Search the Community

Oh man! Two MONTHS on liquids? Seems over the top, but did you have any other problems? I would definitely ask the dietician. Is the dietician one that works specifically for a bariatric surgeon and one that does lots of bands? Take care and CONGRATS on losing a great amount of weight already, woohoo!!!! Chin up, you'll eat soon. You can do this liquid thing, it's not going to be forever (though I know it seems like it now, huh?). We wait with baited breath for updates!

Hi, I am also 47 and had my band surgery August 26, 2010. Although I am also new also I would be happy to answer any questions about my recent experience. I had the same experience only in reverse. My husband and children were very supportive and still are. I am kind of an open book so when I said I was taking off work to have bariatric surgery I felt like people were judging me. Some even starting telling me horror stories. Since I started this I have lost 37 lbs. I have had one fill 4 weeks after surgery. I found it a little hard to adjust to the fill so I cancelled my second appointment. Now I realize that was a mistake. I will have the another fill on November 30. After 2 1/2 months I can tell you that I believe this was definately the right choice for me. I have found it is hard to find someone to talk to about this, I guess it is like anything else you dont know if you haven't been through it.

I know a few people who had done this post surgery and have had great results HOWEVER with that said.. in all honesty.. you should talk to your nutritionist about it before you begin it..make sure it won't do you any harm. As for in person ppl in your area have you tried any bariatric support groups in your area?

I am taking the Bariatric Advantage vitamin...hate um....However I do love those calcium chews, maybe a little to much -

I mentioned to TerriDoodle in her thread....Dr. Heller comes to talk to Spivak's group. He was there last Tuesday but I couldn't make it. I think he'll be there in October some time. Wanda at Spivak's office just had some fairly extensive work done I think last week. He's one I am going to check out. We have a guy here in Clear Lake named Dr. Todd Adam I have heard good things about. There's also that guy on the TV show Big Medicine who does the post-bariatric surgery PS clean-up that they show. Not sure where his office is in town.

Fall into the savings with our bariatric price specials. If you have been thinking about having a bariatric procedure now is the time Dr. Ponce and his team are running a fall special book your procedure between september and November and you will receive a $300 credit toward the surgery price; you will also receive a gift basket, and a 30 day supply of Protein powder. Do not delay if you are considering Bariatric surgery and have questions call or email Trish we are happy to serve you and be a part of your weight loss journey I would be happy to get you her info if you need it. This is a great deal! Sarah

Thanks Kahleen so much. Its not about demanding the attending doctor because I feel like I deserve special treatment. It is unprofessional not to guarantee an opportunity to meet a patient whose body you already operated on! I'm going to forget the disrespect in not meeting him BEFORE surgery. Yes Yes The VA Medical offer it to veterans that've been receiving their primary health care from them for at least a year. Then you can ask your PCP about their MOVE program or he/she may offer u info on it. It's a weight loss program. I did it for 3 months then ask their nutritionist info on their Bariatric Program. She scheduled u for a seminar. Their u get more info and the Bariatric coordinator contact info. One u loose your 15% she schedule a psych eval, once u pass a consult with the surgeon, or for me the PA, lol.

I had my first PCP Appointment this week..She told me that I need to write a letter to my insurance company explaining every detail of why I need this surgery. Then she said I give it to her for my dr office to help me get approval from insurance while they look for a bariatric surgeon for me since there isn't one in the network. Meanwhile She ordered for me to get my labs done so we are ahead of the game..I have Aetna and I'm located in California. Did anyone else have an experience like this?? Any advice is appreciated. All I know is I'm great at writing and this is going to be the best damn letter I've ever written. ????

Vent... having a difficult time getting bariatric doc office to submit to insurance. I did a 6 month nutritional program through my former insurance, gave release to doc office (still haven't requested it). I also did 10 months of Weight watchers from august 2016 - may 2017 and even had doctor visits in august, October, April, (and several others) where my weight was recorded and even nutrition discussed - though the visits were not specifically for that. I have talked to my current insurance several times and they are very much encouraging me to have my doc office submit for approval. Especially now since my medical tests revealed a hiatal hernia and gerd (i knew I had gerd) and that sometimes a waiver is given. However, the person at my doc office is being a bit snippy about turning it in for approval because she thinks the people I talked to at my insurance are wrong. I am trying to get them to submit but agh. (they also still have to request my ekg results since hospital was not theirs and get the online bariatric psych eval place to actually send my approval results). A bit frustrated. Just in case I started the 6 month nutrition visits through my doc back on the 6th

