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The lap band did not work too well for me. I guess because I worked around it. I had a lot of restriction and only lost 26 lbs in the first year. Well I had an ovary erupt due to a tumor. Ever since then I have been maxed out on my fills and losing weight FAST. I'm down 100lbs. Everyone says you can be too full. No I think thats a bunch of crap. I got some taken out so I could just eat small amounts and I gained weight. I got another fill and it started falling back off. I dont diet I dont exercise. I eat maybe a cup of food a day. I think some women have hormone problems and dont realize what that has to do with weight gain.

shauna - i did not start losing till month 4 (20lbs previously). just keep doing what your doing - it' will come *** btw, i got that same advise after putting out a question similar to yours &&&& was PISSED - but it's true.*** i too had female issues that helped along with the weight gain, along with having a problem of putting down the fork. our start & goal weights are not too far off - focus on future health, with food & exercise and i promise it will come. i wish you well!!!

Just throwing it out there - I've had the Mirena IUD for almost 3 yrs & LOVE it! It releases centralized hormones to the cervix only so no weight gain, crazies, or skin issues. I had the worst time with BC. Totally could not take any of them w/o turning into a psycho & packing on the lbs, but this hasn't caused any side effects at all. Oh, except one: I don't get my period anymore! Whoohooo!!!

Welcome! I'm not judging you for the weight gain. I also gained weight preoperatively due to food funerals (compulsively eating favorite foods 'one last time' before saying "goodbye"). Luckily, the operation preceded as planned and I've been able to maintain my 100+ pound weight loss. The honeymoon period of 6 to 18 months will be a time of almost effortless weight loss because neurohormonal changes have altered your setpoint. However, after the honeymoon period ends, the likelihood of weight regain is staggeringly high if you don't get your head fully into the game. Bariatric surgeons operate on our stomachs, not our brains. People have regained 100+ pounds with their bands, sleeves and bypass pouches in place. I'd say 90 percent of this game is psychological. Pre-existing issues with compulsive eating, binge-eating, food addiction or emotional eating will never be corrected by weight loss surgery. The majority of people with these issues need some professional help to avoid repeating same pre-surgery eating patterns. Good luck to you. You've got this.

Hello all! My name is Stephanie and Im 30 and live in Arizona. I have just made the decision to get sleeved. I am looking for a Dr. in Arizona. I am not against Mexico, but my father, who is helping me with the costs, insist I stay in the US. I am willing to go out of state if I cannot find a qualified Dr. here in AZ. Im having the surgery for many reasons. I have a tumor on my pituitary gland that has caused severe hormone problems that have led to weight gain. Some weight due to hormones and some due to eating my problems away. I also have PCOS and at this time an unable to conceive. I am considered pre diabetic. This scares the heck out of me since my dad has type 1 diabetes, heart disease and is on oxygen. I dont want this to be me. My husband and I want to have a family, and we want to be a healthy family. I have tried diet and excercise, but not with true results. Im hoping this is the tool that can allow me to save my life!

I’m lucky, I mostly work from home so haven’t had to deal so much. Or, with the few I had told and have spoken to since, they gathered it was a done deal, good choice and (ultimately) none of their motherforking business...in a nice way [emoji846] Most have just been fascinated by what it was all about in practice and throw in the metabolic, hunger hormone, and microbiome headlines that highlight there’s more to this than calories in and out and this particular path out of the weight gain/regain jungle was mine. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Something similar happened to me.. I have a 4 cc band and thought I had 3.3cc in it, but also thought that I could eat too much.. So finally after a small weight gain in a fortnight, I got the doc to check my millage, and it was empty.. so she used a thicker gel like sollution to fill me this time, and it seems to have worked.. Sometimes there can be a tiny leak that can be repaired by the thicker gel fill... Perhaps ask your doc about it.. Good Luck.. xx Nene

