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I was in one day. No complications. Surgery March 21st. I went home March 22nd. Lapriscopically done. Sent from my Nexus S 4G using RNYTalk

I found that the first three days and the last three were the hardest... The days in between were a little easy, as I didn't experience much hunger or thought about food that much. Just picture you FATTY liver, and how it can complicate surgery.... For sure that will help you stay the course. CONGRATZ & see ya on the BANDits side!!

Recovery time should be pretty much the same as it was when you had the band installed. You are going in for a full laparoscopic surgery, so you'll have all the ports/incisions that come with it. You'll be unfilled, have your band adjusted and more than likely some more sutures put in to hold it in place, and this is all barring any complications. I had my band installed in 2011 and I had ZERO physical issues, no slippage, no erosion, nothing. But when I had my revision from Band to Bypass, it took my surgeon over 3 times longer to get the band out, because it has been 100% encapsulated in scar tissue. So, you *might* not have any issues once they get inside you again... but you could have some major complications ahead like I did, even though nothing pointed to there being any real problem. To be honest, my "suggestion" would be to talk to your surgeon about revision to another WLS. The Band has just so much working against it at this point, 2 major manufactures have stopped making them, most surgeons won't even do them any longer.

MsMaui thank you for posting your story. I think its important for people to know what kind of experiences are out there. Some complications are because of the band, some are exacerbated by the band, and some have nothing to do with the band. It's not clear from your initial post where you were coming from with respect to the above three purposes for posting about complications. it may have been helpful if you included that. I noticed the same thing in your other thread about "Thinking Of Revising to VSG good info". The point of the post was vague and it is natural to think the worst when the poster doesn't clarify. It came across as misleading and possibly deliberate. As far as your problems, that's just awful and I'm sorry you've dealt with it this long. And I'm sorry you're losing your band but it doesn't sound like it is compatible long term with your existing conditions. I hope VSG or whatever you choose is a better solution and this stops being a negativ issue in your life. There's too much great stuff to experience without being hindered by pain or even Internet arguments. Best wishes.

Thank you for your kind words. People don't understand body mechanics very well and some of them work in the medical field, lol. I was Dx with IBSd many years ago. Until 18 months ago, I would still have alternating bouts of constipation and diarrhea on a 7 to 10 day rotation. I've used Probiotics, Fiber supplements to manage this. Now I have IBSc, and yesterday my gastroenterologist Dx me with gastroparesis and the gastric emptying test is to determine the severity. The palpitations I get while eating solid foods are disturbing. The abdominal distention, pain, reflux, regurgitation and vomiting are truly affecting my life in a very negative way. I'm retired...my husband and I wanted to go to AZ this winter, get out of the cold, but we can't, because of this condition and the unknowns. I've been following a band food plan all along, yesterday the doctor told me I need to eat a soft, low residue, low fiber diet. I need to eat 6 times a day, half my normal amount at each meal. I'm on another new drug :-/ with a huge copay, that may or may not work. The questioning of my decisions about my healthcare (timing, why I didn't see my band doctor, etc) were really disheartening and unsupportive. There isn't enough room in one post to list every conversation, office visit, diagnostic test, etc. I'm pretty experienced and knowledgeable (according to my care providers) and tend to seek help earlier, rather than later. I have friends who are doctors, PAs, nurses as resources, as well. I chose to see my gastroenterologist because he wasn't affiliated with my band doctor and I needed a trusted 2nd opinion about whether to remove my band. My GI doc is adamant that I have no surgery unless absolutely necessary, since additional abdominal surgery will exacerbate my motility disorder. When I posted this, I did receive many supportive comments and I appreciate that. It's really hard to see people take the position that somehow, someway, anyone who has a complication with their band must be non-compliant. That is just so judgemental. People who are suffering, need compassion. Thank you again for your kind post. I hope your husband's condition is manageable...best of luck to you both!

