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I was a pretty healthy person up until 2008, when my liver enzymes first became elevated. I had reached my then highest weight of 304, and then managed to get down to 263 through diet and exercise. My enzymes went back to normal. Then I got pregnant in 2010 and after I had my son, my health got worse. I was diagnosed with severe asthma around 2014, and my liver enzymes were elevated again. I started gaining weight steadily until I reached my all time high of 393 with a bmi of 69 (I am 5'3"). Back in January, I had my gallbladder removed.. I mentioned to the surgeon that I would be seeing a liver specialist because my liver enzymes kept getting higher and he did a biopsy while he was in there. The results were not good. I was diagnosed with Non Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) and hepatic fibrosis. The surgeon said my liver looked really bad, and he didn't see me living past 60. I'm an RN and have seen people die of liver failure and it's awful. I was 48 (just turned 49), and I had wanted wls for a long time but our insurance doesn't cover it. What that surgeon said was a wake up call, and so I made the decision to pay for the surgery myself. I wanted a sleeve, but the first bariatric surgeon recommended RNY because of my weight. I had planned to get that, but then COVID happened and they laid off that surgeon so I went to a different one that my cousin had RNY with 10 years ago. He told me about the Loop DS. He said I was a good candidate for it because of my high bmi and since I was self pay. It's still investigational and not covered by insurance. So I decided to do it. I had surgery on July 23rd. I was 368 on surgery day. The surgery went well but I was very nauseated the first few days and vomited old blood just like NovaLuna described. After that, and a kidney stone 11 days post op, recovery has been pretty smooth. I never really had much pain. As of today, I'm 322 pounds, walking every day, and feeling amazing, even though I'm still significantly obese. I was to the point of barely being able to walk anymore, and personal hygiene was hard. I had just been diagnosed with high BP and put on meds in May. I've been off the meds since surgery. I just had my first labs and everything was normal. My liver enzymes are still elevated, but about half of what they were. It's wonderful to be active again and being able to walk with my husband and son, who is a very active boy! I still have a long way to go but I'm so happy I did the surgery and don't regret it one bit! Good luck to you! Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

Good points and considerations that helped me to move forward with conversion to RNY rather than play Russian Roulette with a preventable cancer

I wanted to come back and say I have my lab results and all my levels were normal! Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

This meant "enjoy the decadence, cheers"

not really. As long as they're really low cal (and most are 15 or 20 calories). There's one brand I like better than others (I think it's North Star?), but it might be a regional brand (I live in Wisconsin)

Bowel prep is one of the many things that varies from doctor to doctor and program to program. May the Bariatric Surgery Gods bless you with not having to go through THAT particular experience. The worst part for me? The first of two days of bowel prep was on my birthday. Crappy Birthday to me! Literally.

I don't eat out with friends or work colleagues. Work colleagues I didn't eat out with before. For 40 years, it was my job to come into a company, tell them what they were doing wrong, tell them how to do it right, create the processes to do it right, then move on. I was not there to eat meals. Now, I may have developed these rules because I was so large, but the rules still stand now that I'm not. I've stopped consulting, but I still don't do the company functions. When I was first exploring eating out a few months post-op, I would get anxious which made eating not work out so well. As time moved on, it was still a problem for me. So, while I have gotten better at it, I am still so worried that it's hard to enjoy the experience. So, I avoid it if I can. Family doesn't care, they understand. Outside of family doesn't really matter. At this point, every one is used to me the way I am now. I think this is all rationalization for not wanting to share wife time with anyone else. She feels the same about husband time. Tek

Welcome. I'm confused. Why would you not trust what your surgeon is saying. He knows your plumbing better than anyone else, certainly better than us. The sleeve doesn't really change much about your plumbing. All the things that could have caused GERD pre-op is there for the sleeve post-op. Since your Doc said *IF* either you have not done imaging yet or you have not spoken to him about the imaging yet. That is what will tell him what is going on. Until then guessing and vexing, while fun, is not useful. The kind and generous folks here can share their experiences and give you encouragement, but your Doc has the answers. No one can make you get RNY. As your doc indicated, if it's a hernia it can be fixed. If it's GERD you can deny surgery and hope and try possible medications. Or you can simply choose to suffer with it. Chances are it will not kill you soon, but your Doc will be able to give you the scoop. The choice is ALWAYS yours. Good luck, Tek

I am now so gagged out on shakes and trying to gag down protein drinks. I just don't know what to do. I tried mixing powder in with yogurt. (BARF). I thought about bars. But most have chocolate or artificial sweeteners. I need some guidance. PLEASE!!!

I imagine what they're thinking when a person as far overweight as me would eat 3oz of protein, if I ate at all, leaving the plate barely touched. They were horrified. It's about the time I started terribly over-tipping. I wanted them to really believe that we enjoyed ourselves, even if I only ate a couple bites of that perfectly cooked prime rib. Another reason eating out was a tense time that I generally gave up on.