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I went through this with my husband too in the beginning. He didn't understand how much pain I was in on a daily basis or how much torture I went through on a daily basis from my weight itself and from trying to diet and being so hungry all the time it hurt too bad to sleep. I sat down and poured my heart out into a letter and gave it to him. I even linked to a bunch of different YouTube videos for him to watch both from Bariatric surgeons and from people just like me who have had the surgery. It helped him wrap his mind around why I wanted to do such a thing. We still had bumpy patches throughout the whole process including him refusing to read my post op care book to see what it was I needed him to do since he missed the class. Since surgery though, as he's seen me gain back use of my body that I had lost and to see me smile again and be happy and active, he's good now. He was afraid in the beginning that I could die and that this was just another in a long list of "lose weight schemes" like all the pills, the various diet companies-weight watchers, Jenny Craig, nutrisystem that we poured so much money into with no real results, and that I was putting my faith in a surgery because I was out of options. Now he knows better.

I had dr. Ramon Rivera from tristate bariatrics in suffern ny. I only had to pay my co-pays, which was 20 dollars for the office visits, and my surgery was the beginning of the year so I didn't have to pay anything at the hospital. It was great. Sent from my SM-G925V using the BariatricPal App

500 calorie limit at six months out from surgery?????? Am I getting this wrong? I can see 500 in the first stages after healing from surgery, You should be at higher calories at this point. Contact your surgeon's office dietician to check calories and diet instructions. You may find more food enjoyment with increased calories and trying new bariatric recipes and real food (you should be off shakes by now)(shakes never make me feel full or satisfied) Nutrition can still be flavorful. Google bariatric recipes. Log your food to insure the calories and macros total to fit you plan at the end of the day. I use myfitnesspal - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.myfitnesspal.android&hl=en_US My dieticians recipe site for food ideas: http://insidekarenskitchen.com/bariatric-friendly-recipes/ Chicken fajitas - Make some up without the tortilla. Bariatric pizza recipes Sugar free pumpkin pie parfait If you are cooking for your family. They can eat what you eat. Example chicken fajitas let them have the tortilla. Nothing wrong with our families learning to eat healthy. Kids take on what we model to them. Side note: This is not talking about your situation at home. I have my own opinion on cooking separately for family members. Especially if it's foods that will temp you and derail your program. I would not cook for anyone that can't be supportive. I would set out cereal and milk, lunch meat and bread, frozen dinners for them to microwave. If they want a home cooked meal it will be healthy. Ok off my soap box. I would love to hear back if your office increases your calories. I also want to know how you feel about your food world after trying new foods and recipes.

I went to Belgium in October through ECFS and am thrilled with the service and attention that I received. I looked into going to Prague but decided on somewhere a little closer to home. I met the guy from Belgian Surgery Services and the clinical representative from ECFS and ECFS won hands down. The whole thing was organised down to the last detail and I couldn't have been happier with my treatment and follow ups. I am a very happy sleever who wishes she'd had it done years ago. By the way, have you noticed that it was on the news just before Christmas how much Bariatric surgery could be saving our hard up NHS? As I am wasn't high enough in the BMI stakes I obviously couldn't get my surgery done on the NHS. When I told my GP what I had organised he was not approving and suggested that I might like to try 'portion control' first!!!!!!!!!! Hmmmmmm.........that half baked solution hasn't worked for the majority of my dieting career (roughly 45 years) so why would it work now!!!!!!!!!!!

So the time is coming around again for the Canadian Bandster bash out in Mississauga. I am a member of the planning committee and we have rounded up some great people to come and speak. The organizers are all bandsters, but we wanted to open up the bash to all bariatric patients so we are changing the focus to wellness this year. I got involved after going to the first bash and learning so much, and having so much fun. We have some great people confirmed to speak to us including Monica Ganz of Obesity Help, Julie Janeway of Little Victories, Dr Barry Simon and a ton of others. We are focusing not just on the newly banded/WLS patients but on people in all stages of banding weight loss, maintenance, thinking about WLS etc. How do you take off the last little bit of weight, how do you maintain. How do you get over body issues all sorts of stuff to help out all sorts of people. If you are interested the website and registration is located at the following site. I can't say how much it helps people to meet others who are going through the same stuff they are and who understand. Besides we always have a blast hanging out together. www.canadianbandsterbash.com If you have any questions let me know. Hope to see you there. Heather:clap2:

Hi all - this is repost from the financing forum. I was hoping to get your input on this as well if anyone is from Chicago area/Indiana...please chime in. ---------------------------- Of course I'm set with Dr. K in Colorado - but, I called all day Thurs & Fri - was unsuccesful in getting someone to accept me for local fills. fillcentersusa is not local for me. So... today, I begin considering going local and paying more. So, I'm posting messages to asking for prices locally (Chicagoland/Indiana). I do have 4 prices here so far. Actually found a couple good prices - just need to know if they will accept my current financing option which is all set and ready. RightWeigh Bariatric in Kentucky charges $12,500 - they also have a location in Indiana - I will call in the morning to see what they charge (hoping its so close to this). Lifeway Bariatrics in Downers Grove & Merriville, IN charge $15,500. Synchronyhealth: $16,000 Midwestbariatrics: $16,211 If any of the lower ones accept my financing and can band me sooner, I'm going to make the switch ASAP to free up that 10/30 date at Dr. K's office.