I thought someone might find this helpful. It's the approval guidelines for BC/BS Regence. Even if this isn't your ins. co. it's a good guideline. Policy/Criteria 1.Gastric bypass using a Roux-en-Y anastomosis with an alimentary limb of 150 cm or less, or adjustable gastric banding, consisting of an adjustable external band placed around the stomach, may be considered medically necessary in the treatment of morbid obesity when all of the following criteria are met: A.BMI greater than or equal to 40 kg/m2; or BMI greater than or equal to 35 kg/m2 with at least two of the following comorbid conditions which have not responded to medical management and which are generally expected to improve as a result of obesity surgical treatment: 1)Hypertension 2)Dyslipidemia 3)Type 2 diabetes 4)Coronary heart disease 5)Sleep apnea B.Documentation of active participation for at least one year in a structured, medically supervised nonsurgical weight reduction program, meeting all of the following criteria: 1)Medical supervision must be provided by an MD, DO, NP, PA or a registered dietitian under the supervision of an MD, DO, NP, or PA; and 2)Participation must occur during at least 12 consecutive months within the 24 months prior to the request for surgery; and 3)Documentation must confirm structured oversight and active participation, including: a.At least four visits over the course of 12 months, occurring approximately once every three months; and b.Assessment and counseling concerning weight, diet, exercise, and behavior modification; and c.Either weight loss or no further weight gain over the course of 12 months. C.Evaluation by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist documents the absence of significant psychopathology that can limit an individual's understanding of the procedure or ability to comply with medical/surgical recommendations (e.g., active substance abuse, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, uncontrolled depression); and D.Documentation of willingness to comply with preoperative and postoperative treatment plans; and E.Age greater than or equal to 18 years. Surgery for Morbid Obesity

It is common to have some limited weight gain after weight loss surgery. They call it a 20 pound bounce. The important thing is not let go beyond this 20 pounds. Most times this weight gain is due to a poor choice of snacks. Snacks should be limited to primarily to whole food options: nuts, natural nut butters, fruits, veggies, boiled eggs, string cheese, yogurt with berries and almonds, tuna pouches. Avoid processed packaged foods as much as possible. Also do not expect to lose weight at a rate similar to right after surgery. Generally if you gained the additional weight over a couple years, then it may take a couple years of watching what you eat to get back down.

Johnnybots...I was a lapband to RNY revision. My lapband came out 2010 and I had my RNY 7/11/2012. My lapband prolapsed and emergency surgery had to be done to take it out. I had suffered through a lapband revision 2 years after I had it put in and then the 2 years later the prolaps. I too did well with it but,after it came out I gained some back and decided I needed to stop the weight gain before I gained it all back. I've had a few infection issues with the RNY but, I don't regret having it done. Looking forward to when I feel 100% with it all. So far the weight loss is going well. I'm a slower loser but, still happy with the results. Good luck with your journey

Some banders can eat bread if it's toasted. But yes, rice, bread, Pasta are all carbs and add to weight gain. some people can tolerate those foods and choose not to eat them, others can tolerate them and eat small amounts and some can't eat them. How tight your band is can have an affect on which of those foods you cant eat. Some banders want/need very tight restriction to lose weight, others need less "help" from the band and a lower restriction gives them the "willpower" they need, so how tight YOU need or want your band will allow you some control over which foods you can eat. I can eat toasted bread and I do occassionally, but I know I'll slow down my weight loss and since I can resist the bread, with the help of my band, I just don't eat it often. Same with pasta and rice. I choose not to eat them. Before they band, resisting them was much more difficult.

Do they know how and why it leaked? How long did you have it before the trouble started? Did you have weight gain or other symptoms? Sorry you're going through this.

I take Lamictal, Seroquel and Gabapentin. Seroquel makes me hungry all the time, as a result weight gain. My question is, Am I still going to be hungry after I have the surgery if I continue taking the Seroquel? Anyone know?

I'm a sleeve. four1/2 year’s out. I maintain in the 130's. I give myself a ten-pound bounce range. when the scale moves up, I go back eating my bariatric food plan to stay in range. I'm in maintenance phase. I eat mainly clean, I do indulge occasionally. My third year, my weight got up to 147. (still a BMI 24.5 normal range) had to dial in my diet to lose the weight. I'm back in the 130's My two cents on regains. Weight gain can happen with any type of bariatric surgery. Some factors in regain: Complications from surgery Medical issues and medications pregnancy/menopause Not weighing yourself regularly Getting complaisant as the years pass You will reach a point that you noticeably can feel less restriction with the sleeve (it has not stretched) Just because you can consume more food, does not mean you should. Its important not to go over your calories and macros for the day. Stretching is rare. Get it diagnosed by your surgeon for a revision Eating around your surgery. Grazing is consistently eating sever small meals of healthy and unhealthy foods. The total will be over your calories and macros. It’s as if you never had surgery. You can eat 3000+calories. YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT Ask for help if you have a gain (surgeons office, dietician and counselling) - Easier to lose a 20 pound gain than a 40, 60, 80, 100+

Hello, I was wondering if anyone in TX has been approved for the gastric sleeve with a BMI of 32? Since getting injured and being on depression & anxiety medication, I’ve gained 50 lbs in a year. I’ve always have difficulty losing weight, and I’m growing more concerned with the large weight gain + my families medical history of diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, etc. I don’t have an medical diagnosis other then endometriosis, pcos, & chronic depression so I can’t imagine insurance is going to cover me - which is okay I guess. I’m just looking for a way to get help because I feel like my health is spiraling.

