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I don't this condition but I have something called a torturous colon. I am confused about it though because they say it is congential. They found it on a recent colonoscopy, well I have had those before and was never told I had this torturous colon thing. I did talk to my bariatric surgeon and he did not seem concerned but I can relate to having some weird anatomy thing. I pray you find someone close to your home that can help.

Question........I had surgery the 3rd, 2 days ago and just received my soup mixes and other Bariatric Pal items. The soup can be used during the first 2 week liquid diet correct? Sent from my SM-S515DL using BariatricPal mobile app

Hello, I'm a Sept. 12 Sleever The first time I mentioned bariatric surgery everyone nay sayed me... This time I didn't tell anyone but my husband, I told the others about a week prior and they were all actually very supportive this time. I think the adverse effects frightened them the first time, but as I spoke casually with them about the minute severe outcomes and the highly positive ones, I believe it help settle their nerves... Plus, I was absolutely ready this time and nothing was going to stop me, I needed it for my health before all else!!! I have joined multiple sites for bariatric patients on FB for a wide range of support systems.

I do what is considered bariatric keto. Low carbs, high protein, moderate healthy fats (higher amount than carb amount but less than protein amount). My body responded to keto really well before surgery but not well after. My body didn't like the bariatric diet at all. But a happy medium (bariatric keto) seems to be right where my body is happy and responds well. You just have to make sure you do HEALTHY fats, not tons of eggs, bacon, sausage, etc every day. And all the diets require very low to no sugar. I also gave up caffeine, which was the hardest part of all of it.

No. It's by far not the same. Also there is no "bariatric diet". The recommended diet varies from country to country, even from team to team. By far not every dietician recommends this.

There is a thing called "bariatric keto" which is basically Atkins in that it is higher protein than current keto fads call for, but Atkins is "old school" while keto is "in" and what people want to do if they are keeping up with current fads - so they label it appropriately. But, I wouldn't compare a bariatric diet (which is basically maintenance level protein and then whatever else to fill in the minimal caloric requirement one has,) to keto, or Atkins, though one can use them if so inclined, but neither is all that sustainable long term, and that is what you should be striving for. Think in terms of what your diet should be in five or ten years - if that's keto or Atkins for you, great, but there's no compelling reason that it should be either. It can be vegetarian or vegan if that floats your boat, and that will work just as well.

I agree with @GreenTealael 100%. Your bariatric team is in the best position to help. We here on the forums really know nothing about you. To start with, your profile isn't filled out, so we don't even have basic info. Beyond the basics like starting weight, goals weight, current weight, age, gender, and height, I'd ideally need to see your food log, and would have your percentages of body fat and lean mass. Finally, I'd want to understand what you mean by "I work out 6 times a week for over 50 mins". Exercise type and intensity make a ton of difference here. Even those things might not be enough though and that's where your bariatric team can help. There is one universal truth if you're not losing weight: You are eating about the same number of calories as you're burning. Without some potential metabolic and endocrinological testing that your doctor can do, it would be hard to know if this is due to Eating more than you think Burning less that you think in exercise A slow metabolism due to the loss of lean body mass Maybe even a hormone imbalance As pointed out, the simplest place to start is making sure your are logging your food accurately. It's really easy to be off by several hundred calories and this can easily be enough to make a huge difference in how much you lose.

Stalls are common and normal. It takes a while for your body to adjust and your set-point to change. Be diligent in weighing and measuring. Eye-balling quantities just does not work. Weighing, measuring, and recording keeps you honest. If you have not already done so, get some bariatric cookbooks or look up bariatric recipes online so that your meals are not boring and repetitive. You might try cutting out all high carb items such as bread and other things made with flour, white potatoes, rice, processed foods, and anything made with sugar. Avoid protein bars and processed "protein snacks"--they are CANDY to your body and will trigger you to eat more. In the almost two years since I started in the bariatric program I have encountered stalls frequently. The worst one lasted for over three months. My best advice is to stay off the scale, no matter how tempting it is. Check the scale just once a month. Contra-intuitively, sometimes it takes eating MORE for a few days to help reset your set-point. Measure yourself instead: neck, upper arm, bust, chest below bust, waist, hips, thighs. Record the measurements in an app or diary. You'll see losses even if the pounds are sticking. You'll also see your clothes fitting differently or need to replace them with smaller sizes. My second tip is to shop at thrift stores! I've gone down from size 30-32 (4x) to 18-20 (1-2x). Who can afford retail with that many size changes?!

