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I'm sorry you're facing this. It is true that you likely will not lose as much with each successive surgery. If you don't have a complication from the sleeve (like GERD), your insurance will not likely approve another surgery. Most insurance only covers one bariatric surgery per person, lifetime. Other options you have include meeting with a nutritionist and bariatric therapist to work with the sleeve you already have, or paying out of pocket for the bypass . Good luck!

When I had my fill completely drained, which was about 2 weeks before my band was removed... I could eat normally again, but I never had pain when I ate. But I do remember scenarios like you mentioned in the theater. I remember being at restaurants and having to excuse myself and having to go outside and pace, or run to the restroom to vomit. Lap Bands imo, should have never been approved. They're an epic failure, and in most patients cause more harm in the sense of complications than good. If you're still having pain, I'd ask your surgeon for an EGD. Have you been scoped recently? It seems like a good idea since you're still having pain...

My surgery (6/1/21) was robotic laparoscopic duodenal switch. Everything went very well. I had minimal pain post op, no complications. I’ve since lost 147 pounds and feel AMAZING! Best wishes!

@learn2cook gave you some great advice about what to look for, but you may need to adjust your expectations. You didn’t say what kind of complications your friend had, but there’s always a risk of complications with any surgery and it isn‘t necessarily related to the surgeon’s level of skill. I can see why you would be wary about that, but just because one patient had complications doesn’t necessarily mean the surgeon isn’t good. Also, I’m not sure what kind of scheduling issues you had, but that is not the surgeon’s fault. The office staff is a legitimate consideration since you will have several pre- and post-surgery visits, but if it’s just a matter of being booked a long time in advance, well, sometimes that’s just how it is — especially for a surgeon who is in high demand.

My hernia repair, gallbladder removal and gastric bypass were last Wednesday, 6/8. I’ll try to answer your questions: I started the process in January of this year. Surgeon suspected and diagnosed a massive hiatal hernia- 2/3 of my stomach was in my chest. It explained my shortness of breath and heartburn. I was approved by CIGNA, surgery date was set. I was given a 6/8 surgery date on 5/16. I researched extensively prior to selecting my surgeon. There are quite a few MDs in my family (sister, daughter, etc) and I leave no stone unturned when I research. I looked up ‘complication’ rates, everything. My surgeon’s practice is a Cigna Bariatric Center of Excellence. I am 1000% totally pleased with every aspect of the care I have received. My doc’s personality and bedside manner is/was perfect for me. I relate well to intelligent professionals in the medical field and my doc and I communicated with very level footing. He never spoke down to me, we were very conversational and he has a great sense of humor which is an absolute must for me. He told me my stay would be one overnight but possibly two. It did end up being 2 nights. I do not metabolize anesthesia well, and he got my nausea under control immediately when it was obvious that the usual protocol was not going to work for me. I saw him prior to going into the OR. He was upbeat and positive as was I. He was leaving the next day on vacation and we chatted about that. His practice has a protocol of ENHANCED RECOVERY AFTER SURGERY, and it has been a great outcome because of that. The anesthesiologist saw me prior to surgery and he used a nerve block on each side of my abdomen an hour before surgery. He said it would last for 3 days and I believe him. I did not ever need pain meds post op. Amazing, right? The biggest issue for me was debilitating nausea and it was addressed immediately and the outcome was positive. My care in the hospital was five star! I could not have asked for anything better. My husband was in my suite with me 24/7. The suites are new and resemble hotel studio suites. No kidding. Two flat screen TVs. Spotlessly clean. Everything one might need to be comfortable was there. We checked in on 6/8 at 8am with surgery scheduled for 10:20. My doc was running ahead of schedule and he had booked the OR for 4 hours because of the extensive hernia issues. He completed the procedure in 2 hours. He told my husband it was textbook and I was a very easy patient. 🤗 My husband and everyone else whose loved ones were in surgery wait in a large area. They can follow the patients progress on a tv screen using an ID number for their loved one. It indicates pre-op, entering OR, procedure underway, procedure completed, surgeon on way to talk to family, recovery room, etc. I’ve boarded cruise ships that didn’t have as smooth of a boarding process as WakeMed Hospital and their surgical department. LOL I was in my room at 3:15- there was an emergency unrelated to me and I was held in recovery a little longer than is typical. Once in my room, my RN, and his nursing assistant were always there tending to me. The nausea issue developed immediately and was addressed immediately. I have used only ice for discomfort at one laparoscopic site, and I have showered and I am walking. I was nervous and antsy but the hospital staff was totally in control, responsive to any questions, and their manner put me and my husband at ease. I packed very little. Extra long phone charger, toiletries, extra undies. I went home in the clothes I wore to the hospital. Thankfully I had loose shoes. I think one might expect to be bloated with Fluid and air. The gas pain scenario that most seem to mention was not an issue for me. My husband would rub my back and ‘burp’ me…lol…for every burp I had, my husband would burp 6 times. 🤣😂 Seriously. Ask me anything you want to know. And good luck to you,

