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And you would have. I realized this past week while going thru years of stuff that I'm finally cleaning out, how long I actually struggled with dieting and weight loss. I found journals and food diaries and counting calorie lists, diet books and recipes etc. It made me sad. I could have avoided a lot of that if I had decided to get the surgery sooner. But I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and am happy with where I am now, I can honestly say, and I've said it before...my only regret is not getting the WLS sooner.

@Arendiva we are surgery date twins! How is it going so far? I did experience the 3 week stall, but the scale is moving again. I'm feeling pretty good, overall. I have thrown up a couple of times - either when something didn't sit right or I overate.

Don't worry, it will resume. It's your body panicking because of such a drastic change in a short amount of time. The week 3 stall can last for 3 weeks itself, or sometimes more. During that time, your body can still be burning fat, but its retaining fluid to keep around because it thinks you're in a starvation situation and wants to preserve space to replenish the fat cells. It won't let go of that excess fluid and old cells until it knows you're safe, which it eventually will, and it will establish a new baseline weight as long as you stick to it. You got this!

I have been on the road to getting Gastric Bypass, I even got my approval! But of course, I was waiting for my insurance, then they were not getting back to me so I switched insurance companies which will save me lots of money. Once I got my new insurance in place, I contacted my Surgeon's Financial Advisor to see if I needed to redo the process or if I am still good to move forward. Tell me why I didn't hear from her for a couple of months (usually she replies quickly). I emailed her one more time explaining that I am paying lots of money for this insurance plan just for this surgery, she immediately contacted me. She told me that the hospital is closing the practice, but she reassured me that they are moving to a different hospital, and he won't see clients until the second week of January. I am finally happy that I have some answers, but I am still worried that now that my surgeon isn't at this hospital, will my insurance plan still cover me? I have been waiting for what seems like forever for this surgery, but I know it will be worth it in the long run.

My weight loss has stalled since November 5th. I know this is normal since loads of other people have mentioned experiencing a week 3 stall, but it is still disheartening to lose nothing for 11 days when I know I'm following the diet, focusing on protein, drinking fluids and keeping my portion sizes appropriately small. I hope this plateau breaks soon because it is demoralizing.

Hello @New To This23 thank you so much! My current loss includes preop diet as well. I was only required to do a 3 day preop diet. I agree about the stalls or slow moving scales! I plan to only weigh once a month. I already was getting in a habit of weighing everyday...I don't feel that's mentally healthy. Anyways I feel good about the holidays. I current cook several times a week for my family and have already meal prepped my "bariatric portions". I may still make old favorites for family dinner... but there no pressure to do so. I may even try a little of normal food... but won't push it.

Apologies for the novel I'm about to write, and thanks in advance if you bother to read it all! 😂 TL;DR it took me ~7 months total to go from first appointments to surgery. I went through my local university's health system and am using insurance, so my timeline will likely differ from those who are self-pay or outside the USA! My program is roughly 5-6 months, with 4 group classes and two check-ins with Nutrition & Psychology where they determine if you're approved to move to the next part of the program (or send you for additional counseling or nutrition, if not approved). I also had to do 2 extra appointments with Nutrition & Psych to keep insurance happy, as mine requires that you have some sort of contact or follow-up every month until you get surgery. Here's what my personal timeline looked like: April 27th, 2023 - First appointments with Dietitian, Psychology, Surgeon May 2nd - First group class May 16th - Second group class June 6th - Psych check-in June 15th - Nutrition check-in July 5th - Third group class July 27th - Fourth group class August 1st - Nutrition check-in August 10th - Psych check-in **CALLED IN LATE AUGUST TO SCHEDULE! (see below) September 19th - extra Nutrition & Psych check-ins to keep insurance happy October 3rd - GP visit for physical and approval for EGD (the hospital mandated this due to high BMI requiring monitored anesthesia for the EGD) October 4th - EGD (scope of esophagus, stomach, upper bowel) November 8th - Started 2-week liquid only liver-reducing diet (LRD) November 9th - Pre-op Readiness Visits (basically meeting w/surgeon again, nurse practitioner, coordinator, etc. to make sure I have all the pre-op information, etc.) November 22nd, 2023 - SURGERY DATE! **So, they DID call me in late August to schedule my surgery. At my initial appointment with my surgeon, he wanted me to get an EGD to make sure I don't have silent reflux or anything funky going on, as I get occasional reflux with certain foods. When I scheduled my EGD back in April, they were scheduling out into OCTOBER 🙃, so I scheduled it for October 4th. In late August (after finishing all my classes and check-ins), my surgeon's office called to let me know the surgeon reviewed my file and was fine with skipping the EGD since I don't have a history of chronic GERD and asked if I wanted a date in September. Well, at this point I was used to the idea of having surgery towards the end of the year, AND I already had a big ol' wedding planned for October and wanted to be able to at least eat solid food for that and have my dress fit properly, so I told them I was fine with keeping the EGD appointment just to be safe and that I'd prefer a date in late November, as I had a HUGE thing scheduled at my work for this week (11/13-11/16) where I pretty much had to be there. They had no problem scheduling me out that far, so if you need a particular timeframe and need to push back for life reasons, I've heard the majority of programs have absolutely no problem doing so. Just know that your insurance (if you aren't self-pay) might want you to make an extra check-in visit or two so you have some kind of contact monthly.

