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You are far, far from alone. You've found a great place to hang out and bounce thoughts and ideas around with folks that have been where you are. It absolutely sucks to not have family support. That is something that is beyond your span of control. Right now it's time to rally and focus. Don't worry about things that you have no direct control over. Simply take care of the details that you can.....such as getting all your ducks in a row leading up to surgery.....following your eating plan and getting your mind wrapped firmly about the changes that you're making to claim your health. Any type of surgery has risks. I've heard the spiel each time I went under for repairs to my knees, ankle, hernia repairs and etc. Each time I woke up feeling relieved that it was over and all that was left was to heal and recover. I'm a special kind of stupid, though, in that I'm always tearing something up in some misadventure or another. Oh well......having fun has it's risks, too. Nothing is as risky as living at the weight I was last year, though. The Grim Reaper's shadow was creeping over me. Stroke, heart attack or worse was a real threat. Now......nothing could be further from my mind. The sleeve was a gift. The benefits it has delivered have been rolling in ever since. It starts with small things....scale moving in a great direction, clothes getting loose, aches and pains subsiding.......then it leads to other events.......having blood pressure go into normal range, after falling into "low" range briefly....lol at those low bp feels....never before had I experienced it. I was at Best Buy reaching down to get a CD from the lower shelf and I almost.....almost blacked out. It took a huge effort to get upright and breathing. Turns out my bp meds and the 3 week post-sleeve weight loss had joined forces bigtime. Funny stuff. I will wager this for you...........Those unsupportive folks will change their tune once they see your resolve. They will see that you aren't waiting around for a miracle, but taking steps and applying your effort and focus to make this happen. They can't help but be impressed by your dedication and work. It takes dedication and effort on your part of the sleeve to work. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. The stuff about being able to eat anything the first year and still lose lots of weight is bullcrap. It may apply to some.....but not to everyone. Eating the right foods is the crucial part for me. Sugars and starches will cause my losing to stop and weight gain to occur. I know this because I've had it happen last month. No.....losing weight takes effort on your part.....with or without wls. Once your family sees you putting forth this effort every single day.....and your weight coming off......they will most likely come around to supporting you. Don't hold your breath, though......just do your thing. Get healthy and reap the benefits of getting there. You'll find your stride and never look back. I have nothing but respect for you making this change. You are young and have a great life waiting for you. Don't sweat the pre-op diet and post-op first weeks......simply stick with the plan and work through it. It's a brief phase and you'll get on to losing very quickly if you stick with it. Go buy a full length mirror and get ready to see the progress....take lots of pictures along the way so you'll never forget what happens if you don't stay with the plan......and then look back and see how far you came and how good you feel. You've got this. Your new life is waiting......

<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="CONTENT-TYPE"><title></title><meta content="OpenOffice.org 1.1.0 (Linux)" name="GENERATOR"><meta content="20060627;9191600" name="CREATED"><meta content="16010101;0" name="CHANGED"> <style> <!-- @page { size: 8.27in 11.69in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> It is difficult to make "honest" posts. I do not want to look like an attack dog, but it is too easy to agree with the person who is complaining, rather than to try to help them. Maybe insurance companies are cheap and want to save money, but sometimes (maybe) they realize that when people go into these things (bariatric surgeries) without proving that they can put in the effort, that they are more likely to be failures. According to the surgeon who put in my Lap-Band, "(as of 2002), the average Lap-Band patient lost 25% of the access weight between their starting weight and the weight that they should be for their height. It was close to 85% for gastric bypass patients ("roux-en-y" and "the Switch")." I have lost 58% of my access weight. My doctor considers me a success. I still weigh 232 at 5'9". According to the charts, I should be about 165#. I would be happy at 180#. I have lost 65% of the weight to get to my goal. BUT: My family looks at me wearing size 44 pants and X-large or 2XL shirts and sees a failure. Strangers who see me on the street snicker and call me fatso (behind my back). People who I do not know, make comments like "How can a big guy like you share a meal with your wife?" Weight loss is not easy. TV shows highlight the success of big stars. The doctors tell you the statistics, but then paint a picture (with your help) of the wonders of weight loss surgery. They mention the possibilities of complications, but then move right on to the benefits that you are going to have. But they never forget to get you to sign the forms about the dangers. Insurance companies are full of business people who know the stats. They know how much it is going to cost them paying for the treatment of the medical complications of obesity. They compare that cost with the cost of bariatric surgery and its complications. They are cold-hearted businessmen. But the stats that they use also protect you. More money out of the insurance company's pocket also means more heartache for you, the patient. My BMI was about 48. I had tried many techniques to lose weight and always did, but then gained more weight back. I was 57 years old when I got my Lap-Band. We had the pre-surgery candidates come into our post surgery emotional counselling sessions quite often. Once we had a 17 year old girl who was close to 300 pounds at about 5'6" come in. She was going to have either the "roux-en-y" or "the Switch". I suggested to her that she have a Lap-Band because neither the "roux-en-y" nor "the Switch" are reversible and at her young age, there may be better alternatives around the corner (with the research into ghrelin and other enzymes). No. She had to have the "roux-en-y" or "the Switch". It was her decision, but isn't 17 year old a little young to give up? I wish everyone who has these invasive techniques, "the best". I wish we could get to the root cause of the problem for all this weight gain in the USA. But, until then, we need to try everything short of surgery first. Not half-hearted, to get it out of the way, in order to speed up the insurance company's approval, but to try to get it to work. As I said in another post, I know of people who purposely gained weight in order to meet their insurance company's criteria for bariatric surgery. I think that is sick. But I am no psychologist, so I guess I have no right to talk.

