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So i went to consultation set to have sleeve. While waiting in wait room and hearing some ladies talk about their rny surgeries and how successful they were and barely any pain. I started 2nd guessing myself. I told dr i wanted sleeve and he said it would work great for me but if i changed my mind to gastric would also be great. I was hoping he would push for one or the other. Ekkk my hopes are to lose 100 lbs with sleeve? He said guarantee 80 with sleeve and 100 with bypass???

The three most important elements after gastric bypass surgery are to meet your daily protein, fluid and vitamin requirements. Food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. Weight loss is achieved after surgery through meal volume control. You begin at 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal and gradually over the next year and a half increase the volume to 1 cup per meal. With this minuscule amount of food, it is next to impossible to meet your protein daily requirements by food alone, so therefore you need to rely on supplements such as protein shakes. Without sufficient protein, your body will scavenge protein from other areas of your body, such as your muscles. Protein is extremely important after surgery as its job in the body is to build and maintain tissues including your body's major organs and skeletal muscles. Protein deficiency, when continued over a long period of time can cause a disease known as protein caloric malnutrition. Common symptoms are poor healing, fatigue, hair loss and muscle wasting. Immediate post op, protein promotes healing of the staple line and incisions. Your daily protein requirement is met by a combination of the amount of protein you obtain from food combined with the amount of protein from protein supplements (protein shakes, protein bars)

Im very nervous about my upcoming revision to the Rny& Gladdbladder surgery. I had the band in May 2009, in May 2012 the port got infected( had to removed)and the next month the band eroded and it also had to be removed. Support from people isnt too strong due to the previous problems but I have put all my weight back on. I had great success with the band. SW-222 and ENDING WEIGHT 145!! I miss the band Any advice from anyone with a revision or the rny? Long term results problems??? Thanks for the support!! The folks on the site are great! Dawn Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

@@BSWhip08 I had band to sleeve revision 4 weeks ago. And I wanted to say that even though we're all different, for me personally, the recovery from getting the sleeve was way less painful than the band. My tummy didn't hurt at all like it did with the band. I was shocked at how easy the recovery was. And I too had my band about 10 years ago. I'm only 4 weeks out so I don't know what the future holds, but I can say that I don't feel hungry and I have to force myself to eat most of the time. It's definitely nothing like the band. Lastly, your kids will be fine. I'm sure they'll see you becoming healthier and more active and just be happy that you aren't struggling anymore. I don't look at my parents and think because they did xyz that I'm going to do that too. Kids will be kids, they'll do what they want regardless, but at the end of the day they'll be just fine. Good luck with your surgery. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I can't say enough about Dr. Kelly and his staff! I am NurseMichele's sleeve sister! lol Everything she said about the staff, well I say it too. Dr. Kelly surprised us with operating on us the day we got there instead of the next day. We thought that was great so we didn't need to stress another day. Being a lapband revision I had a little tougher time than the other two (I was first also). It took 1.5 hours for me including the endoscopy I had to have before they started because of the lapband. They had a little problem with my stomach because of the lapband but they took care of it fine. I had a rough time coming out of the anastasia also and started to go into to shock but they brought me out quickly. My sister was there at that point and said she got worried because I was pastie white and shivering bad. She did a good job helping out when needed and I'm glad she was there right then. I had to have a drain tube for 2.5 days but that didn't bother me, I thought it would if I had to but it didn't. By day three I think I was caught up in heeling with the other two. Cece (Dr. Kelly's wife) and Omar, the coordinator, took us to Lucerna Hotel. Beautiful! And then they took us to lunch for a nice bowl of broth and then to the board walk on Tijuana beach and we all stuck our feet in the ocean. It wasn't that warm of a day though. A bad day on the beach is better than any good day at work though. Then they took us shopping and back to the hotel. We did a LOT of walking and all of us did good. The next day they gave us pedicures compliments of the Dr.! Cece gave us each a massage and plucked our eyebrows! lol My niece and I also chose to buy the manicure. Each day we felt a little better. I'm not hungry much at all and just been drinking broth, juice and water as told. I have a little pain in the area where my tube was but it might be a gas pain from being operated on. Scale of 1 to 10 it's only a 2-3 and it is very seldom....good! Tender where the incissions were is about all. We got home Friday night. The flight was 2.5 hours and then we drove 4 hours, a little tiring though but glad to be home. Today my niece and I went garage sale-ing and then to a Vintage Fair and walked around for 3 hours and then I visited my uncle for 1.5 hours and home to rest as I have to visit my aunt in another hour. I might go to bed a little earlier than my normal time. I do feel good though. I would truly recommend Dr. Kelly and his staff. The other doctors were very nice too and obviously competent since we are all doing good. Michele was so much fun to have around with my sister, niece and myself; we had a lot of fun together; she's a hoot! Nice to have a Sleeve Sister that you care about and want to keep in contact with. Good luck to you! We will all do good I'm sure. That's my update with no sugar coating on it. I will post my progress also. Good luck to all that have this done, I'm feeling it was a good choice for me.

