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Hello all! I'm new to the forum. I went today to see my primary doc about getting banded. Now I have to wait on blood work to come back and to hear from the pre-authorization. I'm nervous about that because my BMI is just 36. However, I have had 2 knee surgeries and 2 major back surgeries. My last spinal fusion was in June, which resulted in a 4-level lumbar fusion. I've struggled with my weight my whole life, but these surgeries have left me continuing to gain. I was placed on a medication that helps with depression as well as nerve damage and pain. That caused even greater weight gain. I'm tired of getting depressed when I go shopping with my daughters so here I am. While I'm waiting on the authorization, is there something I need to be going ahead and doing besides the diary?

I relied so heavily on this forum and others in the months leading up to my procedure that I promised myself I would provide a 12 month update, FAQ and experience summary for others planning the same thing for the same reasons. I recently posted this to Reddit and bariatricpal rounds out the plan. My story is positive – overwhelmingly positive – but I think most importantly my story is not emotional. I don’t have a psychological problem with food. I was never tormented or made to suffer for my weight (beyond finding flights uncomfortable and shirts being too short). I made this choice on statistical grounds – it would extend my life on average and go a long way to improving my diabetes. I wanted to provide a vanilla story to remind everyone this pretty survivable and the majority of people have non-descript and unexciting recoveries. My lift is pretty much the same - I just eat a lot less, dont shoot insulin and hopefully will live longer. Forums tend to have an over representation of negative outcomes - that makes perfect sense and it's absolutely fine for people to use them to get some reassurance and communicate with people in the same situation. For everyone else - just remember you're less likely to jump on a forum and tell your story if nothing went wrong or it wasn't any different from other people and as a result it can seem like a higher proportion of people are suffering than maybe is the case. I was a lower-BMI diabetic, not quite type 1 or type 2, but insulin dependent nonetheless. My BMI was 31, my surgeryweight was 126kg (277lbs) and I’m 196cm tall (6’5). I was diagnosed at 100kg (220lbs) but assumed type 1 as I wasn’t visually overweight. However in the 5 years since diagnosis I’ve continued to produce some insulin suggesting I’m not a pure type 1 or 2 - but closer to type 2. I gained 26kg in a year after diagnosis once i started on insulin. I’m broad shouldered/chesty with skinny legs - like an apple jammed on some chopsticks. Maybe like the fat Mr Incredible. My intention for having the bypass was not solely weight loss – I suspected that my diabetes was closer to type 2. I suspected the improvements people see immediately in diabetes management post bypass may apply to me. It was a gamble that paid off, My decision making process was quite straight forward – I had a young daughter at the time (now have a son too) and had lost my father to a heart attack when I was 7. He was fit and not diabetic but had a heart condition. I new statistically I was due for a similar fate carrying excess weight plus diabetes onboard. This was the best way to knock out one of those (the weight side) and hopefully improve the diabetes. I went from 126kg to 83kg (180lb), my BMI is low end of healthy. My biggest positive is my immediate cessation of insulin shots and a current HBA1c of 5.8 with oral meds only. It took about 6 months to get to my goal weight of 90kg. I'm still slowly losing and need to stop. Lead-up and Prep I was not obese to look at visually. The majority of healthcare professionals I spoke to did not think surgery, let alone Gastric Bypass, was necessary. In the end – my PCP, endo and surgeon all agreed that, while not essential, bypass was a prudent decision with potentially long-term benefits. The surgeon did not want me to bother with a gastric sleeve – if the endgame was diabetes improvement then the gold standard was a bypass. In Australia you need to be over 35 BMI or over 30 with a comorbidity to be eligible. I had slightly elevated Blood Pressure - that plus the diabetes made me eligible. I paid $2000 out of pocket, my private health insurance paid the rest. No psych required, I had a few meetings with a nutritionist and everything was greenlit. From first enquiry to surgery was four months. The fee I paid includes lifetime