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I remember back in the day when I did Atkins, I had some crazy, scary down right Nasty dreams. And now that I'm on this high protein extreme 2 week pre op. it's happening again!! WTh - anyone else have this crap happen!!??

Well ... that is quite the question as everybody has different experiences. I was outpatient, in at 7 and out by noon. As you can imagine, there is no possible way I could have driven myself. I was still quite drugged. Other folks are in for anywhere from one night to a week. So, I think it all depends on how long you stay at the hospital, if you have any complications and how well you have responded to surgery in the past. Just because one person was able to drive home after one night in the hospital doesn't mean you will be able to ...

They told me it could take 6-8 weeks and it took 1. I was scheduled for two weeks from approval...for pre-op diet (which I didn't really bother with until week 2). So be prepared...I felt swept off my feet.

We are here for you! I'm pretty new myself and you'll just be a couple of weeks behind me. My surgery is scheduled for next wednesday morning at 7:30 am. I've got so many emotions running through me it's not even funny! lol

Yeah...def gonna have to stay on top of them. I think most people go back after 2 weeks but I think I'll stay out 3 weeks to be on the safe side.

style="margin:0;padding:0;background-color:#d8dde8;color:#5a5a5a;font:normal 13px helvetica, arial, sans-serif;position:relative;"> Hey BariatricPal Members! It’s that time again…time for a monthly newsletter. It’s a way we can reach out to you about the happenings on BariatricPal and the world of weight loss surgery. We hope to motivate you by sharing ideas and introducing you to inspirational people. So here’s the run-down of this month’s newsletter! • Don’t Let Summer Slip Away: Your WLS Must-Do’s • Member Spotlight: Meet Elode! • FDA Approves Gastric Balloon as Obesity Treatment Enjoy the newsletter, and then log in to BariatricPal to spend a little time. You can talk about weight loss surgery and whatever else is on your mind, and see what’s on everyone else’s mind! We want to know how your summer is going. Thanks as always for your support of BariatricPal. Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder, BariatricPal Don’t Let Summer Slip Away: Your WLS Must-Do’s! Remember putting things off this winter or spring? “I’ll do it in the summer,” when the snow melts or there’s a little more time or the days are longer. Well, have you done what you said you were going to do this summer? If not, you’d better get moving! The days are long and hot now, but summer doesn’t last forever. Don’t let it pass you by! Take the Next Step What is the next step in your weight loss surgery journey? Is it deciding about whether to get WLS? Is it deciding on a surgeon, or figuring out which type of WLS you want, or crunching the numbers to fit it into your budget? Is it getting more protein, finding a WLS buddy, or starting an exercise program? Take that step! Don’t wait until summer is over, because things tend to get busier in the fall. If you can get over your next hurdle now, you will be stronger and in a better position to get healthier. Eat Well and Get Active Okay, that’s not a summer special…but you can eat well and get active summer-style! Why not check out a local farmer’s market and see what’s in season? Keep going back every week for delicious in-season produce with a selection that changes slightly all the time, and challenge yourself to make healthy recipes with it. For bonus weight loss points, walk or bike to the market, or at least walk around it a few times to burn some calories. And how can you use summer to your advantage to get active? Without snow or ice, the streets are yours to pound. You can also hit local pools, and trails, and see if your neighborhood park has a circuit training loop set up – many do! To beat the heat, exercise early in the morning or in the evening, stay in an air-conditioned gym if needed, drink a lot of water, and listen to your body. As summer passes, take a few minutes to take stock of where you’ve been and where you’re going. Staying aware can help you stay focused, and make any necessary adjustments to your goals and plans for reaching them. Insure Nutrition We are always thrilled to welcome a new newsletter sponsor into the BariatricPal family, and this month, Insure Nutrition is giving us the pleasure of doing just that. Our latest sponsor, Insure Nutrition, is an online company that specializes in getting health insurance coverage for nutritional supplements. Its Post-Bariatric Surgery Nutrition products includes Premier Protein shakes in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors and OptiSource High Protein drinks in caramel and strawberry flavors. Checking if you are eligible is easy. Insure Nutrition encourages you to use its online form to find out if you qualify. Our sponsors help make BariatricPal newsletters and other services possible. We encourage you show your thanks by considering them first for your bariatric needs. Unjury and Opurity BariatricPal is proud and excited to announce two new sponsors for our newsletters. The new sponsors are Unjury, a supplier of wonderful tasting, highest quality protein supplements, and Opurity (from the makers of UNJURY), highest purity vitamin supplements for bariatric surgery patients. Their support lets us keep BariatricPal newsletters coming to you each month. Unjury was founded by a master’s degree dietitian who has been helping patients since 1974. It is committed your health. You know the importance of getting enough protein after weight loss surgery, but you also know that meeting your protein goals can be challenging. Unjury