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I'm sure everyone goes through it I'm having surgery June 10th and starting to get nervous and panic. When you start looking up complications or thinking what if I wake up in extreme pain lol. Any tips for just calming down. I've been completely calm up till now I guess I just didn't think it was actually happening . I mean I never even had a cavity let alone major medical procedures so any advice would be great !

Hi all, Wanted to drop an update on here. I've run in to some more complications post-op than I'd like. I'm that low percentage of patients who apparently have issues. When I actually had my operation, my stomach pouch leaked, so they did a revision on the spot, which basically just means they stapled more off. This resulted in an even smaller pouch than the standard RnY patient. It also meant some very deep stitches to keep everything from moving around. So, post-op, the stitches (which were sealed in place on the surface with staples) were the source of tremendous amounts of pain. I have a high pain tolerance, and hydrocodone wasn't even touching my pain. I ended up going back in, they ran some labs, gave me IV fluids, took the staples out, and told me to continue to lie low, it should heal on its own. After a few more days of my pain being at a 12 on a 10 scale, it did finally get better. Then, earlier this week, I started having an issue with the pureed food I was eating just sitting in my stomach. The only way I could move it was to throw it up. This was happening with food and liquid/water. So I went back in again, and after an upper GI, they determined my stomach was very, very slow to empty. Now I'm waiting for 2 weeks to have them go in with a scope and balloon open my connection from my pouch to my intestine. In the meantime, I'm back on a liquid diet. So, I guess my update isn't really that positive, but there it is. My weight continues to fall off. I'm down 36 pounds from surgery just over 4 weeks ago, and soooo close to being below 300 for the first time in I don't know how long. Those are positive. But I'd really like to be semi-normal now...

Hey all! About a month out from surgery I went in because I had an unusual series of events happen. Out of nowhere, I was able to eat significantly less than I had been (just yogurt and cottage cheese), and I had even vomited after a few occasions of simple drinking (Water only). So, I went in and had a swallow study done. That confirmed my new stomach was slow to empty, and my surgeon suggest a scope to go in and verify and if needed, dilate the closing connection to allow me to eat. I got called the next day, offering me a time on Monday to go in, or I could wait about two weeks. Since my symptoms had gotten better by this time, I said I didn't need to rush in and get it done, and that I could wait for two weeks. That was another big mistake. I found my symptoms would be ok in the morning and then at night, they'd flare up and I'd end up vomiting and being unable to keep anything down. This eventually morphed in to being able to consume no Protein shakes (I was put back on Clear liquids and protein by my doc regardless of when my procedure was, UNTIL I had my procedure.) I felt fine though because my body was still burning fat. But all things being the same, I put a note in my online chart for my nurses to see Monday, asking for the next available date to do the scope. Monday I was called and told to come in Tuesday. Everything seemed very routine, and the overwhelming feeling was this procedure would fix my issue and I'd be back on track. Wrong! I got up after the scope ready to walk out and feeling refreshed from what I'd just call a nap. The nurses had different plans for me. As they wheeled me back to recovery, I asked where my wife was. They told me she had gone to get something to eat and would be up soon, in the meantime, I should order some food. I was told that I could "have whatever I wanted," which I immediately questioned. I also asked why I needed a meal if I was leaving shortly. The reply was that I wasn't leaving shortly, I was being admitted overnight. I was literally shocked. Confused, and now wishing my wife was there to answer some questions, I tried to get whatever I could out of the nursing staff. They had limited information because they're all just staff in surgical recovery, they don't know all the details of every patient, and there were a lot of them. I got ahold of my wife who told me she had actually gone home because they said it would be 2 hours before I'd even get back to a room. She told me the dilation was only mildly successful, and that I was malnourished and had to stay overnight for observation. Long story short, I ended up with a PICC Line, a massive bag of TPN, and orders for home health to help me with future daily bags of TPN for about the next 4-6 weeks until they can go back in and do another scope. I'm feeling a lot of things right now, most of that is disappointment that this hasn't gone as easily as really everyone led me to believe. I understand every patient is different, but it's so hard to hear things like "you're an ideal candidate for this now because you're so healthy and your only comorbidity is hypertension, so you're mostly healthy aside from that," or, "we don't anticipate any complications in your case." The moral here is if you think you're having issues, call your surgical team ASAP and tell them. I have no clue if there was anything I could have done to avoid this, I honestly doubt it, but here I am with a 2 liter bag of Fluid I'll be toting around for the next month and a half either way.

Thank you BrandonKea for posting this! I have been feeling so alone in my struggles. I had my bypass Oct 23rd and have since then been unable to keep any sort of foods down, sometimes liquids even become a struggle for me. Liquids seem to be getting a little easier, but I just gave up on eating much of anything. My surgeon simply said chew longer, wait longer between bites...I decided to try another GI doctor. I go Thursday so I hope that the news is not bad, but I already had to take a trip to the ER once for dehydration. I even get nauseated just thinking about eating at this point. I've had nothing but complications since this surgery happened and felt like my dr didnt take me seriously. So i just kept it to myself. I really hope your struggle is over soon. I think the most important thing for people to remember that decide to do the surgery is keeping in mind that these sorts of extreme cases happen, its rare, but it happens.

