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I found and ordered several books on Half.com for recipes and ideas from people who have had Bariatric surgery. I haven't started cooking from them yet, but I plan to!

Nerves are normal, just keep in mind that you made the decision to get healthy. And its removable. Not that, that would be a choice f mine, but that seemed to help me before the surgery. I also spent time researching post op menu plans. I found this to be very helpful http://www.pvsurgical.com/bariatric/LB_Diet_Guidelines.pdf It goes along the same guidelines as my surgeon told me, but this is spelled out for you. I found it to be very helful.

Hello Everyone! I have my 1st consult next week with Dr. Garth Davis. I am 35 years old with a BMI of 43, I have Blue Shield of California and my insurance does cover Bariatric surgery (if approved). I am nervous and excited but would like suggestions on what type of questions I should be asking during my consult? Thank You! Marie

Dear Sweatheart, I have NONE of the issues you are describing (a few minor ones for sure) but, I can tell you, you are right to be cautious and thoughtful and ask MANY questions. Questioning all this and doing your research does not make you a loon! lol It makes you an informed, smart patient. While I cant guarantee you that the waters will be always smooth, I can say that my father is a doctor in this area and was instrumental in developing the bariatric program here so, when I decided I wanted this, I GOT AN EARFULL!! I could go on for days about stats, case studies etc! lol Even in saying that, HE was concerned about me making such a permanent, life altering decision too. this is a BIG deal.All your emotions are the right ones to have , because they are yours. Its your body, your life, your feelings and your doctors and support staff should answer them all with patience and understanding. If you don't feel you have the right team, you can always stop and begin again with another. This is not my first surgery, I did have the band, now I am having the bypass. I will say, I lost almost 100lbs and for me, it was life altering. My health improved, my self esteem rose up off the floor for the first time in years, and I felt like a light, happy confident women just like all the other women in the room for once! Unlike some people will think of us, this is not magic! I worked VERY hard at this, I ate right, and worked out hard, and it paid off! I was my own fairy weight loss godmother! lol My band was defective and my thyroid has worsened so, my surgeon feels bypass is best now so, this is the continuation of my path. Its all scary uncharted territory for you right now and its tons of information to take in it seems but, remember, its also a learn on the job sort of thing to a point as well. You certainly want to follow direction but, you can ALWAYS ask if you forget, of feel weird or confused until you are a bypass master. Then it will be as much a part of you as breathing is. As for your illnesses, they will certainly be effected by this change (most likely in a very good way) but you learned to manage them when you first became diagnosed and you will relearn as they change as you are obviously a savvy patient. The only constant in life is change! I think your making a very brave change just for you and all for the best. However, as I said, if you have lingering doubt, keep on asking, get another consult, whatever it takes until you are FULLY comfortable. This process is tough enough, you have to feel confident you have made a good and informed decision. you will be in my thoughts and prayers, please message me any time at all, good luck and feel better, stay well and think POSITIVE!

At summa bariatric center?

Congratulations! Dr. Rodriguez was my bariatric surgeon too (April 30th at Star Medica). You've made a wise choice.

Hello all, I'm very happy to have found this great site and to have joined. I am a 44 yr old female from New England and my BMI is 42. I have gone through the entire Bariatric program, locally. I am now scheduled to meet with the surgeon next week and will be about 6 weeks scheduled out at that point. My problem is that I have not yet made a decision about which procedure I want to have done. Lap Band vs. Gastric bypass. I do not really want the GB b/c of all the potential complications that can arrise and the nutritional issues as well. And so for a long time I had chosen LB. Then I came across some YouTube "failed lap band" videos and started getting nervous that maybe I wouldnt be successful with that either. I read about and watched videos about people saying they lost very little weight, couldnt even keep Water down, had to carry bags with them for vomitting, and the biggest thing was that they couldnt eat "good" food. Only junk would stay down. Then there was the twisted ports and slippage too. Most of these people had their bands removed and opted for GB after all. I guess I just dont want to blow my one and only chance of getting help. I want to make the right decision while I have insurance and can get it covered. Does anyone have any info on those issues that they would share with me? And also advice on "how" to make the decision, understanding it is a totally personal choice. Sincerely, Poodles

I asked similar questions of the surgeon and bariatric internist I saw. They both told me that at one year, RNY has slightly higher weight loss, but that long term they are equal. I also asked both if they thought I'd be more suited to one or the other. They both really like the sleeve. The internist told me that if she needed WLS, that she would pick the sleeve for herself. She also said that if I really liked sweets she would recommend RNY over the sleeve because dumping syndrome would be helpful to keep that in check. Also that they might recommend it over the sleeve if I were diabetic, because they said people often go into remission with diabites within days with RNY. Although that wasn't a reason to exclude the sleeve, as it also goes away, but may take a little longer.

