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I too am sorry this happened to you. Hospitals do take extreme care to ward off complications, but they do happen. It will get better. I was working out a lot before surgery and now feel like a weak slug. I have an incision that is taking it's sweet time to heal so I'm being very careful that it doesn't get infected. I've had my fair share of surgeries, open heart took 12 weeks. This is a moment in time, it will get better. Take the time you need to get healthy.

I'm so sorry you've expereinced so many complications. May I ask where you had your surgery? Here's my take, and it's just based on the people I know, very limited: the people who have had it at local hospitals have ALL had some kind of problem. Every single person I know! The people who have it in Mexico or Las Vegas seem to do better. I think the surgeons in our area just don't have the volume and they are not as proficient as the surgeons who perform 1-2 a day. You also have to be careful about choosing a place where the surgeons perform too many surgeries a day.

Yikes, that's scary! This is why I put off having the surgery for so long. I've been obese all of my adult life, but relatively healthy. For many years, I rarely got sick, never went to the doctor, wasn't on any medications, and was in good enough shape to do a physically demanding job, and I thought it would be crazy to take a chance of giving up my good health just to lose some weight. But things have changed recently and my health has started to go downhill, which made the risk of surgery seem better than the risk of letting my health continue to decline. I do still have that fear, though, that I'll end up being one of the unlucky few who have terrible complications. I've never been a very lucky person. Anyway, I'm sorry that you were one of those unlucky patients, but I hope you get better quickly and I hope it ends up being worth it. By the way, I always try to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, so I have actively searched for WLS horror stories, and even the people who have horrible complications mostly say that they would still do it all over again!

I am so sorry your surgery had complications. I had a sleeve to bypass revision for GERD on 6/29. I was unable to stand up to begin walking without becoming tachycardic and dizzy on 7/1. My hemoglobin was 7.1 and I got 2 units of packed red cells. I felt much better afterward. My drain was left in for 10 days as I continued to produce a lot of blood from the chest. My surgeon suspects I bled from several areas as I had more than one procedure done. I feel much better now. I hope you feel better soon, you have been through a lot.

My surgery is July 16, too! I haven't told anyone, other than my doctors. I have just heard too many ignorant comments about other people who have had WLS. It feels like we can't win because people are nasty toward obese people, but when we want to get the only effective treatment for it, they're rude about that as well. Some people just think they are morally superior for being naturally thin. I looked into WLS about 15 years ago. I went to an information seminar and even had a consultation with a surgeon. I was still on my parents' insurance at the time, so I had to tell them. My mom talked me out of it because she was scared I would die on the table or have horrible complications. It's probably for the best that I didn't do it then because it has become a lot safer in the meantime, but I can't help but wonder what I have missed out on in life that I could have done if I had gotten WLS back then. This time, I am not giving anyone the opportunity to talk me out of it.

I had mine done for $4300 in Nuevo Laredo and my wife had hers done in Piedras Negras with Dr Alverez and it was around $8000. I went the Costco route and she wanted Whole Foods :) the difference between the two? Surgery wise I’d say very little. Her facility is much nicer with the “hotel” and hospital an all in one location, more people dedicated to her post op care. An extra night in the hospital. Mine was a night in a local hotel and one night in the public hospital in the city. With both I personally felt just as comfortable as any US hospital I’ve been in. She was not happy with my place because the language barrier, it didn’t concern me, I used google translate if I needed to and in the end it all worked out absolutely fine. Doctors are human and like any profession you have ones who care and ones who don’t, ones who excel and ones who just do the bare minimum. Infections and complications can and do happen anywhere, but in general this is a pretty quick and easy procedure. She’s still recovering (had hers done today) and I’m 4 weeks out and feeling great.

