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Let me start with saying the band is the MOST invasive surgery, not the least because the complication rate is so high (around 50%) that you could require more surgeries...that is my definition of pretty invasive. I can can post a link to a whole host of those studies if you would like, I had to have my band removed and revised to rny. I chose rny because it is the gold standard been around for decades and proven to work. Sleeve hasn't been around for 10 years yet, so after my mistake of using the band when it was still new...wasn't gonna do that again. Also I developed acid reflux from the band and I knew the sleeve could make it worse and rny often cures it. Also I liked the extra insurance with malabsorption...most sleevers don't dump, the majority of rnyers do with the rny. I liked that it was insurance should I make bad food choice. I don't ever plan have another bariatric surgery. Both sleeve and rny require additional Vitamins. I like the Patches..easy to use and don't know they are there. Having said all this the sleeve is getting close to the 10 year mark and looking like a good alternative to rny. It was my backup if the band had done too much damage and an rny couldn't be done.

I’d have your orthopedics surgeon and your bariatric surgeon maybe talk? Or let your Bariatric surgeon know about your foot repair. He may recommend you wait. What kind of surgery are you having? What did you break?

We have the exact same surgery date and it is MANDATORY for me to do the 2 week Pre-op liquid Diet, no ifs, ands or buts about it! You MUST do the 2 week liquid diet. My NUT is part of my Bariatric Team and EVERYone is on board with what to do and when to do it. The "day before surgery diet" that your surgeon refers to is just that~ to prepare your stomach organ for the actual surgical procedure. The 2 week liquid diet is to shrink your liver so that it won't cover your actual stomach too much and make your surgery more difficult. Your liver could be injured if it is too big and has to "moved" out of the way for the surgeon to operate. You may also have to have additional or bigger cuts if they need more room. Your recovery would be more difficult too. Are you drinking your liquids yet? lolol I'm not trying to scare you but you've made a HUGE life-changing decision~ so chin up, eyes straight ahead and GET TO IT!! The very best of luck to you!

We are bariatric bad asses!

It's really, really unsafe to be smoking after bariatric surgery. The risk of getting bleeding ulcers is greatly increased if you smoke. I can't tell exactly what you're asking here but I'll echo what the others have said: NO. Why ruin your progress or severely harm yourself just for a smoking habit? Wishing you health and safety.

I'm not sure how to put this so I will just directly quote my bariatric surgeon. He said, "there are 3 ways that you might have problems with the surgery - (1) smoking, (2) smoking, and (3) smoking."

Hi, I got the Realize band June 5, lost some weight was doing good and then on June 23 I got a blood clot in my leg, when I came out of the hospital, even though I got very little to eat, did the bariatric diet, I weighed as much as I did in the beginning. I can not get back on track, I am about to pass my pre surgery weight. And to top this off, I am losing my hair, even though I am eating a regular diet. Any suggestions?