consults with the surgeon. I did not need a pre-op diet as i was not that overweight and my liver was not a concern. Surgery My procedure was in June 2018. My anaesthetic recovery was rough, but otherwise the process was fine. The most discomfort was immediately in the 12 hours following – in part due to surgical site pain but mostly because the bed could not accommodate my height so I was forever crossing my legs or scrunching them up, only to have a nurse slap them and wake me up for fear of DVT. Nurses kept promising to find a bed extender - eventually I lashed out in a post-anaesthetic haze at a nurse who slapped my feet - she took the end off the bed with a flourish. My feet shot out, I cried in relief, apologised profusely and slept for eight hours. Day two was stiff and sore but i was mobile, able to shower and sipping fine. I went home the morning of day three. I had PHENOMENAL life ruining headaches from day two. I went home with some serious opiates because I lived 90 minuts from my surgeon and couldn’t drive to get a script if they hit again. On day four my dietician cleared me for coffee and it immediately wiped out the headache – turns out I’d been in caffeine withdrawal. So I really recommend you taper that off in advance if you have a problem with coffee like i do. If you're diabetic then buy a freestyle libre glucose monitor for the procedure if you dont have a CGM. They want hourly blood glucoses, instead of being woken and pin pricked every hour I could just show them how to use the scanner and they'd take it while i slept. I had some minor aches 6 weeks out and one of the surgery sites oozed a little clear fluid. It subsided immediately. I was home for two weeks. I could have gone back at one week. I'm an accountant though and my starting weight was comparatively low so i was mobile quick. I completely understand if you're starting form a heavier weight then you should plan to take the full time. Food/Eating The normal progression of foods was fine and unremarkable from what is described on most forms. I graduated to solids a little earlier than I should have. I cheated like mad and was feeling fine, it was only when I snuck a tiny piece of casserole beef and vomited violently did I start to behave myself. I was vomiting once or twice a week from eating too much or too fast. Savoury ricotta bake, hearty soups and coconut water were my saviors. The vomiting subsided, 18 months out I vomit maybe once every two or three months and only when I do something stupid. My problem before surgery was eating very fast and taking large bites – that has been hard to deal with post surgery. In fact I tend to still eat large bites and then sit unable to eat for extended periods. I was very sensitive to sugar post-op and frequently had dumping. That subsided in a month with changes in eating, changes in my appetite and better food/liquid rules. I currently only get dumping in the morning, and only if I eat something sugary. I do get nauseous easily in the morning too – it’s something I’m working with my nutritionist on to find out why. Otherwise I can eat whatever I want within reason. I don’t drink soda, but had quit it before my procedure. Milky protein makes me nauseous too (any type of creamy protein really) so I use a water protein additive from costpricesupplements. This helps me hit 2L fluids daily. I can eat about a cup and a half food. Liquidy foods – stews, soups, casseroles – I can eat a lot more than that. Tougher foods like steak or dry chicken much less. I gulp liquids. I had a sensitive stomach before the surgery and took Metamucil religiously to keep my gut regular. I have not had any issues post op with flatulence but have had looser bowels. Metamucil still helps – but no worse or in any way less manageable than pre-op. Diabetes I went off insulin immediately after my surgery. It wasn’t a cure – I’m still diabetic – but metformin and trajenta keep me in an aggressively managed hba1c. I have a so-so diet – I eat too much sugary junk food and carbs. I could go without diabetic meds I believe but my diet would be depressing so ive truck a compromise. On this basis alone this was the best decision I could have made for my physical wellbeing. My blood pressure is fine, my cholesterol is non-existent and I'm able to even job a moderate distance without discomfort. Random observations • I’m cold. So cold. It’s 35 degree outside where I am (90’s Fahrenheit) but as soon as I go into any office I need a sweater. I really became dependant on sweaters, long johns and socks this last winter. Im not cooler in summer – just as hot and bothered as before. Maybe a better