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As the poster above said you will want to do what your dr says but for me I take two chewable flintstones complete vitamins, two 500 mg chewable bariatric advantage calciums, a b complex that dissolves in my mouth, and a biotine every day. I space them out because you need two hours between the multi vit with iron and the calcium. I also space out the calciums by two hours because only up to 500 mg can be absorbed at a time.

Wow... This is a problem unique to banding: mainstream medical professionals haven't a clue when it comes to our situation. Our bariatric caregivers are generally not available for emergencies, sinçe many of us live far away from them and their office hours/days can be limited. What people don't understand is that when an organ is cut off from its blood supply, there is very little time to figure out what the problem is before the organ dies. Did you have a hiatal hernia? This sounds like you did....but I'm only guessing.

I've tried both the Strawberry and Chocolate Bariatric Advantage Protein Shakes and really like them. Pre-op I used a blender, added ice and they were delicious! I'm only 3 days post-op so today I tried my first one, not blended. Not as good as that big frothy drink from the blender but I know I wouldn't be able to drink it all now. It took me over an hour to finish the 6 oz version.

From what I understand, bypass is the gold standard for bariatric surgery. To name a few; Gastric bypass patients lose between 60 to 80 percent of excess body weight in the first year. Gastric sleeve patients lose between 50 to 70 percent of excess body weight in two years. Bypassing the intestines produces a malabsorptive aspect (less time for your body to absorb calories since your intestinal tract is shorter) that effectively reduces calorie consumption. Gastric bypass surgery has been around longer. Its results and complications have been studied and its benefits proven. Gastric bypass is more complicated, has a slightly higher overall risk profile but it does produce more weight loss. I appreciate your posts, but seriously I will setup a consult with my surgeon to determine what is best for me. Just thought I would get a head start and receive feedback from individuals who may have decided to a bypass vs. a sleeve is all. -Thanks-

So I am in the very beginning. I just got a referral from my doctor. I have nutrition class tomorrow and my intro to bariatric surgery on the 1st. I also need to get a sleep study for sleep apnea. I am going through Kaiser and it is covered by my insurance. Hopefully it goes smoothly.

The reason why I would never consider it, you have no legal recourse if things go bad. However, many do based on price. Dr Alveraz seems to have a huge following and many You Tube success stories. I also feel sucess is increased with a great post op support group. I'm not talking about an on line group. I am still pre-op but attend the monthly support group where my proceedure will be done. I have learned so much and have had all my questions answered face to face with those that have been there and done that. At yesterdays support group we had a very good trainer that works with bariatric patients come in and talk about exercise for one hour. Than a group session for 1 hour. Great information. This support is available for life and its convient for me.

So I went on vacation to Europe for a month. I know, you don't feel sorry for me! There was a lot of sausage, bread, and beer to be had! I did not have any problems with getting stuck...at first. Two weeks into my trip, I fell off a horse. OW ow ow ow ow! I did a few things wrong after that: 1) I took Aleve because I knew I was going to hurt like hell later, and 2) Later, my hosts forced me to drink the Polish medicine, which is normally vodka but they thought I needed something stronger so it was cognac, and 3) I proceeded to eat a normal sausage-y dinner. It was not long before I was stuck and sliming. I've never been stuck before, only had an uncomfortable feeling when I eat too fast or too big a bite. The sliming eventually led to vomiting, and there were streaks of blood in it. Oh how scared I was! I was in a foreign country, vomiting blood, and I just knew that if I went to the hospital, they wouldn't know what to do with me. So I only told my husband, who was freaked out but agreed to stay quiet and keep an eye on me. I sipped Water for the rest of the evening, then just ate soft stuff for 24 hours. I felt fine the next day...well, my stomach felt fine. My body was extremely sore! I had to be more careful with food after that, I seemed to feel tight/stuck more easily. I visited my bariatric doctor when I got home, who checked my band with the x-ray and everything looked great. I ate basically whatever I wanted for a month and gained a pound. Not bad! We walked a LOT, and I was not the person everyone else had to wait for, as in past trips. 7 months of exercise allowed me to be the person in front for a change! So other than the horse fiasco, I had a really great experience.

