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I am 7 months out, down 91lbs since last Jan...but lately the scale has only moved up!! Not eating anything different...since 6mos dr visit have actually increased protein, doing more resistance and weights, and taking my vitamins...i have gained 4lbs...this freaks me out!!! I am self pay and feel like If I'm not losing I may have wasted a lot of money!! I'm scared that this is it and I have a lot more to lose!!! Really tempted to go back to my crash diet thinking to shake things up...help!!!

I weigh every day. It keeps me focused. and acts as a gentle daily reminder to file in the back of my head for the rest of the day. I found in past dieting that when I weighed daily, I did better....no kidding myself that having that piece of cake won't make that much difference....and most of the time, it is a positive reinforcer. The thing is, occasional weight gain is inevitable-- Water retention, body chemistry changes, whatever. I have had times when I am eating and taking in liquids perfectly (I keep daily track of all that), and I stay the same weight for days--then all of a sudden, I lose 2 lbs overnight! So please don't get discouraged about occasional weight gain...it's just that if it's on-going, that may take some re-evaluating. Please don't worry about the weight gain right after surgery. My doc said almost everyone does. Your body went through so much, including lots of gas, water retention, etc. You'll feel so much better about everything in a week or two. AND, if you are taking any pain meds, that means constipation! Best of luck to you! I think you will do great!

I'm going to say not getting enough Water in. I'm at 4 weeks out today and my appt yesterday registered at an 8 pounds weight gain. There is no way partial way I could do that. I really dropped in my water intake so I'm hoping my numbers go down real soon. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

Keeping you eye on weight gains and then going back to logging your eating with some exercise will drop your weight back down. Congratulations and celebrate your one year with something for you!! ( not food)

Hey Lissa, as far as last year it was. I'm so glad I stopped taking it when I did. I heard of weight gain but didn't think it was going to be so much...

As someone who has depression, anxiety and bipolar II I'm wondering why on earth they'd take you off meds like that. I'm assuming you're in a withdrawal state - there are a lot of newer antidepressants that aren't bad with the weight gain. As stated above, a good therapist really helps. I see one every week. But, I'm not surprised you're having a hard time if they took you off meda like that cold turkey. I'd definitely see a psychiatrist and a therapist for help.

i have mirena iud, good for 5 years, light to no period for me. no weight gain

I know we all hear about how important it is to drink Water and I probably hear it more than most, as I get it drilled into me every morning at our Safety Meetings on the mine site. They are constantly telling us about hydration/dehydration and have a very high focus on it, because of the heat out on the mine. I thought I'd heard everything there was to hear about how good water was for you, but today they gave us some new information and a lot of it really made an impact and is particularly relevant to weight loss, so I thought I would share it with you all. I've underlined the really interesting bits. WATER How 8 glasses a day keeps fat away Water is the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off. It is important to drink 8-10 glasses (approximately 2 litres) a day. You should also increase the amount if you exercise briskly or if the weather is hot and dry. It should preferably be cold because it absorbs into the system quicker than warm water. If you're not getting enough water, your body fluids will be thrown off balance and you may experience Fluid retention, unexplained weight gain and loss of thirst. Ultimately, when your body gets the water it needs to function at its best, its fluids are perfectly balanced. Water supresses the appetite and helps the body metabolise fat The kidneys need enough water to function properly. When they aren't receiving enough, some of their workload is dumped onto the liver. The liver's main function is to metabolise stored fat into energy for your body to use. Therefore, when the liver has to do some of the kidney's work, it will not function fully. This results in the metabolism of less fat, therefore more fat remains stored in the body and weight loss stops. Drinking enough water is good for fluid retention When your body is not getting enough water, it begins to hold on to every drop possible to survive. When this happens, water starts to store itself outside cells and this can lead to swollen feet, legs and hands. To prevent this from happening, you must drink plenty of water! By doing this, you will be releasing the stored water from cells. An overweight person needs more water than a thin person Larger people have large metabolic loads and since water is essential for fat metabolism, it is clear that an overweight person would need a large amount. Water helps maintain proper muscle tone Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone by giving them the ability to contract. It also helps to prevent sagging skin that results from weight loss. Water re-hydrates the skin and leaves it clear, healthy and supple. Water helps to flush out waste When losing weight, the body has a lot of waste or metabolised fat to get rid of and water aids in that process. Water relieves constipation When your body isn't getting enough water, it takes what it needs from other sources and the colon is a primary source. This results in constipation, however, by drinking enough water, normal bowel function will return. Things to remember Your body will not function properly without enough water and can't metabolised stored fat efficiently Retained water shows up as excess weight To get rid of excess waste you must drink more water Drinking water is essential to weight loss I know we all read and hear about how water helps in weight loss but often we don't really know why. I am the sort of person that needs to really understand a process before I can fully take it on board and this information helped me a lot. I hope it helps you too! DRINK UP!!!

