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I found a new app (for me) on the App Store called Bariatric trimer. It reminds you when to eat and drink and help you set timers so you don't drink and eat too close to each other. So far I find it helpful because I've always had issues wanting to drink with my meals. I also don't feel hungry at times. Just a FYI if anyone is interested.

May need to speak with someone skilled in Bariatrics. You may be suffering from a post- surgical depression , they do happen more than what you would think.

My surgery date is July 14 and I'm super excited for this change in my life. I'm a self-pay so I didn't have to jump through insurance hoops. I have pre-op on July 10, and my 2-week diet consists of 2 Protein shakes/day and then 1 sensible (protein like chicken or fish, veggies) meal per day. The day before surgery is Clear Liquids only. I really only have one worry. I'm not worried about the 2-week pre-op diet. It won't be easy, but it's easier than many who have to do solely liquids. I'm not worried about the pain…it's temporary and I can get through it. My biggest concern is possible complications, since I am self-pay. I know that complications are relatively rare with the sleeve, and my doctor has an amazing track record, but if I were to be in the unlucky few with complications, I don't know how I'll afford it. I really don't know what will happen. It's nice to talk to other July sleevers. I need to do a better job of checking this forum. I'm in a few Facebook groups for bariatric surgery and tend to spend my time there. I need to remember to keep coming here! July is coming up SOON!

I read a couple of posts from people who were told by Kaiser that skin removal and other post bariatric plastics are not part of their plan. I don't want anyone to suffer for years as I did because of being told the wrong information! I'm learning to push back when told NO since often times the people on the other end of the phone tend to not have all the answers or are told to derail people with questions from learning the real truth in order to save $ Anyway, there was a class action in 2015 against Kaiser sparked by post WLS denials. And as it turns out this can have repercussions for insurance that systematically deems skin removal as an elective surgery that isn't covered in cases of extreme weight loss. Link https://blog.cvn.com/kaiser-ordered-to-broaden-reconstructive-surgery-coverage-after-class-action-trial https://legalnewsline.com/stories/510629463-calif-judge-rules-that-insurer-at-center-of-class-action-over-skin-removal-surgeries-must-broaden-coverage When I went to be evaluated for plastic surgery in 2017, we were told we could have one procedure. Dr said I didn't qualify for a panni because it didn't quite hang low enough, just to clarify...their measurement is 'abdominal skin must cover pubic region entirely'' which is BS with the years of skin rashes I have had. He said I just barely qualified for breast reduction surgery which I had 5 months later, the waiting list was long. He said I would be a C cup (from a DD) and I wasn't happy when I ended up a B but worse things could happen. I'm 16 years Post Gastric BP and should've had a revision 4-5 years ago when weight gain started creeping up, no longer going down... about 15 lbs a year since 2018. I could never break past 170 to reach goal of 155 but I'm goin to pursue the distal revision as of this week. It's now or never, I have to get a social life! The rule is you have to be at your goal and stable for months before a skin removal surgery will be covered by insurance so I'll have to wait longer even longer for that as consequence of procrastinating on a revision! I've been disabled with an autoimmune illness so I never returned to the job I enjoyed after the WLS. I didn't put much effort into pursuing solutions for skin removal after research showed it would be very costly out of pocket expense and not covered by insurance. So I haven't really felt the freedom of losing 140 lbs because I still cover up my body! No swimsuits, no sleeveless anything or clothing that accentuates the possibility of a waist, LOL. I wish I had the confidence of those who wear what they want, no matter their size! I've wanted to leave Kaiser to return the awesome Dr I previously had who actually listened and treated me like a human being. Staying with Kaiser only until these surgeries are done and I'm out of there! Kaiser ruling.pdf

