Search the Community

@@jdc121975 Wow. That was such an incredible soul rendering write up of your life as it is now, and your life as you hope it to be. And like your daughter, I too hope "daddy" gets the chance to fit into and ride a roller coaster some day. Your post really struck a cord, and tapped into a deep place in my heart, and probably every other hopeful pre op's as well. If you aren't already in the field of writing, I hope you give it some serious consideration. There are thousands upon thousands of posts made here daily. But it's that rare diamond in the rough, the raw epiphany of an exposed emotion, that has the ability to stay with a reader long after the words have come to an end. Your post is definitely one of those. Thank you for allowing us the honor of sharing it. I probably can't alleviate your apprehension on drains, except to say that they serve a vital purpose. I had the choice of three different surgeons in my bariatric group. I purposely chose the only one who uses drains. I've never had a drain before either. In fact I've never even had surgery before. And like you, I'm not looking forward to the experience. But, I feel much better knowing that if there is a leak of some sort, it will be leaking on the outside of my body, not the inside. Seat belts are standard on cars because accidents happen, and utilizing them increases your chances of survival. Sure, there are plenty of people who go throughout their life unbuckled, and never even get into a fender bender. But is the chance of being that one lucky guy really a risk worth taking when it involves your life? It's worth a little extra inconvenience or pain in my book to have drains. An ouch of prevention is worth a pound of cure as they say. Good luck!

the bariatric program im going through recommends Centrum Complete, Centrum Silver for more common, available everywhere Vitamins, and to supplement them with B12 (ONLY the kind that goes under the tongue to dissolve) and Calcium. this recommendation is for people who dont want to order vitamins online. when i get my paperwork ill list the other suggestions.

Read this and thought I would share. You know you are a Gastric Surgery Patient When… ü I have a date" does not mean you're going out. ü You have baby food in the house and no baby. ü "I'm a loser" is a good thing. ü All of your silverware says Gerber. ü A wooden spoon isn't just for cooking. ü "Welcome to the other side" doesn't include death. ü New clothes fall off in a week. ü You get excited ab out hand me downs. ü The scale at Wal-Mart no longer says "one at a time please". ü Going bald and getting wrinkles is a good thing. ü "Just water for me please". ü Hitting the "Century Mark" is actually a good thing. ü You can be touched by an angel and still not be considered crazy. ü When your rear end no longer looks like a mudslide. ü When you get excited that your incision was "only 4 inches". ü When the word lap has nothing to do with a strip club. ü Other women are calling you names behind your back. ü When you are glared at in the plus size department because you don't "belong there". ü When you really don't have a thing to wear. ü You have to prove you are the person on the driver’s license. ü You start being in the pictures not behind the camera. ü You want to hug everyone fat and hand them your surgeon's card. ü You are never parted from a bottle of water ü When you order a doggy bag at the same time as your meal. ü Being too small for your britches. ü When the only way your nipples are where they belong is to roll them up, position them with your bra and secure with a ponytail holder. ü When you go pick up your child at school and all the other kids say WOW you're mom is hot. ü When you go to the mall and take the first available space instead of circling 20 minutes for one closer to the door. ü You truly are a "cheap date". ü When one drink makes you flipping floozy! ü When you run to the door and don't hear a flapping sound. ü You flip your shirt to show complete strangers your scar. ü Vitamins feel like a meal. ü You go from a 56DDDD to 32AAA in a year and didn't have a breast reduction. ü You've just lost 100 lbs and run into a high school friend who asks "did you change your hair?" ü You can cross your legs... both of them ü Instead of a Wonder Bra you need a Wonder Where They Went Bra ü When your obsession from food turns to your scale. ü They no longer call 911 for the Jaws of life to extricate you from a turnstile. ü No more Velcro shoes ü Tongs are no longer to fry chicken. ü "Checking for leaks" no longer includes your panties ü When your Stairmaster is no longer used for drying your fine washables ü Your mother says "You don't eat enough" `ü When your doctor looks you in the eye and says "I know you will have success with this." ü Having sex your husband complains that your hip bones are poking him. ü You can wear corduroy pants without igniting a fire ü When you wave and your upper arms wave back ü You safety pin your underwear ü Someone phones and thinks your husband is sneaking around with some skinny mistress ü Cannot blame the cat for shedding ü Cancel your Lane Bryant Credit Card ü 3 Lean Cuisines a week and that's your total grocery purchase ü The kids wonder what happened to the cake and cookie god...did he die??? --Author(s) unknown