What are you doing to get protein in if not protein shakes? Our surgeon wants us on protein shakes as soon as we get home-like day 1 at home from hospital. It's important for healing, to keep your hair and to prevent your body from starving and start wasting your muscles and breaking them down for proteins to keep your body systems going. As for vitamins, we were told that we could use chewable a like 2 flintstones or chewable Bariatric vitamins or use nothing for the first two weeks until we were able to use the pills like 10-14 days out. Certainly after that point you want to be on vitamins because our bodies can't absorb what we need because of the rerouting of intestines and restriction(bypass), so it's important to your complete health to take vitamins then. If you were a sleeve, you'd still need to take vitamins to make up for what you can't get in due to the restriction, but the rules were the same. Chewable vitamins or nothing for first 2 weeks, then move to the pills or stay on chewables.

I have not had this surgery yet, but have been doing my homework. From what I have read, nutritional deficiencies, and their consequences, are common. See for example this research article: "The gastric sleeve: losing weight as fast as micronutrients?", Obes Surg. 2011 Feb;21(2):207-11. doi: 10.1007/s11695-010-0316-7, which can be read for free here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21088925 I plan to follow the guidelines to the letter. See for example this info from Johns Hopkins: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/johns_hopkins_bayview/_docs/medical_services/bariatrics/nutrition_sleeve_gastrectomy.pdf

Ahhh Pita and rice may work up the calories. I have been avoiding grains cuz they seem too heavy. But now that I am almost done with month 2, I may give it a shot. BTW, brown rice or white rice? Can't do chicken and all cuz vegetarian but would love a falafel in a pita (ofc bariatric version of falafel) 😂 Your carb content isn't almost double your protein. So seems like I shouldn't be worried getting more carbs in. With beans and lentils, carbs do overshoot, but without them there won't be much variation in my diet. My fats are around similar number, usually less than 30gram.

