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Today, I was reading a list of guidelines regarding supplies that households should keep on hand to survive 3 or more days in case of earthquakes, winter utility outages, etc. One prominent requirement is to have non-perishable foods stocked, for example, but many of the emergency kits seem to be hugely slanted towards pasta. I wonder if anyone here keep an emergency kit stocked, and, if so, what do you stock for your non-perishable bariatric food needs?

I seem to stay around 400 cal range. I was prediabetic and taking Metformin before surgery. There is absolutely no way I could take one of those pills now. My bariatric NP told me it's ok to stop them. My blood glucose numbers have been normal range and some lows I haven't seem in a while.

There are lots of bariatric cookbooks, but I find tons of stuff on Pinterest and Instagram.

Tomorrow will be 2 weeks post-op and a follow-up with the bariatric team. Purees are coming! Today I saw my GP about my glucose and BP. She confirmed no more diabetes meds (YAY!!!!!) but then she said something odd. She noted that my numbers are excellent on this full liquid diet, but we'd see how I do when my diet "progresses." Now, she's young and clearly still developing her bedside manner (she's awkward) but she insinuated that my diabetes would probably come back and I'd have to go back on meds once I'm on solid food. I guess I thought most docs (even GPs) would know that bariatric surgery has a high likelihood of "curing" diabetes immediately post-op, especially as our weight goes down. Mine was mild to begin with and almost controlled through diet alone. I kinda feel like she threw a bucket of cold water on me. (Getting rid of diabetes was one of my top reasons for surgery.) ANYWAY, I told her I'm consuming about 400-ish calories per day on the FL diet. And I know (I KNOW, I KNOW) we're supposed to concentrate on water and protein at this point, but I'm curious what everyone else's average per day is. Eventually I think we top out around 600-800 with 1,000-1,200 max, but anyone else willing to share where they are in the beginning stages?

The insurance company is bound by a contract, either between you and them for direct pay, or more likely between an employer and them to provide certain types of care. There’s no risk in calling them, there’s nothing to inadvertently agree to. All they can do is provide information on contracted plan benefits. In the end you need to take responsibility for your own finances and you should confirm everything with insurance yourself. I work with both health care and insurance and it’s vital to have a personal understanding of your plan benefits and how it will impact you. When I called I asked 1. Is bariatric surgery covered? Is there a prior authorization requirement? Can you share with me the page of the plan document that outlines these prior authorization requirements? 2. Are there requirements to see a surgeon/hospital within the plan network, or certain providers in order to receive coverage? 3. Is this subject to the deductible and coinsurance or are there special provisions for this coverage? Hopefully your surgeons office will help you with this, but I never recommend being passive and trusting someone else to do something when there’s tens of thousands of (your!) dollars on the line.

