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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.

It's perfectly normal to be a little scared and think twice before surgery. After all, it's a big deal with risks and unknowns. But if you read the threads here, the majority of us have had success and no complications, so maybe that'll set your mind at ease somewhat.

Being scared is perfectly normal. The complications threads can be terrifying but I think reading some is good as it helps to be well informed. Presumably your surgeon would also have given you information that outlines possible complications. You need to go into this believing that you won’t have any complications or if you do they won’t be as bad as the almost guaranteed complications from being obese. As someone already said happy people don’t post that often because happy news is boring! It doesn’t fill the tv news or the newspapers or wls sites!

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 had no clue it's reversible that's good to know, I'm schedule for gastric bypass surgery April 19 but having cold feet from reading reviews like this. I know everyone body is different but I'm a nervous reck right now. But knowing it's reversible if having complications calms me down a little. Sent from my SM-G925T using BariatricPal mobile app

Sleeved in 2017. how much weight did you lose after surgery? You are currently 174 and stopped losing weight or have you gained weight? Have you seen your surgeon to rule out complications? Some things to try: You’re not alone, Many sleeves feel less restriction as we progress out from surgery. Your stomach is not back to full size. (Stretching is rare have it diagnosed by a surgeon and investigate revision options) Just because we can eat more does not mean we have to. Are you logging your food and staying within your weight loss calories and macros? Eat as much veggies with dense protein until the sensation of full. The bulk and fiber will help you feel more satiated. Carbs and sugar cause hunger. Once you eat them you crave them more. detox off them. Pouch reset or go back to bariatric basics Join a weight loss challenge.

I am self pay and have not decided yet if I am going to do the sleeve or the bypass yet (occasional reflux now). Does anyone have any recommendations for surgeons or even who to avoid in Missouri? I am right in the middle of the state so willing to travel. My health insurance does not cover bariatric surgery and therefore will not cover any complications either. So really feeling stressed about finding a surgeon with a great track record. Also if anyone has any experience with self pay in Missouri if you could share that with me as well that would be great. Thank you.

well I have read all above and am really sorry you experienced this complication. I guess they would have weighed the pros and cons before going into the theatre. If I may ask did they tell you that you were more in jeopardy with the weight plus this existing lung complication?

Hi everyone! I have an AP small lapband, surgery done 2013. Lost around 70 pounds and am scheduled for an abdominoplasty in early May. My surgeon is of course aware that I have a lapband in place, but he hasn't addressed how this affects the surgery he is going to do on me. Are there any Bandsters in this group that have had this done? I read a scientific article (old, dated 2012) about possible complications due to the port and tubing and the muscle stretching involved with the abdominoplasty. Of course I'll bring this up with the surgeon but wanted your input as well. TIA!

Cheating at this stage puts you at risk for staple line leaks. Just keep that in mind. Your surgeon isn't trying to be mean telling you not to eat chicken, he's trying to keep you from having serious life threatening complications. The apple juice won't cause this kind of complication but another one much later on - regain. You have to watch out for and avoid liquid calories and apple juice and other fruit juices are huge ones. Don't kid yourself into thinking they're healthy because they're "fruit" - they are pure sugar and not healthy at all.