Yup, agree with you. Bariatric Advantage or Celebrate are two good companies to start out with for supplementation needs (Vitamins and minerals). I have no problem with that, but would suggest nectar or unjury as great Protein shakes for a newly sleeved individual. They are both solid brands and work well. In fact, my WLS center also recommends Bariactric Advantage for supplementation and Syntrax Nectar for protein shakes. That being said, I am 1 year post op so am a mature post op and somewhat new vet. I have been around the block a few times in my journey so far and have learned much and have much to share around shakes and supplementation and their impact on weight loss and fitness. I hope you do not read my post as anti-doctor or anti dietician. Quite the opposite in fact. In the first six months, it is critical to follow doctor orders to a "T" both dr and dietician know how to make their patients successful. Of course you are aware every doctor and dietician can potentially give different plans to their patients that may not be consistent with other patient doctor and dietician plans. After 6 months ( or when you feel is a good time), you can start to form your own strategies in terms of diet and fitness. The level of tweaking that you do is highly individual. The shake mentioned in this thread from GNC is just another tweak to the lifetime eating plan. Re-feed may not be an ideal shake for me, but I wanted to give it a try for reasons mentioned above in this thread. I also take cake batter muscle milk light and GNC Wheybolic or Isopure vanilla bean for recovery shake. I am so much a shake person at 3 a day. I eat small protein based meals for the other 4 meals. By small, I mean 3 oz lean protein and perhaps a veggie.

I was just trying to figure this 'new' website out and the banner at the top of the page was advertising Domino's Pan pizza for $7.99...What's up with that??? Are ya'll trying to torture me???

My first week I didn't want anything. Lol the second week I struggled bc I was so head hungry. I just started the puree diet. Bariatric advantage has a vegetable soup powder and it's great I added some seasoning to it but you mix it with water and that's how I survived the last week before puréed foods. I couldn't do yogurt and was so sick of jello and pudding. My doctor told me it's almost impossible To get down the 60 g of protein the first couple weeks. I am now doing better. Also bariatric advantage has protein shakes. The orange taste like an orange cream sickle the iced latte taste like a real coffee. I didn't find these until my 2nd week and wish I knew from the start. Also vitamin shoppe and GNC has isopure. Flavored liquid protein. I add crystal light packet to it but it's not bad at all.

My new surgeon to be, did my endoscopy yesterday and said my sleeve is dilated and has a bulge, he said it's not my fault, the sleeve was too big to begin with..causing weight loss failure. He advised that it could be revised with no issues. Now I have to wait and find out if my insurance will approve, since I have no bariatric benefits. I am so frustrated...

my doc said flintstones were fine...go to celebrate bariatric vitamins..ask for them to mail you a sample..I got a good amount..the berry was so yummy better than the crap I have..centrum orange chew...

Hi, I worked with a nutritionist after my sleeve. I always had trouble with vitamins before the surgery and found that Flinstones were the only vitamins I could take without it upsetting my stomach. After my surgery (July 2011) I still couldn't tolerate the Celebrate or Bariatric Advantage vitamins. I have huge unopened bottles of them. What a waste of money! My nutritionist OK'ed the use of Flinstones. I take one in the morning and one at night. My advice would be to talk to your surgeon or nutritionist. If you are having trouble with them or not taking them at all, they might advise taking Flinestones as an alternative.

Teresa, you're such a card! Lisa, it's so nice to see you in good spirits and wishing everyone a Happy May when you must really be so frustrated inside. It is a beautiful day here in Boise, Idaho. Sunny, cool breeze and I'm inside. Doh! I think it's time to get my tuckus outside and do something constructive! Happy May Day everyone! Anyone want to dance around the Maypole with me? The ceremony of the maypole and maypole dancing, is symbolic of renewed life. In folklore, the common practice was to bring a new pole into the village every year representing that year's incarnation of the spirit of all growing plants - hopefully encouraging a good harvest. The tradition of dancing around the maypole is widespread through the UK, North America and Europe. Each dancer holds a ribbon and by dancing around the pole and weaving in and out of one another, the dancers gradually wind the ribbons in an intricate pattern down the pole.