Follow up with the program's psych today. He thinks I'm on too many medications and that I'm too depressed for surgery. He, the psychologist is questioning my psychiatrist? Uh, who's the medical doctor here? According to his psychological tests I'm off the charts in depression. His "tests" say that I am passive dependent (wth?), gives up easily, oppositional, pessimistic and a poor candidate for surgery at this time as compared to other bariatric patients. Boy I sound like a real winner, who here wants to be my friend now? (oops that's sarcasm and pessimism) So my first reaction was to cry, then scream and tell him what to do with his tests, but I thought he would probably make note of that. It took everything I had, but I sat there and listened to his recommendations which was to go get a second opinion and start all over with my meds, get a "clean slate". Are you kidding me? My psychiatrist knows my history, knows what medicines effect me how and he's the one who helped me when I was face down on the floor. That was 12 years ago. Since then my weight has gone up, but my moods have been pretty steady, lower then the average person, but we are all different. I just can't believe this. I finally make this decision then bam right in the face. Like I'm going to get happier being this miserably overweight and in pain? Anyone else gone through this? Help? If I wasn't depressed before, I'm devastated now. Way to start the weekend.

Revision patients may lose weight a at a slightly slower rate than those who have virgin first-time sleeves. However, bariatric surgeons don't always inform prospective patients of this potential reality to avoid discouraging them. Slower weight loss often happens to revision patients because they've already experienced the metabolic shock of a previous bariatric surgical procedure. Per the Texas Bariatric Specialists website: http://texasbariatricspecialists.com/failed-weight-loss-surgery-revisions/

Hey everyone! Congrats to all of you for making it this far!! I just got my surgery date: 29 Apr! I finished my insurance company's mandatory six month bariatric program on 12 Feb, received approval for surgery a few days later, and finally met with my surgeon today. When I picked up the NINE pre-/post-op prescriptions, it started to feel very real! But I'm so excited! Like all of you, this has been a long time coming. I've been struggling with my weight since 4th grade and have lost and gained the same 100lbs. at least five times. I'm so ready to start this new chapter of my life! A few details: Started Kaiser's six month bariatric program: 3 Sep 2019 Hospital: Holy Cross Hospital, Silver Springs, MD Surgery : VSG What are you worried about the most right now? For me, I think I'm dreading the two week pre-op liquid diet more than anything else!

hour, scary serious. I am finishing up a mandated 30 day electronic compliance , 4+ hours per 24. I averaged 6×. it gets faxed to Columbus. to,my bariatric program. Jessica b, my case manager delivers the faxes to Certified Nurse Practioner Valerie, my surgeon Dr Needleman's right hand woman. And then something occult,happens. They consult a voodoo priestesd, play cards, go fishing, nobody really knows. Either Valerie calls 7/6 or Jessica calls 7/9. because she will be on vacation until,then. And if i,understand i receive my surgery date. I probably,won't be able b to discard Uncle Snuffly, my,father also had apnea.

I just had to reply in the pre-op cranky pants forum...I'm wearing the same pants! lol I am on day 2 of pre-op diet and I feel sooo sick! Headaches and nausea...Bariatric Advantage shakes are clearly a disadvantage right about now. At least I am not hungry I suppose?! Anyone else have these issues? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I am a "newbie" on this site and am in the very beginning stages of working up to have gastric sleeve surgery. I have an appointment with my bariatric surgeon next week. Someone suggested that I check out JBN (Just Be Natural). I ordered samples yesterday (you can pick 3 flavors for $5). I thought this was a reasonable price to see what brand of protein shake I like. I have tried Muscle Milk long ago and I ended up throwing 3/4 of the case out because it just didn't taste good to me. All other protein drinks I have tried are too low in protein and too high in sugar content.

I am not ashamed to admit that I am a member of the 90% of people who were unsuccessful with long term weight management through diet and exercise alone. Yes, that's the statistic. To the people that would tell me that I took the easy way out I say I took the smart way. I am giving myself the best possible chances at long term weight management. The research shows that 65% of people with a BMI >= 35 that use surgery as a tool have long term success at weight management. Another way of looking at this is over 2/3rds of the people that undergo surgery have success. I would argue that surgery is harder than traditional diet and exercise. We have both mental and physical challenges to overcome with bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgery essentially forces a lifestyle change upon us. Ironically, I had a much easier time with medically-supervised diet and exercise. I just failed in maintenance.

