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I take Bariatric Pal One-a-Day, which is the most complete and economical brand: a year for $99. It's a fast-dissolving capsule.

Get a couple of Bariatric cook book, which contain lots of suggestions for the various stages. I like these three of all I have purchased online:

I recently vomited up my vitamin for the first time in my life. Have been taking chewable bariatric vitamins for six months, but these particular ones that are capsules for about a month already (with no issues). It was definitely the vitamin though. It was the same yellow color and gave me a taste aversion for the vitamin. Anyways, I always drink a shake in the morning too and I now have been waiting till after I got the whole thing down and it seems to coat the stomach enough that it hasn’t happened again.

My practice does 10 days Lovenox post discharge for lower BMI patients, and 14 days post discharge for higher BMI patients like me. I really dreaded each and every one of those injections and celebrated when that last syringe was used. I think the protocol used to be different, pre-COVID, but they mentioned that they'd seen an increase in unusual post-surgery clots during COVID (I'm not sure if this was just with bariatric surgeries - I assume it was just across the board for surgeries) and so they adjusted on the side of caution.

My surgeon uses a robot to perform the surgery. It is totally manipulated by the surgeon but is supposed to be more precise and recovery is faster. Sent from my SM-N975U using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi how are you feeling? I had my surgery on the seventh as well. I’m doing pretty good I did read on here that a lot of people were doing proteins shakes and I implement one a day and it messed me up I’m still trying to recover from that.I had my surgery in San Antonio Texas at the Sage bariatric Institute.

Post-op blood thinners are extremely common. Just like most things bariatric related, the duration varies from surgeon to surgeon. I'm scheduled for VSG next week and I believe my surgeon does 10 days. I would say if you have confirmed with your surgeon and have nothing indicating blood thinners would be unsafe (clotting disorder, etc.) the stay the course!

I'm sorry to hear this. Bariatric surgery is so life-changing that it can uncover relationship issues that were previously unrecognized. Would he be willing to do a counseling session to explore why he feels the way he does? Talking it through might help.

So... what to write here.... Well, been a large guy all of my life. I am blessed to be pretty extroverted, and can laugh at myself. After becoming a Dad and realizing how my weight was impacting enjoying life with them, I tried different diets and what not. Was really excited to join one of these weight loss places in town that advertises great results only to see how cost prohibitive it was and felt more like a scam. Decided to pursue bariatric surgery. Given little to no other health issues (HBP only) my surgeon and I decided on the Sleeve. In the middle of the pre-op diet (so much fun). Surgery is set for the end of September.

Hello! I started in May 2021 with my PCP doing the medically supervised diet. Next month will be my 6th and final month and I have lost 10 lbs. I need to lose another 6 lbs to meet the 5% weight loss requirement. I’m in San Diego and my hospital is UCSD La Jolla through Healthnet Medi-Cal. In these past months, I have done a chest xray, esophagus xray, esophageal impedance test, blood work, EKG, met with surgeon, met with hospital bariatric doctor and I just had my psych evaluation. The last thing I need to do is a sleep apnea test. I called to make an appointment for a consultation and the next appointment isn’t until March 2022!! I am so frustrated since I’m almost done with all the requirements and I was hoping to have the surgery in the next few months. I spoke with my coordinator and bariatric doctor. They said I can be put on a waitlist if there are any cancellations for an earlier date. They also suggested I call my PCP to see if she can get me a referral to a sleep clinic outside of UCSD. Waiting to hear back from insurance for approval. If they say no, I am changing insurances. I asked my coordinator if the sleep apnea test was a requirement from my insurance and she said no! The bariatric doctor at UCSD requested I have one done. Not sure why though? I don’t snore or have issues sleeping. Ugh Does anyone know if I do end up switching insurances, do I have to start over or will everything be transferred over? I do not want to wait until March 2022 :(