Just wanted to vent a little, I have been looking for support groups to see if I can talk to anyone about all of this, but haven't found anything. I got VSG on march 31st 2022. The first 5 days were terrible, not only did I throw up everything but also had a really annoying cough, that made my abdomen hurt and didn't let me sleep. Got prescribed antihistamines and it got better. Stayed at home for 6-7 days. Went back to work and felt dizzy, so I had to go half days for a while (I am a veterinarian, on my feet all day). Two weeks after surgery, I started coughing again, and this time literally felt excruciating pain around the area of the incisions. I got to the doctors office crying, I was in so much pain. They did an ultrasound, bloodwork and X-rays, and sent me to the pneumologist and apparently I had bronchitis, because of the pain I had to stay home again, for a couple of days. I started treatment for it and it started getting better about after 7 days, but then three days later I started coughing. Went back to the doctor, and now had an inflamed lung. He did PCR and D-DIMER, and they were both super elevated (tested negative for COVID), and had to be put on anticoagulants and everything. Started getting better after two weeks, and lo and behold, 5 days later I get a terrible cold. Fever, congestion, and throat ache. Started getting better 3-4 days ago. Now on top of everything, I broke a toe while walking around the house barefoot. Asked the nutritionist and she said it might be because my vitamin D is low, and im not absorbing calcium as I should. Now I had to stay home as well for a week on doctors orders to rest my feet. I used to be a healthy person before surgery, never got a cold or fractured anything (and definitely have bumped my feet into chairs before). I was morbidly obese, and had joint pains but apart from that I didn't get sick. I feel very frustrated in this aspect. I have lost 50 pounds, in 10 weeks, and don't have any gastrointestinal symptoms (can tolerate basically anything, no vomiting, barely dumping syndrome), but still. I have been eager to start working out but with all these respiratory complications and now a broken toe, it's been an uphill battle.

you can revise sleeve to both gastric bypass or duodenal switch. I know of several people who've had those revisions. you can also revise a bypass to a duodenal switch, but that's a complicated surgery and only a few surgeons in the country are qualified to do it. Basically, they have to completely reverse the bypass, then create a sleeve, then do the intestinal part of the DS (DS is a sleeved stomach with a partially bypassed small intestine) I don't know the answer to your other question (about the pain) - maybe someone else will.

Had my rny on 5/16, no complications or issues. The first two weeks of recovery went great, and I went down 20 lbs pretty quickly. Unfortunately I ended up in the hospital after 2 days of vomiting and nausea with diabetic keto acidosis and dehydration. I was in the hospital for 2 days and it threw me off my recovery a little. Since then I’ve been trying to get back into walking every day again as I haven’t lost anything after the initial 20 lbs. I just had my first post-op appointment on Wednesday and spoke to the nurse practitioner about some lower abdominal pain that has remained since getting sick, and she suggested that I switch the brand of water I’m drinking to something less acidic. I feel lucky that I’m not having any bigger issues. I seem to be tolerating each new food without a problem and have no issues getting my protein and water in everyday, I’m just frustrated that the scale hasn’t moved in 2 weeks. ☹️

