Like many people on here I've been considering the gastric sleeve and came to this great group to hear the stories, progress ups and downs, etc. The diet after the surgery seems super intense and very measured (literally). If it was hard to stick to a diet before the surgery (I'm in that boat) how is it going to be easier to follow an even stricter diet after surgery? Is it mainly because you're not hungry? Anyone on here think they could have lost the weight on their own after they had surgery? I have so many conflicting feelings about surgery. Thank you for your input!

Hello everyone, I am getting my surgery done for my gastric bypass sleeve and I’m just very worried about how I’m going to combat my period cravings when they come. Sometimes it feels so bad and so strong. I don’t know what to do and I’m just scared. Any tips or advice on how you deal with this?

I’ve been T1D for 29 years and I am planning to have gastric sleeve surgery in late 2023. I haven’t found many first-person experiences of Type 1s and how they adjust insulin as they lose weight quickly in the months following surgery. If you’ve had gastric sleeve surgery, can you tell me how it went for you in the first few months? Did you have a lot of hypos? We’re they hard to treat?

This was a comedy-drama short play that I wrote for my theater's new work program.
Less Food And More Thought
By Vision-Quest-9054
Draft Completed –May 15, 2023
​
Characters:
Jonah O’Connell- An autistic man with anxiety and an eating disorder. He lives with his younger brother, Nate, his sister-in-law Katya, and his nephew, Damien. (Jonah can be played by anyone between the ages of 27-49)
Katya O’Connel – Obviously not her maiden name since she is a mail-order bride from Russia. She is Nate’s wife and the mother of Damien. She has a distinct Russian accent. She is also quite callously insensitive as she initially lacks understanding of her family’s personal issues. She can be a younger adult or middle-aged adult.
\Puppeteer* – Though this is not an actual character, it is a professional puppeteer that has experience with either arm rod puppets, dummies, or hand puppets. The puppeteer will operate an arm rod puppet depiction of Bob Ross on a TV screen complete with a large afro. The other puppet will be Damien. Damien can be either a hand or rod puppet.*
\Voice Actor* - The voice actor will perform behind the scenes and out of sight either hidden backstage or with an amplified microphone. He will primarily provide the voice for Nate off-stage.* If the puppeteer is unable to produce a unique voice for ‘Bob Ross’ and/or Damien, then a separate voice actor will be provided for both puppet characters.
Synopsis:
An autistic American man and his Russian sister-in-law struggle to find methods of coping with their own emotional problems as well as their ability to interpret others’ feelings.
Stage Setting:
The stage will consist of a kitchen Island countertop and cupboards beneath the countertop positioned center stage. Next to the main kitchen on stage left will be another row of ground-level cupboards stashed with food. On either side of these right-hand cupboards is a cheap rack of wire shelves filled with snacks and a garbage can. All of these edibles will be dried goods. Some of these dried goods may consist of Pringles, Lays Potato Chips, Pretzels, Ritz Crackers, Fig Newtons, cookies, pretzels, pasta, nuts, dried fruit, rice, etc. Also, be sure to include these items in as many other cupboards as possible. On the right-hand side of the Island kitchen countertop is a portable television. The television should be made out of cardboard and the open ‘screen’ should be facing the audience at the front.
(Stage lights illuminate the main center stage. Jonah is frantically opening and closing cupboard drawers on the main countertop and left stage cupboards so that he can binge eat. He gets into a box or bag of chips or cookies and begins eating hurriedly. Katya enters from stage right and looks at him in frustration and disbelief.)
KATYA
What in the hell are you doing? I turn my back on you for one second and you start stuffin’ your face with food!
(Jonah freezes mid-motion center stage from taking a bite out of something, his eyes wide open and his whole body stiffens. Katya briskly crosses over to Jonah and snatches the food out of his hand before throwing it away.)
JONAH
(Finally moving in protest) Hey! I was enjoying that! Why can’t I get a bite to eat around here?
KATYA
You already eat too much! Look at this kitchen! Almost every tasty morsel we have in here is in your giant gut! (She points toward his stomach)
JONAH
I have a bad impulse to eat when I’m stressed and I can’t seem to work it out.
KATYA
I don’t get you, Jonah. You have no job, you don’t contribute, all you do is fret around the house all day sometimes overeatin’, and I find myself having to clean up your mess while tending to that miserable brother of yours I call a husband!
JONAH
(A bit calmer) Hey, Katya, you’re an O’Connell now. Sometimes we do things differently in this house. I mean, my bro Nate ain’t perfect, but he sure tries his darndest to be understanding of you. At least, he used to…
KATYA
(As if outraged) Understanding? I caught him flippin’ thru dirty, topless magazines the other day! Do you know how much crap I found in his room? It’s not like he tried to hide it anyway. (Мудак/Mu-dak! I coulda’ made a bonfire out all the magazines I find stashed in his room.
JONAH
Easy there, sis, your face is starting to turn red. Damn, I could cook a hot pocket on it if I wanted to…
KATYA
There you go thinking about food AGAIN! Why does it always have to be about junk food with you? You can’t even eat healthy like me…
(Katya is interrupted by Damien, who is a little boy puppet. He peeks his head from behind the right stage curtain just enough so that the audience cannot see the puppeteer’s hand. Seeing her son, Damien, Katya lowers her voice to calm down but still has a somewhat grumpy tone.)
DAMIEN
Hi mommy.
KATYA
Damien, what is it? You see that I’m havin a chat with your uncle right now?
DAMIEN
I’m sorry. I just wanted to tell you that I finished my homework and was wondering if could play online with my friends.
KATYA
(Annoyed) Sure, go have some fun. Go indulge in some game violence. Oh, and by the way, what’s daddy doing right now? Is he workin’ on his work charts?
DAMIEN
He’s on his computer.
KATYA
Working? Good.
DAMIEN
(Giggling.) Yeah. He’s watching naked people hugging.
KATYA
(Outrage) HE’S WHAT?!
(Katya regains her composure after a couple seconds and addresses Damien in a cooler tone of voice. Jonah shoots her a quizzical look)
KATYA
Sweetie, go along now and play with your friends. I’m going to have a chat with Daddy.
DAMIEN
(Happily) Okay.
(Damien puppet retreats behind the right curtain out of sight.)
JONAH
Katya, please give yourself a chance to cool down…
KATYA
Excuse me, but I have an unfaithful husband to go punish.
(Katya rolls up her sleeve and exits stage right walking briskly again. Her angry voice can be heard echoing offstage with Nate’s. Jonah stands almost motionless with his face cringing as a reaction to the shouting.)
KATYA
Nate!
VOICE ACTONATE
(Nervously) Oh-uh…hi Katya. Just finishing up a project…
KATYA
(Interrupting) Cut the bullshit! I know what you’ve been doin’ in here. Damien saw you and told me a-all about it!
VOICE ACTONATE
Really honey…It’s not quite what you think…
KATYA
What is it with you and your compulsive desire to look at sexy stuff? First magazines, and now internet pornography? I’m a damn good wife! Do I not give you enough pleasure in the bedroom? When you got me through mail order from Russia, you told me I was the hottest woman you ever seen! And now you have to look at this? (Гавно/Gav-no!
VOICE ACTONATE
(Scared) Wait…I can explain!
(A series of comical slap-stick punching and smacking sound effects ensue.)
VOICE ACTONATE
Wait…Ow!what are you?...OW! OW! OW! Sorry…OW! OW!
(Katya re-enters the scene from stage right and returns to center stage to meet up with Jonah. The moment she re-enters Jonah begins ruffling through the cupboards again.)
JONAH
That was so not cool.
KATYA
What is it with you men? With Jonah, it’s food. For Nate, it’s sex! And look at you. You’re stuffing your mouth again like a friggin’ chipmunk!
JONAH
You know what, sis? You’re yelling stresses me out. It makes me want to go into Winnie-The-Pooh mode.
(When he says Winnie-The-Pooh-Mode,
He places a large empty bag of chips or some other snack over his head.)
KATYA
(Shaking her head crossly) Take the bag offa’ your head! You look ridiculous.
(Ignoring her, Jonah hums the classical theme song of Winnie The Pooh. After a few seconds, Katya snatches the bag from his head)
KATYA
(Softer but firm tone of voice) Like I’ve always told you, Jonah, put your energy into something positive. Pull yourself up by the bootstraps and move on from your pitiful problems.
JONAH
(Shrugging.) Easier said than done.
KATYA
You were supposed to be doing research or even flippin’ thru the Television channels to find something that could become a passion of yours – you know? A hobby to keep you occupied from eating and dirtying up my house. Oh yeah, maybe a JOB opportunity, no? Look here!
(Katya turns on the tv dial on the fake cardboard set.
Instead of a screen, there is placard filling in the square gap. Once the tv is ‘switched’ on, the placard is removed to reveal the Bob Ross puppet facing the audience through the large square gap. A small propped-up canvas is next to him. A paintbrush and paint pallet are taped to his hands. The puppeteer should be concealed behind the Island countertop where the TV is resting on the surface. There should be ample room for the puppeteer to operate Bob Ross in the gaping square space known as the TV screen. )
BOB ROSS
(soft-spoken tone) Today I want to start out with some Indian Yellow. Just enough on the two-inch brush…just tap it a little. Now let’s start off with a nice pretty little sunset…
KATYA
(Relieved and Ecstatic) Ah, perfect! (clapping hands together) Educational painting! This should be a perfect distraction for you. When you learned enough, then you can take a brush and start painting.
(Bob Ross’ soft voice trails into the background as the characters continue their dialogue.)
JONAH
(Wistfully) C’mon, Kat. You know I hate painting. BOB ROSS
We’ll just drag a little color across like so. Like that. Like that.
(Bob Ross continues to fake painting)
KATYA
You need to build some character, man. Nate and I have tried showing you cooking, sports, fishing, camping, hiking, golf, sailing, music, piano, ballet, dancing,…what more do you want?
JONAH
(Frankly) I want to be understood.
BOB ROSS
