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I've bought a few things, mostly at Goodwill or on clearance for just a few bucks. I also have some items that are hand-me-downs from friends/family members, including a couple who have also had bariatric surgery.

Doing my 6 month program at the UIC Bariatric Program with Dr. Chandra Hassan, anyone know of him or the UIC program in general?

My bariatric binder that my surgeon's office gives you cautions you away from adding in fruits to your shakes in your post-op diet. I'm curious... I've started drinking the shakes the my doctor's office sells just to make sure I like the taste (and to try them with Almond Milk vs. Water, in the blender vs. a shaker bottle, etc) and I added in a banana to the chocolate shake. It's seriously delicious. I'm a little sad that I can't have it in my post-op diet. How many of you add in a fruit to your shakes when you're in the maintaining stage? I know that a lot of fruit is not a great idea, but I'm curious if it would be okay for a treat every now and then (as opposed to having ice cream, which I know will just kill my stomach).

I am cheering for you! It would be good to find a bariatric therapist who specializes in food addiction.

Just curious to know if there are others out there that are self pay, because your insurance won’t cover Bariatric surgery. I’m self paying.

Surgery buddies! I had mine on May 30th too. I'm on the pureed stage now but only a week in im bored of this too. Anyone have any ideas or recipes. people rave about the bariatric ricotta bake, but being italian for me it wasn't that great!

Talk to a therapist. Particularly, one who specializes in bariatric patients.

Shianne Burns Gastric Bypass @ Boston Medical Center Referral date: 12/06/17 Bariatric program start date: 1/22/18 Program finish date: 5/30/18 Approval date: 6/12/18 Surgery date: 8/8/18

A lot of people find that the changes they go through with bariatric surgery also inspire other overdue changes in their personal lives. Sometimes this means re-evaluating realationships. Divorce is so common after bariatric surgery, it's been dubbed "divorce surgery". But as common as divorce is after weight loss surgery, new realationships are even more common:) My psychologist said at our presurg interview that weight loss surgery will make a good marriage better, and a weak marriage worse. If there are problems....the changes you go through will put them under a microscope. Whether you can work through them, or need to re-evaluate/leave the relationship....if you came into this surgery with vulnerable spots in your relationship, they'll need to be addressed. Happy to report hubby and I are doing really well so far, but I know a couple people who split up over incompatible health priorities, jealousy issues, unfaced issues that came to a head....after surgery. Whatever happens, I wish you well and hope you have a lot of love and support....but also inner strength and the ability to stand on your own inside your new self. Good luck!

@NobodyYouKnow I've avoided posting for a while because I was thoroughly disappointed and upset with my appointment -- I left in tears. Half way through telling my dietary story the dietitian stopped me and, from my perspective, seemed to act like they'd heard the whole thing. Truth be told I had much more to say and felt like if they'd taken the time to really consider these things they'd then have gotten a much better picture of who I am and my particular struggles with food and how to progress from there. But they didn't do that. The dietitian proceeded to tell me exactly what I couldn't eat, followed by counter-productive information specifying that I could eat the foods they'd just told me not to eat. They then proceeded to show my the size of plate I'd be eating off of after the surgery like it was a big revelation (smaller plate size is the FIRST thing you read about on the google result that comes first for googling bariatric surgery for me). This was followed by the dietitian stating incorrect information about muscle/fat metabolism in regards to long term fasting, and present to me a leaflet with the information detailed information on what they want me to eat. However, the information presented to me was a 1000 kal diet big on the protein. If I was able to stick to this diet long term I would not be getting surgery?? I have no problems with the types of food they want me to eat but am concerned with my ability to hold up the quantities long term WITHOUT surgery. I also note that while reading the leaflet to me, they kept on pointing out vegetarian options even though I'd previously mentioned I eat meat. Not a big deal, but it felt like twisting the knife a little because I knew already the dietician wasn't listening to me. All in all, I don't have a /huge/ issue with what they have asked me to eat. But, I think if the result of an hour long consultation was going to be 'eat 1000kal of a 3:3:1 protien:carb:fat diet' irregardless of what I said, it could've been a 15 minute appointment instead. Instead I went in expecting to be listened to and considered instead of brushed over, ignored, and quite frankly, patronized (I already knew a lot about diet and what the post surgery diet would be like. None of the information was new to me.) I would appreciate it if people were sensitive in replying to me I am still quite hurt by the consultation. EDIT: to clarify though, I am doing exactly what they told me to do and have every intention of following it to the best of my abilities. I've come too far to get stopped in the road by a bad dietitian.