- Do it, you will only regret not doing it sooner - Do your research and be completely comfortable with your surgeon; make sure you ask what they will do and how they will manage complications - Get up and move around as soon as you can postop. It helps move the gas out of your system. Use a heat pack for the shoulder blade pain from trapped gas. - Don't worry about loose skin yet; deal with one step at a time. - Go to a psychologist or therapist. The mental reasons you overeat to the point of obesity are not helped by surgery. You have the aid of no appetite initially to lose weight, but once that restriction eases over time, it's just you again, with all the same issues and problems. See someone. Consider what led you to get where you are/were. I was never a believer in "therapy" and thought it was rather useless and self-indulgent to sit and "whine" to someone about your problems. I misunderstood. It is unbelievably helpful to have a professional with whom you build a good relationship, to call you out on your BS and encourage you to feel your feelings instead of eating to suppress them (if that's what you do - it's what I do). Cannot recommend strongly enough, and think it should be mandatory for before and after WLS.

I wanted to see if anyone has had a problem with insurance approving revision surgery. I feel like an absolute failure. I had a band placed in 2010 and had to have it removed because of complications and converted to a sleeve in 2015. For some reason my body just didn’t let me lose the weight as easily as I did with the band. I’ve put back all the weight since then. Im going to see my surgeon on Monday. When I called to make the appointment the lady told me that I may have a hard time with approval since I hadn’t continued to follow up with the office. I went to all my scheduled appointments and was never told I needed to continue checking in. Im just trying to mentally prepare for my appointment. Im afraid they will tell me there is nothing they can do to help me get healthier. I just feel defeated.

Hi everyone I'm new to bariatric pal. I am actually new to forums period. Never joined one but was hoping to get some help with those who have done the sleeve surgery done in southeastern MI. I am currently researching different programs in hospitals in SE MI and am struggling with settling on one. The few individuals who I know have gotten the sleeve surgery have done so in Mexico, which is not an option for me. And one individual had it done at St. Mary's in Livonia, MI put developed complications and she's really struggling. So far I have started the process at UofM Ann Arbor and to be honest with you, I was not that impressed, especially with the scheduling problems that I have encountered that have set this process back a few months more than it should. I am now looking into Beaumont Royal Oak and Troy - 2 doctors jumped out at me but again there's very little in terms of reviews out there from their patients. So would really appreciate any guidance you can provide. Thanks everyone! Struggling in MI

I wanted to see if anyone has had a problem with insurance approving revision surgery. I feel like an absolute failure. I had a band placed in 2010 and had to have it removed because of complications and converted to a sleeve in 2015. For some reason my body just didn’t let me lose the weight as easily as I did with the band. I’ve put back all the weight since then. Im going to see my surgeon on Monday. When I called to make the appointment the lady told me that I may have a hard time with approval since I hadn’t continued to follow up with the office. I went to all my scheduled appointments and was never told I needed to continue checking in. Im just trying to mentally prepare for my appointment. Im afraid they will tell me there is nothing they can do to help me get healthier. I just feel defeated.

Ugh, that's a pretty strict pre-op. Mine isn't quite as strict, but close. I can either do 3 protein shakes or two protein shakes and a lean meat and veg dinner. However, if hungry between meals I am allowed to eat some low carb veggies, sugar-free jello, sugar-free pudding, eggs, or fat free cottage cheese. So far today I've had two protein shakes and some sugar-free jello. I'm trying to be somewhat strict with myself, because I want my liver to shrink as much as possible, to avoid complications. So I will likely be sticking with three protein shakes a day, and sugar-free jello as a snack. If I get desperate for something more filling I might boil an egg. Does your plan not allow you to have any snacks at all?

I think it depends on what type of surgery you had and how you complicated it was for you or your body.

My surgery went well. Haven't had any MS flares at all. Had a bit of a slow recovery because of the incision they removed the stomach from. That one really hurt for a while. Other than that, things went well and I didn't have complications. Don't really have any restriction, and my hunger definitely never went away. I lost a lot of weight really fast, and then hit a 2 week stall, and now the weight is coming off super slow. Like SLOOOOW. But this is a marathon, not a sprint. I'll get there in the end.