My story has been a journey and has a lot of ups and downs. Hopefully I can convey all that I can remember. When I was young I was always large. The youngest that I remember my weight was when I was in 8th grade and was 4'8" and 180lbs. In 10th grade I was 5'6" and 220 lbs and that was might high weight then. I went on medication for ADHD shortly after this time and I dropped down to 175lb and graduated high school smaller than when I went in. Throughout the years following I fluctuated considerably and went between 220 and 175 until I met my wife. Shortly after marriage I had a construction job and dropped to 145lbs. That is the lowest that I have been in my adult life. I have struggled quite a bit with Binge eating and it has affected my relationship with food. In the 14 years since I was 145lb I gained every year and grew to 280lbs. Of course there were times that I dieted and lost weight and times where I was able to maintain my weight but it has been a constant struggle since childhood. My entire family is obese and I have never seen my mother at a healthy weight. Her health issues are one of the reasons why I choose to have bariatric surgery. In fact, my older brother had bariatric surgery about 14 months ago. With all of the health issues that my family has faced, I had to change my mindset of how I ate. Over the recent last few years I have fluctuated between 280 down to 240 and then back again. When I was at my highest weight I lost a job and that affected me mentally quite a bit. I went into quite the depression and finally sought help. This psychologist has changed my life in a way I was never able to achieve. She was able to help diagnose the Binge eating disorder and re-diagnosed me with ADHD. This was the start of my change in my relationship with food. Along with the binge eating, I also never had a sense of fullness or hunger. If I chose I could go without food all day long. Most days though I would eat all day and never calculated how many calories that I ate. At night I would also go back and eat and then shortly after would go and eat more. This was a bad cycle that I have been working on breaking and the diagnosis has helped me with this. 12 months ago I weighed in at 280. After the diagnosis and medication to help, I started to lose weight. I was able to get down and maintain between 250 and 260lbs, just by removing the extra snacking that I was doing during the day. Last June, my wife and I started to have some health issues and we sought treatment for them. I had a hand injury and started to go to therapy for this and my wife had swollen joints and started to get tests to figure out what was going on. My wife and I have both been large and have sibling who are also obese. By August we were able to get a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis for my wife. After the therapy sessions, I was not getting better and by September I had surgery to resolve my hand issues. At the time of my surgery my wife and I had determined that we should look into and pursue Bariatric surgery if we could as we were told this may help with her symptoms. We found a surgeon and proceeded with getting approved. Since we had done medically supervised diets already, we were able to take this previous diets and apply them to our application for insurance approval. By October, only one month after meeting the surgeon we had our endoscopy and were finalizing the requirements. We were able to submit to insurance shortly after this and were approved within 1 week. On November 11th, 2020 my wife and I both had the gastric sleeve surgery. It has been quite the journey so far. During the Pre-op diet we both lost over 16 lbs. After surgery we have both been about on pace with each other with weight loss. In the previous year, I am closing 100lbs of weight loss since I lost ~20 lbs before I had the surgery. My wife and I are at weights that we have not seen in over 10 years now and are working toward keeping it off. My wife still has quite a bit more to go and I am approaching maintenance weight very quickly and could be at my maintenance weight in the next month or so if the weight loss continues at the rate it is going. The good news is that the health of my wife has improved significantly since surgery and we have both been able to do more physically than we were able to do in a very long time. We are ready for what the future holds for us and are working together to make this lifestyle a success.

Probably not. Most insurance companies require either a BMI over 40, or a BMI over 35 with comorbidities. Your BMI is 33, so you would probably not qualify for insurance coverage. Some surgeons will still perform bariatric surgery for patients with a BMI under 35, but you would most likely have to pay entirely out of pocket. The reason for the requirements is that bariatric surgery is a pretty extreme treatment that requires major changes to your life, and although it is a relatively safe surgery with low complication rates, there is still some risk to it. For most of us, it is a last resort after we have tried and failed many diets. I started with a BMI over 60, so it was pretty clear I wasn't going to be able to lose enough weight without surgery, and the risks to my health were high if I didn't lose the weight. Another thing to note is that even if you meet the typical requirements, every insurance company is different, so you would need to check with your own insurance company. Some employers do not sign up for the bariatric surgery rider (because it costs extra), and if that's the case, your insurance wouldn't cover bariatric surgery under any circumstances.

I was always a water a drinker but I do find it harder to drink now which is weird. It’s the gas in carbonated drinks that is the main concern post bariatric surgery. That and the possibility you’ll switch to the high sugar versions. But with all things on this journey, you have to find what works for you. So if you want to have some soda all you can do is try it & see if it has any adverse affects. Your choice. I gave up sodas years ago. Mainly as the gas gave me terrible hiccups. Never went down the ‘diet’ alternative route for the same reason & because they still feed your craving & desire for sweet. Now there’s info coming out that artificial sweeteners can cause weight gain - body tastes sweet but because there’s no calories to burn it holds on to whatever calories you have eaten. It gets you whichever way you turn! Actually not drinking soda does limit your choices when you go out. I used to have to shrug & say guess I’ll have to have wine - lol!! I have a large mug of green tea every day (400ml) & will pour myself a large glass (400ml) of sparkling water in the morning & let it sit so it goes flat: no gas but the minerally taste remains. I slowly sip on it through out the day in addition to still water. I used to buy a hi protein drinking yogurt which was yummy but a lot of stores don’t stock it anymore - sigh. If I have a gin & tonic, maybe once a month, I stir it frequently to release some of the gas & sip it very slowly.