I just searched for posts by Kat1 about the complications she suffered with Dr. Garcia and I couldn't find her complication posts anywhere. I found ones before and after her complications but none about her complications. Then I remembered reading that another poster that said posts about her complications had been removed. Did VSG do a site overall? Are posts deleted after a certain time period? Anyone know if anything strange happened?

Just research research research..... Usher's ex-wife had complications during hers in another country and Kanye's mom past as well..... It happens, so all u can do is research and pray. I had tummy tuck, lipo of upper body and thighs in bowie, md for 8k, and this doctor has document he gives you stating any problems with your level of satisfaction, he will fix at no cost to you... He was good! Good luck. Will pray for your safety...:-)

@Rovoboy WOW... great success... I am ten weeks out and down 60 pounds... Thanks for sharing. @@Rhodes I also believe in the long term benefits of the surgery. My two week recovery was a bit complicated by developing strep throat, 3 days after I returned home, but I recovered and was back to work. Even some discomfort is worth it in the long run....

The most experienced in the USA are Cirangle and Jossart in San Francisco. They do a lot of research as well. My choice was Dr Aceves in Mexicali, Mexico, near San Diego. He also has a great deal of experience and excellent, low complication rates. I was told he has never had any leaks, which is better than the SF statistics, even though theirs are still excellent. I am not financially endowed so with Aceves rates being half that of Cirangle, I chose him. I was very pleased. He seems to be more conservative in that he keeps patients in the hospital for 4 days and performs 3 leak tests. He also oversews the staple line. He is a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons. See credentials at Bariatric Surgeon Profile - Alberto Aceves M.D., F.A.C.S.

I am about 9 months post-op and about 8 weeks pregnant. I have PCOS as well and the doctors told me it could take a year for my cycle to come back. I waited 2 months or regular cycles and we tried- sure enough it happened on the first try. I have had some complications so far and the doctors are saying its because I wasnt a full year post op from bariatric. I was in the hospital last week for dehydration and anemia. I have been SO sick to my stomach that even eating the 4 oz I am supposed to eat is coming back up. Im worried about what the next 7 months hold for me as the past 3 weeks have been a nightmare. Everyone is different so please dont take this as a warning... just sharing my experiance.

If and when my insurance ever approves me, I've been told by the surgeon there is a STRONG probability I will end up with an open surgery for my gastric bypass. Reason? Scarring. I have had two hiatal hernia repairs and he feels there may be too much scarring to do laparoscopically. However, I won't know which is done until I wake up from surgery. Surgeon told me probably a 6 to 8 inch scar, which, at this point, doesn't bother me..I'm past the days of wearing a bikini! Has anyone else been "opened up" for the bypass and how was the healing process? Did you have any complications due to this form of surgery? How long of a hospital stay is needed? Does it take longer to start eating foods other than liquid? Any advice you could pass along? Thank you in advance to anyone who can help with these questions.

Please please call the Dr. I just lost a friend who was recovering from back surgery. Her legs were swelling. She called the Drs office , they told her to walk. She died from a clot. Please seek medical treatment. In all the paperwork we signed about possible complications it talks about leg swelling and contacting the Dr office Sent from my VS986 using the BariatricPal App

Hi, thanks for replying. That's exactly what I did though and I couldn't find any posts regarding the extent of her complications. Maybe VST changed something and those were lost. I'll just move on. Thanks for your help.

I imagine he's probably a great surgeon just less experienced. It's proven that the number of complications go down significantly the more experience a surgeon has. He's done about a few thousand which certainly isn't a newbie, but he's not in the league of Dr Kelly or Aceves.

thanks for your reply. I really am impressed with your weight loss- it looks like it was successful for you. that is all I can hope for- and I will use all the tools that are supportive for me including lapbanders, OA and Weight Watchers. I do think I can get a lot out of OA and it might help me with issues- but the fact that almost everyone is so negative got me really nervous last night. I just am worried that i will still be eating if i am bored/emotional and so the band wont work. i also worry about complications and the discipline involved and hope i can do it. i will need a LOT of support. thanks again Karen:thumbup:

Serious complications are extremely rare. If you have a competent care team and follow their instructions to the letter, the odds of anything going wrong are very slim. I know it's easy to be nervous about the unknown, but for those of us who've "been there, done that," we can definitely say that the first couple of weeks to a month are the hardest. After that, you just need to learn how to eat to please your new, smaller stomach, and enjoy all the "free" weight loss!

I hear ya on the boredom front, particularly when one has gotten used to being active. When I had a shoulder repair done last year, they at least got me into some physical therapy within a couple of weeks, but the reconstruction was just couch potato time for so long, and even once the drains are out, if there are any parts of the incisions that are slow to close (not an uncommon semi-complication) that can delay things further. Once they were all finally closed up, the doc was eager to get me back into the pool to start stretching things out again.

