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Hi Everyone, My name is Lamora, and I'm considering starting my journey. I'm a bit on the fence, but I've read up so much on it, but I'm not sure if I qualify. I know my insurance doesn't pay for it though, so I'm considering doing a sleeve in Turkey (medical tourism). About me: I'm 5'2'' 230lbs. I asked my GP about my health status since I don't have any inclination towards anything, but he recommended I speak to bariatrics, but my insurance doesn't cover it, unfortunately, and I don't make enough for consult or nutrition consult. But I average a 1600kcal per day, and I work out 6 out of 7 days a week for around 60 min each day up to 2 hours a day. I actively run 5k's but I just can't seem to drop weight, which was why this has been suggested to me. I did an international trip when I was in college where they lock you up with a nutritionist and they feed you in a hospital and you work out on a CO2 machine, but no matter how much I ran or lifted I couldn't make the CO2 marks I needed to get. And my T3 and T4 are extremely off despite my TSH being borderline. My body temperature is a bit on the lower end at 92-94 F (33-34C). I kept gaining weight on 1800kcal a day with the nutritionist so I dropped back down to my normal 1600kcal a day and I got back to my normal 230lbs weight. The gastric sleeve was recommended for me since I've been having so many problems dropping weight, and when I run I'm starting to feel some knee and ankle pain as I inch closer to 30. I don't think I'm an emotional eater, but I could be wrong... But I do also have a lot of issues with my weight and overall self confidence because my family basically gave up on me. I'm just looking for support and opinions. I really appreciate it. And if anyone has any experience doing medical tourism/procedures and Turkey I would absolutely love your recommendations. Thank you!

For the first several months after my surgery, I really felt like I was mourning the loss of food. I used to love watching cooking shows like Top Chef, The Great British Baking Show, etc., and after surgery, I couldn't stand to watch shows like that, or even restaurant commercials, because I was so sad about these foods I could no longer eat. But eventually, I got to a point where I can (and do) watch and enjoy those shows without feeling that emotional loss. I can watch people make deep-fried pastries and not be sad that I couldn't eat them. I don't seek out that kind of food, though -- I actually kind of enjoy digging through Pinterest to find recipes that I can eat. It kind of feels like a win to find healthy recipes that taste good. I guess I would say I'm in maintenance. I didn't expect to lose as much weight as I did, because I started off bigger than most. I wasn't even sure I'd ever get below an obese BMI. Don't get me wrong -- I'm thrilled with my weight loss and grateful for this second chance at life, but It is such hard work, and the thought of having to keep working this hard for the rest of my freaking life just to not get fat again is exhausting! I feel like I can eat too much in terms of portion size, so I have to make sure to stick to really low-calorie foods, because I can't eat just one bite of something decadent and be full.

Yeah, when I was fat, my weight ruled my life. I was pretty boring then because I couldn't go anywhere or do anything without wondering if I would fit. I skipped a lot of things because I didn't have anything to wear and it was SO hard to find decent clothes in size 28. I did think a lot about food, but I guess I didn't mind that so much because it was mainly good thoughts -- like something delicious and decadent that I had in the fridge and I could look forward to eating -- whereas now, even though there are lots of healthy foods I truly enjoy eating, it's still mentally taxing to track everything I eat, analyze macros, and bargain calories (if I eat X, I can't have Y).

I actually don't talk about food or eating in "real life" because I haven't told anyone other than medical professionals that I had surgery. Not even my family knows. I spent most of my life being shamed for my body and my eating, to the point that even now that I'm a "normal" weight, I still hate for people to see me eat. I'm irrationally ashamed when someone walks into my office while I'm eating celery and calorie-free ranch dressing. I know that's messed up, but not sure it will ever change. And at the same time, I don't like calling attention to what I'm NOT eating, so I'm always nervous and uncomfortable in situations where there's food because I'm afraid people are going to ask why I'm not eating it.

I don't know where you are in Arizona, but I recommend Banner Estrella Weight Loss Center in Phoenix (101 and Thomas so West Valley but he also sees patients at Banner Gateway in Gilbert). I am 8 years post op sleeve from a surgeon in another state. Dr. David Podkameni is who is treating me. He is doing a hiatal hernia repair for me tomorrow. He is very knowledgeable.

Greetings, I am Kim.. 42 in central GA, mom of two older teen boys. Working on requirements for insurance. Hope to have sleeve surgery in October. Been working on the issues that for me to this weight (such as too much fast food, emotional eating etc) while I go through the steps for insurance approval. I want this surgery to be a success and not struggle as bad as I would without doing the work before surgery.

I have a question that I tried to find an answer to and just couldn’t get a clear one. I did email my nutritionist but it’s after hours and won’t here back until tomorrow. So in the meantime I thought I’d inquire here…. I was doing a little meal prep for the next few days and wanted to portion things out to 2ish ounces. I weighed and air fried some tofu…. Tofu is packed in a lot of liquid and even after pressing it there’s still a lot. Obviously the post air fry weight was considerably less, like almost half…. Now, the nutritional value is still the same, protein, carbs, fat etc. So if I weigh it after cooking and log it, it’ll give me the nutritional values for the cooked weight BUT shouldn’t I count the nutritional value of it uncooked? Thoughts? To add: I’m most just wondering about nutritional value here. I want to maximize my protein intake here and I don’t want to cheat myself.

