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It sounds like she's just afraid. If she needs someone to talk to, message me. I'll give you my number. I'm almost three months post op and have had NO complications. I love my sleeve. Sadly enough, at the end of the day you have to do what's right for YOU. Your health is very important .. so do what you think is right. Hopefully she will come around!

I agree with @@Jersrose43 about Valley. I had Dr. Bagloo, but also have friends who went to other surgeons from Valley and none of us have had any complications. The hospital is amazingly clean, the staff are all cheerful and pleasant, and the surgeons are absolutely amazing. That being said, a surgeon is a very personal choice. I went to meet a few before I decided on Valley and it was just kind of something I knew in my gut that it was the right fit for me. I feel that, if you are still shopping for a surgeon, maybe you should keep looking until you find one you know is the right choice. Remember, you will be working with these surgeons for LIFE after surgery is over, so it needs to be someone you trust and have a good rapport with. Good luck!

does everyone have to have gallbladder removed after surgery? or did it bother you before and now you have to have it taken out? i do not have complications with mine now and was just wondering if it will bother me later? thanks, kelly

I think calling folks whiners isn't particularly fair. Often folks post on here with things they struggle with, so you'll see more of that than posts saying "everything is great". You can see the rate of complications is very small looking at the statistics (a few percent or less for most things). The challenges are individual and real though, some people feel hunger, many don't, some people struggle with losing, others don't. I personally had a terrible first 2 weeks (I was one of the lucky couple of percent with a major - though luckily temporary complication), but even with that I wouldn't change a thing!

I had lap band with plication a year ago. Very happy, no complications. It is like getting two surgeries for one! My doc has had great success with it!

You might want to give your surgeon a call. An upper GI study could verify that everything's OK in there. Be careful of "super restriction". It can lead to complications like a band slip, band erosion, esophageal or pouch dilation.

Dr. Dre Howard in the woodlands I do pretty good keeping liquids down now. I have had some complications though. But it gets better.

OMG, that is the best news!!!! You need to give the details......... any complications? Really any advice you can give would be great...... That is such an amazing accomplishment...........I am overwhelmed just having 100 to loose I can't even begin to comprehend the magnitude of what you have done........ It must be the greatest feeling.... Congradulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is that a record here for lapbanders?..........it must be!!!

I second RoseBud. I am questioning why you are even on solids at just two weeks out, you should still be on liquids. You are heading down a dangerous road by not allowing your sleeve and staple line the time they need to heal. Do you want to end up back in the hospital with major complications due to a leak? I don't think so. And, I don't know how you can possibly eat two cups of food at one setting. That just seems impossible. I would contact your surgeon immediately and let him know what is going on. I would also seek counseling and set up an appointment with a nutritionist.

So my hubby had the bypass, I had the sleeve. He is loosing weight faster, I have to work harder and it's slower. BUT, I am getting stronger and healthier by working harder. I can do things I have been able to do in years. The sleeve hasn't effected my meds I have to take for my bipolar. The absorption seems to be the same. My hubby hasn't had complications nor have I, but his recovery time has been longer. I think...for me...the sleeve was the better choice. I am changing my bad habits and learning healthier ones. It's slow, but constant. This is my experience. Sent from my XT1650 using the BariatricPal App

Your very welcome. Dr. Ortiz speaks perfect English and he lives in San Diego with his wife and daughter. He commutes to Tijuana to do his surgeries, see his patients and run his clinic (this fact made me feel a lot more comfortable with making the final decision in choosing him). As you can tell, I did loads and loads of research on this procedure, him and the OCC center, which has been named as a international center of excellence. Here is a link that may give you a better idea of Dr. Ortiz and his center. When I did this surgery, I had no one to help me or advise me. I was terrified about going to Tijuana and coming back experiencing major complications. All my family and friends were terrified and told me not to go to this surgery in Mexico. I did not even know about this community that could help me on bariatricpal until I was post op. I hope by sharing my experience and story I will be able to help you and others to not feel so alone (like I did) and make the right decision that fits your needs and gives you the results you seek. I feel so blessed that I found OCC and Dr. Ortiz. I know there are lots of Dr.'s in Mexico who charge less. But to me, paying the $7 k but knowing I made the best decision I could to chose the best center and surgeon for my needs was worth every penny. The last thing I wanted was to come back home to the US and deal with side effects and complications post op all alone, face my family and friends and deal with their "I told you so".

