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Hi I have Kaiser NorCal and I went to my primary and just told them I want weight loss surgery. She sent a referral to the Bariatric department as I had a BMI of 38 and high blood pressure so I met the requirements, which for NorCal are a BMI over 40 or BMI over 35 with a health condition. I was contacted by the Bariatric department and I had to watch a video and take a test it was easy. Then I had to weigh in with their department and meet with a nutritionist. After all that was done, I was able to meet with the surgeon and he gave me a go away of what I had to lose in order to qualify. I had to do a psych evaluation. Once I lost weight I did some bloodwork and now I am scheduled for surgery on October 12 of this year. I started this process in January, I was scheduled for surgery in September, but got pneumonia the week of the surgery so it was postponed and now Kaiser is supposed to strike so I’m hoping that it doesn’t get postponed again you do have to maintain your weight the entire process and can’t even go over half a pound of your goal weight. Hope this helps.

I have a bit of a new update... I started a new job in September so I've been pretty busy. Since my last update, I've lost about 10lbs. I haven't really been eating the way that I should and have missed a vitamin here and there, but I'm still progressing. My new job takes me out of town and I don't really get to cook like I normally would. I'm planning to get back on track this upcoming week. I'm hopeful to reach my weight goal by my birthday in January. I've found that of all the foods I've eaten since surgery, the only food that I haven't been able to tolerate is beef, of any kind. I also don't tend to tolerate bread very well. I've really been craving coffee (since I gave up all carbonated/caffeinated drinks before surgery) but it doesn't really agree with me either, lol.

I cant say for everyone but I was not able to eat beyond my stomachs capacity. I did not try the slider foods. Still can not. When you are healed enough to get the full signal, about 6 - 8 weeks out, if you have one mouthful more it will sit in your chest like a brick. You will probably become very nauseous and will be unable to drink for hours till you have got rid of the extra food. It will be a very unpleasant feeling. There is no way that I can eat when I feel this way. As for worrying if it was the right decision ? yep I did. Its lots of money to take away from the family. It cost me over £12.000 so that would have been lots of holidays they would miss. It was a huge leap into the unknown for me. All I knew was at my age and size my heart was struggling with the most simple household tasks. Then they told me I was diabetic .... no brainer anymore. I booked a appointment with the surgeon the same week. Everything has failed for all of us before. Doctors now believe that Bariatric surgery is the only way to keep weight off. I am not at maintenance yet so can not say if its easy to do it but I know it takes work and regular monitoring. I am overjoyed that I was able to do this. I am a different woman now. TBH I feel blessed

Hi KyahRose! I just had the DS surgery on November 1st. I considered SADI-S, Bypass, and DS when deciding on which surgery to go with. In the end I picked DS even though it is the scariest of the surgeries, because I wanted the benefit of my co-morbidities going into remission which the other two surgeries can do, but the DS does best. Plus I wanted a surgery that has a lot of studies behind it going out years, and while the bypass does have that, the SADI does not. I didn't want to have an experimental surgery, enough of my medical care is experimental. LOL The DS has a proven track record and is safe for the vast majority of people who have it. That being said, it IS a serious surgery. You can make yourself very ill if you don't follow the protein and vitamin recommendations, and even the vitamin recommendations from the docs are often not enough. I highly recommend going over to bariatricfacts.com and joining the forum there to talk to the DS vets. I'm over there as Shrinkingmytiara. These are people who have had the surgery 10+ years. They will tell you the good, bad, and ugly and make sure you understand the ugly and what you are getting yourself into. There is a wealth of info on that site about DS and some about the SADI. On FB there is a Duodenal Switch SUPPORT Group (there are a number of them, but I'm in that one) which also has a lot of vets in it. It has people with DS and with SADI. You'll read a lot of complaint posts from people who are having issues (common for any support group) but it'll give you an idea of what some of the challenges are post surgery. Again, your odds of having complications are quite low (though a little higher than the other surgeries), but it is still worth seeing what others are experiencing. I'm sure you could find the same for Bypass. I have had no major complications with my surgery so far. I had a lot of nausea and ended up in the hospital an extra night while we stabilized that and my pain levels. Once I came home I've only needed my nausea meds a handful of times and I didn't need pain meds. I wasn't able to ingest whey protein drinks for the first two weeks but my surgeon told me the body has stores for 3 weeks, so to focus on water and the rest would come. He was right! I can drink them now and am getting protein in what I eat now that I'm on soft foods. I've met my fluid goals every day, some days are harder than others. I've had some diarrhea on and off but my system tends that way even pre-surgery. I could drink lactose free milk and bone broth the first week so those are what kept me going. I actually feel more energy now most days than I did before surgery which is strange to me! I do tire out a little easy though because I'm still healing. My stomach did these spasms while feeling like it was turning in cartwheels inside me for about 2 weeks. They finally faded like the surgeon said they would. I'm diabetic. My fasting blood sugar now sits at 87 which is stellar. They told me to stop the diabetes meds. I had high blood pressure but they took me off those in the hospital and my blood pressure is normal! 105/76 when checked at my 2 week follow up!! I've lost 21 lbs in 3 weeks post surgery, for a total of 35 lbs from my highest weight. I can't wrap my head around that, it happened so quickly! I had a moment post surgery when I panicked over permanently altering my body in such a drastic way, but then I reminded myself that the way my body was pre-surgery was killing me, this was the only path forward to health that I could see. I don't regret it at all. I'm happy to talk with you more about it if you want, and you can feel free to message me if you want to keep in touch! There aren't very many DSers around here active anymore!