Complications happen and I am sorry you went through that even though it was unavoidable. I'm glad it was an "easy" fix. Congrats on your success and best of luck! Keep us posted!!

September 17th surgery (one day short of 2 weeks) Ups: I've lost 14 lbs since surgery (49 since started process) I can wear my wedding ring for the first time in 6 years My rolls are visibly shrinking! I am down into the clothes I wore last more than 5 years ago I look better in clothes People are noticing, but are attributing to my hair cut Downs: My neck is killing me from having to sleep on my back I had a minor complication with one of my incision sites, so I'm taking nasty liquid antibiotics I miss red wine :drool:

Hi Leah! Thanks for the response. Here is the way to look at it... YOU DESERVE THIS! Have you been to any of the seminars? I really enjoyed the ones I went to when I was researching this procedure. They helped me to see I am not a bad person because I am fat. I have looked into WLS for a couple of years, like you, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to afford it. AND I wasn't prepared to have my intestines re-routed through by-pass. A friend told me about this lap band thing he heard on the news, so I started to look into it. First off, its alot cheaper then by-pass and I love the idea that its less invasive and adjustable. And the complications post op are much less. I am self pay as well. I don't have ins. and even when I did it didn't cover WLS. Even though I knew it was something I needed to have I wasn't prepared for a very long time to admit to myself none the less to anyone else. Being over weight is a constant struggle in every second of one's life. But you already know that. I decided on Dr. Rumbaut in Monterrey for three reasons, first off, his experience, he has amazing credintials and tons of experience, along with alot experience in higher BMI patients, second was because he himself has the band, he knows how it feels to be us, he knows the day in and day out struggles, thirdly price. He was much cheaper than here in the US however I do know Tallgrass in Topeka is about the price of Dr. Rumbaut. For the first time in my entire life I don't feel ashamed to be me. I don't feel horrible from the mention of myself. I think I feel like this because of these boards, I no longer feel alone. I am so proud of myself and happy for myself to take on this new journey for me! There are several places out there that will finance this surgery, many programs that even offer it. I finally came to the decision I cannot nor will I deny myself this procedure, I cannot NOT afford to have this surgery. I want to live, and I want to be healthy. This is no longer an option. I had to come up with the money. And as you go through the process which I have, you will see that you deserve this more than anything. and you will find a way to pay for it. So hang in there, stay up to date on new information, talk with other etc... there are also some great chat sites on yahoo, one for Kansas lap band patients, I love the people there too! If ever you want to chat message me! hang in there and Good luck! ANNIE

Hi Gottaloseit, good to hear from you. I did have some complications while is the hospital. My spleen tore from scar tissue from previous surgies and I had a terrible time with pain management, while in the hospital as well. However, I do not have any regrets. I knew there could be the possibility of complications and I accepted the risks associated to the surgery. Today, I have lost close to 40 pounds. I am able to exercise now without the back, knee and ankle pain that I had when I was 40 pounds heavier. My goal is to get healthy, so I can participate in my out-door sporting activities. PM me and let me know how it is going with Dr. Brodderick. :tt2:

I know I felt like you on and off for a a couple weeks before surgery. I was scared and tempted to back out, even at the hospital I was ready to run for the hills. But I didn't and I didn't have any complications with the surgery. I followed my pre op diet to the letter to ensure my best possible condition before surgery. You've obviously researched the gastric bypass surgery, you've taken the courses and you've made the decision to proceed with the surgery. I stopped researching and reading threads about complications when I started to worry, because I knew they would scare me. Also people don't tend to start threads when everything is going well and they have no complications. I think we all go into it with that fear in the back of our minds that we will be one of the ones with complications, not just for WLS but for any surgery and that's natural. In the end it's only a decision you can make for yourself.

