Episode 1: Our Journey Begins (Part 1)

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Okay, welcome to the first episode of the Bariatric Fancher podcast.

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Hi Steph.

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Hi Hannah.

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How's it going?

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Pretty excited.

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Good.

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Pretty excited to be recording this with you.

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Finally.

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I know.

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I've been waiting forever to get here, but here we are.

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We're doing it.

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I'm pretty pumped.

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This episode of the Bariatric Fancher podcast is going to be all about bariatric surgery.

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How did we get there?

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What did it look like?

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And then why did we start a podcast?

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Love it.

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A little bit of intro and history for you.

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Oh yeah.

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It's definitely going to dive deep into intro and history and then obviously just a ton

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of banter as well.

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And be prepared folks.

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We're going to go very off script and just talk about anything and everything.

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I love it.

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How was your weekend Steph?

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You know what?

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It wasn't too bad.

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It's one of those weekends of getting stuff done.

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We have back into the routine of things after the holiday break and getting the kids back

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into gymnastics and getting ready for school and today's grocery shopping day.

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So you know, the weekends that are full of the adulting thing.

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Oh, adulting.

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But I'll be honest.

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I live in an area where we get a lot of snow and as somebody who is not a winter person

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and not a fan of the snow, it's beautiful to look at.

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Don't get me wrong.

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But I am anxiously awaiting for the next few months to go be over and get spring back.

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I'm done with winter.

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Yeah, I can't wait either.

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I'm not a winter person.

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I'm going to run away to Florida here in a few weeks and I'm hoping it's just glorious

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and I might not ever come back.

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I wouldn't blame you.

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The weather this year has just been brutal.

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For those who don't know, we probably should have said we're Canadian.

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We're in Canada.

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Surprised.

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Couldn't tell from our accents maybe.

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But we are Canadians who both live outside of Toronto, Ontario in slightly different

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parts but not too far away from each other.

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So if you're not from Canada, it's been all shrivelingly cold.

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It's just not fun.

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We're so focused on moving our bodies and getting workouts in and getting your fresh

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air and getting your sunshine, which is amazing.

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But it just makes it really hard.

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And when it's dark until eight o'clock in the morning, it's hard to get that motivation

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to get up.

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And I was going to the gym before surgery at 5.30 in the morning with my neighbors.

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And now, do you think I'm getting up at 5.30 to go brush my car off in minus 20 degree

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weather?

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Definitely not.

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Should I be 100%?

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But it's just, yeah, it's not my favorite time of year.

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It's not going to happen.

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It's just not going to happen.

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So yeah, that's what we've been dealing with this weekend is super cold weather.

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I'm excited to be in the studio recording this and not thinking about how cold it is

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outside and preparing for warmer days ahead, because you're right, a treadmill is not the

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same as outside.

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And we're in for a long January.

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So hopefully in February, we get back to last year.

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We had a week in February where it was 22 degrees.

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We're going to plow through and we're going to do it.

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We can do it.

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We can figure this out.

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So that's probably a great place for us to start diving into our actual episode.

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We're going to banter about the weather in Canada, but I think it's time just to let

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people know who we are, what surgery we both had, and maybe kind of how far we are post-op,

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I think would be great to let them know who are their hosts.

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You want to start, Steph?

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Sure.

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So I am about 10 weeks post-op VSG, which is vertical sleeve gastrectomy, which is one

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of the lesser invasive options in terms of weight loss surgery, which is what we also

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refer to as bariatric surgery.

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So obviously, as Hannah said, we are Canadian.

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We are in Ontario.

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That's where I had my surgery.

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What basically happens with that is it is laparoscopic surgery, meaning they go in with

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just a few little incisions.

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I have about five incisions that are about an inch or so across my abdomen.

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And Hannah, we've talked about this, but I'm pretty sure also that it's robotic surgery.

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I don't know for sure.

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Like 90% sure.

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I'm pretty sure I saw a robot when I walked in there.

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It's a little bit of a blur, but I'm pretty sure it was in there.

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Could have been the morphine.

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Could have been me.

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Could have been the...

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Can't tell.

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Right.

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Exactly.

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It's very quick recovery, which is great.

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So for me, I live about two hours away from the hospital that I had my surgery in.

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But typically speaking, it's a fairly straightforward procedure.

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It's day surgery for most individuals here.

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But because of where I live, I ended up staying overnight, which was fine.

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But I had my surgery early in the morning, about 10 o'clock in the morning.

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It's about give or take 45 minutes of a procedure.

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And then I was back in my room very shortly after I was up and walking within about an

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hour and a half to two hours after my surgery.

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I was sipping fluids.

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I was texting.

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I was talking.

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And within a couple hours, I was pretty much on my own.

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Up and walking every hour, moving around okay.

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A little bit of soreness, a little bit of tightness, a little bit of nausea here and

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there.

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But overall, I will say, and I'm sure I'll say this many times throughout our episodes,

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I was just very pleasantly surprised with how, I'm not going to say easy, but how smooth

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of a procedure it was.

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I was home.

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I was released first thing the next morning.

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I was home.

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That was a Saturday that I came home.

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And by Monday morning, my husband was back at work.

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I was up getting the kids ready for school, making lunches, looking after myself.

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So all in all, a really great experience.

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So as I said, I'm about 10 weeks post-op, just over two months.

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I'm down 51 pounds.

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Yeah, still a ways to go, but moving along, new challenges every day, new lessons every

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day.

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But all in all, really happy with my journey so far with this decision and what I've experienced.

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Oh man, you should be.

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It's huge.

