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I'm a sleeve to bypass revision and I've lost 40 pounds since my bypass surgery on 10/29/20 (17 weeks post-op). Since my surgery was for GERD and not officially bariatric, I didn't have as much to lose to get to my goal weight. But I want to lose a few pounds more just to give myself some "wiggle" room once I'm past the honeymoon period. I know that weight gain is possible, and very likely probable, after the 1st year. I wasn't really prepared for maintenance after my sleeve surgery in 2014 and gained almost 50 lbs. in the 6 years following surgery. I want to be better prepared to maintain a normal weight since I've been given a second chance to truly change my relationship with food!

Same. I had my surgery in October. I told 4 people close to me because I didn't want to be known to the rest of the world as the girl that had the weight loss surgery. A friend that had the surgery said that she felt that way and wished she hadn't shared it with others. I'm a pretty private person, so her comments stuck with me. As I've been losing weight and people ask what I'm doing, I just tell them I'm doing keto. The bariatric diet is high in protein and low in carbs, so the diet they see me eating reflects that. Also, I don't feel like I'm lying because I am basically doing keto. Everyone has their own path- just do what's best for you!

This is what my surgeon gave me...your mileage may vary! Protein shakes, Milk 1% or less (I recommend Fair Life), Greek Yogurt in addition to the clear liquids (Bariatric Clear Liquids, Broth, De-caf Coffee or Tea, Diet Jello). I highly recommend looking into the Bariatric Hot Cocoa from this site or Amazon. I also recommend Swanson Sipping Bone Broth at this stage. Good luck! Post Op Diet & Boot Camp.pdf

This is an interesting article about the myth of soda stretching your stomach written by a doctor and medical director of a bariatric center. Soda is not a good choice. Even diet soda might make you overeat. It's devoid of nutrition. It might deplete your calcium. It really should be eliminated as much as possible. But it's not gonna stetch your sleeve/pouch. With two weak valves at either end, the PSI simply isn't there to stretch a muscle with gas. Yes, doctors and nutritionists tell you this routinely. Because soda is a lousey choice and maybe you won't drink it if they make it sound scary. Again...not advocating for my choices...just sayin...not all doctors sell this myth. https://www.obesityhelp.com/articles/drinking-soda-after-wls-debunking-the-myth/ There are some great REAL reasons not to drink soda, however! Very worth a read.

BCBS FED Basic olan has no deductible, it is PPO (out of network providers not paid) and out of pocket maximum is NOT affected by bariatric surgery (they keep it secret). Hospital care: inpatient $175 per day, up to $875 per admission, outpatient $100 (my surgery was outpatient). Surgery: $150 in office settings, $200 in non-office settings.

Hey, whats is the best tasting chewable vitamins? I was online looking at bariatric advantage. Has anyone tried these? What's your favorite?? Feb 23 rd is my surgery date. Less than a week! Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

The only person who knows is my mother because I'm under her insurance so she would've eventually found out. I chose not to tell my 6 siblings or my father because I witnessed how they spoke about my sister's sleeve surgery, and while it wasn't negative I just didn't like the idea of someone discussing me, my body, or my eating habits. Coincidentally, I had a different health issue I was going to physical therapy for, so I told them I was having surgery for that. For the past 6 months I've just been relating my doctor visits to that issue instead of bariatric surgery.

lots of people have revised, so some may chime in here. It usually does resolve GERD (although not always -- tracyringo, who's on here, hasn't seen any improvement yet, unfortunately) - but for most people, yes - it stops it. most RNY'ers don't dump (the statistic that gets thrown around a lot is 30% of us dump, although I don't know if there's any hardcore medical research behind that number. However, I've been on bariatric boards for the last six years, and I know a lot of us don't dump - so that number doesn't surprise me. And no - you don't dump on Splenda or other artificial sweeteners. Just sugar - and for some people, fats (although I should add that some artificial sweeteners, esp sugar alcohols, give some people G/I distress - but that's true of normal people, too - not just WLS patients). weight loss supposedly isn't as fast or easy with revisions as it is with virgin surgeries, but some people do manage to make their goal.

The reason your nutritionist said not due is most likely due to the fact that the studies on them are still in progress. The only finished study I found said that B12 and D3 were still low after those. I am trying the patches but am also taking oral D3 and B12 with this information known. Edit: I only bought a 1 month supply (before surgery) but never used them so I am only using htem while waiting on some bariatric pills to ship in. I am working on still taking pills to cover the vitamins as they have a lot higher rate of absorption and have more studies already done on them without deficiencies.

I only know this through hanging out on this and other bariatric boards for the last six or so years, but for both types of surgeries, it depends on the surgeon (like it does with so many other things, it seems...). Many surgeons say no - forever - to carbonated beverages - but some are OK with it once your a ways out if your stomach can handle it. I've tried it (even though my surgeon is one of the "no" people), but it hurts my stomach, so I can't do it. It's fine, though - after being away from it for so long, it tastes like a bunch of chemicals to me now (which is basically what it is..)

