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Bariatriceating.com makes chewables with the right amount of everything just for us. I also take their chewable iron and their chewable calcium. The calcium tastes like cinammon Altoids. You can also get Target's version of the Centrum chewables. I actually like them better than the Centrum. I have never been able to swallow pills, and this life choice is perfect for people like me who always needed chewables/liquids/dissolving medicines and the like. The world has finally caught up with me!

I think that is the very reason. We are not supposed to experience "dumping" like those with a gastric bypass. However, I have chosen to do the sugar free thing, and after about 4 weeks of no sugar, I had some real topping on sugar free ice cream. A half hour later, I was RUNNING to the restroom in Walmart, barely making it in time. I have now learned to do without it, and it does make me sick to have it. One really, really good source of sugar free satisfaction without the aftertaste of all the sugar substitutes is sugar free dark chocolate. Trader Joes makes a good one, and all I would do is allow one square to melt in my mouth. It was heavenly and it satisfies my needs!

Hi. I know they were applying to be a center of excellence when I went for my pre-op class in June. We were asked to fill out forms, and we will be "tracked" for 2 years. I don't know if that means they need to wait until the 2 year timeframe to become one, or if they are on a sort of probation. As for the group, I might be interested in starting something up. There is a chance I might be able to get my church to donate some space once a week for this. If not, it might be a nominal fee. The way the support group seems to go at JFK is they come up with a topic, and start discussing it around the room, and the psych. comments on what people are saying. She is just a bit condescending for my taste. At the age of 41, I don't like to have my use of pronouns corrected in a public forum.

I have never waited more than 15 minutes at Dr. Larson's office. I love Kendra, who I believe is the Nurse Manager, and Patricia, Dr. Simon's nurse (Simon does the gastric bypass and assists Larson with the bands and Larson assists Simon, so you have 2 surgeons working on you.) I guess we all just have different experiences. For me, the bottom line is this: There are only a handfull of doctors doing this in Palm Beach County, and I have heard mostly good things about all of them. For me, it was a matter of insurance, and I am much closer to JFK if I have a problem than I am to Jupiter.

Greetings, everyone. I was banded on July 9th at JFK by Dr. Larson. So far, so good. The only person on his staff I am not crazy about is the psychologist. Imagine my disappointment when I walked into the support group and saw her running it! I wish we could start our own support group somewhere. Kind of like an Overeaters Anonymous just for Bandsters! Anyone else who went to Dr. Larson feel less than enthused about his psychologist? CM

I had my surgery done at JFK Medical Center in Palm Beach County, FL, by Dr. Andrew Larson. My insurance paid 80%, and I know they have financing for self pays. So far, I am happy with the doctor and the staff. Had surgery July 9th, and my first fill August 18th.

I am less than 2 months post-op and a long, long way from a tummy tuck. That will be for my 45th birthday in 2011.

I don't have a pizza crust recipe, but you can use a whole wheat pita, split to make 2 rounds, as your crust. You can even use the smaller ones for a single serving if you don't want to share!

Sam's Club has a few flavors of the DaVinci SF syrups, and they are only about $5.25 in Florida. I bought some of those pouring spouts you put on liquor bottles, and use that to pour. We also have a store called World Market (they are a chain - kind of like Pier 1 meets Trader Joes) and they carry Torani brand SF syrups in tons of different flavors. It's about $7 per bottle, but they do last a long time. We use them in coffee, milk, puddings, even oatmeal, cream of wheat and yogurt, but most importatnly in protein shakes. Caramel in a cappuccino shake makes it delicious. White chocolate in a vanilla shake makes a unique flavor.

I made a delicious mock flan the other night, and the kids were fighting over it! I made sugar free white chocolate instant pudding according to the directions, but added 1/2 a scoop of vanilla protein powder. I put it in individual custard cups, and after it set, topped each one with about a tablespoon ( a healthy squirt) of Smuckers sugar free caramel ice cream syrup. After the first spoonful, the syrup slid down onto the pudding, and each and every spoonful was creamy and caramelly! It was really, really good.

