Search the Community

Enjoy the creamy texture of ProCare Health's NEW Sea Salted Caramel chew while getting your calcium, vitamin D and a dose of probiotics! ProCare Health's Caramel Calcium Chew is specially formulated for bariatric patients and delivers calcium in a non-gritty way. Each chew provides 500 mg TruCal® calcium, 500 IU of vitamin D3 to support calcium absorption, and also contains 500 million CFU’s of probiotics to help with digestion. All that is packed in a delicious caramel soft chew that you will love to take! Sweetened with tapioca syrup and raw cane sugar there are no artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols, so you can feel confident you are maintaining your optimum calcium levels to support your healthy, active lifestyle. If you find taking calcium tablets difficult, individually-wrapped soft chews make a great alternative that makes it easy to nourish your bones anytime, anywhere and with or without food. Highlights: Naturally Flavored Calcium Chew Creamy, non-gritty texture 500mg Calcium, 500 IU Vitamin D3, 500 million CFU’s probiotics per chew No Artificial Sweeteners No Sugar Alcohols Gluten Free Kosher Non-GMO DIRECTIONS: Take one chew up to three times daily or as directed by your healthcare practitioner. Take at least 2 hours apart from iron to maximize absorption of both supplements. Trucal® is an all natural, lactose free calcium with higher absorption than that of calcium carbonate, and equal too or greater than calcium citrate. Unlike other calcium forms, Trucal® offers a balanced profile of essential minerals and antioxidants. (All the healthy parts of milk with very low lactose) Thus, making Trucal® the superior choice for achieving your optimal bone health.

Hi Dee, Your partner is obviously scared for your safety and sometimes there is a fear that you may find that your renewed enthusiasm (as you begin to drop the weight) may affect your relationship. David probably told you that you might even lose friends as you are no longer the "safe fat friend" . I will be quite honest eating out does become a challenge BUT you will overcome it. I am lucky that alcohol did not play such an important role in my life, I always seemed to be the designated driver so I am used to not drinking. To date since my op I have had the odd sip of my husbands wine. What really helped me is that I met with someone who had the op about 2 months beforehand. prof Van der Merwe's team are great but quite honestly they have not been down our road. Whereabout do you live? I would be happy to meet with you over coffee/tea (just started coffee again recently). I leave for Spain on Wed 20th May and will be away when you go in. You will get thru this, don't fear and your partner will come around in time. My email address is: rosemary@mweb.co.za

I've posted this exact thing before on here, and there are many posts about people that can't seem to quit smoking before surgery. (try doing a search on "smoking" and see what pops up) Anyway, here's my advice: Stop drinking if you can't seem to stop smoking with it. Tell yourself you can do it a few months after the surgery if you need to have that to hold on to, but do whatever it takes NOW to stop smoking. I was a very happy smoker for the last 20 years. I started as a teenager, and I was pretty mad about having to stop for this surgery. But I did this surgery to improve my health and my entire rest of my life. Smoking is bad. There is nothing whatsoever good about smoking. I know I am an addict, and quitting is one of the hardest things I've ever done. I had never been able to quit for any length of time before, but making the decision to have sleeve surgery meant I cared enough about my body and my future that continuing to be a smoker was just the most asinine, stupidest thing I could do. And so I quit. And I had one slip up about 2 weeks out, but I got right back into quitting and I didn't slip again, and it's now been over 300 days since I had my last cigarette. I won't lie; I still want a damned cigarette almost every day, but I know it's bad for me and that's not who I am anymore. I won't let them control my life any more. Cigarettes are just as bad as being addicted to drugs or being an alcoholic - you are allowing an addiction to ruin your health and jeopardize your future. If you care enough about yourself to have this surgery, then show that you care enough also to get off the smoking and put ALL of this awful stuff in your past. Some surgeons will test you for nicotine, and even the metabolized form which can stay in the body for weeks, so you might just be kicked out of the pre-op the day of if you haven't quit with enough time to get it out of your system completely. At least a month out should do it, and that includes using gum or Patches. Even if they don't test you, you're risking a poorer outcome. VSG is major surgery, don't fool yourself that you can just keep sneaking one here or there and it won't hurt anything. You are hurting your body every time you smoke, and you are risking poor circulation, poor healing, poor lung capacity and issues with breathing during surgery and even clots for months after. Why? So you can feed a deadly addiction? If you continue to smoke, you're saying to yourself that you aren't worth having the best possible outcome and faster healing and better health. You're better than that, so start thinking that way, and fight hard for your health. There is still time, and you are so worth it. You CAN do this!! (I used patches and gum for a week, then cold turkey. I also used a quit smoking app on my phone - Butt Out - that was a lifesaver as it has a community that was really supportive)

