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I do have asthma and I am on a brown inhaler but I haven’t been on steroids as such for about 6 months I only go on steroid tablets if I get a chest infection. I will have a look into my other meds and see if they cause weight gain.

I have a job which requires pretty extensive international travel, which partly contributed to my weight gain over the past 3 years (gained 40 pounds). Eating out on an expense account 3 meals a day for 15-17 days straight in countries where there is no such thing as skim milk or even artificial sweeteners on the table is challenging to say the least. Ths year alone, I was in Russia, Poland, Turkey and Indonesia (all pre-op) and am heading to Spain at the end of July, followed by the UK in september and France and Turkey again in October and possibly Greece or Malta in December! Now I am 4 weeks out, feeling good and obsessively tracking every calorie I eat which is way more managble with every meal prepared by me. I am stressed about eating out while traveling and I don't have that small of a capacity albeit much smaller than pre-op but I don't get full that easy (6-8 ounces of food is no problem). I do plan to pack Protein shakes and maybe some Protein Bars. I want to at least replace Breakfast and lunch and only eat dinner out. I should also mention I am a big foodie loving to experience fine dining and wine and always adored finding the most amazing restaurants when I travel and trying foods I have never had before. For anyone who travels abroad, how do you manage? Any other suggestions on food to pack?

Let me tell you what's fun. Walking into ANY store and buying an outfit because you love it, not just because it fits, is fun. Pulling warm jeans out of the dryer, sliding them on and buttoning them easily is fun. Wearing bright colors and patterns is fun. Pushing away a plate of food and enjoying conversation is fun. Hiking, biking, playing frisbee, dancing without getting sweaty and out of breath right away is fun. Fitting in a roller coaster, an airplane seat, a movie theater chair, down a bus aisle, etc. is fun. Wearing heels without foot pain is fun. Getting up without knee pain, back pain or weight gain is fun. Not feeling guilty about cheating on your diet is fun. Food controlling your life is not fun. Living your life is fun.

Just a couple of observations: don't use food as a reward, two treats a week are not needed, drop the sweets for good! you might want to try an anti-depressant, wellbutrin does not promote weight gain, possibly loss. what did you eat to lose the 75 pounds? Sounds like you need to go back to this eating plan. finally the truth, stop making excuses and start using your DS to help you lose your weight you can do this just make a plan and stick with it.

Well, I was just diagnosed with this yesterday.....I've been having some serious aches and pains in my hips, knees and shoulders that I thought was just weight related..... Turns out I have an autoimmune disease called Polymyalgia Rheumatica. It's a form of arthritis. Treatment is prednisone. I had an intermuscular injection yesterday to start working on the inflammation. Not a fan at all of prednisone. It can and does increase hunger and can cause swelling and weight gain. Yay! I sort of had a feeling that something wasn't right but I didn't think is was something like this. My Rheumatologist (yes, I have one of those now) says I need to postpone my surgery until we can get this in remission. I cried all night. I have come so far, listened to people say I was taking the easy way out, have had very little support from my family but I continued on the journey to get healthy. Now my own body is fighting against me and telling me I can't have the surgery........

I lost 110 lbs during my 7-month process to get the sleeve (had to have 6 months with monthly meetings with a nutritionist). I very nearly canceled my surgery. Here's why I didn't: - The chance of losing a significant amount of weight and KEEPING it off is really low. Within 5 years something like 95-98% of people who lost weight gained it back, usually with some extra on top. Even if I lost all the weight I needed to using diet/exercise, I have never maintained a loss. My sleeve is the tool that will help me do that. - My years of overeating had really messed up my stomach. My portions of food were still too big. I completely overhauled my diet and started eating low-carb, high Protein. However, I still ate quite a lot. I would just fill up on salad or veggies, usually at least 3 normal-sized servings. If I tried smaller portions, the hunger got overwhelming and I would end up cheating. I just didn't want to take the chance. Yeah, I MIGHT be able to do this without surgery, but with surgery my chances are much, much better. I NEVER want to be 400 lbs again. Also, both my surgeon and my nutritionist said that my loss prior to surgery is a really good sign that the sleeve will work wonderfully for me, especially over the long term.

