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Questions......it was a 3 page questionnaire, and basically anyone whose done their research should know.....like VSG is permanent.......honestly, that was one of the questions.......they want to make sure the patient has a clear understanding of what is going to happen pre-op, immediately after and long term as well as the 5 stages of post-op diet.....not to mention complications.....

Everyone... Ask questions and research. The complications are infrequent. They happen, but not too often.

I don't know what the issue with it is, it was written in Comic sans size 12 there's no cursive so i'm re~posting it in Arial size 18. If you can't see I don't know what else to do no one else has said they cant read it. Sorry in advance if this is long and I ramble a bit, I just need to say something's out loud and I am hoping you all understand and don't mind me talkin' :} My surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday the 19th in Las Vegas with Dr. Thomas Umbach. I have been on my pre surgery diet for a few days now and am finally doing ok and not wanting to attack and steal crackers from a 2 y/o who was eating them as he passed me by on Sunday....lol I have been soooooooooo freaking emotional the past week, i'm sure part of it is the lack of food, caffeine, nerves about surgery and being that time of month didn't help. I have only had 1 surgery before and it was foot surgery so I know everything about this surgery is going to be very different. When I had that surgery I did not come out of the anesthesia very well made me very nauseous and I was looped out for several hours. I do have my fears that something will happen to me during surgery and I won't come thru it. But I trust my Dr and his experience with doing this surgery. I would be stupid to think there are no risks or complications (I usually see all the bad before the good has a chance to peek thru) I think my biggest fears are how will I do with the anesthesia & the "not knowing" what to expect (like how much pain I will be in, how hard it will be to drink, how i'm going to handle new things for the 1st time after my new tummy) I know I will lose weight and I have already made up my mind that I didn't get this big over night and i'm not going to lose it all over night either. My goal is to lose 10lbs a month and become a healthier better me, to get off the insulin, have less pain from my arthritis, fibro & nuropathy. I have never really been one to exercise but I have been walking as much as I can and I have already gotten things started with a personal trainer and a program once I am cleared for exercise and until i'm cleared I will continue to walk and get my stamina built up. I want to say THANK YOU to Alex Brecher for this website and for making it possible for people like us to talk to others who know where were coming from and understand our feelings. The staff here have been awesome also and to A LOT of the members here who share there journey & photo's with the rest of us. Who give us support and are willing to answer questions (even dumb ones....lol) give us a kick in the pants when we need it and the courage to keep going. I have learned so much from reading post after post, my daughter thinks i'm crazy because I "take notes". I hope at some point I will be able to help someone else out and inspire someone to keep plugging along and take the steps needed to become healthy and happy :} Thank you in advance if you read this, I do appreciate you all. I just needed to say it all out loud I guess and I only have a few supporters that I can talk to without judgement and cruel words. Thanks again, Katrina :} God bless all those who have upcoming surgeries. I will be looking out for your stories & updates.

I was told I'm clear to do whatever I wanted after 6 weeks. Unless I had complication which I didn't. Start off slow and work your way up. HW: 331 SW: 11/26/12 319lbs CW: 219 05/26/13 GW: 157

My bmi was 28 and I was band to sleeve revsision. Thats the only reason my insurance paid - it was a complication from my lapband. Wow, you got your bmi down that much in 9 wks? I'm impressed Good luck

I'm next wed. I hope it goes like this for me!!! I wouldn't worry though. Your body knows what its doing. From what I've read the longer you go without a complication, The less chance of one happening. I think you are doing great. Don't quit doing everything just the right way just because you feel awesome and don't go overboard with food. You'll be skinny in no time...

