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In preparing for surgery, every evening consists of research for me. Whether it be browsing threads on BP, watching videos on YouTube (actual surgeries & success stories, etc) , following WLS people on Instagram for meal and excercise ideas, watching My 600 lb Life, and now Fat Doctor. I just have to say- Fat Doctor hits home the most for me. Dr. Summers is my favorite part of it all! His outlook on obese patients is heartfelt. I absolutely love to listen to him talk about the obese and what contributed to their weight gain. He also discusses how society views "fat people" and the prejudice they experience. Fat shaming is a real thing and I know we have all experienced it on at least one occasion. I guess I respect this doctor more because I have been to doctors who chalked excercise and dieting up to being a cake walk and not understanding my lack of success or believing that I was fully dedicated to the program. I have PCOS and while I don't blame it 100% for my weight, it does play a significant role in my inability to lose weight. My younger brother who pitches in the minor league (very fit & healthy) thought something similar about me and my efforts. So when he was home in the off season last year, we walked every morning, went grocery shopping and cooked together (meal prepped for the entire week). He quickly realized that my body did not react to clean eating and excercise like it should and changed his entire perception. For the record, he was always loving and never disrespectful when addressing my weight. He just thought that I did not know how to determine exactly what my body needed to succeed. So, it's nice to see that Summers recognizes that there are multiple factors. I highly recommend this show to everyone! I watch it on Hulu and I'm on season 3 out of...6 I believe? It truly does show the good, the bad and the ugly (and I mean...the UGLY). It's filmed in England so it took me a quick second to get used to "stones" over "pounds." Oh....and it doesn't hurt that Dr. Summers is nice on the eyes

Insurance companies typically go by your starting weight. Contact them for verification. Nevertheless, unless your BMI drops below 40 you should be good regardless. No weight gain over the course of your diet, nutrition, and/ore exercise program. For my 13wk pre-op I stayed the exact same weight. My BMI dropped because my lean muscle mass increased. So, it's not just as simple as weight gain.

I have a question about the 6 months diet. For my insurance it says weight loss, stable weight but no weight gain. Does this mean i can't gain no weight in 6 months? Or, I can't gain weight over my starting weight? I don't meet with my NUT for the first time in a couple weeks so I can't ask her.

I am on Wellbutrin, Sertraline, Clonazepam, and Rexulti. I have always dealt with depression and anxiety. I have be prescribed so many meds, and most of them caused a lot of weight gain. These seem to be doing OK now, but is I begin gaining weight after losing it, my first call will be to my psychiatrist.

I did completely change my mindset and all that went with it. I take full responsibility for the weight gain I never said there wasn't a reason I had regained.

@@Kaila312 I am so sad for you. Yes improper choices and eating too much lead to weight gain and we still have to be responsible for our calories in and calories out, but the restriction of the sleeve is supposed to help us with that. Without the restriction, you are no better off than any non-WLS patient trying to lose/maintain weight through diet and exercise. The sleeve is meant to be a tool to help our efforts be more effective and make it harder to go off track. Your tool is now broken and I am genuinely sad for you. I admire your resolve to get back on plan and re-lose the weight. You aren't letting yourself feel defeated and that is amazing to me.

Well the nurse called me and "read" the results from the upper gi...said my stomach was approaching the normal size again. I go in to meet with my doc to talk in a couple weeks. As far as the weight gain it is because of my food choices awhile back but i never over ate, only ate a cup, I would snack a bit but not a meal or continuously, never ate and drank, haven't had anything carbonated since before my surgery, so all these myths people are saying that it cannot stretch are apparently not true lol. Basically I was talking to my dietitian and what she wanted me to do and what my surgeon wants me to do are completely opposite. I have realized that having my sleeve stretched would NOT cause weight gain but it would be the calories in vs calories out...which obviously I didn't do so good with but Iv been back on track for a month or so and finally started to see the weight go down which was NICE!

I was banded October 29, 2012. Initially I had went from 342lbs to 188lbs. I felt incredible. Over the last year or so I have been having major issues due to the band slipping twice. After the first unfill the band adjusted and went back into place. After the second time they unfilled it they refused to fill it again. Since then I have went from 188lbs to 265lbs and it is devastating to me. I finally spoke up to my surgeon and am now in the process of trying to get approved for the sleeve. When I was trying to gain approval for the lapland surgery it was a pain because even though I was huge, I had little health issues as far as a co-morbidy would go. I finally (BARELY) got approved. This is why I didn't think I had any options due to not having any current health issues. I am just uncomfortable and down on myself for it. The very sweet lady that is helping me get it approved through my insurance thinks even though I don't have any major health issues that due to all my issues( two slips) with the lapland, GERD and weight gain that I may not have a problem getting approved. I know I shouldn't have a problem getting it revised and having it removed. Wondering how hard it would be to have the actual sleeve approved. Anyone have any experience with what I am going through?

