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You certainly want to keep an eye on your calories as you move on from losing into maintenance and beyond. We often see people come through these forums who proudly proclaim that they do "full fat everything", which works well early on when capacity is minimal but then the struggle with regain later if they let their calories get away from them. From a practical perspective, the clinical use for a high fat/low carbohydrate diet is for non-WLS gastrectomy patients (from cancer or gastroparesis, typically) who need to minimize their weight loss and ultimately gain back lost weight, so there is weight gain built into the diet that you need to counter.

Wow, congratulations. At the rate I am going I will be lucky to lose half that much in 6 months. But at least it will be less and not weight gain. Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm so sorry that you are hurting right now. I can only imagine the emotional pain those words have caused you. I'm sure he does not even realize how deeply he's hurt you and you should definitely (when you've have a chance to calm down and vent) talk to him about how it made you feel to hear him say those words. I'm sure once the light bulb goes off he will apologize and realize that the best way he can help is to be possitive and supportive and not tear you down. A few weeks ago my boyfriend of 3 years tod me that on of the reasons why we are no longer as sexual as we had been in the past was because of my 40 lb weight gain since we've met. I met him when i was around 250 (not thin by any means) and am now around 296. To hear that it was hard for him to be physically attractive to him hurt beyond words and I thought that i would never get over it. I did though and after many talks have learned that even though his delivery could have been better he did not say it with the intention of hurting me but rather wanted to work on it to get us back to where he knew we could be. It took alot for me to try to see it that way but we are now stronger than ever and as I get closer towards my surgury date I trust that he's got my back no matter what. I wish you all the best trying to get rid of the few extra pounds that you want to loose but please make sure you are doing it for you an no one else. At the end of the day your health is the only think that matters...not money and certainly not numbers on a scale. XOXO Cat

@ PDXMan....you're not just cute....you're smart! I would like to say one thing in defense of men.....poor guys; they often do say things that come out wrong; but how many men out there have been supportive of us through this weight loss journey and loved us through all of our weight gains? Speaking for myself; I was very defensive in the beginning and very much in denial and had every excuse in the world for not losing weight (some of the valid mind you). Still, my guy stood by me and loved me at 223 lbs, and was there every moment on the way down (with some really really intense talks along the way). Does he love me more now that I am thinner? I'm not sure, but I do know this experience has brought us much closer because we are so much more open now than we ever were.....I guess I'm just saying, that we're not perfect either and that opening up to each other in a loving, non-defensive way is a good thing; men and women are wired differently, but look at the big picture.

Anyone else doing the 2 week preop diet feeling like they are failing? And might fail after surgery? Idk if its all in my mind or what but I just feel like if I have this much trouble staying on liquids now then maybe I will after aswell :-( plus ive been on the preop diet since last Wednesday and havent lost any weight....what the H is up with that crap? This has me worried that maybe my surgeon wont trust that ive done the diet and he will cancel. Im paranoid. They have a 10 lb weight gain rule...I havent gain 10 lbs...so I think im ok....but I havent lost anything either even though ive really tried! Feeling very discouraged.

I want to have a realistic picture of what this surgery will mean. I am trying to tally up the worst case scenarios, and maybe they are just the "likely" or "eh...could happen" scenarios. From what I've learned on vst, here's what I can expect, in stages: (Although everyone is different!) -Excitement and counting down the days -Hatred of pre-op diet -Nervous, scared, possibly terrified -Sore, nauseous, tired, puking, thirsty -Low energy,trouble drinking, buyer's remorse -Dehydration, weeks of nausea -Sick of Protein shakes, miss chewing -Difficult adjustment, missing food as comfort mechanism, depression -3 week stall, fits and starts, disappointment in slow loss -Judgment from people who know -Trial and error of foods, vomiting when intolerant or too much -Trouble eating in restaurants, missing old life -hair loss, sagging skin, face looking older -Encouraging weight gain, adjustment to new life -Happiness, feeling of accomplishment as getting close to goal -Realization that battle isn't won, won't ever be "over" -Dedication and diligence -Hunger, capacity to eat increases -Rededication after small regain -Acceptance that the fight is eternal I'm the type of person who feels more comfortable having a complete picture of what can happen. I don't want to go into this with rose colored glasses. Any additions? Subtractions? Thoughts? I know that NOT ALL people have all or even some of these. Again -trying to look at possible downsides so I don't get caught up in thinking this is the solution to all life's problems.

