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DJmohr, Congratulations on your NSV. Honestly, I treasure these more than the number on the scales! Way to go- looking forward to hearing more of these from you and others on this journey. I am 12 weeks out from my VSG surgery and a slow loser ( but at 61 I didn't expect it to be an overnight thing anyway). Today since its in the 100 degree range in Dallas, I was scrounging through a box of old, pre-weight gain clothes for some shorts in a size 14 or 16. While looking I saw a dress I wore about 4 years ago, a size 12. Just on a lark I decided to try it on and to my amazement it fit , not even tight at all! I did a happy dance right then and there. Like you, I did this for health, but the improvement of self image is an important part of the recovery process and keeping the motivation in high gear. Although I wasn't seeing the weight loss everyone congratulated me on, today it finally registered. I'll second the Woot !

The sugary drinks don't have to be soda, Kool aid, my doctor considers sugary drinks anything other than water and zero calorie power ades Gatorade ... He's not a fan of real fruit smoothies either.... Natural sugar can also affect weight gain.

Yeah I had a huge argument yesterday with family haha they think I shouldn't lose anymore and it just baffles me... I only want 5 more kilos to go too! I just checked my BMI and I'm in the healthy range haha wow! At the end of the healthy range but still in it! My gym membership fell through.. Really wanna get into the gym just so expensive.. I definitely need to tone up quite a bit.. Maybe it isn't so much weight but more tightening up a little I dunno! Hate my arms and legs! ALSO been one year since banding, no weight gain very happy, that in itself is a success as well as the 40kgs I've lost I'd like to get into a size 10 my family make me feel like I'm severely underweight or something and that I see myself as obese... I feel like I'm realistic, I know that I'm average weight, a little chubby at the moment.. I just want a little extra off haha they drive me crazy. And they're all smaller than me!!! Maybe they think we'll be too hot?

You are doing awesome and I admire your commitment and progress. What does a good day / bad day look like for me? I have more bad days than good. I am still trying to break out of my old habits of sitting around and pondering doing something. I must say that this sleeve has given me my life back. I was on all kinds of high blood pressure meds at least three, plus cholesterol med and taking the diabetic pill. I gained close to 20lbs in the time I signed up for the surgery and going through my meetings. I strongly believe my meds are to blame for most of my 20lb weight gain. but I digress. I also felt before surgery everyday as if I was about to have a heart attack, after surgery this pain went away. A good day: 7am- 8am Wake up drink my protein shale within 30min of waking 23 g protein. followed by a 20oz of water walk for 30 min followed by 20z of water wait 20 min 1 egg with spinach maybe low fat cheese/ turkey bacon (once a day multi Vitamin, Opurity, so gross) Snack hour later Protein Drink 23 g protein and a snack I love cucumbers and tomatoes in a sweet vinaigrette sauce with seasoning more 20oz water (when water gets boring I use a zero calorie sweeter) lunch grilled chicken breast (what I can eat of it) 20oz water ( 2 Calcium citrate pills) Snack boiled egg fancied up/ or chicken salad Dinner baked salmon (what I can eat) Broccoli/roasted sweet potato 20z water 45min to an hour later with 2 calcium citrate pills Snack diced apples/mixed nuts unsalted water I try to get in 120 oz of water which will hydrate me and flush out the fat. most days this isn't possible but I try also I try to get my longest walk in in the morning so anywhere from 30 min to an hour. 30 min is 1 1/2 mile and and an hour is about 3 miles my goal is 5 miles a day which most days do not happen. I usually get those in by doing 10 minutes at a time in-between doing other things. or late night on the treadmill catching a movie or video or something. Bad day they very from OMG bad to just barely bad wake up 9am and just lay there , Vitamins, protein shake 20oz of water no Breakfast no snack lunch is breakfast, no exercise fried egg or piece of chicken grilled (calcium citrate) usually no exercise on this day no snack/ no water / no protien dinner Grilled chicken water/ 2 calcium citrate snack protein drink I avoid carbs and usually look at the package if it has more than 5 g of carbs I usually avoid it there are some exceptions but very rare. I am losing slowly and I am okay with that because it is consistent. I know once my exercise picks up I will lose more. Right now I am averaging weight loss of maybe 2 or 3 pounds a week.