Mix in a little blue there with gentle brush strokes. Such beautiful effects you can make with this here. Such beautiful effects. And remember, there are no mistakes, just happy little accidents.
KATYA
(A bit tense and argumentative) You are understood. I understand that you need some professional help. I understand that you need more guidance. I understand that you need more motivation and thicker skin, but you won’t grow it!
BOB ROSS
Tap a little white into my yellows
And greens there…
KATYA
(In frustration) (Гавно/Gav-no!
(Katya jostles the television out of frustration interrupting Bob Ross’ broadcast. Bob Ross’ painting canvas falls through the TV screen and onto the kitchen floor in front of the audience. Bob Ross looks straight at the audience and maintains his calm voice)
BOB ROSS
(Soft Voice) Oh shit.
(Bob Ross maintains his blank stare at the audience)
JONAH
(Indignant) I happen to have problems coping with stress in a tense environment, especially around you. I have tried. believe me. I’ve been to counselors, therapists, and doctors, and they can only do so much. Right now, I struggle with my own demons, and it’s on me to fix my problems. It pains me to see how you pop off at people when they bring their problems to you. It’s like you try to turn them away.
KATYA
So? People need a good dose of reality sometimes. What do they expect? For me to coddle them?
JONAH
Remember when I was rejected by this one rare autistic woman that I thought was the love of my life? You told me to stop crying, grow up, and move on with my life without finding a source of comfort, relief, or something to help me cope with it all. Or better yet, that time my only friend died, you told me you were sorry to hear that but were just being polite. Nate told me that you shrugged it off like it was nothing.
KATYA
I know you were sad, but there are ways to find new friends. Don’t you know how to make friends?
JONAH
I have autism. It’s hard for me to make friends. Most people look at my behavior and my issues with things like…poor memory, or poor organization skills, or my weird cleaning habits, or the way I walk funny or maybe the fact that I can’t drive. And, and, they think I’m some kind of freak.
KATYA
(Frowning and shaking head) But that’s no excuse. There has to be other people like you. Other unusual people to connect with.
JONAH
Believe me, I’ve tried. Even the special needs guys think I’m a freak because I’m not mentally disabled enough to be like them. Oftentimes, I feel alone and sad and I just want to eat and eat and eat.
KATYA
Well, getting’ fat isn’t gonna’ help anyone, especially you. Why do you have to be so upset about everything?
JONAH
I could ask you the same question. For me, I can’t help it. I have a sensitive heart. I hate seeing people getting hurt, and I hate getting hurt myself.
KATYA
Well shit happens. The world doesn’t owe you nothin.’ Nobody owes Jonah for his sensitivity. Stop lettin’ yourself be so sensitive. It’s like being a crybaby. Do what everyone else does and suck it up!
(Jonah furiously bangs his fist on the countertop and glares at Katya with scathing eyes. The television set teeters over and falls behind the kitchen counter. The puppeteer should pull down the fake set. The Bob Ross puppet flails his arms and yells “HELP!” before he hits the ground.)
JONAH
That’s the last straw! I am so sick and tired of hearing the phrase ‘suck it up!’ ‘You’re going through a divorce? Suck it up. You lost your job and career that you worked so hard to hold all these years? Suck it up and get a new one! Your mom died? Suck it up!’ It’s the same crap I hear day after day since I was five. And you know what? It sickens the hell out of me!
KATYA
(Perplexed) What do you want me to say?
JONAH
(Calming down with a sigh) I don’t want to put words in your mouth. I just wish you could understand me a little more. Back in your old country, did you ever feel like you were singled out? Like, when you felt as though you stood out from everyone else because you did something different and everybody didn’t like you for it?
KATYA
(Looking thoughtful) I don’t recall. Maybe when I was little?
(Katya and Jonah sit together on the center stage floor in front of the Island counter)
JONAH
Times when you were bullied, Katya?
(An awkwardly silent pause for a minute)
KATYA
(Hesitantly) (да)/da. It’s happened. Long time ago, when I was seven, my mom made me wear a summer dress to a social gathering in our town. It was a festival in honor of our founder of the local Oblast region. The hand-made dress was tattered with yellow splotches all over it. The other girls were wearin’ good dresses. Seeing me, they began teasing me and calling me ragdoll cuz I was dressed in rags. I told them to stop, but they kept making fun of me. I had this crush on a boy named Vadim in the neighborhood. I asked him if he could dance with me, and he told me to go get a bath and change my clothes because I looked ugly.
JONAH
That’s horrible. And it saddens me to hear that.
KATYA
(Katya begins to choke up and stutter) The teasing wouldn’t stop. I fought with other girls at school and around town because of that stupid dress. My mom would always look at me when I came home all bloodied and bruised and shake her head, telling me that I was never a lady. When my mom and brother died in a tragic accident when I was fourteen, my friends consoled me the best they could, but most people told me to suck it up. It’s a way of life in my Russian community.
(Jonah places a comforting hand on
Her shoulder.)
JONAH
I can see how it’s always been eating you. Ya know, my parents were pretty ultra-conservative Christians. They didn’t believe in helping me when I felt down, hurt, or bullied by the other kids at my school. They told me to ‘suck it up’ a lot. That’s why it’s a trigger phrase for me. So when they dismissed my emotions, I used to raid the kitchen at night to cope with my hurt, my loneliness, and my stress at school.
KATYA
(A bit surprised) Wow. I didn’t know your parents were that way. These were American parents, huh?
JONAH
Uh-huh. They didn’t care at the time. But today, this is a new America. I try to live in the new and improved America. The new America of today has a growing awareness and respect for all people with special disabilities.
KATYA
You’re right. I’m technically a naturalized citizen here too. And if I want to fit in more, I guess I gotta try and be open-minded to the unusual.
JONAH
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
KATYA
What about your sensitivity, though, and your inability to find work? Why can’t you find a way to make something happen?
JONAH
It’s really hard to do, considering how my mind works. Many neurotransmitters in my brain don’t connect like your neuro-pathways. The chemical reactions don’t help me make sense of many things, like numbers, music, or planning things out. It just doesn’t work that way. Then there are dopamine receptors that are poorly stimulated. Dopamine is a hormone that gives your brain a rewarding emotion or a sense of accomplishment. In my brain, it’s like it’s been shut off. I can’t take much pleasure with most hobbies because it’s just not wired into my brain. It's why I hate art so much. I wish it were different, but I was born that way and can’t change it.
(Katya gives Jonah a sympathetic glance and an innocent question)
KATYA
Is it really that difficult to manage what’s in your head? I didn’t realize it.
JONAH
Yeah. It’s hard. But I don’t give up either. It’s not like I’m trying to find a convenient excuse for my condition. I want more than anything to have a job. To have friends. To help you guys out. I try to achieve something, but they are mental limitations. They’re harder to see when compared to physical limitations.
KATYA
I know. Instead of forcing my philosophy on you, I ought to work more closely with your limitations instead.
JONAH
Yes, try putting yourself in someone else’s shoes for once. You might be pleasantly surprised.
KATYA
Unfortunately, Russians are not very good at doin’ that.
JONAH
Didn’t you know of anyone that had disabilities back in Ruissa?
KATYA
No. The ones who were badly off were segregated from the rest of us into special schools. They were treated as second class. If you had mental health problems and didn’t look disabled enough but close to normal, you were treated like garbage. How would I know? I have no experience.
JONAH
It’s never too late to learn. There is always room for improvement as human beings. Maybe you didn’t have the awareness at first, but it’s coming.
KATYA
I guess so.
JONAH
By the way, I’m sorry I was a jackass by not listening to you while binge eating.
KATYA
(Smiles) Ah, forget it. Like you said. There’s always room for improvement. We all have ways of coping. My way is bottling up my feelings until they explode. Your way is to pork out on food, Nate’s way is to watch pornography. Hey, why do you think my sweetheart Nate is coping with his feelings using X-rated stuff?
JONAH
Well, do you show him understanding when he’s in distress? Do you show him other forms of affection around the house besides sex?
KATYA
(Troubled Expression) Well, now that I think about it, no, I don’t listen to him very well and I don’t empathize with him when he’s upset most times. He’s upset right now over having his dream job application rejected. He also went through a botched tonsil surgery that causes him occasional pain as you know.
JONAH
There you go. Give Nate a hug and a kiss, sit down with him, and comfort him a little. Don’t nurse-maid him, but show a little understanding. It will go a long way. Try acknowledging him more throughout the day. Do this, and I can guarantee you the X-rated material will go away!
(Katya gives Jonah a big hug before he helps her up off the floor. Both characters are now in a standing position.)
KATYA
Thank you.
JONAH
Don’t mention it.
KATYA
Have you ever tried yoga? It’s great for mind, body, and health! I’ve heard that It can help with eating disorders too. Oh, and tai chi.
JONAH
You know what? I will definitely give it a try!
KATYA
Great. And this time, I’ll do it with you so that you will feel more comfortable. There will be plenty of positive and kind encouragement coming from me during yoga lessons.
(Damien’s puppet body partially comes through stage right and interrupts Katya.)
DAMIEN
(Nervously) Mommy. Daddy is watching naked people play choo-choo train on his phone.
(Damien exits same direction
By pulling out of view again.)
KATYA
(Smiling) Please excuse me while I go kiss my husband.
(Katya exits stage right with a
Casual walk.)
DAMIEN’S DISTANT VOICE
Are they really playing choo-choo?
JONAH
(Shrugging at audience) Kids. They say the darndest things.
(Lights fade out.)