You do realize you are actively trying to tell me that "your surgeon is better" because she gave you meds you might not need... I'm not saying **I'M** smarter than anyone... simply that, and this is fact.... if you have gall stones, that medication isn't going to do anything (at the dosage typically prescribed for WLS, yes there is a therapeutic level, but that's 3+ times a day for months and even then it's not guaranteed to be effective, you can research that yourself)... this came from a multi-award winning surgeon who's done thousands of bariatric surgeries, the head of the pharmacy at a Lifespan training hospital, and several other medical professionals. So, you can try to twist it however you wish... but don't you dare try to tell me that I'm trying to claim I'm smarter than anyone else for relaying the information in the same fashion as you are doing.

I am considered Morbidly Obese occurring to the various online seminars I have completed for all the different bariatric surgical centers. Specifically my insurance lists weight loss surgery as an exclusion. So my employer chose to buy a policy that will NOT cover it. I do not believe I am too large for Sleeve Gastrectomy. I am 100% mobile, work full time, can be on my feet for hours as needed and am nothing like those on My 600 Pound Life (which is kind of how you must be imagining me). I’ve been told more than once that if it’s an exclusion, it will NOT be covered. So I will be paying cash as many people do I’m learning.

Yes but I felt sorry for it, I also have been told i am old and of limited value to the world. And I had a doctor get in my face, yep close enough his breath could be smelled and he had a bratwurst and saurerkraut for lunch. Said "I expect you to weigh no more than 134 lb after I get done with you" Yes, I said "I expect you do, but without bariatric surgery it will never happen!" FYI,I hate, loathe and ignore people who get. within 4 inches of my face, unless they are planning to kiss me. And this guy, had he tried I would have bit the top of his tongue off! They removed most of my sweetness with my last operation.😡

I swallow capsules for my multi, but I use Bariatric Advantage chewable calcium, and it's really good; they have a lot of different flavors. So far, my favorites have been the peanut butter/chocolate and the chocolate.

I still wish bariatric centers and hospitals had a clothes close,towhere you could trade,in clothes, like I'd bring in 26 and 28 that I've "undergrowth" and trace for some 22 or 24, we I undergrow them get some 18 and 20. Yes I probably could jumble sale them but I don't want to watch others paw them and throw on the floor or ground. 🎽👗👚👕👖

So I am just about 6 years post op, my bariatric doctor is no longer practicing and I have not had a real visit specifically for bariatric in a few years. I am maintaining a good weight,my issue currently (has been for a few months) is that I have a stuck feeling in my belly, I still throw up almost daily. It seems worse with any type of beef. My real issue is that I would actually like to see a doctor who is a bariatric doctor. I love my PCP but I sometimes worry that he is not keeping in mind that I had this surgery. Can anyone help me find a CT doctor who will take on a new patient post op??

I've had 100+ hours of therapy at http://mocsa.org a few years ago. I was of "normal" weight then. My weight gain took off after I fell down some steps and mangled my right ankle. I had one unsuccessful surgery on it. Later, two ankle reconstruction surgeons told me there was nothing more they could do. I was sedentary and very depressed after that. It doesn't help that I have an autoimmune thyroid condition. I'm not suggesting that more therapy might not help me but a sedentary lifestyle really derailed my ability to walk or do much in the way of weight-bearing exercise. It's been 10 years since I injured my ankle. Morphine is the only thing that even gets close to taking the edge off the pain. (And I tried many other non-narcotic meds first, plus holistic treatments. My PharmD daughter finally explained to me that being dependent on a narcotic for actual pain relief is different from being addicted to a drug when no physical malady is present.) Taking 300mg of morphine per day doesn't give me a "high"; it just helps me move around without writhing in pain. I also take oxycodone for breakthrough pain. Believe me, nobody WANTS to rely on powerful meds like these. It's weird to say, but I often welcome competing sources of pain (gallbladder surgery; lipoma removal, or even my knee replacements) to help keep my brain confused about where the pain is. I expect my bariatric surgery to be no different. There's nothing that my surgeon can do to my body that can overtake the pain I live with everyday. Boo-hoo me.

