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Never did I ever think when I got banded in 2010 I would be getting my band out and revising to the sleeve...Everything went so well. For 2 1/2 years everything was wonderful. I did my homework, I did what was expected of me and dropped about 70 pounds.. Talk about a new me. I still had like 50 pounds to go but I was on a roll and wasn't going to stop. I was on top of the world. Went back to school and found that confident person I once was before becoming obese. Unfortunetally after an unsuccessful fill due to the port twisting, everything went to crap. I had my port fixed and never found my green zone again. I am a 46 year old woman that knows her body and when something is wrong, something is wrong....after numerous attempts ( seven long months of trying to convince my doc something was wrong, like weight gain, starving all the time and horrible pain after my fills) he finally listened and sure enough I had a leak and my port lies right where my pant belt lies. Why would you put a port there in the first place? So not only did I go through physical and emotional pain. I went through a lot of financial pain. All those fills that never worked and the horrible pain I faced. I just never understood why a doctor would let a patient continue to feel this way...and yes, I have gained all my weight back and more. Talk about ashamed and feeling like a failure for the millionth time....The good news is..I fired my doctor and hired a new one (same practice, awkward, but its my body!. He is awesome, kind, very sensitive to your needs, caring and listens to you, Not like the doctors that ask you the question that you just answered to him. One time I had the doctor ask me the same question three times that I had answered. Talk about wanting to get up and walk out...So I have been blessed for a second chance per insurance. They are paying for the band removal and the sleeve. I am scared right now, but I have faith in my doctor and staff. My life will be for the better and I have much support. I have three young boys and wonderful husband supporting me and believing in me. I am not bashing the band, I am bashing the doctor that would not listen to me. He should have never let it get this bad. If I won the lottery, I would help set up a foundation for those that could not afford this surgery. It is life changing and I would want everyone to have that opportunity....obesity is just an awful disease to live with..So my new journey begins MAY 1 and I am so blessed. I think about a year from now how much healthier I will be. Plus I will finish up my schooling and be ready to conquer the world. Best wishes to everyone for whatever choice of surgery you chose...I commend all of you for taking that step. Surely a life long journey.