I think it's very hard to determine how you think you'll look or feel at a certain weight, especially if you've been heavy your entire life and the last time you weighed that little you were a child (True story; I currently weigh the least I have weighed since I was 14 years old, and I look much thinner now than I did then because I have more muscle as an adult). Be flexible, be realistic, and expect the number to change as you and your body evolve.

I am 1 day less than 2 weeks out of a para esophageal sliding hernia repair and Sleeve to RNY revision. My reflux, BAM is gone. I'm not vomiting or feeling like yuck. My surgeon could do a DS and has. I'm not having problems and while it doesn't mean I will or won't later, at least I'm free of the medical issues and the like I had before. I'm also down about 35 pounds in the little over 2 months since I got sick. Really happy as the medical issues were outweighing the weight, especially at the end.

In the early stages after bypass, there is a higher risk of dumping. I think that's why we're told to steer clear of the carby foods (aside from the weight loss aspect of things). I'm with @Arabesque, it's important that you consume highly-nutritious foods right now, while you're restricted. Perhaps adding fat will help? Again, with the risk of dumping, there may be some trial and error to work through. But fat is calorie-dense. Can you tolerate protein shakes? Adding a few of those each day might be a good way to boost your calories. Also, excess protein is stored as fat - that might be helpful for you.

Anyone here have weight loss surgery in Augusta, Maine..I am having Dr, Trieu..would like to hear from people from here and other places too...r

This has been amazingly helpful to hear everyone's experiences and advice. Thank you so much for the understanding, support and great information. I've learned a lot and I'm grateful. I'm fine on my 1000 calorie diet for now until I reach goal and then I'll do some experimenting and see what calories my body wants to be at. I know I'll have to keep watching it over the years too because I'm worried about that 3 year gain I've heard about. It was a shock because I just wanted to feel like I had achieved becoming normal if that makes any sense. Now it seems that 2000 calories isn't exactly normal so I don't have to feel left out. Thank you for the support and help!

I'm in need of a new camping chair for this camping season. I know the kind I'd like and have found a few with a heavier weight limit but I'd like to hear from "real" people if they really hold up to the hype. Currently I'm just over 300 lbs. The chair that I'm looking at has a 500 lb weight limit (pictured below). Sounds good, but I've noticed these types of chairs have mixed reviews (partiularly saying that they don't really hold that much weight) Anyhow, here's an example of the type of chair I'm looking to get. Any suggestions? Maybe something different?

Whwn did you decide to get a New license or ID and passport or work badges? I'm just wondering what is normal time frame since your generally still losing some weight? Oh and wedding ring I wear a 6 1/2 but am worried it will go down. How many sizes did your ring need to go down. And just one more because I have insomnia. How many sizes did you shoes change? Sent from my SM-J727T1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi it was the hardest weight to lose before I got serious if that makes sense. Once I saw a pic that was sent to me that did it. I looked unrecognizable to myself. That is when I became serious and lost the weight. Dropped 14 pounds in one month and was off and running towards my goal of dropping back down to 167. Hit than and kept going.