I hope to be like you guys that bounce back and without any complications. My biggest fear is the surgery itself, having complications. But I'm glad to know it's normal to feel like this and im not the only one who had these thoughts. Thank you so much for sharing I appreciate it more than you know[emoji173][emoji173][emoji173][emoji173][emoji173][emoji173] Sent from my SM-G925T using BariatricPal mobile app

Being scared and nervous can make you question your decision. Normal pre surgery jitters. I’m sure your surgeon gave you the statistics and risk/complication facts. Your team is going to take good care of you and manage your pain with medication. The pain is temporary, your results will be amazing. As for all the horror stories, I think its human nature to gravitate toward the negative posts. It will fuel your pre surgery aniety. Try to balance things out by reading the positives. Surgery before and after’s https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/297668-i-want-to-see-before-after-pics-contd/ Success stories https://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/1298-weight-loss-surgery-success-stories/ NSV's https://www.bariatricpal.com/search/?q=NSV I think many of usthat have bounced back from surgery quickly and had no complications don’t get represented. People that are maintaining no longer need support leave the site. Most people posting are in weight loss mode, a few with complications and people that have gained weight.

Eric and mom took me to the hospital last Thursday. Took an Ambien the night before so i slept realy well. They didn't. I was so nervous about the operation! Mainly about complications and waht if something goes wrong??? The nurses were incredible, just great. They were skilled and compassionate, answered all my questions. Made me feel ok.

Hi all! I posted this in intros- but then saw the self-pay section. Hopefully between the two- I'll get some good insight. I'm living in South Korea for the time being. I just went to my first consultation apt. with a Dr. here in Seoul. Living in Asia, I would be completely self-pay (which is about $5K here.) I'm worried that if I fall into the very small margin of patients that have difficulties bad enough to warrant more surgery (e.g. errosion, slippage) I won't be able to afford it. Also, when I come back to the states (next year) will it be covered by a health care plan if there's complications later? I'm pretty overweight (5'5" and weigh 200lbs). The doctor here said he could band me no problem, and that my BMI is 36, and I'm carrying a little over 40 kilos (90 lbs) of fat on my body (after they did a full body analysis.) I calculated my BMI on the web, and it said mine should be 33, but the surgeon said I'm actually a pretty petite person. I've already run into medical issues b/c of my weight- I had my gallbladder out last year, and have circulatory problems (my feet swell.) Also, I'm really sick of being the "fat girl", not being able to wear skirts b/c of chaffing, lower back pain from a big belly, acid reflux, my feet swelling if I'm on them too long (all day), feeling tired all the time, and easy things have gotten a lot more difficult lately- like stairs. This is the heaviest I've ever been, and I'm only getting bigger! I don't see myself getting down to a healthy weight w/out serious help in the future. I feel like I can't keep living my life this way, I've tried diet and exercise but they never work for long. If I have serious complictaions I may not be able to afford to fix them though (b/c I'm self-pay.) If anyone out there has some insight, experience or advice I'd greatly appreciate it!

Yes this is common. I had surgery on7/9. I have had a few complications along the way. I was in so much pain I could barley move. Things are getting better though. And I am down 20 lbs, Breath through it. It will get better soon! We are here to help each other through it all! Vickie

