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Hi all, I'm 6 months bypass post op. I am striving to live as naturally as possible and do not believe that pharmaceuticals are the answer to everything the way the medical industry does. I can't seem to get my team to answer the question - what's the difference between bariatric friendly capsules (such as my multivitamin and the prescriptions they love to write me) and the capsules for other products such natural forms of supplementation? When I look at the inactive ingredient list, they're identical. So why must I take Omeprazole (which has the long term side effect of dementia among others) and not Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice Root Supplement with Aloe Vera (link below)? Last I knew licorice (as in the root not the sugary treat) and aloe don't give you dementia and have studies that show they can prevent and treat ulcers. My team says no to the natural supplements due to the capsules but then say it's ok to take Omeprazole, Colace, and other drugs that are capsules. Since they won't tell me the difference (which makes me suspect there may not actually be one), I was hoping if there is one, someone here could explain. I have a background in medical research, teach evidence based medical practice to medical students, and am a faculty member of a university. I'm very intelligent, have a decent understand of anatomy and this surgery, so please hit me with the science! I love science. I'm good with finding alternatives but I hate it when people tell me what to do but refuse to explain why especially when we are talking about the potential for me to literally lose my mind. I've been reading this forum and have found it to be a great source of solace. Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all!! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00062IF54/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_C2HWJST3NRWAR5661YAE?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Ugh, that sucks! I can't help you with the specifics on the blood panel, but throw the feeling of being angry at yourself away. We do our best, we really do. Sometimes, it's not good, but it's our best in the situation we were in. You're doing something good for yourself now and you will get there. One thing, though: if diabetes is a concern, strongly consider any type of bypass surgery. Oh, and: I never understood why American doctors won't perform bariatric surgery on patients with high A1C levels when we know the best intervention for that is ... bariatric surgery. Nobody would ask someone with a broken arm to try and set it themselves first.

Who's your favorite YouTuber or Podcaster? I really like mylevel10life on YouTube and Dr weidner, who's name I'm sure I just butchered. As for podcasts I really haven't found any relating to bariatrics that I liked. Sent from my SM-N986U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Could you get down from 390 to 200, or even lighter, and then keep it off? Yes, absolutely. Anyone can, with or without surgery. However, there's a difference between can and will. Obviously, I don't know your physiological intangibles such as your muscle profile, body type, genetics, ability to stick to goals, follow a bariatric diet, etc. BMI doesn't account for these things. Because of this, we can crunch some statistics, and assuming you're average when it comes to the intangibles, we can begin to get an idea of the odds for you. Based on the BMI chart, every pound over 154 pounds is excess for your height, which leaves you with 235 pounds of excess weight. Now with sleeve statistics, the average person loses between 60 and 70 percent of their excess weight. Obviously, some lose 100 percent or more of their excess weight, and some lose much less than the 60 to 70 percent average, but again, let's assume you have an average surgery experience and lose 60 to 70 percent (we can call it 65 percent as an even marker). 65 percent of 235 pounds of excess weight is 152.75 pounds. 390-152.75=237.25. So, by math alone, 237.25 would be your most likely outcome, which is obviously 37.25 pounds over your goal. To meet your goal, you would have to exceed statistical expectations when it comes to average amount of excess weight lost for sleeves. Instead of losing 65 percent of your excess weight, you would have to lose approximately 81 percent to hit 200. I'd certainly say this is doable, albeit not easy. Now the unfortunate thing about losing weight is that your body fights you on it, and it has various forms of ammunition. Cravings, plateaus, and different types of phantom hunger are all in its arsenal. Bariatric surgery depletes our bodies' weapon stock to an extent and limits the damage should we fall into one of its traps. It's something we can lean on. It won't do the job on its own, but we've essentially enlisted reinforcements that swing the odds of success in our favor. However, the one thing that bariatric surgery won't change as we get closer to our goal weights is adaptability, and this is probably why your weight loss has stalled in the past. Our bodies learn our tricks. They adapt to low carb and low calorie diets, and thus, the weight loss stalls until we give up. So what do we do? If a plateau occurs, we have to change our tactics (even slightly) to catch our bodies off guard again. Change the diet and eating patterns slightly. Try a little intermittent fasting, or maybe switch out your carbs for fat for a bit. Same thing with exercise. If you're exercising (let's say running for example), switch things up and go to HIIT training or swimming for a while. Once your body adjusts to that, then go back to running. It's a little weird to be "at war" with ourselves, but the reality is that we are. Got to be smart and merciless when it comes to confronting the weight monster.

I have BCBS of Illinois. I had to have the clearance letter from my PCP, bariatric bloodwork, an ECG, 1 dietician appt, the psych eval and either have a bmi of 35 with at least 2 comorbidities or 40 and up with none (I am 40 and up with 2, so I definitely qualified). From the time I started the process on Feb 28th to the time I completed everything and it was submitted to BCBS it was 1 month. They approved it in 48 hours and my surgery is scheduled for May 3rd. I don't think they will approve it if you are under 40 bmi and have no comorbidities at all. I was told the acceptable ones are diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, and osteoarthritis.