Ok, so my "healthy weight" is 145-155. Well, back when I weighed that in high school, people thought I had an eating disorder because I looked sickly. When I weighed 160, it was better, but I always thought I looked my best between 170-180. But I didn't dare dream I could get there, so I made my goal 200, which still seemed low, but at least seemed possible. Now I'm eyeballing that 180 and thinking I might actually be able to get there. It's ok to change your goal. Nobody said once you choose it, it's set in stone

Can we pretend this is an Overeaters Anonymous meeting and it's my turn to stand up front and bare my soul?...especially since I never had the balls to set foot in a live meeting during my 35 years of having a BMI score higher than my IQ. There's donuts in the back...JOKE😁 It's been almost a year since my sleeve surgery and I couldn't be happier with the physical results. I was 60 years old, 5'4" and weighed close to 210 when I finally made an appointment with a bariatric surgeon. I'm now 61 and 134 pounds...I'm still 5'4" though. The past few days I've been in deep thought mode and was just hoping to use this forum to vent and hopefully get some feedback, positive or negative. Dining out: It's going to happen. It was probably part of your life pre-surgery, so it's naive of you to think it won't be a part of your life post-surgery. So maybe it's just me and my family (obese mother) and significant other (F, normal weight), but the minute the menu appears, I get a barrage of "Oh..they have plenty of appetizers and small portions you can order. Be careful, etc. Did you see the vegetable plate?" OK, so I know my significant other and my mom love me and are probably just concerned about my health and eating habits post-op, and if I'm being overly sensitive, just tell me and I'll shut up, but when they say things like that, it's not helping! If anything, something deep in my primordial starving "fat" brain wants to order the biggest thing on the menu and attempt to eat it. When it happened yesterday at lunch, I calmly and nicely asked both of them if they could refrain from offering me ordering advice, as I assured them, thinking about the ordering process and the actual eating of said meal in a healthy manner was the number one priority on my mind pretty much 24/7. They didn't seem to take it too well. Which leads me to my next thought... I might be stereotyping, but I'm willing to bet that a lot of us here were never/are not selfish people. I'm sure there are pages of psychological data written about the personality traits of the chronically obese and the myriad reasons we ended up as we did. My point is, after bariatric surgery, you might have to become a little selfish. You may need to put yourself first, sometimes to the detriment of others. Obviously, it helps if you can do this in a nice manner, but with certain people and situations in your life post-surgery, you might just have to be a selfish a*****e. If your new lifestyle (diet, whatever you want to call it), exercise regimen, food habits, etc don't quite mesh with those around you, too bad. This is your last chance at success and you need to make YOU the priority. I walk a lot now...and it takes a lot of time. Some of that is time I used to spend with other people...now it's not always like that. Some have mentioned it. I don't care. I always invite them to walk with me but I'm not going to not walk because they want to do something else or don't feel like walking. When I think about some of the healthiest people I have known in my life, they were/are quite selfish when it comes to exercise. One of my friends has been to the gym every morning from 5:30-7:30 for 35 years. He never misses. It's not an option. That's amazing to me because despite the genetics of obesity, there's no question that having some type of exercise regimen helps at some level. Did I ever have that level of commitment? Only to stopping at Whataburger several times a week. So as much as I read pre-surgery and even with the psychological profiling the doctor did, I never read much or heard anyone talk about some of the changes I needed to make mentally to make this work. It seems like most of the pre-surgery discussion is about how to eat before and after the surgery and most of the psychological discussion is about not letting one addiction (food) be supplanted by another (drugs, alcohol, etc). The crux of this dissertation, if you're still reading, is that there couldn't be more truth to the phrase bantered around here...."They operated on your stomach, not your brain". Prepare yourself for some mental challenges that being thinner does not make any easier. I must look a lot better because everyone tells me so...but I don't always feel better. Some of the same issues I've dealt with all my life, totally unrelated to weight, are still around. It's not that I expected them to disappear, but I think at some level, deep down, many of us think/thought, "Oh, if only I weren't so fat, I wouldn't have to deal with this problem [insert the problem/issue of your choosing]". Maybe I was just being naive or stupid, or both, but even being "thin" comes with plenty of challenges. I know these are "first world" problems and I'm not trying to sound like a complaining, spoiled brat. I just wanted to let off some steam here in the hopes that I'm not alone. Thanks for listening.

