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I am ready to do this. I am 100lbs from my goal weight of 135lbs. I have healthy eating habits but I eat too much. I can't control my portions ill have the steak and veggies but overdo it on the portion size of the meats. I'm not a huge picker but occasionally those cookies will torture me and I overindulge plus I eat super fast. I lose control over how much I eat. I am hoping if I continue to eat healthy protein and veggies the Lapband will help with the feeling full quicker so not only do I not go for seconds But i can't even finish my first a plate. There is this supposedly "new" belt type thing you wear on the outside I tried this its actually approved by insurance comp I didn't pay a penny for it, but it hurts soooooooooooo bad to wear this thing all day I had bruises I think you don't feel hungry bc your in pain. It did help me to eat less but I couldn t utilize properly bc it cut in so bad. I haven't come to the Lapband decision lightly. It's been a 2 year decision on and off again before I went for my first consult and finally after my 3 rd child and a 115lbs weight gain over. 9 year period I am ready to make changes and eat less. I don't want to be the "fat" mom. I want my kids to see me eating right and pick up from my healthy eating and portion sizes and I'm hoping from the less weight and healthy eating ill have more energy to exercise on a daily basis not just once a week sometimes twice.

Hello All... I am new to this website and thought I would share my story. I had VSG surgery on September 28th 2010. I will be completley honest with my journal enteries! ALWAYS! The first week was NO FUN! I had a tough time keeping ANYTHING down. The doctor's said that my stomach was tight and it would take some time, but it would get better. IT DID! after the first week, things got MUCH MUCH better! I stayed on liquids for the first two weeks, then mushies for two weeks and now I eat alot of mushies but try and intergrate solid foods. I am still having some trouble with eating solids. I did learn that I cannot eat white meat chicken, it must be dark meat. White meat is just too dry for me to keep down, no matter how I prepare it. I made chicken and dumplings for my family the other night and used chicken thighs and I ate everything but the duplings. It was really good and it settled very well. I am so happy that I decided to have the VSG surgery. I have only been post op[/size] for a little over 5 weeks and have lost about 28 pounds. I started out at 260 before surgery and lost 5 pounds in the two weeks before surgery. Then the day of surgery I was at 255... so from the day of surgery I have lost 28 pounds... from the highest weight that I was (260) I have lost 33 pounds. A couple weeks ago I had a platue and did not loose for about 4-5 days and was really depressed, but then I started loosing again and felt much better. Before surgery I had Fibromyalgia very badley and since surgery have been pretty pain free. I am very hesitant to excercise because I do not want the fibromyalgia to flair up but am trying to stay as active as I can without going overboard. I know I really should be excersizing more... We just moved into our new house a couple months ago, so the Wii balance board had been packed away... So I thought; I will hook it up and do some cardio excercises on the Wii.... But to my disappointment the balance board would not work. I had my husband look at when he got home and he could not get it to work either. He said it looked like one of the girls (my daughters) had spilled something on it. POOPY! So there goes that! Maybe I can ask for a new balance board for christmas! LOL. Anyways... for those of you out there that are contiplating getting this surgery done or not... I say go for it!!! It does not work all on its own, you have to listen to your body and stay committed to the new lifestyle, but if you are up for that then GO FOR IT! I am only 5 weeks out and it has already changed my life for the better. My marriage has always been good... Will be married to my husband for 10 years this coming June... and with the weight gain over the years, my sex drive had deplenished! That was tough on my marraige! My husband has no problem in that area and just could not understand why I had NO DRIVE! He took it personally that I had no interest in him... That was not the case, I just never felt good enough for him! I did not want to take my clothes off the way I was! I felt, FAT, UGLY & DEPRESSED! None of that says SEX APPEAL to me! But since the surgery and since the pounds have been coming off the desire has become much more apparent on my part and you can tell that my husband really likes what he sees! I think sex is a very important factor in a good marriage and I think that was just a little something that we were missing before and have regainned it from after the surgery. Some of you may think this is TMI (to much info) but I want to be as truthful and helpful as I can for those of you out there that are contiplating this surgery. I will be posting as much as I can! I lead a pretty busy life, but will try and post often. Please ask any questions that you like and will answer you with the utmost honesty! Good luck to you all!

I have BC/BS AZ and I have a problem. Here it is: BC/BS of AZ: Current history and physical, psychological evaluation, nutritional consultation with licensed nutritionist, 5 years medical records, letter of recommendation from PCP, and continuous participation in a weight loss program for 6 months or longer within the past 12 months. Weight loss program includes: · A structured program that includes documentation of diet and dates of participation (a minimum of one face to face visit per week attendance for dietary counseling/education is required. And · A structured exercise program (unless medically contraindicated) designed and supervised by a certified or qualified professional with documentation of attendance (a minimum of three sessions per week of participation in an exercise program is required) and, · Demonstration of a commitment to results by documenting weight loss, maintenance, or no more than a 5 pound weight gain over a minimum six month period. I have everything except for the exercise program. Weight Watchers(2004-6months)Do I have a chance of getting this approved? Has anyone ever got approved with some of these requirements? I guess I am holding on to a little faith that I have left...at this point I have given up and just have to realize that I will be obese for the rest of my life.

