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I need to start practicing as well. Some tips I've learned while researching what I need to do: For not drinking with meals: Don't even make yourself something to drink until after you've finished eating. I've even thought about not making a drink until I'm done cleaning the kitchen after a meal. That gives me more time to keep busy and it won't seem like such a long time to wait for a drink. For eating smaller bites: Purchase toddler utensils or Bariatric utensils (adult sized handles with smaller ends - available on Amazon). Also purchase small plates and bowls or portion control ones. I really like the ones with circles on them so you can measure your food on your plate in secret so you don't have to announce to the world you're monitoring your portions. For chewing slowly: Cut your food into small bites (but not all at once!), put one bit in your mouth, set your utensil down, sit on your hands. Chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, and chew some more. Then just sit a minute a take a deep breath, then get another bite. DON'T EAT DISTRACTED - This will be my biggest challenge, I'm the multi-tasking queen. To break the gulping water habit: Don't use a straw (my addiction!), barely open your lips and let the water drip in. Do this throughout the day, don't wait until you're thirsty to drink. I made myself a pact that I would start practicing on July 1, but now that I've typed this all out I might as well start tonight!

Nausea and vomiting are the most common complaints after bariatric surgery. it could be due to several problems such as a stricture or an ulcer. If you are vomiting quite regularly, it needs to be tracked to ground. That sounds like that is what you are doing. Good luck.

I'm sure each person that has had WLS will succumb to a setback during their weight loss journey. We are after all only human. It's how we respond to those setbacks. Some continue down the same path that caused them to be unhealthy to begin with. Others adapt to their new way of life because the WLS has given them a jumpstart on weight loss and a realization that we can actually lose the weight. It's always easier to succeed when you have support but, in your case you will need to succeed due to your lack of support. Continue on weight loss journey. Do what is required to get the surgery. Plan for the wonderful life you will have post surgery but most of all don't be afraid to seek support. Support can be right here on the message boards, at a group meeting of fellow bariatrics or an organized group that helps to support your continued weight loss success. Do not feel as if you must do it alone. Once you succeed you can then pass on that success and support to someone else and you can continue the cycle of helping others. Good luck and hopefully as happened to another poster your husband will come around.

Gas pills are my life, not from dairy though, day 2 on the burping is UNREAL, plus the initial pressure was annoying. The fairlife milk is lactose free so that's a plus. After my liquid phase was over I decided to stay gluten free because gluten gives me headaches (literally) and makes pain flair up in my hands. No gluten- no pain. And it's not like it's practical for a bariatric person to eat bread and pasta so it's easy. The changes are awesome! Ben and jerry's....The factory is 30 miles away from my house! If you worked there I think you got 5 (yes, FIVE!) free pints A DAY! nope!

You can actually call your insurance to ask what they specifically require for approval. The only thing I really know is that they generally require a 6 month monitored diet and exercise plan. I don't know what their requirements are as far as BMI with co-morbidities or any other pre op requirement though. Hopefully someone can chime in that has used UHC for their surgery. I have UHC however my specific plan under my employer excludes bariatric surgery so I am self pay.

In my case, i had to get a referral from PCP, attend a seminar on the surgeries, my surgeon was not in-network but I got approval for in-network billing because the nearest in-network surgeon was 2 hours away. Insurance covered bariatrics, but required 6 months supervised nutrition, 6 months food diary, 6 months exercise diary, plus surgeon's tests and psych eval, I could not GAIN during that 6 months supervision. After last NUT appt it was submitted and approved by insurance in two days, then the EDG exam and two week dreaded liquid diet. It took from April until October for all this. Good luck.

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?

Many insurance companies list their bariatric surgery policies on the internet or you can call and have them send it to you. I have Anthem BCBS and they require 6 months of continuous nutrition counseling prior to approval. My surgeon says the whole process from start to surgery for me would be approximately 8 months, but your time could vary.

If you do not already have a surgeon picked out, your doctor may refer you to one. You will need to consult with a bariatric surgeon about moving forward. It never hurts to call your insurance company yourself, they can give you the exact requirements you would need to qualify for the surgery. For instance many of us needed to have monthly visits regarding a supervised diet program, psych consult, EGD, sleep study, etc.

