MizzouFan1

The BA vitamins made me super sick...even the ones without iron. I know a lot of people have had issues with BA. If you google it you will find more info. I tried another whole foods vitamin and becaue I had to open the capsule and dump it into apple sauce I couldn't stand the taste. I eneded up with AlternaVites. Which is like a pixiestick style vitamin. I had to start out with the kid's version and plan to work up to the adult version. http://www.alternavites.com/ I couldn't find them locally so I ordered on Amazon. Good luck!

Sleeved on 8/7 and have lost 22lbs and 30lbs overall. I am tolerating stuff and in the pureed-soft foods phase. I can't seem to keep down Vitamins so I haven't take any. E-mailed my nutritionist but apparently she has been on vacation. I would love to start working out as I have already lost enough to see my skin loose. I just don't know where I am at in the process. Should I be trying to recover or start plotting out meals and supplements. I feel like there isn't much rhyme or reason to eating right now since I have very limited options. The lack of viramis is got me totally drained and causing joint and muscle pain. I def want to start working on my new self and start developing a routine but not sure how.

Thanks everyone for the replies! I am going to try alternavites which is like a crystal form that disolves on your tongue...much cheaper than BA and I think it will help me work up to the regular pills once I am cleared by my doc. I already learned the hard way a week after surgery I was in the ER for dehydration so I pay particular attention to my fluid intake. I think our surgeon introuduces soft foods much sooner than most( day 14) I am allowed deli meat, soft peeled fruit, ground beef, very cooke vegies....honestly nothing tasted that good anymore. I am hopeful that will change over time.

Thanks for the responses folks. Our guide is very vague "days through 13-49 pureed and soft foods like deli meat, eggs, soft cheese." I really only eat when I am hungry which is once or twice a day maybe. I tried bariatric adavantage vitamins and they made me instantly sick. Then I tried a whole foods vitamin Garden of Life and it did the same thing. I've been hesitant to try liquids in case the same thing happens.

Sleeved on 8/7 and I am down 20.1lbs since surgery....that is 9 days. I am down 30lbs since my liquid diet which was July 31st. I am a little nervous this seems extreme. I am not necessarily complaining but I just want to make sure there isn't anything I should be concenred about it or is this not that uncommmon? DOS weight was 287.6 and I am 5'10. Any insights would be appreciated! Thanks everyone!

Ashley you look fantastic! We have almost identical stats. I was sleeved on 8/7. How much did you lose the first week and month??

Thanks New1! I was just getting a bit nervous thinking something could be wrong...I just imagined myself to be a slow loser with the PCOS and Hoshimotos. I dread the idea of ending up in the hospital again so I am trying to be cautious and probably inadvertently turning myself into a worry-wort.

Hi all! Had surgery AUG 7th it went really well. The gas pain and drain were rough. Walking will help the gas pain dissipate so walk as much as you can. The first night home after most of the pain cocktail wore off was rough. I had the shaking chills from the anesthesia wearing off and nauseous so I couldn't get the liquid pain meds down so Doc called me in some Zofran....miracle drug! So far the pain has been minimal but I tire really easy. I am 5 days post op and progressing fairly well. Today has been an off day. I think not having a bowel movement in over a week is causing me to fill queasy and making it hard to drink and eat. I will be calling doc about that. I had to go to lunch with my family today....that was torture. Real hunger isn't there but HEAD HUNGER is NO JOKE! Watching them enjoy things I love while I sipped protein drink bummed me out. I am still a bit sad about it...but I know it will get better. I am down 12lbs since surgery last Thursday and 21lbs overall so that is motivating.

Had the sleeve done yesterday with Dr. Hoehn at KC Bariatric. It went wonderfully. The staff was amazing. The only painful things were the stomach drain and gas pain. About 5 hours after surgery I was up walking around and that made me feel lots better. I got discharged this morning around 9 and feeling pretty good. So far so happy with my decision!

Thanks @@JimmyJames I appreciate the advice.

Last night was rough. All of the pain meds wore off so it was a tough night. I was a bit queasy so I couldn't take the pain med but the on call doctor called in some antinausea med, Zofran, which helped. Today still feeling rough. Reminds me of recovering from some really bad food poisoning or influenza. I have lost 6lbs since surgery on Thursday morning so I am happy about that. Slow and steady. Having trouble getting my liquids in. I had some of a sugar free popsicle but the slush went down and my stomach did NOT like it so I tossed the rest.

