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Hi everyone, I had my initial surgery 10 years ago. I lost 98 lbs and it brought my 5'6" frame to a svelte 156.00 lbs. I was looking and feeling great. Then I started to get sick and was passing out about 2 years post-op. I found out my lapband had slipped and I went in for a revision. Again 3 years later I had to have another revision. After that time I gained weight and leveled at 180 lbs. I didn't like the number but with exercise I looked okay and felt good, so I was okay with it. Push forward 4 years and I have gained another 25 lbs and now weight 205 lbs. I have tracked my food intake for one-full year and I average 1100 calories per day. So how in the heck can I now weigh 205 lbs? I went to the surgeon and was sent for a swallow test and was told my lapband had been tilted and was extremely tight and there was no reason to gain weight. I was documenting food right down to one tic tac. Last month I had a double hernia surgery and it was performed by a surgeon who also handles gastric weight loss surgeries (not my original surgeon). He stated that my port was located in a weird area, and not the norm, the port was disconnected from the band and therefore, was not working! Not what I was told by my original surgeon. This surgeon re-connected the band and stated, the band is not tilted, nor is it too tight since it was empty, and he can fill it in February. My question is this: I keep feeling bloated and I continue to gain weight, I am currently 209 lbs. I cannot locate anything online that states how many calories is normal for labband patients. I find diets up to 4 weeks post op but nothing for long term. Would I be okay with 1100 calories and making that up with 75-80 grams of protein per day? Should I be doing less calories? Has anyone been successful with 21 day fix or some other program in addition to the lapband? I really need help I do not want to continue to climb the ladder of weight until I am adjusted. Thank you!

Wow, so much has changed since I originally started the thread "no help for the wicked." It was 3 months before I was banded, and I was really struggling with my asthma. I mean, really struggling. Death looked like a real possibility. I really thought that by now I would have lost if not all my excess weight, I would have lost a big whack of it. I was sure that I would be a size 16 by now, not still 22/24. But that is not in the cards for me. I still struggle with this. But I suppose I should have clued into the "sudden weight gain" since no one else seems to experience that particular "joy." I've since learned that it's one of the hallmarks of Cushing's, and I've had to come to terms with learning that my journy is not the typical journy. Someone on a recent thread was commenting on how pissed they were because someone told them that by having WLS they were not doing it "right" that they were not doing it the old fashioned way. That somehow having the band was cheating and so any loss woul be less valuable. I personally think that WLS is the easy way, because it makes it makes it possible for so many people to actually lose weight and keep it off for possibly the first time in their entire lives. I have absolutely no problem with this being the easy way, becaus I have no need for people to suffer. I see little value in adding suffering and grief to life. It's hard enough without looking for extra hardness to add.

Wow, so much has changed since I originally started the thread "no help for the wicked." It was 3 months before I was banded, and I was really struggling with my asthma. I mean, really struggling. Death looked like a real possibility. I really thought that by now I would have lost if not all my excess weight, I would have lost a big whack of it. I was sure that I would be a size 16 by now, not still 22/24. But that is not in the cards for me. I still struggle with this. But I suppose I should have clued into the "sudden weight gain" since no one else seems to experience that particular "joy." I've since learned that it's one of the hallmarks of Cushing's, and I've had to come to terms with learning that my journy is not the typical journy. Someone on a recent thread was commenting on how pissed they were because someone told them that by having WLS they were not doing it "right" that they were not doing it the old fashioned way. That somehow having the band was cheating and so any loss woul be less valuable. I personally think that WLS is the easy way, because it makes it makes it possible for so many people to actually lose weight and keep it off for possibly the first time in their entire lives. I have absolutely no problem with this being the easy way, becaus I have no need for people to suffer. I see little value in adding suffering and grief to life. It's hard enough without looking for extra hardness to add.

I don't know about the weight gain, I had my sleeve procedure done on 12/21/15 and been very successful with loss, so far. However today I had some cream of wheat and although the it was very runny with milk, I think it expanded in my stomach and that was a nice adventure. I think each time we are able to add food, our bodies react differently and maybe retain some water. If you have started to be more active your muscles may have taken on some water that will go away as soon as your glycogen stores have depleted as well. I hope you get it figured out. Keep us posted. I go in for my 1 week checkup on Wednesday as well.

