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nectar brand makes wonderful no- sugar clear Protein drinks in many fruit flavors......apple, peach, kiwi strawberry, etc etc. They have a Cappacino flavor that has been my fave for over a year. It's important to get Proteins made for bariatric patients, not jocks. Micellar Milk is also very good....you can get it at VitaminShoppe as well as the clear Isopure...lots of people like the Grape . BE has the best tasting products on the market. http://store.bariatriceating.com/shprpr.html

Getting information regarding the Dr.'s at Citizens Bariatric Center in Victoria Texas. They are Dr. Chang and Dr. McDaniel. I am at the stage of looking for an excellent surgeon. I live in Corpus Christi, Texas. Any use them for their lapband? Thanks, Shawn

Thanks everyone! I still have 40 more lbs to go. And I owe it all to the great preparation my Bariatric Center provided me with before having the gastric sleeve done. I actually lost 130 in 10 months, the other 60ish was required to lose before my insurance would pay for the surgery and it took me all of 2011 to lose that! I'll post what my typical meals are daily in another post!

I ignore the message. You can still close out the day, they just won't give you the estimate of what you'll lose in the next six weeks. I really do wish there was a bariatric surgery override somewhere, but then those with eating disorders could misuse it so I understand why it isn't available.

Use google shopping search if you know the name of the product. Bariatric Pal has a lot of products, but there are many other bariatric sites selling products. Amazon carries a lot of bariatric products, too.

Hi, good luck to you! I live in West Seneca and went to Rochester for my surgery with Dr. DiBenedetto. Where is Synergy Bariatrics?

Firebolt, The Doctor that did my lapband surgery in Dec. was an "Internist" all he does now is bariatric surgery but he is well trained for any surgery from his past experience. He's probably 55 - 58 yrs old. After my second surgery he did to flip the port and see why I was having pain in my upper left rib cage, which was from tons of scar tissue and the cord being caught up in it, I felt great. No pain in the left side. I was concerned if we were making the right decisions before the 3rd surgery to just put in another port on the left side and clean up everything inside again. The surgeries are so expensive and they take so much out of you. The new Doctor I am going to (there are two of them together) are "surgeons". I wasn't sure how they would be compared to an "Internist" and fixing the problem. I have to say they were more thorough then the Internist. It's probably has a lot to do with their attitudes and interest in cases like mine that has helped me. They have a great bedside manner and spending all the time I want from them... I just started looking up other Bariatric Doctors in my area. I live in Denver CO and had a reasonable amount of Doctors around that to this surgery to pick from. I searched the internet to find them. They were like 25 miles from me and the hospital they work out of it but it was so worth it for a 2nd opinion. I didn't think they would be able to tell me much more then my "Internist" but I was so WRONG! If your Mom is in a small town, I know she probably wouldn't have enough to pick from. If things don't feel right with her Doctor, it is just to drawn out and painful sometimes to not get that second opinion. My Internist wasn't threatened at all by it and encouraged me to go... Good luck with whatever you and your Mom decides to do. Sorry that is so long... After this current surgery Monday. I have pain in my upper left rib cage again, where they pulled out the drain tubes when I left the hospital on Wed. It feels like someone took a hammer and beat around up there... I'm pretty sure it's from them cleaning out the scar tissue in that area where the cord was bound up. Sometimes that area bothers me more then the huge hole area... :w00t: Is your Mom still packing the hole? I don't know how my husband does it. I'm not sure I could do it to him! :w00t: We are wondering how long this last and closes up. My Doctor said 1 - 2 weeks... I hate to thing about doing this for 2 weeks! Is her drainage from that area too? Is your Mom on antibiotics??? They kept me on Cipro 500 mg twice a day, for 10 days and Levitan (which is almost 6.00 a pill) once a day for 5 days. Does your Mom have a low or high grade fever? That can be a clue too if she has an infection. You usually run a temp. when you are fighting something off... I don't know what test they will run on her... My expensive CT scans never showed infection or problems... I think because I had so much scar tissue (which doesn't come up on CT scans either). The only test that were good for me was the ultra sounds, regular xrays & they did run a good series of xrays the day after surgery to make sure nothing was leaking out of the stomach and he got everything closed off... Has your Mom had the type of xray since surgery??? Sorry this is so long... I'm probably repeating myself and being too long... I've been on the pain medicine a lot today and I take this pill for nausea that really relaxes me and makes me sleep a lot... I love that pill even more then the pain pills! Keep me posted about your Mom. I hope everything goes well today! :thumbup:

See yeah for me I don't have copays. I have the coinsurance deal. The dietician isn't included with the fees to the surgeons office, she's not on staff with them (same with psychiatrist for the mental health clearance will have to be an independent) Which would be so much easier if it was just one bundle. She's just someone who works in conjunction with the office and comes in on certain days to see Bariatric patients. My initial visit would be like $250 and then $45 every 15 minutes...out of pocket since I haven't met my deductible this year. So I'm definitely going through my primary care physician (which would be the same 3 months as a dietician). Just didn't know if anyone else had gone that route.

