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My visits to BariatricPal are very rare, as I'm a poor navigator. I just posted, however, a notice of the next Greater New York Bariatric Surgery Clothing Exchange (October 22). I'm so glad I did, or I wouldn't have made my way to this notice for the October 17 Face to Face meeting. It's now engraved on my calendar. Since the Face to Face is for our area, I hope I'm not out of bounds with the following link to the clothing exchange info? Laurie http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/351620-greater-new-york-bariatric-surgery-clothing-exchange-free-10222015/

Surgery was on 12/15. It went smoothly. I came home the next day in a lot of pain. I ran out of meds. I have a large bruise on my stomach with a knot on it. It concerned me enough to go see my surgeon. He assured me it was normal and re-uped my pain meds. He's apparently proud of my progress in meeting my Fluid and Protein goals. I also got a little card that lets me eat off the children's menu. I'm a card carrying bariatric now! So, overall, I'm good. But it's a little bumpy.

Not sure is this is a dead thread or not but wanted to say Hi. I'm a 32 yr old mama of 4. My boys are 10, 6 & 4 and my last little one is my 2 yr old baby girl. I live over in Greenville about an hour east of Dallas and I will be seeing Dr Stephens at Tx Bariatrics. Sent from my Z970 using the BariatricPal App

I would like to know if anyone has experienced IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) post Bariatric Surgery. I had the Sleeve Surgery in Oct 2013. When I transitioned to solid food, I started to have extreme abdominal pain. This condition has continued off and on since late December 2013. I ended up hospitalized in January 2014 because the pain of eating anything even water was so bad, I could not eat. I became dehydrated and was admitted to the hospital where they did "a million dollars worth of tests" (my own term) and found nothing wrong. These tests included blood tests, stool samples, a 2nd upper endoscopy, and an abdominal ultra sound. All were negative. I was released from the hospital after being rehydrated without any answers. After a while the pain went away, but two months ago it started again. I was given more tests: blood, stool, untra sound and again everything was OK. I decided to do my own research and IBS seems like the likely candidate. Has anyone else experience IBS post surgery?

The emotions you are feeling are expected. Your response is not what's ok. Please adhere to the plan outlined by your bariatric team. All of us have to accept the realities that come along with this surgery. Surely you wouldn't want a terrible consequence because of the temporary emotions you are feeling. Address your feelings. Talk to a friend, vent on this forum, but following a liquid diet when that is what is expected and what you agreed to (by undergoing this surgery) is the right thing to do. Please take care of yourself.

I would definitely consider Mexico. Tijuanna has a top notch facility dedicated to bariatric and plastic surgery only. Just remember if you have a complication like with your gallbladder for example, you might have to return. Although your insurance here will likely cover gallbladder stones. Mexico is a great choice.

i have anthem bcbs . Hey , Before i started this process i didnt have a PCP. I went to anthem website found a PCP threw them called and scheduled. I told my dr what im doing and he agreed surgery is whats best. With in 2 days my NEW pcp sent my medial necessity form to my bariatric center . Let me know if you have questions i just had my surgery 5/6/2019

