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It sounds like you really have a lust to pursue your goals based on the things you said about your education. That's a boon in your favor when it comes to deciding how to address your health too. Shows you have guts to see difficult things through and WLS will be a difficult thing. No one can tell you to do surgery, or don't do surgery. In the end, that is entirely YOUR personal decision, but it's completely natural to feel apprehensive and unsure. Try not to let the unfortunate stumbling blocks you had in the past influence your decision now. It wasn't a supernatural force trying to save you from a bad decision, just coincidence and happen chance. Things to consider when making your decision: How much over weight are you? How many times have you tried to get things right and failed? How long have you been over weight? How much is your physical activity hindered by it? Do you have any other weight-related health issues? The surgery doesn't just help you with losing weight from where you are now, but it will help you avoid future weight gain. The older you are, the sicker you are, the heavier you are, will make this procedure more risky. I waited until I had high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and my body was in a physically terrible place. So was my mind. I wish wish wish, I had pursued help sooner! My body will always bear the scars of the heavy, unhappy person I used to be. I'm not vain, but there is something of a disappointment in seeing excesses of skin draping from my shrinking body. Not only that, but I resigned myself to only have one child who is now eighteen. My unchecked obesity completely interfered with anymore babies and now at 43 and a son in college, I don't feel it would be responsible to risk more babies even though I would have loved to try for a girl. It is what it is. Both my mother and father are super morbidly obese. This was another factor I took into consideration. The same genetics and poor eating habits they suffer from are likely the same things I'm contending with. My job security was in jeopardy. I was having trouble doing all the things I needed to be doing in a timely manner and I was beginning to see signs this was wearing on the patience of my superiors. Likewise, obesity can interfere with job pursuit. You will NEVER know if it was your weight that put them off to select a different candidate for the job but it will be on your mind when you get rejections. I know I've painted a picture that shows more favor to having the surgery than choosing a different path to success. That's because I'm terribly biased in favor of surgery from my own personal experience, but I do believe it's not an appropriate choice for everyone. I had complication from my initial sleeve that put me back in the hospital twice since then for a total of three surgeries and hospital stays in less than a year. All seems to be right now, but it hasn't been easy. I want to punch anyone who tries to suggest I took the easy way out. Despite how hard it all was, I wouldn't take it back. If I could go back in time for a redo, I would do it all over again. Good luck making your decision. Be brave and make a plan weather you do surgery or not.

It is possible to develop food aversions/behaviors in response to WLS...just sayin'. I think in general talking with a therapist is always a great idea. They can tell you pretty quickly if it's possible to "give yourself" bulimia from food restriction. I don't think you can do that under normal circumstances. But the mind/body response is very complicated!!!

Having doubt or buyers remorse is normal before any surgery. Fear of complications is natural... but what if you don't have the surgery? How much longer can your body hold up like this? Are you unhappy or miserable with your weight? If not now... then when?? Best of luck... you got this! Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

Also think of it this way. If you don't so something (even if it turns out you can't), what's going to happen to his next patient? I know I asked my surgeon how many of his patients failed or had major complications and needed revisions. Will he tell the truth to his next patient? I know it's not your job to look out for the next person, but we all have to live on this dirt ball together! At least until WWIII anyway 😂

Hmmm, here’s the thing, he could say that he was trying to prevent GERD and that is why he left your sleeve bigger than normal. He could say there where indications that you would have “complications” if he used a normal size bougie. Like others have said, I am not a lawyer but that is simply my take on it. As far as the hospital goes, good luck getting them to waive the cost of surgery. This is all big business and someone is getting rich off it.

