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100% on The Viviscal and PRP micro needling. If you were to do one thing to motivate the dormant follicles, PRP is what I would recommend. I've seen the results of both The Viviscal and PRP micro needling and they are staggering for the renewal of those dormant follicles.

Yes, you should learn to cook for yourself. There are many bariatric cookbooks with simple recipes. Start with soups. Vegetable soups are so easy. I'll give you a recipe in a moment. My 70 year old brother has been learning how to cook and BAKE!. Amazing! I never thought he could do it. He's been doing a great job searching the internet for recipes and exchanging recipes with friends. You can do it too. Now, here is the Weight Loss Magic Soup recipe, only 57 cal per cup. It's filling and delicious. 32 oz chicken stock 3 cups V-8 juice (you can use low-sodium V8 or even Tomato juice, homemade or store bought) 2 cans Italian diced tomatoes 1 small onion 2 cloves minced garlic 1 package sliced mushrooms 3 carrots, peeled and sliced 1 zucchini, diced 1 yellow squash, diced 2 cups fresh or frozen green beans 1 can kidney Beans, drained and rinsed 3-4 cups shredded cabbage 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning Salt and Pepper, to taste In a large frying pan sprayed with cooking spray, sauté garlic, onions, carrots, and mushrooms for about 5 minutes. In a large crockpot, combine sautéed garlic and vegetables with the remaining ingredients. Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or until vegetables are cooked. (I have made this in a large stock pot on the stove instead of in a crock pot, simmering on medium heat.) This makes a large batch of Soup. If you would like to freeze portions of it to use later, undercook the vegetables just a little. Pour the soup into freezer Ziplock bags and let as much air out as you can. Lay the bags flat on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once the soup is frozen flat, it is easy to layer in your freezer and won't take up much room. To thaw, place the bag in the fridge for 24 hours and then reheat. https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/weight-loss-magic-soup/

No. Before I even met with the bariatric clinic to inquire about revision I did a two-week liquid diet just to see if I could do it. (It turns out that my clinic doesn't use that technique for liver reduction.) Liquid protein shakes and powders are very filling. They are not like the old "Slender" shakes in a can. I would drink them and ask "Where is the rest ov my lunch?" No, I'm quite satisfied drinking protein shakes, supplemented with broth, sugar-free Jello and sugar-free Popsicles. I won't say it was totally easy, but it was not as hard as I expected and I lost over 10 pounds during those two weeks. Do a practice run. Try it now for about four days just to see how it goes for you.

I did the same thing preop. After I attended the required bariatric seminar I changed everything then. I started living the bariatric lifestyle then. I figured I had a few months to "practice" before I had to do it for real. I cut out carbonated drinks, sugar and started trying out different protein shakes. It was 5 months before I actually had surgery but I was pretty well prepared by then. Dilute your protein shakes with some milk if they are too sweet and see if that helps. Good luck with your journey!

@Sunnyway what a great repertoire of books and resources. They do have OA meetings that focus on Bariatric Support.

I understand your concerns of failure going into this. When you have tried to lose weight over and over only to regain or not lose much at all, it is hard to believe anything will ever work. Yes, people have had WLS and regained or didn't lose much. I, like you, questioned my will power to remain on track, and still do. I have been on diet after diet, and tried many programs over the years, never reaching my goal (close a few times) and never getting to maintenance. I can say that post-op, I am surprised how much the restriction does help in keeping me from "going off" the plan. It is early on, so things may get harder, but at about a month out, a craving might "pop" in my head for a second, but it goes away quickly. I get full (satisfied) pretty quickly, and am not really tempted to snack. I think after putting myself through this extreme weight loss procedure & knowing that it is important to stick to the plan help me not want to do anything to jeopardize my success. I do enjoy cooking, but because I had to cook for my family also, I have been taking more short cuts then I did prior to surgery. During the soft food phase, I often ate Oikos Triple Zero Yogurt or scrambled eggs for breakfast, & canned chicken or tuna for lunch & dinner. Now that I am on the modified regular diet, I am trying to cook meals that my family & I can all eat. My sides might be different (quinoa instead of rice, etc.) I try to make double for my family & freeze a second meal when I can. For the foods that are just for me, I also try to make extra for another day or the freezer. The airfryer, crock pot & instant pot are great tools to make easy meals. Right now, as I am getting in new eating habits, I buy foods that are easy to prepare. You can do this.🤗👍 Find ways to take short cuts (in food preparation), find a few bariatric recipes that sound good & focus on those. I wish you luck with your surgery and progress. It is totally understandable to have these fears going into this, but don't let them get in your way of taking this step towards a healthier you. 🍀😊

When I had my psych consult (pre-op), the therapist said I hadn’t failed those scores of diets over the years; the diets had failed me. Having had the bariatric surgery, I have to say this: No, it has not been easy, but I feel like my body is my friend now, and I’m not always fighting it to get my weight down.

