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SO let me start this by saying I have TERRIBLE anxiety when it comes to anything medical. For example, I pass out when getting my blood drawn. But lately, I have felt my health declining in a way it never has before, and I am also the heaviest (and saddest) I have ever been. I have been in a state of binging lately and have realized I need help. I have tried and failed many diets and I feel that before I develop any co-morbidities, I need to get the weight off for good. This brought me to bariatric surgery which I have discussed with my therapist and PCP. I got a referral and am scheduled for my first consult on 9/1/21. I am super excited, but lately little stupid fears have crept up into my mind. What if I am too young for this and it is too extreme? What if they have to use a catheter on me? What if the surgery fails? What if I die? Even typing this I know there are WAY more positives than the fears could ever outweigh. I just wanted to reach out and see if anyone else is feeling the anxiety before starting their journies? Or if any veterans recall the same fears? My stats for reference: Height - 5ft 4in Weight - 247lbs Age - 22

Approaching corrective RNY revision, I've gone overboard in research and reading so that I won't make the same mistakes again. I had no nutritional guidance when I had my RNY in 1990. Left to my own devices, I screwed up and regained every ounce. This time around I've been collecting bariatric cookbooks, too. Since this is your second time around, I strongly recommend reading The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients, by Colleen Cook, available on Amazon. If you suspect you are a sugar/food addict, I recommend Food Junkies, by Vera Tarman. If you are susceptible to binging, a good book is Never Binge Again, by Glenn Livingston. Food Addiction Books.pdf

Hey Tony! Not sure why you felt the need to call me out on here, but I figured since I was on the forum anyway I’d be happy to educate you! 😊 The Ricotta bake is a recipe I learned about through the Bariatric forums here on Bariatric pal. It was a recipe created for those on a blended diet post Bariatric surgery. It can be found on Bariatricbits.com, and I will also post the nutritional information since you are so worried about my calorie and fat intake! And don’t worry, Tony, I only had one serving and couldn’t even finish all of it! 😉 Serving size: 0.33 cup calories: 144 carbohydrates: 5g protein: 12g fat: 8 g So far down 21 pounds with no issue! Good luck with your surgery!

I am glade you are doing fantastic. I finally made up my mind to get the hip replacement because I could barely stand for more then a half hour without being in a lot of pain and it was effecting how much I could exercise. I was getting cortisone injections in the one hip four times a year and my other hip was very quickly because much worse so I had gotten two injections in that one as well and in January I got no relief from the injections so I said ok time to try because I didn’t go through the Bariatric surgery just to be stuck in a power chair for the rest of my life. So one year and one week later after Bariatric surgery I was in surgery again . I was scared to death. Much more scared the withe VSG surgery and hiatal hernia surgery. However I have to tell you I had the hip replacement on July 13; 2021 at 7am. I was up n walking two and half hrs later and home in my bed by 5:30 pm. I was in house Physical Therapy next day. Driving myself to PT the following Monday which was only six days later and back to work two weeks later. I only needed pain meds for two days. I used a walker for about a week maybe week and a half and Cain for another week and nothing after that. I have PT three times a week. I have to tell you this was wayyyy easier surgery n recovery then my Bariatric surgery. I ham hoping my other hip stops falling apart now that it’s not compensating for the other one. I’m 49 yrs old so not young but I would definitely say don’t fear the hip replacement surgery because you have most likely gone through rougher surgery with Bariatric. Great job so fare . It was nice hearing from you.

Also, just from (very) recent experience, make sure your bariatric clinic's insurance coordinator knows their stuff. I got a letter from my insurance after they submitted saying "hey, we need X, Y, and Z before we can determine," except I know for a fact X, Y, and Z were submitted. So when I called the insurance coordinator, she said this is normal, what happens is they open a request online which generates an automatic letter to be sent with what's needed, but it happens before the process allows them to upload the clearances, so it appears "missing". I had my answer back in 3 business days.