As with any weight loss procedure post op diet is usually dependent on the surgeon's or dietician's guidelines. There won't be any dumping but there should be restriction which can be as restrictive as a sleeve. My ESG post op diet was liquides for three weeks and moved on to puree then soft foods before progressing to normal foods. It was anyway up to four or six weeks before eating normally. There is a lot of inflammation and the sutures need time to anchor properly (scars healing) as well as the stomach folds time to 'meld'. The dietician who was attached to my doctor had the same food guidelines (once on normal foods) as for weight loss surgery, higher protein and low starch veges if room have a small amount of complex carbs. All limited to 1/2 cup per meal. My ESG failed...pretty much all but one suture had come undone or loosened. I did push the boundaries with food volume one or two times. The surgeon who did my surgical sleeve said some of the cause of the failure may be related to an autoimmune issue I have which causes inflammation and that stomach inflammation may have caused the stomach folds not too meld or the anchors to lodge properly. In Australia there seems to be a higher failure rate than USA (no hard evidence just the posts in facebook groups I am a member of). Failure may be due to non compliance with post op guidelines, lack of doctor skill/technique and for some no known reason. One person who suffered bouts of severe vomiting (due to illness) for a number of weeks early in the healing stages also had a failure. To be honest, I was all for ESG for the fact if was minimally invasive, lower complications and faster recovery, I was in denial for a long time that mine had failed, and would highly recommend the ESG to all and sundry. Now I advise caution make sure your surgeon has done many many many ESGS well over 500 (if possible) but certainly no less than (250), know their complication rates, failure rates and success rates (for patients beyond one year and two years). How many ESGs they had to redo, how many patients did a conversion to a surgical sleeve or other surgical option. Aside from the incision site discomfort my recovery was pretty much the same for ESG and gastric sleeve. For the ESG my stomach had rolling cramps for about two days, for the gastric sleeve I had stomach spasms when I first tried fluids in hospital this probably lasted a day. I had minimal gas pain with the gastric sleeve. My fears around the gastric sleeve surgery were unfounded.

Hi everybody! I am confirmed for gastric sleeve with Dr. Jalil Illan at Hospital BC on July 17, 2020 and plan to report my progress here to you guys to provide moral support for anyone considering such a dramatic and life-changing decision. I am terrified about having surgery outside the US, and worried about complications during or after the surgery, but have read a lot of great things about Dr. Illan. His staff have been really wonderful through my whole pre-op process so far. I had a fever last week out of the blue, but am feeling better today, and tested negative for Covid. I was worried it was a false negative, so I am scheduled to take another test tomorrow to confirm results. I asked Dr. Illan if I should reschedule due to the fever I had, and he responded that we will stay on schedule for now. I didn't have any respiratory or throat issues with my fever, so I think that may have played a hand in the decision to not reschedule yet. I am almost 50, and have battled my weight all my life. I am looking forward to having this tool to support me in life-long weight management. Wish me luck! I plan to check back in periodically to let you guys know how the surgery and recovery went, and what my new life is like. Please feel free to reach out to me here if you have any questions and I will try to respond to you as soon as I can get back to you. Good luck to everyone here on their journey to find better health and happiness!!

I think the fact that you have diabetes is enough for you to have it done it really isn't about weight loss as much as about how your body and lifestyle changes after words. I wont lie to you the recovery and first few days were tough and mind you i chose not to take any pain killers when i left the hospital because of my pain tolerance and past surgical experiences. But I do think that if you have any of the co-morbidities it definitely makes it worth. It definitely can't be about losing weight. That's not enough to get you through. But if you have a lifetime of medications and complications to deal with that would greatly improve with this surgery you should definitely do it.

