Search the Community

I hear you, I’m almost done with my six appointments and the closer it gets the more concerned I’ve become. I am naturally quite risk adverse as well, so the idea of a surgery like this is scary. My reality is that the risk of complications from surgery is less than the risk of serious complications from staying this overweight. I think sometimes we try to trick ourselves into assuming that the only risk is with an action, but the reality is that complacency and staying the course we are already on is very risky as well. I’d rather take my chances of long term health and greater happiness than stay where I am. Good luck to both of us!

complications aren't that common, and most are minor. The most common one with the sleeve is acid reflux, although not everyone gets that (in fact, most don't). Most people who have it manage it through meds. I think you'll find a lot of people on here who are really happy with their surgeries and would do it again in a heartbeat. And most complications (if you even have any, which you might not) are still not as bad for you long term as remaining obese.

Hi Everyone, This is my first post. I have been having a lot of health issues and health scares this year. I had pnuemonia earlier this year when covid first came around. Recently had a biopsy of the endometrium which came back normal. Now i am waiting for a biopsy to be done on my left breast. All while breaking my foot almost three weeks ago. I weigh 240 and can't help to think my weight has had an effect on all these health issues. Im 40 and want my life back. I am in month 4 of my weightloss pre-op program before gastric sleep. Still need to have tests and finish my 5th and 6th monthly appointment with the bariatric PA. However, i am scared to the core of having surgery due to possible short tem and long term complications. I would appreciate any advice possible on how to get though my concerns and fear. Thx! Stephanie

In Aust the min bmi seems to 35. Some surgeons will operate on patients with a slightly lower bmi but they must have severe health complications (high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, etc.). It‘s not common for people to lose so much weight after surgery they attain a bmi in the low end of the healthy range or lower & stay there. Those that do drop to a bmi of 18 or 19 more often or not gain some again after because it’s difficult to maintain long term. Life kicks in, your hunger increases & metabolism slows again. The average weight loss after surgery is about 65% of the weight you need to lose to put you in the upper end of the healthy range after 5yrs. There are a couple of people on this forum who struggle to maintain & have a low bmi. I’m sort of one of those people. If I miss a meal or a snack I can drop weight. Do it a couple of times in a week & the drop sticks. Consequently, I’m very routine in my diet of when & what I eat - sometimes I feel like I eat all day which is challenging when I’m often not hungry. (Honestly, my GP & surgeon would like me to put on a couple of kilograms but I’ve dropped a kilo in the last 2 - 3 months so I’m a bit nervous to go back next month.) What is your goal weight? As with all things in life if you put in the hard work & are committed to your plan (very careful with your diet & very active) you can attain your goals & maintain it. However balance is key. You have to be able to live the life you want at a weight you are happy with. I hope I don’t sound negative. Your concern is legitimate. I suggest you speak with your surgeon & nutritionalist about your worries. Good luck.

Any changes to your diet phase you should definitely get guidance from your doctor/weight loss team. The phases are there to help your new stomach adjust slowly and to minimize the risk of potential complications. Having difficulties in any diet phase can be stressful to deal with. You're only a couple of weeks out from surgery. I felt lethargic and weak 2 weeks out from my surgery too and that was without having issues with liquids. Your body is still healing and it takes time. Please make sure you speak to your doctor before making any changes to your diet phase!

Same with me. I was crying in pre-op, wondering if I was making the right decision, and thinking about getting off the bed and leaving, My surgeon came in and told me that none of his patients had regretted their decision. I also thought of my PCP's words, "If you COULD have done it on your own, you WOULD have by now." It was one of the single best decisions of my life! I cannot begin to tell how much my life has changed for the better and all the opportunities in living that are now open to me. I did have a couple of complications - blood clots and an ulcer, but those are resolved now and I would do it all over again, knowing what I know now from this side.