The following article was just posted in the San Diego Tribune. "With several patients in local hospitals struggling to recover, public health officials are warning San Diego doctors to be on the lookout for signs of a deadly infection linked to weight-loss surgeries performed in Tijuana The county Health and Human Services Agency this week alerted the medical community that four patients have popped up in local hospitals with drug-resistant superbug infections of the same type that prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a travel advisory in early January. The CDC has continued to caution those who travel to Tijuana for surgery, as the number of cases have more than doubled. Most are connected to patients operated on at Grand View Hospital near the U.S.-Mexico border. To date, CDC officials said, a total of 25 cases of drug-resistant pseudomonas aeruginosa have been detected among U.S. citizens who crossed the border, usually for “gastric sleeve” surgery that significantly reduces the size of the stomach, accelerating the pace of weight loss. Pseudomonas is listed among the CDC’s top threats among microbes that can resist antibiotics. According to a 2013 report, the bug kills about 440 people per year in the United States and infects about 6,700. In January, CDC officials said that the subspecies detected among Tijuana weight-loss patients is particularly nasty due to its ability to destroy carbapenems, one of the most effective and broadly-acting classes of antibiotics available to modern medicine. Maroya Walters, a CDC epidemiologist with a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology, said Tuesday that while the world’s foremost public health agency saw its last Grand View case in late January, additional infections have continued to surface among patients who were operated on at other as-yet-unnamed Tijuana hospitals. The most recent case was detected on Feb. 12. The current rate of new cases, she said, has not reduced enough for the CDC to remove or change the travel advisory it issued in January. “Right now, we don’t have any assurance that the infection control issues have been addressed,” Walters said. In San Diego, Dr. Eric McDonald, medical director of the county public health department’s epidemiology and immunization services branch, said that his office became aware of two local cases, one in October and one in January, after his office issued a preliminary notice to doctors on Jan. 16. Neither of those cases, he said, is a San Diego County resident, with one residing elsewhere in California and another living out of state. He said two more patients, both who live in San Diego County but had surgeries in Tijuana not related to weight-loss at hospitals other than Grand View, were admitted to area hospitals with pseudomonas infections in late February. Three of the four cases, he added, remain hospitalized today and are being treated under special protocols designed to keep infectious diseases from spreading. “At this time, we have no evidence of secondary infections associated with these hospitalized cases,” McDonald said Monday. He said that having four cases pop up in San Diego hospitals made it important for his office to let all local doctors know that they need to be proactive, asking about surgery in Mexico and responding with extra precaution, including patient isolation, where appropriate. “We just wanted to reiterate that you shouldn’t wait until after you know that a person has this organism to begin taking contact precautions,” McDonald said. “If you know someone is coming in with an infection, and you know they’ve had surgery in Mexico, then you should take these precautions right away.” Eighteen of the 25 cases — 20 have been confirmed and five are suspected — occurred in patients who were operated on at Grand View Hospital, according to CDC epidemic intelligence officer Ian Kracalik. He said Mexican health officials told the agency they detected lapses in the procedures used to sterilize medical devices used in weight-loss surgeries. Kracalik said additional information on exactly which devices were improperly handled was not made available by the Mexican health agency that conducted the Grand View investigation. Initially, he added, Mexico’s La Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios or federal commission for the protection against sanitary risks, told the CDC that it had shut down the surgical areas of Grand View on Dec. 19. But there were strong indications that the surgical center near the U.S. border remained open, with several new infections appearing after patients underwent surgeries at Grand View after Dec. 19. “It is clear there was an ongoing risk during that period when the hospital’s surgical area was not supposed to be operational,” Kracalik said. Health authorities in Mexico said they were not available to discuss the developments Tuesday. Kracalik added that the CDC received word that Grand View shut down “sometime after Jan. 31,” which was the last date on which the CDC received a report of an infection case linked to the hospital. Most of the cases, the CDC representatives added, are associated with Dr. Mario Almanza, a surgeon whose website declares that he is the “leading bariatric weight-loss surgeon in the world.” Almanza received significant media attention in 2018 when he was named in a class-action lawsuit by former patients, including a lead plaintiff who said her procedure left her with complications including internal bleeding, according to coverage by Channel 10 News and others. Almanza, contacted through weightlossagents.com, the stateside travel agency whose phone number the doctor lists on his website, did not return a request for comment Tuesday. With Grand View apparently shut down, CDC officials said they noticed that Weight Loss Agents had begun referring weight-loss surgeries to another Tijuana hospital called the “Obesity Goodbye Center.” Reached through their promotional Facebook page Tuesday, the company said that while Almanza “performed procedures for a couple of days at our facility always following our sanitation protocols,” he is not affiliated with the hospital in any way. The center said its own sanitation practices “exceed international standards.” An attorney for Weight Loss Agents, Glenn Krinsky, said the company has done everything it can to cooperate with the CDC, including providing information on 700 patients it had referred to Grand View since August. The CDC’s Walters said the agency is following up with those patients to better gauge the spread of pseudomonas or other surgical infections."

