018 I received my RNY from my chosen surgeon, The Chairman and top dog of Bariatric Medicine and Metabolic Weight Loss, yeah the Big Kahuna, Bradley J Needleman MD. Gave me a surgery with 7 tiny slits, basically pain-free and the Start of a New Life for ME. And I shall be incredibly grateful to him and Ohio State , and if i require more surgery I am safe within his hands! And I gave absolutely no fear, come what may! I know this is LONG but I did want to explain, give a little shout-out to my wonderful hospital and staffm Probably my problems re just that I healed funny, but I still trust things are going to work out just fine for ME.😛👍And 8 am so incredibly lucky🍀to have this chance for a future!

complications aren't common - I've been involved in various bariatric forums for about five years and there aren't all that many issues with ulcers and vitamin deficiencies. If you follow the rules and keep on top of your vitamins, you'll likely be fine. The only "vitamin issue" I see coming up among people who are rule-followers are iron deficiencies. Some people don't absorb oral iron well and develop deficiencies even though they take their iron. So...they end up having to get infusions. But most people do fine on oral iron.

I'm glad you posted this. I'm in the same situation. I think I want "the sleeve" due to the ease and lack of complications but my researching is pointing to the RNY, even though I think it leads to ulcer and vitamin issues. I think I'd rather by thin than have hair and nice nails.

I'm 10 weeks out from RNY gastric bypass, and have no regrets even though I developed an uncommon complication. That being said, serious complications are rare. I am happy with my choice, and rate of weight loss. go for it!! Best wishes. Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Hello, I recently started the process to get wls, I have type 2 diabetes, and recently started getting acid reflux, my surgeon recommended for me to get the rny to get rid of my diabetes and the acid reflux altogether, but my question is to those who have had the gastric bypass how has your experience been with this surgery so far ? have you had any complications from this surgery or regrets?

Hi I'm new here and have many questions, but my biggest one is if anyone here has had bypass surgery who previously had a Nissen wrap for reflux. I could explain the nissen, but those that have had it will know what I am talking about. I have many health issues and all of my doctors are for me getting this bypass surgery. They say that it would be worse for me not to have it. They need to unwrap the Nissen and then do the surgery, which they say will add about 2-3 hours to my surgery. I know I need to get this done, but would love to hear from someone that has had this done with the Nissen. How long did your surgery take? Were there complications? Now I know that everyone is different so don't have to explain that to me, I just need to find out how it went for you......

I think spreading hope to the Newbies and the poor surgery siblings who have complications to over come, share your stories of emotional growth with your surgery. I had a pity party that lasted a while due to insecurity whether I was doing everything right and unrealistic expectations of how I should look 4 months along. I got over myself with the support of all of you and for that I thank you .. the message I want to pass on is if you knew me and knew how ingrained my bad habits were you’d see how far I have come even through the self doubt and the need for perfection that was so unrealistic... I may not look exactly as I hoped looking in the mirror but I feel so energized, have a pep in my step, AREN'T swearing my ass off!!! The hubby is really smiley too these days .. wink 😉The positives outweigh the negatives . Tonight I’m a puddle of love for you all and send you positive vibes .. please keep supporting each other and thanks so much for the input and caring!!!

Are you actually "eating" the first week out; as in, actual food--solid or even semi-soft food? Stretching is one thing. But at just one week post-surgery, the primary concern is complications to the stomach's incision line. As one said above, leaks; or even particulate (small) matter--food--getting into your incision line, etc. That would NOT be good. **The particulate food particles can get stuck in the incision line, cause poor healing; and in turn, increase a chance of leaks due to the food particles interfering with the approximation of the cut edges. Also there's a risk of intraabdominal infection, etc. You want/need that incision line to close/heal completely, without 'contamination' by food particles. Did your doctor permit actual food--solid food--or by "eating," do you mean your liquids? For many (myself included), I had a hard time [for weeks] getting my water in because I felt full so quickly [Alas, that's not the same now, and I actually gained back some weight {very depressing and mad at myself}]. But check with the plan per your physician and make sure you're not ingesting too firm a food and not taking in too much.

Thank you, everyone!! I’m so paranoid about potential complications. Lol

That is so fantastic! I have felt like that a few times, but then some type of complication comes along and b!tch-slaps me back to reality. I hope to get to where you are soon!