Hey everyone, I just wanted to write a little update. I am so not a blog writing person, but I think writing helps me stay accountable and then I am able to go back and read what I wrote. Ok.. so for the stats. I am three weeks post op, I had my surgery on Jan26th (self pay). My starting weight a week before surgery was 220 and then my weight day of surgery was 211 (I think the first scale was a little heavy because I was not required to do a pre-op). And I weighed myself today (without clothes) and I was around 203. That’s only about a 7/8 pound lost from the day of surgery in 3 weeks. I am little disappointment but I know I have cheated a couple of times and I am not very strict about the protein and liquids. I know I need to get it together!! But I am glad that at least I am following my progress so that I can implement some changes and see results. I dont know if I told you all... but my short term goal is to lose a lot of weight by my 30th bday on June 30th. That leaves around 4 1/2 months to lose weight. I want to lose around 30 pounds. I would absolutely love to be 170 something by my 30th b-day. lol. You wont be able to tell me I am not cute. hahaha. OK so back to the stats. I've been on mushies for around 3 weeks. I was lucky in that my dr did not require 2 weeks of full liquids but instead wanted us to do mushies for week 2-4. I can do that. I went to the 2 week nutrition class last week and it was good. I told the nurse that I was only getting about 40 grams of protein a day and she warned that my hair may fall out if I dont get the 60-70. Ouch,, I dont want that. So while I have beefed it up.. I am not where I need to be. So starting today I am taking a renewed effort in getting my protein. I just cant seem to find any vitamins or calcium that taste good.. eeew, the chewables are soo nasty; they taste like chald. Am I the only one that misses eating. OMG.. I knew I was a emotional and mental eater but I never knew it was this bad. I just miss the social aspect of eating. Like now.. Im like well what’s the point of going to the mall or to eat if I cant eat anything good. I guess I am saving money...but I sure do miss eating. I have my first restaurant outing tonight with a girlfriend...hopefully that works. Because I haven’t told her about my surgery and I want to just act like normal. My mushi stage includes fish... so I think I will just get fish and mash potatoes or a veggie. That seems to work good for me. But eating with people..I notice that people eat so fast and just slurp their food up. My gosh... I never knew how much we as a people dont stop to really enjoy and taste our food. Speaking of not telling people.. I just told my BF about the surgery. Ouch. I was really nervous about it. He lives in a different state so I was able to hide it from him but since he was coming down for Valentines day I knew I had to say something. Surprisingly he reacted alot better than I expected. His main thing was that he wish I would have told him so that he could of been here to help me. I asked him would he have tried to talk me out of it..he said yes cause he doesn’t think I needed hte surgery. And I told him..see thats why I didnt tell him. He was really helpful while he was here.. He is a Chef..so he made me lots of soft food and even ate the same foods as me. It was nice. OK.. so I need to focus on a couple of things. I think I have gotten kinda complacent with the surgery already. I need to make sure I take all my vitamins, calcium citrate and water and protein. AND exercise (well I still can only walk until next week) and make better choices of food. Right now.. I am eating any soft thing that I can and not really paying attention to caloric or sugar or fat contents. And I am sure that is the reason for the lack of weight loss. So starting today I am going to get it together. I have my 4 week appointment next week and I want to record some weight loss. I also need to stop cheating . Right now the biggest cheat for me is candy. It my twisted little reasoning.. I was like hmm if I can have chewable vitamins then I can have something like sweet-tarts or smarties. And they go done just fine. Argh, I need to stop eating them. So.. like I said I go for my 4 week appointment next week and for some reason they are combining my 4 and 6 weeks appointments and will be giving me my fill then. I didn’t think anything of it initially but now that I think if it...it seems a little soon for a fill. The good thing is that I wont have the bandster hell that everyone talks about but then I wont really get to enjoy regular food. Because right before I hit the 4 week mark I will have the fill and have to back on liquids for a bit. Has this happen to anyone? Should I ask the dr for a fill later than 4 weeks. OK thats enough for now... I should write more frequently so I wont have as much to say. I think I am going to take progress pics tonight so see if I notice a difference. That should be fun. I know I have a NSV... I was able to button up a coat and not have has much pull as it used to have. it was great. now I don’t have to use a scarf to cover up the snug button. Have a good day everyone.

My surgery is at MedStar Washington. My PCP recommended their Bariatric program which has taught me a LOT through their group workshops.

I’m hypersensitive to nausea and the bariatric ones put me over the edge, bad. I take a women’s gummy that has biotin and calcium. My 4 month blood tests came back great so despite them having a small amount of sugar in them, they’re the only ones I can tolerate. Sleeved 8/7/17 HW: 256 SW: 248 CW: 188 on 3/7/18 5'7" GW: 150

Tomorrow (June 21) is my first visit for the 6 month diet. I have bcbs in California. My ins requires 6 mo class, nutritionist visit, psych visit, upper gi, and a barium x-ray ( can't recall the name for that). I am right at 40 bmi and I am worried about falling below that during the 6 mo and then not qualifying. Not happy that I have to wait so long but after reading other's experiences, it appears to go fast. I am thankful that I have a supportive husband but I have chosen to not share this journey with family and friends. I am realize that I am one of those people who has lived in denial about my weight my entire adult life so it has been difficult to come to terms with myself. I am thankful for these forums and reading your stories and experiences. I will have my surgery by Dr. Boone in Fresno, Ca and they have a great program with ALSA. My insurance only covers 5k for bariatric so I am looking at 11k out of pocket. Not sure where exactly that will materialize from but I have faith.

I didn't know anyone that had had bariatric surgery when I first began this journey. However, I have MANY such role models now in the support group that I attend every month. It's run by my bariatric center at Highland Hospital and a long term patient of the center, and attendance has grown every month I've been. Being surrounded by people who are on every end of the spectrum, from just being curious and attending this meeting before even contacting the center, to people who had surgery 5 or 10 years ago and have been successfully maintaining for most of that time... it's incredibly inspiring and feels so safe and therapeutic. I'm very thankful.