I (19M) and my girlfriend, soon to be fiancé (20F) have known each other for 4 ish years, and started dating about 2 years ago. She’s always struggled with weight but I didn’t care as I love her for who she is and how we are as a couple. When we got together, she worked in health care (and still does) and was making good money. I, on the other hand made next to nothing as a supervisor at a BBQ restaurant. Flash forward to 7 ish months ago, the hospital that she is working at gave her a MAJOR pay cut, whereas her father helped me get a really good paying job in a pipe yard. So I made more money than her, and since I don’t have a car payment like she does (I own my 2 trucks outright), and don’t have as many expenses as she does, I help her out. She’s been trying to lose weight for years now, and I help pay for a lot of it. I even buy her the KETO friendly food (which is absolutely expensive) so she can meal prep. I don’t mind doing this, as I make a good living and don’t have many expenses. Well 4 months ago she heard about a surgery that costs roughly $3,000 called a gastric sleeve. Now personally I don’t like the idea of her having a surgery that would remove a portion of her stomach, and place her on short term disability at work, and I vocalized that I think it would be a enormous financial strain on her, especially since I was leaving for basic training around that time and couldn’t help out with her other expenses. Well this is where things got dicey. Her mother agreed with her about the surgery, as well as her friends, but her father and I were in agreement that at very least she should wait until she has a better paying job (Her parents and I have a great relationship and they consider me family, and still do after all this). I ended up getting tired of everyone trying to convince me to be ok with the surgery, and to which I finally said “Look, I don’t care about how you look. I think your beautiful no matter what. If you want to have the surgery than f***ing do it.” Well she went to the clinic and was told it would take away 20% of her stomach. Ok fine. I even allowed her to use my CARE credit with the agreement that she would pay it off monthly, without delay. Flash forward again to 2 months ago. Basic training was kicking my ass, and all of a sudden, I got sent to the on base hospital where I was eventually told I was being sent home for a liver issue. I was devastated, but it meant I would be home a few days after the surgery to help take care of her. Well come to find out, the doctor lied to her and actually took 80% of her stomach and the surgery costed more than we were told, but that’s not even to most messed up part. My girlfriend still has a car payment, insurance, animal expenses, ect. And her short term disability would pay her just enough to cover these things for the 2 months she’s out of work. Well in order for the short term disability to kick in, the doctor that preformed the surgery needs to send some kind of documentation to her work. We found out today that they did not in fact do that. So her car payment is next week, and she can’t receive a disability check, and I don’t get paid for another week so I cannot help her out. She called me, absolutely pissed, saying “I should have never gotten that surgery. How am I going to pay for my car now?!” To which I responded “I knew that place was shady and I told you this would become a financial nightmare and that you shouldn’t do it. I told you just to get another gym membership with me” which she pretty much said she agreed. AITJ