Guess what? You just got a new job! Isn’t that exciting? Except…it’s a tough job: you will now be the CEO of Lifetime Weight Management. But don’t worry. You can do it, and the pay is fabulous. We’ll get to the job news, but first I’m going to tell you a job story of my own. I’m a writer and story-teller: that’s my job. Often my stories are fiction, but every word in this story is true. Many years ago, I attended a business luncheon with a coworker who was naturally slim. The food was delicious: a huge, flaky croissant filled with chicken and grape salad, a mountain of potato chips (I adore potato chips), and strawberry shortcake for dessert. About one-third of the way through her meal, my coworker stopped eating and pushed her plate away. “What’s the matter?” I said. “Don’t you like the food?” “Oh, it’s fine,” she said. “I just can’t eat any more.” She must have seen the baffled look on my face, because she added an explanation. “I eat a certain amount, and then I reach a point where I just can’t eat another bite, so I stop eating. I’ve always been this way.” I wanted to offer to finish her lunch for her, but was too ashamed of my own greed to suggest it, and I was busy digesting what she had just said. I couldn’t remember ever in my life reaching the point where I couldn’t eat another bite of food. And although I had tried more diets and slimming plans than I could name, it had never occurred to me that I might become slim simply by stopping eating when I became full. My coworker was effortlessly slim and I was effortlessly obese. I subsided into silent envy over her natural advantage. I spent the next 20 years suffering from morbid obesity and developing numerous health problems as a result of it. Finally, after much research and thought, I decided that weight loss surgery was my best option. On September 19, 2007, I had adjustable gastric band surgery. Ever since then I have been learning how to eat, and live, like a slim person. During that time, I’ve accumulated a lot of information, and have cultivated a lot of opinions that may not agree with yours, but of everything I’ve learned during my weight loss journey, there’s one truth you need to heed. Like it or not, no bariatric surgery of any description is magic. The WLS patients I know have all worked hard for their success. Adjustable gastric band. Roux-en-Y. Vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Sleeve plication. Duodenal switch. The surgical procedure happens only once (good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise), but one thing, common to us all, happens every day for the rest of our lives. Weight loss and weight loss maintenance require attention, commitment and action every day for the rest of our lives. It’s a job – a career – we must do or die. A smart, mature, diligent acquaintance who did her research before she took the weight loss surgery plunge said to me once, “I had no idea how much work this was going to be.” The work is not just in the weight loss but in lifestyle changes. The work doesn’t end once you reach your goal weight, but believe me: it is so very, very worth it. I love this new job of mine. I love the improved health and high energy and increased self-esteem and size 4 clothing, and I hope I never grow tired of it or take it all for granted. A lifetime of work ahead of you can seem overwhelming. Think of it as a lifetime of learning. Learning is a good thing. If you stop learning, you stop growing. And if you stop growing, you die. My mother, who struggled with obesity most of her life, used to say that there was a tall, thin brunette inside her just waiting to get out. I will always have a short, fat blonde girl inside me just waiting to get out. But having weight loss surgery has given me some wonderful tools for lifetime weight management, and I hope that proves to be the same for you.

https://obesitynewstoday.com/bariatric-surgery-reversibility/ "In addition to reducing the size of the stomach, the gastric bypass also rearranges the digestive system, which is why it is usually not reversible." https://www.realself.com/question/gastric-bypass-reversible "Gastric Bypass surgery is considered a permanent operation but can be reversed for medical problems only. The risks of a reversal are extremely high." So, "potentially" reversible, but reversing is almost never done due to complications. The band can be removed, the sleeve, your pouch can and will stretch out, but the bypass, the restriction plus the rerouting of your intestines, this surgery should not be considered "reversible" as a justification for getting it.

I went on an alcohol and eating feast the first two weeks after learning that I was going to have lap-band. It was just to clean out the frig and wet bar -- great that this happen at St. Patrick's Day. Since March 18th, I've been sticking to Protein drinks and one balanced dinner. No alcohol, no sodas, no red meat, almost no bread -- the killer was no ice cream. AND I still have to get down to a BMI of 40 or 327 lbs before Memorial Bariatric Center will perform the lap-band surgery. Stay focused on the goal.

