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Hey guys, just a little something to keep you encouraged. For me, the pre-op phase was the hardest part of my journey. I am currently 9 mos. P.o. from gastric bypass. I love my tool and wish I had went forward 3 years Ago when I first started this journey. I had lots of questions, but I wanted to know what life was like after the procedure. I wanted to hear from people who were experiencing it. So, this is my info..sw 264 lbs. , cw 186 lbs. Medical issues before surgery...hypertension, diabetes, pcos, infertility, lupus, heart murmur. I currently only take a low dose hypertension pill ,but they will evaluate that at my next post-op appointment. Life is good and I have had zero complications, zero visits to the hospital after surgery. Im grateful for that! I started a YT channel ( under my name Bariatric Blondeshell) that addresses the pre op phase and what life is like for us after surgery. I hope if you check it out you will be encouraged afterwards! Keep pressing on everyone, you deserve this!

I bought sample packs of Bariatric Fusion and Bari-Melts, and I much preferred the Bari-Melts. I recommend getting the sample pack first to make sure you like them.

I was sure your pancreas was not removed - we humans are unable to live without one. I think you might want to get a full GI work up and have a doctor familiar with bariatric surgery review the findings. You should nor suffer year after year from issues related to a surgical procedure. No matter if it was elective or not. I would suggest looking up surgeons on this website that have dealt with problems post bariatric surgery. I know of a couple in the Los Angeles area who do so. It must be hard to deal with physically and emotionally

I decided to buy the Bariatric Fusion multivitamins in the orange cream flavor, but I can’t seem to stand the taste of those any longer. Anyone have suggestions for one that taste good or if there are some that are easy to swallow? I used the Fusion ones so I only had to worry about the B12, so any help would be appreciated.

It took me a long time to get where I am. A long backstory, I’ll try to make it brief. All my life it was implied that in order to lose weight, you must hate yourself for motivation. “I hate my thighs,” “if only I were thinner boys/girls would like me better.” And it didn’t help hearing phrases like “You have such a pretty face, but...” I grew up in an abusive home with a narcisisitic mother, this isn’t a huge part of it, but it explains a lot about why I hated myself in my childhood, teen years, and even my early 20s (I’m 38 now). I always struggled to fit in with anyone because I was always the fat girl. The few people I could relate to, I’ve stuck with throughout the years. A few good friends, my husband, etc. I’ve tried to explain to people that have never battled their weight in the way that I have since 3rd grade (mom put me on my first diet then), and they don’t get it. Or try to offer tired advice, “have you just tried to lose weight?” So I never fit in anywhere. I hated how every attempt to lose weight was peppered with thoughts of self hate, suicidal thoughts, depression, and severe anxiety. I’d fall off the wagon and either binge myself to near vomiting, or I’d restrict myself obsessively and worry about every macro- and micronutirent. That was until I started therapy in 2013. I started to learn a lot about myself, and that I’m nothing like my mother. I always feared I’d be a parent like her, or a wife like her. Truly abusive, and it brought on a lot of fear. Eventually I stumbled my way into the Intuitive Eating groups on the internet. I learned to stop binge eating, and to stop obsessing over food. I also found the body positivity group. This was great. I finally got to a point that I was not only ok in my skin, but I could be happy and fat at the same time. There’s this concept out there that most people that are fat absolutely hate themselves and we have no self control. While on the flip-side there’s also this concept that people are “fat, happy, and lazy.” I found that I was aware that I was fat, I kept getting movement, tried to eat healthy most of the time, and I learned to love who I am regardless of my size. Then my hiatal hernia got worse and my gastroenterologist suggested I look into bariatric surgery. I never really thought about it before. I didn’t think negatively about it, or positively...I just flat out didn’t think about it. When people said it was “the easy way out,” I just ignored them because I didn’t have any frame of reference. I knew one person that died a few months after a “stomach stapling” in the late 80s, but I was a kid and don’t remember any details. However, even as a child, I knew that wasn’t always the case, people die from so many different causes, and this could have been a fluke. My point here being it never really scared me. It was just something that some people did, no judgement, never. I joined in on following some people on Instagram that have had various bariatric surgeries. I’m finding that I don’t fit in, again. People post before and after photos and talk about how horrible their lives were, how much they hated themselves, and how much they wish they “never let themselves get that bad.” Demonizing obesity and making me feel like I should be revolted at myself. Now, it took 7 years of therapy to get to the point of self body acceptance...so for this reason, I’m feeling conflicted, and like I won’t fit in with most of the weight loss surgery group of folks. So here’s why I’m making this topic. If you are someone that loved themselves before this surgery, loved themselves during recovery, and love themselves now... Didn’t necessarily do this surgery because you “hated” yourself, but more because of the health aspect of everything (I’m doing it because of my high blood pressure, body limitations (I can’t even touch my feet anymore), hiatal hernia and GERD problems)... My motivations are a little different than just “looking good.” I want to point out here too, that I’m not here to shame anyone that has been motivated by that, the desire to “look good” more over the desire to “feel good” (and I get that you can have both!)...but I just struggle with feeling like I don’t fit in with the WLS community in despising myself before surgery. Did you ever struggle with where your place was in the weight loss surgery community? This is why I’ve fallen silent on the forums (and a little on my IG if you follow me there). I was looking to do some soul searching as to what this all meant for me, but I feel I need some guidance. And if you made it all this way, thank you so much for reading. Take care.