I had the switch too! Nov. 1st. How are you feeling?? I should be able to finally move from fluids to purees tomorrow when I see my surgeon for my 2 week post op appointment. I can't wait! I'm so tired of liquids, though I do think they help the healing process...

I take it no more than once a week. Tylenol just doesn't work on certain kinds of pain. If I were to develop new acid reflux or stomach discomfort I would discontinue them but I haven't yet had an issue because of how infrequently I take it.

I’ve had the gastric sleeve January of 2015, gained a good amount of my weight back. Decided to take another approach and do it RIGHT this time around. 2 week pre op was tough but possible.. Now I’m post op 11/9/23 I had the switch. Thanks god everything went well! Just here with some pain and anxious to start my next phase :puréed 🤮

Have you been checked for an ulcer? Usually you can just take the meds for a few weeks and you will start to feel better. It does seem to be slow process though. Hope you figure it out and feel better soon.

Hi @texasmade88 Welcome!! Congratulations on the 22lb weight loss!! is that after your surgery? Currently, I have been stalled and I am trying not to get stressed out (although there is a small thought of omg what if I did this surgery and nothing changes for me). I won't be a month out until November 27th so I am just telling myself to chill. How are you feeling about the upcoming holidays with food and stuff? I am actually glad I will not be able to eat Thanksgiving dinner this year, it takes a lot of pressure off of me to hang out with the family.

Fascinating article. Despite having taken several of them myself over the past few years, (including Saxenda and Wegovy), I'm very hesitant to embrace a world where weight loss drugs are the first line of defense against obesity. I say this knowing that at least some of my issue comes down to poor nutrition choices, made far too easy by an environment swimming in garbage foods and a culture that values quick convenience over everything else. When I commit to good nutrition, my weight decreases. I don't get skinny, or even "not obese" but I do lose weight. When the snacks and junk food make their way back in the house and I have stressful weeks with work where I'm at my desk for 12 or more hours and fast food feels like my only option because I'm too tired to cook, I gain weight. In about the past 60 years, we've gone from 13% obesity to 40%, with a 10x rise in severe obesity. This isn't just a weird thing that happened in a vacuum. There are pretty obvious reasons for this, some that could possibly be solved with significant changes to our food policies and investment in real nutrition instead of lining the pockets of pharmaceutical companies and massive food corporations. Much of our so-called food today has been designed to be addictive, by the same folks who brought us cigarettes, no less. That should give people pause the next time they're in the grocery store looking at all those shiny boxes and bags. On the other hand, in the days when only 1% of the US population was morbidly obese...that was my family. And some of my family lived really long lives, into their 90s. Except the ones who didn't and died young. And you don't know which you'll be until it's too late. Up until my 40s, I was one of those people who had healthy bloodwork despite being 90+ lbs over my "ideal weight." I didn't worry about my weight because I was healthy. But that changed rapidly with middle age as my weight went even higher. Now I take blood pressure meds and am prediabetic. My feet and joints ache and I worry what that means as I age. I wish I had done more to keep my weight lower when I was younger and developed better habits early on. I can't believe how ignorant I was of nutrition facts when I was in my teens and 20s. One thing I know is I can't afford $12k or more a year for the rest of my life to take these "miracle drugs." I'm not sure who really can or should. I'm grateful for surgery being an option, but it's not for everyone, and neither are the drugs. As a society, I would like to see more acceptance of humans in all sizes, and more focus on real health and nutrition instead of fads and gimmicks that make a few people really rich.

