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I definitely think that is appropriate to ask. The reality is we all think about it and I guarantee you will not be the first person to ask. If he is a great surgeon he will have no problem answering. I went to a seminar my surgeon hosted before I decided on the sleeve and he was very open about his mortality rate(zero) and his complication rate.

I am about 6 weeks post op. I've already called my bariatric office and left a message. About 10 days ago my husband had a stomach bug that we thought was food poisoning from him getting Chinese take out. It lasted three days. This morning, I woke up and felt "not right." Then I started to get nauseous. I took a zofran and drank half a protien shake with some decaf. Four hours later, I popped another Zofran because the nausea came back. I went to the bathroom and had diahreah, but once the zofran kicked in again I felt better. Now, I'm having this strange gurgle pains going through my intestines. (I think it's my intestines at least.) I ate a sf Popsicle and I felt it travel all the way through. I haven't thrown up at all but I thank the zofran for that because I truly think I would be otherwise. I've had no complications at all, I think everything is healing okay inside. I haven't had any pain anywhere. Yesterday I was packing some boxes and now I feel a little like I did some ab work from bending and moving around. Usually, I would take pepto or Imodium and go from there--but I've had issues being "backed up" two times in the recent past and I don't wanna constipate myself. Is the gurgling all the way down thing normal? Should I take some pepto and tough it out later? Should I try saltines? I've been the anti carb since I started.

I had lap band 8-31-06 in greeley colorado so far I have shed 27 pounds since sugery, its been a difficult adjustment but doing well. Dr. Michael Johnell preformed the sugery no complications so far, Insurance what a joke, paid cash 13G's so far worth every penny.

I went shopping with my sister 3 days post op. I sat and watched her a lot, but I was okay. She was here to "take care of me" after surgery, but yet I still felt like I had to entertain her. I drove her to airport at day 5. Then went home and back to bed for about a week. Seriously, though, I had no complications from the surgery, no vomiting, no nausea, no pain. I was just really tired which lasted until I got to soft foods. That said, I'm not sure I could have handled mass transit -- especially the trains in NYC. Too many people moving too fast, too much jostling, too many stairs. Suggest you taxi to and from the theater. Have fun!

There has been much very good and some bad…I had some postoperative complications (more about that below) But when it comes to the surgery and how it works I regret absolutely nothing but not having done this earlier! I managed to lose 20 pounds the month before surgery . It was actually quite easy since I was so motivated. I had done that before (VLCD quick loss) and knew that it wouldn´t last normally but the surgery as a goal made it easier. The surgery went OK as far as I can judge. Spent two nights in the hospital. A lot less pain then when I did the open VGB 20 years earlier. Had some problems starting to urinate again after the anesthetic (quite common as they told me) and that’s why they kept me two nights. The sensation of drinking Water was a lot better than after the VBG, I was worried that the suffocated feeling I remembered from the first month then would return but it didn´t.I felt kind of sick the first week at home but I attributed that to fatigue and rapid weight loss which I exepcted from all that I had read up on That was a part of it for sure but it also turned out when I was examined at the ER after I got a rapidly rising fever that I had gotten a postoperative infection. Sigh! I was readmitted and put on antibiotics. I spent a week in the hospital while the doctors discussed whether to perform another surgery to drain the abscess under my ribs or if the antibiotics would suffice. It turned out that they did and I was released after a week with a continued antibiotics treatment at home. It took two months before they cleared me of the infection. So be attentive to how you feel postoperatively and don´t, like I did, underestimate the signs of your body. Better to do an extra check up than to spend an extra week in hospital and two months on antibiotics is the lesson I learnt from this! The infection made it impossible for me to exercise more than slow walks but I´ve lost a lot of weight any way. When it comes to the actual surgery I couldn´t be happier. Everything works grand. My GERD is gone and I hope to be cleared from my sleep apnea soon (scheduled for the sleeplab in two months, feel great). Still some weight to lose but I don´t have any unrealistic expectations, would be super happy if I lost another 40 pounds or so . We´ll see. I´m playing volleyball Tuesdays, cardio in the gym Thursday and walk/jog 3 miles every weekend so I think that will help too. I´ve had some of the normal problems that I expected and read up on before. Mild constipation etc – takes some time to learn what foods that works for you. I recently discovered that my stomach works better if I eat more fat than I initially did but I guess that that is individual. When it comes to the dreaded band the surgeons’ didn´t remove that but left it in. They reasoned that the risks of removing it (being stuck to everything after all those years) were higher than leaving it in. They don´t expect it to be a problem and I hope that they are right of course. I didn´t feel a need to question their knowledge on that one. I´ve discovered one thing that I believe to be an advantage for VBG:ers…the chewing is already there. Many fellow patients complained about the difficulties of learning to chew properly but for me that was already a natural habit. In all, despite the infection, I am super happy with this decision! I have gotten a new life. I will trek the In ca trail in Peru in October, a thing I could have just dreamed of before loosing all this weight. I wish you the best of luck whatever option you go for!

