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I take bariatric fusion orange. They have a sample pack so you can try all flavors before committing to a big bottle.

This may be too far out for you, but people come to this facility from all over for surgery so I'll throw it out there. I went through The Bariatric Center of Kansas City and had amazing success and I was also self-pay and it was easy breezy. Started the orientation process in mid September '17 and my surgery was November '17

Many of the topics you are posting questions about are covered by informational meetings preoperatively. Vitamin regimens, progression of diets, specific hormone and metabolic impacts of each surgery....all of these things were covered in pre op classes for most patients that go through bariatric classes. If you have yet to choose a surgeon or go through a program, you may be putting the cart before the horse.

On recommendation from the bariatric nurse, I drank some magnesium citrate because I had not had a bowel movement in 14 days. I cannot truly explain the pain I experienced. I thought my stomach had ruptured and considered calling 911. It felt like an open flame was held to my stomach. It's been well over an hour and while the pain has dissipated some, I am still in pain. Can anyone recommend anything to soothe this? The office is closed and I don't think it justifies an emergency visit. Has anyone experienced this? This was definitely in the top 3 most painful things I've experienced in my life. On the upside... I did use the bathroom, profusely. I did spit up a lot of saliva and vomited a very, very small amount of the laxative almost immediately. Now I'm just laying down. Water and dairy isn't doing much to quell the burning. Sent from my SM-G930R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

Look up bariatric surgeons in your area.

For whatever it's worth, My two cents I agree with @KimTriesRNY Check with your surgeons office on bariatric information seminars. They will discuss all types of surgery’s, statistics and take questions. You will get a chance to sit down with your surgeon. He/She will give you suggestions on which surgery type to have (based on your medical background, tests and psych eval)

After RNY gastric bypass surgery, you are required to take many vitamins for the rest of your life. This is because you body no longer synthesizes vitamins from food. That part of your stomach has been cut away, so this daily requirement is extremely important. Vitamin chemistry is important for absorption. Calcium supplements should be calcium citrate. There are also different chemistries of B12. I use the sublingual B12 and was told to use methylcobalamin. You cannot use a time-release version of B12. If you are taking iron supplements, it must be ferrous sulfate for the best absorption. Gummy vitamins are not absorbed properly and should be avoided. It is important to put a 2 hour separation between the vitamins that contain iron and those that contain calcium. So in my case I found that what works best for me is to take the iron supplements just before bedtime. I put my vitamins in a weekly pill container. I have one container for the morning and one for the night. And I use a very small glass bowl for my calcium supplements. I put my calciums in the bowl in the morning and take them throughout the day. If I am up and about I put my calciums in a ziplock bag and carry them with me. The directions I received after surgery was: * Three Flintstone complete chewable multivitamins daily. * Additional 65 milligrams elemental iron daily for menstruating women. * 1500 to 1800 milligrams calcium citrate daily [this can be tricky because the dosage rate is per 2 capsules - therefore this can mean around 5-8 capsules per day depending on the size (petite or regular)]. * 500 to 1000 micrograms sublingual B12 daily or 1000 microgram injection once monthly. * 100 milligrams Thiamine (vitamin B1) daily for the first year and then weekly thereafter. But right after surgery, I lost my ability to swallow large pills and I had to crush them. It was like eating chalk. The only way I could down these was by mixing them with crystal light and drinking them down. Because they formed a paste at the bottom of the glass. I had to remix these and chug them down several times. Luckily my inability to swallow lasted only a couple months and then I was back to normal. The following link describes my experience with RNY gastric bypass surgery. How 
I
 Survived 
Bariatric 
Surgery

Have you been to a preoperative meeting? Many programs have preoperative meetings that discuss the differences between the various weight loss surgeries. The information may be given to you by the surgeon or a bariatric coordinator in his office. It is a good place to start your research on which surgery could be right for you.

You can get the Bariatric vitamins on Amazon. Around $50 for 90 days supply. B12 is super important. I take a separate B12 supplement. I take the bariatric advantage multi vitamin.