Hi! I’m so sorry about your obstruction!! Holy moly! My surgeon said my sleeve failed me, as well, so I’m having the revision 8/8. Im not on clear liquids but I did start my liquid diet today! Im looking forward to moving on with my weight loss and getting rid of this horrible acid reflux!

That’s amazing. I am trying to gather documents from previous visits to doctors. I tried phentermine and glucophage for weight loss but didn’t lose much. Maybe that can show how I have been trying over the years.

Same here. My PCP put me on 6 months of Actigall and it seems to have done the trick. I'm 10 months out now, 4 months off the med, and no issues. From what I've read, it is VERY common to have gallbladder issues post-op, usually in the first 6 months to a year, during the most active loss. I haven't seen anything that indicates it impacts or inhibits weight loss, but it is often incredibly painful and if removal is necessary, it obviously requires another surgery.

Elevated cholesterol immediately post-op and through the most active weight loss period is very common. Mine went up as well, and my PCP is not at all concerned. If it were still elevated once I reach maintenance, which she highly doubts it will, then we can address. Do some research on it, there are several peer reviewed studies out there about it, and then decide. Adding in a prebiotic fiber supplement like Just Better Fiber can help, as can exercise and time.

We have local stores that will watch you walk and suggest shoes based on your foot and gait. For me, Brooks Glycerin were the best for me based on how my foot strikes the ground (Supination). I have very turned out feet when I stand naturally and to compensate I tend to roll my weight to the outer edge of my foot following a heel strike. Also, look at the mileage rating on the shoe. Most shoes should be replaced around 300-400 miles of wear. If you track steps 10000 steps is about 4.5 to 5 miles depending on your gait. If you hit that six days a week, you are putting 27-30 miles on your shoes each week, so they would need to be replaced every 10 - 15 weeks.

My surgeon automatically puts us on Gallbladder medication to help prevent gall stones while going through rapid weight loss. I am on it for 6 months post-op. He says your gallbladder has a hard time keeping up with the rapid weight loss (surgery or not) and gall stones can form causes you to have to have your gallbladder removed.

Yes, actually. Even snacks. I measure/weight them out and if an hour later, I am truly hungry again, I will eat something else. Never from the package, and if it's something I know I shouldn't eat all of, I take only the portion I am ok with eating (for instance, I occasionally will get a breakfast sandwich and will either throw away the top piece of bread and eat it open-faced or cut it in half.) You have to be honest with yourself that if portion sizes are an issue for you, you have to take steps to make eating too much not an option.

I didn’t feel hunger for more than a year so I ate to a routine because I wanted to ensure I got in all the nutrients I needed. I didn’t want to rely in shakes, vitamins or supplements. Doing this didn’t affect my weight loss at all and it helped me refocus how I looked at food. Three years out & I still have times I’m not hungry. Actually been going through a hungry but not hungry stage for a good month now. I’m not eating all my usual portions &/or dropping snacks (I snack to add to my protein &/or calories). I always try to be close to my protein goal though during these times so eat protein first & will reduce vegetables, etc. If I’m not hungry at lunch I’ll have a high protein yoghurt which isn’t as heavy to digest as meat. I should explain I’m a do I need this next bite or want it eater. So I don’t eat until I feel full but until I’ve had enough & don’t need anymore. I don’t feel too full to eat but more I don’t want to eat but I know I have to have something. I also still eat slowly - like a tub of yoghurt takes about 45-60mins. As @The Greater Fool said it comes down to habits & these were the ones I established which carry me through.

You can develop gallstones for many reasons including high cholesterol, menopause, high bilirubin levels, diabetes, losing weight quickly. For many of us, losing weight also releases extra cholesterol into our bloodstream causing our levels to temporarily rise. Some also have gallstones before surgery which were never picked up. I had to have my gallbladder removed 25 months after my surgery. I had high bilirubin levels, am menopausal, & saw my cholesterol go up while I was losing & of course had lost weight. I had one stone which was discovered about 6 months after surgery during a liver scan. We don’t know how long it had been there. The stone never caused me a problem until one night & oh boy! I was maintaining when my gall was removed. After it was removed I stopped absorbing protein as well as I had been - it can happen. My nails became weak, started losing hair again, things were taking longer to heal, etc. & my three monthly blood test showed why. I had to up my protein intake (from 50-60g to 60-70g) which did result in a small gain of 2kgs in a month but I’ve maintained that for a good 7 months. (Also upped my HRT meds at the exact same time so both contributed to the gain.) I was also prescribed Creons, pancreatic enzymes, to help with protein absorption.

I had to get another blood draw and they told me I was lacking in potassium and my blood pressure was super low. I was also recommended to drink a bottle of Gatorade Zero as well. Right after surgery every time I would shower the steam would make me want to faint/vomit and standing up in general was an absolute nightmare. I am about 4 weeks post-op and am still struggling to eat anything besides greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and tuna lol. My starting weight was 278 and now I am down to 241. It is very exciting! Keep up the great work.

