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Yea I can see how it sounds expensive but they are big. So you can eat them for breakfast like at least four times for one. So that comes out to $1. So not really expensive when you think about a meal. Even if you paired it w a yogurt.

Hello everyone! I have officially received my surgery date for end of September. Im feeling excited, nervous, but most of all happy for a fresh start. I can’t believe how fast time goes by from that first appointment. With my insurance the process takes 6 months and I am already half way through! I found out recently I had gallstones and my surgeon recommended to get my gallbladder removed. The surgery is scheduled for next month for that. I’m a tad nervous about that as well but overall very optimistic. I’m using my time to mentally prepare myself for the change as well as be educated as much as I can about my new to be lifestyle :) Hope you are all doing well! Any September buddies ?!

According to my doctor , the insurance company goes by your weight on the first day of your doctor visit. I was in the same boat ... lower BMI and pre-existing conditions. The pre surgey diet would put me on the edge of the required BMI . I have United Health care and it was no problem !

I was told to start walking right away and more intense/weight exercise at 6 weeks. And even then, my surgeon said if it hurt my abdominal area to stop and try again in a week or so.

I'm 3 years post-op. I did absolutely nothing to treat my incisions and I have no visible scars now. If I look really closely (I had to refer to old pictures to see where the scars were so I could tell where to look), the skin is ever so slightly raised where the incisions were, but the color is no different than the surrounding skin.

Congratulations on your pregnancy. Yes, lots of women have become pregnant early on because of the hormonal flush of oestrogen post surgery from your weight loss. It can make you extra fertile. The pregnancy will slow your weight loss but it doesn’t mean it’s all over or you will gain lots of weight again. Check with your dietician about your nutritional needs during the pregnancy & keep regular appointments. You actually don’t need to consume that many additional calories - you’re not eating for two adults. The aches in your hips & back can be from your weight loss. It’s quite common. Some even talk about their balance being off & walking into walls, etc. Your centre of gravity is changing & your posture is improving. Your muscles, tensions & ligaments are relearning how to carry & hold your much smaller body. I used to kick my toes against my kitchen cabinets because my tummy was much smaller & didn’t reach the bench top before my feet anymore. So silly but was about being aware of my smaller body. A friend & I also found we’d initially slouched more because we didn’t have a tummy to prop us up anymore. We had to consciously adjust our posture & build up our core muscles. Try some gentle stretching & use some resistance bands. I do mine lying on the floor so not strenuous at all & some can be done sitting down. All the best.

It will depend on a few different things but age is probably the biggest second only to budget. Is your face sagging or is it volume loss? For sagging only surgical methods really work to achieve the lifted tightened look. For volume loss you could use filler. If you’re young enough the non surgical treatments like RF may work to a degree (but not comparable to a facelift) but the older you are the less likely, and no one wants to waste money on things that don’t work. I’m sure you’ve seen a ton of videos but I think these are good at explaining the differences between different procedures. I hope it helps ❤️ BTW I don’t have sagging just loss of volume (thanks to WLS & COVID 🙄) And I’m doing biostimulators with a pro, manual microneedling at home and I have ALWAYS used retinoids.

All the positive energy and encouragement sent this way would be greatly appreciated.

I had the sleeve and loved it.....until I didn't. I lost 116 pounds in 10 months. I was working out 5 days per week. I was doing weight training, core and strength training, and cardio. THEN I started having major GERD symptoms. They were insane. I was put on 80mg of Nexium daily and still had break through GERD. Also has gastritis and esophagitis. 4 endoscopies and 1 colonoscopy later (and upwards of 30 polyps removed) I was scheduled for my revision from sleeve to bypass. I just had it done on the 28th. And while the recovery SUCKS majorly, I know once I'm past this, I'll have my life back. Oh, and I never had any reflux or GERD before, which is why I chose the sleeve to begin with.

I’ll answer my own questions to try to get the conversation going. I’m doing ok - some bad, some good. Today is 2 months until my surgery date (which is July 12th, 2023). I have two big steps before that day - a virtual group class with the surgeon and dietician and an in-person visit for blood work and an EKG in which I’ll also pick up my pre-op diet food. I’m actually excited about having a regimented diet. I love following a food plan; it’s creating the food plan that is hard for me. I’m terrible at making time to plan meals and shop for the food and prepare the food. I’m excited to have a smaller stomach so I can cook something like a crockpot of shredded chicken, portion it out, and warm it up for lunch every week day. (And not binge eat it all in 2 meals.) Now I’m enjoying reading and viewing content from other women who have gone through the surgery part of the journey and are joyfully sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly with others. Ugh, the talking about it. I’d rather not. I’ve spent hours and hours researching the surgery before I made this decision. So it’s hard to know what to say in a few minutes to help the decision make sense to someone else. Two supports I’ve found useful are youtube videos from women who are post-op (like Simply Megan and Erin Branscom) and the podcast Our Sleeved Life.