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It's huge just to get to the stage of actually doing this because the lead up to it, which

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we'll talk about in a little bit, the lead up to it is long and can give you many options

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to be like, maybe I don't want to do this.

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This is the right decision.

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Oh boy.

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But no, two and a half months post-op, 50 pounds down, like it's absolutely incredible.

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You've been crushing it because this is a lot of work, which we'll also talk about a

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little bit, but no, good job.

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I'm Hannah, the other person talking on this podcast.

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I am two years or just shy of two years.

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I'll be two years, March 13th of 2025, two years post-op.

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I had the exact same surgery, the sleeve surgery, where they basically inflate your stomach,

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cut out 80% of it and leave you with a little sleeve from esophagus down to your intestines

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so that you can't hold as much food.

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You don't have as much to break down.

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You absorb things just slightly differently, but not too much.

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The reason I picked sleeve was for the recovery.

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Now they did say you might lose less weight than other options, but the big selling feature

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was day surgery on your feet the next day, quickest recovery out of all of them.

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That really appealed to me being in my 30s.

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I didn't want to be laid out on the couch months of recovery.

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That just didn't interest me at all.

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My mentality was I can do this.

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If you just help me, I will put the work in.

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I will work out, exercise, eat well.

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I will do this.

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I picked the non-invasive one because I believed I could make it work.

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The other option, there's many.

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I should say there's five or six options, but typically the two options you're given

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are do you want sleeve or do you want bypass?

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Bypass being the more invasive of the two where they basically connect your... I'm

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just very layman's-terming this, but you basically connect your esophagus to your lower intestines,

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completely skipping your stomach and your small intestines.

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This causes you to lose weight through malabsorption.

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You obviously cannot absorb things the way other people did.

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Having literally no pouch or anywhere to put your food, you can only eat a certain amount.

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You really can't eat high fat, high sugar, or a lot of other things because your body

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just can no longer digest it, break it down, or handle it.

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It is usually mandatory for those with diabetes, chronic illnesses, or over a certain weight

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threshold because sleeve just would not work for them.

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Usually if you are relatively healthy at a relatively normal BMI, obese range, so I think

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it's under 400 pounds, you'll get the option between the two.

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They will push bypass heavily, but sleeve can be just as successful.

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The only reason they prefer bypass is it is less hard to regain the weight because of

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how drastically it changes your anatomy and your body.

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Like I said, I was committed that I was going to do this.

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My mom is a retired nurse and I talked with her at length and she said, I really just

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don't think you should be altering your anatomy at this age.

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I think sleeve sounds like it's the better option and that you'll just put the work in

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and make it successful.

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I took sleeve.

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Like I said, two years post-op.

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Had it done at the exact same clinic Steph did.

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I've lost over 150 pounds and counting.

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I am still on my weight loss journey.

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That's unbelievable.

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That's a whole person.

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I've lost a whole person.

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Whole fucking person.

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It's crazy when you put it in terms like that.

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I was sitting in the kitchen, the things kids say.

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I was standing in the kitchen yesterday and my oldest daughter looks at me and goes, mom,

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I don't want to be rude, but I don't really think you look different.

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I chuckled and I was like, well, Haley, I've lost 50 pounds.

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She looked at me and I could tell she didn't get it.

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That's one thing to say 50 pounds, but then I looked at her and I was like, Haley, I've

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lost more weight than Leah, who's my youngest daughter.

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I've lost more than a full Leah.

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And then even then I stopped and went, oh my god.

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Then I think about picking her up and I was like, I've lost more than a small child.

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It's interesting to put it in different terms like that sometimes.

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Yeah, 150 pounds is frigging amazing.

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Then when you say I lost a whole person, I'm like, oh my god.

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I lost a whole person.

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It's quite insane.

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I was 315 pounds when I went into surgery.

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To have lost that much is quite crazy and amazing at the same time.

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I'm pretty impressed with that.

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So you should be.

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Yeah, I know.

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The weird thing is it is hard to almost wrap your head around it because you have goals.

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I still have a weight loss goal I'm trying to achieve.

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The clinic was really upfront that this is not a slow process.

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Most people lose between 12 and 24 months.

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They were like, the average people get to their goal weight maybe around 18 to 20, but

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they said some people take till 24.

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It does depend on your goal weight because technically I get to set it myself.

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They will definitely intervene if you're like, hello, I'm 315 pounds and I'd like to be 105.

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They will intervene and go, let's reevaluate.

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I'm going to go to the limb.

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That's not fucking possible.

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But they let you set your own goal weight.

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And then it's really funny because they check in with you throughout surgery and they go,

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so how do you feel about your goal weight?

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And there were so many times I was like, oh my god, I couldn't even give a shit anymore.

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I was like, if this is as much weight as I lose, I'm so fucking happy where I am.

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Because at the beginning of surgery, you set a very arbitrary number.

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Most of us way overshoot the fucking runway on the number as well.

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And then they kind of tell you like, you're going to be fixated on this and we hope that

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you become fixated on other things like the change in your mental health and your lifestyle

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and your fitness and your exercise that you start to find other things to love and that

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it's not just about the weight loss.

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And that's a big thing which we'll touch on.

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But in Canada, they don't want to hear that you just want to do this for weight loss.

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They're very big on, like there has to be more than just how you look.

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Because if not psychologically, you're not going to do well with the surgery because

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sure you'll lose weight, but body dysmorphia is a motherfucker and the loose skin is a

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00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:16,440
real bitch.

243
00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:22,040
And if the only thing you're going into the surgery for is because I want to look snatched

244
00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:23,960
and hot as fuck, they're 50 right?

245
00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:24,960
It's not for you.