My preop diet is meat and veggies, with clear liquids only the day before surgery. I wonder why I get to eat? I'm having the RNY at St Vincent's Bariatric Hospital. Sent from my SM-A505U using BariatricPal mobile app

Look up Bariatric surgeons in your area and make some calls. Once you find some who will help you, then you can decide which is the best fit for you. Good luck.

I don't claim to be an expert here, but a few thoughts come to mind for you to consider: MGB is extremely rare in the US. (It's much more common on other parts of the world, especially Asia.) Part of the reason it's so rare here may be due to the fact that it's not an endorsed procedure by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. I would suspect revisions are even less common, so there's probably not a lot a data on success rates? Because there's not a lot of data, it's a bit unclear if MGB will even address your GERD issue? I'm seeing a few studies out there, but results are unclear. Roux-en-Y GB is actually sometimes performed specifically to treat GERD due to its effectiveness in alleviating those symptoms. I would think if GERD is the main reason for the revision, this may be an important consideration?

The mini bypass has been kicking around for a long time - it was around the periphery of bariatrics some twenty years ago when my wife and I first started looking into WLS, and it's still there today, not having achieved mainstream status (and many, if not most, US insurance companies still don't cover it.) in the meantime, the BPD/DS, VSG and now the SIPS/SADI have gone mainstream, gaining acceptance by the ASMBS and insurance industry. It would pay to understand why that is. When I last looked into these things, 2-3 years ago, ASMBS was fairly positive about the SIPS/SADI, but they didn't yet have the data to recommend it; they apparently do now. I would suggest looking through their site to see if they have any current opinion on the MGB and why it doesn't get on their recommended list. Amongst the MX surgeons, the MGB seems to mostly be sold as a cheaper alternative to the RNY rather than a technically better one. Classically, bile reflux is one of the problems with these simplified, single anastomosis procedures. There are claims that some techniques have been developed to mitigate that problem, but I don't know how much of that is real progress and how much is marketing. The MGB does seem to be more mainstream in other countries, so there may be something to the claims of improvement, and it simply lost its best opportunity to be sold to the US industry and authorities. Given that, I would be apprehensive about getting it done while living here in the states, if for no other reason than long term support - how many US doctors, bariatric or otherwise, understand it, and how to treat you in the years ahead should there be a problem. It's something like owning a French car here in the States - parts and service are a problem. My wife has a DS, which has something of that issue, despite being mainstream and approved, as it is still something of a niche procedure, with few surgeons understanding it. It, however, has the redeeming value of having demonstrably better performance - both initial loss and most particularly regain resistance; the MGB doesn't, as it's not markedly different than the RNY or VSG in performance. Have you had your GERD evaluated as to its cause? A hiatal hernia or shape issue can usually be corrected while still maintaining the sleeve, though some surgeons may not be well practiced at that and would simply revise to a bypass to correct it (the old "VSG + GERD=you need an RNY" thing rather than fixing the basic problem - it might need an revision, or it might not.) In correcting regain, these revisions seem to be only moderately successful - count on maybe twenty pounds or so - about what one would expect from the intense dieting required around surgery time, and one can expect similar results from a hiatal hernia repair. Basically, you have already learned how to eat around a small stomach, so shrinking it further with a revision doesn't yield nearly as good a result as your virgin procedure. Some do show remarkable improvement, but they seem mostly to be those who take the regain seriously and swear to "not let that happen again" and really buckle down and get with the program. One can almost consider the revision to be a placebo. If I were looking to seriously tackle a regain problem, I would lean more toward the BPD/DS as that more directly addresses the metabolic problem, though not the GERD as it retains the sleeve - that would remain an issue as to whether the sleeve itself is the cause of it and that can be corrected.

