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I was sleeved at CC (main campus) in July 2020. My surgeon was Dr. Rodriguez (he’s since transferred to CC Saudi Arabia). I was self-pay, and could have had the surgery elsewhere for half the price, but I have great confidence in CC and I wanted the peace of mind. They have a great Bariatrics team. You’re in good hands! You’ll be fine!

My personal fave are the 25g shots https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/collagen-for-bariatric-patients/products/bariatricpal-25g-whey-protein-collagen-power-shots-crisp-apple . They're very tart so if you don't like tart this isn't for you.

I would guess that bariatric surgeons are used to dealing with people with diabetes and can accommodate that - but I'd contact them with your concerns just in case.

My nutritionist b----ed me out for overeating, too. I was eating a whopping 800 calories and stalling hard. She told me that I needed to be eating 400-500 calories a day and that's why I wasn't losing weight. I told her that the week I tracked my food before starting on this journey, I was maintaining my old weight on 3800 calories a day and there's no freaking way I was bumping out of a caloric deficit with an intake of 800 calories. So she said I was non-compliant and then huffed, "I guess if you want to gain it all back, it's up to you." I fired her. Loudly. I posted about it elsewhere on this site. And I went and found a nutrition group that focuses on flexible nutrition and who have nutritionists and RDs who are familiar with bariatric patients. My nutritionist put me on 1200 cal a day to start and has been encouraging me to eat more—this week has been more like 1400. I am very active, though, and burn calories both working and working out (I'm not a "walker"... I run, I do CrossFit, I do ranch work.) I'm twelve weeks out and still losing 3-4 pounds a week. I do track everything I eat and self-discipline is hard but necessary. I figure this surgery gave me 6-12 months to re-evaluate my relationship with food, and that's plenty of time to develop new habits that are just second nature.

The BariatricPal Store carries a nice selection of Bariatric-friendly Collagen at https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/collagen . Also, netrition.com has a nice selection as well.

14 is so much in a week! I can see why they’re worried. I got on the scale this morning and it’s exactly the same. I wonder if I’m supposed to be doing the bariatric vitamins? I can’t even keep down the regular ones. 20 days is a lot, but you are strong. I’m jealous of all you that actually get to go in to appointments and see your bari people. I haven’t seen a single one in person yet.

There are many bariatric cookbooks available on Amazon and elsewhere, including some on meal prep, Instant Pots, and Air Fryers. Here are some I've collected.

I'm a fan of Matthew Weiner, MD, and his website & videos. I've been following A Pound of Cure philosophy since I began going to my bariatric clinic. I've lost over 50 lbs pre-op. I think his nutritional advice is better than my clinic's. For example, my clinic didn't want me to eat fruit! Can you imagine 8 months without fruit? I'm not totally following his food plan, but am inching my way through the the stations. My vegan friend has shared some of her favorite recipes so many of my meals are animal protein-free. I've cut out sugar, flour, rice, potatoes, pasta, and processed foods. I'm still dependent upon artificial sweeteners, but once I've graduated from protein drinks I'm going to work harder on that. My RNY to RNY revision is just three weeks away now!

Are you in touch with your original surgeon? I started there, and my surgeon refused to help me. After that, I started reading about the revision options. I did a lot of reading and decided I wanted the DS, but the doctor I went to only does the SADI. Weight loss is slower than my original surgery, but that's expected. Check your insurance plan and see if there is any language regarding revisions. If your not in touch with your surgeon, I say look at the bariatric institute UTAH. My surgeon was Dr. Medlin.

It's also possible that the OP hasn't had any support from their surgical/bariatric team. That is certainly the case for me, which is why I keep turning up on this board like a bad penny. They could be just venting their frustration, albeit in an emotional way that invites emotional responses.