I got an email from my surgeon yesterday telling me that I've been cleared to schedule surgery. WooHoo!! I'm so excited! I am supposed to get a call from the office in the next couple weeks to schedule, however I am seeking a June date so that I can recover during my summer break (Im a school bus driver) and not take time off. My only other Drs order is to maintain my pre surgery goal weight until surgery...for me that will be 6 months! Ugh. Thankfully I will have time to recover from any holiday weight gain. I'm hoping that won't be an issue as I plan to be "good" other than on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day when I know the goodies will be hard to resist. LOL

I got the sleeve in October 2017. I was down 135lbs and it felt great. Last April I started to gain a little back. I wasn’t surprised since I wasn’t being as strict as I had been. Unfortunately, it has snowballed and I have gained 35lbs back. I feel like I never had the surgery and my sweet tooth is out of control. Could I have stretched my stomach out back to the size it was? How can I shrink it? Help! Any advice is greatly appreciated.

If you have a sweet tooth and that is what is causing the overeating and possibly the weight gain, consider stopping all sugar. For many people, if they do not eat it, they do not crave it. Some people find they need to give up fruit and artificial sweeteners too, but I didn't find that personally. Keep the sweets OUT OF YOUR HOUSE! If someone else in your house NEEDS sweets, have them eat them somewhere not around you and ask them to put them in a certain cupboard that you don't go into, or keep them in their car or something. Probably you have not stretched your stomach. You don't need to "shrink" your stomach (and really, there is no way to do that). You need to find a way to avoid the foods that cause you to overeat. Can you distract yourself when you have a craving? Talk a walk, watch a YouTube exercise video, take a hot shower/bath, read a book, color, etc? For many people, once they wait an hour by distracting themselves, they usually can make it without eating. You may also consider meeting with a therapist who specializes in eating disorder, or call your original surgery center for help. I have noticed that not everyone has these options, but you do have the option to avoid sweets (I have a sweet tooth too, so I understand!) Good luck!

I received info in my packet about where to buy them and I do wear one. In part because of my heart condition and I also added the Lapband and the serial number on it. I probably didn't need to add the number but I thought it might help alert the emergency people a little better. I also have my other medical conditions on it. I just thought it was a good idea. Most of us have conditions related to weight gain so it is a good idea to wear one if you have those conditions in my opinion. You just never know what kind of emergency may arise and what emergency personal may have to do in a pinch before you reach the hosptial. I believe the more they know the better. I had one emergency trip related to my heart condition and the first thing they did was put me in the ambulance and rip my shirt open to hook me up to all kinds of tubing, monitors and oxygen and administer drugs. I didn't have the lapband then and my heart problems had just begun but it was scary. I wasn't thinking about my other conditions that they might have needed to know about like high blood pressure etc. I was pratically unconsious. The more info they have the better during a situation like that.

