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I had the sleeve in June 2018. My weight on surgery day was 242. I got down to 169 and not a pound less. I’m 5’4”. I never got rid of the GERD, which I had before the sleeve. In hind sight, I wish I had the bypass and not the sleeve initially. I a, scheduled to have a revision to bypass on 8/11. I am also scared …. But I am so tired of the extreme GERD and the damage that it’s doing. I have had significant weight regain from my sleeve - gained ALL back. The regain is very depressing. It’s to the point that I avoid social situations and am just down on myself for the regain 24/7. Hindsight is a b!tch. I’m ready for the revision and know that I will feel better without the GERD. Second chances aren’t to be taken lightly and this is mine.

I’m sorry you’ve developed theses complications. It’s so unpredictable how our bodies work & react to the changes to our digestive system post surgery. I was fine after my sleeve but jump to 25 months later & my gall was removed & suddenly I had a protein absorption issue. I also stopped absorbing my HRT meds. Malabsorption after gall surgery can occur but I was told it’s quite rare for it to be with protein. I wonder if some of the treatments women use for osteoporosis would help? Not HRT of course but prolia & evenity. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Worth asking your doctor. There must be research & treatment plans about because osteoporosis in men is increasing. PS - I use a mouth spray for my D3 K2 (I take it winter when my levels drop) though it is only a low dose (1000UI) but someone might produce a higher dose to boost your intake. The spray means your digestive system is bypassed & it is absorbed directly. Sorry just read you can’t take vitamin K.

First few days post op bypass were ROUGH for me. I had post op depression, I was in pain, my potassium dipped so low I was symptomatic and thought I was dying. Spent from 2pm -4am in two different ERs that day. I would cry in my kitchen because of regret and guilt with having the surgery. I didnt know how I was supposed to get my fluids in and protein AND focus on healing. I was feeling very, very down. I started taking things moment by moment. I advocated for myself about the low potassium and low heart rate i was experiencing. I bought a 64oz water bottle and made sure it was finished by the end of the day. I got a pill organizer and organized all my meds and vitamins so that I didnt feel like poop. I started walking around my house to ease the pain since it was so darn hot outside. I told myself that my body had just been though A LOT of trauma and that I have to treat it with love. I have a tattoo on my arm that says, “this too shall pass” and I reminded myself of that every day. I reminded myself of what a beautifully raw process getting WLS is. I made sure to seek support and help when I needed it most. You WILL feel like crap after surgery, thats a given, but IT WONT LAST. Just remember that even in your darkest moments. You got this.

Does everyone get a "nutritionist" with their surgery? I'm in a small town in Alabama, my surgeon doesn't have one on staff that I am aware of. He has a nurse that gives you the "plan" which is a pretty basic low carb plan where they want you to eat less than 4 oz, give you a little 4 oz measuring cup, say protein first, then veg then carb if allowed after you have eaten your protein but basically tell you that no carbs are allowed i,e., no cereals or grains. When I asked the dr about it, he said that since I was familiar with whole grains I was probably allowed those later on as most of his patients don't understand the more complicated diets. I noticed that most surgeons in the larger cities have nutritionists on staff. When I went to the only one at our local hospital a few years ago for a "class" about diabetes, she and I didn't exactly get on. I'm concerned that the plan isn't really a great plan, gives me no guidance on amount of carbs allowed per day, I know mine should be low. I also know that my body refuses to give up a pound unless I drop below 700 calories in a day. My goal is less than 500 calories per day. I'm seeing different amounts for the required protein amounts, some say as low as 45-50 and I see some suggesting as high as 80-120 which seems like a LOT of protein and calories to reach that amount. And can someone tell me where you found your suggested goal weight? Again, seems all the charts are different. I'm 5'9" larger frame 233 lb. I'm aiming for around 145-150? not sure if that is a good goal? I'm having the lap band removed and replaced with a gastric bypass on 08/01/23 so Tuesday! Hopeful but a bit worried in a small town here.

I am chronically low on D also!! I think it's due to my past 10 years as a vegan but went to Vegetarian about 3 years ago- BUT I still don't drink milk and I hate the sun LOL. Thankfully my Dr is proactive, and she put me on a weekly dose 2 weeks ago. Praying it's helping! I have the list of vitamins and I am sooooo confused, even though I am a Lapband patient (which basically tells you I NEVERRRR took my vitamins all these years) - my friend who is sleeve to bypass made herself a daily color chart, to help learn, I think I will do the same.

