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You'll be in the same boat as 60-90% of bariatric patients. Some realize this and deal with it, others beat themselves over the head and come back again and again. I recommend group therapy. Eating disorders (which what it actually is; but I understand addiction is a valid framing in America) are highly social disorders, and group therapy is a great social setting to solve it in. Best of luck.

I’m so sorry you’re surgery has been canceled once again. In Massachusetts where I live our governors administration is now asking hospitals to reduce procedures for non-life-threatening conditions by 50%. This is including bariatric surgeries, hip replacements. Many of the larger hospitals in Worcester, Boston, Springfield are full ICU patients, staff shortages and overload of patients in the ER departments. Plus the uptick of COVID.

Thanks. I haven't heard from my doctor at all. One thing I do want to mention as an FYI, or in case anyone is interested is that my psych asked me a question. She asked if I'd be happy staying the same weight that I am, or losing 10-20 pounds since my eating patterns have shifted a little. But generally, can I be happy at this weight. Because I think we both know that, barring some miracle, I'm likely to not lose the amount of weight I would if I had the procedure. I'd have to research the meds that were mentioned earlier (that's not really a road I've traveled as of yet). So I'm still thinking about that. Honestly, NO. I'm a big girl. I don't mind being big, to some extent, but I'm uncomfortable in my skin with how I am now. Eight years ago I was able to lose a nice chunk of weight, but I can't say that's possible right now for me. Age, stress, hormones - you name it, are really working against me. But, being also not sure about the surgery, I'm in a limbo of sorts, which is almost more depressing and frustrating. It was advised that I touch base back with the bariatric program in a month or so, or after the holidays to kind of gauge where things are. But honestly I don't even know what they would want me to do at this point (start over in the program, etc.) and it sound exhausting to me to do that.

I'm not going to pee on your leg and tell you it's raining. You have to change your approach to food. It's vital. If you don't change your "old eating style", you will not succeed. It doesn't mean eliminate things, it means WAY smaller portions, sometimes to the point where it's not worth buying, say, separate steaks for you and your partner. At three months post-surgery, I literally could not finish a 28 ounce lobster tail before it went bad. If I'm REALLY lucky and my stomach is 100 percent empty, I can get 4-5 ounces of protein down before my restriction kicks in, and then it's hours before I want to eat again. Yesterday I made a pound of ground turkey breast into burgers, intending to eat half in one meal and half in another. I made it through four ounces of the stuff and was vaguely nauseated all day. You will have to eat your protein first, then your vegetables, then your starches. No exceptions. So if you get surf-n-turf, you might get two ounces of lobster and an ounce or so of wagyu down (I have trouble eating much steak, which is a shame given that steak is what I do), and you MIGHT have room for a few bites of vegetables, and MAYBE a bite or two of baked potato. And I mean little bites. If I get 2 oz. of rice or potato down, it's a lot. And I eat much more than your typical bariatric post-op patient because of how active I am. You also are going to have to give up, at least temporarily, drinking anything with dinner except maybe a sip or two of water to help drier proteins go down. That means no wine with dinner. Once you're used to how to eat, and once you're cleared for alcohol, a sip or two isn't going to kill you, but you simply won't have room for both wine and food even if you drink the wine first. I nursed a glass of Barolo for almost three hours in Vegas. tl;dr you can eat kind of whatever, but because you have so little room, you must prioritize your eating so you don't get sick, weak, or anæmic.

Some people are just slow losers. But everybody and every body is bound by the CICO (calories in calories out) equation. If you are eating in a caloric deficit, which literally every post-op bariatric patient (regardless of surgery) is, you are going to lose weight. It just may not be leaps and bounds. And for those who lost a ton of weight quickly, a lot of that is water weight and many of us stalled after our body recalculated its hydration needs, whereas many slow losers lose steadily. It. Will. Come. Off.

I agree with @ShoppGirl. You may have transferred your addiction back to food. Seeking a therapist who specialises or is experienced with bariatric patients, disordered eating &/or eating addictions. Your surgeon should be able to recommend someone to work with you. Unfortunately many anti depressant meds increase your appetite too so you they could be adding to your battle. Congratulations on being a year sober. All the best. Sorry, just read your response above & I’m glad you’re seeking help from therapists all ready. Definitely see a dietician. Sometimes little things have a, big impact on losing or gaining.