You are definitely not alone. That's why I caution others not to do what I did. I just put away in a box, a zillion different protein powders, unflavored and flavored, Bariatric soup and chili packets ... Etc. I think after the first 2 weeks, I found more delicious, natural and appetizing ways to get my protein in. But here is the weird part, I still buy them from time to time if someone mentions one that I think I will like. After one serving or two servings, back in the box.

At the end of last year, my life was over eating and especially lots of sugar. I binged on little debbie cakes, guzzled icees, had many high calorie starbucks drinks and a lot of fast food. I ate and drank so unhealthy that it really was a slow suicide. It was killing me and frankly I did not care, but rather welcomed it. After several things snowballing, the first of 2022 I started to take control. I made a choice to live. I struggled to work out the pain of the past and even current circumstances which lead me to cover the pain in food, especially sugar and non nutrient dense carbs. The pain that brought me well over 400 lbs and climbing. I journaled and cried and started to stand up for myself. I also did take Ryselbus which helped give me a leg up to do the work. My husband took it but the effects wore off some because he didn’t change. I knew i needed to change if I wanted to live. Over a few months, I did the very hard mental work. I broke addictions to fast food and the sugar. Going through the process sucked. Slowly, I repeated over and over again I was worth forgiving to getting into this unhealthy state. I could heal and forge a new way. I didn’t need sugar or binging on pizza to make me feel better, I could finally start to find empathy and forgiveness for myself. Now I am two days from life changing bariatric surgery in a good place. I am ready for the huge changes this surgery brings. No longer do I binge on sugar, bread, processed food. I don’t even want to binge 90% of the time and I have self soothed myself with forgiveness and understanding the other 10%. I have changed my eating patterns, my portions, my outlook. Sugar isn’t forbidden forever, but it will now be a treat, a sometimes indulgence. It feels amazing to be able to make that choice instead of being ruled by cravings. I feel lighter from not having to carry as much of the huge burden of self loathing and self hate I used to carry. I am worth forgiving myself. I guess really why I am writing this is I know the struggle is so real. each one of you has your own issues and challenges. Each one of you is worthy of self forgiveness and embracing good things in your life. shed the tears, embrace your flaws and find a way to accept yourself and move forward in a way you want. Even if you struggle, It is worth it.

I would reach out to your bariatric team, I would think they have someone they refer patients to. Once you have someone, you could do your own research and get a warm and fuzzy about the person before moving forward.

Congrats! Like you said, there are definitely some things that make your pregnancy higher risk, but in other ways, you are actually in a much better place. For example, you're much less likely now to end up with gestational diabetes. You probably already know this, but the things your doctors will be most concerned about will be your ability to eat enough, as well as the potential for vitamin and mineral deficiencies. These can all be overcome with your doctors help. If it's available to you, going to a multidisciplinary hospital system where they have more experience with pregnancy post gastric sleeve would be a good idea. In most states, this would be large teaching hospitals or the like. Maybe talk to your bariatric surgeon for an OB referral to someone with experience with post WLS pregnancy?

Generally, I don't think doctors give med schedules, but it certainly doesn't hurt to ask! You could also speak with your pharmacist, who may be able to help. There are a few good points to remember when timing your meds/vitamins: You can only absorb about 500mg of Calcium at one time. Most bariatric patients are encouraged to take ~1,000mg so you'll probably want to split that into 2 doses at least a few hours apart. Some research indicates calcium can inhibit the absorption of iron so if you take an iron supplement or a multi-vitamin with iron, you'll want to take it spaced out from calcium by a few hours. Early out your supplements may very well upset your stomach. Spacing them out even further, taking with food, etc. can all help. So don't get too hung up on a rigid schedule. Getting them in is most important; you can adjust as you go. Personally, I take my multi, a biotin, and a calcium along with my regular meds (no interactions) after I've had a protein shake each morning. I take another biotin and another calcium in the evening after dinner. My multi does NOT have iron, but when it did, I would take my first calcium with lunch instead. Hope that helps!

Yep, 2 shakes a day and then 1 meal from the list of acceptable meats/veggie in very small portions. I am using the Nectar chocolate protein powder in milk. I am continuing to see my bariatric therapist that my bariatric center had me go to for my evaluation. She's amazing. I'm so glad to hear that it normally gets better for most. This week has been tough. I don't know how people do it for longer than 2 weeks or even stricter diets pre-op.