I had my surgery on 10/21/14. It took me many years to come to terms with the fact that I needed a little something more in the way of help to get the weight off. Now that I am on the other side of surgery I'm realizing this is harder than I could of ever imagined. I was 8 days out and was already tired of the protein shake! Now I'm on the pureed diet but am still required to drink 2 protein shakes a day. According to the plan I should be eating 3 protein meals, 2 protein shakes and a protein snack. Meals are 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup and if room is left I can add vegetables or fruit which I have absolutely no room for. On top of all this I'm supposed to be drinking 6-8 cups of water as well. I can only get in 2 protein meals, 2 shakes and maybe 2-2 1/2 cups of water. Now I find that I'm beginning to get dehydrated so today I've been forcing myself to drink more than I have been and I'm just very uncomfortable because my stomach is so full. Did anybody else have this issue? I'm on this meal plan until the day before Thanksgiving when I go back to see the nutritionist at the bariatric center. It's a whole new world mentally for me. I knew it would be hard and I keep on telling myself at the end of the meal plans that I will be back to eating the way I was when I began this journey. I had lost 50 lbs. before surgery just following the meal plan they gave me and I know I can handle that part it's just this time before I get back to that where I'm having trouble.

There is a support group at the Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Woodlands that meets once a month. It is for anyone who has had any type of WLS (Weight Loss Surgery) so there is a combination of folks with the lap-band and folks who have had RNY. It's a very nice group of folks that share experiences, successes, ideas and information. Here are the details: Weight Loss (Bariatric) Surgery Support Group Memorial Hermann Hospital - The Woodlands DATE: 3rd Wednesday of each month TIME: 6:30pm - 7:30pm ADDRESS: Memorial Hermann Hospital 9250 Pinecroft Drive The Woodlands, TX ROOM: Conference Room, 1st floor CONTACT: Linda Nelson, 281-364-2458

Sara, first off every thing is going to be ok. Yes it is true that it is best to wait at least a year, preferably 2 after being sleeved to conceive, but you can't change that now. This is going to be a bit trickier than a traditional pregnancy, but you will be just fine, and so will your baby. As was pointed out earlier you will need to keep your Obstatrition, Bariatric, and PCP in a close loop. I highly advise including your NUT in that loop. Everybody needs to be on the same page. I highly recommend seeing a naturalist too, someone that has a lot of experience in cramming tons of nutrients into minimal foods & supplements. I'm sure you are going to be taking some awfull tasting stuff (like blackstrap molasses), but you gotta do what you gotta do now. I promise you are not the first one this has happened to & you won't be the last. I'd also recommend journaling this experience so that once it is over you'll have it documented when the next person comes along & they're scared about what's to come.

I am so glad I chose Dr. Illan with Baja Bariatrics for my surgeon. The entire experience has been WAY beyond my expectations. I'm down 70 lbs and living life now. I'm 22yrs old and never dreamed what is was to feel this good. Can you imagine what middle and high is like when you are obese? It's not pretty or fun! I wish I could have done this at a younger age but I will take it now. My goal is to be at 175lbs but truly am feeling amazing now. Started out 305 and now 235 Please don't hesitate to check him out because you won't find a better surgeon and team. They are with you from the time you get there until you leave. Best experience of my life and I owe them a huge thank you for saving my life. Here's a before and i"ll be posting progress pics along the way.

Yes, I am sure they cover it. My surgeons bariatric coordinator said that my insurance basically approved it but they need a few things first such as the letter for a final say so. She said as soon as I get the letter I should have a surgery date a few days after. I dont care for my PCP anyways. Last time I seen him I called and told them my ear hurt and I had a few other things to discuss with him. Just a small list of concerns, nothing major and he refused to talk to me about my knees cause they only fit me in for a 10 minute time slot. He told me to make another appt...didnt even say he was sorry...just rushed out of the room. I cried all the way home just becasue I felt like he didnt care. I had no idea they put their patients in a time slot.

Hi I'm just starting the process with southwest bariatrics in Austin Texas wanted to know if their is anyone in the killeen tx area that are in the process or has had the surgery already thanks for reading this

My future Bariatric office uses Tanita body composition scales. Take shoes off, step on and it spits out all sorts of interesting stats. My coworker says wearing layers of clothes and a heavy purse will not affect my weight on this scale. She said it only measures your body. Is this true? (I hope not) I'm right around 35 Bmi so I need to make sure I'm a certain weight when I have my first visit. Sent from my XT1254 using BariatricPal mobile app

I am going to large hospital in Philadelphia, it's not an 800 clinic. This dr. come highly reccomended. I found out today that my insurance excludes bariatric surgery. There is nothing for the doctors to fight since its excluded. So now I get to be fat the rest of my life as i can not afford self pay. I can loose weight but can never keep it off. Just so frustated because it took a long time for me to come to terms with having to have surgery to help myself and feel like I have been punched in the gut.

