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It definitely is more complicated then that. And hopefully I'm strong enough to to deal with the underlying reason for my addiction but the only way to get thru it is thru it! Sent from my LM-X210(G) using BariatricPal mobile app

So glad you entered treatment and it sounds more complicated than substance abuse - that is the symptom. Stay in long term therapy. May God bless you

Why don't more people get the MGB? I had mine on April 27th and it has gone so smoothly that I often forget I have it. My friend has a different surgeon and he is resistant saying that there are more complications and risk of reflux. However, they are bypassing the stomach so there can't be gastric reflux and there is a technique or stitch that they can do to prevent or minimize the risk of bile reflux. It seems with only 1 connection that the risks are smaller. Why do so many surgeons not offer this. I absolutely love mine! My recovery has been great and so far I've lost over 60 pounds and that includes a 3 week stall. I absolutely feel restriction which is great and what I want. I do feel hungry and sometimes starving but I can eat a snack like a boiled egg and then I'm satisfied and full for hours. I don't dump and have no heartburn or reflux. I know my surgeon did the stitch to prevent bile reflux and so far it works. It seems that I can eat anything but just in smaller portion sizes. I only count fluid and protein. I stopped counting calories because it is a real effort to exceed 1000 at this point. Maybe because my favorite things are tri-tip steak and salad or scallops and veggies. When we eat out, I've learned to order al a carte or just bring home the leftovers for another meal or two. Most important is that I don't dump. That really terrified me. I can eat sweets but I've found that I have no interest in them anymore. One bite is all I need and I'm done. I had a small piece of cake at my niece's wedding and I didn't get sick but I didn't want more either. It was nice for a celebration. Is my experience unique? I still have 50 lbs to lose and at some point I know it will slow and be more difficult but isn't it that way with all WLS methods? Why aren't there more MGB patients?

My surgeon is super conservative and had me on a complicated regimen of several different supplements spaced out several times a day. It was exhausting! Plus, I hated the calcium tabs. AND, all the pills were making my stomach too full for food. Wednesday, at my 3 month post op check up, he changed everything and life is so much easier! I now take 2 BARILIFE Multivitamins, 3 times a day. You swallow them and they dissolve in your belly quickly. The coating smells like vanilla but has no flavor. Done! (I also choose to take Biotin and Lutein).

you definitely dont get the level of support from the dr that you would get if you had the surgery in the US. But Between this forum, other web resources and your México dr you should get what you need. My doctor here was also supportive. I did not even schedule an appt with her until 6 weeks post op. I didn’t need one. I was just very careful to make sure I bought the best vitamins, electrolyte replacement and protein drinks I could find. And then I just followed the instructions given by me México doctor. I had no complications at all. The Mexico choice was right for me.

Helllo Cmackpmp. Yes they can do them, and they are more common then people realize. Basically they go back in and reattach the stomach which is already attached to the large intestine, but has been sitting dormant in your abdomen. Where they bring the small intestine up to the stomach, is then removed, and you are returned to your natural anatomy. There can be things that go wrong such as an ileus, where the colon does not wake up, and the dormant stomach can have issues readjusting as well, however the reversals have been done for many years with much success. I was unaware of this as well, and simply made a plea to my physician to help me ,as I have been through some many surgeries since the initial procedure, and have had so many complications that the possible problems at this point in time seem minor then continuing to live the way I have been living. There of course is he risk of gaining some weight back but the surgery is simply a tool to lose weight anyway and I as well as anyone else could gain the weight with or without the reversal. I simply have to get my life back. I am certainly glad my medical records and history over the past year and a half were enough to quickly convince my insurance company that it is consider medically necessary and they are paying or the surgery. I hope this answers your questions.

So glad your outcome of this complication has been a good resolution. I hope you heal and wish you good luck on this journey.

Just got home from my second stay at the hospital. My initial recovery was going great. Had my VSG on August 10th and had only spent one night in the hospital. Was strictly following my post-op meal plan and even had lost just about twenty pounds. All was fine till one night I felt a sharp pain in the lower right part of my stomach. That pain eventually moved to the center of my stomach. Around midnight I finally called my surgeon's emergency number when I began to feel left shoulder pain. It started as short, subtle jabs and progressively became more and more painful. Eventually becoming the worst pain I've ever felt...like a sword being thrust between my bone and muscle. Promptly got myself to the hospital. My fear was I had a staple leak. My blood pressure had skyrocketed (I lost 54 lbs pre-op, and had it down to close to a healthy 120/80). Following the most painful ER experience that I've ever had (though the staff was great) found myself with an unexpected result: subcapsular hematoma of liver or in layman's terms internal bleeding/clotting. They quickly got me on pain medicine, fluids, and a bunch of blood-related medicines I was too pained to remember. Thankfully after four or five days, they were able to resolve the issue without surgery. They sent me home, though now it will be several weeks before I can return to work. My doctor thinks that when my liver was moved during surgery, the clamping device caused bruising which developed into an open wound thanks to my body's reaction to the blood thinners. This was a tad ironic as I started the pre-surgery liquid diet early and it seemed like the doctor was happy with the size right afterward. Has anybody else had this complication? It should be noted that my doctor said this was extremely rare, so much so I'm the second ever patient of his to have this issue happen. Please don't let this discourage you from your surgery. Still very glad I made the decision I did, though I'm eager to get back to work and my original recovery.

