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People in our society notice weight gain and weight loss. While some of us may find it offensive that we personally get noticed for either gaining or losing, social interaction is likely to be the result of weight loss even if we resent people who never sought us out before the lap band or other assistance in weight loss. The process is going to be slow but people will first notice your face getting thinner because you are consuming(hopefully) less sugar--no soda, juices, etc.--more water and sugar free Crystal Light lemonade. You will be having broth which is high in sodium and Boost which is just high in calories to get you your protein intake--I guarantee you that you will be wondering in six weeks if the band is working because you are able to eat so much--this means it is time to ask the doctor for a fill(2cc) each month for the next five or six and then, the weight will start to drop along with exercise. Since we are nearly in spring, this is a great time to get out and walk and keep walking all spring and summer. After six months of good behaviour , I would be shocked to hear you are not a happier person with more attention than you have dreamed about since you were a kid. Good luck

I started this journey in January 2019 after a visit to Joslin for a type 2 diabetes check-in. I knew I was very overweight, but had never been recommended for Bariatric surgery! I thought that was for the “other fat people”, you know, 500+ pounds. I was kidding myself. I took the recommendation seriously and went to a meeting for those interested in Bariatric surgery. I decided I wanted to try some lifestyle and food changes myself before I made such a big decision. It was my teenage son telling me he was worried about me not living through my fifties that kept me moving in the right direction. This is probably the time to tell you that I have always enjoyed healthy eating and usually made pretty good choices with food, except for the times that I didn’t🙄. For me, eating is only a part of the extra pounds. I am the main character in a genetic horror film! The film stars me, before major weight gain, starting off with Metabolic syndrome (that includes Hyperlipidemia (crappy HDL), High blood pressure and high blood sugar), Arthritis (2 surgeries, 1 procedure, cervical and lumbar radiculopathy and stenosis- for almost 2 years, unable to work or even stand for more than 15 mins before excruciating pain set in), PCOS (hormones, fertility drugs, hysterectomy), and finally the cherry on top of the extra pounds? Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea. So, after I changed some of my behaviors, food choices and had an RFA of L4, L5 and SA, I was ready for help to move into the next phase. This phase began on December 30, 2019 at 204lbs. I am now 1 week away from my VSG surgery and feel ready and excited about feeling better, eating better, moving better and ultimately being here, not only for myself, but my son. Today is the 7th day of my pre-op diet and I weigh 180.2 lbs. I feel proud and know that this surgery will be an amazingly powerful tool to have on my journey.

I take Lexapro. I've taken it for several years. I have never had any problems with it. It has not caused any weight gain or slow down at all. :tounge_smile:

It's been a big weight gain year. That's it. I can't stand it anymore! I thought that giving up eating big meals, giving up soda, giving up the various foods, etc. would make this too drastic a step. But I'm past that now. I decided to do it in January, and I just went to see my endocrinologist (no diabetes yet, thankfully), and he's on board. Now I just need to make my appointment with the surgeon (hope he calls back soon) and get the ball rolling. I live in Boulder, CO, and there are hardly any fat people here. I don't feel I can go to school reunions. I worry that I'm embarrassing my son. I hate not being able to do things. My feet hurt. I don't sleep well. I don't want to go up another bra size ever again. I'm going on a diet the day after tomorrow, and I don't want to do it. But I can't wait for the lap band to deal with this. I'm just hoping the lap-band will come along and prevent me from yo-yoing. Otherwise, I don't think dieting is very successful. I might up my workouts from 2x week to 3x, but it's hard when you work all day and don't have much free time. My endocrinologist (who says he's had 5 patients do bariatric surgery in 5 years--although, other Drs in the practice have more) recommended Dr. Frank Chae. He's not very close to Boulder, but I hate to wing it and not use his recommendation. I'm hoping my gastroenterologist OKs it (I have ulcerative colitis). Anyway, I hope everything goes well! Ramona