@@Luna222 Bummer on the weight gain. But I agree with Amylynns with the period thing Water retention does work against you. Once this period is over you will make great progress. The journaling is a great idea because it makes you stop and think about what you are eating and it tells you exactly what you have been eating. Even though it's incredible that we can gain weight given the reality of our surgery from what I read the cause is mostly due to the fact that we can eat small amounts all day long. We are not really hungry but a couple bites here and there add up. I have been guilty of that at times. I started to notice a pattern with me. I was snaking more because my meals were too small and too quick. In other words, I have to have a Breakfast if I am hungry or not or I'll tend to snack. A slice of cheese and two crackers, then 1/2 of a banana with 2 potato chips, etc. They are small but if I have 4 of those in a morning I am eating way more calories then if I eat a single egg with veggies or berries. I love mild swiss cheese and eat it as a snack. A single rolled slice is such a treat to me but I could have 6 in a day. That's a lot of extra calories I don't need. I am stalled right now at 167.4 for a week. It's incredible that everyday the exact same weight appears. You would think it would vary even a .1 or something. I think it's because my activity level is not very high. I do sit around a bit too much. Time to rock and roll. I have to find a project that gets my body moving.

@@globetrotter You've lost about a pound a week. Good for you. I think you've established you have a slow metabolism, and now I think you've established you know what to do to lose weight, and that you can lose it. That's good news for you! My advice is to stop stewing in the fact that it's slower than you want, and a lot of hard work, because when you are fighting yourself, that just makes the weight loss battle that much worse. If you were my daughter (and I have 3 of them whom I love more than anything) I would tell you to stop wallowing in your own self pity because you are making yourself miserable. I always remind them not to be a victim. We choose our happiness. But since you are not my daughter, I won't tell you that. Having said all that, I do understand where you are coming from. Most of us got dealt a bad hand when it comes to weight management. Whether it's a genetic predisposition to weight gain, a lifetime of bad habits, or something else resulting in weight gain, there is not one WLS person who doesn't have to battle. The realization that it's going to be a lifetime of rigid dieting and there is no wiggle room is a little disheartening. It's probably our worst nightmare on so many levels to experience regain. Staying thin is not as simple as "a new way of life" for me. It is a full time job for me, and I consider it job one, all day, everyday. I wish that weren't true, but it's my reality. I've learned to be happy anyway.

Hey guys. I had POSE in June 2011. Lost 61 lbs and was within 25 lbs of goal when I got pregnant (which is one reason I had the procedure). Had our miracle baby in Nov 2012, lost all the weight from pregnancy, picked back up with bootcamps and started cross fit. Had to quit cross fit in November 2014 and in March the weight started piling back on. Lack of exercise, my stomach was stretched back out prior to the weight gain, I just kept the weight off with a buttload of working out and only maintained. Multiple nodules were found on my thyroid but benign, have PCOS...so a couple things working against me there plus what I caused myself. Anyway, now I've gained right at 30 lbs and will be going for a revision soon. There's more to my story but just wanted to share a little about me. Right now, I'm just wondering how many here have had POSE and revised to sleeve? Sleeve is what I originally wanted but insurance won't cover and I was scared of complications. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have done sleeve to begin with. If you're revised from POSE, please share your experience with me. Thank you in advance!

