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I’ve come across some scary research that states a high rate of bone loss among bariatric surgery patients. It said that the bone loss is prominent around 3-5+ years post surgery. This concerns me. I thought calcium supplementation and weight bearing exercises should help avoid and issues. Has anyone come across this? Or if you are 3-5+ years out have you experienced it?

Thanks, everyone. I'm not planning on making a huge bowl of spaghetti for dinner! The reason I asked is because my husband made a cheese lasagna the other night and it was literally the only thing that has seemed palatable to me in over a week. I had a UGI x-ray yesterday morning and it was all clear. For the past week or so, any time I eat, I just can't stand the taste (no matter what it is), and when I try to force myself to eat or drink, have almost instant stomach pain and feel full. I've felt very over-full, even though I go days without eating anything. I was asking about the pasta because I thought I would try one or two bites, but I was afraid I'd be in agony. At this point (just for a day or so), I'm not concerned about carbs or calories. I need to get SOMETHING in my body. The radiologist who did my UGI x-ray - although not a bariatric doctor, he works with bariatric patients frequently - agreed (my bariatric doctor only sent me a note saying my results were fine, with no other advice about what could be wrong or what I could do to try to eat). I'm also deep in ketosis and am concerned I might actually have ketoacidosis, based on the symptoms I've read. I'm going to ask my doctor about this as well as I have every single symptom for it. No worries for future consumption of "real" pasta...I don't plan on indulging frequently or having much of it.

P.S. people used to throw this statistic around on these boards all the time, and i have no idea if it has any hardcore medical research behind it, but common belief was that about 30% of RNY'ers dump. It's less common in sleevers, but they can dump, too. I don't know how accurate that statistic is, but just from what I've been able to tell from hanging out on various bariatric boards for the last six or seven years, that wouldn't surprise me. It seems more people DON'T dump than do.

Thanks everyone! I just ordered some Bariatric Advantage chewies

Another option is chewable berry-flavored Barimelts. They're designed for bariatric patients and taste great.

Another vote for the Bariatric Advantage Chewy Bites; strawberry is my fav.

One more for the Bariatric Advantage chewy bites. I like the strawberry ones and the pineapple-mango ones.

I buy the Bariatric Advantage brand for my calcium. I buy both the chewy ones (I like the strawberry and orange) and the chewable tablet ones (I like the cherry). I like the chewy ones more, but they're also $8 more for the same amount so I end up buying only one bag of those and three of the other ones when I stock up (which I've only had to do twice so far) mostly because I can't make myself spend the extra money to get all chewy ones when I have no issue with the tablet chewables other than they're a little chalky.

I use the bariatric advantage chewy bites. You can get them from the store on this site. They taste like softer starbursts to me.

Lacerated my speen. Mind you I flew home across country. This was done at mexico bariatric center..yes this can happen any where . should have been caught before going home.. All so the cleanliness is not up to the United States standards.

Hey there, I am so sorry you had this experience. As well as all of those who have replied to your comment. I am a dietitian, who actually had the bariatric sleeve procedure. I have both clinical and experiential knowledge. I am happy to help. :)

Mayo Hospital, Dr. Stephen Bowers, over 1000 bariatric surgeries. During my surgery he found a hiatel hernia and repaired it as well. No pain after surgery, some discomfort was noted. Highly recommend this doctor. When searching for a good dr, find out how many surgeries he has done. The more the doctor has done indicates his experience. You want a doctor who had done quit a bit. A doctor may say he can do it, however how many had he or she done? You do not want to be the person they are practicing on.

I had purchased patch vitamins and EZ melt vitamins to meet vitamin requirements. Purchased Propel water at Sam's club, 15g protein, 0 cal, 0 sugar to meet liquid intake to prevent constipation. Purchased from Bariatric pal soups, chocolate drinks, shakes replacements to be sure all protein was met. After surgery on the 28th of August 2020, no pain, some discomfort. Went home the next day after x-ray showing no leakage at Mayo Hospital in Florida. I did walk in place in the hospital to help release excess gas. I did purchase a abdominal binder on Amazon and used it after the surgery. This helped a great deal and Dr said this was a good idea to do this. My goal is BMI 20 or less. Enjoy your healthy journey. Dr. Stephen Bowers did over 1000 gastric bypass surgeries and he was awesome.

Had my surgery at Mayo Hospital by Dr. Stephen Bowers. He found a hiatel hernia while doing the gastric bypass and repaired it at the same time. He has done over 1000 bariatric surgeries.

I had my bariatric sleeve done in July 2020. And have only lost 20 pounds. My husband had this surgery 4 years ago, he still looks great. But I picked up his bad habits. I learned how to, it's called cheating. I have no problem eating chicken, yes you have to eat and chew it up real good or it does feel like it's stuck in chest and it does take a while for it to go down. Some times I feel like the doctor did not take out much of my stomach because I can drink one of those protein drinks 11 oz with no problem. My husband took about a hour to get one down. I just can't seem to get back on track. I walk 2.39 miles every morning since my surgery. How can I stop thinking about food. This is crazy, I only need to lose 50 more pounds. I do understand about getting tired of protein. Anyone else having my kind of problem? I did Keto before I had this surgery, it work for a while, but I gained my 45 pounds back.

Watch Dr Vuong’s video on YouTube about what to eat after weight loss surgery. He’s a Bariatric surgeon and tells you what you need to know at each stage of the process. Very helpful!