If it was that easy no one on here would be heavy. If we could change our mind like a switch, don’t you think we allWould??? It’s not as easy as willpower, not even close. Even having the stomach removed isn’t enough for some people. And now to the op- your body lost a ton of weight from a fast starvation type diet (weight loss surgery is just a forced state of starvation) then you got pregnant with a wrecked metabolism and a starved body- and your body sent your cravings through the roof and slowed your metabolism to a crawl to grow your baby, and heal the damage. When we diet our bodies believe that we are in a famine. And they are smarter than us and built to survive- that is how weight gain from dieting happens. My advice is to take the opportunity to explore other ways of losing weight /weight maintenance other than surgery. Consider eating disorder therapy and a dietician that specializes in eating therapy to help you rebuild your metabolism. Being thin isn’t everything. It really isn’t anything. Youre a new mom, you need food and you need health and you need to free your mind from feeling like a failure so you can focus on your baby. You are not a failure in any way and you are beautiful whether you are bigger or smaller. Therapy can really help with these negative self image issues we all have. You are not a criminal for wanting to eat fast food. There are many ways to be healthy. Eating wholesome food to satisfy yourself, getting exercise every day, treating yourself to a new haircut, new clothes, figuring out what you really enjoy eating without guilt or shame, and loving your body the way it is. That’s health. Self care and self love is health. If you want to be healthy on the outside, you have to get healthy on the inside. Rebuild the trust in yourself. I highly recommend Intuitive Eating to you as an option.

Janet... I had a 6 pound weight gain after surgery. Don't fret. It took me almost 6 days to see a drop on the scale at home. If your bowels are not moving, that can have an impact. Also all those fluids in the hospital really did a number on me. As soon as I was able to drink more water and get in some proper nutrition, things really improved. I was 314 day of surgery. Two days post op on hospital scale I was 320!!! Today, I am 307. Take heart, it will get better. I am living proof. I thought what the heck...only I can go for WLS and GAIN weight!!!! Hang in there. You will do fine and sorry about the bruising. I still hurt too and bending over really gives me pain. We are going to make it. I know we will. Cyber hug to you.

Ok, need some suggestions. I went to the doctor today and they put me on another antibiotic, breathing treatments every 4 hours, and steriods. Any suggestions on keeping the steriod weight gain down?