You certainly have been through the wringer on this, and for that I, too, am sorry to see your struggles. It does seem that a revision of some sort is called for, and a second opinion (and even third...) is certainly called for in cases like yours (or really for any revision.) My suggestion is to find a surgeon from the DS (duodenal switch) world for another opinion, as the DS is a more complex bariatric procedure that most surgeons don't offer, DS docs tend to come from the top of the class, and as the DS uses the VSG as its basis, they tend to be the most experienced surgeons around when it comes to sleeve problems as they have been doing them a lot longer than most bariatric surgeons. My first choice for discussing a problem such as yours would be Dr. Ara Keshishian, who is down in the LA area. People come from all over the country to see him on complex revisions and other bariatric problems, so he is used to doing virtual consults (at least the initial one) so you don't have to travel to get an idea as to what solutions there may be for your problem. A bit close to you would be Drs. Rabkin, Jossert or Cirangle, all in different practices in the SF area, but all from the DS world and well experienced with sleeves. It is good to hear that your doc has tried a Nissen; while not particularly new, it is somewhat unusual with the sleeve as there isn't much fundus left to plicate, so many bariatric surgeons go straight to an RNY revision as they don't know how to do the Nissen on a sleeve. I have a small hiatel hernia and talked to Dr. K about it, but it isn't appropriate for my situation, but since my symptoms are mild, it is a wait and see situation - I'm not eager to go to the RNY as it's something of a surgical dead end that removes a lot of options once you go there (but it generally works well once you do.) Good luck in working this through....

I would generally go with the advice of your surgeon's patient coordinator, as they have been through these hoops before, particularly if it is with a common insurance carrier in your area. If your surgeon has a dedicated insurance coordinator, who handles all of the insurance issues, that would be a better person to get an opinion from, but that might also be the patient coordinator that you have talked to - it's worth checking out to make sure you are getting the best information. You can verify this by calling the insurance company's customer service line, thought those reps don't always give the correct information (sad, but true.) The best thing is to look up the company's policy bulletin for bariatric surgery on their website which will spell out all of the specific requirements - that is their legal document that they must follow, irrespective what a customer service rep may say (but the doc's insurance coordinator should know all of the in's and out's of the language in it.) For instance, with my company, they implied that they wanted six monthly appointments, but did not specifically state that. Between my schedule and my PCP (who was my "medical supervisor" for this) we were only able to work in four appointments over the six months, and that was fine. (The insurance coordinator was concerned about how the PCP wrote up the report for it relative to the insurance requirement, but that was a different issue.) If your insurance requires simply a "medically supervised" six month program like I had, then the first and last months being with your surgeon and the others with an RD should be fine. but if they specifically require six monthly meetings with an RD (nutritionist), then is won't. It's all in the wording. Good luck on getting through all of these hoops - this is often the hardest part!