Hello everyone I am new here and just wanted to say hi , introduced myself and tell you my story. My name is Tom ,I am 40 years old and I am from Toronto,Canada. Yes, I almost use to weight 1,000 lbs. I actually was 910 lbs at my highest just about a year ago. On December 10, 2015 I checked in to a hospital weighing 910 lbs and I am currently still here at the hospital continuing to receive the treatment and help I need one year later. My 1 year anniversary stay at the hospital was just 11 days ago and on December 10, 2016 I weighed 475 lbs . So I lost a total of 435 lbs + in one year. Now , I also had another problem. I had developed a big nasty a localized lymphedema (big tumor)in my groin area that grew to be about 180-200 lbs it self estimated. This lymphedema caused me my original reason i went to the hospital because it pretty much ancored me down to the point I wasn't able to walk ,get around anywhere but a few feet from my bed to the couch.Also with moving and trying to walk around stuff came great pain since the Lymphedema tumor had developed lots of ulcers and open wounds that were very bad and nasty. I no longer could take the pain and suffering and reached for the desperate help I needed but was terrified to ask for. So in the hospital I was put on a strict diet of 1500 calories to start for the first month or so and then eventually decreased to 1200 calories a day food intake. Also along with the help of my physiotherapist, doing any bed excercise we could in the beginning because at 910 lbs that's all that I could do. I lost 400 lbs by diet and exercise by September 28, 2016...Which is when I had my Gastric bypass surgery. So in 9 months basically I lost those 400 lbs and had my surgery. When I first came in here to the hospital I wasn't even thinking about getting a gastric bypass surgery or any kind of diet surgery etc. I came here in hopes of having something done and even removal of that lymphedema tumor that was paining me and ancoring me down. So it was all about losing weight and seeing what will happen. @910 lbs noone in their right mind would do any kind of surgery on a person unless it was life and death. So they had no plans to have anything with removal of this lymphedema growth till I lost enough weight and be safe. As I started to lose weight the talks and suggestions of having a Gastric bypass surgery came up by doctors. They thought it would help me lose weight faster now so we can deal with the Lymphedema growth surgery with lower and safer weight levels. Also they said it would help me in future to lose more excess weight and keep it off or maintain my weight at least for life if i used this tool correctly (Gastric bypass surgery). So in due time my doctor said that I've lost enough weight and approved me for Gastric Bypass surgery and with a weight of 510 lbs I had my surgery September 28, 2016. Now, with all this weight loss my lymphedema growth has also shrunk from its giant enormous size down to about 1/4 of what it use to be but it is still there and weighs bout 50 lbs still. Me and my doctor here at the hospital are expecting a special surgeon to come see me today(December 21,2016) actually about the removal surgery of this lymphedema hrowth. So hopefully he will have good news for me. Because that lymphedema tumor is still a big anchor for me and really in the way and holding me back from doing a lot of things including not being able to walk and move around in certain ways because it gets in the way. Now the hospital I'm in has a special bariatric program and there was a reason why I actually ended up picking this hospital to come to. I knew someone who's dad is a surgeon here and he directed me to have EMS and Fire to bring me here from home. Also, since I'm in Canada all hospital stay to date including my Gastric Bypass survey was covered under OHIP as we call it here. That good old free Canadian healthcare that every Canadian gets at work for me luckily. I have been truly lucky and blessed with everything from being able to get the help I needed and all the amazing people involved including all nurses and doctors and other hospital admins who have done everything they could to keep me here and help me achieve my goals to get better and walk out of this hospital on my own 2 legs. Since the surgery on September 28th I have lost 40 lbs till now December, 21 2016. Now this is due to a problem I have developed with my platelets in my blood. My immune system became overactive and started killing my platelets in my blood thinking the platelets wee some foreign objects like viruses and infections so it destroy them . Platelets in blood help to thicken or congeil the blood incase you cut yourself you wont bleed away and can't stop the blood . Or if your platelet count is very low and say you fall, hit your head you could get internal bleeding etc. So the avg persons platelet levels should be between 150 to 400 ish. That's what's considered normal apperantly. Well I had mine go down as low as 2 . Very dangerous. So they got me on some steroids to calm my immune system and it seems to be doing ok at around the country of 135. So they aren't comcerned with me about that now. Anyway, these steroids cause weight gain due to Water retention etc etc. So losing weight has been harder after surgery and it was after surgery we discovered these platelet problems. But not related to Gastric Bypass surgery. Instead of me typing everything out and explaining so much that I have to explain and tell, I have created a YouTube channel so I could tell my story and progress through my channel. I will link everything below. Now, best thing would be is to watch my very first vlog here https://youtu.be/n3CLU2ghoiM My 2nd Vlog here to catch up on my story https://youtu.be/Y3MXkp-nQJ8 Or you can go to my channel and watch everything I ever uploaded here. https://m.youtube.com/user/Boosted00 But the 1st two Vlogs are my intro explanation videos to my weight loss journey and my 910 lbs life.... I'd appreciate if you all check out my YouTube channel Subscribe to me , comment like and share . Would be a great help. I will end it here for now, in the first vlog video I have pictures of when I use to look like ,I have a picture of the size of the Lymphedema groin tumor and things in the beginning of that first YouTube video along with the beginning stages of my story. I will be adding new content couple times a week and also continue explaining my story in a new video which will be Vlog#3 and 4 etc etc. Besides that I will be adding small side videos ,some funny some serious that I have filmed in the past 5 or so months. If you have any question feel free to ask away or just comment and I be happy to reply or just read comments. Old pictures pictures I posted down below in another reply because I was having trouble attaching them here in this first post of mine , I apologise for separating them. I also will add a couple current pictures down below as well. My direct link to my YouTube channel https://m.youtube.com/user/Boosted00 My first YouTube intro vlog about my journey Add me on Instagram to follow me there too. Instagram tommy910_ Email 910lbs@gmail.com Please help me help others get motivated thru my story! Plz SUB like and share , LOVE YOU GUYS ! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basic repeat and quicker rundown of my story here Basic story then my YouTube links down below.. I was almost 1,000 lbs....and I kept fighting and never giving up. I want to share my near 1000 lb life story and journey of how I kept on fighting and not giving up,EVER ! You must do the same and stay strong ,things will get better .KEEP ON SWIMMING #keeponswimming I would appreciate if you Subscribed to me to help me raise awareness and help motivate others with my on going success story of my weight loss journey. Thank you all. Here is my almost 1000 lb life weigh loss journey ! On December 10, 2015 i checked in to a hospital with a weight of 910 lbs. On my 1st anniversary in there on December 10, 2016 I was down to 475 lbs and counting.... Please check out my YouTube channel and subscribe to follow along. My direct link to my YouTube channel https://m.youtube.com/user/Boosted00 My first YouTube intro vlog about my journey Sent from my Pixel XL using the BariatricPal App [/url]

I went ultra-low carb (20g net carbs a day), but I’m not vegetarian so it would’ve been easier for me. This was not my prescribed program, i chose to do this on my own (and fully disclosed it to my NUT). I didn’t eat any fruit during weight loss phase save for the occasional berry (least amount of sugar in the fruit family). But i do now at 3+ years post op. You can try google-ing Vegetarian Keto for some food/recipe ideas, but i think that so soon after surgery you may not reach your bariatric protein requirements and stay below your maintenance calories to be true Keto. So maybe a modified version of it?

