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Most experienced Bariatric Professionals (Surgeons, Drs, Etc) would disagree with that article (and DO). S.

You know what cracks me up about all the people who are negative about bariatric surgery? Apparently they think it would be better for us to stay morbidly obese living a half and ruining our health. It defies logic. Ok. i just decided what I will tell people if they have anything negative to say... Those two sentences above this one!

Congratulations! Dr. Rodriguez was my bariatric surgeon too (April 30th at Star Medica). You've made a wise choice.

Ok so I am trying my best not to just freak out and run around in circles screaming with excitement. This will probably be a very long post as I want to get it off my chest :ohmy: I started checking into LB about 2 years ago. I knew my insurance wouldn't pay so I was like crud and I thought I can do this myself sheesh how hard could it be to lose 100 pounds! haha I lost 52 pounds and then thought I could take on the world! I then quit smoking and decided that eating was more fun than the cig addiction and proceeded to pack on the 52 pounds again! Then my company switched insurance to BCBS of Minnesota... This is the best thing that happened to me. We switched in Sept of 07 and by 10/07 I was scheduling 6 appts for the nutrition counselor, attending seminars, and meeting with the surgeon. I was well informed ahead of time before switching insurance so I was on the ball the minute we switched. I cannot thank my company enough for changing. I submitted for pre auth on 4/3 and within a day and a 1/2 I was given authorization and a surgery date! I will be banded on 4/23 now I have a BMI of 44 with no comorbities. I will be banding at Sacred Heart Bariatric Center Eugene, Oregon by Dr. Umbach. Thankfully no preop diet since i lost more than 10 pounds.

I use Tespo Vitamins. You can buy them without buying the fancy dispenser. They are liquid, and they taste really good. liquid vitamins are typically pretty disgusting, but I love my Tespo vitamins. I use the combination of the women's Multivitamin, and the bariatric Vitamin. You can read more about them at https://gettespo.com/ Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi. I had my surgery 11/23/15. I measure everything so i don't over eat. I am still at 1/2-3/4 cup total per meal at the most. I've lost 70 so far. I always get in my Water and only 3 meals a day. I never snack to avoid bad grazing habits. That would be my down fall. I don't ever eat any chip type or bars of any kind because I also feel for me this would trigger me into eating my old types of foods. The cravings are gone so this is easy for me. Eat my Protein first and i use reduced fat whenever i can. I am always reading labels and I don't like artificial ingredients if I can help it. I always have a protein drink in the morning with almond milk and that starts me out with 50 grams of protein in the beginning of each day. No caffeine or carbonation. I will drink a protein drink every morning probably for the rest of my life. Makes me feel good and it tastes good too. I use Jay Robb chocolate and i love it. I use the Bariatric fusion chewable wafers and I take 4 per day which is super easy (2 am 2 pm). From what i read I think snacking is what gets people in trouble. Its all about the quantity. I also use the Baritastic app to track what i eat all day. Then i record them in a journal once a week so i have a permanent record. So far so good. For me all this works. For others it could be a different story.

I completely agree with all of the above. Buy only what you think you'll need for the first few weeks. My tastes change almost daily but there are some protein powders that I never could stand. Also, vitamins. Ughh. I can't tolerate any of the bariatric vitamins so far.

It sounds like you are getting pretty anxious! I had to see my nutritionist for six monthly visits leading up to surgery and we didn't discuss grams of Protein, calories, fats, etc! The things we worked on together before surgery were how to start changing my habits on preparation for using my new pouch for example, I had to slow down my eating and take 20-25 minutes to eat each meal. I also had to make sure i was eating three meals a day with no snacking. We talked about what to buy before surgery, what Vitamins I'd need and why, what I could eat during the initial stages post op, etc. The calories and carbs and Proteins will come later. Just slow down. We ALL think we know a few things about eating right because we've done every diet under the sun, read every article, measured our food. We've lost tons of weight! But we gained it back. None of us would be seeing bariatric surgeons if we didn't need the extra help. You need to put your trust in the professionals. It's such a foreign concept to actually practice what they are teaching, believe me I know, but I'm so glad I had those visits. It really gave me good preparation and I think using my pouch is coming to me more naturally than if I hadn't had those sessions. BTW my surgery was just on July 1 and I'm down from 270 to 247!! I strongly recommend finding a surgeon and facility that are a bariatric center of excellence. This means they are held to higher standards. They have to provide comprehensive care and support for long term success. They typically have their own nutritionist with bariatric experience and host support group meetings. I attend one meeting before surgery which was really helpful to me (and my husband). I hope I've helped!