Hi all, Merry Christmas, I hope it is okay and does not offend anyone. I thought I would update this post. I saw a neurologist and after tests etc, bottom line is they found a slight abnormality in my left temporal lobe. We are watching it and I am now taking meds but other than some weight gain and NO desire to exercise it seems to be fine, but I was fine up to the day I had the seizure too. So all in, does not seem to have anything to do with my sleeve! Good news. Take care

It's tough, I know lots of people that struggled with their relationships or marriages after weight loss or gain. My SO and I were on a plan from day one to be 'healthy' together. He was severely underweight and I was overweight, he supported the surgery and has worked with me to adjust our diet (since we live together) to make it easier for me to continue my journey. He has gained 50 lbs and I have lost 90 and we've happy; but we planned to love each other and support the change. My ex though was an enabler that helped my weight gain before, he was skinny and loved to eat, lots of junk food, fast food, etc. Of course you imitate and crave by association and bam, 60 lbs I gained in the course of 4 years. Sometimes misery loves company and when we're overweight or unattractive feeling, we settle for whomever we think will take us at our worst. Truth is, we should strive to find someone that makes us better and we give back and allow them to be the best version of themselves. Grow together in a relationship and support the change; if he wants you unhealthy and unhappy (because YOUR happiness should come first) then you should consider discussing with him how that is most definitely not okay and part ways. You don't need toxic in your life and having that negativity in your life will lead to depression and back to the poor food and lifestyle changes you made to get here.

Is it normal to gain weight during the puree stage? I've been losing weight nicely but now it seems like I'm gaining. It is hard to get in all the protein so I'm working on that. But just wanted to know if anyone else has had this experience. Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

Its a worry most people have, but unfortunately, once you've gotten fat, the loose skin has already happened. If you've got stretch marks and such, your skin is already damaged and it wont snap back perfectly, no matter what you do. Its the weight GAIN that causes the loose skin, not the weight loss, which is the reason why you cant do a darn thing about it. Just take one step at a time. Lose the weight then assess the damage. It is possible for skin to snap back if its not that damaged in the first place, mine is pretty OK after 3 pregnancies and a large weight loss, which is miraculous to me. Its not perfect, but it will do.

When I had my rapid weight gain, I couldn't stand having a photo taken, and I couldn't stand looking in the mirror .... Yes, I never want to look like that, ever again! Months later, I am no longer photo shy. All the Best @@Treadmillwalker I am looking forward to your updates, later on

You may want to put the work into changing this now... You are still early out, but when you get further along flushing out your food will become an issue (as in weight gain when you are able to eat more and hunger returns) what starts out as a little will become more after awhile in my experience. the "rule" is there for a really good reason and although I don't follow every rule (I drink coffee in the mornings) I find following most of them sets you up for success long term.

Hi- I have been considering WLS for the past year. I have been overweight for about 10 years. Most of my weight gain has been caused by the hunger that has been driven by the medication I take. I don't have insurance, because in Canada it is difficult to get insurance. I have saved my money and now I am going to meet with my doctor. Overall I am healthy; no major illnesses, except for the Bipolar. My main depression is driven by my weight to be honest, so I REALLY want to get WLS. My fear is that because I am bipolar, I will be denied. We don't do psych consults here, but just the same...I am very nervous. I see this proceedure part of the solution to help get myself on track. But I am afraid to be let down. My question does anyone who has WLS also suffer from serious mental illness or bipolar, and did you have problems getting the WLS? Were the doctors concerned by your mental illness. As a side note for the most part I have been stable for the last year. Was anyone denied based on mental illness? I am very committed. I just need some feed back...and more importantly hope.

Well I am experiencing the week 2/3 stall! No weight gained or lost. I know it's part of the process but still disheartening. Anyone else experiencing this?

After a whole year (2012) of no fills due to lack of insurance, and me not being able to afford $350 p/fill, I went and got my 1st of 2 INSURED fill last month, I maintained my weight for the 11months i did not have a fill, which my Dr. said was pretty darn good, as he said he expected a weight gain, as did I. So we were both pretty surprised. 1st fill was 1/10/13 - weight was 259, 2nd January fill 1/31/13 - weight was 254. Im going for my 3rd tomorrow and i cant WAIT!!!! The hardest thing I think i had to "get used to again" was the restriction. After almost a year of being able to eat more than I should, its pretty difficult to only eat 1cup of food. Mentally this is hard. Sort of like starting over again but, Im excited and ready for 2013!!! Have any of you out there had the same experience, how did you overcome the mental hunger - bc its getting more difficult each day.

Even if you lose under your personal goal, from what I have read of people 24-36 months post-op, there is sort of a "bounce-back" of weight gain--usually between 7-15 lbs. I don't mind being a little under goal because if it happens to me I will be right where I wanted to be in the first place. Being under goal by 13 lbs, I don't feel skinny; I feel slender. I'm 5'8". I stopped losing at 14 months post-op as I added in more food and higher-calorie Snacks. If you can't finish a snack, put it away for later. I often do. Also, I keep snacks in the car and my purse so that I can get in more calories when I am away from home without eating junk food.

