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Hang in there! It gets better. I don't know your nutritional plan but my was pretty open. I was sleeved on 7/31. Tonight I ate 2.5 oz of rib eye steak and some broccoli. Okay, I also had a couple of bites of baked potato.

Find a nutritionist, a wls support group, a therapist, just start somewhere. Download an app for tracking food (Baritastic, myfitnesspal, LoseIt - all free), buy a new fancy water thermos, new sneakers, a journal for your feelings, clean the junk food from your cupboards, buy a week's worth of lunch food and divide it into containers...etc Stop shaming yourself, forgive yourself, and move on, success can be yours.

Thank you.. Congrats to you.

Call them directly and find out, but ask specific questions about approval/denial, waiting period, out of pocket cost, etc. Also ask about referrals to surgeons.

Welcome! I have learned so many valuable things from the discussions on topics that I wouldn't even know to ask. I check with my Dr on specific or major issues but other than that I refer to the chats. I hope you find there's a wealth of information and some great folks on here.

You can write down how bad your GERD is now, how controllable it is now with medication, how long have you had it, you could have a hiatal hernia making it worse, you could have h. pylori bacteria in your gut, is it situational (eating late and then sleeping, only with italian sausage, only with spicy food, could it be the gall bladder?, eating until really stuffed, drinking a lot of citrus/soda pop, coffee, etc). Your surgeon can do the EGD, and see what everything looks like and estimate the outcome to be favorable or not for the sleeve. Maybe your GERD is controllable, or maybe it isn't. Don't let anyone badger you into the decision, make an informed decision based on what you know about your body. There are many factors dependant on your physical health now, your age, your genetics, whether you take medication, etc etc. Asking forum members will get you 'everyone's personal opinion and personal experience', it really will not validate your decision. @notmyname - no you misunderstood my meaning (don't apologize). Getting information on 'who had what happen' in the sampling of forum members, and has little bearing on what your outcome might or might not be, go for hard evidence based on what you know about yourself and how bad your GERD is, and real statistics on the two surgeries, that's all.

This is a tough one bc there is no guarantee how your body will react. I had the sleeve, but totally would have had RNY if I had GERD preop. I had terrible GERD when I was pregnant and I never want to go through it again! I have serious compassion for all of you out there with chronic GERD. You said you read a lot of research. Just curious, have you read any that included the elevated risk of esophageal cancer with chronic GERD?

Multivitamins. I use patches. I patch per day. Use for 1 year. Vitamin D 800-1000 mg per day. Use for 4 months. Vitamin B12 1000 mcg, once a week. Biotin 5000 mcg per day. Use for 6 months. I also bought Melatonin patches.

This are the top tips I recommend to people getting started.... Here's my top 13 tips! Start altering your diet now. Cut out processed food, or at the very least processed sugar. Practice eating your protein first and then focus on non-starchy veggies. Also, start tracking your food. There are lots of apps that make logging very easy. I personally use MyFitnessPal, but there are others out there. Find something that you like to drink that doesn't have calories. Try different caffeine free teas and water additives. I still can't drink plain water....so you want to have something on hand that you know you like. Cut out caffeine. Most programs allow caffeine back in relatively quickly, but caffeine can hinder your body's ability to heal. You don't want to go through caffeine withdrawal along with the aches and pains of surgery. Don't use protein shakes before you absolutely have to! I made the mistake of supplementing some of my meals with shakes to "prepare myself" for the pre-op diet. Big mistake. You will get to the point where they are DISGUSTING, and you don't want to increase the timeline of that by drinking them before you need to. Start incorporating exercising (even if it’s just walking) somewhere in your daily routine. It will make it easier if it’s already a habit. Practice chewing your food at least 20-30 times before swallowing. Muscle has memory and it will be so much easier if you already have this habit. If you screw up and swallow too soon after surgery, you will pay the price. Set timers and don't drink and eat at the same time. I highly recommend having at least 1 visit with a therapist to establish with someone for after surgery. It’s not required, but everyone seems to have some emotional struggles afterwards. Whether its 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 years you may struggle with the changes. I personally wouldn't share with people, unless you know they will be 100% supportive. It is nerve wracking already and you need nothing but positivity. Plus it’s a lot of pressure from people who know you've had WLS, versus people who think you are on the weight loss track. People think that the weight is going to melt off after surgery, and sometimes it doesn't. You don't want the extra judgment. Don’t engage people with people who say “WLS is too dramatic” or “You could just diet and lose the weight” or “You aren’t big enough for surgery” or “It’s the easy way out”. SCREW THOSE PEOPLE, they don’t know. They will never know how triumphant our victory will be. I would also remember that you need to make time for you! Make the time to shop healthy, meal prep, cook healthy, and plan ahead. And I’m talking to all the selfless mothers, fathers, husbands, and wives. We give so much to our families, but NOW is the time to focus on ourselves. We are doing it for them, after all. We are doing it to prolong our lives and improve the quality of our lives. Come up with a reward system of sorts. You want to acknowledge your successes. For my 50lb mark, I went and got pedicures with my girlfriends. For my 75lb mark, I bought myself some new dresses. For my 100lb mark, I bought myself a really nice full length mirror. Stalls happen and are completely natural. There are tons of threads in this community that you can search for suggestions or for advice. Hunger happens. Some people don’t experience a decrease in hunger, but it is easily manageable with a small amount of the right foods.

I'm not Canadian, but had surgery in Mexico several years ago. There were no problems and I was perfectly safe the entire time I was there. The Drs that partner with Bariatric Pal are all very reputable and do a great job. You can expect to pay around 4K plus your flight. I am very happy with my results. I say go for it.