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@newbegining2024 Hi All! I can't believe how fast time has gone! I will be going to my 6 mth check up tomorrow 2/20/24. Everything is a lot better! As of today I am 173lbs, I'll update my ticker it's still at 183. I am able to eat more varieties that I cook at home. Can't tolerate beef to well but I was never a big red meat person. I am still on the fence with salads/raw vegs though I can tolerate raw onions and tomatoes. I am not doing too well with my multi because I purchased capsules that I open to put in my smoothies which I don't take every day anymore. I just purchase the multi-vitamin pack from the bariatric store, I'll update you on that later My food is mostly a diet consistency of pescatarian due to the low cal/high protein and the ease of my system digesting the food. I would occassionally eat chicken as well (ground, poached breast etc), turkey hardly ever because the meat is not as soft as chicken. My veggies are fine steamed, some legumes & beans (occasional), as far as grains or potatoes etc I try to not do carbs at all or keep them at a bare minimum with an occasional meal...I've really gotten into sweet potatoes as I didn't eat them a lot before. Swelling is gone, skin is good, and I can visually see the difference in pounds and inches loss especially from a side view lol. I still have work to do (vitamins, eat more) and I am working on it. BTW!!!! I am back in the health & wellness field as I start my new position next week. I took a pause last summer. Now as I am on my health journey I'll be helping my patients with weight loss and adopting healthier lifestyles. My goal is to lose 13 more lbs and as you all know after running so long and you can see the finish line in sight....your legs get weary and that last sprint is the hardest. Let me know how you all are doing! (this will be posted in a new thread as well)

Hi Joe! My surgery is in 4 days. I am 5'6" and at my highest weight, I was 250 pounds, which gave me a BMI of 40.3. Since starting the nutrition program and pre-op liquid diet, I am down to 228 pounds, so a BMI of 36.8. I have high blood pressure, prediabetes, and high cholesterol. Like you, I've dieted countless times. In fact, I was enrolled in the nonsurgical program at my hospital for 7 years, starting when I was 42. I found it relatively easy to lose up to about 15% of my total body weight, around 40 lbs, by counting calories, exercising religiously, and not letting my guard down for a minute. After that, I would stall. Then the weight would creep back up. My doctor would prescribe meds (including Wegovy for a while, but it's too expensive for longterm use for me), and I'd lose 10 pounds. Then I would stall, followed by regain. Or the nutritionist would suggest a new approach, and I would lose a few pounds again, followed by regain. A little more each time. After 7 years of trying, I was back to my highest weight ever. I feel like I wasted a whole lot of time with nothing to show for it. And now I'm nearly 50. My blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol all have gotten worse. My feet hurt. My joints ache. I feel older than I am, and I don't want to be old before my time. I know from reading the latest studies in weight loss science that my chance of long term success in reaching and maintaining a healthy weight without the metabolic reset of bariatric surgery is around 5%. I'm fortunate because I've seen my brother go through sleeve surgery 15 years ago. He lost a huge amount of weight (about half his body weight) and though he has regained a fair amount of that, it's nowhere near where he used to be. His appetite is now what I would call the smaller side of normal. Nobody looks at him having dinner and would guess he had surgery. So I know that the most drastic parts of this (like a liquid diet!) are phases you have to get through to get somewhere better. I feel nervous, too. I've never had surgery. I worry about complications. I'm hardly ever sick, so I sometimes think what if I'm trading decent health for problems? But realistically, problems are in my future. I've seen it in countless family members. The writing is on the wall. And the surgery is very safe. So for me, the risk is worth it. I've tried on my own long enough to know it isn't going to happen for me without this. And a BMI of 40 might not be as big as some people, but it's big enough to rob me of good health in my future. I really hope this helps at least give you some things to think about to help you make your decision. Wishing you all the best!

If you don't already have it, the Baritastic app is pretty handy. So far, I'm only tracking food (well, liquids) and my weight, but there's more fun stuff, too. The bariatric nurse at the hospital recommended it during my pre-op appointment.

