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I know I need to lose the weight eventually or it’ll cause problems, but right now I’m 22 and healthy so it’s hard to motivate myself with complications that seem “so far away”. I will be able to keep up with my kids better which is a big reason why I’m doing this. I’ve just heard from others that their recovery was a nightmare and they could barely move for weeks and were in severe pain for a long time afterwards and with 3 young children to care for that’s not really an option. Thanks for sharing your experience, I can deal with low energy for a few weeks so hopefully that’s what it’s like for me as well

My recovery has been a bit horrible, but I also didn’t have the best experience due to complications during my surgery which effected my recovery. I was out on leave for 3 weeks (including a hospital stay due to complications), my primary doctor offered a fourth week but I wanted to get back to normal- I really should have taken that 4th week. I also have meet a lot of people who were on their feet the very next day and recovery was a breeze for them. I would strongly encourage you to pick a surgeon local and really look into their after care, that way you can follow up with them directly during recovery and get the support you really need. I made a horrible mistake I went outside my provider care, out of state to a “faster” program and the level of after care is non existent, I didn’t feel supported by them in any way- but thankfully my provider (Kaiser) care has its own bariatric team and I’ve been able to follow up with them and get the support I need for my recovery. Best wishes.

I first started looking into WLS about 15 years ago, and my family talked me out of it because of the potential for horrible complications. Since then, I reconsidered it periodically, but kept deciding that I couldn't do it. I thought about everything I would have to give up -- all of my favorite things, like diet soda (my one guiltless pleasure), pizza, ice cream, fried foods, pasta -- and I couldn't stand the thought of it. I hated the idea of having to completely change my diet and take vitamins for the rest of my life. What made me finally go through with it was the realization of everything I was giving up to continue living as an obese person. I didn't have any major health problems yet, but I had been diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes and I was going to have to start taking medication if I didn't get them under control. My mobility was going downhill and I was missing out on so much in life because of the physical and social limitations of my weight. My advice is that you make your decision by carefully considering what you have to lose vs. what you have to gain. Studies show that we humans are naturally averse to the risk of loss and tend to overvalue what we have to lose and undervalue what we have to gain. When I really thought about everything I was already giving up and losing by continuing to live with obesity, the tradeoffs of having WLS didn't seem like so much of a sacrifice in comparison. Yes, it is a big lifestyle change and it is really hard, but the improvements to my health and quality of life are incredible. Like so many people, I wish that I had gone through with it sooner before I missed out on so many things in life. There were so many times that I wished and dreamed about how my life would be if I wasn't cursed with obesity, and here I am now, 160 pounds down from my highest weight -- something I used to think was impossible. As for the recovery, it's actually not bad for most people. I only spent one night in the hospital and I had surprisingly little pain. I never even had to take any pain medication after I left the hospital. I only took a week off from work. There are risks to any surgery, but the rate of complications for WLS is very low. The liquid and pureed diet is rough, but it's only a few weeks. You didn't say how old your kids are, but if they're very young, you may need to get someone to help with them for a while. You won't be able to lift them for several weeks after surgery. If they're teenagers, they're probably self-sufficient enough to pitch in while you're recovering.

Hi! I'm not a single parent, so I can't speak to the aspect of having to care for someone while you're in recovery. A few thoughts, though: - It's completely normal to be nervous about it. Having said that, I think pretty much everyone wishes we had done it sooner once the actual surgery is over. - Pre-op, you don't know what it feels like when you and your body both want to lose weight. It sounds terrible to live on liquids only, but it's honestly exactly what you want in those days after surgery. It's easy. - Sure, there can be complications. But as you say, you know the current weight will give you complications, too. Worse ones. Read a little about weight loss without surgery and then you realize surgery isn't an easy way out, it's the only way out for almost everyone

On December 21st I had gastric bypass and my gallbladder removed during the same surgery. My gastric bypass was no issues at all. I had multiple complications with my gallbladder removal and was in the hospital for 14 nights. I was wondering if anyone else had done this and if so how was there outcome?

Will do, I appreciate it. It might be because I had gallbladder surgery at the same time with many complications and was in the hospital for 2 ½ weeks. Maybe it stalled things with my gastric bypass 🤷🏼. Thank you for the heads up

So my surgery is next week. I have done a lot of research and watching vlogs.. EVERYONE drinks protein shakes post-op. So when I asked my nutritionist about what type of protein shake I should be having.. like what carb content, protein etc. She advised against it as it could cause complications such as heart palpitations. I think that's weird..... anyone heard about this? Should I just ignore?

it's a minor complication, and easily fixable. You'll feel differently after it's been "fixed".