246
00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:25,960
It's not for you.

247
00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:30,440
No, we're going to need like two or three more pretty solid fucking reasons for you

248
00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:31,440
to do this surgery.

249
00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,320
Now they won't say no to you, but they're going to really work with you.

250
00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:37,480
There's going to be some hard conversations that are going to happen with you because

251
00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:42,080
it's, yeah, it's got to be more than that physical appearance.

252
00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:44,360
And like I said, that's great.

253
00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:45,800
Having an approved physical appearance is great.

254
00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:47,120
Building your confidence is great.

255
00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:48,120
Sure.

256
00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,560
Like we'll talk about and I've talked to you before about how like I won't wear a t-shirt

257
00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:53,800
in public and I don't own a pair of shorts.

258
00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:54,800
Do I want to change?

259
00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:58,400
And that's because I don't like the physical look of myself in those things.

260
00:13:58,400 --> 00:13:59,400
Do I want that to change?

261
00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:00,400
A hundred percent.

262
00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:01,400
Yeah.

263
00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,200
But can that be my only big motivating factor on this?

264
00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:05,200
No, it can't.

265
00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:06,200
No.

266
00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:09,480
And if that's my only driving factor, then either the surgery is not for me or there's

267
00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:11,400
got to be some hard conversations that happen.

268
00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:12,760
Yeah, that's the thing.

269
00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:16,600
Like when we, okay, so we both had VSG surgery.

270
00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:20,120
It's probably a great time just to chat about like the surgery.

271
00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:23,320
They're not going to be like, Hannah, you do not qualify for this because you want to

272
00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:24,320
lose weight.

273
00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:26,160
Nobody's going to say that to you.

274
00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:31,400
But what's going to happen is I'll probably have way more sessions with the social worker

275
00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:32,880
who has to approve it.

276
00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:36,040
So in Ontario, this is not everywhere.

277
00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:37,520
This is pretty typical for Canada.

278
00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:42,960
So I will say if you are a Canadian listening, 80% this is what you're going to deal with

279
00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:45,400
regardless of what province you're in.

280
00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:49,440
But if you're American, this is probably nothing like what you went through.

281
00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:52,440
In Canada, you must be referred by your doctor.

282
00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:53,440
Sure.

283
00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:59,160
And we actually both had good doctors that Steph's encouraged her to do this.

284
00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:04,360
And I brought this to my doctor's attention and boy, were they overwhelmingly supportive.

285
00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:06,760
And he was so excited about this.

286
00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:11,440
And oh my, yes, like, and he talked me through every step in stage and why he thought this

287
00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:12,440
could be really great.

288
00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:16,440
And he looked at the requisition and that day if I, if I really wanted to, and this

289
00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:20,040
is not a doctor who, you know, constantly harped on my weight or made me feel like I

290
00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:21,960
love my family doctor.

291
00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:24,000
Way to go, Dr. Singh, whoop whoop.

292
00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:28,280
But he's just a wonderful human and he was so supportive of this surgery.

293
00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:30,480
So you have to be referred by a doctor.

294
00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:31,480
Cool.

295
00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:32,480
That's for like most things in life.

296
00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,800
You can't just roll up and be like, hello, I'd like a bionic leg implanted, please.

297
00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:37,080
Thank you very much.

298
00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:43,520
So you get referred and then you need to calm your tits, hold your horses, wait, because

299
00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:48,920
the average wait to have the surgery in Canada is honestly eight to 12 months from start

300
00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:50,080
to finish.

301
00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:53,700
Now you're not just sitting idly by twiddling your thumbs while you're waiting.

302
00:15:53,700 --> 00:15:58,040
You have to go through an immense amount of checks and balances.

303
00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:01,120
So you go in, you go to orientation and that was kind of fun.

304
00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:02,120
It was interesting.

305
00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:03,120
Oh Christ.

306
00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:04,120
It was interesting.

307
00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:05,120
We talked so much.

308
00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:09,960
The messages that we sent back and forth, I remember during, during my orientation, I

309
00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:13,680
was text messaging Hannah throughout the entire time, cause it wasn't on camera.

310
00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,120
It was just like a WebEx meeting where they go through.

311
00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:17,120
Yeah, it's virtual.

312
00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:18,120
Yeah.

313
00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:19,840
It's like a high level overview of, there's two programs.

314
00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:22,840
You can do a surgical program or a nutrition program.

315
00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,040
And so they're going through all of it.

316
00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:26,040
Don't, yeah, don't do the nutrition.

317
00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:27,040
Don't do the nutrition.

318
00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:28,040
Don't even go there.

319
00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:30,160
It's a liquid diet for like a month.

320
00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:33,760
It sounds like the worst possible experience of your life.

321
00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:37,320
And so they're going through the different ones and the chats, the chats open on the

322
00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:43,400
WebEx and the comments that people were putting in this chat, I was messaging Hannah like

323
00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:47,360
crazy and Devin, my husband was sitting with me cause I said, you know, I want you to have

324
00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:48,360
a say in this too.

325
00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:49,360
Like this impacts you too.

326
00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:50,360
Yeah.

327
00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,840
And he and I were just like the comments about it.

328
00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:57,480
It was off the rails and you could clearly go through and be like, Oh, this is not for

329
00:16:57,480 --> 00:16:58,480
them.

330
00:16:58,480 --> 00:16:59,480
This is not for them.

331
00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:00,480
They're not going to succeed.

332
00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:01,480
This is not going to happen.

333
00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:02,480
They're going to quit after this.

334
00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:03,480
Oh God.

335
00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:04,480
It's like survivor.

