Influencer Remi Bader is speaking candidly about the challenges she faced after undergoing weight loss surgery, which led her into a “deep depression.
The 30-year-old TikTok star appeared on Khloé Kardashian’s podcast, Khloé in Wonder Land, where she shared her experience with bariatric surgery. In a conversation posted Wednesday on X, Bader explained that she had the SADI-S procedure over a year ago due to health issues, but struggled with feelings of privacy concerns when it came to discussing the surgery.
Bader revealed that in 2023, she gained between “80 to 100 pounds” and experienced severe knee pain. At one point, she was bedridden for an entire month because of intense back pain.
Other weight loss methods, such as trying Ozempic twice and Manjaro once, didn’t help her. “I tried Ozempic before it was even a thing,” she said. “My doctor recommended it because I was pre-diabetic. I lost about 10 pounds but felt very sick and vomited frequently.”
Bader eventually turned to surgery. Despite her concerns about public perception, she was persuaded by a doctor to try a newer procedure called single anastomosis duodenal-ileal bypass with sleeve gastrectomy (SADI-S). This surgery is seen as less complicated than traditional procedures like gastric bypass.
While the surgery usually has a quick recovery time, Bader’s experience was far different. “It was the worst thing of my life,” she recalled. “I couldn’t leave the hospital. I couldn’t even swallow water without vomiting. And that lasted for six weeks.”
As her recovery worsened, Bader moved in with her parents. She described the experience as a time of deep emotional distress: “I got into a very scary, deep depression. I didn’t want to live anymore. I would just stare at the wall all day and be sick. It was horrifying.”
During this period, she also struggled with guilt. “I had a lot of regret. I had always been someone people looked up to online for body positivity, but here I was, struggling with my own body,” she said. “I had always told people to be confident in whatever they looked like, but I wasn’t feeling that way myself.”
Now, Bader says she is in a better place mentally. She is learning to embrace both her inner and outer self, and emphasized that people with larger body types can still be healthy. While she admitted feeling “jealous” of her friends who are confident in their bodies, she clarified, “My journey was different. I was in pain and struggling with my health, and this was the step I felt I needed to take.”
What is SADI-S?
SADI-S is a type of bariatric surgery that combines two procedures: a sleeve gastrectomy and a duodenal switch. The sleeve gastrectomy removes nearly 80% of the stomach, leaving behind a smaller, tube-shaped stomach. The duodenal switch involves dividing the small intestine just below the stomach and rerouting a portion of it to connect to the stomach. According to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, this combination helps patients lose weight by limiting food intake and reducing nutrient absorption.