Hi Edward, The original thread starter left the forum ages ago, but I'll try to answer being veteran MGB patient now well into maintenance. Regarding "bad things". Honestly, EVERY bariatric surgery option comes with issues from mild to (thankfully rarer) serious. It's worth remembering that people on forums like this mostly ask questions when they think things are going wrong or are looking for reassurance. Stalls are common for ALL procedures. GERD is common in the sleeve but not everyone gets it. Pain? Well yeah, it's major surgery so expect it to hurt. Your body has to recover from about five deep stab wounds, being inflated, and then having the stomach cut apart and intestines rearranged. That will take time to recover from! What I think is surprising is how FAST the body recovers considering what it goes through. And if, like me, you have a hiatal hernia repair at the same time, it's another level of pain to wade through, but it does improve. And I take ibuprofen and aspirin. I was never told "never again". I don't take it frequently, but when I have to, I take it. Nothing horrible has happened, and I AM prone to ulcers. To combat my ulcers, I take Pantoprazole. No biggie. As for the hunger, it seems different for everyone across all procedures. My hunger came back about six months in. The restriction remains though, and some things have remained permanently off the menu, like coconut milk/cream and more than one bite of bread or potatoes. It's different for everyone, but I really am glad I got the MGB/Omega Loop. Worked a treat, I lost almost 120% of my excess body fat, and my lab results are all great so the vitamin intake hasn't been an issue.

No idea why my phone always posts things twice lmboooo it may be a texture thing I know I definitely struggle with those kinds of things. You got this 💪🏼, you’ve done a week and are almost done Day 1 of week 2 just a few more. I believe in you ⭐️ I will definitely keep everyone posted.

It could always be worse lol my 2 week pre-op is only liquids no puréed foods allowed for me and no veggies or fruits allowed 😩. Tomorrow is my last day but I can only have clear fluids tomorrow. All I keep thinking is this is all worth it in the end. I know it seems hard in the beginning but it does get easier ❤️

I hope so! I’m so close to asking if I can just do a week of liquids LOL I think it’s a texture thing for me. Good luck to you!! We will get through this. And yes it will be worth it in the end!!! keep us posted🩷

I hope so! I’m so close to asking if I can just do a week of liquids LOL I think it’s a texture thing for me. Good luck to you!! We will get through this. And yes it will be worth it in the end!!! keep us posted🩷

It could always be worse lol my 2 week pre-op is only liquids no puréed foods allowed for me and no veggies or fruits allowed 😩. Tomorrow is my last day but I can only have clear fluids tomorrow. All I keep thinking is this is all worth it in the end. I know it seems hard in the beginning but it does get easier ❤️

😥I am on week 2 of my PRE-OP and it’s purée foods for 4 days. I am on day 1 and I finished my lunch portion at 7pm - it’s so gross to me 😭 I don’t know how I’ll survive these 4 days and then have to do it again Post -Op.

Yay! Great job!! Make sure to get that water in, it will prevent headaches and keep you out of the hospital. Good for you getting shakes in, I can just barely get one in 2 weeks out! LOL Glad your pain is well controlled. I'm doing good, thanks! Hoping to move to purees Thursday after I see the surgeon at my follow up. Pain is greatly reduced and soreness is starting to fade. Incisions had an allergic reaction to the glue but the cream they prescribed calmed it down fast. They look great now! Still getting my water in. Had to change my electrolyte formula because the one I was taking had a lot of magnesium in it and was sending me straight to the bathroom with awful diarrhea every time I took it! LOL I found a new one that is working much better now. I weirdly feel like I have more energy now than I did before surgery and I'm not sure how that's possible. I have chronic fatigue syndrome so any boost in energy is VERY welcome. I'm sleeping better too. I hear some people do really well in ketosis, I guess I'm one of them. I'm really thankful for that. I've never been able to get my body to go into ketosis before! So glad I had this surgery...

This is so true, you have to be your own best advocate!! I'm glad this time around is going much better for you! Make sure you get your rest, it is easy to overdo it at this stage, I am 2 weeks post op and pacing myself even though I feel like I have more energy than ever! I hope your recovery continues to go smoothly, you sure deserve it. ❤️

I have a different flavor of BCBS that required 6 months of physician-monitored diet. But from the time that my program submitted all of the required paperwork to approval was 9 days. My surgery was scheduled for two weeks later. Out of pocket, I paid around $1000. The anesthesiologist was not in-network and was about $270 of the total cost.

I am entering week 5 and I agree! I don't feel full, but I know my limits. I measure all my food into 4oz containers. that will be the game until I feel it. As many said above, I think its coming for sure. I rather eat foods portioned to keep the weightloss at the forefront. Currently I have slowed on my water intake.. working on this. on another note...I like to eat warm food 'Hot" the 30 minutes to eat has me reheating my food! it gets cold! lol.