I was 47 with a 35 BMI, the minimum my insurance would cover. Looking back, I would have had the surgery at a lower BMI to avoid the negative feelings I had about myself as my weight continued to grow and dieting continued to fail me. After a certain age, which is different for all of us, our metabolism slows making weight loss much more difficult. This surgery is the absolute BEST thing I've ever done for myself physically. Prior to the surgery, I shared many of the concerns others share on this site. While I never suffered from eating disorders or food obsessions, I certainly loved to eat and eat well. I cooked frequently for myself and large groups of friends, and my lifestyle is social -- most of my social activities revolve around eating and drinking. So what has changed? Nothing, and everything. I still love to eat, and I still love what I eat. Other than pre-surgery and the first 2 months or so after, I haven't counted calories, haven't tracked macros, etc. The pre-surgery diet, although it felt brutal at the time, was extremely beneficial in getting my mind used to smaller portions. Knowing that I could do it, even with my whole stomach intact, was empowering. The post-surgery diet, which included counting calories for ~2 months, and more importantly accurately portioning my food (½ cup, ¾ cup, etc.), allowed me to gauge what a "sleeve" meal should consist of and look like. My social gatherings still revolve around food and drinks. I still cook for large groups. I still eat whatever I want. Pizza, pasta, French fries, etc. In that respect nothing has changed. I didn't drink alcohol for almost a year, but now I have a glass or two of wine almost every day, plus the occasional vodka (Deep Eddy Ruby Red vodka with water -- in Austin, TX they call it "pink crack). What has changed is that I mostly only WANT to eat things that are high in protein and otherwise healthy. Rather than wake up and drink 2-3 Diet Cokes, I drink water all day, every day. And not only do I not miss the soda, I crave the water. I carry it with me everywhere. If I've portioned correctly, I stop eating when my plate is empty. If I happen to add more to my plate than the recommended amount, my stomach tells me I've eaten enough before my plate is empty. I have more energy, I feel stronger physically, and I don't hate the mirror or the camera. FOOD: I eat every 3-4 hours. Breakfast is typically either: 2 eggs + 2 strips bacon, or a bowl of Kashi Go Lean high protein cereal with Fairlife (higher in protein) milk. Sometimes I go wild and use Fairlife chocolate milk on the cereal - LOL! Lunch: if not leftovers of last night's dinner, usually it's 6 Triscuits with lunchmeat and cheese, or 6 saltines with chicken or tuna salad. Not sure why, but 6 seems to be my magic number when it comes to crackers. If I want a sandwich, I eat a sandwich, but I buy those little party rye loaves with the tiny pieces of bread and I always toast them -- like a grilled cheese sandwich, but with meat and cheese. I will add horseradish to roast beef, or chipotle mayo, spinach leaves, tomato slices, or whatever. You'd be surprised how flavorful and satisfying you can make a tiny little sandwich. And I savor every bite. Dinner: Salmon, chicken, steak, shrimp, fish -- I have at least one of those every night for dinner, broiled, grilled, sautéed, stir-fry, or occasionally fried in coconut oil. Sides include a green veggie and a starch -- rice, pasta, potato. Those are mostly for my husband. I eat the protein, plus a very small portion of the sides. The fourth meal, either between lunch and dinner, or after dinner depending on what time we eat, is the same as what I described for lunch. I don't prioritize fruits or veggies, but I eat them when I want or when my body tells me it needs them. I get random cravings for oranges or salad, which I think is my body's way of telling me I need them. Also, I eat every meal now on a salad plate rather than a dinner plate. It's a small thing, but helps with portion control and to combat the visual impact of a nearly empty plate. THE DOWN SIDE: For me, months 3-9 were the most challenging, and mostly with social environments. I'm one of the people who didn't share my journey with my friends. After the third month, the weight loss was drastic. Month after month I dropped size after size. A good thing, right? Of course. But trying to maintain the secret, sit at a dinner table filled with food and friends, and eat at most a cup of food with no wine or cocktail? Sheesh, that was hard. The worst part was having overweight acquaintances ask me about the secret to my success. I wanted to share this amazing gift with everyone, but I chose not to trade the privacy of my personal health journey to become an ambassador for bariatric surgery. Now the questions have died down and I'm just normal me. I weigh myself 4-5 days a week. I hit goal about 8 months after surgery, and since then (21 months) I've gone +/- 3 pounds. If I eat pizza or fries, it's a small portion and not on a regular basis. Same with dessert. I'm actually satisfied with one Hershey kiss. Bizarre. It's like everything our doctors told us -- eat less, move more, eat healthier, use moderation. What seemed impossible to accomplish on a regular-sized stomach became simple with a tiny one. Sorry for this long post. I read everything I could find on this site pre-surgery and it really helped to have so many different perspectives from so many people. Our journeys are all different, and what works for some may not work for others. It's normal to feel nervous. But if you were to tally the regrets on this site, they would mostly be that we didn't take this step sooner.

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?

Hi! I had my SIPS surgery about 2 and a half weeks ago at Blossom Bariatrics in Las Vegas. They specialize in helping out of state patients and the whole thing from consultation, meeting with the dietician, EGD, pre-op/post op checks are included in 5 days and you get to go home. The only thing not included was the care companion which I had to pay additional for to help me after my surgery. The care companion is optional and if you have someone who can go with you and take care of you after surgery then you don’t need that. I went alone and everything was included in the price quote plus hotel, transportation, surgery etc. hope this helps. If you have more questions just let me know

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