Honey, I am so sorry for him making you feel this way. I had a partial hysterectomy (just uterus and cervix) 2 years ago and ended up gaining 60 lbs in less than a year. I had a lap band in 2006 and went from 230 to 160 and fluctuated between 160 and 190 for a long time. Then bam! up to 250 the biggest I've ever been. I had complications with my band and got it removed and the sleeve done on Jan 7th. so far I have lost 21lbs since surgery and 35 lbs since thanksgiving. My boyfriend did not notice my weight gain or loss, I think that shows he loves me for who I am, but he also likes girls with a little extra. My mother on the other hand is a big negativity person. Also growing up with a tiny big sister who has never been bigger than a size 6 and is a size 2 normally and a mother who at 60 is still a size 8-10 was a battle. My mother always thought pointing out my rolls or jiggleiness would motivate me to loose weight. Or, when I told her I lost 10lbs she would say "you have alot more to go" or "good, loose more". And then when i gained my weight after the hyster she would criticize everything I ate and always point out I was gaining weight and getting bigger, and finally at my biggest 250lbs and a size 18/20 she told me "I was huge". I had a sit down talk with her and found out that, that is just the was that she is. She loves me more than anything and she jst wants me to be healthy and happy. I mentioned to her that the negative reinforcement was not working for me and just made me feel like nothing and wanted to just eat more. I also said that I needed her support to change for this surgery and I needed more positivity. It took a bit for her to understand but it got better. Now when I tell her I lost weight she says "good job" or she will point out how baggy my pants are. She will still throw in a little negativity but not as bad and with a positive. The other day I tild her that I have lost 35lbs so far and she said "wow, good job! Now 55more to go." Just sit down and have a talk with him, it may be that he loves you for you he just does not know the correct motivation. Just talk to him, maybe try a marriage counselor if you would like a 3rd party present. This is going to be very emotionally straining time. If he will not change to support you the way you need to be supported there is something wrong with him not your. Just tell him how you feel and what you need. If he is not there for you or better or worse then he is not a true Christian and did not take his marriage vows seriously. Tell him, changes are happening and he can either be around to see it, or he can not, but you are not going to take his negativity and hurtfulness anymore. You deserve better and you deserve the support you need. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL BOTH INSIDE AND OUT!!!!!

...I noticed about 6 months ago...I still can get that sick, tight feeling after a slice of pizza, but it doesn't last and I can return 2 hrs later for a little bit more...I have no hunger pangs after I've eaten like that...but the old way that I used to eat is starting to slip back in.Sounds more like grazing behavior than a stretched sleeve to me. I hope it is just that...I had a little tuna and 4 small crackers for lunch yesterday then for my mom's bday dinner...a small slice of pizza hut meat lovers, 2 boneless wings, a small slice of cake and a little scoop of ice cream...full but not sick...I've got to say hush puppy, and I'm not trying to be mean or jump down your throat. I don't know how you eat every meal. But eating pizza, cake, boneless wings, ice cream, scalloped potatoes, Cookies, truffles?? The calories for your moms birthday meal alone was likely around 900. Pizza-280, small cake 300, 2 boneless wings 200, ice cream -200. ???? That would be almost your entire intake depending on your metabolism. Plus those types of foods lead to huge cravings. If this was a fluke meal I apologize, but if it's happening With any regularity, you must buckle down and get back to eating right or the gain will continue. I would say an absolute no to any desserts until your back at goal. Sugar is a gateway drug!! That calorie estimate is just a guess at best- could have been way more. Restaurant foods are evil!! And I agree that stretched sleeve or no- if your tracking your calories and they are on point, then you shouldn't be gaining. I feel for you, I do. I know how hard this is. I hope you get the support you need and don't feel attacked. I'm sure everyone on here, myself included, just wants to see you happy and successful. I'm operating with the idea that yes, my sleeve is temporary. One day it will stretch. But it won't matter because my good habits and portions will still be in place and I will ALWAYS track my calories and stay on top of ANY weight gain. I did this once, never going to have to do it again!! I understand the foods that I've listed are bad...I'm keeping it real on here by being honest with myself and this online community. Thank you for the breakdown of the caloric intake that was that meal...I'm very well aware of the content though. I wouldn't say 'attacked' but there's no reason for the judgemental b.s. and condescending stupidity from others- I thought that this was a place to come to for help and lifting up...to me, when others throw that garbage out there, it just shows that they may have their eating priorities in place but not their attitudes. Good for you for coming at this with that wonderful attitude...sometimes myself and probably others on here (I may be wrong) need to regroup and get back to that mode of thinking.