So I have BCBS of Illinois (PPO) and I had my normal $25 copay for the psych eval, my $40 copay for the surgeon visit, the dietician visit was covered, and my only out of pocket was the $500 deductible and $1000 out of pocket cost. I also didn't have many hoops to jump through. I had already tried a number of diets so my PCP was more than happy to do the clearance letter. I had to have the clearance letter from my PCP, bariatric bloodwork, an ECG, 1 dietician appt, the psych eval and either have a bmi of 35 with at least 2 co-morbidities or 40 and up with none (I am 40 and up with 2, so I definitely qualified). From the time I started the process on Feb 28th to the time I completed everything and it was submitted to BCBS it was 1 month. They approved it in 48 hours and my surgery is scheduled for May 3rd.

Hi, just seeing anyone else in WA kaiser is currently going through the program. I talked to my pcp in Jan for the referral. Took a full month to get an answer and approval to the bariatric in bellevue. Then it took till the beginning of April to get the bariatric to even schedule me for orientation. Which isn’t even till may 10th. So to even just do the 1.5 hr zoom orientation about what the program is took 4 months from when my pcp sent the referral. Anyone else going through this? Or has recently and can give me an idea on a time line to expect.

as long as your insurance covers bariatric surgery, I'd be very surprised if you were denied.

Vivis, the clear liquids is hard work. But staying in line with your doctor’s instructions is the foundation of the success you want for a lifetime. Congratulations on gathering ideas for the journey! I am on my post op clear. I like the Isopure Dark chocolate. 25 GM of protein in a scoop, dissolves in a shaker cup of water, does not leave grit on my teeth or an aftertaste. I also like the Bariatric Advantage Strawberry and Orange Cream. Torani SF syrup is ok. Gatorade zero is a must have! I bought packets on Amazon and saved a ton of cash and plastic waste. Tried Bone Broth for the first time. Game Changer!! Favorite brand was Fond because of all the different flavors. But it’s a lil expensive. I’m worth it! Best of luck to you! Tina

Judy…I think it is good for support from people who have been down this road. I know if you keep in touch with your bariatric program whenever you need, I mean whenever you need, they are there for you. You will get through it on the other side feeling so much better. I know what you mean. I was worried if the pain, not enough support, and the fear I was going to mess up. But know we are all here for you and feel reach out. Follow your program advice.

Hello Skins657, I had the lap band placed in 2010 (self-pay) and although I specifically chose the band, from almost the beginning I recognized that it was a big mistake. I was constantly hungry, and I found the band to function erratically. Sometimes I had almost 100% restriction, but most often I had 0% restriction. Insurance did not cover adjustments and they ended up being very costly and did not help. I lost some weight but gained it all back during my decade with the lap band. It was only recently (during the pandemic) that I learned that I could have the band removed and undergo a different bariatric procedure. Unfortunately, my only option was a gastric bypass (covered by insurance) since the band had caused so much damage to my esophagus. I picked a surgeon who had a lot of experience with conversions from band to bypass. I had my bypass on 4/5/22 and so far, so good! For what it is worth, I wish that I had never chosen the band.

Don't do this. Don't try to set yourself up for metrics like that, because everybody is different, and most importantly, every BODY is different. I will say that my bariatric centre's nutritionist tried to shame me for eating 800 kcal a day and told me that's why my weight loss stalled. I fired her loudly and found a different nutrition coach, who increased my calories based on my activity level, and weight loss resumed. I currently eat 1500-2000 cal a day at seven months out and am still losing, though I am extremely active and also taller and heavier than you are. I do want to say one thing, because I'm a total control freak and had to weigh myself every day. Get out of that habit right now. And if you must weigh often, then keep a running average. Pick a day—let's say Wednesdays. Every Wednesday add up your total weights and divide by the number of weigh-ins. Then track that average. Why? Because your body has way more going on than just fat loss. If you eat salty, or if it's time for your courses, or if you've been doing a lot of weight lifting, or if you're constipated, etc., etc., your weight can fluctuate by as much as 3-5 lbs. over the course of just a couple of days. Does that mean you "gained weight" (as in fat)? No... you couldn't eat that much. So it's inflammation, or bloating, or muscle inflammation. Learning this saved me from the terrible things I would say to myself if I stepped on the scale and had an unexpectedly high weigh-in.