I use this one. My surgeon's office wanted to know that I was taking bariatric vitamins, to the point that they waited while I looked them on Amazon to see which one I was taking. At $30 for a three month supply, these aren't too costly, and I can get them the next day. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HZ3YQ5X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Is there a way to ask for a different dietician? Because she sounds like an absolute nightmare! My dietician is nice and encouraging and if I end up eating something off plan she just tells me that it won't hurt me if it happens as long as it doesn't become a habit or something I do all the time. She tells me every time she sees me (usually when I'm dealing with a stall) that I'm doing great and as long as the trend is downward that no matter how slow the loss is, I'm still losing and that's that what matters. My dietician has me eating 1200-1400 calories and I'm almost 19 months out. When I was 5 months out I think I was probably eating about 800-1000 calories. I think your own dietician is pushing you to eat too much too fast, imo. I would see if it's possible to ask for someone else. I haven't gone to my own bariatric clinic since my 9 month appointment because there is this front office lady that kept rescheduling my 12 month appointment and pissing me off. She made my stress go from 0-100 pretty damn fast and was bugging me about my labs and how they hadn't received them and how she wanted me to call the lab and have them fax my paperwork over, which I'd done, so I kept having to tell her to do it her damn self because I'd already called them and they'd re-faxed it twice already so something was getting lost on their end and they needed to deal with it. Her response was to tell me they needed to reschedule me so I just never rescheduled after about the 9th time because she pissed me the hell off! I get stressed with just the idea of having to call the bariatric doctor because if I get her on the line I will hang the damn phone up! That's why I never made my 18 month appointment and just relied on my PCP to do my labs because of that b*tch! I wish I'd gotten her name on the multiple times she'd called me so I could report her for her incompetence! So yeah, I'd ask for a different dietician, personally.

Hello! I hope some people can give some advice! I have been stewing on this for a number of weeks, and I am not really sure what to do. I will start by saying that my program is in Canada, and it is set up a bit different than most Americans. I go to a bariatric clinic that includes the psychologist, internal medicine doc, Dietitian, Nurse. The surgeon you are referred to after you have jumped through the hoops with the other professions. You are assigned the surgeon who does your surgery, for the most part, you don't get to shop for one...and they have little to do with the Diet/Medical Part (vitamins, labs, etc). The surgeons are general surgeons that obviously know how to do these surgeries, but they are not solely bariatric surgeons. So essentially, if I have questions I go to the bariatric clinic, and not the surgeon. The problem is, I hate my Dietitian. I don't feel like I can ask her anything without her being weird, and control freaky about everything. She has argued with me over my food logs (aggressively suggesting berries instead of the banana I ate everyday pre-op), She got upset with me for taking psyllum husks and omega 3 after surgery because "WHO TOLD ME TO DO THAT??!". I asked her about when my protein requirement would reduce (since I am losing weight obviously), and was told never because the protein requirement was based on my height, and not weight. (????). When I ask what calories I should be at, she won't answer and tell me my calories need to be higher. She also made a point to tell me that my weightloss will greatly slow down now (at my 3 month appointment). I was never a big/fast loser since starting this. Other than the first 2 weeks after surgery...I average out at about 2.5 pounds a week. In my program, regular food started week 4 after surgery. Once I went to solid food at week 4, I eat between 1100 and 1300 calories. I have yet to eat out, the 'worst' thing I have had is a very small bite of Candy to taste it. There is no forbidden food except for carbonated drinks...and obviously they recommend staying away from overly fried, processed, sugary things. Prior to surgery, the last time I had lost weight sucessfully was in 2016 when I went to the gym 6 days a week and tracked all my calories. I used MFP and fitbit. I ruined my knees in the process of that (a whole other story lol). I still use MFP to track food. So right now, MFP has 1300 calories to lose 2 pounds...and I am still a bit over 250. How in the world am I going to keep losing weight if I am supposed to eat more? Currently, my body is doing this thing where I lose 2.5 one week....0.7 the next....2.5 the next...I feel like I stall every 2nd week or so. The dietician doesn't help at all. She always rags on me to eat 5-6 times a day. I get all my protein in, in those 3 meals and I currently still don't experience a hunger sensation at all...so why would I eat more? She wants me to eat more and I feel like what I am doing is okay. I told her I would add more snacks if I need it, and she doesn't like that. I am at 5 months out...I feel like I am trucking along...but then I get really worried that I am not going to continue to lose weight, especially when she is on me to eat more and more often when I frankly don't want to. Everyone wants to believe that they have some tailored medical diet...and we don't. Every single program is done by an expert and they are all different from each other...and it really annoys me when people say 'follow your program'...when it seems every doc has a different idea of what would be successful., and nothing is standardized. Am I too set in CICO that I am frustrating myself? How can I continue to be successful and get to the lowest reasonable point that I can?

I take Bariatric Fusion Vitamins 2 in the am and 2 in the pm and 1 B12 5000mg on Mondays because of the high dosage. Surgery was in June and I will have my lab work done in September to see if they need to revise it.

