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I had a mirena IUD inserted in preparation for surgery. I've had it about three months now, and I'm very happy. My periods are lighter (I've always had heavy periods when not on the pill). I do have some spotting mid-cycle, and for a couple days before and after my period, but I had that before, and it was heavier and longer in duration then. Definitely no weight gain from it. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Wondering if anyone has any experience of having the lap band while being on tamoxifen. I am on tamoxifen, and am wondering if it will effect my Weight loss with the Lap band. A lot of woman complain of weight gain on tamoxifen, and while I dont know if I really gained any more weight while on it, I do know that it has made it VERY difficult to loose weight. I am currently on day 3 of my 2 week liquid diet. Surgery is August 16. I guess I am just worried that I will go through this surgery and still will have a difficult time loosing the weight. I know that's a common fear with newbies. Just wondering if anyone has any input. Thank you !

I will just introduce myself. My name is Chandra and I am from Texas. I am 22 years old and I graduated LVN school in May of 2010. I have been working at my first nursing job since July 2010. I love my job. This is definitely what I was put on the earth to do. I am going back to school for my RN. I have 4 more pre-reqs to get. I am registered for Psych and Ethics which start on Jan 18th. I have been overweight my whole life. When I was 18 I was diagnosed with PCOS and told I would never have children. That led to a depression which led to even more weight gain ontop of what I had already gained. (which was the reason I went to the doc in the first place) I began thinking of the lap band in 2008 when I had my gallbladder removed and my surgeon said that I really really needed to lose weight if I was going to consider children. Well I have a very difficult time losing the weight due to the PCOS. I began the approval proccess once before in mid 2009. Then I lost my insurance and my job. So that put a halt to that. Well now I have a better job and good insurance. I started my proccess back in October 2010. I saw my surgeon and the nutritionist. Then I had my psych eval. Had a couple more appts with the nutritionist and a few days before Christmas I got a phone call saying that my insurance approved me. After the holidays on Tues the 4th I saw my surgeon again. I scheduled my EGD (required by my surgeon) and my surgery. I signed all my consents and then started my liquid diet the next day. So far I am on Day # 4 of the one week liquid diet. My EGD is scheduled for Mon the 10th and my surgery is on Wed the 12th. I am soooo nervous and excited at the same time. I am ready for my life to change. I have been married to my husband for almost 5 years. He is very supportive and excited for me as well. I will be staying at the hospital that I work at, lol. I just moved as well. So everything kinda happened all at once, lol. Moved on the 7th EGD on the 10th Surgery on the 12th School starts on the 18th *SIGH* So the liquid diet thing really isnt that bad. Im drinking my protein drinks and Im really not that hungry. I just like crunchy things and so just the crunch and chewing is what I miss, lol. The sugar detox was awful. I had a constant headache for the first 2 days. Now I am much better and I havent cheated at all! YAY! I even resisted pizza when my co-workers ordered it Fri night. Well I guess I will just update as the week goes on. I hope to hear some feedback from people. I am really anxious to hear other people's success stories. I know that I have a lot to look forward to and its awesome that such online support exists.

Why can't you have alcohol. I am only 12 weeks banded but I have had alcohol twice (a friend's birthday party and New Years Eve) with no problems. You just have to be accountable for the calories and make choices about what you are willing to do (either accept the weight gain or work it off). No whining if you don't lose weight the week you chose to drink alcohol.

LADIES, BEWARE: Depo provera can cause GLUCOSE INTOLERANCE, which is a type of pre-diabetes -- which is why so many women gain ridiculous amounts of weight on it! They call this an ultra rare side effect, but anecdotally, most women I know who have taken depo have commented on their tremendous weight gain and then said something like "but it was probably because I ate too much." IMO, that is too pat to ignore! new_beginnings, my husband & I use condoms because I am never going to take hormonal BC again after what depo did to me. When I'm thinner, I am going to get a non-hormonal IUD. They are very effective, tho not perfect, however, no nasty hormones to mess up your body. If you tolerate hormones well (tho, to me, it sounds like you don't -- you maybe just don't believe those are side fx you're having)... have you looked into 'the ring'? NuvaRing is the name. It is a tiny amount of hormones that are "local" (allegedly) because you insert it into your vagina. One important thing is to check if there's a "weight limit" above which the drug is not concentrated enough to work (but I bet there isn't since it is local).

I'm in a catch-22. I can't afford to have it removed and too afraid that my weight would balloon if I did. I already have other health problems that would be seriously worsened with weight gain. Its not like I'm thin now. I weigh around 132kg. It has only really slowed my weight gain, not stopped it. Until i had my last and first fill, I needed to eat every two hours...

