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I am a Pinterest Freak! Oh wait, this is not Pinterest Anonymous.... I found the greatest information today. Search Bariatric meals on Pinterest and you will find more recipes than you can shake a stick at! Some look so yummy I might have to try them before I have my surgery.

Just to add on to this thread here. I have encountered many more waiters and waitresses than I can remember. Some of them are not the brightest, but just about all of them are motivated to provide good service. There have been a few, though, who have received my ire... Mrs. LittleBill is extremely sensitive to gluten. All it takes is a few milligrams to make her sick for days. And it isn't like she is feigning it. It's the kind of thing where she will become ill, and then we have do to some forensic work to figure out what she ate that caused it. We've had waitresses ask if she wants white bread since she is allergic to wheat. We have had them theorize that the heat from the deep fryer will kill the gluten, rendering it harmless. We get all kinds of cockamamie stuff. Fast forward to bariatric surgery. I can't drink and eat at the same time. I can't eat most of what is on my plate at any restaurant. I can't even try to 'splain it to the server, because it is a lost cause, and it really isn't any of their business. So here is what I do. First, I order Water for my drink. I can even sip some of it depending on how long it is going to take them to produce the food. Second, I order something that is bariatric friendly - i.e. Protein rich and very little, if any bad carbs. And I plan to take at least half of it home. Finally, I deflect any questions by saying that my satisfaction will be reflected in my tip. I am a generous tipper. These people work hard, for very little pay, and often for people who have an entitlement attitude. It costs me very little to give them a few extra dollars, and they remember me the next time I come in. And, servers share information about customers. In the diners we frequent, even the noob waitresses treat us well. Part of that comes from being nice to them, but part comes from the veterans saying, "These are good people". Word really does get around, on both sides.

If ever I do not plan to eat but accompany say my daughter, we always ask first if there is a sit charge for me (I usually will show my bariatric card if I do not plan to eat). I never ask to split her meal, but if I did I too would also check what the split fee will be. Sometimes it is very high. I've used my bariatric card twice at a Chinese buffet. One charged me kids price and the other charged me senior price but I left the tip at the regular rate had I paid full price.. Yes, your doctor usually can give you a card. I travel to Europe a lot, they charge a sit fee for anyone who sits. I know this isn't Europe, but restaurants are looking at all venues and how they operate.

Your doctor may suspect that you are a sugar addict. If so, that's why he's barring sugar and carbohydrates. Of course, there are carbs in starchy vegetables (like sweet potatoes) and fruit, but your body processes them differently than bread and sweets. I've been on a high protein/low carb diet pre-surgery, and have eliminated sugar, flour, potatoes, rice, and processed foods. It's been very successful. I've learned a lot reading about sugar/food addiction and have come to the conclusion that I have this addiction. Once I've broken through the withdrawal period I don't crave these things. I have gone off the rails a few times and paid the price. It takes me about two weeks to get through withdrawal all over again. I've been working on this food plan, A Pound of Cure by Matthew Weiner, a bariatric surgeon. I intend to follow it post-surgery, possibly for life. To find out more about sugar/food addiction, all of these books are helpful.

I think most of us were prescribed ursodiol for the first few months to lessen the chance of gallbladder issues. my surgeon prescribed omeprazole for a year, but I had surgery back before the downside of PPIs were widely known. From what I can tell (by hanging out on bariatric forums), most surgeons just prescribe it for around 3-6 months post-surgery now.

Thanks VBG! I contacted my HR rep, but she didn't have access to any of the contracts or anything. She suggested that I call the customer service number for our insurance company. Hmm. I did find out that our PPO plan, Blue Shield of Washington is apparently under an umbrella of Blue Shield of California, which theoretically would give me access to Dr. Quebbermann, if the PPO covers bariatric stuff. I waited on hold *forever* Monday morning, but I'm going to call back today. Thanks for the info! I didn't know that employers could modify the policy to exclude specific things! <br /><br /><br />

Hi! I'm a Bariatric Dietitian and I can answer this question for you. With shakes the protein is already pulverized, and your stomach has still had a large protion removed, only allowing 20 grams of protein to be absorbed per meal. If it's a high quality protein food like meat, cheese, milk, etc. You will absorb 90% of that product. If it's a low quality protein like 1-5gm per serving. The stomach will absorb less. Hope this makes sense! Shoot for 20 grams of quality protein per meal or shake and you'll do just fine!