Congrats on getting past the stall! I hope you get your "new" knees soon! I really don't understand the reason the nurse gave you tho, yes your body is/was healing, but, with minimal eating AND healing your body should be not only using what the minimal meals you're eating to heal but whatever reserves you may have i.e. fat aka weight - which usually means more weight loss not less. Sorry, just my working in healthcare along with my past physiology schooling at odds with that reason...it may be true, it just doesn't make sense to me. Maybe someone can explain it to me?!

I had this happen (I'm an inch shorter than you and at one point had gotten down to 91 pounds, unfortunately.). My situation was caused by an autoimmune condition; among other things it made it so that my enlarged spleen was pushing against my sleeve, reducing my capacity to nearly nothing. It was awful because I could FEEL that I was hungry and I wasn't able to eat. I ended up resorting to, at my dietitian's advice, drinking part of a shake intended for people needing to GAIN weight (Ensure Complete, I think is what it's called, the bottles have about 300 calories). As I am someone who gets dumping syndrome, I had to break it up into very small portions (about 1/3 of the bottle) and I would drink that portion 30 minutes after my meals. It helped; I'm back up to 103 now which is where I feel most comfortable. Another really dense food that shouldn't mess with your blood sugar or macros would be peanut butter. It's one of the highest calorie things you can eat, but it's also full of healthy fats and protein, especially if you choose a low sugar variety. I know it's hard, and it's a hard thing to talk about to most people because no one really understands how distressing it is to suddenly find yourself underweight when you spent years struggling to lose (I got a lot of "Exactly why are you complaining?" even from people who meant well.). You're not alone. I know it's a real problem that is really upsetting, and it's OK to have feelings about it.

I need to lose 15lbs before getting to the next step for the surgery on my sleeve. I am just feeling discouraged about it. I weighed myself this and I am down some weight but not as much as I would like. I know this is a lifelong thing and I will always struggle with this. Can you guys give me the pros and the motivation because right now I feel like I cant do this.

I think your suggestions are great, although, the goal weights for the same height are probably the difference between male and females... So her goal weight is right on for her height!

So many layers to unpack… let me first say that if it is your desire to come off some/all medications you need a doctor that will help you achieve that goal safely, if it is possible. Some truly may be life saving and necessary. You need to address it with every doctor that treats you and/or find one that will listen and guide you based on your needs and the facts. Her appearance could very well be something else- If she’d proven competent in other situations, Im not sure the weight loss alone would be a reason to leave. There are plenty of unhealthy, thin/overweight (insert unhealthy practice here, like smoking) doctors too. Keep in mind all doctors “practice medicine”. Practice being the key word.

He's showing his insecurity. I'd suggest he try counseling with possible couples counseling. I hate to say it, but if he's feeling insecure now...how will he be once you've lost all your desired weight? Maybe suggest counseling for you both...to "help you with your body image"... the counselor will see his insecurity for what it is without putting it on him 😉

P.S. The old rule of thumb used to be your weight times 10 is about how many calories you should eat to maintain that weight. However, that doesn't take into account your activity level, musculature, etc, so that's just a rough estimate and can vary between people. You have your goal weight set at 140, so that means (at least according to the old rule of thumb) it'll take around 1400 kcal to maintain that. But again, that doesn't take into account how active you are - and there ARE variances among people - so I wouldn't consider that a hard and fast number. You sort of have to experiment to see what your maintenance level is. It's mostly trial and error.

My team hasn't responded to me. That was one reason I came on here... so surgeon is silent so far. That said, i am definitely still drinking protein shakes or wouldn't be getting in the amount of protein I need....although I am also doing Oikos greek yogurt and soft cheeses. I was trying to add the pasta on top of stuff, because at the rate of loss I am experiencing I will be under 100 pounds soon and I cannot afford that in terms of my height to weight ratio. I've already lost 16 pounds in just a few weeks and can't go a couple of months until I have the ability to be less restrictive. I hadn't thought of custard or adding milk powder to my soup however. I'll try both of those. Thank you.

Not necessarily; men typically have a higher percentage of muscle mass than a woman who is the same height and weight. While everyone is different, in general a man will be able to consume a greater number of calories in a day.