I'm the only person I know in real life who is banded, or had WLS at all, for that matter. The bariatric support group from my hospital was comprised of pre- and recently-post-op patients. I stopped attending those meetings mostly due to scheduling issues. A few people on this site are my role models. They don't necessarily know who they are, but they are forces of good here and are always supportive not only to me, but to newbies. Love them to bits.

@@northcountyr1 what OP means is some states consider bariatric surgery and essential service, so insurance plans on the exchange are required to provide coverage. There is a sticky on it in the insurance forum.

Angel, being that I am diabetic and have high blood pressure and that I am 5'2" and weighed 287 when I started I didn't have any trouble being approved. All my pre-op requirements consisted of cardiac clearance(ekg), pulmonary clearance(just blowing thru whatever they call it),I had to have an endoscopy(upper Gi)which was not bad, all they do is give you something to numb your throat and then go down and look ,make sure you breath thru your nose and you will be fine, I think it only took 10 min,did not hurt at all.Also had to have psychlogical clearance(4 visits),dietitian consultation,had to attend a support group,and pre op lab work. I think thats it !!!??? I know it all seems so overwhelming but just take it one day at a time and don't get too frustrated. Everything falls into place. Yes I try and get 2 protein drinks in a day. I get mine from HyVee,I think the whey protein is the best.Also I get the protein bars from Wal Mart the ones with 20 grams of protein. They are really good and a treat. I did not have any bloating and very little gas, I just did alot of belching.Get some Gas X to keep on hand,the kind you put under your tongue. Ya know , I was scared to death to get my first fill.I was more scared of that than i was the surgery itself. My port is located between my breast bone,my Dr puts them there because there is less fat there and makes for an easier fill. I think he is right on,it did not hurt at all, just the pinch of the needle was all I felt. Yes there are horror stories out there but I think there are more good ones. I think the horror stories probably come from people that didn't have good surgeons that didn't know what they were doing. Having a good bariatric surgeon was the number 1 goal when I started my journey. Hope everything goes well for you,just do what you need to do no matter how long it takes, it will be well worth it. PS: There is never too many questions,I hope I have helped. Paula

If you're willing to travel over 2000 miles to go to Mexico (2090 miles from Chicago per google earth), you also might want to consider Dr. Tersigni at Bay Bariatrics in Coos Bay, Oregon (2341 miles from Chicago). Bay Bariatrics is a certified Center of Excellence and Dr. Tersgnin recently lowered his self pay price, in the surgery center, to $10,000. Bay Bariatrics - Steve Tersigni, MD - Coos Bay, Oregon I wish you success in your search.

Hey everyone, In the final 2 weeks of this research now so for anyone that missed it & would like to share their bariatric experience, here it is again. All input is welcome, you just have to be post-op! Thanks again to all who have contributed thus far! Looking forward to seeing the results! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1eDZE0cIK8ChVCeWrsX1s-QMAshk5oLErL7c7q5Sk2Kw/viewform?usp=send_form

My bariatric dietician recommended Pre-Natal vitamins before my surgery and that's what I have been taking except for the first 14 days Post-Surgery when they insisted I grind everything up. When you have dentures you can't really chew chewables, and they are Nasty Nasty! First time I tasted them all I could think of was giving my babies liquid vitamins and then having them barf all over me. Same evil odors to those things. So at 15 days, I said Frustr8 Old Girl, this IS NOT going to continue! Took a mouthful, okay baby mouthful of 2 ounces, of liquid, three my prenatal in and let it float down as I swallowed. Oh I got some amused states at Wally World going through the vitamins area. One of my ex-coworkers who is now in Over the Counter Pharmacy said " You're 72, do you have something to tell me?" No this was Roy the Dietician's idea, not mine! But until recently it did me good, then after the 3 month TPN through my PICC line I got deficient enough in iron to require an iron INFUSION. Still wasn't as bad as It sounds, I was comfy, took 5-6 hours out of my day, but still it was what it was. Maybe it will hold me for a while, PCP thinks every 3 months, but he didn't order it, it was ordered by my surgeon,in Columbus and that's where I ended up going. So Spring Valley from W-Mart, about $9 a bottle, non-chewy, non-gummies, because 1st ingredient is Sugar or High Fructose Corn Syrup and that's a 👿😈Devil we all need to avoid!😎😨

