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I got my Lap Band almost ten years ago, and I can't remember if they did pre op blood work and if they did what the results were. I'm almost three months post op revision Bypass now and this surgeon did do pre op blood work, but it was all normal. I've been on continual vitamins/calcium for nearly ten years, so that's probably part of the reason my labs were normal. It's not uncommon for obese people to be malnourished/have low vitamins & mineral levels. If you think about it, for most obese people, the choices that they make/made is part of the reason that gets a lot of us to wls. Fast food, pizza, burgers for the most part has very little nourishment as far as vitamins/minerals go (besides carbs, lol). I'm sure your team will get your levels up to normal before you have your surgery. As a matter of fact, after my pre op labs came back, even tho they were normal, I was started on chewable bariatric vitamins. It was standard protocol for pre op patients. So don't fret, you'll be fine! Best wishes!

Definitely going to look into bcomplex liquid drops. Just the idea of swallowing a big capsule makes me gag. My NUT actually said flintstone Vitamins aren't sufficient. I remember LOVING those! She's a tough one, though. Would you mind taking a few minutes and listing the nutritional facts? I'll list the ones for the Bariatric Advantage complete multi. calories 10 total carbs 2 sugar <1 Vitamin a 7500iu Vitamin C 120 mg vitamin d3 1000 iu vitamin e 30 iu vitamin B1 6mg vitamin b2 3.4 mg niacinamide 50mg vitamin b6 4 mg folic acid 800 mcg vitamin b12 100 mcg Biotin 600 mcg pantothenic acid 20 mg calcium 200 mg magnesium 50 mg zinc 15 mg selenium 100 mcg copper 2 mg manganese 2 mg

Omg I could tolerate the bariatric advantage while doing my preop diet but post op not no but hell no as soon as that Vitamin goes down my mouth starts watering and I have to use everything in my power to not vomit ugh so the dr told me to crush it and put it in my Protein shake so that's been working for me cause I'm determined to finish that big bottle since I paid for those darn bariatric advantage Vitamins haha!!!

My RD recommended two Flintstones Complete per day. It had to be the complete. I too purchased the bariatric Vitamins and they were horrible. Huge waste of money. Some docs recommend prenatal vitamins as well. My levels are doing great with the two Flintstones Complete per day. I also take Blue Bonnet liquid calcium 1 tablespoon 3xs per day. I get it at my local Whole Foods and it goes down fine for me. I also take 50,000 units of Vitamin D2. Thats a prescription. I have low Vitamin D levels prior to surgery and it took about a year to get my levels to come up to normal limits. Hope this helped! Sent from my DROIDX using VST

I have had this for 13 years. Mine started after I had my gallbladder out. It is usually refered to as dumping syndrome, or that is what all of my doctors call it. My bariatric surgeon had really hoped that mine would resolve after my surgery, but it has not. It has gotten a bit better though. I use to have to go as many as 10 times a day. Now it is not hardly that many. You have the same symptoms. My doc gives Questran powder. I couldn't take it though. So I am still like I have been for years...if I have got to go, I have GOT to go.

I have been using it for over 2 years. I love it too. I ws able to buy it from another place, when i put in my zipcode on the Bell Plantation site, It says that a low calorie, low carb ice cream shop called De'lites has it. I have also bought it at the Bariatric center that I go to. i love it ~A bit too much sometimes~ Thanks for the great recipe Miss Georgia Girl.. Keep up the good work everyone. All of you are doing so well....