I learned that we are not supposed to eat before bed at least 2 hours before bed anyway. I decided to not eat after dinner. why should i get in the habit of eating when im not hungry. If i eat after dinner than its head hunger not physical hunger. Night eating contributes to weight gain. after dinner around 8pm I have a glass of Metamucil and Water mixed. I always monitor for constipation that seems to be a big one (no pun intended) among those who had weight loss surgery. To minimal amounts of food and the body cannot excrete correctly. So fruit plenty of water and veggies are the order of the day. The Metamucil helps with satiety. I am over one year out and reached goal but just as the surgeon warned I will gain 15 % back after one year to one and a half years and he was right. I am a comfortable 34 waist up from a 32 waist. So I am monitoring my weight gain very carefully. Basically for one year all I ate was meat and veggies no carbs except dairy carbs. and i was down to 140lbs and a comfortable 32 waist. But I guess that was too ambitious for my body so now i weigh 160lbs my surgery weight was 296lbs. I had my surgery on Nov 11 2013. I had surgery in NYC Manhattan at st lukes roosevelt hospital. So now i added carbs like rice potatoe, mac and cheese or a flavored egg noodles in sauce but small amounts just for flavor really but my meal consists mainly of meat and veggies. sometimes a piece of fruit immediately following the meal as a desert. I eat like a thin person eats. I bought a bicycle for when the weather gets warmer out. and i belong to a gym but havent been going, I really want to be a comfortable 30 waist but my body may not be the set point and it might be unrealistic of me. I see the surgeon every 6 months for 2 years then once a year after that to do routine blood work to check for Vitamin deficiencies.

Hi Rochester, greece area post ops of GWLS! Iam looking for a walking/work out buddy. Weight- 229lbs now would like a goal back to 187lbs. Gastric Bypass surgery in 2006. Weight gain of 40+lbs. Need to get back to where I was feeling great at 187lbs. Thanks in advance! Lets work on incentives! xxoo

Hi I can relate to your problem because I have that problem I am bipolar rapid cycling. I take 22 pills a dayand just 10 of them are psychiatric drugs some weight gaining. I've had bipolar diagnosed for over 15 years and the symptoms for another 15+ years. I was banded 8-23. No fills yet as I have alot of stuck problems, sliming, and somedays just have protein smoothies. But I have learned from my many bouts of sliming that I can eat foods and meats cooked in a certain way. My best protein I can eat is fish...tilapia...fried in a little olive oil and take small bites and chew usually get a portion down no problem but do have times when I eat too fast or to big of a bite I get stuck. I am learning my abilities to eat with the lap band. If you aren't filled too tight , I feel you have a mental block....afraid to eat not even trying to see what works. I've had 30+ years of depression and I could write a book on my experiences. It took me 20 years before I forgave my abusers the shackles of hate fell off and I began to heal. But I'm on anti depressents , antipsychotics, antianxiety, and two or three others that I will never get off of...I have to work around them while working with my band. I still don't like to go out much..but I do. I start my exercise program at a gym through my mentalhealth disability social security where my insurance pays for fees. How long will I keep at it? I don't know but I keep trying. I have several chronics diseases...like diabetes, low thyroid, etc that also works against me losing weight. If you really want this....eating, losing weight, feeling better, then you need to come at this from all different sides. Do your health assessment, nutritionist, and begin from the beginning again but with thoughts of how you CAN do this. I know depression leaches out every ounce of will if you let it control you and you don't fight against it. It festers and gets a little more of you each day if you don't do something positive to stave it off. See your mental health provider and maybe you need a psychologist to talk to. But don't jyst sit there and let it win....fight back...it's your only life you'll have..how willing are you take it back and start to enjoy and join life again? I wish you only the best...it's a hard life...but it is a life with happiness and sadness..ups and downs...love...friendships...hope for better things to come. Refigure your reasons for having surgery...you made the decision to better your life don't stop now when the hard work has to begin. You won't be sorry. Don't just stagnant...push yourself forward. Things can and will get better if you only fight back a little each day until one day you are more up than down. It happened to me. It won't happen overnight but it can happen. Remember the band is the tool...it's up to you to use it wisely. Blessings and prayers my friend. It's hard but doable. And you can do this. Keep in touch.

Stalls can happen any time. You should count yourself lucky you actually lost any weight instead of gaining the first week after surgery - many folks experience weight gain from the fluids and meds they use during surgery and may not see an actual loss until 2-3 weeks out. And there is the often discussed three week stall - which can happen at week 2 or week 4 or 5... Your body will not work exactly the same as someone else's body. But just know that you will start losing again unless you go nuts and start eating bad for you foods or not following your overall diet/exercise plan. Your job is to keep track of your food/liquid intake and make sure you're getting your Protein, Water and other nutrients and slowly adding in exercise over the next year. You need to throw out your old way of eating and the foods you used to eat and relearn healthy eating habits and foods and what is a good mix of Proteins, fats and carbs. If you do all of this, your body will do what it needs to do to lose that weight. So deep breath, keep doing all the right things, and trust your body to do it's thing.