Hi there. I took part in a bariatric study where I had no choice of what procedure to have. The only one I didn't want particularly was the band due to all the negative reviews. Funnily enough the computer chose the band for me, I had my concerns but the surgeon swayed me to it. So iwas banded in 2018 all was going well, went down from 165kg to 106kg so almost 60kg down. Untill a few months ago the band just overnight. Stopped working?! I always had bad reflux during (was prescribed lansoprozole) but this was really bad. Being sick in my sleep. Then the sleepless nights. I could eat what I wanted with zero restriction. The reason I had surgery is because my brain has no "off switch" so ovcourse as soon as my brain worked out I could eat what I want. I went to town. I have now regained to 140kg approaching my start weight. After tests at hospital (camera down throat and barium swallow) they couldn't for the life of them work out what was going on. To help me sleep at night they emptied the band. They tried to convince me to keep the band and try again but as it wad on my record that I did not want it in the first place they have kindly agreed to remove the band and have a revision to a bypass. (Within a few months I'm told. Just have to wait for the random phonecall 2 weeks prior like last time) Was/has anyone been in the same position??

Red Lion, Pa Dr. Smith at wellspan bariatric did my surgery August 24, 21 Sent from my SM-N986U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

I am researching surgeons and they are the closest and so far I have read nothing but good things. Has anybody gotten surgery from them before?

I'm sorry to read about your LPR diagnosis. It's a serious issue for sure. I'm not really sure how to reply to you about this, because I looked back at your previous posts and see that you had VSG and lost weight, then regained and then revised to RNY and then made a thread about how much fast food you could still eat and subsequent weight regain with RNY due to fast food choices. So obviously there was an issue two years ago (and probably prior to that) when you were still eating copious amounts of KFC etc... so I'm wondering if you reached out to your bariatric team when you realized how much you could eat. If not, why not? Perhaps they would've directed you to a therapist then. Please consider therapy. There's quite a bit of wls patients on this site that have sought therapy and are now thriving and overcame their food issues. Therapy is yet another tool just like weight loss surgery is that some patients need to be successful. Best wishes.

Hello all, I recently asked my PCP if I was a good candidate for gastric bypass and he said yes without hesitation and referred me to their bariatrics. I’m in the bay area so I got a call 2 days later from the South San Francisco staff and they scheduled my first nutrition class and also my appointment with my surgeon. I currently have a BMI of 38 and have no additional health issues and scared about getting denied. Has anyone had luck within the 35-39 BMI range without any cormorbidities? I’ve done extensive research and I have my mind set that this is the right choice. I felt hopefully for once in a long time, but now I am scared I am not going to qualify.

most multi-vitamins contain minerals. There are bariatric-specific ones that usually contain everything you need. Also, the better store-bought ones, like Centrum, are usually fine, too - but you usually have to take two of those rather than one. as long as you're meeting the recommendations of the ASMBS (American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons), you should be fine. ASMBS-Nutritional-Guidelines-2016-Update.pdf P.S. RNY patients (and some sleeve patients) often have to take iron and calcium (above and beyond a multivitamin - because those often don't contain enough calcium and iron for us), but other than that, I can't think of any other minerals we need that aren't contained in most good multivitamins) P.P.S. Centrum has a chewable version - and some generic equivalents have a chewable version as well. And there are also bariatric-specific multi's that have chewable versions, too.

So good to be home. Feeling tired and a bit dehydrated but finding that tepid very weak chi tea goes down well! I am allowed to start puree food on day 2, but still only fancy jelly and yoghurt really. Having a very quiet day, snoozing, sipping, walking and reading! Just an aside…I’m reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig…if you want a book that makes you feel at peace with the decisions you make in life (like having bariatric surgery lol) this book is incredibly wonderful! Anyone else read it?

yea so those HMR shakes i got from the bariatric center, SUCK... I have maybe used 5 packets. I been using fairlife without issue and they taste great. I add some flavoring syrup to them sometimes to mix it up like caramel, Smores ect..

Wish there. Possibly, possibly "no protein powder" could be interpreted as a literal command though that interpretation would be particularly uncharitable - and certainly no more of a command than "stop telling people what to do". I'm very chill, though have a healthy suspicion of the omniscience of surgeons. At 4 weeks mine told me to have "ham on toast". I ignored him. I'd advise others to do the same. The problem with some protein powders is the artificial sweeteners some contain which is why elimination is a good methodology to figure out nausea. And you're right, some people are fine with eggs and some people aren't fine with a glass of water. Search this forum for scrambled eggs. It runs to the thousands. This forum is amazing. It's almost certainly the world's most complete bariatric data repository. I wonder how many bariatric surgeons study it.

Absolutely. Eat eggs! They are obviously eminently suitable for week three after surgery because surgeons say so, so while you're having a traumatic car park vomiting session after eating scrambled eggs think to yourself: are you a bariatric surgeon? Indeed not! Perhaps you aren't even vomiting and it was all a dream

Thank you all. I did send her a bariatric podcast that goes into the research and why surgery is appropriate. I’ve also done therapy off and on since high school. What’s difficult is she’s always been thin. So she just thinks you can skip a few meals/eat healthier for a few days/workout more to lose weight. It just isn’t that for everyone. It’s frustrating to get no respect or support on something I know that I want to change about me.

What made you choose Endobariatrics? I chose Tijuana Bariatrics.

There is a chat room for Bariatric Members who have had surgery 3 years. I dont think there is any other. I just chat and post on the general world wide part of this site