...I noticed about 6 months ago...I still can get that sick, tight feeling after a slice of pizza, but it doesn't last and I can return 2 hrs later for a little bit more...I have no hunger pangs after I've eaten like that...but the old way that I used to eat is starting to slip back in.Sounds more like grazing behavior than a stretched sleeve to me. I hope it is just that...I had a little tuna and 4 small crackers for lunch yesterday then for my mom's bday dinner...a small slice of pizza hut meat lovers, 2 boneless wings, a small slice of cake and a little scoop of ice cream...full but not sick...I've got to say hush puppy, and I'm not trying to be mean or jump down your throat. I don't know how you eat every meal. But eating pizza, cake, boneless wings, ice cream, scalloped potatoes, Cookies, truffles?? The calories for your moms birthday meal alone was likely around 900. Pizza-280, small cake 300, 2 boneless wings 200, ice cream -200. ???? That would be almost your entire intake depending on your metabolism. Plus those types of foods lead to huge cravings. If this was a fluke meal I apologize, but if it's happening With any regularity, you must buckle down and get back to eating right or the gain will continue. I would say an absolute no to any Desserts until your back at goal. Sugar is a gateway drug!! That calorie estimate is just a guess at best- could have been way more. Restaurant foods are evil!! And I agree that stretched sleeve or no- if your tracking your calories and they are on point, then you shouldn't be gaining. I feel for you, I do. I know how hard this is. I hope you get the support you need and don't feel attacked. I'm sure everyone on here, myself included, just wants to see you happy and successful. I'm operating with the idea that yes, my sleeve is temporary. One day it will stretch. But it won't matter because my good habits and portions will still be in place and I will ALWAYS track my calories and stay on top of ANY weight gain. I did this once, never going to have to do it again!!

I'm doing Mondays and Thursdays too. I am a little worried because of my back fusion. I'm not supposed to diet. I have to though. I put on a favorite sweatshirt and it looked horrible. I looked pregnant. I'm going to try to eat a lot of vegetables. My diet is totally lacking vegetables most of the time. Hope you're feeling better Sheryl. I wish I could take Welbutrin. I'm sure I would feel better if I could. I'm sure you're right about the late eating. I just saw something on tv about that being the cause of weight gain in America. I just need to eat my 3 small meals and not snack. Coops you need to find another doctor. I'm still on HRT and my doctor really feels like I need to stay on it since my bone scan shows the beginning of osteoporosis. There are bioidentical hormones that are not as risky as the Premerin of the past which was made from horse urine. disgusting. Mine are made at a compounding pharmacy just for me. I'd find a different doctor for sure. I'm sure you'll have a great time at Disney. It's the happiest place on earth, after all. (their advertisements) I wish I could come to florida and meet you!

Good info. But to clarify, I didn't say it was true - I said that other people use it that way. I do not think this will cause weight gain as part of a normal bariatric diet.

You must stay strictly on your liquid diet so you shrink your liver. My dr had an allowance of 5lbs weight gain during the 6 months pre-op phase but again every dr is different. If you are disciplined on the liquid diet and only have what is allowed you should be fine. I dropped weight quickly on it.

I had RNY in March of 2005. I lost a total of 110lbs and maintained that for about 5 yrs. then I noticed my weight increasing about 10lbs a year and at about year 8 I started noticing changes in my tolerance for food, IBS, and the ability to continually eat with no restrictions and also no Satiety from food. So at year 10 finally went to see what was going on and found out that I had an enlarged storms which was causing all the issues with my eating and weight gain. This is regardless of eating good or bad. So after about 4 months of tests with a Gastroenterologist's it was decided that I needed a revision. I am currently a little more than a week out from my revision. Bottom line follow the rules of the tool and pay attention to your body definitely follow up annually with Doctor.

Depends on the doc. My surgery was just cancelled due to weight gain of 15 lbs over the last 5 months. They didn't tell me about these rules beforehand so I am very upset. Four pounds doesn't seem like much but it really just depends on how strict your doc is. Mine is very strict clearly. They want me to lose the weight before they will schedule me again. While I will be losing the weight (I've already lost 2 lbs since Wednesday), I will be consulting with other surgeons because I have a strict timing window due to work. I already have prior auth from the insurance company.

Did everything go smoothly? I am in the same situation. I have been approved but the surgeon's office cancelled my surgery due to 15 lb weight gain since August. They are requiring me to lose the weight before they will put me back on the schedule. This would be fine if I wasn't starting a new job in a couple of months and NEEDING to have surgery done before I start. It's either now or wait another 6 months and that is out of the question. It took me 6 months of a preop diet, another month before I got insurance approval, scheduled a month out only to be taken off the schedule a week before my surgery date. Taking 3-4 weeks to lose the 15 lbs and waiting a month before surgery will kill my timeline. I feel like I need to get the ball rolling with another surgeon ASAP. I really don't have time to wait. I have BC/BS of Michigan. Please help!

