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Just clarify with OBGYN/PCP/RD how you would incorporate prenatal vitamins, especially calcium! Also if you take any meds, see whether any cross the placenta and adjustments can be made. If you don't get enough calcium for yourself and baby, baby is going to leech your bones dry. [emoji33] Wishing you and your baby well. [emoji4]

I like Trevor Noah as well. Before TDS I've seen him open up for "Fluffy" Gabriel Iglesias, so I was familiar with his humour. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using the BariatricPal App

My mother is anorexic her entire life, father is out of shape but not overweight. Both parents do have high cholesterol and strokes despite not being overweight. My older sister has been overweight since childhood, her weight gain started when my mother gave her Coca-Cola instead of potentially contaminated water when they were refugees. When my sister started losing weight from WLS, I gained weight. My little sister was briefly overweight for 1 year during college and has become anorexic like my mother. I no longer keep contact with my family, but all of my close friends have been supportive.

Barely 4 weeks post-op here, I know someday I'll revert back to a B cup and it won't be perky as it was 10+ years ago. [emoji20] I self payed for my WLS, now I'm saving up again for implants in 2 years. The advantage would be that I won't need painful tissue expansion.

After watching an episode of Ink Master, a tattoo artist complained that because his client had lapband and lost a lot of weight, the skin is now "rubbery" and difficult to get ink in. I have virgin skin and am concerned how difficult my skin would become. My friend with lots of ink thinks he is only half right and is mostly trying to save himself from elimination. Your thoughts and experiences?

For me it was working overtime in my mid twenties. Ridiculous amounts of overtime. Three hundred hours a month overtime. It wasn't a situation that I wanted to be in. I was pressured into doing the workload of 3 people, working 12 hours a day and 6 days a week at a desk job. Ontop of it being a desk job, I would eat and snack a lot as a way of getting energy and staying awake. My clothing size went from 10 to 12 and then 14. I hated my ex boss with a passion, but it was my fault for not quitting earlier.

The shrink for my psych eval said she uses this forum and with exercise tips she's shrinked the chin skin. [emoji1] Are you doing neck exercises?

Just be completely honest and do your best to relax. They will ask about your current medication and medication history as well as any eating related disorders or psych diagnosis of yourself and your family history. They will also ask how you dealt with these situations in your past. The point of the psych eval is to make sure if you are mentally prepared and have realistic expectations, and to assess your social support or barriers. If for some reason they recommend additional therapy sessions, remember that it's to help you become better prepared and ready for your future procedure. Best of luck!

For those of you that use the Bariatric Advantage Calcium Chewables, do you have flavors that you love and/or hate? I originally bought the chocolate flavor off Amazon and loved it. When my surgeon's office me gave free samples I like the caramel too, I thought coconut was so-so. The tropical chewables like yellow, orange, and red-pink are too fruity for me. Those taste just like Starbursts and no surprise that I was never into Starbursts as a kid. Although I like peanut butter and chocolate as separate flavors, together I didn't like it. How was your experience?

Ah, even non bariatric patients have "muffin tops." Don't despair, during the first 2 years post op as you lose weight, you can still get your skin to shrink to some degree. Drink plenty of liquids, this keeps your skin hydrated and supple. Do weight lifting or specific exercises that target the muscles under the problem skin areas. This helps tighten the skin and tone up muscle that helps fill out the skin and makes it look better. Here are sample exercises and there's more you can Google: http://www.healthyandnaturalworld.com/get-a-flat-tummy-at-home-with-these-simple-exercises

This is a question to ask ask the bariatric surgeon, nephrologist, and possibly endocrinologist. Does your mother also have diabetes? I see potentially big issues with her healing ability and protein intake due to having ESRD (end stage renal disease). As a bariatric patient she'll need protein for healing, but as it is, ERSD requires her to limit protein intake as well. I haven't heard about hemodialysis patients that received WLS.

