Search the Community

Sorry it took me so long to update this thread. Thanks for the many personal messages sent to me over this last week. Crazy to think exactly a week ago this second, I was getting a VSG. So I thought it would be beneficial for others who are considering WLS for me to post the Good and the Bad so far 7 days post op that I was surprised by. I know I am only just starting my journey but these are things I was not prepared for, if that makes sense. Bad: 1) Anesthesia: I pretty much was in a coma state for an additional 9 hours after surgery was completed. They tried everything to get me awake and had no luck. Once I was semi-awake I spent the next 12 hours trying to put words/sentences together and to be honest it was not easy. So without putting the blame on anybody, somebody messed up big time with my anesthesia. My wife actually passed out, out of fear after trying with my sister and nurses to wake me up for hours. They were putting huge shots into me and I was not even flinching. My eyes were pretty much rolled back and it scared them all. When I finally came around I had no clue where I was or what was going on. So this was not even one of my fears going in but by far the worst part of the surgery for me so far. 2) Taste/Smells: I had read about this going in but did not expect to be such a drastic change. For two months Pre-Op I tried so many different shakes, sugar free puddings, sugar free jellos etc… so that once I got home from surgery I would not have to waste time trying new items and I would already know what were my favorites. Pretty much everything I liked pre-op, I absolutely hate now and what I did not like pre-op, I love now. For me this so strange, I have been a vanilla lover for over 40 years, now I only like chocolate. Hopefully this will eventually change. Normal everyday food, smells are so intense. I was not prepared for this. I have yet to have a meal with my family since food smells overwhelmingly strong. When I open the fridge to get skim milk out it is like being in a Garden of food. I smell everything! 3) Sleep: I was expecting sleep after surgery with pain relievers and such to be so much easier. I knew I was not going to sleep well the two nights at the hospital but I pretty much did not sleep for more than 3 hours each night for first 3 nights at home and I never took a nap during the day. Lying down is by far the most uncomfortable time for me so far. Good: 1) Pain: The pain was never nearly as bad as I expected or lead myself to believe it would be. I did get my VSG done Robotically so not sure if that made a huge difference but after three days I was off all pain meds. Hope it stays that way. Gas pains are not nearly as bad or frequent as expected either. However hiccups were much worse than I imagined! 2) Exercise: I thought it was going to take me much longer to get back to where I was pre-op (walking 5 to 6 miles daily) I am already doing over 4 miles a day and am not pushing myself too hard. For me, I think it was huge to get in the best physical shape I could for a morbid obese person months prior to surgery. Besides losing 30 pounds last two months prior to surgery (Over 60 total in last year prior), exercising 75 to 120 minutes a day was a huge plus for me. I think it really helped with my recovery time as well. 3) Hospitals & Surgeon: My Dr. & his Bariatric Team were amazing in every aspect. You hear how surgeons are usually stereotyped and I lucked out because mine was exactly what I needed. He was personal but also a huge motivator to get me out of bed and walk, walk, walk. He even a few times visited me just to do laps. His lead Nurse was an angel. All I kept saying to myself was I put off WLS for 15 years because of fear of hospitals/Drs. Etc… I was so stupid but better late than never. There are some genuinely amazing, kind people who work in this field and I should not have let prior horrible experience’s with Dr.’s going all the way back to my childhood put this off for as long as I did! Hope this helps others in one-way or another. Had my one-week weigh in today and was already down 11.25lbs. First time in the 200’s in over 15 years! If anybody has any questions feel free to message me or post in the thread. Good luck to you all both Pre-Op and Post-Op!

I try not to take too much offense at folks who make these kinds of flippant remarks. What I think a lot of them don't realize are the very real physiological reasons why many of us aren't/weren't successful with traditional diet & exercise means as a way to lose weight. Unless we're very open about ourselves, (which I'm not) it's probably not public knowledge if you suffer from diabetes, sleep apnea, food addictions, or any number of other things that stand in the way of losing weight through diet and exercise alone. That's not anyone's fault. What is important is that we realized we needed help, we realized that bariatric surgery could be a tool that can help us reach our goal along with the diet & exercise. Easy way out? Please. This is the hardest thing I've ever done.

I don't think you were ready nor appropriately prepared for a lifestyle change This is a way of life not a diet. Not temporary. I hope the new clinician helps you. Find a nutritionist who is experienced with bariatric patients and maybe they can provide the eating support you need. And finally join an eating addiction group. I never considered myself a candidate but guess what. I sure as heck am. I see it and I want to eat it!!

Recycled, I am not an obsessive person, I do not weigh myself several times a day. I do not know why you would say that?! I weigh once a week because I was told too by my bariatric team, I was originally only going to measure myself. So I was only asking because I am gaining weight and as I said I was not worried about losing massive weight I was only concerned about the weight gain part of it.