I do too, that's why I hang out or lurk, whatever you call it, on Bariatric Pal, a lot of times when I share advice it reaffirmed the truths in my own mind. I do know better nut I am imperfect at times. Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

There are several bariatric surgeons that specialize in "fixing" other doctor's mess-ups. You might want to call around tomorrow and see if someone else will take you on. I'm also floored that you still have the drain - mine was out before I left the hospital, too. But, mostly, I can't believe his attitude about pain. My surgeon told me "don't be a hero - I don't want you to hurt" when he first saw me post-op and was worried I wasn't using my pain pump enough! Oh, and Texarkolina: Run. This isn't right or normal at all. Find another surgeon ASAP.

I was sleeved on August 5th, just now getting up the energy to get this written. Anyhow, my husband and I arrived at the hospital at 8am and I was feeling pretty good, not all that nervous, Just ready to get it done. I get admitted and set up in the pre-op room waiting for 10am to come around. My inlaws drove over that morning to be with me and with my husband while he waits and I can tell that my MIL is sooo nervous, she keeps rubbing my arm. When the nurses come in we all chit chat while they are taking vitals and hooking me up with this thing and that thing. Someone brought up the question on if I needed a blood type band, but the other nurse said no it wasn't necessary. My husband asked why and was told that my Surgeon "Never needs to do transfusions so we don't worry about it." Meh, sounds good to me, I have complete trust in my surgeon! Before i know it my surgeon is here and the anesthesiologist is here and we are headed down the hallway. I don't even remember making it to the OR. Fast forward a few hours and I'm in a small hospital room, my husband is there and he says everything went great! I remember my mouth being soooo super dry and the nurses let me swish some Water around and spit it out. I remember telling my husband to go out to lunch with my inlaws and get something to eat! Then darkness. I wake back up to several nurses in my room and my husband and lots of beeping going on, someone is trying to either get a vain to put something in me or take blood I'm not sure, I'm so tired I can hardly even keep my eyes open. Everyone is shaking me and telling me to open my eyes, wake up, stay wake but I'm so tired. I hear my husband tell me to open my eyes and now my surgeon is in the room and nurses are on both hands trying to get a vain, I don't feel anything anymore. I hear my husband say "Take Her!" and then I don't remember anything. Fast-forward to 8pm that night, I wake up in the ICU of the hospital with a very stressed out looking husband. I am hooked up to several machines at this point. My surgeon comes in to check on me and tells me what happened. My sleeve procedure went smoothly, but while organs were being moved around some blood vessels that go from between the stomach and the spleen had gotten pinched/torn but it was in a way that nothing was showing itself as a problem. I had my surgery and was in recovery for 2 hours and in my room for 1 hour without any issues at all, I was a star patient. Until, as my husband told me, the nurses came into the room to start getting me up to walk, as they lifted the head of the bed all of my vitals crashed. As they were trying to get me to get up those blood vessels that were pinched were shifted and I started bleeding out. My surgeon took me back into surgery and said it was like a mini geyser in there. He said he cauterized it 9 times to stop the bleeding. I lost a lot of blood and while I was in ICU, I received two units of blood. I was on a pain pump, morphine and I remember I kept asking the nurses for something stronger, I just couldn't breath, it felt like I had done a thousand ab crunches and I couldn't even take a breath. After giving me morphine and Vicodin through the IV they finally called in something stronger called HydroMorphin. That stuff was AMAZING! within 20 minutes I was able to take my first real breath. I had lab techs coming in every hour to take blood samples and check my platelet count, my veins were collapsing and they had to call in the big wigs, he said he was only called when no one else could get anything, and it still took in a try or two, I;m still foggy at that point. I think I fell asleep because I open my eyes and my husband is there the next day, he had to go home shortly after I arrived in ICU to feed and let out our dogs and get some sleep. I am still having labs drawn and by this point I'm still not really feeling the needles, at one point the poor tech only got out a few drops before it was over. That lab had to be redone since it was so small it had clotted. They successfully attempt to get blood out of the IV that they had been giving me blood through. It must of been ok because they didn't hook me up to anymore blood bags. Yay! It's time to start getting up! My ICU nurse starts to position the bed into a seat position and my heart goes from 98 to 160, she panics and lays me back down and starts on the phone with my surgeon who has told them to call him if I go over 110. At this point my respiration drops and more alarms are going off. the nurses come in and check my breathing and open up the air thingy behind me. Respiration goes back up, but I can still hear my heart beating in my ears. that slows down and they draw more labs! Over the course of the day and three shift changes, I was able to get up and out of bed, I walked a few short trips around the ICU and I was bubbly happy when I was cleared for my first sip of 1oz water! I over heard the ICU nurses talking about me and how crazy it was that they actually had a bariatric patient because "That NEVER happens!" My Surgeon came by and told me how i was a first for him as well, as in bleeding and having to go to the ICU. I was in his "less than 1% complication" I graduate to phase two and started on my Protein drinks, no problems at all, maybe a little gassy but not bad. At 11pm that night, (day 2 post-op) I get moved to the bariatric floor of the hospital. I text my husband the room and try to get some sleep. No luck, hourly checks have me awake most of the night. I scare the hospital staff when I try to getup to go to the bathroom, (they took the catheter out at the ICU), my heart rate jumps back up into the 160s and I suddenly have a couple of nurses in my room. Eventually they come to accept that if my heart alarm is going off then I'm out of bed. They slowly stop checking on me throughout the day. I've been up and walking the floor, I've peed tons! I've walked some more. I keep asking to have the IV lines taken out since I wasn't hooked up to them anymore. I keep getting told at 3pm. I am going to get checked out at 3pm. Thankfully 3pm shows up and I've meet with the head nurse, and the nutritionist and some other ppl and I am cleared to go. By 3:45 I am home and exhausted. I sleep on the couch and my husband tends to me sweetly. So now that I am 8 days post op here's what I have to say. I absolutely LOVE my surgeon, as my MIL said, other surgeons would have maybe tried to wait and see if my vitals leveled out but not my surgeon, he saw that there was a problem and took Immediate action! I would absolute do this surgery again even with time spent in the ICU, The staff there were amazing. Days 1-6 TOTALLY Completely SUCK Monkey Butt, but it gets better. I don't want to weigh myself until my two week check up, but I am as gitty as a school girl about it! So, pick your surgeon wisely and trust him/her completely! I did and still do!