I just take drug store vitamins. I've been taking Centrum Silver (or the generic equivalent from Walgreens or CVS) since my surgery six years ago. I took the chewable version for the first few months, then switched over to the tablets. You have to take two a day to meet the requirements. as long as you're meeting the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery requirements, you should be fine. Here it is (you may have to scroll down a ways to find the chart with the requirements): https://asmbs.org/app/uploads/2017/06/ASMBS-Nutritional-Guidelines-2016-Update.pdf

I currently am taking fusion bariatric vitamins after being sleeved 10/27/2021. I take 4 a day but I see on here they have very affordable vitamins on here which ones are more effective I'm trying to switch brands?

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.

I take ProCare calcium chews and LOVE them! They are like a tiny dessert. 😂 They have vitamin D and probiotics in them. They have a free sample pack you can order to try them out before you buy. I also use their bariatric multivitamin and like it MUCH better than the Bariatric Advantage.

Interesting thing about vitamins is that after about 6 months I had to switch from bariatric vitamins because some of my levels were too high, specifically iron and vitamin d. So my costs aren’t high at all. My husband never even stepped foot in the hospital. Dropped me off at the door and picked me up, due to covid. I was fine, and I’d probably do the same thing even if covid hadn’t been a thing. I was worried I’d never be able to eat normally again, I would have a leak, and that I wouldn’t lose weight. I’d say I eat very normally now (9 months out), I had no complications, and I’ve lost 158 lbs, so all fears were unfounded. My advice to everyone in life is to stay far away from Facebook. Your life will be better for it! This site has great advice.

I know everyone’s Bariatric surgeon’s practice is different. I was able to eat eggs and baked fish two days after surgery. I couldn’t really stomach to much at first maybe 1 to 2 ounces. I was definitely a bit nervous but my surgeon wanted me to start semi soft solids ASAP for protein in take along with the shakes. I need to get 90 grams daily. I am almost 3 weeks out and can eat about 3 ounces a serving. I can’t even finish a whole egg. lol.

I did gain weight, about a 1 month before I was going to get my surgery scheduled they added on an additional month visits. The doctors wanted to make sure I was living the bariatric life style. I t was all good. I managed to drop about 10 lbs. and we moved forward

I"ve never been told I couldn't take capsules - just gummies (I was told not to take gummy forms of anything - not just calcium) and yes - Caltrate is calcium carbonate, which we don't absorb well. We're supposed to take calcium citrate. Although one of the other posters doesn't like Bariatric Advantage chews, most people do. You have to order them online. Bariatric Pal carries them, as do a few other Web sites. I've also taken "petite" calcium tablets, which are smaller than the standard ones. I also used to use a powered calcium citrate that you mix into food or beverages - Upcal D. You have to order it online.

I can't tell you the best calcium chew, but I can tell you I'm never putting a Bariatric Advantage calcium chew in my life ever again. I got a few as a sample from the bariatric coordinator at my clinic and tried one this morning (only five weeks out, so surgeon just prescribed it). It was absolutely vial. Everyone says they are like candy--and they look like starburst, but the one I had was so gross I had to spit it out. There is no way I was going to be able to chew it long enough to swallow. I can't even describe it. The taste was ok-ish, but the consistency was like eating dried rubber cement with a coating of latex.

I recently looked into this and am at the stage of deciding which surgery I want: Re-Sleeve or Bypass. I'll preface the following by stating you can research many articles on "pubmed.com" to read published papers by physicians. There is a re-sleeve procedure and it's either done by plication or utilizing Overstitch; key difference is that part of your stomach is NOT cut and removed, as is done in the initial sleeve. The stomach is made smaller by suturing to make it smaller. In my case, revision, even if it is to a re-sleeve, would be covered by my insurance. Re-sleeves can be done endoscopically (through the throat, no incisions on the abdomen); this is the approach I am being offered. Bypass would require abdominal incisions as it is performed laparoscopically. Bypass would yield a greater overall weight loss, initially. There's a study that indicated the long term weight loss between those re-sleeved vs. conversion to bypass levels out and is similar. Articles: Re-sleeve Gastrectomy - An Efficient Revisional Bariatric Procedure - 3 Years Results Re-Sleeve Gastrectomy for Failed Primary Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy Short-term outcomes of revisional surgery after sleeve gastrectomy: a comparative analysis of re-sleeve, Roux en-Y gastric bypass, duodenal switch (Roux en-Y and single-anastomosis) Laparoscopic re-sleeve gastrectomy as a treatment of weight regain after sleeve gastrectomy Weight Regain After Sleeve Gastrectomy: A Look at the Benefits of Re-sleeve Reverse: Laparoscopic revision of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass to sleeve gastrectomy: A ray of hope for failed Roux-en-Y gastric bypass As to which procedure has higher risk, in general, risk increases with every subsequent surgery. In this case, it would depend on the approach your physician would take to re-sleeve; endoscopic or laparoscopic. Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty versus laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: a case-matched study If both options would be performed laparoscopically, then it would be a matter of you deciding which procedure you feel the most comfortable with to achieve the long-term results you are looking for. Endoscopic surgery is performed using a scope, a flexible tube with a camera and light at the tip, allowing the surgeon to see inside and perform procedures without making major incisions, allowing for easier recovery time and less pain and discomfort. Laparoscopic is performed by making several small incisions in the abdomen, which increases risk when compared to the SAME PROCEDURE performed endoscopically (no incisions). The approach with the highest risk is open. Bigger incision. Bigger incision, bigger risk. One type of surgery that has taken off in the last few years is minimally invasive spine surgery. Many spine surgeries can be done laparoscopically versus open -- even fusions. The difference? Patients that have it done laparoscopically can have it done in an ASC (ambulatory surgical center), meaning they leave the same day, no hospital stay or large incisions in the back. And...always remember, whichever surgery you have, it's a TOOL, not a magic pill (those don't exist either). Hope this helps!