A few weeks ago I was sorting through school work and papers that came home in my fifth grader's backpack at the end of the school year and had been left in a pile. In his math folder I found this great handout: Problem-solving Top-ten List." It's intended to help students who are stuck on a math problem, but I found it to be great life advice and very applicable to eating and weight loss battles. What do you think? Top Ten Reasons For Getting Stuck in the First Place: 1. You tried to rush through the problem without thinking. We are often great at rushing into new weight loss programs and diets hoping each one will be the magic answer. Clients often tell me how they've picked programs in the past that weren't compatible with their tastes or their schedules or their preferences and that they probably knew from the beginning they wouldn't want to continue long term. 2. You didn't read the problem carefully. We don't just run into this difficulty with math problems. In many life situations, if we don't clearly understand the problem, we might choose a problem solving approach that isn't going to meet our needs. In my emotional eating programs, I encourage users to take the time to understand their unique situation. Taking the time to understand your reasons for overeating and the types of solutions that will work for you is essential to not getting stuck further down the road. 3. You don't know what the problem is asking for Again, this doesn't just apply to math problems. If we're working to solve the wrong problem, we aren't going to get anywhere. If you are struggling with emotional eating (stress eating, boredom eating, or eating when you are lonely or upset), no food plan or diet in the world is going to fix that--because it's not about the food--it's about figuring out what to do with the feelings. 4. You don't have enough information. I often tell me clients that if they feel like they aren't getting anywhere, or if they feel like they are beating their head against the wall, odds are that there is a part of the problem that isn't being addressed. The program I use with my clients devotes a significant amount of time to showing you how to collect information about yourself, about your hunger, and about your unique relationship with food so that you can solve the eating problems once and for all. 5. You're looking for an answer that the problem isn't asking for. If you overeat because you are bored or stressed or anxious or angry (or any other emotion), the problem isn't about food choice. The answer the problem is asking for has to do with finding new or better ways of responding to your emotions, your stress and your needs. The weight loss industry spends billions of dollars convincing us that if we follow a certain diet we will be beautiful and happy. Food plans don't create happiness and diets (or weight loss) don't help us cope with stress (or anxiety or loneliness or boredom). A schedule of when and what to eat (a diet) doesn't prepare us for what to do when we stop using the schedule, and it doesn't help us figure out what to do INSTEAD of eating or overeating. The truth is that diets aren't the answer for this problem. Enduring change and enduring weight loss happen when we make changes that work with our lives--not when we try to maintain behaviors that leave us hungry and grumpy and feeling like we are missing out. 6. The strategy you're using doesn't work for this particular problem. I'll say it again. Diets tell you what to eat. Often, being on a diet will increase the amount of time and energy someone spends focusing on food. Diets don't teach you how to change patterns of emotional eating or overeating when you aren't hungry. They don't teach you how to feed yourself and expand your life in ways that won't leave you feeling deprived. Users of my program and participants in the groups I run are often surprised at first by how little time they spend focusing on food. The programs I offer don't count fat grams or calories or carbs because I feel it is most helpful to target the *reasons* you feel hungry and the *reasons* you eat even when you aren't. My focus is helping you GET OFF the diet rollercoaster and put food in a much smaller place in your life. 7. You aren't applying the strategy correctly. If you've been dieting for years, it can be hard to move out of the mindsets of deprivation and of blaming yourself when the diet doesn't work (even though the diet was probably doomed to fail in the first place). Using the right tools takes practice. I find that clients initially have a hard time looking at their eating patterns and their emotions without feeling the old self-blame, shame and guilt. One of the biggest benefits that clients in our emotional eating programs and groups note is being able to stop feeling guilty and bad all the time. That's huge! 8. You failed to combine your strategy with another strategy. If we try to fit ourselves into a strategy or a program instead of finding a strategy that fits and works with our specific individual situation, we're likely to get stuck. Cookie cutter eating plans and programs are problematic because we are all different. For instance, my Emotional Eating Toolbox™ program guides you to your own answers and strategies through the work you do and the answers you provide about yourself. You are encouraged to explore a variety of strategies and choose the solutions that will work for you. 9. The problem has more than one answer. There is no ONE magic cause of weight gain and there is no ONE magic answer for weight loss. People's paths for taking control of their emotional eating will be different. Once you have the basic set of tools, you will be more successful if you learn to use them in the way that complements your personality, your strengths, your struggles, and your life. 10.The problem can't be solved. This one is tough--both with math problems and with life. Emotions and tough times are real. We might not like them but we can't just wish them away. Trying to ignore or bury emotions doesn't work well in the long term either. The truth is that there is no diet or food plan that is going to help us cope with tough emotions. If we forget about the emotional part of our eating and simply focus on the food, we're going to get stuck and we're likely to fail. And then we are likely to blame ourselves--which isn't helpful either. There ARE powerful tools that can help anybody get through the emotions and situations that they struggle with. When we learn them and practice using them it's easier to put food in its place, make choices that feel good about eating, and put more energy into creating the lives we really want to be living. Melissa McCreery, Ph.D. is a Psychologist and the founder of Enduring Change Coaching. She helps her clients create and live the life they crave. She is also the creator of the Emotional Eating Toolbox 28-day Program for Taking Control and Moving Beyond Dieting. Sign up for a free teleclass about emotional eating after WLS, learn about upcoming WLS seminars and other programs or contact her www.enduringchange.com.

I had PCOS and after one surgery to remove cysts they came right back within several months. It ended killing my ovaries and so had to have hysterectomy. I am still suffering from the weight gain from the PCOS and was banded in 1/06

I was dx'ed with PCOS in 2000. I had all the typical symptoms (weight gain, cysts, acne, IR, infertility, hair, absent periods, and on and on) 13 months down the track, my 3000mg of Metformin is down to 500mg (I am comming of slowly, my insulin and sugars are perfect now) I am down to 77kg, from 135kg, I have perfectly clear skin (I get the odd sopt just before I get my period) and I have a 28 day cycle for the first time in my life! I still have some hair on my chin and arms, but there is far less than before. I hope that helps a little.