I struggled with this a lot. I had considered getting sleeved a couple years before I did and told a few people I was considering it. I was surprised at their responses, especially my parents. For one, most people had a pretty negative view of it—even a doctor friend of mine. But it was clear most people were not well-read on the topic and were prone to all of the common misconceptions. At first my parents sounded like they would be supportive but them wrote to me in unison telling me that I shouldn’t do the surgery. My dad had been successful at losing a bunch of weight and controlling his diabetes a few years back but has since gained most of it back. Their thought was that if I needed to have a lifestyle change after surgery to maintain why not just do the lifestyle change and forego surgery. They also thought that if it was something I had to be secretive about (because I had asked them not to mention it to my siblings) then it must not be right. Well, this discouraged me and I decided not to do the surgery but try to lose weight on my own. And, as you can imagine, I did not succeed. My diabetes got a lot worse and I started daily injections. I also developed sleep apnea and needed to sleep with a CPAP machine. The trajectory of my health was not good and I came back to the idea of bariatric surgery. I thought that I would not ask my parents their thoughts but just tell them my decision and ask for their support. My thought was that I had to tell them because they are my parents. But I struggled a lot thinking about how they would respond and doubted that they would keep it from my siblings, who, if they knew, would tell the world. I actually talked to my primary physician about it and she supported me and suggested that since I’m an adult (46) my parents don’t even have to know. So I wrote to my parents a desperate message telling them the extent of my health problems and that I needed to do something. I asked for their prayers. I already decided to get sleeved but didn’t know if I should tell them. I decided that if they replied and changed their tune about surgery and brought it up to say they’d support me if that is what I decided (since we had discussed it before) then I’d tell them. But otherwise, I would take that as a sign that I should not tell them. They just said they’d pray for me, so I decided I wouldn’t tell them. I also decided that I couldn’t tell people in my workplace because of gossip—telling one would be the same as telling everyone. So, in the end, the only people in the world who know, besides the doctors and nurses who performed the procedure and my other physicians, is my wife. I didn’t even tell my young kids. I was afraid people might guess I had had the surgery if I suddenly lost a lot of weight—especially the few people I had previously told I had been considering it the first time around. So about 3 months before surgery I posted on Facebook a pic of me on my bike and that it was time for me to reset my diet and lifestyle and lose weight. I did start exercising then and would regularly post pictures and updates so that people would get accustomed to the fact that I was exercising and working hard, which would leave little room for suspicion about the cause of my weight loss. This worked really well and I did indeed lose 38 lbs pre-op through diet and exercise, which, to this day, convinces me that I did do this and can take credit for it. I took a 2-week vacation and got the surgery on the third day of the vacation. This gave me time to recover so that I’d be in good shape by the time people saw me again. I had told a couple people that I was going to take my vacation to ramp up my weight-loss efforts and alter my diet. I lost a quick 10-15 lbs immediately after the surgery and when I went back to work a couple people noticed. I went to my explanation: “I had been losing weight since August but no one could tell but me; then when I get to a certain threshold everyone starts noticing and thinks it happened overnight, but truthfully, ive been losing weight over the past 3 months!” I’ve lost 34 lbs since surgery and am much thinner than before. But I’ve continued to run races (5K, 10K and half-marathons) and post about it online. People have said some very encouraging things to me but I’ve been a little surprised that I haven’t gotten more comments about my weight loss. Maybe because I’m a guy—might be different for a girl. Not one person has asked me if I got bariatric surgery, or have seemed to be “fishing” for that either. I’m sure some people think I’m just being prideful by posting so many selfies and race results, but I decided that would be both understandable and effective for keeping the secret about surgery. So far all has gone well—I don’t regret the surgery or keeping it a secret. I also don’t feel like I’ve lied about portraying myself as having done it all on my own when really surgery did it for me because I lost more pre-op than I have post-op, and I have still had to maintain all that discipline since surgery as well. I can eat a lot more than I thought I would be able to, and so it is still my self-discipline that is keeping food out of my mouth, not just the sleeve.