way to describe it is that I feel the temperature more in general, like I lost my insulation. • I am too skinny. Clothes don’t fit that great – most men this tall have a bit more chest/gut on them. Australia has limited/no tall clothing ranges domestically so I’m importing loads of stuff from the UK/USA. i still think i look fat when i look in the mirror. • My bum is bony and I need cushions to sit comfortably. I also had a cyst on a butt cheek I didn’t know about – now im so bony there I’ll need to get it removed so I can sit on kitchen chairs comfortably again. • I gained about 1.5” of penis length. It was a welcome addition. I needed to learn how to be more gentle and patient using it. With a young family and little sleep it's yet to be fully road tested – but I’ll be ready when we start to sleep again. • I have a little loose skin. nothing dramatic. mostly around the gut and love handles. • I am very sensitive to meds and drugs. I'm not much of a drinker but i like weed edibles - what would give me a mild buzz before gets me quite high now. I sober up quicker now too. I take xanax on flights to help sleep - i take a quarter of the dose now. • I drink red wine socially and now cannot really get drunk. I sober up quite fast but get a mild buzz pretty quickly too. • Dumping sucks but it should not be a discouraging factor. Its not life ruining – anyone who’s had a hypo as a diabetic it’s a bit like that with some gastro thrown in. It resolves pretty fast (30ish minutes for me) and is a self-reinforcing feedback loop for shitty food behaviours. For this reason alone I consider the bypass as the better choice for me. • I’ve lost a fair bit of muscle tone and will need to somehow up my protein and start some weight training to recover it. This needs to be balanced with not losing for further weight. • I have to remind myself to eat. Not just because of low appetite, but because once my pouch shrinks for a day then eating again can be uncomfortable and time consuming. As long as I eat fairly frequently my pouch is all good and I can eat quite a lot pretty fast – forget about it for 2 or 4 hours and I’ll need to take some time to eat a bit and get my appetite back. • I was hungry for 33 years and bordered on a pathological inability to waste food. I ate my meal and anything my wife or kid didn’t eat. I’d eat a meal out, go home and have a sandwich. We ate at bars and pubs because the servings were larger. I would eat until I was very uncomfortable if the portion was large enough. Now I still can’t bring myself to leave food – so I have this silly aversion to ordering anything more than something off the appetisers list. I don’t like asking for to-go containers (it’s an Australian thing – it’s really stupid because we pay so much for food out we should keep every bloody morsel) but have started to now order what I actually want instead of what I think I can finish. It’s funny – I went from ordering what I thought would be the biggest portion so I didn’t feel hungry (instead of what I thought looked good) to ordering what I thought I could finish and not waste. Regrets? None to speak of specifically. In a very minor way travel is less fun. I looooove travelling to southeast asia and the USA and love eating all the different things. My appetite is so low now, and eating can be so inconvenient, that I don’t get to eat anywhere near as much variety when I travel. I was recently in SE Asia and looking forward to a huge array of currys. I ate only two in five days as I had no appetite at all. I just need to travel differently now - actually plan to stop for meals instead of just charging all over a city and snacking on the way. I wish id been more sensitive to my wife's emotional processing of the scenario. She's gone from having the tall, chubby guy that was the physical build she was attracted to, to having a skinny beanpole. This was while she was having our second kid and all the very natural weight gain associated. She's not overweight and is, objectively i reckon, absolutely gorgeous but definitely feels marginalised by the process and is quick to colour me as vain or obsessed with my image now I am buying new clothes. I think i could have been more mindful of what I said or did. She was overwhelmingly supportive though and agrees this was worthwhile. Closing thoughts If you are considering this process and maybe you're on the margins of eligibility my experience would say go for it. my hope here was to give a vanilla experience to the mix, unique only in my taking the more permanent bypass on despite my lower starting weight. Sent from my SM-A705YN using BariatricPal mobile app