I feel you! Being in this situation is no fun. I don't have a surgery date yet, I didn't like the first surgeon I saw so I go see a new one on August 3rd. Hopefully one that will answer my questions and think a little outside the box. I'd talk it out with the surgeon (or his nurse/PA) a little more to understand his thought process. He sees more patients than you or I do, he should know what the risk of GERD is vs the risk of not absorbing your meds. I think I read about 30% of sleeve patients get new or worsened GERD/gastritis from the surgery?? That means there is a 70% chance you won't have that issue. For those that have it, it seems very frustrating, but I haven't seen any data on how many sleeve revisions are from GERD. I wish my meds (and autoimmune disease) were flexible enough to give me 3-6 months to figure out new dosing strategies, but they aren't. If I go into a med induced depression flare I will lose the benefit of the surgery because I won't be able to function well enough to make good food and get exercise. Not everyone has depression that severe though. I think a lot of patients have some flexibility there and can afford to play around with their meds to find a new combo. I will be fine with handling some tweaking to the dose, but I don't have the option of another med combo. Everyone is different though and it is worth talking it out with the doctor until you feel sure about your choice!

I've been very specifically told that all carbonated beverages after surgery are completely off the table for a number of reasons including the high risk of stretching of the stomach pouch, suppression of nutrient absorption, bloating, irritation of the stomach lining, and especially in the case of regular sugared versions, they're 100% empty calories. There is also a study that was done by the University of Wisconsin that found soda and other carbonated drinks decrease weight loss after bariatric surgery and that they heavily impacted how much weight patients lost. Over 80% of patients who quit drinking soda after surgery achieved their weight loss goals while almost 50% of those who continued their drinking habits had unsatisfactory results. University of Wisconsin predictors of weight loss after gastric bypass study The section that addresses soda consumption is 3.3.1 with the breakdown in Table 3 Edited to insert this section quoted from the study; "Patients who did not drink soda preoperatively or quit by the surgery date were more likely to experience successful weight loss compared with those who drank soda preoperatively and were not able to quit. Given that all soda drinkers were counseled by our dieticians to quit soda consumption preoperatively, this variable may be a proxy for postoperative dietary compliance. Those who were unable to quit soda consumption preoperatively may have been less likely to comply with our dietary recommendations postoperatively. Furthermore, given that consuming liquid carbohydrates such as soda leads to poorer satiety compared with eating solid foods, caloric intake may have been significantly higher in patients who continued to drink soda postoperatively [34,35]. Given these findings, cessation of soda consumption preoperatively continues to be an important part of our preoperative bariatric patient evaluation process."

That happened to me. I had the option for either surgery, so I chose the sleeve because I have MS and take several meds that can't be crushes, broken, and don't come in alternate forms. For the first 8 months, things were great. Then the GERD hit, which became gastritis and esophagitis, which was so bad it caused me to need 80mg daily of Nexium (and still had gerd break through), which caused polyps to develop throughout my stomach. 4 endoscopies later, I had no choice but to get the revision to bypass. Never been better. The PPI is down to 40mg per day and at 6 weeks post op we'll go down to 20mg daily and at 10 weeks we'll see how I do without any at all. The pain from the bypass was SO much less than the sleeve, the ability to get in my pills and fluids are SO SO much better. I wish I had just done it first. As for my MS meds, I am still on them, but since we know it's basically like taking 1/2 doses (that's the way it is for extended release, but not so much full release that requires the med to be taken more than once per day) I am having a MRI at 3 months post op (unless I have break through symptoms start before that) and if that's the case, I'll go on a different med (likely an IV infusion med that I would have to do 1x per week). There's ways around things with the bypass. Talk to your psych dr and see what can be done about your meds before completely writing off the bypass. I wish I had just skipped the sleeve, to be honest.