I completely understand. I'm in the same boat. I'm so excited for this journey, it's odd to me because everything is happening so smoothly. The only small hiccup that I had was my surgeon strongly suggested that I have the bypass and not the sleeve after he observed my results from my endoscopy. I have to terrible reflux, who knew? My surgeon said there's a very small percentage of people who have it, but have no real symptoms, well nothing making me uncomfortable or pain, just a lot of burping. So now I'm on the bypass track, which is completely fine with me. I've completed my first appointment, endoscopy, 2 of 3 dietician appts, psych evaluation, I'll be attending a support group next Monday. I just have to make sure there's no weight gain. I didn't have to lose weight before the surgery. I do have a 3 day liquid diet. I'm 5', 243 lbs, with a bmi 47. I'm excited too! I just excited to start seeing results! Oh! My surgery date is October 12th. If there are any other October dates, I'd love to buddy up. ???? Good luck to everyone!

Well, that's a whole lotta new info. Once again, you experienced your experience. And you understand things from your perspective (based on what you think you know). But there's a lot you misunderstand and don't know. As others have noted, your lack of knowledge revealed in your OP about how WLS patients can retain most of their muscle mass (or even increase their muscle mass) while losing weight is unfortunate -- not just because it's wrong and sad, but because you're using it to rationalize your own experience. And that and your other rationalizations will block your future progress. Before I had WLS surgery, I did learn about the nutritional and exercise best practices for post-op WLS patients. I learned that post-op while losing weight I should eat a lot of Protein and exercise regularly to avoid losing a lot of muscle mass. And it turns out, because I followed my bariatric center's instructions, that's exactly what happened. Of the 90+ pounds I've lost after WLS only 12 pounds of it was muscle. I'm not guessing or assuming this. I've had pre- and post-WLS body mass measurements taken. As a result, my lean body mass has increased 15%. BTW, all of the things you started doing 1 week ago (3 years after your WLS) -- tracking your calories and other macronutrients and tracking your steps -- I started doing 2.5 months before my WLS. In other words, I never considered that WLS alone was going to fix me without me also changing my own behaviors / lifestyle. I'm sorry that WLS didn't work out for you. For that, you have only your own impulsiveness and your continuing lack of education about WLS to blame. But that's in the past. Looking forward, you'll be well served by not continuing to remain ignorant. More importantly, your rationalizations about WLS won't serve you well either. If you really want to debug your weight challenges, you'll need to keep trying to understand accurately what caused your post-op weight gain. For others reading this, the OP's posts here illustrate some important truths about WLS: (1) WLS should not be undertaken lightly. (2) WLS patients MUST take responsibility for understanding nutritional, exercise and other behavioral requirements for post-op self-care. (3) WLS can be a wonderful aid to losing and maintaining one's weight loss long-term IF patients don't suffer the delusion that surgery is all they need to achieve success. Best wishes to everyone out there who's considering WLS. Educate yourself as much as you possibly can. Seek therapy if you need it. As the saying around here goes, "They operate on your stomach, not your head."

The reality is WLS surgery is a tool, whether someone diets or have weight surgery they can still can put on weight if they don't manage their food intake and exercise. Yes people do rush into having the surgery without thinking the long term. It took me 7 years before deciding to have surgery because I wanted to try other diets and see if I could lose weight myself. The person who started this thread I'm sadden by your weight gain, only because the problem is not the weight surgery the problem is that you have not manage or learnt how to maintain and adjust to the new lifestyle 3 years on. The thing is you will see have make changes if you dieted on something else. You should take strength in the comments from this thread and start with a fresh. No point in being angry with regrets, live with it, learn from your experience and move on. Everyone one experience is different thank god!

Here is the link to Aetna Clinical Policy Bulletin on WLS. You cannot have a net weight gain http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/100_199/0157.html

When I met my husband of 8 years ago I already had RnY surgery...and was at my lowest adult weight at that time and looking and feeling fabulous! But about 4-5 years ago I started gaining weight and I can tell although he does not say anything he does not like the weight gain. I decided finally to seek a revision of my previous procedure and I am currently in the preop surgery process with all the tests and appts., we have talked about it and he is happy either way with my decision to do the revision surgery or to continue trying to lose it without surgery. People's inner self can manifest at any time,so for some the weightloss was their catalyst sadly!!