Welcome all to "Bandsters Hell" During my entire weight loss experience with the band, this phase was definitely the hardest time of all...not to mention frustrating. My first fill was 4 week after surgery...after my first fill, I started to GAIN weight. I can't begin to say how upset I was, all the preparation and anticipation for nothing! To add insult to injury, the staff at the bariatric center started giving me handouts and lectures about counting calories, measuring portion sizes, and all these little self help do's and don'ts to help me stay on track.... I've been on every diet imaginable over my lifetime, know them all inside and out...and what they were telling me was no different! That really got me angry!! I did not need weight loss surgery just so I can do all that again! You think I wanted to have this surgery if I felt I didn't need it??? I'm going to say somewhere 4-6 months after surgery, a few fills later, a lot of hard lessons learned the hard way, (stuck, sliming, pain) and it all started to fall into place.... One year after surgery and I could say it was the EASIEST, most EFFORTLESS thing I could have ever done to make sch a major lifestyle change in myself... I learned to let the band be the band and to get out of it's way... learned to "Listen: to the band" and follow it's lead. Four years later and it is still Heaven! And it keeps getting better as I keep accepting this new way of living..

now I'm curious also. By the time one enters my decade of life,one has disposed of :gall bladder, appendix,tonsils adenoids. a breast or 2, a kidney or OMG 2 and most if not all of your female organs. And a hip, 1 or 2 knees,and even maybe an ankle fused. Fair to say, every thing has been removed or surgically stabelized, and here you are knocking on the front door of the BAriatric God's begging to have your gastrointestinal system monkeyed with. And that is the portrait I see being painted.🎆

I had been considering surgery for years.. At 5'3" and 393 pounds I was super morbidly obese and knew it. Overall, I was still pretty healthy though, and our insurance doesn't cover wls, so I didn't seriously consider it. Then, my liver enzymes started to elevate, and got higher each year I had them done. So I was scheduled to see a liver specialist in February 2020. In January 2020 I had my gallbladder removed and mentioned that I'd be seeing a liver specialist to the surgeon. He said while he was in there he'd biopsy my liver. When I went for follow up he said my liver looked really bad and he didn't see me living past 60 if I didn't lose weight. I'm 49 and was 48 then. He recommended surgery. He was very concerned and compassionate and just the way he said it really impacted me. So I made an appointment to see a bariatric surgeon that day. I had to pay out of pocket for the surgery, but it was worth every penny. My liver enzymes were close to normal last time I had them done. Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

You will LOVE the care you receive from Crystal Run!! The entire process is fabulous--from the staff to the private rooms to the pianoist in the lobby. The surgeon I had is no longer there,( I'm 5yrs out) but knowing that Crystal Run is a "Bariatric Center of Excellence", so I'm confident that the new surgeons are of superior reference. Say, "hello" to Janet Kover for me. She is one fantastic knowledgeable and supportive NUT.. You are off to a wonderful beginning of your WLS by choosing Crystal Run. I'm confident of your success and your bariatric journey being a joyful one.

I've had 100+ hours of therapy at http://mocsa.org a few years ago. I was of "normal" weight then. My weight gain took off after I fell down some steps and mangled my right ankle. I had one unsuccessful surgery on it. Later, two ankle reconstruction surgeons told me there was nothing more they could do. I was sedentary and very depressed after that. It doesn't help that I have an autoimmune thyroid condition. I'm not suggesting that more therapy might not help me but a sedentary lifestyle really derailed my ability to walk or do much in the way of weight-bearing exercise. It's been 10 years since I injured my ankle. Morphine is the only thing that even gets close to taking the edge off the pain. (And I tried many other non-narcotic meds first, plus holistic treatments. My PharmD daughter finally explained to me that being dependent on a narcotic for actual pain relief is different from being addicted to a drug when no physical malady is present.) Taking 300mg of morphine per day doesn't give me a "high"; it just helps me move around without writhing in pain. I also take oxycodone for breakthrough pain. Believe me, nobody WANTS to rely on powerful meds like these. It's weird to say, but I often welcome competing sources of pain (gallbladder surgery; lipoma removal, or even my knee replacements) to help keep my brain confused about where the pain is. I expect my bariatric surgery to be no different. There's nothing that my surgeon can do to my body that can overtake the pain I live with everyday. Boo-hoo me.