Hi Folks, My husband has always been healthy (aside from weight) and never went to the doc...literally in the 8 years we have been together. He has two years of history but doesn't have the third. Surgery coordinator is saying draft up a letter to insurance to explain lack of medical documentation. Anyone have ideas, resources, examples? We are going to print off Facebook timestamped pictures to include as well. ANY help would be appreciated! Thanks, Sarah

I would say spell it out for her in an email. Honestly, she might be glad for the help. I know several coordinators that appreciate the attention to detail-it makes it easier for them. I had to practically ride my coordinator because she was just too ditzy. If she can't figure it out with an email DEF talk to her supervisor. Ultimately, this is your life and $$ not hers. It definitely sucks and I am sorry to hear about your loss. Good luck going forward!

After 7 years of back and forth...Aug 7th is my date! So excited but freaking out a little. Had to do a pre-op education class, EGD, two psyc visits and a 6 month supervised diet. Lots of hoops but here we are! Then the hubs goes in Aug 28th!

Congrats on your awesome success! Thanks for being honest its always nice to hear that stuff isn't always rainbows and butterflies!

Typically, a combination of the correct birth control and sometimes Metformin or similar medicine manages the symptoms and keeps your hormones in check. Obviously, the first thing you will hear is to lose weight to combat the hormone issues. I also have Hoshimoto's which is an autoimmune disease of the thyroid....Hypothyroid. The symptoms overlap with PCOS so I take birth control, thyroid meds and Metformin( it helps with insulin resistance). The endo didn't prescribe or run tests that my PCP can't do. I never have period without birth control so I started to freak out about not being able to have kids. So when I was 24 I decided to get pregnant with fertility help. It was rather simple...I took clomid for a few days during my cycle and then when the eggs matured they gave me a shot in my butt that would cause me to ovulate within 24 hours and my instructions were to go home and do the deed over the weekend. I got pregnant on my first try. There are several non-invasive methods you can do before you get into invitro, etc. Your OBGYN or a fertility specialist should be able to walk you through all of that. I went to a fertility specialist super easy no big deal...now if I go for a second kid and I still need help after the weigh loss my OBGY can do all of the same things as the specialist. My advice is KNOW your body and be YOUR own health advocate. Not all docs are created equal and their information is based off what you tell them. If you don't like a doc or they are forcing something on you...fire them. Hope this helps!

Congrats on getting the foot work done! That is a huge hurdle. I've had PCOS since I was 18 (30 now) and used multiply endos and wasn't please and finally settled on my gyno and PCP to manage it. My PCOS is well managed by my PCP so you don't necessarily "have" to go to a specialist. I have heard that in some cases PCOS resolves itself with weight loss if so that would be great. Good luck with the process!

Warning: Venting ahead but helpful Hospital specific info at the end. So, I am uber frustrated with my case manager at The Bariatric Center of Kansas City. I understand she has lots of patients.....with all the money they are making maybe they should hire more caseworkers. I had everything she needed wrapped up with a bow.... I was on the ball with all the records months before my first appointment. I was diligent. She has never asked for anything because I made sure she already had it. I asked on NUMEROUS occasions to outline the steps for me and in what order. That way I could keep track and assure things were happening in a timely manner. I was doing this for myself AND my husband. I asked while i was sitting waiting for my anniversary (our insurance requires that you are with the plan members for at least 3 years. Our anniversary of that requirement was May 31st) if I could be doing some of the other requirements like nutrition appointment, psych eval...etc. You would have thought I asked for the moon....then all of sudden I became an innovator! Of course it made perfect since to do these things while they were preparing to submit to insurance. I specifically asked what I NEED TO DO TO MAKE SURE WE SUBMIT AS SOON AS THE ANNIVERSARY DATE HITS....she assured me we were on track. We weren't. I meet the surgeon thinking ..."yay all they need to do now is submit." Not the case. She decides to tell me then that i need a pre-op education class completed (surgeon requirement not insurance) BEFORE she will submit to insurance. WTF lady?!?!? I could've done that MONTHS ago!!!!! So, she says someone "will call me to schedule". I wasn't taking any chances so I stopped at the desk and scheduled myself...the first available class was June 22nd. I was FUMING! So, I can't even submit until after June 22nd then wait for approval which is several weeks then schedule for surgery! So, I called and called until I got a closer date. I took the class last week. Excited but cautious I email her and lay out all the things we have completed. She emails back and says she'll submit as soon as she can and "she'll have someone call to schedule the EGD but if it comes back positive for H. pylori it will be two weeks of antibiotics before they can schedule surgery". That was June 11th. I haven't heard from them. Luckily I don't wait around and I called to schedule only to find out that the first available date is July 16th. Obviously, I am pissed. While I was sitting on my ass doing nothing I could've had the EGD done months ago or at least scheduled it months ago and be having it this week! I emailed them today saying, "since the dr. is scheduled out 6+ weeks already I do not want to schedule upon approval and that will still give us plenty of time in case we need antibiotics." We will see what she says. The case management there is POOR and that is me being kind. I know the surgeon is topnotch and its a bariatric center of excellence but I am EXTREMELY disappointed with everything leading up to surgery. I do hope this is not indicative of the after-care but I guess I would be a fool to believe that. It has been just a giant cluster f***. If they are going to churn patients out like a large cattle farm they should better equipped to handle the load. End rant. For anyone looking for info on KC Bariatric road to surgery here are some tips: This is how my order went: Initial Seminar- Feb 24th Submitted all medical paperwork in Feb Psych Dr. visit 1 (May 6th) Psych Dr. visit 2 ( May 19th...didn't know we needed a second visit until day of first visit) NUT visit (unnecessary since we weren't seeing her for the 6 month pre-op insurance requirement) May 22nd Pre-OP Class (originally June 22nd, actual date was June 11th) *** somewhere in here our stuff is supposedly getting submitted to surgery***** EGD - July 16th Surgery*** TBD Surgeon requirements BEFORE they will submit to insurance Seminar PSYC EVALS NUT visit PRE-OP Class *EGD typically required before Assuming you are approved and test negative for H.pylori they will schedule your surgery after that. You still have the two week liquid diet req, blood work/labs and to see the Surgeon one more time. So, if you are a planning on becoming a patient there definitely don't wait around. Classes fill up fast and your case manager might not remember to remind you about requirements and then you have weeks and weeks until the next available class/appointment/requirement opens up. Depending on your case manager you will want to be very diligent. The order is not necessarily set in stone so you should try to schedule as many things at once as possible. I hated not knowing what I needed to do ahead of time or where I was in the process and it definitely is delaying my journey so I hope this info can help future patients.