These are my personal observations about my own weight issues. I have spent years struggling with real and imagined issues with food. I decided to have the lap band surgery after about 4 months of deep and meditative introspection about what my true 'issue' with food was. I had tried everything as many of you have. But when I took a good look at why diets, exercise & food control issues failed for me I realized a lot. One thing that became clear was that I was using food to 'medicate' myself. Every issue, large or small good or bad was medicated with food. I used food in place of dealing with my true issues. Tired, bored, happy or sad I solved the problem with food. It was no wonder I was never full. It was no wonder I was always reaching for something to eat. I would attempt to make healthy choices, I would exercise and I still did not lose weight for all the biological reasons doctors explain about metabolism. But the bottom line was that food was always front and center in my mind. I hated the grocery store like most people hate going to the dentist. I realized at one point that food, for me, was in actuality, an addiction (I speak for myself only, of course). And I realized that this was the worst kind of addiction ever. People can give up alcohol completely and live, they can give up cigarettes & drugs and still live. They can completely remove themselves from temptation of those substances (in extreme cases of course) and function. But food addicts can't. No one ever says, "Oh, I'll just have a little heroin today." But food addicts do. We attempt to restrict the thing that helps get us emotionally and physically through the day. The bad news is that we can never truly escape our addiction to food, after all, we need food to live. The only thing we can do is make vital attempts to undertand our relationship with food, make changes where necessary, & most of all understand ourselves and WHY food is so gosh darn important to us. If we could simply view food as fuel we wouldn't overeat, right? After all, there's no sense in overfilling your fuel tank in your car, is there. But that's not so easily done. Food has a powerful influence in our lives. We Celebrate with it, we suffer through mourning with it, we simply need it to survive. So I had to ask myself, "What the heck are you trying to avoid by numbing yourself with food?" It took a ot of time and listening to things my inner self didn't want to listen to but in the end the answer to that question was...."Everything!" What I lacked in my relationship was covered by my relationship with food. What was lacking physically after a workout was covered by the physical apsects of food. What was lacking in the department of self-love was covered by food. For me food was a cure all. I didn't have to search for answers anywhere else, I didn't have to look for solutions to deep and heavy issues in relationships because food cured those for me. Food, for me, simply made those things go away. Unfortunately the side effects were a catch 22. The food made me feel better in the moment but then almost as soon as I'd eat it I'd start to realize that I did not do myself any favors and of course would feel intrinsically bad and would search for more food to cure the problem...creating a catch 22. For me the answer came one day when i took a good hard look at myself. I realized that I really did love myself but what I was doing with food was inherently NOT loving to myself. I knew then and there that the best way to love myself was to overcome my addiction to food and start solving the little issues of life some other way other than food. But how? I attempted to gain control of my eating. I made health choices, exercised and foced on all foods I put into my body as a gift of love to myself. Food is fuel not medication, I would tell myself. Some days I would do very well, and others I would fail miserably. Days when emotional issues, fatigue, stress or other stressors increased I would feel myself quickly losing control over my new found 'self-love' mantra and back through the drive through I'd go. After many attempts to control increasing hunger after workouts & emotional eating I decided I needed help. I did my research on the lap band and decided that it was the right thing for me. I'm a natural health kinda person so the thought of surgery was not an easy prospspect for me but I knew this was the right thing to do. I did struggle a little with the thought that I SHOULD be able to hand this on my own, after all I did have good in-control days, sometimes. But my weight was getting dangerously high and I knew I had passed my personal point of no return, weight wise. So I chose the surgery. I came to the conculsion that I would probably always have an addiction to food deep down. Just like recovering alcoholics say...you are always recovering. I knew I'd always be recovering from my food addiction but made my peace with the fact that alcoholics get help, drug addicts get help, gamblers get help, why shouldn't people with food addictions get help. The lap band was my addiction help. I knew I'd have to do some work too but I figure that if I could get a little help on the really bad days I just might be able to fight this addiction. It has been a year and two months. I've lost 80 pounds. I struggled with new issues after the band such as exercise. I knew I was supposed to exercise but exercise never worked for me before. I feared failure or even muscle weight gain so I didn't exercise much. Yeah, a new issue to deal with. I feared I spent all that money on the band and it wouldn't work, because after all, nothing else had and this was (for me) an addiction which is all in the head right? But as weight slowly started to come off and I recieved support from friends and family who loved me (but admittedly knew nothing of how hard it is to struggle with food issues) I began to see the light. The band helped me gain control where I was simply ill-equipped to do so previously. Can you fail with a lap band? Probably. Can you sabotage yourself? Probably. Did I want to? Absolutely not. In my mind, this was my last chance and I was going to do whatever it took psychologically & physically to make it work. Even if that meant I'd have to search elsewhere, namely deep in my soul for answers to those daily stressors and emotional issues I avoided and had medicated with food for so long. Do I still crave food when I am angry, hungry, happy or stressed? Not really. Does it cross my mind? Yes, on occasion. Why? Because over the last 14 months the physical attributes of the band and intense personal exploration has helped me develop new habits. I use the band like alcoholics use Antibuse. I know that if I eat more than I should out of compulsion I will get sick and that's not good for me. So over time, I have come to the understanding that my band is there to help keep me in control of eating while I use my mind to solve emotional stressors. Of course I still need to eat, but out of nutrition needs, not emotional needs. I let the band help me get the proper nutrition and use it to assist me in dealing with stressors appropriately. It's sort of my version of 'tough love'. It won't let me have what I want because it knows it's not good for me and forces me to deal with the rest of life the way I should. And the only side effect is that I am losing weight. Recently my band became lose with weight loss & increased exercise. I was hungier than usual, could eat more and I did. I felt like I was a little out of control. I attempted to handle it on my own for a few weeks understanding that at some point in my life the band may not work well anymore and I needed to see how much progress I had made in my emotional journey. The answer to that was...only a little. I didn't feel bad however, after all, I'd spent a lifetime developing my food issues. I didn't expect them to disappear in 1 year. I found myself able to eat larger portions, reveling in it, & in truth thinking "Oh, I bet I could have a Sonic hamburger." In essence, I was having a relapse. I was thinking of all the wonderful things I could have to 'love myself' with. But! the funny thing was, that the food didn't have the same medicating response anymore. Nothing that I ate gave me that sensuous UMMMM! response I thought it would. I didn't have one of those...."Oh my God, I haven't had this in a year and it tastes incredible!" feeling. I simply just ate a little larger portion than ususal and felt kinda bad about it, simply for the fact that I was pretty sure I didn't need that extra portion. So I learned that just because I could eat more, I didn't really need to and in actuality I wasn't getting that response I had expected. And no, I never really did eat a Sonic hamburger. It was at this point I chose to get my band adjusted a little to give myself the assistance I needed. I know I am making progress and my goal is to some day get to the point where I am in control of all food issues band or no band. I think I'm well on my way. I no longer fear the day I may not have use of my band because I have seen progress and I know I will get there. So for those who still struggle with hunger, compulsion to overeat or cravings I feel for you. All I can suggest is that maybe you take a good hard look at what food means to you and how you are using is. Be honest with yourself, I know it's hard. Society doesn't make weight loss or body image easy. After all, simply take a look at your next restaurant portion and you'll see that. Your body probably only needs about a quarter of what is put on your plate to survive nicely. No one can come to these realizations for you. All I know is that I was tired with struggling with my love/hate relationship with food. I was tried of trying to bend food to my will skipping this, substituting that. I wanted my relationship with food to be normal. And I can honestly say that with the help of my lap band I'm as close to normal as I have ever been in 41 years, but still a work in progress. I am slowly making peace with food, using it for what it was intended & loving myself in the process. I used to tell people who said I need to love myself more...."I'll love myself when I'm a size 8 again." I finally realized I was missing their point. Loving who you are, doing things that honor & love the self is a process not a size destination. I am now 185 pounds, 41 years old, a size 12 and if I never lost another pound I honestly think I'd be perfectly happy with myself, physically and emotionally. If you have ever uttered the phrase "I love to eat." or "I just love food." I would highly suggest you take a good hard look at why you made those statements and you'll get some good insight as to your personal issue with food. It may not be like mine but it just might. Thank you for reading my story and I hope you have a wonderful learning experience with or without your band. Sincerely, Samantha Hall

