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Thank you!! BariatricPal has sponsored BariatricFoodie for quite some time! We're the first weeks Bariatric Foodie 2018 Pledge sponsor!! You can still sign up for the BF pledge at https://www.bariatricfoodie.com/takethepledge/ .

@@Bufflehead Thank you for the resources. I tried a vague google search and also here on the forums, but didn't find anything for bariatric pantry. Ordering some samplers now - if all else fails, they'll be good for the pre op diet! @@smg I do have sleep apnea, I was previously on a CPAP for it and then later had a tonsillectomy and a UPPP that "cured" it enough to get me off of the cpap, but it seems that I'll need it again if I don't lose this weight. I've had 4 sleep studies and 1 day study, but the most recent were about 2 years ago after I had the lap band removed. Thank you for the tip on About Time, I'm going to order a few to try of those as well.

I waited and waited a bit too. My insurance has a whole Bariatric department and once I touched base with them it was approved in less than 2 days. :biggrin: Good luck! Sydney

Maybe they,think Bariatric Surgery and Weight,Loss is a cult and you need protection from US. Well not me, unless you unleash my red-headed temper I'm mild and meek as a marshmallow. Just want get through my surgery and start on a new life of health. No threat to nobody, except my own fat and I'm going to obliterate that. But that is my own personal battle, one I will win. But convert anybody, nope, I'm Too Busy.

Your right, you should discuss this with your bariatric staff. Does Stevia affect you, since its a natural sweetener?

UPDATED INFO: I did not have to do the 5 year weight loss statement. I had to: 6 month diet with office notes and letter from doctor supervising weight loss-I did Medifast, which sucked but works if you can tolerate it. psych eval-found my psych with google search.-cost me $200 for the testing and report (insurance did not cover, even though THEY require it. Would that be ironic or just stupid?), $10 co-pay nutritional eval-found my nutritionist with google search too. she sends a report to doctor $10 co-pay bariatric rehab class-at the local hospital, about what to expect and exercise. Pretty basic stuff. $55 seminar with surgeons-very informative-no cost Best of luck, and I hope I get approved soon!

I have read about the surgery being reversed under extreme circumstances. It requires a surgeon with a very special skill set. Not just any bariatric surgeon. Have you looked into this possibility? Or are you trying to exercise every other avenue? (Which I totally don't blame you for doing)

The most experienced in the USA are Cirangle and Jossart in San Francisco. They do a lot of research as well. My choice was Dr Aceves in Mexicali, Mexico, near San Diego. He also has a great deal of experience and excellent, low complication rates. I was told he has never had any leaks, which is better than the SF statistics, even though theirs are still excellent. I am not financially endowed so with Aceves rates being half that of Cirangle, I chose him. I was very pleased. He seems to be more conservative in that he keeps patients in the hospital for 4 days and performs 3 leak tests. He also oversews the staple line. He is a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons. See credentials at Bariatric Surgeon Profile - Alberto Aceves M.D., F.A.C.S.

Hello, I am from Saginaw Mi. Getting my sleeve done May 29th at Hurley Bariatric in Flint Mi. I have Dr. Farhan. Getting nervous and excited too. I am on my 2nd week of the liquid diet (UGGH)I cant wait to find a different protien shake to use. The ones they have us taking are horrible. Any suggestions? Just thought I would introduce myself. Lori

Congrats On Your First Step...i Hope That All Goes Well For You....this Is A Great Place To Get Lots Of Info...i Am Not From Georgia So I Am Not Familiar With The Bariatric Clinic, But Welcome To Lbt And Good Luck...

I will be starting the process for Weight-Loss Surgery!!!! I get my email for orientation for the classes I will be taking at Kaiser Permanente by email.

I am 7 1/2 weeks post-op and last week started working out at the gym with a trainer. I was under the impression that 6 weeks post-op you can resume abdominal excercises. Monday I had an appt with the nurse praciticioner at the bariatric office who said that I can no longer do crunches forever and have to be careful with other ab moves as well. Anyone else told this as well? I am aware that the port if stitched into my abdominal wall and that I have to be careful but how can I accomplish a good work-out of my abs then? Any suggestions?

Went to my support group tonight that is run by one of the nurses from the bariatric office and asked her about the exercises. She explained that the only one they really want me to stay away from is going from a laying down (flat on back) to a full sitting up position. That move is uncomfortable for me anyway so I guess really nothing to worry about :-)

@PennyinAL I highly suggest you hire a nutritionist that specializes in bariatric care. You can find someone who will do telehealth appointments and you can see if you can find someone who takes your insurance! At least a few sessions to get a much better diet plan structured. 500 calories seems too low once you are out of the liquid phase. The surgery (in my understanding) resets your metabolism so you don't want to crash it with going too low on your calories. What used to apply for you for weight loss pre surgery may not apply post surgery because of the change in hormones. You really want professional guidance on this, everyone here varies in their macros because there is no standardization in the field at the moment.