First off, I just want to say how wonderful a forum like this is. Everyone is so supportive. I am Lisa, I am 40 year old who weighs 306 pounds. (That looks awful, over 300+ and I am admitting it, I guess I am in fat denial or something ) I have been married for 11 years and have a 5 year old son. I have been visiting this site for a little while now and finally have decided to get this ball rolling. I go tomorrow to a seminar. I live in a small rural town and they do not offer WLS so I have to travel about 1 1/2 hours away to have the surgery. I have been contemplating WLS for a while and finally came to realization that my weight is not getting any better, in fact worse. I have comorbid conditions of diabetes, hypertension, and obstructive sleep apnea and I also have asthma. I do have the support of my husband with this, but my family is not so much on target along with some of my friends. I don't know what to think about that. I am glad though I have talked my husband in to going with me to the seminar so he knows what I will be up against. I have Federal BCBS and hope that the approval process goes fast. I am so excited about this, but then again I am very nervous, which is pretty normal I think. I really think that is going to give me the fighting chance I need to get this weight off. I am so sick of being tired, hurting and etc.... One of the most important reasons why I am doing this is that my mother and father both died too young, my father died when I was 18 and he had complications of diabetes and mother died when I was 29 because of breast cancer. I want to be there for my son when he grows up. I will post soon to let you know how the seminar goes and see if I get an appointment with the surgeon. I also hope that I can be of help to anybody else who is like me and have been contemplating WLS for a long time.

It will be worth it...be very happy your parents are helping you..I borrowed from my 401k and pay it bi weekly for the next 5 years. My total was 15grand and I did stay overnight and glad I did..had no complications but I felt like I needed to stay there I was ready to go though by the next morning! my doctor makes his patience stay overnight but I got released by 10am the next morning. its hard because you think of all you can do with that money but I wouldnt change a thing. Im only 3 weeks out and had a rough first week but never regretted it!

I have read that article before lol. That was actually the article that made my mind up to have the surgery in the first place. It seemed to say that the sleeve and bypass were more effective than the lap band, but to me it looked like both the sleeve and bypass were effective with the sleeve having less complications. That was why I choose the sleeve. But I am still second guessing myself like the OP. Sorry if I hijacked this thread OP. It is hard to find people who understand PCOS and weight loss and insulin resistance and I get really excited when I do because I really want to make the right choice.

Current thread from a poster with complications, surgery done in Mexico. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/297213-i-had-a-small-leak-now-all-hell-has-broken-loose/ Her surgeon, who has done a lot of folks on this board, is in touch with her and is trying to mitigate things, but what a mess when you have different teams in different countries trying to sort things out. This is the atypical scenario for Mexico sleeves, but, it is a real possibility that complications will happen, and the ability to deal with the complications is hampered when the original doctor is in another country. Just something to think about and frustrating for everyone all around. I feel for this woman.

i'd stagger your surgeries. Complications are real. They happen. I understand wanting to go through it together...and you still will....but I'd space your surgeries apart. One partner is the patient, one is the caretaker....then you switch roles. You're still doing it together. I would suggest you get help for your household, even doing it staggered. Twins are a lot of work. Cutting down from two caretakers to just one....is a huge difference.

The following comment is based solely on my own personal experience with the sleeve. I feel for you. But my concern is that at your current weight I don't see how you wouldn't wind up with the sleeve post-op becoming terribly underweight. I'm 13 months post-op and have lost 95 pounds and am now below my goal and trying to stay here without losing more weight. The sleeve really, really limits how much you can eat at one time. And when you're "done," you can't just put on the weight loss skids when you want to. It has taken me 5 months since reaching my weight loss to get to the point where I can regularly eat 1600 - 1700 calories a day, which is my maintenance calorie budget. And getting here took significant planning and snacking (not grazing!). In the meantime, I've lost another 10 pounds -- which, as it turns out, I like sitting at. And then there's this: If you're one of the unlucky ones who has a WLS complication of some kind you won't have a big overweight buffer to tide you over while your body recovers from the complication. These are the obvious reasons that surgeons don't do RnY or sleeve or other permanent WLS on patients who aren't already very overweight or obese.

You need to follow your doctor's post op diet exactly, regardless of what anyone else did on their post op diet. Cheating can result in serious injury and complications. It's not worth cheating.