Wow@beth_d that's awesome! Firstly, you can do it! Once you get back on track for a week or two it will feel normal again. Secondly, I need to know how you only gained 2lbs in pregnancy. We are going to try again in a few months (I'm 4 months post op and down 60 lbs so want to lose another 60). I'm nervous about the weight gain though. Any tips would be very much appreciated!

I am also an insulin resistant diabetic and I have heard from docs that you have to take in a lower amount of calories as well. I agree that you don't feel well when you are starving yourself like that, however, for me, exercise has made all of the difference. Even something as simple as an exercise bike, with no resistance and done for only 20 minutes a day, I notice that my blood sugars drop like crazy after about two weeks of the exercise regime. I can eat between 1000-1200 cals a day and lose weight, not quickly, but at the average 1-2 lbs a week. I am so convinced that exercise is the key to battling our insulin resistance. As a nurse I know that you understand how diabetes works and the whole insulin resistance issue. By exercising, you are creating more receptors on the cells accepting the insulin, thereby, lowering the blood sugar. Insulin and the oral meds also cause weight gain, so it stands to reason the more of that stuff we need to take, the harder it would be to lose as well. The band has helped me enormously with this. I have been able to lower my caloric intake and still take in enough nutrition as to not make myself sick. Only you will know if the band is the way for you to go, but it can't hurt, it will only help you with all of this. I hope this information is helpful to you. Keep us posted on your decision and PM me if you have any other questions you like to talk about. Cindy

Have you had your thyroid checked? Adrenals? Blood work? Vitamins? How many calories do you consume day? I would go get your thyroid checked... weight gain, mental fog, lethargy and feeling cold are classic symptoms I don't know why, but for some reason that medication i remember has an effect on thyroid.. i will try and remember where from though

HeatherinCA…. so you've had your band three years now? your weight loss has stalled?? when you say your diet isn't good… how much are you eating ? what sort of foods? I'm wondering if you have an ''acid stomach'… it definitely sounds irritated, for sure. Perhaps you are eating foods that are too acidic? have you tried taking some antacids? to see if that gives relief? even at 5 you have a lot of fill.. well, in comparison to me you do. ARE you having wine? i have to ask because that is one of the worst things we can have as it prevents weight loss. … even causes weight gain. Also, as its acidic, it causes acid stomach. This is why I'm asking you if you have tried any antacids. Ive been having issues. Ive lost about 35 lbs in two years and ive levelled out now. But, I'm having some white and red wine. I feel this is causing acidity and my stomach isn't good some of the time. I do slime a bit sometimes. i have to be very careful what i eat. i have a lot of Soups. At the moment I'm taking Zantac for the acidity… its helping me. So, do you think that your stomach is too acid? are you sleeping at night? i was sleeping half sitting up some nights…. last night i slept well after taking zantac.