I feel your pain and frustration. I also agree that the nutritionist is the most important especially after surgery. I had my surgery in February 2015 and my nutritionist sucked sour grapes bad. I mean, it's like she went out of her way to give the most general uninformed basic information she could. My surgeon was great but his staff leaves a lot to be desired. I didnt get my first post-op appointment until May becasue they kept rescheduling. By that time I had developed a blood clot in the lung and pneumionia. 5 years latter I've gained most of the weight back trying to do this by myself because I refuse to go back to that bariatric office.

I am post op about 2 wks now. No hunger. I make sure liquid intake to avoid dehydration. Includes, jello, zero drinks, bariatric soups, water, protein drinks with no sugar, no carb, many sugar free popsicles, etc. Every one healing process is different.

I posted a pic of my appointment so u can see exactly which ugi i had incase they are different but yeah wasn't pleasant. I also was told bariatric advantage shakes only post op but went with pp and both made me il so thats that lol. Hopefully everything is okay and its just a food intolerance and sometimes food intolerances are only temporary. The post surgery has definitely been more complex than advertised ☺️. Let us know how it goes!

Weekend meals Mousaka (Greek Eggplant Casserole) Red Beans and Rice with Green Beans & Collard Greens @Pandemonium Red Beans without the rice isn't a bad bariatric choice

You need a primary that is willing to run testing/labs I went through my records and the following are the labs that my Bariatric Surgeon continuously orders to monitor my levels. Hopefully others can add to the list. ✓CBC W/ AUTO DIFF. ✓VITAMIN B12, SERUM ✓FOLATE, SERUM ✓FERRITIN, SERUM OR PLASMA ✓PREALBUMIN, SERUM ✓IRON/TRANSFERRIN, RATIO, SERUM ✓MAGNESIUM, SERUM OR PLASMA ✓LIPID PANEL, BLOOD ✓CMP, SERUM OR PLASMA ✓PTH (PARATHYROID HORMONE), INTACT, SERUM OR PLASMA ✓VITAMIN D3, 25-HYDROXY, SERUM

There's a couple of suggestions on this thread that may help-check out hiring your own nutritionist or taking in some guidance from other bariatric surgeons. I know it's frustrating, as we've all seen, but I've found sometimes people make their own place from logical resources and do just fine.

I'm glad it worked out for you! I'm plenty fat for my insurance to cover the surgery, but I still paid $4500 out of pocket, and I spent a lot of time going to all the various pre-op appointments. On the upside, all my followups, labs, and prescriptions are free for the rest of the year (since I met my out of pocket maximum). I'm not sure if you need to go to a bariatric surgeon for followups, but I would guess that a local surgeon would accept you as a patient. Even people who don't go out of the country for surgery move and have to change doctors. I know my surgeon takes patients who have had surgery with other programs. It wouldn't hurt to ask.

I was looking into weight loss surgery a couple years ago and that is when I discovered that at 38-39 BMI I wasn’t fat enough and I didn’t have any co-morbidities. So they set me up on a diet program through my health insurance and told me I had to do that program for 6 months. I can’t remember the name of the program, but it was a diet similar to the food guide pyramid but eating a lot less. I was hungry all the time. Seriously, who do they think we are? We have a quart to gallon sized stomach and they want us to eat as if it is pint sized or even smaller. A set up for failure. I didn’t last but a couple months, barely lost any weight and was even more depressed. Ended up getting divorced and then looking into the surgery again. That’s when I saw an ad for a VGS in Mexico. I was like WHAT!?! I was shocked that people did this but it intrigued me. Then I started doing research, tons of it. YouTube, internet... Found some really good Youtubers who talked about their experience, one of them a nurse. Discovered what to look for in the hospital, what to look for in a doctor. Found out that Medical Tourism is a big thing and it’s not just for VGS. I got paranoid I would send them a $4,500 cashiers check and it would vanish. The whole thing was scary. But..... what an amazing experience. Everything went very smooth. No psychiatrist appointment, no 6 months of dieting, no pre-labs. Made the call and had an appointment a month later. The only requirement was based on BMI and I had to start a diet 1 week before surgery to reduce fat on my liver and then the typical 2 days of clear liquid diet. Flew in to San Diego, they picked me up and took me to the hospital, did some blood work. Next day surgery, stayed two nights and then they dropped me off at the airport. No problems. I did this all alone, no companion. I was very nervous. My only hick up is finding a doctor here in the US who will do follow up. I scheduled an appointment with a internal medicine doctor and went to that and discovered their first appointment is a “get to know you” appointment. What is this? I have never heard of it. Seems like a way just to collect an extra appointments worth of money? So I walked out since no one told me in advance. Sorry, I work and don’t have time for doctors who require multiple appointments so they can collect as much money as possible. Nor do I want to pay a doctor $150 to get to know me. I feel like this was a scam. I’m simple, no health problems only surgery ever was my c-section and this VGS. Other than being Obese I am perfectly healthy. I need to get on this today. I have not done any follow up appointments but feel I am doing just fine. Anyone know which kind of doctor I should do follow up care with? I feel like a bariatric doctor would be annoyed I went to Mexico. I was thinking of going to an internal medicine doctor since I have no complications and just need some labs to make sure things are good? Anyone else go to Mexico and then follow up in the state?

Thanks for answering! I’m just getting impatient, I think. I was hoping to have had surgery by now but COVID put a halt on so many things and I’m worried about elective surgeries being stopped again. As far as the tests, they should get it back pretty quick. My bariatric surgeon is the one who is doing the EGD, so the results will go directly to him. The surgical center is part of the hospital network where I am having all of my tests done, so the transfer of information has been pretty smooth and efficient thus far.