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Hello! I am a 40 yr old female from Cape Cod Mass. I have been overweight forever, but in the past few years I reached my highest peak @ 255lbs. In January of this year I looked into bariatric weight loss thru BI in Boston. They have a comprehensive and long program, which I completed in about 3-4 months and was told I would be a good candiate for surgery. I waited a few more months, as I was trying to decide what was best for me. Once I decided to go forward, I had to pick GBP or Lap Band. Since I was not a diebetic and on medications for health problems and the gbp seemed so severe, I opted for Lap Band surgery. My date was set for Monday 8/30/10. The week prior I did a partial liquid diet using mostly the unjury protein drinks. They taste good and filled me up. It was easier than I thought and I lost 10 lbs prior to surgery, just as my doctor wanted. I was super exicted and nervous but my surgeon is renowned in thie field and I was confident. Unfortunatley for me things did not go as planned. As I woke up in recovery, a nurse who did not seem to know about bariatrics, handed me 2 containers of liquid percocet and some water, telling me to drink it all down. I did as I was told, only to be hit with such pain in my chest, I thought I was dying. I could not breathe, I vomited, I was sweating and very upset. Nothing s/b given orally so soon after surgery and I will never know if that caused what happened next or not, but it was a long road for me. As a mom with a 6 yr old who was due to start first grade, I was happy to have my surgery scheduled before her school started, knowing I would be in the hospital for just one night. Well, for me it turned into a long 6 days! On day 3 my Dr stuck a needle in the band and took out all the water (15 cc) trying to loosen things up. 4 days after surgery I still could not keep 15 cc of water down and he decided to go back in and pop 2 stiches to loosen me up. This is called a revision and he said he had only see this happen in 2 patients prior to me...and he has done this since the surgery came about. I had to go backunder general anthesia and into the OR again. By the next day I was drinking some water and by Sunday afternoon I was finally released. I am 2 weeks out from my 2nd surgery and down a total of 30 lbs. I had my 2 week follow up with my doc and he says I am doing better than most. I am back to walking 3 miles a day (which I had started the month prior to surgery). My main issues now are with constipation and all that fun stuff.. Some days I don't want to get out of bed. I am cranky as I miss food. I loved to eat and it is harder than I expected to go without. On Saturday I tried on some jeans than are a size 20 (I was in 24/26) and they were a bit loose. This was exciting but only temporarily lifted my spirits. I still feel a bit off...not sure why exactly but trying to move ahead and getting stronger. I am on stage 4 diet...some solids, and so far, so good. This is my first time on a blog, and I am anxious to read other people's stories as well as chronicle my own. Thanks for reading:))

Should I call the surgeon or the bariatric primary that saw me? Not sure which one would deal with it

I have tried them all and in my opinion Unjury is the best. It is made for bariatric patients. The consisteny is much smoother and thinner than any of those you mentioned and Unjury doesn't smell or taste very bad. I am very, very picky and this is the only kind I can drink. It's so thin, I can drink in a hurry and not have that thick, yucky aftertaste.

My surgeon's office seems to be SO much stricter than everyone else's!! We have to do a 2 week pre-op of ONLY Bariatric Advantage meal replacement shakes and NOTHING ELSE!! It really sucks when I find out that everyone else can eat a lot of other stuff or even jello!!!

It may just be hormones. My PA told me that we needed to use condoms for several months after surgery because women's hormones can go nuts after surgery. I have a Mirena IUD and haven't had a period for years, but a few days after my surgery, I had the Mother of All Periods and they've been coming and going ever since. When you say "doctor", do you mean your GYN? I'd make sure to talk to him/her as well as your bariatric doc. Being a girl can be so much fun!

My nut gave me tons of samples. I can take iron in a multi-vitamin or separately, but be careful not to take iron with calcium. I also take omega-3, vitamin D, biotin, and get a B12 shot. I like the bariatric vitamin caramel calcium citrate. I also take a chewable omega-3 from BA. I have a multi-complete vitamin from celebrate, but I don't care for it so I am taking a gummie multi and vitamin D I purchased at target. I doubt my nut would like that because "the only vitamins they recommend are celebrate and BA." Lots of people here take gummies though.