Take a deep breath, let it out, relax , smile, be your best "you"-99 and 99/100ths bariatric surgeons are wonderfully kind compassionate individuals. If you want carry a note pad & take notes. You,will get oodles of information at this appointment but it's to make your future surgery smooth, uneventful and to insure the best outcome possible. After you talk, he or she may make a suggestion what kind of surgical procedure will be best for you. Ultimately,it is your decision but take their advice also, they are truly professionals and know their business inside out. As an example, I first considered a certain surgery but after my chat I realized the benefits of the other, and that will be the one I soon will have.. But I send good wishes and if there's anything we can do to help you along the way,just ask, okay?😛

Had a great day today. I'm VERY tired now lol and hope to sleep really well here in a bit. I am almost, almost, almost pain-free! Today I was finally able to bend over/down at the waist with only just a slight ouchie pain. I saw my therapist today (Mr. Green drove me) and had such a wonderful discussion with her about my surgery story and my experiences and what's been going on since then. She told me how brave I was to have this surgery and how proud she is of me... gosh I just love her to bits! She also said she could see my weight loss which I'm not quite sure I believe LOL although I have lost 33 pounds since I started the liquid diet on April 27, so I guess a bit could be showing. I had Starbucks (I'm a gold member... had iced coffee with soy milk) and painted my nails today (nail art is one of my hobbies) and honestly the return of simple activities like that made a huge difference for me. I've been feeling kind of "other" lately with all the depression and the stupid pain and discussing "my belly" as if it is a separate entity. Now I feel like good ol' Little Green is coming back, although new and improved, of course! Another sign of normalcy, tonight I got back in the kitchen for the first time in weeks! And I made BEANS!!!!! Wonderful, savory, thick, creamy beans. Refried beans, to be specific. Made from dried beans in the instant pot... so easy, quick, and totally oil- and fat-free! Refried beans - sorry, there's no way to make blended brown beans look appetizing. Just know that they are delicious. I pureed them a bit more after taking this photo because I felt they weren't quite applesauce consistency. I ended up liking the smoother consistency better anyway! LOOK AT ALL THAT PLANT PROTEIN!!!!! 2 ounce baby food containers filled and ready to be eaten! Refried beans on the bottom and two types of hummus on top. OKAY I MUST ADMIT THE GREAT BARIATRIC SIN... I did try the beans as I was pureeing them. They were just too, too, too seductive to resist. However, I only cheated my diet progression by 36 hours - and actually technically tomorrow is two weeks so if I go by the booklet they gave me I could have purees tomorrow, and what's the difference between 10pm Wednesday and 8am Thursday?!?!?! Okay, I'm justifying myself over here, and I'm sticking to liquids until my appointment Friday, but man, you guys. YOU GUYS! YOU GUUUUYYYYSSSS!!!!!! These beans hit the friggin' SPOT!!!! I am sooosoosoosososossosoSOSOSOososoSOosoosoOSOSOSOSSO excited for diet progression! 35 days of frickin' protein shakes and I am just DONE. Okay that's enough freakin' out... can you tell I had a good day today?? Man I just feel so good, and so happy, and so normal! There is life after bariatric surgery!

If that's all she said, I think it's pretty clear it was a compliment. Basically saying you don't look super fat. If she lectured you on it or tried to talk you out of it that's a different story. I work in a hospital that does thousands of bariatric surgeries a year and it's incredibly common for staff to say wow how's that person qualify or they're not that big. They're not insults, it's people saying they don't think you're fat. If someone trys talking you out of it or belittles you that's different

lol, I love how my comment of slaughtering a chicken links to the BariatricPal store. If I need to slaughter a chicken, at least I can do it in a bariatric friendly way.

Coffee can also help facilitate bowel movements without resorting to laxatives. There are pros and cons to almost every food we eat and while we need to be mindful of the potential for harm, frightening bariatric patients with risks that literally no surgeon, nurse practitioner, dietitian, or nurse has ever spoken a word of to me (nor to many others, clearly), and that I have not come across once in my obsessive, voracious reading of both lay and scientific literature about bariatric surgery and related dietary requirements in the last three years, seems a little silly. Plus it makes me happy. We grind our beans fresh every night before programming the coffee pot and I usually send a few seconds just sniffing them and reveling in the delicious smell. Ahhhh.

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.

