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Yup I gained weight too after surgery. Very frustrating but it did come off very quickly. Good luck and KUP!

I have the banded plication. I was banded originally in Dec, 2001 and did well with the band for about 7 years. After our daughter was born I never could get the *right* fill amount plus my port had flipped almost immediately so fills were problematic. Over about a 2 year period I regained about 80 pounds with pregnancies, a torn achilles and 5 months of bed rest. I went to Dr. Billy after consulting with my doctors at Cedars-Sinai for a second opinion on a revision. I, like a lot of plication patients, researched the sleeve gastrectomy. I liked it a lot but had difficulty with the idea of my stomach being cut out and discarded. After a few months of research and speaking with 4 doctors, I decided plication was best for me. I have a lot of experience with Drs. Ortiz and Corvala so Tijuana was an option but I was lucky enough to find Dr Billy here in Southern California. I chose to get rebanded mainly for insurance purposes as they don't pay for plication. I don't plan to ever fill my band but it is there if needed. I am happy with the plication but like others have said WLS is a tool. I exercise almost every day in some form and try to stick with protein first, water then fruits and veg (I'm not allowed many yet). I've lost about 26 pounds in 6 weeks. I'd like it to be more but so far, I'm happy with my surgery and results. I have about 60-70 more pounds to go and I'm okay with it taking me a year to lose. So far the plication is everything I thought the band would be. I get full on about 1/4 of what I used to eat and more importantly, I'm not constantly hungry!! Head hunger is a b*tch but I'm dealing with it with the help of a therapist. Good luck to you in whatever path you choose.

I'm going to sign up for a Zumba class with the city program also. I think being in a class environment makes it more fun but I'm sure doing it on the Wii is great too. Anything is good as long as you are moving.

I've been wanting to try Zumba for about a year. The gym I currently belong to doesn't offer it at many locations or times I need so I haven't been able to try a class. I have done the Zumba videos but really wanted to try a class. I used to be a on the dance team in high school and currently take Swing dance lessons with my husband (for fun and because we have a plus size Rockabilly, Swing clothing line) so I think I can follow dance instructors pretty well. I told the ladies around me that it was my first time and that I might crash into them. They were super nice about it and even showed me a few quick moves before the class started. The instructor was great and the class was very fun and energetic! I did the whole 60+ minute class and kept up pretty well but now I am super sore!!! My calves are killing me. I walked around the block tonight to see if I could stretch my legs a bit and ease the pain but no, they still hurt - but it's a good kind of hurt!! I was goin gto try to go to the Zumba clas tomorrow @ 9 am but my calves might tell me something different in the morning. I'll see how I feel. Overall, I really liked Zumba and think it's a great class, even for beginners. It would have been fun to have a friend with me so we could've messed up together! Take care,

Amy, Good luck. It will be over before you know it, then you'll be on the road to recovery. Wishing you an easy surgery and nice recovery. KUP

Melanie, First I'd like to say 'sorry' that you are feeling this way. I did some research prior to plication surgery because I remember having kind of a blah feeling a couple months after my Lapband surgery in 2001. I had such high hopes and put in so much energy into researching surgery, weight loss and keeping track of everything that I don't think I really thought about the psychological aspects. I also have been reading up on what our bodies go through when we start losing weight and I think we release hormones and chemicals when losing weight. I read this article and I thought it was interesting and might be helpful for you. I hope you feel better soon. You are doing great and you are probably just in a tough spot right now. Keeping doing what you are doing as it seems to be working great!! Take care of you, Prior to obesity surgery many of us consumed copious amounts of processed carbohydrates including sugar, refined flour, starches and grains. In the body carbohydrates meet up with the amino acid tryptophan and make serotonin, the "feel-good" hormone that stimulates the brain as a comforting mood enhancer. macaroni & cheese is an American favorite comfort food, and for good reason. It combines enough tryptophan with enough high-carb Pasta to produce sufficient serotonin, which relieves symptoms of depression and boosts feelings of contentment. Enter weight loss surgery and the Protein first, limited fat,and low carbohydrate diet. Suddenly the biological process of serotonin conversion is out of order. We no longer have the means to self-medicate our mood with foods that boost serotonin levels, yet we continue to have the cravings because our body is crying for help. It does not know any other way to manage mood. It just makes sense that this extreme dietary change results in an altered mood and in some cases, a state of biological panic or emotional depression

Hi Becca, It was fun! I am going to try Zumba Gold. It's meant for Seniors but the instructor said it's for anybody just at a slower pace. I weigh 258 and I wasn't the biggest person there so it wasn't too intimidating. If you can, take a friend.

Stacy, Yes it is so much fun! I didn't go this morning cause I'm still sore from yesterday but I will definitely be back. I really want to try the XBox Kinect and I heard the WII has Zumba also. I like the idea of being able to do Zumba in my own living room. But I totally agree that there is something great about being in a dance studio again!! You are doing fantastic with your weight loss! Take care,

Thanks Irene for the link. That was an interesting site. My BMR was like 1,900! Yikes... Sleeve 4 Me - You are doing great, only 5 pounds to go!!! KUP

I have a banded plication as well. I had the band in 2001 and developed some complications a couple of years ago so I had my band replaced and the plication done at the same time. I'm glad to see others here who have the same procedure. By the way, I'm planning on keeping my band completely empty due to reflux. Good luck!