Ask if they recommend a good bariatric therapist in your area. Have a consult, or file the contact away for later if you need it. Research the surgeon's credentials and reputation. Research the hospital where the surgeon does surgery. Make sure you like what you learn. Make sure anyone on staff who will be giving you dietary advice is in fact a registered credientialed dietician. If you're planning a surgery this fall, talk about the potential impacts of Covid19.

Ultimately, it's no one's job but yours to figure out the best stuff to put in your body. People will always eat awful stuff because it's readily available and tastes good. People will equate offering food with offering affection, support, etc. (even though for someone trying to lose weight, this is backwards and crazy...it's just habit and they don't think about it) For some people it's a manners thing...I can't eat in front of someone else without offering to share, regardless of what I'm eating. Doen't matter if I'm eating a protien bar or a donut...if you're hanging out with me and I think you might be hungry...I'll offer you half. You can always say no. Sometimes, I make a mindful decision to eat junk food. I budget for it in my daily calories and I like proving to myself that I control food and food doesn't control me anymore. I like eating junk now, because I don't enjoy it as much as I used to and I don't feel out of control. I know that sounds crazy....but seriously...there is a satisfying victory in consuming 200 calories of something I used to be totally out of control with...and go...you know what? That's good, but I can take it or leave it now. I LOVE that I can take it or leave it now. And I really love that I'm being dead honest about that, because I have spent a lifetime lying to myself about food. I very honestly am not as reactive about food as I used to be...and that's a HUGE victory. Yep, I still like fat, sugar and salt. Most people do. But I can take them or leave them, and I can budget a sensible serving and not have my nutrition day ruined. I credit part of that to revamping my eating habits and microbiota due to the surgery, and part to food addiction work with my bariatric therapist. Both have been incredibly important.

Hello everyone, I'm having a consult with a bariatric surgeon on August 24th for a gastric bypass (and lap band removal). I have already had one consult with another surgeon and did not prepare questions ahead of time. The visit did not go well and I didn't like the surgeon but that's another story. For this new consult, I'd really like to go in with some questions prepared in advance. To those of you who are going through this process or have been through it, what are some questions that you recommend I ask? Anything you can think of that you wish you had asked before surgery? Thank you!

Straw advice is one of those things that vary wildly by surgeon - some say to never use a straw, some only restrict them for a few months, others actually recommend them when patients are having trouble getting enough fluids. There's not actually any scientific evidence that straws are an issue for bariatric patients. See this thread: https://www.thinnertimesforum.com/topic/92638-straws-forbidden-by-my-surgeon-anyone-still-use-them/ It seems like if you get a Camelbak with the flexible bladder and burp the air out first, and have a bite valve on the end of the straw so it only opens when you take a drink, you'd actually get very little extra air in your mouth from the straw.

My guess is that it may be related to medications, as many of the mental health meds have weight gain or increased appetite as a side effect. There are some that are considered metabolically neutral-check in with your psychiatrist about that. On the other hand, 16 lbs above “normal” BMI is really not bad! Many, many bariatric patients never reach a “normal” BMI and their surgeon will tell them that going from obese to just over weight is a success. Congrats on all you’ve done so far!

I've never heard that about bipolar disorder's effect on weight loss. There are a lot of WLS patients who are bipolar, though - I've seen MANY people post about being bipolar in the seven or so years I've been hanging out on bariatric forums. my weight loss finally stopped at 20 months out. Those last six months or so my loss slowed to a crawl, though - we're talking like two pounds a month some months. So don't give up yet! You may still have some loss and get down to where you want to be. But it's true that the closer people are to a normal BMI, the tougher (and slower) weight loss becomes...