I understand. I had my band done in October of 2008. I lost some weight, gained it all back, lost again, gained again plus even more weight, and now I'm trying my hardest to lose...again. Sigh. Right now I'm at the exact same weight I was when I got the band in the first place (and I've recently lost 8 lbs). I have only had 4.something ccs in my 10 cc band. I have had trouble going tighter than that, but have come to realize now that I haven't been doing the right thing by my band. Being able to take huge bites of english muffin isn't right. I'm supposed to be taking small bites and possibly not even be able eat bread. And, tonight I was thinking that I would like to have pizza for dinner. I've been thinking about pizza for three weeks. So, I was working out how much I could have and how many points it would be (just joined weight watchers) and I decided I could have two slices of thin crust veggie. And I was thinking, that isn't going to be enough food. I'm going to need a salad too. Then I was like, (parden the profanity) "Jesus! I shouldn't be able to eat a salad and two slices of pizza at all, much less in 20 minutes for dinner!" (I decided to go with a salad and a few baked coconut shrimp instead). And, I decided that after a year of hiding from my surgeon, it is time to go in for a fill. I'm asking myself, what was the point of getting the band in the first place if I'm not going to use it? I didn't pay $16,000 out of pocket for this surgery to not use the tool I've been given. And, FYI, I have really been on a roller coaster with my band. At first I was expecting magic and efforless weight loss. Then, when I realized it wasn't just going to be easy peasy with no effort from me, I got really pissed (again, sorry about the language) and hated the band for a few years. Fairly recently I decided I wanted the darned thing removed and to see if my insurance would pay for bypass or the sleeve. And, thanks to this website and some of the wonderful people here in the forums, have very recently decided that I can't just hate the band when I haven't really given it a chance. I mean, I am pretty non-compliant with the band. So, I have joined weight watchers and am trying to do a daily 30-60 minute walk out in the desert (soft sand). I made an appointment for a fill today. My appointment is on the 27th. When I called the office, I was disappointed to learn that my long-time nurse I've been seeing doesn't work there anymore! :-( So, I now need to start over with someone new. I am a little disappointed, but maybe this is exactly what I need. A fresh beginning for me and with a fresh person to manage my care (same surgeon's office, just a new PA). I'm going to take a leap and get a moderate fill. I'm going to say I don't want a tiny one, but not a big one either. I want something that I will notice, but won't make me hate life i.e. slime and throw up all the time.

