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i know exactly what you are talking about. I used to take Lyrica for various neuropathies, but suspected something was up. My weight gain and loss seemed to coincide with my off and on use of the drug. So, I toughed it out and did not take it for Novemeber and December. In January, I went back on it and in spite of 800 calories a day, I gained 1back 10 pounds in 12 days. So, I stopped it again.

So I was having some problems with my lapband. One day I can eat anything and the next day I can?t eat at all. I went yesterday and had an Endoscopy done. Much to my amazement, I have an eroded band and a small pouch dilation. I was already contemplating taking the band out and putting the sleeve in due to decreased weight loss. I got my band in June, 2007 and have lost about 60 pounds with it. My doctor does not want to remove the band and do the gastric sleeve at the same time. He wants to remove the band and wait 6-8 weeks for me to heal. Of course I want to do what is safe, but I worry about weight gain. I have come so far with this and don?t want to be back at square one when the gastric sleeve is done. Can anybody relate to this? Any suggestions?

hi i am going into my 8th year with the band, i will be having it removed 7/12 due to erosion, then 3 months post protonix i will have another endo to see if i can have the sleeve (well they will deny me on investigational and depending on how long to get it appealed) i started having problems last year, lots of them. i have gained 65 lbs in 1 yr 3 months i had lost 166 lbs. so now i wait, i have significant long term complications and my esophagus is jsut too damaged to do surgery all at once, as mortality rates increase with all my post band complications i have....it is a scary thing to gain weight. do some reseach about rebanding, i was also rebanded and hiatal hernia repaired in 4/26/10 keep in mind my band has not been functioning in over a year, it feels good not being sick everyday all day, but the weight gain is tough, but i have to thinka bout my health-if you want the sleeve then get the sleeve don't do what your surgeon wants you to do..contact me private message if you would like.....

Hi everyone! So this is my second real attempt into the beginning of getting Bariatric Surgery. I have visited this option for many years now, but it has never been something that myself or my family ever considered to be a smart or reasonable option: not until this past winter did I ever bring it up to my family and tell them that I really wished to do this. I am 21 years old, a senior in college, and weigh 300 lbs. This is the highest weight That I have ever been at and I have decided that this will always be the highest weight I will be at. I think starting from the beginning will probably be easiest for me (maybe not for you, lol) but I hope I get some people to read, give me some feed back (good and bad). I don't remember a time not being overweight, I see pictures of myself when I was heading off on the first day of school and that was probably the last time I saw a skinny version of myself. In every school picture I have I see myself getting bigger and bigger as I get older and older. It wasn't til 4th grade did I finally realize something wasn't right. I was the only child in my class who wasn't wearing the cute outfits and didn't have lots of friends; In fact I was the only kid to get made fun because I couldn't run as fast as the others and I was purposely picked last in games because I was fatter and slower. 4th grade was the first time I started to diet to try and lose the weight. Obviously It didn't last very long and my life growing up was a vicious circle or 1 step forward 3 steps back. I have tried about every diet out there; medifast, atkins, weight watchers, nutrisystem, the new weight watchers points plus, weird diets i found online, liquid diets.....so on and so forth. I've also wasted hundreds of dollars on gym memberships in which i attended for about a month and then gradually went less and less till I was just paying to have a tag on my key chain. Once I hit high school I just began to ignore the problem, I was a size 20 and could care less about it. I had the mentality that I was invincible, I was fine just the way I was and if someone said something about it they could (in my teenage angst voice) "suck it". 3 years out of high school and I have gained 80lbs....I have gained over 100lbs in just 8 years....wowwwww. ha, Yea this is not okay. After my last and final "diet" program is when I confronted my parents and told them that this is something that needs to be done. Though they were very displeased with this because of the risks they knew things were going to get worse if i didn't make this change. I am already at a weight where I have restless sleep, terrible knee pains, I have a hard time bending over to pick things up, not to mention my asthma is getting worse...I now have to do this awkward side back bend to pick something up because my knees and back just arn't doing what they should be at age 21. I also visited my OBGYN about my period being so off schedule; she told me it was because of my weight and that my body is confused and thinks my rapid weight gain is because I'm pregnant. The thing that made me most upset to hear from my OBGYN was that I am at such a high weight and am considered morbidly obese that If i even tried to have kids there was GOING to be complications.....Now I am NOT trying to have kids in the first place, but If I have gained over 100 lbs in 8 years what is my weight going to be in another 8 years when I am ready to have kids? I visited a seminar on WLS about 3 months ago, and I began the process about 2 months ago....I got as far as deciding I wanted lap band, and going to see the nutritionist the first time to meet her and get paper work started for blood work and my psychological evaluation. I think I get nervous and gave weight watchers point's plus a try, I lost 10 lbs but then had a hard time with tracking and gained it all back. I am now getting ready to go back to the nutritionist and talk more with them about what to do. I am pretty sure That I have to start over from square one, but that's okay because It gave me more time to realize that I no longer want lap band, but feel that the VSG is a much better fit for me. I want a permanent life style change, so I want something that Is going to permanent. There is no easy way around this, I am ready for something to finally kick me in the ass and force me to make the decisions I need to make. Now I know this surgery will not make my brain want carrots and peas but If I can slowly retrain myself to eat as well as to like new foods then that's how It needs to be. I am already trying new foods and cutting back drastically on fast foods, eating out, and have practically quit smoking. I have been on and off smoking for about 4 years. I haven't bought a pack in 4 months, and have only had about 6 cigarettes in those 4 months. I honestly don't feel the urge to smoke anymore! .....now to quite drinking diet pepsi.....I hate coffee and tea so idk how i'm going to get my caffeine fix!! so to conclude this entry, I believe I am ready to try again and actually go through with this. My question for all of you who actually sat here and read all of that.....what were some of the worst things you didn't expect after surgery? how many of you had 2nd thoughts and/or even backed out like I did? why? did you go through with it? Also did anyone have issues with cigna insurance covering this procedure? Thanks for readying everyone, sorry if it got kinda lengthy. (I will also apologize now for this blog's and any other blog's gramatical errors...writing is not my strong point! lol) -Heather

