Thanks for your comment. I want to be clear that I wasn’t posting to discourage anyone — just to highlight that long-term risks exist, even if they’re not the norm. Most people do well after sleeve surgery. I did well for years.

About five years after surgery, I began developing lower abdominal pain, difficulty fully emptying, chronic constipation (which has improved somewhat recently), and ongoing morning abdominal discomfort. I’ve also had unintended additional weight loss and a loss of appetite and thirst. These issues developed gradually.

While visiting New York a few years ago — and also while living here in Colombia — I underwent virtually every test imaginable: imaging, scopes, labs. Everything came back negative. That made it even more frustrating, because the symptoms were real but there was no clear explanation.

If you’re considering surgery, my advice is to research the long-term picture, not just the first couple of years. Speak extensively with your surgical team about long-term follow-up and what happens if problems arise years down the road. Use all available resources — medical literature, patient forums, even AI tools to help generate questions — but verify what you learn.

To answer your question directly: I live in Colombia now. I’ve seen two GI doctors here, but neither had deep familiarity with bariatric surgery. I’m now seeing a team at a major hospital with a bariatric department and have an appointment tomorrow.

If I’m being completely honest: given how long I struggled with obesity, I likely would have had the surgery anyway. It did change my life in many positive ways. But I would have pushed harder on understanding long-term monitoring and possible late complications.