No sorry. The office has me taking (in 2 weeks) optisource bariatric vitamins for 3 months, then I can switch to flintstones and a viactive.

Read more about the program at http://www.mexicalibariatriccenter.com/ and http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/bariatric+surgeon+profile+Alberto+Aceves+lpc.html

If anyone is worried or just curious about what psychologists or psychiatrist use as a guideline for psych evaluation this is a must read. About time I got to the Psychopathology section I knew I was unlucky enough to get the By the Book Psychiatrist. It even said there should be a good documented 6 consecutive months of stability etc. I wish I had this Presurgical Psychological Assessment of Bariatric Surgery Candidates guidebook before I did my eval. I would've studied up and been prepared. I apologize if I seem biter because I am a bit. Every time I see or read post about someone getting their surgery date or just came out of surgery I get envious. I'm happy for them all the same. Here is the link: http://asmbs.org/2012/06/pre-surgical-psychological-assessment/

I am 14 days post-op. But the bariatric Vitamins they have me on are so hard to get down. They are huge, and have to dissolve in your mouth. I have to take them 3 times per day. I can barely get them down. They are chalky and dry. I gag just waiting for them to dissolve. My sister had bypass about 10 yrs ago, and all she had to take was 3 chewable childrens Flintstones. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using the BariatricPal App

Hi... I just want to share a good resource to help anyone who has had bariatric surgery or anyone considering it. You may already be aware of The book authored by Alex Brecher and Natalie Stein, "The BIG Book on Bariatric Surgery: Living Your Best Life After Weight Loss Surgery." It is now available as an Audiobook. As the narrator, I have a handful of promotional codes I can share with you, entitling you to a free copy of the Audiobook from www.audible.com. If you'd like one, please email me directly at dseawel@seawel.com. When they are gone... they are gone. You can see the Audiobook at: http://goo.gl/ZbQ6hl If you purchase the book and find it helpful, I would really appreciate you posting a positive review at Audible.com about the book. Thanks! and best wishes on your weight loss journey! Dave "McCormick" Seawel PS: I am a Gastric Sleeve surgery veteran myself. I had my surgery 4 months ago. I lost 25 pounds prior to surgery and another 60 pounds since! What a great feeling!

What kind of Vitamins do we need? There isn't like a Bariatric Vitamin that has everything we need in it and is chewable and tastes great since that's what we all want?? Lol.

You can google meal plans for after bariatric surgery. Put together your own plan staying high Protein and low carb. It shouldn't be very hard to do.

Admins please delete if this type of post isn’t allowed (sorry if so!). My name is Melissa Opozda, and I’m a PhD candidate at The University of Adelaide being supervised by Professor Anna Chur-Hansen and Professor Gary Wittert. I’m also a practising psychologist, and have worked with bariatric patients before and after surgery and used to lead a banding support group in Adelaide. For my current research, I’m asking people who have had bariatric surgery to complete a single, anonymous, online questionnaire that will take around 40 minutes. You’ll be asked questions including about your surgery, your presurgery and current eating habits, eating behaviours like bingeing, grazing, and emotional eating, hunger and appetite, your health, and your experiences of eating before and after surgery. All data will be securely stored and no participant will be identifiable in any publications arising from this study. We are looking for participants who currently live in Australia, and have a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (aka ‘bypass’), adjustable gastric banding (aka ‘banding’ or ‘lap band’), and/or vertical sleeve gastrectomy (aka ‘sleeve’) that was performed in Australia, and who were 18+ years old when that surgery was performed. You need to fit all of these criteria to participate. We are looking for individuals who are back to eating solid food after surgery, and especially those who are 12+ months postsurgery. For further information and to participate, please visit: http://bariatricstudy.com. Please feel free to respond to this post, email me at melissa.opozda@adelaide.edu.au, or phone or text me on 0490 044 811 with any questions or comments. Thanks so much for your participation! Best wishes Melissa bariatricstudy.com

As @@AvaFern predicted. I'm going to disagree with her. At least partially. It really depends on what you are eating post-op. I personally make sure to take my bariatric Vitamins every single day because I definitely DO NOT get a lot of key nutrients from real food. I don't eat fruits or vegetables basically AT ALL. I put Protein first and my restriction is still so tight that it doesn't leave room for more than a bite or two of vegetables, so I usually just don't even bother. I rely on my vitamins to give me the nutrients I know I am missing from real foods. That being said, I really think you need to discuss your concerns about vitamins with your surgeon and come up with the best plan for YOU. This is YOUR journey and ultimately, everyone needs to figure out what will work for them long term. All of our experiences are unique to our own lives and bodies.

