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I have had the same outcome with Bariatric Advantage. The chocolate calcium citrate tastes so bad, I just can't get those down. I purchased the full Multivitamin as well in orange and not too bad tasting but I remain sick for the rest of the day. I am struggling here even thinking about another vitamin/ sickness.... #green Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hey! We are in the same boat. I am 3.5 weeks out and can barely stomach food. It's really catching up with me too bc I'm running around after two 8 year old twin boys, driving all over town, and my energy had plummeted. I was doing fine until this week. I cannot seem to get my protein in or all my water. Yesterday I was so fatigued and weak that someone asked me if i was ok to drive home! One trick that has worked, though it takes me forever to get though a mug, is that bariatric hot chocolate that has 15 grams of protein. I mix it with 8 ounces of milk bc cup of milk has 10 grams of protein so 25 grams in a mug. The taste is pretty good, it's just kind of rich and takes me about 1-2 hours to get through. As I write this though, not having eaten anything yet, the thought isn't appealing. (Who ever thought I would not want food??!!!) my biggest concern is losing my hair if I can't get my protein up-omg trading in one insecurity for another!!!! Last night we went to Thai food and I ordered soup made with coconut milk to up my calories and added soft tofu. I got a little down. I'm right there with you! I have even thought about puréeing a protein bar into my shakes. You should see my front room-Amazon delivered powdered peanut butter (PB2), bars and shakes. It looks like a protein store and I want none of it. Holding your hand from California! I'm here with ya! 5'7 HW: 256 SW: 248 CW: 235 At 2 week post op GW: 150 Fantasy GW: 135 Sleeved 8/7

My Primary Care PHysician and Bariatric Surgeon recommended the Lapband.. Thank God they did. I have several people in my support group who were sleeved, they are having reflux and/or dumping . The leader of our group had bypass years ago and has lost 250 lbs but lives on Protein Shakes and vitamins.. not sure about your history or how much you want to lose or how fast you want to lose it.. al WLS have good and bad points. For me I did not want my stomach stapled off or re-arranged. My lapband is something that can be emptied should I need nutrition (in case of illness).. All options at your age are to be seriously considered.

I was not told how much to eat, and the doc and dietician at the bariatric center told me different things as well. I have had less than 700 calories today, and actually had two eggs (over easy with 0 cal spray). My hubby mentioned that two eggs was a lot. I know I probably shouldn't have had eggs on the full liquid diet, but I needed to eat something different. I am having no restriction. Thanks for the response on the healing not loosing. I actually haven't lost anything in the last couple days, and thought it might be due to eating the oatmeal, cot. cheese, and soup. One other question. I see a lot of people talking about jerkey. I would have thought that would be totally off the menu. what's up with that?

I use Bariatric Fusion Vitamins. If you go with these, they're the only vitamins you need to take. They're chewable & you take them three times a day- a little pricey, but I get them through my doctor which is cheaper & then no shipping costs... I take those, biotin & my antacid prescription. Good luck to you.

With the sleeve you will still need Vitamins the rest of your life. YES! With either surgery you need vitamins for the rest of your life otherwise you will feel crappy and get sick!! So ... I just gotta throw my two cents in here ... I am a sleeve patient, so I cannot speak to the other bariatric procedures. It is possible to get all of your nutritional needs in through eating balanced meals and not have to take vitamins the rest of your life. Some folks who get WLS do begin a route of being very conscience of nutrition. They understand what they are putting in their bodies and feed their bodies what it needs. I am a work in progress and at this point am only doing the Vitamin B12 shots. I was doing a sublingual, but my blood tests revealed I could not get my levels up even taking them daily. But I had B12 issues even before my surgery, so ... I guess the bottom line is we are all different in our approach. Early out, it is impossible to meet your body's nutritional needs and vitamin supplementation will be required. But once you are able to eat the "normal" sleeve life and have the desire to not be on vitamins, you can get what you need through a good, balanced diet. Some folks get the sleeve just so they can lose a bunch of weight and get the restriction it offers. Eat the same way they did pre-op occasionally consuming nutritionally irrelevant foods, just less of them. Which is totally fine, but these folks would most likely need vitamin supplementation. So, for all the noobs and researchers reading this, your program will determine your need for vitamin supplementation, not the sleeve procedure.

