Frenchie1977

I was wondering if anyone has been to Banner Gateway Bariatric with Dr Graf before and what you thought of him and their program, I have my initial consultation on Aug 10

For those in the Phoenix area there is a Facebook support group called Phx Area Bariatric Support Group, you can search for it on Facebook and request to join. We have lots of tips, support, and laughter and we meet once a month for walks etc. Hope to see a bunch of new faces soon!

I had a hard time not eating crackers with my tuna also, I have since started substituting cucumber slices for the crackers and find that it satisfies my craving

I'm not upset that he didn't ban me. I just find it very odd that he banned people for disagreeing with him a while lit less than I have. And the only reason I can think of is yes I have actually bought from his store in my naivety prior to surgery. Don't worry I have every intention of spending the majority of my time at Obesity Help for the real advice and only visiting here for the comic relief that this site had turned into

I didn't think that the people that were banned were bad apples. In fact the people that I have seen be the rudest and most belittling are still here. There are very few vets left here, most have all moved on to Obesity help after the mass banning that was made out to be about bullying. The facts never added up, half the people that were banned were banned just because they expressed their opinion about the issue and that did not agree with Alex's opinion so they were banned too. This site has turned into a place just for newbies, the blind leading the blind. All the good truly helpful vets are now at Obesity Help happily having real discussions without being called a bully for it. They seem to have a much more mature crowd over there that doesn't see honest advice as bullying. I admit I only popped in today to read some of the ridiculous advice that is being handed out and got a good chuckle from it. BariatricPal already had a bad reputation at my surgeons office, now they advise their patients to avoid it because I showed my surgeon some of the newbie advice being handed around here. If there are vets left here then you would think they would chime in and correct some of the stuff being said, but sadly they are probably afraid they will get called a bully and be banned. I seem to be the only one voicing my opinion that he has not banned, which will probably happen soon because again I voiced my opinion. But then again I did place a pretty susbtantial order from the site before my surgery so maybe he hasn't banned me yet because I'm a customer

Depending on where you are in your weight loss journey it can still be hard to tell a difference in the beginning. I started at 317 pounds, I have lost 31.5 and can tell no difference, but I know in the past with weight loss I have to lose about 75 pounds before I can really start to tell a difference.

My mother in law died from advancing her diet too soon without her surgeons permission, so No I followed my plan to the T

I am six weeks out from surgery. The first 4 weeks were super easy, then I finally started to feel restriction and I started experiencing nausea after eating. It's not so easy now, eating is a chore, I only do it because I know I have to. Just hold on because you will start to feel the difference.

Wheat thins even reduced fat ones are just carbs. In addition crackers tend to be a slider food so you can eat a large portion of them and not feel any restriction. So in my opinion no wheat thins are not something I would eat.

@whitesale you've been here what 3 days move along off this thread you don't even understand why people are upset your so new.

@@Torriluv87 I had a hard time eating plain tuna without bread or crackers too, so as soon as I was allowed I started substituting slices of cucumber for crackers, much better!

I had my surgery on Dec 5 and just finished my first stall which lasted 2.5 weeks. My appetite has come back some but not anything like what it was before surgery. My doctor suggested taking Gaviscon chewable tablets twice a day in addition to the PPI that he prescribed me as sometimes acid production mimics hunger, you may want to try that, it's over the counter and it has really helped me.

You are definitely not alone. Before surgery I had been on so many diets and lost weight but then failed to keep it off I too was terrified that surgery would not work for me. I have PCOS and losing weight was very difficult for me. It's natural to be a little bit scared after a lifetime of weight loss failures. Now I am 6 weeks out from surgery and have lost almost 30 pounds when before surgery I wouldn't have lost 5 pounds in this amount of time. It's natural to have the fears but don't let it hold you back, the surgery works. I had 2.5 week stall and have still managed to lose that much, and am back to loosing now. Keep your head up and get the surgery, it's a lifesaver.