As mentioned in Satiated vs Stuffed, satiety is not quite the same as being full. Full means your upper stomach has reached its maximum capacity: that you have overeaten again – an old habit that made you obese enough to qualify for weight loss surgery. Satiety happens on your way to being full. With a properly adjusted band, you will be comfortable if you stop eating when you're satiated, but you’ll experience discomfort if you eat until you're full. This third article in the Satiety 101 series discusses the signals your body gives to tell you you’re satiated, but that’s only half the battle. The other half involves heeding instead of ignoring those signals. That subject could fill a book (which that I might write some day). Today we’ll focus on recognizing your own unique Stop Eating Signals. Because of its anatomical position (near your diaphragm, and pressing on the vagus nerve at the top of your stomach), the band’s presence (but not your band itself – which we must remember is an inert piece of plastic without any magic at all inside) can give you quick feedback about your eating behavior. The feedback is written in a language issued and understood by your brain, with assistance from your endocrine and digestive systems. Even if you were lousy in your high school French class, you will have to learn how to get directions in that language, so you won’t end up on Weight Gain Road instead op Weight Loss Avenue. Those directions come in the form of what I call Soft Stop and Hard Stop signals. To understand those directions, you’ll need to slow down and pay attention while you eat. It takes 15 to 20 minutes for satiety signals to reach your brain and to be broadcast to the rest of you. If you usually eat with a crowd (family, friends, coworkers), you might need to try eating by yourself for a few meals so you won't be distracted. Stop signals can be subtle and they can come from unexpected parts of your body. It's better to heed a gentle reminder than wait for a hammer to hit you on the head. SOFT STOPS are your early warning system, gentle reminders from your body that it's time to stop eating. Because they don't hurt much, they're easy to ignore. They include: · Mild queasiness (an icky, but not about-to-vomit, feeling) · Fullness or pressure in the back of the throat · Pressure in the chest or just below the breastbone · Throat clearing · Some difficulty swallowing · Burping (or the urge to burp) · Taking a deep breath · Mild coughing · A sigh · Hiccups · Watering eyes · Runny nose · Left shoulder pain · A sneeze · More saliva in the mouth than usual · A sudden distaste for the food you were enjoying a moment before As soon as you notice one of these signs, stop eating! I don't care if your stubborn mind is insisting that it's okay to continue (because it thinks you have room for just one more bite, or the food tastes good, or you haven't cleaned your plate, or you deserve the food, or whatever's going on in there). If you go on eating past this point, you won't be changing your eating behavior and you're likely to get into trouble…that is, a hard stop. HARD STOPS are the equivalent of running into a brick wall. They can happen without any apparent warning, but usually you have sped heedlessly past a soft stop before you hit the wall. Hard stops are the painful and sometimes embarrassing reminders that you have eaten too much, too fast, in bites that were too big, without chewing enough. They include: · Chest pain and/or painful pressure or tightness in the chest · Feeling like you have a rock in the back of your throat · A burning sensation in the throat · A “stuck” feeling, as if the food you’ve eaten has nowhere to go · Productive burps (PB's) – regurgitation of food, kind of like the way a baby erps up milk · Sliming (excess saliva and mucus that's so profuse, you have to spit it out) When you experience a hard stop, STOP EATING! It's not at all a good idea to keep eating after you experience a hard stop, even if the discomfort goes away and your plate of food still looks appealing. You may feel fine and may in fact be able to eat some more, but you should not eat more. The hard stop has irritated your upper gastrointestinal system. Continuing to eat will just perpetuate the problem, getting you into a never-ending cycle of eat-hard stop-pain-eat-hard stop-pain. Cycles like that tend to turn into complications like band slips and esophageal and stomach dilation. That’s the reason for my next piece of advice: follow a liquid diet for 24 hours after a hard stop episode, then transition carefully back to pureed then soft then solid food. If you’re like me, you did not have WLS in order to live on liquids for the rest of your life. That’s yet another reason to learn how to prevent hard stops in the first place, so that you can eat and enjoy real food at every meal. Now here’s one last chunk of information before the bell rings and today’s class ends. You may not experience any or all of these stop signals any or all of the time. At breakfast you might get one signal and at lunch, an entirely different one. At dinner, you may notice no stop signal at all. As time goes on and you lose weight and the amount of saline in your band changes, your stop signals may change as well. All that can be frustrating, but it will force you to go on eating slowly and carefully for the rest of your life, and that’s actually a good practice for anyone, banded or not. That plate of food before you is a blessing that some people in this world can only dream of. Those small portions may look puny to you, but would be a feast to someone else. So treat your food, and your body, with the care they deserve. Learning to recognize satiety over and over again is an ongoing process because our bodies are not statues made of marble. We are all marvelous, unique, and complex creatures who change by the minute, every day of our lives. Click here to read about how those changes can affect soft and hard stop signals. http://www.bariatricpal.com/page/articles.html/_/support/post-op-support/restriction-riddles-r93 This is the third and final article in the Satiety 101 series of articles.