Hi all, I had gastric bypass Jan 2018. Before my pre-surgery liquid diet I weighed 334lbs. Right now I am floating between 260-265lbs. I've been gaining and losing the same 5lbs since about May of 2018. I lift weights and am very aware of how to eat healthy, but lately I make bad choices about half the time. I believe this surgery has uncovered and made me aware of a food addiction, because I can't stop thinking about eating! I always knew i loved food, but never viewed it as an addiction until the ability to eat tons of it was taken away from me. While I'm eating, I'm thinking about what I'm going to eat next. I'm hungry all the time and despite having a tiny gastric bypass stomach I feel like a bottomless pit. I'll eat, and yes I get full quickly, but then 20 minutes later I feel hungry again. It scares me! 99% of the time I don't even have a drink in front of me when I eat so I know I'm not washing food through. I experienced "dumping" for the first few months but that mostly has gone away. I also had an internal hernia complication 3-4 months ago and had to have another surgery to correct it. I don't recommend it to anyone. It was quite painful! I'm not necessarily looking for advice on food addiction, it's something I am working on now. I've come here to ask for thoughts/opinions on a few other things that have been literally keeping me up at night. I'll probably ramble a bit so I'll put the main question of each thought in bold. 1) Have a I stretched my pouch? I've googled this a million times and can't find clear information on this. I've read that yes it's easy to stretch it. I've read that it's impossible to stretch it. My own surgeon and other doctors at his hospital have said conflicting things to me about it. If you're overeating all the time, does it take five weeks to stretch it out? Five months? Five years? I ask because I'd like to know if it's something I should even be thinking about at this stage. I don't know about the stoma stretching thing, because I do get full when I eat (albeit for not that long). I've read alot about the "pouch reset". Some swear by it. I've read doctor articles saying it's BS, and that you cannot shrink a stomach once it's stretched. I could see it helping mentally to re-acquaint you with the surgery, but I don't see how drinking liquid for a week or two can undo stretching. I digress. I just worry that 10-11 months out I have stretched my stomach irreparably and that's why I'm hungry all the time. 2) I've read that after a year, or 18-months if you're lucky, you are done losing weight. At least, the gastric bypass portion is done doing what it's going to do and anything beyond that is just eating right and exercise like everyone else. Biologically, does gastric bypass stop helping you after a year/18-months or can I still use it? I would hate to know that I pretty much wasted my time getting a life-altering surgery, and now I have to go back to trying to lose weight the regular way since it took me a surgery and year to finally realize I'm a food addict! 3) I recently read that if you get this surgery, you have to spend the rest of your life eating 900-1000 calories a day or you will gain your weight back, even if you exercise. I'm just curious what people's thoughts are, because I've read conflicting stuff about maintenance. And 900-1000 calories a day sounds extremely strict, beyond anything I was educated about before I got my surgery. In fact it's kind of depressing! I would hope that If I eat the same diet as my disciplined friend (who has a six-pack) and do the same workout he does that I'd be ok. I can't eat as much as he does in one sitting. If I beat my food addiction and just eat less than my friend, shouldn't I be ok? Please let me know your thoughts, it could help me in my quest to get my head straight! I'm afraid to go to my surgeon with this, because I feel like a huge failure and am embarrassed to go to my one-year followup and have them see I'm probably 3-5lbs heavier than six months ago. I've read through a few pages of posts (at least the subjects) to make sure i'm not just asking the same stuff 90 other people ask a day but don't see all that much that fit my exact situation. Thanks!

We were just notified that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the US embassy in Mexico have issued an urgent health alert. The U.S. Consulate General advises U.S. citizens of several cases since August 2018 of antibiotic-resistant infections affecting U.S. patients following surgery at the Grand View Hospital in Tijuana. U.S. citizens considering seeking medical care overseas should carefully review the risks associated with medical tourism provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The Grand View Hospital is owned and operated by none other than Dr. Mario Almanza. Weight Loss Agents is their booking agent. There's already a class action lawsuit against Dr. Almanza and Weight Loss Agents. They're personally responsible for many patient deaths or major medical complications. It's surgeons and companies like these that give all Mexican surgeons a bad name. We urge BariatricPal members to stay far away from any of the above-mentioned individuals, companies or facilities.

I only got off caffeine for about a month before and after my surgery (I think). I drink 3-4 oz. of coffee with skim milk and get in extra water. Nothing bad has happened to me, my surgeon said the caffeine ban was to make it easier to diagnose complications, and I haven’t had any. It’s risky behavior, but I just couldn’t function without it.

