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I started my weight gain and life at 18 when I graduated highschool and met my husband. We dropped school (college), got a apartment, it didnt work out (no good food) and money, so we went back to our parents, and then he went into the navy, we got married and I followed him. At 18 I graduated from High School as a varsity cheerleader, 5'10" and 185 pounds. When I got married at 21, I was 250 pounds, felt pretty good with my life, but went through birth control changes and 1 abortion and 4 miscarriages. From 21-24 I stayed at 250 pounds. Then I got pregnant in January 2009, I was 276 and only gained 14 pounds of baby. At time of birth I was healthy for the most part and 300 pounds. I dropped 50 pounds the first month, from breast feeding and then gained it all back because I couldn't anymore. So I have been bouncing from 298 to 310, I have continued to have 3 more miscarriages, and am now at my highest at 315. I do not snack during the day, mostly at night, and mostly during my frequent acid reflex/heartburn episodes. I had a hard time dieting because of heartburn. Exercise is hard since I have high level of asthma, a heel spur, allergies, knee arthritis, and a bad back. So where I am at now is very up in the air. I have my consultation in 2 days. I want another child, but tricare (military insurance) will not approve testing to find out why I am miscarrying until I have lost weight. So I am doing lapband, which is not my first choice...I would rather have a child then lap band, then (military approved tummy tuck). But my husband also wants me to wait, so his choice is lap band, child, tummy tuck. I am confused. I just turned 26, and I want another child before 30. I may just end of with just one child. Any advice is wanted.

I feel your pain. I was banded in March of '06 and have recently put on 10lbs and am exercising like CRAZY!!! My band was deflated entirely for three months and I recently got 2ccs added back into it but am still gaining weight. I work out 6 X a week and don't feel like I look any heavier but am going nuts mentally from the weight gain. I am completely and utterly lost on why I am gaining weight because I am not eating very much and exercise constantly. Any advice on how to get back on track? ~Liz~ 03/10/06 241/165/160 :help: 5'8''

Hi: I am a post Hystorectomy (Total). 210 pounds, 5 ft 7 inches, BMI around 31-32 moderate activity Insurance won't cover. I will have to self-pay and if I do should I look at sleeves instead of the band? I'm looking for a long term permanent solution. My weight gain is related to the removal of my ovaries with a dramatic body change in 5 years from 120 pounds to now. My doctors say I would have to gain more weight to get approved for surgery. I can't imagine doing that. So hey: 1. If you had to choose and were paying for it out of pocket anyways band or sleeve? 2. If you had it done over-seas what doctor did you use, and are you happy with the results? I can't afford in country options. Thank you so much for any help this topic is eating me up.

But we can help by not worshiping thinness or youth. Going back to aging gracefully like our grandmothers did and didn't have to be thin once they hit menopause or get botox or plastic surgery or have larger breasts. I feel bad for the next generation. I know this topic is way too volatile for a WLS forum so I will leave before I start a war, lol! Anyone wonder how much yo yo dieting attributed to our weight gains and if we had only ate normally and not had to try every diet out there we may be much thinner and healthier than we are now and possibly WLS would never have entered into the picture? Doing my part tomorrow by removing the collar and leash and going back to being a normal human being who doesn't spend 100% of her time worrying about how she looks or how many points are in that and getting her life back!:tongue:

Hi I am new to this website. I was banded 11/15/10, I love it! I always had a weight problem but if I put my mind to it and followed a diet and exercised I was able to lose weight. Right before I got married I was doing just that watching what I ate and exercising like crazy and not gaining weight but not losing at all. I went for a physical and found out I have hypothyroid. For eight years I had gradual weight gain, surprisingly was able to lose pregnancy weight twice (I attribute that to breastfeeding) but after losing that the gradual weight gain continued. So in complete frustration I talked to my PCP about weight loss and he said his wife who is in practice with him has been working with a bariatric surgeon and he recommended I see them about lapband. He is a pretty conservative guy so for him to reccomend that I took it pretty seriously. I started seeing the surgeon in July 2010 since then I have lost almost 60 lbs, 20 lbs pre-surgury and the rest since. I had my first fill a week ago (2/1/11) and I remembered how being on liquids was like torture, hungry all the time. Back on regular diet now and doing ok. The holidays were difficult because I discovered there wasn't much I couldn't eat. I am having a difficult time getting back to the diet I was doing so well before the holidays but I have started exercising. My hardest times are the weekends when we socialize with others, I need to figure out something to help me eat what and how much I am supposed to. My biggest concern is not causing my band to slip. I realize when I do eat a lot it is nowhere near what I used to eat without the band but still I have the moments. I am looking forward to checking out chat areas on here and learning more and getting and giving support when possible.

