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It's individual and everyone's nutritionist will say something different. At your stage I ate 100-200 calorie "meals", but I ate them about 6 times a day spaced apart. A lot of people eat less early on. If you have questions about nutrition, the best place to take them is probably your bariatric group. They'll steer you in a good direction. Many will have sample menus available for each eating stage to use as a guide. Best wishes!

I am hoping the collective wisdom of the folks on here can help me out! A year and a half post surgery, I developed an ulcer. I have been on medication for a couple of months and doing fine. However, my bariatric vitamins are a trigger for severe back and stomach pain, which lasts up to an hour and a half and at times makes work impossible until it passes. I have tried opening the capsules, taking them with food, taking them with yoghurt, taking them later in the day, drinking water before I take them. Nothing works. I need to have a multi-vitamin with iron, so I know some discomfort is probable, but for the first year and a half I was fine! Hoping someone had a similar experience, or knows of a good multi-vitamin that is less harsh on my poor stomach.

Hello everyone, So I'm getting nervous now! I have Ahcccs w/ AZ Complete Health Plan) & I have been doing all the requirements from my Bariatric Surgeon. 6 months supervised diet w/ chart all chart notes & visit summary (lost 6 lbs, never gained), endoscopy, cardiac clearance (pet scan, echo & EKG), pulmonary clearance (chest x-ray), sleep study, psych eval & clearance, nutritionist, & letter of recommendation from Primary Care doc. I made sure to get copies of everything & sent them to my surgery coordinator in the doctor's portal. FINALLY FINISHED! My surgeon's office is submitting everything next week & I'm nervous! I'm worried if I will be approved or not. Has anyone been in same situation? I am hoping to get VGS. 5'3" 229.5 (1st weigh in) 225lb. (current weight) obstructive sleep apnea hypothyroidism high cholesterol type 2 diabetic ( I was type 2 diabetic, but last blood test reads lower levels to pre-diabetic. I am still on Metformin)

I was miserable the first two days. Then I used spanx to keep the loose stuff inside still so I wouldn’t feel pulling. I’m four weeks out and still sleep with spanx. I avoided the couch because it was too low and couldn’t get up without pain. I also bought a raised toilet seat to be independent. It was $20 on Carewell.com . Do whatever you need to do to get through it, no shame. You will get through! Talk with your bariatric professionals. They know what’s normal.

Read a book or two about bariatric surgery. I recommend Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies and How Weight Loss Surgery Really Works by Matthew Weiner, MD.

I am new to the bariatric program and i have always had an issue to lose weight are there any suggestions how to proceed futher? Sent from my SM-G950U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

I was told no gummies as well. Your clinic may have samples. Bariatric advantage had sample packs I received one at the nutritionist appointment but the clinic recommended them as well. Now that I think of it I believe the sample was a chewable that contained iron though. It was the calcium citrate chew, the multivitamin chewable and something else (it may have been the one without iron I can’t recall). But most importantly, double check that you didn’t misunderstand the gummies suggestion.

I was told absolutely no gummies as well. I take the Procare Bariatric chewable formula with iron. It's never upset my stomach. However a friend had an issue with the iron in it upsetting her stomach so she started taking it at night before bed. It worked for her.

I started taking the vitamins from my first appointment with the surgeon six months prior to surgery. I started with chewables from the very beginning because I hate swallowing big pills. I stopped a couple days before surgery when I had to start the liquid diet. I resumed the bariatric multivitamin chewable about 4-5 days after surgery. I was instructed to not take the calcium citrate chewables until I could eat pureed foods. Around that time I also started the d3, b12, b3 and biotin too. My vitamin levels 3 months post surgery were higher than my values before surgery.

I will be doing self-pay in Mexico, surgery on 9/21. All in (hotel, flights, surgery, meds, spending money, etc.) will be just about $5,500. I did the math and using insurance would have put my out of pocket at about $7,000 and take roughly 9 months, versus about 3 months with my current surgeon. I wasn't so much concerned about the cost, though it was a factor, but I did take issue with the timeline. I have consulted for bariatric surgery multiple times and always chickened out. I didn't want to give myself that option this time. Putting down a down payment and a date on the calendar made it non-negotiable to me. On top of that, going the self-pay route cuts WAY down on the red tape and pre-op crap that insurance requires.

I was self pay for my sleeve - my employer-paid insurance plan had a specific exclusion against bariatric surgery. All in all, it was just under $20k. Had a stuck to my original practice, it would have been much closer to $30k (I'm in the Washington, DC area). Timing from start to finish is hard to comment on in my case... I switched practices at the beginning of COVID so that slowed things down incredibly. And then I was a bit slow in getting some of the requirements done (like getting my endoscopy, etc) because life and work got crazy. If I had been more on top of that sort of thing, it would have been faster esp with no insurance involved.

