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Hey all! I know this is an old thread! But I share a lot of bariatric friendly things on my Instagram. My name is Maddie5088 - I’ve lost 180 pounds. Gastric bypass June 26, 2017 ! I’m going to check some of y’all out on the gram!

chronic constipation is very common among bariatric patients - and not just in new post-ops! It's a lifetime thing for a lot of us. I have a capful of Miralax every morning - others regularly use stool softeners, prunes, or Smooth Move tea. When things get really backed up for me, in spite of the Miralax (about once or twice a month), I do a night or two of Milk of Magnesia - but some people have to resort to enemas, suppositories, or magnesium citrate.

Hi everyone! I was waiting for this to happen.. my bariatric team called and said my appointments (and everyone’s) are suspended until further notice. They will be calling me in 30 days to see where we are standing. Does this suck? Yep!! But I’m going to do my part and wait this out like everyone else. Just thinking.. anyone else have this issue yet? I’m going to be tracking my weight on an app so I can show proof that I was still doing my part, although I realize that the insurance might just say start over. Any ideas welcome! Good luck to you all while some of our journey is being put on pause.

As coronavirus dominates the headlines, being prepared is one of the best things you can do to ease worries stemming from uncertainty. While there is a lot that people at home are not in control of, one thing you can control is how well prepared you are. The BariatricPal Store has some items to consider stocking up on to make sure you get enough protein and vitamins to stick to your weight loss diet should you be stuck at home avoiding COVID-19, or temporarily quarantined. Protein Shakes and Juices Getting the protein you need is easy with protein shakes, powders, juices, and smoothies. Just mix them with water - that is one thing that is still projected to be free and available right from the tap! - or, you have some at home, with shelf-stable almond or soy milk. Most have 15 to 30 grams of protein per serving and are completely or nearly sugar-free. Choices include: Chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, and other shakes. Fruit drinks in flavors such as orange, mango, and pineapple. Smoothies with strawberry, mango, and other flavors. Hot drinks such as cocoa and mocha. Instant Meals Instant meals can deliver a satisfying meal even if you are stuck at home without a chance to go grocery shopping. High-protein breakfasts to start the day right include protein cereal, protein omelets, protein oatmeal, and protein pancakes. Protein soups deliver comfort, warmth, and protein anytime, while protein entrees keep things feeling normal without the guilt of carbs. These are just a few of our options. Spaghetti bolognese Alfredo chicken pasta Vegetable chili Chicken enchilada verde Macaroni and cheese Vegan chicken curry They are all high in protein and low in guilt. Bread, Pasta, and More to Make Your Own Staying at home does not mean you cannot prep your own meals. Protein pasta and low-calorie shirataki noodles, plus calorie-free pasta or alfredo sauce, can be the foundation of a delicious dinner. Additions include parmesan cheese, frozen chicken or shelf-stable tofu, and frozen vegetables. Low-carb protein bread products, such as sliced bread, bagels, and dinner rolls, can hold hummus or high-protein peanut and nut butter spreads with calorie-free jam. Protein Bars Protein bars are easy to store and are ready to be eaten. They come in all kinds of sizes and varieties, so get some to match every mood you may have for the next few weeks! They come in chewy, crispy, and chocolate-coated varieties, with chocolate, pretzel, caramel, peanut, almond, oatmeal raisin, and lemon being just a few of the sweet flavors in stock. Beef, salmon, chicken, and venison, with flavors including cranberry, jalapeno, bacon, apple, and cherry walnut, are available if you prefer savory bars. Whichever protein bars you choose, you can be sure that they will be great-tasting, high in protein, and low in added sugars. Protein Snacks Protein snacks let you turn snack temptations into quality nutrition opportunities. Why would you fill your pantry with fried potato chips, sugary cookies, and starchy pretzels and crackers when you could have high-protein alternatives instead? Protein chips including in ranch and BBQ flavors, chocolate chip and other cookies, and plain and honey mustard pretzels, as well as cheese snacks and bean snacks, are high-protein, low-carb snacks. Creamy treats include protein pudding and gelatin. Vitamins Taking your vitamins may be even more important now than ever as supplies of fresh food dwindle. The BariatricPal Store has bariatric vitamins including multivitamin and minerals, as well as specific nutrients such as iron, vitamin B12, and calcium. Choose your favorite forms, such as traditional capsules, vitamin patches, and flavored chews and tablets. Preparation is the name of the game, and The BariatricPal Store is the place to go for high-protein and nutritious products that can keep you on your weight loss diet should you be quarantined for 2 weeks. Be well, and be assured that we are doing everything we can to support you in this difficult time.