@ Shape Shifter --> WOW! That is insane. I cannot believe PCOS caused that much weight gain. That is truly a detriment to your health. Sheesh! I am also insulin resistant which has turned into full fledged diabetes because my diagnosis was so late. I have the ability to loose weight on my own but I find that it is extremely low when I take insulin. However, without the insulin, I am able to loose weight at a moderate pace. It's almost like a catch 22. My surgeon said the insulin resistance will definitely reverse. I am just praying the PCOS will also. Ugh!

Okay so after having maybe 2 light periods a year for the last 7 years thanks to the weight gain and PCOS, I have had a period the last 3 months. First month was pretty 'normal', last month was SUPER heavy, and this month has been pretty heavy as well. I've noticed last month and this month that I'm very, VERY drained and tired, and very spacey. I feel very out of it, and like I'm a walking zombie. My blood tests have all been normal since surgery (the last were done 5 months ago, though, so I ordered new ones). I'm fearing that I'm now experiencing iron-deficiency anemia due to these heavy periods. While yes I'm going to speak with my doctor about it and have the blood tests done, I want to know if anyone else has experienced this? If so, other than supplements (I will happily add the Iron patch vitamin if I need to), what have you found to help in the moment when you're feeling super sluggish because of it? I know even when I had a regular period as a teenager (I didn't start showing signs of PCOS/lose my period until I was 20, and I'll be 27 soon), that I was never this rundown and tired. This feels like something is wrong. That's the only reason I started questioning it and researching.

JC sounds like your small weight gain is actually muscle... it must be with all the exercise you are doing... Yvonne

Thanks for sharing your personal stories everyone. I have a slippage and am angry right now. I started having problems at the end of last summer. I couldn't eat anything and was throwing up everyday. I had a upper GI fluoroscopy and was told I was fine. I wanted all the liquid taken out for a few months to let my system recover, but said no that I should just have some liquid taken out. I listen to my doctor for fear of gaining weight (which he said would happen guarantee) and only had 1 cc taken out. He's a doctor and I'm not, he should know best. However, I made it clear I had stomach aches and something didn't feel right with a list of my symptoms. I have been to 3-4 visits these past few months and each time is i was unfilled a little bit, so I felt better. Now my band is in the middle of my stomach instead of at the top it has been slipping slowly for the last 9 months. I should have listen to my gut instinct. My timeline: -2 1/2 years with the band (lost 70 lbs total) -First 6 months not much weightless, higher filled each doctor visit -6 to 17 months lost weight -1.5 years with the band had my first problem -Went through a year of lower adjustments and now need surgery -This past year no major weight loss or weight gain (3-9 lbs up and down) Whoever is reading this, I'm not pro or anti-band right now... I am angry and scared. I don't want to have another surgery. I have less than a week to make up my mind and don't know if I should have the band removed or repositioned. I have no answers or insights just questions. Good luck to all who are having problems and hope we each come to the conclusion that is best for each one of us. Any more info, studies or advise, please keep sharing.