Iron and zinc levels also have an impact on hair loss. http://bariatrictimes.com/2008/09/19/the-latest-on-nutrition-and-hair-loss-in-the-bariatric-patient/

barkatt - I think it's great that you want to support her in every way you can. Believe me that in itself is helping her more than you know. How about looking up different Protein shake recipes to help change the flavors for her? Making sure she has all her Vitamins set for when she can start taking them again. Perhaps getting her set up with a bento box for when she can eat, some pretty measuring cups and spoons, food scale...all things to make getting the right portions right for her. How about buying a Bariatric cook book for when she's ready to eat regular foods and both of you can cook through the cookbook together That's what hubby and I are going to do. Good luck to you both

A time to change. I guess the beginning of the story comes about three years ago. After a major change in my life, I returned to school and earned two Associates degrees. The first was in medical assisting and the second in a medical office administration. Following a series of jobs to hold while finishing school, employment was found with the sisters of St. Francis out of Michigan city, Indiana. The job was as a medical assistant with a company named Working Well. These clinics specialized in occupational medicine and I was hired as a floating medical assistant to work between the companies five clinics in Northwest Indiana. This was definitely a change of pace compared to what I had previously been used to working within the cable television industry. It was a cold fall morning in late October when driving to work, it became increasingly harder and harder to breath. A cold which had been caught was becoming increasingly worse and worse. Driving became a task that was more difficult than usual. A decision was made to go to the emergency department of St. Anthony hospital. The results from that trip was a diagnosis of bronchitis and I was sent on my way back to work. Within the next week. The symptoms became increasingly worse, leading to a visit to my new Dr. for the hospital health insurance. The doctor was booked but they got me in to see his nurse practitioner, Ms. Nicolette Alexander. During a visit with Alexander took some precautionary tests and a chest x-ray gave me some medicine and said she would follow up with me. Less than a day later I received a phone call at work from Ms. Alexander's office. Not tracking me down was no easy task because I have been bouncing around from office to office for the last few weeks. Needless to say the message from the doctor was. I need to see you now! Gary my whole life I have never had a doctor track me down and use that phrase. So I knew was urgent. You have come of that meeting has stayed with me to this day. She stated. My heart was enlarged and my symptoms were indicating a need to see a cardiac specialist. It was at that point I was introduced to Dr.Sammie Dali. He informed me of a diagnosis of congestive heart failure and a ejection factor of 24%. In layman's terms that meant my heart was operating at only 24% capacity. After that Dr. Dali began a regime of medications, cardiac rehab and lifestyle changes to correct this condition. Within a few months. My overall health improved, but not enough to make a satisfactory change. My weight, but still an issue and the doctor and I began discussing bariatric surgery as an option. After being referred to above Midwest Bariatric Institute, it was decided that I was a good candidate for bariatric surgery but there were conditions. It was necessary for me to demonstrate that I could live the program and walked the walk. So with that began a series of nutrition classes, medical appointments, support group meetings, evaluations and lifestyle changes. Physically I was beginning to improve. But emotionally it was a roller coaster. One day the motions would be highly because everything was going alright and others because a reverse to rock-bottom when things went wrong. Six months later, after various evaluations, another cardiac scare and various doctors discussing my situation, it was decided that surgery was a go. In my corner was Ms. Alexander and Dr. Dali in the opposing corner was Dr. Gerald Cahill and his team off specialist. Dr. Cahill was concerned of possible cardiac issues, but finally agreed after Dr. Dali went to bat and hit a home run. Going into the surgery was a scary proposition. I remember thinking please hurry up and get this over with so I can continue on with my life. Papers have been filed, a medical leave. Approved and most of all a long heart-to-heart talk with my wife. The date of the surgery, after a comforting visit from my pastor, and imposing on one of my good friends to stay with Kathy, my wife, it began. I remember being wheeled into the cold operating room being given medication to relax and almost choking as a breathing tube was placed then blackness came signaling the true beginning of my new life. It is now 2 years later, I have lost over 150 pounds and feel great. Now has come the time for me to get serious. Time to exercise and watch the diet. It will be a challenge.