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Hi, I am a fourth year Psychology student doing my Thesis on successful outcomes for obesity, and I have posted my survey here in the hope I will get a few people to help with this research. The research aims at finding long term solutions to obesity and looks at success after bariatric surgery. You will be asked a series of questions that relate to your personality and feelings. It will help you better understand your relationship with food and society. I hope to take the reluts to the Australian Society for Obesity on completion, you will be given the results as well. Thank you in advance! Please click on the link below, it is completly anonymous, Ashley. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8KR7B3V

Yep. During my one-month post-op appointment, the nutritionist suggested I reintroduce crackers into my diet. I told her that wouldn't be a good idea because crackers are a trigger food for me. Prior to bariatric surgery, I would literally graze my way to the bottom of a box of flavored Triscuits, Cheez-Its, or Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers. Since I'm not the type of person who can stop at 5 crackers, it's best that I not eat them on a regular basis. Besides, crackers don't have enough protein to be worthy of my time.

Ahh I see. Yes they gave me a list on what to take.. so my regimen is: 1800 of calcium a day( chewables 4 a day), Bcomplex but not necessary, and then the the bariatric advantage multi (3 a day) with iron and thats it. Should I be taking more?

the bariatric program I use says NO NSAIDS forever, for both sleeve and bypass. but my surgeon told me explicitly that they are fine for me. I also have other health care conditions to manage, and the longer I can get by with occasional Advil, the longer I can avoid stronger harsher medications.

I got the lapband in 2013 and had some mild success but due to other complications I ended up with all my Fluid removed about a year ago. In that year, I've put on some serious weight and am now sitting at 330. I am 28 and recently married so as my husband and I talk about our future and kids, I can't help but panic. Between my PCOS, current weight and only one ovary, I believe that I will have an extremely hard time getting pregnant, let alone being healthy enough to carry the child to the full 40 weeks without complications. I have an appointment with a bariatric surgeon on Monday and they offer both the sleeve and bypass. I am still very undecided about which surgery would be the best option for me. I am terrified that the sleeve won't produce the results that I need to shock me into a healthy lifestyle permanently. I'm also terrified of the dumping syndrome or malnutrition if I do the bypass. But also, from what I've read the dumping syndrome is a good thing? Which just kind of confuses me. Moving forward, I know I don't have the option to fail or 'cheat' post-op with either of these surgeries because it's my future potential family on the line, my world is more than just me now so I can't be selfish or self-destructive with my eating. So what I'd love is all the advice that everyone has to offer. Informative articles, experiences, thoughts and opinions are all welcomed here! Thank you in advance!

One week out same problem for first four days I can now sip the bariatric soups and hot chocolate very slowly and keep them down 15gm protein each 6-8 not the most flavorful but the sweet flavors are too nauseating

Yes, I definitely get your point. My Nut specializes in bariatric patients and has told me that she had to adjust what she had been taught to the bariatric patients needs since they (we) are different. That is a good point. Not all Nuts are educated about our particular needs.

Thank you for responding.. and yes i take 3 multivitamins a day with iron the bariatric advantage ones. I may need extra iron since I am anemic . Ill ask the doc that when I see him. I will be glad when I can get up and do things like I used to.

Some family doctors are not supportive of bariatrics. If that is the case you can always find another one who is. Congrats on getting the process started!

I haven't had surgery yet--still waiting for my date. Only my significant other knows and I plan to keep it that way. Unfortunately, the lay public still does not understand the disease of obesity. Even medical professionals don't understand. When I asked my PCP for a referral to the medical and surgical weight loss program, she was skeptical and said "what do you think this is going to do for you that you can't do for yourself?" I just don't think most people can appreciate the decision we're faced with: a) stay on a path of poor health with attendant medical complications or b) have someone cut into you and fundamentally alter your anatomy and physiology. It's not exactly like "b" is an "easy" choice but for those that don't understand, I guess it appears that way. It's funny, culturally, we don't perceive other elective surgeries as the easy way out. I can't imagine anybody passing judgment on someone who has knee replacement surgery and frankly in many ways, the more I learn about bariatric surgery, the more easily justifiable it is compared with many other surgeries.