So im almost 3 months post op i follow the diet and take my required Vitamins and i work out 4-5 days a week at the gym but last week i weighed about 2lbs less then i do this week what couls have happened and has this happened to anyone else? Sur date 6/13 sw 227 cw 182 Sent from my SM-G935T using the BariatricPal App

When is your surgery? 6 pounds isn't an enormous weight gain so I don't think it'll make a big difference but you should probably ask your surgeon about it if you're worried he/she will cancel. I was stupid and went on a "last hurrah" before surgery and gained a few pounds. Got a little scolding from my surgeon and 2 weeks pre-op I cleaned up my act so I wouldn't risk liver enlargement and I was fine. That being said, every surgeon is different so you really should consult with your doctor to find out how much weight gain he/she thinks is acceptable before surgery.

I think March is busiest month for lap band surgeons because people really start thinking about this surgery after the weight gain during the holidays and the New Year's Resolutions. By March, most testing and insurance companies have already given the ok and the surgery is done.

I had my band done at a BMI of 35. In Australia with many insurances, you qualify for the band at that BMI or more, and for it at a BMI of 30 and above if you have co-morbidities. This is because it has been recognised that most long-term overweight people do not go on to lose weight and keep it off so lapbands are used as preventative medicine to stop people from becoming even more overweight than they already are. The band is also very effective for lower BMI patients, as opposed to, say, bypass. I had steadily gained weight all my adult life, and I was heading for major health problems if I continued the way I was. I'm grateful to have arrested my weight gain with the lapband when I did. I have no doubts that if I hadn't I would have had it done anyway at a higher BMI and had to work a lot longer and harder to get the weight off.

Thank you. I do realize that some weight gain is normal but my eating habits prove that I'm not where I need to be. Thanks for the encouragement. I do need to get back the basics again. At the gym now!!!

Barring any medical reasons eg thyroid issues, compromised metabolism for other reasons or medication that causes weight gain, we gain weight when we eat calories over what our bodies use for energy. We can only speculate and a couple of things to be considered are eating a lot more calories than realising eg very calorie dense food; or secret eating.

There are some antidepressants that can cause weight gain (for example, tricyclic antidepressants are notorious for it). Surely your doctor didn't prescribe an antidepressant that can cause weight gain since they know that you are trying to lose weight. IMO, the best antidepressant for overweight patients is Wellbutrin (burpopion) because it can actually promote weight loss. Sorry, I am a pharmacist so I can't stop myself from making drug recommendations. I know everyone pushes the "reset diet" but I have to say that what made it easy for me to get rid of my regain and not feel hungry doing it was my doctor prescribing me Ozempic. I am a type 2 diabetic and I had been taking Bydureon in the past without weight loss effect then my insurance removed Bydureon from their formulary and I was switched to Ozempic. Weight started coming off within a month of starting the Ozempic and just kept coming off. I have currently lost around 30lbs. If you are not a diabetic, Wegovy has the same drug in it as Ozempic (semaglutide) just at a different dosage for weight loss. I have been taking Ozempic for almost a year now and I no longer have cravings and rarely ever even feel hungry. It is funny how Ozempic, Bydureon, and Saxenda are all in the same drug class but I only experienced weight loss with Ozempic. I just flat out couldn't tolerate Saxenda. Slowed my gastric emptying to an unbearable level. Bydureon worked for my diabetes but didn't have any effect on my weight. Of course, these are all injectable drugs (Ozempic/Wegovy/Bydureon are only once a week though vs daily for Saxenda). Contrave is an oral weight loss drug that contains wellbutrin (bupropion) as one of the ingredients. It seems like it would be a good option for those who can't stand the thought of using an injectable medication but honestly, I. Rybelsus is the oral equivalent of Ozempic. Phentermine is probably the most popular weight loss drug but I have known of people with poorly controlled hypertension to have strokes while on phentermine so I don't recommend it unless I know that the person either does not have hypertension or they take their BP meds and check their blood pressure frequently. Best of Luck

This is a difficult one. 1. tastes change after both surgeries 2. Not everyone dumps after bypass 3. Some people dump after sleeve 4. Bypass would help long term in not absorbing all the calories from sweets 5. But, because of 2+4, bypass people might get too comfortable continuing to eat sweets...leading to weight gain. These are confounding generalities... But, as for you, specifically, are you diabetic or prediabetic? Have you always had a sweet tooth, or has it gotten worse? I never had a huge sweet tooth until I became prediabetic. The condition changed my cravings.. And, do you have heartburn, acid reflux, GERD? Sent from my SM-N920R4 using the BariatricPal App