I belonged to the CPC (Clean Plate Club) for over 50 years, so I consider myself something of an expert on it (and I am, after all, The World’s Greatest Living Expert on Everything). I thought it was a lifetime membership, but my bariatric surgeon rescued me from the CPC Cult – oh, excuse me, Club - and deprogrammed me so that I’m able to function more or less like a normal person now. Here’s my story. I was inducted to the CPC as a child, when I was too young to realize that the promise of going to heaven if I always cleaned my plate was a bit more complicated than it sounded at the time. All I wanted to do at the time was to please the cult leaders: my mother and my grandmother. I have reason to believe that my grandmother, whom I called Dranny, was the original founder of the CPC. Orphaned as a small child, she was passed around the family like a piece of unwanted furniture, and she raised her own children during the Great Depression. Through the combination of those circumstances and her own peculiar (and wonderful) character, Dranny was a pack rat. She didn’t live in filth and disorder (just the opposite, actually), but she couldn’t bear to throw anything away, especially not food. If three green peas were leftover from a meal and she hadn’t been able to persuade someone to eat them, she would lovingly place them in a custard cup covered with a shower-cap style cover (this was in the days before Glad Wrap), and store them in the fridge, where they would remain until someone ate them (or my mother threw them out while Dranny was in another room). I’m a lot like my grandmother in various ways, and also something of a pack rat. So after eating my way through hundreds of childhood meals with Dranny and my mom (who was not a pack rat, but who was offended by the idea of wasting food that she’d worked so hard to procure and prepare), I emerged into adolescence with warring impulses – part of me still wanted to clean my plate, and part of me wanted to starve so that I could lose weight and be as skinny as the British supermodel, Twiggy. 101 WAYS TO CLEAN YOUR PLATE One of my problems with meal planning and storage is that it's hard for me to predict how much food I'll be able to eat at a future meal. Often I don't know that until I've eaten several bites. My basic strategy for dealing with this unpredictability is to keep my plate clean from the very start so that the food I leave behind doesn't overwhelm me or provoke an attack of guilt that could bring down Dranny's loving wrath upon me. A simple way to keep your plate clean is to prepare smaller batches of food so you won't be tempted by serving dishes overflowing with food or burdened with an excess of leftovers. I can't speak to recipes for baked goods (not my department), but most other recipes can be easily cut in half, thirds, or even quarters through the use of simple arithmetic. Sometimes I prepare the whole recipe, subdivide into 2 or 3 batches, serve one batch immediately and freeze the other 2 for future use. When we lived in the northeast, the elderly widow who lived next door was delighted when we shared excess food with her. Sharing food with family, friends, and coworkers can yield multiple benefits. When I'm craving a food or recipe whose leftovers would be a problem for me to store (or resist), I prepare a big batch of it for whatever social event is on the horizon and keep only one or two portions of it at home so that we get to enjoy it without having to worry about to do with all that food. I use cheap, recycled, throw-away packaging so that no one can insist that I take my corning ware, Pyrex or Tupperware container of leftovers home with me. You can also keep your plate clean by using the portioning technique I recommend for bandsters who are still learning their band eating skills, food portion sizes, and stop signals. Here's how it works for me. When planning my day's food (which I commit to my food log and my accountability partner every morning), I might decide that I'll eat 4 ounces (by weight) of chicken thigh and 1/2 cup of barley and veggy salad for dinner. Come dinner time, I grab my small plate (a salad plate) and put half of my planned meal on it: 2 ounces of chicken and ¼ cup of the salad. If I'm able to finish that, great. If I'm still physically hungry when I'm done with it, I go back to the kitchen and dish up the remaining 2 ounces of chicken and ¼ cup of salad. At the end of the meal, I'll probably have only 1 or 2 tablespoons worth of food to save or throw out instead of a plateful of food, therefore much less guilt to deal with. When I do have a plateful of food leftover, I usually scrape it into a small plastic container that I can quickly grab and stick in my lunch bag when I go to work the next day. Fortunately, we actually like leftovers at our house, and arguments occasionally break out over unauthorized consumption of leftover food ("Who ate the rest of the eggplant Parmesan?!?"). The same approach works with restaurant meals. We're happy to take leftovers home in what used to be called a doggy bag (as if I'd share my Maryland crab cakes with a dog!). My sister-in-law used to scrape leftover food into a bucket to add to her garden compost pile. I have no idea if that's a good practice. We'd have to have a 40' high electrified fence dug 20' into the ground and topped with razor wire in order to keep dogs, cats, deer, rats, raccoons, and other critters out of that kind of compost pile. I've also known people (including my mother) who fed leftover food to their 4-footed garbage disposals (dogs & cats), another practice that we avoid because why would you want to cultivate a fussy eater? Our pets have survived eating (stolen) candies (complete with foil wrappers), latex paint, and kip tails (fishing flies), and at our house, a fussy eater will end up starving because someone else is always willing to clean your plate for you, sometimes long before you've decided you're finished with it. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE STARVING CHILDREN? After over 6 years of post-WLS life, I'm now better able to detach myself from my emotional attachment to the food on my plate enough to throw out what's left. If it didn't taste right because my tummy was in an odd mood, if it caused me eating problems, if it wouldn't reheat or store well, I let it go. I haven't been struck by lightning for doing that, nor has God punished me with plagues, floods, or infestations (apart from the dog infestation, that is). Like many, I was raised to eat every meal while listening to a chorus singing the Children Are Starving in (fill in the blank) hymn. I agree that in world where so many children (and adults, and animals) go hungry, it is just plain wrong for an overfed middle-class person like me to waste or throw out food. But the fact is that me eating more food than my body needs (rather than throwing out) is not the solution to the problem of world hunger. The solution to world hunger, and to diminishing global food resources, is far, far more complicated than that. Working in your community (be it a village, a city, a country, or a planet) to solve that problem is a worthwhile effort, but you taking personal responsibility for causing the death of a starving, unknown child in India or Appalachia because you threw out a chicken wing and 5 green beans last night is (in my opinion) a misguided and foolish use of your energy. And you eating that extra bite of food just because you can't bear the thought of throwing it away is also foolish from a medical standpoint. If that extra bite causes you to PB, get stuck, or over-pack your pouch, it could lead to messy and expensive medical complications like esophageal or pouch dilation and/or band slips, especially if you eat that way on a regular basis. Finally, as long as overeating endangers your health through co-morbidities and through disrespecting your band, you may never be able to help deal with the hunger problem, whether on an individual, local, or global basis. So, first things first: make a top priority of eating sensibly for your own sake before you tackle the rest of the world.