I too hope I do well, I was sleeved December 5 two days before my birthday which I wanted to celebrate the hell out of because it was my 35th, we have the holidays and I am a very big drinker. Love the wine. I told my children if anyone asks I do not want clothes or alcohol I want gift cards to use later on in spring,maybe. Good luck!

I drank this weekend in Vegas for the first time since banding and I will say it was definately a different affect on me. I did get an upset tummy from the Margaritas and felt like heartburn..got tipsier quicker too but that could be from not drinking a stitch of alcohol in such a long time..

If asked, and I was the talk of the town at our holiday party Wednesday, I just say I've given up alcohol, carbs, sugar and do not go over 1000 calories. I also leave out the part about surgery. Sent from my SM-N910T using the BariatricPal App

Hi Dina, That was one of my first question to the surgeon, he told me that alcohol should be very limited due to the calories. He did say though, that you won't have to drink as much in order get that happy feeling. Oh also said that I should no longer drink anything carbonated....beer...because of the chance of too much gas in my stomach causing the band to slip. Then he turned to my husband and said I'll be a cheap date! I'm with you, I love going out and having fun although, I'd wrather be skinny than buzzed. Good luck and keep us posted. Nicole

I am almost six weeks post-op, so it's early for me--but I couldn't imagine having a beer at this point. Particular a dark, heavy stout---ugh, it would feel like carbonated lead in my stomach. I am 100% postive that would come right back up. I do have to make a small confession---I did have a few drinks on New Year's Eve (which was exactly 2 weeks post-op): on glass of white wine and 2 vodka martinis. I did have a very good time that night and was no worse for the wear, but It was stupid of me to do that. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else (and it certainly wasn't part of my doctor's post-op guidelines of approved activities). I haven't had a drop of alcohol since that night, but I am sure by this summer I'll be in a position to have a drink on occasion. I am not a big drinker to begin with (more of a special occasion drinker or maybe one or two drinks when I am out to a nice dinner etc.). The one thing I do really miss is smoking weed. I have some great weed sitting in my safe that I brought back from Las Vegas and I haven't touched it since October or early November. I am totally afraid of smoking it because the last thing I need is the munchies at this point in my recovery (or ever again). If I could smoke without the munchies, that would be awesome (but weed isn't conducive to self-control when it comes to food).

Maybe your cousin is upset that you don't need her in that way anymore and is unsure of the relationship between you two? If we were talking about my grandmother I KNOW that would be the case. I've 35 first cousins, and I had parents who loved and cared for me and put me first. Unless you needed her, my grandmother had no use for you. Unfortunately, most of my fathers 8 siblings were alcoholics or emotionally stifled by my grandmother and their children needed the help said woman could -and did- give them. This cousin was actually taken in and raised by her. We spent our lives living either up and down or next door to each other. Only a year apart in age, we didn't even LIKE one another until we entered high school and were able to spend time together away from her. I laugh now, but recall when my cousin graduated college and my grandmother made a HUGE ordeal out of her being the "first" grandchild to graduate. Stunned sitting there, I remember standing up and saying loudly across the room "Geez, I didn't realize the Bachelors I just received last year from Northwestern F****** University didn't count-I wouldn't have spent all that time and money there" and walked out of the party. Oh the baggage we carry lol. May as well finish- Said grandmother as she aged became very nice to me in my late 20's and my joke was that Grandma was going senile- she forgot to be a witch to me. Oddly- maybe not so much- at her funeral I stood there and cried so hard. Maybe because I was newly pregnant with my second child, but more likely because I was grieving for the relationship she robbed me of. Ok. All done. That felt good. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I'm just starting to really research to see if being banded will be right for me. I am curious as to how much Fluid you can intake? I'm a huge drinker. Not alcohol, but juices, Water, and tea. I'm not huge on carbonation, but from time to time I like Sprite. I could go without Coke for the rest of my life if I needed to, but I can't go without drinking large volumes of water or juice throughout the day. For instance, today I've had 3 16oz glasses of tea, glass of apple juice, and probably 16oz total of fresh water. I've had my sugar levels checked, so I know my thirst isn't related to being diabetic. I've been this way my whole life. I just thirst. Any feedback on your post-op drinking ability would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