Sorry you're having these problems. I'm glad you posted your story here because I think it's important for people to go into this surgery with their eyes wide open, knowing the potential pros and cons. Before my surgery, I looked for people who regretted it because I wanted to be fully aware of the worst-case scenario. I had a lot of trouble finding people who regretted it -- even most people who had horrible complications said they would do it all over again! I think this is partly because the people who are glad they had the surgery are the ones who post about it and make videos about it (and of course the fact that the vast majority of people who have the surgery are happy with it). I hope that your problems improve. I've read that a lot of WLS patients have menstrual changes because estrogen and other hormones are stored in fat, and fast weight loss results in the release of these hormones into the bloodstream. I'm not a doctor, of course, but I would guess there's a good chance that this problem will go away eventually. I definitely think it's worth talking to your OB/GYN if you haven't already. As for the preoccupation with your weight and eating, I think that's something that will lessen over time as you get used to your new body and your new life, but if not, maybe you could look into counseling. I'll be interested to see how you feel a year from now. I certainly hope it gets better and you come to be happy with your decision to get the surgery.

My revision took over 5 hours as well. My doctor said I had a lot of scar tissue. The sleeve the first time only took him 45 minutes. He says this is somewhat common for it to happen. I had lots of post op complications as well. Ive lost a lot though so aside from being nauseas all the time the weight loss was markedly better this time around.

I took my drains out last night-what a relief! I’ll be putting on my faja today for the first time-excited to see how my waist looks in it. Will post an update pic after my shower today. My TT, breast, and right arm incisions are looking good. I had a little complication during surgery. When my surgeon started to suture up my left arm my hand started turning dusky-meaning it wasn’t getting good circulation. He ended up leaving about a 3 inch open wound to allow for swelling. It will heal, but will need a scar revision at some point. I’m dressing it each day and it seems to be doing ok so far.

Hello! I was wondering about drains after surgery. It seems like some have them and some don’t, but they don’t sound like a lot of fun. Any suggestions, tips, etc...? Anyone didn’t have one and had complications because of it? Honestly, the IV and the drain is making me more nervous than the rest of it.

I am 33 years old, children are not in my immediate future (I know im pushing it but hey its 2021) maybe 35/36. How long did you wait after wls to get pregnant? Were there complications related to the surgery? THANKS!

I had the band done in 2012 and many complications since. I travelled to Toronto to have this down but live in Ottawa. I would love to join the class action and would like more information on it

I stumbled across a YouTuber called Frankenbelly who had her gastric bypass reversed due to terrible complications. She also has a blog about it: https://inthelifeofmyfrankenbelly.wordpress.com/ Keep in mind that her gastric bypass surgery was 14 years ago, and complication rates have decreased a lot since then. Reversal surgery is very rare and I would imagine that most surgeons wouldn't even consider it unless there were very compelling medical reasons.

I had a sleeve with GERD too, and my surgeon in the first appointment had LINX as an option. Having read about the trouble lapbanders have, with esophageal erosion and slippage and other nasty complications I was not enthusiastic about a foreign body being placed around my esophagus. It turned out I was not a LINX candidate due to other conditions so I revised to bypass.

The only ones that I have seen reversed over the years on these forums are in cases where there are significant complications where there was no other real choice; it's a complicated enough procedure that few seriously consider it just for the sake of buyers remorse (from what I can tell, many surgeons don't want to tackle it themselves, often referring the patient to someone more experienced with it.) It is not something taken lightly. What is the reason that you are considering a reversal?

So after 3+ months of advising my doctor that I was having issues with the onset of dizziness upon standing up from the couch, things finally came to a head - my head. Sunday night marked the fourth time I blacked out from standing up and walking after being seated on the couch. The first time, I was able to brace myself against some furniture and stayed upright. The second time, I only managed to sort of brace myself and ended up dropping to my knees. The third time I slumped against a wall and slid down hard onto my knees and elbows. Sunday night, I tried to brace myself against a wall when my vision started going dark, but must have leaned forward too much. Came to on the floor seconds later with blood pouring out of a gash above my eye and the entire left side of my face in utter agony. Oh...and all of my neck muscles screaming from when I have to assume my face hit the floor full speed and my head bounced. 4 hours in the ER with bloodwork that showed no issues, an EKG that was perfect, chest X-rays that revealed nothing, and a CT scan that (fortunately) showed no bone damage or bleeding in the brain. Aggravatingly, my BP also registered as normal, even when they had me do orthostatic readings. I look and feel like hell. Have not slept well the past two nights (last night my upper left teeth hurt). And right now I've got some nerve issues due to the swelling in my face that have made my left nostril almost completely numb. As far as post-op complications go, I am sooooooo over this one. I'll trade it back for the constipation! (Okay, not really because I don't really want to deal with THAT again either). On the plus side, ending up in the ER with a head injury (5 stitches in my eyebrow) seems to have finally gotten my doctor to stop claiming that this crap is normal for bariatric patients and he is finally getting me the cardiac consult that I have been asking for since the first time I blacked out. Less thrilled about this knocking me off track for the time being. I do not feel well enough or comfortable enough to workout on my treadmill, so my exercise is definitely going to suffer this week.