The lactose in the shakes can cause people to poop badly. There is something to take to help with lactose intolerance but I dont know what it would be called in the US. This might be something to ask at your meeting. There is also another preop diet to follow for those who are lactose intolerant. But that would normally be suggested by the dietician. Not sure why it wasnt suggested for you. Again another question for the meeting. I was not allowed fruit in my preop. If you have IBS you may find that certain fruits/foods may not agree with your tummy. Its all trial and error to find out what the culprits are that are affecting you. Fruit/vegies that have a high seed/fiber content were a no no for me before my RNY. Kiwi fruit, Zucchini, stone fruit, grapes etc are a bit of a problem but after you have the bypass you may find that you have the opposite problem and these fruits/vegies will help things to move along. It is all a bit of a learning curve. If you were to go an do it on your own these are issues that you would have to face anyway with having IBS so there no point is ditching the op at this stage. It is not part of their remit to even say "well if you cant handle it you may become malnourished". This statement smacks of shaming. It is their job to educate you in navigating it all. The RNY job is to make our bodies less capable of absorbing nutrients/calories from the food. This process is called malabsorption. This is the reason that you will be taking bariatric vitamins for the rest or your life. You will require blood tests on a yearly basis for the rest of your life to check that your body is being given the correct amount nutrients and head off any long term issues. Eating well and taking care of your body is something to focus on. I have been listening to the podcasts of The Bari Chronicles. You may find the Vitamin episode helpful. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-bari-chronicles/episodes/Multivitamins-Nutrition-For-Weight-Loss-Surgery-e2eduqv (Also available on apple podcasts. I hope it all goes well at the meeting.

I take this one and it's fantastic. I need the iron because I've always been a bit anemic, but they also have them without iron. https://store.bariatricpal.com/products/bariatricpal-multivitamin-one-day-bariatric-capsule-45mg-iron?variant=13156335845453

I am taking B12 sublingual 1000mg once a day. Could be the diet I eat have additional B12 in it. My Bariatric team did say I can take B12 every other day and see how it turn out. Because I just have surgery done, I won’t test it , maybe after the 3 month post op I will test taking it every other day and see how the result comes out. Ever since I am young I do feel like my body absorb more nutrient than everyone else. I have no science to back it up tho. It is in my gene that my family member are in plus size, maybe that’s a factor that effect it.

Programs are so different, but you should definitely be eating, or at least attempting, more solid foods by 8 weeks. In case this helps, I've just found this YouTube channel where a bariatric dietician is working through the food stages in the post op diet. I don't think she'll get to where you are until next week, but you might want to check her out: https://www.youtube.com/@BariatricFoodCoach Also, I found this video really helpful in explaining how to approach eating right after surgery:

What are your go to foods / snacks to buy on the bariatric pal website??? Im 2 months post op I really have little to no appetite. But with head hunger Im dying to have coffee & a muffin but want to stay away from high carbs. Sick of protein shakes just need some new things to try. Living off sugar free jello, pudding & 2 pieces of air fried chicken tenderloin. Every other day Is everything on the website ok to eat after Vsg ?

Yes, that's what happened, my hands were cold and they just came off and I was like "Ummm...well then." 😂 Yes, I might do that with the stones, good suggestion! The ring set is relatively new, I had been holding out on buying a new set for when I lost weight (you know how that goes) but after the whole cancer thing I decided to stop holding off on things I really want. So we bought the rings. Then a year later I decided to do bariatric surgery. LOL Go figure... But I adore the stone, it is a lovely aquamarine solitaire and the rings were custom made. So I'll be thinking on what to do with it all... If your rings are loose by themselves you may be able to use the ring snuggies that wrap around the band to make them fit better on your hand until you resize them. They worked great for me until the size difference became too big!