Just got approved for VSG last week and am scheduled for next Monday--4/25. Have gained weight since process started in 12/10 and was chastised by surgeon. Will start liquids tomorrow. Has anybody else had weight gain and then gone thru surgery? I'm less than 300 lbs and am nervous now.

My personal advice is for you to weigh yourself morning and night. See what foods cause you to gain weight. Weight gain or stagnation isn't always caused by increasing body fat. Some foods heavy in sodium or carbs can cause you to retain fluids but your scale can't tell the diff between Fluid gains and body fat increases. For me, knowing what affects my body is important, so tracking daily is important. For others, it's too complicated or too emotional to track.

Haha, well I ate plenty the two weeks we were in Japan - lots of rice and bread - you only live once, right? And I did the same the whole month we were in Europe - no weight gain to mention. So, I think you're okay!! I do just fine on roughly 800-1000 per day when we aren't traveling, AND I work out a lot. I don't deny myself much, so...who knows?!

:thumbup: When I was deciding what I was going to do to get ride is 85 pounds, (an entire person) I was carrying around never left my side. I was first saying okay I can have plastic surgery, But then that wouldnt correct the entire weight gain issue, so then I decided to do the Lap Band. My issue is that I dont look like I need to lose 85 pounds (to most people) just like I dont look disabled ( to people) so I had it hard to get approved. My spouse constanly reminds me he loves me Jst like I am (Thank God) but I have to remind him and others it is NOT about him , this is for me. I said that 2008 was going to be My year. I was going to lose the unwanted weight, grow hair ( that is normally shaved) due to the heat in La. and start back focusing on me, I love me so why not? I use to take for granted that I COULD LOSE WEIGHT just like that, I was a runner, 6 miles daily, attend a workout class three times a week, now since I was injured and cannot now, I can relate to those who cannot workout physically ( not being lazy) but they cannot if they wanted to ( oh and we do) belieive me we do. I use to see over weight people and say" why dont they just put the fork down, or jst say No more, or workout or thought they were lazy. I am sorry now I thought like that. My breaking point was weighing 200 pounds.I had to end my addiction and relationship with food, and to see it in another form What was your breaking point? Good luck to you all and with Gods help we all can acheive our Goals.:cool2: Kourtney

Here's a little more info. I lifted this from a post I made on 7/12 in answer to the same question: A PB is a bandster term for "productive burp" which happens thusly: Usually once you have good restriction, but possible any time, if you eat too large a bite, don't chew well enough, or are overfull, the bite of food can't fit through your stoma (hole formed by the band between your "pouch" or upper stomach and your lower stomach) and it has to go somewhere, so it comes back up. The esophagus isn't built to have things just sit there, it's a conveyor belt that likes to move things along. So it will spasm...and if the food doesn't go on through, the body produces a lot of mucous (called slime here) which lubricates the esophagus and offending bolus of food and helps move it up and out. it is different from vomiting in that there are usually no stomach spasms involved, and there is no stomach bile/acid expelled. It can be dangerous if you PB too strongly or too much at first, before your band is healed, and later on even if healed, if you PB a lot (some do it daily as a way of life) it is very hard on your innards and can cause the band to slip. An occasional misstep/PB, however, especially if it happens after you've healed from surgery, isn't really a cause for concern but it should be a lesson to be learned. They are almost always caused by "operator error"...not chewing well, bite too big, or overeating. Occasionally, though, a PB is caused by being too tight (too much fill) and if that's the case, you need to get a little saline removed quickly or risk poor weight loss/weight gain, problems with your band, etc.

I can certainly understand why many of us choose to keep our surgeries private. I totally agree that one's medical history is totally no one else's business and we all have to right to keep this private. However, I also know, we all know, that there is a lot of bias, prejudice and misinformation circulating out there. I have experienced this first hand, as many of us have. In considering the surgery, I approached a colleague who announced that she had had the surgery and lost something like 90 lbs and managed to get out of an electric wheelchair in the process. We had a honest and frank talk about her journey, and it was very valuable information for me as I considered the pros and cons of weight loss surgery. Her courage and honesty in revealing to all of us her brave journey was an inspiration to me. I plan to tell everyone who inquires that I have had surgery. While there are many who have lost weight permanently with dieting or exercise alone, the vast majority fail, and most often yo-yo dieting just leads to weight gain in the end. I will make it a particular point to tell any of my friends that are overweight as they are the ones who could benefit from this solution. If we hide the benefits and pitfalls of our individual experiences, no one else will be able to learn and benefit from them!