Wow. Thanks, Sunnyway! I appreciate the comprehensive list of books. I’ve got “Weight Loss Surgery Does Not Treat Food Addiction” in my Amazon cart. I will check out “The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients”. I am really hoping it won’t say cooking for myself. I’m single and live alone. It looks like there are some bariatric food delivery services. Thank-you again.

I've come to realize that I am also a sugar/food addict. I've read a ton of books, some of which I will share with you. OA, a 12-step program, is an excellent support group. I haven't joined OA but I know its out there and available to me. I had WLS in 1990, received no nutrition guidance, and was pretty much left to my own devices. I lost weight during the post-op honeymoon, but as time passed I could eat more...and I did! I regained every pound I had lost and returned to my original set point, where it stayed for the next 25 years despite a variety of weight loss program. I could never keep lost weight off. I only recently learned that my RNY can be revised. I wasted a lot of time, but I'm going to give it another shot. This time I have lots more information at my fingertips. Pre-operatively I have sworn off sugar, flour, wheat, rice, starchy vegetables, and processed foods. The first couple of weeks were hard but now I rarely get cravings or head hunger. I've lost 43 lbs. since the first of April. I know that abstention is the only way to prevail over addiction. I intend to continue with this post-operatively also. Since you already know you are a food addict, I recommend the following: Food Junkies: Recovery from Food Addiction, by Vera Talman Weight Loss Surgery Does Not Treat Food Addiction, by Connie Stapleton Why Diets Fail (because youʼre addicted to sugar), by Nicole Avena & John Talbott Baratric Surgery & Food Addiction, by Philip Werdell (written for the clinician, but I found it valuable} You might find Kay Sheppard's books relevant, since she advocates 12-step programs: Food Addiction: The Body Knows and From The First Bite: A Complete Guide to Recovery One more book that I highly recommend is The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients, by Colleen Cook. I've also discovered that there a plethora of Bariatric Cookbooks now. My favorite is The Bariatric Guide and Cookbook, by Matthew Weiner.

Forget snacks entirely unless they are protein or vegetable. They grease the slippery slope to regaining what you have lost. I speak from experience. I am approaching RNY revision and I will not make the same mistakes again. The pre-op food plan and the (clear/full liquid/puree) stages post op while we are not getting hungry give us the opportunity to establish a new way of eating. If we seek sugar-free or keto snacks we are merely making some substitutes for the OLD way of eating. It's too easy to find ourselves eating sugared and carbohydrate snacks and food when we don't happen to have the "-free" type. Just because substitute snack foods are sold on bariatric sites does not mean they are good for us. If we are wise we will ignore those products. Eat whole foods, fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits, quality poultry and meat products. Avoid sugar, sugar substitutes, wheat/flour products, and processed foods. We can get plenty of tasty food to eat with these choices. I encourage you to obtain and read these two books by Dr. Matthew Weiner: A Pound of Cure and The Bariatric Guide and Cookbook. There are lots of other bariatric cookbooks available, too, including some for Air Fryers, InstaPots, and CrockPots. These will help you learn your new way of eating.

There are a ton of bariatric cookbooks on Amazon including those for Air Fryer, Instant Pot, and Crock Pots. I particularly recommend The Bariatric Diet Guide and Cookbook, "Easy Recipes for Eating Well after Weight Loss Surgery" by Matthew Weiner. I also like The High Protein Bariatric Cookbook, by Stacy Gulbin and Weight Loss Surgery Cookbook (for Dummies) which is a companion to Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies which every WLS patient should keep handy. I would encourage everyone to read The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients by Colleen Cook, available on Kindle. Hard copy can be found on used book sites like Abe.com It is not a cookbook, but address long term success post surgery.