Hello everyone! I just saw this threat and I really liked it because I was seeing people starting in such low numbers it was a bit disheartening for me... I started very high (205kg) 452lbs. I am (1,7m) 5’7”. My surgery weight was (185kg) 408lbs. I had my surgery on 9th of October so I am now 2 months and 1 week after it. My current weight is (166kg) 366lbs and I am on a one week stall almost. Although I lost 86lbs already, I don’t think it’s having so much wow factor, people that had not seen me for a while notice there is something different but maybe they cannot quite tell what is it. I was size 30/32 (6 on Torrid) Now all my T-shirt’s are on the loose side and I can fit to everything I was not fitting anymore, but I don’t want to spend money and checking one by one the smaller sizes, I want to spend my next months with looser clothes until I can throw everything in summer... I am ready for some adjusting and cutting to help me with that goal and maybe also pillage my mother’s closet too lol Up until recently I had no desire for dating, I wanted to focus more on myself... now that I think I have things in a small order I met a nice guy (so far :p) who had two friends that did wls and he is supporting and super nice (fingers crossed) No complications so far, other than not getting all my water every day... no real hunger just head hunger and I really miss some sinful savory tastes (pizzaaaa 🍕) but so far my only sins where five chocolate bonbons (not all together) and three Christmas cookies, which I don’t even know why I ate, as it’s not as enjoyable as it was before neither in taste nor in the toilet after 😂😂 (no pain just diarrhea that I guess was caused by them) Will try to avoid them next time. ☺️ Some non scale victories : I can fit in restaurant/cafeteria chairs easier without getting stuck on the handles, I could fit with my aunt in the bus seat together, I can finally zip an anorak I bought last year but it was too small and this I never wore, same with a dress I bought two years ago and never wore. I can walk 10K steps per day easily though before starting the whole progress I could barely walk to the next block without needing to sit immediately after getting there. I had stopped doing the groceries myself and I was relying on deliveries only even for the smallest things, as walking and standing in the supermarket aisles was a big issue for me. Some days ago I even run a bit to catch up with a bus that was waiting in the bus stop. That’s all folks for now ^^

Ima try to say something here that will make you smile or make you happy or make you feel inspired. You don't necessarily have to become complicated about your eating. There is one truth for sure in all this. Weight gain means more calories than your activity level warrants. It's almost certain that you have a shitty metabolism and the only way to improve this is more activity and less or better food choices. This is a disgusting oversimplification of whats really going on in your body, both chemically, mentally and physically, but still, a simple truth that you hate, but know. Accept, no matter how frustrating, that you don't get to eat a 2000 calorie diet and maintain your goal weight. Rules to Follow: 1. Always eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. 2. Don't eat more than 1 level cup of food for a meal (1.5 cups if your a male) tiny plates and 1 cup bowls are great here. Its all I use anymore. 3. Eat for expected activity ahead. (example, more calories in your meal if you are going to demand more of yourself physically. Dinner should not be a calorie dense meal if you are going to veg out on the couch and wind down for the night.) I'm gonna leave it at three to make it look simple! So for now, don't worry about counting the calories, just worry about the portion size. If you find that you start losing weight quickly than consider adding in a mid morning snack and late afternoon snack that are no more than 100 calories to help stave off hunger. But first, see if you can start losing again and adjust from there. If you aren't losing weight, then you have to get more complicated with looking at and logging your calories. Hopefully you won't have to do that though! Please, love the food you eat. Become an absolute snob with your choices! I can tell you to eat 3 oz of lean protein, 2 oz of starch and 3 oz of veggies with each meal, but I feel like that kinda kills creativity. You get a cup so make it worth. This ratio is a guideline to bring balance to your meals, but don't let it stop you from making a variety of culinary art and excitement. Don't be scared to make casseroles, stir fry, soups, crazy salads with weird flavor combinations. And, you know it...but sugar is evil. I know you're absolutely dejected right now. It's sooooooo hard to admit to others and to yourself that something has gone wrong. You butchered your body to reach a goal that you didn't keep and now you feel like a turd. I want you to think of something else though. What if you didn't have the surgery? Where might you be right now? Maybe you would have done to yourself what I did. Maybe you might have been 475 lbs and super sick and then thinking about surgery. I have a flap of skin that hangs way down off my tummy area that covers my privates! Sorry for graphic imagery, but, it roles up like a cute burrito as well. Ima have to have that removed on my own dime or convince myself that its fun to think of Mexican food when I'm laying in bed at night! A lot of people get lost thinking about where they didn't get too in the positive direction after WLS, but in their self misery, they forget to consider where they didn't go in the negative direction too. This counts for something huge in my book!!!...and I do know huge very, very well. 😂 Pick yourself up, dust off your bum, and love yourself. You absolutely cannot reach a goal if you are hating yourself. Reach out for help from somebody, a nutritionist, a personal trainer, a friend, maybe a psychologist even. Keep visiting these forums and posting things as you go. Its very therapeutic. PS-My apologies if I have ruined Mexican food for anyone. Sometimes my humor gets a little morbid, but I do mean it all in good fun.