Did anyone have gastric bypass and at the same time fix a hiatal and umbilical hernia. I have been fighting like crazy to avoid surgery and I know in my heart this is the surgery that will probably be the best thing in the world for me. FEAR has led me to believe it will be me who gets a stricture or me who has gallstones or me who has nausea and vomiting everyday or any other random negative thing. I suffer from anxiety and panic disorder and this is probably the 3rd time I have been in a Weight Center and every time the topic of bariatric surgery comes up, I fly right out the door. I was told today I have a small hiatal hernia and I feel like I have been given the final sign that it's time for me to "Grow Up" and realize it's what is best for me to do and have the surgery. I developed high blood pressure and chocked it up to "ok a pill will help," developed being pre-diabetic and put on metformin which does a job on my stomach and said "ok, this will prevent me from being diabetic(full blown). Now after being in the ER Monday night for a kidney stone, I was shown on the CT-Scan, a small hiatal hernia along with an umbilical hernia I developed a year ago. Sorry for the novel but I am at my lowest point and I needed someone to tell me "you can do this and come out ok". I know recovery is a tough road and it will require everything I have to not scare myself to death but I truly don't want to live this way anymore. I'm from Boston and will be at Mass General with some of the best doctors in the world yet the fear doesn't leave me, I'm sorry to vent and write a novel but I needed to write down what I'm feeling

Lot of educational stuff online about bariatric surgeries, YouTube has some great videos describing the surgeries step by step. Maybe you can watch one together or perhaps take him with you to next doctor visit and he can ask questions to the surgeon and staff As for the Endoscopy the hospital should be prepare for all possible situations. most are i am assuming. Ask the questions who , what , where and how until you're comfortable with the procedure. By even concerning the surgery you have taken some control of your life, don't stop now. ask questions ....good luck "you got this "

I got my surgery done last week by Dr. Julie Kim! She’s actually the first dr to perform bariatric surgery in Massachusetts, if I’m remembering correctly! highly recommend! I went through Mount Auburn Weight Management Center at Mount Auburn Hospital! Good luck, Megan

Well, my program with our military insurance gives me full access to a nutritionist, and labs pulled at 3,6,9, 12 months out, then yearly labs are pulled. That is the standard procedure for all bariatric patients through our military hospital here in Florida. My surgeon likes to do a endoscopy between 9-12 months out, earlier if there are any issues. So, there is another anesthesia procedure plus the scope cost. My PCP (is a civilian), and while he is not well-versed on VSG, I can easily go to him, have him pull my previous labs, or take him one of my copies, and have him pull my labs again if he thinks they need to be. I just dealt with this situation bc I've been having low blood pressure issues. Not really related to a complication of the VSG, it's essentially just my body trying to adjust to my drastic weight loss. Also, there are several patients that dealt with severe nausea post-op. It hits some of us, and others aren't bothered by this. Everyone is different. I honestly think if you can be that close to home, have that follow up care, and love your surgeon, there is NO pricetag that you can give you that reassurance. I'm super picky. You couldn't pay me to have this surgery, or any other major surgery, where they are removing 75% of a major organ in a "surgical clinic" without an ICU, and emergency facilities and capabilities on the premises. A lot of PCPs are willing to do follow up labs for patients that travel to Mexico, but those labs can run patients without insurance a few hundred bucks. The labs we need pulled are more extensive than just a normal Chem 12 and CBC. So, the out of pocket cost can be astronomical.

I saved some smaller sizes from a previous weight loss. I plan on as usual for me to hit the thrift stores and consignment stores til I am at my goal weight. The best part is you donate the larger clothes and most thrift stores give you a credit to use in the store when you donate. I am on the smaller end of obesity with 105 lbs now to lose but I think it would be great if there was a source for Bariatric surgery patients to exchange or share clothes with others to help out on the cost of a new wardrobe. I am also a seamstress so I can take in clothes and even re-cut to make a smaller by a couple sizes. You can find a seamstress to help also. Good luck!

I had mine here, so no personal experience, but check for reviews on the internet - there are a lot of them. Also, this forum ....and other bariatric forums....are good places to check as well, so kudos to you for checking here. Hopefully you'll get some good responses!

I still take Bariatric Advantage citrate caramel chews to the day, six a day. Last week I bought them in 500 mg rather then 250 mg size which translates to taking 3 a day instead of 6 a day. The price per bag is also the same so now I feel like I am getting 2 for 1 on the calcium citrate and that makes me happy. Each bag is about $12 when i purchase it through the WLS Center or 22 dollars when i buy it online through Amazon. Staying healthy with all the supplements really adds up. I do not take any iron in isolation, but there is some in my optimen multivitamin and green drink. Not 100% RDA though, but something small like 20 %. Should I be aware of iron as a man?