I found this information and I thought it was good to post it's something that some of the long term sleevers have concerns about even some of the newbies have concerns about what if: Weight regain after bariatric surgery can be an uncomfortable subject and one that both surgeons and patients want to avoid talking about, but can’t. To be sure, weight regain happens – the real question revolves around the cause. We understand that the choice to have weight loss surgery was a big one and the return of weight (in any amount) is disappointing. But understanding the way our bodies work and what may be behind the weight regain can help us address the issue more effectively. First and foremost, don’t get down on yourself. In all likelihood, your surgery did work and you are doing the right things, but our bodies change. As our bodies change, so too do our needs. Natural Regain: Some weight regain after bariatric surgery and especially gastric bypass is normal. If you regain 5-10% of your excess body weight after a few years of losing consistently, don’t fret. Speak to your surgeon, but it is likely no problem at all. Diet modification: Many of us tend to overdo it in our diets. It is tempting to over-diet, but the results can be counterproductive. Crash diets can even cause us to retain more fat than a diet of moderation. Be sure that you follow your diet plan closely and work with your dietician to ensure the very best results. Exercise habits: As with diets above, there is a fine line between good and bad exercise. Understanding the exercises to which your body responds and working with an exercise physiologist can help ensure that your exercises are doing good and not harm. Pouch or stoma enlargement: The stomach pouch and/or stoma (the opening into the stomach) can in fact stretch over time. This can cause mild or significant weight regain and can be corrected with one of several simple outpatient procedures. Revision Surgery can be effective, but ONLY as a last resort. Simple outpatient procedures and even major surgery can be used to revise an unsuccessful primary procedure. While revisions are generally effective, they do carry a higher risk of complications and all other solutions to the weight regain should be implemented before considering a revision procedure.

I am finally scheduled for surgery on February 8th. Now that this is really happening, I have all sorts of things going through my mind. I am mostly upbeat and excited about this change in my life. I am thrilled with the prospect of the positive changes in my life. There are some negatives in there and I just thought I'd get some of them down in words so maybe I can put them behind me. Fears: I'm afraid I will die. I'm afraid that I won't be find the right diet for me post-op. I'm afraid I'll have band complications. I'm afraid I will still have intense urges to eat sweets in large quantities. I'm afraid that I won't lose weight very fast and that people will judge me. I'm a religious person and I know that all of these things are things that I need to put in God's hands and trust Him. I guess I should put down my hopes as well. I have hope that I will become a normal-sized person again. I have hope that I will have renewed energy and vitality in my life. I have hope that I'll become a more involved mother and wife and that I will be able to use my new energy to serve and bless others' lives. I have hope that I will feel pretty again. I haven't felt pretty in so long. I have hope that once I have succeeded in this journey that I can help others along as well. Thanks for reading. Any reassurances are welcome.

You know when you have a vacation booked and u can't wait for the time to arrive but it's also bitter sweet because as soon as it comes is as soon as it ends? Well I like to compare this to the vacation that won't come to an end... And the count down to march 7th seems like foreverrrrr away Since I have entered my 26th year (and heaviest) of my life I have experienced constant anxiety especially hypochondria, sleep apnea, and the most unhealthy relationship with food thus far. I have complete faith that this is all going to subside as soon as I am healthy mind, body, and soul. I have since gotten over the anesthesia fear and the complication fear.. I've moved into the POSTIVE thoughts phase of this crazy rollercoaster ride that we all have in common. But really .. March 7th....... Hurry the F up

i haven't had the surgery myself, i'm in the begining stages. my story is similar to yours except for the medical problems. i've been obese all my life and never had any surgery except for dental. i'm an ob/gyn and do surgeries all the time. there are no guarantees in anything, for the most part the complication rates are minimal. one of the keys is making sure your surgeon has enough experience (make sure he or she is a bariatric surgeon), don't be afraid to ask for his complication rate. first find out if your insurance covers bariatric surgery and what their requirements are. then find a bariatric surgeon. they will guide you from there. my insurance requires me to lose weight (10%) first and since i don't have any comorbidities i'm don't know if i will get approve. if not i am heading to mexico (it's going to cost about the same as my copay for surgery here anyway), that's how serious i'm about being at a healthier weight and prevent my family's medical problem from becoming my own. weight loss has been shown to significantly improve morbidity/mortality. you may end up having to take less pills everyday for blood pressure and even require none at all. good luck with everything.

I just followed my surgeons guidelines to avoid any complications. So I would say follow what your doc says. Good luck!