Good luck! I was converted 4 weeks ago and was able to do both in one surgery. I too had the Realize band. For me, the surgeries were totally different. The band surgery was easy for me to deal with and I didn't have any issues during recovery. This time around, it has been really hard. I have been extremely tired and I just don't feel like myself. The doctor has told me that I have to keep in mind that I have essentially just had two major surgeries at one time and that I need to take it easy on myself. He told me it could take more than 6 weeks before I start to feel like my normal self. I had pretty bad pain those first couple of days and it seemed like walking the halls was the only time I wasn't in awful pain. I was off the pain killers after the first week and stayed home from work for only two full weeks. I've had to adjust my work schedule a bit and I only end up in the office about 6 hours, but it is better than nothing for my team! I have one of the docs that is very anti-white-carb, so for me that meant giving up the popcorn (so sad) I relied on heavily during my time being banded. It was one of the foods that no matter the amount of restriction I had, I could always eat it. So if I was having a really bad day (meaning throwing up a lot and not able to get anything down) I would switch to Protein shakes and popcorn. I do miss it, but there are so many people on here that can have it, that I just figure if I give myself some time maybe I will try it. The other huge difference to me was that when I was banded, I had no saline in the band when I came out of surgery. It took 3-4 weeks to get my first fill and that really didn't help any. I think I had a good few months of almost no restriction and following the diet was really, really hard for me because most days it was like I didn't have a band. From the moment I woke up from the band removal and RNY, it was like a whole new world. Gone was my ability to drink like the wind and test the limits of my tool. Also, it stopped feeling like liquids and soft foods were sitting in my esophagus like it was with my band - the noose effect I have heard people refer to when talking about the band. Oh and that damn port is gone. I hated my port. It could have been the placement of it, but it got in my way quite a bit and I had pain on and off in that area the whole time I had it. Having it taken out means I had one extra incision for the RNY surgeon. The one incision is a few inches long and it was one of the most painful areas during recovery. RNY causes a lot of left side pain because that is where all of the "work" is done on the insides, but I also had the right side pain to go with it because they have to scrape the port off the wall of your abdominal muscle. Not pleasant, but nothing that pain killers didn't fix! Good luck and I hope you are able to do both the band removal and RNY in one surgery! The best part of that is no fear of weight gain between the two (my biggest fear of all) and only needing to go through one recovery. I was terrified that I was going to wake up bandless with no RNY. I have so much respect for all the folks on this site that have had to go through two surgeries.

I was losing until this past week. I have been drinking less Water and more iced tea with artificial sweeteners. I also have had an increase in processed foods. Over the past few days my scale reports weight gain of 6 pounds and I have not had but 1 bowel movement and less frequent urination. I am thinking the weight gain may be a reflection of the lessened trips to dispose of waste and that the lack of bathroom visits has me retaining waste. Any suggestions on how to get my digestive system back in gear? Any supplements or foods that will aid me?

I am three weeks post-op. I have been doing fine with the exception of terrible gas pain in the afternoon. Every afternoon, I feel extremely terrible and all I do is take Gas X and pass gas all evening. I am not sure what is going on but it is not fun. I had lost a total of 25lbs since the pre-op diet. However, the past 2 weeks, the scale has stopped moving in the right direction. I have gained 3lbs since surgery. I am not sure why, because I eat small portions and my calorie intake per day is between 800 and 1000 a day. I have eliminated all simple carbs and very little complex carbs. I am not discouraged just a tad bit disappointed that my scale is not going down. I still belive that I made the right choice and when I see my doctor next Friday, I will express my concern.

The surgery went well with no complications. The first two weeks I lost one pound a day. Week three I lost nothing. And now in week four I am gaining weight!!! I am so sad and disappointed and scared I altered my whole life for nothing. Im still earing mostly soft food and liquids and walking at least 30 min a day. What am I doing wrong? Has anyone else experienced weight gain after surgery??? I'm dying to know of I'm the only one and what can be done or do I need to contact my doctor? Omg so disappointed!!!

