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Well you may still be able to take pills in applesauce or pudding, some you can crush or open up capsules, your doctor will be your best advisor for your individual case. Ibuprofen, well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, honey, but that's an NSAID,take your little hand and wave bye bye because it's not going to be in your life. NSAIDS are rough on sore tummies, shoot they are rough on any stomach lining. Yours truly has gastritis and an iddy biddy ulcer. I used to take a lot of Mr Advil, not no more. You will have Tylenol, which does come in a liquid form. Many meds do come in a liquid, unfortunately not all of them. I'm giving you This advice as a long lived human not medical centred personnel. Your own doctor will,be your best advisor and a bariatric surgeon- especiall good. In terms you and I can understand: this is their bang-zone, hope this helps a little. Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

While I have generally had good weight loss, I have been on a frustrating stall the last 3 weeks so I can relate. Everyone loses weight at a different rate! That's fine. It sounds like you might have an opportunity to shake things up. Trying a new exercise or diet plan could help you. Have you got a nutritionist or any support through your surgeon? If not, time to nerd up and read some bariatric or even general nutrition books, blogs, online videos. There are so many awesome stories out there of people who kept going when things were tough. Weight loss is so so hard. We're all feeling it! You are definitely not alone!

I'm a RnYer myself, I have GERD, want the gold standard of surgery as I am planning this to be, my 1 and only bariatric surgery. And this may sound silly to some but I would prefer being slightly rerouted to losing 3/4 of my natural stomach. God created me in his likeness and image, although surgeons also are his instrument for good,, I prefer not to tarnish his creation excessively. Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm very happy with my band, and my surgeon did all procedures, but based on my age and other factors he strongly suggested having the band, My insurance would have any of the weight loss procedures. There are three surgeons, and several APRNs handle the follow up visits. My wife had the sleeve, same surgeon,and she is expected to have follow visits and yearly blood work. My surgeon still does lap bands, based on the needs of that patient. If you go for low price, you may get what you pay for. There are Bariatric Centers of Excellence for a reason. I seldom bother checking in or posting is because the forum has largely turned into a band bashing melee, and I suspect most other long time regulars have left for the reason. This was a great place when it catered only to lap banders. Now anyone with a lap band issue is assailed by VSG cultists.

Dr. Elias Ortiz, Bariatrics Chief of Surgery Dr. Elias Ortiz hails from Baja California, Mexico, and holds more than 15 years of medical experience. With a degree in medicine from the Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Baja California and experience ranging from general surgery to obesity studies, Dr. Ortiz understands bariatric procedures as well as anyone. Professional License Number: 528595 Hello All, As I’ve been spending some time back on forums choosing my surgeon for a tummy tuck, I thought I’d stop by and donate a little payback by answering some of your questions (to the best of my ability). As seen above I used Dr E Ortiz. My rating is as follows: OVERALL EXPERIENCE: 10/10 SURGERY 10/10 RESULTS 10/10 At surgery: 200lbs Lowest: 125lbs Year 3: 150lbs Year 4: 140lbs *taking off the weight is the easy part ....... keeping it off is the hard part.

Really??? LOL I actually think it's pretty darn different. The standard advice is to eat your protein (and the word "protein" in that context almost always means meat or dairy) first and then if you can fit in other healthy foods, do it. (As you mentioned in your post, fitting in 1-2 oz of broccoli around your protein, maybe, if you have room.) In contrast to this Dr. Weiner strongly emphasizes eating vegetables first and fitting in protein around that. He also recommends plant foods - veggies and legumes and fruit and raw nuts - ahead of meat and dairy and has fairly low protein requirements - about 50g compared to many bariatric plans encouraging 80-100g. (Of course he isn't vegan by any stretch and I've seen him recommend yogurt smoothies and small amounts of animal protein, etc. He even said in one video that he doesn't think that a fully plant-based diet is "necessary for the general population." So yeah, while we're claiming him he's not necessarily "ours," know what I mean? Just a good resource!) While Dr. Weiner's diet is "low carb" compared to our pre-op sugary diets, it's certainly not low carb in the bariatric sense. You can't eat many fruits and certainly not any beans and whole grains and still remain under 30-50g carbs. It's also low-fat. Difficult to be low-fat and low-carb at the same time! He also promotes eating in abundance instead of focusing on calories, a huge difference from most bariatric plans. You just need to eat your abundance from healthy plant foods (Obviously you still end up eating fewer calories because you're eating high-volume, low-calorie foods but it's the mindset that helps make a difference!) So on a spectrum with keto/Atkins on the left and veganism on the right I'd say he's definitely well across the center line to the right, while most bariatric plans are basically keto except with low-fat dairy and some wiggle room for beans. Sorry for the long post, Fluff - I am fully carbed again, having eaten an abundance of fruit, oats, and rice in the last couple of days that I've been free from my liquid diet. So I'm all peppy and ready to argue again!!! Heehee!

