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So, my doctor is a great surgeon, but not great on the nutrition part and I'm a little lost. I'm 4 weeks PO and trying to get ready for the months ahead. Looking for a nutritionist with experience in bariatric surgery that I can consult with if anyone has any recommendations. Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

I also went with Flintstones. I compared them to Opurity and two Flintstones were very similar to the Opurity Bariatric vitamins, except I'll need to supplement B12 and Vitamin D.

I definately spend way more time cooking, shopping and planning meals. Before surgery I was always eating junk and fast food, now I am playful to make sure I have the proper groceries and I have had to learn to cook differently. I live on Pinterest finding recipes that I can use as a base and then tweak it to make it Bariatric friendly.

Its gettin close kiddo. Youll be amazed at how easy it is once you get over the initial shock of surgery. Yea... clear liquids are water based. I ordered on the internet from BariWise. Its a catelouge for bariatric patients. I got a bunch of drink packets that are just like crystal lite only 15 grams of protien. My favorites are grapefruit and pinapple/orange. I fill up my water bottle with two packes and give it a splash of apple juice just so I get a few carbs and I'm loaded for the day. They also have powdered chicken Soup that has abt 15 grams and you can have that when your sick of sweert stuff. Another good online source is Bariatric Advantage. Hope that helps stacey I'll be glad when I can crunch something again.... but thats just for fun... I feel perfectly well nourished

The reason why bariatric Vitamins are not popular here is frankly, because we do not need them. Be cautious of whatever your NUT is trying to sell you, IF she is selling to you, I wasn't clear on that. All we need are basic multivites, Calcium, and some are told to take B12. I get mine from costco - 250 vitamins for about 10 or 12 dollars. That is the most economical way to buy them. We do not malabsorb so unless you are already deficient in something there is just no reason to spend that kind of money.

mb_11 Do call Henry. Bariatric Pal is incredible and they will help you every step of the way, before, during and after your procedure.

Hi Long time reader, first posting. I am done with all the prerequisites and have submitted to insurance for final approval. Has anyone had any experiences with Dr. Monk @ Wellspan in York, PA? He has been doing bariatric surgery for like 12 years but just started with lap bands. I am a little nervous about being his twelve bandit.

I'm two and a half weeks away from surgery, and it still doesn't feel real! I started this journey over four years ago, researching my options and trying to get funding. The sleeve wasn't available to me then, so I was going to do RNY because that's what my aunt and a friend had. But, my aunt had some complications and she just looked sick, and it worried me. Plus, I'm in Southern Illinois and I would have had to drive to Chicago (five hours away) for the surgery and that also put me off. So, fast forward to 2009. I attended an info session at the new bariatric center in a town close by. I decided to go for the RNY. I was told I had to do a six month diet, so I started that and in the meantime, the surgeon was let go. So, this summer, I found out there was a new surgeon and had heard good things about him. So, I attended yet another info session and learned about the sleeve. I was convinced right way. I made my consultation and saw him for the first time on October 29th. I've gone through all the tests, got clearance from everything and I'm now scheduled for surgery on January 17th! I'm having a hard time this is actually going to happen, though. When I went for my consultation, I was put on the Fast Track (six weeks til surgery.) that was in October. But, I couldn't get my psych consult until the end of December, so they scheduled my surgery for January 10th. I went on 12/28 for psych and they didn't have me on the schedule! But, they got me in for the following and I got cleared by psych yesterday. In the meantime, my surgery was rescheduled for January 17th because my surgeon will be out of town. Then, I started freaking out because I'm in college and my classes (and my husband's classes) start January 18th. So I have to juggle classes starting and trying to get my kids to school while I'm in the hospital. It seems like Murphy's law is in effect, and I'm encountering all sorts of obstacles. So, again, I keep feeling like this is too good to be true! Am I really going to get my sleeve? I don't think I'll believe it until I wake up from surgery with my sleeve!

Do you know anything about Dr. Johnson at Atlanta Bariatrics. I am trying to find people that have gone through him for the lapband procedure. I would love to find out people's thoughts. Did you end up seeing Dr. Duncan or did you see Dr. Johnson?

I researched a few surgeons in Atanta and decided on Dr. Titus Duncan (Peachtree Bariatrics & Surgical) for one because he is in my network and two is one of the best in the industry. I read the earlier post about his process being patient driven and the comment following that something was wrong with that approach, but I found it is wonderful! Patient driven means it is up to you the patient to get all the pre-op done and show that you are really serious about the surgery. Why waste a physician's time with consultations to only back out. I am driven so I guess this appealed to my need to feel somewhat in control. 6/20/09 Seminar 6/22/09 Met with PCM 6/23/09 Nutrion Evaluation 6/24/09 Psych Evaluation 6/25/09 Cardiologist EKG/Stress Test 7/10/09 Packet submitted to insurance for approval I have Tricare Prime - South and what I have heard is the approval should be pretty quick. My coordinator at PSB instructed me to check with Tricare around Wed. 7/15. I am trying not to be so anxious but know that once I get the approval I will still have a little bit more waiting because Dr. Titus' surgery schedule stays pretty full.