Hi Melanieleigh, congratulations search, you've come to the right place. This is a long, overdue story and I will also post it in “My Positive Experience w/Dr. Watkins Thread." This forum is awesome and I've been researching WLS HEAVILY since about June. I've read a lot on WLS. I struggled with the idea of partial stomach removal w/VSG, but knew that having a foreign object in my body would make me worried: slipping, rubbing, etc. - so I wasn't excited about lap band, but some have had great success with it. When I read about GPS on this forum, I KNEW it felt right. WHAT MAKES THE RIGHT DOCTOR? Initially, in my mind, I was all set to go to someone locally, so that if I needed support or had issues they would be there for me. I have never had surgery of any kind so this was all new to me. I also thought that I would ONLY choose a doctor who has had some sort of WLS and would be understanding in the weight loss/surgery/food struggle. I attended a seminar from a Dr. who I think had done only 3 VSGs (yes, I know, they have to start somewhere and make a living, but in this case, I didn’t want it to be me) and I found out later that certain things he talked about were incorrect, (like shoulder pain cause being unknown and that could be permanent) is actually referred pain from the diaphragm -per Dr. Watkins. RESEARCHING… THANK GOODNESS I RESEARCHED MORE! According to one of the WLS books I read, complications go WAY DOWN (like 80%) when you use an EXPERIENCED surgeon. Of course, this GPS surgery is NEW, but it would stand to reason that it is still better to choose a doctor who had done a lot of surgeries, especially weight loss surgeries. Naturally, I researched Dr. Corvala in Mexico because I think has had done over 100 GPSs by now plus thousands of other weight loss surgeries. However, the book I read also cautioned that while some hospitals/Dr. were terrific in Mexico (just like US-there are good and bad hospitals/Drs.) it may be more challenging to find aftercare in the US. However, there are many people happy with their choice to leave the country and I probably would have been very happy with that route, but I am a worrier. As I constantly read the forum and asked MANY, MANY questions of the patients and to a few doctors. Dr. Watkins was the most responsive doctor. I would ask him about the surgery details, what other patients experienced, emotional eating, what hunger felt like, hormones, genetic makeup, etc. my symptoms, how big the size of the sleeve, aftercare, etc. For awhile I thought I would try dieting and exercise one more time, and he directed me to the free YOU TUBE about weigh loss which again, shows that although he does run a business, he is really trying to help people. I came obvious conclusion that Dr. Watkins is EXTREMELY KNOWLEGABLE, DEDICATED and in always in COMMUNICATION when you need him, is ALWAYS helping on the forum (even if someone is not his patient) and isn’t pushy. I had a friend that wasn't sure about her GPS surgery, and he left it up to her - didn't pressure her. She had it and is doing fine. I researched him EVERYWHERE and found happy patients and a great track record. Like others have said, it is important that you have the hiatal hernia fixed when they are doing WLS surgery, and that was important to me that Dr. Watkins did that. Yes, I love Cincy Weight Loss-NO I don't get any financial gain or have anything to gain, no discount for my writing all of this. I do not work in any way with Cincy/Dr. Watkins; I am just a happy patient. WHEN ONLY THE BEST WILL DO..TOP NOTCH CARE- DR.WATKINS/CINCY WEIGHT LOSS & HOSPTIAL This Dr. does the right thing.. he even denied me surgery because it was the right thing to do.. Here is my story: After asking A TON of questions and doing lots of research, I was scheduled for Plication surgery in the fall w/Dr. Watkins a couple months ago. Everything went great up to surgery, did well on the pre-op. Visited Cincy Weight Loss, it was a VERY NICE, NEW upscale area, the OFFICE was GREAT. EVERYONE there IS REALLY & TRULY INTERESTED their patients! They had a great book with lots of before & after pictures of real people and it was so exciting to see the success. My husband and I chatted with Diane for almost 3 hours about the great things and weight loss challenges. We met the nurses and his lovely wife Pamela and they were ALL great! We made new friends and had a GREAT TIME. We met Dr. Watkins in person, and sat in his office. He truly is a NICE, SINCERE, DEDICATED & KNOWLEDGABLE PERSON. He is very humble, but it still made me feel good to see all of his certificates/accolades on the wall to know that I was getting a quality and knowledgeable doctor. Since they rarely talk about it, I’ve taken pictures so everyone can see HOW NICE & NEW, MODERN the hospital and his office are. Never once did we feel “rushed” or pressured, or cut off in conversation, they listened answered our questions thoroughly-my husband and I were REALLY impressed. I was VERY scared, because I hadn’t ever had surgery or been put under other than my wisdom