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I have an autoimmune issue that causes dry mouth and in the past have used a sugar free chewing gum to help produce some saliva, but haven't for a while. Thing that comes to mind for me is I have always felt a little hungry after chewing gum. Not sure why, but maybe the chewing stimulates the stomach and it starts with the stomach acid to help digest the food it is expecting but doesn't receive. i certainly wouldn't be chewing gum within a few months of having WLS. I am guessing you are going to get a lot of differing opinions, but initially the most important one will be your surgeon's and then a number of months after surgery will possibly be your experience of it. There is this but no idea who wrote it, could be just your average punter. https://www.gastricsleevedietguide.com/top-6-gastric-sleeve-surgery-myths-fail/ There is this, at least a doctor https://www.drshillingford.com/blog/why-bariatric-patients-should-stop-chewing-gum-18203.html And another blogger, not a docter, there is a section on chewing gum https://thegastricguru.com/chewing-and-digestion

Well...if it makes you feel better I am not using any of the fancy stuff now. I have to take synthroid for my thyroid. That is a problem that will never go away regardless of weight loss. I have an autoimmune problem called Hashimoto's. Any way grinding up pills and putting them in other things just tastes nasty. I am really surprised that you had to ask for prescription pain meds when they released you from the hospital, though.

Meee too! I have spent the last couple years taking care of everyone else, and lost track of ME. My husband, who is 7 years younger than I am, developed brain cancer a few years ago with a million life-threatening complications. We have two teenage daughters, adopted from Russia, and the older one freaked out and started huge behavioral problems when my husband got sick. The younger one has had six major surgeries, and five body casts, because of having polio as a baby. My dad developed a rare autoimmune disease and died while he was taking care of my mother, who had Alzheimer's disease. I ended up having to go back to work full time a year ago (my husband will never work again), and it was a shock how much younger and fitter everyone else was. Everything is more or less on an even keel right now (no hospitals or police), so it is finally my time to take care of myself again. Yesterday I got a manicure and a pedicure, and today I took a nice long nap.... and ate that last cupcake. No more cupcakes in this house, they are like heroin to me!!!!!

I have Hoshimoto's which is the thyroid autoimmune disease. I have flares where I swing back and forth between Hyper and Hypo but for the majority I am hypo and so are all of my symptoms. I was on Levo and Synthroid for 6-10 years until last fall when I had enough. I switched to Armour 120mg a day and it has changed my life. Unfortunately, the weight didn't change at all but that is fairly typical at least for women. However, my symptoms, tired, achy, brain fog, lethargic feeling all decreased dramatically…some of them completely. I found a doc who treats by the symptoms not just blood work. Just because you are in the 'appropriate" blood work range doesn't mean that you feel any better. I know for me I am at my best when my blood work comes back at around a 1.5-2.0. Some people do better lower. My doc is not an endo either. She is internal med. I had 4 prominent endos in KC and they all refused to listen and went solely on blood work results not how I felt. Their answer to everything was losing 50 lbs. Well autoimmune disease and thyroid issues typically aren't affected by weight high or low. One key to the success I have with Armour is I chew it up and i take it the same time every night with water… nothing else because it can affect absorption. The nice thing about Armour too is that if you are having a flare you can break a pill in half during the day and supplement so it will counter the flare. Your doc could explain more about that. The best thing I did for myself was research, research, research. http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ is by far one of the best thyroid sites out there. Please check it out. It helped me tremendously. Good luck!

Thats a relief, I reread it all and started to worry. I'm not on medication for it, but topic was discussed a while back with my doc. I have an autoimmune disease which is currently in remission, and a host of other issues, but nothing major. Every diet under the sun I've tried. But I don't have documented with the doc's office at my highest BMI for a year.

I agree with your husband, that is one on the reasons I decided that I didn't like the band as much as I did in the beginning. Also I found out that I had an autoimmune disorder, so the band is not a good procedure to have. Some doctors will not do surgery at all, so when I found out that I could still have the sleeve I was so happy. I really have learned alot about the sleeve and so many people say good things about the results. I wish you all the best!! I have been approved for the sleeve, and surgery in Dec.2.