Although your symptoms could be band related it sounds like something else is going on here too. You should see your PCP and/or a gastroenterologist. You might need to have an endoscopy and colonoscopy to see what is going on. These symptoms sound serious enough not to be dismissed. Your weight gain is probably unrelated to these symptoms. You need to find a doctor who will investigate this and obviously your surgeon is not the one to do it. Good luck.

I had my surgery 2 yrs ago in May. I've lost 100 lbs in the 1st yr. I just recently gained 5 lbs. I've been eating sugar & lots of it. Just 2 days of NOT eating anything white & just eating "GREEN & LEAN". I'm down 3 lbs. Has anybody else had a weight gain? It is so EASY to fall back into bad eating merry-go-round.

Hello All... I am new to this website and thought I would share my story. I had VSG surgery on September 28th 2010. I will be completley honest with my journal enteries! ALWAYS! The first week was NO FUN! I had a tough time keeping ANYTHING down. The doctor's said that my stomach was tight and it would take some time, but it would get better. IT DID! after the first week, things got MUCH MUCH better! I stayed on liquids for the first two weeks, then mushies for two weeks and now I eat alot of mushies but try and intergrate solid foods. I am still having some trouble with eating solids. I did learn that I cannot eat white meat chicken, it must be dark meat. White meat is just too dry for me to keep down, no matter how I prepare it. I made chicken and dumplings for my family the other night and used chicken thighs and I ate everything but the duplings. It was really good and it settled very well. I am so happy that I decided to have the VSG surgery. I have only been post op[/size] for a little over 5 weeks and have lost about 28 pounds. I started out at 260 before surgery and lost 5 pounds in the two weeks before surgery. Then the day of surgery I was at 255... so from the day of surgery I have lost 28 pounds... from the highest weight that I was (260) I have lost 33 pounds. A couple weeks ago I had a platue and did not loose for about 4-5 days and was really depressed, but then I started loosing again and felt much better. Before surgery I had Fibromyalgia very badley and since surgery have been pretty pain free. I am very hesitant to excercise because I do not want the fibromyalgia to flair up but am trying to stay as active as I can without going overboard. I know I really should be excersizing more... We just moved into our new house a couple months ago, so the Wii balance board had been packed away... So I thought; I will hook it up and do some cardio excercises on the Wii.... But to my disappointment the balance board would not work. I had my husband look at when he got home and he could not get it to work either. He said it looked like one of the girls (my daughters) had spilled something on it. POOPY! So there goes that! Maybe I can ask for a new balance board for christmas! LOL. Anyways... for those of you out there that are contiplating getting this surgery done or not... I say go for it!!! It does not work all on its own, you have to listen to your body and stay committed to the new lifestyle, but if you are up for that then GO FOR IT! I am only 5 weeks out and it has already changed my life for the better. My marriage has always been good... Will be married to my husband for 10 years this coming June... and with the weight gain over the years, my sex drive had deplenished! That was tough on my marraige! My husband has no problem in that area and just could not understand why I had NO DRIVE! He took it personally that I had no interest in him... That was not the case, I just never felt good enough for him! I did not want to take my clothes off the way I was! I felt, FAT, UGLY & DEPRESSED! None of that says SEX APPEAL to me! But since the surgery and since the pounds have been coming off the desire has become much more apparent on my part and you can tell that my husband really likes what he sees! I think sex is a very important factor in a good marriage and I think that was just a little something that we were missing before and have regainned it from after the surgery. Some of you may think this is TMI (to much info) but I want to be as truthful and helpful as I can for those of you out there that are contiplating this surgery. I will be posting as much as I can! I lead a pretty busy life, but will try and post often. Please ask any questions that you like and will answer you with the utmost honesty! Good luck to you all!