Hello everyone, I have decided, after the hardest year of my life, that VSG might be the solution. I know my story sounds impossible and hard to believe, but allow me to explain what happened. In September of 2014, I began taking a medication called Aldactone to help with acne. I took a really strong dose for about 8 months. Around 4 months in, I started noticing that my clothes felt tighter, until one day my jeans didn't fit anymore. I started working out longer and harder, replacing my regular cardio days for more Insanity, HIIT and strength, until I was working out 6x per day instead of 4-5x, and at higher intensity than ever before. I have been eating clean and low carb for years, so the only thing I did in respect to that was to make sure I wasn't getting even any 'bites' here and there of someone else's cookie or chocolate -- ever. It didn't occur to me that the medication could be causing this. I kept working out harder, and restricting my diet more and more, while I kept gaining incontrolably. It didn't make sense -- I had maintained my weight of 130 for years, felt great, and had a normal relationship with food. I knew that as long as I put my effort in every day and ate sensibly, everything was fine. Fast forward to May 2015, nothing fits anymore, I look in the mirror and my face looks completely different -- I am NOT this person. I had gained 25 lbs while exercising like a mad woman and eating as healthy and restricted as I ever had. That's when it clicked: it had to be something more than what I was eating / how much I was exercising. I began to suspect about the medication. Sure enough, a quick google search turned up a thread with more than 200 posts with stories exactly like mine. I was devastated. Girls who were doing everything right, who started working out more, eating even more carefully, only to find that nothing they did stopped the weight gain. It's been more than a year since I stopped taking Aldactone, and I haven't gained any more weight, but I also haven't been able to lose a single pound. I do Insanity 3x per week, Body Pump 2x per week, and Power Yoga 1x per week. I bike everywhere I need to go. I walk a lot. I eat a high Protein / low carb diet. I never splurge. I'm even afraid of dark chocolate at this point. And yet, most of the time I'm in a room I'm the fattest girl around. If only people knew how much effort I put into my workouts and my diet EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I've decided to do the VSG, even though technically I'm a low BMI (currently 155lbs at 5'2). I know some may disagree, but nothing else I've done in the past year has worked. I'm out of options and I'm depressed. My major concern is regarding mental energy after surgery being on such a low amount of calories. Currently I'm taking some appetite suppressants, and although they do seem to reduce my hunger, I notice that I find it hard to think and concentrate (even though I'm not starving)... I feel lightheaded and with very little energy to think. How are you able to think hard and work when you're eating so little? I'm a researcher, so I constantly have to be reading papers, looking up protocols, doing mental math, and just thinking hard most of the time. It scares me that I'll be useless after surgery from eating so little. My second question is related: are you always cold / are your hands always cold after surgery? I notice also on the appetite suppressants that even though I'm not as hungry, so I can get away with eating less, my hands get really cold. I haven't lost nay weight on the appetite suppressants, either, in case you were wondering. Thanks in advance for your responses.

Hi guys! I was banded in December 2010. Lost some weight, gained it back. I'm at about the same weight I was when I started. I've been having pain like right under my ribcage, and where my bra sits, especially when I sit down, (i feel better walking or lying flat), like something is pushing me there (center of my chest), it's extremely uncomfortable and bras are horrible, I've been through a bunch.. could that be my port? Or something? I know where they put in the needle is maybe 3 inches lower toward my belly button, but I know there is something near my ribcage. Also a ton of gas, burping gas. The last few weeks I've been scared to eat, because it's so bad. I did get 1 CC taken out a few weeks ago (I guess I had 6 now I have 5, but I don't know my capacity), that feels a little better. Eating less seems to help, I'm not going to lie my diet isn't good. I've been eating fairly regularly for the past 2 years. I can still get food down now, I'm not vomiting or sliming. I'm scared something is wrong.. But, it could be my bad anxiety blowing everything out of proportion (I have terrible anxiety). Any advice? I have an appointment soon and I feel like I need to ask my band doctor for help, but I don't know what to say exactly. (is there a test I should take, or should they empty my band? did I slip?) Last time they just asked if I was vomiting and then he took a little out and that was it...

yup, perfectly normal. If you've just moved from liquids to soft, then you suddenly have mass in your colon. which was pretty empty from the weeks of liquid. Lots of people see the scale move up at this stage. notice I did not say weight gain. Very important. Any weight lost before the first fill is BONUS and not band weight loss. Many people don't lose any real weight until after their first and sometimes second fill. Cheers and Courage!

I have to agree that once you start, it's hard to stop... this has been my problem the last week or so... all those xmas parties and food. I try to stick with the plan but have noticed that I want more food than I was having. I so desperately want to get through xmas without too much damage but with my current level of restriction I'm afraid that I will go in the wrong direction. So far no weight gain but the idea is to lose. Good luck getting through this.