I'm post op almost 5 weeks. And I have had only dark greenish black stools. Is this from the vitimans? I take the bariatric fusion Sent from my SM-A716U using BariatricPal mobile app

I am really horrible at keeping up a blog, but I am really going to try to with this one, because this is an important journey I am about to embark upon! So many things will start to happen once I really get started, and I want to keep record of it. I had heard about the LAP-BAND® when I saw the commercials on tv, but never really gave it much thought. I was once thinking about having a gastric bypass, but the idea scared me so much that I never pursued it. Last October 2009 I was at my Dr's office, and I saw that there was going to be a seminar about the LAP-BAND®, so I decided to go and see what it was all about. It was a really informative seminar, I got to see and hold a real LAP-BAND® in my hands, and I learned about the differences between gastric bypass and the LAP-BAND®. That really cemented the idea that a bypass wasn't for me! But.... when I found out about the cost of the durgery, ($16,000), I was thinking that there was absolutely NO WAY that I could pay that on my SSDI income. So I went home kind of dissapointed. I again put the idea at the back of my mind. In January, I found the folder that they had given me, and I started reading the information inside....my interested renewed once I saw that there was a way that I could pay by CareCredit. I talked to my SO about it, because he would have to be the one to sign up for the credit, but he was not at all receptive to the idea because of the cost of the surgery. I kept bringing it up, but to no avail, he wasn't going to listen! Then last week, he was reading our insurance benefits, and saw that surgery for morbidly obese people was covered (at least hospital costs) and the other diagnostic procedure would be covered like regular benefits. At that point, he has been supportive of my starting this process. I have even convinced him to go to another seminar with me on April 1st, so he can get the information on the LAP-BAND® himself! I have made an appointment with the WLIA already, for the 6th of April to go over with them exactly what the insurance will cover, and I imagine they will tell me what the precertifications are that I will need to complete. After I know all that, I am going to hit the ground running.!

Hello everyone. I was referred to a Bariatric surgeon for Lap Band surgery and/or GBS. I go to the seminar this Tuesday. But I wanted to know what are the cons and pros from people who may have had it already. I think I want the GBP, although I have to admit I'm scared. I have several questions also, I'm currently about 85lbs overweight, my BMI is 34. But I have Graves disease, PCOS and fibromyalgia. I'm concerned about whether I should be still trying to lose weight in the meantime, or forego trying until I get approved by insurancel, or whether I should try to gain 15lbs just to be 100 lbs overweight. I have BCBS of Alabama and BCBS of New Jersey. I was told by both insurance companies that I should qualify but, I know insurance companies and one rep doesn't make my approval. I've had 2 years of consecutive medical supervision in dieting, documented by three doctors. I've lost and gained and lost and gained. It's just difficult with Graves disease. I've been trying to lose weight for atleast 8 years now. I'm more inclined to the GBS because it's more restrictive. I prefer the rigidness of dieting as oppose LB and knowing I can go overboard without more severe consequences. If that's makes sense. Any thoughts would be so helpful. Thanks so much.

I researched a few surgeons in Atanta and decided on Dr. Titus Duncan (Peachtree Bariatrics & Surgical) for one because he is in my network and two is one of the best in the industry. I read the earlier post about his process being patient driven and the comment following that something was wrong with that approach, but I found it is wonderful! Patient driven means it is up to you the patient to get all the pre-op done and show that you are really serious about the surgery. Why waste a physician's time with consultations to only back out. I am driven so I guess this appealed to my need to feel somewhat in control. 6/20/09 Seminar 6/22/09 Met with PCM 6/23/09 Nutrion Evaluation 6/24/09 Psych Evaluation 6/25/09 Cardiologist EKG/Stress Test 7/10/09 Packet submitted to insurance for approval I have Tricare Prime - South and what I have heard is the approval should be pretty quick. My coordinator at PSB instructed me to check with Tricare around Wed. 7/15. I am trying not to be so anxious but know that once I get the approval I will still have a little bit more waiting because Dr. Titus' surgery schedule stays pretty full.

Do you know anything about Dr. Johnson at Atlanta Bariatrics. I am trying to find people that have gone through him for the lapband procedure. I would love to find out people's thoughts. Did you end up seeing Dr. Duncan or did you see Dr. Johnson?