Don't forget that you may be able to have sugar-free popsicles, sugar-free Jello, and broth while on the liquid diet. (Double check with your nutritionist if you haven't been told this.) I did the two week liquid diet after reading about it, before I even met with the bariatrics team. I wanted to know if I could do it! It turns out that this surgeon does not require the two week liquid diet, just two days of clear fluids after following a high protein/low carb food plan leading up to it. The two-week liquid diet is doable if you keep drinking water and make use of the free items.

Yes, I had a simple gastroplasty (stomach stapling) in 1980. I lost 75 lbs by 6 months and then stopped losing. Over the next ten years I gained it all back. I had NO nutritional or psych guidance at all. In 1990 I had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and the same thing happened. I lost about 75 lbs by six months and stopped losing. Again, I had NO nutritional guidance or follow up. I returned to my original set point of over 300 lbs, where I remained despite many attempts at weight loss. Fast forward 30 years... Just before COVID hit, I met a man who told me he had RNY revision as a prerequisite for knee replacement surgery. I had no idea that a revision was possible. I was certainly interested, but then the pandemic arrived. Six months ago, I started thinking about it again and contacted a bariatric center 90 miles from my home. A barium swallow and an endoscopy revealed that the staples from the prior surgery had given way allowing a fistula (opening) between pouch and stomach, which back then was not cut away, just separated from the pouch by staples. It was obvious that there was a physical cause for the failure of the earlier surgeries. The surgeon assured me that the staple failure was not my fault due to up-chucking or pouch stretching, but was actually caused by the peristalsis of the stomach. He said that about 75% of the earlier WLS failed for this reason. Today, different kinds of staples and closure protocol are in place to prevent this kind of failure. I was put in the bariatric program to have a revision. I've lost 44 lbs to date and still have a couple of requirements to complete before revision surgery is scheduled. I'm hoping to have it in October. I'm excited but wary. Deep down I am afraid that the same thing will happen. My age (73) and prior surgeries are hurdles so I don't expect miraculous results. My hopeful goal is to get under 200 lbs. My dream goal is to reach 175 lbs. or lower. In the past six months, I've read over a dozen books about bariatric surgery and food addiction and collected a slew of bariatric cookbooks. I'm much better prepared than I was for the earlier surgeries. I now realize that I am a sugar/food addict, that "maintenance" doesn't work for me. I have to be continually vigilant about avoiding sugar, flour, wheat, rice, and processed foods. The only successful way to conquer addiction is abstinence. How Weight Loss Surgery Really Works, by Matthew Weiner ** Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies, By Marina Kurian, Barbara Thompson, Brian Davidson ** Food Junkies: Recovery from Food Addiction, by Vera Tarman *** Weight Loss Surgery Does Not Treat Food Addiction, by Connie Stapleton *** Why Diets Fail (because youʼre addicted to sugar), by Nicole Avena & John Talbott *** Bariatric Surgery & Food Addiction, by Philip Werdell *** (written for the clinician, but I found it valuable} The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients, by Colleen Cook*** A Pound of Cure, by Matthew Weiner (Focus on plant-based eating, not as restrictive as Bright Line Eating) Bright Line Eating, by Susan Peirce Thompson (similar to Kay Shepardʼs food plan without the 12-step program) Food Addiction: The Body Knows, by Kay Sheppard (12-step program, Focus on binging) From The First Bite: A Complete Guide to Recovery, by Kay Sheppard (12-step program, Focus on binging) Never Binge Again, by Glenn Livingston Lick the Sugar Habit, by Nancy Appleton (A bit outdated)

that's weird. If it were me, I'd think the same as you - too little, too late. Is she still willing to prescribe the scripts? If not, I'd contact the surgeon - they'll probably be willing to do it (in fact, I'm pretty sure the bariatric clinic prescribed all my pre- and post-surgery scripts)

Did you use Torrance Bariatric?

You're in a miserable situation for sure. I hope you and your family and friends came through the storm OK. I was on liquids for a week, then moved to puree stage. Some docs like their patients to stay longer on liquids. During the liquid phase, you can have protein drinks, thin cream of wheat, Greek yogurt, strained/blended soups, things like that. I would eat/drink slowly and stick to half a cup or so. It will take a while to learn what "full" feels like, but pay attention to the slightest feeling of fullness, and don't eat even a couple bites more, or you will regret it. During the puree phase, you can eat things that are blended to the consistency of applesauce. At that stage, I was grinding up dishes like chicken marsala or chicken curry and thinning them with a little chicken broth to get the right consistency. I would also grind soup and add chicken to get the right consistency and also add some protein. My doc said I could have soft fish and scrambled eggs during the puree phase if I chewed them well. One of my first mistakes, though, was trying to eat one egg and one egg white scrambled. It was too much and I didn't know to stop. If you have protein drinks, you can probably exist on those for a while. It will also help if you have power to run a blender. We could probably offer suggestions if you tell us what you have on hand and whether you have power or not. In Houston, Ike was a bad storm for us. I can't imagine how it would have been if I'd been recovering from bariatric surgery at the same time.