The big losers do not necessarily have more willpower or desire. The important difference between the big losers and the re-gainers may be how easy they find the journey to be. Surprisingly, you can control a large part of how easy or hard it is to lose weight. The weight loss journey is not just about changing your digestive system through surgery. It is also about changing your entire lifestyle to facilitate weight loss. Weight Loss Surgery is a Weight Loss Tool, Not a Cure Weight loss surgery is a tool. It can make you less hungry by reducing the size of your stomach by inserting a band around your stomach (Lap-band), removing the majority of your stomach pouch (vertical sleeve gastrectomy) or folding or stapling away the majority of your stomach pouch (gastric bypass, duodenal switch, and sleeve plication). The vertical sleeve gastrectomy reduces hunger by reducing the amount of ghrelin, a hunger hormone, that your stomach produces. The gastric bypass and duodenal switch reduce nutrient absorption. All of these surgeries can help you eat less and lose weight, but none of these surgeries are fail-proof. You can “cheat” by eating high-calorie foods, drinking high-calorie beverages, drinking beverages while you eat solid foods, and eating without measuring your portions. Successful weight loss requires good choices on your part, and making good choices is easier if you focus on your entire lifestyle, not just the part of your digestive system that was changed with surgery. The Influence of Your Surroundings on Your Weight Think about this scenario. You leave home without breakfast and order a muffin and ice coffee at the drive-through on your way to work. You grab a doughnut at your morning meeting, and go out for lunch with your friends. You order the lunch special with a salad, breadstick, fettuccine alfredo and cheesecake. You nibble on some chocolates from your secretary’s desk as you make your way to the vending machine for a soda in the afternoon. You pick up a pizza on your way home because you know that there is nothing else for dinner. Now compare it to this second scenario. You wake up early to meet your friend for a walk before you get home for a breakfast of scrambled egg whites and spinach. You drive to work and have yogurt and some fruit at your morning meeting. Lunch with your coworkers consists of a green salad with canned tuna, and you have a hard-boiled egg for your afternoon snack. You are able to get dinner on the table quickly when you get home because you only need to defrost the meals that you prepared earlier in the week. Which scenario do you think you can help you lose weight? The second one, of course. So why not make it a reality? Do Your Surroundings Encourage Weight Loss or Weight Gain? You have battled your weight for years, if not for your entire life before weight loss surgery. In all likelihood, your environment was set up for you to eat. Take a good, hard look at your environment. Is it more like the first scenario or the second one described above? You have the ability to make it more like the second one. Notice the following items from the two scenarios. Exercise was automatic in the second one because you planned to meet a friend – so you couldn’t back out. Preparing your dinners ahead of time meant that you could eat quickly without going to a fast food restaurant. Packing your own snacks meant that you did not have to eat a doughnut in your morning meeting or chocolates in the afternoon. Make the “Right” Choice Automatic The fewer tough choices you have, the less likely you are to make poor decisions. Set up your environment so that the healthier actions are easier. To make healthy eating easier: Prepare plenty of meals ahead of time so that you always have a ready-to-eat, healthy option to prevent you from opting for take-out. Throw away the take-out menus that you used to store in the kitchen. The extra time it takes you to look up the phone numbers and menus online may be enough to let you come to your sense and realize that you don’t want fast food. Keep your kitchen stocked with all kinds of healthy foods, so that no matter your craving, you have a healthy answer. Do not keep unhealthy foods at home. If they are not there, you cannot eat them. Make sure that the healthy option is the default option. For example, measure your cheese and cut and wash fruits and vegetables ahead of time so that it is easier to snack on them than on cookies. Also consider these ideas: Meet your friends for walks or shopping trips instead of for meals at restaurants. Park your car a few blocks away from work so that you have no choice but to walk those few blocks again at the end of the day as you leave work. Do not drive past drive-thrus if they are too tempting. Also, do not keep money in the car, and consider removing your car’s cup holders so that eating in the car is no longer an option. All weight loss surgery patients have their own struggles. Far from being wimpy, removing these obstacles rather than fighting them is the best way to overcome them. The weight loss journey path will always have speed bumps and potholes, but it will be a lot smoother if you set up your lifestyle to promote better choices all day.