Before my surgery, I hated drinking plain water. I drank a ton of diet soda and flavored seltzer (Polar, La Croix, Bubly, etc.). When I drank water, I had to add Mio to it. Weirdly, after surgery, I started to like plain water. I still occasionally add Mio, but most of the time, I just drink plain water. I was also told not to drink carbonated beverages, and I've seen some bariatric patients say that they can, but I don't feel compelled to try, at least not at this point. There are mixed opinions on whether it stretches your pouch, but most people say that even if it doesn't stretch your pouch, it's uncomfortable. I've developed a love for hot beverages after surgery. I drink at least one cup of tea every day. I prefer the fruit-flavored ones (especially apple). I like to add zero-calorie syrup (DaVinci, Torani, Jordan's Skinny Syrup) to sweeten and flavor it. Apple tea + caramel syrup + hazelnut syrup is delicious! I also like chai tea + almond milk + vanilla syrup. Of course, these are artificially sweetened, so you may not like them, but it might be worth a try. I am also a fellow coffee hater! I recently discovered an awesome product that I LOVE called Crio Bru. It's roasted cacao beans that you brew like coffee. It doesn't taste like coffee (which I think is a good thing). I don't like it black, but it is absolutely delicious with a couple of ounces of flavored protein shake or some almond milk + zero-calorie syrup. My favorite combination is chocolate coconut protein shake + caramel syrup -- sort of a liquid samoa. I'm kind of obsessed with Crio Bru and I highly recommend it. I bought a sampler from their web site, but you can buy a single bag on Amazon if you just want to try it. I bought a 5-pound bag when I finished the sampler pack!

Has anyone on here tried the bariatric pal protein pancakes? I tried them this morning for the 1st time. I was mixing it up, and said to myself, well I would have to have 2 of these envelopes. Yeah right, I couldn't even finish the 1 pancake it made. I only ate 3/4th of it, and was stuffed.

At your stage, I liked Mio water flavors. I liked herbal tea, green tea, regular tea. I really liked coffee with caramel premiere protien shake in it....tasted like a fancy coffee drink. These days I drink coffee with lowfat milk and splenda or monkfruit. I really like Monkfruit...it's my new thang. LOL I also drink a can of diet pop most days now. (Which is contrary to most bariatric surgeon's advice, so maybe don't do this! LOL) There's really nothing wrong with water. If you like water best, stick with water! It's good for you. If you think the sweeteners are grossing you out, try Monkfruit. Much much better than Stevia IMO, and a little different from Splenda and Aspertame.

I'm so sorry to hear this. I had sleeve and I also had acid reflux before and after surgery. I told my surgeon I was uncomfortable and he put me on carafate. It is a chalky liquid and it's a little difficult to manage at first because no eating or drinking 30 mins before or after. I was on it for 3 months and I no longer get acid at all. Unless I eat something I shouldn't. I am almost 2 years out. I feel like I get heartburn if I over eat more than if I have something I shouldn't. I would try one more time to tell your surgeon how incredibly uncomfortable you are. If he does nothing see someone else. Another bariatric doctor. You did this to improve your quality of life, and you deserve a doctor who wants that for you as well. I really hope this gets handled for you. Good luck. I hope you feel better soon. The exhaustion lasts a few weeks. Hold tight. I experienced that as well. I started to feel great around 4 months out. Sent from my moto z4 using BariatricPal mobile app

I’m getting a sleeve and haven’t had surgery yet but when I put in for leave at work I told my boss and coworkers that I was having part of my stomach removed due to ulcers (not entirely a lie, I do need it for that reason as well). I joked about how “at least I’ll lose weight as a side effect” and everyone was supportive and called me “lucky” to be losing weight as a side effect of a “legitimate medical procedure”. And then they all trash talked getting a bariatric procedure solely for weight loss 🙄. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing with anyone you certainly don’t have to, but if you want to maybe stretching the truth a bit will help it be easier to swallow for others. It’s so sad that weight loss procedures are shamed. We’re looked down on for being fat and then looked down on for doing the things we have to do to lose weight. It’s not fair