[emoji307] it and loved you for,doing it, I seldom feel valued out in the outside world. Love being on Bariatric Pal, people seem to accept me as I am and make me feel like I'm good enough. Yeah I've had a self-esteem problem probably why,i drowned myself in food. Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

An exclusion for bariatrics means that they don't cover any type of weight loss surgery at all for any reason. My policy has an exclusion as well. But don't lose hope! Many doctors discount their services for self-pay. I would call the surgeon's office and ask them to go over your options. In my case, it was found that I have a hiatal hernia which significantly reduced my out of pocket costs because hernia repair is a separate medical procedure covered by pretty much everyone's insurance. I know that there are lots of people who have financed their surgeries, either via care credit or a bank loan. Don't give up just yet!

Obesity is a progressive, life-threatening disease. Treatment for life-threatening disease is not, should not, and can not be a question of easy or hard. It's a question of effectiveness. Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment known to medical science for obesity and more than 30 comorbidities associated with obesity. Nobody can go back and start a new beginning. But anybody can start today and make a new ending.

I buy the fusion multi Vitamins (gummies) at Walgreens or Jewel. I take 2 in the morning and 2 at night along with a tiny Vitamin D capsule, that's it. My labs come back perfect. There are surgeons who recommend taking Flinestone vitamins, they also work fine. You don't need to spend a fortune to get sufficient sources of nutrients. If you compare ingredients between the standard (fusion) vitamins and the more expensive Bariatric Advantage vitamins they match up almost one for one. I would add that if you have problems with a vitamin deficiency you should maybe take a specialty type of vitamin but if your eating well, it's probably not necessary to go to spendy.