@calliekaine Prayers and hugs to you! Sounds like you've had a rough road. Based on your description above, you have a PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) tube, aka a feeding tube. In my understanding, this is unusual after bariatric surgery. Not unheard of, obviously, but not common. You must have had some pretty significant complications to require this kind of intervention. BTW: it's relatively normal to have no appetite or desire to eat after sleeve surgery. My experience was a lot like catwoman7's (above). I had no appetite and I ate on schedule because I knew I needed nutrition. That lasted about 6 months or so. I wish you a speedy and healthy recovery!

I have similar but i have a complication called persistent ileus. Not on tube just eating what i can

Feeding tubes aren't the standard fare for WLS. As you say, you had so many complications you are likely one of very few folks that have had to deal with them. The positive side is the site now has someone with experience of feeding tubes. You're our foremost authority. Hang in there, Tek

I remember being right where you are. I also remember other people words of encouragement and telling I'm going to get through it. Yet, all I felt was fear & despair. Like, how can they say this and at the time no one had experienced what I had. But after the fear and than the anger at myself for doing the surgery. I slowly started to ease up on myself. I had to be patient. It was not an easy roae. Mine became more complicated because I got pregnant 9 months after my surgery. However, I had a healthy son & I'm still carrying the 25lbs 3 years after having him. This is all to say. In the end it will balance out. It may not ve the way you expected but this is the path meant for you. You can get through this. Just remember - Give yourself patience - Give yourself forgiveness - Ask for help - And listen to your surgeon and nutritionist 3 years out and I still have some issues with the sleeve. But, in the end it was worth it & I learned something about myself as well. I hope this helped a little - Caridad

Noooo definitely save that for post op instead you may have complication even minor ones like incisions reopening that will take more days

I am one week post-0p from a revision (sleeve to RNY) due to severe GERD, hiatial hernia.....some complications surgically.....however, since waking up, I have not had ONE recurrence of anything remotely like acid reflux. I am thrilled! I do find it strange this time around that I am hungry after the surgery. Or - I have to retrain my brain about food? For a year, I've used comfort food to calm my reflux in my sleeve which led to a wait gain of 40 lbs. The liquid phase in not so much about healing as it is also realigning our relationship with food I guess!

I agree on getting a second opinion - but re: the first part of your comment. esophageal cancer (although getting it is definitely not a sure thing - but a risk nonetheless) would be worse than most complications of RNY would be. And mortality rate on RNY is 0.3% - which is pretty low. Either way is a crap shoot, of course - but I think I'd be more afraid of potential esophageal cancer. There are deadlier cancers for sure, but the survival rate on that is only about 50%.

Well its another surgery so another risk of death. You can develop barrots esophagus which can turn into cancer from gerd if you dont. Sleeve has higher incidence of gerd. Gastric bypass has more complications so who knows what bag your gonna get there. I think you should get two opinions because you may be able to manage it medically - perhaps get a referral to a gastro and see what pharmaceuticals they got for you to try first

My surgery gastric bypass surgery was August 4, 2020. It was without complication and I healed as expected (two weeks back to work). I have been faithful to the diets pre and post op until about 2 weeks ago. I have had food cravings throughout this process and was hoping I would have been one of those individuals who has the cessation of cravings. I am averaging between 500 and 1000 kcals a day. I was just advanced to stage 4, regular diet. I am concerned that I am not going to be successful at this as my weakness, low calorie count and deprivation of carbohydrates has sent me into a dangerous whirlwind of eating. I am petrified that I have overstretched my new pouch and blew this whole endeavor. I am trying to reset this mess by turning back to protein shakes (cup or less) and clear liquids alternating days. I just need to shrink that pouch back to post op size. I don't get dumping syndrome and I'm not really obtaining a feeling of fullness or discomfort with eating. I am so upset! Looking for support. I can't be the only one experiencing all or part of this. Looking forward to hearing from some of you.

