Search the Community

I'm set up for surgery the day after yours. However, mine is a revision so I went through the process of having a sleeve in 2015. I too was concerned about complications. I have a family member who works at the bariatric practice and sees patients every day both before and after their surgeries. She was 100% supportive of both my decision for initial surgery and the revision which was comforting to me. I also realized that the horror stories we read online are a tiny percentage of all who have these surgeries. I believe the vast majority go smoothly and once they get past the initial discomfort of the early healing process most folks are glad to have done it.

While you are in the weight loss phase you will want to watch WHAT you eat of course because you can put away quite a bit of calories in a small volume if you don’t but the way I understood it pretty much everyone goes back to around a serving size eventually. Some it may take longer than others but eventually they want you to be able to eat enough to get all your nutrients in from food. I heard that a lot of those Facebook groups are pretty unhealthy. My therapist suggested bariatric pal and so far I have found nothing but support here.

yes - you will. There are no food restrictions once you get a ways out, and you'll be able to eat much larger portions than you do now (although not as much as you did pre-surgery, unless you want to risk gaining the weight back again). I have no problem going out to eat - it was really only an issue for me the first couple months after surgery. I tend to order meals that include a non-fried protein and some vegetables. I'll sometimes eat a little starch (pasta, potatoes. or bread) - but not much because it sits like a brick in my stomach. Usually whatever I order is an appetizer - or if I do order an entree, I'll eat 1/3 - 1/2 of it and take the rest home. Honestly, that's really not any different than many of my never-been-obese women friends eat. And no one would ever be able to tell I had bariatric surgery at this point - they just assume I'm a "light eater" - if they even notice at all.

I began my WLS journey in 2015 with gastric sleeve surgery in September. My starting weight was 301, which I had managed to diet down to 285 by the time I was approved for surgery. Surgery weight was 277. Surgery was uneventful and I was back at my normal activities within a couple days. My goal weight was 185, but I only managed to lose down to 210. I believe this was because I made the mistake of continuing to drink alcohol after surgery (although less than before) and still ate too many snacks and slider type foods. Over the next several years my weight gradually increased until it settled in at about 230-235. Then the pandemic occurred and that added 20 pounds, so I was back to 255. This is when I learned what I felt was a good method to handle regain - I combined time restricted feeding with keto dieting... I only ate between Noon and 6pm, and strictly limited carbs. Doing this for a couple of months I was able to drop from 255 back to 235. I had issues with reflux before the surgery, and they continued after. They seemed to worsen as time passed. I learned not to eat at least 3 hours before bedtime, and still sometimes I'd end up sleeping in the recliner for several hours when the reflux was particularly bad. I also had developed a hiatal hernia (which a CT report said was small). Then in January of this year something changed. I started having issues where I could only eat a couple ounces of food without feeling severely overstuffed. This plus some bouts with chest pain prompted a couple of ER visits for cardiac workups. Finding no cardiac issues my doctors determined the pain was likely the hernia that had expanded. I also started experiencing symptoms that seem to be consistent with "silent reflux", such as throat, ear tube and sinus issues. I scheduled an EGD with my bariatric surgeon who found a 3cm hiatal hernia. He is going to repair it this coming Tuesday, and to prevent recurrence of the hernia as well as to resolve the GERD issues is doing a revision to RNY. I'm not happy about having to start over with the healing process, but am excited to finally lose the excess weight, correct the hernia and GERD, and get a chance to do things right the second time. So, here are some lessons learned along the way. If they can help someone else then this post is worth making: 1. Listen to your surgeon. If they recommend one procedure over another, there is a reason why. I probably should have done the RNY in the beginning but opted for the sleeve even though I had existing reflux issues. 2. Follow the dietary guidelines. They are there to assure the most successful weight loss. Unfortunately I 'taught myself' how to overcome the carbonation in beer and continued to drink it after recovery, which is a large part of the reason for lack of loss and regain. I wasn't addicted to either, but both were present in my social environment. I have now determined that alcohol and junk food are poison to my system and have resolved to be diligent in avoiding them. 3. If you do experience regain, get on it quickly. I found that time restricted feeding along with a keto eating plan worked wonders for me. I was essentially following the insulin control program established by Dr. Jason Fung. I quickly dropped close to 20 lbs using my sleeve along with this plan. 4. The sleeve, or bypass, is a tool that is given to you for life. You have a great window of opportunity the first year to lose weight and correct health problems. Make the most of it. Even though the tool is still there in later years, it becomes more difficult to lose weight after your system is fully healed and settled into normal life. It's possible, but harder. Make the most of the "one year honeymoon" window!