I knew it would happen. I was totally prepared to gain weight from the IV fluids. They weighed me 2 days post surgery and I was up nearly all of the weight that I had lost on the pre-op diet. I weighed this morning, a week post surgery, and I am still up 2-3 lbs. What gives? I can see that I have lost weight. When will it show up on the scale? Grumble. I know patience ... something that I don't have. Mary

Hello.... Newbie here. I just found this forum and was glad to see some responses that answered some of my questions from other sleevers. My scary issue is that I don't feel full?!! I had my sleeve performed on 3/2/15. My original Weight was 249, pre op 239 and now currently at 225. I'm not complaining about my weight loss as I think this is awesome!!! My concern is that I don't feel full. I am on my 3rd week of full liquids and when I drink my fluids and can't tell when to stop. Obviously I follow the measurements but my concern is that this was the reason of my weight gain. I keep eating!!! Am I doing this wrong, how do you know when to stop?

Hello, I had my surgery 11/17/14. HW: 294, CW: 241. My surgeon Atlanta Surgical Associates. Dr. Qammar Rashid. Decatur, Georgia. So far I'm still getting adjusted. I get frustrated because I've only lost 52 lbs then I think Wow!! You've lost 52 lbs. The key is not comparing your weight loss to someone else. I still have questions, good days and bad. I had a carb craving so bad a week ago that I thought I would surely pay the price in weight gain. No weight gain though only the dreaded plateau!! Also I have eaten at times 1600+ calories in a day!! That comes with snacking!! No more room for snacking!! Protein, Protein, Protein!! I focus my efforts now on 12 months post op to determine if the surgery was successful. You have to because right now everything is about learning what works today. This is more than a journey, finally, it's a change of life.

Recently, I was reading the back of a Special K® Protein cereal box and saw a statement that lack of sleep can increase the feeling of hunger by 25 percent. Since I’m in a profession that is science based, I did some research on the National Library of Medicine website to verify this. Recently, I was reading the back of a Special K® Protein cereal box and saw a statement that lack of sleep can increase the feeling of hunger by 25 percent. Since I’m in a profession that is science based, I did some research on the National Library of Medicine website to verify this. I didn’t find the study that supported detailed that 25 percent increase in hunger when you don’t sleep enough. However, there were several areas where researchers are linking poor sleep and weight gain. If you are tired, you usually don’t feel like exercising. You move less, so you burn fewer calories. Being tired makes you more likely to choose a food like cake instead of salad. There were a couple of studies that did find an increase in ghrelin after poor sleep. Ghrelin is the gut hormone that makes you hungry. Sounds like the perfect storm for weight gain, right? You produce less ghrelin after surgery, which leads to less food intake. Part of weight loss after surgery is that you produce less ghrelin, which leads to less food intake. If eating more healthfully is a challenge for you, it may be that you need to start with better sleeping habits. By the way, that Special K protein cereal is a great add-in to light Greek yogurt. This is a great snack before surgery and about two months after surgery. Happy Zzzz’s!

Thanks, Shawn! 5 pounds of muscle, I wish! LOL! I meant to say that I'd stressed the weights so heavily that I was retaining water-weight to cushion those aching muscles. I have more obsession than umpph lately...I really want to eat what I want to eat, and then over train in the gym, which is my "quasi" trade off, with benefits :thumbup: You're absolutely right, Wheetsin! But when that weight gain is staring you in the face, it's very hard to be rational. Sigh. Salsa, you crack me up...how funny! I used to do the drive thru, and haven't in so long. My weakness was the filet o fish and the hottest, greasiest fries available! And those 99 cent double cheeseburgers. Just typing it now makes me wanna choke! I think you are right also. 30 lbs. ago my rings were loosening. For a few days here, they wouldn't spin. Yep, t'was Water weight, and it went away by this morning! I did get a small fill, .1cc. I am leary at this high level, but wanted more help from the band as my willpower and choices were starting to slack. If restricted enough, my choices don't include 'bad' ones. Thanks to all for holding me up thru this rough spot!