Hey, i just had a baby 5 weeks ago today. i was banded in july 2006 lost 20pds and had a new baby surprise! when i found out i was pregnant, my dr. said it would be best to get an unfil. four weeks after i gave birth i was very ready to be filled again and really BEGIN my weight loss. so i have lost 6 pds this week and am still nursing and my baby is getting plenty of milk. my baby was 3 weeks early and weighed 8pds 10ozs he is now over 12pds. so i'd say he's doing pretty well. if your worried about the weight gain~ get a fill. good luck!

I am also a frequent prednisone user. The source of most of my weight gain. I am a terrible asthmatic. When I discussed this with my dr. he said that he might prescribe a short term appetite suppressant during my steroid courses if I wanted. It is definitely worth asking. I have not needed any since the band. If not, keep your head up and work really hard when you are finished with the prednisone. During the course, curb the hunger with as healthy of food as possible and exercise! Good luck to you, I hope this is short term!

Donali, we're here for you, just as you have been here numerous times for us. Let us carry the load for a while and give your shoulders some rest. We know a band erosion is not a good thing. We know that it has to be removed. Your body will heal and then you can be rebanded. You don't want to leave that band in where it can get entangled and cause even more complications. Even temporarily without your band, you have such a wonderful set routine in your eating habits. You are so conscientous of your meals, vitamins, portion control. You will gain little, if no weight gain, during this down time. You've worked to hard to get where you are today. I look to see you continuing losing weight, maybe just on a little different plain. We're here for you! Take care and try to "destress".

Margo, Prozac takes about 55 days to fully clear the system, but most people begin to feet the loss of the medication after about 2 weeks. It sounds to me like your symptoms may be coming back. I would absolutly speak to a psychiatrist about this. The weight gain issue with prozac is not as bad as with some other antidepressants, but it is real for some people. Nevertheless, if the medication was helping you I'd still reccomend it if you were my patient. Other non-psych meds cause weight gain and you wouldn't stop them, also if you have chronic depresion, coming off of the medication may in fact worsen the depresive symptoms (depression gets worse with each successive bout a person has). As for wellbutrin, it is a wonderful medication, but as your depression was responsive to a serotonin based medication, and welbutrin is a norepinephrine based medication (it does not increase serotonin) it might not work for you. Also since we bandsters may not do well with tablets you would not be a candidate for the sustained release varieties of welbutrin. That would mean taking the immediate release pills (crushed) three times daily. What a pain in the butt. I hope that this is helpful. Benet

Margo, you sound like my secretary, OMG, she takes zoloft and the day after she runs out we're looking for a poltigeist (sp). My DH takes the happy pill Effexor, I'd like to double it up on him. He has a problem with restless sleeping, I haven't told him it's a side affect of his happy pills, he's quit taking them, but no weight gain, same size he was when we got married 36 years ago.

Wellbutrin is generally not linked to weight gain. I've been on it for several years and it has been a life-saver!

It sounds like you have a few issues to address. Firstly, you seem to have doubts about how well your op was done - NO food restrictions! Wow. I would be getting an independent medical review that ends with confirming your sleeve was done appropriately - or not - in regard to size/volume. Once that is confirmed, get an endocrine system full check - I'm particularly thinking of your thyroid function. Underactive thyroid is very common, and should be excluded. Even "subclinical" results (normal, but only just) can cause many symptoms like full blown thyroid dysfunction, including weight gain. Finally (or perhaps first), are you recording your diet? Many, many people on this forum will tell you they need to eat less than 1000 cal per day, low fat, low carb and zero alcohol in order to lose weight. With such a limited outcome over a year (unless you didn't have much to lose in the first place) you need to be systematic - and diligent - to get to the bottom of this. Good luck.

Sadly as my weight has gone up and down down and up .. my boobs have remained the same. Only time I lost anything in the boobs was when the plastic surgeon took me from a III to a C/D and lifted them back up where they belonged. My weight has yo-yo'd so much since then with kids and weight gain I expected them to grow .. they didn't .. so for me, I don't think loosing this weight will matter much in the end. I think they will remain the same. Will loose band size but that is really about it I think.