It depends. If your pain medication is prescribed as a liquid suspension, call your surgeon/PCP to see when you can start swallowing whole pills. Medications that are extended/slow release tend to have the letters SR, ER, XR, XL at the end. These medications are not to be crushed, you will get dangerous side effects if your body absorbs it all at once instead of over time. Some medications are capsules and caplets to make it easier to swallow, some medications are capsules because it is also extended/slow release. As Bufflehead said, you can also ask the pharmacists. Find out as soon as you can, because the crushed powder tastes horrible.

I had 3 incisions from my surgery almost 4 weeks ago. The smallest one is near my navel and is almost gone. The mid sized one feels harder that the surrounding skin but visually it should fade over time. My largest incision for the port however, has developed into a keloid scar; it is hard, raised, pink, and shiny. Have you developed a keloid scar on your incisions, and if so, do you have keloid scars not related to the surgery?

I would say combine both. Choose low fat and lean meats, low fat dairy, have a variety of vegetables and fruits, avoid high calorie liquids and sweets. Keep portion size appropriate and it should be about 1,000-1,200 calories. I haven't moved onto bariatric stage 5 diet yet, but I've looked on Amazon and have several WLS/bariatric cookbooks in my shopping cart that I'm interested in.

I'm post-op day 21 and can barely eat 2 cups of food a day. My RD did say for maintenance I should be around 1200 calories a day.

That's what I read too. Sometimes I couldn't tolerate carbonated drinks prior to the surgery, so I'm ok with drinking a small serving of Diet Coke gone flat.

You might need a letter from your doctor stating that without the surgery your risk for developing comorbidities is very high. It's not a guarantee, as it sounds like your insurance company has blinders on and doesn't want to pay for the surgery. But imagine how much they would save if you developed uncontrolled diabetes and renal failure, and they have to pay for multiple hospitalizations for non healing wounds, diabetic ketoacidosis, amputations, & hemodialysis (sorry if it sounds morbid, but that's very common at my hospital where the community has 25% population with diabetes).

I'm self pay and also had the psych eval. I think everyone should have a psych eval regardless of payment source, it's important that people are realistic and mentally prepared for a lifestyle change. The perk of being self pay was that my surgeon only asked me to be on Atkins diet for 1 week pre-op to reduce my liver, and my surgery was scheduled quickly, about a month after the initial surgical office consultation.

Breakfast: Bariatric Advantage Calcium Calcium Chewy Bite chocolate or Caramel flavored, & Nature Made sublingual B12 Vitamin 1000 mcg Cherry flavor. Lunch: Centrum Chewables Adults Orange Burst (has Iron in it). Dinner: Bariatric Advantage Calcium Calcium Chewy Bite Chocolate or Caramel flavored

I also work night shift at a hospital and have 1 week of short term disability leave left. My surgeon said 2 weeks but I had strong pain return during the second week. Three weeks would have been doable, but the surgeon let me have 4 weeks and I'm glad for it. I'm using this time to also learn how to manage my Fluid and food intake (some days I can only get in 1 cup of food and 1 liter of fluids). If I had returned to work after 2 weeks still in pain, dealing with a busy 12 hour shift, and having to figure out if I can handle pureed food, I would not be doing myself any good.

Prior to my telephone psych eval I was sent an email questionnaire including my psych meds, psych history, and personality assessment. During the phone call I was also asked questions if myself and family members had eating disorders. My psych eval was tough, I was even asked questions if I was sexually or physically abused. But as long as demonstrate that you are coping well and in control of your life, it's ok being diagnosed with depression. I doubt anyone has ever gone through life without experiencing it at least once.

Awesome idea! And happy belated birthday! I think your family just didn't want to derail you from your diet. Sometimes it's best to drop hints on what you'd like for your birthday.

My first week I lost 10 pounds then the other 2 weeks I lost 1-2 pounds each week. Don't weight yourself so much, try once a week. And remember, you may not be losing pounds because you are gaining muscle (which weighs more than fat) and losing inches. You're doing fine as long as you keep up with the post-op diet and exercise. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using the BariatricPal App

Slim Fast Advanced is the one with lots of micros plus higher Protein content. I prefer chocolate to strawberry.

I'm rarely hungry