I was always very thin until about ten years ago when I gradually started putting on weight. I'm a 55 year old female. Until I was about thirty I was very self conscious about being so thin. (5'6" 120 lbs). When i was in my mid forties, i experienced several life changing events that affected me greatly and I found comfort in food. Over the past ten years I've gained 90 lbs. and feel miserable in my body. I stopped working out and allowed thoughts of food to consume me. It seems it takes a ridiculous amount of food to feel satisfied and full. So the weight gain continues. I've tried several diet programs, traveled across the country to weight loss and fitness camps, only to return to my usual poor eating habits and inactivity. I researched weight loss surgeries and after consulting with my dr., decided on the sleeve. I've done all of my prelimary ore op tests and am awaiting approval from my insurance company. My BMI is at 35, which may make it difficult for the approval I have only told one family member about my intentions and do not plan to tell anyone else. My family lives out

Best thing you can do is stop weighing every day, it will drive you insane. I weigh every Sunday morning before breakfast. Your weight will fluctuate daily, so if you only do it once a week you won't be subjected to seeing that. Yes, you will have stalls and maybe even a few weight gains. Our bodies need time to stabilize along the journey. As long as you know you are eating correctly and doing all the things you should be, just keep doing them and your weight will eventually start downwards again. Be patient and kind to yourself. This isn't a race but a journey that changes our lives.

To get back on the band wagon. Accept that my weight gain was unfortunate, but not the end of world. Just got my first refill and am excited to get going again and have learned a lot about myself over this last few years.

Hi and welcome! i had a similiar experience when I found out I had to go through a six month supervised duet before I would be considered for bypass surgery. The reality is it took 9 months to the day. When I first heard this, I was devastated. I had just been diagnosed with stage 3 kidney disease on top of type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and severe Gerd. I felt like had one foot on a banana peel and one foot in the grave. After going through the process I am so very glad that I did. First it allowed me the time to change. I worked on resolving some bad eating habits. I would choose 1 or two to work on each month. I focused on paying attention to my eating behaviors. If you are a soda drinker, caffeine drinker, smoker, these are things that need to stop before surgery. It takes time to make that happen. I learned to eat much slower, not get distracted while eating, eating slowly, chewing my food, drinking 64 oz. of Water, etc. In terms of weight gain after bypass. The reality is your new stomach does not stretch. There are many articles about this topic that you can research. What happens is people choose to not follow the rules and when your hunger comes back and it will, they eat the wrong foods, drink with their meals, eat and drink sugary foods. You can eat around your surgery by grazing. Your new stomach is designed to move the small amount of food through your system. If you drink it will wash the food out if your pouch and you will be hungry again in a very short amount of time. Grazing means you are eating through the day. Most people who have weight loss surgery and succeed eat a high Protein low carb diet. They focus on good carbs like vegetables and fruit. They eat 3 meals a day and may have a protein focused snack here and there or they eat 5 small meals a day. The most important thing is that you don't revert back to drinking sugary drinks and load up on carbs. These items make you more hungry and it becomes a vicious cycle. You end up eating more often and eating the wrong foods. Your new tummy is a tool that will assist you in weight loss and remaining healthy. If you abuse it, you will not be successful. Having weight loss surgery and being successful at it requires a lot of hard work. Hopefully this gives you a bit more information. I would NOT spend that money, I would go through the process that will set you up for success and ensure you are ready for all the changes required. Good luck to you!

you were banded a month before me, I gained 2lbs between surgery and my 1st fill I have since had another fill, how often are you seeing your Dr.? don't worry too much about a weight gain though like the person above said it's a marathon not a race, and there are days when I can retain as much as 5 or 6lbs of Water. Don't give up.

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I am approaching 8 years post-op (July) and am looking to maybe meet some people who are as far out as I am, or who are experiencing weight gain with the DS. I've started "back to basics" by eating smaller portions and watching my carbohydrate intake. If anyone has any similar experiences, I would love your input. HW: 650+ SW: 636 LW: 213 CW: 278

To add to what catwoman said another reason people revise to a bypass is weight gain which I would imagine to be the biggest reason