336
00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:06,200
It's bariatric surgery survivor.

337
00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:10,320
I remember vividly, I was at the dog park and I was like, Oh boy, you know what?

338
00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:14,680
I should probably just give her a heads up because I obviously went through surgery first

339
00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:15,680
and I went through it alone.

340
00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:19,520
I didn't really have any friends that had done it, but I was messaging staff saying,

341
00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:20,520
Hey, be prepared.

342
00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:24,280
And I remember being like, here's all the questions you're going to get.

343
00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:25,280
When can I drink again?

344
00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:26,280
Can I start drinking now?

345
00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:27,280
Do I have to quit smoking?

346
00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:29,680
Could I smoke the day after I get out?

347
00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:33,320
When can I have McDonald's again?

348
00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:35,000
Is pizza on the post-op diet?

349
00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:37,640
And I was like, Oh, here we go.

350
00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:38,640
Yeah.

351
00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:40,680
Do I really have to do a liquid diet?

352
00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:43,040
Oh, do I have to give up that much sugar?

353
00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,680
The hilarious one was the amount of times McDonald's was mentioned by name.

354
00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:50,440
They should fucking just sponsor the bariatric surgery orientation.

355
00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:52,360
So much.

356
00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:57,860
People were asking in my chat, is McDonald's considered soft food?

357
00:17:57,860 --> 00:17:59,720
Are french fries considered soft food?

358
00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,040
Is ice cream soft food?

359
00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,760
Is pizza on the post-op diet?

360
00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:09,800
And it was like, and then like the alcohol questions about, well, can I still drink if

361
00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:11,520
it's low sugar?

362
00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:15,640
And I was just, I was sitting here and I just remember, remember going, I'm, I can't wait

363
00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:21,160
to see in my next few meetings, how many of these people dwindled out.

364
00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:22,160
And again, it's survivor.

365
00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:23,160
They very quickly did.

366
00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:24,160
They just very quickly did.

367
00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:26,120
Down they go, down they go.

368
00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:29,560
There's a lot of hot sauce questions, which I didn't laugh at because like people love

369
00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:31,320
them spices and them hot sauces.

370
00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:33,760
And the rule is like, eat your hot sauce.

371
00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:35,240
Nobody gives a shit about hot sauce.

372
00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,280
I literally put that shit on everything.

373
00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:41,200
We're not trying to judge the people in orientation, but like you're in an orientation for a

374
00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:45,080
weight loss surgery because I'm going to go to the limb.

375
00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:47,360
You're obese and tired of being obese.

376
00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:52,880
And the number one question you have for that surgical team, when can I have McDonald's

377
00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:53,880
again?

378
00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:56,680
So it's like you need to reevaluate your situation.

379
00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:02,200
You can just tell the nurses are like, and the nurses were just like those poor nurses,

380
00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:05,920
but they'll basically be like, you can't really have that folks.

381
00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:06,920
You can't have it.

382
00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:07,920
It's not recommended.

383
00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:10,960
And before the questions start, by the way, it's not that it's just, they don't give you

384
00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:11,960
info.

385
00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:16,600
They went through an hour and a half slide about no high fat, no high sugar, why it'll

386
00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:18,360
make you basically shit your pants.

387
00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:21,940
And it's like, they're very clear about why this is in place.

388
00:19:21,940 --> 00:19:24,360
They're not just saying no to say no, there's reasons behind it.

389
00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:26,440
And they give you all the reasons in the statistics.

390
00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:31,560
They also go through that horrifying slide of regain where it's like, Oh my God, how

391
00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:35,160
many people, 30% of people regain.

392
00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:42,080
And not just, and I think to clear, regain all of their weight and then some, and then

393
00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:44,560
some, we're not talking like a 20 pound regain.

394
00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:49,740
Oh, because with this surgery for those thinking of it and this, they tell you this and there's

395
00:19:49,740 --> 00:19:51,140
nothing wrong with this.

396
00:19:51,140 --> 00:19:56,020
You'll get to your lowest weight and then typically not always, but typically you'll

397
00:19:56,020 --> 00:20:02,300
gain 10% back, not of your total body weight of your new lowest weight.

398
00:20:02,300 --> 00:20:07,560
When you hit the lowest you're going, take that weight, 10% of that weight you'll gain

399
00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:09,920
back and that's called your maintenance phase.

400
00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:11,880
And that is super normal for everyone.

401
00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:16,480
But once you're at your lowest weight, that 10% is probably eight pounds, you know, like

402
00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:17,480
it's not much.

403
00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:18,480
It's not a big deal.

404
00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:22,200
And that's your new maintenance phase, which means if you did nothing different, you would

405
00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:26,000
just stay at that weight for the rest of your life, which maintenance phase, it's pretty

406
00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:27,000
dope.

407
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:28,000
It's dope as hell.

408
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:29,000
I'm not going to lie.

409
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,720
I'm trying to get out of maintenance phase because there's more weight I'd like to lose,

410
00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:35,040
but it is kind of nice for me to know if I wake up and literally change nothing about

411
00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:37,680
my life, I will stay here.

412
00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:40,720
And like, I've never ever had that feeling before.

413
00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:41,720
It's pretty dope.

414
00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:45,960
But yes, they go through everything in this orientation and they tell you why you have

415
00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:48,080
to do the things you have to do.

416
00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:52,960
And then after all of that, people's burning fucking question is still, can I make Don

417
00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:54,440
see Donald's soft food?

418
00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:57,720
But like I can have the burrito from Taco Bell, right?

419
00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:02,680
And I have to say, I do feel bad because I think where these people's questions are coming

420
00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:03,680
from.