From: http://www.stopafib.org/causes.cfm In addition, atrial fibrillation can also happen to otherwise healthy people, especially when they are stressed or fatigued, have had too much caffeine or alcohol, have smoked, or have exercised too much. Other causes that are frequently mentioned include heart and other medications, recreational drugs, air pollution, chemicals and pesticides, and H. Pylori, which is often associated with ulcers. Another known risk factor is having too much or too little of some minerals in your body, such as Calcium, magnesium, or potassium. It is becoming more and more common at younger ages, including young people in their teens and twenties. Being overweight is often mentioned as a risk factor for afib, but normal and underweight people have it, too. One woman's doctor attributed her atrial fibrillation to weight, and it went away briefly after her gastric bypass surgery, but it soon returned, triggered by a sinus infection. We are now learning from a number of studies about atrial fibrillation in families as recent research has found genetic clues about why afib runs in some families. To learn more, see Mayo Clinic Finds Gene Mutation Responsible for Atrial Fibrillation That Runs in Families and New Genetic Cause of Atrial Fibrillation Found. About half of afib patients have obstructive sleep apnea, a stronger correlation than between afib and any other risk factors. There is also a high correlation between sleep apnea and other heart diseases, as sleep apnea is correlated with high levels of C-reactive Protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation that indicates the possible presence of heart disease. It's also possible that afib may cause sleep apnea as well. Afib, obstructive sleep apnea, and obesity all appear to be related conditions, so as we see a surge in obesity, we can expect to see more afib and obstructive sleep apnea, too.4

You're going to need support after the surgery; everything will (should) be different especially your capacity to absorb alcohol. There are the post-op phases too, one of which is. ..liquids. I had to have a heart felt talk with the person I live with who wants the benefits of the surgery for me, but doesn't really want to do anything in a contributory manner. I really had to spill my guts about all the reasons I had decided to have the surgery. The feedback was " Good for you, but I'm not doing it!" was annoyed at first but stayed focused and determined and made small changes as far as how the rest of the house will be eating. As the primary grocery shopper, I slowly stopped bringing in crap into the house, and stopped cooking anything that would go against my new tummy and lifestyle. Even with the support of spouses and loved ones,the bulk of the effort and work has to come from us. I have to be okay with this multi-phasic diet, the incisions, the risks, etc; no one else really has to be on board but me.

:thumbup: After having the Lap Band does anyone drink Alcohol or sodas? And if so, how long did you wait to do so?

I only drink alcohol on very special occasions since it's alot of unnecessary calories. And cokes, I've only had 2 since being banded 6 months ago. Most people on here say no to carbonated drinks. But my doc said they were fine in moderation. I would check with your doctor and get his/her opinion. I just dont drink them now because of calories.

Our health is more important. And hey, we're cheap dates now that most of us can't handle as much alcohol.

The goal really SHOULDN'WT be to not be able to eat things like bread, rice and pasta. REALLY. Try this. Make sure you get 20 grams of protein in a meal at the minimum. Have 3 oz of lean protein (about the size of a deck of cards), a vegetable and a serving of whole grain carb. Look at the clock when you start feeling hungry. How long from your meal to the time you felt hunger? If it was less than 4 hours, eat a small protein snack (a boiled egg, an once of low fat cheese, or some deli turkey -- about 70 calories) and that should hold you for a while. Really, you don't "feel" restriction -- you "feel" satiety. And satiety is being able to go at least 4 hours without feeling hunger. Just because you can eat a mountain of mashed potatoes or a quarter pounder doesn't mean you should. Just like, just because you can swallow 10 alcoholic beverages doesn't mean you should.