I had a band to sleeve revision in March with Dr.Aceves. My liver was also adhered to my stomach. I chose Dr.Aceves because of his experience in revisions. I would not have gone to anyone who had so few previous revisions. Can you speak to the surgeon near you and see if they would help if you had any issues? My doctor here does my follow up (bloodwork). If I had other complications I would have had to go back to Mexicali, and it is not a quick trip for me (about a day of travel. A few flights, hours and hours of driving). I just felt more confident going to someone who had more experience since a revision is riskier. Good luck

Throwing up from nausea or from getting stuck? There's lots of talk about being afraid to transition foods due to fear of getting stuck so I just want to clarify. If thus far you have not had any complications with your Clear Liquids (nausea, excessive restriction where it doesn't feel like the Water is going down etc) than it's time to transition. Go slow and test each sip. Going slow will reduce nausea but will also let you gauge if the thicker liquid is problematic. If it is, extend your clears another day and try again. If not, slowly add volume with each 'meal' and eat progressively thicker liquids once the thinner liquids pass with no problem. Although docs give us timelines, we are all unique and sometimes we need to extend the period we are on (liquids, mushies etc). It's an experiment to say the least. Listen to your band and your body. Trust when you feel uncomfortable to stop or even take a step back. But also trust that when there's no issue, there's no issue and you can resume transitioning. Easy does it. But please don't be 'scared' simply be slow

Yes there are ways to avoid most of the complications. As you have read everyone is different on how the react to the band and some people have more extreme problems than others. I have been banded for two years and in my early days when first banded I did have heart burn and some reflux for several months. My physician had me on reflux medication and I seemed to live on Gas-X in the first 6 months, everything seemed to give me gas. As for the throwing up, slimming, PBing (Puck Back) it should be minimal and really only happens if we; one eat to fast, two eat something we really shouldn't or we fail to chew or try to drink and eat at the same time. I am around your age, actually I am older, I am 57 and have lost 122 lbs and I am at goal. My results are not typical, I have worked hard to lose all my weight. The usually only expect you to lose 40-50% of your weight by the literature. As far as the blogs and the forums, In the early days I took the positive comments and situations and tried to make them work for me and all the negative; I tried to learn from them also, as things I may want to avoid. This is a web site which allows all of us to vent our frustrations, brag about our successes and not feel like we will be judged or ridiculed for anything we say or do. The band does require commitment and honestly it is hard, losing weight is hard, even with the band it is a lot of work. I wish you success in your journey but walk into this with your eyes wide open and realize that it will be work and it is not going to do it on it;s own. You are the only one who has control of what you put in your body: NOT the BAND! PS: one thing I forgot, be ready for honesty, when you ask the opinion of the people on this site they will be honest and sometimes it may hurt but they or we don't pull punches because we all need to be held accountable for our actions. Some of the conversations can get a little heated sometimes but everyone is in a different place and the feel very passionate about this process and their personal journey. Again, Good Luck!

Hello everyone! My name is Ashlee, and my surgery date is scheduled for June 15th. I had an amazing experience geting to this date, with no complications at all from my insurance provider. My doctor, Dr. Seger, and his team at BMI have helped me significantly through the process, and were so great to me. All I had to do was see the dietician once, do a barium swallow and have a psychiatric evaluation done to get my band date. It took a little while longer than expected because I missed my first psych eval appointment and had to reschedule it for two weeks later. Well, now I'm on the pre-op diet, and as everyone says it is, I'm having a difficult time. My stomach is alays growling, and I'm surrounded by a junk eating boyfriend and people at work bringing all their delicious snacks every day. It's like torture! I'm having trouble sticking to my meal plan, which is two protein shakes a day and a small meal of 3oz lean meat and a cup of vegetables. I know it's to shrink my liver, so I'm trying to stay on the band wagon as diligently as possible. Today, I had a new experience. While I cheated (I had a handful of potato chips a few hours after I woke up), those potato chips have held me over for about four hours now. It's crazy. I'm geting used to being hungry, which makes it more bearable. I've seen a lot of people who have had such great successes, but I've also seen a failure. I have a few concerns with the band myself, but I'm trying to remain confidant. I wants this to be a life changing experience, and something permanent. I hope I don't run into too many complications with the band, like slippage or erosion. A lot of people who starte a blog had a lot of success, and I'm sure it's because they're tracking their process and receiving helpful feedback. So, I'm going to attempt to do the same. I have a blog at Blogspot, and I hope some of you will read and either find something helpful or give me some helpful advice. More or less, if I can inspire anyone in their decision, I'll be happy too. My blog is located at: http://uiwleelee.blogspot.com/ Lol, there's my story so far. How are you guys doing today?