teeth. However, being put under and waking up was a breeze. HOSPTIAL was MODERN, NEW and I felt VERY confident with my surroundings. They even offered me a hospital gown with state of the art technology where warm air was blown in. I walked with the Dr. and staff into the OR, and laid down on the table. Everything was state of the art, clean new and I was out like light, felt NO pain (except for the initial IV). It felt odd when I woke up, like it had only been a couple of minutes. Unfortunately for me, the surgery didn’t happen because I had surprise stomach polyps for no good reason. I was VERY disappointed and asked Dr. Watkins about 5 times if we could do surgery later on that week, but it was important to have some other tests & due diligence done. Even though he faced disappointing me, he did the right thing. Some surgeons don’t even do an endoscope, which can reveal polyps, ulcers, hiatal hernias, etc. My family was also grateful for the level of care and professionalism from this Dr. Later on that day and few times over the weekend, he called us to see how I was doing with anesthesia recovery, and I didn’t even have the surgery! But he is that caring. After many tests, (gallbladder, H Pylori, blood test, gastric level tests, gastric emptying test and colonoscopy) it looks like I am fine. I have one more I am going to have done on Friday but I am SO happy that I SHOULD be having GPS surgery with Dr. Watkins in about a week! I am praying that there will be nothing from stopping the surgery and the new life.. Here are a final few words on what I’ve learned..1) It is NOT normal to have stomach pain/throat burning. I lived with this probably my whole adult life. The pain/burning I experienced feels the same as STARVING HUNGER-GOT-TO EAT-NOW was actually acid and was GREATLY reduced on the pre-op diet with the PPI/Prevacaid. Dr. Watkins and his staff have kindly and patiently helped me through this lengthily process of research and tests. Hopefully, no one will have any surprises like I did, but it only made me feel better about my decision. 2) Keep researching until feel comfortable w/your doctor. If you research their website you’ll see they SUPPORTIVE & HAVE GREAT FOLLOWUP: http://www.cincyweightloss.com/ Here are my pictures.. Info from Cincy Weight Loss Site Cincinnati Weight Loss Center is owned by Dr. Watkins, not a large corporation. This allows us to provide you with the kind of customer experience that family owned businesses like ours can provide. Most of our competitors focus on surgery. We focus on weight loss. There is a huge difference between the two philosophies. Other practices try to compete with us by lowering their price. We focus on maximizing your weight loss success. We don't strive to be the "cheapest in town". That is not a good weight loss model. We strive to provide the best weight loss success in every patient. We offer value - the lowest cost per pound lost. We get a lot of transfer patients who had gastric band surgery elsewhere and are disappointed with their post-op program so they transfer to our practice where we help them achieve their weight loss goals. Many practices don't monitor their weight loss success. We do, and have published five scientific articles on gastric band weight loss. We started doing band surgery shortly after it was FDA approved in the United States (June 2001). Since then we've completed nearly 5,000 gastric band procedures and have experience with band adjustments that number in the tens of thousands. That extensive experience has taught us many import things on how to perform gastric band surgery and how to take care of patients afterward to minimize their frustration and maximize their weight loss success. We repair/revise a lot of band operations done improperly by other practices. Patients who choose our practice want it done right the first time and want to maximize their weight loss success. People who only care about getting the cheapest surgery and don't care if they lose weight afterward go to our competitors. Dr. Brad Watkins Dr. Brad Watkins is one of the few surgeons in the United States who: · Has completed well over 1,000 gastric band procedures · Has experience with nearly 5,000 procedures in his gastric band clinics · FDA proctoring surgeon for both band companies (Allergan, Ethicon) · Published five academic papers on gastric banding in the surgical literature · Performs band-over-bypass procedure · Performs the new incisionless ROSE procedure · Teaches other surgeons on primary gastric banding · Teaches other surgeons on band-over-bypass · Teaches gastric band courses · Teaches ROSE courses · Consultant for Allergan Company, LAP-BAND® · Consultant for Ethicon Company, REALIZE ™ · Consultant for USGI Company, ROSE procedure · Completed many advanced bariatric courses and bariatric CME programs · Involved in multiple clinical trials for adult and adolescent obesity · Nationally recognized on the "Today Show" · Member American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery · Member Council for Advances in Bariatrics