Yes, I’m seeing Dr. Richard Wegner in Memphis, TN. I’m on the opposite end from you. We can be TN bariatric pals lol. I’ve completed everything recommended and now just have to submit my paperwork to the insurance. I’m about to email my advocate and see if there are any potential updates. Thanks for the responses!

Hi everyone, I’m 32 and this is my second time going through this pre-approval process. I originally started in 2017, and between my best friend passing and an unreachable advocate, I gave up. So, I restarted the process in November and while waiting for my initial referral to go through, I began my weightloss attempts only to find out my insurance no longer requires them. I’ve just got to have my PCP write up my recommendation letter and my advocate should be submitting it Monday March 23rd. I have HighMark BCBS insurance and was wondering if anyone else has it and if you could provide me a timeframe of the insurance approval, to pre-op consultation, liquid-diet, and a set surgery date. My advocate told me on 3/3/20 that my insurance may take two weeks for approval, then another two for the pre-op and surgery dates, which would put me around late April- beginning of May. I’m just sort of twitching at this point because I feel like it won’t happen anytime soon with this COVID-19 spreading, and I am literally so close I can feel the anesthesia working lol!!! I’m just really anxious because I’ve been fighting a while now to get this done and I fear it may be postponed, which I know is going to be a huge blow. So any advice or updates would greatly be appreciated.

I'm sorry, ask your surgeon. My Bariatric team said this was common for some patients post-op. This was also discussed in our classes required before surgery. My friend is post-op 2 years and has been revised to rny for almost 1 year, her stomach is a talker. She named her stomach, Tiny Tummy aka TT.

Recommended by the Bariatric program and I love the following flavors: Bananas and Cream, vanilla, chocolate and strawberries and cream. I use the vanilla in my hot black tea. I love that a lot.

Well said. When I had my first surgery and was finally eating regular foods I focused on carbs and protein and let the fat macros fall where they lay (probably around 40-50g per day, but I did eat a lot of cheese ). The other day I was going through all the books I had related to eating, weight loss, keto, and bariatric surgery and came across the Pound of Cure book by Dr. Weiner (who has great videos on YouTube as well). I know I read some of it, but I'll definitely have to reread it for when I'm past all the post-op stages and into eating regular meals. The problem for me in Japan is that there is a very limited variety of vegetables here, many of which are hard for me to eat due to some gastrointestinal issues I have unrelated to my gastric surgeries, and anything not local tends to be very pricey, so it limits my options. Honestly, when I go to other countries (US, Canada, Europe), I feel like crying when I go to the supermarket and see all the amazing fruits and vegetables available that I just can't get in Japan, or in a limited way because they are so expensive ($3 a peach anyone? $2 for 3 spears of asparagus? $5 for 1/3pint of blueberries?). However, I'm sure I'll be able to figure something out. Note: for everyone who thinks Japanese food is healthy, most of it is carbs+protein, with very few vegetables. If you think of a bento box, half the box is rice, the other 40% tends to be meat or fish, and the remaining 10% is vegetables, usually pickled. A traditional breakfast may have miso soup with tofu (healthy, lots of protein), rice, and fish. Or rice porridge. Many people just eat toast, or maybe eggs. Lunch and/or dinner might be something like curry rice, or fried chicken and rice, or ramen, or whatever. Few to no veggies. When I ask my students how many vegetables they eat per day, the vast majority of them don't eat any, although to be fair, they are university students (this is usually part of a larger discussion of what it means to be healthy - just because people are thin, doesn't mean they are healthy, and vice versa). People doing keto, or who are vegetarian (or worse, vegan, since so many things are made with fish stock) really struggle when travelling here to find enough healthy foods for them to eat.

Had last weigh-in today and supposed to get surgery date. Bariatric Center not scheduling any surgeries until coronavirus crisis calms down. So my surgery postponed for unknown length of time. Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi MeInLondon, Dr. Illan uses a 34 bougie. He performs all surgeries at Hospital BC, a Center of Excellence for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeries. Oh! By the way, Dr. Illan is a Surgeon of Excellence and a Master Surgeon in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeries. Let me know if you need more info.