Great info I have two big containers of unflavored protein waiting for me after surgery. I have stocked up on frozen berries and bananas to make my bariatric smoothies with. Nothing else in the house.

One individual in our Bariatric Support Group Meeting had a band to RNY gastric bypass surgery revision because his band was wearing away into his stomach and the condition became life threatening.

Here is a part of one of my postings on this forum in the insurance threads: the Duodenal Switch was being performed on patients, but if the patient had a very high BMI and health problems which made it more risky to have the Duodenal Switch, then doctors would perform the Sleeve (Which is the First part of the duodenal surgery and only restrictive), hoping that the patient would lose weight down to a SAFER, LOWER BMI, then the other part of the Duodenal surgery which is Malabsorptive could be performed without all the risks that were present before the Sleeve, so that the patient could lose more weight to reach their goal. ------------>>>>> What many doctors were discovering was that many patients continued to lose the weight and was reaching their goals with only the Sleeve, and the second part of the surgery did not need to be performed. So then many doctors started performing The SLEEVE as a STAND-ALONE RESTRICTIVE PROCEDURE. Now the sleeve is becoming a more sought after surgery by doctors and patients, because it is a less expensive, less evasive, and less risky surgery. Also the doctors know that there are less complications and healing time is faster with the Sleeve vs. the other procedures.--------------->>>>>>>> Medicaid and Medicare are now approving some Sleeve procedures. I hope this helps to explain the sleeve and how it came to be. Some insurance companies and doctors still consider it to be an experimental surgery. The procedure has been performed on many patients as the first part of the Dueodenal Switch for quite some time. Now it is a procedure that some doctors and some insurance companies are willing to have patients to consider having done instead of having the more evasive surgery. Maybe as time goes by and more understanding of this procedure takes place, then more insurance companies will cover it and more doctors will perform this procedure. Then we will possibly see more advertizing of this procedure. I live in Somerset Ky and my surgeon is Dr. Husted. He has a commercial on TV during the show "THE BIGGEST LOSER". He lets people know that he does different procedures. Some doctors only perform the Band and some do other ones. Dr. Husted created a new procedure called "THE VERGITO". It is a combination of 3 different procedures, using some of each to do one New Procedure The Vergito from what I understand it to be. Before I had the sleeve on Dec. 2, Medicaid here in Ky did not cover the sleeve until in November. Also the sleeve was done with 5 incisions laprascopically up until right before I had mine done, then Dr. Husted started doing the sleeve with only one 2 inch incision right above the belly button. I was his 2nd patient which he performed the one incision. The only pain I had was from gas pain after surgery, No pain at the one incision site. They are constantly learning more and more about bariatric surgery and different procedures. I hope I have helped you to understand a little more about the sleeve. I wish you all the best and a happy journey.

I went to a support group meeting that was at a center that does nothing but bariatric surgeries. They have many satified patients. My doctor is at a major hospital in the Oklahoma City area. His diet is very different than the one that the patients at the other hospital use. After making a fool of myself after trying to convince the other patients about bariatric diets, I found out real soon that I needed to shut my mouth and listen to them and let them do the program that their doctor has them use. I will use the one my doctor is giving me. I have some real reservations about getting bariatric surgery in a foreign country and then flying home and trying to get another bariatric surgeon to give you the kind of support that your really need. I just makes me feel a little uneasy and I'm not even doingit. Good luck and get your diet instructions straight before you go under the knife please for your sake.

My surgeon has appointments set up thusly: 2 weeks post op 6 weeks post op (when I get my first fill) 3 months post op 6 months post op 1 year post op Annually They suggest that the band will be adjusted every 6-8 weeks while I'm losing, and if I have trouble. The great thing about going to this practice is that they have a hospital floor and nursing staff dedicated to treating bariatric patients. So if I have a problem, I can go to the hospital directly and be treated by someone who is trained at addressing bariatric specific issues. (overfill, port issues, etc.) No emergency room, just call the doc and go right to the bariatric floor.

Hi! I haven't picked out a new PCP since I moved back down from that college town I was in. Now that I am in the city, I am looking for a PCP that can also do my yearly lady-stuff so I can save a trip. I am looking for doctors who are OK with bariatric surgery patients! My last doctor did not support or believe in it. Anyone love their doctor and wanna make a recommendation?