Here's the list of what they're doing to me at something like 3, 6, 9, 12 months, and then yearly after that: Future Orders Expected By Expires ALBUMIN, SERUM 1/4/13 2/13/13 BASIC METABOLIC PANEL (NA, K, CL, CO2, BUN, CR, GLU, TOTAL CA) 1/4/13 2/13/13 CBC W DIFFERENTIAL, AUTO 1/4/13 2/13/13 FERRITIN 1/4/13 2/13/13 GLUCOSE, FASTING 1/4/13 2/13/13 Scheduling Instructions: To ensure a quality blood sample, please follow these instructions before you have your blood drawn: 8-10 hours before you have your blood drawn, drink only Water, and DO NOT eat anything DO NOT drink coffee, tea, juice, alcohol, or soda of any kind DO NOT chew gum DO NOT smoke You may take your prescribed medications with water only, if you can take them without food. Do not take Vitamins, supplements, or herbal remedies. DIABETICS ONLY: If you take insulin or another blood sugar medication, take AFTER the tests. If you are NOT able to "fast" (go without food) for 8-10 hours: Tell the laboratory staff that you are not fasting, but your doctor wants you to have the lab test anyway. LIPID PANEL 1/4/13 2/13/13 Scheduling Instructions: To ensure a quality blood sample, please follow these instructions before you have your blood drawn: 8-10 hours before you have your blood drawn, drink only water, and DO NOT eat anything DO NOT drink coffee, tea, juice, alcohol, or soda of any kind DO NOT chew gum DO NOT smoke You may take your prescribed medications with water only, if you can take them without food. Do not take vitamins, supplements, or herbal remedies. DIABETICS ONLY: If you take insulin or another blood sugar medication, take AFTER the tests. If you are NOT able to "fast" (go without food) for 8-10 hours: Tell the laboratory staff that you are not fasting, but your doctor wants you to have the lab test anyway. MAGNESIUM, SERUM 1/4/13 2/13/13 PHOSPHORUS 1/4/13 2/13/13 Vitamin B1, PLASMA 1/4/13 2/13/13 VITAMIN B 12 AND FOLATE 1/4/13 2/13/13 VITAMIN D, 25-HYDROXY 1/4/13 2/13/13

As part of your Weight Watchers diet, have you recently switched to Sugar substitutes? I find that when I eat foods that contain Moltitol, Sorbitol, or other Sugar alcohols in any kind of volume, I get gut wrenching gas pains like the ones you described. I am in agreement that you should consult with your doctor, but if this is the case, you might try limiting those foods to see if it helps.

At my pre-op psych visit, the doc told me that often people who give up one addiction (food) will take on another addiction. It can be alcohol, drugs, smoking, gambling, shopping, exercise, or any manner of things that can be either positive or negative. Has anyone discovered a new passion, OCD behavior, or outright addiction that you have exchanged for food? Personally, I think I am becoming OCD about my exercise goals. I increase them each week, and am happy with the results, but I find myself thinking about it a lot. I think it is OK as long as it doesn't become an obsession. Anyone else?