I made a delicious mock flan the other night, and the kids were fighting over it! I made sugar free white chocolate instant pudding according to the directions, but added 1/2 a scoop of vanilla protein powder. I put it in individual custard cups, and after it set, topped each one with about a tablespoon ( a healthy squirt) of Smuckers sugar free caramel ice cream syrup. After the first spoonful, the syrup slid down onto the pudding, and each and every spoonful was creamy and caramelly! It was really, really good.

I have gotten a bit creative in this stage, since I love bread and sandwiches and the like. I have found new "holders" for my dips and spreads and things. For tuna, chicken, ham & turkey salad, spinach dip, hummus, guacamole, I use the following: Thin slices of zucchini or yellow squash Whole wheat "pitettes" cut in half to make 2 rounds (my dr. allows some types of bread items - pita, tortillas, whole wheat toast) Cracker-sized cheese slices For hot items, like poached eggs, I get the polenta in a tube, slice it into thin rounds, and fry it in some cooking spray, flattening it a bit as I go along. Then I can put whatever I want on top of it, like chicken stewed in tomato sauce and shredded. I also made some very thin zucchini pancakes and put some goat cheese in-between two and made a very gourmet-ish and grown up grilled cheese! Instead of boring mashed potatoes, add an egg, a tablespoon of flour, and some herbs, and make some potato pancakes to put food on. Hope these ideas help someone out there who is getting bored and frustrated.

Target makes a chewable (hard, not gummy) that is comparable to Centrum. I used to take that before the band. Now I take the chewable vitamins, chewable iron, and dissolving calcium from Bariatriceating.com. They make them specifically to meet the needs of both banders and gastric bypass patients. The flavors for the bypass patients were better than the banders, so I got those. My husband takes the calcium because I got cinammon and it reminds him of altoids!

Bariatriceating.com has a chewable iron tablet. It is very small and the one I got is strawberry. I take it with my chewable vitamin from there as well. Since I only live about a 45 minute drive from there, I have gone in and sampled all their stuff before buying it. If anyone ever gets the chance to go to their store in South Florida, it is well worth the trip. There is nothing in the store that you can't sample. Since all this diet stuff is so expensive, it really makes a difference to test it out first. They actually have a tasting bar, and you can pick all the flavors and combinations you want.

I make this killer tomato sauce-Soup that Jamie Oliver made for the British public school system to get kids to eat their veggies, and he demonstrated it on The Today Show. This makes a ton of sauce, but you do it once a month and freeze it, and it is a great go-to base for all sorts of things. Plus, you are getting tons of veggies in one place. If you poach a piece of meat in it, you are getting your protien and other Vitamins at the same time. There are not set quantities in this recipe, because it really is to taste, but I will do my best: 1 lg. onion 2 ribs celery ( I peel it with a veg. peeler to remove stringiness) Lots of whole garlic 2 large zucchinis 2 large yellow squash 1/2 bag baby carrots 2 each red & green peppers Italian seasonings, salt, pepper Olive Oil 1 large can (from a warehouse store) crushed tomatoes Roughly chop all the vegetables and saute them in olive oil until they start to get a little soft. Season with the spices. Add the whole can of crushed tomatoes. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting, and put a lid on the pot. Set your oven timer for 2.5 hours, and go do something else. When it is done, turn it off without lifting the lid, and let it cool for a couple of hours. When it is cool, use a hand blender (also called a stick blender) and blend, blend, blend! Make it as smooth as possible. After it is blended, I put single servings in sandwich size zipper bags for myself, and larger quantities in gallon bags for the family and freeze them. You can add the following for more recipes: Add chicken or veggie stock for thin tomato soup Add fat-free 1/2 & 1/2 for creamy tomato soup Add part skim ricotta cheese for the mushie stage Poach an egg in it Poach a chicken thigh or breast in it Put browned ground meat (I use turkey) in the bottom of a custard dish, a layer of ricotta cheese, add sauce and parmesan cheese, broil for 2 minutes, and you have noodle-less lasgna The last time I made this, I roasted the veggies first in the oven on a cookie sheet with olive oil and parmesan cheese on them, then added them to the crushed tomatoes and simmered for the 2.5 hours, and it was even better!