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What I was told in the pre-surgery information session is that about 2 years out, the body will adjust medabolically and most patients gain about 20 lbs. But considering that I will have lost way more than 20 lbs, I think I will be able to live with it. That said, there are many people on this site who haven't gained weight, so the weight gain isn't universal.

I found a study... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1421028/ It basically states that 60% had excellent results after 5 years, while 33% had good results. 7% a BMI of >35. A small amount of weight gain is not the real issue. It's can you lose the weight and keep the majority of it off. However, my nut said that of those that are successful at maintaining 80% of their weight loss 5 years later (the accepted definition of successful barbaric surgery)... over 60% track what they eat daily. You have the power to maintain the good habits the surgery helps you obtain. And lastly... from what i've read on these forums... stick to the guidelines given by your nut and surgeon. Don't try to eat things you shouldn't. The worst thing you can do is discover your pouch doesn't have a problem with ice cream, candy or fried foods. Best to assume it will and never test it. I will be putting my money where my mouth is on Monday. Wish me luck!

I read the whole post and all the responses here is what I can share and hope it helps: I had thyroid cancer so I don't have a thyroid, my TSH levels must be kept at hypo (slow) rather than normal or hyper. This has Always caused weight gain or extremely slow weight loss. I went to many seminars listening to every dr and after awhile they all sounded like used car sales people! Then I met a dr who said the band is not the cure all its not magic and if you do this you have to think of it as a marriage, you must love me and I must love you but above all that we must work as a team. 2011 June I got my lap band from then till now I am down 110 however that is a number. Not every plan works for every person, I decided to stay on weight watchers and go to weekly meetings. This kept my focus and my sanity. It also kept me eating healthy. I eat my Protein first, then my veggies last my complex carb. I only eat on a appetizer plate. I weigh and measure all my food, I take Calcium supplements. I work out, Pilates has done wonders for me. I finally after 54 years put myself first. If I'm hungry in between a meal I will eat an apple or some small fruit or yogurt. If I was in your shoes the first thing I would do is get all your medical records and see another doctor, I would then see a nutritionist. Finally I will say that I am married to a professional chef and the one thing he has taught me is every calorie is not the same. Just because your only eating 900 calories a day does not mean they are the right calories that are going to burn the fat not store the fat. Hope this helps you, please remember when you put something out there on a public forum your going to get many opinions the hope is that you can get some support where you need it. Good Luck