I’ve finally decided to go through with it. I want To have the Sleeve Gastrectomy because it’s middle of the road risk, though I wish it had the results of the Bypass. I’m scared I’ll die after the surgery and I’m scared I’ll die if I don’t. I’m 39, f, married, mom. I know if I don’t do it I’ll continue to be miserable and risk immobility. And if I do have the surgery, it could be the best decision I’ve ever made. I’ve lost partaking in my son’s first 13 years and refuse to miss out on any more! I’m in Oregon. Considering Bay Bariatrics with Dr. Tersigni as a cash pay patient. My insurance says the surgery is an exclusion but I’m hoping to find a surgeon that will try to fight it for me. Hoping to make some friends and learn a lot from the veterans and cheer people on!

I went with the same practice that we found when my wife was getting into WLS about fifteen years ago. They were one of the few that offered both the DS that she was most interested in along with the standard RNY, so it was one place where we could get a reasonably honest opinion as to which procedure best fit her (most surgeons will only recommend a procedure that they perform, whether it fits or not), and they were a well regarded practice that attracted patients nationwide (and beyond.) An added consideration was that though we were travelling up to SF for the surgery (from LA) they still had a semi-local office and support group. When it came time for my VSG about seven years ago, they were one of the most experienced at doing sleeves (owing to the sleeve being a part of the DS) - an important factor when considering a procedure that was fairly new at the time; one should always look for a surgeon who has several hundred of whatever procedure one is interested in under their belt, irrespective how long they have been in bariatrics. Given the newness of the sleeve then, it was still worth going up to SF for the surgery as no one local had their kind of experience. And, considering that we had already been doing business with them and going to their support group on and off for several years, I knew the program, they weren't into the latest fad diets - just what has worked (and worked very well, indeed) for the past twenty years or so. It still is working seven years later.

My best tips: 1-Sip sip sip sip some more! 2-Stay off the scale for the first couple of weeks. The numbers can be very disheartening. It takes a while to lose all the fluids they put into you in the hospital and it can take a month for the swelling to go down. 3-Try not to compare your results to others. There are so many variables to weight loss: starting weight, metabolism, muscle mass, hormones, gender, etc. You will lose at your own pace and that is the only one that really matters. 4-Take some good "before" pics. You don't need to show them to anyone, but your brain will play tricks on you. You'll need something objective for comparison. 5-If you like to cook now, google bariatric-friendly recipes and try some out so that you've got some go-to meals that you know you'll probably enjoy. If you don't cook, try out various blended soups available in the grocery store or at local restaurants. Liquids is generally the most difficult phase. 6-If you don't plan to tell people about your surgery (entirely up to you) then start laying the ground work now. Let others see you working on your portion sizes/food choices. Let them know you're starting to exercise. Then when the pounds really start to fall off, they won't be shocked and get all concerned that you've got cancer or something! Good luck and best wishes!