I also like the bariatric advantage brand and bariatric direct shake/pudding

I’m so sorry to hear that Solo I’m expecting the same here our numbers keep climbing here in Louisiana I shaven’t gotten a cancellation call from a member of my bariatric team but a this point I’m just gonna assume that I won’t be getting surgery until all this is over

Maybe not on the shelf's at this time but there is a local meal prep service that has an option for Bariatric customers who are up to eating solid foods. The meals are of course very small, but the variety and packaging look interesting until you see the price. It would be much cheaper to purchase small food containers, cook a couple of meals that fit the correct combination of fat / carb proportion the cooked meals among the containers for a weeks worth of food.

No, food is not issue, plenty of options for pre/post Bariatric people for sure, what is of short supply is toilet paper, hand disinfectant cleaners and other basic cleaning supplies. Just went to Sam's this early AM and not a single roll of toilet paper was available although a supply was on it's way I was told.

I'm in Maryland, with Kaiser insurance; my surgery is scheduled for 4/1. I called my bariatric program case manager today, and she said I should still go to my anesthesiology evaluation tomorrow and get my pre-op labs done. She said that the surgeons are taking this day by day. I'm supposed to start liquids on Wednesday and she said to proceed as normal; they will call me as soon as they know if the surgery will be postponed. This really is a miserable situation, but I've waited this long for the surgery, I can handle a couple more months if necessary.

Hi, I’m brand new user of this site, I just registered in fact. I found it by searching online for a bariatric subscription box which I see they offer here. Anyway, I’m female, I just turned 43, I’m about 5’6” and starting weight at right around 258 so we are pretty close as far as numbers go. I’m planning to have gastric bypass though as it’s what’s been recommended this far because of my GERD/acid reflux. I’ve been at this for several months (not too far from a year actually) and I was approved by my insurance just recently. I don’t have a surgery date yet as I have a rescheduled EGD I need to complete. I’ve done everything else and some of it twice as I was originally trying for the surgery before the beginning of the year - when I had maxed my out of pocket on my insurance last year. Didn’t make it for a few reasons but anyway I’m rambling, sorry, just want to say that I’m looking for all of the support I can get as well as only my husband is aware of the surgery and I’m not planning to tell family that lives back home in another state. I’m excited to learn more and also possibly order a couple of products to try. I guess it might be best to visit the post-op forum for suggestions on that or see what other forums are available. Thank you for reading if you have this far - I have MDD & TRD (Major Depressive Disorder & Treatment Resistant Depression) so this process/journey seems to be even more difficult for persons like me. But I’m determined to get through it if it’s the right thing for me and so far it seems it is. Happy to be a surgery buddy with you OP if you’d like and also just happy to be here to meet you all and I welcome any suggestions or advice!

I don’t know what to say exactly. Whatever your fears regarding Covid-19 it shouldn’t alter your healthy way of eating post gastric bypass. There are plenty of options that do not need to be “fresh foods” to keep on hand that are bariatric friendly, low carb and low sugar for meals. I managed to get eggs, yogurt, I have protein powder, protein bars, a few protein soups, I also have frozen foods I tend to buy vegetarian frozen foods. But depending on your stage there are options. Unopened cottage cheese and yogurt stays fresh longer check dates. You can buy canned proteins like tuna, chicken, etc. frozen vegetables. No reason to just stock up on carbs. Also try to find things to distract from worries besides food. If you are safe at home just try not to worry. @AJ Tylo is right there is nothing we can do to change the course of this. I’ve immunodeficiency and lifelong chronic illness and I can’t stress over this. I’m just doing my best to stay on track with what I can. even though I’m dealing with my own personal issues despite everything going on out there. Even though it’s hard as life gets thrown into a strange situation that’s new to you just try to take it one moment at a time and be grateful you are healthy and alive. I can’t play psychic as people seem to like to and say it’s gonna get better, just take it in the moment. And find things to occupy your mind. Get on track with getting hydration, and protein and don’t fall for carbs or comfort foods just because you think it will make you feel better. There are many other things you can do to find comfort and solace and distract your mind to feel better even if it’s just binge watching a really good tv show or taking a long walk alone in nature ... you don’t need a gym for that or to be around other humans either. side note if you can’t exercise compensate in other ways. I can’t exercise due to my chronic illness and disability. I follow a low carb way of eating, and calorie counting. But honestly even now you can find ways to get in some exercise, at home, alone in nature, etc. get creative ...