Hmm, I didn't know that, interesting. There needs to be a forum at VST for people with autoimmune disorders. Today I had a salad consisting of romaine, cabbage, baked salmon, and self-made dressing; plain yogurt, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper. I got 3 bites in and stopped, I was full. About 10 minutes later I got all sneezy and bleary eyed as though I had just eaten white flour, why?? I know there are cross-reactive foods out there, but all things considered this was a pretty clean meal.

HELLO EVERYONE, WELL AS IV'E SAID BEFORE I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH LUPUS AND MANY OTHER AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES SO I NEED CLEARANCE FROM CERTAIN SPECIALIST TO HAVE SURGERY. I'VE GOTTEN CLEARANCE FROM MY PRIMARY, HEMATOLOGY, AND RHEUMATOLOGIST. NOW I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT MY GASTROENTEROLOGY SPECIALIST WAS ON BOARD AFTER MY CONSULT APPT LAST WEEK AND NOW I CALL THE SURGEON'S OFFICE TO CONFIRM PAPER WORK AND SHE TELLS ME THAT HE SENT A LONG LETTER STATING THAT HE WILL NOT SIGN OFF UNLESS I GO THROUGH TWO MONTHS OF TAKING MIRALAX AND METAMUCIL FOR CONSTIPATION. THIS IS SOMETHING I'VE DELT WITH ALL MY LIFE.. SO MY QUESTION IS.. HAS ANYONE HAD TO DO THIS? CAUSE I FEEL THAT HE'S DELAYING PROGRESS FOR TWO MONTHS FOR NOTHING!! JUST A LIL FUSTRATED.. THANKS FOR LISTENING TO MY RANT! LOL

I am 19 yrs post DS surgery with Dr Rabkin . I have recently been diagnosed with secondary hyperparathyroidism and wanted to know if I should see a endocrinologist? I have recently contacted PacificLap to do a consult about this. I have joined the DS forum also I do have dental issues of osteoporiasis, , autoimmune issues (some may not be related to DS surgery) I am a retired RNMS and enjoy gardening, dogs, birding , book clubs, anything science, and nature

You know that edamame is just Japanese for soybean, right? I cannot have soy, it is pretty destructive to someone with autoimmune issues but maybe a lot of people don't realize these are just soybeans.

Hi Broove. I had a kidney transplant in June 2014. I lost kidney function due to an autoimmune disorder. I was on dialysis for 2.5 years. The last 9 months I switched from hemodialysis to peritoneal dialysis. That is when my weight gain started. My transplant doctor is the one that put me on the road to bariatric surgery. I am having surgery in January. I can't speak to life after sleeve yet but I have been down the dialysis road. Best of luck. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

My heart goes out to you! Although I don't have thyroid cancer, I have been suffering from Graves Disease (autoimmune thyroid disease) for decades, before finally being formally diagnosed in May 2015. As my thyroid was destroyed via radioactive treatment, I later had to go on Thyroid replacement med. What I noticed was that once my regular dose was decreased by 50%, I slept better, but my weight was staying the same, and my old sweet cravings came back. So, for me, I am still playing the dosage adjustment dance. Anyway, I just wanted to say hello, and offer you a link to great Thyroid Support sites, BP permitting. I belong to few online thyroid support groups, and find them very beneficial. Here is a link: https://www.verywell.com/finding-thyroid-support-and-support-groups-online-3233103 Prayers and well wishes to you!

My daughter is celiac and I have 3 autoimmunes myself. It is amazing at the things that contain wheat you would never think. Like you can't lick envelopes and certain toothpastes. I buy the gluten free bisquick also and we like that. Walmart carries a ton more gluten free products. I will say for us it was trial and error with consistency and taste. Not everything you make tastes good. When baking you will have to try and see what tastes best to you. Gluten free is definitely a lot less moist usually. It took us years to find bread she would eat but schar makes a good bread but she always toasts it. As far as food you can make almost any meal gluten free pretty easily now a days. Feel free to ask any questions you need to.

My thyroid is dead and has been for the last 15yrs or so before that it was barely functioning from autoimmune disease and exposure to toxins. I take a high dose of synthroid every day to replace what I'm not making. Weightloss wise, it has effected me. I'm considered a "slow loser" by my NUT. I've never met one of her goals on paper, but I am still losing consistently for me(minus the many many stalls). I'm doing ok though. At the 6 month mark, I've lost around 105lbs since surgery and the rest was from my medically supervised weightloss.