You’ll likely start noticing hair loss at about 3 months post surgery & it will continue for 3-4 months but some have different experiences. For me it slowed once I hit maintenance & I was consuming more. I lost about 40% of my hair - thank goodness I had a lot to begin. Not sure if men have a different experience but I wouldn’t imagine they would. Honestly, I’d wait on the hair transplant. Your body is undergoing a lot of stress & change which is why your hair sheds at a faster rate during your weight loss. My surgeon told me my body had better things to do with what I was consuming than grow hair while I was losing. It’s something to consider. Speak with your bariatric medical team & your transplant team & see what they recommend.

I really do not want to tell people I am having bariatric surgery. To me, it is a personal decision and I do not want others to know in such depth. Obviously I will be taking time off for work and losing weight fast. What should I tell people who ask?

Has anyone tried Smile Bariatric pods? This just popped up on my Facebook news feed and I'm thinking this may be the route I go post op with my PCP's approval. (I am not affiliated with Smile Bariatric nor receive compensation for this post) https://smilebariatric.com/product/dispenser/

I am reading that a lot of the Bariatric Advantage Multivitamins are soft chews. What is the difference between soft chew and a gummy? Thanks

Right out of surgery I had gas pain in my shoulders which dissipated with walking and a heat pad. About day 3 I had awful gas pains in the morning but after they calmed down I was ok. I left the hospital before my pain med prescription was ready and I didn’t need it anyway. My incision sites are doing ok with no issues. Overall I am having had a fairly easy recovery. You can’t plan for all the unknowns, but the advice to do as your bariatric team recommends is solid.

@Tim C I food a Bariatric Multivitamin that is specially formulated for Bariatric patients. That combines everything your taking in supplements. It’s called Bariatric Advanced Multi EA it’s a chewable I got thru Amazon. Your not going to be able to all you take after surgery that’s just way to many pills. You’ll end up full on drugs and not food. It is formulated so your body will absorb it. My doc stopped the losartan after surgery and my hctz water pill.

Not supposed to take gummies after sleeve either. I found a multivitamin that formulated for Bariatric surgeries Bariatric Advantage Multi EA It’s a chewable.!I got it on Amazon it has everything but the kitchen sink in it VitD3 B’s E A ext it is formulated so your body absorbs the vitamins.

I'm actually going to NOT recommend this. Insurance benefits and coverage are a potential minefield of complexities. To venture into this arena as a lay person is not for the faint of heart. If your PCP and (proposed) surgical facility are part of the same system, I would rely upon them and their insurance experts and resources to handle all if the minutiae. After all, that's part of the service you're paying for. Only if you start getting pushback, denials, or nonresponse from the medical team, would I recommend getting involved with the process. At the same time, be aware of you medical insurance coverage, its deductibles, copays, in-network vs. out-of-network coverage. Once you are approved, ask what your out-of-pocket costs will be and make sure they align with your understanding of your medical coverage obligations. In my case I was NEVER involved in the insurance approval or documentation process even once. I never had any direct contact with my insurance company. The bariatric medical team/department handled all of the paperwork, the application and approval process, everything. My only involvement was after the fact when I got the bill for my copayment ($375 surgical copay was the only cost I ever incurred outside of $30 physician visit copays). In my case it was when I was diagnosed with (early stage) type II diabetes in June of 2019, following having been on high blood pressure medication for several years. I figured that at age 53 I was living on borrowed time if I didn't make some rather drastic changes... I'd kinda like to live to see retirement. I had looked into weight loss surgery in 2000 or so, but it was still relatively new, the options were limited, and the complication rate was MUCH higher. So I told my PCP that I was potentially interested in weight loss surgery and would like to re-explore options. He referred me to the bariatric department. I had an initial exploratory meeting with an LPRN, and once we tentatively determined that sleeve gastrectomy was the best option, they set me up an introductory meeting with the surgeon. Only after that consultation and pre-surgery weight loss goals had been determined did they initiate insurance approval. As was explained to me, the biggest factors in the approval process are BMI and comorbidities (exacerbating medical conditions). In other words, if your BMI is above X you have the best chance of approval, or if your BMI is X-10 but you also have an additional medical condition(s) (diabetes, high blood pressure, , etc.). So it can be somewhat of a sliding scale and will likely vary by insurance company. What followed was a 6-month+ process of meetings with dieticians, the surgeon, a full psychological evaluation, and proven attempt to lose weight even before surgery is scheduled. My surgery was originally scheduled for April of 2020, but COVID intervened and it was canceled, ultimately occurring in July of 2020. Lemme tell ya, trying to maintain a weight-loss/healthy(ier) way of eating while the world and society is collapsing around you and being prone to "stress eating" ain't fun. Remember, in March/April of 2020 we didn't yet know what direction the pandemic would take... this was the time of panic buying, overreaction, and just general freaking out. Our department started working remotely on March 17, 2020 and we were still adapting to the world of Zoom meetings. Looking back on things, I'm surprised things worked out... now I'm a heck of a lot lighter... and STILL working from home.