Agreed. Protein shakes for me were poison. I ended up in the hospital really serious issues. We have to be careful not to tell people what to do. We should suggest what worked for us, and how it worked, why it worked. And what didn't work for us. Then our bariatric friends can try different suggestions on. Making statements With "you need to" Or "you have to" Or "you should" - should only apply to YOU SHOULD CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR.... I try to let people know that you CAN turn around every 10 years out, and that we can still use our surgeries to benefit us

I can’t seem to stand the taste of the Bariatric Fusion Orange anymore. I bought them for the simple fact I would only need to buy B12. Any suggestions for ones that taste good??

Amazing! You look totally renewed ❤

I mean, the nurse is technically correct that the bariatric vitamins will be giving you everything that you can get in fruits and vegetables...but she's friggin' ridiculous if she thinks that means you don't need to eat fruits or vegetables. No dietician is going to tell you not to eat fruits and vegetables and the nurse shouldn't have either. You'll find them as part of your diet when the time comes.

Yesterday I had my post surgery 2 week checkup. All is well. The nurse told me I should begin taking my bariatric vitamins the next day and then she said something that kind of shocked me. She said I no longer need to eat vegetables or fruit because this vitamin will give me everything that vegetables and fruit can give me. I find this horrifying because I love vegetables, and can't imagine never eating them again. Have others been told this?

I see... This seems like something you need to figure out with your doctor. I don't know if you still see your surgeon after all this time, but if not, maybe you could go to another bariatric surgeon (i.e., someone who is very familiar with issues of bariatric patients). But still, it is a legitimate medical issue, not a matter of "just eating more."

Well I might have got an answer. I had my first post op and they told me I am pretty low on B12. That I need to take a pill in addition to my bariatric multivitamin.

Do you have a e-reader like Kindle? There are TONS of free or low cost books that will help with your meal planning and the different stages of eating. As far as pain, I think you will be surprised at what a small amount you have. The hospital should stay on top of your pain relief the first day or two so the worst pain you will have will most likely be the gas pains from the surgery. My doc doesn't even send anyone home with pain meds because it's usually minimal! If you feel like you aren't getting guidance from your bariatric team you might have to get sorta pushy about it. Make a list of questions that you have and when you go in for a visit be sure to bring your list and get them all answered. Be proactive about your care and you'll get a far better outcome!

Hi Shell4451... I am starting mine this week. It will be a revision surgery from sleeve to Bypass but I am more concern on the recovery since it will be my second bariatric surgery. Sent from my SM-N975U using BariatricPal mobile app

as someone else said, pain is all across the board with these surgeries, but most of us have little to no pain. I had pretty much no pain with this at all. I was sent home from the hospital with a bottle of pain pills which I never opened - I just didn't need them. the insurance-required diets are all so different that it's sort of pointless to even go into them. It's not a specific across-the-board diet - the insurance company just wants to be assured that you're capable of sticking to a plan. You'll likely get specific stages of eating from your bariatric clinic once you get closer to surgery date. We had I think four classes and they went over the guidelines pretty thoroughly. They'll have guidelines for the couple of weeks pre-op, and then several months post-op eating. But for the insurance-required diets that a lot of us have, the surgeons aren't involved in this and may not even be aware of what exactly they're having you do. It's really just for insurance approval. my six-month insurance-required dietitian meetings weren't done through my bariatric clinic (my insurance company said it could be through any PCP or dietitian sometime within the past two years - they just needed documentation of the meetings). I actually had two different dietitians since the first one had to take a leave of absence for a couple of months due to caregiving responsibilities. Anyway, both had me gradually increase my protein, gradually cut back on carbs, focus more on lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables, had me gradually wean off carbonated beverages and caffeine, and start exercising regularly. In other words, start developing healthy habits. There wasn't a specific weight loss requirement (although I did lose 30 or 35 lbs), the company just wanted to see if I was capable of sticking to a program - which I was. It also helped to prepare me for what life after surgery would be like.