Are you doing shakes. It could be the shakes causing the heartburn and all that?? Maybe try a different brand of shake. In terms of it getting easier it does for almost everyone. Most of us (with the exception of a small few) lose our hunger hormones post surgery so we only have to fight with head hunger which is usually a little easier to ignore. If you do continue to fight head hunger and it’s difficult for you, some people find it helpful to work with a bariatric therapist to get to the bottom of the cravings and learn different ways to cope with them.

It's not actually "soup", but one thing I really appreciated having at that stage was "Millie's sipping broth". It's basically like a tea bag, but instead it's herbs and spices. Maybe a little pricey for what it is, but they are very tasty. I mostly just used them to help me get my liquids in, but if I was also needing a protein boost, I also added them to my homemade bone broth. Both ways worked well. My fave was probably the Pho, but the Spicy Tortilla is also very good. Edited to add: They are available here on the bariatric pal store, as well as Amazon, etc.

I had sleeve and I was told to take a bariatric multi with iron and two calcium citrate daily to start. They do blood work at the three month follow up and adjust from there if necessary. My labs were good at 3 and 6 month and one year. That seems to be working for me. I take the procare health multivitamin with 45mg iron. That and the bariatric advantage chewable were recommended by my team. I started with the chewable and I didn’t think it tasted bad (some people hate the chewables though) but it was more expensive and you had to take it twice a day so I switched to the capsule at about one month out and that’s been fine for me. I have it on auto ship which is convenient and it qualifies me for free shipping. I did keep my leftover chewables in case they ever didn’t arrive on time but a year and a half later that has never been an issue. The calcium citrate I take is just a normal vitamin from Amazon (just make sure it’s “citrate” though. The other one doesn’t absorb as well for us.

Which surgery did you have? If you had the sleeve, a multi may be all you need. This is a question you really need to ask your Dietician or Nutritionist. Depending on what your blood work says, you may need something else, or you may not. I take a lot of supplements daily, but I had a bypass, am vegan, and have my Dietician guiding me. It can't hurt to take a hair and skin supplement though, to help your body through any upcoming hair loss. Won't stop it, but the extra supplements will help with the eventual regrowth. A good bariatric-multi should be covering most bases, though.

Ask 10 nutritionist if popcorn is "good for you" and you'll get 11 different opinions. Here's some of the reasons I've heard bariatric patients should avoid it: I honestly think this one is more urban myth, but some people claim popcorn kernels or pieces can get stuck in the staple line and cause issues. If true, this is obviously a bigger concern the closer you are to surgery. Even if the popcorn itself can be an okay choice, we tend to add toppings that aren't so good for us. It's easy to overeat since it feels like there's not much there. This can catch up to you though. Also, because it has very little protein, eating too much popcorn may prevent you from meeting your protein goals for the day. Popcorn is high in insoluble fiber, meaning it will draw water into it and swell in the gut. Now normally fiber is a good thing for a healthy gut, but especially for bariatric surgery patients that are not used to it, you run the risk of the popcorn swelling while it's still in your stomach and causing significant discomfort. This risk is probably reduced if you eat it slowly. Eat it too fast and you may regret it. Anything you eat in a mindless way (as we all tend to do at the movies), could lead to you eating too fast or too much. See #3 and 4 above. No question that alternatives such as those suggested above may be better for some people. The concern for me is that especially while at the movies, I have to make sure I don't fall into that "mindless eating" trap. That's so dangerous for me. I'm trying to learn to stop associating "movies" with "snacking". (I even do this at home, so Netflix is no relief.) I think at least for me, that may be the better option long term?

My surgery was 9/20. I went back and looked at my log and I'm currently eating between about 500 and 800 calories a day. Like many, I was not told a specific calorie goal, mostly to focus getting in my protein and water. Since I'm at about 6 weeks now, I don't have any restrictions in terms of food, but getting to my protein goals is hard on food alone, just because I can't physically eat that much. This means I have to rely on protein drinks some still. It's been said a million times already, but your bariatric team is your best source for your concern. Plans are different and we all progress at different rates as well.