TipTop in TX

this really irritates the hell out of me. What a huge waste of money for them to have the surgery. Plus when I hear about cases like, this I worry that some insurance policies are going to stop covering it because too many people are unsuccessful because they don't follow the rules. It'll end up screwing those of us who are serious about it up, too, if that happens...

None here but left the bariatric pal Facebook group as it was full of toxic people who loved to enable each other eating like crap and call anyone who said differently the "food police" while inevitably they would post a few months later whining about stalls or regain. People were cheering people on eating cake at a few weeks post op because "it's a soft food". There were posts like that constantly. Maybe it's changed since I left but that's not a great support group for making better food choices.

LOL! He's the one who came to mind immediately!

I only had the one know-it-all who couldn’t let a post go by without bragging about his success and flat out fat shamed people here. I didn’t ignore him because I wanted to be vocal against his bs. Reported every time he crossed the line and he’s gone now or lurking under yet another new name. I personally find it hard to pick the right balance of positive support vs “you need to get your shit together” type advice to give. Some people need one vs the other and its not really possible to always know who needs what to get through the issues they (sometimes) create for themselves. This is a wonderful forum and overall it’s got a great balance of people willing to offer real help, real advice. I don’t use Facebook but my wife shows me the crap-show on some of those gastric groups and it’s simply absurd compared to this place…. for the most part….

LOL! You're a valuable contributor here, so no reason to worry, Arabesque!

we occasionally get a rude know-it-all on here - and they often seem to be people who are fairly new to all of this yet think they know everything. And it's not just that - it's the rudeness. Haven't seen one of those in awhile - they usually don't last too long. Thankfully.

I like to think this is a pretty supportive group. There have just been those odd few who make it uncomfortable or unpleasant for the rest of us. Have to admit I have reported a couple of posters. It’s those who don’t respect that others may have a different opinion or experience who annoy me most.

quite simply, you gotta get really real with yourself. Have a serious come to Jesus moment. What's more important? THIS is the moment where you either sink or swim. Seriously.
I had gradual regain. I KNEW I was eating the wrong stuff but I ate small amounts and figured i'd 'deal with it later'.....after some scary health news, I got myself focused and back on track.
It was that day when I realized that sadly, this is a DAILY battle for me. For many WLS patient, they lose their weight, they move on, and they have a 'regular' life. Not me. For ME, this is still a battle. 6 years out. still a battle. But my health is worth it.

Omg me too! The not being able to wipe literally sent me on a tailspin! My husband had to do it for me and I lost it. Every time I want to give up I remember how helpless and ashamed I felt!

Remember your why. Why did you want this back in 2014? For me it was not only my physical looks but other things. I couldn’t bend down and tie my shoes without having to breathe in between. Bending down like that cut off my breath. Another thing and this May be TMI, but I couldn’t hardly wipe my butt when I went potty. I remember sitting on the toilet crying because I couldn’t reach.
I couldn’t walk or stand more than just a few minutes without my lower back burning and aching. Diabetes and high blood pressure run in my family. These are my whys.
So you’ve gained 40 back. Thank God it’s not the 101, right? Start back with the Protein Shakes, maybe substitute a meal a day for one and when you’re comfortable with that substitute two meals a day with a shake. I lost 26 pounds in 3 months prior to surgery from that alone. When you want a snack in between, have one. But make it something healthy and filling like a banana or cottage cheese. You’ve done this before. You know what to do. All you have to do now is, just do it. Sending you positive vibes and hopes for your success!!! ❤️

$o the whining snowflake$ whined to their $urgeons... it'$ clear that YOU did not review their post$ before you made your decision. I would bet money that at lea$t a few of the complainer$ are on my BLOCKED list.
Bariatric Pal is no longer a SAFE PLACE for me. I have been stalked by this gang of thin skinned snowflakes (you can check my list of BLOCKED members) who regularly pick fights and generally behave like deranged 7th graders. I do wonder how all those surgeons and psychologist and nutritionist (from your Mexican WLS center?) will react when someone keeps right on eating corn on the cob and ribs 3 days post op because some idiot on this site told them "don't worry, we all make mistakes" and there is no one here to speak up and call bullshit.
It makes sense that you will not delete our accounts, after all you don't want your membership numbers to drop. I will delete my own account. But I am serious that YOU need to stop sharing my email address with your cronies.