Its starting to get real now...I had the final psych visit, tomorrow is the nutrionist and June 2nd I meet the surgeon and they send my paperwork in for approval. In the mean time it seems like I am just waiting for my "real life" to begin. Waiting to be one the other side of the surgery losing weight and posting my NSVs, stats and pics. This surgery has been soooo many years in the making and now that I can finally taste it, I find myself waiting for the pot to boil. It reminds me of being pregnant except I can't go shopping for stuff yet. to bide my time. I am just READY! My husband and I are doing this together so our lives as a family is going to change and I just want it to be here. I know, I know...whining doesn't do any good but it does make me feel better. Good luck to all those in the state of waiting!

Hi All, I had my son when I was 25 and weighing around 260s (i am 5'9). I was young and lots more energy and weighed less then. I have been putting off other kids for numerous reasons but the major one is how physically drained I feel. I also have Hoshimoto's and PCOS. I am weighing around 285 now and just turned 30 in Feb. I have been reluctant to get pregnant again because I just can't imagine having the extra weight, the discomfort, the complications, etc. Not too include the extra weight and trying to manage two kids, house, family and career. I mean it just does not sound doable. I am supposed to be sleeved this summer. I can't help but think pregnancy and kid rearing after you lose 100lbs+ has to be easier....at least as far as energy and just movement to get up and play, etc. I play now and we do lots of stuff but it takes a toll. I feel like I am running out of time. I would likely be hitting 31 or 32 by the time I could get preggers....making my son and potential other kid 7 years apart (not ideal). END RANT! Thoughts? Was your second (third, fourth, etc) pregnancy and life easier after the sleeve and weight loss?

http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/07/17/3-simple-steps-to-eliminate-heartburn-and-acid-reflux/#close http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/04/28/acid-reflux-ulcer-treatment.aspx Just a few articles to help.I sure hope it is something this simple. Good luck!

Hi Jamie, I am so sorry to hear about your troubles. I know this is a long shot and probably already been brought up but have you changed the quality and type of food you are eating? Like trying a whole foods, organic diet? Getting rid of processed foods and chemicals has been shown to help relieve if not alleviate stomach issues all together. I imagine it is quite difficult to focus on that when you are having so much pain but since you were doing fine for 3 months without issues if it were me I would try everything before I submitted to a surgery I don't want. That is just my two cents....I am sending good vibes your way and hoping for the best. Take care!

I second the idea of having our own forum!

SO strange I was just thinking this today! I am in the process of being sleeved so losing some weight now and my underwear are getting annoyingly big and I was excited at the idea of undie shopping. One of my lesser/smaller goals is to spend $100 on stuff form Victoria's Secret. I will only do that once (spending $$ on that is kind of ridiculous) but it is a present to myself. Congrats on your success!

You look great! At first I couldn't tell who I was supposed to be looking at! Keep up the awesome work!