Any Regrets?

[keddykat75 57]

My regret is that I didn't do the Bypass the FIRST time or the SECOND!

I did the band (waste) then I converted to sleeve (success) but stomach has since stretched (yumm yumm ice cream = No no, Mmmm carbs = bad, bad) and have some regain....off to the bypass. I needed the sugar dumping! I am an addict - a sugar/food addict. Who wanted to change but didn't want the vile aftereffects that bypass offers, and I so need. Dumping is the Antabuse for food addicts.

Suggestion - be brutally honest with yourself and take the leap.

Good luck with your bypass, but you may not end up with dumping syndrome. My surgeon said that many people don't get it at all.

Edited to add: I have MS too, no one has mentioned anything about not having one procedure vs another because of it, but I have chosen the sleeve.

Edited June 28, 2015 by keddykat75

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

I'm 10.5 months post-op (VSG) and currently 5 pounds below goal.

A year ago, I thought I knew how hard it was to be overweight, obese and morbidly obese. But it turns out I actually had NO IDEA how much negative physical and mental energy those conditions generated for me in every single day of my life. I wore myself out every day with worries and feelings like these:

Will this fit?

How will I look?

What will people think?

My body hurts.

I'm procrastinating / avoiding doing anything that requires me to move.

I want to eat that, but can't.

I ate that, but wish I hadn't.

I'm worried I'll overeat later.

I don't want my old friends to see me this big.

Do I look smaller or bigger than the last time he/she/they saw me?

My list of old exhausting thoughts and emotions and behaviors was a lot longer than that. But you get my drift.

I don't have any of that s**t going on now. These days I spend a lot more time thinking about ... nothing!

My stress level is SO much lower.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Sleeved on 6/1/15. I suppose there was no way of knowing I would feel so negative afterwards. I am emotional, easily crying, I feel like a different person, not in a happier way.

Donna, the odds are your current unhappiness will improve dramatically in the coming months.

Rapid weight loss throws TONS of hormones (stored in fat cells) into your blood stream with predictable results. Add that to the normal anxiety one feels during the first few months post-op (like you are) as you struggle to eat /drink and wonder if this is how it will ALWAYS be.

Short version: How you feel 27 days after surgery resembles in NO way how you're going to feel about this surgery a year from now. You have many more phases to go through -- all of which will lead you to a more comfortable, new normal.

[sharonintx 1,275]

@@Donna Syvrud

Not trying to minimize your feelings at all. Every one of us has been in your shoes. The emotions and regret you are feeling are very common and are so important to the overall outcome of your surgery. The emotional issues are just as important as the weight loss in the big scheme of things.

Just as you need to win the battle with food, you need to win the battle inside your own mind. There are certainly some of us that have medical reasons for weight gain and the inability to lose it. But mostly we use food as a comfort, an escape, and a way to soothe our bad feelings - no matter what the cause of those feelings are. You may not have even known that you had emotional issues that needed resolving. Personally, I was quite surprised at the sheer volume of personal issues I needed to work through. In fact, I am still working through them now.

But guess what?? I made a start and have found a way to accomplish this. Who knew that I was so capable and strong on the inside? Well not me for sure! But come to find out - I am.

And so are you. Take one day at a time and let yourself feel all those emotions. It's the only way you can come to terms with yourself and the journey you have undertaken. You'll win in the end.

[Queenfreak 36]

Everyday for the first six months I regretted it. I'm a year and a half out and would do it all over again. It's like having a baby. During labor you think never again but then you have another child because it's so worth it. People say I wish I did it sooner but you weren't at the mind set sooner. Enjoy how you look now.

[Donna Syvrud 2]

Thank you all so much for the encouragement, I have never noticed how I liked to control things, I can break the rules, but why? What I was doing wasn't working before. Can't stand my stomach is altered and the staples, never had surgery before, other than a tooth pulled. Lol. Guess what? There is nothing I can do about it. Time for me to accept it. Responses are a blessing!

[HealthyJudy 53]

So sorry to hear this Donna. I am hoping and truly believe that you will feel better over time. You are less than a month post surgery and some depression is normal. If you stay feeling this way I hope you wil get some professional help to assist you in dealing with this.

[candy32980 9]

I was wondering about regrets also. I'm trying to decided between the sleeve or roux en y. My bmi is >50. I've recently read posts on another site with people regretting gastric bypass due to worsening health problems as the years pass. I'd love to hear honest, non-sugarcoated responses.