I was always able to drink more than I supposedly should have been. The PA at my bariatric clinic said my stomach would let me know if I was drinking too quickly.

hair loss can be a side effect of any major surgery - and childbirth, for that matter. It can also be a side effect of rapid weight loss. So we've got the double whammy - triple, really, because in addition, we're also taking in very few calories those first few months. So I think we see the hair loss side effect more often with bariatric surgery than we do from other types of surgeries. mine lasted about three months - and that's fairly common. Not much you can do about other than keep on top of your supplements and make sure you're meeting your protein requirements, since that can keep it from getting any worse than it would otherwise. And know that it'll eventually stop and the hair will grow back again...

Congratulations!! I had my surgery August 11. I’m on puréed foods. Invest in a Bariatric Cookbook (recommended by my Nutritionist). It has been so helpful. Has recipes for all stages . The hardest part is the fluids. But it’s a process so take it day by day.

six years out and I don't think my stomach has ever growled. Most (but not all) people lose their hunger after surgery, but for most of us, it comes back sometime during the first year. I wish I was one of those lucky few whose hunger never comes back, but mine did come back at around five months out. there are no food restrictions once you get a few months out, but that's not to say that some of us don't have food intolerances, even if we're technically "allowed" to eat any food. Some people can eat pasta, some can't. I can eat a little of it. It kind of sits like a brick in my stomach, though, so I don't eat it very often and when I do, it's just a little. Plus it's not terribly nutritious. I really try to focus on very nutrient-dense foods because my stomach is so small now. P.S. re: carbs - yes, bariatric patients eat carbs. Early out, some clinics recommend very low carb diets, some don't (mine was more of a balanced plan). But once you're a ways out, carbs are fine - as long as they're mostly the "good" kind. For many of us, our main focus is in protein, though.

the sleeve is an easier, less complicated surgery and some surgeons are more comfortable doing that one. If you want bypass and she won't do it, you can always go to another surgeon. Yes - there's a greater risk of complications with a bypass, but the risk of major complications with either surgery is pretty low. I've been hanging around on bariatric surgery sites for around seven years, and yes - although some bypass patients need iron infusions because they don't absorb enough iron from oral tablets, I would say that's definitely not the majority. I went with bypass because it has a longer history and I had GERD. I've had no issues with it and have been very happy with my decision.

I’m having it done here in Atlanta by a highly experienced and respected bariatric surgeon. He has done many of them and likes them because with only the one hook up, there is less chance of future issues or leaking. Does the same as regular bypass…

Generally, the sleeve will be less fussy than the malabsorbing procedures when it comes to supplement requirements, however, they will all have some initial requirements for the first few weeks or months as you need some additional nutrition since you won't be eating much for a while. Shakes are a part of it, for a variable amount of time, as that's the only way other than real food to get our needed protein. Over time, there will be little that you can't eat with a sleeve -which is good and bad. Good in that you can, in principle, be able to get all of your nutrition from food if you are so inclined (most aren't, which is why they still need to supplement some.) Bad in that you can still eat junk that goes against your weight maintenance goals. Some people need supplements, even with no WLS at all, simply because that is how their body works. Some programs impose the same supplement regimen on their sleeve patients as they do for their bypass patients, not out of necessity for the sleeve but for their own (the practice's) convenience. Periodic lab checks will tell you what you personally need to stay healthy. Are you having your WLS done here in the States, or in MX? The mini bypass is rarely done here in the US and is rarely covered by insurance and AFAIK has not been endorsed by the ASMBS as an approved, mainstream procedure. I would do some further research as to why this is before proceeding. The mini is done in MX, primarily as a cheaper alternative to the RNY, and is also more commonly done in some other countries. Here in the States, I would shy away from it for the same reason that I wouldn't own a French car (irrespective whatever merits they may have) as they haven't been sold here for decades and finding parts and service is a PITA. Likewise, should you have problems with a mini sometime down the road, finding someone who knows how to treat it can be a problem; if you have a sleeve or RNY, any bariatric practice at any hospital will know what you have and how to treat it.