To the folks dealing with nausea a few weeks out- have y’all mentioned it to your surgeons? My surgery buddy was/is having nausea issues and was told by their surgeon that if it kept up they would need to do an endoscopy. They said sometimes people can have a pocket of blood (leftover from surgery I think?) that can lead to nausea issues... it’s apparently not a major complication if you do have it, but certainly something they can do something about that may help with your nausea.

My experience was that they did a "carb overload" the morning of surgery, which for me, was like 3 AM, because statistics show you heal quicker if you have an excess of carbs in your system during surgery. So I had to drink two, 28 oz min, Gatorade, or 100% juice the night before and morning of surgery. I was on clear liquids only in the hospital, which was 5 days due to complications, and then 1 week of full liquids after I got home before purred phase.

Hey guys! Question? I had the sleeve done back in February 2014 with complications (leak, sepsis and hospitalised for 10 days.) ever since when I have bowl movements it’s mainly diarrhoea but not every time, I’ve always felt weak, sleepy and no energy just thought i was lazy lol. I eat healthy, exercise and I work 40+ hours for an EP. I ended up going to the ER last night due to chest pains and PVC’s they did some blood work and tests which came back saying I have iron deficiency anemia, dyspnea and hypokalemia. Has anyone here had this happen? I am currently at 175lbs and holding steady! Started at 260. but super happy size wise!

I’m 41 and haven’t been sleeved yet. My date is September 7th so it’s getting close. I previously had the lap band but the complications forced me to have it removed. Looking forward to this new stage.

So I've never written about why I chose VSG, but this applies to me. I specifically wanted VSG over RNY, because I wanted to remain flexible in my diet. I didn't want to deal with dumping, and to a lesser degree malabsorption. I've written quite a bit about my job requiring a lot of dining out, sometime alone, but very often with colleagues and customers. I absolutely don't want to deal with dumping while "on the job". I also don't want to be "that person" altering or ordering off the menu excessively. I feel very uncomfortable doing that, and the corporate culture where I work strongly frowns upon it. What I really haven't mentioned is my career is in the food industry. I have to be able to eat the product I sell. Dumping very likely would be an issue with my current company's products. And who knows where my career will take me? I wasn't willing to risk or cause serious complications with my career by choosing RNY. I also wanted the ability to "cheat", for personal reasons. International travel is hugely important to me. Experiencing a country's and culture's food, is a big part of my enjoyment of traveling. This may sound crazy to some, but I'm not willing to give up gelato in Rome or sticky rice with mango in Thailand. It's only 3-4 weeks a year, and I value it highly. Finally, I was non-compliant early on. I started eating all foods, except fibrous vegetables, at week 3 post op, plus drinking. I didn't do so because I necessarily wanted to, but because I started back at work travel and dining out. I wanted to attract as little attention to myself and my surgery as possible. I knew I had little time off and I would have to push the boundaries of my diet because of it, and I knew it was likely that the VSG would be more forgiving.