Ok. So I WILL reply to this one. The "truth" hurts? Girlfriend, your OPINION is NOT "truth" just as MY opinion is not truth. You can totally own your experiences, but what you've done does not apply to all, I am proof of that. First and foremost, anyone who "decides to have the sleeve" and is on the table two weeks later really needs to do some self reflection as does anyone who will openly state that they did not realize this procedure was permanent. I am also 5'3, was sleeved while I was "young" (by your definition) and my body is MUCH healthier than it's ever been. My body fat is down to the low end of the "ideal" range and butted right up to "lean". I have some loose skin, for sure, but underneath it, I am strong and fit. I did my research, I worked my plan, and I exercised my body. Anyone who does not is operating on foolishness. I must say, I'm curious. If you are such an expert on weight gain/loss/nutrition/fitness, why the regain? Why is your regain the fault of the sleeve? Serious question.

Oh this makes me soooo excited! I am a 40DD, and would LOVE to be back to a B. I hate the weight of them and how much bigger I look with them too. I did lose a ton of weight twice before after 2 of my kids and I don't remember losing much up there...I was smaller before the weight gain too.

About 8 1/2 years ago, I finally got to the point where I was tired of being fat and started looking into having bariatric surgery. I researched everything I could find, and I thought that the Lap-Band was the best fit for me. At the time, the only options available to me were Lap-Band and RNY bypass. VSG was not very common in the United States at the time, and was not covered by most insurance plans. As a comparative light-weight (I was in the high 30s BMI, and just barely had a BMI of 40 the day of surgery), I thought that the lap-band was the perfect solution. At the time, it was being heavily advertised as "the next big thing" in bariatrics, with a projected success rate that rivaled or exceeded the RNY bypass at 5 years out, and was "fully reversible." So, I got approved by insurance. Everything started out well. Even though I was a "light-weight," once I had decent restriction, I was losing weight at a steady pace. And the restriction? Well, the common practice then was to make the band so tight that you were physically limited in the amounts and types of foods you could eat. We were encouraged to only be able to eat 1/4-1/2 cup of food at a time. The downside to this restriction? Severe acid reflux. My surgeon didn't think anything of it, and gave me the option of taking proton pump inhibitors or coming in to reduce the amount of Fluid. But when you've been fat your entire life, and you FINALLY have the dream of being thin within reach, what's a little acid reflux? Obviously, I chose the proton pump inhibitor. Eventually, that didn't even control the acid. I couldn't eat or drink within 4-5 hours of bed. I was sleeping propped up on a steep foam wedge with another pillow or two on top of it. And I was still waking up choking on stomach acid. Eventually, what broke the camel's back was that my chest was constantly hurting throughout the day, I had a nagging cough, and my voice was noticeably hoarse. I drove the 7 hours to see the doctor to have an emergency unfill. My acid reflux improved, but I was still having severe shoulder pain periodically and athough I'd reached my goal weight and lost 100% of my excess weight, I slowly began to gain weight. A few months after being unfilled, I received a job offer and moved across the country. My new job was in a tiny town several hours from the closest bariatric surgeon. Of course, even though I was gaining weight, I was much smaller than I started out. The weight gain continued, though. Eventually, I decided to find a new surgeon and get back on track for fills. At the first appointment, he looked at the band under fluoroscopy and said that it needed to be removed or replaced/repositioned, as I'd apparently been living for quite some time with a MASSIVE slip. He was surprised that I hadn't needed emergency intervention, since he said that even with most of the fill gone, I only had a space the size of a pencil eraser for food to pass from the upper chamber to the lower. At that point, I was interested in revising to the sleeve, but unfortunately, I was told that my insurance at the time probably wouldn't cover it. So, I got a new band. And the only thing that improved was that I didn't have reflux or shoulder pain. I couldn't obtain good restriction, and I was afraid to even attempt it because I was 7 hours from my surgeon. My weight just kept climbing and climbing. At the beginning of this year, I had a major issue. I made the mistake of trying to eat a raw carrot. I'd eaten them regulary. I chewed well. It still got stuck, and I suffered through a severe episode of PBing and sliming while at work. After that, my reflux came back with a vengeance, to the point where I had to have all of the fluid removed from my band. The Upper GI Series showed no slippage, so apparently I just can't tolerate the restriction anymore (even though I didn't have much in the first place). Eight years after my original surgery and 4 years after my replacement surgery, here I am. I'm only 10 pounds from my original pre-surgery weight. I finally decided that I'd had enough. It was time for either revision to another surgery or just yanking the damned thing out entirely. What's the point of having it if it isn't doing me any good? Without restriction, it's useless, and my body simply won't tolerate restriction from the band anymore. So, after 7 months of jumping through hoops, insurance denials, appeals, and finally resorting to a peer-to-peer appeal, I am approved for a revision. I'm getting this damned thing removed! I don't have my surgery date yet, but the end is in sight! I'd originally been interested in the sleeve, but after consulting with my new surgeon and doing a lot of research, I decided the best route would be RNY bypass, due to my metabolism issues and lack of long-term data for the VSG as a stand-alone surgery. I am so sick of this journey and I want it to be over. I'm sick of trying to do things "the hard way." We're so conditioned to think that something has to be difficult in order for it to be worthwhile. I've tried doing it the difficult way, and sure, I lost weight temporarily. I also got tooth and vocal chord damage, issues with my vagus nerve, vigilance about knowing where all the bathrooms are in a building, and my metabolism got shot to hell (even more than it already was with PCOS). So here's to me finally getting back on the loser's bench and getting on with my life. All I can say is that this has been a long, hard, embarrassing journey, and I'm glad it's finally coming to an end. For those of you who've had long-term success with the band, my hat is off to you, and I hope that you never get put in my position. For those of you who are just looking into the band as an option, all I can ask is that you consider my story and really put some thought into what you are doing. As much as it's reversibility is advertised, this isn't a simple surgery where you can just have it removed if it doesn't work and everything is just like you never had it. If you're in a position where it has to be removed, you're likely to have lasting damage to your stomach, damage to your esophagus or vocal chords, adhesions, scar tissue around your stomach or where the port was located, etc. So please, research, talk to people, network, and KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING INTO. There is no "good as new" after this surgery.