-It is not an unreasonable position for her to keep, as the bypass does indeed provide very similar weightloss and regain results to the sleeve but at a somewhat higher cost in potential problems, limitations in future medical care and increased fussiness on supplements. The bypass is overall a very good procedure that is mature technology - it has been around as a WLS for some 40+ years, and its basis dates back some 140 years, so it is a well known quantity, both good and bad. Her concern about ulcers is well founded, and that is something that one lives with, or at least the threat of them, with the bypass as it is intrinsic to it. One may never experience one, and most don't, but everyone is living to avoid them - it is the basis of the "no NSAID" policy that is common in the bariatric world as one needs to avoid any medications that promote stomach irritation and NSAIDs are the most common class of drugs that we encounter (but there are others that one may encounter through life.) Occasionally someone will come through with an ulcer problem that defies resolution, and their main course of action it to reverse the bypass. This is rare, but it happens. Marginal ulcers are to the bypass what GERD is to the sleeve - you can't fool mother nature and there will always be potential consequences to fooling around with her. One needs to balance what one gets from a treatment against what might possibly occur on downside. Iron infusions are also a fairly common need after bypass, as it malabsorbs minerals in particular, and while some can get away with simple oral iron supplements, many can't and need periodic infusions. This is rare with a sleeve as there is no particular malabsorption. Another factor that weighs on some is the "plan B" factor - what does one do if things don't work as expected - complications, inadequate weight loss or regain? While we don't like to think in terms of getting revisions, they are sometimes necessary, and the bypass is difficult to revise if it doesn't work right; as noted above in the case of intransigent ulcers, the usual is to reverse the bypass and put you back where you started from, and likely still needing help in weight control. The sleeve, on the other hand, can readily be revised to the bypass if needed - typically for intransigent GERD problems - or to a duodenal switch for continuing weight problems. Again, not something we like to think about, but the options are there. The bypass also presents some additional limitations in future medical treatment, as it leave one with a blind remnant stomach and upper intestine, which can't easily be scoped endoscopically as with the natural GI system or with a sleeve. Again, something that may never come up, but likely will sometime in your future life. A further note, your surgeon is in good company, as my doc rarely does bypasses as well, though his preference leans toward the duodenal switch as his primary, with VSG as a second choice. He does, however, do a fair amount of business revising problematic bypasses to the duodenal switch, and will do the odd bypass when it is specifically indicated for a patient, but that is fairly rare.

You do have to take vitamins, supplements, and a B complex for the rest of your life on the sleeve, too, and you start with liquids (surgeons vary, some require clear liquids before you get thicker liquids), then on to purées and soft foods, and my surgeon recommends avoiding things like cruciferous vegetables (e.g., cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts...) until you are fully healed and know your own reactions. I don't think there's any such thing as a bariatric procedure with a simple post-op.

That's the weird thing, She has 23 years experience and is a surgeon of excellence in a MBSAQIP bariatric center. I don't want GERD and I don't want to have another surgery down the road. It annoys me a bit that the surgeons are like if this doesn't work out we'll change to a bypass later. Not everyone has the funds to keep getting surgeries.

Hi, Lesley! Nice to see someone else from Canberra! I did move there in 2019 and am seeing a GP to check blood levels. Everything is good, so I haven't needed to see a bariatric surgeon since I've been there. I left Australia for work in April 2021, theoretically for three months. Now I'm one of the thousands of people stuck outside the country because there are no flights, and I have no idea when I will be able to return. I'm very sorry you all are locked down. It must be a particularly difficult time to have surgery there!

Thanks everyone. Your comments have helped. I'm going to ask more questions and maybe contact the previous bariatric center I was working with before. I was really curious to see if anyone else had received the same feedback from their surgeon, like, perhaps opinions on the bypass were changing among the bariatric community. thanks again and have a great weekend everyone!

My wife had her RNY in 2019, I remember her pain was so intense that even clearing her throat would hurt her abdomen. Doing my research on how to minimize this type of discomfort beside taking your pain meds post surgery one can also have some relief by using a pillow or a brace to help you support the abdomen. Has anyone had experience with this and did it work for you? Any suggestion on a particular brand? And thank you in advance for all the replies this is a wonderful online community I am grateful for this forum it has really giving me hope and help me manage my questions and navigate thru my anxiety.

Hi BigSue, Thanks for responding. I actually started out at a different hospital and they seemed more likely to do both surgeries, the issue with them was that it took a long time to get them to give me their costs for the surgery and even with my insurance it was out of my price range. So I switched to another bariatric center that I could afford. the surgeon and the center have multiple awards for surgeries and she was voted best surgeon in my region, so I'm wondering is she just more experienced and knows its not worth the risks or too conservative? In any case, at this point I feel tied to this center since I've already spent a lot of time/money and am reluctant to start again. I really wish everyone would just list the costs up front.