I am also a low BMI, 31 actually and just had my sleeve op. No complications yet but I can relate, I was very nervous too. Still nervous actually

I would prefer liquid, I will finish what I have and see what I can budget in next month. I got a coupon for vitacost so will see what I can do. I think I am going to ask my doctor about my hemoglobin and try not to let her piss me off ... and if I can get my hemoglobin tested if it’s low then insist on infusions. I think I eat healthy I already take Whole Foods based multivitamins and eat iron rich foods. My iron itself is good. My hemoglobin before I left for surgery was ok, then before leaving I had the double balloon enteroscopy, my general doctor said to mention some levels on my bloodwork (Not the hemoglobin) to the gastroenterologist but I only saw him 1/second in the procedure room. And about the same after. My procedure was upsetting and provided no answers. But somewhere between there and preop bloodwork my hemoglobin dropped drastically, before surgery! The last it wa# that low was after my gastric bypass surgery ... It was perplexing. To keep me safe they gave me blood transfusions. That’s how good my surgeon was. He knew my underlying chronic illness and kept me safe. crashing now. Didn’t sleep last night. Doing my best not to stress. My main incision stress point is an awkward spot. It’s a T incision in the thigh area I guess inner thigh incision, it’s where the opening of a Faja hits. Maybe it’s combination medial and lateral thigh lift. I’m not sure. Right where the two incisions meet is where it opened on my left side which is my bad side to being with. I use a low dryer on cool to dry everything very well and also as my doctor calls it use fan therapy for the open incision. Next is the Bactigras. I won’t scare anyone with pictures. But since I’m on top of it, it could be worse. I won’t yet ask my doctor about a wound care specialist until I try myself the Bactigras. But I know one mention she will blame me for where I had surgery but any complication is on HER not monitoring my bloodwork and my health. I’m worry watching my left side, it’s a small open spot and hoping it heals before the stitches start loosening. But a lot of the other parts of the stitches are doing well and some parts completely closed! It’s hard not to stress an area that’s involved with toileting and such. Aka high stress point. Thankfully I guess my myalgic Encephalomyelitis comes in handy I’m too fatigued to do much. But do everything myself, except laundry. Showers take forever and exhaust me. Catch 22? This is depleting things I can’t get back but still I’d not change anything. explain later after I rest. Need to ask my surgeon how much skin he removed too.

Hey! I had my VSG on June 23rd and let me say... the last few weeks have been complete HELL for me. I am going to add that I am 22 y/o with no prior complications, surgeries or medical issues besides obesity. Post-op I was having a lot of pain (my surgeon sends his it’s home with Tylenol 1000mg) and nothing would relieve it. I had constant nausea and vomiting, even though I was just sipping water...the 64oz a day seemed impossible. Around post-op day 3 I told my surgeon that the pain was unbearable and that I couldn’t even get myself out of bed or wipe myself in the bathroom. He said this was unusual but ordered Tylenol w/ codeine. And my case RN assured me that all pain and discomfort would be gone by post-op day 5. Post-op day 5 comes and I have diarrhea, shortness of breath, and still can’t move without assistance. The pain is unbearable. I call my surgeon and he says to go to the ER. Long story short I get admitted to the ER with 2 abdominal abscesses and pylonephritis. I stayed in the Hospital for 6 days and literally only sipped on water with some sips of apple juice. On the last day the doc said I also had severe GERD and that was attributing to the pain. Now I am home, feeling a little stronger but have ABSOLUTELY NO desire to eat anything. I tried to drink some protein shakes but I just kept gagging. I am still weak but the stomach pain has gone down. I sincerely hope nobody else has to go through this. I would really appreciate any tips anyone has for getting in full liquids or more water. I feel so scared to advance because of the pain. Thanks in advance!