I have been putting off writing this post for a long time because I wanted to make sure there weren’t going to be any more snags in the insurance process (who knows, there still could be), but my surgery is three weeks away, scheduled for 6/28 so I figured it was safe to share my story and potentially give advice to anyone struggling with insurance. I hope this helps!
My PCP initially suggested a breast reduction in 2019 due to my chronic mid-back pain that had been going on for 1-2 years (I am a 40J). I told her that I would rather try PT first, which I began, but then COVID hit and I was not able to return to the clinic. I tried so many things myself, stretching, foam rolling, and workouts to strengthen my back and core, with nothing helping. In early 2022 I re-started PT with no improvement in pain after about 6 weeks. I also was placed on Gabapentin for pain, with Celebrex added after a few weeks, and increases in dosage for both medications. This has helped, but does not take the pain away completely. So, I asked my PCP about breast reduction and she gladly wrote the referral.
In May 2022 I saw a plastic surgeon through the hospital system I am part of (also my HMO group) who informed me that my BMI (41) was too high to “safely” do surgery. I am a healthy person who works out, eats well, and has all of their medical stats within range (other than cholesterol that’s a little high). This surgeon was also condescending about my weight and me not wanting to follow his recommendation that I pursue gastric bypass surgery. This was also the policy of the whole plastic surgery department. Needless to say, I left and decided to pursue my other options. I was able to find a surgeon, Dr. Gabriel Kind, in San Francisco, about 90 minutes away from where I live that does not have a BMI requirement, seemed very knowledgeable, and takes my insurance of Blue Shield. Although my HMO group denied my request for a consult with this surgeon, Blue Shield granted me a consult. The consult, which took place in October 2022, went well and I was ready to do surgery! As I could have guessed, however, my HMO denied me to do surgery with this doctor as he was out of network, despite the department in my HMO refusing to do the surgery. I appealed through Blue Shield and was also denied on their BMI requirement.
Okay folks-here is the part where I feel like I need to share my story and maybe help other people out there. After I was denied by Blue Shield, I appealed to the State of California Department of Managed Healthcare. It was a pretty easy application and I included all of the documentation I had received up until that point including notes from my PCP, PT, records from Dr. Kind in SF, as well as the denials from my HMO, Blue Shield, and the doctor in my HMO. Ya’ll: within about 2 months I received a letter from the Department that they were overturning Blue Shield’s denial and I WAS APPROVED! That meant that Blue Shield was legally obligated to cover my surgery! I don’t know if they were legally obligated to let me go outside of my HMO network, but they did ultimately approve me to have another consult and surgery with Dr. Kind! This was the biggest win that I never thought would happen!
I wanted to share my story because I have never seen anyone in this sub have a story of appealing to their state agency. I don’t know if every state has an agency like this, but your appeal is reviewed by licensed physicians who are plastic surgeons and work for a company that is not connected to the state. They give an un-biased review of the situation and give their determination. There are also statistics on their website noting how few people appeal to the Dept. of Managed Care and the large number of those who do appeal getting approved. This is for ALL kinds of medical care, not just breast reduction! If anyone out there has any questions for me, I am glad to answer them!! This sub has been a great help for me, even though I mainly lurk, and helped me to feel prepared for my surgery in three weeks!

In need of input as to why to choose bypass over the sleeve. I finally have a referral to bariatric surgery after today. Was referred to weight management with a different dr office abt 3 years ago and lost about 10lbs in a month but they kept wanting to see if I would bend to counting more calories/carbs/protein. I had a 3mo and 21mo at the time and it was too consuming for my everyday life to physically enter it all into an app. I'm willing to put the work in and my views on diet now are more from a health standpoint rather than a weight loss one. Would love your input!

I’m 22 y.o male,did the gastric sleeve 16 months ago,I was given a program by my surgeon’s dietician that is 1000 calories and 70g protein,I have a few questions
•Is this program sufficient calorie wise to provide me with energy to prevent lethargy,fatigue and to be productive?
•Is this program safe to prevent medical problems such as orthostatic hypotension,hypoglycemia,dizziness?
•If I follow this program am I at risk of hair loss/balding.
My ears are open to any suggestions/input.
TIA!

Hello, 6 weeks out from a gastric sleeve and I'm noticing withdrawl symptoms from my anti anxiety/antidepressant medications even though I'm taking my regular dose.
Could this be because I need to crush my pills instead of swallow the tablets? I've read online that pills need to be crushed to be fully absorbed.
Cant get ahold of my surgeon so thought I'd ask here.
Thanks!

I just need to put this somewhere. I’m 20yo and I can’t stop thinking about the past and how much better my life was-especially when I was skinny.
I got diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance at 18 and problems started from 17 -ish.
But when I was younger, people treated me better, I was considered pretty, I didn’t look in a mirror and revolt at the sight of my disgusting fat overweight body I genuinely hate myself, I literally hate who I’ve become, This big fat blob of a human.
I hide when I see people I used to know, I KNOW if they saw me they’d see what a mess I’d become.
I HATE HATE HATE photos and I cannot feel pretty in anything I wear. I genuinely close my eyes when I walk past a mirror and Untag myself from photos with friends because I cannot bare to look at myself. I feel sick if I do see my body.
I’m ugly, I am DREADING my sister wedding because I have to have photos of myself and I know as soon as I see them I’m gonna want to cry or vomit.
I don’t want to live life like this forever but I can’t see to stop it. I KNOW where the problems are in my weight gain, portion control, sweet tooth, on/off relationship with sport (more recently, I used to love it) and I live at home still where my parents make comments on how fat I am but also tell me I don’t do enough to change it.
I looked at getting help at the doctors, they call it cheating or me “just wanting to find an excuse to blame my problems on a condition” it’s not that. I KNOW it’s me I just need some help or guidance.
I looked at saving money up for gastric sleeve surgery as that would force me to stop eating such large portions. That is my problem. I eat veg, rice, protein but I know I over portion and a meal that should be 400kcals ends up double because I can’t control my portions.
My parents tell me that it’s cheating/more problems if I do that.
I can’t live like this any longer, and I don’t need advice or your judgement. I know I am the problem. I know for a period of time I blamed it on my PCOS but I know I don’t control myself the way I should. I just want to feel like me again.

So where do I start I (30F) recently moved in with mom(48) in process of buying house me and my mom agreed on $500 monthly which includes everything water lights internet I wfh so I do need connection at all times. Recently my mom has been putting herself in crippling debt. She wanted to lose 100lbs at her heaviest she was 280 so instead of going to the gym she decided to fly to Mexico to get a gastric sleeve later she found out they completely removed her stomach side eye a consequence she has to pay for the rest of her life. One week after being home she tried to eat wing stop and got sick and had to go to the ER and have surgery this went on for weeks her trying to eat normal food and NOT DRINKING WATER. In the end she went to the ER three times. I originally thought she was doing a lot of OT to pay for the surgery but no she went and refinanced her paid off car that she would not be able to replace. She got hit from behind a few weeks before the surgery. Later after she got back from surgery she found out they were going to total out her car and pay the loan office the remaining balance owe on her loan. So now she’s without a car and relying on mine. I am one with boundaries though I have been in a long term relationship I don’t even allow my spouse to drive my car just my boundary I don’t share cars with anyone. So since I been living my mom she feels entitle to drive my car. I recently got back from a trip and notice warning lights been coming on dash that wasn’t there before my trip. My mom cannot give me a date for her replacement can’t even give me a plan to replace her car just pacifying response to end the conversation. I’m at a point I’m willing to throw away the house just to get an apt to get away from my mom. She never cleans after herself and constantly make poor decisions and expect me to step in and help. I love my mom but she’s been stressing me out since I been here and it sucks not having family to rely on and knowing I’m the one she relies on as a safety net. AITA for wanting to distance myself from my mom?