My doc told me the weight loss pretty much caps off at 2 years, so if you haven't reached goal by that time, you probably won't be getting any more help from the sleeve. He said that your body does adjust at that point to the amount of food and level of activity, and you would be back to working hard "the old fashioned way" to lose weight/gain muscle. But he did say that he wanted to see me hit his goal within 1 year or so. Thing is, I have no idea what his goal for me is actually (guess I need to ask?). He mentioned early on that he wants "70% of my excess weight off" but I have no idea what he considers excess weight since going by standard height/weight measurements won't work for every body type, especially mine (I'm a big boned, big boobed girl and always have been even as a teen before I gained all my weight). I have MY goals, and I'm pretty sure I'll come darned close (and be thrilled with where I end up). I honestly don't care what he wants me to be, I'll stick with my own ideas about what weight will be a happy place for me.

Hello I just recently created an account in hopes of receiving some help and advice from gastric sleeve patients (It took me a lot of courage to decide to do this though). I hope I am asking in the right place though hehe. Anyways, I have had my vsg on August 4th 2014 at the age of 17 and so far I am over 80 pounds down! My sw was 220lbs and I am hoping to be near 102-110 pounds (I am only 4 foot 10). I have a few questions so bear with me please I have had my vsg in a different country than in the one I currently live in so I do not have anyone to kinda follow up with. I was also given a nutrition plan for the first 6 months only(although it was quite vague). Right now, I am currently struggling with a lot of grazing. I have never been the one to actually eat a proper meal before my surgery and I grazed instead, but right now I am grazing non stop through the day especially on sweet things. Sadly, this has resulted in me in stalling for a few months and then putting on 2 pounds and i decided to seek advice before I gain more. Also, my family eats completely different things than I do, so I am literally left on my own to figure it out and it is hard to cook and such since I was busy with my last year of high school and I will be starting university soon. I looked up online and a lot of surgeons or nutritionists say no snacking while others encourage it. I believe that maybe having 1-2 planned Snacks would help since I am awake for a long period of time and if I try only sticking to 3 meals I feel like gnawing my own arm hehe I am sticking to Protein but sometimes I am just overwhelmed or bored because I keep eating the same things everyday (I do love chicken though!). I was hoping if someone could share their food choices/meal plans with me if possible or maybe easy things I can cook for myself? Lastly, I was hoping if there are other people who have lost weight everywhere except for their belly. I have lost weight in my whole body and a bit in my belly, but it seems to be the only place where there is stubborn fat (I am apple shaped) and my belly is just hanging and nothing seems to help.( I am guessing that's why I am a bit carb sensitive and I need to completely cut carbs out if i want to lose weight.) Thank you very much in advance and hoping to meet other people as well