MANY people have a bit of a stall when transitioning from pureed food to solid food when they're about three weeks out. Google "Bariatric Surgery Three Week Stall". It's super common, and super disheartening. But don't be overly concerned! It's normal and if it happens, you're not necessarily doing anything wrong. Our bodies have amazing defense mechanisms developed over thousands of years to prevent starvation. When our calories suddenly dip very low we hormonally and metabolically adjust to maintain our weight as much as we can....so...ya know...we don't starve to death. And yes, this defense mechanism SUCKS for weight loss. But the good news...is that if we stay the course....and stick to our plans consistently...eventually, we do overcome it and the scale starts moving again. I promise. Dthomas....if you're not exceding your calorie goal, if you're journaling what you eat and choosing good food...your mind IS right. Your body is just throwing you a curve ball as a defense against starvation. It's temporary! Stick to your eating plan. Have patience. And have realistic expectations. Most folks are not going to have the 50 pound losses you see on My 600 Pound Life in a few weeks. Also...losing a job and the financial crunch it brings... can be really discouraging and depressing. Exercise really will help you, even if it's just walking a few miles a day. Hang in there. It gets better.

Thank you. I’m calling again tomorrow to tell them I want to come in ASAP and I’m not taking no for an answer. I’m actually thinking about switching Bariatric doctors (if such a thing is possible after surgery). I also plan on going to the hospital to get all my records from the EGD to the surgery to the ER visit for dehydration. This is just completely ridiculous. But thank you for responding. Just talking to people about it makes me feel better.

I went through several Medical Tourism companies and researched their physicians and pricing. First and foremost, I have to explain that I work in hospital administration, and knew what I wanted in a surgeon and follow-up care. Many of the Med Tourism Agencies have comparable pricing. Some more because of the volume of Bariatric surgeries they’ve done. For me, I knew I wanted a specialist, particularly a gastroenterologist. While a Bariatric Clinic and their physicians would be ideal in the U.S., you’re not going to get the same pre-op and post-op care they would offer from Mexico. So, I wanted someone who specializes in that part of the body, particularly familiar with your esophagus and stomach. (These are the areas most doctors damage if you experience complications). Dr. Jorge Reyes Mendiola was a known gastroenterologist, and only does select surgeries, not like the others who run a conveyor belt. He sees 3 patients at most. Trust me, you do not want to be at the end of that line, no matter how quick and easy it seems. While I did not expect to hear from them again post-surgery, I have heard from the office every week for the next 4 weeks. Plus, they are a text away, and very responsive. I know this is long-winded, but I did all the research in the US, before I turned to MX. Lastly, Jet Medical offers a nutritionist post-care. I can’t tell you enough how many of these boards you will find with people with no clue how to take care of this new tool and maintain the weight loss or address a stall. Hope this helps. Wishing you luck on your journey!

Had a pretty good day today and I felt much better than yesterday. I got up with my husband and made his lunch, etc. and that felt really nice. I started the quadrant plan to drink my protein shake and I was successful for the first quadrant, haha (although it took me 3 hours to convince myself to drink the whole 5.5oz). But then I ended up taking an epic nap from 12:30-5pm and that threw everything off. I had some delicious soupbroth (my word for taking a can of soup and straining everything out, rather than actual broth like you cook with) around 7pm that likely had a few grams of protein left in it - and now I am, as always, doing my make-up sips to try and get to the protein goal. However, I did REALLY well with hydrating today and I think that was key in my feeling better - plus the amazing nap! Me & Lovenox aren't getting along right now. I have developed such a complex about doing the injections because of the pain on my left side and the epic square mile of bruising and tenderness on my right side (from the previous injections). I tried my thigh and it was okay, but the embarrassing truth is my belly is so f-ckin big I can barely see the fleshy parts of them, so I wasn't really comfortable. I'm having to listen to music and just sort of force myself to autopilot through while focusing on the lyrics, and even then I'm having trouble actually putting needle into skin. I have no fear of needles, shots, injections, etc. whatsoever (I have 12 body piercings and two tattoos, yearly flu vax, blood draws, etc. plus I took care of my husband for months after his accident including administering these exact same Lovenox injections lol) so this is not that. My mind is just rejecting the whole notion or something. I only have five left - two tomorrow, two Thursday, one Friday morning - before my post-op appointment Friday where I will, fingers crossed, be blessedly released from the obligation to do them. So I've figured out that I can sleep quite well in the bed if I'm on my right side, but not my left. When I'm on my left, that is when I get the stinging fiery ouch pain. Usually I pick a side depending on which side of my nose is stopped up LOL! but I might have to default to my right side until things get better over there on the left. The one real bariatric sin I am committing at the moment is that I'm not walking regularly. It's been either too hot or raining. The heat is a concern because of fainting, but I could walk in the rain if I really wanted to - I love being out on a trail with a light rain going. I resolve to do better, particularly after I'm cleared to drive and can go to the park or a trail nearby (or Planet Fitness if I really have to, lol).