Hello. My name is Jenny and I have posted on here around the time of my surgery back in August of 2010. I'm not really sure where to post this but I'm guessing that the "General Lap Band Support is the right place because I do need support but I also want to share my story. I was banded on August 24, 2010 by Dr. Luis Reyes. On my pre-op diet I had lost around 10 pounds and on the day of my surgery I weighed 220 pounds. I recovered quickly and an appointment was set up to see Dr. Reyes in 1 week's time after my surgery. During that first week I drank nothing but pain medication in liquid form, chicken broth, and Water and could only drink all these liquids from a 30 ml medicine cup and it would take me about 45 minutes to get it down. I thought all this would surely drop a few pounds and it did. I went from 220 pounds to 217 pounds in about 3 days, but when the 7 days were up and I was set to go to my appointment I was 224 pounds. While in the doctor's lobby there were other patient's that either had lap band or gastric bypass and they were all excited and I found out that they were also there for their 1 week check in and they were all on cloud 9 saying "I already lost 10 pounds. I have lost 15 pounds. I have lost 20 pounds in a week!" some of these were lap band patients saying this. They seemed so ecstatic about the weight loss and I was happy for them but then I thought about my reality of gaining 7 pounds when these people had lost all this weight in 1 week after surgery. I got called in and was weighed and I was so embarrassed when I saw 224 pounds and I had to fight to keep the tears in. I was sent to a waiting room and when Dr. Reyes came in he discussed my weight and I guess at this point he mentally pinned me as a patient that was going to be noncompliant with the surgery's rules and the diet. He regarded me with suspicion because of my weight gain and I told him I was doing everything the rules stated and he told me that the gain was probably due to swelling. I went on my way and made an appointment to return in 1 month. In the middle of that month I was given the thumbs up to start exercising lightly so I chose Walking off the Pounds with Leslie Sansone and did it about 4 days a week for 40 minutes. I was still in the stage 1 of the eating menu and was slowly making my way to stage 2 and was feeling good. I got down to 212 and I surprised that I had because I was also in the middle of finishing up my last year of nursing school and it was pretty hectic. I was so excited that I was 212 because it was the first time I had hit that number in about 12 years.....but it didn't last. I kept with the same exercise regimen and transitioned fully to mushy food when I got the okay to do so by the doctor's office and the weight began to stagnate at 212 pounds and then slowly crept up all the way up to 224 pounds again. By the time my 1 month appointment came around I was furious and annoyed by all the happy people in the lobby proclaiming that they lost this amount of weight and that amount of weight. I was almost in tears when I saw the 224 pounds on the scale and thought "don't cry. the doctor will know what is wrong with me. he'll know why I'm not losing weight." I had my mother with me at the time and even she wanted to cry because of the anguish I was going through and she was also frustrated that the weight loss was not happening. The doctor came in and shook our hands and asked me how everything was going and I blurted out. "I don't know what's happening. I don't think it's working" and I think he took it as a personal attack on him and his work which I didn't mean it to be. It was out of my desperation. I told him what had been happening. That I got down to 212 then all of a sudden I was 224 despite the dieting and despite the exercise. He proceeded to cut me off mid sentence and told me "It's your fault. You must not be following rules. You have to change your eating habits or it's not going to work." and I furrowed my brow in disbelief and just stared at him and finally said, "No. I'm following the rules. I'm eating nothing but liquids and soft mushy foods. I stop when I get full. I try everyday to get in 60 oz of water a day. I'm exercising as much as my surgery allows me to at this moment. I'm following the rules but I keep on gaining!" He talked over me and told me, "Stop drinking the sugary drinks. Stop eating the candy. Stop drinking the cokes. Stop eating the chips. Stop eating the pizza because this is why you're gaining." And I looked at my mother for help because there was no point in telling him again that he must be talking to the wrong person because I am not cheating and I'm following the rules that he set for me. My mother told him "Look doctor. Before she had the surgery and when she was little I let her eat whatever she wanted, but this surgery was big and I don't think she would throw this all away to cheat. I live with her. When she's cooking her food I'm there in the kitchen as well cooking for the rest of the family. I watch her. She does not cheat because we both want this to work." and it was the God honest truth. I wasn't cheating. I did have cravings when she was cooking for other people I would resist tasting and leave the kitchen immediately and would be successful in doing so. So he told my mother "Does she have her own room?" my mother said yes. "Does she go to sleep after you go to sleep or does she stay up late?" and my mom said she stays up as long as she wants to stay up. And mind you I'm 26 years old and a nurse and he still treated me as if I was a child. then he told my mother "well, ma'am. that's it. there's the problem. She's sneaking in food late at night while everyone else is asleep. The candy, the Cookies, the sodas." At that point, I zoned out and was unresponsive to anything else he said after that. I hated him for accusing me of behaviors that I was not exhibiting. After that he decided that what I needed was a fill. It was my first fill and he told me I have a 7 cc band and he put 2 CCs in that day. He made me left my own feet so band can protrude out making it easy for him to eye the port underneath my skin. It was hard holding up my legs especially as an obese person. He saw me struggle. Then he poke and prodded me with the needle and hurt my with each stick. and that was that. He sent me out, I went home, drank some Powerade, couldn't keep it down, couldn't keep my own saliva down, and ended up having to have a cup with me for more than 24 hours to puke my bile into. I called the office and told them that I needed an unfill and they told me I couldn't come in right away that I had to wait til 2 pm and I had called around 10 am. I was miserable. I went in and they weight me again after a day and I had gone down to 217 pounds and the lady that weighed me was all "OMG! 2 pounds in 1 day! that is awesome!!" if only she knew the hell I was going through in that 1 day. I was told that Dr. Reyes wasn't in because he was busy at the hospital and I would have to see his colleague Dr. Garza. When I began talking to Dr. Garza. He actually sat there and listened to me and didn't interrupt me while I was talking. I told him that it wasn't working and that I was having more difficulty trying to lose weight than when I was trying to lose it on my own without the lap band. I told him I was following at the rules and he told me "well, it's different for everyone. but I don't want you to give up. Keep trying and if nothing helps then come in and we'll try to figure out what's wrong." So then he got me ready to removed 1/2 cc from my band and he actually had one of the ladies come in and hold up my feet for me which was so much more comfortable and when he stuck me with the needle his hand was steady and gentle and it didn't hurt. But what surprised me the most was how after I got unfilled he sat me down and gave me a a tiny cup of water and told me to take my time drinking it and if it goes down without any complications I was free to go and if it didn't then I'll come back in and I'll readjust you again. I wanted to cry because Dr. Reyes didn't even care enough to do this for me. He just told me bye without testing if I could drink and keep down the liquids after having my band filled. So I went home and I could drink and eat but less which was how the band is supposed to work. I lost about 2 pounds and ended up going back to see Dr. Reyes. He told me he didn't know what was going on but not to blame the lap band because it's the patient's job to to work with it. So I went to my main doctor and there was this new PA there and she diagnosed me with hypothyrodism because of my symptoms of not being able to lose weight and stuff and I went back to Dr. Reyes and told him I had hypothyroidism and I guess to him this was the reason I wasn't losing weight and he seemed to become nicer after I told him that. So then the PA calls me to tell me to buy some potassium pills to take with the thyroid medication she gave me and I did because I finally thought that the reason for not being able to lose weight was finally revealed. A couple of days later my doctor called me and told me to come in and when I did he told me that he had fired the PA because she was diagnosing multiple people with diseases they didn't even have and prescribing medications for these "diseases" so he told me that I don't even have hypothyroidism and told me to stop taking the pills that the PA gave me. So I was at square 1 again. Around this time my enthusiasm started to dwindle. I didn't care about losing the weight anymore. I didn't care about exercising. I didn't care what I ate. I thought what for? I'm a failure. I've been doing everything right. I followed the rules and maybe it just wasn't meant to be. I stopped going to Dr. Reyes' office and now weigh 230 pounds and have weighed this much for months. I recently went to the my main doctor for a 3 month check up and saw my weight at it was 232 pounds and something just clicked...that I need to continue losing weight and get rid of all the negativity and let go of the past. There was a time when I thought of revision to gastric bypass or gastric sleeve but I don't think that I could do this all over again. So, I'm trying to become more positive and I feel like this is my time to really lose the weight this time. Without the band. The band means nothing to me anymore. And one day I want it removed. I'm not focused on it anymore. I'm just focused on eating healthy and exercising. I'm currently doing the 17 day diet by Dr. Moreno and doing turbo jam and/or zumba 6 days a week and I have lost 10 pounds so far and contribute nothing to band anymore. It's all me! and will only be me. I would still like to come here on these boards for support on my weight loss journey though. I find that music really helps in situations and I just wanted to share a song that resonates with me and relates to my lap band situation with my doctor and everything and wanted to share it here. You can look for it on youtube. It's Called Monarch by Natalie Walker.