It's been a journey that is for sure! How are you all doing? Success? Hard times? Weight loss? Weight gain? I want to hear - I've hit many plateaus and want to see how everyone else is doing 15 months out!

Yes, I was losing weight rapidly before surgery. I considered continuing just exercise but I was at a point where I could not afford to leave room for failure. I honestly thought I would get the sleeve and try to work my calories up to past 1000 and start building up exercise again slowly. I read a ton and still misjudged how little I might eat. The problem is (I think) prior to surgery it would not be a big deal to go long times without eating. I am now having to relearn forcing myself to sit and eat throughout the day. I love exercise... Always have. My weight gain was after losing a child, and then a mom and sister over a span of about five years. The worst was while my mom and sis had cancer across the country and I spent those years traveling back and forth several times a month with a baby and then toddler. I ate horrible, ate from stress, and dropped off on exercise. Following all that I returned to exercise for sanity but also realized I had now been overweight for years. I am an active person and fortunately remained "fit" while being heavy in that I could still take on activities easily. As it stands now I do have energy but just enough for playing with my son outside, work, housework, etc. I feel weak sometimes during the day and I guess I am mostly worried if I head out to exercise I don't want to crash. I am going to try the suggestions along here. I don't want to just lose weight, but want to stay fit. I have the base from before and I love and miss my long walks, so I guess I will have to slowly work back up to them. BTW, I was sleeved July 4 and I am down 40 pounds. I just want to make sure I am losing it in a strong way and not just by deficiency. Hope this clarifies where I am at.

The more reliable research findings I've seen in this area support the consistent conclusion that individuals' differing genetic "instructions" convert calories to more or fewer pounds, depending on a wide-ranging calories = pounds equation. For example, these summarized findings at http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/20/3/166.full ... One study examined the effects of overfeeding on weight gain in pairs of monozygotic twins.24 Although all of the individuals in the study consumed the same amount of calories for the same amount of time (approximately 3 months), there was a large variation in the degree of weight gain, from 8.8 to 29.3 lb, among different individuals. However, the amount of weight gain was very similar within each twin pair. The reverse also holds true. When moderately obese monozygotic twins were kept on a low-calorie diet, the amount of weight loss varied greatly among different pairs of twins.25 However, within each pair of twins, the amount of weight loss was quite similar. These results indicate that the body's response to changes in caloric intake is dictated at least in part by genetics. Another line of evidence supporting the role of genetics in body weight regulation came from comparison of metabolic differences in individuals belonging to different ethnicities. In one study, a group of overweight women (average BMI ∼ 29 kg/m2) were kept on a low-calorie diet for a period of time until their BMI decreased to < 25 kg/m2, the defined upper range of what is considered normal weight.26 When these age-, weight-, and BMI-matched women were separated based on ethnicity (in this case African-American or white), differences in resting energy expenditure were apparent before and after weight loss. Although this study involved only a limited number of subjects, the results nevertheless suggest that individuals belonging to different ethnic groups differ in metabolic efficiency; those with lower energy expenditure while maintaining the same body weight are more efficient and therefore more prone to weight gain. Interestingly, African-American women had larger decreases in resting energy expenditure after weight loss, suggesting that they may be at higher risk to regain the lost weight. In addition, children belonging to different ethnicities also have different resting energy expenditures.27

I wouldn't use the "weight gain" protein, but you should be getting more calories if you get in all your protein. Make sure you are getting in all your protein every day and then you can work on adding healthy carbs and fats. I would recommend that you work with your NUT closely to make sure you are getting proper nutrition.