What insurance pays vs. what private pay folks pay are two very different issues. Private pay is better, hands down. No insurance issues to deal with, less overhead, cash in hand. Insurance co's negotiate fees on reasonable prices paid for that geographical location. Hernia repairs... that's one stitch. One single stitch. Most docs in the US charge extra for that single stitch but in Mexico they do not. It's all part of banding. I had a hiatal hernia, didn't know it, and he told me about it after he fixed it. Mexico wages... true. The average nurse makes $500/month and the average doctor in Mexico makes $1K/month. But those are averages. Along the border averages no longer count. Sure, it's cheaper but not as much as most would think. The private hospital I was at is one of the more expensive hospitals in Mexico. Along the border it is not as cheap as you would think. The nicer the town the more expensive it will be. Tijuana is going to have a lower cost of living than Mexicali for example, but the fees are the same regardless to patients (for the better docs, the trashy ones charge $6K+ for people shopping by price vs. skill). Clearly, the doc has overhead. That isn't my point. Cost of living is increasing yet the cost of banding is decreasing. In 2001 docs were charging $30K for banding because they COULD get it. They can't get that today so they have to lower their fees to something more reasonable. Look at it this way, they had less overhead for banding in the beginning because virtually no insurance company covered it. Most were cash pay. There is less overhead with cash pay. Some were getting $30K for a lousy band. Today they have more overhead because insurance is starting to cover banding more now than ever. Yet they are charging half what they used to and still making money! Good money at that! It's greed. I'm not saying bariatric surgeons should not make a buck. They don't go to work daily for their health, it's a living. They should make an income. That's not my issue. My issue is the greed involved. $30K for banding because they could get it. They did not lower prices because band makers are reimbursing them the difference, they are lowering prices or they wouldn't have any business. Bariatrics is the only speciality in medicine where greed is still okay. Docs can claim their medical malpractice insurance does not cover doing fills for those banded out of the country but since when does medical malpractice say if you were born in Mexico you can't get medical care here? Hello??? A little common sense goes a long way but these docs don't think about the obvious, they often times assume we are all stupid and will believe anything they say. They are miffed that people went to another surgeon for banding (the money maker) and wants fills (not a money maker) in the US. I don't blame them, they are in a business. My issue is not the docs not doing fills for folks they did not band. My issue is the honesty factor. Flat out admit that if they can't have the surgery business they don't want the fill business. It's fair, there is nothing wrong with their feeling that way. But damnit, quit treating us like we are a bunch of idiots that don't know better and have no common sense. Terry Simpson started this line of crap on another forum just a couple of days ago and I confronted him about the medical malpractice issue and now he won't come back to the thread. Threaten some of these docs with honesty and call them on their BS and they run away with their tail between their legs. I asked for proof of his many claims and he never returned to the thread. ;o) Brad Wilcox was posting here claiming he'd do fills on anyone regardless of where they were banded. He didn't mention he charges $1100 for fills! This was a PM conversation we had. He claimed he was unaware his office manager was charging this. Bahh... I'm not an idiot but he is greedy. ;o) He doesn't know his own fee structure that he set up? Com'on.... He said that his "office manager" didn't think it was fair that Mexican banded folks get a "cheap" surgery and then not have to pay up the way US banded folks do. What a load, he assumes it is his responsibility to charge people for having surgery in Mexico as some sort of punishment and then he reaps the rewards of punishing people? And again, he claims he didn't know he set his own fees up this way. He can charge whatever he wants, if he gets takers on that one is a different story. But the point is honesty. Is honesty such a horror? And since I didn't build his swimming pool in my surgery I got a cheap surgery? I got a great surgery by someone far more experienced than he in a luxury hospital with two nights of hospitalization vs. shoving me out the door when I woke up. These doctors are not thinking these issues through. Treating us like we are that stupid is not wise. Dishonesty is never wise. Assuming none of us have common sense is not wise. It's insulting and nothing more. I don't expect US surgeons to fill Mexican banded patients. They are in this to make money and that is completely and totally fair. My issue is assuming since we didn't pay ridiculous prices for something that should not be that expensive we got a "cheap" surgery? I'm only asking for honesty, it's a money issue. US docs are miffed (and rightfully so) that they are losing money to the more experienced surgeons out of the country. But it wasn't cheap and it certainly was not inferior. It was a fair price for a quality surgery. As patients that is what we want and need. If they don't like it then they can do what Dr. K does in CO and charge fair prices for a quality surgery. How can some justify $17K for cash pays when Dr. K is charging $9950 for cash pay folks? Tell me greed isn't a factor, it is! CO has a very high cost of living. Docs are business people like everyone else and they will charge what they can get. That's how business works. And patients are consumers in this case and we have to choose what is right for us. In my case insurance would have covered banding. But it would have meant jumping through hoops, waiting it it out, and going to a surgeon I wasn't thrilled with. I have the money so I went to the surgeon I wanted, the one with the skill, experience, and background I was looking for and paid cash. It was my decision, my money, and I did what was right for me. Many US docs clearly don't like losing the business but you know what? It's like anything else, people go where they want for their own reasons. Grocery stores don't like customers going to their competition either. But that's how it works. This is another reason for sleeves. No political crap, no BS, just get the sleeve and go on with your life. Minimal aftercare issues for the most part. I wish I would have done it. Not to say my band hasn't been a fantastic tool for me, it has. But I could have gone the rest of my life without knowing the politics of banding and been quite happy. ;o)