Got my sleeve last night! I had discussed this surgery with my PCP in September of 2022, got a telehealth call by October and then started the process of the virtual meetings with the psychology, the dieticians, the x-ray of my throat and more phone calls. I am 5’2’’ and was 220 when I started this process.
Had telehealth call a few weeks ago and my weight was 217. Surgeon told me to drop 3 pounds. With the pre-op diet, I went from 216 to 206.4! Surgery was delayed a day because anesthesia wanted me to do a stress test but a nurse called around and got me an appointment yesterday a few hours before the sleeve procedure and it went ahead!
Sleeve was yesterday afternoon. Veins were bad due to dehydration (despite water in the morning and the Gatorade), so it took 4 tries to get the IV in. Pain now is still some gas in my chest but I’m otherwise okay and haven’t needed opioids. So grateful my medical team, especially my nurse! Looking forward to the new and healthier me!

Hello. <3 I am not sure if this is the right place to share it but I don't have any friends and would love to share it anyway. I suffer from BPD/PTSD and my family, especially my mother is very abusive. I am 21 and still living here and for the past 3 years, after I graduated, I did nothing. I was low functioning and I am still not able to work but finally one week ago I've decided to so something! I will have a gastric sleeve surgery for my overweight (50 BMI) and I will have a official diagnosis in the next month. It's not that much but I am hyped to learn to live a bit healthier! My goal is to buy a sweet Maine Coon Cat in the future and even tho I am alone I hope I will be able to survive all this stress. I've always dreamed of wearing cute clothings. I hope I will become a better version of myself and I will meet someone who likes me. I did cancel the entire contact to my friends because there were just too much stress and lies from their side.
Thank you for reading, it means a lot to me! <3

I was sleeved on 4/18, surgery and recovery have all gone very smoothly. I’m able to eat all foods and am mostly feeling pretty normal aside from still just learning my fullness queues and finding the balance of my new normal.
I’ve felt ill a handful of times since surgery when I either ate too much, or some food wasn’t sitting quite right in my stomach and I’d just need to lay down for a bit and let the discomfort pass. After the first occurrence of feeling uncomfortable, my spouse took it upon himself to police some of the foods that I ate. I immediately shut that down and told him that I absolutely did not want him to concern himself with the type or quantity of food that I was eating, and that it’s expected that sometimes I might feel uncomfortable as I’m still in the early stages of healing and learning my own limits. He said he understood and backed off.
Except he didn’t. He’s continued to make comments about “not wanting me to feel sick” even if I’ve made no indication that I was feeling unwell. I’ve been increasingly stern in reminding him that I’ve already told him I don’t want him to police my food or eating choices.
I’m not looking for advice, I know this is indicative of deeper issues in our marriage where I feel disrespected and unheard. But man—it is super frustrating! Thankfully, I have wonderful friends that support me completely, and I’ve been extremely kind to myself through this whole process. So overall it’s been a very positive experience.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, maybe I’m just writing it for myself, but chronic illness can happen to anyone. I used to work as an actress/model/influencer. I got sick with “the flu” and my doctor said I would get better on my own in a few days. I did not get better.
I got worse. I was constantly in my doctors office or the ER. No idea what was wrong with me. I thought it must be stress from going to University and working long hours to pay for it, I had savings I could take time off, it was fiiiine.
I did not have enough savings. Nobody could have.
I went through a lot of tests, some of them painful or invasive. So far the worst was the thyroid biopsy like “hold still while we stick this needle in your throat”
When I was at my worst and could only “socialize” online, things were at their worst. I tried to rekindle my love for fashion and post on social again, but I had become so painfully thin that my posts were removed, and in some cases I was IP banned for “promoting self harm” and “promoting anorexia”. I just wanted to feel like my fashionable self again, for a minute.
I guess what inspired me to post this was that today someone said I must be lying about my past because it’s clear from my posts that I am disabled and live in poverty. No one who knows me would have said that.
Sometimes when you are disabled or have become disabled, that is all people see or are willing to see. It can be hard to spend time with people who haven’t known you forever because they see the disability first and then you. It can suck to be on social media where you’re constantly being suspected or judged just for talking about your life. Maybe I’m the only one that happens or matters to.
Trolls will blow up your smallest mistakes and undermine your greatest successes. Rather than spar with them I just wanted to post this message of support. 10 years ago I was on a runway. 6 years ago I was modelling swimwear and getting sponsored for free clothes. I still had a lot of good days. Still pushed myself to work.
This week I congratulated myself on figuring out how to budget what I used to spend in a day on socks for a week’s worth of groceries. I cried tears of joy because I made it through my surgery. Gaining enough weight that I’m warm enough to go swimming in a long sleeved rashguard was my happiest success 🥰
I don’t have any advice or any pithy, cute little anecdote or wrap up. This hasn’t turned me into a sage philosopher; I’m still me. But that’s the whole point:
I am still me.

I had first lasik done in October 2019. I had -4.5 in both eyes. My right eye come to -0.25 after surgery and left eye just had blurry vision, don't know the power it end end up being after first surgery. Doctor advised enhancement (another lasik) in both eyes... right one got plano (0.0) and left one still having blurry vision. Now right one had epithelial ingrowth after second procedure which they lifted the flap and removed but it's happening again.
The left eye isn't adjusting at all. They have done third surgery (PRK) on left eye which overreacted and I was wearing (+2.75) and then correcting it again, with which I end up wearing +1.25 now in left and +1.0 in right and astigmatism of 0.75 cyc...
I still have terrible vision, full of Starbursts at night and fuzziness around everything and my eyes just go out of focus and still left ingrowth in both eyes. Glasses are only a minimal help and I'm full of regret and hopelessness. I'm a Software engineer who got fired because i couldnt concentrate on computer because of vison problems and only could work 10-15 hours instead of 40.
What would you advise me to do after 4 surgeries in left and 3 surgeries in right eye?