I'm a sleeve. four1/2 year’s out. I maintain in the 130's. I give myself a ten-pound bounce range. when the scale moves up, I go back eating my bariatric food plan to stay in range. I'm in maintenance phase. I eat mainly clean, I do indulge occasionally. My third year, my weight got up to 147. (still a BMI 24.5 normal range) had to dial in my diet to lose the weight. I'm back in the 130's My two cents on regains. Weight gain can happen with any type of bariatric surgery. Some factors in regain: Complications from surgery Medical issues and medications pregnancy/menopause Not weighing yourself regularly Getting complaisant as the years pass You will reach a point that you noticeably can feel less restriction with the sleeve (it has not stretched) Just because you can consume more food, does not mean you should. Its important not to go over your calories and macros for the day. Stretching is rare. Get it diagnosed by your surgeon for a revision Eating around your surgery. Grazing is consistently eating sever small meals of healthy and unhealthy foods. The total will be over your calories and macros. It’s as if you never had surgery. You can eat 3000+calories. YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT Ask for help if you have a gain (surgeons office, dietician and counselling) - Easier to lose a 20 pound gain than a 40, 60, 80, 100+

Well....saw the surgeon yesterday. Was hoping for a surgery date so I can plan, but sadly it’s still up in the air. Maybe March, maybe April. It’s kind of making me crazy. I’m definitely not in a hurry, I am just a planner and need to know things. I did find out that I can’t use the Tespo like I had hoped. Taking pills sucks so I was hoping for an easier alternative. Not so much. So I went onto Bariatric Advantage and ordered some stuff to try. Any recommendations for great bariatric products?

Good morning bariatric pals, I am sitting at the hospital waiting to be called back to start my new journey. I'm so excited and can't wait until this part and the recovery is over. I'm praying for my other surgery buddies who are also having surgery today.

They recommend the chewables for the first month as they are absorbed better. You will still take your other meds as per usual. They are specific multi's that are developed for bariatric patients so no point trying to buy some from a supermarket at this point.

So glad I came across this thread. Hopefully I can help. Therapist, specialize in treating us, also complete evaluations, also have Bipolar I (and had surgery so...🤷🏼‍♀️). According to the actual guidelines that we are supposed to follow regarding who has to be considered as not ready for surgery: - actively psychotic - recent (past year) inpatient hospitalization for mental health (suicidal/homicidal) - drug/alcohol abuse within the past 6 months - unstable mental health diagnosis (e.g. not actively in treatment, not keeping up with meds and appointments, etc.) Now, the good news is, NONE of those things mean the person will NEVER be approved - they may just have to have a period of time that they show stability/treatment compliance BEFORE they get approved. That info is straight from the ASMBS (American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery) guidelines. If the psychiatrist says otherwise, he can take it up with them! 🤣 I hope that helps. ~SW: 278 CW: 165~ RNY 1/5/2005 "What got you here won't get you there."

Just wanted to update: It's the night before - still haven't told him. I might try before I go to bed, but if I don't my plan is all in place. I printed out a whole packet for him - a letter from me with my reasons for doing it and not telling him, a NY Times article stating all the health benefits, an article from the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric surgery citing the safety statistics, a blog article from someone about the process of deciding to get it and how we want family members to react, a graphic showing all the health benefits, and a short article about this surgery and its benefits for PCOS specifically. I will leave the packert for him to see when he gets home from work tomorrow, and I will write a text beforehand to him, and schedule it to send during surgery to briefly say I'm there, what I had done, could he read the stuff I left him and bring the kids to see me. The kids are ready to kick up a stink if he won't bring them. The eldest says she's going to tell him that she'll have to see the school counsellor about it because she's so upset, and tell her that her dad won't take her to see her mum in hospital, LOL. I should clarify - my husband is a therapist himself (I know, I know - huge LOL), so he hates the idea of them talking to other therapists and making him look bad. My best friend messaged me yesterday and told me that she has taken the day off work and would be here at 5.30am to take me to the hospital. I am very blessed in my friends and my kids. I'm a bag of nerves now. Have my bag all packed and am about to take a shower.

