When you are searching for ways to manage your weight, you are often bombarded with success stories of patients who could change their lives with weight loss surgery like gastric sleeve. Unfortunately, these success stories are just a small part of the picture. There are also many regrets of gastric sleeve patients. In some cases, weight loss surgery like gastric sleeve can be a bad decision and make patients regret it when faced with numerous downsides of the surgery.
Every medical intervention, especially a serious one like surgery, has a certain risk of side effects and complications. Before you decide on doing gastric sleeve surgery, you should hear stories from both types of patients: those who it worked for and those whose lives got worse because of it. People on social media share their experiences of undergoing gastric sleeve and some of them claim “gastric sleeve ruined my life”. In this article, we will look at those negative experiences that are often overlooked and explore the non-surgical alternative to gastric sleeve – Suture Sculpt.
Gastric Sleeve Regrets
While you can find success stories of gastric sleeve easily on the websites of the clinics that offer the surgery, it is not so easy to learn about the experiences of those for whom the surgery did not work well. Some of the few platforms where patients can openly share their regretful gastric sleeve experiences are social media, video-sharing platforms like YouTube, or discussion websites like Reddit. Below we share some of such stories.
Gastric Sleeve Patient, “I Go To Bed Every Night Feeling Like I’ve Ruined My Life”
One of the users on Reddit with the nickname xxSupernovaStar decided to get a gastric sleeve after she talked to her mother who got a gastric sleeve and said that it was the best thing she ever did. However, the woman shares that unlike her mother she regretted doing gastric sleeve soon after the procedure because her stomach hurt excruciatingly every time she ate for five weeks.
She tried to follow the guidelines of the surgeon and stick to the diet rules but no matter what, when, and how fast or slow, big or small she ate, every meal felt like torture for her. Nothing could alleviate her pain.
She knew that the initial pain was quite common after gastric sleeve and her mother told her that after time it would get better. But it was already her week 5 and she did not feel any better. She was afraid to eat because it would hurt so much.
Other users were commenting on xxSupernovaStar’s posts saying that “she knew what she was getting into” but she explained that she prepared well and did her research on the subject before the surgery. Also, she saw her mother who ate what she wanted and had no unbearable pain like her daughter was experiencing. Therefore, the owner of the post said that this unbearable pain she had was not okay and not something she signed up for.
xxSupernovaStar’s story demonstrates that every person has a different body, and something that works for your close people or hundreds of others does not necessarily mean will work for you. So, before making a major decision like undergoing gastric sleeve surgery, you should think twice and prepare yourself for every scenario and often not only the successful one.
Learn more about an alternative to non-reversal gastric sleeve surgery.
Gastric Sleeve Patient, “I Feel Like I Made The Biggest Mistake Of My Life With This Surgery”
Another Reddit user fiskit3030 shared his story of gastric sleeve regret. He was overweight but for him, it was not a big deal and did not cause much discomfort. However, his family members were worried about his weight. Also, he did his research, talked to doctors, and other people, and everyone talked about the good sides of gastric sleeve. So, he decided to go for gastric sleeve surgery.
He spent lots of money on the surgery and even went into debt because of it. Before the surgery day, he was having second thoughts and doubting his decision but nevertheless, he went on and did it. Soon after the surgery, he realized that he removed 80% of his stomach for no good reason. He said he was starving all the time. He felt like he was not ready to sacrifice so much for losing weight. He thinks that it is not fine to be obese but also not fine to cut out 80% of your stomach because of it.
He regretted his decision a lot and even was depressed about it. He did not have a reason to get up in the morning and did not want to go to work. He did not know how he would handle his situation.
Having surgery that cuts out a significant portion of your vital organ like the stomach irreversibly is a major decision that always has a price not only in terms of money you pay but also in terms of mental and physical pain that you might experience after the surgery. It is important to know why you are doing what you are doing and if the surgery is worth the struggles. Otherwise, surgery like a gastric sleeve and its consequences might bring you nothing but a huge portion of regrets.
Dr. Batash and his team offer much safer, lower-risk, and more effective endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty that does not involve cuts or incisions.
Gastric Sleeve Patient, “I Am Having So Many Regrets”
Makersmark1 is a woman who did gastric sleeve four months ago and regretted her decision very much. Her lab tests before the surgery were just great but after the gastric sleeve, she developed low hemoglobin and HBC and has to take even more pills than she used to. She was told that the surgery would improve her life but in reality, it made it worse.