Nahhh... not a deep area of concern, but certainly a pet peeve of mine. But then I have a thing about honesty too and especially honesty in the medical profession. Nobody has a right to be anything but honest if they are in medicine. However, I did not point out that it's expensive to get fills if surgery was in Mexico... that is your claim. I said I have a problem with doctors that take advantage of patients. Most doctors do not do this. I can get a fill from my original surgeon for $75, I can go to a nurse practitioner for $100 here in Phoenix, I can go 15 miles to a bariatric surgeon for $250 (after paying a $1500 one time program fee to see the psych, nut, etc.), or I can go to Flagstaff and see a doc using fluoro for $200. I haven't looked beyond that because I have my "emergency" plan in place. Quite frankly, those banded in the US need an emergency plan as well. If your doc dies or retires you will have the same issues I have. Finding another bariatric surgeon to do your fills won't be any easier than a Mexican banded patient finding a fill place. I'm very pro-Mexico for those that can't or won't stay in the US for surgery. If done right, it can be very nice, safe, and affordable. Comparing greedy plastic surgeons to greedy bariatric surgeons is like comparing apples to oranges. One surgeons saves lives and one makes them pretty until they die. ;o) Sorry you had such a complicated hernia repair, they are usually one stitch. Two at best. They are extremely common in obese folks, obesity is a huge cause for hiatal hernias.

No, that doesn't really have anything to do with drug companies. That has to do with greed. When banding was first around (and one doc still attempts to charge this here in the Phoenix area) they were charging $30K for the band. Everyone was going to Mexico where it was farrrr more reasonable and the surgeons were vastly more experienced in banding and aftercare. US docs have HAD to lower their prices or they have no business. Your doc charged $17K three months ago, my Mexican surgeon charged me $7800 15 months ago and that included a night in the hotel the evening before and two nights in a private hospital after surgery. Why do you think there is so much drama between US surgeons and Mexican surgeons? The US surgeons blast them at every opportunity with huge and silly claims. They do that to keep the patients in the US, it's not working but they try. Kirshenbaum is getting busier and busier and it's because he's a good surgeon with a fair price. Kirshenbaum has been charging $9950 and CO is expensive for cost of living. Your doc charges $17K. See what I mean? Docs have no choice but to charge more reasonable prices for surgery. Consider this, the band has always cost US docs the same, between $3500-$4K. Yet they were charging $30K for a 30 minute procedure. ??? Do you really think doing the absolute easiest surgical procedure in bariatrics deserves $30K for 30 minutes? Docs want to make $1K a minute, but it was due to doctors outside the US that forced them to be a little more reasonable. Not drug companies. I swear, bariatrics has the most greedy of all doctors. The $1100 fills by Dr. Brad Wilcox (current) to the $1K/minute for the easiest procedure to do requiring the least skill in bariatrics. It's all about greed.

Yes there are nutritionists who specialize in bariatrics. Your doctors office would be a great place to ask for recommendations.

That was basically the sensation I recall experiencing when I was first diagnosed with acid reflux...though that was a number of years prior to having my band placed. I'm not certain what a bariatric surgeon would advise. My doctors have advised me to continue to take Prevacid daily as I've done for years.

1500 mg calcium citrate and 2 bariatric vitamins a day. B12 once a week. Oh vitamin D 4000 units a day. Not bad I think. I already took calcium and a vitamin daily before surgery.

I just ordered bariatric advantage for after surgery. I am drinking the premier protein drinks for my pre op diet. So far it taste better then the others I've tried. Good luck to you as well!

When the bariatric coordinator and nutritionist were talking ounces, they seemed to be talking "liquid" measure, which is by volume (measuring cup), not weight (scale). We all have measuring cups, but many Americans are not so familiar with the kitchen scale. The bariatric coordinator gave me a small 7" diameter styrofoam plate that she had marked up as a visual guide. I will try to attach a cell pic. Anyway, from what I can see, in my case, they kind of expect us to use measuring cups, but I will be weighing my Protein on my gram scale and using measuring cups for vegetables and starches. That is, when I get on real food again!

OK everyone, I've put all these great ideas and more into an online document. I'll try and update it as we get more ideas and recipes. The Great Bariatric Breakfast List