My Husband CIBaby and myself were both "Sleeved" by Dr. Sherwinter. I was sleeved on May 7 th 2014. The staff was amazing at helping us coordinate all the testing and helping meet all of our Insurance company Guidelines. Dr Sherwinter is an amazing surgeon. The last visit before Surgery he sat us down for over an hour answering any questions we had and explaining anything we did not understand. I recommend Maimonides Hospital and Staff for Bariatric Surgery and if I had to decide all over again I wouldn't change a thing! We both had zero complications and very very small scars where the instruments were inserted. If you get to read this Thank you Dr Sherwinter for saving my husbands life. I can honestly say That if you truly are looking for help there is no better advocate than yourself. Dr Sherwinter and his office staff have lots of patientents ... You can not honestly expect them to hold each and everyones hand. I did all my research my self with minimal input from the office and surgeons....Because I wanted the surgery.. As far is follow up visits I didn't have any problems schedualing them. Lastly I would do every thing exactly the same... Thank you Dr Sherwinter and your staff for making some thing so hard so easy and for giving me my life back.

Hi Karen, First, a BIG congrats on getting your surgery date. Manometry (got the right spelling this time) is a procedure a GI doc will do to determine the strength of your swallow and of your esophagus. My surgeon said it helps in establishing a baseline if you run into complications later. It's fairly unpleasant because they have to stick a flexible tube up your nose and down into your esophagus until it reaches your stomach. Then they make you sip Water while they pull it out slowly to various levels. They use spray lidocaine to numb your nose and your throat, but it was still very uncomfortable. My surgeon is Dr. Jacob, and my insurance is Healthnet, a subgroup of Guardian. I was really surprised with the quick turnaround, having heard so many horror stories about rejection. Have you found a live support group that you like?

Thank you for the responses. I may have to switch surgeons, but I am only doing this ONCE! I think the biggest reason for me to go with DS is the regain issue with all of my travel. I love my job, but having to eat out with clients and colleagues comes at a price! I also know the battle of weight has taken one sibling and i have to take action soon. I will be talking to my dr. On the 4th, so I have to have my head sorted and quit all this wishy washy stuff. I have ready studies about complications and don't see much difference between DS and RNY. I realize recoup my be a little longer and I can deal with that. A little worried about being on a 7 hr flight and bowel and flat issues. How controllable is that with diet really?

I hadn't heard a thing before surgery about when to drink fluids until I joined this board. So when I had my first consult after surgery I asked. My NUT said there are no rules on drinking as far as they were concerned. I drink during meals and have had no problems. I had my surgery May 21st and I'm down almost 50 pounds with no complications.

It's more complicated because of two things: 1. Undoing the suturing of the stomach around the band which helped hold the band in place, which should have formed some scar tissue 2. Fixing the stomach wall affected by the erosion. If there's an actual hole, they have to sew that shut. Not sure what they do if the wall is still intact, but super thin like it appears in my photos. I'll have to ask the doc. I DID think about having Gross Darcy do it, but she'll be recovering from her band procedure on the 30th, and I don't want to over-tax her... WE'RE THINKING OF YOU DARCY!!!!!