First, I think you should take your time deciding. This is something that you don't have to do today, or tomorrow, so make sure you're 90% confident in your decision before you do it (there is always some doubt, even in the highly motivated- that's normal). I don't know if, at 23, I would have been motivated to succeed in the same way that I am now. My life was just very different then-- going out with friends was a much bigger portion of my lifestyle than it is now. That said, I know reverie is a young and successful bandster so you may be more like her than me To address some of your points: Fills-- unless you are truly phobic of needles, I seriously wouldn't worry about it. My doc uses a numbing something or other and the needle feels like pressure- no pain for me at all. I just don't look at it and it doesn't bother me Some people have issues with finding the port, so I know that the experience CAN be worse for some people, however, the no-pain/no-problem fill experience seems to be more common. Band Slippage-- yep, that's scary. But it happens in 5% of cases and it does seem to be associated with band abuse; either being too tight and thus vomiting a lot, or perhaps with continued over-eating after band placement (I'm a little less sure about that one). It could happen. But it's against the odds. Carbonated beverages-- this is the thing I was most upset about pre-surgery. Post-surgery-- it is seriously no big deal. Look, I used to have a major Diet DP addiction and I LOVE beer. But, weighed against obesity, it was no contest. Giving it up ended up being a total piece of cake. I'm really surprised now about how much I cared before. However, that said, I'm 35 and my drinking is almost entirely about taste and enjoyment and is not as much about socializing and social lubricant as it was when I was in my twenties. Not that there is anything wrong with that! But it would have been mentally harder for me then, I do think. Now I drink wine and some liquor (mostly wine). Since wine is my favorite alcoholic beverage anyway, this worked out for me. Not Being Able to Eat Certain Foods-- This one seems to vary greatly. The tighter the band (in general), the more this is an issue. My band is not tight-- it is just enough to allow me to have less hunger and hunger satiation with smaller portions of food but it doesn't STOP me from eating. I can still overeat if I don't put my fork down. So I do have to exercise some self-control, but in trade, I can eat pretty much everything. I've never been stuck. I've never PB'ed, slimed, or vomited. And here's hoping I never do! Excess Skin-- You're young. I bet this would mostly take care of itself. In any case, to me, it's no less attractive than fat and you can hide skin with clothes. I don't love the excess skin. But, it's 1000 times better than where I was before. Failing-- This is where dedication comes in. This is where education about what you TRULY can expect and not expect from the band comes in. This is where educating yourself on what you will have to bring to the table comes in. There are some people who the band doesn't work for. There are more people who don't work the band, and there are the most people who significantly reduce their excess weight and become healthier. I will tell you, though, that 40-60% of excess weight lost is the average. My surgeon was very clear during the education process that if you were going into this expecting to be skinny at the end, you were setting yourself up for disappointment. The odds are, you will not lose all of the weight you want to. The odds are, you might even still be overweight when all is said and done. You should be aware of that, and be ready to accept it as a possibility should you go through with WLS of ANY kind. That said, just as there are some people who don't lose anything, there are some people who lose everything. It's probably a combination of luck and motivation. I've beaten the odds so far-- I've lost 73% of my excess weight and I'm still losing, but I don't know if I'll make it to my goal of "normal BMI". We'll see! But I do believe that I've been pretty lucky because 2 small fills have gotten me to my sweet spot, my body is cooperating me despite my copious wine consumption and relative lack of exercise to this point, and I haven't had complications to struggle with.

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH you have no clue how this eases my mind..I still get second thoughts bc of course I'm scared of complications but God willing it'll all be ok;) best wishes on your journey hope to stay in contact with you. Sent from my ADR6400L using VST

Also, remember that women's sizes are different from regular sizes. I only just realized this in the past month.. The sizes go from a Women's 18, 16, 14 to a regular 18, 16, 14, etc.. Why can't they just have it go by your measurements or something? It would be nice if they just TRIED to make it a little less complicated.

I didn't even know there was a complications section on here. I'm not going looking for problems! Of course there can be complications, but if you are compliant with your instructions and you know and listen to your body, worst case scenario would probably be band removal. Now, just out of curiosity, I'm going to go briefly glance at the complications section !

