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I'd research other surgeons, just to get a feel for the different approachs....then make your decision. There is emerging evidence that prolonged super low calorie diets before and after surgery could reset your metabolism to unrealistically low levels that set you up for weight gain later. (not saying this always happens, not saying this is gosple....bariatrics are an emerging science....just sharing that there are a lot of different ideas at play) My group did a very carb restricted diet for two weeks before surgery. We were allowed to drink 5 shakes a day plus one food item from a list.....but this was just to shrink the liver for an easier procedure. My group wanted 10% weight loss, but expected it to take months. We were required to work with a nutritionist, attend fitness classes, healthy cooking classes, support groups. Our whole process took 4-6 months...just to lay the nutrition groundwork and weight loss work before the surgery. After surgery, we were pushed to eat 1200 calories a day as soon as we could tolerate it...in hopes that this would give us a robust metabolic reset. (to be clear, we went through the gradual restoration of diet after surgery for safety....liquid, puree, soft, etc....but our caloric goals were advanced as tolerated) I lost weight slower than most people....but I made goal, and I'm doing really well maintaining. My preferences and nutrition choices are much healthier. I've got good support for the mental side of this process. I feel like I was better prepared by my group for the work of making the permenant changes necessary and dealing with the lifetime challenges. Be a little careful of clinics that push unrealistically brutal calorie restriction. Eating 600 calories a day will make you lose a crap-ton of weight and will make your clinic look like they offer "The Magic Cure"....but you don't need to be their walking bulletin board for a year and then be abandoned by them when you regain. You need a comprehensive program that supports your needs for a lifetime and teaches healthy nutrition and fitness and supports the mental challenges of breaking the addiction.

Having no hunger hormone (ghrelin) and a limited capacity for food have helped me tremendously. I generally want food when I need energy and if my head hunger is pushing me to overeat, I simply can't. However, for long-term success, I am still in charge of what goes into my body. I still make choices not to eat calorie-dense/innutritious foods. So I still have to deal with the head hunger and turning to food as a coping mechanism. I still have to make a choice to exercise. Just as it was before surgery...too many calories in/not enough out=weight gain. The sleeve is a wonderful tool, it truly is. Best of luck to you!

Synthroid typically can make you lose weight, if infact your weight gain is because of hypothyroidism. There is a margain of TSH levels that you should be between. If you fear losing weight you can always ask your Endocrinologist or PCP to make sure your TSH levels are on the high end of normal. That way they don't get on the low end and you go into hyperthyroidism, which can cause increase in weight loss on just about anybody. There are actually some doctors that prescribe thyroid stimulating medications to people with normal TSH (thyroid hormone) to cause them to go into Hyperthyroidism and loose weight. I don't agree with it, but it's not unheard of. Oh, and make sure you're getting your TSH checked every 3-5 months to check your levels and see if your meds need adjusting. Good luck!

Wow! I've never lost weight like this in my entire life. I stepped into my spinal specialists office March 1 and he put me on steroids for my excruiating back and hip pain and told me to stop working out. So paranoid me starts drinking lemon water because I knew it would flush out excess fluids and in my mind counteract the weight gain affects of steroids. I went back to my Dr. yesterday to get a steroid shot in my back. He said my face looked alot more relaxed, but I still had pain. Nothing like it was the week before but still a problem. Not sure I will ever be back to normal but I am feeling alot better. I've been trying not to jump on the scale every day but that hasn't happened because I am steadily losing a pound a day now! It's like it is just melting off my body. My doctor told me it is because of the pain I was in that held on to the weight, now that I am feeling better, my body is letting it go. I believe maybe part of that is true, but not to the extent of losing 7 lbs in 10 days! So as long as I'm on the these steroids and still losing weight, and even when I get off the steroids, I am still drinking lemon water. I've read about it online and it states that it cleanses the body of toxins and flushes them out. I believe it, I am feeling soooooo much better too. And I am only 3.5 lbs away from passing the dreaded 200 lbs mark! That day will be a celebration and you will hear from me on that day for sure!!!!! :tt1:

Well i got approved with some extra documentation. i ducked out of here because i had gone on the 2 shake diet, lost 14 lbs and then they told me I was going to have to do weight watchers for 6 months. So I compleatly wigged out because the surgery planner told me to just maintain that weight for six months. They said if; lost too much more, i wouldn't be covered. I have to be over 40 Bmi even with all my medical problems. I have never been a weight I needed to maintain...so no surprise, I now have 10 lbs to Lose again. Once my doc faxed over the proof of weigh once a month at his office, they approved it. Sooooo my pre-op class is Friday at 8 am. They are calling me back to schedule a surgery date. It could be this month, I will have to waiting and see....but I am approved. I am mad at myself for the weight gain...now I am back to shakes starting tonight since I already ate lunch. I am feeling very nervous now. I am worried I won't lose it in time...I am going to have to be close by Friday.....how am I going to lose 10 lbs by Friday? Any suggestions? I know it is my fault for reacting in this way and I know it is my responsibility to lose this weightl but I am seriouse about this...please help it you can.

