catwoman7

I think most of us had to have a sleep study to check for sleep apnea - that's a pretty common screening for this surgery. I can't remember if that was a requirement of my insurance or my bariatric clinic. I had it closer to the beginning of my journey, though.

strictures happen to about 5% of bypass patients. I had one, too (actually, two - one at four weeks out and one at eight weeks out. I was told they are super rare after the third month). As you said, easy fix. I felt better immediately!

if it's been that long since your surgery, I suspect it's more likely the T3 - or maybe the combination of the two (having T3 after having bariatric surgery). I'd ask your doctor or pharmacist.

a lot of people who had COVID had to wait until they were over it, but since your last office visit isn't until next week and your surgery might be scheduled for several weeks out, I doubt you're going to have any issues.

another Wisconsinite here! I had that issue the first year or so out. I don't notice it any more and haven't for a long time, but for some people, it seems to be permanent.

it probably depends on your particular policy and your situation. Some companies will cover it if you have documented evidence of medical issues such as chronic rashes that don't respond to conventional treatments...and some will cover pannilectomies if your "apron" hangs below a certain level - and some don't cover plastic surgery at all (mine doesn't). As for particular policy - those can vary between employers even if they use the same insurance company. Employers can purchase coverage above and beyond basic items - or not. For example, for years my insurance company offered bariatric surgery, but it was a rider that an employer could buy - or not. My employer chose not to purchase that rider until very recently (I think two years ago) - so those of us who wanted it had to either change to a different insurance company that my employer also worked with (although it was much more expensive than the one most employees went with) - or self-pay. check on your Kaiser policy and see if it's covered. Or check with your employer's HR department - they should know, too.

yes those last few pounds can be a beast to get off! I was losing like 2 lbs a month those last few months. It was so aggravating!!

yea - unfortunately, for those that don't have it before surgery, it's sort of a crap shoot.

I've always heard that, too, but I don't know if there's hardcore research behind that. Although that said, it's probably a good idea to break it up regardless, so you're getting some protein several times a day (at least three times - maybe more if you're allowed snacks between meals)

I think fatty liver is fairly common, esp in obese people, so that one for sure shouldn't count against. you.

I haven't had that revision, but a lot of people have - mostly because of reflux. I had reflux before I had surgery, so I went with bypass the first time.

PS - I just did a quick google search on this. This is NOT a scholarly article, so there's that - but it does mention that bile reflux (as opposed to acid reflux) can occur in about 5% of mini-bypass patients. It goes on to say they see it more in sleeve to mini-bypass revision patients than they do with non-revisions. Again, I don't know what kind of research is behind this because this isn't a scholarly article - they may just be basing this on their specific patients. But again, let your clinic know what's going on. Hopefully it's just some kind of flare-up. https://mexicobariatriccenter.com/bile-reflux-after-mini-gastric-bypass-surgery/

I know regular gastric bypass usually cures GERD, but I don't know about mini-bypass. It might (usually, anyway), I just don't know enough about that surgery to know one way or the other. I'd let your clinic know what's going on. Hopefully it's just a flare-up and bumping up for PPI for a while might help - but ask them before doing anything (I'm not a medical person...)

I'm several years out at this point. I think I also got it every three months my first year, but after that just once a year (unless something was "off" - then we'd make whatever adjustment was needed and retest about three months later)

I agree with BeanitoDiego on the dark stool - it's probably just blood from the surgery. Strange color stool isn't that unusual the first month or so after surgery. Not sure about the pain part. Just run it by your clinic and see what they say.

I changed mine a few times as I met them - 200, then 175, then 150. I never dreamed I'd make it to 150, but my surgeon didn't bat an eye when I originally said "200", because I never thought I'd make it there, either.

I've had peridontal disease for years (since before I had WLS), so yes, I've had those symptoms, but for me they aren't WLS-related. I'm not Sure those types of symptoms that WOULD be WLS-related, but then, I don't know.. I know lack of vitamin C can cause bleeding gums, too. Just check with your dentist.

at three weeks out, I could barely eat anything! the amount you'll be able to eat will gradually increase and at some point level off. I probably eat about half as much as I did pre-surgery - but at this point, no one would be able to tell I've had bariatric surgery. They probably just assume I'm a "light eater", like many of my never-been-obese women friends are. If I go out to dinner, I usually just eat half of it and bring the rest home. Before surgery, I'd eat the whole thing - and sometimes dessert, too!

btw - I mentioned above that the old rule of thumb was that it takes about 10 X your weight in pounds to maintain your weight (although again, that varies according to several factors listed in my above comment). That's for women. For men, it was 12 x your weight in pounds (again, old rule of thumb that varies between people - although I do think it gives a good starting point - you can experiment with that and then go up or down depending on what your weight is doing)

I'm not familiar with the Omega-sleeve - it could be that that's more common in Europe than the US. I'm eight years out and focus on calories more than portion sizes at this point. I can maintain my weight on about 1600 calories a day. I can eat more if I'm doing heavy exercising.

yes - you just have to watch your amounts.

we were told we could drop protein shakes once we were able to eat enough to meet the protein requirements (of course, this is assuming we always put "protein first" while eating). It could be that you may be have to keep up with the shakes longer than some.

you might be able to eat that much - as I said, it's a lot of trial & error to figure out what your maintenance level is - although since those of us who've been obese usually have to eat fewer calories to maintain the same weight as someone who's never been obese has to, you may not be able to get that high. Although then again, if you're really active, you might. You'll just have to experiment once you're at your goal.

in my case it was the surgeon's requirement. It wasn't mentioned in the insurance requirements. I quit smoking 30 years ago, so it wasn't an issue for me, but in class we were told we had to stop smoking and could never smoke again. I just googled how long it takes nicotine to leave your bloodstream. According to WebMD, it usually takes 1-3 days.

P.S. The old rule of thumb used to be your weight times 10 is about how many calories you should eat to maintain that weight. However, that doesn't take into account your activity level, musculature, etc, so that's just a rough estimate and can vary between people. You have your goal weight set at 140, so that means (at least according to the old rule of thumb) it'll take around 1400 kcal to maintain that. But again, that doesn't take into account how active you are - and there ARE variances among people - so I wouldn't consider that a hard and fast number. You sort of have to experiment to see what your maintenance level is. It's mostly trial and error.