I've been waiting to get into a certain bariatric surgeon for 2 months because he's been bombarded with interest. In that time, I've had a lot of time to research and ask questions. I am 5'2" and 100 lbs overweight. I've tried several things to lose weight -- going to the gym, doing power yoga, walking, counting calories, Weight Watchers several times, giving up sugar and white food, eating as few things a day as possible. I'm never able to stay on my routine without getting discouraged that I haven't lost much. And of course, I gain back the weight and more. You know how it goes. So...I don't have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or other conditions that weight can effect. I do have a family history of these two and diabetes. Do surgeons make a decision to operate based on your BMI *and* other health issues? What if you don't have other health issues as I do? Is my chance of getting surgery less? My insurance company says my BMI has to be over 40 OR I have to have these comorbid condition. I'm OK as far as that goes, I think unless I flunk the psychiatric exam.

Had revision, hernia repair and bowel resection on Thursday. Initially, I felt great but 5 hours after discharge I thought my insides were gonna fall out. Tylenol-Cod elixir doest not help much. 18 yrs ago, when I was very young I had a gastric bypass. It went well! Lost 180 Ibs ( lowest wt 126 Ibs, 4’11). Three years later I developed a vertical hernia that was repair. About 10 years in I developed strictures and could not hold any food down. A GI doc at my university dilated by esophagus and gastric pouch. I was furious with him but in hindsight he probably saved my life. The hernia repair was done with mesh which became painful. Due to Change insurances several time I was unable to find a bariatric doctor I felt comfortable with until now. I’m petty sure if your thyroid levels are controlled, gastric bypass will assist in weight loss. Probably remaining on a low carb, lean meat, low dairy diet and exercise 4-5 days a week may also help. That’s my plan!

Go for it, many ppl with various health concerns and issues could benefit from meals marketed for smaller appetites and nutritional benefits. Bariatric, cancer, heart and other patients. Copyright your idea and the best of luck to you. I always talk about a restaurant for smaller appetites ( vsg /bariatric and preop) patients. During preop it was a task when I needed to be out and about.

Me as well and from what I'm hearing now, we may be on total lockdown within days, not 1-2 weeks. I will be calling the Bariatric office tomorrow.

Meal prep for the BF, non bariatric portions Peri Peri Chicken with Cauliflower Stuffing & Broccoli (The MFP nutritionals are wrong on the riced cauliflower stuffing, 1/2 the bag = 75 cals, not 1/4 cup) This meals feels very haphazard, as it consists of all the veggies I currently have in the house. I hope the grocery apocalypse eases in the next week. If not, my bf's meals are going to get, interesting.

@Ostflicka I’m on day 11 of my cycle. I had my period 3/4-3/10–of course I started the day after my surgery I was just referring to the day of the cycle as in not pms. I started eating less prior to surgery because I feared the 14day liquid diet, which I only made it about 9 days all liquids. I cut my meals to once a day and had protein shakes for breaks lunch about 3 months before surgery. I lost 26 pounds prior to surgery and 10 since surgery. My friend just sent me some videos but Dr. V and she said the same things, I just have to give it time. @AJ Tylo Yes, sensay of vitamins 🙂 I’ve been taking Bariatric fusion multivitamin with the iron. I’m also taking In addition Sublingual B12, vitamin C, vit d3 2000 iu and omega-3. I bought citracal for the calcium citrate and that made me so sick! So I’ve ordered some calcium citrate chews from celebrate and awaiting for those to arrive. I have been drinking Gatorade zero in addition to the water. my friend who sent me the videos and has also had the sleeve and lost successfully told me I’m walking too much at this point. I walked 4 miles on Friday and 3.3 yesterday—is it too much? Is 10k steps to much to shoot for right now?? I appreciate your feedback.

Hi, after surgery I wasn’t able to tolerate the Premier Protien skakes so I switched to Muscle Milk 32 gram protein non-dairy shakes. Very tasty. I also set auto delivery up on Amazon Prime which saves me a few dollars. In my area the shakes can be found at all grocery stores and big chains like Target with the best price being Costco. For Vitamins I like Bariatric Fusion and it is actually what my NUT recommends. Again, I have it on auto delivery. I’m four months post-op and I take two vitamins twice a day for a total of four.