Sorry to get so morbid here and mention chemo. I DO NOT have cancer, but it does run in my family like wildfire, and I expect that one day I might get the dreaded diagnosis. I am 48 now, hopefully this won't be for at least 2 decades, fingers crossed. So my malabsorption/malnutrition questions have to do with how does the body of an RNY patient get enough nutrients if -- heaven forbid -- they one day face chemo? I have seem family members really ravaged by chemo (granted, not all of them were compliant with doctors orders and suggestions), and many of these folks were overweight to start, and none of them ever had RNY or any weight loss surgery. So any nutrients they were able to get into their body had a chance to stay there and get absorbed. If RNY is malabsorptive and creates a Vitamin deficiency in most patients who are tested for these deficiencies, then how is any real nutrition getting to the body of a sick person undergoing chemo and eating very little? Maybe there's a set protocol between oncologists and bariatric doctors already? Do you all have any thoughts/experience with this? Are you living with a nutritional deficit in everyday life with your RNY? Thanks, I know this topic is a bit of a downer. :-(

Im on the sept is going down group and the Bariatric Eating group and that's it. Why? Is there another group ? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Will you ever upgrade to the,point you can change and upgradebinfo on a Android or even IOS phone? I am sick of that erroneous date on my profile following me around. First and may we pray, last Bariatric Surgery was September 5 2018 not 2014 or whatever else. In 2014 I was obeses, without hope, sitting in my wide-seated armchair waiting for the Death Angel to come claim me or struggling along at Wally World, trying to convince my supervisors I could work circles around the younger employees. And did they care? Not so you notice!

Try the public, and state hospitals in your state. Chances are that they have a Bariatrics Unit that takes Medicaid. In NYC, the City Hospitals have fantastic G/BS Units. Some are in the nations Top 50 Hospitals. Also, there are several Bariatrics Groups (which is a specialty based practice, that focuses ONLY on Bariatrics), That have a couple doctors on their roster that will take Medicaid Managed Care.

Hmmm. Well Maybe I can help you. I am 1 week out. Have you all considered maybe changing up your Protein or adding things to it for an extra Oomph? This morning I am having Syntrax's nectar Protein powder in vanilla Bean Torte (1 scoop-23gm), 2 oz of blueberry kefir and 4 oz of milk (9gm protein). It will take me about 30 minutes to drink all 6 oz since it is thicker than Water. Do you all think the problem is taste? or capacity? If it is capacity and you all are far enough out try this test to see exactly how much you can handle. Don't worry it is considered a legitimate bariatric test...http://www.bsciresourcecenter.com/proddetail.php?prod=A4

Hi there, I am getting banded the second week of May. I am so glad to have this opportunity to get off the excess weight I have been lugging around for the last 18 years! I am going through the Southern Oregon Bariatrics Center, located in Medford Oregon. My surgeon is Dr. Castillo and they just started doing the lap band surgeries in Feb. 2007. My insurance doesnt cover the cost so its a real sacrifice to come up with the money, but I know it will be worth every penny.....Any pre-op advice, encouragement, questions, etc., are welcome!

Bloo, you're my hero! You are doing so good. I really need to start doing better. Losing and Renewed, I'm in, let's start strong tomorrow. I went to Wal-mart tonight, to pick up some more of those stuffed chicken breast, and what do I see..........Valentine chocolates EVERYWHERE! :thumbup::party: So I picked up the smallest box of Whitman's chocolates and ate all 7 pieces. I feel like such a freak today, I don't know what has gotten into me. I seriously need to get back on track.

I contacted an insurance broker in my area that delt with medical policies and he gathered all the information for the top 4 companies in my area. I asked for desriptions of the policies and what was and was not covered. I did have to pick a top tier policy (a Platinum policy) and I pay out of pocket every month but I don't pay for my group policy at work so it did even out for the most part. I chose BCBS and the plan I chose covers the sx if I met the guidlines and I did .... I completed the requirments and now I ma scheduled. I do have a $1000 bariatric surgical fee but I can live with that ...... hope this helps ...

Cigna does not require any weight loss. Hopefully your bariatric program doesn't either, but if they did I'm sure you'd already know that.