Transitioning to mushies from liquid will cause weight gain if you are eating the wrong mushies. What are you eating? It's been a bad three months hasn't it? But three months in the band world is nothing! Like they said, be patient.Can you switch to Dr. Garza? My gutt (pardon the pun) tells me that although your story was long and detailed, that there is more to the story. Take it easy and do some soul searching...

I have had lower abdominal pain, extreme fatigue, mucus in my stool, dizziness, and constipated. The doctor thinks I have a type of colitis and have a colonoscopy next week. For those of you who have colitis, can you take medication that is approved for the sleeve? I dont want to take steroids that will cause weight gain and I cant take anti-inflammatories. I dont know how I can go back to work with this fatigue and cramping. Does it ever let up?

Hi Skylily, What a journey you've had! I've had it fairly easy in comparison, but am still struggling to get to a "healthy" weight. I had a set back last year after an injury and spent the past year not exercising and eating what ever I wanted. Somehow I've managed to keep the weight gain to only 12lbs. I'm back on track now, doing medifast (that I get from my WL surgeon) to try to get under 200lbs. Even with the band we all have to work at this! Have you have an xray of your band? The reflux and choking sounds like your band might have slipped. My sister in law had that happen afer she had a baby. The band slipped and the reflux was terrible. She had her band totally unfilled and after 4 weeks the band is back where it's supposed to be. She's starting to have it refilled next week. Might be worth a visit to your surgeon to have that checked out. Good luck to you on your weight loss journey!