For those in OC California, i highly recommend Dr. Michael Russo , at Orange Coast Memorial. He and his team are very kind and professional. He takes his time to talk to you about everything very truthfully and very nicely. He is honest and you can tell. He doesn't tell you what you might want to hear, but tells you frankly. What he said all happened for me! 1.5 yrs ago i had him for gastric bypass. I am now 5lbs from my goal- and maintaining. I followed all the directions of his team and had no complications. I also had my regular scheduled check ups with them and was very pleased every time. He's very good at his job. My scars shrunk and look much better, and like i mentioned before, i was very careful with my diet and when i had issues i would call him and his office and they always called me back and answered questions.

Congrats on your losses so far.....sorry for the complications you are having. I am having some issues w/ food at the moment also but I think it's likely ME....not slowing down, not chewing, etc. as for exercise, I live in PA also and well- inside! and free! youtube is your friend. They have any level and any exercise you want to do including just walking. You might have more energy if you do just a little exercise (speaking from experience here)- i feel 10000% better when I move a little. You are definitely NOT a failure though.

I also used Dr. Felix at Hope Bariatrics and am very happy with him and all of his staff. I had my gastric bypass 6/8/17 at St Clair Hospital. I only wish I had done is sooner. No complications at all.

I think it's a personal choice. I get offensive because people automatically assume people have weight loss surgery because (and I quote this because it was said to me )" people are just lazy and don't exercise". Completely untrue. Steroid use left me unable to lose weight (chronic use for a medical condition) no matter how many calories I cut, how much i worked out, I couldn't get it off. It took me a year to consider my PCP advice to think about weight loss surgery. Afterwards, i decided that I was taking a break from treatments and specialist, I would continue to see my cardiologist, but I needed a break from my pulmonary doctor and oncologist. If my pcp thinks I need to follow up with them then I'll do so. As of right now, all my labs and scans are stable. And I contribute that to the weight loss, and able to get off medication that was probably damaging my body. I'm open about my journey. Considering that I lost a ton of weight fast, they were either going to come to the conclusion it was surgery or cancer. I'd rather explain the sleeve, then my medical history lol- it's pretty complicated. And I work in the field.

You're welcome. I think we all go through a bit of panic or buyers remorse in the first days/weeks post-op and it sure doesn't help if you've had any complications. This one is pretty easily treated. Stay active, do your incentive spirometer and it will pass.

Atelectasis, or a partial lung collapse is a known complication of general anesthesia. It could happen with ANY surgery and is not specific to bariatric surgery. That's one of the big reasons we have to do that incentive spirometer. Do your incentive spirometer as directed in your post-op instructions. Make sure you're communicating with your doctor with your symptoms.

I'm so sorry that this surgery complication happened to you and wish you the best in your recovery.

I was sleeved 1/17 I did great. My dr called me a “super acchiever” until my 2 year mark when I had gained 20 lbs back. After his pep talk i gained another 10. Sigh. Now I’m looking at DS and it’s appealing. Especially eliminating the hunger factor. My high weight was 283 lowest 171 current 205. My questions are is it too soon to start thinking about revising and if not would you all do it again. I love my sleeve no complications at all and an easy recovery wondering how recovery is vs the sleeve. Thanks in advance!

Oh no,so sorry. You poor thing. I am sure they will get ya up and running,just a downer with all these complications. Remember in the end you are on the loser bench with the rest of us. We are rooting for you!