Yes I am completely stable now with my medications and don't want to mess with that. Will not be able to sustain my weight loss if I lose my mind lol. I'm on an anti depressant, benzo and mood stabilizer. My psychiatrist said we may have to up my dose after gastric bypass. I really don't want to do that I'm on low to medium dose right now and want to keep it that way. My benzo could be liquid form but the rest can't. My surgeons office made it seem like since my gastritis and Gerd isn't bad enough to be on medicine (I just take Alka seltzer or Picot when it acts up) I should be fine. Sucks that my choices are basically being morbidly obese, worsening gastritis and Gerd or not getting my psych meds. Not getting my meds would be most disastrous and being obese with all my other health problems would be as well so I'm going to follow my Dr suggestion and do the sleeve and hope for the best I guess. When is your surgery date?

Following. I haven't had surgery yet so I can't say, but I am considering the sleeve in part because I take very important psych meds that I can't afford to have malabsorbed and mine don't come in a liquid formulation. I also have a history of GERD and am on a PPI already. I talked with my psych nurse about the meds and she said the ones with the best chance of absorbing are the sleevers, she rarely has to do more than a tweak here or there. But she's had patients with bypass and DS who have had issues with passing their meds without them breaking down, so some have had to go to liquid forms which can be more challenging depending on what med you are on. I can only metabolize about 25% of psych meds so I already have a limited pool. I don't want to limit it further, it took too much effort to find a combo that works! So I'll definitely be asking the next surgeon about this...

Hey everyone! So I was scheduled for Gastric Bypass on 08/07/23, but after reviewing my medical history, my surgeon believes that Gastric sleeve would be a better option for me (due to Psychiatric medication I currently take and past history of addiction). I am a little worried because I heard the chances of GERD/gastritis are higher with the sleeve? I already suffer from occasional GERD and gastritis, but I agree with my doctor that the malabsorption of Gastric bypass probably isn't a good fit for me. Anyone get the sleeve and have issues with GERD/gastritis before? Did it improve or get worse? TIA 😊

I had a revision from sleeve to bypass, and I'm 4 weeks post op. In the first 4 weeks after my sleeve, I lost 30 pounds. In the first 4 weeks after my revision, I've lost roughly 15. So yes, definitely slower. But I didn't have the revision due to not losing weight. I was actually doing great with my sleeve. I had a lot of complications with the sleeve (gastritis, esophagitis, tons of polyps all through my stomach, horrible gerd). I got my life back and am slowly getting back to the things I could do before. As long as you continue to lose, and you make sure to exercise and stick to your meal plan, you will be fine. It'll take longer, but it'll happen.

I can tell you, I didn't have any restriction with my sleeve, but once I had my revision to bypass, and I hit about week 4 and could have slightly more substantial foods, oh boy THERE IS WAS!!!! I finally got to experience the elusive restriction everyone talks about lol

For my original sleeve surgery, it was 2 1/2 months from my 1st visit to surgery day. For my revision to bypass, it took longer because i had several procedures I had to do before I could be medically cleared to have the revision. But as far as insurance approval, from the day it was decided I needed the revision to the day the insurance approved it was just under 2 months.

J ~ I miss Dr. Baggs SO MUCH!! I don't have KP anymore because I work for Blue Shield. I actually CALLED him a few months ago asking if he would revise me and how much out of pocket a month it would be LOL! He told me it would be so expensive as well as 2 surgeries. He told me the surgeon I have right now is an excellent Dr., so that made me feel ablittle better! HI REGGIE!!!! How scary about your band!!! Mine is still in there, perfectly hanging on from what we can tell, but it's just not doing it's job as it should. I tried to get a fill once after I changed insurances in 2020, and I literally made it to the car and was throwing up my spit, she had to take the fill out. I have another friend trying that med as well, but like you is dealing with the shortage.

Hi, I’m new here. I had a gastric bypass (RNY) on Tuesday. I was back home Wednesday and doing ok. I’m living and working abroad in a country where I am not completely fluent in the local language so I wasn’t put into a support group with locals, but hoping I can find that here. ☺️ So far, it certainly hasn’t been a pleasant experience but it’s also nowhere near the nightmare I expected. (I know it’s still early days!)

Well here’s my update.. I had my band removed 2013 after my band slipped upwards. I couldn’t eat or drink and I became severely anemic and had severe gerd. I’ve gained over 55 pounds back. I wanted to try the bypass and held it off. I started taking Wegovy since April, I didn’t lose much and have been off it due to shortage. I hope to get back on as soon as Kaiser calls. Other than that I’m good. So glad to see the pair of you here.