Well, my experience has been a little different. I'm 6 days post today. I had a complication in surgery which I think has made my soreness worse. Otherwise, I never had nausea or vomiting and was able to get fluids and proteins in off the bat. Stopped pain meds 2 days post, but that twinge on the left it still ouchie. I've been pretty tired, but plan to go out to walk around the dreaded Walmart today because I need OUT!!! This morning I woke up with a bit of nausea and just kind of a crappy feeling. Hoping it passes. Have a feeling like something is sitting in the bottom of my esophagus. Overall I'm pretty pleased with my progress but I am glad I took an extra week off work. I think I need that adjustment time.

First of all, do what your surgeon said. With that disclaimer out of the way, listen to your body next. No driving for a few days after being put under--standard safety. Second, no driving under narcotics, right? If you are feeling super great by day four, and the strongest meds you are taking is Tylenol, then take a short drive if it pleases you. I had my sleeve done last February and I wasn't really ready to take a drive for a week. Not because I was popping pain meds, but because I felt like a melted poop pile and that was enough to make me feel like NO driving was safer for everyone. I had a revision to a bypass the Friday before Thanksgiving due to complications from my sleeve. Went in on Friday, came home on Sunday and I was ready to go out driving on Monday! Listen to your surgeon first, then your body next. Melted poop=no driving 💩! HUGS! Feel better fast! Congrats!

Hello, first time to post. I had surgery ~4 years ago. Have done well maintaining weight with no complications. Recently I've started having a cramping pain in my stomach after meals. Not every meal but often enough to be concerning. It doesn't seem to be any certain type of food. Has anyone else experienced this? Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

sorry to hear this? What complications did you have.

I know how you feel. I have to plan my every move. I am tired of feeling tired. I'm ready for a change but my health is so complicated. I can't afford to end up in worst shape than I'm already in right now. Sent from my SM-G900V using BariatricPal mobile app

Today is my first day home also after my surgery. I had complications . My heart and I’m so weak and short of breath. My pain is under control. Thank God .❤️🙏🏾

2 months post op. Down 81 pounds. I tried the insurance route 3 times and all 3 times the ins.co would pull the no bariatric rider at the last minute. I paid out of pocket for mine, $13k. I gave them a check on 10/01 and was on the table 10/15. Dr required 2 visits. One was a “physical” more or less and the other was a sales pitch, the next day he was playing with my innards. 10/15 the day of surgery i was 381, 12/15 I’m 300. do what your dr says and the procedure will work. Water is critical, lots of protein, as few carbs as possible. I try to stay under 1000 calories and 20 carbs a day, and I’m usually able to do that the key is reading labels. Meat has few/no carbs- cook it simply and it’s perfect. Sauces and seasonings are the devil. I use a lot of garlic, salt, pepper and rosemary. And I grill everything beef, bird, fish... everything Dont graze eat. Figure out what you can “hold” and then only put 75% on your plate. i guess I got lucky- I have had ZERO complications post op. No bleeding, no dumping, no major pain, nothing. I went back to work after a week off... I was bored silly sitting at home that week I live and die by my 30oz yeti. I drink 3 cups plus a day. One before lunch, one before dinner, one before bed. Sometime I shoot some MIO or lemon in it. Somedays I have unsweet tea. I’ve been able to keep the soda and alcohol monsters away, but somedays I’d kill for a ginger ale Pouches of tuna and salmon and chicken are easy to carry in the car or work bag. A little thing I do is when I’m on dinner duty, I hit the free sample display at the deli. One cube of meat, one of cheese and I’m half full, keeps me from over indulging with actual dinner for a sweet treat, sugar free popcicles are just sweet enough to do the trick. Atkins has some good low carb/high protein bars. One thing I learned is the more you pay, the better they are. Exercise is difficult for me due to the nature of my work- I’m on a seagoing tugboat 9 months a year. So the whole boat is my gym- everything is 100 pounds or more, it’s difficult to get the cardio in though- you can walk only so many laps around my 150’ steel island.

For an experienced surgeon it’s not that much more complicated.