Hello, has anyone had this surgery? Has it worked for you? I might have a condition that wouldn't lend itself well to VSG or Plication and I know I don't want the band. Might need to have repeated endoscopes and see all of my stomach. I keep thinking if the POSE prodceedure or something like it where the stomach was made smaller but still viewable that is the answer. From the very limited research it sounds like StomaphX and TOGA it looks like failed miserabley. I don't know if POSE is different, but I've looks all the places I know, and info/experiences are very limited. I am wondering if there is any new procedures coming out in the baratric field. Please post if you heard of new types of surgery coming down the pike! http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/193616/Endoscopic-incision-free-bariatric-surgery--offering-weight-loss-without-the-risks-of-major-abdominal-surgery http://www.whyweight.com/pose/ Please post if you know of someone who had it or if you have more info. I would love to know if the stichest stay in. I've got about 50 lbs to loose. Thanks so much!

Congratulations on catching yourself before the ultimate fall! That's huge! You are still a success because you've kept more than 50% of your weight off. You're even just a success for catching yourself before the fall. Now just go back to the bariatric basics of protein first and follow this. You'll be back under control in no time.

After bariatric surgery my iron levels dropped so I began taking iron supplements. I was told by my nutritionist to take ferrous sulfate as an iron supplement for the best absorption. Also it is important to give a 2 hours separation between iron and calcium.

This is a site to discuss bariatric surgery - hello??? Let's keep political issues where they belong...in the garbage!!! I don't appreciate this topic taking so much valuable space!!!

i have anthem bcbs . Hey , Before i started this process i didnt have a PCP. I went to anthem website found a PCP threw them called and scheduled. I told my dr what im doing and he agreed surgery is whats best. With in 2 days my NEW pcp sent my medial necessity form to my bariatric center . Let me know if you have questions i just had my surgery 5/6/2019

I am doing very well thank you Pegrae. Maybe Bariatric Pal needs to host a reunion/vacation get together for their happy patients. I am sure they would love to see us all again as much as we would enjoy seeing them.

I think the important thing here to ask is how many calories people are taking in during their eating window. As a Bariatric Power Lifter, I am taking in about 3400 calories on heavy lifting days. With my restriction, it would be near impossible to get that in during an 8 hour window. In order to eat for athletic performance, IF does not work for me. If you eat less calories, I can see the appeal.

So, I've been fat for most of my life. I've been fat ever since I was roughly 10 years old, but what I considered fat then is nothing compared to the state I am at now. After I got sex reassignment surgery, my metabolism went straight to hell and my energy levels fell. I didn't make any lifestyle changes afterwards, but the fact that I didn't was a part of the problem that resulted in the state where I am now. And gaining so much weight, I likely contracted sleep apnea due to my weight gain and also contracted plantar fasciitis, which makes it harder to be out and about without my arches screaming at me. I've tried so many diet and exercise programmes, from Bikram Yoga to Weight Watchers, from marathon training to calorie counting, from parkour to South Beach. In fact, I would have continued trying if not for someone in a chat room. They told me that I should get a lap band... to which I said "why? I can exercise, I have the discipline to diet, why the hell would I need a lap band?" We had a long discussion about bariatric surgery and I decided to do my research. I first considered the programme at Denver Health. After all, I didn't know about the programme just north of me in Fort Collins (and to be quite honest, that's kinda okay given the support network I've built up there) and I thought Denver Health was the natural place to go. That and UCHealth has had... issues with serving employees of the State of Colorado. So, I went to their support groups/medical weight loss classes (which were combined), attended sessions with their psychologist and saw their nutritionist only to get rejected because I had clinical depression. I feel the problem was that since the psychologist was not my regular psychologist and did not know me nor my support network well, that made her more skittish than she should have been. I then contacted the programme at Northern Colorado Surgical Associates (which is a part of the Poudre Valley Health System and their combined programme is called the "Bariatric Centre of the Rockies") and started attending their medical weight loss classes, their patient education seminar, got my regular therapist and prescriber to write my letter, and as of Tuesday, had surgery with them. Unfortunately, I don't feel that I can attend their support groups often (as their support groups are in Fort Collins and the transit back down to Longmont after 8pm is dismal at best), but the good news is that I have found other practices in the area which have support groups that I might be able to attend. I have a therapist that I really mesh with and I have a support network from both my church and my political party (Green Party of Colorado, FTW!) And I look forward to the future. I look forward to wearing all those cute goth/steampunk clothes I see in my Facebook news feed, I look forward to finishing up my transition by having facial feminization surgery/breast augmentation (which can only happen once I get to my goal weight, if my concern is having the best results), and most pressing, I look forward to the day I can waltz into the Denver Health support groups, look into the eyes of the nutritionists, psychologists, and that bariatric coordinator and tell them where they can stick it.