I had my revision on September 10, 2012 and had no issues at all. When progressing through the food stages, as I listened to my body, I did extend some phases by a couple of days and it was well worth it. I have had no vomiting, no sliming, but I also do not overeat. I learned many lessons with the band so the sleeve has been quite easy for me. I reached my goal weight in 6 months less a day and currently am still losing. WOOHOO sleeve!!!

So 3 weeks ago I has the band to sleeve revision and so far I'm ok. The only problem I'm having is getting all my liquids down or drinking or eating any protein. I feel so full once I drink like 3 sips of my shake and that's all I can get down for the rest of the day. My dr said don't worry but I'm weak and can't even exercise because I have no food in my system. Has this happened to anyone else?

Me too! I'm in the process of having the revision, the lapband just didn't work for me after I had my son and I'm back in my 200s I'm always hungry and crave all the bad stuff but before my baby I was well on my way to my goal weight, I'm hoping this will be a new start for me!! Good luck!!

I have always been told if you suffered erosion once, you are at a higher risk for future band complications. In my opinon, the band is just too much work and there are too many problems involved. For those who have success with it, I couldn't be happier for them. But for people like us, the sleeve is an amazing option well worth considering. I have not once regretted my revision.

It depends on which surgery you had. Bread and Lettuce are going to be hard on your new tummy and staple lines if you have Gastric Bypass (RnY), Sleeve (VSG), or Duodenal Switch (DS), also Bread is full of carbs that you don't need right now and lettuce has no nutritional value. Lap Band as well but it works different, so you'll have to check with your surgeon. You can exercise when your body can tolerate it. Start with walking and build up. It's gonna be a tough road. I found my incisions to be the best indicator for when my exercise was too much.. Stick with soft foods as long as you can. Introduce more solid foods slowly and remember to chew them really well before swallowing. Remember Protein first.

So I went to my first "consultaion" today. It was more of a classroom experience. There were probably about 20 people in the room. We were educated on both the Bypass and the Lap Band and given a binder of information. after the "class" we were given paperwork to fill out and a psych test to bring to the evaluation when we get our appointment. I saw a PA she took my medical information and checked my heart and lungs. They took my weight and height and a "before" picture for my file. I then got to speak to an Insurance "specialist" who had all of the information on the prequalifiers for approval. For me with Blue shield of California.... I have to have a psych eval and a nutrition class...THATS IT.... Wait WHAT?!?!?! Yeah THATS IT!!!! Of course there are all of the pre op tests and what not but that comes with every surgery. OMG I AM SOOOOO EXCITED. I am hoping to get a srgery date for the last week of Decmber ... BUT... the PA said they are really backed up ... 3 months??? Ugh But I can wait if I have to, it will give me more time to plan and cook and freeze etc etc etc. I finally feel like I am on the road FINALLY... Why didn't I do this sooner? Hugs and Kisses and can't wait to see you on the other side!!!:thumbup::biggrin::biggrin: Erin