Hello, I am Scot, I am about 10 days from my surgery and wanted to start this log of my journey. I have undergone a psychological review, Dietary consult and had my initial Surgeons Meeting and consultation. I am now waiting for my Surgeon to schedule my Pre Op surgery appointment and have my Pre Op appointment with the hospital. This blog will be my way of talking about the crazy thoughts going through my head as I travel this... So this is real... I am really going to do this! (as long as my insurance don't get all stupid.) I have been overweight since I left the Military 18 years ago. I have diabetes, high blood pressure, and high Cholesterol. I have had Sleep Apnea most of my life (even when I was not overweight) but it has been exacerbated by my weight. My wife is scared to death that I am going to die soon. I guess what made me seek this out is that I am not ready to die. My family has a history of being a bit chunky but not to the same level as me. I teeter from 300 to 320 depending on my constant battle with weight gain. I attribute my weight gain from my experiences in the service. I don't blame the military, I did this to myself but, my military service did not help. Let me explain without going into too much detail. In Boot Camp, while the meals were somewhat balanced, they encouraged you to eat at breakneck speed. I learned how to scarf food at record pace. This habit is perpetuated all throughout my career because of commitments we have to our command, to the schedule work needing to be done, to emergent situations. Many times I would go to the galley and mess-decks to eat quickly and get back to work on something. always dreading the phone on the deck from ringing and being for me. If it was, it meant I cut my mealtime short. Exercise on a deployed ship is haphazard at best. PT in the service back then was not very directed or mandatory for a deploying unit. Physical readiness tests were held every year and it gradually got worse for me because I Think I was too dependent on directed exercise instead of self directed fitness. I became a workaholic and some things in your life suffer when you become so fixated at one facet of your life. I had a few incidents in the service that left me with PTSD, Anxiety and Depression. While it was easy to identify the depression and get that treated by the VA, it would be nearly 14 years later that I was diagnosed with the PTSD and Anxiety to receive the help I needed. I have been working with Psychologists and Psychiatrists on the PTSD and Anxiety issues and I have gotten them (somewhat) to a dull roar in my head. One of the factors of my weight gain has been identified as my use of food to dull and cover up the anxiety and stress I have on a daily basis. Once this dawned on me, I realized that this was a huge contributing factor of my Obesity. My wife has watched me grow since 2000 from the slightly pudgy man I was, to this gigantic bellied man that waddles when he walks. I know I have been discounted at work for my appearance, although I have proved my value time and time again. I need this to stop. It took nearly a year of my wife coaxing me to investigate the process and we finally have the means to cover the costs. I am 110% onboard with this process. I used to be a confident, charismatic, and healthy young man. I want to regain that confidence and health back so that I can begin to enjoy my life instead of constantly fighting my weight all the time. Is this surgery going to fix me?? Not likely on its own, I have no illusions that this surgery is going to be the magic process in which I regain my health. This surgery is a tool for me to use to win the fight against my obesity. the surgery will cause irrevocable changes to the way I live. I have been spending the last month and a half working on breaking habits and removing some of the most difficult issues from my diet. in 10 days, this will change drastically insomuch that the current things I am doing will need to be stopped and I will need to start taking care of me, feed myself correctly, listen to my body on such a different emotional level than I have ever needed to. This SCARES the hell out of me. If this process doesn't scare someone, then they need to sit down, read about the changes, and realize this is such a drastic change in their life. This isn't about going to get a tummy tuck or liposuction, This is a complete reworking of your digestive system. don't drink before or after meals. Eat SLOWLY. No Sugar. These actions are what I do all the time, and I have to stop. This is going to require drastic measures. I believe I am ready. Step one is making the Decision. I went to a seminar put on by my surgeons practice, and it was very informative. there was a full room of people. The one thing I noticed in the crowd that I felt like I was different than these people. I listened to the seminar and watched people around me. I felt like I was in a room full of people that felt it would be completely different than what the speaker was saying. I heard lots of scoffing from people that are in a worse position than I am. I know this isn't for everyone. But the sheer lack of consideration from some of these people. I had done about a week of research and I read a lot of stories, both good and bad. I think most people do read as much as they can about the procedures. Many of the people in the room seemed to have their opinions formed prior to the seminar. Many of them had false information that was corrected by the speaker (She was a saint dealing with a couple people there) I worry about one thing... delaying the surgery because of insurance. Insurance is the evil right now. I fear that is what is holding up my next appointments. We shall see over the next few days what happens. thanks for reading. I will be back.

I saw my surgeon last week and he said all is well and to begin eating normally over the weekend. I thought that was sounding good until I began eating again. I had lost weight pretty consistently in the beginning then gained and lost the same pound or two for a week. Today I weighed in and gained 3 pounds! I haven't had a fill and feel little to no restriction and understand that when you go from liquids only to mushies, to real food the odds are that your body will try to hang on to it and weight gain is likely. Maybe I was in denial about it all, but gosh, those 3 pounds are gnawing at me like crazy! I am not eating a lot and exercising, so I hoped I wouldn't gain but I did. I am looking forward to my first fill (which will be later than usual since doc will be on vacation. :thumbup:) Oh well, I just had to vent. It's just a frustrating day.