So I have a fairly severe allergy to candida and also have autoimmune and need to take a daily probiotic to stay healthy. Is this something we can take post-op? If so, how do you take yours? Capsule, break the capsule, liquid form (if that exists)? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

This is a touchy subject... In was sleeved because it have an autoimmune disease and have to take nsaids... Now my surgeon says I can never take them. I didn't meet with my surgeon before preop and that was for another 45 seconds. The 6 month preop diet I saw apns... When she told me no nsaids ever I told her I wouldn't be able to have the surgery... She then told me about the sleeve and Medicare just started paying for it... They sent me to my rheumatologist and he approved sleeve only, because you CAN take nsaids after surgery... Funny if you Google it, it shows taking nsaids as a pro of this surgery! Frustrating!

My BMI was 38.5 and my HW was 238. We did the surgery to try and help my gastroparesis. I’m an odd case, and my surgeon and gastroenterologist decided to give it a try because my gastroparesis symptoms were so bad. I also have Crohn’s, scleroderma, Hashimoto’s, fibromyalgia, and a bunch of other autoimmune issues. Surgery was 8/9/17 and finally today I hit Onederland (39lbs total lost so far). Weight loss has been slower than most people because we’ve been focusing on reducing gastroparesis symptoms. I have to continually remind myself not to compare my weight loss to anyone else’s. My husband had the surgery a while back and lost over 150 lbs- the weight just melted off effortlessly. For me, each lb has been a struggle. I also have to remind myself that I did this to help my horrible gastroparesis, and the weight loss is a nice side effect. Overall, my stomach pain has been reduced, and my stomach emptying is pretty good. But I’ve still got terrible nausea, almost 24/7. Surgeon says to be patient, which is hard!

I’m in the same boat plus my Hashimoto’s has flared so I have autoimmune hair loss as well! Some of it should slow once my thyroid normalizes but my dietician said the hair loss can last a long time. She said I’d notice baby hairs around a year. This chick can’t afford extensions for volume! [emoji24]

As you know, silicone implants have been re-approved by teh FDA. Like most plastics surgeons, I had been using silicone implants all along for breast reconstruction and have had no problems. Any possible connection wiht cancer/lupus/arthrits/autoimmune disease has not been shown. Yes, silicone implants look and feel better (more natural and no rippling). There are some disadvantages though: 1. Silicone implants are prefilled and require a larger incision to place them. For most of you needing a lift as well, this is not a concern. 2. Becasue they are prefilled in 25cc increments, it may be difficult to choose the correct size if you have some significant breast asymmetry. (unlike saline which are filled at the time of surgery and can be adjusted to coorect for discrepencies) 3. Because ruptures are difficult to detect, the FDA recommends MRI exam 2 years after implantation and then every 3 years. This is time consuming, and not covered by insurance unless a rupture is suspected beforehand. In my practice, I am about 75% silicone and 25% saline for all cosmetic breast cases (including breast contouring after weight loss). Talk to your surgeon and he/she should be able to list all the pros and cons of each implant type.

Yes, it is made of a material that is supposed to minimize the possibilities of: 1)the band getting eroded 2)autoimmune rejection of the band. But long term data still hasn't determined the long term risks of band slippage, or esophageal dilatation. So who knows, what the probabilty of having an erosion or a slip 30 years post-op? The hip replacement seems more risky long term since it involves moving parts and a more complex mechanism. The lap band is a very simple device, and it certainly is very possible and in fact likely (in my opinion) that it can last for a very long time in some people.

I think that the silicone in the band is considered inert, but some people can get autoimmune reactions to having any kind of implanted device in their body. I had a full allergy workup with the allergist (they did antibody testing to see what I was allergic to). But it wasn't until I had patch testing at the dermatologist's office that I learned I had a chemical allergy. I am allergic to propylene glycol, which is in darn near everything. I too had to switch out all of household, and beauty products. I am currently using Burt's Bees and love it! Sorry about the rambling, my point was that you may want to see your dermatologist and have some testing. It was easy, totally painless, and wasn't terribly expensive. Totally worth it! My eczema has finally disappeared after FIVE years!