I didn't really mean to create a blog just to post. I have been banded since August 2009 and have had a lot of trouble since near the start, it always seemed to be hard to do a fill as I was sensitive and a small fill would result in pain and taking some out again and being hungry again so it's been very up and down and never arrived at a comfortable place where I could just lose weight without drama. Today I saw a new doctor who said you have most likely been over filled for ages and the pouch has stretched and that's why you feel hungry. It was a light bulb moment like why did no one ever say that before, they just kept adding more then taking some out. This doctor said it looks like I skipped past the right spot and have been overfilled ever since, feeling miserable like a failure because I either couldn't eat anything or i ate ice cream just to eat something. I have been told, you aren't having enough water, not chewing enough and I know I did it right. Today I had 2 mls taken out and will wait 6 weeks for things to settle doctor said I might have to fight the hunger and weight gain but have to go back a few steps. Anyone else had these issues, would love to hear from you. This is a bit of a rant but been so frustrating and now I hope this is the answer

Be cafeful in what you eat. Prednisone is a steroid and it can cause rapid weight gain, but don't panick, when you come off the drug you'll loose the weight. Just know it going in so you don't freak out if the scale goes up.

@@Kathy812 thank you so much for your response. There was nothing in the coverage that says there can't be any weight gain, I did check. I'm also sure I can lose it before I go to my last preop appointment on the 14th.

errrmm no salt but i do use seasoning i am black so black people tend to cook with seasoning which can be quite salty. i made a no carb stir fry with chicken and did a big batch and ate that with my husband for 3 days maybe it was that. i dunno cos i kno i am not physically eating enough to warrant a 3lb weight gain ohhhh mannn!!!! Sent from my SM-G935F using the BariatricPal App

Well muscle gain will certainly count towards SOME of it the simple fact is that you can't be losing fat and gaining muscle pound for pound by simply walking. It takes a LOT of work to gain a pound of muscle, more than simply waling can do. It's a mystery some times. The body simply CANNOT break the laws of physics and SHOULD lose weight with low calories IN and high caloric burn OUT. But as many of us have experienced it just ain't so sometimes. Water weight gain, waste retention, sneaky calories you aren't counting, hormonal changes all effect us. What it is exactly is hard to tell. Keep sticking with it, it'll start to come off again.