I had revision almost 3 months ago and just recently moved to more dense protein. I run, cycle, and train a lot. Pre op sleeve I had lost 100 lbs with my lap band. Had complications and started my revision at 168. I now weigh anywhere between 134 and 138. I feel like I eat all day and I'm hungry all day. I average 800-1100 calories a day with 80-100 g of protein and low carbs. If I eat too late, when I wake up, I feel a stretching sensation/pain in my stomach. Does anyone feel this way? Does anyone feel like they eat all day? My portions are appropriate as I'm eating 2-4 oz at a time. I'm feeling lost, hungry, and like I just eat all the time. Please share your insights! Also I made the popcorn mistake by eating too mucch felt nasty and got rid of all popcorn in my house.

Hi there! I had my surgery on August 15th and so far I have had a complication free, speedy and very lucky recovery. I have lost 47 pounds including a one week pre-op which I am pretty excited for! Well I have an interesting story (I'll make it short, I promise) that I want to share with you. [below talks about lots of junk food - don't read if you are sensitive to that kinda thing, heh] Before getting the gastric sleeve I was an emotional eater. I binged multiple times a week and the only person who knows is my mom and a good friend of mine. Food was my best friend. I used to eat huge quantities, well over 10,000 calories at a time and end my day with a big thing of ice-cream. I still get disgusted thinking about eating everything that I did. And I did this multiple times a week for years. Anyway~ Besides deep fried cheesy foods, sweets was my number one go-to food. You know those, "Oops, we baked too much!" 50% off carts they have at super markets? Yeah, I attacked that. Sometimes getting two dozen donuts, 24 count Cookies, etc that would sit in my stomach after a day and a half (not including all the chips, Pasta, cheese sticks, hot pockets, etc I would eat prior) I was a wreck. [end junk food] Anyway, now that I had the sleeve I have had no cravings other than fresh fruit. I am allowed SF/FF pudding (I got dark chocolate, my favorite) and I took one bite and it was far too rich! It went down smoothly and I had no problems but it was just disgusting. Pre-surgery the richer the better! But no, I just can't tolerate it now. I tried again a week later (the other day) and took one small spoon. Nope, not happening. I just don't want it and I gave it to my mother and said she can eat them. ISN'T IT CRAZY HOW MUCH YOU CAN CHANGE AFTER SURGERY? This super-super-sweet girl doesn't like sweets! I get great satisfaction by adding a strawberry to my crystal lite lemonade or eating two small blackberries but nothing more. I think this is a big fat NSV!!!!!!!! Does anyone have a story similar to mine?

So my SO is totally supportive and has been really excited for me but now that surgery is getting close, he keeps making comments about when I'm skinny and different sly things about how I will prob leave. My surgery is really high risk. I know he's scared to death and now I think he's starting to question us. He doesn't have a weight issue and works in the entertainment industry. He's never had a problem with confidence and is the life of the party. Anyone have any tips? Do I just ignore it? Reassure him? Let him act like a whiney baby?[emoji38] Why are they so complicated ?! [emoji13]

A word of caution though. Your insurance carrier will have a contracted rate for services that you receive which will help you, but I'm just going to share my experience so at least you have the information. I had my surgery down in Dallas, 2 overnights in the hospital, no complications whatsoever... Just the hospital bill alone sent to Aetna was a bit more than $83,000... that doesn't include the surgeon's bill, anisthesiologist, meds, bloodwork and all kinds of other misc. other things they came up with. The contracted rate with Aetna meant that my ins. company ended up paying I think it was right around $52K or $53K to the hospital bill. I don't recall about the others off hand. I used IN NETWORK hospital and doctors too. Now, if you have a maximum yearly out of pocket which you should, then once you hit that, it doesn't matter whether your surgery costs $1 MILLION dollars, BUT.... you need to sit down and write out a bunch of questions about this and call your insurance company. Document who you talked to, when you talked them, time, etc... I realize you are young, but no time like the present to realize the importance of CYA (cover your @ss). Ask the customer service rep for documentation either to be mailed to you or online links on their site that clearly outlines your responsibilities for payment. Have the CPT code (someone else might know it here) when you call so that you can be as specific as possible. I just hate to see you end up getting bills for several thousand dollars after the fact and then its too late to do anything about it. That would be a crushing experience!

I'm new to the forum and would like to say hello. I am 5 days post-op, and so far so good. I had a few complications during surgery because of scar tissue (adhesions) from previous gall bladder surgery, but it hasn't hindered my recovery at all. My surgeon only had me on liquids 2-3 days post-op and now pureed food for 2-3 weeks. I haven't been sick at all, and am now only mildly sore at my incision sites. I feel a slight "pressure" sensation in my upper abdomen, and I have had some gas, but thankfully no pain from it. I am amazed by my lack of constant hunger and how quickly I get full. I've lost 8 lbs. since my surgery. This is going to be great!