*insert newbie pre-surg boilerplate disclaimer* My take away from Dr. Vs video is a bit different. I feel like he was saying that exercise is not a magic bullet to achieve long term weight loss success. He pointed out that many people use it as an unproductive punishment, rather than a natural evolution of fitness. He said that weight loss after surgery is controlled by diet rather than exercise. And that before we go to the gym, we need to be sure to confirm we have 1) A great post WLS diet in place and 2) We have our head/psychology/stress management in good shape. Then and only then will exercise benefit our long term goal of staying healthy and at a normal weight. I think he makes sense here to some degree. And completely agree that what works for my fluffy ass, isn't going to necessarily be true for anyone else. (Example: So for instance, I'm fluffy and might think, "Dayum, I'm fluffy cuz I like Dr. Phil too much and I'm not disciplined enough to get to the gym each day." So I try harder to go to the gym, I'm just 2 months post surgery, and eating too few calories to support an intense, extended ass whoopin' at the gymn--barely meeting my protein requirement. I do my circuit, come home, am exhausted and hungrier after the activity...and I flop down in my easy chair, turn on Dr. Phil, am starving and yet, beat and end up eating more volume/calories or eating off plan with easy slider food (like a whole can of Pringles or falling into a bag of Lay's, cuz my body is demanding more calories, those types of calories don't stretch my pounch and go down SO DAYUM GOOD. I end up undoing all the good of the activity and worse, to the point that I would have been much better off, just staying on my post surg diet, doing something to address my stress levels and processing the headwork that contributed to my fluffy state and not exercising in the first place. Or--I only go the gym 1 time a week cuz it makes me feel like a crap sandwich and so I beat myself up for it for being such a loser which makes me depressed and I end up turning on Dr. Phil, grabbing the can of Pringles, etc--and then find it nearly impossible to force myself back to eating as I KNOW I should. Weight gain/guilt ensue...) There was a fairly recent study that shows some argument that exercise alone will not help weight loss. But, I do know that doing exercise like slow burn and resistance training absolutely helps improve insulin resistance, which directly affects weight loss and how calories are processed by the liver post workout...so, yeah. Interesting question and love the discussion!!

My insurance didnt care about weight gain between appts but between your initial weight and final weight before submitting you could not show a gain-ie no net gain. Be sure you know what your ins stance is. Aetna is who i have and they would have denied coverage.

After weight loss phase I worked myself up to about 1800-2000 cals a day, BUT I was also exercising moderately to high every day. However, I gained about 6lbs during pandemic due to decrease in regular exercise (and increase in desserts and alcohol, lol). So I cut my cals to about 1200-1500 (and exercised a little bit more regularly, but not to pre-weight-gain levels cuz I'm lazy) around mid-summer and am basically back to 115lbs today (weighed in at 115.6 this morning). Soooo....based on this, if I exercise every day then I can maintain at 1800-2000 cals a day. If I stick to the amount of exercise that I am currently doing, I am guessing I can maintain at around 1700-1800 cals a day. If I don't exercise at all, it would probably be around 1500. Keep in mind though that other factors need to be considered to determine each persons' calorie maintenance level (age, metabolic rate, medication, malabsorbative functions of different surgeries, thyroid function, etc. etc....)

Had my band three years and lost at little over 40 lbs. It slipped and was removed 5/23/13, no weight gain and in fact lost. Had bypass last Wednesday and was really lucky. Very little scar tissue from the band so surgery was less than an hour. My problem was both blood sugar and blood pressure but having CHF and diabetes that was all to be expected. Went home in 24 hours, doing great and losing a lb a day. You'll do well and in no time be back to where you were and then some.

I'm embarrassed to admit I gained 25 pounds between the initial consultation appointment (October 2014) and the month of surgery (April 2015). The weight gain was due to food funerals, a.k.a. eating my favorite foods one last time before saying "goodbye." I also couldn't control my ravenous appetite. Luckily, my surgeon and insurance company were very lenient and didn't care whether I gained or lost weight during the pre-op phase as long as my BMI remained greater than 35.

So I got my surgery a year and a few days ago, and my weight dropped from 315ish to 268 at the lowest, and was hovering around 270 for awhile..... Now, I went to a doctors appointment when I was at 278...now I weighed in at around 295 at home....... I dont want to go to my doctors and tell them this. They saw my weight gain and told me to go on a 600 calorie a day liquid diet and I was like "LOL NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" because it just sounded ridiculous and impossible. Sleeve or not, thats borderline starving yourself. Thats a BIG problem as to why I gained weight. A part of me was like "I'll show them!!!".............. and now my clothes arent fitting, so I sure showed them...

I saw a story about Christina's 'massive weight gain' too and it pissed me off. A skinny celeb puts on 10 lbs and everyone is screaming that they're obese. Please! People wonder why so many young girls are dieting at younger and younger ages and no matter how skinny they get, they think they're fat. It's because of crap like this feeding their insecurities and poor body image. I recently saw Pitch Perfect and I was pleasantly surprised that they had some leading characters who weren't twigs. It's nice to see larger girls carrying a movie.

Well I am 2 weeks post op and gained 1.4 lbs!!!!! How is that possible? Things have been going great but when I stepped on the scale this morning I had gained weight. Of course I was disappointed and now all I wanna do is figure out what I was doing wrong. Could I already be hitting a stall? Some advice would be great!!

Karen, Funny how all of our systems are so different. I took Wellbutrin XL 300 for about a year. Didnt notice any weight gain. But didnt notice any aid in anxiety/depression either. Only problem with this was I had a very hard time sleeping when I took it.