No they required 6 monthly visits with pcp. I did one on April 30 and then the 6th one I did the first week of October to shave off a month. I was worried after the fact that they'd say that was only 5 months worth of visits but technically there were 6 actual visits each in a different month. I only needed 1 visit with the dietitian. And one psych eval. The glitch that caused it to take an extra couple of weeks was I had to prove my weight from the 2 years prior. I hadn't gone to the doctor during that time so I had to get my weight history from one of those scammy phentermine clinics I had gone to. I called them like 10 times and someone was always going to send the info and they never did. And the bariatric surgery place requested the info twice. Finally I drove to the phentermine clinic and begged the young reception guy to send the info.

Since these are independent members of the national "Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association" it's unfortunate but not all "Blue Cross Blue Shield" companies treat bariatric surgery in the same way. Some are great - others? Not so much. Let us know which specific company you're with and where you are located so you can get the right answer, FOR YOU. Here is a link that identifies all the BCBS Association members in case it helps anyone: BCSB Companies and Licensees

Exactly! It's a medical decision which should be reserved for physicians. However, I hope bariatric programs don't make mandatory diets a requirement of their programs as a knee-jerk reaction to insurer demands - even when insurers don't "demand"! Why? Because there is no evidence-based medicine to support mandatory diets! Here is more information to help: ASMBS Position Statement On Insurer-Mandated Pre-Surgery Weight Loss Requirements

@TomC i don''t think so.' most docs say not to drink soda, but i don't think it effects weight loss or gain. Just not good for you. Slapping your hand telling you to stop! LOL "we" all hate the word stall, but unfortunately its highlighted in the Bariatric Dictionary you are doing great with your weight loss - i think you are at a basic horrible stall that happens to all us. Three (3) months+ is a long time, but i've seen others that have stalled longer!! horrible, horrible - this too shall pass. Agree with OP, you should always track your food, drink etc. PATIENCE (easier said then done) good luck kathy

Well say Hi to another, I had my RnY September 5th, 2 weeks in I started saying "Something is Wrong", they discounted me at first, I was impatient, I should know I was still swollen inside, my surgeon had said I could progress to Stage 3 foods, every time I tried. it came right back up, only could handle broths in and other fluids, even choked a few times on applesauce with my meds ground up. Finally, I suspect to shut me up, they scheduled an Endoscopy on October 12th, well Surprise Surprise I had a stoma stricture, that's why nothing was getting through, plus I had multiple ulcerations in my jejunem, and I grabbed a hold of that Tornado's Tail and I'm still riding it. Multiple endoscopies, still strictured, they have tried twice to dialate it but it kept tightening back up, end of November, November 28th in fact, I was not digesting my p.o. protein, malnourished, dehydrated, and my happy hoo-hah and me got to be a return guest of the Bariatric and Gastrointestinal floor 10 Doan for 6 days, fed by IV the whole time, on November 28th a PICC line was installed, TPN was started and I am still on it 2+ months later, 12 hour feedings, 12 hours off every day. I have graduated to 1 token pureed meal a day, odd days a Protein shake, even days homemade pureed soup with extra protein added, this month instead of strainining out veggies I can pureed them into it, but bulk of nutrition is TPN stills Lost 3 pounds mid- December to mid- January, must have been close to a stall because if Doctors scales are correct I dropped 8,3 pounds January 16th to 25th, so although my weight is dropping a lot slower than the beginning, it still decreases, down over a 100 pounds from my life highest weight in October 2017, maybe 50+ s8nce surgery, so that's a lot better than I expected. Starting to resemble 2 of my dead relatives, don't recognize ME anymore but am going to keep hanging around and losing until I find out WHO I AM inside. Might take a year to 18 months to reach my goal, but now I know I will live long enough to do it! March 2020 I am going to be dy-no- mite, just wait and see!👙😛👚👖