Well everyone's vitamin regiment is different. Even concerning the DS. I had the DS too (well, Loop DS), but my vitamin regiment is quite different. I take 1 bariatric multivitamin WITH iron, 2 bariatric multivitamins WITHOUT iron, 2 Calcium Citrate, and 2 CoQ10 every day. And every OTHER day I take 5,000IU of Vitamin A. My labs are 100% normal (as of my 12 month labs that I just did two weeks ago). A 2 month supply of my iron multivitamin is $20, a three month supply of my non-iron multi's is $47, a 4.5 month supply of my Calcium Citrate is $55, a 4 month supply of my Vitamin A is $18. My CoQ10 is bought at Walmart for $8.88 for a 1 month supply. HOWEVER, if I buy the iron multi's in bulk I don't have to pay the shipping price so I tend to buy AT LEAST a 6 month supply at a time (I currently have 9 months worth of these, 11 months if you include the non-chewable ones I bought and can't take because the pills are too big and I don't get my throat stretched until the end of March so I can't swallow them. Right now, anyway). My non-iron multi's I always buy a 9 months supply (I just recently bought 9 months worth and haven't even opened the first new bottle I bought yet). I also tend to buy at LEAST a 9 month supply of Calcium at a time (I currently have the two giant containers of them and have approximately 7.5-8 months of Calcium left). AND I buy an 8 month supply of Vitamin A at a time. I still have some Vitamin A left over from last time so I have roughly about 9 months of Vitamin A).

Thanks for this. I wish I had considered this long ago. Instead, I dismissed doctors who suggested even back then that I might consider bariatric surgery. Even then I was very active and ate very healthy but could not get below the 220 mark. But I just assumed it was my fault and lack of discipline. So Instead I have continued to ratchet up. Only recently, desperate and as a last effort I attended an informational session. Now I actually think this is the only way I could get down to a reasonable weight. I am so anxious but hopeful for the first time in a long time.

I’m sorry you’re in pain but chips, a sandwich or sweets are not going to stop the pain. In fact it likely will cause you more pain, other side effects & may be complications. Remember you just had major abdominal surgery. It’s why we slowly work our way through a liquid, then purée, then soft food diets for weeks before we start on solid foods again. It does seem odd you weren’t prescribed pain meds on leaving hospital. You could still be experiencing gas pain which they used to inflate your abdomen during surgery. The best way to get rid of that is to walk. Even short walks about your house will help. Always contact your medical team if you are in pain or experience anything that is not normal or usual. Ask them for a food plan & a list of foods you can eat as you work through the healing stage if they didn’t provide you with one pre surgery. Also, do you have a nutritionalist/dietician? If you don’t, ask your team for a referral to one who has experience with supporting bariatric patients. You’re embarking on a journey that, if you work at it, will change how you eat & what you eat & lead to a slimmer & healthier you. Good luck on your journey.

for my multis, I just take two Centrums (or the generic equivalent) every day, so those are cheap (especially the generics). Although like Alex said, you can even get bariatric-specific vitamins for way less than what you're currently paying (most of those you only have to take one of, which you said you liked..)..