421
00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:06,360
Okay, there's two streams of thoughts here and I'm going to offend some people on this.

422
00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:07,480
Here we go.

423
00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:10,080
I was fucking hot takes from Hannah.

424
00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:11,080
Here we go.

425
00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:12,880
We're going to get canceled in episode one.

426
00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:13,880
Sorry, Steph.

427
00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:14,880
Nice to meet you all.

428
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:15,880
Yeah, it's been lovely.

429
00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:19,720
She's not associated with me, so don't cancel her.

430
00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:24,080
I was the youngest person in my orientation by probably a goddamn decade.

431
00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:27,600
I was the only 30 year old in my orientation.

432
00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:29,720
Everyone else was pushing 60.

433
00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:32,040
Now good fucking for them.

434
00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:34,960
Way to put your hand up, step up and say, I want to do it.

435
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:39,120
I suspect most of them did not put their hand up and say, I want to do this.

436
00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:45,880
I suspect most of them were told you will be doing this because now you're diabetic,

437
00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:47,760
your heart's going to give out.

438
00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:52,280
You have really reached the point of no return and you can kind of tell based on their questions,

439
00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:54,480
this was not their choice and that this is something-

440
00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:57,920
This is the last resort for them, I think.

441
00:21:57,920 --> 00:21:59,360
No one's forced into surgery.

442
00:21:59,360 --> 00:22:00,360
They don't go-

443
00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:01,360
No.

444
00:22:01,360 --> 00:22:04,140
But I think this was again kind of that hail Mary.

445
00:22:04,140 --> 00:22:08,640
You do this or you're going to be on diabetic insulin for the rest of your life or you do

446
00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:11,920
this or we're going to put in a pacemaker or whatever.

447
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:16,640
So you can tell the ones that were basically told this is kind of your only option.

448
00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:20,680
But they didn't necessarily want to be there or I don't think they had gone through the

449
00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:25,760
thought process maybe that we had leading up to is this what I want to do.

450
00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:26,760
Correct.

451
00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:32,160
So you can already kind of tell they're very not interested in it.

452
00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:34,160
And I get that.

453
00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:37,880
There's no way I could have done this when I- like I'm only 30, but there's no way in

454
00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:43,160
my 30s I should say, but there's no way I'm only 30 at a couple of years.

455
00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:44,440
But I'm in my 30s.

456
00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:48,240
There's no way I think I could imagine doing this at 60 after I've lived an entire life,

457
00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:50,000
been set in my ways.

458
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:51,240
Many of them are married.

459
00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:53,320
That's a fun one that we'll get into later.

460
00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:56,960
Many of them are married for now.

461
00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:01,960
And it just seems like this is going to be the most massively hard thing in their entire

462
00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:02,960
life to do.

463
00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:03,960
And I get that.

464
00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:08,320
If I spent 60 years doing one thing and you told me I have to like not even change it

465
00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:13,080
slightly completely fucking up and overhaul my whole life.

466
00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,720
And I'm the only one in my family that has to.

467
00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:17,960
My husband gets to still do whatever the hell he wants.

468
00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:20,040
My kids get to do whatever the hell they want.

469
00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:23,460
And I have to be the only person in the whole family doing this.

470
00:23:23,460 --> 00:23:26,520
There's a reason 30% of people fail and regain their weight.

471
00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:29,360
And it's lifestyle and psychological.

472
00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:33,000
So I'm the youngest by a lot in this room.

473
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:38,820
And I think that that was a big, a big eye opener and problem.

474
00:23:38,820 --> 00:23:45,600
The older people really struggled with the notion of no fast food, no high fat, no sugar,

475
00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:46,720
no drinking.

476
00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:49,520
No drinking was a huge and still is.

477
00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,760
It came up on every call.

478
00:23:52,760 --> 00:24:00,360
Even my post-op, or I shouldn't say post-op, but the last call I had prior to surgery where

479
00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:05,080
we talked about the post-op meal plans and making sure that everybody was basically all

480
00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:08,800
set to go because our surgery dates were coming up really quickly.

481
00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:14,040
Even in that meeting, the amount of times that it came up still shocked me because as

482
00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:18,560
you've said, we have to go through quite the process to get to surgery.

483
00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:23,240
We have to deal, or not deal, but we have to have meetings with dietitians and nurses

484
00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:26,760
and social workers and internal medicine doctors and surgeons.

485
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:31,080
And it's not one, like it's multiple of these appointments throughout the months leading

486
00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:32,600
up to your surgery.

487
00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:39,540
And I was really surprised at how much it was still coming up in that last meeting before

488
00:24:39,540 --> 00:24:40,540
surgery.

489
00:24:40,540 --> 00:24:44,320
I guarantee you that the day before people go under, they're still asking about when

490
00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:46,120
can I drink again?

491
00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:48,280
And alcohol was a big one.

492
00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:53,640
So I haven't had alcohol since I entered the program in 2021.

493
00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:56,000
Jesus Christ, was it 2021?

494
00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:00,880
Keep in mind, like just because I'm two years post-op, I had to enter the program well before

495
00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:01,880
surgery.

496
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:03,720
So my surgery was 2023.

497
00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:06,200
Holy shit, yeah, I entered November, 2021.

498
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:07,200
Thanks COVID.

499
00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:13,880
I am a rare exception where it took me from November, 2021 till March, 2023 to have surgery.

500
00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:15,200
That is not the norm.

501
00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:16,560
Do not panic about that.

502
00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:18,000
That was simply because of COVID.