I’m so sorry you’re dealing with a cold.. I completely understand! At 3 weeks post op I went to the ER with a 103 fever thinking I was having complications with my stomach.. turned out I actually had the flu. It does get better and you will get there! Lay low, stay hydrated and take it one day at a time! (( hugs )) I've had the flu the last few days and have had a hard time keeping water and protein drink down, but today am felling so much better. Those first three days were miserable and I almost went to the hospital just to get an IV. These kinds of normal life illness are much more complicated when you are only a month out from a body altering surgery. Hope everyone feels better soon!

This is good thread! I started the process for getting a sleeve, then the results of an EGD showed that I have Barrett esophagus. Due to this, the surgeon said that the sleeve is no longer an option and that I would get bypass. I was excited about the sleeve, but am worried about the bypass. He said recovery times are similar, but to me, bypass just seems like a more complicated surgery! 😩

I lost And Arnold Schwarzenegger plus an elephants heart Aug 2009 440lbs9 mo later i was 163lbs (i had complications)Dec 2018 im 220lbs and holding 

Hello everyone, I originally wasn’t planning on joining or posting on this forum, but I’ve decided I want to tell my story to help and educate others. I’m 24 years old and the gastric sleeve surgery left me with a leak one week post op. I will first explain my symptoms in order to aid others if they may experience the same as I believe we should be educated on knowing the warning signs so we don’t just shrug it off as dehydration as I did. It started of with abdominal pain and feeling light headed, at first I assumed I needed to drink more and rest. I could feel something wasn’t right as I was 100% pain and nausea free the previous days. The next day I woke up my left shoulder and neck was hurting but it went away as I stood up. I felt nauseous from the upper abdominal pain I ended up vomiting. I went to emergency and there I had a fever, my heart rate was around 120 I believe. They suspected it was gastro or dehydration so they hooked me up to iv fluids. Blood test results came back and my inflammation markers were over 300 (normal range is 0-10) I had a ct scan where they discovered I had a leak. I was transported to the hospital where I had the surgery per my surgeons request. There I had a picc line inserted and had an endoscopy. The endoscopy showed nothing, and the surgeon suggested the leak was the size of a pinhole. To keep this short and not bore anyone, this is my 7th week in hospital about to be my 8th. I was lucky as I had no abscesses, therefore requiring no surgical intervention besides the endoscopy. I’ve had multiple ct scans, blood tests. I am nil by mouth and TPN overnight. I also suffered from another complication during my stay, picc line sepsis which wasn’t fun and I had an overnight stay in icu. I’m now on 3 different antibiotics including vancomycin for the sepsis. Currently I’m allowed the bariatric diet (liquids) on day two and getting lower left back pain. It’s been a long, hard journey and everyday it’s difficult to stay positive as you think it’s never ending; but there will be an end eventually you just need to be patient and think about how strong you are for enduring this. Thank you everyone for reading.

Hey everybody! I just got re-released from the hospital today! I had some fluid in my stomach cavity that caused me to be unable to keep my liquids down. I'm doing 10x better thanks to my AMAZING surgeon who was so hands-on and helpful from the beginning! I'm so excited to see how this surgery affects my life in the near future! Complications can happen to anybody but just stay strong and it will all get better.

So....this is a GREAT question! I'm a GIANT compared to my family. They are all petite tiny little Asians. I am not only taller...and at 5'3" that's almost laughable. But my father is a fat shamer and he has not been kind. His side of the family has been large (and his sisters and cousins who are nurses have had bariatric surgery) but my immediate family is full of very thin people. My mother put me on my first diet when I was 12 and at my thinnest..I think I was this height and weighed 125 lbs. But I did tell my father. I think his first inclination was to say...JUST DIET. But realizing that I have struggled my entire life with hereditary health issues and weight - he just wants me to be healthy. So he has been as supportive as he knows how to be. IMHO, this is my journey and my journey alone. Ppl can support me or not. My husband is only afraid of complications and wants me to be comfortable. He knows at my current weight I am suffering b/c of the extra weight on my joints and b/c I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. Also my job requires me to be available whether I am on vacation or even on holiday, so I did inform almost half of my company that I am having a 'surgery', and not available for the pre-op days and time in-patient. Other than that....they don't need to know.

I’m a bit over a year post op now. No regrets. Of course I was lucky in that I had no complications so that makes it a whole lot easier. I have lost over 175 pounds and gone from wearing a size 28/30 and 4xl in clothing to a size 14 in pants and a large top. There just is no denying that how people treat you is different when you are not morbidly obese, and how you move in this world is so different too. Best of luck to you and all others with their upcoming surgeries!