As of today i have lost 30lbs since my preop diet and the surgery. That means i added my 3rd bead. But the most exciting thing today is i noticed i have lost 5 points off my BMI... now thats exciting a long way to go but Yay. I am a bit worried as of today i am on high dose steriods due to a bad case of bronchitis and that is a worry cause it causes blood sugar spikes and weight gain. So got to watch it..

I think the patient can overeat excess calories and begin to regain weight and I also think the WLS can have issues and I also think the combination of patient and WLS surgery can also cause weight gain back. To gain weight, we must eat more calories than we can burn off. This is how I got super morbid obese. I wish the newer patients would not put so much (the WLS MUST work) while I dont change a thing attitude. Some are finding that WLS is not easy and its not a miracle. It will help the person but the person must also make changes. I know that as I am talking about myself.

Your age has a lot to do with whether you loose some elasticity in your skin making the loose skin not to go away. It also has a lot to do with how obese you got b4 you got your weight loss operation. Usually the hair loss is minimal & whether hair loss runs in your family, especially if women in your family hair thins with age. The skin on your face is always thinner when you loose weight quickly but most of it goes back to whatever is normal for your face shape. Look at photos of yourself b4 you started gaining weight as a child if need be. When skin is stretched out from becoming obese or even pregnancies, everyone is different from their body shapes & skin's elasticity. Some lucky few women never get stretch makes during pregnancy. The more stretch marks that occurred during your weight gain the less likely your skin will snap back firm to when you were a child or teen. The healthier way you feel loosing weight is the biggest plus ever than staying extremely obese! I've gotten off high blood pressure meds for the 1st time in my adult life & I'm 65. I started getting extremely obese in my mid20s. So I can honestly say I am really enjoying my 60s more than my late 20s, 30s, 40s & 50s because I can walk without getting short of breath & I can actually buy stylish clothes finally. There are side effects to being obese & side effects to surgery. Exercise once your able to! But if the loose skin is your main hate of loosing your weight then you need to save money to get it removed or wear shape garments so you feel better looking in your smaller clothes. For Pete's sake even thin movie stars wear spanks under their red carpet outfits BC they try to elude perfection. We're all our own worst enemies no matter how rich & famous you are. Lol Be so proud of yourself what you did to help yourself & never give up BC the best is yet to come. Smiles goes miles & a huge healer for your outlook on life! Big hugs to you all with a smile included! Sent from my VK700 using the BariatricPal App

For me- my immediate family and a friend who had GB as a support system. My weight gain (mostly) was due to having rheumatoid arthritis. The high doses of daily prednisone along with IV decadron monthly as well as many other meds, the lack of mobility due to the pain caused me to 1) blow up and 2) created iatrogenic adrenal insufficiency ( no adrenal function- no metabolism). Friends and neighbors watched me grow over the course of 5 years. Then it was simply status quo- I was fat. But trying to explain that I was having GB to lose the weight and take the pressure off of my joints just sounds like an excuse. ( even to me) Therefore when asked about why I was having surgery, my response is simply- my stomach suffered horrid side effects from all my RA meds so they had to operate. Kind of the truth!!

It spread to my neck. They started me on a steroid pack today - I don't feel like I am banded at all - I am starving - and eating like crazy. I feel very little restriction. I am super swollen - I hope that is what the weight gain is. I had gained 7 lbs when I went to the dr. today. I am trying to eat healthy. Okay - so the brownies weren't healthy - but they were low fat The steroids make me feel like I am running out of my skin. I feel like a humming bird. A huge freaking spotted humming bird. :-) The steroids are helping. I take 6 doses today. Everytime I take a dose - the bumps go away for a couple of hours. Hopefully it will get rid of them totally soon. Funny - at the Dr.s office - little kids were pointing and talking about me - and I knew it wasn't because I was fat! I guess you had to be there - in the elevator - I got in and everyone moved to the other side :-) too funny. I almost wish I was contagious!

A friend of mine that is rather robust in the bust department has a winnie-the-pooh on the top of her left breast..........over the years pooh has gotten taller and thinner It just sort of happens even without weight gain/loss. Mine are on the back of my neck and my foot so I don't anticipate any problems.......will wait to get my next one after I reach goal, maintain it for a year, and pay for my new boobs

So you've lost about 40lb in two months, that is excellent given your start weight, I would say your fluctuations are just that and no cause for panic. The small weight gains you've experienced (along with the excellent weight loss) may be your weight loss pattern. Very few people lose weight on a continually down pattern...most of us have stalls, weight gains and and losses, this is just how our bodies are even with weight loss surgery.