I am not so sure about this word called "forgiveness" I have made peace inside myself over certain things that have happened in my life but I cannot say that I have totally forgiven anyone (or want to). I have taken certain steps to confront the people who ripped my world apart and felt so very much peace after confronting them, having my say and then leaving the ball in their court. I was continually raped by my brother from the time I was seven until I was seventeen. (He was much older than I). I confronted my mother about this 13 years ago and I was no longer allowed in her life. She went to her death bed two years ago still living the lie. Three years ago I wrote a letter to my bastard brother confronting him with everything he had done to me. I felt a certain peace come over me. Most of the horrid anger I had pent up eased it's way out of me. I have had no family contact since 1996. It's the way it has to be in order to save myself and keep my children away from demented family members. I attribute a lot of my weight gain to the stress of living without my family of origin. But, I am now truly happy. I have brought people into my life that have filled the void and I am blessed. Total forgiveness? I don't think so!!!!!!!!

I got pregnant 3 weeks after surgery, I was devastated, I was 41 married and had 2 kids, I never planned anymore, I just wanted to diet not have kids kinda thing, I considered all options. 7 weeks later I miscarried and it actually upset me a lot but I got on with the diet and put it behind me. I had gone 8 years using the withdrawal method and never got pregnant. Two months after that, low and behold I was pregnant again, unplanned. This time it was a shock, but after losing the last one, it put babies v diet in perspective. I continued dieting, lost 75lbs (45lbs whilst pregnant) and had my band de-filled by 2.0ml at 20 weeks. My pregnancy was great, loved it! I lost 28lbs within 2 weeks of giving birth .. I guess that was baby weight gained and with bump and baby weight gone I was a new person - so much smaller than I thought I would be. My son Nixon is now 8 months, he is a joy and the best thing that has ever happened to us. I have maintained my weight whilst breastfeeding but had my band filled last week so I can continue my lapband journey. Lots of people get pregnant whilst banded ... the weightloss changes your fertility for one thing. Dont think its the end of your diet, just keep eating healthily, put your baby first, be sensible, listen to your Doctor. I was a plus sized Mum to all 3 of my kids, dont be embarrassed, we have the right to have kids like everyone else and we dont all have complications, there will always be bigger moms than you, the nurses have seen it all. I started the journey at 325lbs, now about 260, long journey still ahead ... and a cute baby boy to accompany me with it. Be prepared for when life throws you a curve ball! Good luck x

Look at this thread. Be careful of weight gain. Again search the entire board not just one forum. I went to gastric sleeve the. Insurance forum http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/332570-Very-nervous-about-Aetna-weight-gain

Like Outside and Introversion said, your weight gain is likely water because you're almost certainly increasing your carb intake. I also want to echo their cautions about the 'cheat' mentality. It's deadly. You CAN eat anything, if you plan for it. Take away the implications of 'cheating' and turn that into 'planning'. I just ate macadamia nuts glazed with Kona coffee. Are those a great choice for someone just under one year post-op? Of course not, but I planned for them, and adjusted my day accordingly and will adjust tomorrow as well. It's not a 'cheat' and can't do me any harm if I plan, adjust and move on.

Their are other forms of birth control, such as an IUD or nuva ring which do not cause weight gain. I was on the nuva ring for 7 years and never had any problems with it. Call your gyne and set up an appointment to go over all of your options. Good luck

Hi, thread connects to the one I just created asking whether anyone who had gone to Mexico for WLS had also gotten dental work there. I have several baby teeth that lack permanent roots and have become problematic recently. I currently have temporary fillings in teeth that need to have expensive and time-intensive implants ($3000 per tooth), and was advised to avoid chewing with them. That is really difficult because the teeth are located on both sides of my mouth. I've been eating more soft foods and liquids lately, but that has caused weight gain since the food tends to be higher in carbs. I lost weight following having the VSG at quite a slow pace, and I think this helped my body to adapt. It had been relatively simple to keep the weight off. I haven't had much of a yo-yo until recently. Last summer I lost a bit too much weight while in Africa, getting down a size 0. I gained weight when I returned to the US, which was positive. I got back to the weight I'd been maintaining. Lately I've been gaining weight much more rapidly because I'm taking a medicine that has a side effect of stimulating my appetite (for an unrelated health issue to weight and my teeth) and have been eating a lot more soft food that is high in carbs. Soft bread and muffins, pasta, mashed potatoes. I'm considering going back on a liquid / soft food diet that is similar to what I followed post-surgery, but not as extreme. I typically eat a lower carb, high protein diet, and that has not been as feasible with the dental situation. I was wondering if anyone has tips on soft foods and liquids to have that are reasonably nutritious and can help me to lose the weight I've gained recently, while not causing a dramatic loss like a diet consisting of protein shakes and smoothies would. I know this is a bit of an odd question, but would appreciate any help anyone could give me.

