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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..)..

Congratulations on your success! We are pretty similar — I had my surgery just a week before yours, and I have also lost 100 pounds since my surgery (I lost about 70 pounds before surgery). My initial goal weight was 180 pounds based on average weight loss (this was before I lost the first 70 pounds), but now I’m shooting for 150, although I honestly don’t care all that much about the number on the scale; for me, it’s all about the NSVs. When I stop and think about it, I’m in disbelief that I have lost such a massive amount of weight. I used to see people who have lost 100+ pounds and think it was impossible, and now I’m one of them. i also have the same sense that it doesn’t feel like I’ve lost as much as I have. I am literally half the size I used to be, and of course I can tell that I’m smaller, but I definitely don’t feel like I’m half my old size. I actually like to cook, and I spend a lot of time on Pinterest looking at bariatric-friendly recipes (I find a lot of recipe on keto web sites, even though I don’t exactly follow the keto diet, but a lot of keto recipes are good because they’re low-carb). One of the cool things about being a bariatric patient is that my portion sizes are so small that I get a ton of servings out of a single recipe. I made a batch of turkey meat sauce that came out to 27 portions! I have a freezer full of single-serving meals from just a few cooking sessions. I’ve really enjoyed finding new, healthy recipes that I love, and I hardly even miss the old unhealthy foods I used to eat. I recently discovered that I like spaghetti squash! And I eat cauliflower rice all the time. I hardly recognize myself anymore. Anyway, it’s great to see someone else enjoying great results from WLS. It is truly life-changing!

My doctor was delighted I brought it up. He loved the idea and said he had several patients in his practice who had terrific results. He had an excellent recommendation for a Bariatric program, too.

Update - I asked my PCP to send my scan report to my Bariatric surgeon. They called me immediately after receiving my scans. Surgeon wants to see me next week to talk about scheduling gallbladder removal and my surgery.

I know being cold is very common in bariatric patients, but I don't know about Raynaud's being common in us - I think this is the first time I've seen anything about that. I just googled it. Most of the hits were the same article, which was published in different databases. But there were a few mentions of it in different places...although again, most were of that one article/study. Another article said being cold after WLS could also be due to rapid weight loss and the slowed metabolism that often comes with that. I suspect that's probably what causes the coldness for most of us - but I don't know. Interesting. I'll keep my eyes/ears open for this from now on.

Hi! I am very new to this community and to the idea of WLS in general. I have tried (and failed) for years to lose weight, so I am finally reaching out for help! I am 24 years old, 5'5", and currently weigh 310lbs, putting my BMI at 52. My question is... where do I even begin? I just made an appointment with my PCP for next week and said the reason for the appointment was to discuss my weight. I started weight loss management with her back in August 2020 (~6 months ago), so I do have some documented proof of trying to lose weight through diet change and exercise. But... it hasn't worked. I only lost about 15 pounds and have since plateaued. I am now interested in my WLS options. How do I even breach this subject with my doctor? Do I just outright say I am interested in bariatric surgery? My health insurance (Harvard Pilgrim) requires a referral, so I know this is the first step to take, but I am not sure how to get the ball rolling or what to expect. What can I expect out of this initial conversation? What was your experience like? Has anyone been denied a referral from their doctor? Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance 🙂

Ever since my surgery approx. 6 months ago, my feet are so cold that they hurt. Especially my toes. No matter what I do, they won't get warm. I made a doc appt and went last week, she told me I have Reynard's Disease, and that it is common for bariatric patients. Has anyone else heard of this?

I use Bariatric fusion unflavored protein powder low fat Greek yogurt and fairlife skim milk with strawberries and bananas 1/2 cup and kale. Sent from my U693CL using BariatricPal mobile app

Eggface's Ricotta Bake Recipe | SparkRecipes (sparkpeople.com) Creamy Chicken Casserole with Butternut Squash & Apples - Bariatric Bits These 2 recipes got me through the soft/pureed foods phase, along with eggs

I'm so sorry Suzi. I hated food too. I didn't have the kinds of problems you are having, but food just didn't taste the same. I only ate because I had to. The one thing I really enjoyed was the Bariatric Pal hot chocolate. I know at 6 weeks out they do not advise this for our meals, however I figured it was better than not getting any nutrients. Please know we are all thinking of you and hope this will pass soon for you. ❤

Actually, getting my gallbladder out is what led to me getting wls, because when the surgeon was in there my liver looked awful and he recommended wls, but had I not had it removed, my bariatric surgeon said he would have removed it at the same time as my wls. You should be fine! Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

I take Procare Bariatric vitamins. They are fantastic.. They're are capsule and they include iron.. They do have a chewable form too, but I like the capsule. I had a Loop DS, and my bariatric surgeon recommended these because they are one a day. Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

Bariatric Advantage Ultra Solo with Iron is what I take. It was recommended in my program. I buy three months at a time.