This is a very rude statement. According to the rules of this site: Posts that are forbidden include, but are not limited to, the following: Rude posts. This is a first time poster and I find the content of the OP to be rather questionable. There is an artifact left in the account that makes me believe it was lifted off the Internet. The artifact is < /span>. The <span> tag is an inline container used to mark up a part of a text, or a part of a document. In reviewing the post, I asked the questions WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN. The where an the when appears to be the Seattle, Washington area around 9 February 2019, that is the date of the SNOWMAGEDDON in 2019 that struck the Seattle Area dumping 4-8 inches of snow. To support this observation, in the article it mentions the West Side, which is part of Seattle. It mentions Richmond Hospital. There is Richmond Internal Medicine hospital located in Shoreline, WA. It mentions St. Paul's Hospital, but from my perspective this is not really a hospital but rather it is a small clinic called St. Paul's Medical Clinic in Seattle. One of the things that attracted my attention was SNOWMAGEDDON 2019. The OP said it dropped 20 cm. of snow. Who in the U.S. would say 20 cm instead of 8 inches? The whole article is overly melodramatic. The OP identifies Dr. Kantner as an Obesity Specialist. There is a Dr. Jenny Kanter who received her PhD from the University of Washington in Pathology in 2010, with a specific focus on myeloid cells inflammation in the development of diabetes-accelerated atherosclerosis. Her specialty includes diabetic kidney disease. So this may be the WHO. But another thing that attracted my attention was the article opened with her diagnosis of advanced liver fibrosis. Liver fibrosis can be a very serious condition. Liver fibrosis is the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins including collagen that occurs in most types of chronic liver diseases. Advanced liver fibrosis results in cirrhosis, liver failure, and portal hypertension and often requires a liver transplant. It can be a life ender. This is a serious medical condition. Some research seems to indicate that gastric bypass surgery can help with this condition but only sometimes. So although the OP seems focused on the bariatric surgery component, the liver fibrosis disorder is very serious complication. Another thing that bothered me was the OP description of the surgery. Gastric bypass is a complex surgery. When I had it done several years ago, I was in the hospital for 2 days after surgery. This was routine. A few years have passed since then but bringing someone home the same day of surgery seems rather unwise. Yet that is what the OP expected. The OP mentioned that the sleeve had come loose. What does that mean exactly? There can be several complications associated with sleeve surgery. So revisions may be needed sometimes, I haven't heard of a sleeve coming loose. There is a form of weight loss surgery called Lap-Band surgery. In this procedure, a bariatric surgeon places a a silicone ring with an expandable balloon around the upper part of the stomach. This creates a new, smaller stomach pouch. These bands have been known to come loose and slip and need adjustments. During the gastric sleeve operation, around 80% of the stomach is removed. The remaining section of the stomach is formed into a tube-like shape about the size and shape of a banana.

Very sad to read this !! As a nurse this just doesn’t all seemed to not add up. Also we would need to know all the details of pre-existing conditions which plays a huge role in complications. Also 6 months before the surgery seems pretty rushed before - I prepared almost 1 1/2 to ensure I knew exactly what I was getting into. I do hope everything is well with your wife

Well, I had that appointment with a plastic surgeon back in January and he approved the thigh lift at 100% coverage. In case anyone wants to know, I have Kaiser Permanente Northern California now... not the same insurer as when I had the GR-DS surgery in 2004. I really want the excess abdominal skin removed but that part isn't covered. The abdominal surgery will be around $9000, $1000 paid prior to scheduling. Unfortunately, this whole COVID thing canceled all of these surgeries for quite some time. Kaiser started performing elective surgeries in late July but they are rationing OR time with all of the many different surgeons. I have been waiting to hear when exactly I'll be having my surgery. On Tuesday, I got a call from the OR scheduler and I was given a surgical date. October 8, 2020; that would be 16 years and 30 weeks from the date of my weight-loss surgery. Oddly, they are telling me that having a thigh-lift/panniculectomy/tummy-tuck is an out-patient procedure. Thankfully, the surgery is performed at a hospital, so if there is any complication, I'm already at a hospital but the plan is to send me home the same day. Now that I have my surgical date, I have a video appointment with anesthesia and a physical appointment with the plastic surgeon this coming Monday. Two weeks after that, just a few days before the surgery, I have to go in for a COVID screening. I also have a physical visit with the plastic surgeon four days after surgery and one week from surgery with a nurse. I'm getting excited. I am hoping it will be much easier to find clothes that fit after surgery. My current actual waistline, going over these folds of skin, is 38" but I have to go with 42-44" or sometimes even a 46" waist in order for pants or shorts to fit over my thighs. Because my inseam is 36", it is quite difficult to find pre-hemmed pants that long enough. Apparently, pant makers think that it is either big or tall and not big AND tall. Most pant makers, even in specialty stores, stop 36" inseams at a waist size of around 36-38" and almost never at 40" or larger. Due to this, I'm hoping that I can go with pant sizes with the waist size 10" or smaller than I currently do.