Hello, I need a lapband mentor...I have so many questions even before I go to the seminar, but want to actually talk to someone...is there anyone who wants to be my lapband mentor? I just have so many questions and want to talk to someone who's “been there done that”. I also have MS so if you (unfortunately) have an autoimmune disease I think we could relate more. Either way...I just want to talk. I promise I'm not a creep, I’m a happily married women etc. . Thanks everyone!!! Send me a message and I can give you my number.

Ok folks, I think Bubblebutt has some good points, as do the rest of you. There is a phenomenon in marketing that is known as post purchase rationalization, which describes buyer behaviour after having invested a great deal of time, money and or emotion in a purchase decision. Its why, when you ask someone how they like the new car they just bought, they will invariably always say they 'love it.' Does that mean then that all the posts we read here, where people have had good experiences with one doc or another are invalid as sources of information. NO. Those who have posted that each of us needs to do our own research, figure out what's the most important to us and make a decision that feels good for us, as thinking and feeling beings, are right. This is not a popularity contest, or club. We all know, if we're honest with ourselves that this is a highly competitive market! It is big business and no matter how good a surgeon is, technically, the communication of that expertise is bound to be difficult. If we as patients seek to reduce our 'risk' to our health and longevity, I believe we cannot get stuck in the stats. It is a well known maxim in the business world that figures can lie. Let's get past the numbers and really look at what matters- the quality of overall care which plays a huge role in final outcomes - probably much bigger than who has done the most surgeries, has the lowest complications rates etc. Remember that complication rates can be easily 'adjusted 'by docs who simply only take low risk patients. I have an autoimmune disorder- I am probably at a higher risk of having an erosion - I don't really know, but I imagine there are some of us walking around with risk factors we don't even know about ( I found out after my lap-band surgery!) Should docs refuse to take us on because we'll afect their stats? BUt here's the thing that I think is really useful- when one reads on the forum that someone has had a problem with their doc and they do post it, it means that they've had to swallow their pride, and say, oops, perhaps I chose poorly. Perhaps the criteria I used weren't the ones I should have focussed so heavily on. I made a mistake and I am willing to admit that so others might be smarter than I was. (I did that in other posts - I focussed on the numbers. I became a number.) I am not pro any particular doc, but I am now unimpressed with docs who rest on their laurels or their 'numbers' and consider that "follow-up is not cost effective." I've written on these boards positively about a doc that wasn't mine because I got follow up from his team, even though I , at the last minute, opted for their competitor. There is a philosophy of patient care there that I admire. so lets take it back to what this is really about - let's have a discussion about what factors one really should consider seriously when one is choosinga lap-band surgeon and his/her practice. I didn't get into this for the short term. I expect to have this lap band for the next 10-15 years of my life - possibly to replace it with a new one then... I wonder - are there any Mx patients reading these boards who were banded 3 or 4 or 10 years ago? What, in retrospect are the important things to consider? I've said it elsewhere. This is not brain surgery and it is a relatively simple procedure. Sure it can be botched, but most of the Mx docs have enough experiene to do this thing in their sleep. That's what puts into into the 'commodity' category and as consumers, we need to look at the other supporting stuff that comes with the surgeon whose skills we are purchasing..... that's enough for now....

Just wanted to introduce myself. I am now the proud owner of a " sleeve". My surgeon Dr. Anthony Maffei did a wonderful job!! It's an exciting journey each day...and also tiring I can't wait until next week when I can have a soft Protein. It's so worth it, after only 1 week I lost 10 pounds!!!!!!! It is taking adjustment but my daughter had it when she was 28 , she's two years out amd her entire life changed around....so she is my role model:) she tells me how proud she is of me ...I have had a lot of health issues including autoimmune disease....I know that won't go away but I will have a healthier body to take anything on...this was an early birthday gift to myself. ???? Surgery was February 17 ...Wed....I will cherish Starting weight 308 Pre op dieting and surgery weight loss to date ...286!!! I'm happy to have found this support group!

You are very welcome! I've been there, so I'm happy to help. Even WITH insurance coverage, I am on a med for an autoimmune disorder that would cost $2300 a WEEK if it wasn't for patient assistance. Now it's $5/month. ~SW: 278 CW: 165~ RNY 1/5/2005 "What got you here won't get you there."