Comparing info... I asked my Dr. at our initial consultation if you can gain weight back after the sleeve? He told me the new stomach can not stretch more than 5%. At my psych eval, I mentioned that & the psychologist was floored; said he knew people that gained it all back after the sleeve! That scares me. Curious what others' bariatric surgeons told them about possibility of weight gain? My doctor, Dr. Kuhn, also sad the max. you could expect to lose is 80% excess body weight (on his web site, it says 70%).. Yet, on the forums, I see people who have lost more weight. Wondering if that is a rare occurrence? What did your Dr. Tell you?

Did anyone have weight gain within the 90 days and still got approved? Sent from my SM-G920R4 using the BariatricPal App

So Im a little sad that my request was partially approved. Aetna approved the removal of the Lap Band but not the sleeve. Spoke to my doctor's office and they said they will have my doctor to a Peer-to-Peer Appeal. So I wont know until maybe Wed or Thurs what the outcome of that is. I was so excited and looking forward to it to. I didnt really understand the reason for their denial either. They said I was non-compliant with the band because of my weight gain but dont see the issues I had with it. So heres hoping for the best.

I haven't had my surgery yet so my answer may not apply, but I have been on steroids previously due to pain associated with my Lupus. I began at the end July of 2015 and by early December 2015 I had packed on nearly 50lbs. I craved foods...particularly sweets and carbs. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920AZ using the BariatricPal App However...the steroids did manage my pain, but it definitely wasn't worth the weight gain Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920AZ using the BariatricPal App

My candid advice? Keep them. I know that sounds like a deadweight loss and a lost opportunity to be charitable, but I honestly think that getting rid of them is a jinx. I never gave anything away, but when I lost weight without surgery a few years ago, I stored them away in a place I would really never go to for any reason (my gross attic). Alas, I needed most of them back within about a year and needed to wear them until surgery. My solution this time? Keep them around, and have them there to think of how much you never want to wear them again. Weight gain after surgery is real and happens for many people, but I think it is far more within our control than maintaining non-surgical weight loss.

Ok I've been reading this thread for days. Round and round we go. This is my personal experience with carbonated beverages post sleeve. It is not to be construed as advice one way or another. Just one person's take on this subject. I drank a few sips of Dr Pepper about a week post op. Only 3 or 4 small sips because the carbonation made me feel like I'd explode. Nothing bad happened. I drank a little of it here and there, never could manage more than a few small drinks but I certainly had some any time I wanted it. Nothing bad happened. At 3 years out I will sometimes get a small Coke or whatever at 7-11 if I want one. I can drink the small size but it takes a while due to the carbonation making me feel like a big balloon. I prefer Slurpees. I can drink a small one in about 30 minutes and it satisfies any urge I have to drink Cokes. I have one or 2 each week ( ok maybe 3 sometimes) and they are delicious. Again, nothing bad happened. My sleeve works great, it sure as heck hasn't stretched, and I do not have a problem with gaining weight. If I gain a pound or 2 occasionally I just cut out the candy and slurpees for a few days and the pounds fall off. I eat what I want, drink what I want, and have done so since week 2 post op. I'm healthy, have a fully functioning sleeve, and am doing very well. No stretching of the sleeve, no uncontrollable weight gain, no adverse consequence.

How does zero calorie and zero sugar diet pop cause you to gain weight? I see Chrystal Light talked about here a lot and it has aspartame and a list of chemicals longer than diet pop. Why is that recommend over diet pop? Just because a doctor says so is not good enough for me. When I was a kid our family doctor told us we would all have heart attacks if we continued to eat eggs. Anti eggs was the fad back then and most doctors went with it. Now eggs are considered a super food. What happened? Why did doctors suddenly change? Diet pop has been out for 50 years and yet there are very few studies that actually study causation. The ones I have found show that people do not gain anymore weight by drinking diet pop. I personally have lost 70 pounds and counting drinking diet pop. None of the ingredients in diet pop has been proven to cause weight gain. Diet pop is just a carbonated version of Water and Chrystal Light.

How does zero calorie and zero sugar diet pop cause you to gain weight? I see Chrystal Light talked about here a lot and it has aspartame and a list of chemicals longer than diet pop. Why is that recommend over diet pop? Just because a doctor says so is not good enough for me. When I was a kid our family doctor told us we would all have heart attacks if we continued to eat eggs. Anti eggs was the fad back then and most doctors went with it. Now eggs are considered a super food. What happened? Why did doctors suddenly change? Diet pop has been out for 50 years and yet there are very few studies that actually study causation. The ones I have found show that people do not gain anymore weight by drinking diet pop. I personally have lost 70 pounds and counting drinking diet pop. None of the ingredients in diet pop has been proven to cause weight gain. Diet pop is just a carbonated version of Water and Chrystal Light. Never listen to a doctor. Just do what ever you think is right.

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!.

I hope I'm not alone here, but weighing once a month, I never saw a platau. I'm sure I had them, but I was afraid I would get discouraged if I saw a stall or any weight gain. I knew this journey wasn't going to be a straight line from start to goal, but have ups, downs and plataus, so I didn't weigh very often. So, I never saw stalls, plataus or increases. I was always encouraged. May have had something to do with my success, as I never did feel discouraged and was able to stay motivated with my exercise and eating habits. Option isn't available on the poll, so I couldn't answer ...

After WLS, I Gain A Little Weight When…… I go on vacation and eat what I want and don’t weigh myself. Now that I’m years out, the weight gain is fast and its slow to get back off.