The scale keeps me aware of microtrends. I use MyFitnessPal to track my weight and I weigh daily. There have been three two-week intervals where I gained and lost 6-8 lbs. even though via food-tracking, I confirmed there was absolutely no change in my daily caloric intake. I reassured myself that these gain/losses were aberrations, not signs of actual weight gain. They could be explained by water retention, salt increase, medication changes, etc. So I look at 7 day, 30 day, 90 day, and 180 day trends. For the past six months, I've been relatively stable and I owe this to food diarying and daily weighing.

Many people don’t understand the obese person’s journey with food. Nor can they relate to actually being under the influence of the intense food cravings, but ask any alcoholic or drug addict what these cravings feel like, and a food addict will be able to recount a very similar craving. The substance most craved with food addicts is sugar, and anyone who has tried to remove sugar from their diet knows how incredibly difficult that can be. The majority of food addicts have been brought up with another addiction. Maybe their parents were alcoholics, abusive, gamblers, smokers or hoarders. The child learned it was safer to turn to food or some other substance for comfort, because turning to a human for a hug or soothing words was impossible. Many food addicts lose weight to get married, only to find that they don’t have the skills to communicate loneliness, boredom, or anxiety to their partner. They slowly begin to turn to what has helped soothe them in the past, which is food. Before long, communication is compromised in the relationship. There is severe weight gain, which begins a disastrous cycle of withdrawing from sex, and turning to food. Soon the partner isn’t happy and the food addict feels shameful and guilty. These feelings of guilt and shame lock the cycle of turning to food even more securely. Weight loss surgery can help minimize disease and help people become more confident and mobile, but if there is an underlying sugar or food addiction, the weight will be re-gained. Sometimes that is in excess of eighty pounds. How can you help if you are addicted, married or know a food addict during the holidays? The key is to plan now. Realize that your partner or friend has a bigger problem than just eating too much. They need professional help, and they need it now. Find out who is on your plan for insurance and what it allows for help with eating disorders. Begin journaling your intake and talk to your partner about journaling theirs as well. This helps you become a team and to feel supported. Encourage your partner to begin turning to you for comfort or if you are alone, have someone who can accompany you to the party. Stay close to them, and when you feel alone turn to them for conversation or hold their hand. This helps delay your sense of needing food. Help them join a food addiction group, and if they are your partner, go with them if they need your support. There are several in Houston, and “Over Eaters Anonymous” offers a 12-step program for food addicts. Your partner suffers shame and guilt every day. Try to remember this, and be gentle. There is a lot of secrecy in this disorder. If they let you in, respect that. Food addicts are hurt, and we as a society can become part of the problem or part of the solution. Most addicts of food (and other addictions) have an enabler. The enabler complains about the behavior, but also supplies the fix. People who are co-dependent or have a low self-esteem may derive their security from enabling an addict. If you live with a food addict, or you suffer a food addiction, the best thing you can do prior to going to the party or being with friends where a lot of food will be present is to have a plan. Set a time limit for yourself at the party and have someone you are accountable to who helps you stay on track. –Mary Jo Rapini *As with all addictions, interventions only work if the addict wants to heal. Harping, nagging and pleading will be met with resistance to change until the addict is ready to make the change.

Hello all, I haven't logged onto here in about 2years. Since my WLS, I lost close to 100lbs, I felt beautiful and healthy. One goal was to get pregnant, and I did. I did not gain 1lb with my pregnancy, After I had my baby, I fit into my clothes with ease. Then post partum depression hit me..... I was put on meds and I have gained 40lbs, I don't know what to do.. I self weened from the meds because even my maternity clothes fit me tight!!!! Nothing fits me and on to a size 16-18. I am not hungry all the time like I did with them, but was wondering, the pouch test thing, would that help me get my tummy back to the size, I am so confused, I feel like I did the WLS and failed. Any suggestions, should I start my post op diet phase? I have no idea where to begin. Someone help please

Are is it to just nod and agree? No, which is exactly why I commented What does the fact that i'm a two-time WLS patient have to do with my question As I wrote in my first post, most WLS patients have a long history of being asked questions similar to the ones in your original post. "Why don't you just eat better? Why don't you just exercise more?" I would think as a two time WLS patient you would know that those comments are condescending and offensive. Weight gain and reasons are a legitimate question They are. But you didn't pose this as a legitimate question. You posted it in the Rants and Raves section and you said "Trust that i know i will get flack for this...." I am left to draw one of two conclusions: You are completely unaware of the thousands of articles that have been written about pandemic related lifestyle changes and its effects. You are also oblivious to the common sense impact of gyms/parks/trails closures, poverty's effect on one's diet, mental health consequences of social isolation etc.. The option I find easier to believe is this was not a sincere question. Instead it's an opportunity for you to congratulate yourself for having more fortitude than all these weak willed people who when faced with a life altering pandemic and economic shut down and didn't plant a garden, meal plan or pick up milk jugs filled with sand.