I have my final psych appt in 2 weeks. After, I’ll be set to have a first meeting with my surgeon. I did some research on her and she’s relatively new - she’s been practicing for 6 years. Another thing, she has very few ratings. Two of three of them are poor, one was excellent, and they were all from this year. Bad reviews spoke of complications, her bedside manner is awful, the positive spoke highly of her patience and listening. The funny thing? She was a lead researcher in how patient ratings predict outcomes. So I’m nervous now. One of her colleagues has about 50 reviews that are largely positive and she was what originally drew me to that clinic, an hour away. She’s also had bariatric surgery herself. Prior to meeting the surgeon and submitting to insurance would be the best time to make a switch. I originally got this surgeon bc I had a recent endoscopy and that’s all this surgeon required and the other surgeons required more. I feel like I should give her a chance but that review about having complications bc she was careless has me frazzled. I know any surgery can have them but my mom and I are already nervous enough.

So as not to hijack an existing thread, I thought I'd start a new one. Since I began looking into bariatric surgery in 2019, I've done much research and reading. On the internet, I limited myself to sites that I knew were reputable and were evidence-based (i.e., Mayo Clinic) rather than sites that were trying to sell surgery. Once I was accepted into my program, I watched videos suggested by the program (i.e., Dr. Matthew Weiner) and took to heart the information I was given from my program. I came into the program with a lot of pre-existing knowledge on nutrition and diet having grown up with a Type 1 diabetic father and myself a Type 2. Despite that knowledge base, I obviously wasn't applying it or I would not have been to the point where I was considering surgery. One of the hardest things I had to do throughout my surgery preparation appointments and meetings was to go in and actually listen. I accepted that my way wasn't working and if I was going to proceed with a body and life-altering surgery, I needed to adopt what I was being taught. As you can see in my stats, it's worked. But I know I'm not done learning, maintaining and working on making good decisions and healthy choices for the long-term. In my classes, the dietician warned about social-media, weight-loss surgery groups. I admit that I move in and out of some groups. The overall lack of information and sharing of misinformation boggles my mind. It certainly proved that there are programs and doctors simply out to make money and there are patients willing to believe anything they are told without doing their own research or taking accountability for their own actions. I was grateful to find this site and have a source of information rather than opinion. I was happy to hear from WLS veterans who have gone through the process and how they are successfully maintaining. I wanted to hear what those experiences were so that I can learn from them. I did not want them to sugar-coat the truth and I did not expect unmitigated "support." If my understanding or behavior was counterproductive, I wanted to hear that. I needed to hear that. I still do. There seems to be a misconception that in order to be supportive, someone needs to say your choices are ok. Being truthful with someone, does not always mean saying what and how you are doing things is ok.

My surgery date is Dec 3rd. It's soooo close. Liquid diet for 2 weeks. Not loving it. I'm having the sleeve + single switch + hiatal hernia repair. EEEEEK. I should be an old hand at surgery these days. A loooooong time ago - I lost 380lbs w/diet and exercise. I was staying steady at 140-150lbs. So I had a tummy tuck & arm flap removal (Brachioplasty). Then I started yo-yo'ing and then I lost my Mom to covid last December. I've gained soooo much since then. My Mom was in the hospital - just days before we lost her - submitting my info to Blossom Bariatrics in Vegas for gastric sleeve. She wanted me to do this because she knew I was happier and healthier when I was thin. So here I am. Because she was right. I've also had my gallbladder removed, my right hip was replaced 4 years ago. My left hip was replaced 2 years ago. So I shouldn't be worried about this. But, eeeeeek. I'm not a fan of needles, etc. I just hope I can be discharged from the hospital in one day. Also, I'm in Raleigh, NC.