Separ, I am trying to make the same decision myself and have been researching the heck of this subject. It doesn't help that the medical community is split on this subject--just like many of us. There are some facts about both procedures that are not in dispute. First, if you have Type 2 Diabetes, there are multiple studies that show that bypass has substantially greater likelihood of resolving diabetes when compared to other surgical options. Researchers don't know exactly what mechanism is triggered by bypass that makes so much more effective--but the result is clear (particularly for people with mild to moderate T2DM who have had the disease for 8 years or less). Gastric Sleeve is also beneficial for those with T2DM, but not to the same degree. Second, if you have acid reflux (all the time, not just after a crazy night of Mexican or Indian food), sleeve is probably not the way to go. It can make reflux worse and it can cause reflux in people that didn't have it before the surgery. The reflux can be control with proton pump inhibitors (pepcid ac etc.), but it's not great to be on those long term. In the alternative, bypass is used as a treatment to reduce reflux for people that suffer from it. Third, gastric sleeve is a less invasive procedure (although it is still major surgery), but the complication rate between the two procedures are pretty comparable. There are some small statistical differences that favor the sleeve, but those numbers don't really have much real world significance. Some of the historical data for bypass is skewed because the surgery was done as an open procedure in many cases before 2011. It's almost exclusively done laparoscopically today--which reduced the complication rate so it's pretty much the same as the sleeve. Fourth, the prep and recovery from both procedures is the same, so that shouldn't be a factor in your decision. Fifth, many people that have bypass experience dumping syndrome, which makes it difficult to process simple carbohydrates and greasy/fatty fried foods. If you have a carb addiction, this will stop you from eating those carbs--and it will punish you. There's a funny story about Al Roker (who had gastric bypass) having explosive diarrhea while he was visiting the White House years ago (worth a google). You can have some food intolerance after sleeve, but it's not the same by any means. Sixth, gastric bypass has a malabsorption component, which requires more supplementation than is required for the sleeve. There are some long term studies which show that after several years, your body adjusts and the malabsorption component is less of an issue (and less of a benefit). The jury is still out on this. Seventh, there is a dearth of long term studies on sleeve, so we don't know how effective it will be 10 years post op and what long term issues might arise. Bypass has been around for a lot longer, so we do know that it is generally very effective for the long term. We do know that sleeve and bypass have reasonably comparable weight loss results at the 3 and 5 year mark, although people tend to lose about 5-10% more with the bypass and they lose it faster (which may or may not be a good thing). Eight, gastric sleeve can be revised and converted to a bypass or a duodenal switch if you fail to lose sufficient weight or have difficulty controlling diabetes or reflux. The benefits of revision are limited when compared to your first surgery (at least as far as weight loss is concerned). The options for revising gastric bypass are more limited. That said, many bariatric surgeons believe that you should go with what they consider the more effective and proven surgery out of the box and that shouldn't go into your primary surgery thinking that if doesn't work out you can just switch it up later on. Moreover, there is a higher complication rate with revisions, revisions are less effective than primary procedures and some insurance carriers have more challenging criteria for qualifying for revisions than primary surgeries. Ninth, for people that: (i) extremely high BMI's (over 70); (ii) are older (over 65); (iii) have pulmonary or heart issues; and (iv) have had significant abdominal surgery in the past, gastric sleeve may be preferable. It takes less time to perform; therefore, you are under anesthesia for shorter period of time. It also doesn't require any rearrangement of the intestines/digestive track. Tenth, if you need to take time released medicine or NSAID's for pain management, gastric bypass may not be the way to go. You can develop ulcers in the unused portion of your stomach and they are not easy to treat. This is definitely a disadvantage of the bypass IMO. I am sure there are some other factors to consider, but these are some of the big ones that strike me as important. I have to make the same decision as you. I am a 44 year old man, 5'9'' and I weighed ~260 at my highest weight (around 245 now). I have mild-moderate T2DM, but a relatively low BMI (just over 35). I am leaning towards bypass because I really want this procedure to resolve my T2DM and I want what I hope will be the most effective. I will have to change some of my medications in the future if I go this route. The surgeon that I am currently working with is a big advocate for the sleeve. I have an appointment to meet with another surgeon in a couple of weeks for a second opinion--so I have definitely not made up my mind yet (and I was also told that I can change my mind last minute--although I assume that means a few days before the surgery date). Anyway, good luck with your choice and ask as many questions as you want!

My Doctor said that a reinforced gastric sleeve is to prevent bleeding and staple-line leak, which are the most common complications. They first staple the sleeve and then sew it.

I'm praying for you as well! I'm praying for no complications and quick healing for you (and for everyone with upcoming surgery dates), but we have the assurance that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). We know regardless of the outcome, we can have peace knowing that everything is working together for His Glory.

I am a week post op - surgery 8/22 - and just now able to write about this. There were some unforeseen complications ... among other things, a huge hiatal hernia so large, they couldn’t see it on the endoscopy... a stomach too thick for the regular stapler, requiring a larger port and larger stapler. Surgery lasted more than 90 minutes longer than the original range. (My poor wife was freaked out.) When I woke, I was in a lot of pain. The recovery room nurse seemed to think that asking for something for the pain was a clear indication I was an opiate addict. It wasn’t until I got to my room that I learned that I was in the first week of a new protocol 1) no longer using morphine post-op and 2) trying to limit pain meds across the board. After about 8 hours my surgeon came to check on me, and he ordered morphine. The nurse gave it to me once, and then told me they were cutting back. The next morning, When I told the attending that nothing was getting in front of the pain and that they had cut off the morphine, she said that wasn’t the case. That is how that went for the four days I was in the hospital. Always with the subtle implication that, if I was asking for pain meds, I was probably an addict. I didn’t feel like the floor nurses had any idea that the surgery was longer and harder and more invasive, and I felt any attempt to explain to them would come across as rationalization. All in all, pain control was not at the top of the list during this hospital stay. Yesterday I went to my 1 week follow up with the surgeon. On discharge, I had been given an Rx for 15 Oxycodone for “breakthrough pain” - though no one explained what that was - and 30 Tramadol. The doctor’s nurse asked me how many of each I had taken, and if I had brought them with me, so she could count! When I said I hadn’t, she LITERALLY tsked! Is this Universal now? I’m sure I could have handled this better, but I was in pain, and I didn’t. But soon I’m going to get a patient survey.