Wow, I hear you on this! I was at the bariatric pre-admission program of my hospital on Thursday. There were two other patients there: a guy who looked to be 18-20 years old, with his mother, and a woman in her 60's. The guy was on his phone texting the whole time the education was going on. He was scheduled for a gastric bypass. At some point his mother mention that she'd had the bypass, and then later, that all his sisters had, too. He never asked any questions, but when the dietician told him he'd have to stop drinking Cokes (not diet either) after surgery, he seemed surprised -- he said he was still doing that right now. The older woman (also a VSG like me) started off by asking how in the WORLD surgery through "pinholes" works, and the representative started to explain the surgery to her again. The woman clearly had NO clue what was going to be done to her -- she said, "So, do they cut the stomach, then? How do they do that? do they just glue the part back?" and then when told they cut out part of the stomach, seemed very surprised. She asked how they got it out the "pinholes" and it was explained to her that the laproscopic cuts included a larger 2-inch one. This was apparently news to her -- she mumbled she didn't think her doctor did it that way. The other two patients also had a different doctor, who had no pre-surgical diet; their only limit was they were not supposed to *gain* any weight before surgery. All of the information about the post-surgical diet seemed new to them. This is the 3-4th time I've been presented with this information; I can't imagine they've *never* heard it. So, it just seems like some people just don't get it? I have no idea. And I cannot help but shake my head at a family where everyone has a bypass. *sigh*

Doctors' philosophy on this vary from a few weeks to never again depending upon their experiences. The basic issues are: Healing - alcohol is somewhat corrosive to the stomach lining so one needs to give things a chance to heal first, Typically we see a few weeks to a few months sited for this. Alcohol tolerance - rapid stomach emptying means it tends to hit faster, and with less (i.e., a "cheap drunk") so care must be taken there, Transfer addiction - we can no longer satisfy whatever addictive tendencies we have with food, so it is easy to transfer that addiction to something else, like alcohol, drugs, shopping, gambling, etc. What was a casual habit of a glass of wine with dinner occasionally can easily turn into full blown alcoholism. Liver health - starting as morbidly obese, or worse, our livers are not usually in very good shape to begin with (hence the "liver shrinking" pre-op diets that are often prescribed) and the liver is further stressed from its role in metabolizing all that fat that we are rapidly losing. It doesn't need any more stress from ingesting a known liver toxin like alcohol (not a judgemental thing, just our physiology at work). My surgeon is also a biliopancreatic (livers and pancreas) transplant surgeon, so he is in the no alcohol as long as we are losing weight camp (and ideally forever) and indeed we sign a contract to that effect - he doesn't want any of his bariatric patients coming back onto his transplant table! Those are the issues in play, and some aspects bother different surgeons to different degrees, so they have different policies. Check with what your surgeon's policy is, and decide for yourself - we are all adults here.

Lovinglife, Congrats on the new baby and the new journey. So it sounds like February for sure. What's your current weight goal weight etc. do you have to do a liquid diet before surgery. I am currently on a low carb (under 20 a day) until a week before. Then I am on shakes for 1 week and clear liquids the day prior to surgery. As the days click by it is really feeling real. Excitement, scared, nervous, all in one. Trying to get every room In my house spotless since I will be out of commission for a few weeks. Only taking 9 days off from work and have planned it around the two holidays so I don't miss too much time. Then I am only working 3-4 days a week for three months. Good thing I have lots of vacation time! Well let me know how you are doing what you are doing..... I found a shake i like- Bariatric Advantage just in case you are lookin

Hi All! My surgery is June 20th. I am very excited, same as all of you. I am totally cool with staying in touch via Facebook or through the forums here or private messages. I have a few people I am friends with that I met either through my pre-surgery classes at Kaiser or here on Bariatric Pal. It's super helpful to share tips, etc. from those who have had the surgery. This forum is great because we are going through this pretty much at the same time. Love it.

Bariatric Fusion they come in different flavors and have everything in them that you need, so no extra pill. They are chewable and don't taste that bad.

I'm so glad that you had surgery so that they discovered the tumor. How scary! This journey is difficult alone never mind with the scare of Cancer on top of it. If you don't already - I would encourage you to go to a therapist who has experience in Bariatric Surgery. Maybe they can help you get your thoughts together. Congrats on the weight loss so far - that's definitely something to be proud of!