makes your task not just easier but actually enjoyable. Product flavors include Chocolate Splendor, Chocolate Classic, Vanilla, Strawberry Sorbet, Chicken Soup Flavor, and Unflavored. These ready-to-use protein powders come in single-serve and multi-serve containers, and contain high-quality whey protein to keep you full and nourished. Launched in 2007, Opurity is dedicated to using the purest ingredients in its supplements. Opurity Bariatric Multivitamins have two unique big advantages: First, each multivitamin requires only one tablet per day*. Second, Opurity is so dedicated to quality that it is unique in using no ingredients from China. Choose from chewable orange-berry multivitamins for gastric bypass and gastric sleeve patients or for lap-band patients.Opurity also sells chewable calcium, vitamin D and folic acid/vitamin B-12 chewables. All supplements come with a 100% satisfaction guaranteed. They return policy is: “Yes you can return it.” Support from Unjury and Opurity helps us continue to bring you the services you enjoy on BariatricPal, so please support these two brands! When looking for your bariatric surgery supplements, first visit Unjury.com and Opurity.com. Purchasing from these companies helps support BariatricPal. Thanks to Unjury and Opurity for your generous sponsorship, and thanks to BariatricPal members who support our partnership! *You still need calcium and sublingual B-12. Member Spotlight: Meet Elode! This month, we are thrilled to feature Elode as our Member in the Spotlight! She is a 5’8” travel nurse who struggled with her weight for years. She had been overweight since the age of 12. Her mother and brother are morbidly obese, and Elode worries about them a lot. She says she wanted to get the surgery to motivate them to follow in her foosteps. Elode decided to get the gastric sleeve after gaining 60 lbs. in a year and hitting a high weight of 267 lbs. She got her surgery done in November of 2014, and has since lost nearly 100 lbs! She is down 97 lbs and is going strong. Her main challenge was and still is eating slowly, but she was expecting this to be a challenge and is working on it. Since getting the gastric sleeve, she feel better and younger. Exercise is easier, and clothes shopping is much better, especially since she is not limited to Plus-sized clothing. She enjoys paying attention to what she puts in her body, and watching the scale go down. As a great moment, she points to a recent 8-mile hike that she and her daughter completed for the first time. Elode uses BariatricPal to receive support, and she enjoys keeping in touch with the people she’s met on the boards. Elode also gives a lot of help to others here at BariatricPal. She loves sharing her experiences with newbies. For those who may be struggling with their weight and weight loss surgery, she says to stick with the basics. “Know that it’s going to be hard at times, but remember why you wanted this in the first place.” She suggests writing a list of reasons why you got your surgery and reading the list when you’re feeling down. Thanks, Elode, for being in our spotlight and also for all you bring to the BariatricPal community. We are all grateful for your contributions and are happy to see your success! Do you want to be in the Member Spotlight? Is there someone you’d like to nominate? Let us know in the Member Spotlight Forum or send Alex Brecher a PM with the subject line “Member Spotlight.” We want to share your story in the newsletter! FDA Approves Gastric Balloon as Obesity Treatment On July 28, the Food and Drug Administration approved the Reshape Dual Balloon for use as an obesity treatment. The Reshape Dual Balloon is one of a few different intragastric balloons available in other countries, and the first to be approved in the U.S. You can read more about intragastric balloons on BariatricPal! How It Works The dual gastric balloons are placed in your stomach and inflated under anesthesia in an outpatient setting. The balloons help fill up your stomach so you are less hungry and not able to eat as much. The balloon stays in your stomach for up to six months. The intragastric balloon is meant to be used only with proper nutritional support for the entire time you have the balloon. ReShape stresses the need for changing your eating habits and staying informed and engaged. Is It for You? The Reshape Dual Balloon is for patients with BMI of 30 to 40 and a comorbidity. The balloon is a non-surgical option that may be appealing for patients at the lower end of the overweight BMI ranges who do not want an invasive procedure. As with WLS, you need to be willing to change your eating habits with the balloon. You cannot get the instragastric balloon if you already had WLS. Weight Loss and Maintenance The balloon is not for patients who are at the higher ends of the BMI ranges. The balloon is expected to help you lose only about 7 percent of your total body weight. If you weigh, say, 300 lb., a loss of 7 percent of total body weight would be equivalent to an expected loss of 21 lb. Another major potential drawback to the balloon is that you can only use it for a short time. If you do not adapt the new eating changes and form new permanent habits before the balloon is deflated and removed, you will regain the weight back. In one study, patients regained an average of two-thirds of the amount of weight they had lost within six months of getting the balloon out. Don’t forget to check out our article on intragastric balloons for more information on how they work and who should consider them! We hope you enjoyed the newsletter and are ready to keep up with your WLS successes…or get back on track if you’ve been a little slack. Don’t forget to visit BariatricPal if you ever need ideas, support, or inspiration.