The woman says that she did not have to take any pills before the gastric sleeve but now she takes 9 pills every day: vitamins, stool softeners, Miralax, and iron. She is also faced with constipation and hemorrhoids due to the surgery and attempting to get the right mix of laxatives and fiber mix for her situation.
Makersmark1 gets a random nausea and an upset stomach during the day which makes her curl in a fetal position. She is also frustrated that she now burps for 5 minutes straight.
In addition to the struggles mentioned, she said she stopped making weight loss progress which makes her struggles even worse. She is scared that her life might get much shorter and less pleasant due to the surgery.
Gastric Sleeve Surgery Side Effects And Complications
There are a number of side effects, complications, and consequences after gastric sleeve such as:
- Bleeding
- Infections
- Issues with breathing and lung
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Stones in the gallbladder
- GERD
Also, some patients gain back the lost pounds or just have not sufficient weight loss. There are some other consequences that one has to live with after gastric sleeve.
The Main Differences Between the Surgical & Endoscopic Sleeve
Read the experiences of people who claim that "gastric sleeve ruined my life". Learn about a non-surgical alternative Suture Sculpt.
More Planning, GERD, And Hair Loss
One of the gastric sleeve patients shares that as a consequence of the surgery, she cannot be carefree anymore because she constantly has to plan her meals, especially for holidays and vacations which take a lot of mental space.
Not only that she has GERD and is afraid that she might have to do the revision because of it. She also said that she has more medical concerns now because she cannot just get any painkillers over the counter in case she needs pain management. In addition, she always takes vitamins but despite that, she is facing hair loss.
Another patient who did gastric sleeve 10 years ago said that he still has horrible acid reflux as well as bad iron deficiency anemia. As he does not want to take PPIs for a lifetime he is attempting to treat acid reflux with natural methods.
Gastric Sleeve Can Be a Torture If You Are A Food Addict
One of the YouTube bloggers, Jasmine, who had an eating disorder and a food addiction, did a gastric sleeve. Jasmine said that overall her gastric sleeve had more cons than pros. She said that the surgery was a mental battle for her. After surgery, she had mental torture because of her food addiction. Even having done the surgery she was still addicted to food, she wanted to eat a lot but she just physically could not eat. That’s why she was living in torture. She could not stop herself from eating and then the second the food hit her stomach she would throw up. Throwing up became her lifestyle, she says.
The surgery did not stop her craving for food. She said that the surgery was done on her stomach, not on her brain. She needed to grow mentally before the surgery but she did not and had to suffer a lot. Also, she said that she gained some weight back in the long run.
So, if you have a food addiction, you should think twice before doing surgery. You should first deal with your addiction and other eating disorders. You have to prepare mentally. You will still want to crave the food but your stomach will literally not allow it.
Suture Sculpt: The Non-Surgical Alternative to Gastric Sleeve
Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty Suture Sculpt is a non-surgical procedure that is much safer than gastric sleeve surgery and offers comparable weight loss results. If you desire sustainable weight loss without the risk of developing serious side effects or complications that can ruin your life, consider learning more about this non-invasive reversible weight loss procedure. Schedule a consultation with the world-class expert in endoscopic weight loss, Steven Batash, MD, FACG.
Suture Sculpt is the best option for those who want to fight obesity but are not ready to remove a whole chunk of their stomach. The Suture Sculpt procedure will accelerate your weight loss and help you adopt new healthy eating habits ensuring you are in good shape in the years to come.
Change Your Lifestyle First With Dr. Batash And His Team
It is important to remember that weight loss is first of all about changing eating and lifestyle habits for the better. If you want to manage your weight, you need to manage your food cravings and develop a healthy relationship with food, become physically active, and take better care of yourself. Taking care of your mental and physical health is the backbone for sustainable and successful weight loss.
At Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss, we provide our patients access to the services of the best nutritionists and coaches who help them get on track with healthy eating and fitness. Our team can provide patients with support from all sides for a whole year making sure the patient has enough time to adjust and prosper.
We understand that no procedure can bring good lasting results if proper habits are not established, therefore we will be there for you helping you in all aspects to transform mentally and physically. We will provide the full support you need, including psychological, mental, and medical, regarding diet, physical exercises, and many more.