I have thought about all the milestones (negative) that I hit before finally turning to surgery. These were NOT tipping points for me: -needing seat belt extender on flight -struggling to tie my sneakers -Winded walking to my office or up the stairs -prediabetes diagnosis And so many years of dieting struggles The tipping point was -getting an A1C test of 6.9 and a Diabetes diagnosis. - getting prescribed diabetes, cholesterol, and blood pressure medications. -And Not being able to go on bike rides with my daughter I felt so hopeless until I finally followed my cardiologists suggestion to attend an informational session for bariatric surgery. After another 4 months of considering all the risks (real and perceived) with taking this step, I could not imagine any other way that I would be able to lose the amount of weight that I needed to get healthy again. Just over 3 months later and 54 lbs down, I am only sorry I was so resistant to the idea of surgery to help lose weight. I feel more than hopeful again. I have a long way still to go, but it feels doable now. And I already feel so much success to be able to move more comfortably and no longer need the medication prescribed just 8 months ago! And I am getting my bike tuned so I can go biking with my daughter on the nearby bike path that I have avoided riding for over 5 years!!

Fat shaming? I realize I might be one of the only ones, but that's truly a phrase I despise. I have had random people make rude remarks about my size when I was at my biggest, but it was rare. I didn't consider it "fat shaming" any more than I call bullying every time someone says something to me I dislike. Like I said, it's just me, but that phrase is like nails on a chalkboard to me. That said, insurance companies don't choose to cover or not cover WLS, your EMPLOYER does. It's truly a bum rap that insurance companies take when people take their ire out on them because they can't get the medical procedures they want. ***IT'S NOT THEIR FAULT*** No, I do NOT work in the insurance industry, nor does anyone in my family. I don't have stock or any other investment in insurance and I don't benefit in any way for sticking up for them. It's simply not true. BCBS VA covered mine 100%. BCBS VA denied my bestie because her company chose a different package. Our old insurance Aetna would only cover 75% five years ago. When our renewal came up, they covered 90%. For some people they cover 100%, for county and state employees in my area they do not cover it at all. Companies pick insurance packages based on the cost to them. If they choose not to cover WLS, that's on them. Your insurance company will cover anything the package covers. No fat shaming involved.

Isn't it amazing how this subject touches a raw nerve in all of us? When people ask me how I lost all the weight, I tell them, "I had bariatric surgery last June and I haven't had a bite of starch, or any sweets, or any booze, or any soda since then... I live on almost exclusively on small portions of Protein and some green vegetables, I exercise almost every day and I feel great! Thanks for asking..." If you spit that all out quickly enough, nobody dares to say it's "easy".

@@jennfred, good for you for insisting on going to the hotel! Really, the Bariatric Pal guys are just fine, and you won't have any problems. @@maggie409 stayed at the recovery house in June, and she liked it. As I mentioned, it might not have been so bad if it hadn't been so darned hot! But the hotel is more what we are accustomed to. Lots of space, all with central air, wonderful staff, and nurses to help if there are medical needs or questions. Plus, my husband went with me, and the Grand is close to all kinds of restaurants, fast food places, grocery stores, etc. so he could go for a walk and pick up some juice, or something to eat for himself without getting out of sight of the hotel. And once I got feeling better, I walked with him over to the Fast & Final grocery store to find some peach juice cuz I was tired of the apple. Just the walk was a challenge, but was so good for me to get outside in the sun and walk on streets and sidewalks and not just in circles around my room. Walk as much as you can. From the minute you wake up from surgery even, if you feel well enough for that. Up and down the hallway in the hospital. Or just back and forth in your hospital room if you need the a/c. INT hospital is not air conditioned in the hallways, just in each room. If it hurts, walk. Seems counter-intuitive, but the walking is what will help the gas to go away (they inflate the stomach area with CO2 so they can see what they are doing during the operation). Trust that you will be fine. Good luck!