It depends on your doctor. Some are very strict on their pre-op and weight gain. The pre op diet is mainly about shrinking the liver though, what were you eating that made you gain the weight? if your liver is too big it could indeed affect surgery, but you do have a few days to fix it if you're strict with yourself.

I'm to have my surgery on Feb 2 I weighed myself today I gained 4 pounds I have liquids until Monday I go to sign paperwork and testing I'm diabetic as well Will this effect my surgery has this happens to anyone before Any feedback would be cool

Hi Princess, I'm on my preop and gained weight. But the few days before I had all type of last meal crap. That I didn't even really want. But my psyche almost convinced me I needed. Smh. But anyway the morning of day three of preop I had gained 3lbs. But I was actually following the preop diet it was just the crap had finally metabolized itself into weight gain. Any who I'm on day five now and I've lost those three pounds I gained in two days and think it will continue through next week. Could this be what happened to you?

I'm on the 10 day liquid diet I will have my surgery on Feb 2 I weighed myself today and I've gained 6 pounds I'm diabetic and on my last 3 days of the 3 shakes and lean cuisine for dinner I'm worried and confused about the weight gain any feedback would be so helpful

NSV FRIDAY! Not freaking out as my scale moves up. This has never in my life... Strength training and building muscle. Bring on the weight gain.

You must give it time to work , after about a month I noticed my weight loss , and please always follow your portion rules and eat correctly and drink water as they say to . I'm almost 13 years out , I lost 130 pounds and I have gained back 60 of that and I'm struggling to get that off now . I am resetting my pouch , and it's NOT easy ! I have also heard and experienced that losing weight gained after this surgery is harder then if you didn't have it. Always remember your pouch stretches back out , every bite over your measures amount is another bit of a stretch , and our pouches are not made of steel. Follow the rules it works , easy fix , NO not even close , you still must eat right , excersise, I will say it will give you a start to a new life , BUT , as with any weight loss or gain , one must eat correctly and it's a permanent life change you MUST commit to . Good luck to all

Thanks for sharing your story. I so understand how you are feeling right now. This has been an extremely LONG process. After I completed my 6months of NUT visits(Sept2015), I called his office and could not get in to see him for 2 months! During this time I found out that I actually needed an additional NUT visit (my insurance requires a certain number of days from start to finish and (I think mine was 180) I had just under. I verified this with my dietician and had to make an additional appointment. That was TOO CLOSE...I would have been HEATED if, after 2 months of waiting, the office submitted my paperwork and it was denied by insurance. Luckily, a co-worker who was also going through the process gave me the heads up. This was their oversight and I was mad enough to make an appointment with the my New Self Program at Des Peres. I paid a mandatory 75.00 program fee, signed a medical release for my records to be sent from Dr. Eagon's office and met with Dr. Ricks. He was extremely nice but then a few things happened... 1. At this point I had not decided between the bypass or sleeve. I had been holding out to receive a medical opinion from Dr. Eagon. Dr. Ricks told me he only did the lapband and sleeve and when I asked him why he told me that the malpractice insurance was too high. 2. When the program coordinator called to tell me that my insurance would cover bariactric surgery (i already knew it did but I assume every program routinely checks) she told me that I have an out of pocket max deductable of 1500.00 and would have to pay this amount subtracting any copays made thus far in the year to Des Peres. 3. They wanted me to have an EGD which was another 150.00 deductible. These were the major deciding factors for me...I decided to be patient and just wait. Dr. Eagon attended Harvard Medical School and did his fellowship at Mayo Clinic. He is the only WU/BJH bariactric surgeon and does many of the most complex surgeries that most other surgeons can't or won't. I would argue that he is the top in the St. Louis area. I work for WU so I may be biased but, I have also spoke to many of his patients who say he is worth the wait!!! After the disappointment and shock wears off you will feel better. During the seminar, I remember someone asked him a question regarding gaining and losing weight pre-surgery and he said that he would cancel surgery if there was weight gain. As I can recall it was a specific question and not something included in the presentation. It sounds like the issue of weight gain was not addressed during your seminar. Im so sorry and feel your pain. Loose the weight quick and get on the schedule fast!!!

Hi! I'm 24, almost 25, and have had 3 kids. Mine aren't so close together but they've definitely contributed to my weight gain I weigh about 230 pounds and I'm a diabetic. My surgery is Feb 10th and it can't come soon enough! Good luck to you!