I went through 6 months of classes, worked with the bariatric team to discuss options, what made sense for my personality, healthy, eating habits, etc. I also love that the band is adjustable and my doctor uses a florascope when making adjustments. Had lapband surgery 10/12/16

I'm in Alliance (30 minutes from Canton and 45-60 minutes from Akron). Going through Akron General (Cleveland clinic) bariatric center.

I use Unjury protein with almond milk. It is made for bariatric patients and dissolves better. I gag on protein water too. I add plain protein to chicken broth and tomato soup.

Someone is bound to know the answer to this one. all the Protein powders my nut recommends are whey protein isolate. We were looking at the different brands and types today,, and the carbs, sugars and protein contents were close. what are the differences between whey protein isolate,whey protein concentrate and soy protein...other than the obvious soy-milk base. how will they affect the bariatric patient. i am 6 weeks out and have no problem with milk or soy. thanks

My NUT said that Multi-vitamins are not effective unless you take them with food. Therefore, I take one of my Bariatric multi-vitamins with breakfast and with dinner. I take them usually when I am half-way through each meal. I've not had any problems. I take my Iron at lunch with my food too. The other vitamins I take are Biotin (because there's only 25% in my multi-vitamin), Vitamin D, and my PPI. I take all of these during breakfast too. I have always found that my vitamins go down better with my food. I have two others that I haven't added in yet because they are so large - Fish Oil and Evening Primrose Oil (for hot flashes). I'm four weeks out so I'm going to wait a week or more before I try to get those down.

My surgery is scheduled July 14th and I'm getting nervous. My bariatric surgeon instructed me to avoid patches and gummies. I'm going to try the patches anyway better that then nothing at all. I'm going with the patches because most supplements have soy, eggs, yeast, wheat, gluten and plant based properties in them. I'm intolerant (significant bloat throughout body, skin irritations, canker sores, irritability, dumping--mainly due to having my gallbladder removed) of all the above. I'd be curious to hear from others who find the patches effective and the results of bloodwork to back up your claim. Thanks!

Sounds like the Norton's guys have lots stricter restrictions than over at SME Bariatrics...interesting...

Good morning Ladies, Nice to see this thread...when I am banded I think I'll still be in the 100 lbs to lose class. I started working out again because I want to be healthier when I get my band (hopefully soon), and to get an exercise habit so I won't stop after I get my band. You have given me renewed hope for reaching my goal...thank you all so much!

http://abcnews.go.co...25#.T-PSD_UVrhJ The difference between the band and the bypass is that the band can cause increased intoxication, but that is due to eating highly decreased calories. The bypass issue is that they actually have the plumbing differences that cause the increased metabolic absorption of alcohol, so they can drink til they are drunk and wait a short amount of time and the metabolism will have negated the effects, letting them consume more alcohol. Dr. Mitchell Roslin, a bariatric surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said the link between gastric bypass surgery and increased alcohol use has been attributed before to the shifting addiction theory and that this is false. The shifting addiction theory is that if a person has an impulsive drive to eat and the ability to eat large amounts of food is taken away, then he will shift his addiction to another addictive substance, like drugs or alcohol. "A gastric bypass patient has a small pouch [for a stomach] so alcohol goes straight into the intestine and is absorbed rapidly," said Roslin. "When it is absorbed rapidly, there is a high peak and rapid fall." The higher absorption rate makes alcohol more addictive, he added. Laparoscopic gastric banding, where an adjustable band in placed around a patient's stomach and limits how much food the stomach can hold, did not have an associated risk with increases in alcohol problems. King said this is to be expected as gastric banding does not change the anatomy and thus the metabolism of alcohol like gastric bypass does.

Did the article give specifics about the type of "drinking problem" the study was referring to? I would be very interested to know, if it referred to simply drinking fluids, or were they were referring to developing tendencies towards abusing alcoholic beverages. I'd find it difficult to believe that bariatric surgery of any type would be a contributing factor to substance abuse...though other behavioral issues might be more understandable. If an individual has an addiction, such as to food, without the proper treatment with a therapist or psychologist, it is fairly common to substitute one addiction for another.

Congrats! I will be renewing my wedding vows 30th on a South Pacific Cruise in early 2014! And I will be at goal!

The choice of facility for your surgery IMO should be driven by where the best level of medical care will be given. And equally important is where the best level of medical after care will be available to you. IMO, one's important health decisions should not be driven by my convenience. I have seen the difference first hand between a bariatric practice recognized as a Center of Excellence, versus a general surgeon who does not specialize in bariatric surgery. There is no comparison. The aftercare provided through the Center of Excellence provides the level of care post op with the methods they use to do fills and monitor your general health state along with how you are adjusting to your band. I was fortunate to be referred to a surgeon who is the head of bariatric surgery at a Center of Excellence. I felt no hesitation with proceeding with my band due to the level of both pre op and post op care available.