Laura you look fantastic! Juicing is a great option, but sometimes it can cause some weight gain. There is nothing wrong with increasing our diets to a more healthy, nutritious and great tasting. I fear for myself that I would over indulge and gain weight back. Then again, I'm mind is playing tricks on me. I am holding back from going out and buying a size 8 slacks for work. I just can't believe I'm in an 8. I am working my way up to it.

I'm 2 1/2 years out from getting banded and having trouble. I started gaining weight and being able to eat more. When I went in to see my doc two weeks ago he seemed completely unconcerned about my weight gain and merrily sent me to get a fill. But during the fill there seemed to be a problem, swelling and perhaps a slipped band (the nurse didn't say slipped but the xray sure looked like it). They sent me home unfilled and on 2 weeks liquids. I was going to go back today but on Friday sent an email to a clinic much closer to my home that also does VSG just in case I need to consider more surgery. The coordinator called me right back (she's banded) and we talked for a long time. They take my weight gain and swelling seriously and want to do another fleuro and possibly endoscopy to see what's going on. And it turns out that they're a provider under my insurance (my surgeon isn't any more). So fills and any additional things I might need will be covered. Plus it's near my home and not two hours away. The coordinator said that VSG isn't covered but replacing the band is. They do VSG but insurance won't pay. They do lots of band replacements and the smaller bands like the one I have seem to be the culprit although I'm not clear why. So I'm headed in tomorrow for an appointment and to find out more. It was a huge relief to find a practice that really seemed to care that I have gained weight and also ready to do more testing to find out what's wrong. For those that might be interested I'll report back what I find out... Britt

This is quite normal. When doing a low carb diet, one's glycogen (short term carbohydrate energy stores) levels are being kept at their minimal level in the hope that the body will burn fat instead. On average, the body will keep around 2 lb of glycogen on board, which is kept in solution by about 8 lb of water. The body wants to get those glycogen levels back where they should be if tehy are low, so any additional carbohydrate consumption beyond ones normal minimal "low carb diet" level will result in some quick short term water weight gain. The amount is limited, and doesn't happen if one is on a normally balanced human diet. I never ran into this particular issue as i kept the carbohydrates and fats in relative balance throughout the whole process, so my glycogen levels, and associated water weight, never yo-yo'd all that much (that, and I couldn't afford the side effects of the overly low-carb/keto type diets.) The flip side of this is when marathoners carbo-load before an event by loading up on pasta, etc. - they are trying to maximize their glycogen levels to improve their endurance.