Many of us Bariatric People would. have smoother pathways if We only could Encourage 👍Our Supporters and Eliminate👎Our Detractors.

Almost 8 yrs VSG and had severe GERD beforehand. It significantly decreased post op but I've remained on PPI medication the entire time. I was down to 1-2 total doses per week, however I had some regain over the last year and am up to THREE TIMES daily!! It's everything to do with how I carry my weight- all in my middle. While I was quite satisfied with the GERD being almost totally resolved initially, I'm fearful that even IF I lose the current regain it won't go away to the extend that it was in the past. I have been told by my bariatric team that a revision is likely the ONLY way to get the GERD to go away with 100% certainty. That sounds pretty good to me but I am quite fearful of surgery in general because I'm a nurse practitioner and we make terrible patients... I would love to know what the loss pattern was like for those who had the revision and can I plan to see awesome results? I mean, BESIDES the GERD clearing up? I am currently about 40 lbs about my ULTIMATE goal- I never reached that goal with my VSG, stopping about 12 lbs away from it...

I am going with Dr Illan this month after reviewing a lot of doctors this year. I know only the best surgeries are uploaded to youtube but his are beautiful. I say that as one who has been in an OR. I only say that to let you know the doctor you chose is good too. The main reason for the reply is that there are good bariatric surgeons who will follow you in the states. Make sure to do your research on the doctor, get all medical records in hand and a copy of the surgery film if possible. Dr Illan has flash drives for purchase I read somewhere, or bring your own. Call local doctors and inquire if they will do follow up. Things are changing. Best wishes. Family is just worried for you. Again research a lot.

<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="CONTENT-TYPE"><title></title><meta content="OpenOffice.org 1.1.0 (Linux)" name="GENERATOR"><meta content="20060627;9191600" name="CREATED"><meta content="16010101;0" name="CHANGED"> <style> <!-- @page { size: 8.27in 11.69in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> It is difficult to make "honest" posts. I do not want to look like an attack dog, but it is too easy to agree with the person who is complaining, rather than to try to help them. Maybe insurance companies are cheap and want to save money, but sometimes (maybe) they realize that when people go into these things (bariatric surgeries) without proving that they can put in the effort, that they are more likely to be failures. According to the surgeon who put in my Lap-Band, "(as of 2002), the average Lap-Band patient lost 25% of the access weight between their starting weight and the weight that they should be for their height. It was close to 85% for gastric bypass patients ("roux-en-y" and "the Switch")." I have lost 58% of my access weight. My doctor considers me a success. I still weigh 232 at 5'9". According to the charts, I should be about 165#. I would be happy at 180#. I have lost 65% of the weight to get to my goal. BUT: My family looks at me wearing size 44 pants and X-large or 2XL shirts and sees a failure. Strangers who see me on the street snicker and call me fatso (behind my back). People who I do not know, make comments like "How can a big guy like you share a meal with your wife?" Weight loss is not easy. TV shows highlight the success of big stars. The doctors tell you the statistics, but then paint a picture (with your help) of the wonders of weight loss surgery. They mention the possibilities of complications, but then move right on to the benefits that you are going to have. But they never forget to get you to sign the forms about the dangers. Insurance companies are full of business people who know the stats. They know how much it is going to cost them paying for the treatment of the medical complications of obesity. They compare that cost with the cost of bariatric surgery and its complications. They are cold-hearted businessmen. But the stats that they use also protect you. More money out of the insurance company's pocket also means more heartache for you, the patient. My BMI was about 48. I had tried many techniques to lose weight and always did, but then gained more weight back. I was 57 years old when I got my Lap-Band. We had the pre-surgery candidates come into our post surgery emotional counselling sessions quite often. Once we had a 17 year old girl who was close to 300 pounds at about 5'6" come in. She was going to have either the "roux-en-y" or "the Switch". I suggested to her that she have a Lap-Band because neither the "roux-en-y" nor "the Switch" are reversible and at her young age, there may be better alternatives around the corner (with the research into ghrelin and other enzymes). No. She had to have the "roux-en-y" or "the Switch". It was her decision, but isn't 17 year old a little young to give up? I wish everyone who has these invasive techniques, "the best". I wish we could get to the root cause of the problem for all this weight gain in the USA. But, until then, we need to try everything short of surgery first. Not half-hearted, to get it out of the way, in order to speed up the insurance company's approval, but to try to get it to work. As I said in another post, I know of people who purposely gained weight in order to meet their insurance company's criteria for bariatric surgery. I think that is sick. But I am no psychologist, so I guess I have no right to talk.