I checked on Aetna's siteand Advent Health Celebration is not an IOQ, but the surgeon is in network for me and listed under their in network bariatric surgeons. The only hospital that is on the list has one particular surgeon that 2 of my coworkers (very large employer) have been to and both have said while the surgeon is ok, the office staff is terrible. Both recommended I go elsewhere. My plan covers the whole Advent Health System.

This video has nothing to do with any bariatric surgery. I loved this clip so much that I had to share it with everyone I know. Have you ever seen TRUE ART? This video clip shows the act of creating TRUE ART. The performance of life is emotional, lovely, breathtaking, and original. It is only a few minutes long so please take a tiny amount of time out of your day to watch this masterpieces come together. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=513762012004599

My insurance said they will not pay for any bariatric procedures, so my out of pocket will be $9,999. The office told me the usual price is $10,000-$12,000 but I got the professional discount due to the fact I'm a Nurse who works in surgery.

Hello, I'm Matthew from Mid Michigan Medical Travel Agency LLC, specializing in coordinating trips abroad for affordable medical procedures. This is a new company and I am interested to hear if anyone from the Mid Michigan area has any experiences they would like to share with bariatric procedures as medical tourists. Poking around a bit, it looks like Mexico is the most common destination.

This will not be helpful, but I do have my first appointment on Thursday and I've got Aetna POS II so I'll see what they say and try and let you know. I do know that it's either or for the 3/6months plans and the bariatric clinic I will be using does the 90 day program. So I don't know that it's a choice, more so that the office decides the route they take or prefer you take. Sent from my Nexus 6 using the BariatricPal App Just had my appointment today, it's a choice. I chose the 90day which will really be 4mo I guess because of the way the appointments have to be staggered. Sent from my Nexus 6 using the BariatricPal App

This will not be helpful, but I do have my first appointment on Thursday and I've got Aetna POS II so I'll see what they say and try and let you know. I do know that it's either or for the 3/6months plans and the bariatric clinic I will be using does the 90 day program. So I don't know that it's a choice, more so that the office decides the route they take or prefer you take. Sent from my Nexus 6 using the BariatricPal App

I use BariatricPal Multivitamin ONE "1 per Day!" Bariatric Multivitamins from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/bariatricpal-multivitamin-one! BariatricPal has a secret offer just for this group where it'll cost you only $99 for an entire year supply! Check it out at https://store.bariatricpal.com/products/bariatricpal-multivitamin-one-1-per-day-bariatric-multivitamin-capsules-yearly-subscription With just ONE convenient & affordable BariatricPal Multivitamin ONE each day, you can get the bariatric vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy! BariatricPal Multivitamin ONE was designed and developed by a team of the world's leading Bariatric medical professionals. Please take a calcium supplement separately to prevent interference with absorption of iron. You can view a large selection of bariatric friendly Calcium supplements at https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/calcium.