I'm 4 years out and I am just now starting to feel a lot of hunger again. I hate it. Like everyone else, weight gain really freaks me out. I have clothes that don't fit me anymore and it really makes me very sad. I think it would be a little bit easier if I were younger. I am just plain tired. I can't do the amount of exercise I used to be able to do. My neck and spine hurt all the time. I do go to a support group, once a month. The nutritionist comes to the meetings, and he says exercise is not the key. Eating right is the key. It's very hard to eat tiny portions now. I am trying to eat more vegetables and salads but I am so tired of all of this. I have been dieting all my life. It's really difficult to order a salad while friends and family are eating pizza. I'll keep plugging along though. I still have my tool and I know the basics. I just hope that's enough to keep maintaining.

I was banded in August 09 and have so far lost about 48 pounds.... which I'm very pleased with But I haven't really lost any weight since the beginning of the year and I'm really getting worried because its April now. I eat loads less than I did pre-band. I try to make the best decisions when I eat and keeping track of what I eat 90% of the time. I know The scale isn't the best source for motivation, but I really should see it trending down over time, right? This week alone has showed a 10 pound weight gain. How is that even possible? I KNOW I didn't eat enough for that! -- And I know my scale isn't broken because my Wii fit says I weigh the same number (I checked :thumbup:) I'm going to try and cut out some higher sodium foods this next week and see if that was the culprit, but I'm at a loss as of what I should be doing different. :sad: Anyone else seem to hit a plateau that they can't seem to get past this early on in the game? And what did you do to get past it? FYI - I'm eating mostly solid foods so I'm not to tight and trying to 'work around' the band when I eat. I have little syptoms as far as getting stuck or throwing up. My 'test' meals are at about 3-4 ounces of solid food at a time.

I have been dieting all my life, and they don't work. I didn't want my intestines cut, and pulled out, because there is no going back! So I chose the band. It was good in the beginning. You stick to what your Dr. and Dietitian tell you, and your good to go. You will lose weight. I lost over 120lbs. with a 4cc band. I went in for a fill, I was at 1.8cc, and they filled me with0.2cc. Total of saline in the band 2cc. It blew the band ! I kept trying to figure how could this happen? It's only 1/2 full? Well I quit beating my head of the wall and believe that it was defective. I never had any problem before, and it blew the line, or port. I'm hoping to get in to see a surgeon soon now that I have Ins. again. When I went back to my surgeon, he seen some weight gain, and told his student to instruct me to control my appetite, come back when I have lost weight, and will talk about a fill. Then I was escorted out. I was furious ! This was my last month of Ins. due to being laid off, but no one would let me see him so I was escorted out. I have regained all of my weight, and I am trying threw things that I have learned to cut back. It is hard. I have gotten the attention of another surgeon to see me VERY HARD TO DO! So I weight daily for a call, I will call tomorrow and see if they can work in a outsider. Just so you know. This is a plastic tool, and can break, and will somewhere down the line... So,, make sure you have a excellent surgeon. Find out if you develop a leak will he fix you, Ask questions! Find the answers to your questions before surgery. Then do what you want. Yes it is a Weight Loss Tool! It also works ! The choice is up to you. I know it works, but I know it can come with some problems. I wish you Luck. Shirley Banded 10/31/2006 Dr. Jeffrey Genaw "Chief Bariatric Surgeon" Henry Ford Hospital "Center of Excellence" Detroit, Michigan.