I have this Bariatric Pal app on my iPhone and I CANNOT for the life of me figure out how to reply to individual peoples messages on threads! Help with pictures requested!!! I feel like such an idiot! Thank you in advance! 💕💕💕

I lost 39lbs pre-op from 4/1 to 8/17/2015. I did it by eliminating most carbs. I had previously given up all soda. I then gave up drinking 1/2 hour before and after meals. I ate like a bariatric patient - Protein first, then veg, and CHEW CHEW CHEW. I started having Protein shakes for Breakfast - in reality this was just easy for me to do...made breakfast less of a challenge. I also brought my lunch to work every day and still do. I drank a minimum of 64 oz of Water every day. I started exercising and used a Fitbit. Doing this helped me immensely after surgery because I had started the foundations for eating like a "sleever". I highly recommend making any positive changes you can before surgery. Oh - I was given a prerequisite of losing 15lbs prior to surgery by my bariatric group. I clearly hit that goal.

I was banded on 5/23/13 and I've had great success with weight loss. At least initially. I've got a 10cc band with 5 cc's of saline in it. I've been having problems swallowing things like chicken, rice and shrimp. My doctor thought it was weird that the food is stuck just trying to swallow but he drained my band for 3 weeks just to see if that was the cause. The swallowing problem got better but didn't go away altogether. The Dr didn't think it was related to the band and refilled it to 5 cc's and referred me to an ENT doctor. This Dr put me on meds for acid reflux, I've been on them for over a month but things only seem to have gotten worse. My family doctor says sometimes when you restrict the stomach with the band the esophageal sphincter will constrict as well causing the swallowing problem. She suggested having a procedure to stretch the esophagus. My bariatric doctor says he's never heard of any such thing. Has anyone else had similar issues?

I'm also living in China and need to find a Doctor for fills - Shanghai is also my nearest major city. I found a Doctor/Professor searching the net who does the surgery at the Shanghai Changhai Hospital so am hoping he will be able to do my fills. Obviously the language is my biggest barrier at the moment and just making an appointment is turning out to be harder than expected - Google translate can only get me so far! I'm thinking of just heading to the hospital on the days he's meant to be there and camping out until he sees me - I think he does have another doctor/protege who works with him who speaks a little English but after some correspondence with him - suddenly it's all gone a bit quiet! Bariatric Surgery is still quite new here (although this is changing at a rapid rate), throw in the lost in translation language and how things are just generally harder to organise here in China and this is why I'm choosing to have my surgery elsewhere. The fills are another matter of course and I'd prefer to have someone close by - but if I end up having to fly elsewhere for a fill - then so be it! Love to hear from anyone else in and around China who are experiencing the same problems....I mean experience / journey as I - and then we can share stories and information and help each other locate good fill Doctors nearer to us while still smiling and trying to remain sane. Have a Great Day!

Bariatric Solutions in the Dallas area regularly runs a special for $10,500. I still chose to go to Mexico for $5,500. It ended up costing me about 6500 total because I spent extra time there and for plane tickets.

Hi, folks!! So I returned to work on the Monday after my port replacement. Only phones on Triage (I'm a nurse) because I didn't want to overdue it. I actually felt really good. I saw my doctor 5/7 (it was the Bariatric Fellow who has been following me along with my doc because my doc had an emergency.) Everything looked good, no additional fills, appointment for next fill in 5 weeks. Liquids for one week (yuk!) So that was a Tuesday, and all was good. Then I returned to the floor on Wednesday, and we were soooooo busy, that I think I overdid it with bending, etc. I was in pain Wednesday night and noticed a bright red ring all around my incision area, and it was swollen and tender. Took pics of it, because it didn't look right. I had off Thursday & the area looked a little better but I figured I better call the doc just in case. He is such a doll that he let me e-mail him my photos. Said it looks like a possible seroma but to be on the safe side, he put me on an antibiotic for a week. The redness, swelling and irritation went away. But now I notice that if if overdue it a little (or actually whenever. . . there's really no rhyme or reason. . . the area under my incision will actually hurt, especially if I kind of hunch over like when sitting and then straighten out. It's really weird & didn't happen with the first surgery. I think I'll just keep an eye on it for now. As far as losing weight goes, I've lost about 25-27 pounds so far, depending on the scale, lol! I will tell you though, I thought it would be a lot easier, and that the weight would kind of just fly right off. I really have to "diet" (oh, how I hate that word!) and watch what I eat. I had 3 family members who have had gastric bypass, and their weight just flew off. My brother-in-law told me that he would weigh himself before bed & in the morning he would have lost 3 pounds! I understand that it was because they didn't absorb the calories or nutrients, blah, blah, blah, but I was hoping not too have to put this much thought into losing weight. I'm pretty sure I haven't hit the green zone yet, because I don't feel that restricted. Maybe 3 ccs isn't enough for me. Also, I can eat, and then be really hungry again 2 hours later. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I know losing 25-27 pounds is great since March 1st, but I guess I was looking for an easier way out. Anyone have a food plan can follow for lap band?? The only downside about my doctor, is I'm not too crazy about his dietician/nutritionist!!! Later, gators!!