I moved back in with my parents after my divorce. My mom asks me daily if I lost any weight and she totally cannot understand the concept of a stall. I just finished my first stall which lasted for 2.5 weeks. The entire time she made suggestions daily, maybe I'm eating too much, maybe I need to take a water pill, maybe I need to call the doctor and tell him I've stopped losing, maybe I need to exercise more. The list goes on and on. Here I was trying to " embrace the stall" and she was making me nuts about it. I started telling her now mom Google this and research before you give me suggestions about something you know nothing about. Boggled my mind though, she just couldn't get it through her head that I actually wasn't doing anything wrong.

I have a severe anxiety disorder and take Ativan which is the same class of drug as Xanax and my surgeon ordered it for me in the hospital on day 1.

I am just over 5 weeks out from my sleeve surgery. At first everything was great, no nausea no reflux, no problems getting in my liquids or proteins. However for the past 4 days I have felt nauseous and uncomfortable all day every day, and it gets worse when I eat, no matter what I eat. I also feel some slight pain up in my shoulders, I don't know if this is normal or maybe I should call my surgeon. Anyone else experience this at 5 weeks out?

So I just read yet another post about someone advancing their diet on their own too soon. This one from someone 4 days post op advancing to broccoli soup. Probably won't kill them but it could. Then of course we get the irresponsible follow up poster saying that they too advanced their diet on their own way early and explored all kinds of foods and as long as their stomach tolerates it they see no problem with it. Now I'm getting super frustrated, I had to put my two cents in. And perhaps I was harsh. But I watched someone die 4 years ago from doing just this. My x mother in law had gastric sleeve surgery. At less than two weeks post op she started eating tidbits of foods she was not supposed to have, turkey, stuffing, ham, chicken in very small bites and yes chewed very well. All that didn't matter. She was fine at first. In fact showed no symptoms for days. Then she became extremely ill, with pain and fever. She had a leak which had to be repaired by surgery. After surgery she developed a serious infection and a fistula which led to the outside of her stomach. Everything she tried to drink seeped outside her stomach onto a large padded napkin that she held up to the opening of that fistula. They could not get the infection under control. They fought it for three months with the best antibiotics they had. Eventually she became septic, her organs began to fail and she passed away. I am only 4 weeks post op VSG, you better believe I thought long and hard about having the same surgery that she had. But I can also say that I have followed my an to the T, with the exception of drinking coffee which I discussed with my surgeon beforehand. When are people going to realize that following their diet is serious. And more so when are these idiots going to stop coming on and saying things like it's ok to explore foods early as long as you tolerate them!!!! My mother in law tolerated those foods just fine for damn near a week before she finally showed the signs of a serious leak. Your prescribed diet plan after major stomach surgery is not just a guideline that they want you to follow so you can lose weight. It's a prescription that really can mean life or death, I've seen it with my own eyes. Ugggggh sooooooo frustrated!!!!!!!

I use cucumbers for crackers with my tuna

Depends on your doctor, some doctors do a full drug panel at preop testing, mine did. But some just test for nicotine, your best bet is to call and ask if they test for marijuana usage, you would hate to get as far as preop testing only to have surgery cancelled. In the end if you want the surgery bad enough you will quit. I quit smoking 21 days prior to my nicotine test.

Exploring foods off your plan is very dangerous. Advancing your diet before your plan allows it can cause serious complications and even death. My mother in law explored foods early in her plan when she was not supposed to. She initially felt fine. For days even she was fine. Then she developed a serious leak. She had to have surgery to fix it. After surgery she developed a serious infection and a fistula that lead outside her stomach, she could not eat or drink anything without it coming out the front of her stomach. They could not contain the infection, they fought it for three months. Eventually she became septic, her organs shut down and she passed away. All because she could not adhere to her prescribed diet plan. The diet plan is given to you for your safety, it's not a suggestion, it's a prescription. I thought long and hard about having the same surgery as she had but you better believe that I have followed my plan with the exception of drinking some coffee early which my surgeon said was fine. Please think twice before advancing your diet on your own. And for the poster that said I see no problem exploring foods early as long as you tolerate them. Educate yourself on post op complications surrounding not following your prescribed diet and then show a little responsibility about what you post. New people may read what you say and think it's ok, when it totally is not. I've seen with my own eyes what can happen. Just because you got lucky and were ok does not make it responsible to advocate that others play so dangerously with their lives.