[Babbs 14,681]

@@candy32980

First off, you're gorgeous! (Just thought I'd get that out of the way, lol)

Hubby had RNY 9 years ago, I had the sleeve 10 months ago.

The only long term effect my husband has had is a B12 deficiency. Is currently taking shots for it. He has mostly kept his 100+ pound weight loss off. Aside from an initial 20 pound gain (he looked better after that) and then years later a 30 pound gain after quitting smoking (he has since lost it by going back to basics). He has also stretched his pouch out quite a bit. Sleeves, as a rule, don't stretch much. It will never be back to the size of your pre surgical stomach.

I do believe that bypass patients lose a little faster if I'm going to be honest with you. I have also seen some bypass patients that have some major deficiency issues that have caused them some health issues. I know 2 personally.

I don't think the sleeve has been around long enough to know quite yet what the long term effects are. I also believe you can lose just as much successfully with the sleeve as with the bypass, but it MAY take a bit longer.

I have never been a big Vitamin taker, so at 10 months out I am only taking Vitamin D and B12. I prefer to get my Vitamins from food, and with the sleeve you can get away with it. Not so much with the bypass.

If you suffer from GERD, I would highly suggest the bypass, as it seems to resolve it.

That's all I got

[candy32980 9]

Thanks so much Babbs! For the info and the compliment . I know a few people that have had the sleeve and they are doing awesome. I'm kinda worried about the malabsorption with gastric bypass but I want the the best surgery / tool to get this weight off and keep it off. Your info has helped calm my worries about gastric bypass. I still have a lot of thinking to do.

[India928 81]

My regret is that I didn't do the Bypass the FIRST time or the SECOND!

I did the band (waste) then I converted to sleeve (success) but stomach has since stretched (yumm yumm ice cream = No no, Mmmm carbs = bad, bad) and have some regain....off to the bypass. I needed the sugar dumping! I am an addict - a sugar/food addict. Who wanted to change but didn't want the vile aftereffects that bypass offers, and I so need. Dumping is the Antabuse for food addicts.

Suggestion - be brutally honest with yourself and take the leap.

Good luck with your bypass, but you may not end up with dumping syndrome. My surgeon said that many people don't get it at all.

Edited to add: I have MS too, no one has mentioned anything about not having one procedure vs another because of it, but I have chosen the sleeve.

What I was told regarding the MS is this:

With the Bypass, an MS patient with a flare up requiring use of a steroid (for example, Solu-Medrol) risks developing ulcers at the joining sites of the new pouch regardless of surgical time frame. With the sleeve, you have a "cushion" so to speak - you still have stomach properties that aid with the safe absorption of the medication - with the bypass you do not.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

Does anyone regret their decision to have WLS? Does anyone wish they had not done it? If so, why? I have seen so many people talk about their only regret being that they didn't do it sooner but I am curious about the other side and perspective.

Thanks! And for all those that are happy with their decision, go ahead and post about that too. Motivation is a good thing!!

Count me as one who's only regret is not doing it sooner. I'm 9mths out and 8lbs away from a 100lb weight loss. I was over 400lbs so I still have a long way to go, but even where I am now has made a big difference in my life. I was one of those fit fat folks. Sure I was active and had a busy social life, but often after a long weekend or a busy vacation I was just wiped out and exhausted. I now can do more and rebound so much quickly. It's nice to go to NYC for a weekend and not have to come home, rub down with bengay and take at least one day to recover. My way of eating and exercising has become a way of life so I feel confident that even though I have a long way to go, I can get to onederland and close to a normal BMI.

[candy32980 9]

@@BLERDgirl

What type of surgery did you have?

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

@@BLERDgirl

What type of surgery did you have?

I had the sleeve done.

[JamieLogical 8,708]

@@candy32980 It does seem that the rate of loss is faster with RNY, but I wouldn't necessarily see that as a benefit. There are a lot of benefits to losing more slowly. Your skin has more time to adapt. You don't have to replace your clothes as frequently. You get fewer comments on your rapid weight loss. And you have more time to mentally adapt to your changing body. Meanwhile, losing "fast" doesn't really have any long term benefit. In 5 years, will it matter if it took you a couple more months to lose those pounds? Nope! But, your skin and wallet might be grateful for the extra time!