Hello, all I just submitted all of my required documents for surgery. I have a BMI over 40 with no comorbidities. Insurance list they need this documentation: a description of the proposed procedure(s)  documentation of failure of weight loss by medical management  unequivocal clearance for bariatric surgery by a mental health provider  a nutritional evaluation by a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or registered dietician I did all but I am a little confused, because many people are stating they have to do a diet for 6 months etc. Is "documentation of failure of weight loss by medical management". Does this mean they need a diet or just a letter from a PCP, because my doctor sent letter to PCP that stated, "the patient has made multiple weightless attempts and has been unsuccessful". PCP signed it and that was sent over to the insurance company with all other documentation. Just nervous and wanting to be reinsured I don't need a diet program to be approved.

My orthostatic hypotension is really bad. Like preventing me from doing my favorite exercises and I lose vision/get super dizzy almost every time I stand. Since my bariatric office was just like "hopefully it'll get better some day", I went to my primary care yesterday and was prescribed Midodrine to raise my BP. I've only taken two doses, but from what I understand it doesn't build up in your system... it wears off after about 3-4 hours so I have to take it 3 times per day and keep a log of my BP. I don't seem to have any side effects other than it's making my head feel REALLY tingling, like when you lose circulation in your foot or something... but "the internet" says that's a common side effect. Has anyone taken this medicine? Did it help? Do you taper off eventually or did you need it foreverrrrr? It wasn't the cheapest of my meds. =/ I tried adding salt and doing leg flexing, etc, before standing but that didn't help at all... so now I'm at the prescription option. I'm currently sitting at my desk and rapidly standing up every so often to see if it's helping and it is. LOL. My coworker is like... wtf are you doing.... hahaha.

Nobody can take what you're learning ahead of time away from you but you might be a better candidate for Mexico. Now I am going to tell you something and I realize I'll get no bonus points from Alex Brecher, don't do this for that. Please pretty please consider BariatricPalMX If you do decide to go to Mexico. If I wasn't 72, didn't receive clearance because of low BMI, and the necessary money I would go there in a heartbeat! Alex Brecher,Bariatric Pal' s founder, who could afford anywhere else if he chose, chose Dr Ilian and Bariatric PalMX. for his own recent surgery I think that speaks for itself. Besides it's located in a beautiful area , not some back-alley clinic. Andvwhenthings are done update us, okay?😝

I had a coworker that had bariatric surgery and she didn't tell anyone. When asked, she said she had her gall bladder removed. When you make a lifestyle change, eventually people will put the puzzle pieces together. Whether they ask to be supportive or just to be nosy and gossipy, remember that this is YOUR journey. Don't let anyone make you feel uncomfortable because you decided to do a great thing for yourself. Most of the time the opinions that matter, aren't from the people you work with. XOXO Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T337A using BariatricPal mobile app

I had a lot of those cartons of creamed soup post-op, which I often added milk and unflavored protein powder to. I also used a lot of protein powder (both unflavored and sugar-free flavored varieties) and smooth greek yogurt. I bought oatmeal but discovered I could only stand the unsweetened stuff immediately post op, the normal stuff was WAYYYYY too sweet for me to tolerate. High protein milk (Fairlife in the USA, Natrel in Canada) was a great way to get in some more protein and a hundred or so more calories a day, as well as upping my fluids when water was weirdly awful to drink. I think I had some unsweetened applesauce, but not often. Basically my rule for myself was if it wasn't a source of protein, I didn't eat it those first couple weeks. There was just so little room in my tummy or will to eat, I needed to make every single bite "count". I think the biggest surprise was how much sweetened stuff in general disgusted me and tasted bad though. Pudding cups, popsicles, protein shakes, oatmeal... I had absolutely zero interest in sweet things. I lived off of savoury for at least a week before introducing limited amounts of sweeter foods. (AKA going from plain oatmeal to plain oatmeal with half a teaspoon of raspberry jam VS the high protein maple brown sugar oatmeal I'd been suggested to buy). I know some surgeons include baby food in their post-op diet plans, but I can't imagine myself eating that post-op. If it's not specifically recommended for you, I would like to say it really isn't required. I was kind of emotional and crotchety after surgery and was even resentful of the pureed soups, so I can only imagine how crabby I'd have been to be eating food meant for a baby LOL. Your mileage may vary on that one. I think my biggest piece of advice from one planner to another though... is DON'T OVERBUY. I was totally like "oh yeah I'm gonna stock up on all this stuff and it'll be perfect!" and then things I stocked up on... I ended up not wanting to eat and not liking. Stuff like said high protein oatmeal which I had always enjoyed before suddenly tasted terrible and now I was stuck with four stupid boxes of the stuff. Buy enough for a few days so you're not stuck with stuff your new belly/tastebuds aren't digging. Yes it means you're a little less prepared for the post-surgery apocalypse, but there's always online shopping and grocery delivery if you don't have enough of something. Post bariatric surgery is the one time I'd actually advocate "better to need it and not have it than have it and not need it". Also, I really looked forward to grocery shopping post op because it was a great way to get out of the house and do some limited walking