@nibble. Like you, finding out that obesity-is-now-a-disease was the impetus to find out if my insurance covered bariatric surgery. Fortunately, I didn't give up when my first phone call reached someone who mixed up my plan with another plan that did not have bariatric benefits. I became a squeaky wheel after that until I knew my benefits backwards and forwards, and if anyone tried to insert a requirement that wasn't in my plan, I let them know! One of the "requirements" that someone tried to convince me was a part of my plan had to do with not being allowed to gain any weight during the 6-month physician-directed weight-loss attempt. My plan required only that I do those six months. There was nothing in my plan that "punished" me for gaining weight during those six months. I've noticed several posters on this forum, primarily younger women, who aren't confident in being good self-advocates. Stop apologizing for everything. Stop allowing gatekeepers to keep you from getting the information you need. To make good decisions, you deserve to have all the facts. Read. Ask. Read some more. Keep asking. A librarian.. .. I considered library science for a while, but ended up getting a B.S. in health information management. Of course, that's not what I do for a living. Who else has a degree or degrees in areas that they don't work in?

In the 1980s, the concept of “person-first language” developed among disability advocacy groups. Non-profit organizations, such as the Obesity Action Coalition have expanded advocacy for people-first language to obesity. As of 2017, five U.S. medical societies had pledged for it, and use it in their communications, among them: the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, The Obesity Society, and American Society of Bariatric Physicians. Labeling individuals as obese creates negative feelings toward individuals with obesity and perpetuates weight-bias. Quite often, one will see news stories, articles, and journal entries refer to an individual with obesity as “obese.” For example, I found this Wikipedia article on Carol Yager: Carol Ann Yager was one of the most severely obese people in history, and the heaviest woman ever recorded. In January 1993, Yager was admitted to Hurley Medical Center, weighing-in at 1,128 lb (512 kg). As is common with many severely obese patients, Yager was not able to stand or walk. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Yager (Yes, one point of the article on Carol Yager is to focus on how many pounds she weighed, but the article also reveals weight-bias with its wording. Maybe to some, it seems like yet another attempt to be overly-politically correct, but really... how much effort does it take to use people-first language? https://radicalcopyeditor.com/2017/07/03/person-centered-language/ https://www.obesityaction.org/action-through-advocacy/weight-bias/people-first-language/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People-first_language The goal of people-first language is to stop dehumanizing individuals by labeling them with their disease.

Can you take bariatric vitamins before surgery or are they too potent?

I've only read it in the waiting room at my dog's ... maybe they should be called "weighting" rooms at bariatric clinics?... Anyway, it was all RNY stuff, nothing useful for me, as far as I could tell. Oh, there was one article that talked about the psychological impacts of losing weight, but there again, the focus was on the impact of losing really fast.

I just want to hear from others how long after they did what the insurance needed them to do. Like the 3 or 6 month supervised diet. How long after that was done did you have a surgery date or your surgery? My final weigh in is May 16 and paper work will be sent to the insurance. I should be approved fairly fast i would assume. I talked to my Bariatric Coordinator today and she said once the approval is back to her it will take me 3 weeks to get in to see the surgeon, then i will start my presurgery stuff and will take another 6 to 8 weeks for complete all of that. Does this seem unreasonable to anyone? 3 Months after my insurance approves me before I have my surgery???????

Glad to hear that your recovery is going well! That sharp pain near your sternum could have been from repair to a hiatal hernia which is pretty common for surgeons to fix while performing bariatric surgery. You might ask your surgeon if there was a hernia repair during your procedure. In any case, glad to hear the pain has subsided. I hear you loud and clear on the Protein shakes. No matter how many flavors I had, I dreaded the next shake!! I did find some water-based Protein drinks that really helped as they had different flavors and textures than the shakes. About Time Prohydrate and Isopure were 2 that really helped offer a variety. Also, adding Protein powder to Soup broth was a good alternative. Glad to hear things are going well and welcome to the "other side"!!