My Dr told me I could take ANY kind of multi vitamin, that it didn’t have to be bariatric specific. Does that sound right to anyone else? Also, I use a B12 nasal spray (prescription) once a week. It’s awesome, no injection and no sublingual.

SORRY JUST NOTICED I’M ON THE GASTRIC SLEEVE FORUM - I’M A BYPASS PATIENT hence the comments below about injecting B12… SORRY! I’m in the UK and 8 years out from my op - the first few weeks I was forced to take liquid vitamins that were disgusting (drinks that fizz!!) but I’m now on permanent prescription tablets here in the UK and because I’m over 60 I get it free at the point of delivery (all working individuals pay into a national insurance scheme). I do know that we were told categorically that 1) we had to take multivitamins (bariatric grade), plus zinc, calcium, (and if you’re a pre-menopausal lady) iron daily; and 2) that we had to do B12 injections. I take 500mg chewable Calcium with vitamin D (daily), Zinc 220 mg (2 0r 1 alternate days), Iron 210mg twice a week and Foreceval multivits & minerals (daily). B12 can be done either intramuscular (absorbs quicker, but done generally by a health care professional) or intradermal which is easy to do yourself. I do the latter, as I do the injections once a month by myself. There are videos on YouTube about how to self-inject. The syringes are only small like insulin needles, and painless. I source these myself as the UK is very behind the US in their appreciation of the merits of B12! Oh - and I barely, if any, lost any hair… maybe a few more than usual when washing for a couple of weeks, when the weight was coming off quickly, but nothing I could ever see.

You're not alone. I'm already depressed. I am a sugar addict and have questioned, "what's left after the food is gone? How will I find relief?" I've also questioned the point of anything going forward because, well, "what's the point if I haven't got my best friend food to support me?" I'm questioning whether it is a good idea to even get the surgery, however have been encouraged by two bariatric psychs that it's totally normal to grieve food. Food is 100% a drug for me. It's deeper-rooted than the cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, alcohol and sedatives I used to use. I'm assembling a team of online video support groups weekly, a bariatric psychologist and a therapist to help carry me through the next couple of months.

My nutritionist told me that according to recent findings, some tiny percentage of the B12 is absorbed, and that is indeed why they put an absurd percentage of the RDA in the bariatric vitamin tabs. I'll find out whether it's enough for me when the blood work is done. I think the injections are just once a month, so I would probably do that over the sublingual option. The injections are much less expensive. I did enoxaparin injections three times a day for two weeks after surgery, and they weren't too bad.

My surgeon's office told me to start the vitamins about a week after surgery. The first month a used a chewable one that was unpalatable. Since then, I've been using these from Amazon. They have 45 mg of iron, so I don't need additional iron supplements. Vitamin B12 is often a problem for bariatric patients. These also have 41,000 times the FDA's required daily allowance of B12, which I hope will be enough that B12 shots aren't required. (They will do my blood work on the 5-month post-surgery visit.) I also take a 500 mg calcium citrate tablet three times a day. The link to the vitamins: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HZ3YQ5X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Edit: The price is $30 for three months, which isn't too bad.

Your dietician or your clinic may have samples of the bariatric advantage. I think the sample was mixed berry and one other I can’t remember. I got them from my dietician.

Ditto! I am looking for vitamins as well! I tried the Optifast chews and I don’t like the chalk taste. I tried the bariatric advantage chewables in wild grape, it has a bitter after taste……has anyone tried any other flavor of the bariatric advantage gummies? Or any other brand that taste good?

I started taking mine during the pre op diet. I started with bariatric advantage chewable multivitamin but I just switched to bariatric pal with my NP’s go ahead. My clinic is super strict on vitamins and insists that I take bariatric formulations and strongly encouraged the bariatric advantage but I needed something cheaper so I did some research myself and found the bariatric pal. I am also taking a calcium citrate I found on Amazon by 21st Century Vitamins instead of the bariatric advantage chews but this is NOT with permission of my clinic. I just figured I am having labs again and would see what difference it made in three months time so I will see next month. In the beginning I took the bariatric advantage chews and they taste great and labs were perfect. They are just a bit pricey.

Hi there, Bloodhound. I started taking my supplements (chewables) the day I got home from the hospital. Unfortunately, I don't have any good recommendations as I have struggled to find some that don't make me nauseous. So, for now I've been taking Flintstones Complete. My nut says these aren't ideal and the goal is to get me onto standard bariatric supplements. She's ok with them for now though, and says they are a "band-aid fix", until we can find some that my body tolerates. I also add in 45mg of Iron, calcium, and also Folic Acid vitamins (per doctor's orders) too. Hopefully, I will find some standard bariatric ones soon.