Hi everybody, A little background info: Had vsg in Fall 2012, lost 120 lbs, felt amazing! I got married, had a baby in Fall 2014, gained weight. Had another baby in Summer 2016, gained even more weight. I sought the advice of my bariatric surgeon, he recommended full bypass, and gave me a goal to lose 15 lbs, before he would schedule. Well, I've lost 40 lbs. I feel like I should be able to get back to my goal weight (165lbs) without having a bypass...but the task of losing another 80 pounds seems almost impossible. Has anyone on here, lost that much weight, without additional surgery? Thanks for reading.

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

One of the best parts of getting back on track and living like a compliant bandster is the amazing food I get to eat. Nope, not kidding. I happen to be a pretty darned good cook. The problem is that when I'm not living right with my band, I get lazy. Cooking for one person half the time just doesn't seem "worth it," as if I'm not worth taking care of as much as the other people I cook for. That leads to take out, dining out, fast food, convenience foods, and processed foods. And that leads to weight gain. But when I'm concentrating on improving my life by working with the band, I eat not only healthier foods, but often tastier ones as well. Just in the past week, I made band friendly versions of beef Bourguignon, macaroni and cheese, braised chicken thighs with mushroom sauce, and for dinner tonight, Asian lettuce wraps with chicken and vegetables. It's all fresh, high protein, low fat, unprocessed, organic, and so much better than anything I could get at a supermarket or a cheap restaurant that it makes me shake my head that I ever made those choices. Even with the band, I love to cook, I love to eat, and I love flavorful foods. Now, I'm just finding ways to eat them the right way in the right amounts with the right ingredients. And it just rocks!

Ok, this will sound ridiculous but, I have friends tell me that I look prettier now. Mind you, my friends have seen me before and after weight gain. Even if it was a lie, they made me feel good by overlooking my weight publicly. Regardless of my insecurities, the comments make me feel good. But in retrospect and to be honest with you, since the weight gain, people in general are relentless in making you feel less than they are. In restaurants especially. One woman looked at me, (as I carried my kids food to them) as if she wanted to PB just b/c she looked at me. My husband is obese too so he was sitting there. She was probably 5ft 4inches and 120lbs. Her and her hubby were very lean but eating junk. I felt soo bad. I lost my appetite, was actually scared to eat. She kept staring at us. Sorry to hijack this.

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 don't consider the fills/adjustments a drawback; I consider them one of the positives of lapband. If I start to eat too much, there is a quick and easy fix. Two and a half hours?? That's nothing. DH and I drive 5 hours for our fills. It isn't that often, and we make a day of it. I've had two fills and I will not need another to reach goal. As others have said, I have friends who had gb, lost over 100 lb, then gained it all back. Plus, one friend who did that STILL throws up every time she eats a meal. The fact that the band can be adjusted when weight gain slows down or stops is one of the things that sold me on it. Your doctor may have reasons for recommending GB over lapband for reasons that have nothing to do with your health or chances of success.

You will have some hoops to jump through, as most of us did. There will be medical tests, insurance documentation, psych eval and othere challenges, but the biggest one will be the pre-op diet. Some of these run 2 weeks, others up to 6 months. The two week pre-op diet is usually an all liquid diet, though some are allowed one sparse meal of real food per day, depending on doctor's orders. The object of the pre-op diet is to shrink you liver so the doctor can get at your stomach without nicking it. It's tough, but not impossible. Most of us had the same doubts, but got through it. The first few days are the worst, then it smoothes out. We all faced challenges during our pre-op diets like birthday parties, holiday feasts, etc, but if you make it through (and you will) you will have demonstrated that level of commitment. After surgery, you can look forward to about 6 weeks of liquids, then mushies, then real food. Here's the neat thing though.....you probably won't be hungry, and you will find that many of the things that led to your weight gain over the years you won't be so attracted to. Couple that with the fact that initially your stomach will only hold about 3 ounces, you will feel full very quickly when you eat. Good luck, and I assure you that you won't regret this decision. We're all here pulling for you. Use this site as a support resource and post whenever you have question.