So today was my post-op visit (2 weekish) with my surgeon and I woke up excited just to check in with him. I made a list of my questions and synced my fat secret food log to my iPad so he could see I have been logging my food, and weighed just before going as I am always wondrring how my scale compares to his huge walk on platform scale with handles. INterestingly I am always a pound LIGHTER in his office- isn't that odd? I remember at other times in my life always being heavier at the doctors. He was so wonderful today- came in saying "Hello beautiful" and was so excited that I am so happy having had the sleeve. He was really open to hearing some things about my experience that I thought he could perhaps learn from - especially my feeling he could let newly sleeved people know it is perfectly normal to not be able to swallow liquids and that it will turn around- just give it time and don't kick yourself over it. My questions and his answers 1. When can I go in the pool? Answer- NOW! As long as I do not exercise my core- he wants me to wait until four weeks for that. THis means no class but Water walking is ok YAY! 2. Can I put scar cream on my scars? Answer -Yes- the surface skin fell off and they are safe now. 3. When am I basically free from fear of blood clots? This was because my GP told me to elevate my legs on a pillow at ight and that has been hard. Answer- if I am walking every day I can relax about it. 4. I have been having diarrhea every day- is that something to worry about? Answer- some patients have that as their thumbys (my word not his) adjust to things- and it sometimes helps to dilute the Protein shakes too. (Not my fave answer as I tend to put my Protein powder in the least liquid I can handle in order to get it down faster ;-P ) 5. CAN I START COTTAGE cheese AND NON THINNED YOGURT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE AT MY STAGE? Of course this was my most important question- and I got a bad news good news answer- he wants me to stay on thinned liquids and Protein drinks until Monday, my three week mark. But then it is full on mushies, not just adding cottage cheese. That is only five days away and I am not worried- I know I want to heal well and that is more important than what food I get. The most exciting thing was that he said I am so articulate and knowledgeable he would like me to come to some orientation seminars to talk to prospective patients. I was honored and thrilled about that, that will help me pay it forward as I do want to do, and try to with my You Tubes. One other interesting thing- I told him I think the sleeve will be THE surgery before long and he said he totally agrees- he has thought that for nine years but just was waiting for the world (i.e. insurance companies) to catch up! He feels his sleeve patients in the long term do better than his bypass patients and I found that very interesting. SO I see him in a month and will be on mushies until then. I can deal.

Hi everyone! I wasn't sure exactly where to post this so I hope this is okay! I'm a 20 year old, full-time college student & after carrying around extra weight all of my life I've decided that enough's enough! A huge motivator in my decision to look into surgery was that my mom passed away last year from Necrotizing Fasciitis. Watching her fight to live and losing her life to something she had absolutely no control over really changed me as a person and completely altered my perspective on life. Now I truly understand that life and health aren't things to be taken for granted and if I'm in control of something affecting my health, such as my weight, it's a disservice to myself and to my mom's memory to not fight that battle and fix the problem. Luckily, due to my age I'm sure, my body is not yet suffering the severe consequences of obesity, but I know it's only a matter of time if I don't get it under control right now. 3 years ago I lost about 35 pounds naturally just through healthy eating and exercising. However, in the middle of that journey I suffered a severe back injury that had to be corrected with surgery, and now with all the extra weight I'm carrying, my back just isn't strong enough to maintain that level of exercise I was pushing at before. And in the 6 months following the loss of my mom, I packed on another 20 pounds, only adding to my back problems!! Two of my cousins had weight loss surgery. One opted for gastric bypass, her sister opted for the sleeve. After talking at length with both of them and others who've gone through it, and doing my own research, I'm pretty confident that the sleeve is the best choice for me. I finally bucked up the courage to contact a surgeon, and my first consultation with him is scheduled for the 12th of September. I'm very nervous and I know that the journey to actually having the surgery is a long, winding, sometimes turbulent ride, never mind the journey of the rest of my life following the surgery! However, I know without a doubt that this is something I need to do for myself and for my future children. I'm so glad that a site like this exists to share in the joys and frustrations of this new life I'm wandering into. ~ Megan

Thank you so much! Due to my issues, the doctor suggested RNY gastric bypass.