I’m sorry you feel this was the worst decision for you & you’re angry. And it doesn’t work for absolutely everyone - sometimes for genetic or physiological reasons, sometimes for psychological reasons. But if you can honestly look in the mirror & say yes I’m making changes to what I eat, I’m choosing low fat, low sugar & low carb foods, I’m eating differently to how I ate before, I’m eating smaller portions, I’m following my surgeon’s plan & my dietician’s recommendations, maybe you are one of the unlucky few for which surgery doesn’t work. The average weight loss after bariatric surgery at about the 5yr point is around 65% of the weight you had to lose to put you in the healthy bmi range. Some lose more. Some lose less. Complacency, lifestyle, health issues, age, gender, genetics, personal choice, etc. all play a part in how much you will lose & then the weight at which you happily maintain. So odds are you won’t lose & keep off all the weight you need (or want) to lose in the long term but odds are you will weigh less than you do when you started. If you buy a gym membership & never go, you won’t get any healthier, or stronger or fitter. Weight loss surgery is the same. If you don’t take advantage of the tool nothing changes. The amount of success you have is directly in proportion to the amount of effort you put in to making the long term changes. Like most (all) of us I’ve lost & regained hundreds of pounds over the years. Tried every diet, & exercise program. This time, I took advantage of the benefits the surgery afforded me in the beginning. I used the tool. I did a lot of research & changed how & what I ate. Put new habits into place. Came to understand why I was eating & worked out how I could manage those drives. I did & continue to do the work. If I didn’t consciously make those changes & continue to work at it every day, I’d be very near my highest weight again. That’s what always happened in the past: I dieted, lost weight, then would return to my old eating habits & food choices & would start to regain within days. I ate little to begin after my surgery: less than 300 calories. I was healing (all those sutures & staples holding my tummy together) plus no appetite & no real interest in food. But my calories increased as did my portion sizes over the weeks & months. I eat about 1300 calories to maintain but I’m shorter than you, likely older than you, not very active, female & have a small frame. But before surgery I could barely maintain my obese weight eating 1300 or fewer calories a day & I regularly skipped meals for decades. My metabolism was shot. I eat regularly now, eat more nutritionally dense food & eat more often then I’ve ever done before. I haven’t been this weight since I was 12 yrs old. I feel great.

I had my RNY bypass at Mexican Bariatric Center in Tijuana and my surgeon was Dr. Rodriguez Lopez. My Nov 18 surgery went well, and I am recovering without issues back at home. Medical tourism is a huge business for Mexico — they said in our patient intro class that it’s about 5% of Mexico’s GDP. A driver met me and other patients/companions at the San Diego airport and transported us to the hotel in Tijuana (a Hyatt Place which was nice with an added plus of making GREAT chicken broth due to the number of bariatric patients who stay there). It took 35 minutes to drive there from San Diego airport, but about 3 hours to return due to the lines at the border. Due to covid protocols, the companions stayed at the hotel and weren’t able to visit anyone at the hospital (for that reason, I did not bring a companion). I was nervous about the flight home by myself (I had a connecting flight and although the surgery went well, it was still abdominal surgery), but I flew United and they were WONDERFUL in terms of arranging for transport and accommodating my situation. I had a hike out to long-term parking once I arrived at my home airport (didn’t think that one through), but simply took my time and rested several times. I had also worked with my PCP leading up to the surgery and have my first follow up visit tomorrow. I would also strongly encourage anyone who pursues WLS in Mexico to prearrange for local medical care. I get tons of information and nutritional advice from MBC, but obviously the support is digital only given the distance. I worked locally and my insurance would have covered it, but the normal wait time plus the covid-related delays and backlog meant I was looking at a one-to-two year delay. I’m 53 and simply decided it was worth the money to accelerate the process, especially after I had a gout flare up early this year. Like Sleeve_Me_Alone, this was the right choice for me and I have no regrets. I wish you well in your decision making!