I had nausea until about 8 weeks out. It was constant and impacted my ability to eat, drink, and take my vitamins. A few things helped me (and others like me) that may help you: 1. Ondansetron only takes the edge off of nausea for me. It is rather ineffective for my body. I have much better results with promethazine, it actually manages to eradicate the nausea for a number of hours. I'd ask about a prescription to try it, at this point it is worth trying something else for the nausea and they have a number of meds out there that can help with this. I took it several times a day. 2. My surgeon told me to be gradual with my addition of vitamins. I had to take the chewable B complex everyday, and the little B1 pill because my complex didn't have enough B1 in it alone. But these were pretty gentle on my stomach. The actual multivitamins though he said are rather activating for the stomach and some people can struggle to incorporate them early after surgery. It could be these are contributing to your stomach pain and nausea, especially if your multivitamin contains iron, as it can be a little hard on a new tummy. So talk to your doctor about this, perhaps they can switch you to a bariatric B complex and let you try adding in the multivitamin closer to 3 months than all at once right now. 3. When my stomach would hurt I'd massage it in clockwise motions with firm, but not painful, pressure. I got twisting stomach spasms for the first few weeks with any food or water and this was the only thing that helped ease the pain of them. 4. My PPI needed an extra dose and for me, omeprazole is worthless. Some people metabolize it fast and for some it just doesn't work as well. Have they considered switching you to Pantoprazole? It is often used in the hospital because it is so effective. It might be worth switching to it to see if it is any more effective for you. A lot of bariatric patients end up having to switch around to find the most effective one for them. 5. Hydration is crucial early out of surgery. They should have had you exclusively focusing on hydration for the first two weeks along with the B complex. It sounds like your electrolytes are off, probably because you are chronically dehydrated. Nausea is made MUCH worse by dehydration!! You are 6 weeks and still struggling. Unfortunately at this point you DO need to be trying to get in some protein with your hydration to prevent malnourishment. Greek yogurt is great for this, but there are other options too. Have you tried any protein water powders like SEEQ or Syntrax Nectars? These are easier to stomach and come in nice flavors. SEEQ watermelon is seriously tasty. LOL Try some sample packets!! It is okay if you can't hit your full protein goals yet, every little bit helps. If the change in meds doesn't help you at all, I hope they consider doing some imaging and a scope to ensure you aren't experiencing something like a stricture. They are rare, but they do happen, and they can cause issues with progressing the diet. 6. Water flavoring packets can help with getting in more water, as does sipping it around the clock out of those tiny cups until you get the hang of getting more water in. It can and does feel like a full time job and you will feel like you are floating! This is normal. Electrolyte powders are a great addition to water at least once a day because they really help you get minerals you are missing since you aren't eating them in food! And try a variety of things and a variety of temperatures. Some hot broth or tea, some flavored water over ice, something room temperature, sometimes the tummy has an opinion about what the best temp is! I am so sorry you are dealing with these issues 6 weeks out. It sounds like your team needs to be more proactive in trying different meds and doing some testing to figure out what is going on. Honestly, some do struggle like this for a while. On occasion some end up with TPN for a while to help them get the nutrition they need. It sounds like you aren't quite at that point because you are keeping some foods down, but it is an option if you continue to struggle and end up in the hospital repeatedly for low vitamin levels. Some find a month or two of TPN can get them past the roughest part and then their systems are able to handle food and water without issue. It really depends on the person. But you don't want to go that route if you can avoid it... ❤️