Spoilers for Naruto and Naruto Shippuden

Conditions

1. Healthy pre-reaper death seal Orochimaru (not war arc)
2. Shippuden Jiraiya
3. Both start in base
4. Edo tensei restricted (otherwise it would turn into a stomp since Jiraiya doesn't have a lot of sealing jutsus)
5. Location: The grassy area where the three way deadlock battle happen in the search for Tsunade arc
6. Starting distance 20m
7. Victory by killing or subduing the opponent

The other day I decided to simulate a battle between the two so I thought I would post it here to hear opinions and have a discussion, but before that I will do an analysis of their abilities so that we're all on the same page. First we will start with:

Jiraiya

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Taijutsu:
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Jiraiya isn't a taijutsu heavy fighter but he is not too shabby in the field. Strength wise he is easily able to lift and toss around boulders in base scoring a 4.5 in strength in the third databook. In terms of speed, he was able to keep up with an armless Orochimaru while being at 30% of his power scoring a 4.5 in speed in the third databook. Additionally he scores a 4.5 in stamina in the third databook. Finally Jiraiya is durable enough to tank a kick from guy. With all this Jiraiya scored a taijutsu point of 4.5 in the third databook.
Ninjutsu:
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Jiraiya has a plethora of different ninjutsu, let's take a look at them

1. Fire style: Flame Bomb Jutsu

A C-rank ninjutsu where Jiraiya shoots a ball of fire which then causes a mini explosions. Not too powerful as Konan tanked its with no issue.
2.Fire style: Dragon Flame Jutsu
A C-rank ninjutsu where Jiraiya shoots out several bullets of fire
3.Fire style: Toad Flame Bomb
A B-rank ninjutsu which is a combine attack between Jiraiya and Gamabunta where Jiraiya shoots fire while Gamabunta shoots oil that enhances the flames. Attack was strong enough to incinerate Manda's shed skin
4.Earth release: Swamp of the Underworld
An A-rank ninjutsu where Jiraiya summons a swamp of sticky mud to trap opponents. Note that the swamp can be formed on any surfaces including ceilings. The swamp in strong enough to trap one of Orochimaru's big snake summons and also trap the human path on the ceiling.
5.Rasengan
An A-rank ninjutsu, I think we're all familiar with this rotating ball of chakra so I won't be talking about it.
6.Rasengan Barrage
An A-rank ninjutsu, its just 2 rasengans on in each hand
7.Odama Rasengan
An A-rank ninjutsu, a bigger rasengan
8.Needle Jizo
A B-rank ninjutsu where Jiraiya hardens and wraps his hair around himself to become a porcupine
9.Needle Hell
Can't find the rank of this jutsu. Jiraiya hardens and shoots his hair in a barrage of hardened hair, this attack is strong enough to destroy boulders
10.Wild Lion's Main Jutsu
A B-rank ninjutsu where Jiraiya strengthens extends his hair, the technique is strong enough to rip Nagato's crab into pieces
11.Barrier: Canopy Method Formation
A B-rank ninjutsu where Jiraiya creates a spherical zone around him where he can sense anything within. The zone moves with Jiraiya.
12.Hiding in a Toad Jutsu
A C-rank ninjutsu where Jiraiya hides in a small toad
13.Toad Flatness - Shadow Manipulation Jutsu
A B-rank ninjutsu where Jiraiya flattens himself and hides in a targets shadow. While doing this he can also control the targets actions, and after the jutsu is dispelled the target has no memory of being controlled. However Jiraiya has to hold his breathe for the duration of the jutsu
14.Toad Oil Bomb
A C-rank ninjutsu where Jiraiya shoots sticky oil, was able to prevent Konan from dispersing into paper
15.Shadow Clone Jutsu
A B-rank ninjutsu, I think we're all familiar with this jutsu
With all these Jiraiya scores a 5 in ninjutsu and 4.5 in hand signs in the third databook
Genjutsu:
Jiraiya doesn't use any genjutsu by himself in the series but he scores a 3 in the field according to the third data book. However he does have access to one of the most broken genjutsu that we'll get into later.
Summonings:
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Jiraiya has various toad summonings, we'll take a look at them
1.Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Jutsu
A B-rank summoning jutsu where Jiraiya summons a massive toad above the target which falls on them and crushes them. This jutsu is powerful enough to oneshot one of Orochimaru's big snake summon.
2.Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind
An A-rank summoning jutsu where Jiraiya summons the oesophagus of the great fire breathing toad to trap opponents. Jiraiya can manipulate the flesh of the toad to attack opponents.
3.Summoning: Crushing Toad Stomach
Can't find the rank of this jutsu. Jiraiya reverse summons both himself and anything nearby into a toads stomach where they are crushed. Though this sounds like a suicide attack, Jiraiya can get a shadow clone to perform it.
4.Summoning: Toad Shop Jutsu
A B-rank summoning jutsu where Jiraiya summons a small toad which has the ability to transform into a shop.
5.Barrier: Toad Gourd Prison
A B-rank summoning jutsu where Jiraiya summons a gourd toad which he can enter its stomach. It can also drag opponents into its stomach. Inside its stomach is like a rooms sized chamber filled with gastric acid.
6.Summoning Jutsu
A C-rank summoning jutsu where Jiraiya can summon various animals. Most notably toads, lets look at a some of the more notable toads.
a) Gamabunta
The chief toad of Mount Myoboku is a massive toad that wields a giant samurai sword. Gamabunta is extremely agile being able to jump great distances in a short duration. He is heavy enough that when summoned in the air, was able to knock Kurama, the nine tails, to the ground. He is also skilled in ninjutsu able to fire toad oil in his combo jutsu with jiraiya, Toad flame bomb. He can also shoot out powerful water bullets capable of clashing with the air bullets shot by a weakened Shukaku, the one tail, and durable enough to tank a hit from said air bullets. He was also intelligent enough to come up with a strategy to cancel Shukaku's awakening by waking Gaara up.
b) Gamaken
A giant toad who wields a giant sasumata and a giant shield attached to giant bandages which allows him to both use the shield defensively, and offensively as a flail as well as a rope to grab onto poles and swing around. Gamaken was durable enough to tank several bites from Nagato's dogs and did very well against the canines. He also defeated Nagato's rhino with his sasumata. Finally he was also able to create at least one shadow clone which acted as a decoy and was reversed summoned into the crushing toad stomach.
c) Gamahiro
A giant toad who wields two large swords and is proficient in close quarters combat.

1. Shima and Fukasaku (Ma and Pa)

The two great sage toads, to summon them, Jiraiya has to keep his hands together for several minutes. They are easily Jiraiya's most powerful summons and are his trump cards. Shima and Fukasaku are both physically very strong thanks to infusing nature energy with their own chakra. They can also merge with Jiraiya allowing him to enter an imperfect form of sage mode which we will get into later. Shima is capable of extending her tongue to great lengths to attack and restrain an opponent. Her tongue can move at an immensely fast speed, to the point where even pain was surprised by how fast it was. Additionally she can detect opponents with her tongue in a matter of seconds. Finally it can also release a corrosive mucus from the pores. Fukasaku is capable of firing powerful jets of water which sliced Nagato's chameleon in half. Together with Jiraiya, they can use a combine attack: Fire Style: Goemon, which we will get into later. Finally, the two of them can use one of the most broken genjutsu in the series: Demonic Illusion: Toad Confrontation Chant, where they sing a complex frog song which puts opponents in a powerful genjutsu where they are stunned and feel like they are drowning. This genjutsu was powerful enough to defeat 3 paths of pain despite the numerous powerful genjutsu barriers Nagato placed in each path. The only drawback being that the jutsu takes some charge up time to cast.
Senjutsu:
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Jiraiya can enter an imperfect form of toad sage mode by merging with Shima and Fusakasu. In this form, not only is Jiraiya's physical stats vastly improved but also his ninjutsu.
Taijutsu: Jiraiya gains a massive strength boost in sage mode, capable of shattering the ground just by jumping down. He was able to send human path flying and destroying the boulder the path flew into with just one kick. Do note that the human path also casually blocked a punch from sage mode Jiraiya with just one hand so he is still nowhere near as strong as a perfect sage like naruto in terms of physical strength. Jiraiya also gain access to frog kata where he can hit opponents with his aura. To top it all off, Jiraiya also gains the sensing abilities of sage mode.
Ninjutsu: Jiraiya gains various new ninjutsus as well as enhancements to previously mentioned ninjutsus in sage mode, lets take a look at them:
1.Fire Style: Giant Flame Bombs Jutsu
A B-rank ninjutsu which is the enhanced version of the previously mentioned Fire style: Flame Bomb Jutsu. It now adds oil along with the fire to create a bigger flame bomb.
1.Sage Art: Goemon
Can't find the rank to this jutsu. This is the combination attack with ma and pa mentioned prior where Shima shoots fire, Jiraiya shoots oil and Fukasaku shoots wind. This awesome attack unfortunately has no AP feats since it was absorbed by the preta path but I would imagine it has similar AP to Mei's lava release.