Thanks for your reply, feedyoureye. My husband had prostate issues recently, so he started into natural methods of getting that under control which worked for him, so he is big on that approach. However her also had skin cancer and when green tea and all the other things he took didn't work, he did have it surgically removed. There are too many people out there that desperately want to be thin and who diet constantly and are still overweight. It is our bodies working against us, so I want to circumvent my bodies natural weight gain plan with surgery!

I'm pretty good support system-wise. Literally five people in my family have gotten the same exact surgery (including my mother) so I can probably go to one of them for help. It's just that I'm horrible with keeping secrets and how do you hide eating habits when your two closest friends love to eat? It's just frustrating because I KNOW my two closest friends won't understand. Not because they're skinny, but because I've never mentioned a thing about my weight loss or weight gain to them. Yet at the same time, they're probably the ones that deserve to know. I can tell I'm getting nowhere with this. Thanks for all the suggestions though.

I've had my lap band for about 5 years now. At first I was loosing weight slowly (due to other separate health problems) then last summer, i lost a huge amount of weight very quickly due to extreme stress, and where my port is I was having discomfort, so i went to my new doctor who told me I had to gained weight and that would help with the discomfort, but did not want me to gain too much. I am 5'9 and I was 135lbs and he told me i needed to be at 160lbs. He is not my original doctor that did my surgery and fills. We moved to a different state. Over the last 5 months I (reluctantly) have gained the weight the doc told me to, and even though some of the port discomfort is gone, I now have constant heart burn and acid reflex and pain under my ribs after i eat (I had my gallbladder removed last year) or drink too much I do not drink any alcohol, soda or things like that mainly water tea sometimes and coffee and food has been getting stuck more than it use to. It is extremely hard for me to get back into the doctor, but do see my family primary monthly. I am wondering what type of tests should i ask my primary to order to make sure everything with the band is ok. And if anyone else has had similar problems and what helped. I'm thinking of trying the apple cider vinegar to help with heart burn acid reflex but am open to trying something

Hi Karina...I think a slider food is anything that can be digested rather quickly, and doesn't leave you full or stay with you for very long, making it easy to eat again soon. People say to try and avoid these kinds of food because they can potentially contribute to weight gain, which is what we don't want!

It has been going on three years since my sleeve was done. I was doing great for little over two years. Then I started putting weight back on I went from. 210 to now weighing 285. I am so depressed over this weight gain. My doctors office said it happens, but I have to jump back to losing again. I excerize. Go for walks. Watch what I eat. Try to keep my protein up. Anyone have any ideas what i else I can try.

Thanks for being honest!!! I can totally relate!!! I am 1 yr post-op, and my appetite has increased, and my sweet craving too! Plus it doesn't help that its the holidays, and food is everywhere! Personally my weight goes up, and down 5 pounds or so. My Dr. wants me at 145, so if I go up past 150 I freak out ,and put myself in check! The good thing is that you realize your cravings... Acknowledging this is key. We are human... we will make mistakes! Put yourself in check! An occasional treat is ok! I like sugar-free popsicles, Jello & S/F pudding. Weigh yourself, and set a weight gain limit. It's normal to go up & down a few pounds... know your bodys norm. PS... Drink plenty of water!!! Good Luck!!!