I went to all of my follow-ups with the Bariatrician, Nutritionist, and Psych through to my two-year point in December. There was nothing they did there that my primary doctor could not have handled. As a matter of fact, my two week appointment got cancelled because of blizzard conditions, so my primary saw me a week later. Unless you have complications, your primary may be an option for follow-ups in a pinch.

thank you all for the positive messages. I know I didn't explain my reasons but one of the main ones was my 2 children. I just want to be okay and not have any complications..I know everyone wants that but that of course is my biggest fear. Another fear is food...as nuts as it sounds..I am afraid I will "mentally" freak out when I can't consume what I want. I know tihs sounds nuts because I am getting the surgery for that very reason but the mental part of it is what freaks me out more than the physical part. I already bought books on how to deal with these emotions and I am in therapy as well for my "eating" issues so i am trying to right the wrong before i do the surgery. The final reason is my family. My mom has threatened not to speak to me and my aunt was crying for days saying I'm "crazy" and what is wrong with me. People can be so harsh its crazy. I finally resolved not to tell them of my May 11th date and I am embracing the support of my husband and my best friend who had the surgery. So that's my story. THANK YOU for the feedback..you are all inspirational and have helped me clear my head for a little bit.

I don't think I've ever been in such pain. I had my gallbladder taken out in 2001 and there were complications. But this tops that. I'm not a lightweight in the pain department. Trying to stay positive. It's a struggle, but the end is worth it. I was told it would be more difficult with the hernia repair. Just trying to be strong.

So I'm about 1 week about of surgery, but while in the hospital there were complications so I needed another surgery, which required to be an open surgery. It's about from right below my breast bone to my belly button. For the past week I haven't been able to sleep at all because of the pain from my stomach, and thriving pain in my tail bone, and I can't sleep on my stomach. When will I be able to sleep on my side or stomach. I'm beginning to really get frustrated

I never met him and like you, I never met the other surgeon's either. I'm happy with her and have had no issues or complications. I haven't needed any fills so I don't know how that goes..I don't even know if the doctor does them or if someone else does them.

Hi all, I'm new to the process, so I was hoping to see if y'all could help me with a few questions. 1) My insurance requires 6 months of documented weight loss, but not only would the end of the 6 months be an inconvenient time for me to get surgery as I'm a student, but it would also be a really long time to wait. I started on this in March, but skipped the last two appointments because I was having doubts about surgery the longer I had to wait. My parents have offered to pay for the surgery out of pocket, and I would be able to get it done in a couple of months after I have been able to learn more about the process (nutrition pre and post surgery, what I need to do after, etc) and it will be at a more convenient time for me. What do you guys think about this? I feel like if my insurance will cover it that I should wait, but that is so much time to talk myself out of it. I want this change, but I'm the type of person who goes back and forth on everything if I have a lot of time to think about something. Anyone else have this experience? 2) With self pay, what happens if you have complications? If this happened to you, did insurance cover the cost of complications? I will contact my insurance about this at some point, but I wanted to get a feel for what others have experienced. 3) I also need to get a hernia repaired that the surgeon said he would do during my gastric sleeve surgery. Can I submit the hernia part for insurance coverage if I do self pay for the actual sleeve part? Again, I will contact my insurance, but I just wanted to see what others have experienced. Thanks for any insight!

Hang in there. My complications post-op had me virtually bed-ridden for months, but now, 3.5 years out, I have zero regrets. Well, I regret regaining all the weight and I'm very grateful my tummy tuck held up through my regain, but you know what I mean. Now that I am losing again post-sleeve and almost back down to the weight I was at when I had my plastics, I am thrilled!

Not quite, I've woken up coughing badly precisely once in four years and occasionally, when I go to bed I find it hard to fall asleep becuase I'm aware my pouch is still full and I worry about reflux happening in my sleep - it never ever has apart from the one coughing episode. If its occurring with any regularlity its a problem, as its quite dangerous, you can have nasty complications from inhaling stomach contents. But it may simply be a matter of being a little too tight. However, ever since being banded, although I've never been a reflux-y person, I certainly dont push it by eating and then standing on my head! Banding does make you a little less able to eat and then jump around or lie down or whatever, simply becuase food is sitting high up in there. Eating and drinking close to bed isnt a really good practice, and if what you've experienced is due to things like that and you can easily manage it, then I wouldnt be TOO worried. But do look honestly at an unfill if you think at allt hat you may be a bit tight.

Hello my brother had the sleeve October 20 and has been in and out of the er he is nauseous and throws up constantly can't keep any food down. I am so sad for him he was overall healthy just over weight he regrets every moment of having the surgery it has made him unhealthy and depressed and he is in fear that he is going to die. They have him in meds for pain and nausea but nothing is helping him. I am scared for him will this pass they checked every thing and can not find any complications which I am thankful for is this just something you go through or is it going to be life long? I am so worried for him any information that any one can share would be amazing. God bless all of you and I pray those who are suffering from complications a speedy recovery.