Hello... Lap banders. I need help. I was banded in November of 08. I was doing great. At 24 months I had lost 110 pounds.( I was 20 pounds from my goal.) I have not changed anything. I go in for annual check ups on my band. In November (2010) I was fine. In January I noticed I had gained 8 pounds. I attributed it to the cheating I did around the holidays. I cheat every year. So that was not different. In February I gained more weight. So I started went back to square 1. Food Journaling, Asking myself am I hungry??? My husband had Gastric Bypass In Semtember 2010. He started night eating. I moved to another room. If the food was there I would snack. Long story short...March I had a Flouroscope done. I have a dialation. I was told I need to do three weeks of liquids. I have started and stopped. I just cant handle liquids...NO matter how hard I try while still having to cook for my family. The question is what to do next...What do I do next to see if I have a slippage. I do not want to gain anymore weight. I just had a muscle milk light for dinner. What should I do next. I used True results for my surgery. I only see the P.A. in the office. They do not have doctors in the office. They basically watch your weight loss. My family doctor takes care of my blood work for me. Has anyone else had this dialation issue??? Do I ask to have my dialation surgically repaired.?? I made such progress while using my band as a tool....Now I feel stuck... Any help would be appreciated...Sincerely....a sad and frustrated bandster....

I am probably going about this the wrong way, but I am watching a show on TLC called "The Real Skinny." It so far is about two people who have had surgery and are now experiencing a lot of loose skin. What is everyone's take on this? Is it common with VSG, even though the weight doesn't come off as fast as other surgeries, i.e. Gastric Bypass?

Am in tears just weighed myself and I have rather put on weight what is going on with me did I had a bypass or should I call my DR help!!!!!!!!!

Hello to anyone reading Back in January I went to see my PCP about weight loss surgery, I've been considering it for at least 3 years now and always talked myself out of it by saying its the easy way out and trying to convince myself that all I have to do is eat less and work out more. Right! I have always been overweight. Even in my baby pics I look fat. Seriously, don't laugh! There wasn't a time when I wasn't bigger than everyone of my classmates, in addition to being fat, I was also taller! Odd ball, yes that's me. I'm 29 years old with no kids so I can't even use that as an excuse for my fatness, I'm really just fat! My family is fat! My mom has been overweight since a kid too and from what I hear so was her dad. Is there really a fat gene? Maybe that's my excuse...idk but I don't know why I'm fat. I don't think I eat anymore or any unhealthier than skinny people. In fact I know of some skinny people who won't stop eating. I grew up on a tiny island in the Caribbean where there wasn't access to junk food or fast food or endless options for dining out so I can't blame that but I have to say that at age 13 when I moved to NY, it was a different ball game. Cheap, quick and a variety of foods every where I looked. chips Cookies candy bars I didn't know what to eat first and i gained about 50 pounds in 1 year. Fast forward to today, I am 343 pounds! I don't have any obesity related ailments YET and that my friends is why I must do this. My first thought was to get the lapband done but the thought of having a foreign object in my forever really bothered me. Like really! 3 years of bothering me. So in the midst of researching lapband I was learning about other options. Bypass...thought it sounded good but I'm anemic, if they bypass the part of my stomach that absorbs Iron that I can't normally absorb anyway-this could be bad; very bad. Plus I am "paranoid" for a lack of better word about stomach cancer b/c my great grandma had it, also my grandma & mom has breast cancer and mom now has bone cancer. Obviously cancer is a big factor in my life. I want to a avoid this at any means possible- another reason why I need to do something about my weight. Not that skinny people don't get cancer but I would like to fit into the MRI machine if needs be to catch things early. Did I say I was paranoid?.... So I learned that with the bypass- the part of the stomach that just sits unused- well if there's cancer growing there; they can't stick a camera down there to check it out. Only way to spot it would be via CT scans that would be done every year. So lets say I get one in December and something starts growing in February...I won't know until the following December---if I'm still alive!! So...I'm sleeving it! I weighed all options and this seems to be the best of me. I've been reading some posts here about other people's experiences etc and a lot of new perspectives opened up to me. I seriously appreciate all of you for sharing. Even if you think it's minor and you post about it, it's helping someone and thats why I'm here. To learn as much as possible and to share as much as possible. I do want to post the documents I received from my doctor but will at a later time. Like what to eat etc and about the tests I have to do etc but will do that at a later time so if anyone was lurking like I was and kind of undecided or unsure...it may help. Anyway.. I welcome any info and will be glad to share any info I have, if you made it this far..(a lot I know) thanks for reading!!!