Yes, there is a whole lot of ignorance and judgemental thinking out there. Several years ago, a business colleague who I had never met ftf blamed gastric surgery for the runaway cost of health care in the US! Really? This is an off-shoot of the prejudice that exists against heavy people. Many people think that being overweight is because you're lazy and sit around eating too much. The medical field is now beginning to realize that there are many factors involved with weight gain - and that it is not so simple as people think. I told my favorite cousin about the surgery and I now realize it was a mistake as even she seems to have these feelings - I haven't heard from her since I told her my news - no emails, phone calls, nothing...I don't get it! But we will be consoled later when we are so much thinner that all these issues will be completely unimportant!

I was banded Monday morning and have been very bloated since. I know the gas and bloat are normal at first, but was so bad last night I decided to step on the scale. It says I am up 10 pounds from Monday morning pre-op weigh in. Is this normal? Should I be concerned?

I have found this Band to be a self-motivating tool. I am a professional dieter. Basically, I have gone on a major diet every year since my drastic weight gain about 12 years ago. I have managed to lose countless number of pounds over the years, and have dieted myself down to as low as a size 4. Unfortunately every time I dieted, all the weight would go back on plus more. In 2006 I became so discouraged that I just gave up, and in 2007 my weight reached an all-time high. All I was really missing was a tool that would guarantee me long-term success. Once it became apparent to me that this Band was actually going to work (which was after my first fill), I became highly motivated and have stayed that way ever since. As far as the exercise, well... I really can't explain it, but I absolutely love it now. I have no idea what caused this or how it happened, but I am totally hooked on working out, so motivation is not much of an issue for me at this point in time. A rather simple story, but there it is................... Crazy Ates January Exercise Challenge 2/30 Exercise Sessions Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

I would think that maybe a weight gain of 10 or more lbs could trigger a denial, but a persons body weight usually shifts by a few pounds up or down, and for a woman especially. maybe they just don't want to give the insurer any reason at all to deny coverage? Best of Luck to you!

I used to be a size 8 then with weight gain I went up to a 9 1/2 and now back to an 8

i was banded on 4/8 and weighed 289 that day yesterday i weighed 275 and today i gained a pound. i am still on all liquid diet and i am sticking to it i only have protein shakes, water cream of chicken soup and sugar and fat free jello and pudding. does anyone know why i have gained i am just a little bit concerned:confused2:

Well, my name is Meggie. Im 21 years old, and I recently was banded on DEcember 10, 2007. My story isnt exceptional or sad, maybe it isnt even worthy, but its mine,and I have had quite a journey becoming the young woman I am today. I have had a weight problem since I was a child. My mom worked fulltime so frozen pizzas and processed french fries became a hot meal for me. I was very picky, and that was easy for her and tasteful to me. I grew up with the occasional teasing but nothing out of the ordinary. I always felt out of place;even with family. I was always the "fat" kid in my eyes. My family never saw me as that simply because they saw beyond my weight. They saw what I call the "internal me"--which is in fact a totally different person.-I was never pressured to lose weight or compared to my "model material" kid sister, and in fact, I have been my own worst critic all along. When I got to the seventh grade I decided to take control the only way I knew how; I became bulimic. Typically, bulimics are rail thin and look malnourished-but I never hit that point. The disease never got out of control-well I mean the idea is out of hand enough in itself-but it never got excessive.It was my last resort when food got the best of me.My mother sent me to counseling and there I was, 13 years old with "control" issues as the doctor would call them. I was always told how beautiful I was, and in fact, I was the popular kid in school; neverhteless, I still didnt like me. I went all through highschool with my weight issue and in my senior year my dream came true- I needed my tonsils out. I know, I know-silly dream huh? But, to me it was so much more than a painful surgery. It was a period of 2 weeks that I would lose weight. I did ofcourse-18 lbs to be exact, but it all came back on within a year. So, there I was 18- still struggling every day of my life with my worst enemy-my weight. I dropped some weight at almost 19 because I was going through a break up, and my "control issues" caught up with me yet again. That weight didnt stay off either. As you can see, I never succeeded in keeping it off. It haunted me and creeped up just when I thought I was winning. When I was 19 my 45 yr old father died of massive heartattack while watching the superbowl. A part of me slowly died that day simply because he was ultimately my biggest fan. I dont think my daddy ever saw my size. He didnt care-I was his baby girl no matter what anyone thought. He was the dad that yelled at other small-and I mean young and innocent--kids if they called me names. I wasnt fat, he said and he belived that. Its as if he saw my soul, and not the horrific body that held me hostage. I love him for that and I find myself still trying to see what he always did....Anyways so here I was almost 20 years old. I lost a few lbs after Daddy died because of a loss of appetite, but still nothing to brag about. In November of 2006 I found out I was pregnant. Ive never felt so overwhelmed in my life. While ofcourse I was scared and anxious to meet my beautiful baby boy, the sick part of me thought "hOw will I possibly deal with this weight gain." I know-that should have been the last thing I thought of, but I couldnt help it. The whole 40 weeks I ate like I was on a diet, with the occasional splurge of McDonalds, but for the most part I monitored. Thats insaine isnt it? Who wants to be pregnant and on a diet? The two words dont belong together. Well, needless to say thank god that I monitored considering that I still gained 60 pounds! After the baby I struggled with some deep depression about my weight. I was always crying, and it was the number one focus in my life aside from motherhood. I remember actually thinking" if I have to live like this, I dont want to live." Scary thought, I know-but it was real. In the meantime I had consulted with a plastic surgeon to give me a breast lift. I guess I was looking for anything on my body that I had the power to change when really I just wanted to be thin. I even cut 12 inches off of my hair thinking I was going to have a "new" me. Little did I know, I was far from being new and I was still overweight. By this point I was tired of fighting this battle. I couldnt win alone and that was definitly apparent to myself as well as my close family. So, on the day I was going to schedule my breast lift, I made a call to find out if I qualified for the lapband....well indeed I did-by the skin of my teeth, but it didnt matter. That day I think I found a hopeful part of me that I never knew existed. I connected with the little girl in me and let her know that we were finally going to be alright. I met with Dr Fritz Rau only a week later and immediatly felt a sense of protection and peace. He was wonderful, and assured me that I was in good hands. I soon went on my 2 week liquid diet and did very well. My mother wasnt completly supportive in the beginning but she knew that with or without an army of support, I was going to be banded on Dec 10, 2007. She came through for me, ofcourse, she always did. I got there early that morning and was prepped in no time. After a long wait of about 3 hours-it was my turn. Finally, the moment I had awaited since I was that little girl was actually happening. I almost couldnt bare all of the emotions because for the first time in my life, I felt like the real me was going to have a chance at shining. I came out only 35 minutes later, and everything had went fine. I had alot of pain from the trapped air, but otherwise I was okay. I was already a new woman mentally. I went home the next day, and within a week was taking care of my son. I have had 3 fills so far and am down 25 pounds. My loss has been gradual, but thats okay now because I know it will melt off soon. So, as you can see, I have had an interesting travel to get to where I am today, and to Dr Fritz I owe my happiness. The man has changed my life, and because of him I will be the girl that I was destined to be. Nothing, not even weight, can hold me back now. God Bless all of you- may you all find that inner self who screams to be heard.

What does it state in your policy about the weight gain? My Insurance is BCBS of Al, I gained from May till Nov 213 to 224. I was not denied by insurance but my doctors office is very strict at making me get to 213 again. I have been on liquids , protein drinks and sugar free jello for about 2 weeks. I'm down to 218 and weight in tomorrow! I would make sure you find out what the insurance policy states about weight gain. When I call BCBS everyone is always so helpful and nice! Good Luck.

Wls has opened up so many opportunities for me. I have rhuematoid arthritis and losing the weight has allowed me to decrease the medication that was causing my weight gain. I have been on steroids for about 6 years and hopefully next year I can come off of them completely. My answer to why be this drastic an have the surgery is simple. With the surgery you still have the cravings you did before, but instead of having to rely on your will power your stomach not only says no - but screams HELL NO! I started where you are 256 at 5'3 and I am down about 85 after 6 months. I feel sexy and confident, and more like a woman ( if that makes any sense).

I am meeting with surgeon in a couple weeks and we are discussing the sleeve verses bypass. I am 50 years old, no other health concerns except my knees are bad from my extra weight and the obvious.. I am overweight scratch that obese : ) So for those of you who have had bypass I was wondering if you would now have considered the sleeve or visa versa. THANK YOU ahead of time as I am a newbie. Losing weight Gaining Life, Cindy Virden www.cindyvirden.com

Well the bad news is I didn't see a great deal of movement on my scale this week - in fact the only movement I had went up slightly - 300g, Taking me back to 12kg loss total!!! The good news is that I saw my dietician this morning and have been well assured that this is actually normal. I clearly need to have another fill which is scheduled for next Friday. I was really bummed about my weight gain yesterday and thank goodness for some very close friends of mine that are there for me all the way and supporting me because I really needed it yesterday. Today I have a much clearer mind and totally understand that it's a process!!!!! livelovelapband.blogspot.com.au