Here's my saga. I posted this elsewhere in the forums and was kind of surprised at the negative response, so let me say, this is just my story. I'm not bashing the band, I'm very thankful for the success I had with it. I'm not bitter or angry, it just didn't work for me long term. I had a Realize band placed in February of 2009. My starting weight was 268. The band was fantastic and I lost weight steadily, with the exception of a few months when I realized how easy Cookies were to eat. In December of 2010, I hit the 100 pounds lost mark, I also found out I was pregnant that same week. At about 4 weeks pregnant I had a really nasty 3 day stomach flu. A few days after recovering from that, I started throwing up again. I could keep food down for a few hours, but it was all coming back up. I lost another 15 pounds in 2 weeks. I thought it was just severe morning sickness, even though in 5 previous pregnancies I'd never had morning sickness. I saw my Ob who told me to immediately get my band unfilled and if I was still throwing up the next day he'd have to admit me into the hospital. I got a complete unfill and immediately felt better, but with no restriction and absolutely no mental/physical/spiritual preparedness for no restriction, my love affair with all things bread and pastry renewed like we were never apart. I gained 40 pounds in the first 4 months of my pregnancy. I managed to gain back a little control, but ended up gaining about 60 pounds before I had my daughter in August of 2011. The weight gain took a great emotional toll on me, but I just knew that 6 weeks postpartum I'd get a fill and be right back on track... You know where this is going, right? In October of 2011 I got my band refilled. Pre-pregnancy, my fill level was at 7.2cc in an 11 cc band. We filled it to 3.5 cc and 3 weeks later filled it to 5 cc. I had very little restriction and it just didn't seem right. I'd also started getting heartburn. I went back a few weeks later and we filled it to 5.5. That lasted 24 hours, I had to go back in for an unfill and we went down to 5.2 so I could get Water down. I still didn't have much restriction, but I did have terrible heartburn and vomiting in the middle of the night. I lived with this for a few months until I couldn't stand it and went back in and had .5 cc removed. This made the heartburn manageable with daily meds and tums always at hand, but there was no restriction. I could eat all the bread, Pasta, rice that I wanted. I knew I had a slip, but didn't have insurance to cover bariatrics, so I lived with it. I tried eating less, exercise, weight watchers, even a juice fast but I've gained 20 more pounds on top of the baby weight. Fast forward to now and I finally have insurance to cover bariatrics. I went in a few weeks ago and had my upper GI. It showed a slip above the band, virtually my entire stomach is above the band, which is why there is no restriction felt, but the band was so tight that flow into the rest of my digestive tract was severely restricted. Food just sat there for a really long time, and the results of that we're just kind of gross. We unfilled the band completely to see if the slip would fix itself, although, we all knew what that result would be. The pregnancy hadn't caused the slip, the stomach flu had and 9 months of an empty band hadn't helped it unslip. I got that confirmation this week. My band is still slipped and the restriction is still severe even empty. I'm frustrated, but quite relieved that there has been a real issue this whole time and it wasn't just me. We're now going through the process of getting insurance approval to revise to a sleeve and I couldn't be happier.

I didn't have a two year weight history either. I got Aetna last August and attained a new doctor in September. I started seeing her for weight management back in February and once every month there after. My bariatric surgeon's patient coordinator sent all my paper work to Aetna and I received approval within 4 days.

Yea the shakes are what the bariatric office provides but i was free to buy any other shakes i want. I do have a case of fairlife and i am going to get premier protein here in the next couple days as i do like those. Nutritionist said to use premier protein or any other protein shake i like as "Creamer" in coffee lol

The bariatric clinic could really give a flying bleep if u should happen to develop complications. I've experienced nothing but trouble. I knew complications were a chance but never thought I'd be the statistic. I'm dealing with an infection and open wound in my abdomen. I'm having to pack twice daily and change dressing as needed, since its draining a lot. Yea well the hell with me they may as well told me! Can't get my supplies cuz they want to be complete buttholes! I'm si pissed! I just want all this behind me so I can actually be happy about my WLS decision.

Protein pudding and Greek yogurt are so good not sure if you tried them. I also like the genepro couldn't Tate it at all I'd try mixing it in a coffee drink or crystal light. Look on bariatric pantry website for some other yummy drinks not protein shakes then try to add a little of the genepro? U can find proteins that taste better than protein shake I know I have. Good luck to you!

Hi Y'all! My name is Mariah. I am attending a bariatric seminar this coming saturday but I have pretty much made up my mind to have the surgery especially since it is covered by my insurance. My main question is this: does it hurt when they pull the drain out? can you describe what it feels like? also, how long before I can go back to work? What will be my total recovery time? since i'm young does that affect the loose skin I will have? thanks