I just told My husband and Son. Everybody will see a slimmer Me once spring hits in the UK. Its been such a long lockdown here, virtually 30 months on and off, that I have seen no one that matters. I don't think the rest of my family would understand or approve anyway. I know now that others have had the procedure done and not said anything, my bariatric radar is on permanent alert. I haven't had to lie which is great as I am useless at it. I was going to go with Hiatus hernia too

Wow! Lots of activity as we are all getting our procedures done! I wanted to update everyone. I had the VSG done in Mexico on 2/3/22. This was the 1st time doing medical tourism like this and I felt safe. I was picked up from the San Diego airport at 7:15am and took a short ride across the boarder. My blood work was done, spoke to cardiologist, EKG, X-rays, and surgery team. I had my VSG same day (around 1ish). Protocol for this hospital is 2 nights at the hospital and 1 at a nearby hotel. While most of my surgery siblings (5 of us total per day) were up and walking hours after, I was not. I struggled a bit more. In fact, I nearly slept the entire 2 nights I was in the hospital. We were then taken to the hotel for the last night. I ordered the liquids “Bariatric tray” from room service but didn’t really touch them. The one this I made 100% sure I did was drink water. Again, while some of my surgery siblings explored Tijuana, I slept. I was taken back to the San Diego airport for my flight home on Sunday. I asked the airport for a wheelchair (this was a must for me!!!) hubby picked me up after my short flight back to Az. My plan was to take Mon and Tuesday off, returning to work Wednesday. I spent Monday sleeping and Tuesday becoming more and more dehydrated all day long. Wednesday I located an IV hydration office and felt like a new woman. A few things I have learned about my body in this process: When I need to rest, my body will force it. Dehydration is NO joking matter. My pouch does not like cold liquids (took me a bit to figure this out, I am stubborn) Pain is a sign, listen to it. I am starting to get my full amount of liquids in now 😁 and am moving on to adding protein. . . Slowly.

When I had my initial consult the PA held up a picture of a cartoon stomach being separated from a body and said something like “in this surgery we cut most of your stomach out, we remove it from your body and throw it away. It’s permanent, and there’s no going back. Do you understand that?” At the time I felt like it was kind of aggressive but after being on the forums a few years I think that surgeons should maybe spend more time in initial consults doing that sort of discussion. This is a one way trip and people should really be getting that information a long time before preop, not wondering it a few weeks after surgery. That’s a failing on the bariatric office and surgeon.

I feel your pain! I also had to pay out of pocket because my employer insurance excluded bariatric surgery. But it has thus far been worth every darn penny.

From the website Clarity Surgical: Your mood is influenced by a wide array of factors. One of these factors is serotonin, a neurotransmitter produced by the brain. Because of the surgery, your diet becomes much more restrictive. This restrictive diet reduces the amount of carbohydrates you can take in, which causes serotonin levels to go down. Decreased serotonin can cause depressive symptoms. You may also deal with mood swings as a result of your low-carb diet. It’s important to note that if you’ve had a history of depression, you are at increased risk for post-bariatric depressive symptoms.

The moment I came out of the anesthesia, I was insanely groggy and my abdomen was SORE. Best way I can describe is that it felt like I had someone trying to blow up a balloon underneath my stitches. That pain went down 50% over the next 24 hours, but it was probably about 10 days before that pain completely went away. There will be days when it is just plain sore, especially as your abs heal from the incision (the main incision on the left side, where they cut the abdominal muscle to get in, took the longest to heal and longest to no longer have pain). I tolerated liquids well from the start; I was sipping Crystal Light lemonade in the hospital and handled the jello just fine. As far as being super active...well, define "super active." This was my first surgery ever and what I didn't realize was how much surgery saps your energy. I would slowly walk around the hospital floor once or twice a day, mostly just to have a change of scenery. I walked like an old man in a nursing home, but all the nurses commented on how much more I walked than most people who have bariatric surgery. It was a week before I had something approaching a normal schedule, but it was a few weeks before I had normal energy levels. If you are in your 20s, are going to be diligent about your vitamins/nutrition/protein and have no major complicating factors (autoimmune diseases, etc.), then chronic illness is not super likely.

Uhhh... several of us, including me, said that regret is common. Also, even if you have PCOS, they are not going to do a bariatric surgery if you are already at a healthy weight.

Its specifically Excluded in the paperwork. . So i have health insurance thru the marketplace (Obamacare) and there are certain states where insurance companies are not required to cover bariatric surgery and Florida is one of them. So they exclude it on all their plans thru it. I contacted them asking if they had a plan that covered it and they said no, Not in Florida. Private insurance thru a employer sometimes do cover it. but my employer does not offer health insurance

Has no one taken the time to read what she said ?? She only did this because she was told it would help her with the possibility of becoming pregnant. Maybe she wasn’t severely obese. Obviously no one has shared with her that it is normal to have regrets. Maybe she does need a therapist or maybe we as a Bariatric community can be mindful of the tone that comes across in a post. I pray you come to a healthy place.

I don't think I've given anyone reason to believe I am not fully aware of what the 2-week pre-op phase is intended for. This can be achieved by any calorie deficit, does not require a liquid diet, and you need only to be in immediate caloric deficit for a short time for the liver to shrink. Like I said, great that it worked for you. I have absolutely no motivation not to lift you up. But ceteris paribus, fewer people will get life-saving bariatric surgery if put on a months-long diet to qualify. The surgery is designed to help that diet work. We don't require ACL patients to go to physio 3x week for six months to qualify for ACL replacement.

