regrets/ second thoughts

I am looking for newer reviews on if anyone has had regrets about getting the sleeve; and not just I regret I didn't do it sooner... I would like to have it done at the end of next summer in Mexico. I am currently going through the thought processes of "maybe I shouldn't". I do belive that it would be a good thing for my health due to my other issues currently. How hard is it to adjust to a new way of eating. how hard is it really to stay hydrated? Anyone really miss getting to eat whatever??

I'm still in the honeymoon phase, so that's where my response is coming from. And, I had a band prior, so there's that perspective as well. I wanted to do it on my own. I liked healthy foods, but after years of ups& downs I simply wasn't able to. This has done it for me. I'm eating healthy, I'm feeling sated. I'm not always perfect with water & vitamins, but I'm pretty close. The water goes down easily. And, for the 1st time in my life I feel a physiological change; I'm not dying without sugar & high fat, I'm ok, no bad cravings. I did not have that with the band. It's great so far, & i pray it continues to be. Good luck with your decision!

I have zero regrets at 3.5ish years post-op. I'm not even in the "I wish I had done it sooner" camp, since I did it when I was ready.

How hard is it to adjust to a new way of eating? That depends on you and the mental work you do. It depends on how you approach your new way of eating. It depends on a lot of things. I'd imagine there are people out there who always feel deprived and DON'T adjust to their new way of eating. And there are people who have no problems. Therapy is great to help with the adjustment.

How hard is it really to stay hydrated? Again, this depends on the person. Some of us (like me, yay!) never have any restriction with liquids. Some of us do. If you're one of the unlucky ones - try everything. Try different liquids and different temperatures until you find something that works. At this point I have zero issues with hydration.

Anyone really miss getting to eat whatever?? Sometimes, yes, for sure. But... I've also been diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder and clearly have/had an unhealthy relationship with food. Sometimes I miss being able to just GORGE. But I try to make up for what I lack in quantity with quality these days. Again, therapy helps a lot.

Weight loss surgery is not an easy "fix." It doesn't suddenly make all of your bad relationship issues with food disappear. If you're prepared to do the physical AND mental work, you'll be successful.

Your responses on these boards are so helpful. Thank you for putting the time in!

I was sleeved in May, 2014 and had zero regrets, not a minute. And my ride hasn't been the smoothest. I developed GERD as a result of my sleeve and had to revise to RNY in 2016. Even with that hiccup, it was the best thing I've ever done for myself.

New way of eating: I would say this varies person to person. It was not difficult for me. I always enjoyed healthy food. My issue wasn't the type of food, but the quantity. In other words, I was never a snacker, didn't binge on high calorie, sugary foods, etc. I just ate A LOT. The sleeve made it so I couldn't really do that anymore (at least not in one sitting) After surgery I ate the healthy food I enjoyed, just in an appropriate portion to nourish or fuel me.

Hydration: The first week after surgery I had an issue getting fluid in. Mostly things tasted "off," and to be honest, I was probably a bit scared that I would do something wrong. After I got past that, and found liquid I could tolerate (I drank passion iced tea, unsweetened from Starbucks with abandon) hydration was easy. I consume between 100-130 oz a day now.

Eating whatever: To be honest, no. I CAN eat whatever I want. I CHOOSE to eat healthy food that nourishes my body. Have I had bites here or there of sweets or "off plan" foods? Sure. But I don't make a habit of it. Also, I feel better when I don't. It's all a matter of choice though. You have to do what works for you, and you need to decide how important eating "whatever" is. For me, getting to goal and maintaining a healthy weight was more important than the momentary pleasure I may get from a brownie, or a scoop of ice cream.

I think you're doing the right things by asking these questions now. It's smart to go into any WLS with your eyes wide open so you know what's in store. Good luck with your decision.

I had "what did I do to myself?" regrets for the first 6 weeks. I missed food and eating a lot of it. I was tired of artifically sweetened everything. Protein shakes began to make me lactose intolerant after drinking so many. Once I was on normal food again, it got so much better and now at 10 months out and under my goal weight, I couldn't be happier with my decision!

It can be hard to adjust to eating small quanities and so much protein. But you get used to it. Staying hydrated is hard for some, but I felt so crappy from not drinking enough the first day that I made it my only job to get fluids in. I was over 100 oz by day 2 home. It can be done if you have a glass in your hand all day long and sip constantly. Once the swelling goes down, drinking is a snap.

I would say in general I have no regrets. In my case I lost the gallbladder due to the weight loss and had a second severe hiatel hernia that required additional surgery. I would have no way of knowing if those issues would have occurred anyway (surgery or not), but there is now a permanent lifestyle change with the eating that I am forced to adhere too. I can't count this as a regret because perhaps it would have happened anyway. The flipside of that is had I not had the surgery I know for certain there would have been other severe health issues that I would have dealt with. But again, I wouldn't know for certain what those would be due to having the surgery- although diabetes and cancer would be on that list for sure.

I don't miss eating large portions or anything like that. I think this is a typical response because our satiety and satisfaction are nearly identical despite eating much smaller portions. That is darn near impossible to wrap your head around prior to surgery, just know that it is very typical to not have food restriction regrets.

Staying hydrated may be a bit troublesome for some during the first couple weeks of recovery. It was a zero issue for me, and that is not unusual either. Of course, I made it my job to continually drink sips so some of this has to do with your mindset.