Hi @ChubRub I kind of stepped out mentally and physically. And my tablet just hit enter on my post before I even started typing it. So I’m saving it and finishing it otherwise it will look very odd. im exhausted and frustrated of course this has nothing to do with where I had my surgery because my doctor is the absolute best and he’s been in contact with me and always answers my emails. Things happen and I’m just dealing with it the best I can, my chronic illness compounds things a bit since I get drained of energy extremely quick if I’ve got it at all. Normally I can get out every so often but I’m 100% homebound. The weather here isn’t much conducive to healing. I’ve Reached week three. But things got a bit complicated with my thigh lift. I had I think what’s called a medial thigh lift that involves a T incision and this is a very high stress incision. Well as is my luck it opened. Good thing I do have some knowledge On incision care and alerted my surgeon immediately with photos and he instructed me what to do, I actually had the correct idea of what to do already But it’s a long healing process it has to heal from within called secondary wound healing. I have to keep it dry and bandaged a certain way. I update my surgeon with pictures. Honestly even if my surgeon was right next to me the treatment would be the exact same. I started off trying steri strips but cut my own using medical micropore tape then gauze and more micropore tape. I had to stop wearing Faja to give it some fan or open air therapy to let my left leg incisions dry and thankfully they stopped draining from the incisions. It’s slowly getting a little progress. I bought something called Bactigras to use on it now. im just stressed and angry at my physicians here and their lack of care here because my hemoglobin should have been normal when I had surgery and it kept going up and down. I had bloodwork that it should have been fine and went to Cleveland Clinic for a double balloon enteroscopy before going away for surgery. And something between my bloodwork and that enteroscopy effected my hemoglobin. My surgeon was so awesome and took care of me though but now that I’m home my incisions need to heal and I worry my hemoglobin levels have gone south again even though I’m eating very healthy and taking lots of vitamins ... I am not sure how to deal with my doctor. She was very obnoxious to me about having surgery in Mexico yet I trust my surgeon in Mexico more than her ... Sorry for the rambling, it’s hard to find comfortable position to sleep. My legs are propped up on a pillow and my head on two thick pillows but they keep shifting I end up ocd thinking am I stressing my incisions am I in the right position. I’m such a restless sleeper and get night sweats. But it’s not all bad my other incisions the butterfly lift (lateral body lift whatever the name may be) the stomach muscle tightening, augmentation those incisions are doing well all things considered. Just a little minor drainage in two small spots. I do have the one drain in place. And it’s known what a pain in the arse the thigh lift can be. the fact he ended up doing the different type of thigh lift was because of how bad the excess skin there was. I guess it’s my lifelong chronic illness? I’ve got the thin skin of a old lady ... so I guess this is why I kind of dropped off the map. The basic self care has been exhausting. I barely got dressed. I finally got to wearing casual cotton dresses with some lovely compression stockings. And maybe Faja again shortly. I’ll update more I had a exhausting day and it was just a shower today although I did make a special lunch I made fresh salmon ...

Hello! Everyone is different of course but I have to tell you that my recovery was pretty easy with no complications. I did my sleeve back in July 2018. Best decision I ever made!! Good luck to you! I wish you a easy recovery and much success!!