A "safe place" for reckless idiots who consistently give each other bad advice....brilliant concept.
But if you where halfway honest with your self you would admit the obvious, the intention of this group is to funnel new customers into business run buy you and your friends.
Please remove me from this site and from all your lists as I am sick of the spam email that started right when I joined BP.

Please delete my account too. I left LapBandTalk many years ago when bullying got to be an issue and wasn't addressed. When I returned to the "new and improved" BariatricPal, I hoped I would find a source of information where intelligent adults could have an adult conversation.
I was wrong. BP has become a business-not a source of discussion and support.
The banning of several veterans, (without the courtesy of notifying them) is proof that you Alex have made a decision.
Better to create a "safe space" for individuals than a true open forum.
Have fun with your new world without experienced individuals willing to share a wealth of knowledge.
Wipe my account clean. I'm too old for this crap
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@Alex Brecher **Unfortunately, this has not been the case recently. I have heard from multiple sources that some members are uncomfortable here. They feel attacked when they post. I have heard this not only from newbie and veteran members, but also from bariatric surgeons, nurses, and psychologists who are members of ASMBS and who have heard concerns about BariatricPal from their patients.**
What a bunch of CRAP, Alex. Let me tell you what *I* heard about BP from my surgeon, his nurses and my dietitian: that it's primarily pre-ops or new post-ops sharing bad information, with a store attached to it.
The funny thing? They were right. You banning people with no warning has taken away 2 of the reasons I bothered to keep coming here. I don't need more newbs crying because they need 'support' when they're eating ribs and corn on the cob 2 weeks post-op...my IRL support group is stuffed to the gills with them. I need the people with the guts to tell them it's a bad idea.

From LipstickLady:
**I am PISSED that he implied that I was part of any backyard bullying club. Not only would I **never** do that, but I've known for a good year that he was reading PMs so if I was going to do that, it certainly wouldn't be there. I would be THRILLED if one of you posted THIS EXACT MESSAGE in that thread and say that it was from me.**
Alex, wtf? How can anyone find this place to be a 'safe space' if we're subject to outright lies being told about us? I'm completely bewildered by your unprecedented breach of normal website behavior...since when do site owners a) read private messages and then comment on the content of said PMs publicly?

I think you've painted yourself into a corner here. What I don't understand is WHY you've done it.

If not Trump, his bestie Putin!!

I'm appalled messages were read. Violation of privacy!!! Deleting them probably doesn't remove them completely. I want off this site and will seek legal help to have my profile removed.

On every other forum I have ever been on in the past 20 years, private messages have been inviolate. If they were shared by one of the parties to the message, that is one thing. To have someone not party to a discussion reading it without permission smacks of intrusion which has been considered abhorrent by virtually every generation preceding ours.

But the blockbuster is your admission (long suspected by me) that you read BP members' private messages. IMO reading members' private messages is a significant ethical violation by any message board operator. Those who choose to remain here need to understand that clearly.
This. Right. Here.

I haven't been on this site in about six months. But after this latest idiocy, I'm finally ready to delete my account.
Yes, Alec, as the owner and operator of this message board you can do anything you want to do with this board.
However, your posts in this thread mischaracterize the ways in which this board's culture and the value it offers WLS patients have declined for some time.
But the blockbuster is your admission (long suspected by me) that you read BP members' private messages. IMO reading members' private messages is a significant ethical violation by any message board operator. Those who choose to remain here need to understand that clearly.
These days there are so many other social media options for support of WLS patients. I urge those leaving BP to explore them all.
I expect that my and some others' opinions will soon vanish when Alex heavily edits or deletes this thread, just as he has deleted other comments and BP threads where members have expressed their opinions about BP's culture and operational policies. But I've bothered to type them anyway.
In closing, I would like to thank the many WLS patients here who contributed to my WLS success (I've lost 100 pounds and have maintained my weight loss for longer than a year). I also thank those who invited my input and who appreciated the help I offered. Help is a two-way street.