You are absolutely correct. The band alone will not do it; is up to the individual to practice behavioral modification. There is some procedure called banding over the band????? This is when some banders feel the band produced no results. Not “gradually” moving away from the old eating habits will eventually cause weight gain. After overcoming two Achilles tendon surgeries, being in a cast for five months--in my opinion was no reason for me to gain 15 pounds. This weight gain was as a result of drinking juice, little Snacks here and there, the list went on and on. I absolutely did not need to accept these food items, nor was I forced to eat them. The weight gain was totally my fault and not the band. I quickly caught myself and got back on track. I stopped people from bringing me junk. I split my plate of food in to two (lunch and dinner). I took small bites; allowing time for the food to register to my brain that I was actually full. I had to really overcome “taste” again, and I worked my upper body while watching a program called Sit and Be Fit. Once out of my cast, I pushed myself to walk distance regardless of the excruciating back pain from being in the bed for months. I can now walk at a minimal of five miles plus a day. If I can get back on track after two surgeries, hospitalization and strict bed rest, anyone can. The band alone won’t do it! Once out of my cast, I pushed myself to walk distance regardless of the excruciating back pain from being in the bed for months. I can now walk at a minimal of five miles plus a day. If I can get back on track after two surgeries, hospitalization and strict bed rest, anyone can. The band alone won’t do it! I went from 270 to 215 and ballooned up to 225-230 during my layup. I was totally discussed, but again

Yes, of course we still have to work at it. This is not a magic bullet. We still have to make choices. If we choose fried food, ice cream and Twinkies (are they for sale again?) over eggs, broiled Cod or a lean cut of beef, then we can surely 'eat around our sleeve'. Someone else said something about worrying about once again, failing. I really don't "worry" about failing but weight gain does cross my mind and I am MINDFUL that just because I've lost all the weight I wanted to plus 5 lbs and just because I've been maintaining for almost 2.5 years....that does NOT guarantee that I cannot gain weight. I NEVER want to forget that failure is possible if I choose poorly time and time again.

One thing I try to be really conscious of is avoiding "dieting". I believe fad diets, eating too little, etc... can destroy your metabolism and I think that was part of my problem pre-surgery. Years of yo-yo diets meant my metabolism (aka Calories Out) was destroyed. I am really trying to not do that this time around. I did have a little weight gain over the holidays and am trying to eat around 1700 a day with working out and the little I gained is slowly coming off in what I hope is a healthy way.

Thank you for this OP! I used to play competitive sport and stopping that but continuing to eat as I had before definitely contributed to my weight gain, as did so many lifestyle changes. So glad to hear your story and I only hope I can get there some day too. 💪

Weight gain immediately following surgery is quite common and absolutely nothing to worry about. It can and does happen but it won't last. Focus all of your attention on following the protocol to the letter and stay away from the scales for at least a week, two would be even better. You're gonna love the new you!!

I'm having my pre op assessment today at 1:30pm. I have read so many posts some for this op and some against. I also read some lap band posts too. I have a lap band since 2007 and it never worked. Now after so many years of waiting I'm going to have the sleeve op on the 24th August.. I was so excited until I read the posts about weight gain.. Although I know this op is not a miracle cure I'm going to give it my best. I really believe it's down to you as a person to be strong and stay on plan and make te right choices. I wish everyone who is about to take on this journey the best of luck..

Okay, I can totally hear you on this. Same thing here. I'm 3 years post-op. COVID and life wreaked havoc in my life, lost my 16 year old fur baby . . . 2020 and 2021 SUCKED! But I finally saw a sign that said, "Remember why you started this." and it hit me - - - I had to get my health back. I was embarrassed by my weight gain because after WLS and reading some of the forum posts where people gained weight back, I thought "Oh! I'll never be one of THOSE people!" HA! I am! But I finally found light at the end of the tunnel on November 22nd. Something finally just clicked in my head. I started going to the gym and I've been 35 out of the last 40 days. I joined Weight Watchers two weeks ago and as of this morning I've lost 3 pounds. I have depression, which it sounds like you probably have after all that you've been through, and I see a counselor every 3 weeks. We do online video conferences. It's very helpful to talk about my stressors and fears. You are NOT a failure! Forgive yourself, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and join me on a journey to refocus on our weight in 2022.

Does the reason why any of us have a weight gain matter? Could be many things. Your body settling, medical issues, major life changes or old behaviors creeping back in. It's more important that we recognise a gain and work to get back to healthy. I can relate. I feel the need to control my weight. I have to admit my fear of regain is not a normal level. I felt out of control with food and my weight most of my life. I now over think maintaining. It's a bit obsessive on my part. It's something I'm working on.