Hello, I’m new here so a little history first; I am currently 33 years old and had my surgery about 11/12 years ago when I was around 21/22 old (@ 23• stone) years when I had my surgery done. I lost a large amount of weight very quickly due to the surgery and was soon at my ‘starting going to the gym weight of 15 stone in around 2 years! That was without even exercising much apart from normal day to day tasks and no change in diet apart from the starting liquid one.,My weight range over the years has varied between 13.5 stone to 15.0 stone due to going to the gym 3/4 times a week for about a year which led to around a stone of muscle. I did however have some problems, the first being a blockage which required a nights in hospital but no surgery thankfully. I also developers a increase in alcohol consumption due to the increased desire for it over the year, maybe 3/4 pings a night I was drinking most days and more at the weekend. Out the blue about 7 years ago I had the sudden onset of Generalised and Social Anxiety. The anxiety would be way worse If I was hangover or after a heavy night out. This developed into vicious circle to a point about 5 years ago where it spiralled out of control and was drinking 6/8+ pints a daily/all day. Thankfully I’m a sell employee property landlord. During this time I had quite multiple periods of longish abstinence (with medication from my GP for help with my anxiety) with the longest one (just over a year) which ended just over a year ago and was drinking heavily (8+ pints) again during July/August/September 2019 but stopped again. In the past when I went on my every/all day alcohol sessions for long periods of time I never put on any weighteven though I was consuming 2000+ extra empty calories plus loads junk food and takeaways. In fact I would sometimes lose weight?! I don’t until now own scales so always ‘weighed’ myself based on how my clothes fit. In late February I started again heavily but this time I started massive weight gain I couldn’t believe it and that alone caused me to quit (with the help of my GP for some Diazepam from my GP for the 1/2 weeks of horrendous anxiety I get when stopping. I am worried about the random weight gain as it’s never happened before in the past with a massive calorie increase due to alcohol (beer/cider). I thought I might have diabetes as I was really thirsty, quite hungry all the time and putting on weight but went to the GP and see did a diabetes, liver ,kidneys, bloods etc and all came back completely fine. It also been a weird weight gain as it’s mainly in my upper body and I also have dry skin, it goes white/dry when I itch myself on most my body. I bought the Withings Body + scales so I can start logging my weight and also body fat % and was surprised to be 16.5 stone! It’s about 2 stone over my idea weight (no gym) and I’ve last that much in 3 months!! Has anyone personally post op noticed a sudden increase in weight randomly? or tied with something else like alcohol? Also any diets to kickstart the weight loss? I have heard of the pouch reset diet, is it any good? Please help, I hardly have any clothes that fit now! Cheers

How much weight gain are you talking? A small 1-3 pound fluctuation or an actual gain? Also, how many calories a day are you eating?

Thought I would post a quick update. I'm still on a high dose of prednisone and as I wasn't having much relief, my doctor did a colonoscopy Weds and found that my colitis has gotten a bit more severe (though hasn't spread through more of my colon). He has added in a script for Cipro which I'm not thrilled about because it's got some pretty harsh side effects. So far on day two I'm doing OK with it and am hoping to start tapering off the prednisone in the next few days (I'll still have to taper for about 5 weeks so I have a while with it). Luckily I haven't experienced the weight gain or extreme hunger that prednisone can cause (yet), so my weight loss has continued. I've definitely not been able to get my protein targets in and haven't for probably about 3 weeks, but as I'm starting to feel better I think it will be easy to get back to my routine. I hit ONEDERLAND this week! (nothing like raging diarrhea and no hunger to help along those lines) so I'm still motivated to move my weight loss forward. Thanks to all of you for your kind words, it really helped when I was feeling so wretched. Now that I'm feeling better I'm anticipating getting back to the gym next week, if only to do some walking on the treadmill or track to get back in gear. It feels good to almost be myself again!!

I'm shocked and awed by how fast 7 months have gone by.... What have I learned since beginning this journey? So much, so much.. I've learned that I remember who I was pre-weight gain: a dynamic woman, full of life, with an opinion that matters, who can take anything on and succeed. I have learned that it is OK to ask for and accept help and guidance. I have learned that the weight loss also sheds unwanted baggage. I have learned that failure is not an option. I have learned, once again, to not only love myself, but to allow others to love me. I have learned that sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees and often times you need a guide. I have learned that whatever is worth having is worth fighting--HARD--to get. I have learned that letting go of the past is easier when someone holds your hand and walks through and away from it with you. I have learned, simply, to be true to myself and to those I love. I have learned that good things can happen at any time- on any day. I've learned to be partial to Tuesdays Finally, I have learned to be Lisa and to be the best version of myself, with the person I love, my children and my God. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

You guys I am kind of afraid. I think im going to loose weight and gain it right back. I have suffered with weight gain all my life. Skinny one day and overweight the next. I can't wait until Tuesday!?!?!

Hi. I don't have a band yet, but was dx with reflux-induced asthma one year ago. It preceded my most recent and serious weight gain. I coughed for 6 months straight before I was correctly diagnosed and treated so you can imagine I wasn't really up for walking... Anyway, I have been taking Protonix (reflux) for a year along with Allegra (allergies), Advair (asthma), Singulair (asthma), and Astelin (allergies/nasal spray). I've weaned off the last 3 and am still doing OK. Protonix gave me immediate relief. After meetings with my PCP and a GI doc, I saw an ENT re. allergies who explained that the reflux basically acts like a chemical burn on the lungs and that it can take 3-6 months for the lungs to heal once the reflux is under control. Best of luck to you. I know how difficult this is... Kelli