I'm a revision from lapband to sleeve so a little nervous over leak. Lapband 8 years and no weight loss and no weight gain but 2 partial knees and diabetic now! I'm ready for my sleeve! I'm ready for a healthy tool to assist my body to health! Best wishes to all.

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.

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.

Thank you. Everyone has been congratulating me.. I see a myriad of doctors/specialists regularly. It's hard to feel like I accomplished something given I've been fighting off the health effects of being a dumbass for years, and only now am I on the verge of finally being perfectly healthy. But being realistic, I think I'll be happy when I'm off my last medication.. metoprolol, beta blocker for heart rate and BP. Post-op it's been 100-120/60-90, but I think my doctors/specialists want to see it on the lower end of that permanently before taking me off this. RHR has regularly been 50-80.. so I don't think that's much an issue anymore. As far as my daughter goes, and our future kids, definitely being aware of what they eat, and minimizing the junk carbs from the diet. My wife has PCOS and has been losing weight seeing me lose a bunch of it, and from all those months of me begging her to stop eating so many carbs so she doesn't go through what I did with my enormous weight gain in such a short timespan. Women seem to have a tougher time losing it.

Hi all!!! I was sleeved on 6/10 and recently began ursodiol 300mg twice a day. Although I shouldn't since I'm still in the early stages and fluctuating, I weigh myself usually everyday...my first weigh in after the medication I fluctuated 3lbs up..did anyone else notice if their gallbladder meds changed their weight or slowed the progress of their weight loss? A few people have expressed bloating and weight gain while others have said it helps to aid in weight loss as your gallbladder can breakdown cholesterol etc. perhaps my weight is attributed to the fact that I had about 680 cals compared to my average of 400-500. Thanks all!!! -Mike

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 :-)

OP: Have you tried therapy to address your emotional/overeating tendencies? And is your “hunger” actual physical hunger OR could it be head hunger, due to GERD, or are you still chasing the full feeling you had with the band? Relying on appetite suppressants after so many WLS procedures will also not address the root cause(s) of your weight gain. One’s pouch or sleeve is just a tool and long term success must include healthy eating and portion control. Good luck!

@@LowBMISleever "My comment was for the OP, but I don't take anything I said back. If it offends you that alcoholic beverages are empty calories that cause weight gain, then there's not a lot I can say. It's factual information. On a side note, I rescue dogs and your name implies you do too. I support that :)" You were complaining about the entire conversation and it not being 'supportive' to you. I know alcoholic beverages are empty calories and that's not something that's 'offensive' to me...I'm just not a huge believer in demonizing something that is allowed on our plans (most everyone here is allowed alcohol at some point) and something that I know is going to become a part of my long-term life. I don't like being nannied by strangers, and it seems I particularly dislike it when that stranger is calling people out for being non-supportive of HER dislike of alcohol use in a thread titled 'alcohol'. That's all. And yes, I'm a big rescue supporter and I'm glad you are, too. I've got two awful little rescues running around right now, barking their fool heads off and making my heart feel full <3 All of us have something in common at the end of all of our differences, don't we? Peace

Enjoy your alcohol. It definitely makes a ton of sense for morbidly obese adults trying to lose weight to drink empty calories that additionally impairs their judgement. cheers! I liked this app because everyone was so supportive pre-op and answered my questions honestly. Not sure I belong here anymore. I understand why the veterans don't stay. @@ShelterDog64 My final thought, we have all allowed ourselves to eat and drink ourselves obese - it's gluttony and addiction. That's why we are here. We deserve to be scolded when we go off plan, just like anyone else with an addiction would be scolded for going back to their drug of choice (mine is Pasta & wine). I understand that YOU are not going off plan for YOUR program. My comment was for the OP, but I don't take anything I said back. If it offends you that alcoholic beverages are empty calories that cause weight gain, then there's not a lot I can say. It's factual information. On a side note, I rescue dogs and your name implies you do too. I support that Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App