If you don't already have some bariatric cookbooks, I can highly recommend these three of the several I bought: Bariatric Meal Prep Made Easy by Kristin Willard The Bariatric Diet Guide and Cookbook by Dr. Matthew Weiner The Easy 5 Ingredient Bariatric Cookbook by Megan Wolf All three have sound nutritional advice as they are written by bariatric experts, as well as some really nice recipes. They talk about portion sizes and what to aim for nutritionally as you go through the honeymoon period and into maintenance, and even give you different portions for different phases. None of the books give specific calorie goals, but that's rather standard with many programs. The focus is often for you to discover what works for you and not get sucked into a dieting mindset by counting everything so closely you drive yourself crazy. But the basics are generally to fill one half of your (small, child or luncheon sized) plate with a 3-4oz portion of lean protein and no more than a 1/2 cup serving of starch/grain, and the other half with non-starchy veg. Consume 60-80g protein. Drink at least 64 oz water. (Apologies for not having the metric measurements). Using a small plate is a really great visual cue. Check out the Portion Perfection plates, which are 8-inch melamine and printed with exactly how much of each food goes where. If you need to retrain yourself, this is an easy tool to use. They have bowls, too. (All the books and the plates can be found on Amazon in the US). Going back to liquids is extreme. I would think it would be sufficient to go back to three meals per day as described above, and either no snacks or only fruit and veg or a protein shake as a snack if truly hungry, and make sure you weigh your portions and get all your water in every day. The other thing is to look for processed foods that have crept back into your diet and get them out of your house. You can't be tempted by what isn't there. Good luck to you!

Sharing my experience as a VSG patient who had terrible GERD prior to surgery and a hiatal hernia - I was taking 20 mg of pantoprazole daily and STILL felt painful heartburn. I had a hiatal hernia repair (and gallbladder removal) at the same time as VSG. In the first 3 months after surgery, GERD was still pretty bad (which can be normal for most bariatric patients). My doctor had me on a proton pump inhibitor (Omeprazole) for the first few months. I had been on this type of med for 3 years prior to surgery, and this is the type of medicine you can't just quit taking cold turkey without some seriously bad flare ups to follow, regardless of having bariatric surgery or not. So after 2-3 months I started to reduce the frequency of taking the medicine gradually. After a month or so of reducing, I switched from proton pump inhibitor to an H2 blocker (over-the-counter famotidine) and only took it on an as needed basis. At first I still needed it often, but now I am 13 months post-op, have lost 80% of my excess weight and can't even remember the last time I needed to take any anti-acid medication. I have almost zero issue with GERD anymore. I attribute that to the hiatal hernia repair + loss of visceral fat (creating pressure on the stomach) + gradually reducing reliance on medications instead of quitting cold turkey + knowing and generally avoiding trigger foods. Hope that helps. Just wanted to share a story that is counter to the common assumption that VSG and GERD always lead to bad post-op experiences. I lost weight at a very consistent rate, but this can be different for everyone. Sounds like you are getting support from your dietician on this, which is a great resource. Good luck! I know it can be frustrating when things aren't happening the way we think they should. Hang in there and keep working with your care team. You got this!

Background.... I am a teacher in Missouri and not a single insurance plan covers anything dealing with bariatric surgery. Does anyone know of any supplemental insurance I could get that would cover it. I tried to finance but couldn't. Any info would be great. thanks

Have you seen a bariatric dietician? If not, perhaps it may be timely to do so. If I have understood correctly, you are eating 1/2cup of food at a time, many times a day??? You don't say what you are actually consuming...are you eating calorie dense foods? Nuts/seeds, cheese, full fat yoghurts/milk, avocado, salmon and other oily fish, eggs? Have you actually calorie counted your daily intake over a week or so? What exercise are you doing on a daily basis?

I did not have to commit to any amount of time for my Dr but they do recommend 2 weeks because then you can usually get the drains and stitches out. I stayed 6 days at a recovery house and then another week at my moms because she lives just 30 min from the border. That second week I just sent pictures to the dr as needed for updates and then traveled once to go get my stitches and drains out before I flew home. You can travel the day after surgery if you wanted to but I would really not recommend that because I could barely move. I really had no pain and other patients of his seem to have no pain too. I was just on tylenol and nothing else for 5 days. But you are so stiff and numb its like wearing a plastic suit or something and makes doing anything so much harder. I am on several plastic surgery boards and so far basically no one is reporting any hair loss like after bariatric surgery. I have not lost any yet but it also didn't happen until 3 months after my surgery before. So I'm hoping it won't happen but its too early to say for sure.

