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Congratulations!! I had my surgery August 11. I’m on puréed foods. Invest in a Bariatric Cookbook (recommended by my Nutritionist). It has been so helpful. Has recipes for all stages . The hardest part is the fluids. But it’s a process so take it day by day.

Hello, The go to surgeon in the Tucson AZ area is Dr. Jeffory Monash. He is Board Certified in general surgery and specializes in Laproscopic bariatric lab band, VSG, and RNY. All the best.

I read Bariatric Foodies review of 7 of the flavors last night. Here's part one of three http://bariatricfoodie.blogspot.com/2011/11/quest-of-bariatric-foodie.html

True Story Former BFF- OMG WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR BREASTS?- they are almost nonexistant now. ME- Bariatric SURGERY- who would have guessed that was WHERE all my pre- surgery weight was carried? Thought running through my mind- "Where is Dear Uncle Vito when I NEED this broad rubbed out?"

Good luck to all of you. I had my bariatric sleeve on March 10 and let me tell you all, best decision I ever made. I already lost 26 pounds. I was 215, my advise to all of you will be 3 or 4 hours after the surgery get out of the bed and walk. Walk as much as you can, so all the gases come out.

you know you are a bariatric patient when you look at a "normal" plate of food and calculate how many meals this will be for you !

South Louisiana, $14K which included surgeon, hospital, anesthesiologist, nutritionist, testing, and 1 year of follow-ups. Like Lissa, insurance has a bariatric surgery exception. The employer is self-funded and does not cover WLS at all. Of course, Murphy's Law being what it is, on May 1 our new insurance went into effect which covers Lap Band only, but I was not interested in that option.

One of Tomkitten, my son's favorite all-time videos is "It's Raining Men" by Martha Wash and the Cancelled. He was playing,it off of You Tube, turned to me and said Those,ladies really could benefit from Bariatric Intervention. Yes, he inherited my,❤of BIG words. And truly, at the time they made that video,they could. Several of them looked at risk for cardiac complications. So as first nominees I vote for them. Number 2 would be Kim Jung Un , he is an un- happy fat little dude. and perhaps surgery,would make him a smaller happier person. WHO do YOU feel would benefit MOST?

The Ketovangelist way of keto doesn't have you mind your calories in that way. Check this link out https://www.ketovangelist.com/the-calorie-hypothesis/ Calories are more of a guide to make sure you don't drop below your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). Most folks do well taking an average of their BMR and maintenance calories and using that number as a guide to create their macros. Here's an excellent TDEE calculator https://tdeecalculator.net/ (just don't let it make your macros - it's WAY off) Constantly eating below your BMR causes stalls and gains so that happy medium between your BMR and maintenance seems to prevent that and keep you burning fat and sparing muscle. Have you found an FB group for bariatric folks doing keto? There has to be one. I'm not sure how pre-op keto will translate to post-op since most post-op folks are eating low fat. I'm sure I'll eventually be seeking out a group. Let me know if you find one you like.

I feel pretty great! Today is the first day I can actually eat food that doesn't have to be mashed with a fork, so I tried a little soft cheese and low fat ham roll-up. So far so good. They still don't want me eating bread or pasta, but I can have 3 saltine crackers a day (my nutritionist is very specific!). My bariatric vitamin contains calcium, but not enough vitamin D, and apparently I was really low on Vitamin D according to my pre-op labs. I started on OTC Vitamin D supplement about a week and a half ago and I do think it helped my energy level. I've been very fortunate to not have much pain. How are you doing?

Just need to vent for a second. I’m so frustrated. My bariatric group requires 6 months of nutrition, psych evaluation and an exercise class. It won’t schedule surgery until after you’ve completed everything. As an attorney, it’s really hard to book things on my calendar with no real idea when the surgery would be. But I was told that surgery is often 4-6 weeks after the last nutrition appt. Mine was 6/25, so I was thinking late July to early August. I finish the last NUT and she tells me they’ll submit it to insurance. But then they come back and say, oh there’s all this blood work you need to do too. I was frustrated because I could’ve already done that if they’d told me I needed to. Especially since some stuff they test for, like H-Pylori, takes time to treat. I took the tests and thankfully everything was great...except my white blood cell count was high. Turns out I was diagnosed with a sinus infection the day after I went for the blood work. I just finished the antibiotics today, but the doc said I should be fine to be retested over this past weekend. I waited till Tuesday for good measure and it turns out it went up (only slightly), not down. My WBC was totally normal just in March, so it’s not that I “run high” as some say. I’m sure it’s just that I’m still somewhat fighting the infection and it’ll go down soon but it’s surprising it hadn’t gone down at all. And it’s so frustrating that I now have to get tested again. But I don’t want to go too soon and risk it still being too high. So how long do I wait? And I still don’t understand why I can’t get a date. Obviously if the WBC doesn’t come down, it’d have to get cancelled. But it’s totally screwing with my job and the people I work with to have no idea when this is happening. Thanks for letting me vent.