I am 48 years old. I have been morbidly obese for about 7 years and obese for 20 years. My mother died in 2015 of diabetes and obesity related illnesses which culminated in her dying while I prayed for her in the ER at only 65 years old. My grandmother died in the same hospital of diabetic complications and an amputated foot at only 53 years old. I am a type II diabetic and was in total denial. Was not controlling my glucose levels, was not eating right, not exercising and was developing the SAME issues that my mother experienced. Both of my feet were swollen, discoloured, pressure blisters and red dots all over them from poor circulation and diabetic neuropathy. I had constant pain in my body from sore joints and uncontrolled sugar levels. High blood pressure. No energy and could not stand up more than 5 to 10 minutes max without needing to sit. I was going on job interview after job interview for the last 2 years, qualified and experienced in the positions I was applying for, but not getting the jobs. I started to sense it was my weight - employers whether they will say it or not are concerned that your weight will impede your ability to do work efficiently and if your weight will be a health concern that will result in numerous sick days. I did not want to end up like my mother and grandmother but I was heading there FAST. I am at the age where my weight was so high, and my hormones so whacky in pre-menopause, that the idea of being able to loose 100 lbs on my own was completely overwhelming to me. I live in a small Caribbean Island and our dollar is lesser than other countries and really did not know how I could afford help. I have not been insured in 12 years because of the diabetes. I foster dogs for a local animal shelter and I also have 7 recuse dogs. One day the shelter represented came to visit a couple puppies that I had adopted and she took a few photos of me and the dogs. When she sent me the attached photo I cried and cried and cried that night. I always knew I was big but it was like I lived in a strange kind of denial of HOW big I really was. Seeing that photo opened my eyes and I had an 'ah ha' moment and knew that I HAD to do something to change the trajectory of my life, otherwise I would end up in an early death just like the women in my family. So from the next day I started to change my diet drastically. I began to cut out useless carbs, stop buying my snacks, cutting down my portion sizes, stop allowing myself to eat the sugar treats whenever I wanted them. I started to see a change in my glucose levels from the next week and until the end of March I was more in control of my sugar levels but weight was not really coming off. In April I started to FEEL better because I had changed my eating habits but knew I needed an intervention to help me get off the kind of lbs I need to loose. So I found great reviews for a bariatric hospital in Mexicali and the cost was SO CHEAP compared to other countries. I started researching and corresponding and booked gastric sleeve surgery the end of May 2018. It was a long journey to get to Mexico from Barbados but I never looked back. I would not recommend the kind of flying I had to do after surgery because its hard on your system (and blood pressure) but I did what I had to do. I think everyone comes to that 'ah ha' moment when you honestly are just sick and tired of being sick and tired and fed up of not being able to live a full life and being bound to medication. I view the VSG as an intervention and an opportunity to 'reset'. The year or so it will take to loose over 100 lbs will give me the time to learn new habits, get off of insulin, be mobile again to do exercise and LIVE LIFE again. The time for my body to heal from the inflammation, get my heart healthy again and to learn to eat to fuel living and not eat for the sake of comfort. We have the choice to take control of our future with the KNOWN obstacles that morbid obesity brings. Sure a car could crash into me but that is a different thing to dying from diabetic complications, heart attack and amputations because of weight! I was in a RUT!!! How my rut looks may be different to yours but the point is that WLS helps with the leverage you need to begin getting out of the rut. I'm looking forward to my healthier future

Biotin, but there are some conflicting reports of it not actually doing anything (I still take it daily). It's important to note that hair loss can be caused by stress and not a deficiency in vitamins as well. The stress associated with a major surgery can cause your body to pump out hormones that cause our hair to enter a "resting" phase. So, it's possible that no matter what you take, it won't have an actual effect on your potential hair loss. I'm hoping against hope that I don't lose anything, it's taken me quite a while to get my hair where it is now... and I don't want to lose a bunch of the beard either! Good luck! https://www.drdkim.net/ask-the-dietitian/understanding-hair-loss-after-bariatric-surgery/ "telogen effluvium has to do with stress to the body and hormonal changes that can occur. Due to the stress more hair follicles can enter into the resting phase. This is important because the hair in the resting phase at the time of surgery is most likely the hair you will shed. This is why your hair sheds between 1 to 6 months after surgery (usually about3 to 4 months). When the hair starts to grow again the old hair follicle is released and you lose hair. Sometimes the hair comes out before new hair grows, yikes!"

Biotin is what my NP recommended for me; I don't know that it comes in chewable form, but it does come in a sublingual form. Also, be sure to take your bariatric mulitvitamin. I'm sure that helps too.

now I'm curious also. By the time one enters my decade of life,one has disposed of :gall bladder, appendix,tonsils adenoids. a breast or 2, a kidney or OMG 2 and most if not all of your female organs. And a hip, 1 or 2 knees,and even maybe an ankle fused. Fair to say, every thing has been removed or surgically stabelized, and here you are knocking on the front door of the BAriatric God's begging to have your gastrointestinal system monkeyed with. And that is the portrait I see being painted.🎆