Dense is important. I coincidentally read two different things yesterday posted by bariatric authorities who discussed the importance of re-introducing solid foods to your new anatomy. Not only does it help with satiety but it's kinda like...if you don't use it, you lose it. And you need to have the solid food to maintain a well-working digestive system. So get those solids in. It's all about choices. Choose your hard, dear.

Hi Y'all! I'm Amy from Texas, I'm not yet banded but I have my first visit with a bariatric specialist on Januray 4th, 2007. So I have been out scouting around for a support system that looked fun and helpful... this place beats the rest I've seen. I will be going to Dr Richard Collier in Conroe. Al little about me... I am 35, a recently remarried mother of two pugnacious preteen kids (and I say that with love! hehehe no - really they are great, but don't tell them! ). I love creating art and craft projects, singing, dancing, raising ponies, cooking and baking. I am 5'1" and I am starting at about 238 lbs. I figure my goal is somewhere in the 125-130 lb. neighborhood maybe, as that is around where I was in college before all this weight started showing up. I was no skinny-minnie, but that size worked for me. But really my ACTUAL goal is simply to be able to ride my ponies again without being cited for pony abuse!:nervous I am really looking forward to having this procedure done so I can get on with my plans. I think I do have realistic goals for weightloss speed and the amount of effort it will actually take to use this tool. I know, Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was my butt! What I am hoping is that, with this tool, I will be able to remove food as an object of obsession and make it what it is supposed to be - a necessity. Trust me I DO know what I'm SUPPOSED to eat (wink), my problem has just been the "wanna" behind it and my T-Rex-like apetite! Hopefully, having physical restrictions put on my intake ability, I can refocus my head on what I need to eat and making the most of nutrition in that smaller stomach space! I look forward to meeting a lot of you on here, so you can help me through my wobbly times and cheer me when I am being a good girl! :clap2: Toodles! Amy

I never had any need for bariatric-specific treatment post-op. I had lots of questions, but those were all easily handled via phone, email, or Skype with my surgical team. The only physical follow-up I've needed is blood work and monitoring of my vitals, which my PCP has had no trouble handling. I had visits and blood work with my PCP at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, and now just as part of my annual physical.

I just found out the Amerigroup in Tennessee (medicaid) WILL cover the sleeve!!!! WOOT!!! I need 6 months of documented medically supervised diet (got it), need to have a bmi of 40 or higher (definitely got it), need at least 2 health issues as a direct result of my obesity (got that and more), need a statement from my doctor saying that they approve of me having the surgery and feel its necessary (got it from my Virginia and getting it from my new doctor soon, I hope), need 5 years of records showing my weight to be morbidly obese (definitely got it), will need to get a cardiac and pulmunary clearance (dont have it yet but hoping to soon), I need to pass a psych eval (dont have one yet but will soon, I hope), and I need a physician referral to a bariatric surgeon (I will get that soon, as well. I hope) So hopefully I can get the ball rolling really soon!!! I will be going to the Centennial Center for the Treatment of Obesity in Nashville, Tn. They are the only ones that do the surgery and will take medicaid. Ironically, I had my daughter at Centennial hospital 5 1/2 years ago when I lived in Nashville before, and I really liked that hospital. So Im pretty happy all the way around with things.

Honestly, they can't force you to see this internist. I would keep going to your endocrinologist (I'm sure that you are), and I would find another bariatric internist recommended by other patients and let the bariatric surgeon know that is where you'll be doing your follow-up care. Are you also seeing a registered dietitian (RD) who specializes in bariatric patients? If not, I would definitely find one. I am a slow loser also and my RD is really my most important post-op coach. I don't know what I would do without her. Diet is about 75% of what will make or break our success, and it takes on even greater importance when you are limited in the exercise that you can do as you are, so I would see if there are any tweaks that you can do to help there. Obviously I know that you are working very hard and your weight loss isn't a reflection of that, but at the same time, there is always room for all of us to tweak and optimize what we can. I would really, really focus on getting at least 60 to 80 g of Protein, even if you have to do more shakes, and try to drink at least 100 oz of Water. An RD will have lots of specific ideas for you that work for you, your lifestyle, and the particular preferences of your sleeve.