503
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:22,280
So I had done all my approvals, but then I had to wait and wait and wait because the

504
00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:26,080
hospital only allowed a certain amount of surgeries per day because then they had to

505
00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:28,880
do all this deep cleaning and it was just a nightmare.

506
00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:29,920
But now they're back to normal.

507
00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:32,840
So it's about eight to 12 months from start to finish.

508
00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:34,920
You go in, you do your orientation.

509
00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:38,880
Like Steph said, you have to do a ton of blood work and tests.

510
00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:40,760
They test everything in your blood.

511
00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:42,400
They want to know your full medical history.

512
00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:43,920
They want to know your psychological history.

513
00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:45,520
They want to know your family history.

514
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:46,720
They want to know why you're doing it.

515
00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:51,480
So you will consistently meet over that year with a nutritionist that they choose.

516
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:53,320
None of this is your own choosing.

517
00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:55,160
You'll meet with your nutritionist.

518
00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:58,600
You'll meet with your nurse and you'll meet with your social worker, which is a therapist

519
00:25:58,600 --> 00:25:59,840
in Canada.

520
00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:02,520
And they will go through all the reasons that you're doing this.

521
00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:05,700
You might roll your eyes and say, why do I have to spend 12 months?

522
00:26:05,700 --> 00:26:08,860
Because it's basically every two months you're doing blood work and meeting for an hour to

523
00:26:08,860 --> 00:26:11,400
two hours with these people.

524
00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:13,120
And you have to do food journals.

525
00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:16,660
You have to do psychology things.

526
00:26:16,660 --> 00:26:21,200
It's mainly just like exercises and thoughts and how did you get there and could you handle

527
00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:22,200
this?

528
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:23,200
Make sure you have the supports that you need.

529
00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:24,200
Yes.

530
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:25,200
Do you have family and friends?

531
00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:27,120
And they dive into like, how'd you get to be obese?

532
00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:28,120
Is it binge eating?

533
00:26:28,120 --> 00:26:29,720
Is it emotional eating?

534
00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:35,760
If you're someone who has like, you're clinically depressed, you're bipolar, you're on anxiety

535
00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:37,440
meds, like you will not be disqualified.

536
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:42,140
They will work with you to figure out the best step forward for you so that you're not

537
00:26:42,140 --> 00:26:46,480
off your meds for too long, so that this doesn't, you know, hurt any progress you made.

538
00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:50,800
So like don't panic if you have a disorder that you're on medication for.

539
00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:51,800
They will work with you.

540
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:53,400
You will not be disqualified.

541
00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:55,720
Even if you have cancer, you will not be disqualified.

542
00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:57,080
They will work with you.

543
00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,800
You will be disqualified if you refuse to give up smoking.

544
00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:00,800
You're done.

545
00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:05,240
They will not do this surgery on you because you are at high risk for blood clots, bleeding

546
00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:09,260
out during surgery, for horrible complications after.

547
00:27:09,260 --> 00:27:10,260
You are just not worth it.

548
00:27:10,260 --> 00:27:15,340
If you can't give that up and alcohol before surgery, you must give that up before surgery

549
00:27:15,340 --> 00:27:17,220
for the exact same reasons.

550
00:27:17,220 --> 00:27:22,300
But you will go through multiple, multiple, multiple meetings, multiple hoops, lots of

551
00:27:22,300 --> 00:27:27,600
work because they want to make sure you're good and goddamn ready to commit to this program.

552
00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:34,600
So that's the big difference between Canada and the U.S. asterisks for the most part.

553
00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:38,280
There are some clinics in the states that are like Canada.

554
00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:42,560
What I think Steph and I should point out, this is fully covered in Canada.

555
00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:45,360
That's a big question we always get.

556
00:27:45,360 --> 00:27:48,400
I looked back the other day, I was going through my binder.

557
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:52,040
I have a binder where I've kept everything to do with this surgery, all my paperwork,

558
00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:53,040
all my paperwork.

559
00:27:53,040 --> 00:28:00,960
I paid, I think it was like $186 for my shakes, for the liquid phase, the pre-op diet phase.

560
00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:02,200
And that was it.

561
00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:05,600
Everything else, I didn't pay a single penny.

562
00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:08,120
No bills were sent to me, nothing.

563
00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:09,120
Which is phenomenal.

564
00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:15,640
The only thing you pay for is your liquid surgery protein shakes, your two weeks of

565
00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:16,640
that.

566
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:17,960
And surprise, we should add that in.

567
00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:23,000
Before surgery, you must go on a two week liquid diet.

568
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:28,880
It is shocking how many people drop out of surgery as soon as they hear that.

569
00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:33,280
They literally pull out and say, I'm not doing this.

570
00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:34,280
We'll get to that in a minute.

571
00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:35,680
But yeah, it's fully paid for.

572
00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:41,400
So OHIP, which is our Ontario healthcare, or any province, I should say, it's not just

573
00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:47,260
Ontario, every province in Canada, Canadian wide, will pay for 100% of the surgery.

574
00:28:47,260 --> 00:28:51,960
You just have to pay for your protein shakes for two weeks, which is like 180 bucks.

575
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:54,200
It's really not much.

576
00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:56,920
It's incredible that this is entirely paid for.

577
00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:59,900
And you don't ever have to pay it back or anything, but it's entirely paid for because

578
00:28:59,900 --> 00:29:06,040
Canada has said it is better for us to cover this surgery because if not, obesity is a

579
00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:12,120
massive, no pun intended, drain on the healthcare system.

580
00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:16,760
At one point, I don't know if it's still true, it was a bigger drain on resources than heart

581
00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:19,840
disease, which is kind of shocking.