I'm about three weeks post-op and still not meeting the water goals. I generally get from 32 to 40 ounces a day (although my doctor doesn't count protein shakes into that total). Thank goodness for protein water--double duty, getting both protein and water. But it's a struggle on the water front every single day.

Was kind of an uneventful vist. Didn't learn anything new. Other than high cholesterol, I don't have any other comorbidities. So the med chart review was easy. Left there with an " ok, we'll contact your insurance and let you know.". Guess I was expecting something a little different.......no worries tho. It will all come soon enough. It's been since January, so a few more weeks or months wont hurt.

'There is a list in pre op post op questions section I used it last week. I will tell you that the gauze pads I'll never use...my mother inlaw is a wound nurse and the incisions should be left open and nothing put on them. Stool softener was also on that list and I had diarrhea so I did have to run out for Immodium. Other than that I'd go by that list.

hey.....I am new to the forum...considering sleeving..can anyone tell me: 1. Is balooning better or sleeving since with balooning nothin gets altered permanently? 2. Do we have to eat multi-vitamins for the rest of our lives? 3. Do the staples every interfere in normal course of life or while travelling under scanners? 4. Is it very difficult/ mentally taxing to not be able to eat what you like? 5. Does the surgery create any issues with having sex or getting pregnant or for the baby in future?

I am also on 4 weeks of liquid then 2 months of mushies and I am only too happy to follow doctor's orders because I have invested great deal in this operation and I want the BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME. Hey its only a short time out of your life for the benefits in the long run.

I voted no, although I'm still on the post-op liquid diet (mine is only a week, and then I move on to mushies). I didn't cheat on the pre-op diet either. I feel like this is my last chance to be thin again, and I'm not about to jeopardize everything now for a quick fix of food. I'm don't mean to be critical of anyone else, because I know the lure of food is such a challenge, but for me, I just don't have any desire to go off track.

I am scheduled for June 1st and have to be on a liquid diet for 2 weeks prior to surgery. My doc is putting me on Optifast. I can only drink 3 Optifast drinks a day and have all of the water and sugar free liquids I want. I want to loose 10 to 20 pounds before my surgery.

Today marks two weeks since my surgery. It was rough in the beginning but each day really has gotten better. In the first week I thought many times that I should not have done this. I just knew I had ruined my life. My attitude has improved as I have began to feel better. I am getting in all my fluid and protein with no problem and am feeling more like myself all the time. This morning I stepped on the scale for the first time since my surgery. I have lost 32 pounds in two weeks! On my DOS I weighed 330 and today I am at 298. It has been a LONG time since I have seen a 2 at the beginning of my weight. I know I have made the right decision for myself and I am so excited to see where this journey leads!

So I ate my fave mexican tonight and kansas city bbq last night about 2500 cals/day instead of 800 the first 3 days. Tomorrow I'm rebooting. But I've still managed to lose 7 lbs since tues. A lot of that is definitely Water weight. At 660 I've got a lot of swelling. Anyhow theres an update on my progress. I bought some advantage eas shakes to try. I want to lower my carb content below 50 gs. Does anyone else here find the weekend especially hard to stick with your diet?

Hang in there with the pre op diet Patrick! I did a 2 week liquid diet with only clears for the last 3 days before surgery, it was tough. But, I stuck with it. I was 410 pounds when I started, 3 weeks out I'm almost to 370. It's worth it! I kept telling myself that I've had enough food in my lifetime to last 3 lifetimes! I also know that I'll be able to have my favorite foods again, just not the quantity.

I see mine as a long term sucess; I can tell you that I've working out in the gym doing one hour classes 4-5 days a week, some times I stay for 2 clasees= 2 hrs workout for almost a year now and I have only lost 22 pounds so sar and I am so happy about it. It is like my trainer always says, it took more than a month-more two months -more three months to put the weight on, so don't expect to lose it in a month or two, its going to take time for your body to use all accumulated fat. Thats whats keeping me motivated. My goal is to lose an extra 75-80 punds and I dont care if that takes me two to three years to acomplish.

