Does anyone regret getting the sleeve?

[JLT281 13]

I will be 6 months post op in 2 days. No regrets here. If you put in the effort the weight will come off. I'm down 130+ since the beginning.

[Taylor5 98]

Wow, well with this surgery most people have some of the same negatives (the liquid diet), or have similar negative side effects (nausea/constipation), but also have good things to balance it out. I have gone through a lot of the same things as everyone else on here, and am also going through some stuff that may not be as common. Whether or not it makes us regret the surgery is definitely a personal experience based on many factors, but it seems like the majority come out on the side of No Regrets. Like you, I considered backing out a month or so before my surgery date. My daughter helped me realize that with surgery things may or may not get better, and yes, some things could possibly get worse (small percentage). But without it, probably nothing was going to change (at least not for the better). So it ended up being a no brainer and I felt extremely confident going forward even through the sucky pre-op diet (over Xmas) and what I assumed would just be a terrible first few months of puking and misery post-op. Things did not turn out the way I thought, and as I have just been journaling, I will share, if you care to read:

I am 5 months post-op as of yesterday. I am down 51.2 lbs, 31 total inches overall since pre-op, body fat percentage back under 30%. My weight loss has been a bit slower than most - they say probably bc my starting weight was lower (205.8) and also I have a lot of chronic pain so my workouts are not exactly intense. But thankfully the more I lose the better I can move. My body did not want to let go of these last couple lbs - I thought I'd never reach the 50 lb milestone! It was like 48, 48.5, 49.2, 49.6...like seriously? Lol, talk about a frustrating month! But I'm finally over that hurdle and goal is between 14-20 lbs from here. I'm short, so honestly I have always looked better lower than that - say in my 120's, but I'm older now and my skin is not bouncing back the way it once did, and gravity is a real son of gun. So I will probably stop around 135/140 in order to keep things looking a little more "well-rounded" - and I also think it will be easier to maintain. That's my thought process right now anyway.

My surgery itself went smooth, so no issues there. I have never vomited (which shocks me no end as I'm prone to nausea), I have felt nauseated 2-3x max - but it passed quickly. I do, however, have issues with reflux. Had reflux pre-op that was well controlled by OTC Nexium. Now it can be very painful at times. Like some others, I too think maybe I should have considered the by-pass more seriously, but also bc my ins did not cover and I went to MX as self-pay, the sleeve seemed like the best option overall.

One thing for me is I never lost the hunger sensation. My "Ghrelin Game's" strong, I guess. But the biggest "issue" I have had, and it's no small thing, is I still struggle with many solid foods. I have slowly introduced them as instructed and when instructed, chew chew chew, etc. But after maybe 5 small bites of MANY foods (I do ok w/some), I still feel hungry, so I intend to probably eat a few more bites to become satiated, but all of a sudden start getting bad pain in center of diaphragm...feel completely "clogged" or "backed up" with food even though I've eaten so little and I still felt hungry 2 seconds ago...then usually get some reflux...get the hiccups...will need to take Tums...often suck on 1 or 2 wintergreen Lifesavers as they also seem to help w/digestion...then suck on ice chips for a little while which also seems to help. It sounds pretty miserable, and honestly, it is. To avoid, I could probably take 2-3 small bites, wait 20-30 minutes and have another 2-3 bites. Or, just stick to eating softer food.

So, most nights I have yogurt for dinner with unflavored Protein Powder, chia seeds, a few mashed fresh blackberries, and a little organic coconut granola. It's about 5 oz. total, and I take my time eating that also - about 20 mins I'd say. Luckily, I enjoy the yogurt combo, but once or twice a week, I want Real Food for dinner, and that is my struggle. It's especially hard on the weekends bc my husband and I like to go out on Sat to a farmer's market or something and then have lunch (or dinner & a movie...). But it's miserable for me to sit at a restaurant where I can barely eat anything on the menu (comfortably) and then have to sit (w/back pain & probably stomach pain) and wait for my husband to enjoy his meal. Lately we haven't been going out much, which is a real drag.

I expected it to be like this for the first several mos, but figured it would slowly be getting better by now. I knew I'd have diet restrictions and certain foods would take longer to agree w/me (some might never work well again), but I didn't expect that So Many real foods (meaning meats/veggies, etc. dinner type foods) would be too painful to eat. For me this is the most difficult thing and I am praying it gets better w/time. If I can eat a couple oz. of chicken/turkey/fish/steak + say 1/2 cup of cooked veggies/salad/potatoes (whatever), w/o any pain or reflux, and enjoy my food & comfortably sit & enjoy the company of my husband (sisters/kids) until they finish eating, even if it's at 9 months or a yr post-op, I will be ok w/that. It's the thought that it might never happen that worries me.

On the other hand, when this happens, my husband feels so bad, and sometimes says, "I'm sorry babe, you must really regret having that surgery now." And I'm like, "No I don't! How else was I ever going to lose 50 pounds in 5 mos w/all the health/pain issues I have?" I never thought I would weigh 154 lbs again, much less 135-140 where I hope to land. So, yeah. It sucks that I have to eat yogurt for dinner most nights. (There are a handful of other things I could have instead, but some of those I have for breakfast/lunch/snacks, and also the yogurt is easy to throw together). But hopefully that will get better as more time passes, and if it doesn't...I don't know...I have to think it's got to be better than stuffing my face w/whatever I wanted but then feeling awful every time I got dressed or looked in the mirror...

[XYZXYZXYZ1955 675]

No regrets. I haven't lost nearly as much as I'd like and I'm still not off most of medications. I haven't had a big burst of energy and I still have issues with my knees. But I am on less medication for my diabetes and I would never, never, never have lost 78 pounds any other way.

One thing that many doctors/nutritionists don't tell you is that you may well feel hungry the first month, as everything you're consuming will go through you. You are not going to feel full on very little until you are eating solid food, especially Protein, protein, protein.

Another thing they may not mention is the stalls you will inevitably hit. Very often this happens at three weeks post-surgery, which makes very little sense from the point of how few calories you are consuming. But the basic explanation I've read is that your body needs to "catch up" with the weight loss; hang in there through the stall and eventually it will break and you'll start losing again.

Each person has to make his or her own decision on this. In the long term, it may be much less of a change than you think--the amount you can eat will grow significantly over time. Whether this works long-term depends a lot more on the habits you develop and maintain--or not.

Best of luck.

[StrawberryLaray 33]

I'm almost 3 weeks post op and have frequently regretted my sleeve. I also did a lot of research before surgery but it seems people don't talk much about how hard it is to get through the diet phases until you can eat solid food again. The Protein Shakes are nasty, I can't stand anything with artificial sweeteners (most sugar-free products), and have a lot of pain when eating. Hoping things will get easier as I progress to "normal" food. Because I haven't been able to get all my Protein in, I've been exhausted but that's my own fault. I also can't drink the recommended amount of Water. It's just too much. I'm losing weight and am happy about that but the mental part is so hard. I wasn't prepared for that.

I'm having same issues, 12 days post OP. I don't regret it but I'm not coping very well.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

[melrami1981 2]

I am 8 days post op today! I had some regret starting on about day 5 when I my mind was telling me I wanted all these things to eat. I wasn’t hungry at all, it was a mind thing. I also feel like I should have been more aware of the post op restrictions. The two week liquid diet is awful. This is where the regret steps in. You just have to keep your mind strong and remember why you did this surgery to begin with. I had regret on one day and after I kept reminding myself I did this for me it got way better. (Liquid diet sucks) but you will get threw it. I have lost 20 pounds so far and I’m only 8 days post op. :)