He's been performing bariatric surgery since the late 90s. He's done thousands and thousands. He developed the Mini sleeve and he does them daily. I trust him implicitly. I read the 1 review about alcohol abuse that you mentioned. I don't really believe that. If it did happen it was written 5 years ago if I remember correctly. He's fit, energetic, charismatic and bright eyed. (He's also eye candy... Lol!) I don't believe that review at all.

Thanks for your insight! I tried my gummy vitamins that I took prior to my sleeve and didn’t have any nausea. I guess I just can’t take the Bariatric ones at this stage. I’m sticking to the gummies for now!

I'd research other surgeons, just to get a feel for the different approachs....then make your decision. There is emerging evidence that prolonged super low calorie diets before and after surgery could reset your metabolism to unrealistically low levels that set you up for weight gain later. (not saying this always happens, not saying this is gosple....bariatrics are an emerging science....just sharing that there are a lot of different ideas at play) My group did a very carb restricted diet for two weeks before surgery. We were allowed to drink 5 shakes a day plus one food item from a list.....but this was just to shrink the liver for an easier procedure. My group wanted 10% weight loss, but expected it to take months. We were required to work with a nutritionist, attend fitness classes, healthy cooking classes, support groups. Our whole process took 4-6 months...just to lay the nutrition groundwork and weight loss work before the surgery. After surgery, we were pushed to eat 1200 calories a day as soon as we could tolerate it...in hopes that this would give us a robust metabolic reset. (to be clear, we went through the gradual restoration of diet after surgery for safety....liquid, puree, soft, etc....but our caloric goals were advanced as tolerated) I lost weight slower than most people....but I made goal, and I'm doing really well maintaining. My preferences and nutrition choices are much healthier. I've got good support for the mental side of this process. I feel like I was better prepared by my group for the work of making the permenant changes necessary and dealing with the lifetime challenges. Be a little careful of clinics that push unrealistically brutal calorie restriction. Eating 600 calories a day will make you lose a crap-ton of weight and will make your clinic look like they offer "The Magic Cure"....but you don't need to be their walking bulletin board for a year and then be abandoned by them when you regain. You need a comprehensive program that supports your needs for a lifetime and teaches healthy nutrition and fitness and supports the mental challenges of breaking the addiction.