Greetings everyone. I have been lurking here for a week or so. I've struggled with my weight since I was a child (joined weight watchers for the 1st time @ 12). I can't count the number of times I have joined that program since then. I always seem to loose 20 or 30 lbs and then stall out completely. I did once go from 210 to 150 in a 6 month period of time after a very bad end to a long term relationship. LOL, that was the first time in my life I just could not eat! It was not the healthy way to do it, though! I have known several co-workers who had lap band procedure done and had great success. I was never sure if I would qualify or not, though. When I went for my yearly physical in Jan. my PCP noted that I had gained some significant weight over the last year. She asked if I had ever consisdered bariatric surgery (she had gastric bypass done herself about 6 years ago). I told her I did not know if I would qualify or not as I do not have any major health issues. She suggested doing a referral to the surgeon in my area who does this type of procedure and to discuss with him whether I meet the qualifications or not and whether gastric bypass or the lap band would be best for me. I am leaning toward the lap band. I am 5' 2.75" and am between 220 & 230 # at the moment (I don't weigh myself). At any rate, my pcp made the referral to Dr. Jamie Loggins. I have my first appointment on March 13. I received a big packet of paperwork that I have already filled out. The person who called to set up the appointment advised I should expect to be there for 2 hours. Any idea what I can expect during those two hours? I am assuming since I have seen a number of co-workers go through this process, that my health insurance is fairly good about approving it. I have Anthem as insurance. Anyone have experience w/ this company? Look forward to learning lots here and getting to know you all! TSB

when my surgery center called and told me i had approval and scheduled my surgery, they sent me paperwork and included was an access code to a computer generated video in regard to the surgery. it was very informative and answered a lot of surgical questions as well as overall expectations of comfort, weightloss, eating, etc. i wish they had handed me this a few weeks ago prior to meeting with the surgeon. ask if your surgeon has access to Emmiready, that is the video. it is very simplistic but really covers a lot of the basics before and after. So research it and research it some more, you will be glad you did. it is much better to educate yourself then rely on others. this site is a pleathera of info, use it to your advantage. and revel in knowing you have a tool to a healthy life style!! woo hoo! g2s

Well, I've been a lurker here for awhile (this is my first post). But I am scheduled to get banded on the 12th of August. MY Dr. requires two weeks of liquids only. I tried to see if Scotch qualified as a liquid...to no avail. But starting Tuesday of next week, I'm officially out of the buffet line. I do like the idea of no carbing until Tuesday to get me weaned off of carbs. Anyone have any thoughts?

I have my surgery date set for 3/3/09 at Oraqnge Coast in F.V. I have been looking at this site for questions that I have. I guess that I'm still in a shock mode that I'm doing this so I have not started to prepare. What protien driks should I begin to try and what is the best place to buy them. Only my wife knows about this and plan to keep it that way.:thumbup: Does anybody have a preferance between the two bands. Realize band vs. Lap Band Any help will be great.

Well my surgery is at 10am tomorrow morning (Oct 27)!! I'm starting to just now get nervous... mostly nervous about the anesthesia and the pain along with an hour long car ride home after the surgery. Thank you for fellow bandsters for your support and for answering my other posts! Good luck to everyone else that has a surgery this week!!

Hello, everyone! I am a 32 year old female from Portland, Oregon, and I'm in the very beginning stages of my WLS journey. I just applied last week to a clinic, was got the call on Thursday from the insurance coordinator. She said that my insurance does cover the surgery, and that I don't need to do any doctor supervised diets - the only requirement is that the insurance company wants to know an exact surgery date 6 months in advanced. So basically at my first appointment I'll get my surgery date (probably sometime in November, I'm thinking) and then the waiting will begin. I'm 5'2 and I weight 240. I've been heavy most of the life, although in high school I was down to about 140, thanks to bulimia (not proud of that, but eating disorders definitely play a role in my weight history. I have 4 beautiful children, and last year I decided that I wanted to become a surrogate. I tried my best to get healthy and lose weight, and I went from 250 to 180. It was at this time that I was matched with an infertile couple and I started my surrogacy journey. I gained a bunch of weight due to the fertility meds I was on, and I got pregnant weighing about 200. I gained a lot of weight with that 5th pregnancy, and I delivered at about 260. Sadly, here I am 6 months later, and i'm only down about 20 pounds from when I delivered. But being able to hand an infertile couple the gift of their healthy, beautiful newborn son was by far one of the coolest moments of my life, and I will never regret doing that. I am now officially hanging up my uterus ( ) and saying no more pregnancies! It is time that I focus on me, and my health. I am so tired of my weight being such an issue for me. I hate the self loathing that I feel every time I see myself in a mirror, and see a picture of myself. I am tired of not feeling worthy to my parents, especially compared to my skinny siblings. I'm just tired of being fat. I have a very supportive husband whom I love dearly, and I know that with him, we can do anything. I'm excited about the possibility of having this surgery done, and I'm excited about getting healthy.

If i eat less than 1000 cals a day i will not loose. my doc says no less than 1000 a day and 1200 is ideal if your working out 4 days a week . I dont count cals anymore , unless i stop loosing and i do that mainly to make sure im eating ENOUGH . I think if your loosing its fine , if your not evalute the calories and maybe you need to either cut back or increase it a bit ? HTH Mindy

I am having a terrible pain around the incision to the left of my belly button! Its like a stinging pain and I can barely move when it hurts. It has been hurting on and off throughout post op (I will be 3 weeks post op on Tuesday) I expect pain, but I'm wondering what it is and when it will go away?