As you note, programs differ, (and sometimes wildly!) both in their progressions and also in how they define food types (what's a liquid, what's a puree, etc.) and also in how much they trust their patients and in their own communication with their patients. We had yogurt and scrambled eggs in the hospital - if we could tolerated them, that was great, but if not, liquids were fine too until we could do more. As to the OP, it is concerning that at three months there has not been more progress. A stricture does sound like a possibility - that's not uncommon with a bypass (scar tissue forming around the stoma overly restricting things) and from what I have seen, they're usually fairly quick to do an endoscopic dilation (or two) to open thing up - twenty years ago, this was so common that it ceased being considered a "complication". With a sleeve, it is less common, and more indicative of a surgeon who hasn't quite got the technique down yet, so they may be more reticent about correcting it (if they know how) and just seeing if it will fix itself. I would be a squeaky wheel and get after them to address the issue, as this isn't normal.

Hi guys! I did my surgery yesterday. All went well, no complications so far. I was back home in 3 hours! The only problem I have so far is horrible heart burn. It is so horrible that it hurts to take my crushed meds and even drink water. Has anyone has this feeling?

I had my Band placed in 2007. My questions are about having it removed and getting gastric bypass. The band was curative of my heartburn and I've heard going bypass can cause heartburn, at least no citrus, tomato juice, etc. Experience with that? How about no ibuprofen? (I use Celebrex) I've heard people say docs give them tramadol for pain. Experience? Is dumping syndrome common, (to the point of "expect it". I started at #325 and after a year was #250. I stabilized for years at #260-270. October 2021 was#266. My weight loss wasn't easy. It was a lot of meal planning, and strict diet. I've had zero complications. I haven't had the "foamies" for years and maybe get a bad "stuck", (spitting for an hour). I really need to lose 70 more pounds. Have those that switched from Band to Bypass found the weight loss to be "easier"? Is there general advice for me? Last time on the forum was maybe 15 years ago. I read an entry that someone had a doc that wanted the band out, wait 3 months, then do bypass. Is that common? I've had some bad stuff going on for the past 4 years and have been having therapy and on meds and doing a lot better. In the last year I've been looking closely at bypass. I say this because I feel like I'm now in the right frame of mind to make the decision and willing to listen to advice. thanks, fobit 6-06-2022 Thank you.

I did not do any trial runs, but I can say I had to do it. I had my gallbladder removed in April of 2019 in what was my very first ever surgery/hospital visit (not including ERs or urgent cares). I had to do 10 days of the pre-op for the exact same reason as the bariatric surgery - to shrink the liver. Day 3 I remember being the worst part of it all. Day 1 & 2 you're thinking "I can do this, it ain't so bad." Then day 3 comes and you want to die. And then after that, you're just resigned to being miserable for whatever days you have left. 😂 I could only have 3 shakes a day for that one. For this diet I get 4 shakes a day, so I am hoping that it will fulfil hunger better this go around. It's hard, but it's not impossible by any means when you keep yourself in the mindset that you are doing this for YOUR health, and that if you cheat or mess up it's YOU who has to suffer with whatever complications could arise (including having to forego laparoscopic surgery and be cut open). It definitely helped to keep myself on the wagon.

I finally got my date! August 18th! It took three months to jump through all the hoops, but finally I got the call with the date I changed from the sleeve to the bypass due to a few minor complications with acid. I feel strong about my decision and I'm super excited to move forward.

These are my thoughts, coming from a patient going through a revision from Lap Band to Bypass... If you ultimately go with Sleeve, you may encounter complications like GERD years down the road. This is due to the Sleeve being a high pressure system. The high pressure created in the pouch puts pressure on the esophageal sphincter and causes it to fail, which results in GERD. It often takes years to manifest, and when it happens, it ultimately forces your hand to revise to Bypass. That's my current situation. When I got Lap Band, I was scared of Bypass. But as I've investigated more about Bypass, I understand now why it is the Gold Standard of weight loss surgeries. It's been around longer than other weight loss surgeries, so it has been perfected over the years. I wish I would've chosen Bypass from the beginning and saved myself a lot of unnecessary complications and I never made it to goal weight either. As for being self pay, and Bypass costing more... imagine a few years down the road having untreatable GERD and having to have a second surgery. So think of the increased expense of Bypass now as an investment if you choose to go that route. If you're having doubts about your PCOS causing cravings, Bypass might help to keep your eating on track, if you're a patient that gets dumping. I'd say you should trust your instincts. Best wishes on your journey!