Hi all, I am having my lapband removed after 11 years for acid re-flux issues while sleeping, my GI and my Bariatric Doc both recommend Gastric Bypass because of the sleeve issues with reflux but I am so afraid of dumping and the side effects. My mom had bypass over 10 years ago and still has to go to the bathroom for LONG periods of time after almost every meal. After being on lapband and experiencing the purge, I don't ever want to deal with ANOTHER embarrassing side effect, and my reflux issues now are exacerbated by my lapband so once that is out, I am hoping the reflux will not get worse. I am at 195lbs and still want to lose 30 lbs or so. How bad is dumping for regular people? How bad is the reflux for those on the sleeve, I really need to decide, all thoughts are appreciated.

What an experience! Thanks for sharing. I really hope you can see a therapist in addition to your renewed efforts. So much of this process is emotional. Maybe having someone talk your binging and emotional eating through with you will help with your journey this time around.

I would have an honest conversation with them regarding your previous weight loss attempts and ask for their advice. If they are not on board, then I would advise 'interviewing' and searching for another PCP who is more receptive to your journey and/or who has experience with bariatrics. In the beginning of my journey, my PCP was NOT on board. I've brought him much documentation and had several conversations with him about it over my 1.5 year prior to seriously considering the surgery. Once I had opened that door, and finally decided, I asked him straight up if he was on board with helping me throughout this journey, and in my care after surgery. He said yes, and ended up signing the papers. I will note that he is an older gentleman, and is a little 'old school' in his medicinal practices. Which is ok by me! I just had to show him that I'd done my homework and tried my best. Hope that helps and good luck in your appt.

and I figured it was time to check out Bariatric Pal and see if it is a good fit for me..being as I have tried lots of diets and lost lots of weight and gained it back every time plus..well, to put it mildly I go into this very cynically. It's a drastic move for me and I feel as if it is a last ditch effort. Its' exciting to look at before and after pictures and read the stories behind them but I don't want to get my hopes up. This will probably be more of an emotional situation for me then just a dieting thing- I can do diet with the best of them but hate limiting myself forever. I don't sit around eating bags of chips or quarts of ice cream or pkgs of oreos but I could eat healthier and exercise more except I have gotten into a rut as I've gotten older-eat out too much and I have so many aches and pains that I shy away from serious exercise. So..what's the success rate with this attitude? I have 6 weeks before the big day,I've read a BUNCH of books on the sleeve-recipe books,spiritual readiness,and a couple of funny ones about personal experiences and how they dealt with the ups and downs of this life-changing step (no pun intended) Look forward to learning how to navigate around this site and meeting some kindred spirits, gmalinda

Your doc is right--the emotional roller coaster IS very normal. Some people don't have it at all; others have it big-time. I was (and still am) someone who has it big-time. Is there a therapist that is connected with the bariatric program you're in that you could see? It might help a lot. I know it has for me. Also if you have access to bariatric support groups (in person ones), they can be very helpful. Body image is a huge adjustment for a lot of us and has many layers that can surface. Maybe you can do some online searching (WLS body image; WLS self confidence). Also, if you haven't ever tried journaling, maybe you might want to look into doing that. Really think about all the progress you've made, and that you don't want to allow yourself to do these "cheat meals/days." You are better than that, and you deserve better than that for yourself. Stay on your program, because cheating eating is going to send you down the road to weight gain and we all know how depressing that can be. Try not to be too hard on yourself. Sometimes we just have to let our feelings sit there for awhile while our brains catch up. It sounds like you've accomplished a lot in a short 7 months. This is a big life-changing event. Right up there with graduations, marriage, having kids, etc. There's a lot of learning, growing, and adjusting to go. Just go with the flow. Take care.

Thanks for your reply its really helpful. It would be good to stay in touch if your ok with that. The Bariatric nurse promised that she would introduce me to the 3 others who had their op the same day as mine but she never did and I feel the support would have been really helpful for us all. Other than the head hunger and the fear that because of not having that 'full' feeling the op has not worked ( which I know is ridiculous) I am very well and hope that you are also. It's good to know that it gets better/easier in time.

My first surgeon (before I switched because I'm 'high risk') told me that they are, within the next few years, phasing out the Lap Band as are many other bariatric programs just due to its complication rate and lack of concrete success for everyone. I originally went in wanting it, too, because I thought of it like a tool to help me get to a weight where I could do the rest myself, but since I was diagnosed with diabetes in March and the sleeve has greater success with relieving comorbities, and a constant back and forth with all of my doctors including my kidney transplant doctor, the sleeve seemed more appropriate for my situation. My SECOND surgeon made the very good point that because the Lap Band is a foreign object, it is highly likely to become infected or be an infection magnet for someone like me who is a medicated immunocompromised patient (for my transplant). So yeah, I'm having the sleeve on the 21st and I'm both nervous and excited.