582
00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:25,120
It likely is because we'll talk about it, but there's so many health factors or health

583
00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:28,400
issues that a lot of us with obesity suffer from.

584
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:30,840
And obesity is kind of the umbrella, right?

585
00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:37,520
Obesity typically also means on top of being overweight, you suffer from XYZ.

586
00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:43,800
So when you add all of those up, that is a lot of resources that are being used up in

587
00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:45,300
the healthcare system.

588
00:29:45,300 --> 00:29:51,280
So if we can knock out the obesity problem, and that's why a lot of us have this bariatric

589
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:56,880
surgery is because it will go hand in hand with clearing up a lot of these other issues

590
00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:58,440
that we all suffer from.

591
00:29:58,440 --> 00:29:59,440
Exactly.

592
00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:03,360
And that's something that we'll talk about in a couple of minutes is all the health related

593
00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,440
things before surgery, how often I was going to the doctor.

594
00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,120
You don't realize, but it is a big drain.

595
00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:15,000
And by having this surgery and trying to eliminate the obesity epidemic, and I know people are

596
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,800
going to be mad I say this, but you almost get better care.

597
00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:23,920
And I don't mean because they think you look pretty, because they don't have to worry about,

598
00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:25,080
okay, you're obese.

599
00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:29,440
We now have to look at all the things that could possibly come from you being obese.

600
00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:32,640
You can go in now and say, man, I'm really having chest pain.

601
00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:34,040
And they can go, okay, she's not obese.

602
00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:37,880
Like, let's go to write into an EKG and we're going to check XYZ and blah, blah, blah, or

603
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:41,240
holy shit, my knee is just killing me.

604
00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:44,680
And now they don't have to run an EKG and check your heart and do all the things they

605
00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:49,100
have to do when you're obese because they think, oh my God, is this her knee joints

606
00:30:49,100 --> 00:30:52,720
or is this a heart attack or is this high blood pressure or is this diabetes?

607
00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:58,240
Like, it's you do get quicker, almost better care when you're not obese.

608
00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:00,420
So there's a reason they pay for it.

609
00:31:00,420 --> 00:31:06,680
In the States, not always, but typically, it's not you're not in a program like we were

610
00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:08,400
in, which is a shame.

611
00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:13,660
And then you see an overwhelming amount of Americans just pay for surgery.

612
00:31:13,660 --> 00:31:15,760
So they'll make the decision, this is what they want to do.

613
00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:17,440
Their doctor will be like, cool, cool, cool.

614
00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:20,360
And they'll just fly to Mexico or somewhere in Europe.

615
00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:23,080
Turkey is a big one.

616
00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:24,360
And they'll just have the surgery.

617
00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:26,320
They'll pay 10 to $20,000.

618
00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:28,040
Fuck, I wish.

619
00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:29,140
No, thank you.

620
00:31:29,140 --> 00:31:31,000
And they'll just pay for surgery.

621
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,960
Now they go to places that are nice and like medical spas and stuff.

622
00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:36,640
And then they'll just come home.

623
00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:41,320
And after having gone through this process, sure, at the very beginning, was I anxious

624
00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:43,020
and just wanted to fucking do it?

625
00:31:43,020 --> 00:31:44,020
You're goddamn right.

626
00:31:44,020 --> 00:31:46,200
I was like, this weight is bullshit.

627
00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:47,200
After?

628
00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:50,680
There's no fucking way I would have paid for this surgery.

629
00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:51,680
No fucking way.

630
00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:52,680
No, definitely not.

631
00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:57,680
And to just be home and be alone and left to your own devices.

632
00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:02,480
I've looked at, I'll be honest, when I was researching this after my doctor put me in

633
00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:09,320
the referral and we talked about it, I went home and I, like we all do, I social mediaed

634
00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:14,160
and I Instagramed and I TikTok and I went through the whole gamut of things.

635
00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:18,280
And the Mexico option came up so many times on my feed.

636
00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:22,440
And don't get me wrong, like the one that I continually saw, it looked beautiful.

637
00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:23,920
It looked amazing.

638
00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:26,160
The reviews were phenomenal.

639
00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:29,840
The price was somewhat not horrible.

640
00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:36,000
But to them, as you said, yes, you're, you're like kicked out of there.

641
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:37,640
Looking good, feeling good.

642
00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:39,680
They're not going to send you home if you're sick.

643
00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:46,680
But to then be basically just dropped back at home with nobody to call, nobody to turn

644
00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:51,000
to, no resources, nobody really checking in on me.

645
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:55,960
I can't imagine because the amount of questions that come up, the amount of changes that I

646
00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:58,900
have to make, the amount of unknowns, is this normal?

647
00:32:58,900 --> 00:32:59,900
Should my body be doing this?

648
00:32:59,900 --> 00:33:04,380
Oh my gosh, my stomach is like making really crazy noises.

649
00:33:04,380 --> 00:33:06,000
Is this okay?

650
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:13,520
The amount of support that comes from a program like what we did, I just, like I said, I can't

651
00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:16,520
imagine being dropped at home and have to just figure this out on my own.

652
00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:17,520
Yeah.

653
00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:19,200
And that's, I don't think I could do it.

654
00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:24,320
And I think a lot of people immensely struggle when they get home.

655
00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:28,120
The other thing that we were kind of told, and it might just be kind of a Canadian thing

656
00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:31,800
is you could pay if you wanted to, because it does come up.

657
00:33:31,800 --> 00:33:34,720
There are people who have asked, could I go get this done?

658
00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:39,660
And they made it pretty clear that you could, but you will have no access to a bariatric

659
00:33:39,660 --> 00:33:40,980
clinic in Canada.