1. Cho Odoma Rasengan

Can't find the rank to this jutsu but its an even bigger rasengan.

1. Ninja Art: Needle Senbon

Again can't find the rank of this jutsu but it is just the enhanced version of needle hell. It's basically the same thing just faster and stronger, it is also apparently the fastest attack in Jiraiya's arsenal.
Fuinjutsu:
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Jiraiya doesn't have many sealing jutsus so we'll just quickly look over the few he has.

1. Sealing Jutsu: Fire Seal

A B-rank sealing jutsu where Jiraiya uses a scroll to seal fire. The seal is even capable of sealing Itachi's Amaterasu.
Other Notable Facts:
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Despite his goofiness, Jiraiya is actually very intelligent being able to analyse the quirky abilities of the 3 paths of pain he fought and come up with a counter strategy. He also has an excellent memory being able to craft a coded message using the page numbers of his book Make Out Tactics, with the first word on each page serving as his message in a couple of seconds while he was dying. This scored him a 4.5 in intelligence according to the third databook. Additionally, Jiraiya is one of the most experienced shinobi, like ever. He completed the most number of missions in the entire hidden leaf village, totaling out at 1,839 official missions, 138 of them being S-rank missions.
That sums up the abilities of Jiraiya the Gallant. (That was way longer than I expected) Now onto:

Orochimaru

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Taijutsu:
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Orochimaru is extremely strong wielding enough strength to punch entire trees down, this scores him a 3.5 in strength according to the third databook. Orochimaru is also extremely fast being able to blitz four tails naruto in his snake tail form while sick, he was also the teacher of hebi sasuke who has been complimented numerous times by the likes of deidara for his speed, as his mentor, Orochimaru should scale above Hebi Sasuke. This scores him a speed of 4.5 in the third databook. He also scores 3.5 for stamina in said book. The most notable component of Orochimaru, is tenaciousness and durability. Apart from his absurd regen that we will get into later, Orochimaru is very resistant to blunt force trauma, capable of tanking numerous punches from Tsunade , with her final punch being specially infused with extra chakra. Note that Tsunade's punches casually broke Madara's susanoo in its ribcage from. All these scores him a 3.5 in taijutsu according to the third databook.
Kenjutsu:
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Orochimaru masterfully wields the legendary Sword of Kusanagi (as seen in the image above lol), which Orochimaru keeps in the mouth of a snake, which is then is kept in his mouth......snek. Enma commented that even in his Diamond-hard Staff form, the Kusanagi blade still hurts. It should be noted that it couldn't pierce V2 jinchuuriki cloak. Orochimaru can extend and retract the Kusanagi blade at will, and by extend, I mean extend. Orochimaru doesn't have to fully pull out the sword from the snake in his mouth to attack, he can partially pull out the blade from the snake in his mouth and just swing his head around. Finally the Kusanagi has one last hidden trick that we will get into later.
Ninjutsu:
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Orochimaru has a lot of unique and weird ninjutsu's, let's go through them

1. Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu

A C-rank ninjutsu where Orochimaru fires a fireball out his mouth
2.Wind Release: Breakthrough
Can't find the rank to this jutsu. Orochimaru fires a powerful gust of wind out his mouth
3.Wind Release: Great Breakthrough
A C-rank ninjutsu where Orochimaru fires a hurricane level gust of wind capable of easily uplifting multiple trees out his mouth.
4.Wind Release: Gale Palm
A C-rank ninjutsu where Orochimaru fires a strong gale of wind out his hands.
5.Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole
A C-rank ninjutsu where Orochimaru turns the earth around him into fine sand, allowing him to burrow into the ground. While underground he can sense the magnetic forces, effectively allowing him to sense what is happening on the surface.
6.Earth Release: Shadow Clone
Can't find the rank to this jutsu. Its a shadow clone made of mud.

1. Hiding in Surfaces Jutsu

Can't find the rank to this jutsu. With this jutsu Orochimaru can phase through his surroundings, allowing travel undetected.

1. Sound Wave Jutsu

Can't find the rank to this jutsu. Orochimaru releases a burst of deadly sound, it was powerful enough to instantly kill 2 anbus.
9.Temporary Paralysis Jutsu
A D-rank ninjutsu where Orochimaru temporarily paralyses his target
10.Sword of Kusanagi: Longsword of the Sky
A B-rank ninjutsu where Orochimaru can control the Kusanagi blade telekinetically.

1. Soft Physique Modification

Can't find the rank to this jutsu. It allows Orochimaru to stretch and bend his body however and whenever he please, extending it to great lengths and retracting it again. He most commonly uses this with his neck and his tongue, with the latter being strong enough to give Tsunade trouble in pulling it away from her neck, and with the former, when I say extend, I mean extend.

1. Living Corpse Reincarnation

A S-rank ninjutsu where Orochimaru transport both him and his target into the dimension inside Orochimaru. In this world which comprise of and endless plane of flesh which Orochimaru can manipulate, Orochimaru can transfer his soul into his target stealing their bodies.
13.Four Black Snakes Formation
Can't find the rank to this jutsu. Orochimaru and his clones stand in a square formation, erecting a large barrier between them. On command it incinerates its contents.
14.Oral Rebirth
Can't find the rank to this jutsu. Orochimaru regurgitates himself fully restoring himself from any injuries. Note that this jutsu takes up a lot of chakra, like hebi Sasuke used it once and he ran out of chakra. However Orochimaru managed to use it 4 times while sick (like literally days away from coughing blood on his death bed). Healthy Orochimaru should be able to spam this way more.

1. Binding Snake Glare Spell

A C-rank ninjutsu where Orochimaru summons a snake out his sleeve which coils around his target.

1. Hidden Shadow Snake Hands

A C-rank ninjutsu where Orochimaru summons several snakes from under his sleeve to strike opponents.
17.Multiple Striking Shadow Snakes
A B-rank ninjutsu where Orochimaru summons EVEN MORE snakes from under his sleeve to strike opponents. This jutsu seems to strike incredibly fast as it was capable of catching Yamato mid jump and even Hanzo the Salamander.
18.Gathering of the Snakes
Can't find the rank to this jutsu. Orochimaru is able to reconnect his body with snakes if he is severed into pieces.
19.Slithering Snake Mode
Can't find the rank to this jutsu. Orochimaru turn his legs into a snake's tail allowing him to move at unbelievable speeds.
20.Twin Snakes Mutual Death Jutsu
An A-rank ninjutsu which we never got to see what it does but it is suppose to cause the death of both the caster and the target.
21.Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes
A B-rank ninjutsu where thousands of snakes crawl out of Orochimaru's mouth to attack opponents. The snakes can also extend blade out of their mouths to attack opponents.

