I had naturally low BP already, but when my sodium got low, I had a few fainting spells.  I got more generous with eating salt and the problems went away.

Everyone is different, but the most common causes are:

Processed carbs (sugar and flour items)
Artificial Sweeteners
Lactose intolerance (may be just some, not all dairy - but may include whey protein drinks)

OR---- it may be that your intestinal bacteria is out of balance.  If I know that I KNOW I haven't eaten anything to cause the gas and I'm getting it bad, then I know it's time to eat more yogurt.  This is all I need to do to prevent it.  Others take a probiotic pill instead.

Are you getting enough probiotics?  Some people take pills to keep their intestinal bacteria in balance, while others like me get the benefit from daily yogurt.  Bypass and DS patients have a tendency for intestinal bacteria to get out of balance, sometimes to the point of infection, and the symptoms are what you describe.  You may want to be tested for a bacterial infection  in your bowels (c-diff is one of them).  A round of anti-biotics followed by a new pattern of daily probiotics may be all you need.

The only ones I ever saw had only 1 or 2 grams per pill.  I find food to be cheaper and much more economical.

My read on the situation is that the surgeon did his job with the surgery and that was successful.  Surgeons are NOT nutritional experts.  You can read up and down this board for examples of that.  He is telling her to get some help from people who know more than he does.  It's sad that your friend didn't find this community earlier, as we could have helped before she got into bad shape.

Stretched skin is permanently damaged, so don't waste your money.  It can, however, be nicely concealed thanks to the lycra undergarments available today.  It creates a wonderful illusion for me.  Hubby calls it Ft.Knox

I DO love you, girl!

I have my own mantra, void of an amusing anecdote you shared:

"Don't let anyone live rent-free in your head"

WLS will not cure your eating disorder, so it's very important to have that under control before you get surgery or you can cause permanent damage to yourself.

Band over RNY sounds like adding insult to injury, IMO - especially with all of the problems that bandsters have had.  It all goes to pot a couple of years down the road, and keep in mind that this device is not designed to be inside of your body permanently.  

Instead, look at possibly a distal RNY (aka ERNY - where they increase the intestinal bypass) or a DS revision before you decide on that.

RNY is bar-none, the most common wls procedure.  If you go up to the Forums link near the top of the page, you will find a page dedicated to each procedure.  I suggest you read up on each of them and see what people are sharing, asking about and complaining about.  The DS will give you the best long term chances of reaching your goal - the RNY would be the second choice, so if you don't want to go the way of the DS, keep leaning towards the RNY.  Either way, hubby's gonna be scared, so there's nothing you can do about that. 

Go up to the Forums link and you'll find a whole board dedicated to complications and regrets.

You're definitely not alone.  Go check out the regrets forum and you'll find many that hate their band and had the same lack of results.  Revisions are definitely possible, especially if you get it out before it causes real damage.  Without any true malfunction, though, you may have to pay for it all yourself, though.

If you had DS or RNY, you need a lot more protein than that.  It sounds like your surgeon is no help, and in all fairness, their expertise is cutting, nothing more.  Find a local resource, likely a nutritionist who specializes in wls to get some bloodwork to see where you are nutritionally and work from there.

I also recommend going to the forum that matches the procedure you had and learn specifically what people like you are finding success with, for each procedure has it's own specific nuances.