I seem to be able to access some information easily (basic profile stuff, threads etc.) through Bariatric Pal but then when i click on More- my surgery story and to change settings (which I have yet to do successfully) it seems to open another app or something. I just found a box that shows notifications, messages etc but it doesn't seem connected to my bariatric pal homepage. I'm not very technical so this may be a silly question but are there two apps? Is there a way to have all my info accessible through the phone app? I've never used whatever is offered through the web. I seem to have an app within an app. Perhaps I'm missing an update or something? I have an iPhone 4s.

Okay so I've been teetering on the fence about bariatric surgery for years. I've been overweight as long as I can remember, but it was never as bad as it is now. Seven years ago, I was 225lbs. Yes, it was overweight, but I wasn't stressed about it. I had enough on my plate with college, work, my husband being deployed for the first time and being in a new and unfamiliar place. It was a lot, and left no time for worrying about my weight. It wasn't affecting my health in obvious ways. So I'd brush it off to the side to deal with later. Then I became pregnant with my daughter, and the doctors worried because I was overweight. They told me not to gain weight. So I didn't. Heck, by the time I delivered I had lost 27 lbs. I had the smoothest of pregnancies, no complications at all. I joked I was one of the healthiest obese person my doctors would meet. So I brushed off worry about my weight again. I found excuse after excuse not to address the matter. In the last two years though, I've tried diets and programs and nothing lasted. Another thing I used as an excuse to not take the final step. If I can't bother to keep on with the diets, who am I to pursue surgery which is far more permanent. Now I am 340 lbs and I've stopped with the excuses and I've made the decision to look into my surgery option. I know I'm already approved by my insurance. It's just a matter of going through the consult and finding out if this is really the best route for me. But now I have my consult set up for December and I am left with questions and worries. Is this normal? Were most of you sure that this was the right choice for you? What helped you make the choice? Honestly, any help and advice is appreciated. I am just so new to all this and I feel like there are too many questions to ask...

Hi everyone, I am new to this. I began my journey towards a bariatric sleeve in Jan, but stopped going to the nutritionist in March. So, I have started all over. I have already completed my cardiology clearance, got my blood work done, and my 1st nutritionist appointment done down also. Today I did my upper GI scan and it makes me so excited that I am getting closer to my surgery. I have so many questions and watch so many videos on YouTube. I only need to do my pulmonary exam and psych, then 5 more appointments for nutrition which are scheduled 3 weeks apart. I have state insurance and they require 6 consecutive visits. But, my worry is that I complete my appointments and don't lose any weight or get denied. Since March I gained 10 pounds. I am drinking water, which I don't usually do, keeping a journal of my intake of food, high protein low carb, stopped grazing... any tips? Anyone go through state medicaid for sx? Any bumps in the road with weight?

I also bought the berry Bariatric Advantage brand and hated them! I am NOT a picky person and have had zero issues with nausea until those! I asked the nut and she put me on Flintstones Complete. No more problems:)

Howdy, I’m scheduled for surgery on 1/30/19 and am on day 9 of my 4 week liquid diet. The diet consists of 4 Bariatric Advantage shakes, 2 Bariatric Advantage protein bars, and either a small banana or 1 cup of skim milk per day. It’s been hard, but I’ve stuck to it and found I’m not hungry or hangry like I was the first 4-5 days. I lost 14lbs in the first week, yay! However, both yesterday and today I’ve gained a pound back. I’ve been told it could be water weight or a number of things, but it is so dang frustrating! Has anyone else encountered this? To try and help myself from going crazy I’ve decided to stop weighing myself everyday. But I’m worried if I gain anymore I’m going to mentally snap and go binge on nachos! Any advice, support, or encouragement would be greatly appreciated!!

I dont love my dietician either. She is nice and all but I don't find anything she says particularly beneficial. When I ask her about certain bariatric snacks and recipes I see online, she doesn't really know what I'm talking about. She keeps telling me to email her my questions but then takes days to respond. All she does is reiterate things that were in my wls workbook. I'm post op and have to see her everytime I see the doctor (quarterly for the first year). I just smile and nod in her session and thank her for nothing... A friend of mine loves her though... to each their own...