Hey, Banders!Thanksgiving is behind us and the holiday season is officially underway! Filled with holiday shopping, festivities at work and spending time with friends and family, this time of year is can be the most rewarding. It can be hectic, too, so paying extra attention to your diet and health is even more important than usual. Use this newsletter as a reminder and some motivation to be extra cautious with your choices so that you can keep seeing the results you want from your weight loss journey. Here’s what’s coming up in this newsletter. Member Spotlight: Meet Mis73! Tips for the Season: Thriving at Holiday Parties! Bander Challenge: Activate Your Party Action Plan! A Big Thank-You to Our Members as 2012 Ends We know the hustle and bustle of this season make your life busy, but we hope you spend part of your holiday season with us at Alex Brecher Founder LapBandTalk.com Member Spotlight: Meet Mis73! Mis73, aka Missy, is this newsletter’s highlighted member! She’s a 39-year-old Michigander who has fought through obstacles to achieve her current weight loss of 168 pounds. Her high weight was 421 pounds, and her goal weight is 160, at a BMI of 27.5. She has multiple sclerosis and knew that her obesity was making the symptoms worse. So, she decided to get the lap-band and focus on the obesity because that’s something she could control. Missy says that the “biggest difference is, I am happy. I am happier than I have been in literally decades.” She’s gone from needing a handicapped parking pass and a motorized cart for grocery shopping to being able to take her son to the zoo and walk around for hours! Other great moments have been dropping below 300 pounds, fitting into blue jeans for the first time in 20 years, fitting in the seat at her daughter’s band concert and seeing her father’s look of pride and joy after seeing her for the first time – 100 pounds lighter. Missy’s biggest challenge right after surgery was to avoid exacerbating her multiple sclerosis, since symptoms can appear after trauma, such as surgery. Luckily, she was able to avoid a full-blown relapse. Missy used LapBandTalk in the early days for reassurance that her experience was normal. She’s grown to depend on the friends she’s made here and she continues to “offer education and support to others.” She has plenty of advice to offer. She suggests meeting with a nutritionist who specializes in bariatric patients and to keep your food to a cup per meal. Also, learn everything you can about the band: what it is, what it does and how you can succeed with it. Missy, we are so glad that you are finding happiness. We know that it will just get better for you as you keep losing weight, and it’s a pleasure to be able to share in your weight loss journey. Thanks for being in the Member Spotlight! Please post in the Protein snack or two for yourself and eat it when it’s time for your regular meal or snack. You can also take a healthy dish for the host to serve at the party. Sip Water. Carrying a glass of water around gives you something to do without adding any calories to your day. Another benefit of drinking water is that you know you shouldn’t eat solid foods when you’re drinking fluids. Avoid alcohol. Alcohol is a source of calories that you just don’t need. Worse yet is that it lowers your inhibition. That means that you’re less likely to resist unhealthy holiday foods. Bander Challenge: Activate Your Holiday Action Plan! This newsletter’s challenge is related to our advice on holiday parties. The challenge is to choose a specific strategy designed to get you through the holidays without interfering with your weight loss goals. You can take one of the suggestions listed above, or choose your own. Some other ideas are to keep healthy Snacks at work so you’re not tempted by unhealthy snacks and to record each treat that you eat in your food record instead of pretending that it doesn’t count. Tell us in the Bander Challenge Forum how you complete the challenge! Was it easy or difficult? What tips do you have for other LapBandTalk.com members? We also want to know anytime you go back and complete an old Newsletter Challenge, which you can find in the archived Newsletter Forum. It’s never too late to try a Newsletter Challenge! A Big Thank-You to Our Members as 2012 Ends As we close out 2012, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank each member. We truly appreciate your support. We value each member, whether you post many times a day and use all of LapBandTalk.com’s many features, or whether you log in infrequently to read just a few posts. You, the members, are essential to LapBandTalk.com’s success, so a heartfelt thank-you to each of you! 2012 has seen rapid increases in the number of members, the beginning of regular newsletters and the launch of mobile apps to access all of the forum’s features. Big plans are in the works for the coming year, and it promises to be an exciting ride. We’re glad to have you on board! Of course, we’re always open to member suggestions, so please feel free to contact any board administrator. That’s it for this month’s newsletter. We hope it was inspirational and helpful. Have a safe and peaceful holiday season, and take care of yourself and each other, Alex. ============================================================== If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: {unsubscribe}

YAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow you are losing weight already!!! Good for you. I will start mine on monday and im kinda excited but i hope i keep this" positive' atitude when im hungry and watching my family eat we can go through this "together" I have the Bariatric Advantage shakes and bars. ill look at how many cals/ carbs/protein and ill let you know yaaa!!!!!!! high five to you! Y

I understand the financial restraints but, it seems as though you need a fill and maybe a check up. All offices don't charge $125. I just found an office here on Dallas, TX that does fills for $50. I suggest you call around to bariatric offices in your city. Maybe you can find a price that you can handle. Good Luck!

Hello Everyone, Today I started my 10 day pre-op diet. My diet consists of four protein shakes (each 160 cal) using the Bariatric Advantage powder; I recommend the chocolate flavor; the orange creamsicle tastes like fouride! I am also allowed to have two cups of low-starch low-cal fruits and vegetables (such as apricots, squash, salad etc). I started my day out strong. Had a shake. Loved the shake. Slept in more (lol). 12 pm Got going again, had a shake and got my butt going. Went to the gym for an hour doing some cardio, crunches, and heavy lifting. Drank 31 oz. of unsweetened tea. Felt a little hungry so I had some tomato soup and found out afterwards that although it didn't have milk, it did have rice syrup in it! WHOOPS! I when you feel like you're doing so great and you make a stupid mistake. not cool. Back on the wagon. Did some chores, took a post-workout shower, and had shake number 3 @ 5:30 pm. Went to the opening of a new bookstore in my town and I started to feel hungry. Something about capitalism, consumerism, and browsing in a store (even a store without food) makes us hungry; i think it's our hunter/gatherer instincts making us think we need something to hunt and eat. BUT THEN I WENT FOOD SHOPPING wit my mom to get some things (vegetables I can have on diet) at Giant food stores. TALK ABOUT TEMPTATION! My mom had to get some things on her list so I was forced to brave the bread and bakery section. At this point I'm STARVING and all i can smell is yeast and bleached flower and I want to dive in and start ripping open the nearest loaf and devouring it. BUT I DIDN'T I just got what I needed and got ouutta there. For my second vegetable of the day I had spaggetti squash SO GOOD. you just scrape out the seeds, cover it with plastic wrap, and pop it into the micro on a plate for 20 min. It has the taste and texture of spagettii so it's a good filler when you can't have what you want. Now I'm trying to down my 4th shake but it just tastes like crap now. I WANT REAL FOOD.But I have to remind myself that the pre-op DIET IS FOR A PURPOSE. TO GET THE SURGERY AND GET HEALTHY GET THIN. good luck to everyone on this journey!