One of the things that contributed to my stress about this surgery was not knowing what was going to happen. (What can I say, I'm a control freak.) So here is the play-by-play as it pertains to me of my surgery. Your mileage may vary! I'll try to come back and update it. Hopefully it'll be of use to someone—"and knowing is half the battle." Day before surgery Liquid-only diet; two bowls of phở broth, some Protein2O, apple juice, and sugar-free lemon jello. Got about 830 calories in. Had to take a shower with a special CHG (chlorhexidine gluconate) anti-septic body wash. It made my skin a bit "slippery". Packed my bag with my CPAP hose, a book, a spare shirt, some chanclas for walking, my cell phone charger, and my reading glasses. Put out the two pills I was supposed to take (no losartan because it interferes with anesthesia). Day of surgery Took another shower with CHG as required. Reported to the hospital at 0630 as requested. Was checked in and taken to pre-surgery holding. My fiancé was allowed to go with me as an exception, because I'm hard of hearing and rely on lip-reading which is impossible with so many masks and partitions in the way. A surgical RN came and told me to wipe my abdomen with CHG wipes, then put on my surgical gown (which was HUGE on me—I understand I'm a bariatric patient but I literally couldn't keep it on my shoulders). Then he put an IV in the back of my hand, took my vitals (I lost 10 lbs in the two weeks between my surgeon's consultation and surgery day), went through all my medications, put an anti-nausea patch behind my ear, and gave me a blood thinner in my IV. My surgeon came in and asked if I was ready, went over a few things, then went to scrub up. My anesthesiologist came in and asked if I had had anesthesia before (yes), and if I had any questions. I asked him to give me a TAP block at the end of surgery, which is a localized nerve block, like an epidural for your abdomen. It lasts 12-18 hours. I was whisked away and the next thing I knew I was in the recovery room, where I was given cognitive tests (what is your name, what hospital are you at, who's the president, etc.) and given ice chips. Once that all proved satisfactory, I was wheeled to my room. I don't remember it, because I fell asleep. Once in the room they put leg compression stockings on me and gave me water, Crystal Light made way too sweet, chicken broth that tasted like a salt lick, and a thicker vegetable purée soup. I couldn't get the vegetable soup down. I forced the chicken broth, Crystal Light, and water. I felt very, very hungry and it was frustrating not to be able to just eat something. I took 3 or 4 laps of the surgical unit floor in my fetching anti-slip socks, and kept falling asleep. The pain from the gas was pretty bad and I spent a good 30 minutes just burping, much to the chagrin of the man in the other bed in the room (though he was moaning so he doesn't get to say anything). Around 1730 the nurse came in, saw that I had drunk what I could and had peed sufficiently (you pee into a graduated container), and that I could walk. She asked my surgeon's permission to discharge me, and I was in the wheelchair going out the door at 1830, exactly 12 hours after I arrived. When we got home, I pretty much washed my hands and face and went straight to bed. I got up probably every 2 hours or so, would have a couple of sips of protein shake or water, along with Gas-X (simethicone) or, as needed, Tylenol. I did get about 7 hours of sleep, in various chunks. I was able to lie, carefully, on my side, which is how I prefer to sleep. My CPAP did increase the gas pressure inside a bit but it was tolerable. Day 1 post-op My first bout of the 'foamies'. I tried to drink a CorePower protein milk way too fast and spent an hour and a half wandering around whimpering. It was actively painful and it felt enough like I needed to vomit that I had a lined bucket at the ready. Eventually, though, it subsided. Gas pain is still here and very real, but better. We went for a walk which absolutely tired me out—and it was barely 500 meters! Right now I am using the timer on my cell phone to remind me to drink 1/3 oz. of fluid every 5 minutes, and I feel full but it's manageable. I am alternating full ounces of regular water and protein water. I also made some Jell-O with extra protein powder but the thought of eating it leaves me cold. If I can get these bottles down plus the shake I had earlier, I'll be pretty close to 48 oz. of fluid which is my surgeon's requirement for the first week (bumps up to 64 oz. after that) and 41 g of protein which will have to do for the first day unless I manage to get some of the Jell-O down me. I have been taking Tylenol, Gas-X, and my ondansetron—the nausea is there but it's in the background, like when you step off a ship onto land at the end of a cruise. I haven't had enough pain to necessitate anything stronger than Extra Strength Tylenol. My incisions are clean (I took a shower).

I had surgery a couple weeks after you, and I noticed this week my hair loss has really sped up. I know its normal, but my hair was thin to begin with. I've been stuggling a lot with it. I dont want to try rogaine or nioxin because they are all dependent upon your continual use of them. However, I am making sure to really stay on top of my vitamins. I also added a sublingual folic acid. I'm also using the Vital Proteins Collegen Peptide powder that you can get at costco. My wife puts it in her coffee every morning. I usually just add it to a protein shake. It came at the recommendation of many friends, two of which also had the sleeve surgery. It helped them with the hair loss. One of them swears by taking the bariatric multivitamin one day and then a prenatal the next day. Dont forget to stay on top of your protein. If you dont, it will make your hair loss worse.