Hi everyone, Is anyone out there struggling to maintain their weight loss? i was 86.5 kilos when I had my surgery in Feb 2008. I had reached 92 kilos prior to that. In 6 months I got down to 63 kilos and loved it. It was so easy as I never get hungry. However, I now am fighting "head hunger"more than ever before and am up to 78 Kilos which is very scary for me. I have had top ups as I need them and think I am about right. I am very restricted in ths first part of the day and once I start eating I find by night time I can eat quite a lot. I am starting to eat wrong foods and getting anxious. I suppose there are no magic answers other han making wise choices etc. Anyone else struggling like this?? gaylene

Tina, Congratulations to you! It's a tough decision, and it takes courage to decide to change. Change is the most frightening thing we go through in life. Many people stay fat and unhealthy because of this fear. I was afraid that the Band, or any WLS surgery for that matter, would change everything about my life. And so far it has. But the changes have been good. I no longer fear change, I welcome it. People in our lives have no idea how to be supportive, I'm convinced of that. I'm also convinced that many of the people who seem so unsupportive think they are being just the opposite. But remember, change is a frightening for them as it is for you. They too are afraid. After all, any change in you could result in a change in your relationships. They are afraid, and their fear has no reason behind it. They forget that you will still be YOU whether you band or not. They forget that your quality will shine through. You are afraid, and it's normal. Change is scary. Everyone you talk to knows someone who's best friend's aunt, had an acquaintance whose youngest daughter had the surgery and she only lost the weight on one side then her left leg blew up like a zeppelin and they went in and found the band broken into seventeen pieces and lodged near a perfectly preserved donut in her uterus. (preceding ludicrous story for illustration purposes only). So, if that kind of thing bothers you, by all means, keep it all on the down low. It's your life, and your business. But fear not. The beauty of the band is it's safety. Low complication rate. Non invasiveness, and ease of reversibility. Of all the courses out there it is the logical choice. I had to decide. I picked this, and now I'm one month out, it was easy, fast, and nearly painless. Well, a lot less painful than my overactive imagination had drawn it for me. Diet and exercise do not work. Lose the weight, gain it back, plus a little bonus. Will power is good for the next meal, and maybe for months, but sooner or later the will power fades, and we fall into our old ways. If the will power worked there would be no fat people, no alchoholics, no addicts of any kind. The way I saw it the only way to go was to choose between a short life and a longer one. Keeping my messed up relationship with food was the short life, the band was the longer one. Follow your own star. Make your own decision based on who you are. One thing about these people here, they know how to be supportive, visit often, read the old threads. Contemplate. But move yourself to action. As Red says in "Shawshank Redemption" it's time to get busy living, or get busy dying. I suggest living with the band, you'll smile more than you do now, you'll laugh daily. Good luck, and glad to see you here.

Welcome! I'm only 3 months out and am still losing, so I can't sympathize with recent weight gain. But I am definitely upset that my apartment building closed the gym! So glad it's finally summer here in Canada so at least I can go for pleasant walks.

Yes it sure is and the first time you sit on an unpadded chair-- you will see what I mean, You will swear your pelvic bones are going to extrude out your skin, because it feels like you have lost the last bit of gluteal fat. I am amazed daily what bone I will feel just below my skin surface, Tomkitten says I like to stroke my clavicle, maybe so, it had been many years,. they went "undervover with either the1st or secobd Great Weight Gain. And I stroke. it just to say "Great to see and feel you once again!"

I think a lot of people kind of go on a "binge" before they are banded. If you are worried though about the weight gain, I would follow the high protein/low carb diet. It will reduce your appetite and of course, you can eat extra protein if you are hungry. Sometimes it is difficult to get th insurance to approve it. They consider it an "elective" surgery but your doctor can write it up as medically necessary.