Good Morning everybody, I am a Bariatric Surgeon who worked extensively with Dr.Waleed Bukhari at the International Medical Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and I am currently in Canada for further training. I will be more than happy to answer any questions regarding all types of Bariatric procedures in immediate contact with Dr.Bukhari at any necessary time and give support. I also have communication with almost ALL the Bariatric Surgeons in Jeddah, namely Dr. Osama Murshid, Dr. Adnan Sabbahi, Dr.Mahmoud Hamo, Dr. Ahmed Khalil and Dr. Adel Bakhsh. Please feel free to ask any questions regarding Lap Band, Lap Sleeve Gastrectomy and Lap Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass, and amazingly, we do it by 3 ports only. I can read and speak Arabic but my keyboard is not supporting Arabic and I find it difficult to write in Arabic. Yours.

So glad you asked these questions. As you can see there are a lot of us who are now in the best shapes of our lives. I am 4 years out. I work out 6 -7 days/wk. I also heard similar comments from friends, trainers and even a bariatric MD. Getting my band was the best decision I ever made for my health and self-esteem. My story is a lot like yours. If you interested you might find something of use on my blog (in my signature below). Good luck.

Doubtful that it is a stricture this far out from WLS. You need to see an experienced gastroenterologist to get a proper diagnosis. They may perform a variety of tests, such as EGD endoscopy, upper GI, Bravo pH, manometry, etc. GERD/heartburn/reflux is a known risk of VSG and it can occur even in people who didn’t have it pre-op. This is one of the main reasons people have revision surgery from VSG to RNY, to resolve or improve GERD/heartburn/reflux. VSG is contraindicated in people with pre-existing GERD. Because of my history of GERD prior to bariatric surgery, my surgeon would only perform gastric bypass on me, not sleeve gastrectomy.

Welcome!! I was banded back on April 5, 2011. So far I am down 50lbs. And I have to say this was the best decision I have ever made in my life. I have no regrets, so far. I chose the band verses any other bariatric surgery because it is one with the least complications and it is removable! Plus you lose the weight at a more healthy pace than lets say gastric bypass. I also have 3 children and they are my world. My mother died at 48 from complications from obesity. When I hit 30 I realized I was very close to ending up like my mother. I was pre diabetic and hypertensive. I refuse to die at a young age. I did not want to leave my family that young. My mothers death tore apart our family. I am now at a healthy blood sugar level and have good blood pressure again. I am now 31 and have a better prospect for my life than I did a year ago. I still have about 120lbs to go before I hit my goal weight but I have no doubt I will make it. Good luck on your research! This is a fantastic forum to get any info you need. I have been addicted since I first found it. Great support system here! Karrie

I've been doing to the docs since July 24 (first appointment was made in June, but, as we all know, it's a waiting game). I have my endo (re)scheduled to 10/3 (the first facility didn't take my insurance 😠) and my pre-op with my primary on 9/30. My surgery is set (as along as all tests are good), for 10/28/19. I've lost 36 plus pounds on my own. I watch everything that goes into my mouth and I exercise. I also obsessively go on this site and facebook grounds about bariatric surgery and watch my 600-lb life when I'm not feeling motivated enough (I will tend to go for a nice, long walk after seeing their struggles). I read stuff every day. I feel like I'm obsessed! The date seems so far, yet so close. What is everyone else doing to prepare for the big day?