One of the biggest reasons I chose VSG was because I was allowed to take NSAIDS and my bariatric team prescribed me 800 mg Ibuprofen which I use today 2 years out.

While it can be a little awkward to get used to sleeping with a mask on your face, the honest truth (from what I've seen on many years of OH) is that people get TREMENDOUSLY better sleep on a CPAP. I'm a stomach sleeper and used a CPAP prior to WLS, and I even found a way to sleep on my side/stomach with the correct pillow and mask.

To be honest, what you "want" to do here and what you're "down for" are pretty irrelevant. Untreated sleep apnea can have fatal consequences, and your surgeon's office is looking out for your well-being.

True story: I was on a CPAP at time of my VSG, but somehow the machine didn't make it to the OR for me to wear during surgery. They flipped on the anesthesia, I got knocked out, and I very nearly had a stroke less than ten minutes in because of the sleep apnea; it took them nearly two hours to get me stable and I very well could have died. This is no joke.

I converted to VSG to RNY because of GERD 10 days ago. My acid was quite bad, but I have not had any GERD trouble since coming home from the hospital.

Per my surgeon, most people don't lose nearly as much weight after a conversion surgery, and when they do it's much slower. My goal is to lose only 50lb, and the doctor says he's had people with much lower goals-- or even people who just wanted to maintain after changing the surgery.

I did look into the alternatives as well. Fundoplication is not an option for us, as we do not have any excess stomach to use for the procedure. Outcomes for the LINX are not nearly as good; research shows that about 75% of patients see their GERD mostly/totally resolved, whereas RNY is 90 - 95%. Plus there may be some complications with it; I recall reading that the implant makes it physically impossible to throw up, which seems problematic.

Good luck!

it's a liquid. Liquids go right through you, so you won't stretch out your stomach. I could drink them fairly quickly (quicker than what I was told would be the case), so I was always worried about stretching out my stomach, but I was assured that that wouldn't happen with a shake - or any kind of fluid.

(edited to add that I didn't CHUG them, but I could always drink them faster than what we were told we'd be able to do. It could be that they told us the 4 oz thing just to slow us down so we'd get used to not inhaling food items, though - not sure)

Getting enough electrolytes, sodium, magnesium, potassium, can be tricky for us, post op WLS. Our portions are smaller than normal, and often some of the snacks, like yogurt, or protein shake, may no have enough even sodium to maintain proper electrolytes levels. Unfortunately our body needs correct amount of the minerals in the blood to maintain PH and circulation. But to do that - it may pull the minerals from our muscles, and even bones. Testing blood levels - will only tell you how well your body manage to maintain the minerals level in the blood.

Muscles spasms often indicate a shortage of the electrolytes. Or not enough water maintain in the muscles. The 2 things that keep water in the muscles are sodium and ..glycogen, the stored carbs. When we follow a low carb diet - and don't get enough sodium - the mineral imbalance and hydration is disrupted. In hot months or when I am more active, i often need to take sodium capsule or eat high sodium food like pickles, to replenish the sodium and other minerals in my body.

I have sciatica in my left leg. That leg is already compromised, so when my minerals, electrolytes are off, this leg would be affected first. But that would be muscles, not joints. Joint can hurt me due to spine - joints misalignment as I lost weight. Or they may be getting damaged, due to low calcium and minerals , vitamins deficiencies. I.e vit D, or iron, or not enough good fats, or... more things than I have space here to mention.

My joints start really hurting me app 2 years ago. I have IBS, and I SIBO, and now think I developed a leaky gut, that is causing food allergies and intolerance. Unfortunately, that affects my joints, causing increased inflammation I already have due my age and to osteoarthritis (inherited, genetic).

Taking fish oil to help the joints, other minerals for joints may help to slow down the damage that is probably there already. Like with many other things, weather affect my joints. The older I get, the more sensitive I get. It sucks. But - it is what it is.

Also - as you lost weight - yo probably also lost some padding around the joints. When I lost fat and muscle mass, my joints got more "wobbly", it was much easier for me to injure my joint that when I was heavy and more "grounded".

I am adding fish oil and other supplements (turmeric, etc) to see if I can help my joints and bones. i also added collagen in a drink, to help with teh bones and joints, and .. my gut issues. Collagen is not a complete protein, so it cant be counted toward our minimum protein needs, but collagen is great for skin, joints, hair, our gut lining, and many more things. I try to get at least 10-20 gr of hydrolyzed collagen per day. Bone broth, or any type of skin (like in pork rinds) can supply a lot of that.