I'm Tammy (or Flutterby - the original name for a butterfly... ) I'm 45 yrs old, 5'8" tall. I weigh 295 lbs. My BMI is at 44.8. My first goal is 170 lbs. Ultimate goal is 137 lbs. I've struggled with my weight since my second child was born about 23 years ago. I tend to gain weight all over. Well, except my bust area (strange). However, in the last several years I have gained more in my belly. I look like I'm about eight months pregnant... Uggghh! Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved being pregnant and I adore being a mother, but I’m not having any more children and I’m ready to be able to lose all MY baby fat. The baby fat may have stayed with me, but I added a whole person’s weight to it. I need to lose half of my weight – a whole person’s worth. Only those who have been here understand how much that realization can hurt and disgust me. I have tried to lose weight by diet, exercise, supplements and programs just like so many others here. From Slim Fast, Cabbage Soup Diet, Herbal Life, fasting up to two weeks at a time,, Atkins, Low Calorie, Juicing Diets, Wheat Belly Diet, Gluten Free Diet, Gaps Diet, Hallelujah Diet, Mediterranean diet, Paleo Diet, HydroxiCut, Green Tea, many herbal supplements, OTC aids, a short span on prescription diet meds and thyroid medication and using vinegar as a diet aid. As I think about it, losing weight been a driving desire/force in my life since I turned 23. The endless weight loss/exercise and health-related books and internet ideas and “snake oil” type cures, well I’ve researched and attempted many of those as well. I've tried exercise alone, or in combination with diet plans. I've used 10 to 12 different exercise videos both aerobic and weight lifting combined with aerobics, walking, swimming, biking, stationary machines, free weights, machines like elliptical, treadmill, stationary bikes, etc. My results were sporadic and frustrating. I could stay with a weight loss or "get healthy" plan for months, sometimes even three years at a time but when I failed to lose weight at all or stalled with 10 or 15 pounds loss with hard work and high cost to sustain, I would slowly go back to eating my "normal diet". “Going back to my old ways” basically meant 70% healthy choices and still incorporating something new I learned, but I would stop resisting the dessert, the chips and dip, the popcorn with butter. I think the "extras" and "snacks" are one of my biggest weaknesses. I’ve also noticed in the last few months that I really do eat big portions especially when alone. I keep cooking for a big family and it’s only me and my teenage daughter at home to eat right now. No matter what, my weight has continued to climb the last 23 years. I get so sick of my failure to be able to control it or change it. Several times I have resigned myself to being fat. But as I got bigger and older, other things started happening to my health and I realized how much it affected my family and my ability to actually live life like I longed to. I kept thinking there had to be a "key" or a certain combination of things that would magically get my health back under control and I'd start losing weight. I had a sleep study done and found out I had severe obstructive sleep apnea. I was full of hope that using a CPAP would solve my problems because obviously I wasn't sleeping well with meant I wasn't getting proper rest. This in turn, I thought, surely meant it affected my metabolism and maybe perpetuated the problems with my weight. I considered that since I started gaining excess weight when my first marriage got emotionally and mentally and sexually abusive I might have been trying to be less desirable to protect myself from my husband at the time. I just wanted to be safe. I could write out that long story here, but suffice to say I got out of the marriage finally, after 16 years. What is frustrating is that even the strength and self esteem and “new lease on life” I gained by getting out of that marriage didn’t translate into the weight loss I should have or wanted to have and continued to try to have. So, was my weight gain or inability to lose it initially due to the stress of the bad marriage that involved sexual abuses? Maybe, maybe not. More likely it was also genetics and environmental (how I was raised nutritionally). Both my parents are obese and have struggled most of their adult lives trying to lose weight and now dealing with health problems related to being overweight. However I got here, I’m here. And I am so thankful and grateful that things have worked out for me to have this surgery. It’s such an answer to prayer and a dream come true. Honestly, I want this personally, but doing it for my family is a super-close second! One thing I am appreciative of is that I’ve probably learned enough about nutrition, vitamins, food, feeding a body, metabolism, weight gain concepts, healthy living and very interesting discoveries about foods like kefir, kombucha, barley green, apple cider vinegar, good water, food supplements, and the benefits of grass fed beef, range fed chickens & their eggs, and home grown vegetables to write my own book. However, since I’m having weight loss surgery – I doubt it would be deemed worthy of contributing to my health. It’s sad, but true. True because all these things didn’t “work” to help me lose weight. However, I do believe with all my heart that all I have learned will continue to be super valuable to feed my body right after I’m sleeved! My mantra has been, “If I don’t put myself first for once and lose the weight and get healthy, how can I be what my family needs me to be?” How can I truly give and serve and support and enjoy in my marriage and our children’s lives unless I first take care of me? Initially weight loss surgery can seem selfish and irresponsible. Only initially! In all truth, it is smart and right for me because it is what lines up with my vision of my future.