Day 5 out of 14 on the pre-op diet and I've settled into somewhat of a routine. I do a Bariatric Fusion cappuccino shake at breakfast with a 20 oz decaf tea that has 1/2 cup Fairlife milk and a scoop of collagen in it. Oikos triple zero yogurt for a mid-morning snack. Bariatric Fusion chicken soup shake for lunch. Jello for snack. 2 scoops Syntrax Nectar unflavored powder in one cup of Pacific Foods tomato basil soup for dinner. Jello for dessert. Sometimes a Good Night protein hot cocoa before bed if I'm hungry. I also take my chewable Celebrate One 45 vitamin, 3 celebrate calcium chews, 2 scoops of Benefiber, Vitagut liquid probiotic, and a liquid omega 3. Believe it or not, all of those supplements add 160 calories and 14g carb to my day! I also drink three 32oz waters with a sugar free flavor packet in each. Total average daily macros: 850 calories, 105g protein, 11g fat, 50g carb Weight loss so far: 7lbs

Thank you so much for all these suggestions! Yes I feel hungry sometimes after 30-60mins of a meal. So I drink water or protein shake. I do take PPI, that could be a possibility of why I still feel hungry. Most of the time it’s my head hunger craving for certain food. Also my tummy does rumble but don’t really feel hungry. I’ve been able to tell what type of hunger I am feeling. when I drink liquid, I literally sit there and drink with small sips through out the hours….when my tummy feel full from it, I come back to it later. I can feel the liquid traveling down when I drink. Yesterday was my first day being able to reach 60oz of liquid, but at night I didn’t feel well. Had my dinner at 6pm, went to sleep 11pm. I woke up feeling something up my chest and when trying to get up, I vomited. Sorry if TMI. It’s was all slimy mucus. No food. I was shivering, chills, migraine. I vomited a few times then vomited foamy bubbles… well after that I felt so much better. In search to see what is going on with me, it seems many bariatric patients go through this, but usually right after eating if they didn’t chew well or had too much food. I have tofu last night tho. It’s soft and should be easy to break down. On the bright side, It seems I am breaking my stall. From 241.6, I am now 240.6 lbs. even it’s only a little bit I am happy, because I am on this stall since 2 weeks ago, only 1 week after surgery.

You look great and have made fantastic progress. You have nothing to worry about. What you want to look at are your NSVs (Non Scale Victories). Here are a few of mine: I was able to fit in normal sized chairs at doctor's offices and the movies I was finally able to properly cross my legs when sitting My clothes were getting looser and not fitting as snugly I was able to wear 18" necklaces and they didn't fir like a choker My ring size went from a 10 to a 6 I could sit at a booth in a restaurant and there is plenty of space between my stomach and the table and I wasn't squished up against it I can wear bracelets and anklets now I am no longer diabetic, no longer have painful joints, no longer have high blood pressure, and am off all the meds for those issues When the scale isn't doing what we think it should be doing, look to your NSVs. That's what REALLY tells the tale with what your body is doing. Now, having said that, you gotta get back on your bariatric diet and re-dedicate yourself to it. The trick is to not undo all the progress you made. For me PERSONALLY, I can't let things like holidays and birthdays and special occasions be an excuse to go off my diet. I know that if I do, it'll be 10x harder to get back on track. So I make sure ahead of time that I have things I can eat that are compliant with my diet and still taste really good and allow me to be included with everyone else. Just keep that in mind going forward and you should do great.

if you're having your surgery in the US, the bariatric clinic usually includes post-op care, at least for the first year. My clinic provided it for the first five or so years - after that, patients who didn't have any issues (which is most of us) were referred to their regular PCP for their yearly exams/bloodwork. if you're having your surgery abroad, It depends on your US doctor if he/she will do follow ups. Check with them before your surgery. If it's an emergency, I can't imagine a hospital turning you away. Although that said, emergencies are pretty rare.