You have difficult decisions to make and it’s completely understandable that you’re obsessing about all of it – how could you not? I, too, am a strong advocate of the “think a million times, cut once” philosophy. With regard to being a pioneer patient, from extensive research conducted prior to my own bariatric surgery, and as a medical scientist, please allow me to offer an assessment: no surgeon would select a ultra-low or even low-volume surgeon for him-/herself or his/her relatives for any surgery. The correlation between high volume and quality of surgical outcomes is empirically well documented, meaning that the outcome of every surgical procedure is directly dependent on the number of operations performed at a given hospital as well as by the designated surgeon. In other words, the higher the number of operations of a specific type a surgeon performs, the more likely optimum treatment results and low complication rates are achieved. This fact is supported by a large volume* of studies and meta-analyses that have been conducted, peer-reviewed, and published between 1979 and 2019. Because of comorbidities and lower cardiopulmonary reserve thresholds, bariatric patients are often high risk patients. In complex procedures like bariatric surgery – and particularly with riskier procedures such as RYGB, BPD/DS, and SIPS – it is worth paying extra attention to the correlation of procedure-specific skills of the surgeon and the complication rate. Since you’re several months away from surgery, I’d encourage you to keep researching extensively, and talk with as many people as possible who have recently had DS and VSG, and particularly those who are at least 5 years out from both surgeries. I hope that by the time you reach a final decision, you’re able to do so with clarity and a sense of ease. Wishing you all the very best! ****** *A small sampling of available data includes: 1. Zevin B, Aggarwal R, Grantcharov TP: Volume-outcome association in bariatric surgery: a systematic review. Ann Surg 2012;256:60-67. 2. Nguyen NT, Paya M, Stevens CM, Mavandadi S, Zainabadi K, Wilson SE: The relationship between hospital volume and outcome in bariatric surgery at academic medical centers. Ann Surg 2004;240:586-593; discussion 593-594. 3. Birkmeyer NJ, Dimick JB, Share D, Hawasli A, English WJ, Genaw J, Finks JF, Carlin AM, Birkmeyer JD; Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative: Hospital complication rates with bariatric surgery in Michigan. JAMA 2010;304:435-442. 4. Birkmeyer JD, Finks JF, O'Reilly A, Oerline M, Carlin AM, Nunn AR, Dimick J, Banerjee M, Birkmeyer NJ; Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative: Surgical skill and complication rates after bariatric surgery. N Engl J Med 2013;369:1434-1442. 5. Chowdhury MM, Dagash H, Pierro A: A systematic review of the impact of volume of surgery and specialization on patient outcome. Br J Surg 2007;94:145-161. 6. Luft HS, Bunker JP, Enthoven AC: Should operations be regionalized? The empirical relation between surgical volume and mortality. N Engl J Med 1979;301:1364-1369. 7. Birkmeyer JD, Siewers AE, Finlayson EVA, Stukel TA, Lucas FE, Batista I, Welch HG, Wennberg DE: Hospital volume and sugical mortality in the United States. N Engl J 2002;346:1128-1137. 8. Amato L, Colais P, Davoli M, Ferroni E, Fusco D, Minocci S, Moirano F, Sciatella P, Vecchi S, Ventura M, Perucci CA: Volume and health outcomes: evidence from systematic reviews and from evaluation of Italian hospital data (Article in Italian). Epidemiol Prev 2013;37(suppl 2):1-100. 9. Pieper D, Mathes T, Neugebauer EAM, Eikermann M: State of evidence on the relationship between high-volume hospitals and outcomes in surgery: a systematic review of systematic reviews. J Am Coll Surg 2013;216:1015-1025. 10. Al-Sahaf M, Lim E: The association between surgical volume, survival and quality of care. J Thorac Dis 2015;7(suppl 2):152-155. 11. Maruthappu M, Duclos A, Lipsitz RS, Orgill D, Carty MJ: Surgical learning curves and operative efficiency: a cross-specialty observational study. BMJ Open 2015;5:e006679. 12. Schrag D, Panageas KS, Riedel E, Cramer LD, Guillem JG, Bach PB, Begg CB: Hospital and surgeon procedure volume as predictors of outcome following GI resection. Ann Surg 2002;236:583-592.

Perhaps because Gay was so ambivalent about WLS, the nutritionist worried that Gay might read posts about complications, regret, diet neglect, etc. and reconsider surgery or develop bad habits afterward. Even in Gay's 2018 post-surgery posts, she still seems frustrated with her body. Initially after surgery, my surgeon and nutritionist urged me to join an in-person WLS group, but after one attendance I dropped out because the issues discussed were not relevant to me (e.g., a couple talking about their marriage, a woman obsessed with an upcoming 10k) . Now both surgeon and nutritionist are really supportive of my visiting WLS forums, saying that this shows I remain "engaged."

Hm, I had my first surgery in 2001. I don't know though if my weight would be different if I didn't have these intolerances and complications. If you maintained for 10 years - do you have any idea what caused the weight gain? Like having a new job and being less active or entering retirement or something like this?

This is basically it. Barring any complications, any surgery will work if you work it. Like others said above, it’s really personal preference...unless you have GERD tendencies, in which case the recommendation would be bypass. I was sleeved and I’m all good. Good Luck!