My program requires a weight loss surgery seminar (general information about WLS), a one-on-one nutrition consultation with their dietitian, and a group nutrition class (general nutrition information and some info about the post-surgery diet). I also had a 3-month medically-supervised weight loss requirement from my insurance company, which was with my PCP, who did not provide any guidance other than "eat less and exercise more." A couple of weeks before my surgery, I had to attend what they called a "consent class," where they went over all of the possible complications of surgery plus detailed pre-op and post-op instructions. Most of the information from the classes is included in the bariatric patient manual for my program. Does your surgeon have something like this? I think most programs do. If yours doesn't, you can search for manuals from other programs to get an idea, although every program varies a bit and you'll need to follow your own surgeon's instructions. You could call your surgeon's office and ask them if they have a document like this. There is a lot of information online about post-surgery meal planning and recipes (check out https://www.bariatriceating.com/blogs/recipes and http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/). There are a lot of videos on YouTube about bariatric meal preparation, as well as people telling their personal WLS stories. Pain can vary a lot from patient to patient, but I can tell you I had very little pain. The first day, when I woke up from surgery, I was in a lot of pain that I'm pretty sure was gas pain, but that went away very quickly, within 24 hours. I haven't felt any pain from the incisions. For the first few days, I had a little internal discomfort when I consumed fluids. I was given Toradol for pain while I was in the hospital, and I was sent home with several prescriptions, including hydrocodone + acetaminophen for pain (which I didn't take at all, and I didn't even feel the need to take regular Tylenol), ondansetron (Zofran) for nausea, and hyoscyamine for cramps/spasms. I haven't needed any of it after the first few days.

Hey yall , I got my surgery booked for August 22nd at Mexico Bariatric Center, with Dr. Rodriguez. Has anyone had surgery with him? I'm super excited and just all around curious. Hw:271 Sent from my SM-N970U using BariatricPal mobile app

Congratulations!!!!!! I am wishing you an amazing surgery! Everything will be just fine! I have my surgery at Mexico bariatric center with Dr. Rodriguez lopez August 22nd. So I'm super excited too[emoji1] Sent from my SM-N970U using BariatricPal mobile app

The Emotional First + Aid Kit (A practical guide to life after Bariatric surgery), second edition, by Cynthia L. Alexander, PsyD is a handy little reference I've enjoyed. A sense of humor doesn't hurt either. Even the mainstream are struggling with food given these precarious times. A good time to give grace to ourselves - And, to bestow before others. ;]

I did not have to do many of these things. But then again, I did the fast track program with Blossom Bariatrics in Las Vegas. Done with everything in 4 days. I would not have traded that for the world and put myself through all of this misery.

At the beginning of the Pandemic I had a regularly scheduled appointment with my PCP done via conference call. She asked me at that time if I was stressed and I said I was fine. Since the appointment I have had issues with sleep and admittedly done more wine drinking than normal. Both stress related. I’ve kept my weight down but I am pretty sure that I would have reached my stretch goal by now had I not overindulged in drinking. I’ve reeled the drinking in... Just for reference I hadn’t drank since prior to pre op diet. My surgeon really stressed the dangers of transfer addiction in bariatric patients. I’ve never been an alcoholic but I did drink socially before then. Covid19 has made people experience an awful lot and made people do things they might not normally do. I believe the repercussions of the pandemic will be felt for years after the virus is defeated.

Some Bariatric programs allow the shakes in the first stage. Mine wants clear liquids for one week. But the nurse said the week begins the day you have surgery. So if you have surgery on Monday by the following Monday you start the next phase. If everything goes well I will be out on the third day and have to start drinking clear for less than five days. That’s not bad.

bariatric surgeons don't fat shame their patients. They totally understand. they'll probably just talk about the surgeries, what to expect, maybe ask you what your expectations are, that kind of thing. If this seminar is with the other patients who are going through the program at the same time as you are, they'll likely have three or four of them. They'll eventually cover things like nutritional requirements, exercise, support, how to handle various situations that might come up, etc