Hi, Im so excited to see these forum! My surgery is scheduled for tomorrow and im totally nervous but ready! After trying so many diets in my young life and gaining right back made me grateful that we have these options today. On the pre opt diet i lost already 7 lbs and waiting to lose more with this amazing tool of the sleeve. This forum is so super helpful! looking forward to walk this journey together with so many people.

Hey!!! I got my sleeve done in 2018, and had severe GERD and weight regain. I lost 60 pounds with the sleeve and maintained for about a year and a half. I regained all that weight back and went back to the weight I was day of the surgery. During my pre-op endoscopy and barium test they found I did have acid reflux and found a twist in my stomach!! Which causes mild obstruction which explains the casual vomiting and GERD. I am so happy I went with a different Bariatric program. I am scheduled for my revision August 29th!

It is a not uncommon result of rapid weight loss (not just from surgery, but that is the most common means of accomplishing rapid weight loss,) maybe 10% have that problem, give or take? My surgeon routinely removes it when doing the DS as he doesn't want some other surgeon going in there and getting lost in the altered anatomy (which is weird for them, not so much for the bypass folks.) With the sleeve, he leaves it alone unless he feels stones in there when he is doing the surgery. So, I still have mine, but my wife, with her DS, doesn't, and we haven't noticed any great difference beyond what the WLS is already doing (there's always changes when you alter the body's default condition.)

I have CareFirst! Needed 6 months of medically supervised weight loss (I didn't lose weight, though) and I had to produce medical records from the last 5 years showing that I'd been very overweight for a while. Here's what I remember it looking like: October - initial consultation, determined I would not need a sleep study which I think is unusual November - dietician visit 1 December - dietician visit 2, endoscopy January - dietician visit 3, psychological evaluation February - dietician visit 4 March - dietician visit 5, mandatory life after surgery virtual classes Mid-April - dietician visit 6 -- submitted to insurance -- was approved in about 72 hours Late April - final check up before surgery to get sign off, got May 20 date Early May - pre-op appointment May 20 - surgery

Did anyone end up having a gallbladder taken out after they had weight-loss surgery and how did it affect their weight loss good or bad

Mine was pretty fast, shorter than I expected for insurance - from what I am hearing from my friends who went through this already. My insurance did not have any weight loss or education requirements. I met the criteria of BMI which was enough to move forward. My first class, informational & weigh-in was May 16th 2022. I was put on a 3 month program - since I didn't have insurance requirements, that is the shortest duration the program I am in does (mainly because of medical clearance testing & scheduling). In June I had 2 virtual zoom classes (they were spaced about every two weeks) My second one I was the only person on her schedule - so I got a private class with the nutritionist. It is normally a group class it just worked out that way. If I was in a 6 month program or longer - they would have covered the same information - they just would have been more classes of a shorter duration. During June I was able to schedule my psych evaluation, PT evaluation, upper endoscopy, labs and cardiac clearance. Unfortunately there was a miscommunication about wanting an echo done along with my cardiac appointment - so I had to go back for that on July 1st. My final weigh-in and class was July 7th. Unfortunately they had not reviewed and signed off on my cardiac echo yet, so I couldn't schedule my surgical consult appointment that day, as planned. A few days later they called and were able to get me in on July 21st. The surgeons do their own scheduling - so I was able to schedule directly with her, and her first available opening was August 16th I have an 8 day liquid fast starting the 8th... and a covid test on the 13th yet. So from first appointment to surgery day will be exactly 3 months to the day. I got very lucky with scheduling to get everything in as quickly as I did. I had the flexibility of taking what ever was available (I am not working) and I asked to be put on cancelation lists for anything that scheduled out further than June 30th and was lucky to have get called for availability. I was in a little of a time crunch because I have driving restrictions, my program and hospital are about an our away and my husband was trying to be at as many appointments as he could. He is a teacher so he is off for the summer - so we were trying to get the surgery done before he starts back to school. He actually starts back in-service on the 15th but thankfully school is willing to work with him and he shouldn't miss anything more than possibly the morning of the 16th (if I am scheduled first possibly not even that).

My insurance (Highmark Blue-shield, I am in Pennsylvania) has no program specific requirements for education/classes or pre-op weight-loss requirement. My program put me on a 3 month schedule - the shortest duration they offer… because of getting pre-op clearances. I had the intro meeting plus three classes where we went over their program material & requirements. My first intro class was May 16th. Classes were spaced about every two weeks. I had two in June and a final appointment and weigh in on July 7th (my program required I not gain weight after my initial weigh-in). I managed to get all my pre-op testing in fairly quickly, but it was not all reviewed and signed off on by the July 7th class, so I had to wait a few more days to schedule to meet the surgeon. First available appointment to meet the surgeon was July 21st. She scheduled me for her first available surgery for August 16th, 2022. So my whole program from first appointment to surgery will be exactly 3 months … that is not typical from what I understand. Most of the people in my intro class were on 6 month schedules or longer, which was dictated by their insurance.