Have you tried sucking on em rather than chewing? Is it texture or taste? Still pre-op, but I ordered Celebrate vits: Drink Sticks 3-in-1 Multi (Citrus, Raspberry Lemonade, Wild Cherry)-LOVE every one of them, but dilute them quite a lot or mix with decaff brewed tea a LOT! Chewy 3-in-1 bites-LOVE every flavor (3 flavors--similar to a starburst) Chewy Calcium Bites--meh, too sweet--prefer Bariatric Advantage Calcium Bites Chewy Iron Bites--ICK! Gross! Don't do it!!! Made me nauseous for hours! Hope that helps!

Sad that the topic was derailed. My health share gave me a bonus fee plus a health coach calling every couple weeks due my weight. And when they heard I was having wls they transferred me to an amazing coach who has worked with thousands of Bariatric patients in a surgery clinic. Plus my nutritionist is really good too. Carbs is a huge thing for weight maintenance and loss. Our gut biome creates our cravings. Cravings can be so powerful you sink your health and looks to put that thing in your mouth. And WE HUMANS are not causing or creating the cravings. The gut bacteria are. We have the power to change which bacteria make up our personal gut biome. We can slowly introduce species that live off healthy starches from tubers and veggies. We can starve away the kind that crave sugars, fruits, and empty carbs. And we get the perfect time to start over with our gut population. Yes. When we basically stop eating for a bit and slowly reintroduce food, post weight loss surgery. We should be dishing constantly on these forums about how to have great digestion and loss, experimenting on our own and sharing, what has worked. How to get great gut populations that don’t make us crave chocolate cake. I believe it is THE secret to long time success with weight loss surgery. we get a short time to change our diet’s CONTENT. Sure, calories have the ultimate effect on size, but cravings cause us to go off the rail. Many surgeons use frankly horrible nutritionists. They approve of sickly sweet protein shakes, fruity drinks, fake sugar and color loaded jellos and what not. The bad gut bugs will stay with you, continuing throughout your journey to beg you for sweet tasting ****. There is no change in gut biome there. my nutritionist said no fruit for 6 months. Avoid any frankenfoods (fake sugar jello would be an example). And my cravings for sweet things are gone, since survey til now 6 months out. If I do taste something like even gluten free bread I feel horrible. And I am glad I do. I eat to feel good. My carbs are veggies and seeds. I will eat maybe one bite of fruit I prepare for the family a day now. So I think carbs are important. The gut bugs need them. But train your gut population to get their food from potato or sweet potato, taro, any root veggie. Roast some root veggies and keep them in the fridge for your carb to eat after your serving of protein is eaten. They are so sweet roasted. And they love fibrous veggies (not salad thoughmuch) and seeds and nuts (I can’t eat nuts tho). But most carbs are totally empty. Can This Thread Be Saved? I think it’s a great topic.

It's interesting how your taste changes post surgery. I am almost 8 weeks out, and pretty much have to choke down my chalky chew able vitamins. My nut recommends 2 chew able Flintstones Complete daily; got sick of those after a month and switched to Centrum chew able Orange Blast. Yuk. The nut at my bariatric center instructed us not to use gummies--her reasoning was that early on it could 'coat or stick to the stomach incision line' and cause problems. She also recommended against swallowing pills whole, but after several weeks of gagging on my crushed/opened Prilosec, Celexa, and Actigall, I swallow them whole with pudding without issues. I tried this method after consulting the forums here and finding that many surgeons/nuts didn't have restrictions on taking pills, if you could tolerate it. Do you guys use gummies? Any issues? What are recommended brands/dosage from your nut, if you're allowed gummies? Struggling with being compliant. Thanks!!