So I’m 19 days post VSG, and I am soooo tired of vomiting! I’m supposed to be in the soft food stage, but pretty much everything that goes in comes right back. So far I’ve been able to keep down 2-3 tablespoons of mashed potatoes, applesauce and one time refried beans. It’s to the point where even when I’m hungry I don’t want to eat because I dread throwing it up AGAIN. I get my fluids in but protein is an issue. And I can’t take my Bariatric chewies because they come right back up too. Basically I’m living on 64oz of wasted, 200 calories and on a good day 13-14g of protein if I can get a shake to stay down. I’m constantly tired and could probably sleep all day if that was an option. I’m on protonix in the morning, carafate every 6 hours and nexium and Prilosec at night along with my regular medications. I’m just so angry and depressed at this point. I wish I had never done this. It’s like I worked so hard and jumped through so many hoops for 18 months just to wish I’d die. Let me clarify that I’m not suicidal, but if something happened tomorrow and I didn’t wake up, I honestly don’t feel like I’d care. I get no pleasure from life. It’s not missing food. It’s that I literally don’t care about anything at this point. Everyone says I worked really hard for this and it will get better and blah blah blah. But I don’t see it. I’m sorry this is depressing. But I had to let it out somewhere and since everyone just keeps saying you’re fine you’re doing great whatever when I’m NOT, I thought I’d post it here. This has been a terrible experience since day 6 post op. I’m just hating I had this done. Am I alone in feeling like this? Everyone else just seems so damn happy.

At this point, try to forget about work for at least a week. You may feel much better next week and the week after. Don’t assume how you feel now will be how you feel in two weeks. Since you were asking for more time at the outset before knowing how you would feel, it may be a self fulfilling prophesy. If you get to the date when you have to return to work and can’t do it, talk to your Bariatric team in person. Don’t hold back your emotions. Mental Health is just as important as physical health.

Strawberry, My heart goes out to you! It sounds like you could use some help. A few things come to mind.. Have your tired a Bariatric support group. If you’re feeling alone, you should be able to find people who are experiencing similar feelings. This is an unprofessional read on the situation, but it seems like an anti-depressant would really be helpful. Hang in there! You aren’t alone!

Oh cool! I'm getting the bypass too. I'm going to new you bariatric.

Alex, what made you choose the mini-bypass over regular gastric bypass? But back on topic: I had sleeve surgery in Tijuana with Dr. Garcia of Tijuana Bariatrics. I liked him, and had no complications, but I have not been wildly successful losing weight. I considering a revision surgery.

I just scheduled an appointment with a psychologist who conducts pre-bariatric surgery evals; she's completely outside of the VA(hell) umbrella, so I'm feeling hopeful. She's older, a mother, grandmother, and she is not a thin lady. The previous psychologist was a very tall and thin woman who I doubt could truly sympathize...PhD or not. I wanted to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. This has been so stressful and I felt as though I couldn't talk to anyone, because most people don't even know this has been something I've been struggling with. The first psychologist, who I feel was completely cavalier and nonchalant about pissing away all the work I had done for a year with a few keystrokes on her keyboard, truly needs to reassess her responsibility to patients. In my clinical interview, she said, "You're really not that overweight. And you have a beautiful face." I just sat there completely flabbergasted. I felt like telling her, "We are going by clinical facts, not opinions. And the fact is that I have serious health risks because I am CLINICALLY classified as VERY OBESE." But I knew she was gauging my responses and going to annotate any defensive or aggressive tones. So, I just told her "Thank you, but I'm still clinically overweight, have horrible back pain from the excess weight on my 5'0 frame, and have moderate-severe sleep apnea. I need help." After I get my surgery date(God willing), I'm going to report her to the state licensing association. What she did wasn't right. Especially because she didn't even provide clinical supporting notes and refused to speak to my therapist. Thank you all so much! I will keep you all updated! *virtual hugs* 🤗🤗🤗