I’m in a lot of Bariatric groups and there have been several who have gone through an in-network surgeon and have been denied and had to start over because they didn’t use an IOQ. I would call Aetna just to be clear in what their requirements are. Mine will only pay 70% if I don’t use and IOQ and I would have to do the 6 month nutrition. I know it’s clear as mud lol but you definitely want to know ahead of time!

I would also recommend getting your gall bladder checked! Gall stones are very common post bariatric surgery, and can lead to nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. I would reach out to your doctor about it, for sure!

Hi @@laurenella82, I am in the Washington DC area. I am going through the Providence Bariatric Center, Dr. Rickford.

A bariatric doctor would know. Here's a link to the symptoms: http://www.obesityaction.org/educational-resources/resource-articles-2/weight-loss-surgery/dear-doctor-i-think-my-band-slipped-what-are-the-signs What do you mean you're having trouble eating? What kind of trouble? What are you eating? Many people gain weight if their bands are too tight. They tend to gravitate to slider foods that won't benefit or aid in weight loss. Some people find it difficult or impossible to adhere to the band eating lifestyle and also eat the wrong foods and eat like a Bandster. A good doctor can help you get back on track but it's still your responsibility to follow through with the plan. Good luck and I know where you're coming from. I too gained weight the last 6 months but an adjustment has me back on track again.

Before my surgery, I used to eat pizza, candy, chips, ice cream, and basically all of the junk foods. Eating indulgent food was basically my only pleasure in life. I ate a frozen pizza every Friday, and I looked forward to it all week long. But my tastes have changed after surgery. At first, I tried to make a bariatric-friendly version of pizza, with a Mr. Tortilla tortilla as the crust, sugar-free marinara, low-fat mozzarella, and turkey pepperoni. I also tried a chicken crust pizza. These are fine, and somewhat satisfy a pizza craving, but I don't even really want pizza anymore. There are so many things I'd rather eat that it's not even worth it to me to eat chicken crust pizza. I don't really desire chocolate anymore, either. I used to eat a whole bag of fun-sized Snickers in 3 or 4 days, but now, when coworkers bring candy to work, I have little to no desire to eat any of it. Part of that is because I discovered Built Bars, which I think are even better than actual candy bars. The things I look forward to eating now include fish fajitas (BTW, I hated fish before surgery and now I love it) and turkey wraps with low-carb tortillas, grilled chicken with sugar-free BBQ sauce (I love G. Hughes BBQ sauces and I think they're just as good as the sugar-laden ones), mashed cauliflower, riced cauliflower (cauliflower is another thing I used to hate but now I eat it almost every day), salad, and other healthy foods. I have found things to satisfy my sweet tooth (e.g., protein mug cake instead of cake/cupcakes; protein bars instead of candy bars), but for the most part, I don't even have much of a desire to eat junk food anymore.

Sorry everyone I don't go on here much... Facebook has some great groups to check out Bariatric Living & recipes and Sassy & Sleeved Sisters Support Group. Check those out and I am on Facebook too!

A warm cup of Smooth Move Tea made by Traditional Medicine works great! It was recommended by the head of the bariatric program at the hospital I went to.

Hi all I just wanted to stop in and say hi. I've been lurking for a couple weeks reading your posts and getting a feel for the forum. I went to my seminar last Thursday and I am scheduled for my first consultation this upcoming Tuesday the 18th. I'm a little nervous...not too sure what to expect. But I'm very excited at the same time to hopefully get this journey started. I'm going through the Bariatric Center on NJ for the procedure so I'm not really sure how long the process should take but I'm really hoping to be banded by the end of 2013. I look forward to getting to know all of you and also hope to be able to come to you guys when I need advice or the extra push I might need to stay focused!! So here goes nothing!!!

Cathy and I had our surgery the same day, so it may look like we are making things up! The building houses basically two hospitals. The doors and everything say Oasis which is the upper floors, known mostly for cancer treatment. The first floor houses the Florence Hospital where the bariatric surgeries are performed.

My bariatric team has advised me to find a new pastime since I watch way too much tv, but can't stop me from watching the series finale of my favorite show tonight, parenthood!!!! I don't want to say goodbye to the Bravermans!!!!!!