Haha...I love it! If you really wanted people to get the message, you could set it up so you have to give your little bariatric pet sips and bites. And then give them Oregon Trail type messages like: "Oops, you gave your pet too many sips, too fast! He's taking nausea medicine and praying he doesn't throw up." "Your pet didn't take enough sips today. He has a headache and feels weak."

Most people are Vitamin D deficient. It's more a "3rd world" issue than anything else. For the most part we work in offices and rarely get enough natural sunlight because we no longer live in hunter- gatherer societies. Unless it's at dangerously low levels I wouldn't worry about it. However, most people will be asked to take the supplements. I've noticed recently this has become an issue with people who have had sleeve surgery. According to what I've read on American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery *Scroll down to table 5 vitamins and supplements are necessary. However I'm learning that my doctor tends to be more on the cautious side than other people's. Personally I'm okay with that as I have a virtually carefree surgical course and post op. I will ask them when I see them next month. It may indeed be a case of the sleeve surgery being too new to truly know.

Hi, I am a fourth year Psychology student doing my Thesis on successful outcomes for obesity, and I have posted my survey here in the hope I will get a few people to help with this research. The research aims at finding long term solutions to obesity and looks at success after bariatric surgery. You will be asked a series of questions that relate to your personality and feelings. It will help you better understand your relationship with food and society. I hope to take the reluts to the Australian Society for Obesity on completion, you will be given the results as well. Thank you in advance! Please click on the link below, it is completly anonymous, Ashley. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8KR7B3V

I think what I'm ultimately worried about is the ketsosis turning into ketoacidosis. But I wasn't diabetic before the surgery, so it probably won't happen. I think you're right, in that I just need to worry about making sure I get as much of my daily requirements in for protient and Water. It has been nearly impossible to even get close, even with the protien shakes. I use the Bariatric Advantage protien powder. I've noticed the vanilla is excellent with just water, but the orange cream tastest better with half-milk, half-water. I'm experimenting with different protien powders at this point to try and get it all in, since yesterday was abysmal. All I can do is do better with each successive day. Thanks for replying and putting my fears to rest, James.

Hi Everybody! I live in the Northern suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I had my surgery on 6-23-11 by Dr. Jeffrey Baker at Unity Hospital. He works out of Baker Bariatrics. He is a very skilled surgeon who has done many procedures and is really nice too! I highly recommend him. Plus my insurance covered him so that was a bonus! I am 6 weeks out and have lost 20 pounds so far (i had lost 20 before the surgery) so am down 40 pounds so far. Started at 243- at 203 this week. I had a 'mini stall' at week 4, but only lasted about 10 days. Now moving down again. Overall, I have had no complications or problems that weren't expected. I have not had any nausea or vomiting since the surgery. My incisions healed well (can hardly see them now). I consider myself very lucky!! I am 47, married, no kids except for my 9 year old Beagle, Brewster. Tonight I start in a beginning running class training for a 5K race in October. I have already been thru my closet and was able to give 2 big bags to the Lupus Foundation- I have lost 2 sizes already!

Hello everyone, I am scheduled for surgery on 4/30. This past week I had a spouse of a CRNA express concern about my choice of surgeons. It actually freaked me out a little bit. She suggested I do my 'due dilligence' and look at complication rates etc. I have done all that, in fact did it before I selected Dr. Ray. Now, it is making me a little freakie. I chose him and his office because they were a 'Center of Excellance' as certified by the American Bariatric Center. Anyway, I would be interested in hearing of anyones experiences with Dr. Ray.

I'm looking for recommendations for a St. Louis, MO area surgeon. I'm not 100% sure which surgery I'm doing but am leaning strongly towards the sleeve. I've been to Dr. Van Wagner's seminar and was impressed. I've also been extremely impressed with the service his office has provided thus far. I'm attending the MyNewSelf seminar by Dr. J. Stephen Scott tomorrow night. I want to make sure I pick the best surgeon (most experience, least # of issues, etc) in the St. Louis area. Both are Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence surgeons. Thanks in advance for input that may help me with my choice of surgeon.