Long time no talk!!!!! How are you!!!! I am revising to the sleeve with John Muir August 15th. I was successful with the band for many many years but after a baby and life I gained everything back and then some!

Long time no talk!!!!! How are you!!!! I am revising to the sleeve with John Muir August 15th. I was successful with the band for many many years but after a baby and life I gained everything back and then some!

As someone who has had a plethora of complications from my 1st surgery and then 1 or 2 small ones with my revision, I can 100% understand how you're feeling. But try to remember that our bodies go haywire after major surgery like this. It will eventually calm down, and when it does, it will all be worth it. No matter what, I still don't regret either surgery. I'm so much stronger, healthier, I got off 4 meds, I'm no longer diabetic or have high blood pressure, I can do a 3 1/2 mile hike with no issues, I can work out 5 days a week and really push myself, and my mobility is SO SO much better. The complications are temporary but the benefits are permanent.

This is my "ticker." It shows my starting weight (black), my current weight (blue), and my goal weight (green). I'm a revision from a 14-year-old sleeve to a bypass 35 days ago.

Gastric-Bypass-Sleeve-Gastrectomy-Diet-Phases-(Handout).pdf

Gosh, I have to try this as it sounds so, yummy! I've been wanting to try the recipe that call for the cauliflower crust, too. Finally, just 5 weeks out and trying to lose as much as possible before 3 month visit. @CarmenG I always thought the sleeve was the revision to the RNy didn't know that's a possibility. Thanks

Surgery was successful. Pain I could definitely do without. But 🎶 I’m still alive 🎶

I very truly feel your pain. I was sleeved in 2009 and I did fantastic the first 6 years. I lost 149 lbs and 9 dress sizes. At first, I wasn't even exercising and the weight just melted away daily. When I got down to the weight limit that could not be exceeded on an elliptical machine that I borrowed from a sister, I started exercising on it. Eventually, I was using the elliptical for an hour, non-stop, 5 days a week. Everything began to change in December 2014. My father passed away and he was the be all end all of existence for me. I am the youngest of 13 kids and was totally a daddy's girl. He was very ill already, but he ended up dying on my mom's birthday from a heart attack in his sleep. I was the first one to get to his house after my brother who was taking care of him called us all. When I got to my dad, his eyes were still open. My brother was dealing with the coroner and the police officer. I really freaked out and thought I'd better close his eyes before my other sisters or my nieces and nephews saw him. So I did. I closed my father's eyes. My heart broke in half right at that moment. I kinda lost my sh*t. My doc ended up putting me on Xanax and Ambien. Fast forward a few months to April 2015, I ended up getting divorced. Then 15 months later in July 2016 my mother died. Her heart stopped, and during CPR administration, her ribs broke and one pierced her lung. It filled with fluid and because she'd had respiratory issues most of her life, they couldn't help her. She died after 3 agonizing days in the hospital. Then in 2017, I was transferred from one job post to another. They weren't even going to tell me until right before I showed up for work, I found out sooner by accident. I'd been at that post for 10 years. It was a retaliation from a supervisor who knew that I knew too much information about illegal activity that went on under his nose. Literally, every year something horrible was happening to me. The anxiety, depression, and meds led to me not giving a sh*t about what I ate and a lot of drinking. I was drinking every night. I wasn't exercising anymore. I was eating anything I wanted to eat. It was still very little food, because I had a lot of restriction. But I was eating every kind of junk food you can think of. I was eating at all hours of the day. I was grazing, as they call it. I could eat every 3 hours. And the alcohol was just straight shots of tequila. By 2022, I had regained most of my weight and gone back up 6 sizes. You can lose weight again. You can detox from carbs. You can go back to protein shakes. This past May, I started dieting (on my own) because the doc wanted me to lose weight before he'd do the revision. I was drinking a protein shake for breakfast and for lunch, then I was eating a good, solid, very low carb (even zero carb) dinner. No alcohol. In 30 days, I lost 30 lbs. And this was before my surgery. It is absolutely possible, but you have to make the effort and you have to have the discipline. The first 3-4 days are tough as you detox, but then it just gets easier and easier. I wish you luck, friend.