Yes, that causes weight gain

Hey everyone. Its been a while since Ive been on here. Been hiding my head in the sand for a long, long time. Well, Im pulling myself out of the sand now. Been watching the scales go up slowly. They hit 180 last week. Was 150 last year. That was it. My aha moment. Haven't felt like I even had a sleeve lately. While I still eat small meals, I can snack endlessly. And yes, I know thats not good to do so. Just becuz I can doesn't mean I should. I know all that.. As I said, Im pulling myself back up. Been back on track for 4 days now. Focusing on Protein (but Im not afraid of small amts of carbs either), drinking Water, not drinking with meals, and moving more. I need to lose 40 lbs. Sounds like a daunting task right now, but Ive done it before, I can do it again. ANy pointers out there from people who have been where I am? High protein, low calorie Snacks? I appreciate any support I can get. Ive had my sleeve for 2 1/2 yrs and Ive never made it to goal. This time I will!

Ok so it's been a while since I last blogged but a lot has been going on. I'm from Iceland. An island way up north. So I just came back from travelling to Spain, a Mediterranean country and let me tell you, things there are different from what I'm used to. I've been to Spain 3 times before and never thought that much about food. I just ate what ever and loved it. But having the lap band is more difficult. The town I was staying at didn't have that many restaurants but when I went to them, they carried BREAD BREAD BREAD. They loved serving bread or huge dishes! I love tabas mmmm but it's served on bread, thick slices of bread. I can only eat thin slices. So when out eating, I ended up eating fries, omelette and lasange. But only found one restaurant carrying lasagne. But I tried cooking at home as well, so I wouldn't starve and didn't really want omelette or fries for every meal. The temperature! Gosh it was HOT. That mean that my polar body was swollen ever day with extra fluid and that also meant that my stomach opening was a lot smaller. I had to make a lot of trips to the bathroom spit out food that got stuck in the opening. The Productive burping was terrible! No matter what I ate. My worst case was a tomato!! Hello!! A tomato, a very well chewed tomato! I just had terrible time with it. That's why I was afraid to eat what ever was on the menu. But fries, I know they are deep fried and not that healthy, but I could chew them into baby food! What does a hot woman need in a hot weather??? ice cream. mmmm love some good ice cream. And I had a lot of it. It was a guilty pleasure. But it was so good in the hot weather. Alcohol. I was very very careful with that. I wanted a cold beer very badly but I stuck to cocktails with no carbonated liquids in it and yes that was just fine. And never got drunk or tipsy or what ever. Did not want to add hangover and throwing up to the PB!! I even at once point thought that it would be best to finish the trip off by eating only chocolate and ice cream because that went down very well haha. Also the company I was with. They were so nice and understanding but I was giving myself hard time for making them wait for me while I ate really really really slowly. We could never eat anywhere in hurry, ever. I came with a solution though, I sometimes grabbed a banana because that's easy to eat on a go. Now at home, I'm still swollen from the travel but I couldn't wait stepping on the scale and no weight gain!! to my surprise! I'll see how it went after my body has adjusted after the travel. I have to tell you though that for the first time in my life, I had lots of left overs at the restaurants I ate at. I felt like apologizing for it to the waiters, for not finishing my food. I've always finished everything at a restaurant but I was very careful, even though the portions were big, that I would only eat until I was satisfied (not full) and I'm proud of that. Overall, I did enjoy my trip very much and Spain is a fantastic country. And I've always enjoyed the food there before the lap band. But this was a difficult trip food wise and not that healthy I'm glad it didn't set me back tough. I'm happy to be home and on Monday hopefully my body has recovered and that I will not have any extra fluid.

I tried Loestrin for a month or two but I felt like crap on it and it made my blood pressure go up so I stopped it. I've also tried Femcon and was on Seasonique for many years until my insurance didn't cover it anymore (it's pretty pricey). I have been on Nuvaring now for over a year and I love it! I don't have to remember to take a pill every day and I find the side effects are much less than taking an oral contraceptive. My gyno said that it's also one of the hormonal contraceptive methods that is less likely to cause weight gain. Pretty much all birth control can make you gain weight to some degree though. Depo Provera is probably the most notorious for this (it's an injection you get every three months). Have you ever used birth control before? You may notice some symptoms like nausea, breast tenderness, spotting between periods, etc. These usually go away after a few cycles. I never had any breakthrough bleeding on Nuvaring except after the surgery, due to a combination of powerful antibiotics and stress from the procedure. BC does usually help with cramps too...it does for me, anyway. If you never want to have children, you may decide to have a tubal ligation down the line. Most docs won't do it if you haven't had children before because they are afraid you might change your mind. Reversals of tubal ligations are rarely successful so you really have to be sure. I'm sure your doc probably told you this but you have to use backup birth control for at least a week if you start the pill on a day other than the first day of your period otherwise you could get pregnant. Hope this helps! Good luck!