Flinstone vitamins saved me. I have a big bottle of bariatric vitamins (large, awful tasting, and have to take two) and I can't stomach them, with food or otherwise. Now I take one tiny Flinstone vitamin at night, takes me less than 3 seconds to choke it down-- they don't taste good but they are way more tolerable. And cheaper. Anyone want a giant bottle of bariatric vitamins in French vanilla flavor? Lol

Hi Suzi . Welcome to,Bariatric Pal.I,am,pre surg myself should have RnY early-mid March at Mount Carmel in Columbus Ohio.. I have hit a minor snafu and will know more how my own journey will be going Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm,not gonna say too much more or I'll start crying and won't be able to text right. I am 72, weight 323 down from a high of 355, 5ft8in so that gives me a. BMI of 47. I can't tell you how long I've been obese so,its say for giggles and laughs most of my adult life. I have sleep apnea, have had arthritis both kinds since 25, I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.I am tired of looking like Bip the Michelin Mans sister. This might be my last chsnce at not dying.And I want to,live, I want my last years to be thinner and healthier, diets did not work for me. I've tried most everything up to and including starvation. Tried cutting back to 1 small meal a day. Oh no my body said, I'll just shut her metabolism down. I'll leave her cold, dizzy and feeling weak. And it did. I have been clinging to this hope of a tool,to help me. If this falls thru what do I do??. Keep praying, lighting candles ask a tribal elder or shaman to Do a dance, I'm rallying every force I can think of. Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, Arab, Eskimo, Indian, I'm calling for your help. Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

My loss has slowed but I’m not complaining. It’s still going down though. The main thing for me is the fact that I know my body is healthy; the whole reason for me to get the surgery. Not for vanity, although it’s an added bonus. I’m at against keto anything and for sure anything high animal proteins after reading how our bodies react to them in long term. This is not a ploy to scare ya, but I hope you’d be open to the science behind how your body works. The western diet hides these truths because they’re in the money making business. If you are interested, read Proteinaholics by bariatric surgeon Dr garth Davis. It’s really amazing. Science and sources and it’s easy to understand.

I had started to think of these forums as a safe place. Lots of smart, wise people around and even when there is drama, it's usually pretty silly and innocent. I didn't know that there were gross private messages being randomly sent out. That makes me super uncomfortable and very unlikely to post any "after" photos here. Hello, it's 2018? Are we not appreciating that #metoo is a thing now? Or are bariatric ladies just supposed to be happy they're getting attention? I ain't smiling in my profile photo! Take that internet weirdos!

My bariatric centre also approved low fat cottage cheese in liquid diet stage. Which is great for me since I happen to love it!

I’ve always heard that bariatric surgey restores fertility and I have resorted to bariatric surgery after years of unexplained infertility.. two years post-op and I’m still struggling to get pregnant either naturally or through IVF. Been to consult many doctors and every doctor had his own theory.. the finally doctor I have consulted suggested that my bariatric surgery might have caused more harm than good and it could have damaged the white part of my eggs (mitochondria). There is not test to check for mitochondria damage but fixing it can be a challenge! I don’t know how true is this statement but what I know is that I’ve struggled getting pregnant even before the surgery.. and wheather before or after the surgery I would always manage to get expanding blastocyst and from what I read, embryos with damaged mitochondria don’t usually live past 3 days in the lab!!

Thanks all my bariatric pals!!! My surgery went great and I was sipping easy within an hour of getting to my room! Thank goodness! The only complaint I have is being extremely sore and if you try to take in too much you will not be a happy camper! My advise, take dry mouth spray and as everyone says sip,sip,sip and walk to relieve all that gas. Thanks guys for all your kind words, I am thankful for each and every one of you!!! Sent from my SM-G930VL using BariatricPal mobile app

Well I do and I don't, I did have a date of February 15th,then I was told I'd have to have another test an upper g.I. with contrast medium. That was moving along and then another snafu, this one's potentially bigger, my case is being reviewed by the Bariatric Care team Tuesday, one of my evaluations came back faulty. i know I'm not making sense but I'll be able to talk more and explain Wednesday. Right now it looks insurmountable but maybe I'm too close to the problem to give an objective opinion. Promise I will explain in greater detail, but in the meantime prayers would not be out of place. Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