Indeed she is -- and I never comment on her continuous weight gain

I was about where you are 4 days ago, but today is my 15th day post-op and I turned a corner (thankfully)! I feel amazing today, minimal pain and it's the last day I have be on clear liquids. It was also my first day back to work! I'm not sure if you are on clear or full liquids? Clear liquids-drink broth, protein shakes made with water, Isopure, SF/no carb Jello, SF/no-carb popsicles. Full liquids-Drink protein with almond or skim milk (Syntrax nectar is my favorite protein-no carbs, mixes well with water or milks), low-fat creamy soups (such as low fat/low carb butternut squash soup or tomato soup or cream of broccoli soup with the chunks strained out). I use Ideal Protein or Barwise products, but you can also make your own from scratch if you have time. Soft foods phase-eat scrambled eggs or tofu, low-fat cottage cheese, low-fat SF yogurt (use Fage Greek fat free for optimal protein with low carbs). Eat only 2 oz at a time. Do not drink 30 minutes before or after you eat to train yourself to eat slowly and fill on 2 oz. If you drink while you eat, you will eat more than you should and can stretch your stomach which will ultimately lead to slowed or stopped weight loss. Eventually this will become weight gain. Phase 4-lifelong phase is food you can tolerate, only 2 oz at a time, chew/chew/chew! No beverage 30 minutes before and after eating. Set a timer on your phone to help you. Journal everything you eat to hold yourself accountable. Please let me know if you want me to email you my post-op eating plan. All the best to you! It will get better and suddenly you will feel amazing! Thank you so much for all of the information, yes please if you don't mind emailing it to me I would appreciate it.

Im very similar. I had the band for 10 years, maintained my weightloss through vomiting every day all day. Unfilled for 2 years, gained 35 pounds. Have had the sleeve since July 9. Only down 13 pounds, 10 of which was the first 2 weeks. I go to the gym alot, mostly cardio, starting with some boot camp now. My nut says 80-100grms Protein and 50-80 carb. I never go over 50 unless I did alot at the gym. She says dont worry about calories. I do use my fitness pal and stay around 1000. I think my first couple months I was actually grazing and eating more carbs. I have no problems eating anything, even raw vegetables. There is no way in hell I could eat 1/4 cup and be satisfied. with exercising you have to consume more food otherwise your body goes into starvation mode. Now after my last appt I use mfp religiously and have lost 2 pounds. Im a very slow loser and dont have that much to lose to get to my original band weight. I have 25 pounds to lose and I dont care if it takes me 6 months. If I lose a pound a week its better than a 35 pound weight gain. Your diet I think looks like you arent eating enough carbs and calories for 4 days in the gym. I know its hard to believe it.

oh, and get this - I've been on pureed foods (low fat) and only water/lemon or tea for at least a week now, and on clears only today, and I have gained a pound!! ugh. This is why I am doing this - the meds I have to take for other health issues unrelated to my weight cause weight gain. I will just keep getting bigger unless I take this action! Maybe I ate too MUCH soup? I don't know. Didn't add milk or cream to any of it. I know a pound isn't a big deal but I keep reading that people have lost 10-20lbs prior to surgery. I hope to at least be at good old 200 by Monday. Discouraged!

I'm doing well. A lot going on right now. I made my goal which was to lose enough weight to get knee surgery. Turns out I needed hip replacement and had that done three weeks ago. Not focusing on losing weight at the moment, just focusing on eating smart and healing right now. I did weigh myself a couple of days ago and as I expected, was up around ten lbs. but that's water weight. My hips and legs are extremely swollen from the surgery and that's where the weight gain is from. Again...this far into the journey, I know what healthy choices and healthy eating entails and I'm keeping to it even through this major surgery.

I second what Nika said. Just hang in there! I had some serious regret my first week with all the complications I had, but every week has gotten better and better and so has my outlook. Don't beat yourself up too badly about not losing a bunch of weight yet. It'll come in time. I was very frustrated because I came home weighing more than what I did my day of surgery. Having to lose the "hospital" weight gain made the first week and a half frustrating, but once I got past that hump things were better. I will say the better I do on my fluids, Vitamins, and Protein the better the weight seems to come off. It does make a difference. Keep your chin up!