Good luck. The insurance is probably the most frustrating parts for those of us who are lucky enough to have insurance cover it. To ease your mind, call your Bariatric Team and make sure they got the letter and that they will be responding promptly. They are pulling for you, and want to see you suceed too.

Consuming Protein doesn't have to be high fat and for the most part isn't. Lean meats, Beans and rice are usually part of most bariatric diets. Pre-op diets are usually very low carb so that your liver shrinks. The liver overlaps the stomach and the surgical tech has to lift it so that the surgeon has better access to your stomach. A heavy liver can tear and needless to say, it's not desirable. Post op diets usually are different and include most foods. Desserts and Pasta would not fit into the healthy foods category though. Both are highly processed foods. Both convert to sugar quickly which can raise your insulin levels and cause more hunger when those levels fall quickly. There's not a lot of room in your new stomach to fit food into and loss of muscle mass can happen when you don't get enough protein. Moderation of highly processed foods should be a part of anyone's diet but not necessarily a total elimination of. There are many alternatives for animal Proteins but natural animal proteins offer more satiety than a Protein shake or powder. You might consider a consult with the bariatric nutritionist. And make sure it's one who understands the nutritional needs of bariatric patients. Most of us don't eliminate all carbs. It's just that filling up on pasta offers very little nutritional value. tmf

According to the internet: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease worldwide. Treatment recommendations for NAFLD are aimed towards weight reduction, thereby reducing insulin resistance. Unfortunately, lifestyle modifications have not yielded long-term success, while durable weight loss is routinely achieved with bariatric surgery. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/763056 So what this summary says it that lifestyle modifications such as dieting and exercise have not yielded long-term success but bariatric surgery has. Another article says: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a progressive disease with potential evolution to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Another article says: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease. It encompasses a spectrum of conditions associated with lipid deposition in hepatocytes. It ranges from steatosis (simple fatty liver), to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH–fatty changes with inflammation and hepatocellular injury or fibrosis), to advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. Studies suggest that although simple fatty liver is a benign condition, NASH can progress to fibrosis and lead to end-stage liver disease. The disease is mostly silent and is often discovered through incidentally elevated liver enzyme levels. It is strongly associated with obesity and insulin resistance and is currently considered by many as the hepatic component of the metabolic syndrome. NASH cirrhosis is now one of the leading indications for liver transplantation in the United States. I underwent RNY gastric bypass surgery because my health was deteriorating rapidly. I dieted and exercised and still could not shed the pounds but instead continued to gain the weight. I had the surgery to correct my health conditions. The surgery corrected a number of my health conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, acid reflux (GERD). It even corrected my asthma condition. If your focus is to become healthy and live a long productive life, then I would suggest the surgery. I dropped 120 pounds after surgery and my BMI went to normal. Weight loss was just a little gravy on top of health improvements. One of the factors that enter into the equation is cost. The operation is expensive and therefore it is important to have insurance that covers the operation. Therefore the guideline requirements from your insurance policy will dictate how easy it is to obtain this surgery. Many insurance policies are written very similar, so this will give you an idea: Surgical treatment of obesity (bariatric surgery) is covered only if: - eligible enrollee is 18 of age or over - clinical records support a body mass index of 40 or greater (or 35-40 when there is at least one co-morbidity related to obesity). Applicable co-morbid conditions include the following: * Type II diabetes mellitus (by American Diabetes Association diagnostic criteria). * Refractory hypertension (defined as blood pressure of 140 mmHg systolic and or 90 mmHg diastolic) despite medical treatment with maximal dose of three antihypertensive medications. * Refractory hyperlipidemia (acceptable levels of lipids unachievable with diet and maximum doses of lipid lowering medications). * Obesity–induced cardiomyopathy. * Clinically significant obstructive sleep apnea. * Severe arthropathy of the spine and or weight bearing joints (when obesity prohibits appropriate surgical management of joint dysfunction treatable but for obesity). - Documentation of failure to lower the body mass index within the last 12 months through a medically supervised program of diet and exercise of at least 6 months duration. So if your health insurance policy was similar to mine, you would not be able to qualify because of age; but the moment you turned 18, you would get a green light because your BMI is over 40. So the best advise I can give you is to dig out your health insurance policy and read the fine print.

Maybe flavored Water like Propel? I just bought a whole bunch of stuff from Dietdirect.com, they have Protein enhanced soups, different Protein drinks, Protein Bars and bariatric Vitamins... Good luck! diane5467