Nobody has been tracking the results of the sleeve as a WLS that long yet. Give it a bit more time. I'm not certain but when I was researching I think someone posted a five year study - you might do some searching and see if you can find anything on VST about it. Regain is possible with any surgery. The big benefit the sleeve has over bypass (what most people are probably thinking of when they talk about regain) is that there isn't a honeymoon phase or window where loss is easiest. Once you're sleeved and healed, your capacity only increases a small amount. Unlike a short window where malabsoption is guaranteed, or a pouch that is likely to stretch (or a band that requires fills and unfills, for that matter), your sleeve is going to restrict you immediately after surgery and for the rest of your life. I am two years out and maintaining beautifully. I'm currently pregnant and while I have hormone bloat and the start of a rounded tummy, I'm not having a problem with weight gain (nothing more than I'd expect at this point) despite the fact that my capacity is increased now that I'm pregnant. All surgeries come with the risk of regain. Using the sleeve like a diet that will someday end is the biggest cause of regain I've seen - people just stop being diligent at goal and fall into denial about bad habits, ones they didn't fix while losing in the first place. That said, I have seen very few regain posts in the three years I've been here. I've seen plenty of "I got out of control over the holidays and gained a few but took it off quickly" posts, though. If you weigh daily in maintenance and actually learn how to eat like a healthy, normal person during the first few months post surgery, there is no reason you can't reach goal and maintain for life. ~Cheri

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.

Pre banding, I lost 24#s and after surgery in Nov. 2011, I lost 28#s but I have regained 15#s much to my dismay. I hit a plateau after July of last year (2012) and I have felt weight gain since the holidays. I must admit that I have not always followed the basics, including exercise. I know how important it is to get your adequate water and protein. I was told once that I may not be getting enough calories. I use to skip meals routinely and I am trying to do better. I rarely have hunger pains so I know that I am getting sufficient protein. Only one month did I feel that I was in the green zone when I lost 9#s of fat even though I had water gain. In my last visits for refills,I have been told that I gained water but not fat when I went for a refill. I am currently at 81/4 cc(s); my band is 10cc. Any way, I need a jump start, because I know it is in my best interest to do so! Exercise, I understand, is the way to go, but I need to be motivated. I am trying to follow the SUGAR BUSTERS DIET as close as possible. Although, I am not losing, I am trying to stay committed although it is frustrating when I think about it at times, especially when I consider how I have given up eating ice creme at night. Hopefully, being a member of lapbandtalk will help!

@@AvaFern, I'm glad you contacted your doctor as soon as you suspected something was wrong. And I agree that antibiotics are indeed a boon to humankind. But don't you think it's likely that the two parts of your post are related? The weight gain could be Fluid retention caused by the inflammation. If the weight gain persists for another week, then it will be time to react by cutting back on calories. Make sure you are drinking plenty of plain Water. Try not to panic. I know that's easy to say and hard to do, but it's counterproductive. Edited to add: If you are not currently tracking your food intake, you might want to start now. That information is very helpful for weight loss and for maintenance.