I'm not a fan of birthcontrol at all. I did one round of depovrovera injection back when I was 19 or twenty, and I turned itno such a misrible person on it. I stoped it and did not do any form of bc since then. I also have had menstral irregularites from fibroids in the usterus. I also have PCOS, and fibroids and menstral problems go hand in hand with the weight gain. Have any of you girls that have bad pain with your cycles been scanned for fibroids? they can make you very ill when you get your ycle. I did ont voimit but I did feel nauseus and had bad pain with my period and the bleeding was very heavy wich lead to anemia. My doctor encourages me to use some form of birthcontrol to prevent pregnancy. I feel like laughing omg like pregnancy would ever happen? But with my luck i'd dropp like 1/2 of my desired amount then get pregnant. I have an allergy to latex so rubbers are out of the question for us, so my husband said he would obstain for like a year. what would be our chances of conceoption anyway i think they are pretty slim to none at this point without medical intervention. My surgon says i can be banded and pregnant I just have to use some caution as far as banding is considered i guess.

Yes this is my point. So many posts show individuals that are defeated because of weight gain after strenuous exercise, low food intake and yet they show gains. People trying to loose weight have to know their bodies and how the weight is lost. When they know what occurs then they won't get discouraged.

Hi all.... New to the site officially though I've been stalking for a few months....so tarted the official process back in jan... So things are moving along partly because of my outshines. I had been stalking my doctors office for a while ad tthis past Friday (2 weeks and one day since my last visit) got ge call I've even waiting for _ insurance approved surgery. I was having an awful day at work and just knew that this hone call would turn things around. Much to my chagrin it didn't. I didn't even tell my husband right away ... Instead I began stressing about coverage at work and scheduling. That quickly turned into worry about my latest eating patterns... I am theeaviest iI've ever been....246ish and have been eating everything not nailed down. This weekend alone I've consumed more than anyone should. I'm scared now that the moment I've been waiting for is so close and I'm possibly not ready. Past few weeks was stressful at work and that has contributed to the senseless eating. Which turned into crazy weight gain. I can't fit into any of my clothes and that only adds t my sadness. So it's here right, it's time for me to channel and refocus my energy to maximizing my upcoming tool.... Right ?JUST To ve u a glimpse of what's going on in my head. Eating but can't say I'm truly enjoying anything. I've read a few self help books regarding identifying what drives my relationship with food,... And the logic is all there and yet I'm still just spiraling out of control. I'm looking forward to surgery physically stopping me from eating, BUT I've heard so many horror stories of ppl gaining post surgery. To top it off I'm not ready to share with anyone only mom, hubby and my manager know what's coming. I want to transfer my food blessing with exercise but I've never loved exercise ... I want to and even broke y own record with an 8 month regular exercise regime. Didn't lose but wasn't gaining like I have since I stopped right before thanksgiving. Has anyone else experienced ths? Is something going to click for me soon to help me turn around? Has anyone else experienced any of this during their journey ? Would love some feedback/advice.

My BMI is lower than 40 but higher than 30. After yo-yo dieting all my life and menopause wreaking more havoc, I have decided to make a permanent change. I tried the gastric balloon and while initially successful, the weight returned. Change of life has meant even more weight gain. My sleeve is scheduled for 2/23. Looking for some similar life experiences for encouragement or lessons learned. Thanks in advance!

I know the feelings darr... it's more about the loss of control over eating than the weight gain. Though the weight gain COUNTS!:speechles I had 10 months of delays leading up to my surgery and my "goodbye to food tour" [TY doxie hahahaha] and gained 40 pounds!:faint:My doc made me lose that 40# BEFORE the surgery on the liquid diet... I dropped 54# pretty easily as it turned out once I had a DATE! So... don't worry about it, but worry a little hehehehe.:heh: You'll get there once you realize that they won't do the surgery unless you lose the weight. Good Luck!:whoo:

Ladonna, Are you still taking your pain meds? They might be the source of your hives. Or, if you are using milk to mix your Protein shakes, it might be giving you a bad reaction. I used milk in one of mine early post-op and spent the next couple of hours in the bathroom regretting my milk. I am definitely lactose intolerant, but that is usually temporary. Also, chicken broth has some protein, so you are getting a little tiny bit. Don't worry about the protein this early, just concentrate on sipping your Water. If you are hurting when you drink, you may be drinking too quickly or too large of a sip. Lots of people here report that it's easier to pour the liquid into a small medicine cup (like a nyquil cap) and then sip the liquid from that cup. It definitely makes you drink more slowly. You might also try "drinking" from a teaspoon and waiting a few minutes between each teaspoon full. Let the liquid trickle down your throat. I had lots of pain from drinking too quickly myself. I was over-filling my tummy and that hurts especially bad when you are newly post-op. Lastly, the weight gain you have experienced is probably from all the fluids that were pumped into you during and just after surgery. That will resolve itself in a few days. Good luck on your journey!!! And, welcome to the loser's bench!