Hello, I’m a 30-something-year-old woman with a complicated health history. I have PCOS, Hashimoto’s disease and a few other problems. I decided last year to get gastric sleeve as I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. I have Anthem BCBS PPO and they say WLS is supported by my plan thankfully. I’ve started my 12-week behavioral group therapy course and I have my 3rd meeting in a few days. I fought having this kind of surgery as I thought I was cheating and honestly I was afraid of being judged. I needed to grow up it seems and see this for the helpful tool it is. I’m afraid but excited because I’m ready to live the life of my dreams. I have lofty hiking plans that I need to be in good shape for. I’m glad to meet all of you as we are all on this journey together. If you have any advice or tips or words of wisdom, I gladly welcome them.

Today is the day!!! Drains come out today!! Can’t wait. Feel like they were becoming like a little leash on me. Couldn’t move freely. I’m very excited. (Not for the 3 1/2-4 hour drive). Since I live so far away this will be my first appt since the day after surgery. All and all recovering without any complications which is all I could ask for. I go back to work next Monday. Which will be nice to get out and do more. Hoping I’m standing up straight by then. I’m already up straighter than last week. Not sure at this point do they take “after pics” or is that later on? Wonder if I can request copies of before and after pics

I can't wait to see the after photos! Your recovery is going great! Prayers for continued complication free, speedy recovery!

I did lose some pre-op (28 lbs-around there). I ran into complications in the hospital with the surgery and actually gained 13 lbs right off the bat. My stomach was amazingly purple and black and very, very swollen. I looked larger then the first day of program. After about 3 weeks or so, that weight gain of the loss pre-op came off in about a week. Then I started losing so fast those first 2 months. Two months ago, I started a job at a factory working ft with heavy lifting and running (my dept is on a line in receiving heavy boxes of merchandise). I stopped losing for about 2 weeks at that time and then it just came off unbelievably fast. I do have to see my Dr as it is much faster then I think is normal and my skin is becoming very loose. It truthfully seems like every two or three weeks I am still going down a size. Besides weight loss, most important, my measurements are really a loss of about an inch a week. Right now, I have a problem with trying to eat because of my new job and the jobs of everyone in the house. I work overnight then am on schedule for picking the kids up from their jobs, etc. so I don't really feel much like eating. I do try to get in at least 600 calories and pretty much just drink my protein powder mix with water while I'm working all night. My boss is extremely kind for giving me consideration with the surgery. Thank you for the congratulations. Losing 53 lbs before the surgery is absolutely amazing and a lot of work on your part.

Hi everyone I’m about 4 weeks post-op and I feel Like the healing process has been pretty slow along with a slow weight loss. I did have some complications after surgery. One day after being released from the hospital I had to go back for pneumonia and stayed a week. During my gastric bypass surgery I also had a hernia repair. Almost 4 weeks out and I’m still feeling pretty nauseous and having lots of gas and stomach aches. I also know I’m not getting enough liquids daily it’s still a struggle. Has anyone else gone through this or something similar? my stats: Height: 5’9 Starting Weight: 342.2 - Surgery Weight: 310 - Current Weight: 286.6

I just had gastric bypass on Monday and I feel the exact same way. It’s so hard to explain. It’s like I’m in my own world. I had complications with anesthesia and I was worried that might have effected me

Hi everyone, I really need some advice from people with similar situations. I had my surgery on Nov. 17. At first I was doing well, and I went home. Then I could barely keep anything down, not even water. I went back to ER for dehydration and then was again sent home. I still was feeling extreme nausea. Then a few days later I went right back. The doctors kept telling me I was not tolerating the VSG surgery and that I should consider a Bypass. I do not want a bypass and that got me depressed. They told me not everyone can tolerate a VSG. Which makes no sense because there are complications with the Bypass as well. Anyways then ended up doing a endoscopy and found a stricture. I was operated on again and this was resolved. Afterwards I still wasn't tolerating food, so they put me on picc line because I was malnourished. Then they told me if I don't start eating they would have to put a food tube in. I finally began eating (poorly, but I am managing). I was sent home. The problem now is that I can't tolerate protein shakes or any medication. I am going to ask my family doctor for patches. I am eating and its staying down but I feel like crap. I am so nauseous in the morning that I gag when I take my ppi. I also sleeep 12 hours a day. I love sleeping because its my only escape. I don't know what to do, should I go back to the ER? They told me if I feel nausea that I can go back. I have had nausea for the last 3 days in the morning. Please help. Does it get better?