Hi, I'm almost 4 months VSG. I'm going on a cruise in 2 weeks. Can anyone suggest a keto friendly drink? (Alcoholic) Sent from my Moto Z3 Play using BariatricPal mobile app

The following things are what is most dissappointing to me. I've been told these things all of my life and I have not proven to be very consistent on always eating right, or excercising enough. I really thought this surgery would dramatically help. I WOULD NOT BE OVERWEIGHT IF I COULD FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES. I COULD LOSE WEIGHT WITHOUT LAPBAND BY "EATING RIGHT" AND EXCERCISING REGULARLY BAM A. You may need an eating adjustment 1. Are you eating 60 grams of Protein a day 2. Are you eating 25 grams of Fiber 3. Are you avoiding all liquid calories a. Soup can be sign of “soft calorie syndrome” b. Alcohol contains a lot of calories – 7 calories per gram (1) It’s also a stomach irritant c. fruit juice is just sugar Water 4. Are you making healthy food choices from a wide variety of foods? a. Are you avoiding soft foods b. You can’t just eat what’s easy c. cheese is glorified fat 5. Are you drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day between meals 6. Are you eating too much junk a. chips, chocolate, nuts, ice cream, Cookies and other highly processed junk foods are too calorically dense to be regular parts of a healthy diet. But don’t avoid them completely to the point where you feel deprived. b. Stay out of fast food places 7. Are you getting in two servings of Calcium daily 8. Do you always eat the protein first 9. Then the vegetables or fruits a. Five servings a day b. Potatoes are NOT a vegetable 10. Is your portion size appropriate? a. meat or fish (1) 3 ounces – the size of a deck of cards b. Vegetables (1) ½ cup – the size of your fist c. Starch (1) If you eat the protein and the vegetables first you don’t need much (2) Avoid: rice, potatoes, Pasta 11. You might try avoiding artificial sweeteners a. Some people think that artificial sweeteners stimulate the appetite b. They are HUNDREDS of times sweeter than sugar c. They teach you to like things too sweet d. There is no evidence that people who use them are any thinner than people who don’t 12. Avoid most diet foods a. Real food usually tastes better b. Real food is more satisfying than low calorie substitutes c. When you are only eating a tiny bit the caloric savings is not that great (1) Use a teaspoon of real butter instead of a tablespoon of diet margarine (2) The body has no way to break down artificial fats a. They may go into permanent storage b. Some people think liposuction is the only way to remove hydrolyzed fats from the body B. You may need a behavior adjustment 1. Are you eating only when you are hungry? a. If you’re not sure drink 8 ounces of water and wait. 2. Are you eating three meals a day? a. With maybe 1 or 2 small Snacks 3. Are you sitting down to eat? 4. Are you eating consciously? a. No distractions, turn off the TV, put the book or newspaper away, pay attention to your food and your companions 5. Are you eating slowly? a. Put the fork down between bites b. Take 20 to 30 minutes to finish a meal c. Taking longer might cause the pouch to begin emptying 6. Are you taking small bites? a. Tiny spoon, chopsticks, cocktail fork 7. Are you chewing well? 8. Are you drinking with your meals or too soon after your meals? a. Practice water loading between meals b. You won’t be thirsty if you are well hydrated before the meal 9. Are you stopping at the first sign of fullness? a. Sometimes it’s a whisper: not hungry, had enough b. Hard stop versus soft stop 10. Do not eat between meals. Stop grazing. 11. Do not eat when you are not hungry C. You may need an activity adjustment 1. Are you getting in 30 minutes of physical activity at least 3 times a week? a. Over and above what you would do in the usual course of your day b. Could you make it 4 or 5 times a week? c. Could you make it 45 or 60 minutes? 2. Are you taking advantage of opportunities to increase your physical activity? a. Taking the stairs instead of the elevators or escalators b. Walking on the escalators instead of riding c. Parking your car further away from the entrance d. Getting out of the car instead of using the drive through e. Getting off the bus one stop before your destination f. Washing you car by hand instead of the car wash g. Playing with your kids D. You may need an attitude adjustment 1. Are you committed to your weight loss journey? 2. Are you totally honest with yourself about how much you are eating and exercising? a. Log your food and activity on ww.fitday.com for 3 days 3. Are you using food inappropriately to deal with emotional issues? a. Have you identified what the emotions are that drive your eating? b. Can you think of more appropriate ways to deal with those emotions? c. Are you willing to seek help from a qualified counselor? 4. Are you attending and participating in support group meetings? 5. Have you drummed up some support from your family and friends? 6. Have you dealt with saboteurs realistically? 7. Do you have realistic expectations about the weight loss journey? 8. Are you still obsessing about food, weight, dieting, eating? a. Obsessive – compulsive thoughts (1) Obsess about something else b. Perfectionism (1) All or none, black and white thinking c. Patience with the pace of healthy weight loss 9. Are you acknowledging your successes with non-food rewards? 10. Have you learned how to take a compliment? 11. Are you giving up diet mentality? a. Stop weighing yourself several times a day or every day b. Stop dieting c. Stop depriving yourself d. Stop defining food as “good” and “bad” e. Stop rewarding and punishing yourself with food 12. How do you feel about all the changes taking place?