My bariatric surgeon set up the appointment with plastics after my one year visit, even though I wasn't at goal. I'm still not quite at goal, but did my first visit to document the skin and issues to trigger insurance coverage. He wants to see me back in May (I still may not be ready) but gave me estimates for both what it would cost with and without coverage, but he's a wizard at getting coverage. I may wait one more year because I'm working on lowering my body fat percentages. (Down to 31.6% as of today - I don't want to have surgery until my body fat is down to about 26 percent.) I'm down about 110 pounds, but look way lighter - I have a lot of muscle. I paid the $45 co pay for the visit and consult.

Hi Salazar. I'm in Loudoun, and I've found that we have no shortage of bariatric surgery practices here. There must at least a dozen of them between Winchester, Fredericksburg, and Baltimore. PrupleSleeve mentioned Virginia Bariatric, which is where I have my initial consultation scheduled. I am fairly certain that I heard Dr. Fitzer mention, either in his webinar or on one of his youtube videos, than the current criteria for surgery were established when surgery-related morbidity/mortality risk was much greater than it is today. If you haven't already reached out to his office, I think it's worth a few minutes to call and ask if he would consider someone like you as a candidate.

Congratulations to both of y'all, glad it worked out so well for you. I still would never recommend this device to anyone. Mine was one of the early ones, before there was any long term info. It was put in by a military surgeon. As such, there is no long term follow up, everyone gets shifted around every few years. If you plan to never move and your surgeon is staying in the same place for the rest of your life, sure. The overwhelming data at this point is that it is not a good option, and most surgeons refuse to put them in. And, if they didn't "make the mess" then they "don't want to deal with or be liable for any issues related to cleaning it up" - to quote 7 different bariatric surgeons that I have contacted over the years. I have other health issues unrelated to yet exacerbated by the band. They were not yet diagnosed at the time. I am glad that it has worked for y'all, again. But perhaps y'all might consider not attacking or lobbing crappy accussations at other people. Just because it worked well for you does not mean that it works well for all, or even most. The Lapband has a very bad rep in the medical community nowadays and is basically the cheapest possible surgical option at this point.

Anyone who claims to be living a band nightmare for nine years either picked the surgeon based on price or never did the requisite follow up visits. I see my doctor every four months and I can assure you no reputable bariatric surgeon would allow a patient to suffer for nine years. 90% of the band haters had a procedure under insurance that wouldn't cover follow up visits, adjustments or in rare instances medically necessary removals....or lived with a maladjusted band until their health was affected. If you have the band chose the best doctor and heed their advice. Bands are not place and forget procedures. I know people who are having problems with sleeve and bypass surgery. It happens. My band works, and all I know is it controls my appetite with zero side effects.

My program is a combination of the requirements of the bariatric group and of the insurance requirements. Insurance only requires 3 months of supervised diet, a visit to the Psych and a nutritionist visit. my group requires 10 classes though so instead of spreading those across 6 months i have to get them in in three months, so i am basically at the surgery center every week for a class. I was placed on a nutritional stop as well so i had to have a A1c done to get a reading below 10.0 and log my food for a week which i will review with my nutritionist next week. I will also meet with my Surgeon soon and then once my 3 months are complete my packet is sent to my insurance company, once approved i begin a month long pre-op diet. All said and done i expect to be having surgery in mid may.

Welcome Aubie93 to,Bariatric Pal. We are good folk,on here and will,help you with your journey any way we can. Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

Yeah I think it's a common one, we've ALL heard "you need t o exercise more, push yourself away from the table" and one of my personal favorites." You're not trying". Walk in my stretched out shoes a little ways. My PCP put me on a weightloss drug last October, I GAINED weight. He agreed with what i had been saying -'I needed Bariatric surgery, wrote a letter of recommendation for me to give to my surgeon at the first visit. He is still one of my biggest supporters on my weight loss journey, wants to,be kept updated. I will be having a RnY early-mid March at Mount Carmel in Columbus Ohio at the tender age of 72. But I'm going to make a success of tjis, it is my last best hope for the future. Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app