660
00:33:40,980 --> 00:33:42,760
You must be a patient of the clinic.

661
00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:46,580
So if something goes wrong, you go to the ER like everyone else.

662
00:33:46,580 --> 00:33:51,860
And my mom, who's a retired nurse, was like, be careful because in the States, a surgeon

663
00:33:51,860 --> 00:33:54,720
will not touch another surgeon's work.

664
00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:59,120
Unless you're there for a medical emergency, which obviously they have their oath to do

665
00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:03,360
no harm, you can't just set up an appointment with another surgeon and say, I had bariatric

666
00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:05,760
surgery and I don't really know if it's working.

667
00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:08,800
They're going to be like, nope, I'm not touching that because they're liable.

668
00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,000
They don't want to mess with another surgeon's work.

669
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:13,880
So the benefit for us is we're part of a clinic.

670
00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:18,060
So if there's something wrong with us, we go back to our hospital and say, we're a bariatric

671
00:34:18,060 --> 00:34:20,320
patient of the clinic of this hospital.

672
00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:21,320
Something's wrong.

673
00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:24,720
And in we go and we go see our bariatric surgeon.

674
00:34:24,720 --> 00:34:27,780
We go see our bariatric team for a year.

675
00:34:27,780 --> 00:34:30,040
You get to be part of the clinic for a year.

676
00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:34,120
Now I could actually go back, like it's been longer, but I'm not technically considered

677
00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:35,360
a patient of theirs.

678
00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:37,000
I'm now a post-op patient.

679
00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:41,560
Like I'm back in the care of my family doctor, but they're still there to help me and support

680
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:42,560
me.

681
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:44,160
They even have a support group, which is awesome.

682
00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:47,760
But that was the biggest fear for me is if you went to Mexico, had surgery and something

683
00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:52,680
fucking went wrong, you can't just get on a plane and go back to Mexico and get it fixed.

684
00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:57,520
So now you have to try to hope that the records are correct and that a surgeon here is going

685
00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:01,080
to like, again, if there's an emergency, anyone will see you, you know what I mean.

686
00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:02,080
But if it's not emergency-

687
00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:06,480
It just adds a whole nother level of complexity that you don't need when you're going through

688
00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:07,480
everything else.

689
00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:09,520
And these are not easy.

690
00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:14,200
Like VSG is yes, low impact, pretty easy to be back on your feet.

691
00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:18,280
But when shit goes wrong with these surgeries, shit goes wrong with these surgeries.

692
00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:19,660
You could be vomiting for months.

693
00:35:19,660 --> 00:35:21,400
You could be dumping, which is like-

694
00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:22,400
You need help.

695
00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:23,400
You need-

696
00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:24,400
You're pooping yourself.

697
00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:25,400
Your bowels could twist.

698
00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:26,400
You could blow a suture internally.

699
00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:29,520
Like, it's not like you can see the stitches on your stomach.

700
00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:30,520
So if you blew a stitch internally-

701
00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:31,520
No, there's blood clots.

702
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:32,520
There's hernias.

703
00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:34,720
Blood clots are a huge fucking thing.

704
00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:40,200
The other thing I would just worry about is my medical history, my medical records.

705
00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:43,780
Has that been conveyed enough?

706
00:35:43,780 --> 00:35:45,160
My family doctor knows me.

707
00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:50,000
So he would know better than some random other doctor I've never seen in my life if I'm not

708
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:52,160
quite right, if something's off.

709
00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:56,840
So while we say it's not every American at all, a lot of them have wonderful programs

710
00:35:56,840 --> 00:36:01,200
and they stay close to home, there are a bunch that do pay for it.

711
00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:02,200
And that's fine.

712
00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:04,580
If you have the means and the ways and you want to, a lot of them are super successful

713
00:36:04,580 --> 00:36:05,720
with it.

714
00:36:05,720 --> 00:36:08,320
Just personally, I would never do that.

715
00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:12,720
It's easier before surgery to want to do that after surgery and seeing all the things that

716
00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:15,960
I went through before surgery and the support I get after.

717
00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:16,960
Never.

718
00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:20,880
I would never survive because the other thing that we go through before surgery is all of

719
00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:21,960
what we said.

720
00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:26,000
The testing, the questioning, the psychological aspect of it.

721
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:28,940
And it's not horrible and it's not mean.

722
00:36:28,940 --> 00:36:33,760
It's literally to be like, Hannah, do you really believe that this is right for you?

723
00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:35,160
Can you sustain this?

724
00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:36,160
Do you feel prepared?

725
00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:38,040
Do you feel excited?

726
00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:39,840
Is this the right choice for you?

727
00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:44,760
It's basically letting them check in with you every month leading up to surgery to just

728
00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:46,960
say, is this still the right decision for you?

729
00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:50,000
And do you have everything you need to succeed?

730
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:58,000
I wouldn't pay, no, no money in the world is worth giving that up because I would fail

731
00:36:58,000 --> 00:36:59,920
if I didn't have all of that.

732
00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:02,280
The support system is key.

733
00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:06,120
It's crucial to being successful in this journey.

734
00:37:06,120 --> 00:37:07,120
110%.

735
00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:12,800
And like I said, the accountability and the support without those, oh gosh, I'd be so

736
00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:13,800
lost.

737
00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:23,980
I think we are already in the nails.

738
00:37:23,980 --> 00:37:25,980
You

739
00:37:54,980 --> 00:38:01,140
Well, so us I'd be lost and the other thing is and this is something we've always wanted to talk about is

740
00:38:01,140 --> 00:38:23,140
You