What I was planning to write had nothing to do with the band, but expressing my love for him and my concern at the state of his health. food is an addiction, wouldn't you tell a destructive alcoholic that things were getting out of control?

I got my first fill today at 10. The worst part was the waiting. The doctor cleaned the area with alcohol and before I knew it , it was over !!! I did close my eyes because the needle did look big on the table. But it was a small pinch like the flu shot pinch. Some pressure and it was over. Ihhungry now because

I choose the Sleeve for me for various reasons and some that others have already posted . # 1- I am older, have more aches and pains and an artificial shoulder with neck issues (due to an accident) I have painful flare-ups, I do not have constant pain, but when I'm miserable, I want Advil which helps immensely. No ibuprofen at all with RYN. #2 I did not like the malabsorption piece of RYN, as I have seen many folks in the medical practices I have worked in with the difficulties of not getting the Vitamins and nutrients they need. One poor woman could not recover from a constant out break of herpes on her face. It was almost to the point she needed a mask. It was horrific. Her malnutrition state made her look like a walking skeleton. Nearly bald, lesions all over her face and sickly thin. I have also seen one patient who ate and "drank" past the RYN, who had about 250 lbs to lose, lost 100 and then gained back about 200. Still unsure how that can happen, but alcohol is highly caloric and that was her new addiction. # 3 In RYN, the portion of the stomach that is left dangling, is incapable of having any testing . Therefore if it gets ulcerous which can lead to cancer, or is diseased in any way, there is no way to test or treat it? # 4 I am also so fond of my hair and teeth. I was just in fear of the lack of vitamins and didn't want to live on a ton of replacements. I'm not saying that deficiencies won't happen with the Sleeve, but it's less likely they will be life altering. # 5 I did not want my plumbing rerouted which is a high risk for leaks, and or risk stretching my pouch like so many have both in the Lap band and RYN. Unfortunately I lost a dear friend on Jan 3rd to a leak , 3 months post op from RYN. SIgh. Overall, I had but one choice, I went to the meeting, listened to the information about all three surgeries and had the sleeve not been a choice for me because of insurance or for whatever reason. I would have died fat. Hope this helps in some way.. ULTIMATELY, IT"S YOUR DECISION AND YOU HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT !! Good luck with your decision.

I might have LOL'd just a bit as well -- it's a whole new world out there! No but truly, if you've never been much of drinker, starting with 3 drinks in your tiny sleeve might have been too fast a start! Also, drinks have different alcohol content, so that could have been a factor. I love the fact that you were out and having a great time though, and have awesome friends to watch out for you. Bummer about the hangover - that's never a good feeling. I have been a social drinker for years, and I've done 2 wine tastings since surgery. The first time I was very cautious and had exactly 3 sips. I was with friends (but my surgery was a secret so they don't know), so it was my test run to see if I'd feel it. I didn't (I'll admit I was a bit disappointed after all the hype about drinking after surgery). This week was my birthday and I did a flight of 4 wines, but I asked for half pours. It turns out half pours are still too much! At glass 3 I could definitely feel that I'd had alcohol, I was only sipping small amounts and I didn't finish any of the half pours. I probably had 2 sips per glass, but where before my surgery that would have been nothing, this time I could tell it was affecting me by the 3rd wine. So, I feel like my safety must be around 5 or 6 sips total. I like to drink socially, and I try to never get very impaired, so whenever my next social drinking occasion is, I'm going to try for 5 sips and see how it goes. Thanks for sharing your story!