I am worried about this as well my husband and we have been together since high school and through many changes. food is, however, something that we both enjoy. Not pigging out, but just experiencing different foods. When I brought up weight loss surgery, he was very supportive. He has been wanting to make a change as well and preparing for surgery has helped us. We go on walk every day after work, we don't eat fast food any more. He is very supportive with my gluten free lifestyle as well. We check menus before eating out and if they bring us bread we rub it on the table to so won't eat it . He does forget sometimes. The other day he brought home sour candies and said he realized I can't have any, so he opened them up and poured mustard on them and threw them right away. Wasting $2 is better than the temptation!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App
I am worried about this as well my husband and we have been together since high school and through many changes. Food is, however, something that we both enjoy. Not pigging out, but just experiencing different foods. When I brought up weight loss surgery, he was very supportive. He has been wanting to make a change as well and preparing for surgery has helped us. We go on walk every day after work, we don't eat fast food any more. He is very supportive with my gluten free lifestyle as well. We check menus before eating out and if they bring us bread we rub it on the table to so won't eat it . He does forget sometimes. The other day he brought home sour candies and said he realized I can't have any, so he opened them up and poured mustard on them and threw them right away. Wasting $2 is better than the temptation!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Can we have contests? And prizes? I love contests and prizes...there could be one for identifying the most examples of fallacious arguments in a single post!
Seriously, thanks for taking the time. And I think the first negative reply will use the oft-employed ad populum argument. (Just in case you decide to do a contest, you know...just if.)

It didn't take me long to get to this sub forum. I am old, and stricken in years, as my children tell me. I have some arthritis that flares up in places, and recently my right hip has been giving me some trouble. I have been a good boy and have avoided all NSAID consumption as the doctor ordered. However, the doctor also told me that once I got through my surgery, I would be able to take them occasionally for pain, minor injury, etc. The key phrase there is "got through", as in all healed up.
I called the doc's office earlier today to talk to the CRNP I see, and who seems to know her stuff when it comes to the intricacies of the various surgeries. The first time I called, I was left on hold for eight minutes before I concluded that I had been forgotten. In all my visits to this office, I have never seen them take more than two or three minutes for ANYTHING at the front desk. So I called back.
The same woman answered the exact same way the second time. "Bariatric and surgery, can you hold please?"
"NO, I can't hold! You left me forgotten there last time and all I want to do is leave a message!"
"We didn't forget you sir. We're very busy. Who do you want to talk to?"
"I want to ask my RCNP a couple of questions about some medicine." My questions aren't so much as what I can take as when. I already know I can.
Now is when things got worse. The woman who was so busy that she didn't have time to pick up the #$%& phone proceeded to quiz me in detail about what I wanted to know and why I wanted to know it. She wasn't even interested in who I was for a while. She finally wormed it out of me in detail what I wanted, and THEN proceeded to start telling me what I could and could not take! I was thinking, "WTF!?!?!?!"
She ended her little lecture with a smugness that just oozed out of my phone. So I said, "But you're not Alicia, are you?" Alicia is the RCNP.
"No, but I've worked here long enough to know what we tell all our bariatric patients."
I felt like saying something like, "Well maybe they should promote you to surgeon, lady, seeing as how you know it all!" But I bit my tongue, knowing she is the gatekeeper I need to get past. I settled for, "I would prefer to speak to Alicia about my concerns." This woman had the gall to tell me that she already knew what Alicia would tell me! The good news for her is, they have not yet invented a feature for smart phones where you can actually reach through the phone to slap the idiot on the other end. I finally got her to promise she would leave a message. I finished up by asking her who she was. She is the office coordinator. Not only am I going to speak to the RCNP about some office person giving out medical advice, I will very likely speak to her personally when I have my next appointment. Stupid $%#^&.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/03/26/the-humble-heroes-of-weight-loss-surgery-stomach-acids-and-gut-microbes/
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I have an granny smith apple a day. Other than the first couple of weeks, I haven't had an issue. I just eat them because I need the other health benefits from it, but I hope it helps you with your Constipation.
Oh yeah, almost forgot, ground flax seed is really great for constipation. I used 1-2T in my shakes, cottage cheese, wherever. Works as good as Metamucil but tastes much better and it has Omega 3s.

It's only been 2 months since surgery and I can't even remember what it's like to NOT be constipated. The surgon says it's normal due to the combination of low volume, low bulk and high Protein.
I get at least 64 oz of Water every day. Chia seeds in my morning shake, Senna tea late afternoon Two stool softeners at bedtime AND still need a dose of Milk of Magnesia every few days.
I started to record poops when I realized I couldn't remember how long it had been since my last one...