Hey everybody, I have to get something off my chest, my story towards WLS is this, 5 years ago i was not at all obese, i weighed 65-70 kgs, I actually started college at around 2011 and then moved to Australia to continue my education, but ever since I moved to Australia, I was starving myself, as I did not have enough money to buy myself food etc, then at 2014 I finished my college and moved to Canada for about 4-5 years, there it got even worse, since my field was really hard to get a job (audio engineering), I was starving myself there as well, ever since 2012 i was moving to different countries, in total 4 countries Dubai, India, Canada and Australia, but was eating well here and there, parents were sending some money, at the brink of 2016, I became homeless in Canada, for almost 8months, at that period I was eating like 1 meal a day, surprisingly I was still about 65kgs by the end of that phase, but then I committed a crime while I was in the streets and they sent me a psychiatric hospital, that's when things took a turn for the worst, after about 3 months of staying in the hospital, they started me on psychiatric meds (aripiperzole abilify) but in about 20 days I saw my weight rise from 65 to 75, then about 10 days later it rose to 85, then slowly 95, then about 6 months later I was at 110, I thought I maxed out but I gained another 7kgs in the next 6 months, also the food was rich in the hospital but very tiny portions, then they switched me to clopixol, did not help, infact caused infertility and sexual problems, I have one question for all of you, does bariatric surgery work for person like me? Does weight gain from psychiatric meds happen in like 15 days? If so that is big problem. Since I have a bad history with nutrition and my metabolism is in really bad shape, but I got out a year and 6 months ago, and i started eating a lot once I got out due to all the deprivation, I was never even planning on doing bariatric surgery, did not even know what it was, so guys please share your experience with starvation, metabolism, weight gain, psychiatric meds. Oh I did mention this to the doctor and he said that's nothing to worry about. But what do you guys think? I really want answers guys, this has been in my chest for a long time now. Thank you all for listening. Oh and I have finished my surgery , it's been 19 days, I have lost about 12kgs. Things are going well, but I don't want it stall all of a sudden and then one fine day it never moves again. That would be a nightmare, I just want some clarity on this topic. Thanks again.

For my journal readers here is a bit more about me: I am 31 and the mother of two children - my daughter is 14 years old and my son is 10. I'm newly married *3rd and last time!* to a man who is 18 years my senior. I was first married at 16 - to my DD father - divorced by 19 and remarried at 22. That one didn't work after 7 years of marriage. I'm married again - more secure now, more mature, more sure of myself. The kids have had a hard time adjusting to the change... I have a day job and also own my own online company. (www.providerwatch.com and www.findadaycare.com) I enjoy living in Western Washington for the weather, the green, and the fact I can get in the car and drive somewhere. NOT like when I lived in Anchorage, Alaska! I write - poetry mostly. I love music - listening to it cause I don't have a musical bone in my body. I love to read - anything from fiction to interesting non fiction. I think I'm more serious than I should be.... From the thread "Why are you Fat?" My weight gain began about 9 years ago - it was a slow process that began with excessive drinking - high calorie drinks -depression...I gained about 30 pounds those first few years, lost some and have steadily increased reaching my all time high - currently 255. I quit drinking a year ago - eat more to replace it - and have worked at a desk job for 3 years. That combined with no physical activity. I ENJOY food, its emotional for me. When I cook and enjoy a good meal, it feels good deep down. But this good feeling is followed by guilt and remorse. When I feel full - I feel guilty. I think about being fat from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed at night and sometimes in my sleep. The bottom line is I overeat, food is emotional satisfaction, and I sit on my a$$ at work all day.

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

no violation of laws, simply a matter of not assuming that metabolic rates are a constant function driven by nothing other than weight/age, (e.g., all 250 lb women lose weight if they eat 1200 calories) and that individual "machines" (humans) process information/calories differently, and that many other factors impact weight gain and loss rather than just calories in/calories out.

So I just got home from being dlweved. Stepped on the scale and im 12 lbs heavier than I wad when I went in. Anyone else have this happen. Im so bummed

so when u say everything has gone according to plan does that mean u haven't had any complications? i've read alot of people on here with vomiting and not losing weight ,gaining weight. i am a lil concerned. i kinda think some people r probably not eating rigt or not using their bands well.not really sure what to think.

Go to www.oa.org and click on "meetings" for meeting times and places in your area. This is from the website: OA is not just about weight loss, weight gain or maintenance, or obesity or diets. It addresses physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. It is not a religious organization and does not promote any particular diet. OA members differ in many ways, but we are united by our common disease and the solution we have found in the OA program. We practice unity with diversity, and we welcome everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively. Welcome to Overeaters Anonymous. Welcome home. Good Luck!