Are you planning on going out of the country? Is the insurance offered through the doctor or something you found on your own? I know there are a couple of Mexico doctors who offer insurance for post-op...you might get more information on the Self-Pay Mexico forum. I had surgery in Mexico but haven't needed anything other than my regular medical insurance post-op. I also checked prior to surgery and my medical insurance does cover any complications, should I have any, from the VSG done out of the country. ~Kat

I was released to do full exercise including weights at 3.5 months out, and I had major complications, an additional hospitalization. My surgeon releases patients for full exercise at 6 weeks out if there are no complications. I would recommend doing stand up crunches first. They're easier on your back, and let you control the pressure that is on your abdomen more than the ones that you do laying down. I swear by stand up crunches for shrinking my tummy, and "pulling up" belly. I squat against the wall, roll my shoulders slightly forward and down, while tilting my pelvic up and tightening my core muscles. It not only helps your tummy, but it'll help tone up your thighs as well because you're in the sqatting position with your legs shoulder width apart.

I had my bypass on 7-7-17 & had a complication that led to a revision on 7-19-17. I have been doing well on my post op program outside of another complication(collapsed lungs).Lately, I been talking more about food that I had in the past(good food&bad food). When I saw a pizza hut commercial I saw the cheese&tomato sauce and it kind of perked me up to where I started discussing with my father how I loved cheese pizza with extra tomato sauce. Then later my dad asked me about oatmeal and honey and I was like oh I love oatmeal&honey and that conversation continued on with me telling him that adding butter to oatmeal & even steel oats are the best. Then I sat back in my recliner and just thought about how great oatmeal is. Then peanut butter & jam came up later in the day and I was like oh yes I love it. This has been the theme in the past 2 days. Im not tempted to have them but it is refreshing to talk about them. Is that weird? Has anyone else liked to talk about food they ate in the past? Im sure its just a phase iamready4this

This is a very complicated issue for some. I suspect more women may be victims of the kind of self-deprecation that comes from monitoring success and failure at the scale too closely, rather than just seeing the data as an indicator. So much feels at stake at that moment when the number is about to appear.

Ok, so I am Self-pay. I have narrowed my surgeon search down to two. Each is from a different surgical center, one provides BLIS coverage the other does not. I am torn because I like the place without the BLIS coverage more than the place that does provide it. Here are the specifics: 1) Their prices are very close to each other. 2) I called my health insurance provider and asked them their policy on self-pay procedures and the possibility of complications. The general jist is this - if you have a problem that requires additional surgery to fix, correct or otherwise revise the original self-pay procedure it will not be covered. If, however, you go the emergency room for dehydration and that is what they code - you are covered. If I later require gall bladder removal - covered. So still a huge risk if I have a leak, infection, or bleeding due to the VS procedure itself. 3) Both are within 30 mins of home - so no travel issues. 4) The place without BLIS does VSG as outpatient, you go home the same day and come back in the morning for iv fluids and leak testing. The other is an overnight stay. 5) They both have all of the certificates and awards, centers of excellence, etc. 6) Both have fans here at Bariatric Pal - saying the center is awesome, loved the people, loved the surgeon, etc. 7) I am terrified that I will have a complication and bankrupt my family. But I never have never had complications in the past Self-payers in the US - what have you done? Did you have BLIS? Did you make your decision based upon the availability of BLIS? Has anyone had a complication that BLIS paid for? How did it go? I thought I remembered a previous post where BLIS was difficult to work with but I couldn't find it again via the search....