Total carbs versus net cabs *can* be important, but only if you eat a lot of calories, and a lot of carbs, and a lot of fiber. For example, if you have 150 grams of total carbs but 50 grams are fiber, then only 100 grams of carbs are fueling your workout (and impacting blood sugar). When I was diabetic and eating 2500+ calories a day and getting 45-75 grams of fiber a day, counting net carbs was important in accurately controlling my blood sugar. But post bariatric surgery, calories are more like 800-1200 and number of carbs and fiber will be so much smaller that it's not really worth calculating net carbs. And blood sugars are not so problematic. So unless you are doing huge amounts of cardio and need lots of carbs to fuel that, you probably don't need to bother with net carbs. :-) Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Problems in my relationship was the finally straw that convinced me that I needed a whole life change and so I made an appointment to see a surgeon. (Bariatric surgery is something I wanted to do since 2010.) Anyhow we aren't 100% broken up at the moment but I don't know what that future holds. Im curious are people getting divorced because they are prettier so they attract some new prospects? Or because a bad/mean/jealous/unsupportive spouse...

My surgery is scheduled for March 2015 and I'm going alone to Tijuana Mexico with Dr Gustavo Yanez. I chose him because he specializes in both Bariatric surgery and Cosmetic surgery. My fee is $4999.00 and I don't pay on anything until the day I arrive for the surgery. I'll stay one night in the hospital and two nights in a hotel. I need a surgery partner

That's great news! I have Federal BCBS and my bariatric coordinator mistakenly submitted me for the bypass instead of the sleeve. I got approved for the bypass on Tuesday, but am now waiting to hear whether they'll approve me for the sleeve. No idea how they messed up like that, but the fact that you were approved for the sleeve gives me hope. We scheduled a date for 5/24, assuming that fepblue won't give me a problem about the sleeve and will approve me just as quickly. Good luck!

As I recall, SlimFast Hi Protein is not really very high protein! It's only about 15 grams. The good quality protein drinks made for bariatric patients have anywhere between 25-40 grms for about the same price. Since we need 80-100 grams a day, and it's hard to get much with just food in a tiny little pouch, I think the bariatric drinks are much healthier and you don't have to use as many. And if you use the powders, much cheaper. Canned RTD's average about 2 dollars/can whereas powders average about 50 cents a serving. I keep RTD's on hand for traveling or a quick drink, but use the powders for daily life. Also, the powders can be 'doctored up' with SF syrups and fruit and give you much more variety than just drinking the same thing every day.

Welcome! I am so glad to hear your mom is on board. Having her support will be very helpful. As to point 7 about the nutritionist. You may want to think carefully about whether or not to stay with your current NUT if they are not supportive. You definitely need someone with Bariatric/WLS experience. It may seem like there are too many post-op requirements, but they really designed to help you succeed and to have the safest experience possible. The time goes fast and you can make the most of it to help you succeed long-term. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

Hi everybody! My VSG surgery was last Wednesday Feb 4. I used Dr. alejandro lopez with Specialized Bariatrics at Vida Hospital. Walking into the hospital was like walking into an Architectural Digest photo shoot! Absolutely beautiful, state of the art. My husband and I were treated so very well there by everyone we came into contact with. Every step was discussed, explained until we no longer had any questions. The surgery went very well, recovery was painful but tolerable. I was up and walking the next morning, trolling the halls. I was in a private room Thursday morning and it was super fancy! Silk quilts, infinity marble sinks. But super low toilets. They seriously need to get taller toilets! OK, so I start drinking, expecting the worse, and wow, no issues! I can drink Water, broth, gatorade, anything I want! And plenty of it! On Thursday I guess I slept a little too much and didn't get enough Fluid in and got a horrible headache. I sipped-sipped-sipped it away! No drugs needed, just more hydration. Released from hospital Friday, started running low grade fever Friday night. Sandra, our coordinator, came to the hotel, took my temp and called the Dr. He spoke with my husband on the phone and said this was not out of the ordinary but he wanted to stay on top of it. Sandra went out and picked up a prescription for me and brought it back to the hotel (that always happens in the US, right?!?). I ran a little temp on and off Fri-Sun. Never higher than 100. Fever free since Sunday evening. Trip home was easy-peasy. Drinking plenty of Protein shakes, broth, water, ION drinks, and doing great! I do get weary in the afternoons, so I sit down for a while, sometimes nap. I have lost 10 pounds in this past week. I would do this all over again in a hot minute! I am eternally grateful to the veterans on this site like @ who guided me through this entire experience and kept me from freaking out. The only way I can repay their generosity is to pay it forward! I love being on the LOSERS BENCH!

I had my surgery in Gainesville... I live near Lake City.. Dr. Sarantos @ N. Florida Bariatric Center performed my surgery.. I had my band on Jan 15,2013.. I have lost 60 lbs.. never felt better.

Amber I think you will be very glad you made this decision. Like you, I was going to do this 2 years ago, I backed out because I was not ready to let go of the food and then I got a diagnosis I did not want. That sent me back to the bariatric office and I lost the weight and did everything I needed to do to be sucessful. It is a great feeling to let go of the hold food has on you. It is a freedom that is hard to describe unless you go through it. Best of luck tomorrow!