Meganator

Doing the sleeve NEXT WEEK! On the 13th with Dr. Sashi Ganta in Austin, TX. Currently on day 2 of 28 of liquids only (pre op 1 week & post op - 1w clear, 2w all liquids) and trying my best not to be hangry or cranky about it. But I am kind of hungry and cranky about it right now- not going to sugarcoat it. But I am otherwise super excited about everything!

Hi all! Did anyone have their gallbladder removed prior to their weight loss surgery? Prior to considering weight loss surgery, I was doing Jenny Craig for a bit in 2020, but dropped it after about 6 months for a number of reasons. Prior to that, I never had any issues with my digestive tract. Over the last year, about once a month, I was getting what I found out were gallstone attacks. It got really bad the week of Labor Day and I went in for emergency surgery by the end of the week (Sept 10). Also over the last year, I was researching options for weight loss surgery. My insurance does not cover any weight loss anything, but I found out that the options out there were actually affordable for me self-pay. Once my gallbladder came out (baby's first surgery), I knew it was time. I'm already having to change the way I eat- why not go all in? My surgeons from both sides agreed they could be done fairly close together. I had virtually no real pain in recovery for the gallbladder removal and both surgeons have told me VSG will be a similar pain level, up a notch, for post-op recovery. Since my last surgery was pretty much forced upon me, I didn't have time to consider options or worry for weeks about surgery... I'm finding myself now post-consult with a surgery date in-hand (October 13th) and feeling pretty confident about getting the procedure itself. I know gallbladder removal is pretty common post-op, but did anyone have it done pre-op? How did the pain compare to your WLS? How long were you between surgeries? What are some things that got easier or more difficult pairing the two removals? I look forward to hearing about your experiences!

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! Hope mine goes similarly. My surgeon specializes in single-incision laproscopic surgery (belly button), so I'm kind of hoping he'll decide to do that- but will ask at the last pre-op appointment. This makes me a bit hopeful. My recovery for gallbladder was fairly simple and I wasn't on meds very long to help control pain. Fingers crossed!

My date was set yesterday - 10/13/21 - for the Sleeve. I'm self-pay, so everything is moving pretty quickly. I had to cancel a few sets of plans, but it'll be worth it!