I am only 8 months out so I can’t speak about regain but if you haven’t seen a nutritionist yet you could learn some things that will help you to lose weight. Is the doctor saying they won’t do a revision unless something is wrong?? I was told that they do revision because of heartburn even if you aren’t that overweight. Have you considered seeing a bariatric therapist? Maybe since you experienced addiction transfer and you are sober, you transferred back to food again and need to get to the root of the addiction before you will be able to lose the weight.

Hi Angelina - congratulations on your surgery! Many bariatric veterans recommend not weighing for at least 3 weeks after surgery (due to the fluid retention). I know it’s hard to refrain from weighing, but put it out of your mind for now. You’ll be satisfied in the long run!

First have you been given a surgery date? Second is this the bariatric surgeon your PCP recommended to you? Third have you looked into your insurance plan to see if any other bariatric surgeons are covered within your plan? Finally I honestly wouldn’t commit to this bariatric surgeon especially when you have not met your surgeon as of yet. I hope you keep us posted of your decision. I wish you the best.

I use the bariatric fusion unflavored collagen. It also has protein. I also have Further Food collagen peptides vanilla flavor from Amazon. If you are more of a vitamin person, I also have the vital vitamins multi collagen complex. Also found on Amazon. I just open the capsules and blend them in with my shakes.

Hi all - Just got my bloodwork back at my 1 year check up. Most things look great, except I'm *still* having low blood sugar. I had this at my 4 month check up as well, and I do experience it sometimes. Got a home test kit for blood sug, the first one of which warning that it was only accurate for higher-than-normal ... useless. Anyway, any tips or experience with this out there in the vast body of bariatric knowledge? Thanks!

There are many brands of protein shakes and powders and each of them offer many flavors. Just do a google search to see what is out there. The prices varies from reasonable to ridiculously expensive, so shop around. Many can be found at Walmart or ordered online from the manufacturers or Amazon. My clinic recommends these brands (but I've tried many others): Premier Protein Ensure Max Equate High Performance Atkins Plus Musle Milke Genuine, Muscle Milk Light Boost Max Fair Life Core Power There are even high protein soup powders from ProtiDiet and Bariatric Advantage, and others. The variety is vast. Some you will like, some you won't. If you don't like something today, try it again in a week. You can also make your own high protein shakes. There are lots of recipes online, using unflavored whey protein powder mixed with milk or water, like GenePro I prefer plant-based unflavored powder, Like Orgain or Pure Protein. You can add protein powder to just about any liquid, even your coffee or tea or bullion.

Oh my goodness I was looking at those the other day. Today is week 3 for me. I get the outshine no sugar added fruit pops. I only eat one every 2-3 days. They are satisfying. If you like the fudge taste. You can make some Sugar Free Chocolate Jello pudding. I use Protein reduced fat lactaid instead of regular fat free milk. I add some unflavored Bariatric Fusion protein power to it. I do this with the sugar free cheesecake pudding. You can do it with chocolate instead. Hope this helps. 💛💛💛💛

The Baritastic app is great. There is another thread about apps. All of the vitamins can be ordered online. The BariatricPal One-a-Day is only $99 for a whole year. You will still need chewable Calcium Citrate, 1500 mg/day. Shop around for the best prices. I got Bariatric Advantage chewable on Amazon cheaper than on their own site,

I went through insurance but I know someone who paid privately and she didn’t have to go through all the hurdles either. I am not sure if she had to do labs or not but she didn’t have to see the nutritionist or the psychiatrist. Which was all I had to do with insurance. The other medical stuff is as needed to determine you are fit for surgery or to prove comirbidites to insurance companies so it varies person to person. If you think you may have disordered eating (like boredom or emotional eating or binge eating) I would definitely see a bariatric therapist whether they require it or not. I learned after surgery about boredom and emotional eating and I struggle with both. I wish the psychiatrist I had to see had picked up on this so I could have dealt with it before surgery. I wanted the surgery asap but I feel the process has been harder for me dealing with my disordered eating while also doing weight loss phase.

