The Good,the Bad,the Ugly, & The Absolutely Terrifying!

[LizTex2587 212]

Attention all you wonderful post-OP folks! This Lil pre-OP girl keeps hearing about really great experiences that people have throughout this whole journey and that's totally great and I hope my experience is that wonderful! Then I hear stories of those that a have had bit of a tough time and I think that I'm willing to except the bag that comes with the good.I believe the payoff will be with it. Then there ones that have horror stories that would make Freddy Krueger cringe...and this just terrifies me! I keep hearing people saying how they totally regret doing it and wish they could take it all back. What I really want to know is, hope common is it for people to experience these absolute tortuous results? I know everyone's body is different and can handle things differently, I just don't want to do something that will, make me miserable! need some reassurance!

[cantwaittolose 163]

Best thing I EVER did for myself. Yes, the first few days, even first 2 weeks is just different. I have never had surgery before this, so I really didn't know what to expect. It was much better than I anticipated as far as pain and getting around. You will have discomfort and I think the most difficult is just learning how to eat again. I'm almost 6 weeks and almost each day brings something new. In my opinion, the horror stories you hear on here about people hating it or wishing they could go back, are dealing (again, my opinion) with the emotional aspect of not being able to turn to food, The vice is taken away....now what? How do I cover up this pain or deal with it? I did suffer a little depression around week 3, but it was fleeting. I have never had the feeling that I wish I didn't do it. I am so HAPPY every single day that I feed myself for nutrition and nothing else, but I was also very ready to give up the food and have never wanted something more. It almost doesn't seem real to KNOW the weight is going to come off....it's a strange feeling sometimes. I do consider myself lucky in that I had no complications, expect that the pain meds in the hospital did not agree with me and I had to stay an extra night....that was the worst part of my entire experience. The only other thing I can think of is the energy level....you have to get in the Protein and make sure you feed and hydrate yourself throughout the day. People do end up dehydrated and honestly that seems pretty easy to do considering how little you can take in at first. Each day gets better and like I said, I don't regret 1 single second.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

[Nikki613 120]

I will say this, I dont think anyone could have made me 100% at ease preoo. You are going to worry that you will be one of the 1% or less with problems. I was pretty scared until the day before surgery, I just felt at ease. I slept great that night. I was a bit nervouse that morning in the hospital but they gave me my liquid courage before hauling me in to the OR.

Waking up I was in a lot of pain. I really wasnt prepared for the pain. I was immediately told I they discovered a hiatal hernia and my surgeon repaired that as well and this is why I was in a lot of pain. I remember looking around and all the other people in recovery looked fine.

I got to my room still in pain. 30 min later came the pain pump. All was AWESOME after that.

Worst part was probably that leak test. Gross!!! But i made it through.

I will be 3 weeks post op Tuesday. I am doing well. I was 244 the day of surgery, I am 229 today.

Good luck in your journey

[COsleeveDude 273]

I say you can look at anecdotes, or you can look at the science. I choose science.

There are lots of studies out there. You can reduce or prevent complications by doing things like losing weight and exercising in the months before surgery, choosing an experienced surgeon who works out of a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence, and so on.

Here's one study regarding complication rates: http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/18923879

Complications after sleeve gastrectomy for morbid obesity.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is an increasingly used bariatric surgical procedure.

METHODS:

We report our complications after LSG and compared to 17 other published LSG series. The individual types of complications for the published series were evaluated, with sample size calculations being performed to determine the number of patients required for a study that would detect halving the odds of the most common complications.

RESULTS:

Of 53 patients who underwent LSG, 42 were women. Mean age was 51 years with a mean initial body mass index of 53.5 kg/m2 and mean of eight comorbidities. Mean excess weight loss was 52.2% at 12 months and 59.2% at 18 months. No patients died. Five patients (9.4%) developed complications which included two staple line leaks that required reoperations, one preceded by a salmonella infection associated with vomiting, the other by postoperative pneumonia associated with coughing. Of the three staple line hemorrhages, one required hospitalization. The median complication rate for the 17 articles was 4.5%. With the number of patients for each series taken into account, the current series had a complication rate of 1.24 (95% CI 0.45-2.87) times that of the 17 published series. Published LSG complications were diverse, with the most common being reoperation, occurring after 3.6% of procedures. A study designed to detect halving the odds of reoperation would require more than 3,000 procedures.

CONCLUSION:

LSG is a safe procedure with low morbidity. Because leaks and reoperation in this series were preceded by large increments in intraabdominal pressure, attention to staple line reinforcements that increase burst pressure may be warranted.

There are lots of other studies out there. Google away.

Good luck.

[LizTex2587 212]

Awesome. Thanks so much for the feedback yall. I haven't been approved yet, that will happen (hopefully) sometime in October and then we will schedule the procedure directly after. I never really considered wls until about a month ago when my parents (I'm on their insurance until April) Sat me down and told me how worried they are about me in terms of my health as well as the way I feel about myself...anyway, I just had my first appointment Wednesday and he's already taking about scheduling the procedure before the end of the year. It is just a tiny bit overwhelming, but I'm not gonna pass up the opportunity! Thanks again for the feedback

- Liz

[billyvmom 128]

I got a blood clot from not walking as much as I should have and didn't blow into the stupid machine 10 times a hour now I'm back in here so listen to what they say even if you don't want to.

[thinmomsoon 27]

south Texas sleeve girl, where are you from? I live waaaay in south Texas in the rip grande valley. we are planning on moving to San antonio after the new year

[keldolbeth 262]

I went to info sessions for two different bariatric doctors before making a decision. One of the doctors said (in reference to all WLS, not just VSG) 1/3 of her patients couldn't be happier, 1/3 are indifferent and think they could have lived without it and 1/3 absolutely hate their decision. However, I think with VSG the fractions would be skewed more to the positive.

So far, I can't say it's been all roses but that's just because I can be pessimistic. I haven't had anything too horrible happen to me... mourning the loss of food (it can be a serious issue for some), severe Constipation, feeling bad about myself because none of my clothes fit and I want to look as good as I feel. These are hopefully all things I will overcome and are mostly mental. The worst "complication" I've had was a reaction to the sutures in one of my incisions... wasn't that bad and cleared up after a few days of antibiotics. I've been able to tolerate most foods but I didn't have any energy until about 8 weeks post-op.

[LizTex2587 212]

Thanks again for all the feedback everyone. To answer that question: I am in the Corpus Christi area. Where in the RGV are you? I have friends in the Weslaco, Harlingen, San Benito, & Edinburgh areas. We do a lot of church events in those areas. I love South Texas!

[alliecat1095 128]

south Texas sleeve girl' date=' where are you from? I live waaaay in south Texas in the rip grande valley. we are planning on moving to San antonio after the new year[/quote']

Thinmomsoon:

Where you from. I had surgery in Harlingen. Tx w/Dr Hilmy.w

[Pattyhdz 32]

Nice! I see some fellow rgv . I am in McAllen had my sleeve July 5 with Dr Allyn

[alliecat1095 128]

Nice! I see some fellow rgv . I am in McAllen had my sleeve July 5 with Dr Allyn