I gained 9 lbs since I had my GBP yesterday. Has this happened to anyone else? Also, neck, thighs and calves all hurt. Thanks K Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Exercise Routine & Weight Training Ok, I made up my routine however I did use a Personal trainer to get me aquainted with the circuit machines. My P.T. reviewed proper stance, movement and isolation using free weights. Please feel free to copy and paste my workouts and use them for yourself. Get a very supportive sportsbra, I would get mine a size smaller than I normally wore b/c it held me together better. Try to get 4 of them, that way there are enough to have for a 4 day per week workout. I have 6. Get a sweat jacket if you can. I used to wear the sauna suits to drop water weight and inches but it got to be too costly as I wrecked those suits every week. I use a sweater or sweat jacket and it works great. Keeps the heat in as I run and workout. Heat also allows your muscles to be less tense and more relaxed, so in other words, it will loosen up your muscles. After I run, I tend to get really cold so it keeps me warm. Just think about boxers in training. They wear sweat jackets, with their hoodies on. :cool: Weight training is great for you, toning your muscles and tightening your skin as you lose weight, however your weight will stall a bit during weight training. You will be building muscle hence speeding up your metabolism, causing you to be hungrier, more often. That's why I eat 6 times per day. I weight train 3x's per week. Word of advice - if you just want to tone and not bulk up then go with bigger repetitions and lower weights. If you want to bulk up and build muscle then up your weights heaviness and lower the repetition. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. Muscle burns more calories than fat. Food Choices & Food Portions Try to drink 64fl oz to 128 fl oz (1 gallon) per day. This will keep you hydrated and keep your system clean. Stay away from sugar and flour products. I stay away from pasta as well. Eat tuna if you can. It's packed with protein and very low in fat, abvout 1.5g of fat for 3oz. Albacore is the best. Salmon is high in protein and has good fats such as Omega 3's. Lean Chicken or any kind of Lean meats. I eat alot of Spinich leaves. It is high in iron, folic acid and full of nutrients, not like your iceberg lettuce. Iceberg is all water. I will also mix the Spinich greens with a bag of garden salad mix. I use fresh lime juice as dressing or I will use Asian Sesame or Mikoto dressing. I stay away from Italian, Thousand Island, French, Ranch, etc. They are very high in fat. Try to stay within whatever your nutritionist layed out for you with regards to caloric intake. If she said to stay around 1,000 calories then darnit, you better start counting. Calorie counting is a chore but it works. If you take in too few calories, you will lose weight BUT your body will go into "starvation mode". We don't want that. Starvation mode kills your metabolism and will allow you to survive and maintain at that calorie count. However, you will ruin your metabolism and if you started to take in more calories because you are hungrier then ..uh oh. Weight gain with a slower metabolism. Don't go under the recommended amount. If you are stalling on weight loss and you are taking in 1,000 calories.... crank up your exercise. You will exert the weight off in a healthy way. If you are running marathons or biking, jogging and lifting weights in the same day then you will need to up your caloric intake to over 2k calories. You need to understand that in order to drive yourself to these extremes, you have to fuel your body. If you are banded and are filled then you should be able to feel restriction and will know when to stop eating. However, the purpose of the band is to help remind you when to stop. You should be aware of portion size as well as be aware of how much you are eating on your own. You should pay attention to how much you are eating and stop yourself before the band does. I mean, we all know when enough is enough right? I got here b/c I had a bottomless pit I think, but I ate good foods, I just didn't know when to stop. I kept eating and eating and stopped exercising. So review time: Water - Drink lots of water Food Choices - Eat good, wholesome foods with alot of nutrients and low in fat, low in carbs. Complex carbs are better for you. Complex Carbs - potatoes, pasta, grains, beans, etc. Also may want to invest in some protein shakes. Isopure, Spiru-tein, Myoplex are good protein shakes to check out. Try to replace at least 1 meal a day with a shake. Cardio - Put in 45min - 1 hour of cardio per day for 5 - 6 days per week (if you can). Weight train at will but alternate muscle groups. Never work the same muscle groups 2 days in a row. It will do more harm than help you. (If you lift weights in a muscle group, you will create small tears in your muscles. This helps to build muscles as they heal. However if you go and weight train the same muscle groups the next day you will hurt that muscle and possibly damage it due to too much work and stress on it. Give it a day or so to recooperate). Portion Control - Know when you feel satisfied or pay atten to the band. Do not try to pouch pack. Vitamins - Take a multivitamin. I take GNC's Nature something..I forget it's a women's multivitamin. I also take biotin for hair, skin and nails and my hair is growing back after some recent hair loss. My skin is very clear, even glows and my nails are stronger than ever. I hope this helps a little.

I knew what you meant We didn't really set a goal weight loss for the six month diet. They actually told me at the beginning my bmi was just barely qualifying so if I lost too much weight I would be denied. I wasn't concerned with that because the way I saw it, if I was able to lose weight during the diet visits, maybe I didn't need surgery after all. So I tried. And yo-yoed like I always have. I think a big part of my struggle is that my PCP started me on Paxil for anxiety and depression about five months ago. A major side effect from that is weight gain, so I'm hoping my insurance company sees it like that.

I am 11 months out and down over 200 pounds. i can eat anything, just not a lot of it. there is still satisfaction from eating, but not the same as i had before. I actually taste food now instead of inhaling it. also now that i eat less it free's up time for talking and having conversation at meals. My satisfaction comes less from food and more from the experiences that i have now with friends and family.My satisfaction comes from feeling better as a whole. There can be weight gain as with any WLS but with the sleeve it takes work. you must eat the wrong things sun up to sun down to effectively gain weight.

I don't really have any advice for you but to keep a hold to whatever faith that you have. I will pray for you now if you don't mind and if you do just ignore my comment about prayer. I went through the same exact thing with my mother three years ago and it was the hardest thing I have ever done! I didn't have my band at that time but I gained around 15 pounds so I know what you are going though. Going out to eat with my sister and eating seemed to help drown all my feelings I was having at that time, but it actually made things worse. On top of stressing over my mom I was embarrased over my weight gain. Keep your head up!

I think you are doing really well... you have lost over 10 pounds a month... and lets even it out to 4 months.. for pre-op diet and few days into June... that's 9.25 pounds a month! umm.. that is REALLY good. I know there are some folks that have lost in the 50's and 60's, but we can't compare ourselves to them.. it's very hard.. trust me.. I did it.. but we all have different metabolisms and are on different journeys. It sounds like you are just on a plateau right now which is a good thing because it means your body has accepted the new weight and is happy with it! I wouldn't call .5 pounds weight gain.. lol. that could be some bloating.. to a pair of pants.. And I totally know how you are feeling!! From my last fill two weeks ago I lost nothing..... didn't lose or gain...