Learning to feed your body on hunger cues and not your feelings may be something you need to work through in therapy. Most bariatric programs worth their salt will have you do a behavioral evaluation. You'll want to be honest with them about these things and start working on them early so that you can get ahead of yourself. I'm not one of those people who's taste suddenly changed after surgery. Now at 6 months out there's very little I cannot eat if I choose to. It's a matter of making the better choices. I for sure still have food cravings and want to eat things that aren't necessarily going to fuel my body the way they should. I personally try to find balance, if I'm craving something I'll have a small portion because I feel like fighting it leads to binging and I'd much rather have a balanced diet. I will say the surgery helps me with being able to recognize more easily when I'm actually hungry versus just wanting to eat for the sake of it. It's much easier to pause and check in with my body and then shut it down if I'm not actually hungry. With getting full so quickly it's also much easier to stop if you do start to eat something you shouldn't because you'll quickly get full. Everyone here will tell you over and over again the surgery is just a tool you still have to put in the work to keep up with things. And for some of us it's harder work. I would love to be able to agree with all the points Tony presented above but they simply aren't true for me. So instead I make an effort to actively work against my cravings and my smaller stomach absolutely helps with that. (PS not to say Tony isn't working, I just mean it's different for everybody). It's definitely not a quick fix but I think worth it thus far.

You may be one of the unlucky ones whose hunger doesn't go away with surgery. And I will say that your surgeon's idea that you must stay on 800 cal a day to lose weight flies in the face of scienc. Stand back, I'm going to use MATH! If you were maintaining your (heavy) weight by eating, say, 3500 calories a day, then that's your maintenance for that weight. So now, if you are eating 800 calories, you are in a deficit of 2700 calories a day, which means you'd lose three quarters of a pound per day on average. If you're eating 1200 calories, you're in a deficit of 2300 calories a day, which means you'd lose two thirds of a pound per day on average. Yes, different macros (protein, carbs, fat, alcohol) do work differently in your body, but ultimately your body is bound, like everyone's, to the calories in-calories out equation. I suspect what happened to you is twofold: 1. You're in a lengthy stall (search up "three-week stall", it happens to almost all of us, it's incredibly frustrating, it's not always at 3 weeks, and it can last a month for some people). It's because your body has depleted its glycogen and is probably somewhat dehydrated (it's hard to drink enough right after surgery), and your fluid balance is adjusting itself. 2. You're frustrated and not tracking what you eat. Unfortunately, this is something that has to be done. You can't fix your diet if you don't know what your diet is. And that means, at least for me, pre-prepping meals and weighing things out. I just pop a tray in the microwave a few times a day and have it all specced out. I use MyMacros+ for tracking. One of the big culprits is cooking oil/fat. How many people measure the oil they put in a pan to cook their, say, chicken breast? Nobody except bariatric patients—everyone else just sploops some oil in a pan until it looks right. I actually have a bar jigger on the counter so I can measure in 1/2 ounces and full ounces. Track your food. Literally track your food. If you find you're not losing weight on 800 cal a day, spend a week eating 1000 cal a day to see if it'll shock your system. I am at about 1400-1500 cal a day a little short of three months post-op, because I work physical work and am very active (gym, running, hiking, etc.) and need the calories to be able to function. But I still track each and every day. The surgery isn't bullshit. If it were possible to just severely restrict calories without it, nobody would get the surgery. But there are thousands of people here, myself included, who found success with the surgery that wouldn't have been possible without it.

On Black Friday, I bought a Ninja Creami for my family. The Creami allows you to make your own ice cream pints. You make your liquid mix, place in it one of their plastic pints and freeze it for at least 24 hours. You put the pint in the machine, spin it for a few cycles and you get ice cream. Here is why it is great for bariatric patients: you can make delicious, high protein, low sugar ice cream. Not an exaggeration. For my first ice cream, I mixed a 16 oz Premier Protein 30g chocolate shake, a packet of Chocolate Toffee keto chow, 1 tsp of MCT oil and 4 tbs of 2% milk. I had to put that mixture into a blender to get it all mixed because it was pretty thick. But then I poured it into a plastic pint and froze it. When it was done, it tasted just like a creamy chocolate ice cream and had the following nutritional profile (per MyFitnessPal) 356 calories 9.2g of fat 5.5g of net carbs 4.4g of sugar 57.7g of protein 109% of my calcium 34% of my iron 2,135mg of potassium 27.5% of Vitamin A 26% of Vitamin C (By way of comparison, a pint of Blue Bell vanilla has 640 calories, 32g of fat, 68g of sugar and 16g of protein). The Creami is not cheap (Normally $170, bought it for $125 on Black Friday). But if you can afford it and you like ice cream, I highly recommend it. You can use protein shakes, protein powders, Greek yogurt and a ton of other bariatric-friendly ingredients to make something that tastes like ice cream that you can eat guilt free.