On the weight loss slowing, everyone here has already said that's totally normal. But since I'm a total nerd and tracked my weight loss, I can tell you exactly how mine slowed down. I've lost a total of 70 lbs over 23 months. Month 1: 3.5 lbs a week, reached -22 lbs Months 2-4: ~1.5-2 lbs a week, reached -41 lbs Months 5-12: 0.5-1 lbs a week, reached -63 lbs and passed my original goal weight at 11 months out Months 13-20: 0.2 lbs a week, currently at -70 lbs, 12 under my original goal Does this mean that you pretty much never dieted before you got surgery? Or are you comparing now to the first 6 months after surgery, where you didn't care about food much simply because you weren't hungry? After reading these boards for a few years, it seems that the people who have long term success do have to pay some attention to their diet to maintain their weight loss. But that takes a lot of different forms according to the specific issues and goals of different people. You won't necessarily have to pay as much attention to it in the long term as you do right now. Right now you're learning what works for you; later it will become habit. Especially if what you said above means that you never dieted much before - in this case you would be learning about what works for you for the first time. But for everyone, after bariatric surgery, you have to learn what your "new normal" is. Personally, my long term goal has been to maintain without having to calorie count. Before surgery, I was pre-diabetic and low carb was the only thing that ever helped me lose weight. After surgery, carbs are still an issue for me, though much, much less of an issue than before. Rather than limiting/counting carbs every day, I've found that having a 4-5 day period of low-carb every 3-4 weeks keeps my carb cravings in check. I still start my day with a protein powder latte and make sure that I have protein with every meal. Veggies help keep me full. If I feel hungry, I eat a snack, but I usually start with a piece of cheese or a few frozen meatballs (I love these things) before I have anything more junky. I eat sweets some days, but not all. I use things like sugar free ice cream or low sugar yogurt for a bit of a treat on other days.

2B, I am in the same boat! I am looking at my 5 year anniversary and I am so disappointed in myself. I have gained back almost all I have lost. I too just lost motivation and all those bad habits came back. What finally lit a fire under me was a recent back x-ray I had taken because I hurt my back. The x-ray techs were all staring at the screen and I was getting a little nervous and wondering what they were seeing. The nurse came back, asked me if I had on any jewelry and I said no. She described what she was seeing and I knew immediately that my band showed up on the x-ray! They let me see it. It was amazing. I had never seen it before but there it is, plain as can be. Evidently not too many medical people in my area see a banded person. They didn't know what it was. Wish I had a copy of that x-ray; that would be real motivation. But it got me thinking again and I made an appt to go see my bariatric nurse to check out my band and fill level. I am ready to start again. I have had no support of others, I live alone and no one sees how much I eat. I am going to make frequent visits to this web site to find support here. I also advertised on Craigslist for anyone interested in a support group in my area but so far no takers. It's hard to do this alone. Hope you find support here and are able to get back on track. You deserve this!

I'm also going with Dr. Lopez (4/26). I've second guessed myself so many times on which Dr and probably will again during the next 3 weeks. But currently I am confident in choosing Dr. Lopez. I chose him specifically because of specializing in high BMI patients. He has had no deaths and very few complications. Plus you get Dr. Lopez and Dr. Ortiz both bariatric surgeons and the anesthesiologist is also a trained surgeon as well. So 3 dr's in the OR. Dr. Garcia is not with A Lighter Me. Ready 4 a Change is who you would contact for him. =)

I got the sleeve and I don’t have heart burn anymore. My mom got the bypass and the Malabsorption is a big issue but as long as you do your routine labs and have a primary who knows bariatrics it helps

Hello dear fellow bandsters.. since almost all of you re reading a lot of stuff about the bariatric surgeries (in your effort to learn more about the band) i wonder if you have a personal opinion about the sleeve gastrectomy or if some of you you would prefer that operation than the band. thanks for your answers __________________ Originally posted at www.lapbandtalk.com

Bariatric Advantage has a Meal replacement that is Chicken Broth flavor. It was a life saver for the pre op liquid diet, I would add a drop of Tabasco or hot sauce to enhance the flavor. You prepared the shake with warm water ( hot water will make the protein curd). I highly recommend it. http://store.bariatricpal.com/products/bariatric-advantage-hpmr-high-protein-meal-replacement-flavors Sent from my SM-F707U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

I have a question regarding final insurance approval. I have an exclusion in my insurance policy for WLS, but my employer has a program where they can override it with certain health conditions or BMI (my BMI of 54 more than qualifies me). I called them in January, found out I qualified, they called Anthem for me and told them I qualified. I also had to contact Anthem's Bariatric program prior to my first surgeon visit and ask some qualifying questions, of which they answered all in the positive. Anthem doesn't require me to do any sort of supervised diet and the only clearances required are from my surgeon (nutritionalist and psych). I only have a group NUT appointment left then it goes to insurance. So, my question is, why would the possibility exist for insurance to deny me at this point? I see so many people worried about denial at the end and some are denied. Why?