I seen a lot of people on this forum not receiving family Support and getting called weak well i have a confession to make i didnt get any support i was laughed at and made fun of called weak called will less was told its all in my mind and was told several time I will fail most of the people were so called friends and family who themselves are not in perfect shape but have a lot to say . I feel it is your strength that you are taking this step also all you are getting is a tool to help you win this battle. I went to hospital with one of of my friends cause family wouldn't support me and thought i am wasting time.Guess what Surgery weight height 6 ft wt 287.5 in 5 days ( my surgery was on 8th of this month) today weight 264.... With ought this tool it's a very hard battle something I read at New York Times..... Shows Why It’s Hard to Keep Weight Off For years, studies of obesity have found that soon after fat people lost weight, their metabolism slowed and they experienced hormonal changes that increased their appetites. Scientists hypothesized that these biological changes could explain why most obese dieters quickly gained back much of what they had so painfully lost. GETTY IMAGES But now a group of Australian researchers have taken those investigations a step further to see if the changes persist over a longer time frame. They recruited healthy people who were either overweight or obese and put them on a highly restricted diet that led them to lose at least 10 percent of their body weight. They then kept them on a diet to maintain that weight loss. A year later, the researchers found that the participants’ metabolism and hormone levels had not returned to the levels before the study started. The study, being published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine, is small and far from perfect, but confirms their convictions about why it is so hard to lose weight and keep it off, say obesity researchers who were not involved the study. They cautioned that the study had only 50 subjects, and 16 of them quit or did not lose the required 10 percent of body weight. And while the hormones studied have a logical connection with weight gain, the researchers did not show that the hormones were causing the subjects to gain back their weight. Nonetheless, said Dr. Rudolph Leibel, an obesity researcher at Columbia, while it is no surprise that hormone levels changed shortly after the participants lost weight, “what is impressive is that these changes don’t go away.” Dr. Stephen Bloom, an obesity researcher at Hammersmith Hospital in London, said the study needed to be repeated under more rigorous conditions, but added, “It is showing something I believe in deeply — it is very hard to lose weight.” And the reason, he said, is that “your hormones work against you.” In the study, Joseph Proietto and his colleagues at the University of Melbourne recruited people who weighed an average of 209 pounds. At the start of the study, his team measured the participants’ hormone levels and assessed their hunger and appetites after they ate a boiled egg, toast, margarine, orange juice and crackers for Breakfast. The dieters then spent 10 weeks on a very low calorie regimen of 500 to 550 calories a day intended to makes them lose 10 percent of their body weight. In fact, their weight loss averaged 14 percent, or 29 pounds. As expected, their hormone levels changed in a way that increased their appetites, and indeed they were hungrier than when they started the study. They were then given diets intended to maintain their weight loss. A year after the subjects had lost the weight, the researchers repeated their measurements. The subjects were gaining the weight back despite the maintenance diet — on average, gaining back half of what they had lost — and the hormone levels offered a possible explanation. One hormone, leptin, which tells the brain how much body fat is present, fell by two-thirds immediately after the subjects lost weight. When leptin falls, appetite increases and metabolism slows. A year after the weight loss diet, leptin levels were still one-third lower than they were at the start of the study, and leptin levels increased as subjects regained their weight. Other hormones that stimulate hunger, in particular ghrelin, whose levels increased, and peptide YY, whose levels decreased, were also changed a year later in a way that made the subjects’ appetites stronger than at the start of the study. The results show, once again, Dr. Leibel said, that losing weight “is not a neutral event,” and that it is no accident that more than 90 percent of people who lose a lot of weight gain it back. “You are putting your body into a circumstance it will resist,” he said. “You are, in a sense, more metabolically normal when you are at a higher body weight.” A solution might be to restore hormones to normal levels by giving drugs after dieters lose weight. But it is also possible, said Dr. Jules Hirsch of Rockefeller University, that researchers just do not know enough about obesity to prescribe solutions. One thing is clear, he said: “A vast effort to persuade the public to change its habits just hasn’t prevented or cured obesity.” “We need more knowledge,” Dr. Hirsch said. “Condemning the public for their uncontrollable hedonism and the food industry for its inequities just doesn’t seem to be turning the tide.”

Hello all! This is my first post here and I am thrilled to have this resource available at my fingertips. I have been reading posts for about two weeks and decided it was my turn to ask for your opinion. My relationship with food has been a lifelong struggle. After a while I gave up hating myself and tried to work on self love, which really just turned into justifying my bad habits. I started this gastric surgery journey at over 300 pounds after seeing a candid photograph of myself. I didn't recognize the person I saw in the photo. I had been ignoring health issues far too long that I knew were related to my habits. I began to make small changes like eliminating soda and fast food. I knew, though, that I needed to make a longer lasting change and the sleeve sounded like a great tool to reset my eating habits and relationship with food. My first appointment with the surgeon was June 8 2017. I weighed in at 294. I had four months worth of nutritionist visits, all of which I fluctuated between 295 and 297. Then I had my psychiatric evaluation on August 23 2017. My weight that visit was 299. The psychiatrist cleared me, but was very insistent that he typically wouldn't clear someone who had gained five pounds since their first visit and that my surgeon wouldn't perform the surgery unless I was down 5-10 pounds. My current weight is 290. My pre-op appointment is November 8 2017 and my surgery is scheduled for November 13, 2017. I am a nervous wreck. I have started going to the gym five days a week and doing half an hour of cardio. I don't restrict what I eat, only how much of it I eat. I know I will lose some weight as a result of the liquid pre-op diet but the psychiatrist's words haunt me. I am convinced after paying such a high deductible and all I've already been through that for some reason my surgery will be postponed. Has anyone else had a similar issue? How was it resolved?