I know that lots of people are convinced that weight loss is about calories in/out and I know that that holds true for the majority of people. But I have to wonder about us Cushies. I don't think that it is a matter that we have a really slow metabolism. But the thing is, it doesn't matter how much I eat or don't eat. The calorie in/out would hold true if I gained massive amounts of weight on 1200-1500, when I couldn't lose on 1200, 1000, 800 or less than 700 calories. (I did gain 10 pounds in a week at 1000 calories, but that was one week.) It is entiely possible that my weight gain/loss has been only water, which is fine on one level because it lessens my edema problems. But not fine for why I had WLS. If my metabolism was truely that slow, I wouldn't metabolize medications as fast as I do, and I would gain constantly. But as for low calories, I just don't see how other people can function on sub 700 long term. I will give you that it is entirely prorbable that I entered into a deep Low during the month I was too restricted. But I think the lowered calorie intake made the Low worse.

I never lose weight on the weekend and most weekends I gain, despite following my normal eating regiment. Overall, I am extremely happy with my loss, but would like some guidance in dealing with weekend weight gain. Thanks!

I have had lower abdominal pain, extreme fatigue, mucus in my stool, dizziness, and constipated. The doctor thinks I have a type of colitis and have a colonoscopy next week. For those of you who have colitis, can you take medication that is approved for the sleeve? I dont want to take steroids that will cause weight gain and I cant take anti-inflammatories. I dont know how I can go back to work with this fatigue and cramping. Does it ever let up?

I have Anthem BCBS in Connecticut and have the same requirements. I'm not positive, but think they use your starting weight, and it is ok if you go below a BMI of 40 during your 6 months. Can you ask your surgeon's office? They deal with this all the time. I have the opposite problem. I gained 9 pounds in month 4!! Ive lost it again in month 5, but not sure if I'll get denied for the weight gain!! Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I am being banded on June 5th and I also have PCOS. I'm a little worried about slow weight loss but hoping to stop the weight gain. I have lost 13 pounds on my pre-op diet so far. I am glad for all of the info on this site, and think reading all of the stories will help me not be discouraged : )

I agree with the advice you can generally eat what you’d like once you’ve well established your maintenance. However, there are a few things you have to remember: portion control, frequency, what your system will tolerate & your danger foods. At 18months, I don’t have rice, pasta & bread. I avoid sweets (desserts, cakes, biscuits, ice cream, cream, etc.) 99.9% of the time. I don’t add sugar or artificial sweeteners to anything. I’ve reduced alcohol to probably once a month. No fast food but have had Asian takeaway three times when with friends. I call it my reduce, restrict, avoid plan. It allows me to have a little of certain foods (the odd treat) limit other foods & avoid the foods which would equate to weight gain for me or fill up my tummy too quickly. I switch up foods to healthier choices & use healthier cooking methods. As some random examples: I make chia pudding (milk, milk powder, vanilla extract & chia seeds) if I want a dessert. I use an air fryer for a crispy finish instead of frying, use non stick pans & spray olive oil. When I had the takeaway I chose either chicken & cashews (braised) or steamed pork & prawn gyoza (ate the filling only). I just don’t buy certain foods - if they’re not in my house I can’t eat them. I also deleted the home delivery apps off my phone - lol. I take my lunch to work so I’m not hitting up the food courts. It’s not easy and I work at it every day. I just hope one day I will have ‘rewired my brain’ as @AZhiker mentioned & it will be a little easier. I just don’t want to be overweight again. But in reality, it all comes down to finding what works for you. Good luck.

Has anyone gained weight before starting their pre-op diet? Were you still approved?

So I'm on my way to restart my life! I am 31years old...I weight 285lbs. I had talked to my PC about the band about a year ago when I was having breathing problems. He told me to walk it off and my weight will go down. Well the problem is that I have severe Rheumatoid Arthritis and most days can barely walk from the pain and its a lot worse from the weight gain. I've gain 100lbs since last year. I'm going to see my PCP today to tell him what I'm doing. Kind of nervous but I don't need his permission.... but has anyone had problems from there PCP getting in the way?