I researched a lot before I even went the bariatric route. I knew what I was getting into before I even talked to the doctor. But my acceptance was different because I went through the bariatric clinic on the military base and you don't have to go through all the hoops most insurance companies have you go through. I still had to go to seminars, I did four 2hr long nutrition classes, I had to go to support groups, and the psych evaluation. I still have two more classes I need to do for pre op one is an hr and the other is 2hrs. They expect you to start eating better and exercising, but we didn't have to go on a diet. They said if we went on a binge and gained weight then that would show them you're not ready for the surgery and they wouldn't do it. But for me my weight gain wasn't because I am an over eater, binge eater, ect. I gained weight from PCOS it caused me to have a metabolic disorder. So my body was just making me gain weight because it wasn't processing my insulin correctly. Basically my body is slow to let go of fat, but also holds creates more fat then usual. I would have to work out 3x's harder then the average person to lose pcos weight which is ridiculous and why I havent been able to lose it. It sucks because most of my life I was thin everyone in my family is thin... but lucky me I was the only one to have PCOS. I just keep gaining and gaining and its not from eating poorly and massive amounts of food its from PCOS that's why I always said its the Devil! lol But back to my original question. They never said stop eating everything we wont be able to eat after surgery at a certain time before surgery. I know for sure they expect you to stop on your pre-op diet, but before that all they said is don't gain more. So like you can see some stopped well before and some rode it out until the 2wk pre op diet and still cheated. I just wanted to see what the majority was. Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

I used Dr Garcia and he and his staff were really great. Sent from my SM-G930T using the BariatricPal App That's Tijuana bariatrics Sent from my SM-G930T using the BariatricPal App

Don't worry so much about the incisions. They fade away to where you can't even see them. Check here at Bariatric Pal to see if they have a surgeon who performs this.

Well@GwennyPenny my old chop chop is still chugging along the Bariatric TrainLine, certainly not a "Local" maybe mine is Transcontinental? Oh when Oh when will I finally,reach the Station and disembark? 💦😔💦

Dr. alejandro lopez with Alo Bariatrics does single incision sleeve but it's about $1500 more. Had one gal when I went that had it done. Sent from my Moto G (4) using the BariatricPal App

Idk if they're on Bariatric pal, but premier protein shakes are pretty good. They've never had a weird taste to me. (atkins, slimfast some of fairlife's make me pretty sick) Quest protein are also pretty good if you can find them. One that I've found that's also good is Fairlife High Protein shake in Vanilla. It tastes like melted ice cream. I like to pour it over some chilled decaf Chai Tea to make a chai tea latte/type drink. it's nice and sweet without the calories of a reg drink.

JULY SUPPORT GROUP MEETING Date: July 19, 2008 Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pm Event Details: Meet at Regina Holiday Inn at 1800 Prince of Wales Avenue Room: Hector Room Speaker TBA __________________ “There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” Denis Waitley

Glad to hear she is doing a little better each day. She is lucky to have your supporting her. Head hunger is a VERY REAL thing and even though most of us lose the actual hunger immediately post surgery the head hunger remains. Usually one can tell the difference because real hunger you want to eat anything (even fruit and veggies sound delicious) while head hunger you crave something specific (usually things you shouldn’t have). If the head hunger remains and is a problematic many of us benefit from talking to a bariatric therapist. I eat when I am board and emotional eat and am trying to find a therapist to help with this. I am still losing weight and working the program but worry if I don’t get the head hunger under control I will gain it back at the first real stressful circumstance. I hope this helps.