I forgot to add....I asked the insurance coordinator at NWWLS about the BLIS insurance and she said that they (the office) take care of submitting everything. You do have to go back if you have complications since it is the surgeon who is covered by BLIS, you can't just choose a different dr and go there. Hope that makes sense.

I had surgery on the 17th I am doing good as well, not in as much pain as I was in yesterday, although the gas is killing me!! I had no complications durring or after surgery thank GOD, and I don't think I have been hungry either....my stomach keeps making noises and I don't really know what they mean....it use to mean I was hungry, but who knows what it means now! lol

I just learned today that Unicare HMO has approved me! Last week, they sent a letter asking for documentation of 5 years of morbid obesity (no problem...) plus 18 months of supervised diet. This last is a problem, as they'd told me that I needed 12. I sent them a list of my bmi's taken from my doctor's records showing a 40 pound gain in 8 years (boo!) with the particular weight loss strategy in use at the time, and my sleep study report showing severe sleep apnea. And today they called to say I'm approved! :clap2: :omg: :biggrin1: My surgery was originally scheduled for yesterday, so I'm not sure when they'll do it. The sleep apnea poses a new complication...But at least I'm on my way.

Hi, everyone! I need some advice from you guys relating to the gastric band. I am terrified of the gastric bypass and losing half of my intestines (well, not losing them just "bypassing" them), but my starting weight is 390 and the posts all state that the band will help you lose about 40-50% of your excess weight. That would only put me at 270 lbs post surgery after a year! how the heck am I supposed to get to 150??? that's crazy! I am trying to get informed more--I am supposed to have the surgery within the next 2 months. It seems like there are less complications than the bypass, but only 1/2 the weight loss. Any recommendations? (As a side note, I started at 420 lbs and am down to 390 after 6 weeks of a nutritional program that I am on). Help me out, guys!!! Newbie in NC

Hello New World!!! After years of yo-yo dieting, seemingly endless "gaining and losing" cycles, feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem, and low energy, I have officially decided to step in the direction of a surgery "tool" and becoming a "sleever". During my OMG, am I really doing this thinking chair moments, the following questions and thoughts pop up: Am I taking a short cut? Will my personality change? Will there be any complications? And the all important... Will I be able to handle it and be successful? Now, before anyone gets too excited with their answers, I think a short back story is warranted (in relation to the questions that filter through my mind)... Am I taking a short cut? As a teenager, I was told not to give up. That quitting anything was negative and you have to work to achieve whatever is worth achieving. Once I hit my pre-teen years, I started gaining weight (but not at the age of 14, that's when I had a growth spurt and seemed to thin out, and never learned how to eat properly). So setting goals was like being on the fence about knowing whether the glass was half empty or half full. That part may not make sense to anyone, but it sounded right in my head. Will my personality change? I've always warn the hat of "the quiet observer" . I'm not loud, I don't wear flashy (or in-and-up-to-date fashion) clothing, and I'm a hermit (being home to me is like eating steak and mashed potatoes... comforting). I've watched and wondered, could I ever wear the "fun" hat? Could I entertain and participate in group get-togethers where the attention will be on me for more than 5 seconds? Could I handle people looking at me and not delve into those thoughts of, "Are they looking at how round I am?" If I could get to a point of not giving a sh*t and loving me because, let's face it, I'm friggen' awesome (currently working on that self-esteem after being told years ago that I wasn't good/thin enough, I don't want to wear the "victim" hat anymore ), I would be able to relax and join the party. Will there be any complications? I know that complications are ALWAYS a possibility, but I've been in the hospital multiple times for multiple reasons. Hospitals freak me out. That's normal, right? Will I be able to handle it and be successful? As an adult, I typically start something, but then have a difficult time following through (why I'm like this now, I have no idea). Where I am located, there's a 6 month pre-op process. I also have support from everyone who matters to me. But I am aware that it all boils down to me, and the strength of my will. I suppose this is where the phrase, "One day at a time" kicks in. So that's what I'm doing... talking to myself (literally). So with all that said, I know I can do this. I CAN.