You've done your research which is outstanding. Whichever way you go, success is about working your Doc/Nut's process. Trying to mix other program plans implies you think you know better. You got you where you are. Listen and follow. Try not to test things as long as you can, but we all do it eventually. Then get back to plan. Your thoughts on the RNY match closely to mine. RNY has better statistics in success, but also more complications. Dumping itself is a complication most of us wanted, for the reasons you seem to. I too wanted the negative reinforcement of dumping if I ate wrong. Little did I know that most of the negative feedback would be doing the mechanics of eating wrong: Not chew enough, too fast, not paying attention. They work also. 17+ years later I've done things of which I never dreamed. And my plumbing still works as designed in the operating room. I have a good life. Tek

Man forever for sure lol but if cant i say 4 weeks if no complications and 6 if complications

Im advocating that complications can make someone a negative statistic and complications are not something a person would choose therefor the message doesnt take these things into account. I advocate for everyone to do the best they can but some people will still fail and some due to no fault of their own. HTH

So my ENT diagnosed me with silent GERD. Never heard of such a thing. Had a revision in May 2020 due to hernia and GERD. Had to revised twice more in June due to some complications. Have been feeling fine then boom, come July I feel a lump In my throat. No heartburn. At my ent visit for another issue with dizziness she did a scope and said it’s acid in the throat. Not the esophagus. 🤦‍♀️ 🤦‍♀️ Don’t have a single symptom of typical heartburn just this lump. Feels like something stuck. Like a pill. I can drink and eat with no issues. It’s getting worse so she put me on Pepcid 40 At night time. Anyone have this. What did you do for it. It’s so annoying.

I have had saline implants for 21 years. I have not experienced any complications. When I was at my lowest weight of 115 pounds (I'm 5'7) I did have some rippling. It's my understanding that implant failure can occur due to trauma but mostly likely is the result of filling port failure (leaking). My surgeon said that they have an "expiration date" in order to protect the manufacturers.

OMG! I just did this last night. A SINGLE egg and a turkey sausage (both of which I have eaten for the last week with no issues). I don't think I have ever been so miserable in my life. I think I moaned for about 2 hours before I wasn't miserable. In my case, I think I did two things: 1- Drank water up until about 10 minutes before I ate. 2 - Ate too fast. Like you, no complications, no issues (other than constipation the first week), and progressing to foods just fine. I swear you just gave the best advice EVER. Knowing me, I'm sure this will happen again, but I can assure you not anytime in the near future. Hope you're feeling better!

Oh my gosh! I'm not kidding. I've read it a 100x the pain you will be in if you eat too fast or too much. I'm extremely positive and have been so blessed with zero complications. So understand me when I say DO NOT EAT TOO FAST and STOP EATING NO MATTER WHAT if you are full. I In my case, I'm in Phase 3 which for me is soft foods. I can barely get through my two ounces of protein. And forget about the 1/4 cup of veggies. I'm thrilled. I'm NOT complaining because this is good and what I want (duh). I'm just warning [emoji3544] you if you're even thinking about pushing yourself to eat what you're supposed to eat a certain amount, but can't just STOP. Just keep your logs and tell your doctor or nutritionist if it's too a major pattern. Just now, I didn't even push myself. Out of habit from my previous ways of eating I lost my ever loving mind for 2 seconds and just stuffed in a full bite. Wow! Our brains are so tricky. In recovery, I once heard someone say our brains have good forgetters. Lol. They sure do. In a split second decision you can bring a world of hurt to your life in many ways. Lots of love [emoji180] [emoji177] you guys!