It's much less, unfortunately. Even the new obesity drugs don't work once you stop taking them. https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/complicated-reality-weight-gain-weight-loss-and-weight-stigma

My roommate and Best friend whom I have known for twenty years is 120 lbs, Atleast Twenty of the pounds she has gained in the year and a half she has lived with me. We both are a little quirky and she says that people get married and get bigger because she is comfortable, she was with her last boyfriend for seven years but didn't get comfortable apparently until she moved in with me. She's my hetero lifemate. She tells people she is 5'0. Shes not, she is 4'11, but I will give her an inch if it makes her feel better. When she was younger her mother used to tell her how she was "98 lbs when I got married, not 99, not 100, 98" She, my BFF, LOVES biscuits, and Cookies, and bread. And the skinny thing can eat too. We laughed about it all the time, because people would see her, then how much was on her plate and freak out. Her mother would follow her around and tell her it was gonna catch up to her. Her mom made these bomb ass biscuits, which my BFF LOVED. If she could she would have eaten 100 biscuits a day, but her mother would put her on Biscuit Restriction. She could only have two biscuits at Breakfast unless she ate a peice of sausage and then she could have three (My BFF was a self proclaimed vegetarian at the time which drove her mother crazy) She would also put her on other restrictions and talk about the way her tummy poked out after she ate and how she needed to be careful. So if my BFF snuck another biscuit she would go to her room and exercise and exercise, then get up and go to the scale and go exercise some more. Then she started to do it everytime she ate because her mom would make fun of fat people. And talk about "fatties". At the time she was probabley close to 85 lbs at 16/17 years old. She had no boobs, and she wanted them so bad, but she didn't have the fat to make them. People thought she was a little kid. Finally she threw away the scale. Talked about her compulsive exercising, told her mom to stop making it so obvious that "she didn't want a fattie", and always ate a third biscuit whether she ate the sausage or not. Now we work out togethor, but she stays off the scale except once a month, and if she has the extra biscuit then we just laugh togethor. She doesn't own a scale and I threw mine away so the only time we can weigh is at the gym. I'm so proud of her. So being skinny, doesn't solve all your problems, which is something that I will have to work on remembering. You can still feel fat, or you can still hate your body, or you can still be a little bit insane like my dear BFF. Oh and since her weight gain she grew some boobs. They are a pretty solid A. Doesn't sound like much, but she's tiny. Life is good for both of us I guess. I'm losing the Big C cup and shes getting closer to her goal of a B cup and we are both happy about that. Go figure.

Good morning to everyone, I am new to this site..I had the lapband procedure performed on August 26, 2010, at Brand Surgical Institute in Glendale, CA.. I was down 31 pounds last week and I weighed in this morning and gained 2 pounds . I am so devastated, can someone please help me understand as to why I gained instead of loosing. I go for my first fill on October 11, 2010.. Thank you, Mirella

A PB is a bandster term for "productive burp" which happens thusly: Usually once you have good restriction, but possible any time, if you eat too large a bite, don't chew well enough, or are overfull, the bite of food can't fit through your stoma (hole formed by the band between your "pouch" or upper stomach and your lower stomach) and it has to go somewhere, so it comes back up. The esophagus isn't built to have things just sit there, it's a conveyor belt that likes to move things along. So it will spasm...and if the food doesn't go on through, the body produces a lot of mucous (called slime here) which lubricates the esophagus and offending bolus of food and helps move it up and out. it is different from vomiting in that there are usually no stomach spasms involved, and there is no stomach bile/acid expelled. It can be dangerous if you PB too strongly or too much at first, before your band is healed, and later on even if healed, if you PB a lot (some do it daily as a way of life) it is very hard on your innards and can cause the band to slip. An occasional misstep/PB, however, especially if it happens after you've healed from surgery, isn't really a cause for concern but it should be a lesson to be learned. They are almost always caused by "operator error"...not chewing well, bite too big, or overeating. Occasionally, though, a PB is caused by being too tight (too much fill) and if that's the case, you need to get a little saline removed quickly or risk poor weight loss/weight gain, problems with your band, etc.