I have heard this on 2 different bariatric podcasts hosted by nutritionists, plus I believe they mentioned it when I had my last call with my surgery center

I would phrase it this way: as a bariatric patient, my first meal of the day is the most important. I want to get a great start on getting my protein in. I think my body does best when I start with protein and I don't want to be playing catch up on my protein throughout the day. That doesn't mean my first meal is solid food -- it almost never is. I usually start the day by putting a Premier Protein premade shake (30g protein) in the blender and adding two scoops of Chike protein coffee (20g protein). This way, I start the day with 50g protein and some caffeine. It has made it very easy for me to hit my protein goals, gives me some energy and doesn't take up too much room in my stomach. On days when I don't do that, I feel off all day. But if your first meal is at 6 am, 9 am, noon, whatever....different strokes for different folks.

I had revion from VBG to RNY 12/3. SW 230. CW 205. Im having the exact same issues you are. The more I read I am noticing that many bariatric patients say stalls happen alot. Dont worry. Youve done very well for 9 weeks post opp. Be happy for yourself!

I had a lot of regret for the first few months after surgery. I hated eating; it hurt and nothing tasted right. I'm not sure where in this process you are, but at almost 5 months out, I'm now more comfortable. Since the first month I've eaten out frequently - I travel for work and eat out able half my meals. You won't be able to finish a ginormous restaurant portion, but you can still enjoy the food (once you are able to eat "regular" foods). You can have your partner finish your food or take it to go and enjoy it the next day! I order full meals because appetizers sometimes aren't that healthy, but I don't have any shame in not finishing. I agree with everyone that you might try to connect with a bariatric therapist, but that can be hard to find. Can you figure out what, besides large portions, are missing from your life? Is it the comfort of being able to overeat? Is it being to turn to food when you have big emotions? There are solutions to these.

I am really sorry to hear you so full of regret. It's very common after any life-changing event, and perhaps it's worse with bariatric surgery because we chose it and made happen (and some of us even paid for it). You're grieving for your old best friend - food. Probably unhealthy food at that. I certainly did and I think lots of us hit a point post-op where we think 'what have I done??' Everyone here is giving good advice - especially about seeking professional help from a therapist. I will just say be kind to yourself, give yourself time to recover properly, and then reassess your feelings. Once you start losing significant amounts of weight you may feel way better. I really hope you do. 🙂

LOL, yes. It's not a bug, but a feature ... in a way. The medical side of things look at your physical structure. The psychologist understands how obesity impacts you mentally, socially, and devises (if they're good) a way for you to accept yourself and work positively towards change. I've enjoyed both sides once I became my own (and honest) patient advocate. My therapist is right that our worth really isn't determined by our weights; that we should eat until we're not hungry regardless of weight, and that the biggest gift you'll give yourself is making peace with the negative self-image. The medical team is right there's a diet that works with surgery. That being said: it's becoming increasingly settled science that going hungry - as in hungry-hungry, not 'mmh I'd like some ice cream' - has profound hormonal, mental, physically negative effects. You should not go hungry. And that's where you as your own patient advocate comes in. ----- EDIT: I'm sorry, I'm an idiot. And so is your psych! I'll leave the above for general thought sharing, though. I thought the psych said eat and the medical team said don't eat. . Your medical team has it right here, and that's the same position your psych should take. I bet they're just telling you that because they don't want to give you advice that extends beyond their field of expertise (that being said, "hunger" as a state of being should be part of a bariatric psychologist's field of knowledge).

I agree with everyone above who recommended seeing a bariatric therapist. And I think you need to remind yourself the reason you had this surgery to begin with. You have a desire to become a parent, and this is a tool that you chose to help you get to that goal. If you get on board with your surgeons program and follow it, and seek therapy, hopefully the PCOS will be reversed and you can have a child. Visualize your goals. You can do this!

For me it’s forever 😑 I had a RNY to correct a failed (12 years old) surgery to fix my hiatal hernia. Before RNY my esophagus was L-shaped and half of Diaphragm was above where it. Lately I have also been having to take Pepcid to control the reflux. I need to find a new bariatric Doctor Who can monitor me. Because of the reason that I had the bypass my surgeon was not a bariatric doctor he actually told me to get all of my information about the surgery and what needs to be done after in my lifestyle changes from the Internet I also need to find a Gastrologist because pills are getting hot when I swallow them just like they did before the bypass. I think my esophagus needs to be stretched again. I’m very sad about all of this because I was told that by having the bypass it would fix all of my problems permanently. Losing 70 pounds was a big plus out of it!

Started my pre-op liquid diet today and it has been hard. I got lots of sample packs of different protein shakes and waters to try. My pre-op diet is 2 shakes and 1 can of broth based soup and 1-2 Sf jello, yogurt or cottage cheese. I have a water jug for bariatric peeps that holds 64 ounces. It has times on the side so you can keep up with getting it all in. It has little encouraging phrases along the way. Im having trouble finishing it all now. Im scared of how difficult it’s going to be post surgery. I guess practice makes perfect. I had my last pre surgery appt with nutritionist this morning. I am trying to keep myself busy to stop thinking about food.