The internet is an interesting forum. There's literally no way to know for sure about anyone save for what they choose to type yet there seems to be plenty of experts and judgements. So be it. I guess my main, and only point, was that we're fortunate to live in a time where medical advancements have been able to make our quality of life much better and for a longer period of time. I think all of us have made the investment in a lap band to take advantage of medical technology, all to our betterment. I think, at least for me, losing extra weight will increase my quality of life and I hope that's the case for everyone on this forum. The idea/saying of 60 being the new 40 is tied to medical advancement as well as to what I hope to be a renewed emphasis in our culture on leading a healthy lifestyle. So no, I don't believe 60 = 40 in the literal sense. I do think that 60 in 2007 is much different than what it was in 1957. I see some really amazing people of all ages living incredible lives; and I do believe part of it is mental and part of it is physical. My dad is 80 but I swear he looks like he's in his 60s and acts like he's 40! He's the hardest working person I've ever known and a great example that aging doesn't necessarily equate to giving up on a great life. I hope to follow his example. Best to all of you on your journey.

Hey March 3rd group. Here's a quick update: I'm still fatigued from doing nothing. I don't meet my 64 oz. goal for hydration, I'm only halfway there. So I started with the popsicles this week to help me. I take the Prilosec and the bariatric multivitamins eveyday, without issue now. I don't like the taste, but I will manage. 3/6 incisions have shed the skin glue naturally and looks amazing. Going to start using Mederma and vitamin e oil next week. They itch like hell though and are still a little bit tender. Pooping is not my friend, I'm taking the meds to assist me. I've only went once over this past weekend. I will take the Miralx to aide my body if needed. I want to chew and now... I have to fight this head hunger like everyone else. I'm hungry sometimes, but I will drink a shake or one of my allowed items from the Full liquid diet. Still want a waffle and Turkey bacon or some cashews. I'm down exactly 10 pounds from surgery last week. Sleep is difficult, I'm uncomfortable most nights and I want to go sleep during regular sleeping hours, I can't. I need a little more rest than normal. I finally put on a bra today and full lounge wear.

Thanks for the advice, guys. I ended up having my second cardiology appointment today (it was scheduled for an hour after my original surgery was scheduled.. the irony) but the doctor was sympathetic and super awesome. He was knowledgeable about my condition and cleared me for surgery. He saw where my heart was functionally okay to withstand surgery. He was really excited about my case and gave me some good information and wants to follow up with me. I think it was good that I got all this info because it gives me more faith in doctors where I live and I think I have a solid cardiologist now.. which is awesome bc I guess I'll be needing heart surgery in the next 10 years or so. Honestly, I've thought about going to mexico, but I don't have anyone who would travel with me so that is kind of out. I would travel by myself but you can't do that. I do love traveling and wouldn't care to try the medical tourism because I feel like the insurance nonsense is so horrible. I've seen some amazing transformations (not bariatrics) from Japan and they take great pride in their work and you don't have to go for follow up after follow up like you do in the states. I'm on the hook for $900 for pre-op testing.. which sucks because I thought my insurance would cover that.. but in the end, it's all for my health.