Hi Julie, yes I believe the Overstitch is fairly new, although not to sure how new it is. It was new to me and my surgeon is quite experienced and up to date with new developments and I think he'd done about 5 previously and only in recent weeks. They go in endoscopically and put some permanent sutures in the stoma, then if needed also in the pouch to reduce the size of that as well. I don't think they could do it to a patient with a band in because you don't have a pouch or stoma. And it wouldn't be a stand alone procedure as it's designed to be a remedy for gastric bypass patients experiencing weight gain due to enlarged stomas / pouches. Although I believe they can do something similar to a gastric sleeve endoscopically which I think is gastric plication. (If I am not 100% correct anyone please feel free to correct me) :-) Now as for the cost, my surgeon didn't charge me for this Overstich or the Gastric bypass. I've been quite lucky. I paid the full price for the band 13 years ago, which I had done in the South off France. Then 10 years later after I had moved to Australia from England, I had the band removed and the sleeve done in the same operation. My private health care insurance covered most of it, I think I had to pay $3000 extra towards it. Then as my sleeve failed, the same surgeon did the bypass for 'free' just charging my healthcare fund with no co-payment, and the same for my Overestich. No co-payment. He accepted just the payment from my health care fund here in Australia. All I had to pay for was a payment towards the anaesthetist fees which in total were $800 and Medicare paid $300 so all I paid all up was $500 which I was very pleased about. :-) Now to answer your last question about pain, I experienced next to no pain at all. I had a slight scrape on my lips from the scope, like I've had bigger pimples really. And a very mild sore throat when I woke up. The kind of sore throat you had after slight cough for a few days. Gone all together within 24 hours. Hardly worth mentioning. I was prescribed antiemetics and some strong pain relief, however, didn't fill the script as my nausea and pain were zero, seriously nothing at all painwise post op. I should add though that I was the same after gastric sleeve and bypass. No pain, no wind, no pain relief needed, I was up doing laps of the ward same day as both operations and declined all pain relief. I've either been very lucky or have a high pain threshold or a mixture of the two! Never even had reflux or anything. Oh and time in theatre was 1hr 20mins, think that it normally takes around 45 minutes, but I had sutures to both the stoma and pouch, and there was an Overstitch rep or something in the theatre watching the procedure and asking questions / having things explained I think, so that may have added time, not that it bothered me, I wouldn't have known if the operation took 10 minutes or 10 hours, i just closed my eyes and then woke up, felt like milliseconds haha, I went home after about 2 hours with a recommendation to follow a liquid diet for 1 week then soft / puréed for the second week, then a normal diet after that with lots of chewing and not to push the amount of food eaten. Now I am at the stage of puréed food and cottage cheese, I am eating around 100mls and feel as full as an egg. Have lost over 10kg and am only 4kg away from my target and about 1kg away from being in the healthy weight / BMI range, but I did start the Saxenda injections one week before the Overstitch and they are definitely helping, I felt the appetite suppressing effects of the Saxenda even just on the initial starting dose of 0.6ml, am now up to 2.4ml and will be on the maximum dose of 3ml starting this Friday. Apparently a fair few people stop taking the Saxenda because of the most common side effects which are abdominal pain, headaches and nausea, which I haven't experienced any of at all, must be my high pain threshold again! :-) The thing with the Overstitch is that I guess it can stretch again over time if it's not looked after. I'd imagine it wouldn't be able to stretch as much as without the stitches as they'd continue to provide some resistance, although I'm not sure if there have been any long term studies on this yet, again happy to be corrected if anyone knows anymore about this. Not sure what could be done after stretching the Overstitch, maybe another Overstitch or change to a Duodenal Switch. In wouldn't be too keen on the DS as I'm already severely anaemic, even though I'm not feeling any ill effects. My doctor said my iron levels and ferritin are in the low single digits and I shouldn't be feeling at the very least tired and exhausted but I'm not for some reason. Anyway, I'm hoping I won't need any more revisions. I have enough already!! So here goes, fingers crossed for me. Anymore questions, just ask, more than happy to share my journey / experiences. John :-)

Frustratingly, stalls can happen once or multiple times while your losing. They can last for a week to 3 or 4 weeks. If they persist, have a chat with your dietician/nutritionalist to review your diet. Sometimes a small tweak can kick start your loss again. I also think you’ve answered some of your own question by saying you’ve let your food choices slide a little (we’ve probably all done it at some time). Best is to get back on your plan re food choices, portion sizes, etc. I have a small window of calorie intake variation to maintain (don’t check my calories everyday but do random checks) & recently I’ve put on a little weight. I’ve realised, in my attempt to up my protein intake a bit (since my gall was removed I don’t absorb it well) I’ve increased my calories. Increasing my portion size of meat (3oz to 4), throwing in some beans to my lunch salads, etc. & there’s the reason for the weight gain. Though I reduced the amount of vegetables I was eating the calorie difference was not enough to compensate. Can’t believe I didn’t realise. My surgeon’s doctor has put me back on Creons to help with protein absorption & I’m going back to my previous eating habits.

