Today, BariatricPal celebrates its 11th birthday! I am very proud of this accomplishment and of our dedicated BariatricPal members who have made the last 11 years possible.

How It All Started

I got the lap-band and came home from the hospital on July 2th 2003. Almost immediately, I went online to find out the answers to some of my questions and to share experiences with other weight loss surgery patients. To my dismay, I could not find an online social site that met my needs. The very next day, I started LapBandTalk.com with the goal of providing a welcoming community for lap-band patients and potential patients to provide support, encouragement, and advice to each other.

The Evolution of BariatricPal

LapBandTalk.com took off, and I eventually started VerticalSleeveTalk.com for gastric sleeve pre and post-op patients, RNYTalk.com for gastric bypass pre and post-op patients, and SleevePlicationTalk.com for sleeve plication pre and post-op patients. In 2013, 10 years after the launch of LapBandTalk.com, I decided to merge the boards into BariatricPal.com. This single community retains the welcoming environment of the individual boards, but has a stronger voice in advocating for weight loss surgery as a way to fight obesity.

We Hit Post Number 3.5 Million!

BariatricPal is still growing. Our community includes hundreds of thousands of members and 7 million monthly site visits. Our most recent milestone is an impressive 3.5 millionth post, which we hit on July 10! Don’t forget that the lucky poster who made post number 3.5 million will receive a free copy of my latest book: The Big Book on Bariatric Surgery: Living Your Best Life After Weight Loss Surgery.

Thank you for your continued support. Without your participation and feedback, BariatricPal would not be the top site that it is today. I am truly grateful for all that you do.

Sincerely,

Alex

Thank you for this site and for it not being filled with annoying ads. This helps so many of us.

Don't thank us Alex,

Thank you! You started this and without it where would we be? It was sad to see some old faithfuls leave the board but with your help and support they got what they needed and left. Maybe someday they 'll just check in to say hi!

Happy Anniversary to BPS! Growing in leaps and bounds as we support each other to lose the pounds!

Thank you, Alex. This site is an invaluable resource, and so much more.

Thank you Alex for starting this website. It is so good to have one place to go to get all the support and information that we need. I have been on this site just about every day since I joined April 24, 2014. I love seeing everyone's success and it is nice to know that if I have a problem I can either search the subject or start a new topic. At least one person has had the same problem.

Thank you Alex!

This site has been worth more than words can express to me in this journey down the "loser's" highway.

Kathleen

This site has been my number one resource before, during and after WLS. At my surgeon's monthly support group meeting I always make sure to tell newbies (pre- and post-op) about BariatricPal.com. Spread the word!

BariatricPal is an amazing resource not only to the WLS community but to the overweight population as well as those who are seeking nutritional support and overall health. There are so many forums and topics covered, and every day the site keeps growing.

You have started something truly AMAZING here and we all thank you for being bold enough to take those first steps and include us all on the journey!