So I GAINED 10 pounds on my 6 month diet. I was close to the BMI limit and couldn't have lost and still qualified. Plus I had recently been prescribed a statin med that exacerbated weight gain. BCBS of KC approved me in 10 days. It's NOT impossible. I did manage to take off the 10 required plus interest for the doc's required liver shrink the month before surgery once they'd taken me off the statin in prep for surgery. His office staff (one in particular) was AWFUL but Doc was AWESOME! I can say I was completely honest about the good and the bad when it came to survey time!

Hello Terry, Why do you need to forgive? Through my own life experiences I had to forgive people because unforgiveness has caused headaches, migrines, weight gain, or loss of appetite, sleepless nights, loss of attention to detail (almost loss my job over it), constainly thinking about them and how I can get them back and they don't even care what they say or did to me. I made a decision to forgive them for what they have done and all the after affects it caused me whether I was right or wrong. Whether they said sorry or not - it is a choice and my made the right one. I prayed for me first then the person, and a few years later the person came back to me and asked for forgiveness. You can't change people, but you can truly change yourself. If it comes up in your mind just don't think about it it's in the pass and over. It took a total of seven years for me. I hope you get over it faster than me, but all things are possible. I wish you the best!

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If you are eating carbs again and you weren't before you unfill (like I was) that could also contribute to a crazy fast weight gain. It should even out though! (at least it did for me)

My mom is like that. She lost around 30 lbs a few years ago and she's like, "why can't you just eat smaller quantities and maintain a healthy lifestyle and exercise every day and make sure you you don't exceed 1500 calories" yadda yadda yadda. Easier said than done. I'm one of the few people on earth who know that she has been vomiting her meals into plastic bags, for years. I think that any diet that's success depends entirely on my willpower is doomed to fail eventually. I'm just not that strong a person. And truth is 95% of diets result in failure and weight gain (try googling a UCLA research about dieting, that's where I got the 95% number from). Sleeve gastrectomy has a 70% success rate, that's more than any diet can offer.

9 months postop and on 8/10 had a positive pregnancy test. At first I was freaked out, then as the days went on we became more and more excited. I was worried about weight gain bc i wasn't at goal yet. But I decided to just follow the plan and worry about the weight after baby comes. Fast forward to this past Thursday, I started spotting. I called the on call OB and since I already had my 1st appointment scheduled for the next day, 9/20, he said there was no reason to come in early or go to the er unless I was in pain or bleeding a lot. Upon doing the transvaginal ultrasound we learned that our jellybean stopped growing at 6w5d, Friday I was 9w5d. My world just feel down on top of me. I scheduled a d&c for the next day. The 1st 2 days after I think in was in shock. Yesterday and today I'm so emotional and all I wanna do is eat. I haven't eaten for emotional reasons in almost a year. Has anyone been here? Any words or advice? Today has been especially bad bc I'm home alone. I took yesterday and today off of work. Yesterday I took my 3 yr to the zoo and we had a blast. Today she went to daycare. We had a m/c before our daughter and now one after her. I'm beside myself.

The process for my surgery in Alabama will not take a long time so I am excitedly nervous. I just attended a college homecoming and I looked like I had eaten everything that everyone else lost. My surgery is the jumpstart to a brand new life. I have been defining myself by what I cannot do and I have a child who is watching me fail this test with obesity. I can't let that happen. I also have to remove the crutch I have used for all of my failures in life. My fear of success rest on my body image. I know it shouldn't but it does right now. I am in need of counseling. I am going to get it. My weight gain is a manifestation of something else and need to find out what. I don't want to go down this path again - EVER!!!!!

congratulations on your loss!! I am only one month out and have lost 35 pounds. That is a pretty good start, however im noticing now even tho im eating small portions three times a day and only snack is a v-8 to get in my veggies i barely eat. im crawling. however. i did start walking and have lost three pounds this week, didnt walk last night and went up by .3 pounds. My opinion is once i get to goal which is along way away lol. but hey im 1/4 there lol. is to ensure to keep up on fills if needed and watching any weight gain and even if a 5 pound fluctuate to call the doc right away. that is my plan anyhow. i am determined to keep this weight off for life!!!! Today is hard because we are having a sweet potluck with all sorts of desserts. I just made sugar free jello to take with light fruit mix. i will have some.. anyhoo back to subject. this is the best decision i ever made ever ever. i love my band. i havent even had a fill and i cant eat very much at all. im hoping with my first fill , it will give me good restriction. crossing fingers. im not worried about the regain later down the road because for me its all about upkeep for a lifetime.