I am losing slower, surgery on May 2nd at 218 and down to 193 today. I have PCOS and was on metformin for 12 years prior to surgery. I have a history of low progesterone levels. I even had to supplement the first trimester of my pregnancy in order to not have a miscarriage. It just dawned on me a couple days ago that I probably need to go back to using a little bit of progesterone cream daily in order to keep my hormones in check. Since I began doing this I’ve lost a pound each day. Keep in mind it’s only been two days, so I will continue monitoring the effectiveness of the progesterone cream. Some people it causes weight gain but if you really do have low progesterone and use just a little bit it will help keep you in balance and allow for better weight loss. Hopefully this is going to continue as I use just a little bit each day. Just thought I would share.

Well let me tell you this...I have my 6 out of 6 appointment coming and I want to tell anyone with Kaiser what to look out for...it's what I wanted to know... 1. you can possibly get more monthly visits added on but cannot do anything to reduce the time in the program. 2. you should start a diet to follow immediately and let that be what you track in your food journal...unlike me, who thought they wanted to just see what we were currently eating.. I was unaware that the diet begins at that first class you attend. 3. If it applies, don't stop smoking too soon...I gained about 6lbs immediately and never found out that losing any weight gained is you final goal in the program. 4. DO NOT GAIN WEIGHT!!! I never knew there would be any weight requirement, only the classes and appointments but at my 5th appointment, I found that I must get back to my lowest weight in the program before we can move on to submitting paperwork. Which only gives me 4 weeks but if you gained more than my 6, this could be a shocker! 6. Make sure you schedule all your appointments immediately after your visits because those appointments go fast and some time they may not even have a schedule up for the following month until the 2nd week of the current month. My 6/6 appointment is 1/31/14 and we will be submitting paperwork...feel free to hit me up and ask me any questions about the process... Good Luck neighbors!!

ok preop i’m 100 more than you - if you just look at % - I am SIGNIFICANTLY heavier than you - and - I did gain about 2 yrs after I went on the merina - weight gain is NOT a side effect listed by the manufacturer - but you can ask 20 people and get 20 different responses - I have 2 good friends on it and neither appear to have gained (OR LOST) since on the merina - Now - on the flip - I used to hemorrhage - think bleed through 3-4 pads in an hour - which is when they think you misscarry - it was impossible to work (i own my own business) and basically I wouldn’t work for the few days when I had my periods - I used to get very bad cramps - in 3 yrs (it might be 4) I haven’t had a cramp - AT ALL - I’m a bitch during my cycle - but really zero cramps... Now - I get that icky nuisance bleeding - rarely ever a clot or any kind of big bleed - I am not fond of weight gain - but I’m ok with that as a trade off for the excessive bleeding. The last few months I didn’t even get that - but last week my psudo period was back. I gained 13% body weight on the merina - over 3 yrs - I also had some excessively stressful years at the same time - so I can’t definitively say I gained with the merina - or i gained with HUGE ASS life stuff - I’ve seen some online forums that vilify Merina - and for me - it works - now - post surgery - and I don’t loose all the weight I’m supposed to - I am open to pulling the Merina and trying albation - but right now I have so much on my plate - I’d rather not screw with one more thing -- JUST MY OPINION - I am neither a medical expert - nor do i play one on tv - Good luck with your decision - for me - it’s worry free - and I like it - on the pill I get high blood pressure - and/but without Merina I had high blood pressure - technically I’m 200 lbs overweight - for what the charts say I should weigh - so who the hell knows....

A friend of mine had gastric bypass surgery in Greenville NC. She did so well that I started to think of it as an option for myself. I mentioned it to my family practice doc in New Bern NC. He told me that he had heard really good things about the weight loss surgeons in Morehead City NC which is a lot closer to my home in Havelock NC. I checked into it and attended a seminar . I decided on lap band and the rest is history. It was a great decision for me. I have lost 98 p but ounds so far and am getting close to reaching my goal. I look and feel better than I have in years. I still have the fibromyalgia that contributed to my weight gain but it's easier to deal with without all of that extra weight ! My surgeon and his PA and the rest of his staff are really helpful and supportive !