I had sleeve surgery on May 23. I have had little complications. Still in the liquid phase of the diet. I honestly can’t believe how much weight I have lost already. I try and walk every 2-3 hours. That has helped my pain.

Hi all. My surgery was on May 16th, the 1st week was going okay, no vomiting no pain, just a lot of gas that would only come out as a belch. I was having bowel movements so the Dr said to give it more time. By Monday May 30 I was back in the hospital. I was vomiting, couldn't keep anything other than liquids down. Turns out part of my intestines was pinched shut. A full week here in the hospital, but finally feeling better after a second surgery to correct the blockage. All the posts I see people are doing great after surgery with no problems. Anyone else here have any complications?

Hi, I was banded in 2013, had it removed in 2017 due to a twist; gained most of my weight back so I just under went VSG and I'm wondering if any one has a similar experience? How fast did you lose? Any complications? Thanks Sent from my SM-A526W using BariatricPal mobile app

I’d look into surgery in a neighbouring country. There are a few Europeans on the forum who may be able to make some recommendations. There are always negative stories & a friend of a friend stories. You can find them about anything. I recently read a story about the prevalence of fungal infections in people who to go to the large nail salons so … People who have good experiences don’t always shout it from the roof tops. We do here though. 🙂 Sure, there can be hiccups & things may not go perfectly to begin but generally everything settles & works out in the end or can be remedied rather easily. Some issues arise because of complications from pre existing conditions too. Talk to people who actually had the surgery (like on here) if you can. You also get negativity from people who think the surgery is an easy way out. It is so NOT easy. They think if you just diet harder & be more committed to exercising you’ll lose weight. If it was as easy as just dieting & exercising you’d be thin now. We all would have been. The negative comments from family &/or friends are why some of us don’t tell people we’ve had the surgery. The potential for developing a drinking addiction arises in response to people not being able to satisfy their food addiction anymore so they turn to alcohol (or sex apparently). I’ve seen stats of 16% after bypass in the first year of which 6% had existing issues with alcohol. Stating a 60% statistic would only benefit the woman in the article’s business by scaring people. If you deal with the issues behind your food addiction your chance for any addiction transfer is negated. It is important to do the ‘head work’ to understand, manage & deal with the issues behind your eating habits, behaviours, cravings, etc. Many people seek the support of a therapist after surgery which benefits their weight loss success & maintenance. The hair loss lasts about three months. Your natural hair loss cycle accelerates in response to the shock of the surgery & your change & reduced diet. So the hair you shed is hair you would be losing anyway - just not as quickly. Your new hair is still growing but just at its usual rate. How many wrinkles you have is much like how much loose skin you will have. It will depend on your age, gender, skin elasticity, genetics, how long you carried your weight, etc. Yes, you likely will look more drawn & have a few additional wrinkles at first but a lot of this reduces in maintenance as your body resettles & you’re eating more & a more nutritious & balanced diet. My uncle told my mother I looked like death when I was near my lowest weight. Now, he tells me I look fabulous. I had a lot of fine lines that developed under my chin while I was losing but they almost totally disappeared in my second year. Sure my marionette lines are deeper & that’s from the skin that stretched from having a fat face. I have the face that is mine now. I have a jawline, a longer neck, cheek bones, & my eyes aren’t as hooded. A few wrinkles are nothing. I’d rather have a few wrinkles or loose skin than be obese & be compromising my health. Besides a little Botox or filler can always help with the wrinkles 😉. Ultimately it is your decision. Keep asking questions so you’re as well informed as you can be. All the best whatever path you choose.