Why is the removal procedure more complicated? Can't Gross Darcy just do it for you? I'm thinking some manicure scissors and tweezers would do the trick, kinda like the game Operation. "Remove Eroded Band." Is it complicated because of something special they have to do with your stomach after removing the band? Like massage it open? Answer this: when they place the band, are their stitches in the band/port? I'm asking because my missing port is really sore. I only had it a month, during which time it acted like a Water Weenie and was all over the place, but from just that short time I have major, major scar tissue in a very large area. Is that part of the difficulty - unattaching the port? Babydoll, I wish I could be there holding your hanny. Love you. xo

Hi gang. I'm one month post op and thought I'd update on how I'm doing and maybe post a few questions for the hive mind. So, my surgery was September 11. My height is 5'9". My high weight was on day 1 of my pre-op diet. (270), BMI 40. I just food funeraled my brains out. I was 255 on day of surgery. And today I am 229.9. Total lost is 40.1. Current BMI 33.8 I am still on a liquid diet. My surgeon is extremely conservative with diet advancement. So I have 2 protein shakes a day, cream soups with the solids strained out, and water or crystal light. I will remain on this diet until the beginning of November. I take a leisurely 1- 1.5 mile walk about 4-5 times a week. I will be returning to work on Friday. I work 7p-7a as an RN in and ICU, so I am a bit nervous to return. Next week, I will return to the gym once I see if all restriction is lifted and plan to work out 3-4 times a week for 30 minutes to 1 hour combining cardio and weight training. My energy level has gotten gradually better as time goes on. It was brutal the first 2 weeks, hard the third, and this week has been quite a bit better in terms of ability to get things done. I have not had any constipation yet. Nor have I had any other major complications. I take omeprazole, vitamins, and asthma medication. I only had nausea in the hospital and once at home on the 2nd day back. I sip ALL. DAY. LONG. I do burp quite a bit, but not with any discomfort. More of an annoyance that I hope will eventually settle down. The liquid diet only has been the hardest part. When all is said and done, I will have done 9 weeks of no solid food whatsoever, and it has been a real challenge. I have three children at home and I am still preparing meals for my family because my husband has had a huge work project going on and works late a lot and he is also in grad school. I do the majority of the food shopping, preparing and cleaning up and so I am constantly faced with solid food and a desire to taste something, anything! other than a protein shake or those disgusting soups. I actually gag at the thought of those soups. I try to remember that each day that passes is one day closer to resuming eating solid foods again and that I am incredibly lucky to have lost so much weight so rapidly when I started out at a BMI of 40. I'm sure it's in large part due to my conservative diet. I did have one stall in week 3. It lasted 6 days. I dropped one pound and then stayed there another 3 days. That was a downer. Even though I knew it was normal and to be expected and I'd had good weight loss, it is very hard to be so strict and stringent and be consuming only 450 calories a day and stay the same weight for 9 days. It just seems unfair and takes a lot of mental and emotional willpower to just soldier on. Stalls are not cool. Even if they are part of this whole journey. I could do without them, thank you very much. So, here are some questions I have for all you wiser, more seasoned sleevers.... 1) GERD is a fear of mine. I have not had any symptoms of GERD so far. Anyone out there have no GERD symptoms immediately post-op but then develop them down the road? Just want to know if i am in the clear or still need to be on the lookout? 2) Once you advanced your diet and introduced solids, what are your go to rules -- like I always drink at least blank ounces of water between meals. Or I never go more than blank hours without eating. Or whatever. What are your go to habits that work best for you? 3) What are things you wish you wouldn't have done, if anything? 4) What advice would you give to someone at this point of the sleeve journey? Thanks in advance!

I had second thoughts, especially as the day got closer and closer. I even regretted having surgery afterwards. It is def an emotional rollercoaster. There are foods that you will see and can't have for a while. I know food was def my comfort for alot of things. I had complications after my surgery and it sucks because I can't go and eat pizza or ice cream to comfort myself. All I can say is, think of the original reason why you wanted this in the first place. Yes it's scary, but if the benefits out way the good, then why not go ahead with it. Do you really want to give up all that you have worked for?

Hello there, Yes, my surgery was at Medical City Dallas by Dr. Michael Sutker. The doctors and staff are very efficient. My experience with them was great even though I had complications. If I had to choose again I would still go back to them.