Hello Friends: I just posted this in Dr. Kirshenbaum's thread but thought to share it with you all. I just got back from Colorado where I had a fill and a good consultation where the article below came up. It helped me put FILLS into perspective. Once of the challenges I have had is going from thinking about food, being able to eat anything, to changing and the state of being where I am not able to eat whatever I want and do I THINK I am hungry or am I really hungry? and what about those of us who are emotional eaters or have some nasty habits to break? The article will make reference to colored zones, green, yellow and red. I think I am now sitting in GREEN which feels awesome. I hope you find this beneficial as a tool to help you in your journey. I did. Patty Think You Need a Fill? THINK AGAIN By Nikki Johnson Do you remember that feeling you had when you first had your band placed? For a while, everything was great. You didn't experience hunger, you felt satisfied with a small portion of good food, you had more energy, and you were thrilled with your initial weight loss progress. If you are like most people, your experience changed over time, Some of those feelings of hunger returned, and you stopped losing weight. You knew you needed something, so you went to your surgeon's office and asked for a "fill" right? If so, you might be surprised to learn that it is your thinking about your band, and not the band itself, that needs adjusting. The LAP-BAND Bad Word Paul O'Brien, MD, FRACS, is a skillful, compassionate surgeon and a foremost expert on the LAP-BAND System. he was involved in its design in the early 1990's and placed the first band in Australia in 1994. Since then, he has treated thousands of patients and is recognized worldwide for his expertise. When his patients utter that worst of four-letter words, "fill," in his office, they are asked to throw a dollar in the Red Cross donation bucket--a reminder that, according to Dr. O'Brien, thinking about a "fill" is just wrong thinking. How can a concept that we hear about so constantly be so very wrong? Dr. O'Brien's answer is simple: "Any adjustment to the band is something that only takes place in the context of clinical consultation--part of a relationship of trust, honesty and communication between patient and surgeon--that is much more key to the success of the patient than the precise number of milliliters of Fluid in the band. This concept of partnership is the central theme of Dr. O'Brien's new book, The Lap-Band Solution--A Partnership of Weight Loss. Patty's Note: Available on Amazon.com ISBN#9780522854121 Like many people, you might assume that weight gain or a sustained plateau means an incorrectly adjusted band; in fact, you may be right. But you may be surprised to learn that weight gain sometimes results from a band that is too tight. This is part of the reason why the "fill" concept is so misleading. If your surgeon determines that you are not losing weight as you should, then discovering why that is happening is crucial. Sometimes adding fluid to the band will only make matters worse. Life in the "GREEN ZONE" Most people who have the LAP-BAND operation will have an amazing feeling of disinterest in food for the first week after surgery, before any adjustments are even made to the fluid in the band. According to Dr. O'Brien, that lack of interest in food is referred to as satiety. A related but different feeling is satiation, or the feeling you get as you are eating, precisely at the point that you don't need any more food to eat but you do not have an uncomfortable feeling of fullness. These two feelings--satiety and satiation--are what the properly adjusted band helps you achieve, allowing you to maintain your new healthier eating habits. Your careful observation and truthful sharing of your feelings and eating behaviors, combined with the expert care and training of your surgeon and his or her staff, can make the very individual determination of whether your band is properly adjusted much more accurate. In order to help create the most effective partnership between themselves and their patients, Dr. O'Brien and his colleagues at the Australian Centre for Obesity Research and Education have developed a concept they refer to as the "Green Zone". When patients are in the green zone, they experience satiety, satiation after properly-sized small meals, and satisfactory weight loss or maintenance. However, there are also yellow and red zones, both of which indicate that the band is not optimally adjusted. If your band is too loose, you will not have the benefits the band's hunger-controlling mechanism. If your band is too tight, you will have trouble eating properly and may actually gain weight because the foods you can eat more comfortable, that tend to be liquid and calorie-rich, like ice cream and chocolate, do not provide the proper nutrition. Learning to recognize when you have the feelings and eating behaviors that signal a problem can help you give your surgeon the information he or she needs to help you keep the band optimally adjusted. Thinking Adjustment Once you have eliminated the concpet of "fills" from you Lap-Band vocabulary, you will be able to let go of much of the conventional thinking connected to it. Perhaps you have heard talk about the "ideal" amount of fluid in the Lap-Band. While it may be helpful to have some idea of how much fluid is in your band, Dr. O'Brien says there is no magic number. No perfect amount of fluid will provide the best results for everyone. He says, rather, that "whatever volume of fluid is needed to achieve the [feeling of non-hunger] is the correct volume." When you notice that you are feeling hungry or are not losing weight, your body is telling you it is time to revisit your partner in weight loss -- your surgeon. your success absolutely depends on this relationship. So rather than thinking "adjustments," adjust your thinking, and, in partnership with your surgeon, find a lifetime of health! For more information about all of the themes discussed in this article, please see Dr. O'Brien's book, The Lap-Band Solution--A Partnership for Weight Loss, which is available fro Amazon.com. We also invite you to visit LAP-BAND® System Forum - Home for more information and supportive resources.

There are some antidepressants that are notorious for causing weight. My doctor refused to put me on anything except well butrin because of my family history and my weight. He didn't want to give me anything that could cause weight gain (gained 40 lbs once in 2 months on an antidepressant with another doctor). Well butrin is not shown to cause weight gain. I'm sure there may be a few others. I think it is really important to see your doctor, and get back on medication if he thinks it is warranted. And continue to take it! Just make sure to discuss with him if you want something that will not affect your weight - there are many medications doctors have to choose from. Be very careful with just stopping anti depressants because some can have a huge effect on you if stopped suddenly. Good luck.