Well Im back from my trip to Mexicali to see Dr. Aceves and his wonderful staff. I was told by all of you who had seen him how wondeful he was and YES he was!! What a nice man and such a dedicated surgeon. I asked him if he takes any time off, well Sundays of course. He said he loves his profession so much that he could spend every waking hr in the surgery room, now that says a whole lot about the quality of this man and the love of what he does. I was in such good hands. I was scared to death to have the spinal ( i had a bad bad expeience with my baby) but the anaethesist put my mind at ease and i put my trust in him which he thanked me for.... it was a snap, he also had a wonderful bed side manner and made me laugh which lightened the moment. Surgery was over in a blink..literally and Im now one week today and down 6 pnds. I have had the normal abdominal discomfort, but id say having a C section for me was wayyy worse. Im able to get down all of my fluids and Protein requirements so i think that makes a big difference in how I feel and heal. I am sure to take my Nexium first thing in the morning and have had no problems with acid or discomfort in that dept. I have had to deal with head hunger, its so strange your instinct to eat is still there but your new tummy is not hungry. It hard to explain until you experience it, the airport was the toughest for me...even though i would never order pizza in the morning, when we went by the pizza place i just about fell to my knees..haha, but it seems to have passed(tongue in cheek), I made grill cheese sandwhich for my daughter yesterday and tomatoe Soup...a definite head hunger challenge because i just cant take a bite! pretty simple. My stab wounds are healing well, actually all but the drain incision are close to healed. I have two kids, one 5yr old and one 6 month old, id say that has been my biggest challenge...taking it easy. How in the world do you rest when a baby needs you? so im just extra careful when i lift him and try to rest when he is napping. I have had a couple of stings bending over so it just makes me put things in check and remember i have just had major surgery. Im still anxious to make it out of the complications zone, but with a surgeon like Dr Aceves on my side I feel like I made the best best best choice! Anyone trying to decide on a surgeon and worried to death like I was, rest assured your in amazing gifted hands!! Thankyou to Dr A and all of his people! I look forward to my new journey ahead... Cheers, Nikki XX ps; not to mention I met some wondeful patients while I was in Mexicali. When you talk to people you find out that we are all in the same boat just trying to get healthy, happy with oursleves and find a different quality of life that we have lost or never had.

I had an ESG in Oct 2018, I had a VSG revision in March 2020. I do regret having an ESG, in Australia its not covered by medicare thus not covered by health insurance, I self funded. It was a waste of my money and. The sutures did not anchor properly and/or loosened. Looks like Dr Blosser has been around for awhile and hopefully well experienced with ESG. Questions I would ask are how many ESG procedures has he done? Success / failure rate after a year? Complication rate? What can you expect for recovery? What medication prior to and post procedure? What was the heaviest an ESG patient has weighed (his patient that is) and how much did they lose? How many of his ESG patients that he knows of have had a surgical revision? What is the average excess weight loss (EWL) % (it used to be about 20% it may have changed) vs EWL % for his patients. What is the post op program? How much on top of the procedure expenses will this cost? if you have to attend dietician and/or behavioural coach appointments)? One of the selling points of ESG is less complications and quicker recovery, however, this is generally offset by lower weight loss. If you have a lot of weight to lose (BMI 40 and over) you may be better off going with a surgical option. Typically a ESG leaves a stomach with more volume than the surgical option, hence, weight loss will not be as significant as for surgery. LIke the surgical options, many people have had success with ESG and many people haven't.

Doing great here! Sleeved July 2nd. Started at 256, day of surgery 238, today..... 198! No complications and I'm loving it! How about you?

Hi everyone, my question is Has anyone with sleep apnea had any complication while under anesthesia? My concern is stopping breathing while under.

Amy ~ You are in my prayers. You have a great perspective on this and I'm thankful for the docs being so cautious. No surgery is worth it if there are complications that could result in a negative outcome. Perhaps there are some blood tests that can be done here in the states to check the clotting feature (for lack of a better term) of your blood. Maybe a nurse or doc will see this thread and have some advice. I pray for the Lord's will and guidance.

Well, I've made up my mind about the lapband surgery. I'm very excited. My biggest fear is that I won't do well on it and/or have complications. I'm so tired of hurting. I'm so tired of just being fat and having no will power. I wish I knew what I weigh. I'm too afraid to find out actually. My goal is to just get healthy and feel better. I quit smoking and that was tough! I can surely do the same mind set and work on losing weight.