Bypass vs the sleeve https://www.obesitycoverage.com/gastric-bypass-vs-gastric-sleeve-surgery/ LAP BAND SUCCESS RATE 47% GASTRIC SLEEVE SUCCESS RATE 80% GASTRIC BYPASS SUCCESS RATE 85% DUODENAL SWITCH SUCCESS RATE 95% Data Sources: PubMed: Quick fix or long-term cure? Pros and cons of bariatric surgery and International Journal of Surgery: Long term predictors of success after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy The line graphs above show patients who have lost more than 50% of their excess weight and managed to keep it off for more than 5 years. The popularity of the Lap Band has dropped significantly due to the long-term complication rate and low success rate. Sleeve and diabetes: no dumping with the sleeve. Just because you can eat real sugar without dumping syndrome does not mean you have to eat it. – Diabetes resolved. Weight loss out comes – All surgeries give you the percentage of normal weight lost. Many exceed the norm. While other don’t meet it. Statistics are the base line of what to expect. We are all more than the statistics. Expected Weight loss calculators – Note the percentages of people that lost more- or didn’t meet the norm Sleeve https://www.obesitycoverage.com/weight-loss-surgeries/gastric-sleeve/gastric-sleeves-how-much-weight-will-i-lose Bypass https://www.obesitycoverage.com/weight-loss-surgeries/gastric-bypass/how-much-can-i-expect-to-lose

It was difficult for the first 3 days for me, after that the hunger was gone. You're doing well sticking with it and it is draining mentally and physically. I was really tired on my 2 week liquid diet. I also stuck to mine because I didn't want there to be any complications because my liver didn't shrink enough, which there wasn't. The diet will really help to prepare you for after surgery as you will only be able to drink for a little while and you will have already been doing that so you'll be ready. Best wishes with your surgery and a speedy recovery.

LAP BAND SUCCESS RATE 47% GASTRIC SLEEVE SUCCESS RATE 80% GASTRIC BYPASS SUCCESS RATE 85% DUODENAL SWITCH SUCCESS RATE 95% Data Sources: PubMed: Quick fix or long-term cure? Pros and cons of bariatric surgery and International Journal of Surgery: Long term predictors of success after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy The line graphs above show patients who have lost more than 50% of their excess weight and managed to keep it off for more than 5 years. The popularity of the Lap Band has dropped significantly due to the long-term complication rate and low success rate. Bypass vs Sleeve https://www.obesitycoverage.com/gastric-bypass-vs-gastric-sleeve-surgery/

Don’t be too scared! You have help/a SO to help with the kids for a bit? I’ve had: ankle surgery, spine fusion, shoulder repair, sleeve, incisional hernia repair, gallbladder removed and I’m going to have bypass then my second shoulder repaired. The complication rates are low compared to other frequently performed surgeries. Follow your surgeon’s direction and chances of complication are slim. Don’t be afraid to tell the anesthesiologist/CRNA you’re anxious and they’ll give you some IV meds to calm you before going into the OR.

*This is the first posting after my (2) Bariatric Surgeries 2/4 & 2/25. BARIATRIC RECAP: 2/4/19 Herniated Lap Band Removal; COMPLICATIONS; Surgeons find “Severe Scar Tissue” appears as hard white second lap band, surgery is stopped, sewn up and rushed to CT Scan to R/O Foreign Body. 2/5/19 start developing severe Rt Shoulder/Neck pain & Paresthetica Meralgia. Start PT, Medical Massage and Rx’s - Severe stomach & Incision pain. 2/25/19 - Surgery #2 Gastric Sleeve Conversion; MORE COMPLICATIONS. During Surgery Surgeons discover “my Liver was fused to my stomach and needed to be burned apart”, repaired a hole found in my diaphragm + performed laparoscopic gastric sleeve surgery (4 hr procedure). Post Surgery Day 2-14: Chronic Lt Shoulder Pain day 2-7, Dizziness, Chronic Diarrhea continues, Nausea each day Day 12-Present. Incisions are healing but overall feeling depressed and overwhelmed by all the nausea and pains. Entering Post-Operative Week 3: ANXIETY, CONSTANT FATIGUE & NAUSEA DAILY? Are these Normal symptoms? “THANK YOU TO ANYONE WHO CAN SHED LIGHT ON TIMELINES FOR RECOVERY AND NAUSEA.” 🙏