I think it's just the preference of the hospital because its the food program for all their bariatric patients. Kaiser

I cannot creat a weight loss ticker. It never goes through. I think Bariatric Pal is having some glitches

Holy crap! Has it been two weeks since August 22nd... Yup, it sure has!! It went by fast, at the time it didn't.. But now it feels like it did.. This past week I really feel like I've felt my best. I had a few "baby's day out" days.. Yesterday I ran some errands, didn't get exhausted or sore... I think I'm really to increase my walking. I weighed myself today... Surgery day weight was 256, and today I weighed 242. That's 14 lbs in two weeks?! I'll take that! Target skirt here I come! I should have taken measurements on surgery day, but I didn't. I'm going to do that today, to see how many inches I'm losing now, especially with the increase in exercise. I'm doing better with my intake. Yesterday I got super close to my 60/64.. Today we'll see how I do. I'm kicking myself because we got the bariatric advantage protein meal replacement shakes, and it's super gross!! High in protein, but waaayyy toooo sweet!! But I made one with some peanut butter and a little chocolate syrup and it was ok.. But ick.. After I finish the bag, I might go back to my EAS stuff. Hopefully by then I'll be on mushies atleast. I have one more week of just liquids, then move on to mushies.. The first thing I want is a scrambled egg with cheese!! Very first thing on my mushies list!! I am amazed at how bad I want real food. The process of chewing real food, I miss that! I am having problems with not chugging my drinks. Before I could down a half bottle of water only having to come up for air.. I can't do that now.. I was sooo thirsty at church on Sunday, I got an applejuice. I started just chugging it, I thought I was going to puke during worship! I had to sit down and just be like uuuggghhhhh.... Anyhoo... How are the other newly sleeved peeps doing? Or older sleeved? What's your story?

I don't take it anymore because I get enough from food but I original took bariatric advantage brand

I did not have to have the six month diet. My insurance company (UMR) gave conflicting information on if it was needed or not, so my bariatric center just went ahead and submitted my paperwork for approval to see what would happen. After a month of processing, they came back with approval, no diet needed. I should note that I had a very high starting BMI, weighing about 380 at the beginning of the approval process.

One more thing....there is also the Mercy Bariatric Center in Harvard IL. I made an initial appointment there but could not find much research on them so I went with the Kane Center because I felt more comfortable since I found so many good stories from people who went there.

To the person in CANADA: With the Health Care that you have ! Come to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit ! * They have excellent surgeons there, and they are a center of excellence. They will be able to take care of all your aftercare. Canadians flock by bus to see the bariatric surgeons. So trust me when I tell you, you would not be alone. Sometimes I think there are more people there from CANADA then the States. Your Ins. is gold. I don't know why anyone would consider Mexico for the band... It's your business totally. I just hope you know that if anything will go wrong, and it will "it's plastic!" that you have to go back to the surgeon who did your work. Because know one else wants to touch someone else's mistake. It's very hard to get another surgeon. I KNOW ! All I did was move away from my area and I can't get anyone to touch this "it has a leak" If not I have to go back to who did my surgery, or have it removed. I am waiting, and hoping that they call me and set this up. They say they haven't forgot me, we will see. I would suggest someone that will monitor your fills Not a fill station that's who put a whole in my Port. I will have him replace it with a newer band I guess. We will see. I will post if someone else takes me in for repair. In the meantime I hope you consider someone in your state. Good Luck Shirley. Dr. Jeffrey Genaw Henry Ford Hospital "Center of Excellence" Detroit, Michigan.