Hi! I loved Dr. Tanner and the UNMC Bariatric Center. Everybody there is well informed, thorough, and pleasant to work with. They roll the red carpet out for you. I was nervous and worrying about the surgery, because I’m 53 and have grandkids that I care for, so that weighed heavy on me. Dr. Tanner reassured me, beside normal surgery risks, and stated that she has not lost a patient before, which eased my worry. I hope you find a great provider! Best wishes for you on your journey and for a speedy recovery. Thank you for reaching out. Gayle

I have dealt with depression and anxiety my whole life. Prior to surgery, I put a tremendous amount of work into getting into a really good med routine, therapy, learning coping mechanisms and grounding techniques, dealing with the thoughts that were driving my disordered eating behaviors, etc. I think the very best thing you can do is get yourself in the best mental & emotional shape you possibly can. The reality is bariatric surgery is major surgery, it puts tremendous strain on your body and your mind, there are risks and benefits that have to be considered. If you are not quite ready to face the emotions and struggles that come after, then talk to your therapist and decide if now is the right time for surgery. But if you've done the work, have a solid support system, and realize that the only way to make this work for you is to do the hard work, then you're ready and will be just fine. My anxiety has not increased since surgery, but I attribute that to the work I did beforehand and the realization that I've done something that was quite literally life saving for me. It has given me incredible hope. Best of luck to you!

Before surgery, I had been obese since the age of 8. I was 54 when I had the sleeve done. In all those intervening years (decades), I was never able to lose significant weight and keep it off for more than a year (usually 6 months). After surgery, I lost 130 pounds and reached a normal BMI for the first time since I was a little girl. I'm coming up on 3 years since my sleeve and my weight is within 4 pounds of my lowest weight. I had 45 years of trying to lose weight and maintain the loss. If I could have done it on my own, I would have. To a certain extent, you're right. No surgery will allow you to eat unhealthy food on a regular basis and maintain the weight loss. The part you are missing is that for some of us, the surgery alters our appetite and reduces cravings. That makes it much easier to stick to a desired eating plan. Prior to surgery, my appetite beat me up like it was Mike Tyson. Now, it's more like a toddler. It can make a lot of noise, but it doesn't overpower me anymore. I'm not consistently relying on raw will-power, where I'm constantly struggling not to eat. That wouldn't be at all sustainable (as my 45 years of diets demonstrated). Sure, sometimes I want something bad and I have to tell myself "Not right now". But it's a heck of a lot easier to do that now than it was before surgery. It's really unfortunate that you were told you would be able to eat as you did pre-surgery. I honestly don't know ANYONE who completely went back to their old diet and maintained their weight loss. Now that I am in maintenance, I'm not as strict as I was during the weight loss phase. I eat more carbs (in the form of fruit mostly) and I allow myself a treat now and then (Thanksgiving, Christmas, my birthday, Passover, etc.) But day to day, I eat a maintenance diet that is very different from how I ate pre-surgery. Your surgeon is simply wrong. 2 years and 9 months after surgery, I still have significant restriction and my appetite is still about two-thirds of what it was before. The restriction is not as intense as it was in the early days/weeks/months after surgery, but it's there. I am satisfied with a fraction of the food I used to eat at one meal. It will always be possible to "eat around your sleeve" by eating unhealthy food in small portions, but all day long. No surgery can stop you if you are really determined to over-eat. That's why it's important to get to the root of the psychological reasons you depend on food to help you cope. Because surgery doesn't eliminate those issues. It's very unfortunate that your bariatric team didn't prepare you for that aspect of things. Different people have different experiences of what post-surgical life is like. Not everyone gets the long-term appetite reduction that I enjoy. I'm aware that it may not last forever. But almost 3 years later, the sleeve is still helping me maintain my weight loss, WITHOUT a constant will-power battle. It takes commitment sure - I can't eat everything that comes to mind, whenever I want. But for the first time ever, I feel like on any given day, I can CHOOSE how and what I eat, rather than being a prisoner of my appetite.

Your doctor may suspect that you are a sugar addict. If so, that's why he's barring sugar and carbohydrates. Of course, there are carbs in starchy vegetables (like sweet potatoes) and fruit, but your body processes them differently than bread and sweets. I've been on a high protein/low carb diet pre-surgery, and have eliminated sugar, flour, potatoes, rice, and processed foods. It's been very successful. I've learned a lot reading about sugar/food addiction and have come to the conclusion that I have this addiction. Once I've broken through the withdrawal period I don't crave these things. I have gone off the rails a few times and paid the price. It takes me about two weeks to get through withdrawal all over again. I've been working on this food plan, A Pound of Cure by Matthew Weiner, a bariatric surgeon. I intend to follow it post-surgery, possibly for life. To find out more about sugar/food addiction, all of these books are helpful.

