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I would say for you don't commit to the surgery YET. I wish I would have done something about my weight sooner. However I think I did surgery at the right time. I had to work out the emotional issues I had and process childhood abuse first to understand why I ate. I didn't do that until I was past 30. Once I did that I was in a better space to get surgery. What I wish I would have done way sooner would have been sought therapy and worked with a dietitian back when my weight was still lower. If you haven't done other serious interventions to lose weight, then maybe surgery is right.

I haven’t gotten rid of anything yet. I’ve lost about 85 pounds so far. I did move some of them from my closet to the basement though! I bought new tops and a few new shorts to get me through summer. I will need new jeans for sure but I probably won’t consider buying a pair until it starts to get cool mid-sept where I live. I haven’t accepted I lost weight yet. It’s been almost 11 weeks since surgery and I really needed new sizes just 4 weeks ago.

Yes, makes perfect sense. When I do what I'm supposed to do I can take off weight fairly easily but not as easily with the band and I haven't been as motivated to keep it off. I had my band removed in 2018 and I am now 2 weeks post op VSG. I'm glad to hear that you have done the work and have a supportive circle. Now, it's up to us to commit, remain consistent and do what we know to do.

You are absolutely correct that the shape of the sleeve stomach makes developing a hiatal hernia more likely later on than with a normal stomach. That is exactly what one of the research articles I found talking about hiatal hernias after sleeve surgery said. I think the issue with people being surprised by a hernia repair during sleeve surgery is that sometimes sliding hernias are not detectable on the testing before surgery and are only discovered once the surgeon is actually looking at the stomach during the operation. I had no hernia repair during my sleeve surgery (which was in Dec 2016). I really don't think I had a hernia until about December 2020 (when I first noticed some weird symptoms that at the time I didn't understand but now in retrospect believe were from the hernia). Your surgery must be coming up soon, so best of luck. Please do update us on how it goes.

The amount of sugar from the fruits prob caused dumping.

I’m looking through the talk topics and come across yours as I happen to be drinking pickle juice-lol. I bought this at WalMart for $1.78 for 2.5 oz. It’s good, but not cost effective. I’ll just buy a jar of pickles in the future. Just found the situation a bit humorous.🤪

I can handle the protein shakes, fortunately. I get 60 grams of my prescribed 60 to 80 from to of the Pure Protein brand shakes. Eight or so more from 3 ounces of cottage cheese. I may still try the GENEPRO to see whether it's palatable mixed in oatmeal. For me, water doesn't taste bad, I just can't drink very much at once.

I agree - "why" is a key question. I expressed it this way in an earlier post:

I had surgery in November of 2020 and I'm 32 lbs away from my goal weight of 175lbs. I can relate to what you are talking about. I am way smaller than what I was and I have pictures to compare myself to but it isn't how I "feel". I still feel really big and sometimes feel very bloated and puffy. I think I really have a distorted view of my size. My boyfriend tried to help me with my perspective when we were on a hike this past weekend. He very discretely and quietly showed me women who were larger or smaller than me. Friends in WLS please don't think we are judging these people. He was only trying to give me a visual perspective of my journey so far. He also reminded me of times we went hiking in the past and how I would sweat profusely and be out of breathe and so very tired when we finished a hike. It really helped me realize that the main reason I did this was to get healthy and my size or number on the scale doesn't matter. It only mattered that I was able to continue to do what I love (hike) more easily and with greater energy so that I could better enjoy this hobby with him.

I have not yet received any bills for the two issues I'm about to discuss, just the EOBs (Explanation of Benefits). For non-US readers, this is a notice that an insurance company must send the patient whenever the insurance has received a bill. It explains to the patient about the bill: the medical provider, the service rendered to the patient, the charge from the medical provider, how much of that charge will be covered by insurance, and how much the patient can expect to self-pay. My original surgery date was delayed/changed due to the hospital's COVID-related closure to elective procedures. I therefore ended up having surgery about 6 weeks after my original date. I just received the EOB relating to the hospital's $55,000 charge. The EOB states the charge has been denied due to "preauthorization was not obtained". I went through all the paperwork I've collected since my journey began and found the preauthorization approval notice for the original date of surgery... but it seems I never got a preauthorization approval notice for the new surgery date. Naturally, the surgeon's office has several people whose job it is to get insurance approvals/preauthorizations prior to surgery... I'm worried that the person handling my case dropped the ball... The second billing issue concerns an EOB that shows I will owe $900 for the nurse anesthetist's bill ($500 deductible plus 50% copay). The anesthesiologist's bill was covered at 100%, but the issue is that his assistant (the nurse anesthetist) apparently doesn't participate with my insurance so I'd be responsible for the high out-of-network charges! Naturally, I as the patient only get to pick my surgeon... I don't get to pick the anesthesiologist or the nurse anesthetist or any of the nurses, for that matter. Again, the team used for my procedure is something that my surgeon's office and the hospital should have put together properly. I called my surgeon's office a week ago and was transferred to the insurance specialist's voicemail. I've not received a call back. I'll try again tomorrow (Monday) but I'm worried... should I be? I know a lot of people here have had their surgery dates moved around due to COVID, so this can't be the first time this issue has come up...? I'd appreciate advice and opinions. Thank you!