Anyone gain weight? I'm a little more then 3 weeks out. Off purée food and eating soft foods for a few days now.. I just weighed myself and I gained a little more then 2 lbs. shouldn't I be losing? Sent from my iPhone SD - 1/28/13

This is a difficult one.... A close friend is going through the same thing. She went back on Lexapro, and gained over 50 pounds. Unfortunately, this is a problem with certain types of antidepressants. You might want to talk with your doctor and see if he/she can try something else. There are a few that I know of that don't cause weight gain. I believe Prozac and Wellbutrin don't have this issue. Also, Effexor. But if what you're currently taking is working for you, then switching can be a problem. The only other thing you can try, is to beef up your exercise routine. If you're walking 30 minutes a day, bump it up to 30 minutes twice a day......something along those lines. You may be able to reel it in, but it's going to be a challenge. Those drugs slow everything down, and that's why the weight comes on.

New to the board and find the information very helpful. I had my VG lapband removed (after 2 years) on October 19, 2010. Had major slippage with 40% of stomach going through-band. The band had only a small fill may have had something to do with it? No erosion or complications during removal. (Glad it is out - knew it was not the long term answer). I did well with the band losing most all desired weight but feel as though I need to move forward with VSG too not allow any weight gain. I want to get VSG but have been told to wait 6 weeks - 3 months. What have you been told or what is most common in this scenario? In advance thank you for the input. I am also considering Dr. Rod or Dr. Aceves for VSG - they both seem to have a good reputation. Thoughts???

My Story: I'm from Chicago but now live in a suburb just outside of Chicago. I've been dealing with being overweight since my sophomore year of high scool. Prior that I was the skinniest kid in my home. My weight gain started with taking birth control to regulate my periods and from there it was all down hill. I am 39 with a husband and a step-daughter who just turned 18. I've been in her life and help to her raise since she was five. My husband and I have been trying for 13 years to get pregnant with no success. After going through surgery to remove my gallbladder I paid a visit to my new Gyne for the first time quite a few years back and I was prepared with tons of information on what I thought I have. After two sentences she looked at me and said "You have PCOS". All of the symptoms were in plain view including the embarrassing dark ring around my neck, horrible acne, and coarse facial hair. Finally I had a doctor who had a concrete answer for why I was feeling like crap and experiencing these emotional highs and lows. Fast forward I attempted to ask my PCP about Bariatric Surgery and she looked st me with a stern cold expression and said you'd have to be on a six month supervised diet and your insurance may not cover it. I was already having enough of a hard time so feeling defeated I gave up and kept suffering through attempting to lose the weight only to gain it all back and then some. Moving forward its been eight years since I've seen that PCP and I've been with my new PCP a couple of years. He keeps pressing me to lose weight and I want to but it is hard having PCOS. I am now on two blood pressure medications and Metformin for my PCOS. So thats infertility, insulin resistance, borderline diabetes (Pre-Diabetes), and high blood pressure that I am dealing with and all with a BMI of 51. Tall and wide is definitely not the look that I am going for. I just want my life back. I have alienated all of my friends, and most of my family. Most of the time I lock myself in my home and comfort myself by sitting behind a computer learning computer programming languages. I breakdown inside every time I see a baby and pray that its not too late for me. I recently looked back into having Bariatric surgery and discovered that BCBSIL no longer requires the six month supervised diet. With all that is going on with me I am not even sure which surgery is best for me. I don't know where to start or how the process goes but I am going to schedule an appointment with my PCP to discuss my options.

Hi everyone, I keep reading horror stories about Sleevers past 5 or 10 years. I’m wondering if there are any of veteran sleevers with no revisions, major miserable side effects, issues, weight gain from expanded sleeve, that are still thriving and happy with their choice? I’m a week post op and everyone’s horror stories are causing me major regrets and fear.