What I'm thinking and almost would want to say? " No it's the one where I get short- tempered and choke people who ask stupid questions!" She must have gone to an on-line school, one of the cheap ones, if she had ever been in a psych classroom, she would have been shouted down by classmates or had the instructor fail her! Holey Moley.Jones, what an idiot you encountered! Tell you something that bothered me. Almost every time I go to my PCP' s office maybe because Medicare demands it or because before my surgery I was an unhappy person, for multi0le reasons, main one I got completely through one Bariatric Program to have a surgeon capriciously deny me Surgery. So each time I have to go through the Depression Checklist, starting to feel it's stupid. " Have you considered suicide? If so, once this week, twice this week , every day?" nope I'm more passive, if I die, I die, but I'm doing nothing to speed it up!" That one I am used to, well when I met one of my surgeons N.P., in fact his senior one Valerie, she asked if I was Bi-polar? I had worried about That since May 2018, was I really? Had my PCP seen something, sent it in my records? Did one of the specialists I had consulted seen something? The staff psychologist Dr Kramer had said nothing, neither had my psychiatrist! I had seen him because the last year before my late husband died he had emotionally turned on me, and I had to go to retain my sanity. I call him the Late Lamented on here, he was no longer the man I married, I thought he had gone into dementia, as I turned out he was dying of hereditary kidney disease, ran strongly in his mother's side of family, his doctor had warned him 18-24 months before something needed done to slow the progress or he needed to go onto a transplant list. Because of Hippaa rules, he was legally restrained from telling me , his wife, because Hubby Dear had requested he never tell me. Well I never knew until going through his paperwork post mortem, that and the fact the ER doctor came out to announce he was dead, screamed at me like a Fishwife, didn't know a male doctor could do that? That he had died of high potassium level because of kidney disease, why hadn't I brought him in for dialysis so that his life was extended long enough to get a kidney transplant! How could I? 1.I knew nothing of this, nobody including L.L. had told me 2. The man was taller and heavier than me, kept me intimidated. I was scared of the man he had become. Started sleeping elsewhere in the house because he treatened several times to choke me in my sleep, said I didn't deserve to live, as fat and ugly I was so 3. the only way I could take him to the hospital, since I was not permitted to drive, car was in his name, would be to have the police handcuff him and transport him, was built like a football pkaye

Hang in there. It’s natural to worry but the statistics support the benefit of following through. I know of at least 10 family, friends and colleagues that have had bariatric surgery. All of them experienced anxiety but none of them have regret. They all wished they would have done it sooner....Heck so do I. My close friend and I started this health journey together but I began 2 months ahead of her. Only the dr’s team, she and my husband know I am getting a sleeve. She was sleeved on 12/20 (her insurance only required 3 months while mine required 6) while I am scheduled for 2/18 and I begin my two week pre-op diet tomorrow. Funny, I had to encourage her to stay the course as she got major cold feet the week before but now, she’s my advisor and support to push through.

I underwent VSG at Blossom Bariatrics/Warm Springs Surgical Center on 1/24/19. My surgeon was Dr. Matt Apel. I have nothing but positive things to say. Their staff members were amazing, but more importantly, they were completely thorough in everything they did- from the pre-op work-up, to surgery, to the IV infusion the day after surgery. They even emailed me copies of the surgical report and pathology reports. Everything was spectacular. The hotel they put us in was nice, clean, and quiet. The presidential ground transportation they provided was also very convenient for out of towners like myself. I’m a registered nurse with a background in pre-op/post-op, so I tend to pay attention to things that most people don’t notice. I found absolutely nothing to critique. Every T was crossed, and every I was dotted. I honestly can’t think of a single thing to complain about. If your insurance won’t pay to have bariatric surgery done locally (and even if it does), then I 110% whole-heartedly recommend Blossom Bariatrics.

Hello everyone. I’m new to Bariatric Pal. I heard about the site and Facebook group on the Lighter Side of Weight Loss with Jay podcast. I’m so glad I did! I am 47, married 26 years (in May), have 3 children (29,21,20), and 4 of the sweetest grand children anyone could ask for. After my husband was found dead at work, revived 5 times and made a miraculous recovery, I knew I needed to get my health under control. both my husband and I researched for 6 months on types of weightloss surgery, as my primary dr suggested I needed to have it. We decided on the sleeve, and once I had my first appointment with my surgeon, he also agreed it was the right choice for me. i have 3 more weight management visits for my insurance then I will have surgery. Should be around end of April or early May.

I had my gastric sleeve done at Blossom Bariatrics/Warm Springs Surgical Center in Las Vegas, NV on 1/24/19. Starting to feel much better. I’m excited to lose this weight for the final time and never look back.