The emotions you experience on this journey are a roller coaster. When I first decided to do this I was mad about getting it done as soon as possible. My insurance didn't require a medically supervised diet so all I had to do was meet the surgeons requirements. I was crazy, I scheduled all my appointments within a months time. I spent all day everyday on these boards devouring everyone's experiences about the surgery. For me surgery could not come soon enough. I was miserable at 317 pounds, it was hard to even move my body off the couch. There were days that I spent depressed because I was so sick of being so fat and I couldn't fathom waiting any longer for the surgery. Then as surgery approached a few weeks before I became extremely nervous and anxious about the procedure. I second guessed myself, I rescheduled the surgery twice because my nerves got the best of me. When I finally got through the anxiety and did it, on surgery day I took my anxiety medication and they still had to give me something to calm me down I was panicking. It wasn't so much the surgery that scared me but I was worried about whether I would be able to sustain the lifestyle changes afterwards, I imagined the worst case scenarios all around. Now 4 weeks post op my emotions are completely different, I've lost 24 pounds. I can get up off the couch easily now and I walk at least a mile a day. Now I'm anxious for the weight to come off. All I can think about is where will I be in 3 months, 6 months, a year? And I can't wait too see. Now I'm anxious about how long it will take me to reach my goal weight. Your emotions from here out will be a little crazy. Find a way to spend your time productively. Living on these boards and reading everything I could find prepared me well. Nothing surprises me now. Any little side effect of the surgery I find that I have read about already and I am prepared for it. Good luck on your journey!

I too never could get an answer about how many calories I should be taking in. I am 4 weeks post op. It's easy for me to take in calories, I could easily eat over 1000 a day. I found that sticking to 700/800 calories a day right now works best for my weight loss. I aim for about 30 carbs a day.

Ok so admittedly right after the surgery I think I was deluded on how easy I thought this was. I had no problems from day one getting my liquids and protein in. I had no nausea and no restriction while on full liquids. It was amazing, I was losing weight rapidly and was having no problems meeting my goals contrary to so much that I have read here. I walked everyday at least a mile. Now I'm 4 weeks post op and lol it's not so easy anymore. I have restriction now and find that after about half of my 4oz of soft foods I start to get a little nauseous. I have made the mistake of overeating twice and gotten incredibly sick violently vomiting because of it. I now having problems getting in all of my liquids because I feel full for hours and if I drink anything when I feel full I get sick. I am still managing to get all my protein in and walking everyday but of course my weight loss is stalled right now. This is not really a post with a question, just some observations. How funny that the first few weeks after surgery I thought this was super easy, and now I'm met with challenges. All in all though I'm still very happy with my surgery. Even though my weight is stalled right now I have lost 24 pounds and that is something I never could have done before. I keep plugging away everyday at my protein, liquids and walking and I feel like I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel.

Tomato soup was allowed on my diet right away and it went down fine with no ill effects

Admittedly I totally cheated on this one. My doctor told me no coffee for two months after surgery but plenty of other doctors allow coffee right away so I started drinking coffee again 3 days after surgery. Obviously I recommend following your doctors orders, it did not effect me and it has always went down fine with no ill effects but entry of people in my Facebook group tried it early on and could not tolerate it so proceed with caution. Obviously don't try coffee again until you are getting in all your liquids and protein on a daily basis, I had no trouble with this so it was not that big of a deal, but if your not meeting liquid and protein goals I definitely wouldn't waste stomach space on coffee.