Never tried Bariatric Advantage but did try Premier Protein. They were "OK" but the fake sugar after taste put me off a bit. I've been using Body Fortress, which they sell at Wallmart. Have had Vanilla and Chocolate and Peanut Butter and they taste pretty good even mixed with plain water. 60g of protein per scoop.

Thats the problem, bariatrics wont do anything if I utter the word infection other than cancel it =( As I have to have blood work done they are going to find it so, I haven't talked to my surgeon about it in case i have to cancel again...guess Im going to have to tomorrow =( I might have to be a winter buddy instead of an Indian Summer buddy lol

My PB's have evolved to vomiting. I can feel all those stomachs squeezing. Lots of force. So I've tried to be careful. Weird thing is...sometimes I get that sour taste in the corner of my jaw...lets me know the food is being totally rejected (and it varies from time to time, what the food is) and I better head to the bathroom. Okay, so the good news..I think. I weighed this morning....198!! Now, I am wondering when I start adding food today what the scale will do so I'm not quite willing to believe that I've actually made it below 200. SO, this isn't an official announcement..Next monday will be the truth. I don't want to get my hopes up. But I think it has given me some renewed motivation. I was thinking about this last night intermittently while I was driving home. I decided that a part of me really didn't think it was possible for me to break that 200 barrier. And maybe as a result I stopped trying as hard as I needed. The mental aspect of this journey keeps unfolding!

Best wishes! I wonder if the diligent care we have to take care of ourselves post-bariatric helps gird us for future operations or health challenges, so I suspect you'll do really well with the recovery!

I agree with Laurend. That sounds like an amazingly bad idea. It would sound as though the patient is trying to go to message boards to trash his rep and honestly, if I was the doc I'd be fighting back against the patient. I damn sure wouldn't be wanting to change my policy for someone doing something like that. But I might warn the other bariatric surgeons in the area about this patient. Nobody will want to see her. The OP has already been given more appropriate methods to deal with the problem. The ball is in her court now.

I was self-pay and had 1 year "free" fills. I don't regret my decision to have the band. I did my research and I don't want to lose any more organs than I already have... I want to have children someday so I want to be able to know that I can unfill my band to make sure my child will receive adequate nutrition. I want to be able to reach a point when I no longer have to rely on my band and can control myself so that I can have all of my Fluid removed. For me the band was the obvious choice. I am aware of the complications that can/may arise. I am prepared if the worse does happen. I honestly believe that everyone should do their research when trying to decide which bariatric surgery is the best one for them. Every surgery has their possible complications and you need to be able to decide if you can handle the complications if/when they arise. Those who had the surgery without doing the research are fools. Read about people's complications/successes. Be prepared and don't get caught with your pants down.

I'm about 8 days from surgery and one approach I recommend as a DO: DO take small steps to changing your lifestyle weeks or months before surgery. I began my journey in Jan 2014 and every few weeks I changed something in my lifestyle to improve my health: Began walking Stopped drinking diet sodas Minimized eating carbs Changed from high fat to lower fat Proteins Quit smoking Began going to the gym Cut my net calories to 1700 per day Later cut my net calories to 1300 per day Stopped caffeine Quit alcohol I introduced these changes slowly over a 6 month period. It's important (and my bariatric psychologist agreed) to not attempt all these changes at once. It's too much change too fast. But introduce them slowly. I gave myself treats along the way. For example, I calculated how much I saved from quitting smoking and bought some home decor and other goodies. Now that I've started the pre-op shakes 'n liquids diet, it's not nearly as difficult as it would have been had I not made these changes. I'm not saying it's easy-peasy, but it's not the end of the world. I'm going into surgery almost 65 lbs lighter than when I started my journey in January and can't wait to be sleeved so I can lose another 75+.

Yes she said that Bariatric Pal has done nothing to help me.....I disagree with that statement completely. But what she mostly implied was that I could not offer help other then talk about my botched surgery.

