Looking for Negative stories! What are the Cons if any?

[Lorelei 2]

Hello everyone,

I, as you can likely see, am new here.

This is my first post.

I came here because I would like to have this surgery and am gathering as much information as I can as I'm sure you all did.

I'm a big googler, I will not take any medication until checking every little detail about it and have found this necessary because Dr.s do not always know best unfortunately.

Most of the time, whatever it is you are researching, you will find a ton of horror stories first because the happy people generally go on about their lives in contentment while those who had bad experiences go online to post and talk.

So....I have been searching and searching for horror stories about this surgery, complications, people who regret having it done, anything negative at all, and I can not find anything.

Even the few people who said they got nauseous, or had trouble getting in enough Protein, little things like that, all say they would do it all again.

I feel that if I can not find ANY negative stories to consider, then I must be missing something, and I want to be fully informed in every regard so I can make the best decision for myself.

Another reason to look at the negatives is the possibility of going to Mexico for surgery.

If one does that, how can they get followup care?

I believe that if your insurance company will not pay for your surgery, they also will not pay for revisions, treatment for complications, and followup care.

So... before I go plunging into these forums to find answers to my many questions, I'd like to start out with the cons...I think I have a pretty good handle on the pros and am seriously considering this surgery.

Thank you for reading this far, I tend to be a bit verbose, and thank you in advance for your answers.

Lorelei

[Skinnypie 66]

Hello there! Welcome!! I am 10 days post OP and have been very blessed so far in my recovery, with minimal pain and getting in my fluids and Proteins ok... This is definitely a great resource for VSG info and to read about both positive and negative experiences... Try searching in subject lines for "leak" "emergency" or something like that... Also I recommend reading a post by Kapoorvilla about her near death experience that she just posted in the last couple of days... Good luck in your decision!!

[Lorelei 2]

Great, thank you :-)

[partofme! 36]

Welcome! If I may suggest, how about researching percentages? The thing is, every story is different. Just like everyone loses weight differently! With the sleeve, here are the percentages:

“An irreversible surgical procedure that forever changes the body’s anatomy removing a portion of the stomach to reduce its size and capacity.”

IMPORTANT SAFETY STATISTICS:

Mortality rate: 0.39%

Total complications: 22%

Major complications: 1.9%

The lap band offers lower stats but slower weight loss. Your doctor knows you best and will be able to guide you which will be best for you, considering your own personal health history, weight currently, etc.

How much weight do you need to lose? What diets have your tried?

Chat soon!

[juny 93]

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/59339-leak-survivors-a-little-help/

Fairy recent, it's a list of some of the worst experiences vsg has to offer. I want to say insurance companies will pay for the complications especially since they're life threatening.

[MeMeMEEE 206]

see the complications forum

[GlendaLee 44]

Welcome, and good luck in your research. As mentioned above, you can search key words, ER, Pain, leaks, etc... I believe the pros out weigh the cons, but you definitely need to know all the risks involved. This is wonderful, supportive, tell you like it is, forum. They held my hand for 10 days of significant pain, that I'm just now getting relief from. But I have no regrets in my decision to have WLS.

Sent from my iPhone using VST

[thinkingskinny 5]

Hi,

I'm 8 months out. And I too had a hard time finding neg. stories pre and def post op. I talk a bit about my complications n some old posts. But even in my support group my leader asked me to tell my story because soo many ppl have no bad stories to go off of or feel like they have someone else in their position. But hopefully if you do decide to have it done, you will be fine and have no neg. stories to tell either. Good luck

[Lorelei 2]

Hello Fellow Newbie,

I'd like to ask you, 8 months out now, are you happy you had the surgery? or do you regret it?

If you had to do it all again, would you?

I'd love to know.

Lorelei

[thinkingskinny 5]

The first 3 months I was soo depressed my family, friends, and even drs were worried about me. I was told maybe I had bad reaction to the anesthesia or no one just had an answer for me. I went on antidepressants, something I've never had a problem with or something I would have never agree to taking before hand. But it really got so bad I couldnt say no.

Now to answer your question. I was on antidepressants for a month and went off. I was back to myself. I had the surgery in April and wasn't back to myself til July/August. Now that I'm back to myself I feel GREAT! After the storm it is now the best choice for me. I exercise everyday. I shop just about every week. I think I'm cuter than my friends again LOL. Life is great. And yes I would do it again.

[Lorelei 2]

Thank you so much for sharing that with me.

I very much appreciate it.

Lorelei

[exoticheart 5]

I am 1yr and half out from surgery and stopped at the 50% weight loss 256 to 197.... I have maintained this weight for the last 5 months...So some days I do question myself on not getting the bypass. My girlfriend had surgery a week after mine and had the bypass and she dropped all the weight off 236 to 129, so seeing her questions my decision... I am very happy that I have lost almost 60 pounds and feel great , just thought I would share my story with you as a con just so you know some people do stop at the at the minimum percentage as well good luck in your journey.

[iggychic 1,405]

I had several complications during and after my surgery which resulted in another surgery, multiple hospital stays and half a million dollars in extra costs. You are quite right in saying that most insurance companies DO NOT pay for those costs if the initial surgery or the root cause of the complications was elective surgery. I always like to advise people who have this surgery self pay or in Mexico (often there are specific clauses in insurance policies to rule out coverage for complications stemming from any procedure completed outside of your natural country) to look for supplemental coverage just in case.

This surgery almost took me away from my small child forever. He needs his mommy and he'd have been better off if I didn't have it. He still suffers concerns because of the trauma he went through when I was sick. I was such an idiot to have it but hadn't seen many complication stories either, and my doctors assured me constantly that I wasn't one of those risk factor patients anyhoo because I was so low BMI and had no other issues. It's a great sales pitch until you find yourself feeling so familiar in an ambulance you can get your own oxygen mask.

There are many stories in these threads if you look of horrible complications. Mine has been removed because it caused my dear doctor so much stress (eyes rolling) but they are here in spades. As the procedure gets more and more popular we will see more and more people sharing their stories of pain and suffering sadly.

[lizv123 389]

You can check my thread "Time to check out my hospital's ER"... I got home Thursday from a month long stay in the hospital for a TINY leak that was caught early. Today is the first day home I haven't vomited. I'm so weak I need help walking to the bathroom. A shower made me faint. I can't open the lids on any bottles. I have awful pain in my drain sites from the scabs. I will forever be grateful for the weightloss. But do it again? Watch my family suffer? Have a tube shoved up my nostril down into my stomach? Strict NPO for 3 weeks? No. Absolutely not. I should've got my butt in gear, joined weight watchers and forced myself to exercise.

[lizzyshade 56]

I'm 7 months post op & 100 lbs less today! I have had complications, I had an infection after surgery, then another in my intestine and have endured pain, nausea, depression & finally lots of Hair loss. I missed 3 months of work since surgery in May due to surgical complications & then the infections. However, I've learned a lot about myself, I've learned to exercise, forced to learn Portion Control & would do it all again. I'm not the typical story & even I think its been worth it.

One thing I've learned is that under my layers of fat & skin, I'm still me. So the struggles I had are still there. Also there is the reality of whats left of my body, my skin with a lot of fat gone... not a pretty sight. Looks ok under clothes though. And still with all that, I would do it again.

Today I'm am half of me, surgery set me free.