No I had no complications from the surgery. Lost a total of 182 lbs and I currently weight 210. The only issue I have since surgery is that I am hypoglycemic. All medical issues I had, are gone so the surgery basically saved my life. I will say to you this....never give up! You will have good times and bad, but always remember your goal and keep fighting to reach that goal. The surgery is only a tool and the weight loss is dependent on how you use that tool. I am happy for you and your new journey. You can message me any time if you have questions, get discouraged or if you just need to talk.

Wow! I too am having RNY. I’m with Novant Bariatric. Did you have any complications or do you have any words of advice for me?

I know I haven’t posted in awhile but I’ve been so busy I’m a month and a few weeks post op my surgery was July 18th I weighed 287 that morning Im 264 as of today no complications or diarrhea...everything went as planned I was even able to pass my swallowing test with out throwing up...I did have some nausea when switching to soft and solid food but nothing major and I’ve thrown up 1 time I tried to eat spam and my pouch didn’t like it lol but I’ve learned my full feelings and I pretty much get the hiccups when I full now and I always eat my protein first to fill up fast I usually eat every 2 to 3 hours and I drink about 4 to 5 bottles of what a day I will say I’ve tried to eat takeout and it’s not the same I get full way to fast and gassy and it’s hurts anything that’s processed doesn’t go down as easy and takes forever to digest so take out food is a big no right and cards usually get stuck and take forever to go down to as well but I know that’s going to change over the next few months i just started working out a few days ago trying to get back into a routine I’m happy with my overall decision and glad I did this for myself I’m hoping to get down to 220 by the end of the year

Hey fellow August surgery people... How are you all doing??? I had my bypass on the 21st. Discharged on 22nd and feeling pretty good. Have a follow up appt tomorrow and plan to return to work on Sunday. I had the band in 2010 and had it removed in 2016, For some unknown reason, this has been the easiest of the 3 surgeries. I feel like its the most complicated and yet I feek okay. I'm ready to move on from liquids, fairly confident I will get the go ahead for that tomorrow. On to mushies! I hope everyone else is doing well. Lisa

^^^ I agree. I've heard too many stories of people I know who've had complications. @saygrace I did the Nuva Ring because I had RNY, and the doctor says it bypasses the digestive system. No problems and I actually love the ring. I started wearing the ring mid Feb, one month after surgery.

I got my date on July 17 at the conclusion,of my appointment with Dr Needleman at OSU Bariatric Clinic. Suzy the scheduling Secretary plan to arrive by 5 AM for a 7 AM surgery on September 5 2018. Said wanted me to be first that day, that way if my surgery became,more complicated he could devote total attention to me. Hey, I feel honored, first time I have been first for anything. When you get repeatedly a fuzzy lollipop while the rest,of the world. gets cotton candy, you resign yourself to 2nd rate treatment, and I never stuck up for myself. How could I when I was my parents daughter, my husband's wife, my children's mother, I had no independent life, just an extension of someone else. Sad isn't it, I was never me, raised that way, lived that way. When my husband died,and I had to become me, it was scary. See, I had been browbeaten that no one could like me for myself. Been a rough 6 years establishing ME, but guess what -people do like me, I can finally seek the surgery I have wanted , that my parents and husband wouldn't permit me to have. And now I am doing it, and now I can be first in line on my surgery because my future health and ME matter, and for a few minutes I am the Empress, the person extraordinate the world waits for. AND it is Heady and thrilling!

I am almost two weeks post op and regretting having bypass surgery. Fortunately, I haven’t had any complications thus far but I can’t help feeling like I made a mistake. I keep worrying about all the complications that can happen that I’m stressing myself out all the time. And, I no longer enjoy eating as it feels like a chore to chew 20 times and wait 60 seconds in between bites. I regret undergoing a surgery that is irreversible and comes with so many complications. I’m sorry if I’m coming across as b****ing, I’m just wondering if this feeling is common after surgery.

You should be fine given no complications. I went back to work day 3. I ended up taking an additional day off late in the week from pure exhaustion but have been okay since. Sent from my SM-N920V using BariatricPal mobile app