I had to go to a specialist for my reactive hypoglycemia. Nothing is working. I have tried it all so far and have passed out several times. Anyway. I went two days ago and I am not saying the guy was a jerk because he wasn't. He was very nice and said that he can help me....They are sending me to a dietitian that specializes in difficult situations like mine where nothing is working. He said I was a survivor not a success at WLS. He told me that I am going to be turned into someone that Bariatrics does not like and that is a grazer. I am going to eat every hour. All day long. And the food that I will be given will regulate my sugars. This is his plan..... Now back to my shock and hurt over his comment. I said what are you talking about...I am at goal, and thin....He said so what it is healthy we aim for not thin. Sounded right to me. But then I asked if he had ever been fat in his life and he said..NO..Well I said, You have not got one clue what it is like to be fat and what we go through....He said true but I recommend WLS to a lot of my patients because of Diabetes. I said almost before he finished...And then what!? they get the surgery and are left hanging with no support or help from the medical community. He asked me what I meant and I told him that for most of the complications I have had they have sent me right back to my original surgeon. And there were times when it was not necessary. He said. That's not fair. I said that didn't matter it is the way it is around my area. He said that the wait time is now 7 years here. I said well then a person who really needs it has 2 problems right. He looked at me...first they are in a place where you feel they need this surgery and then they can't get it because of the lists.....Why don't you just write a death certificate and get it over with. He told me to stop crying and put myself together. He asked me why I was so upset. I told him that losing my weight was me being a success story and he repeated again. No! I said I am alive and I was dead before just not in the ground. He said look at you...You are weak and sick and now I have to find out why this stuff keeps happening to you. You obviously have unresolved food issues. I said yes doesn't everyone. Doesn't every one go through periods in their lives where they eat to be happy. Look at the new WW commercial. He then asked me if I would like to see a shrink and I said NO..I have been to enough of them to know they know less them me.. ( sorry if any of you are shrinks, it is not personal ) So I left his office after 2 hours of questions and tears and a solution to my hypoglycemia problem...Soon... So I am still upset and I talk to someone I trust and still crying and in the conversation she says to me. I really don't understand why you even bother with Bariatric Pal. They have not helped you and the only thing you could say to anyone is maybe how to live through a botched surgery....Crushed I listened to the rest of the call without much commenting. This place has been a home for me for over 2 years......And then someone says that I have no right to be here. That I am not needed here. This has really sent me into a spin.... I am not looking for compliments. I want to know what you think about the situation. Am I unsuccessful or should I leave this site that has helped me so much? If there is nothing to offer others then my place here is for not!? Am I only a survivor of WLS? Are others going through similar things as I am? I feel so disheartened!

I would like to imagine that anyone with a modicum of active brain cells would have either the wit or the wisdom to notice that this thread has plumbed the depths when it comes to the absolute tripe being spouted by what appears to be a troll who thinks it's clever to boast that she has fooled her way to surgery! What an introduction to any newcomer to this site who is looking for serious information and/or advice on bariatric surgery. Ignorant trolls (such as we have found on this thread-you know who you are) are dangerous, especially to people who are vulnerable due to real, not imagined, issues with their weight. People who have a legitimate reason for WLS surgery DO NOT need to read hearsay shite from some who who lies to medical professionals to get her own silly way. Rant over. Right, back to the humour from the sensible souls whose opinions and posts I shall continue to take seriously but who have the ability to make me HOWL with laughter. There are some really clever people posting on this site who luckily have great wit (humorous) with their wisdom (real and not picked up from some trashy web page).

Hi all! Very new to Bariatric Pal. Surgery date 8/9! I'm worried that I'm not nervous! lol. I'm very excited, though!! Best of luck to all here!! XOXO

Thank you so much. Everything you said is 100% right. I’m so glad I have come back to bariatric pal for some support. I’m trying to go back to bariatric basics. No water while I eat. Protein, protein, protein. Getting to goal is nowhere near as hard as maintenance. I have to accept that always going to be dealing with my “food issues”. Have to be vigilant!

In my case, day 1and 2 were easy but by day three I was feeling weak, hungry, grumpy, tired and I had a terrible headache every single day thereafter. I completed day 1-6 without cheating but on day 7 which was easter Sunday, I threw out my diet and ate some food. My headache completely went away. On Monday I called my nutritionist and told her about my headaches and how I cheated. She recommended I do the modified diet instead, which is having 3 protein shakes a day, a small meal and a snack. I started this diet on Monday and I haven't had a headache since, and haven't felt the urge to cheat. I found out that wendy's chili salad is a great source of protein and it pretty munch contains everything you need in a small meal. I've been having that for lunch ever since and it's so delicious! (I also try to eat about 2 ounces of grilled chicken with my meal to add more protein) and as my snack I usually have an apple. I ordered my meal replacement protein shakes from bariatric advantange. I find that the chocolate is the best flavor and each shake has 27 g of protein. Their protein bars are great (by the way if you do the modified diet you have to toss out the protein bar from your original liquid diet). I have two days left and then I will be on the other side! I wish everyone else luck!

I'm brand new to bariatric pal. I'm looking forward to reading all the wisdom and advise here. I started my pre op liquid diet on the 9th and have my sleeve surgery on Friday. I'm EXCITED and nervous. I have a concern I'm hoping someone will be able to relate to. I've lost 2 pounds since the 9th on this liquid diet. Is that and indicator of the weight loss after surgery? I've felt really excited as I've read the success others have had from the beginning. I find it amazing to be able to be at this point and on the verge of surgery. Any thoughts would be appreciated!