I'm 17 weeks and so far i have gained about 3 or 4 lbs. I didn't have any morning sickness, but i got a slight (-0.3cc) unfill at 8 weeks b/c i felt too tight. That seems to have done the trick and i've been able to eat a good amount without any issues since the unfil. I'd like to keep my weight gain between 15 - 25 lbs (based on my BMI when i started). We'll see how the next half of the pregnancy goes!

I had my surgery in 2010 and I was 244 I am now at 191 and I haven't had a problem with weight gain but you might want to ask your doctor for adepex to control your appetite. My doctor gives that for help. But the key now is to work out like crazy. The skin is an unfortunate because I'd you we're big now you have shrunk there will be skin. Keep up with your protein shakes and start researching plastic surgeon doctors who specialize in gastric patients . They have financing

Hi all, I had my sleeve revised to bypass on Monday, 8/31. I am 4 days in and weigh more than I did on surgery day. Is this still surgical fluids? I’m following my Stage 1 plan to the letter and frustrated.

Hi, I have a complicated story and need some input. I won't go into a long story as it is quite twisty turny. Long and the short of it is that I had an RNY done 3 years ago and lost all my weight to goal in 9 months. I kept it off and loved my bypass. Then at the 2 year mark, I developed a rare side effect and the decision was made by my medical to team to reverse it to see if it would mitigate or relieve the effects/complication with the intent to sleeve me as soon as I was healed to continue with the restrictive aspect. (because it is not a common situation, they knew it was possible it would not help) They reversed it in Sept 2014. Again, I healed great but promptly started gaining (Even though I did my very best to maintain my RNY eating habits) in January 2015, I was cleared to have the sleeve done and I have been working out like crazy daily to hold the weight gain at bay. The complication is still an issue but we have resigned ourselves to that fact and have been managing it quite well. My sleeve date will be mid june.... Here is my query... I loved my RNY. I loved the restriction and everything about it. I hear so much about people failing the sleeve/the sleeve failing the people and converting to an RNY. I am very afraid that the sleeve won't be enough. I regained 40 lbs and only need to lose 40 to get back to goal. I would like to hear some feedback about the sleeve. Do you have restriction? Is it noticeable? Average weight loss? IS it a tool that can work? I know how the RNY works. Can I (if I use it properly and respect it) have an honest expectation to lose weight with the sleeve?

I am finishing my liquid stage, during which I lost 24 pounds, today. Is it inevitable to gain weight now that I am starting to eat food? I find it hard to believe that, even with careful monitoring, that I won't gain weight initially. Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you, Bruce

Christine, I did get my band removed. I'm one of the people the band didn't help (other than that it make me take a serious look at my eating habits and just try harder...that's worth a lot), so no I wouldn't get it again. My surgeon still feels like I would be a good candidate for the sleeve since I did follow the rules and would most likely be successful, but I'm just not at the point of reconciling myself to being that drastic. Now, if in the next 6 months I see my weight climbing and problems once again with needing meds for my diabetes...yeah, I'll do it in a heartbeat. There are all sorts of possible problems with every WLS...some they don't even think to tell you. You just have to weigh those issues against what you're dealing with as far as weight gain and possible health problems and then decide which takes precedence *for you*. .

Hi i had my band fitted in feb last year and my weight loss has been slow infact 4.5 stone is all i have managed to shift i had a Barium Swallow after the all clear i was asked to come back in 3 months in wich i had gained 3 pounds (my first weight gain in nearly 2 years) the doctor said he wasnt sure how much my Band can take so gave me 1ml ive been having a few problems all day ive had some Soup and orange juice and it keeps coming back on me constantly before the 1ml was inserted my records showed i had 8.5ml but am sure this was wrong cause i was eating pretty normal! and the Barium Swallow prooved this but can 1ml make this amount of drastic change? i mean i have been sicking up little bits through out the day does anyone know exactly how much the swedish lapy band can be filled? many thanks and am glad i found this site Rossy :)

Does anybody have experience with weight gain after starting Prednisone? I have been gaining a 1/2 to 1 pound a day but am careful with my calorie intake. Will this gain leave as soon as I stop the Prednisone? I am on 10mg a day for 14 days for severe Sciatica pain. Which also means I had to stop exercising. Help!!!! Mimi