Babbs, We always wonder when someone comes on here and says, "Help!" ... what are they doing now that's different than they were doing when they were losing weight? Of course, I don't know what's going on with those folks who are 3-4 years out and now gaining weight, because I don't have specific info about how they're eating / drinking / exercising. However, I don't recall anyone coming on here saying, "I've gained!" and then offering a full list of what they're eating and drinking and exercising. I do see some people say things like, "I know I'm eating more slider foods now than I used to." Or "I'm grazing now and can't seem to quit." Or "I don't exercise like I used to." Or "My life is so much more stressful now, and I can't focus on myself like I used to." I have also seen people (on multiple boards) say they were able to buckle down and lose 20-30 pounds. I've also seen people on this and other boards who are 3, 4, even 5 years out who are still at goal. Not a lot, mind you. But there are some. Remember -- I just asked the bariatric PA what happens in Year Two.

P.P.S. My bariatric PA also said she sees a lot of people during maintenance who start to drink a lot more of their daily calories -- specifically in the form of alcohol. She didn't reference this as a "transfer addiction" issue, but as an "empty calories" issue.

05/20 as well I use the Bariatric Advantage brand (strawberry or chocolate) I blend it with low fat milk and a banana and its very good

No need to worry, just pulling myself out of the fog..... My surgery was Monday, 10/3 with Dr. Aceves. Since my surgery was the 2nd of the day, I was given a sedative to relax. The rest of the day is a blur. I remember people coming in to get me....blur........I remember looking up at the ceiling as I was being wheeled to surgery......blur.........I remember someone telling me to turn on my side and bend my knees for the spinal block....blur.....and OUT. I don't remember recovery at all. The next thing I remember is being back in my room, thinking it must be over and then falling back asleep again. I was in and out of sleep for the rest of the night, knowing that nurses came in and out, taking my temp and blood pressure, but not really ever becoming fully alert. Sometime early Tuesday morning, I told one of the nurses I needed to use the bathroom. Although I stumbled a bit, I made the trip successfully and immediately fell back asleep. Later that morning, they brought me those infamous 4 little cups of blue "apple juice." They weren't good, but they were tolerable. I sipped and slept, sipped and slept, sipped and slept for hours. Several times that day, Dr. Aceves, Dr. Campos and the nurses came in and told me to try to get up and walk. I'd answer "Sure, ok." with every good intention of doing it, but I'd always fall back asleep. I really had a tough time coming out of all that med-induced sleepiness. By late afternoon Tuesday, I finally got up and walked the halls. I was completely pain-free (yes, really.....it must have been the spinal block), but I felt unsteady on my feet and climbed back into bed about 5 minutes later. Tuesday night was pretty much the same as Monday night, but I woke up Wednesday morning feeling alert and energetic. I took a shower and even put on a little make-up! Wednesday, I walked several times, visited my neighbors, sipped tea and finally got a bowl of that wonderful chicken broth everybody raves about. Yes, it IS that good. By the time I left on Thursday morning, I felt pretty good - minimal pain and absolutely no nausea. It may have been this sense of well-being that caused me to completely overdo it on Friday. BIG Mistake! I met up with a friend Friday afternoon to do a "little" shopping that turned into a 5-hour shopping spree. I thought I was listening to my body.......I sipped Isopure all day........I took sitting breaks pretty often, but by the time I got home, I felt awful. My abdomen was completely swollen with Fluid and gas. I looked 9 months pregnant and felt equally uncomfortable. That was the first time all week I broke down emotionally. I remembered reading somewhere that Day 4 after surgery was the worst..........and that was definitely true for me! So, I sobbed myself to sleep Friday night and woke up Saturday with renewed energy and renewed resolve. I really took it easy that day. I stayed in all morning, sipping Protein and napping. By 3:00 pm, I felt good enough to take my son to a birthday party. It was a huge event, and EVERY single person there must have told me to eat......twice! But I politely told them I had eaten before I came and continued to sip on my bottled Water. The party lasted about two hours and I was definitely ready to come home by then. I went to bed about 7:30 pm, slept pretty soundly, and here I am at 5:00 am on Sunday, finally getting on the Internet for the first time since surgery. To sum up, I've really had a fairly easy recovery. Considering the mess my Band had made of my stomach and liver (Dr. Aceves told me it was NOT and easy revision) I've had very little pain except for the incision sights. I've experienced none of the shoulder "gas" pain I had with the Band surgery. I've had no nausea or stomach pain......just a lot of gas and gurgling. No doubt about it, those first four days kicked my butt, however, I think I'm over the "hump" now. I have one more week of recovery before I have to go back to work and I'm sooooo glad I didn't try to rush it and go back any sooner. I hope all my fellow October sleevers are well, whether you are just home from surgery or about to have it. Take it easy and follow the rules........you'll do great!