So sorry you are dealing with these difficult emotions. So often the emotional part of WLS is tougher than the surgical part! But it it so important to remember that what you are feeling is SO NORMAL and to remember to BE KIND to yourself about how you are feeling! What great responses you have been given here so far! Please let me repeat--seeking therapy is NOT a weakness or anything to be ashamed of. I have had (and continue to have) a lot of therapy, both from traditional therapists and from those specializing in WLS patients). Has it given me all my "answers" and made everything "all better?" Of course not. Does it give me a release to just spit out my frustrations in a non-threating one-on-one setting? YES! If availability for you and your financial capability allow you to obtain care, it will help you. CHANGING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH food is the core premise from which everything else falls in place for the rest of our lives. This does not happen over night--it is an ongoing process that we must work on every single day--even when we don't feel like it. No disrespect to hubby, but his reaction to your want/need to seek therapy is typical to what so much of our society still feels about mental health care. That it is somehow a weakness, and just "suck it up" and therapy won't help anyhow. Nothing could be further from the truth! Still, many people do not have the opportunity to get formal therapy. But they still can receive awesome help with the deep emotional issues connected with WLS that come up. There are so many wonderful books out there written by professionals who specialize in WLS, and many more to come. Search, search, search Google! There is one in particular that has so much valuable info about the emotional part of WLS. I still, at three years out, often refer to it for motivation and inspiration. It has been mentioned many times on these threads, but in case you haven't seen it: The Emotional First+Aid Kit, A Practical Guide to Life After Bariatric Surgery, By Cynthia Alexander, PsyD (psychologist). Available on Amazon. One final thought--It's so often HARDEST to develop a new lifestyle habit (like learning and accepting what our WLS healthy meal content and portions look like) when we feel DEPRESSED. When we work hard to develop the little ways to lighten our depression, we get more POWER to work on building those new WLS habits.

MORE, MORE, MORE Americans love MORE: more of anything and everything. More food, more fun, and (for some of us) more fill in our bands. But striving for maximum fill in the effort to achieve maximum weight loss can be a terrible mistake. Fat folks become obese enough to qualify for bariatric surgery because we’ve been eating more, more, more, so it’s not surprising that bandsters long for more, more, more fill. The tighter the band, the better, right? Wrong. Here’s why: tighter doesn’t automatically yield more weight loss. It can cause eating problems, side effects and complications that none of us want. It can compromise our quality of life. It can make us miserable when all we hope for from bariatric surgery is a better life. You’re not impressed by all that? You’re willing to risk everything in the pursuit of skinny? Then try this on for size. A tight band doesn’t guarantee weight loss. Just the opposite: it can stall your weight loss or even make you gain weight. Do I have your full attention now? Good. Listen up and I’ll explain why tighter isn’t always better. THE RESTRICTION FALLACY Traditionally, the adjustable gastric band has been considered a “restrictive” weight loss surgery. Bandsters were taught to look for signs of restriction: the proofs that their bands were working. Instead of paying attention to her own eating behavior and lifestyle, the bandster waited impatiently for the flashing signs, ringing bells and slamming doors that would stop her from overeating. The idea was that the small upper stomach pouch would “restrict” food intake and result in weight loss. Sound familiar? That was well-intentioned thinking, but it was wrong. In the past 5 or so years, band manufacturers and bariatric surgeons have come to believe that it’s a mistake to eat and eat until you set off your band’s emergency warning system, for the reasons mentioned above. Unfortunately, the re-education process is slow going, and in the meantime, the restriction fallacy lives on. Even now, approximately every third word out of a bandster’s mouth is “restriction”. It’s a catch-all term for the feelings that limit how much a bandster eats. Post-op band life tends to become a quest for enough fills to reach the Holy Land of Restriction. Next stop: Skinnyland. Or not. HAZARD AHEAD! THE DANGERS OF SOFT CALORIE SYNDROME Soft Calorie Syndrome is one of the least publicized dangers of a band that’s too tight. Psychologists would call it a maladaptive behavior, that is: a nonproductive behavior that prevents you from adapting to situations, or changes in yourself or your environment, in a healthy way. It can begin as an attempt to deal with or avoid an unpleasant experience but it does not solve the original problem and eventually becomes dysfunctional. You can read more about maladaptive eating behaviors by clicking here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/page/articles.html/_/healthy-living/is-your-eating-maladaptive-r50 A bandster experiencing Soft Calorie Syndrome is responding to the unpleasant experience of eating with a band that’s too tight by eating the soft and liquid calories that slide most easily past their gatekeeper band. Instead of eating the healthy and solid foods (like dense animal protein, veggies, fruits) that provide the most satiety (both early and prolonged), that person favors easy-to-eat food that’s often junky and high in calories (for example: potato chips, ice cream, milkshakes). Even healthy foods( like yogurt, cottage cheese and, fat-free/sugar-free pudding) can fall into the soft calorie category, and they don’t provide any better satiety than the junky stuff. The net result is that you end up consuming more calories than you need because the soft stuff doesn’t provide enough early and prolonged satiety. And the result of that is a weight loss plateau, or even weight gain. I discovered the perils of Soft Calorie Syndrome for myself when I traveled to New York City to attend a trade show when I was about 8 months post-op. I had gotten a fill the day before I left, and by the time I got to New York I had realized that my band was too tight for me to tolerate. I couldn’t eat any solid food, so I spent the next 3 days eating soft, high-calorie, low-satiety foods like creamy soups, milkshakes, and ice cream. I was just trying to survive long enough to go home and get an unfill. My maladaptive eating behavior achieved a temporary goal (comfortable survival) while sabotaging my long term goal of losing weight. In fact, I gained weight during that trip and ended up feeling disappointed in myself. I promised myself no more fills on Fridays and no more fills the day before a business trip. I called my surgeon’s every time I suspected my band was too tight and found that even tiny unfills could make all the difference in my quality of life as well as my weight loss. I know I’m not the only person who’s discovered the perils of Soft Calorie Syndrome. I also know that you’re not alone in believing that more fill is better and that unfills will slow or stall your weight loss. A few months ago I talked about this with a smart and successful bandster named Denise. When her surgeon reacted to her too-tight band by suggesting an unfill of .5 cc, her dazed and frightened face made him reassure her that she could start being re-filled in a month. The month ahead scared her, but she agreed to the unfill, and discovered that rather than returning her to Bandster Hell, it had restored sanity to her eating life. She said, “I was able to eat again. Solids went down easily. Bread was on my menu. Meals lasted me several hours. I didn’t snack because I was able to eat enough to keep me satisfied.” When Denise went back to her surgeon a month later, he was delighted her hear her say that she didn’t even need a re-fill. She told him, “I can eat anything, but I’m not eating everything.” And that, my friends, is what healthy eating is all about.