I understand the fear. I was exploring Bariatric surgery at the suggestion of my electrophysiologist (who I love and trust — I have persistent AFIB). I met with an obesity specialist (not a surgeon) and decided I wanted to work with him during the surgery exploration/approval process to try and lose some weight beforehand. I learned from him that obesity is a disease (often inherited, up to 70%), and that it’s not our fault; it’s our biology. Learning this blew my mind. My Dr suggested I try Ozempic. I was reluctant at first bc I’m not a fan of taking medications in general unless absolutely necessarily. Ozempic was life-changing. It turned off the 24/7 hunger switch in my brain. For the first time in my life I have control over food. I feel “normal” and free. I’ve lost 75 lbs since Jan 1, 2021 (without suffering). I have another 75 lbs to lose. I’m confident I’ll lose it. I’m also working with my obesity Dr and a dietitian to learn how to permanently lead a healthier life. I love and trust my obesity Dr — I feel like he is literally saving my life. The medication is a tool just like surgery is a tool. For me, I no longer think I need the surgery. Some people need both the surgery and medication; everyone’s biology is different. But it’s good to know there are other options besides surgery for treating obesity’s dysregulated biology. I’d highly recommend seeing an obesity specialist and exploring medication options. I should add that I’m now taking Wegovy (1.7 mg) which is a higher dose version of Ozempic that was recently approved by the FDA specifically for treating obesity. I wish you all the best. 🤍

I do know it makes you become higher risk as a bariatric patient bc I was told 2 years. I would say talk to you obgyn, Nutritionist and surgeon bc the hardest thing to do is have the baby get their nutrients. Good Luck!

Don't know how your plan works, but "bariatric therapy" here runs $1700/hour.

Bari surgery purveyors do oversell these procedures: medicine is a business, and bariatric surgery has its own marketing plans and strategies. If someone has said you must eat 800 cal/day forever, this is an eating disorder/anorexia. That limit should only be in place during the pre- & immediate post-surg diet. It's true the surgery is sold as a "cure," albeit the medical world also couches this procedure as a "tool" for a cure. It's also true that most patients never get to their ideal weight, much less keep off the weight they lose initially. It's also true that stomach amputation and the year prior to the surgery which requires generally unnecessary appointments, procedures, tests, labs, etc., is obscenely profitable for the hospitals and the only reason they offer it. Those of us who choose this outrageous procedure are desperate and hopeless. The medical world knows this. They choose to underreport outcomes such as Goodmanje's, who has a right to voice frustrations, concerns, and warnings. We're all hoping to be one of the "lucky" ones. And we're all willing to be permanently altered with no guarantees. Perhaps, instead, as with any business, we should demand there be guarantee of a reasonable outcome.

I had a surgery several years ago (unrelated to bariatric) and was unable to urinate afterwards. Had to be catheterized a few days after surgery. Apparently it’s not uncommon. They removed the catheter a few days later and the plumbing worked fine.

It sure doesn't sound like you had realistic expectations of WLS, and I'm wondering how you were approved for it. Instead of cursing your surgery, though, how about investing in some bariatric therapy to help you develop some new attitudes and strategies that will make you happier as you do the hard work we all need to do to lose weight?

I have PCOS and had bariatric surgery 2nd september, from 125kg im now 98 and have just found out im pregnant! Any ladies on here experienced the same thing? ive had alot of sickness since my op and i think this has counteracted my contraception pill with everything else going on i didnt even think about that til i missed my period. Anyone got any good advice or stories? Im so terrified that its too soon. I lost a baby in 2019 but i was at my highest weight and unhealthy, surely the loss of 4 stone is a more positive situation to be in? Thanks Guys i dont know where else to turn 😭