You need to do what you feel is right for YOU! It's great that your hubby is supportive; it sucks that your parents don't support you. However, I'm betting your folks are more worried about losing you than really intending to be negative about the surgery. If it's truly important to you to have your parents' support, then show them the statistics for death and complications and explain how low they are. I've read that you're in more danger driving every day than having the sleeve, yet we all still get in our cars daily. Once you're post-op and doing well, I'm sure your parents will come around, even if you don't choose to show them the stats.

For me, the sleeve was a perfect option for me. I first went to the orientation bc I wanted the lap-band, but when I heard about the complications of the lap-band and realized that it's not a permanent solution. I researched the vertical sleeve and loved what I was reading. It's permanent and very effective. I have lost 77 lbs and so happy I chose the sleeve! For me, it's been a god send.

I am so torn about how to feel right now. I am 2.5 weeks out and have dropped 30lbs, personally i feel like that's a lot. However my complications may explain it. I can't eat or drink anything besides water without throwing it up. It's awful, sometimes it's right away sometimes it's hours later. I've also noticed I'm going .. Going to the bathroom.. At all, does it seem like there's an issue with my digestion? I'm getting worried because it's not getting better. Any advice?

Hi Cassie, and welcome to LBT! Many people used Mexico as a surgury/pay option (so did I). But FIRST, before you go diving into a surgeon I would research the band itself, how it works, any complications/risks, and the benefits before actually choosing a surgeon. Then, once you have done a ton of research and are sure this is the option for you, then choose a surgeon. Mexico is not the only option for self pay. There are are several people on the board that have self paid in the US. I have seen 12,500-16,000 a lot. I am sure that the people that know where this is will post, hopefully. I think the lowest I have seen was in Utah or Oregon or Texas. This site offers a TON of information and there is a ton of posts in the archives. If you do a search (located in the upper blue bar) you will come up with a lot on each subject you put in. You could literally spend dayssss just on this site! But may I suggest a few more informative sites: http://www.myagb.homestead.com/index.html http://www.inamed.com/products/obesity/us/patient/lapband/faq.html http://www.geocities.com/laylaburd/AGB/laylaslapband.html http://www.geocities.com/michellojackson/NOT_AT_SWEET-SPOT.html http://www.obgyn.net/english/pubs/features/roberta-surg/part-4.htm http://www.sbnsurg.com/lap_band_surgery.htm http://www.uclabariatrics.mednet.ucla.edu/resources/resources_videos.htm (this one has a fairly lengthy video that takes your through lap banding step by step....) I hope you have a fantastic band journey! Good luck!

There is a thread on here about Bougies. I think they range from 28-54? Most use 34 36, my dr uses a 40. I have had no complications and I had a hiatal hernia and lots of strictures from previous gall bladder surgery. Losing steady since 9/6, about 4 lbs a week. (I lost 20 in the two weeks before surgery so I am not losing as quickly but I am satisfied) I start eating real food this week but not too excited about it. Do it!

Nacol, I had my surgery on August 26 of this year and Dr. Hollis performed it. I had no complications and have lost 37 pounds so far. I was very pleased with Dr. Hollis and the entire experience. I got a little apprehensive about the surgery beforehand, but I think that is normal. To help get over the nerves I already had realized that the weight was killing me and if I wanted to live I had to do something. I did not do this to get skinny, I did it to get healthy. I am getting older and no matter what I did the weight would not come off. I took three blood pressure medications a day and one for high cholesterol. I was extremely tired all the time. I have a lot more energy now. My primary doctor has now removed me from one of the blood pressure medications and my cholesterol is low enough now that the doctor thinks I should just try to bring it down more now without the medication. I can not tell you to have the surgery, that is your decision. I can say this was the right choice for me and I would do it again. Dr. Hollis and his staff made me feel comfortable and had a genuine concern for me and my health and recovery. Let me know if you have any questions. Michelle

Alright so here's what I've been dealing with. I cant afford insurance. So I applied through the state. DENIED! They say I make too much money, even though I make under their bracket. So I appealed...DENIED AGAIN! However they do say I qualify for Assistance if I'm on my Employers insurance. Which basically means they'll pay for anything my employers insurance wont cover. Which is cool I guess. Only problem is...I'm seriously torn here. My employer is my family, and although I qualify [work more than 40 hrs per week, been working over 6 years], I'm not particularly sure we can handle the financial burden on the business. If it were any other employer I wouldn't care...but its my business too! The reason I'm torn? 2 other members of my family are using insurance through the business, so why not me? It doesn't seem fair but then again, life isn't always fair. I'm literally the ONLY member of my immediate and extended family without insurance and its getting harder and harder by the day :thumbup: I don't know whether to fight for my right for insurance, or just move on with my life. I have 9 more days to decide.

The purpose of Pre-Op testing is to identify any problems or complications that can make you weight loss surgery unsuccessful. Generally you go through a first round and if that detects any anomalies, then you are directed to undergo a second round performed by specialist in those particular fields.