There are several online sites that sell them but the cheapest way is to call Syntrax and order it directly from them. Just tell them you are a bariatric patient. You get 11 different flavors for $9.99 with shipping included. The # is (866) 333-SI03 (7403)

I pick it up on Friday and I am going to double check if anything else is allowed. I can have 3 to 4 Bariatric Advantage shakes a day.

I did keto for a long time pre-op and even before I thought about bariatric surgery. My program is different, I guess, in that we don't do purees or full liquids and move onto soft foods like cottage cheese and yogurt, etc. on day 10. We are allowed chicken salad, even. She said to start with Greek yogurt, which I did.

If you are using insurance, you should check if the insurance covers bariatric procedures. If they do, sometimes there are stipulations on types of centers you can go to. My insurance will only pay if I go to a center of excellence. Some insurance companies require a letter of medical necessity from your primary care Dr. Regardless, it is a good idea to talk to your primary care and see what they say. Mine was supportive, but also wanted to run other tests to make sure I did not have any other medical problems affecting weight loss. I am also 23 and approx 40 BMI.

This post could not have come at a better time. I've been struggling emotionally a bit. It's weird because I knew and could identify the triggers, and I made plans for support, but it was still a bit of a battle. So this morning I tried a new workout class at the gym. I took advantage of being in a new workout room and looked at my body. Still a large woman, but I had a neck and an identifiable waistline. The weight is coming off strangely. I am a solid 18 up top and 20 - 22 down below. My hips & thighs are large and I will likely need to have skin surgery when I hit goal. Nevertheless, I made it through the entire workout class. Taking that frank look at myself helped me see how far I had come and made me acknowledge how far I have to go. It strengthened my resolve to stay the course. I'm still planning to attend the support group on Saturday, but I just feel a renewed sense of "I can do this."