Hi Beegirl! food is an addiction for some people, including myself. When you've had a bad day at work or are craving something because you are bored... Food seemed to be the only thing to make me feel better. In the bariatric program I attended, we had to see a psychologist to be cleared for surgery. One of the best things she told me was that I needed to be able to decipher whether it was my stomach telling me I was hungry or if it was my mind. I learned more about my body that way... If my belly rumbled... I was definitely hungry. Another thing I learned is that just like smoking, addictive eating is hard to break. So whenever i crave that cheesecake, I try to do something else that will focus my mind, my hands, and my tastebuds. I'm starting to take up cross stitching... Why? Because it keeps my brain focused, my hands moving, and I'll have sugar free Jello or crystal light near by just in case. I hope what I say helps, but either way, I know what you are going through... And you have to continue to fight girlie! You got this!

I agree, call your insurance to get a copy of the policy so you don't have any surprises. Mine was all the weights they recorded prior to submitting to my insurance.....this included weights recorded at the 2 visits at my surgeon's office, one at nutritionist's office, and my last bariatric surgery education class....and they all had to be within the guidelines.

My hospital experience with my VSG was great. I went to Parker Adventist hospital in Parker Colorado and it was honestly the nicest hospital I've been in. The nurses were attentive and caring while still getting the job done. Pretty much everything I needed was available to me there. This hospital didn't permit heating pads since they can cause burns but when I complained of gas pains in my shoulder blades they immediately brought me heated towels to put on my back. The room was private (all the rooms on the bariatric floor were), there was a couch, bed, and a super comfy recliner. They kept on top of my pain meds, always coming on time to give the next dose (which I definitely needed). Since they gave dialudid instead of morphine to me (I can't handle morphine) I didn't get a pain pump but they never let me go past 4 hours without a new dose. I actually felt rather pampered while there. I loved it. Not all hospitals are as nice as this one though. The year prior I had my gallbladder removed unexpectedly at a hospital near where I live and my experience was the complete opposite. I felt ignored, like I was an inconvenience to the nurses. I had a lot of pain and anxiety and if I asked for my next pain med dose I was looked at like I was a drug seeker, even if it was past time for it. They let me go 12 hours without pain meds once. It was a horrible experience. So check out the hospital you're going to ahead of time if you can.

Still trying samples of the multivitamins that I received via mail for free (Celebrate and Bariatric Advantage). However, for calcium, I use Reviva liquid (Costco and Sam's). It is sour blueberry flavored. YUM. I take 1 oz in the am and 1 oz in the PM. If you don't have a Costco card, you can buy online and pay a little bit more ($1.50) and you can still get it. My Sam's only carries it every once and a while, so I had to go for Costco.

I take Adult Chewable Centrum, calcium citrate (caltrate isn't absorbed as well in reduced acid.. which with our smaller upper stomachs, we have less acid), D3 (many obese & formerly obese are Vit. D deficient), Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM, B12 (sublinguals), B100 (for energy). Andrea at http://www.wlsvitagarden.com has good info on Vitamins for bariatric patients.

I've had Buffalo chicken dip Ham with mash potatoes And just made black bean veggie burgers with hot salsa and lowfat sour cream Also made creamy fruit just throw warm peeled apples and blend makes awesome sauce Also can of crushed pineapple pureed was great Just go online and look for bariatric meals ideas

I take stool softeners and if I get no relief from those I was informed by the Bariatric nurse to use fleet enema. Gross but relief within 5 mins. Bought some in bulk from costco. Actually for me constipation is the worst part of this surgery. Which is a small thing. I'll take a lil constipation in exchange for weight loss everyday of the week! Lol Sent from my Nexus S 4G using RNYTalk

Amber I think you will be very glad you made this decision. Like you, I was going to do this 2 years ago, I backed out because I was not ready to let go of the food and then I got a diagnosis I did not want. That sent me back to the bariatric office and I lost the weight and did everything I needed to do to be sucessful. It is a great feeling to let go of the hold food has on you. It is a freedom that is hard to describe unless you go through it. Best of luck tomorrow!

I am mainly following Weston A. Price/Primitive diet, which has similarities to Paleo. I knew in my heart that artificial sweeteners as dictated by my bariatric practice are poisons, as are some of the other things they advocated, as are almost everything I see on TV, so I had to find my own way. I also knew that low/artificial/processed fat was not good and healthy fats are really important. I did some reading, consulted with an amazing naturopath who I have known and trusted for years, and it has really helped. I have tolerated it really well and feel fine. I ate homemade chopped liver, scrambled eggs (I have chickens), homemade applesauce, banana, sweet potato, kale pesto, and I made fish balls. I am 5 weeks out from surgery and can eat sushi, seaweed salad, smoked salmon, ground meat-based things, cucumber, steamed string Beans, grapefruit, for example. I don't think you will have any problem at all. Same principals: don't eat too fast, stop when your body says, get your fluids in, etc. Glad I am not the only one!