My starting weight was 283, according to the doctor's scale I weigh 262. My home scale is a bit nicer to me but I'll take a 21 pound loss anyday! I've been exercising about 6 days a week and have lost about 2 inches off my waist and 3 off my hips. Overall I'm pretty happy with my progress. My next goal is to be in the 250s!! Take care,

Thanks everybody!! You gals sure are motivating!

Yeah! Congrats. Your pics are sooo cute!! You are doing so well with your weight loss. KUP!!

Thanks Becca and Amy! I lost another pound today so I'm hoping my stall is officially over. I'm going to be very pleased if I have a sustainable 1-2 pound loss per week. I'm going to go walk on the beach today for a different type of exercise. Have a great day!!

I think it's normal to worry. I'm almost 5 weeks out and I'm also a bit worried. I did talk to Dr. Billy about this issue and he said that inadequate blood supply is a concern but the stomach receives blood from about 5 arteries so even if 1 is harmed or injured, the stomach has other ways of getting blood. My question is about how this problem is detected, is it just an Upper GI or a barium swallow? Lmom - Did you have an Upper GI before being released? I had an upper GI in the hospital and one at about 2 weeks post-op, that eased my mind quite a bit. Glad you are recovering nicely.

Glad everything went great and u r on the road to recovery. I'm almost 5 weeks out and have noticed that I can eat a bit more. I'm trying to follow the "Just because I can, doesn't mean I should" rule. I'm almost never hungry but do feel empty if I haven't eaten in awhile. Today was the first day I ate food for breakfast - I usually do 1/2 a protein shake. I ate almost 1 scrambled egg with a sprinkle of cheese, about 3 tiny bites of potatoes and a bite of tortilla. I'm still in the midst of a stall so I'm going to increase my exercise, water and protein a bit next week to see if that helps. I have lost inches and am down from a size 22 to a 20. Make sure u record ur measurements because that has really helped me during this stall. Take care and walk!!

Thanks everyone! I worked out like crazy this morning, drank 1/4 of an Isopure and weighed hoping to be in the 250s but alas, I was stuck at 260.0. Frustrating!! I'm going to do an exercise video later tonight after my munchkins go to bed and hopefully that'll get me to the 250s.

One of my friends mentioned that she watches exercise videos through her cable. I investigated this and found that I also have some exercise videos available through my Video On Demand thru my cable company. Most of them are short videos (6-10 min.) to try out different exercise types. I tried Zumba, which I've been wanting to try. It was only a 7 minute video but I did it all and was pretty tired afterwards. I also did a 1 mile walking video with Leslie Sansone(?). She is well known for her walking DVDs. Anyway - they were both great and I feel that I got a pretty good workout!

Hi, First, sorry you are going through this. I'm wondering if it's because you were eating dinner. I am only a month out but I notice that I can eat more at night than during the day. I also seem to be able to eat more when I'm at home than when I'm at restaurants, I'm not sure why. Maybe do the 5 day pouch test and see if you can gauge your tummy size? You can google it and get info. Good luck to you!!

Yeah! Congrats!! Take it easy, sip and walk. Hope ur tummy feels better soon.

Good luck! Hoping for a quick recovery for you!! Please kup.

You may want to post this on the Total Gastric Plication board. I had the lapband for almost 10 years and just revised to gastric plication. So far, the plication has been great! My recovery was fairly easy - I was in the hospital for 1 night, no drains, 5 small incisions and I was home the next day. I've lost 23 pounds in 1 month. I also researched the sleeve which was my 2nd choice if the plication hadn't worked out. I would not consider the RNY because I have severe anemia. Good luck with whichever procedure you choose.

Ok so I've become a little obsessive about getting my daily exercise. I'm striving for at least 30 minutes per day. I alternate between going to the gym and doing exercise videos in my own house. However, yesterday I took my kids to the park and decided instead of sitting on the park bench and watching them play (like usual) I would go for a quick walk around the playground. I started out doing a power walk and soon both my kids joined me! It was great! Then today I took my car to be serviced and instead of sitting in the customer lounge I took a 25 minute walk. I also went to the gym but it was nice that 1/2 my workout was already done! Surprisingly I'm not finding it too hard to squeeze in my workouts, although I start back to work in about a week so we'll see how it goes then.

Carol, That's great! I like using the videos also in the *comfort* of my own home! I have been doing Hip Hop, Crunch videos and walking videos. I don't particularly like my gym and want to switch when my membership is over so this is a good alternative. I don't have to look for a parking spot, wait for a treadmill or elliptical like at the gym and I can do them after my kiddos and hubby all go to bed - aah! I'm glad I discovered them!

I don't have a lot to add but I did want to commend you on losing 55 pounds!! When I was first banded I think it took me about 1 1/2 years to lose 55 pounds so in my world, you are doing FANtastic!!! I think the 5 day pouch test is a great idea and thinoneday's diet sounds amazing!! I'm in the midst of a stall as well so I might be trying that diet too. Take care of you!