I’m a year and a half out. I never truly felt full until I got to soft/solids. I think I was told about 2 Oz for snacks and max 6 for meals. I measured everything until I developed complications because now I can barely eat liquids or solids so I eat whenever I can.

Thanks for the reassurance. I have had medically necessary surgery before. I guess I am just worried about complications. I have 5 kids. It worries me. I will be glad to be on the other side of the surgery. I have to report to the hosp. in about 14 hours.:thumbup:

Well my leak was surgically repaired, then I did a week in the hospital on TPN right? Still had a leak before they d/c'd me but it was either go to a nursing home for longer TPN (which I couldn't afford/had a crap policy) or go into the hospital as an outpatient for TPN (which is expensive) or get a feeding tube. My dr. said no, he believed with proper nutrition I would heal. Then I kept having issues, finding out it was still there. My endoscopy last week, they took out another staple in the tummy to make sure that it wasn't obstructing the closure of the hole... so in about 3-4 weeks ... I'll see. It takes a long time for a leak to heal on it's own obviously. I don't want a stent or more surgery so I'll stick to the long time if I have to. And thanks lessofmeismore for your kindness and especially your prayers. In honesty, today I about fell apart (I have my moments), but what choice do I have? NO ONE wants to be the one with a complication, but then again, there has to be a silver lining and a reason why it happened to me. Ok gotta say this.... one silver lining, my goal was size 8 right? I just fit into 6's this past weekend!!!!!!!!!! IDK that I could have done that w/o being on a liquid diet for this amount of time, but then again I worry about once I go back to regular foods staying here (I do work out a LOT and get Water whenever possible). BTW, speaking of water... I go to family dollar and the dollar general for their "crush" versions of crystal light. Y'all remember "crush"...? I loved crush orange and crush strawberry sodas as a kiddo and man, those packets are soooo flavorful in a bottle of water. I also like Wyler's cherry limeade. But yes, variety! Also the pure Protein canned drinks are good (I prefer Cookies and cream and the banana is ok - yuck on vanilla and strawberry IMO). Best of luck to everyone! xx

It has been almost (just a few days shy of) 4 months since my sleeve surgery. The first month and a half was rough. Just feeling tired, and struggling with getting all the fluids in. Aside from a minor stomach bug, no complications thus far. I don't count my recent lupus diagnosis as a complication because I showed signs of that before surgery, and the 2 are completely unrelated. As of today, I am down 60 lbs. What? Yes, let me repeat that. 60 LBS!!!! In general, I feel good. I joined a gym. But have only gone twice. That is one of my areas of improvement. Even if I just walk on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes, some activity is better than none. I think the hardest part of this whole journey has been retraining my brain. I still get head hunger. I still get impulsive and eat wrong, then pay for it. But this is all a learning opportunity. I know it takes time. One area I struggle with lately is complete and total lack of appetite. Food does not sound or smell appetizing . Often times I just dont eat, then wonder why I feel like crap and have headaches. I guess one of the reasons I dont like to eat is that I am so utterly stuffed by 2-3 bites. It is disappointing. I used to be able to sit and eat right along with my family and friends. I felt included. Granted due to self esteem I didnt really participate in conversation. Now it seems conversation is all I can do, since eating is done early in the meal. Am I complaining? HELL NO! I just wanted to put my thoughts on paper. I am truly blessed with this wonderful gift of forced self control. I just need to learn how to embrace it and use it to it's full potential. Until next time, MICHELLE

I was gun shy about another WLS as well. I was really scared that a sleeve would just make my problems permanent but it didn't, it fixed everything. Life can be so miserable with a band and you just get to the point that you can't trust another WLS. I know exactly how you feel. You don't want to live life like this anymore but you don't want to gain weight either. It's a hard decision to make. I doubt that he's never had a sleeve complication, it's leaks. He's never had a leak with a sleeve. He's probably had some other types of complications.