So 4-1/2 years ago, I had the sleeve. Within 3 months, I dropped 60 of the 100 pounds I wanted to lose. I was off all blood pressure meds (and still am). Within the year following my sleeve, I developed abdominal hernias that my bariatric surgeon repaired. At that point, my weight loss stopped and I never reached "goal". Also at the time, I was working a 12 hour, physically demanding (not with heavy lifting but with a lot of walking), night shift 7p-730a which was one of my first saboteurs to my weight loss success -- I wasn't getting enough sleep. I also didn't exercise at all because of my physically demanding job. I decided to leave my night shift job, which I loved very much, for a "day job" but there was a 1 hour commute each way to this job. Exercising was now an even bigger challenge, but I got a gym membership near my home and I would drive my hour commute to the gym, work out and by the time I got home it was 8 p.m. 3 nights a week. Then I was eating dinner late. Enter REFLUX. I started with 20 mg of omeprazole, which didn't quite do the trick with my symptoms. Moving on to 40 mg was better but as time went on even the 40 mg of omeprazole wasn't cutting it so I supplemented with OTC omeprazole 20 mg for a total of 60 mg a day. That's where I am now. A recent EGD revealed I have yet another hernia. Lessons Learned: 1) Lifestyle matters. Prepare a lifestyle to accommodate your surgery so that you can take care of you. I didn't do this. I tried to be superwoman. I am humbled. 2) Follow up with your doctor's office more frequently than your program requires. Accountability is everything. Don't wander off and think you don't need follow up because you most certainly do. 3) Bloodwork. I can't emphasize this enough. I always keep my bloodwork in check -- I didn't want to lose my hair -- and I didn't. 4) Get plenty of sleep. Sleep needs to be as necessary as water to your well being. With these lessons learned, I will be getting the Roux-en-Y revision surgery to end my GERD and hopefully put me back on track with the 70 pounds I want to lose. I have created a lifestyle now that allows me to take care of me. I have a gym membership that includes a pool. I work a day job that allows me to work at home one day a week. I finally realized that being good to me is not a selfish thing, but a necessary thing.

Hi! I am new to this forum. I got my lapband in 2013. My starting weight was 280lbs and I am about 5'3". In the first year I lost 95 pounds and was down to 185lbs. I never had a fill as my doctor never recommended one. In the last 4 years I have shot back up to 225lb as menopause had set in and I started to lag going to the doctor which was no help. I am now 56 years old and can't seem to budge even a couple of pounds off. I have moved out of the state where I had the procedure years ago and had a consult with the local general/bariatric surgeon about 10 months ago. He agreed to remove the lapband and do a revision to bypass. I met remotely with the bariatric nurse and participated in the orientation zoom meeting. I went for my first weigh in as I was told I would have to start from scratch and in the program and work with a doctor or dietitian for 6 months before they would get approval for the surgery which Iwas more than willing to do. I was turned off by the nurses attitude as she never answered my calls to guide me in the right direction to get started so I gave up on the idea. I feel stuck, depressed and frustrated and I don't know where to turn. My insurance has changed and I can't seem to find a doctor to help me. Thanks for listening. Sent from my SM-A505U using BariatricPal mobile app

Thank you so much for your very quick response, my problem is I can't exercise due to my illness,I've lost 7 stone 1lb so far but stuck for well over month and half! I've still got another 5stone to go! But I'm taking all that you've said on board, got an appointment in dec to see the bariatric team again so will see what they have to say then. Thanks for your support x

All bariatric surgeries have their success stories. And all can be defeated. Some surgeries are recommended by surgeons over others based on your medical history and comorbidities. If that is not a factor in your case, you surgeon may leave the decision up to you. But if asked directly, most surgeons will make a recommendation for one surgery over another. And as others have suggested, nothing will build your confidence like your own research and you're in the perfect place to benefit from the experiences of so many great folks. Welcome to the forum! You're gonna love the new you!!

I received my surgery date.. It's on September 6.. Already started the ketogenex diet. Start all Bariatric shakes on Wednesday..

Can anyone tell me if they have had surgery done in Tijuana, Mexico with the Bariatric group with Dr. Lopez. Thanks