catwoman7

I agree with GradyCat. I don't think it's that much more invasive. Plus it's an older surgery - lots of research behind it. I was also advised to get RNY due to acid reflux, and I've been very happy with it.

I think it's more chronic overeating that will eventually stretch it - not necessarily any one thing.

probably - but like someone else said, you'll either pay the deductible this year or next, so...you'll probably come out the same in the long run. I meet my deductible ($250) every year - even in years when I don't have any major health events. So if you're the same, you'll just meet it faster in 2021 than you usually do - as in, you will have probably met your annual deductible in January due to the surgery - then everything else next year will be covered (well, except for co-pays.....)

I can't see mine at all anymore.

I had RNY (I think there's one wound with the VSG that's a bit bigger - the one they pull your stomach through - but the rest are really small - like all of mine were). They were tiny, and I can't see them at all anymore. amount of excess skin depends on a lot of factors - your age, how overweight you were, how LONG you were overweight - as well as others. Most of us have at least SOME (I lost over 200 lbs, so I had A LOT). However, you're likely the only one who will notice. I eventually had mine removed because it was driving me nuts, but my husband was the only person who ever knew it was there. You couldn't tell at all when I was wearing clothes. Here I am BEFORE I had it removed. Most of mine was on my abs (although I had it on my arms and boobs, too), but I just tucked the ab skin into my pants and then wore slightly oversized, long-ish tops to hide it. Ta da! No more loose skin... honestly, most people worry A LOT about the loose skin when they're pre-op or early post-op (I did, too), but most of us who are out a ways wonder why we worried so much about it. It's kind of a minor thing in the grand scheme of things, and it's usually not noticeable to others. And if it really bothers YOU, there's always plastic surgery. I think most of us would take the loose skin any day of the week over being morbidly obese again. I know I would!

they're probably having to shuffle people around because of all the COVID patients. I wouldn't worry about it. Like someone else said, you may get even more attention in the PACU unit than you would on the bariatric surgery floor.

I think it tends to throw it into remission rather than outright cures it - and it can stay in remission for several years. But yea - that's odd that yours is getting worse - it usually gets better with RNY...

Regain is very easy if you don't monitor yourself. So far I haven't regained lots of weight, because I know from past experience that it's much easier to lose five or ten pounds than it is to lose 50. So....I'm not going there. I have an "acceptable" weight range and once the scale goes over the top end of it (which has happened a few times), it's all hands on deck until I'm back within my range.

I've done several that Pop Sugar puts out (and they have all kinds - cardio dancing, weight training, etc) - Most of those are pretty reliable, so try doing a search on that ("Pop Sugar")).. if you're into yoga, "Yoga with Adrienne" is popular - some of the people on another site I'm are big fans of hers. I've done some of her videos, too, and yes - they're pretty good (I only do gentle forms of yoga - she does both gentle and more challenging/vigorous) I also like this one (below). It's a Zumba class from Vietnam. It's really different than the Zumba around here - not sure if this is standard in Vietnam, or if it's just the way this particular instructor does it (she has several of them posted - they're for varying lengths of time - anywhere from 20 minutes up to an hour). It doesn't always seem like I'm working that hard because she mostly stays in one place and does a lot of really quick arm and leg movements, but according to my Fitbit, my heart rate goes sky high with this, so it's evidently doing something I've also done some strength training videos for seniors (technically I AM a senior, but I'm pretty fit and am capable of keeping up with regular videos and classes - but I have arthritis and osteoporosis, so I kind of have to watch what I'm doing so I don't injure myself. The videos and classes targeting at seniors are pretty safe for me...). I haven't done any single one more than a couple of times - but I'll repeat some of the ones I remember this week and then let you know what I think...

my liver enzyme levels were abnormally high when I had them checked sometime during that first year, too. I was told that's fairly common because rapid weight loss is really hard on livers - and the enzyme levels usually normalize once the weight loss really slows down. They were rechecked when I was about 18 months out, and my PCP was right - they were normal again.

depends on how much you have. Weight training might firm things up in some areas if you don't have much loose skin there, but if you lose a lot of weight, you're likely to have a lot of loose skin. Not much you can do about it...

post-op pain is all across the board, but just from my observations from hanging out on this and other forums for the last six years, it seems most WLS patients have little to no pain from this surgery. Uncomfortableness for a few days, yes - but most experience little or no true pain. And if you're one of the unfortunate ones who do, you'll undoubtedly be sent home with pain meds, so just keep on top of them. It's pretty manageable if you keep on top of it. It seems like almost everyone worries about sagging skin. I worked with my clinic for three years prior to COVID, co-leading one of the pre-op classes (1-2 per month). In every class, people asked about sagging skin. I worried about it as well when I was pre-op and early post-op. But I can tell you that almost all of us who are a ways out will tell you that we wonder why we wasted any brain matter worrying about it. In the grand scheme of things, it's really a minor issue, and for most of us, it's very easy to hide and you're the only one who'll know it's there. And there's always plastic surgery if it bothers you. I eventually had mine removed, but that was for me - it was easy to hide from the world. I just tucked it into my jeans or leggings and wore slightly oversized, longish tops to hide it. Ta da! No more loose skin. Here's a picture of me BEFORE I had plastic surgery. I lost over 200 lbs, so I had a LOT of it. As you can see in this photo, it's not noticeable at all when I had clothes on (oh - and I agree with the above poster - I would take my sagging skin any day over weighing 373 lbs again. ANY DAY!!!)