1. Eight Branches Jutsu

A S-rank ninjutsu where Orochimaru transforms into a massive 8 headed and 8 tailed serpent with immense strength. This is said to be Orochimaru's strongest snake related jutsu. When using this technique, Orochimaru can emerge from the mouth of one of the heads and use his Sword of Kusanagi to attack. Finally the serpent is said to possess a powerful healing factor.
Additionally Orochimaru scores a 5 in hand seals according to the third databook. With all these Orochimaru scored a 5 in Ninjutsu according to said book.
Genjutsu:
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Orochimaru doesn't use any genjutsu in the series apart from his killing intent which isn't really a genjutsu. His killing intent paralyses his targets in fear making them visualise their own death. Despite this Orochimaru scores a 5 in genjutsu according to the third databook.
Summonings:
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Orochimaru has various summonings, we'll take a look at them.

1. Summoning: Rashomon

A B-rank summoning jutsu where Orochimaru summons a demonic gate from the ground to block an incoming attack. The gate was able to block Kiba's twin fang attack but dented.
2.Summoning: Triple Rashomon
An A-rank summoning jutsu where Orochimaru summons three demonic gates from the ground to block an incoming attack. The gate was able to heavily reduce the damage of a four tails naruto's bijuu dama to the point where it Orochimaru wasn't disintegrated by the bomb but instead knocked to the ground.

1. Summoning: Edo Tensei

RESTRICTED
Snake summons: Orochimaru has many different giant snake summons, one even having three heads, but the most notable being Manda which is said to be the strongest colossal serpent. Manda is extremely large and powerful, he was also skilled in combat taking on both Gamabunta and one-tenth of Katsuyu simultaneously almost killing them both. He was agile enough to dodge Katsuyu's acid spit and durable enough to remain intact even after tanking Deidara's suicide jutsu, though he did die as a result. Manda also has superb regeneration claiming that he will only take a weak to heal a hole caused by Gamabunta's sword. He could shed his skin to evade attack and quickly burrow and move underground with his wicked gong mouth technique. He is intelligent enough to deceive Gamabunta by distracting him with his tail to leave him open for a bite.
Senjutsu:
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Orochimaru utilises senjutsu in combat through the form of curse marks. He can give a curse opponents curse marks by biting them, usually on the neck. He can give various curse marks but the most suitable one for combat is the one he gave Guru Guru which paralysed him for a couple seconds. This is impressive as Guru Guru was holding off the entire Kurama enhanced shinobi alliance along with the five kage and edo Hiruzen.
Other Notable facts:
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Orochimaru still has some abilities which don't really fit into any category. For one he can absorb someone's chakra by simply touching them. Orochimaru can also enter his true form which is a massive white snake made of smaller white snake and attacks with said smaller white snakes by extending the smaller white snakes to strike foes. Snake. The most notable feature of this form is that it's blood will evaporate into the air creating an undetectable numbing neurotoxin that paralyses anyone who breathes it. Even Sasuke who possessed the sharingan and a pseudo sage mode with his curse mark was unable to detect until he was already paralysed by the toxins. To add on, Orochimaru is also vastly intelligent being an excellent scientist and has a vast array of knowledge. With this he scored a 5 in intelligence according to the third databook. Much like Jiraiya, Orochimaru is also highly experienced in combat having completed the second highest amount of missions in the hidden lead with the total count of 1,468 missions with 108 being S-rank missions. Finally, Orochimaru might be able to test opponents through the air like a snake or use his snake taste them for him since Sasuke warned Itachi about that when they fought Kabuto claiming that he had to research that before taking on Orochimaru.
And that sums up the abilities of Orochimaru the Snake Sannin.

Simulation

That was longer than I expected but now we can finally move on to the simulated battle. In case you forgot, these are the conditions:

1. Healthy pre-reaper death seal Orochimaru (not war arc)
2. Shippuden Jiraiya
3. Both start in base
4. Edo tensei restricted (otherwise it would turn into a stomp since Jiraiya doesn't have a lot of sealing jutsus)
5. Location: The grassy area where the three way deadlock battle happen in the search for Tsunade arc
6. Starting distance 20m
7. Victory by killing or subduing the opponent

Note that in the battle whenever anyone uses a named jutsu I will have a "(insert jutsu name)!" to make it clear on what their doing. Since I am running out of character limit, I'll write the battle in the comments:
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edit: The simulation is posted in 3 parts since I ran out of character space. Note that it ends with a

KO!

I got my surgery time finally, I will get it later this month. What have been your experiences with it? Did it help? Have you been able to start eating again if you were unable before getting it? What are the positives and downsides with it? Personal experiences? I’m honestly scared about the surgery. It is so rare in my country to get gastric pacemaker, they said that this surgery is usually made only once a year in my country, so it is not routine-like.

i am 213 and 5'9...highest weight ever of 320
lowest: 185
i'm pretty sure i gained weight when i was 185 working in fast food through my horrible coworkers at the time as this one job i had (specific job) and because some of the guys they liked bigger women. so that behavior made me more lax in gaining weight and slipping, i'm pretty sure...i was like 21.
"be you, bla bla."
even though i didn't like anyone there...
and food.
but i have been overweight all my life. looking to get down to 168, 172 and kept a calorie log for past two years.
anyone else feeling discouraged? i am exercising through work and at home.
i remember being really obsessed when i was 265 and that led me to losing the weight.
but now it's hard. i'm going to fast to test my willpower. that's my last ditch attempt. then it's rybelsus. i don't do needles. but i don't have enough money yet with one income...
what were your options? i tried adderall in the past when i was 15, but now can never get on it again. i got prescribed for morbid obesity at 15.
the next option is i guess...gastric balloon or sleeve?

26F, 18 stone 6/ 260 pounds, 5ft 2. BMI is 47. Asian background. Also have PCOS. Very insulin resistant.
I don't know how I got here but I am here. Genuinely feel I have hit an all time low - I have been on and off trying to lose weight since I was 12 years old. I lose 1-3 stone, gain it back, lose 1-3 stone, gain it back and tried all the methods.
I was in an NHS weight loss programme recently who kicked me out because I had "disordered" eating and they said they couldn't help with that.
Most of the time I don't even WANT to eat but I feel compelled to? I'm full but I'm like I need to just eat more? Idk. All I eat is heavy carbohydrate loaded and sugar foods - literally 100% of my diet. I know - PCOS and insulin resistance + that = recipe for disaster. But genuinely I feel like I am starving if I don't have it - it's so weird, I know I'm not but I can't get over the compulsion.
I had a consultation for weight loss surgery (gastric sleeve) today with a surgeon - I am DEEPLY terrified to have to resort to this and so worried about post-op complications.
I just don't know how I can get myself out of this, I am sick of feeling like I am wasting my life, like I don't exist in a room, like I can't do what other 20 something year olds are doing, like socially isolating myself because of how much I hate how I look, of wishing I wasn't around anymore, sick of feeling like I'm not like other women/lack of femininity because of my PCOS and absent periods and hair loss and all the doctors say is JUST LOSE WEIGHT and your symptoms will go.
I'm so sorry to rant, but I have been in tears all day thinking how do I even carry on. How do I even do this. I want my life back so much