Did anybody gain weight while in the hospital? I actually gained 6 lbs! It must be retaining water from the IV's cause I was only on liquids.

I've been flamed many times in chat or with a post....some just feel that me saying I don't use Protein powders....or diet foods....or go to a gym....or count calories....or go on a diet....is so wrong. Look, it's simple. Get the band. Get the adjustments. Get restriction. Get a reality check. Get smaller clothes. Get real. Get the band. Won't work if you don't have it. Plus, the band makes the most common sense. Cut off the pipes and you'll lose the weight...not a maybe...but will. Get the adjustments. Won't work if you don't get adjustments. Decide on a fill doc before surgery. Make sure you see 'em at 6 weeks and every 4 weeks after. Don't need a followup...cancel. But always make sure you have the appointment every 4 weeks til YOU decide you've got restriction. Get restriction. Don't be a baby! You are going to have to cut down on the quantity of food - that's the point of the lapband system. Don't want to cut down on the amount of food - don't get the lapband. So what if you slime from time to time....it's all a learning process and you need to allow yourself time to re-learn how to eat. But this isn't saying that if you vomit that you shouldn't see your doc, quite the contrary. Vomiting isn't good. But sliming, as long as you are in the process of re-learning how to eat...it's a tool. Get a reality check. This time to relearn how to eat is crucial. Eat a few bites and walk away from your food - it will always be there...you don't need it all now. Want something sweet- have it. But only a bite or two. If you can say..."nah, I'll skip that"...you are already on the right track. This is about choices. It's not easy during this time. I remember thinking I was going to DIE because I was so weak from not eating (massive amounts of food). Your body will go through withdrawal symptoms....you can bet on that. But you prevail! And remember, it's not forever. If you are hungry...eat! Get smaller clothes when you reach goal....it's a motivator as well when you walk around in potatoe sacks...makes you want to go faster. Get real. You know how you got fat, you now KNOW it doesn't take much food to fuel the human body. You now are amazed at the difference in the amount of foods you eat. You go to a buffet with your family, you get a teaspoon of everything...a sampling if you will. And you are so satisfied to finally 'taste' something...instead of inhailing. Keep your scales, pay attention to your new clothing. Weigh weekly, then every two weeks. But step on those scales at least 2x a month. And if you see weight gain, or your clothing getting tighter.... modify your diet. Maybe that soda pop put you over the edge...or you found you ate 2 pieces of your mom's sweetpotatoe pie. No worries, just modify things. Your new life is about nutrition, not dieting. Ensure you get the fuel to run your body like a well oiled machine.

I am curious to hear from other bandsters who have had a tummy tuck and then gained some weight back. How does your stomach 'feel' now? I was banded on 1-12-07 and had a tummy tuck on 2-19-08 after losing about 50 pounds. Since that time, I have had to start taking a couple of different medications for almost daily migraines, and have gained back around 15 pounds. I am so disappointed and just feel miserable about it. I am going to work really hard to get the weight off again so that I don't feel like a COMPLETE failure, but am having a hard time ending my pity-party . . . I need one more fill to hopefully get me back to my 'sweet spot' (life was good when I was at my sweet spot!) and I have that appt. scheduled for next Tuesday morning. I know that not having enough fill for the past 6 months has allowed me too much room for error in my eating. I have got to get the structure back and then figure out how to deal with the medications. I am concerned too, because before I had the TT, my stomach felt 'normal' other than being able to feel the port. Now I often have discomfort in my abdomen that feels like it is sometimes going to pop. It feels so tight and uncomfortable and my upper abdomen looks like a watermelon. I didn't start this thread to whine, I just wanted to see if there were others out there who either had, or are experencing the same things I am. I would love to hear from you if you don't mind sharing. Thanks in advance for your input.