Suz, I don't know if I read your second post earlier, sometimes my posting goes past the second ones. Anyway, you sound a lot like me except you had lost weight in the beginning. I know I already emailed after my surgeon appointment but I have a lot of those same issues as you. I stay up late and sleep late and am tired a lot. I crave sweets. I don't have any heart issues. Prior to my surgery they put me through many tests at the hospital and with follow ups with specialists if there was a prob. One thing they found was that I had a low oxygen level in my blood and went to the pulmonologist who then sent me for a sleep study and found I had sleep apnea and sleep problems can cause weight gain and make you crave sugar! I'm just bringing that up in case it could pertain to you too. I do sleep with a CPAP machine and because I had such issues sleeping and was tired all the time prior I adapted pretty well to the machine. One thing I could do well. At this point I don't think I could sleep without it, that sounds crazy. Also I had type 2 diabetes and an under active thyroid and one doctor said I had PCOS. I ended up being anemic a few years ago because my periods were so heavy. My obgyn told me to have a uterine ablation and so now they are light and I'm not anemic anymore but that really made me tired. I think I told you before that maybe your band wasn't tight enough but now I realize you're like me and can eat the high fat high sugar foods like cakes candies Cookies ice cream because it's hard to eat the other stuff. That's exactly why I had the fill taken out today, well I'm down to 2 ccs in a 10 cc band so that I don't have to just eat cereal or foods that go down easily. Anyway I hope I wasn't too rambly and let me know if this is what you think has been happening to you too. I know also that when I get up at 6:30 AM to let out the dogs and I've gone to bed at 3:00 AM that night I crave sugar and feel like I have to eat then. I'll go back to bed after I let them out. There are a lot of studies done with food and sleep deprivation etc... and there's some correlation. Something about needing energy. Anyway if any of this rings a bell with you let me know. I know dieting prior was difficult and having the band is supposed to help but I didn't know it would be this hard! Talk to you later brandyII.

I just finish the 6month and I think it's great but long as we are impatient to start are new journey but it helps you get bad habits out your life and get new habits try to think of it as a chance to prepare your self learn how to don't eat w meals and chew chew your food slow I stop smoking it's been 9 months .. I don't dring sodas I started drinking more water and oh I lost alittle wieght during this time 20 pounds I think the supervised diet is better than most cus you have to answer to someone about your weight gain or loss and this person has his future in his hands of telling the insurance company your being compliant I think you'll loss some weight w that being in place but on another I kno some ppl doctors who didn't make them work has hard ..

hi As a sleep tech I do have to let you know that using the CPAP will help in more ways than you realize. Using your CPAP will help you loose weight by letting you sleep correctly thus, allowing your body to heal itself and lower stress hormones that cause weight gain. These are just things that will help in the short term. Long term is so much more. I know it's hard to get used to, like anything thats good for us, you have to sacrifice. Most people that have problems with CPAP is because of a incorrect mask fit. Call your lab or Medical equipment company and see about different masks. If you have any questions feel free to ask. :huh2:

Q1- Can anyone that has had the ideal surgery and success give me an overview of what to expect? It is possible to have an ideal experience. I recovered from surgery within a day, had small but regular fills and lost steadily - it was fast and very gratifying for six monmths, steadied out to a pound or two a week for the rest of the first year, a pound a week for the second year and then over time, I graudally lost about 10 to 15 more pounds, for a total of 100 lost. I started with a BMI of 36, so with a 100lb loss I have lost well into low BMI territory, and am now "thin" not just less fat. I ran regularly and now also do boxing and bootcamp, but I never felt I worked THAT hard on my eating, the portion control was all I really needed. Q2- What are the rules? What will I never be able to eat? What will I never be able to do? Well, I've found I can eat anything if I want to (some foods are harder than others but that varies wildly between individuals, however bread, rice, Pasta and fresh fruit are common). I cant truly "pig out" but you can certainly enjoy a special meal and feel like you've had a treat. If I do something a bit naughty like eat crap int he mid afternoon, I simply cant eat dinner. That takes care of weight gain from small indulgences, but you have to use your stomach space wisely so its not good to fill up on sugar and then not eat your healthy meal. We just dont have "rules" in Australia like you guys do, its just a matter of eating sensibly and eating smaller portions. Q3- Do you have any regrets? Absolutely none. Q4- What is the financial impact after the surgery? Groceries, supplements, etc.? I dont do supplements - I always took a basic multi Vitamin which i still do. I dont do Protein shakes and bars, ever, so there's no added cost there. I eat fresh food and cook from scratch like I always did. However, since I had my surgery five years ago, my family has grown, my kids have become teenagers etc so I truly havent noticed any savings on food, but I do throw more out from my plate. I never spent a lot of money on take away food either, didnt have a drive thru habit and didnt eat a lot of junk foods like McDonalds. I notice that meals that the recipe book says "serves four" does five of us for two meals, but my kids also complain that I give them tiny dinners and starve them, since my perception of "normal" is now a bit skewed.

Question: should we be limiting our carb intake at all after surgery? Has anyone noticed problems with eating carbs after? Just wondering if that's the culprit of my weight gain last week. I do know that I get very full very fast when I do consume carbs, and do get a sickly feeling. It may just be me. We're all different.

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 so much Diane - I so enjoyed reading your post and how honest and open you were. I related on all sorts of levels and your child picture hit a cord for me too.... so right! Sometimes I;ve felt like just ripping the thing out and saying 'I'm over this!!!" The hard thing is I have a dear friend who had this done a year ago and seemed to cruise through it losing most of her weight in 9 months. Seeing her success helped me make my decision but our journeys couldn't have been more different. Also she was afraid of putting me off so never shared any of her struggles. I had a totally over optimistic outlook despite masses of research on the web prior to the decision. It never really prepared me for the uncertainty, bewilderment, confusion and utter frustration of not feeling what my friend told me to feel for.... She kept on saying 'Listen to your body and it will tell you when to stop" :sigh: - my body is mostly silent = the rebellious pizza incident of last week. My attempt and seeing if anything would happen ... still waiting. Only thing that happened was a weight gain. Haven't done that again though as I'm aware of band erosion and slippage. Do you have support groups there and if so did you use them and did they help?.... Bunny / Des

That’s not too bad. I’m very anxious about weight gain. Glad you’re doing ok!

Also, my surgeon told me to be mindful of how much weight I lost pre-op because too much loss could disqualify me from having the surgery...after I told my surgeons nurse about the weight gain she brushed it off, said that was why she hated weight loss pills, because you can lose while on them, but not much, and you can’t take them forever, and as soon as you come off the weight comes back. Phen worked, but as soon as I came off, I mean within days I started gaining back.

I guess it happens everywhere (even here in Italy)... A lady I met a couple of times has been gaining weight since she was approved for surgery. It didn't go well for her and almost ended up in the ER coz she couldn't walk nor breath anymore and now she's fnally on a diet waiting for her surgery. So I guess it's normal, but don't worry: her BMI was much higher (more or less 59), so of course it was different for her and had problems with the sudden weight gain...

I am actually feeling great. I am actually going to start riding my bicycle hopefully in the next couple weeks. Just gotta get it tuned up. I stopped riding over a year ago due to the weight gain and i was beyond the capacity of the bicycle lol. Sucked too because that bicycle was expensive lol.

Hey everyone. I am 4 years out and struggling with the covid 20 and some additional weight gain on top of that. I am working with an online coach for exercise training and nutrition following a macro based diet. I have not lost any weight so I reached out to the team where I had my surgery and they commented that my macros are way to high for protein. They were happy my calories were in the 1500 range (135g protein/160g carb/ 45g fat) but concerned about the protein being so high (optimum is 60-80g). Anyone else follow macro based plans?

Glad things went well for you!!! Little pain is really exciting for me to hear. As I count down the days until my surgery (3/8). I would imagine there is always weight gain with the IV fluids. Keep us posted on how you are feeling. QueenBee