DS is a fairly complicated surgery, so I'm not sure I'd want a rookie doing it. you didn't mention RNY (gastric bypass), but that's another option. If you have trouble with GERD, that's the surgery that's usually recommended. RNY often improves - if not outright cures - GERD. The sleeve CAN make it worse. Not always - and not even in most patients -- but in a significant minority. if you don't have issues with GERD, then it comes down to personal preference. They're both good surgeries, and I've seen many examples of success on here with both. And of course, people have failed at both, too. If you are a very committed patient, you can succeed with either one.

I'm going to say congrats! because it sounds like this is something you wanted, even though you are understandably scared. WLS surgery definitely improves fertility - this is one of the main reasons I did it. It's hard not to worry. Your recent surgery will probably make your pregnancy a bit more complicated, and the pregnancy will probably make your weight loss a bit more difficult. But all of those things can be managed with the help of your doctors. You will need to work harder to ensure you get proper protein and vitamins for your baby, and it will probably end up taking you a little longer to reach your final weight loss goal. But you can handle this! You have a great chance for both a healthy baby and successful weight loss.

First of all, congratulations on your pregnancy. Secondly, congratulations on your weightloss! :) Bravo to you and I am so happy you are now able to concieve. Of course there are complications associated with pregnancy following weightloss surgery. And there are complications associated with obesity. They can be serious and your concerns for your child's nutrition is valid. However, with proper monitoring and a specialized nutritionist, there is NO reason you cannot have a happy, healthy pregnancy. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Be patient and listen to your doctors. Be upfront about your medical history and current diet. ASK QUESTIONS. Be an advocate for your pregnancy and your baby's health. Don't let anyone shame you for your wonderful news. Of course it's "ideal" to wait a year to get pregnant because your numbers stabilize and so does your health. But 4 months post-op is not the end of the world, even if people tell you it is. (Hugs) My dear friend fell pregnant with her first (at 35 years old!) Just 7 months following her surgery and has a healthy, beautiful baby girl now. I wish you the best of luck. Smile! You're having a baby!

I’m 26 Years Old and 4 Months Out From Gastric Bypass Almost 100lbs Down And 6Weeks Pregnant I’m In Shock Because I NEVER Thought I could Get Pregnant after Years Of Trying And No Success I stopped trying then told myself After Surgery I’m Going To Wait 2years so I Can Get Down To My Goal Weight And Enjoy Being Small Then Start Back Trying NOW BOOM PREGNANT 😫🤦🏽‍♀️ Will I Be Ok Will I Still Lose Weight I’m About 280lbs And My Goal Weight Is Between 140-150lbs 😫😫😫😫😫😫 I’m Also Worried About Nutrition And Any Other Complications For Me And Baby Getting Pregnant So soon I’m So Scared 😥 CLEARLY THIS SURGERY REVERSED MY INFERTILITY ISSUE 😰 AND NO MY SURGEON OR DOCTOR DONT KNOW YET I JUST FOUND OUT TODAY 😰

You’re talking about your health. You must be truthful because you don’t want to risk any complications. I’d give my new doctor the results but ask if they’d do another lot to monitor changes. Your doctor can access all your blood work results anyway if they want so you’re not hiding anything. When I get my printout it shows the results for a number of previous tests. The surgery was one of the best decisions I ever made. Best of luck with your journey.

I had my band removed 6 months after getting it in 2010 due to complications (aspirating in sleep at night). Sleeve wasn't approved by my insurance at the time so I just got a removal. Today got approval to get a VSG done!

Hi I am so excited my insurance (US Family Health Plan subsidiary of Tricare) just approved my sleeve. My consult was 6/10 then had testing done. Insurance was submitted Fri 6/26 and approved today! I had a lapband in 2010 and due to complications has to have it removed less the 6 months after getting it. I was 430 ish pounds post band. I lost 60lbs before surgery and have kept off most of my weight from that time. Currently in the 285 ish lb range. Now I am just waiting on a surgery date and hoping for August!