Hi i wonder if anybody else has experienced this. I had a lap band revision to a sleeve on august 1 2016. I had a leak and had to go back in the hospital. I was put on a feeding tube for a month. Long story short the tube came out on oct 11. So its been a week where i can drink and eat mushy foods. But once they hit my stomach its just aches. Any help as to y would b appreciated. Sent from my SM-G550T1 using the BariatricPal App

Dee, revising from the band to the sleeve was the best thing I ever did! I have had so much more success and love it!

I have people in my life who run the gamut. My sister had the surgery several years ago, and has been harping on me since that I just *HAVE* to have it. I was on the fence about it until an appointment with a specialist yesterday who said unequivocally, the surgery would have a direct positive impact on my health. Won't cure my situation, but will make it a lot more likely that the meds can work. My mother sees some of the complications my sis had (mostly related to the skin surgery later) and is worried about complications, and thinks I can do it by myself if I just work at it. Like I haven't' been for 30 years, Mom? One of my best friends is anti-surgery and argues against it with reasonable arguments, but doesn't go so far as to criticize me for the decision, and will support me in it. Most of my other close friends are super-supportive, some have already had bypass and are grateful for it, others probably need surgery but aren't in a place to really consider it yet. The one that surprised me is my boss who I talked to about it this morning. She's a very fit person, runs marathons and such. She's sorry I'm having to deal with this, but is super supportive of whatever I need to get healthier. Just telling her what my pulse rate was at the doc's office yesterday after walking less than 5 minutes was enough for her to realize how serious this has gotten for me. I'm a super open person, and will likely disclose to everyone. Bottom line is they aren't in my position. They don't know the months of research I've put in, or what advice my doctors have given me. They don't know all the pros and cons. They can judge all they want. Sometimes it will be hurtful, I know. But this won't be the first controversial decision I've made in some of their minds, and it won't be the last. They're welcome to their opinion, and if they make it too uncomfortable for me, they lose the benefit of my presence. I do wish people could be more supportive and understanding in general, though.

I am so happy that you posted. I was also banded in 2003 and am waiting to see a new surgeon. I am really very scared of what they will fin in terms of damage done by the band. I want a revision but more than that, I want this thing out of me. I am not feeling well most of the time now and I think it is related to the band. Can you tell me what removal was like? What did the surgeon say happened inside? Did you have adhesions, scarring, erosion?

Everyone is different. Not all foods that bother one will bother another. I had the revision 7 months ago and I am able to tolerate every food I have tried under the sun. Dairy bothers me sometimes but only straight milk. The revision for me was fine, no complications. I lost weight at a faster rate but now I have stalled for quite some weeks. But I am also working out more and weight lifting.

I am loosing it but slowly, I did have a revision and was an IV fluids for all four days so I am hoping this is it because it definetly is not the eating, lol!