Hey Everyone, I hope you're doing well. Here's a bit of background on me before I get into my current dilemma, if you don't care about that, skip to the TLDR at the end. I'm a 27 year old man and I got my surgery last year. I've always been heavy (the last time I was less than 300 lbs was in elementary school) and I wanted to live a longer, happier life. I talked with my doctor and she said that Bariatric surgery was the best option for me. I went to one Bariatric clinic and was basically treated as a number, so after six months of prep and almost $1k, I left them and went to a Bariatric clinic that a family friend had had good luck with. I had better luck with them and was able to get my surgery ~ 4 months after my first visit with them(vs almost a year with the first one). My finance(then GF) and I actually got COVID three months before my surgery, though it was not horrible for us. My hospital stay was fine and my recovery went pretty well. I had issues with the liquid diet following the surgery, but after that I was fine until now. Read after the TL;DR for my current dilemma. TL;DR: I'm 10 months post-op and my weight loss has stagnated. I'm prepping ~10 oz per meal, though I usually don't finish it, and have been doing that for about a month. I do about 20-30 minutes on a peddle bike (under my desk) per day. My doctor recommended Keto for me (which I tried pre-op and lost 90+lbs, though it was terrible for me psychologically) and I started it today. I was wondering if anyone had any tips to push past the wall I'm stuck on. Thanks for any advice. Paul

pretty much all clinics require a few months of classes and clearance testing. The insurance company should know this since they've covered bariatric patients in the past.

I am on my 2 week liquid diet, 12 days to go before surgery. I’ve been doing good so far! I’ve been smoking weed for years, as it helps me sleep and calms my anxiety. I prefer it over any pharmaceutical. I quit blunt wraps for the surgery because I am not addicted to tobacco thankfully. Because I’ve been smoking for years, I no longer have munchies. That was one of the effects as a newbie smoker, but now I don’t have them or I alternate to healthy snacks. Smoking has been helping me get through the pre op diet. As long as I have the “munchies” under control, should I be safe to smoke after the surgery? Any other bariatric stoners out there?

in principle, the main points have already been described to you. so maybe I'll repeat myself a little. also faced such a situation, now I study all sorts of "hot" creams for wrapping. write that they increase blood circulation in the dermis, which in turn triggers the processes of renewal and saturation of the upper layers of the skin with oxygen. I think to try one of these creams for my belly and thighs. I don’t know for the face ... everyone talks about the need for cоllagen and retinоl, that they are excellent helpers in the fight against wrinkles, and they also talk about necessarily sunscreen (which I successfully forget😓), so I don’t use retinol creams or serums yet because i read tha it's bad combination retinol+sun. But my must have is orаl cоllagen pіlls I use an alginate mask all the time (I buy a large can at once on Amаzon and use it for 1-1.5 years, it is very profitable), it moisturizes the skin very well, I advise you reaed more about it futures and use it at least once a week

You should NOT swim until your wounds are entirely healed. Any decent lifeguard would prevent you from entering a pool. (I'm a former lifeguard, too.) If you are uncertain about your surgeon's judgment, it couldn't hurt to have your primary care physician follow you through recovery. I recommend you do some more reading about bariatric surgery so you aren't dependent upon just what your surgeon has told you. For example, these two books are good, although there are others.

I reached out to my bariatric care team, who was made aware of my visit to the ER last Tuesday and said the normal oral tablet medication would be fine. Here is my communication to them today, and their reply. Me: So, the response was lacking, since a number of my concerns (medication absorption, weight stall, not being able to hit my nutrient goals) were not addressed. I will assume positive intent and say they have probably dealt with dozens upon dozens of people with concerns/fears/complaints post-op that do not amount to anything, so perhaps I've been lumped in that category. We'll see what the doctor says today (he's a rheumatologist) although he may just refer me back to my PCP or the ER (in which case you all have permission to say "I told you so!") I'm going to ask for blood work too just to ensure I'm not septic, and to see where my WBC is.