Couldn't agree more - it's a baby not weight gain. Grrrrrr! Ha ha

Ok, since my slippage surgery on 9/21 I have been dropping weight like crazy and my Doc was worried about the weight loss. Now 4 weeks out from surgery I'm up 5 lbs...out of no where. I stopped doing the protein shakes, Doc gave me the approval to go ahead and try to eat...and so far its been great. I'm able to eat almost anything in small quantities...including bread/pasta and chicken...all of which I couldn't eat prior to this. Makes me wonder, was my band misplaced improperly to begin with...and did the Doc miss it??? Anyhow I'm working out like a crazy woman and the scale just keeps going up and up....I was 6 lbs below goal and now 5 lbs over....11 lbs COME ON. I'm feeling discourage and frustrated and hunger has set in...making Christy a very grumpy girl. I go in for my first fill on Nov. 5th and I cannot wait to get back on track again. Well I'm taking my "lil weight gaining self" to the gym....2nd workout for the day. I CANNOT FAIL!!!!:thumbup:

I am a little late on reply, I just joined. I hope your surgery was a success, please let me know. My surgery was in 2003. I have lost a little over 100 lbs. Everything has been great until about 4 mo ago, my doctor put me on a sleep aid that caused my metabolism to slow way down and my appetite to increase. This caused a 30 lb weight gain. I am no longer mess, working to reset my gastric bypass pouch. I am in Dayton, Ohio and would love to chat about your success. I know u will succeed if you do it for yourself and follow the doctors instructions. I can be reached at rpbaby2002@aol.com

I think the bottom line is that you want to do what's right for you. Yeah Dr.'s can have a chip on their shoulder about weight gain and not following their rules, but you know what we are the customer so to speak and well I don't go to the Dr. to get bashed I'm there for their expertise and assistance. If we could have lost weight on our own we would not be WLS patients or needing to be in their office, so there's that. I need them and they need me and you Yes they need to tell us what we are doing wrong, but they also need to be supportive and help us to understand and make the changes we need and if they are mean about it well it's gonna go in one ear and out the other. I would go to the Dr. and ask them to help you get a handle on things and help you not only get back on track but give you a jump start. You don't have to take negativity from the Dr.'s or staff. Go in there positive that you can do this, and ask them sincerely for their assistance and things should go well. Let us know how it goes!!

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

Well I stopped losing weight over a month ago, exactly when I incorporated a weights routine into my daily exercise and made my cardio more intense (elliptical instead of tread). On 800 calories not only have I stopped losing weight, but I have gained a pound and a half. I'm devastated. I'm going back to 600 calories for a week to see if it helps. I'm afraid though that eating so little will f*** up my metabolism and BMR in the long run and that this is the real reason why wls-ers end up gaining after they reach goal. I'm afraid that my metabolism will be so screwed up that any deviation from 600 calories will result in weight gain. help me, please.

So, I had my surgery October 15, 2020 and weighed 249 on surgery day. May of 2020 the doctor said I was 259. Anyway, Today I weighed at 201. I am happy about this but I feel like it’s not enough. In January I had my 3 month appointment and weighed 208. My doctor said that was too much weight loss....I was working out 45 minutes a day to make sure I maintained a calorie deficit. They told me the surgery is the tool and to let it work. Well, to prove them I was doing what I know would work for me I haven’t done any workouts except walking. No weights, no spin classes etc... and since that January appt I have only lost 7 pounds. I am super frustrated!! I’m aware that the surgery is a tool but I wasn’t always fat. An injury and two surgeries in 3 years for it plus ending up with secondary adrenal insufficiency in 2016 and on prednisone for over a year cause my weight gain and nothing I could do would help. Prior to my foot injury I worked out two hours a day 3 days a week and and hour a day on all the other days and off on Sunday. I feel like I should have had the gastric bypass. I was told by my mother in law I would want the bypass but I felt like that was so invasive and the very last step. But now, with all the stalls and especially this last stall and the doctors office telling me the opposite of everything I’ve ever known I feel defeated. I was never what you would call a skinny girl. I have a lot of muscle and a ghetto booty and I’m ok with that but I feel like I will never see 150 or less. And some days I’m so hungry and seems like I never get full even though I clearly am full. Did they cut enough of my stomach out? The doctors office can’t even tell me that. I don’t even want to go back for my 6 month appointment in April.

Would your primary care doctor be willing to help? Maybe he could document your weight gains and losses, then you could state the diet behind them? (Atkins, etc)