I have completed all of my pre-approval testing as of last week (Mamo, pap, ultrasound on liver and gallbladder, echocardiogram, nutritional class 1, psych eval, visit with cardiologist) and got flying colors on all of them. I also have a statement from my orthopedic guy that I need to lose 100 pounds before I can have my knee replacement (we are all hoping losing the weight will mean I won't have to have the knee replacement for a much longer period of time). Now waiting for the insurance company to do their thing (Tricare Prime) and approve the RnY surgery (apparently the only bariatric surgery they cover). I was hoping for the surgery in mid to late October, but we may not have the insurance okay until then, then we have to schedule the surgery, so I'm hoping early November. I have a large and important event scheduled at work the week of Thanksgiving and must be back to work before then. Surgeon has me starting a pre-op diet now to get used to what the post-op diet will be like (primarily Protein with veggies). We live too far from a gym (and it's too expensive anyway), so hubby and I are going for a home fitness gym and I have nine acres property I can walk everyday (as well as miles of country road). I've been caffeine free for three weeks, sugar and alcohol free for two weeks, bubbly diet soda free for three weeks... working on learning to chew.... having time to practice the new habits and give up the bad ones is good, but not sure how long I can really hold out with out the help of the surgery. ​ I'm worried the insurance people are going to drag their feet or worse yet, deny me. I started out 120 pounds over my ideal weight of 128. I've lost a couple of pounds in the last week thanks to the Post-op diet (but feel like I'm starving and craving sugar something fierce). Surgeon tells me I have no worries about being approved even though I am healthy despite my weight. My weight alone should be enough she says. Any experience with Tricare Prime?

So...lets really think about this. If we can eat soup, broth, jello and protien drinks, why in the hell can't we drink? I have yet to hear anyone (on boards, at my bariatric group, or in bariatric literature and studies) offer a satisfying justification.

I've been taking 1/2 of a chewable bariatric Vitamin each day. An entire one makes me sick. So I'm now 2 months out and I decided to try an entire one today and within 5 minutes I was sick. I'm glad I didn't order more. I feel like I wasted a Sunday. So after the worst of it passed I went to the store and looked at Vitamins. I can swallow a pill pretty well so I think I just need to get off of these chewables and onto a regular vitamin. So I picked up a liquid SoftGel Multi for Her by Nature Made. I should have noted that there was no guide on the bottle that showed the ACTUAL pill size. Well, this thing looks like a horse pill. It is literally over 1 inch long and pretty big around. Honestly, I would think it would be considered a choking hazard. So I tried using search on this site but didn't come up with any details that would help me. Can anyone suggest a brand of pills that are easy to swallow? I have the good old standard "One A Day" and I'm thinking about falling back on it with additional supplements. I'd rather take 10 pills than try to take one huge one. If you are using a reasonably sized multi vitamin that is easy to swallow could you let me know the name. I don't want to waste any more money trying to find a single pill that will work. I'd rather just go buy the lot.

My nut recommended Celebrate capsules. You take three per day. I ordered them online and they came in just a couple. I had gotten to where I was skipping my Bariatric Advantage chewables because they were SO sour to me. These capsules are just regular size and designed specifically for bariatric patients.

The bariatric Vitamins made me sick about 4 weeks out. They never bothered me before that and one day, I just felt awful and did every day after. I told my nut when she called to advance my food stage and she said since I was cleared for solid foods, I could now swallow pills bigger than an M&M. She recommended Centrum. Said it is the best multi out there and it has everything you need. I have been taking it ever since. Walmart brand is just fine and compares label to label and is $10 cheaper! And the best part is, it doesn't make me sick!! Kelly

Are your choices really that limited in the UK? I've been looking for a small business opportunity that allows me to help other people at he same time. I would definately consider opening an online bariatric store to serve the UK.

I second (or third or fourth..) the pillow! I was lucky- there is someone who makes pillows for all of the bariatric patients at the hospital where I had my surgery, so I got one the morning of my surgery, and it was on my bed with me when I got to my room. I used it every time I had to get up to use the bathroom, or walk. I would also try to get an abdominal binder--- I wore one home from the hospital and that thing was a life saver! It really helped with the pain of getting up and sitting back down.. and going for walks too. I also wore it under my clothes for my first two weeks back to work.

Hi all, the ONE biggest mistake I made post op was not joining a gym and going hard core into gym life. I have regained a solid portion of my initial weight loss. I am struggling. New surgeon put me on Contrave for a few weeks to kick me in the butt. As part of this process, he also asked me to focus on eating 6-8 times a day, with dinner being the only 'meal' and all others being protein focused mini-meals such as a shake, a hunk of cheese, and a deviled egg, a quest bar, a few meatballs, etc. At the same time, I joined the local community center and had a trainer set up a program for me to get started. My ultimate goal is to get fiercely strong, buff and hopefully have enough muscle ratio that my metabolic burn will stay consistent and I can eat like a lifter. A little piece of my brain has a HUGE dream that someday, I'll be fit and buff enough to compete in a fitness competition....But for now, this is just a simple program to get my metabolism going. I'm a bit nervous that I could potentially drop my blood sugar while lifting and get that horrible hypoglycemic feeling. I've dropped before during times of great stress. I THINK if I eat half a quest before I lift, and half WHILE I lift that would help. I don't really have any access to somebody who can guide my process. The trainer at my gym is solely trained in basic exercise science. The NUT at my doc's office is looking at ONLY a bariatric approach. I really would love to find a trainer who could expertly design an eating plan AND a workout plan for me. I'd love input from those gym life folks who can recommend to me WHO to see, what to eat pre workout, intra workout and post workout, and any suggestions for getting myself going in the right direction, once and for all.