I'm in the same boat. A trainer suggested that I use a weight gain Protein enhancer that people use to gain weight. They are high in calories and was told to use it before my work out. GNC carries these. I have a doc appointment tomorrow and will ask about this. It makes sense, but, seems so wrong. jake

Did you gained weight during your 6 months visit? If so did you still get approve ? I have amerigroup they don't require me to lose but I'm afraid I gained last months I was on my period, and I gained this month :/ and on my period too

Thank you all for your kind replies. It's such a fine balance as many of us long-term bandsters can attest to. I think the common problem that I see in many of the posts of long-term bandsters (and that I myself suffered from) is that the "perfect" fill (if such a thing ever exists) ends up becoming too tight a few years down the line, which leaves us with one of two choices: 1) a small unfill + being extra careful in order not to gain weight back 2) complications that may lead to larger unfills (and thus more risk of weight gain) or revision surgery all together. I am not the most compliant bandster but not the worst either so this continues to be a struggle for me, 5+ years out. I also suffered from an eating disorder in the past (binge eating) so need to be careful of not overly restricting my food choices as this seems to fuel it. Thank you all again. I will definitely keep you posted...

Hello All, I have been a long-time lurker of those boards but am posting for the first time in need of some advice and support. I have been banded for about 5.5 years now. I have originally lost about 90 pounds from an all-time high of 270 lb and had gone down to 180 lb by the end of the second year before slowly settling for 190 lb for a couple more years after that. The issue started last year. I hadn’t gotten a fill in over a year and a half at that time and that last fill (only 0.05 cc) helped stabilize my weight at 190 lb and prevent further weight gain. I was starting though in the last few months to feel really tight, pbing on a regular basis because I was eating in a hurry, not chewing enough, etc…, had mild heartburn occasionally, etc… As I was feeling uncomfortable with the constant PBing and the “tight” feeling in my chest and stomach, I had a tiny unfill of 0.05 cc for fear of doing permanent damage to the band and losing it. This settled all my band and stomach problems right away. 14 months later, I no longer struggle with PBing, heartburn or the uncomfortable tight chest feeling, feel great and all around healthier (I am able to eat more and better). On the negative side, I found myself gaining another 15 pounds over those 14 months, 6 of which I was able to lose through good eating and exercise, putting me at around +- 199 lb. I am posting because I have been thinking for a couple of months about getting that small fill (0.05 cc) back. This is a big decision for me, not only because of my past issues with that last fill, but also because I live 2,000 km away from where I had my surgery so getting a fill/ unfill costs me a good +$500 to fly back and forth. I have tried for many years to have a WL centre here do my fills/ unfills but they won’t see me because I had my surgery done elsewhere. I am also not sure I want someone other than my regular doctor do my fills/ unfills. So my question to you all: is should I go for this tiny fill back or not? I know that at my current fill level, I will not have any issues with my band for many years to come as I am on the loser side of things (though still have good restriction but can eat around the band more that I was able to with the tiny fill in). I am struggling with weight gain though and need to be very careful with every bite I eat to prevent any further weight gain. On the other hand, with that tiny fill back, I am confident I can get back to 190 lb and stay there effortlessly, but will have to suffer more eating wise. I also worry that in the longer term, I would do permanent damage to the band and thus either have to have a much larger unfill for things to settle down or revision surgery like I see happen to many long-term bansters. And this is a risk I cannot tolerate at this point as I live far away from my surgeon and have no money for any revision surgery (I was self-pay). Any words of advice/ support would be most appreciated. Thanks, Seldom