Fun fact: the Bariatric Fusion chicken soup protein mix I thought was so disgusting I almost threw it out when I first tried it tastes surprisingly okay on the third day of a liquid diet. I'm glad I turned out to be too cheap to toss a $45 container of protein into the garbage without giving it another try. Pro tip: I used one of those plug-in coffee mug warmers with a small lidded travel mug to keep it just the right temperature for slow sips.

It is different for everyone. I track and am 3 months out from surgery. I find it really helps to know what my macros are at the end of the day. I don't weigh my food very often because I'm really good at portions (I used to be a chef) but tracking keeps me accountable. And my surgery has a malabsorpative component so I really have to be careful I'm getting enough food. I will say though that when I researched it, most studies show that people who track their food (at least for a few months) lose more weight in general weight loss attempts and maintain that weight loss better. I don't know how that translates to bariatric surgery, they probably haven't studied it, but when you have a carb limit to stay in ketosis (not every doctor requires this but some do), or a high protein goal to reach, tracking your food can be helpful. I sometimes take a break for a day if I've been out a lot or I'm traveling or away from the internet. I figure doing it most days is good enough for me. I trust that the habits it is helping me cultivate will kick in on days I can't write things down. Plus sometimes it really surprises me how I might think I'm doing well on protein or low on carbs and then I put things in and find what I assumed was true was not in fact true. LOL

I would suggest maybe asking them why your fat target is so low? Is this a temporary target? Most studies now are showing we need 30 grams of fat for healthy brain function and more like 50-60 grams of fat for proper sex hormone function, regardless of our caloric intake. I asked my dietician about this and she said the ASMBS (American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery) suggests a fat target of 60 grams daily by 1 year post op. I can't find a reference to this on their site because there it is behind a member wall, but your dietician should have access to this and it is the guidelines most good programs follow. By all means, follow what your team says, I'm not saying to ignore their targets, I'm just pointing out with fat that low you may experience brain fatigue, dry skin, dry eyes, and your meals may not feel as satiating since getting enough fat is a component of satiety. But other than that your numbers look amazing for how early out you are post op!! Your surgeon should be thrilled you are able to get that protein in, it is soooo good for wound healing!

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. On the advice of my therapist and my surgeon's nurse practitioner, I stepped away from bariatric social media for a bit before my revision. The surgery went OK - it did take 6 hours, as my surgeon found a considerable amount of irregular tissue on my sleeved stomach that had to be removed and biopsied. Thankfully it turned out to be benign - probably was scar tissue from my sleeve surgery. I did have more pain and nausea immediately after surgery this time than the first time around and ended up staying a second night in the hospital until that was under control. It got much easier from there, and I only took 2 of the oxycodone they sent home with me (right before bedtime on the first two nights at home), and then minimal Tylenol for the next few days. I've been able to get all my fluids and protein in from the start. Pain is now minimal, my incisions are healing well. I'm starting to get my energy back albeit slowly. I'm now on soft foods and have tolerated each new food I've introduced without any problems, My biggest issue is constipation - I don't remember it being this bad after my sleeve. I'm using Colace, Benefiber, and Miralax. I wish I could drink coffee, that would help! 😫 My surgeon also left my pouch a little on the larger side, saying she doesn't want me to lose TOO much weight. I'm pretty disappointed about that, since I had 40-50 pounds to lose. I'm definitely already on the upper end of the amount I'm supposed to be eating at this point - 4oz. per meal (3oz. protein + 1oz. fruit/veg). I am down about 10lbs since surgery at 3 weeks post-op and just got back out of the OBSESE category. Hopefully I'll continue to lose at least something over the next few months.

I’ve been going back and forth and have decided to go with the sleeve because it’s covered by insurance and the procedure I had wanted, the sadi-s would cost me $20,000 because of my BMI. I hope this is the right choice.

Holaaaaa! I just wanted to ask if some of you never actually tracked down your food after your bariatric surgery ? Does it work ? Did you gain weight again ? I know everybody is different, i'm just trying to learn about other people's experiences !