The BariatricPal Store carries a huge selection of Bariatric friendly Calcium at https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/calcium. Check out the newly released BariatricPal Sugar-Free Calcium Citrate Soft Chews 500mg with Probiotics at https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/calcium/brand_bariatricpal+vitamin-form_soft-chews . They come in 6 AMAZING flavors: French Vanilla Caramel, Chocolate Mint, Belgian Chocolate Caramel, Orange Creamsicle, Strawberry Watermelon Twist and Wild Grape. You can get Calcium in many different forms: Soft Chews: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/calcium/vitamin-form_soft-chews Chewable: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/calcium/vitamin-form_chewable Powder: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/calcium/vitamin-form_powder Liquid: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/calcium/vitamin-form_liquid Tablets: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/calcium/vitamin-form_tablets

My Surgeon said I can go ahead and start taking my calcium citrate supplement. 1000 mg a day split it to twice a day. What do you guys recommend? Sent from my SM-N970U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

I've looked through some other past posts, mostly 3-5+ years ago, and Googled to my fingers were numb, so I'm going to post this here and see if anyone has thoughts/suggestions. I'm just about 6-weeks post op, great weight loss, and was cruising right along until last Tuesday 9/7/21. I ended up in the ER for what I thought was a blood clot in my right leg. After a sonar, they assured me I had no clot, but I did have moderate cellulitis. The doctor put me on generic Bactrim 800 2x/day, and Cefalexin 500 x4/day, for 7 days. I have had cellulitis once before pre-op, in the opposite leg, and was on a much smaller treatment of antibiotics (just the Bactrim), and within 3 days (out of the 7 day treatment) it was practically gone! So, when this past Friday rolls around and my right leg isn't better at all I start to freak out b/c it's been 4 days of double the amount of antibiotics I've had for the same issue in the past, and when I put my sock on it still cause me to "yelp" in pain, not to mention the entire shin/left calf in hot and swollen. I call my PCP and he graciously humors me and puts me on the Oral Liquid version of Bactrim, for 10 days b/c I think the tablets aren't being absorbed. So, I've now had 6 doses of the Bactrim Liquid antibiotic, and I'm on my last day of Cefalexin, but really only feel like the leg is maybe, 10-15% better than it was a week ago? I will say that I do not have a fever, so I don't think I'm septic or anything, but it's getting in the way of my exercise and weight loss during the peak period of time when I should be working towards losing as much as possible. Should it still be this bad? Has anyone else had this issue? Any suggestions or things I should talk to my PCP or bariatric surgeon about? Do you think it will just take longer and I should hold my horses and take a chill pill? 😅 Thanks for your time and thoughts everyone. -Josh

In the early days of surgery you will not be able to eat much at one time. Take it slow. If you are having pain, vomiting or any other concerns you are best to talk to your bariatric team. Complications can occur and you want to rule them out. Just be patient and do not stress yourself out over it. Try to sip water through the day, and focus on getting in your protein, even if it just a few sips of a protein drink. You will make it. It will get easier.

it's not uncommon for WLS patients who've lost a lot of weight to have skin rashes from the excess skin (although this would be under the skin "folds", not everywhere..), but I haven't read about this on this or other bariatric boards about skin issues from vitamin deficiencies. Although I just quickly googled it, and rashes and other skin issues CAN be a symptom of various vitamin deficiences. Here's one of the articles I found (below). It looks like it can be caused by any number of vitamin deficiencies, so it's hard to tell which one it is in your case. Did they test all levels? It also says they can happen to people who have malabsorption issues or have had G/I surgeries. Again, I haven't read about this on bariatric boards (and I've been hanging around on these for about seven years), so it's evidently not a common issue, but it's certainly possible that could be what's going on in your case. https://www.ccjm.org/content/83/10/731

not everyone is well-versed on food issues or bariatric surgeries. If you want to switch therapists, your bariatric clinic may be able to recommend someone - or they may even have someone on staff.

I am one week after lapband removal after 19 years. I had to have an iron infusion as my iron was extremely low. Apparently iron deficiency and in many cases nutritional deficiency is a consequence of bariatric surgery (good to be aware of) as no one tells you this. I had very little weight loss on lapband surgery. I am so glad to be rid of it. Very sick of the intermittent choking and vomiting. Very annoying. I wish everyone all the very best on their decisions - I think I would rethink lapband surgery (unless it has changed dramatically in the last 19 years). Good luck.