I have been on these boards for 6 years. I rarely see people who come back after a year and say how much they regret it. Even the few that experience leaks, once they clear that up and get to normal they rarely cite regreting the process. The one regret that is very consistent though is one of not doing it earlier :)

I'm a newbie and also in the honeymoon phase, so I can only speak to what I've experienced so far. I have had no complications so far. Surgery went well. Getting water in has been very easy for me. The most difficult part is the length of time my surgeon had me on liquids (3 weeks pre-op, and 3 weeks post op), which has caused me to develop an aversion to the protein shakes. The purees have been a dream come true, and I'm tolerating food very well. I feel satisfied. I'm not really craving anything immensely. I can't hold a lot of food, but have been able to get my protein and vitamins in. I have no regrets as of yet.

Thanks everyone. I think I am still in the nervous stage even though I have been thinking about this for awihle. I did have a great uncle who had the sleeve done in SLC Utah and he did have a massive complication. He had a leak that they could not find and he had nothing by mouth for months. It eventually healed but had to have nutrition by I.V. Obviously it doesn't mean it will happpent o me but he does regret it actually.

I've been on WLS boards for a little over 2 years now, and have noticed that the people who have serious regrets either weren't prepared for the lifestyle change or they had a serious complication.

If they weren't prepared for the lifestyle change, sometimes it's because they had the idea that WLS was a magic cure and they wouldn't have to work for it, sometimes it's food issues they didn't go to therapy and address, and very rarely it's a case of they weren't educated properly (but that's very few IMHO, and the worst offenders were from a few years ago in the UK... I get the impression that WLS and support i****and-miss in the UK, or at least it used to be).

For the serious complications, there's no denying that some people have had them. And they can be awful. I never want to minimize what people are going through. It really needs to be put in perspective for the person thinking about WLS though. The serious complications are incredibly rare. Sometimes the serious complication is because the patient did not follow the post op diet orders from their surgeon. I've seen tales of people eating drive-thru on their way home from the hospital, or eating pizza while they're still supposed to be in the liquid diet phase. Or eating Doritos because they "just couldn't help themselves". Of course, sometimes it's also just bad luck or a mistake on the part of the surgeon. But again, INCREDIBLY RARE. Most of us wouldn't think twice about having gall bladder surgery if we were having attacks, and WLS has statistically fewer complications than gall bladder surgery.

Another thing to remember, when you investigate complication rates... most complications are easily treatable, but all complications are included in the statistics. And it's not entirely out of your control. Research the heck out of your surgeon, don't feel bad about seeking another opinion if something feels "off" about your team or you just don't mesh. I didn't like the feel of the huge clinics that were like an assembly line. Nothing against them, I just didn't like it. I got referred to my surgeon by another specialist, and she has a small clinic and I felt I got very individualized treatment which I prefer. Some people feel better with a surgeon or group that does more numerically, because they have more patient experience. It's important you have a trusting relationship with your team. Then the other big thing you can do is make absolutely certain you understand your team's instructions for each stage of the process, AND FOLLOW IT.

When they say you need to get 84oz or 128oz or whatever of fluid in a day, they're telling you that because dehydration is the #1 cause of ER visits and readmissions after WLS. When they tell you not to eat anything but liquid for 2 weeks, it's to protect the new suture/staple line in your stomach and keep you from getting injured and possibly a septic infection from food particles. It sometimes seems that the instructions are arbitrary since each surgeon seems to have a slightly different instruction set, but it's not arbitrary at all. If you have an issue with your surgeon's post-op instructions, the time to iron it out is BEFORE surgery, not AFTER, and CERTAINLY not based on advice from strangers on the internet.

Didn't mean to write a novel, but I see certain patterns over and over on the boards, and as a nurse I feel compelled to educate a bit. :)

As for your questions... no regrets here. I have several chronic health conditions, and I still struggle with them, but my overall health is worlds better than it was 16 months ago. Some of my chronic conditions have receded or even gone into remission with the weight loss. The new way of eating is hard for some, I started therapy months before my surgery and still go, to address my relationship with food. That's been critical for my success so far. Staying hydrated was a challenge for the first few weeks, then I got in a routine and it got a lot easier. Lately I've not been doing as good a job and need to get back in the habit of ALWAYS having my water bottle with me, and drinking about 2x as much as I do now. But it's not hard, it's just a habit.

As for missing foods... there are occasions where something I'm eating is just so good that I wish I could eat a lot more of it, but my sleeve says to stop and I've learned that Miss Priss means business. That one bite too many means real discomfort for about 20-45 minutes if I don't stop. Early on there were a lot of foods Miss Priss wouldn't tolerate, but that has smoothed out. I'm 15 months out, and there's only a few things I can't eat (or can't eat more than a couple of bites) and mostly those are things I shouldn't be eating lots of anyway. The only thing I really miss is the occasional milk shake. Miss Priss won't tolerate those AT ALL, haven't figured out why, and I'm just resigning myself to it since I really don't need them anyway. :) Most other foods I can have, even if it's just a bite or two. And thanks to work on my emotional eating, I've found that a bite or two is all I need even if I'm having a craving. (NOTE: I know it doesn't work that way for everyone... for some people eating "just a bite" is a downhill slide... you have to know yourself and work with what you have.)

WLS is truly life changing. I think you have to be ready for the changes and the new lifestyle, but if you are, it's totally worth it.

Good luck!!