Feeling energized and renewed. I had surgery two years ago and only lost 40 pounds. Having been in an abusive relationship didn't allow me to work on me, now that I am out, I feel like I can finally work on me. Everyone's posts give me inspiration and motivation that I can do this. I recently learned I was banded too tightly and caused my esophagus to dilate and had fluid removed. I am seeing my dr in two days and hope all is well and can get a fill, as I get soooo hungry and have no restriction. Went from .7 to .4, big reduction. Good news is tht though weight loss is slow I have not gained any weight since the surgery. I started walking and jogging 3 miles daily mixed with tae bo, hopefully that will help me along. Having PCOS doesn't help either, but I am happy that I am not where I used to be. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

Hi.....I'm in Alsip on the South side. On 12/23/2013, had my surgery done at the Loyola University Medical Center on maywood, over by Brookfield Zoo. My surgeon was Dr. Bipan Chand. He was at the Cleveland Clinic from 2003-2012, being instrumental in the development of their bariatric program. He came to Loyola in 2012 and developed their bariatric program. He also teaches bariatric, gastro-intestinal, and robotic surgery at Loyola and performs some services for Edward Hines V A Hospital as well. I was totally pleased with his staff and kind manner and had a textbook recovery. Wishing you an uncomplicated surgery and quick recovery.

Hi LegalLady- I got my referral from my primary care doctor on December 24. I went to the Bariatric program seminar January 24 where they gave me all of my requirements and I was off and running through required weight loss, sleep study, psych, and my 2 week lovely pre-op ;-)etc. Since it is a military facility, I am sure my process to longer than many sleevers do. 2 days it is!! Hard to believe. I am looking forward to donating lots of clothes very soon!

I thought this post was appropriate for this thread too, to help clarify recent questions. I just received a copy of this thread from one of my clients. I want to clarify the differences between Dr. Valencia's own practice that that of Hospital Angeles and "BeLite Weight". Dr. Martin Salvador Valencia FACS has opened a practice in Tijuana and Ensenada, Mexico. Previously, Dr. Valencia finished his surgical residency in 1998. He was then appointed as Associate Professor of the Advanced Laparoscopy Fellowship at ABC Medical Center (One of the most prestigious medical schools in Mexico). He was then invited as a visiting professor of minimally invasive and bariatric surgery at UCLA in Los Angeles, CA. He was a full time professor there. When not doing surgeries as part of the UCLA bariatric team, he traveled all over the world proctoring other surgeons in minimally invasive bariatric surgical techniques. He continues to teach at UCLA part time while building his own practice in Tijuana and Ensenada, Mexico. All this information is not meant as a commercial, just an explanation in my attempt to clear up the confusion. Dr. Valencia was invited to be part of the staff at Hospital Angeles in Tijuana, one of the finest hospitals in Mexico. He began to perform Lap Band surgeries for the hospital. However, he additionally has his own patients. Dr. Lopez is also on the staff of Hospital Angeles. Belite Weight represents Hospital Angeles. Belite does NOT represent Dr. Valencia's in any way. I am Dr. Valencia's coordinator for his practice. Dr. Valencia is NOT part Dr. Lopez’s nor is he “partners” with Dr. Lopez. Dr. Valencia has his own team. I personally do not agree with the practices of Belite. I believe Belite is deliberately using Dr. Valencia's credentials and expertise in the forefront of all their advertising to further there own business rather than doing what they should be doing, selling the lap band services of Hospital Angeles. I believe them to be unethical in their business practices and I would not recommend using their services. I'm sure not every one would agree, but that is my opinion. For various reasons, Dr. Valencia very recently decided to stop doing surgeries for Hospital Angeles. He will concentrate on his own patients and building his practice in Tijuana and Ensenada. If anyone has any questions regarding Dr. Valencia's status, affiliations, etc., I would be happy to answer any and all questions. My best to everyone here and I wish all of you a healthy successful weight loss journey!

Hi All, I live in Doha and had the surgery on the 10th. I didnt go to a private hospital, I did it through Hamad hospital in Al Khor. You will be referred to General surgery but the surgeon is a bariatric surgeon and quite skilled. He also treats you as a person and not as a patient and even gives out his mobile number for concerns. I must say the care was first rate and would recommend a consultation with Dr. Hijran to anyone...... oh..... btw, I am north american

Just keep in mind, with the sleeve, what's done is done! I chose it because my surgeon recommended it over the other procedures for me, and I did not want a foreign object like the band in my body. I have staples and sutures now but to me it is different. I also didn't want that port. I am good with the path I chose. Go to a bariatric support group and talk to everyone. That's my best suggestion. And read, read, read! God bless!!