I'm 5.5 years out. My gym is now offering several of its classes via Zoom, so I do a Zumba class 2-3 times a week and also a couple of light strength-training classes (meant for seniors - but then, I'm technically a senior....although anyone can register for the class). I've also done a kickboxing class twice (which I really liked and plan to do again) in addition, I've found a ton of fitness videos on youtube. I've done videos on strength-training, Zumba and other cardio dance classes, kickboxing, yoga - I forget what else, but there are a TON of fitness videos on youtube. btw - I love my RNY. I had a 15 lb regain during year 3 (which unfortunately is very common), but I've come to accept it, and my body seems to have settled here. For the most part, I don't have trouble maintaining it, although I still have to really watch my food intake so I'm not overdoing it.

actually, there are some surgeons who don't require a liquid diet at all - just clear liquids for a day or two before surgery - so you may be fine...

I would say most bypassers are not on ketogenic diets once they're a few months out. Many are at first, though. The only time my diet was ketogenic was during the liquid phase. Once that was over, my clinic promoted a more-or-less balanced diet (although I know many clinics recommend a low carb diet until you're in maintenance). Most of the WLS patients I'm friends with have been in maintenance for awhile (sometimes a long while). Some do Keto (or IF....or Weight Watchers) when they want to lose a few pounds, but otherwise their diets are fairly balanced. (btw - when I want to lose a few pounds, I count calories and watch my portion sizes - but different strokes for different folks...)

actually, it's a sleeve stomach with a partially bypassed small intestine (much more of the intestine is bypassed than it is with the gastric bypass, which is primarily a STOMACH bypass (although a little of the small intestine is bypassed with the gastric bypass, too)

I would have lost weight if I'd have eaten 1600 kcal pre-surgery. Did it many times. And during my more "successful" attempts, I'd lose 50 or 60 pounds, and a few months later, I'd start putting it back on, until I was back up at my original weight (in my less "successful" attempts I'd lose maybe 10 or 20 pounds before putting it back on). This went on for decades (I'm 60 years old). Again and again and again. I had over 200 pounds to lose, yet I couldn't even keep 50 off. Or 20. Until I had WLS. THEN I was able to lose those 200+ pounds. Like someone else said, you still have to do the work, but WLS gives you a huge boost. I did regain 17 or so pounds (after hitting bottom) during year 3, which is not uncommon, but since then, I've been able to maintain. Never could have done that without the assistance of WLS.

I'm not a DS'er, so you can take this with a grain of salt, but from what I understand, carbs are more of an issue for DS'ers than fat is, since fats are malabsorbed.

this isn't the first time I've read about this - I think more are being done this way because of COVID. Yesterday I even heard someone say a friend of hers was having a hip replacement outpatient. I'm surprised they can do that since when my mother had both of hers replaced (not at the same time, though!), I think she was in the hospital for about three days and then went off to rehab for 2-3 weeks. Granted, WLS isn't as involved ...and doesn't have as long a recovery time....as a hip replacement, though. But I guess if they can do it....

oh I know it's not nothing. I was in the hospital and all prepped to go into plastic surgery (with the IV in my arm) when I was told the surgeon fell on his way to work and broke his wrist, so my surgery was cancelled. I had it three months later. And yes - I know it's devastating. But I DID eventually have it, and in retrospect, it was OK. I was out some money because I had to go to Chicago to get it (I live in Wisconsin) so I was out the money for a hotel room, but....things happen that are often beyond your control. But I eventually did get my surgery - and so will you.

a lot of us seem to start regaining during year 3 and our bodies eventually settle at around 10-20 lbs above our lowest weight (and unfortunately for some, they continue to gain a lot more than that and "settle" higher than they'd like). My BMI got down to around 21, but it's now 25 (give or take a couple of decimal points, depending on the day). There's part of me that would love to be down to a 21 BMI again, but I still sit here at c. 25 and have been here for about two years, so I'm clearly not willing to do what it would take to get me back down there. I can eat 1500-1700 kcal/day and maintain my current weight, and that's very do-able to me. I'm sure I would have to cut my calories quite a bit to lose weight, or pretty much live in the gym, and I'm not sure that's sustainable for me at this point.

I had RNY, not VSG, but it's similar. Your volume will be unrealistically restricted for the first few months or a year, but after that, not really. Although I eat much less than I did pre-surgery, no one would be able to tell anymore that I had bariatric surgery. I eat like my never-been-obese women friends do who are "watching their weight". At restaurants I'll usually order an appetizer and eat that - or else order an entree and take half of it home. no I could never eat half a large pizza again at one sitting like I could pre-surgery, but I can eat 1-2 pieces. But 1-2 pieces is what my mother eats - and most of my skinny friends. so to answer your question - yes, of course you'll be able to eat at weddings and when traveling abroad. You won't be stuck forever eating 1/2 C of food or 600 calories. But you'll be eating much smaller portions than what you probably atepre-surgery (or you should be eating much smaller portions - unfortunately, regain is real!! Luckily, it's easier to eat small portions and be satisfied with that after surgery)

it's happened to a lot of people on here this year. It's not over - they'll reschedule it. The only thing you're really "out" is the liquid diet, since you'll have to do it again, unfortunately. The money and effort will still go towards your (rescheduled) surgery.

it's not up to them - it's up to you. If you're comfortable with it - fine. If you want to lose more - fine.

to keep the food in your stomach for awhile so that you're satisfied - otherwise, it washes out of your pouch or sleeve too quickly, and you get hungry again.