I think it will be a piece of cake compared to my 1990 RNY. It was open surgery. I have a scar from below my sternum to my belly button. I was in ICU 2-3 days and in hospital for a week, then off work for another 4 weeks. I was given no nutritional advice or counseling. I saw the surgeon once before surgery, on the day of surgery, and two weeks later for him to check the stitches and remove the drain tubes (3 weeks of drain tubes!). In ICU I had a nasal gastric tube and IVs--nothing by mouth. On returning to a regular room I got clear liquids for a couple of days, pureed/soft for a couple of days and, get this: I was given solid food within 7 days of surgery. I was given a one-page low calorie diet and told "don't throw up". No wonder I blamed myself for the failure of the procedure. For 30 years I assumed that I ruined the RNY because I had thrown up too often. It was not until I had an EGD that I learned that the staples dividing the pouch from the stomach gave way due to peristalsis of the stomach. My surgeon told me that around 75% of the bypasses done back then failed for this very reason. He specialized in bariatric revisions during his residency and 1/3 of his current surgery is for revisions. He's reassured me that the new laparoscopic incisions and robotic assisted protocols are far superior, that the possibility of staple failure and leaks are minimal and would be found quickly. Because of my age (73). I'll stay two nights in the hospital instead of the usual 1 night. I think I'll be in good hands and make a rapid recovery. I have every intention of driving to my 2-week follow up visit.

Before my surgery, I used to eat pizza, candy, chips, ice cream, and basically all of the junk foods. Eating indulgent food was basically my only pleasure in life. I ate a frozen pizza every Friday, and I looked forward to it all week long. But my tastes have changed after surgery. At first, I tried to make a bariatric-friendly version of pizza, with a Mr. Tortilla tortilla as the crust, sugar-free marinara, low-fat mozzarella, and turkey pepperoni. I also tried a chicken crust pizza. These are fine, and somewhat satisfy a pizza craving, but I don't even really want pizza anymore. There are so many things I'd rather eat that it's not even worth it to me to eat chicken crust pizza. I don't really desire chocolate anymore, either. I used to eat a whole bag of fun-sized Snickers in 3 or 4 days, but now, when coworkers bring candy to work, I have little to no desire to eat any of it. Part of that is because I discovered Built Bars, which I think are even better than actual candy bars. The things I look forward to eating now include fish fajitas (BTW, I hated fish before surgery and now I love it) and turkey wraps with low-carb tortillas, grilled chicken with sugar-free BBQ sauce (I love G. Hughes BBQ sauces and I think they're just as good as the sugar-laden ones), mashed cauliflower, riced cauliflower (cauliflower is another thing I used to hate but now I eat it almost every day), salad, and other healthy foods. I have found things to satisfy my sweet tooth (e.g., protein mug cake instead of cake/cupcakes; protein bars instead of candy bars), but for the most part, I don't even have much of a desire to eat junk food anymore.

It's crazy they still treat this debunked old wives's tale as fact. Obviously, if coffee annoys your stomach, don't drink it. But the dehydration myth gets thrown around a lot for no good reason. It's plenty hard for bariatric patients to keep up with their plans and exercise and whatnot; it annoys me to no end that these teams don't see it's crucial to keep the "can'ts" of our programs to the necessary requirements, not "oh just in case, don't have x y z lol". Actual science: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/caffeinated-drinks/faq-20057965 https://time.com/5192272/coffee-tea-dehydrating/

Thanks for the replies on this, I am currently taking a chewable bariatric multivitamin that has the calcium citrate in it. It's a one stop shop until my tummy can deal with swallowing tablets. The downside is I have to take three of them daily and they're fairly hefty - but since I've been taking them in the evening thanks to the advice here, life has been much easier!

So happy you’ve been having a positive experience through this & have such a supportive team behind you. So many don’t unfortunately. My bariatric surgeon also drew pictures. The GP I had years ago was the first I encountered who drew pictures & diagrams to explain things better. The best. Taught me how to ask the right questions of all my subsequent doctors & surgeons. All the best for your revision surgery.

Many bariatric doctors recommend implants or IUDs. Until then, use condoms in addition to your BC pills.