I understand where you are at. . . . I had my band placed in 2006 and sucessfully lost 70 pounds. In years following my husband died & then I had breast cancer which with resulted in surgery. Now I've returned to the bariatric center and my surgeon just smiled & told me I'd stretched my pouch above the band he would see me in one year. I've gained back some of the weight and am trying to mentally get on track. Next week I have an appointment with a therapist to guide me and hopefully get me on path. I like your word "mojo" because I need a push & a good shove to find my way back to the good life. I do love my band and it's placement resulted in correcting diabetes, high Blood Pressure & other health problems. I can't see where a sleeve would do anything for me. . . . . . I believe my problem is me.

My Bariatric Center's instructions never mentioned giving up coffee and I must admit that I never did! Egads, how traumatic!! :grouphug:

i have the same situation with my best friend and my Cousin in Law. My best friend is at least trying. but due to a family issue with another member having bariatric surgery with a fatal result she almost refuses to look at this option. Which i completely understand. She said she would come and check on me but she didnt and took over a week for her to even text me about how i was doing. my Cousin in Law has not spoken three words to me since my surgery. i just encourage them in their decisions. But i made this choice for me and me alone. i am the one that has to look at myself in the mirror and be proud for my small goals to becoming a healthier person. now granted i have gotten down on myself but i think everyone goes through that stage. but i am doing this to be healthier and be there for my family without being out of breath or popping pills for pain in my joints because i can not hike or join in the activities my family is doing. no way! not any more. Be proud of what you are accomplishing and be patient with your friends. Love them unconditionally. God bless your decision for being a healthier you and Good luck on your journey.

I had my open enrollment meeting at work today. They are no longer covering bariatric surgery under our health insurance plan effective January 1. I was going to wait until next year for my sleeve, I am so thankful I didn't!!! I am loving my new tummy!!

Hello I am 23yrs old. I am a patient in the bariatric program and have been going through this process for little over a year now. My highest weight was 497, I was scared that I would hit 500. Having that fear I decided to start committing more and put the effort in. It's been a couple months of progress, but I am down to 440. I met the requirements and was finally approved for my surgery. I know I've been wanting this surgery for a long time so I can have a more comfortable life. Knowing that its actually coming up I have had some concerns/fears. First I have never had surgery, so I am scared to go under. I know it's a fast surgery and recovery doesnt seem that long, but still going under for first time is frightening. Then my main fear is loose skin. I know a lot of things contribute to the amount of loose skin and then ways of preventing, but I know at my size I will lose a good amount of weight. I am scared that I will have such excessive loose skin. I know I can do a skin removal surgery, but again I never had surgery. I want to lose the weight, but don't want to see myself with the loose skin. I know my goal weight is 250. I dont know If that makes a difference for it, but yeah. I just now keep looking up ways to prevent all the time. It is really scaring me.

come on Lori, you have lost a whole person. I know some days I think I sure would like to just say to hell with this weight thing and be "normal". The benefits of losing weight are so great compared to being obese. There are surgeries that will remove excess skin and while none of us want to go through more surgery, it might be an option for your bat wings and thighs. I have also gotten stalled since the first of the year, too many holidays, stress from husband's health issues, etc. but I am resolved to finish the job. You look great and maybe if you get into a support group it would help. Most bariatric centers have support groups . I'm not a good one to give advice on exercise but now that the weather is better here I hope to start a good walking program. I can walk at least a mile a day to the mailbox and back. (we live in the Country). I found that reading post from CG and TMF and some of the other regulars on here helps motivate me. Take care sweetie and get back your mojo.

JessieGirl30, I'm sorry you feel this way, and you are entitled to your feelings. No one can take them away from you. But for YOU to feel better (not for anyone else but YOU), maybe you can ask yourself WHY you really are so angry? If you've already deleted your account, you'll never see this, and I've wasted my time. But maybe you are just taking a little breather and will reconsider leaving BP after reading the supportive messages of those who have posted here before me. THIS is what Bariatric Pal is about. We ARE here to help each other. Just read past all the JUNK that makes you angry and FIND the GOOD STUFF--there is SO MUCH GOOD HERE! Good luck and continued success to you, whatever your decision.