Well before kids and weight gain I carried my weight in my butt and hips. But because of diabetes and having babies I gained a lot of belly fat :-/ I knew it wouldn't go back exactly to that body shape, but hoped it would be similar. Your answer gives me hope though :-) Thank you! Awesome :-) Fingers crossed

I had my RNY surgery on May 4th, 2004 to be exact. Like everyone on this site, my weight had been an issue for many, many years and this surgery seemed to be the only option I had left. In fact, a close friend of mine had the surgery before me and it was due to her positive experiences that I began looking into it. Ironically, at the time time I began investigating this surgery, my mother was a nurse working in bariatrics, working for the doctor I would later have the surgery from. I will be the first to tell you, that choosing surgery is a very personal choice. I do not think it is for everyone and feel one should look at all options before choosing surgery. I have not always been open in talking about it, as I was fearful of others negative comments and even more so, my own fear of failing. What if the surgery did not produced the results I want? Before deciding on her surgery, I will admit I was just completely lost. I hated what I looked like and felt just completely out of touch with my inner self as compared to my outer appearance. I would lie to my friends and family about my work schedule simply to miss having anyone see me. I would often times avoid phone calls so that I could not be available. As with any family, I had major issues with facing certain people because it was never good...or made me feel worse. I have a number of family members who never suffered with weight issues....my brother for example has always looked great....my mother and aunt always looked great....my grandparents too. There were people in my family who tried to diet with me, or point out every food item I was eating, saying, "that is your third dinner roll" or, "do you know how many calories are in that?". It was just one comment after another. I was ashamed of what I looked liked, and angry/jealous of others who were skinny or seemed to have no weight issues. Being overweight, simply sucks! Being the fat girl, the one with the great hair and funny personality Sucks! I was sick and tired of being the third wheel, the girl who had a lot of male "friends", or the one who was just a great person to talk to. I had enough! I wanted to change. When you are heavy, there are common comments you tend to hear day in and day out. Some are self generated, while others are said directly.....of course, those comments become our daily motto (at least for me they did). Instead of, you are so beautiful....I would be told "I love your hair", "you are just big boned", "you have your dads figure" (by the way not a compliment...love my dad, but really!". The comments people make are really unbelievable. Ok so I finally decide on surgery. I was approximately 220 pounds before surgery. At this point, I was told by some in a support group I was not heavy enough to have the surgery! Such a crazy response to make in a Support Group session. I stayed 5 days in the hospital....and my weight loss process began. The first year after surgery had its moments. I cannot say it was always easy. Yes, the weight came off....incredibly fast. I was so happy with the results. Eating, that was different and often times a big struggle. I had a very hard time keeping food down...and finding food I was able to tolerate. Overtime, this improved. So much so, that I no longer suffer from the same restrictions as I did in the beginning. I think this was something to expect, but am now facing some realities I truly did not think about as the beginning stages of my weight loss were so successful. My lowest weight was 124 pounds, but that only lasted for half of the day. My stable weight stayed between 132-140. After approximately 3 years after surgery I began gaining weight. Each year there after seemed to be more and more difficult. I remember weighing 138 pounds and visiting my grandfather. Spent a long day with him, only to have him tell me at the end of our visit that I was getting fat! Truth be told, I was gaining weight, I just hated hearing that I was fat! After all, I had a surgery to help with my weight. At approximately 5 years after surgery, I weighed 150. Not a horrible weight, but something definitely needed to change. So, I started running. And got into swimming again...and eventually took up triathlons. I completed 5k's, 10k's, sprint triathlons, half marathons, a swim around the florida keys, half iron-man...the list goes on. I just readjusted my life. Well now, 10 years out from my surgery, I am at an overwhelming weight of 172! I am getting back to the basics....And trying to get back on track. I have joined this site for additional support and to find others just like me. I knew I would gain some weight back, I just never expected to get to where I am now. Yes, I have taken the liberty to eat the wrong foods, to eat too much, to snack...and just simply stop doing what I am suppose to do. I have allowed outside stress and daily life stuff get in the way of my past successes. I am now focusing on me, and what I need to do to get healthy! I want to lose this weight and am determined to be successful. **quick advice for anyone in the beginning stages or ones noticing a weight gain..... Weight loss is not magic, the surgery only works as successfully as You follow it! Be mindful of what you eat, and never take it for granted that it will be the solution you are seeking. I am learning this and am taking full accountability for where I am now. Sorry for such a long post....but thanks for letting me share....

At a normal weight I only had a B cup. Then I breastfed and got a lil larger. Weight gain made me a C almost D. I'd take the B's as long as I can keep some hips and booty!.