Ok my due date had been revised. Which is no surprise because ALL my children measured small in the beginning. So I'm due March 10th instead of February 28th. But it will be an automatic c section because both previous babies were, that means I shave one week off of the due date. My weight gain has been 0 in 7 weeks since conception. My restriction is that of it right after surgery. I don't want to eat but force feed myself. Popsicles have been my best friends. I'm sick from morning to night (which gives me comfort knowing I have symptoms lol), breasts are slowly getting sensitive, I have food aberrations to everything but then have cravings also but I don't know what I am craving. sleep comes and goes. I take my Vitamins and Calcium. I'm on Zofran for morning sickness. I'm hoping to avoid gestational diabetes. Doctor thinks its a good possibility I can avoid it He did list me as high risk pregnancy due to my Bariatric surgery, but I'm praying to the good Lord that's just a label and I have a healthy pregnancy. So my goal is to update weight gain/losses and any issues I might come upon that way all these questions most of us have can start being answered. I how that I can help others with this. Importantly we as sleevers need to remember that we will always have this tool its about choices, control, and loving ourselves enough to do the right things Sent from my EVO using VST

I love this discussion - just finished every post. I think I'm somewhere in the middle, but all I can really know is where I am, right? Because this truly is about knowing myself. I know where I've come from, I know how I feel when I eat certain foods, I know how I tend to eat on most days and I see the success my choices have resulted in. I know how exercise makes me feel, and how much easier it is to lift up my disabled son when I stay close to the gym. I know when I chase my head hunger with real food I can never get full. I know my partner from work and her best girlfriend eat everything they want with their sleeves but work out like crazy and are forever working not to go underweight. I know getting back on track is much harder for me than staying on track. I know all the bariatric "rules" are based on scientific studies, which publish data based on how the majority of patient behaved and responded. I know that sometimes I am in in the majority but that very few people can be in the majority 100% of the time. Yes, there are generalizations & rules that have to be made for the sake of effective communication, but I can choose to follow all, most, many or few depending on how my mind & body react. So, take the information you gain here, and from your own experiences, and learn from it. Learn about yourself, and you will succeed.

I was glad to see this post and to read through it all, I found it interesting from all points of view. I would love to be a perfect bariatric patient but find myself somewhere in the middle. I work out pretty strenuously and track everything I eat but I don't make perfect choices all the time. My calories are always below 1000 but there's a day or two where I may not get my Protein. Combine that with being a slow loser and I often feel like a failure and beat myself up a lot. Maybe our mental state effects how we interpret other people's posts.

Hi, sorry that you are disappointed. I had a gastric bypass on 3 March 2017 and the surgeon noticed a lot of scar tissue and tissue adhesion during the surgery. The surgery was twice as long as planned. I had to pay for my surgery, (very little is covered by the public health system in New Zealand, and private insurance doesn't cover bariatric surgery here), I'm wondering if I hadn't paid, whether the surgery would have been aborted. I have M.E. and Lupus as well. This journey has turned out to be a lot harder than I mentally prepared myself for.

We have Anthem/BCBS of Indiana and like others I had to have nutritional counseling, meet with behavior therapist, release from my family physician, records of previous attempts at losing weight as well as medical records from various records shared with the bariatric surgeon. My original request was denied 16 days after submitting the "packet", but once resubmitted it was pproved within 24 hours.

My nutritionist suggested ProCare with 18mg iron as i am past menstruation. I think they have a ProCare rep that gives them samples and that's why they suggested it? 🤣 I didn't like switching from shiny leaf bariatric vitamins but i cant find that one with 18mg iron. My bloodwork was always great with shiny leaf so we will see how it is after 3 months of taking ProCare. The Procare are more expensive also which i do not like.

I take a one-a-day Bariatric Advantage with iron before bedtime. It is a fairly large green capsule. I know that they also come in a chewable, but I've no experience with them. https://www.bariatricadvantage.com/ultra-solo

Have you seen any of the YouTube videos by Dr. Matthew Weiner? He's a bariatric surgeon who has some unusual ideas about metabolism. In one of his videos (I forget which) he says that the biggest determining factor in how many calories we burn every day is how many calories we eat every day. In other words, if you eat low cal, your body will slow down your metabolism. You should check him out; I think he makes a lot of sense.

So, who's the psychic genius who thinks they can tell who bariatric surgery will work and who it won't? I had very slow metabolism, too...and lost slowly..but I am losing and now in sight of my goal. Keep up hope and follow doctor's orders.

I totally understand. I wanted the Duodenal Switch and did not get a response when I asked if he did it. I was able to research and find Dr Alejandro Lopez at ALO or Bariatric Surgeries is his Facebook group. He has experience in all surgeries and has a very responsive staff.