I take two Flintstones Complete a day (chewable) and one Nature Made Biotin just because my hair is shedding big time and whatever may help..yay! I also take 3 500mg. calcium citrate chews and a B-12 sublingual a day that I purchase from Bariatric Advantage. I'm willing to pay a little more for the Bariatric Advantage calcium because the calcium chews are like candy and fill that void. The sublingual B-12 is minty and easy so I stick with that too.

you're right, probably not bariatric patients - but for normal people, 2000 calories a day is pretty standard. So is 225 carbs. Unfortunately, it seems like few of us bariatric types can eat like that and maintain our weight. Not fair, but, it is what it is...

Ok thanks sooooo much. It's weird that I just haven't been able to find much info on him but I guess it's really actually not given the amount of TJ bariatric surgeons not all get press on the web and add to that the many popular Ortiz, Kelly reviews and it gets anything on Dr.M tucked away.

I read an article that suggests 0.8-1.8 grams per kg of weight. Calculations depend on activity level 0.8g for sedentary 1.8g for very active and then somewhere in the middle if your somewhat active like 1.2g. so for a 140 lb sedentary woman which = 63.5 kg x 0.8 averages out to be about 50 g Protein a day. The higher the weight, the higher the protein requirements. THIS is just for an average person. Weight loss patients I would imagine need more to maintain muscle mass especially during rapid weight loss. So to answer your question NO I personally do not think 100 grams is too much especially for bariatric patients during weight loss mode. I also believe once you reach goal weight or achieve a steady weight during maintenance those program requirements may need to be recalibrated.

I’m having a revision from sleeve to bypass on July 5th. I had a hard time with protein shakes when I had the sleeve, they tasted so chalky. Can anyone recommend protein shakes from Bariatric Pal that are good and not chalky tasting?

I agree. Sounds like head hunger. Try brushing your teeth or going for a walk. Or, work with a therapist to see if there are other issues that need to be resolved. But make sure it's a bariatric trained therapist, or they won't have a clue how to help you. Good luck!

Hi, Dr Kim did my inverted sleeve a little over 3 years ago. 90 lbs down and living life again! He is an excellent doctor with an excellent friendly staff that will walk you through your process. Make sure you fill out your packet before you go in. You will weigh in and get your height, then meet with a PA to ask you a bunch of health and history questions. Then you will meet with Dr Kim or Dr Holden whoever your doctor will be with your program. Then you will meet with a Bariatric Coordinator to go over your program and get you all set up with your classes. You may have a 90 day program but not sure and everyone's deductibles are different so that depends on your insurance plan. I can't answer that one. All I know is I loved my experience with KBI. From the moment I walked through the door to the rest of my life they will be there. They have monthly support groups and free fitness events. The private patient only Facebook support group is amazing!!! You can not join it until you have had surgery. But it will help you through your journey. The group is very encouraging and supportive! We do monthly 5ks/10ks, Breakfast and dinner get togethers, and fun events too. We are about to go on our very first KBI cruise in September! So lots to offer to help you be successful through your journey!