Pre-Op Questions! Need info!

Hi There! I am about to have my surgery. I get my actual surgery date tomorrow! I am looking at having the surgery in December since I am through with all of my pre-op tests and appointments. I have a few quick questions I think every pre-op has before going in for the surgery. 1. If you had to do anything over again before the surgery, what would that be? 2. Was there anything that you did not know until the surgery was over that you wish you would have known before the surgery? 3. How long did it take to get back to "normal" after the lap-surgery? 4. Has the surgery lived up to your expectations? 5. Are you glad you chose to have the VBG compared to the RNY surgery? Why? Anything else that I could not think of, and you think is of importance before going into surgery, please feel free to post those as well. I have been feeling calm about the surgery until now. I think I am more frazzled at trying to get all the loose ends taken care of than I am nervous about the surgery! Thank you in advance! You are greatly appreciated! I look forward to hearing from you all!!!!!!!!! Your weight loss friend, Crystal

Hi Crystal... #1 -- I wouldn't of gained weight in the 1 3/4 years prior to surgery. Now I just have to lose that weight as well as the "old" weight. #2 -- My IV infiltrated and I didn't know enough to know what that meant. I had a large swollen area on my arm that was fevered and extremely painful. It actually hurt more than the "open" 9" incision that I received. #3 -- I returned to work after 2 weeks. I was "sore" for the first week. I was in the hospital for 5 days. Once home it was just a couple of days before I was up and about. I came to work on the 7th day for a couple of hours. #4 -- I am 1 month out and I think I have lost about 50 pounds. It has exceeded my expectations. #5 -- I am glad that I chose the VBG. The restrictions on quantity of food that can be eated at any one time is enough of a challenge for me. I couldn't imagine how harsh the restrictions would feel with NO sugar in my life. I think the VBG was a good choice for me because I am what would be called a "volume" eater vs. a "sweet" eater. The Surgeon suggested this surgery based on the information that I gave him. He felt I would do equally as well with either surgery. He left the final decision up to me. I sweated over wether I was making the right choice up until the day of surgery. Now I feel it was the right choice for me. Hope this helps you out some.... Best wishes on your upcoming surgery!

Hi! I had a VBG in 1985, because RNY was new and had some bad press. If I could change my mind I would have had a RNY. MUCH more weight loss and much less chance for regain. VBG has a 70-80% failure rate (regain). I have regained and re-lost a hundred pounds since then and its a struggle. BUT-I have never had ANY problems ie hair loss, vitamin deficiencies etc. I was so psyched about Bariatric surgery that I became a Bariatric Specialist as my career. Would I reccommend VBG? Not unless there were significant reasons why you didn't want or couldn't have the RNY.