This is a big issue that I don't feel gets addressed enough before or after surgery. I really felt this alot and spoke to my doctor about this. I didnt try to hide what I was feeling, they are your feelings. I also started a journal that I write positive affirmations about my weight loss journey. If I feel like I am going down that dysmorphia rabbit hole I reach out and speak to someone about this. It really helps when speaking with someone that has had the surgery and the same challenges and understands the process emotionally that goes with this surgery. Its hard to explain stuff or get true feedback and support from someone that doesnt really understand this process in my opinion. One of my coworkers had the same surgery and when we first met we smiled at each other and said "sister". I know that sounds odd but we bounce stuff off each other whenever we work together. For example she reached out to me because she was having issues with her husband (who is very supportive of her, but just doesnt understand the process emotionally.) talking about her watching her carbs. He felt she was getting "overly obsessive" about it. She is 3 yrs post op and has been struggling with some weight gain. Her husband makes her lunch for work and the stuff he puts in there is just bad! lots of breads, pastas, etc. well you can imagine. she has been making her own and bringing more healthier choices and she has started to drop again. The thing is you can't be afraid of your feelings, and need to address them whether its finding a support group or connecting with someone that you feel comfortable talking to. I talk to my doctor (reg doc) and have come up with some approaches that work for me. For me the anxiety is what gets me and I am proud to say I have a good handle on that now and the dysmorphia is so much more under control if you will. One really important thing that also helped me was to be realistic in my vision of myself. I am not 18 years old and will never have that body again. Accepting my self now at the age I am at now (60) and really feeling comfortable with my body now is extremely important. Society does woman an injustice by attempting to dictate how we are supposed to look. I feel great, better than I have EVER felt and I feel more alive now that before my surgery. I embrace that. I am happy and healthier for my surgery and owe it to myself to love myself and enjoy the rest of my life feeling good. Don't be hard on yourself. I recommend getting a book of positive affirmations and reading one every day. It sounds corny but the more positive you put into things (its hard in this negative world we live) the more positive you will feel. Love and light.

Hi, my name is Lizzee Leslie and I am 21 year old who had to make the difficult decision to undergo the Gastric Sleeve procedure. My journey begins and the tender age of eleven when I started to uncontrollably gain an enormous amount of weight. It was a shock considering I was a swimmer with the youthful dream of one day joining the US Olympics Swimmer Team, I was healthy and then all the sudden it changed. No one could figure out what was wrong with me. It took two years and over 120 pounds later when I was diagnosed with PCOS. For those of you who are not familiar with that is is when there are hundred of cysts on the ovaries and the symptoms are uncontrollable weight gain and as well as hormone irregularities. I tried everything, I joined a weight loss program for kids where I was eating less than 1200 calories a day along with 1.5 hours of exercise. But even with that there was no change. Nothing and no one could help me. It was ten years to the summer when I was giving the hope that doing the Sleeve procedure would help with my PCOS which in turn would help with my weight loss. So after a lot of thinking and praying and with the support of my amazingly wonderful family I decided to go ahead with the procedure. On 31 May 2011 I underwent the start of my transformation. It has been hard both emotionally and physically. It is hard because I had to go back to school in May and there were many question concerning how I lost all this weight and why I eat so little. I don't know how to explain without going through the entire story, which I don't feel as if it is anyones right to know. It is hard because of the extreme changes that are happening with my body and I know that it will continue to change and I don't know how to deal with the changes and the attention that comes with it. I molded myself and all who I am around my weight and as I lose it I feel as if I have to start over. I know that my quality of life is approving but it is hard when everything is changing. But I know with the help of my close friends and family that I can get through this positively and with a healthy attitude.

don't freak out and don't back out!! my mind won't stop running but there's no way I'm not going to do this. For years I have lost weight gained it lost weight and gained it and I'm done failing. we just need support. I'll be happy to talk with you everyday.

⚠️⚠️⚠️ I was in the army, ate right and exercised but wasn't able to do as much as I hurt my back but 15 years of service... and wanted to be able to retire. I got sleeved in jan 2006. Self pay 36 bouge. I was 205-210 at starting 5'6" I got down to 143. 5 months in I got PG and had a healthy baby boy 1 mo. before my 39th birthday. I stayed thin for years however in 2011 my cspine collapsed I had surgery and started taking neurontin. I had gained some weight back by then 160's and was able to eat what I wanted. I had to stay in bed and wasn't able to do much for quite awhile. I stayed doped up and eating more than usual before and after my surery total disk replacement and fusion in my neck. Pain meds do things to your body and the neurontin made me eat. Also drank red bull I think it was flavor and the b vitamins that made it so addicting. Long story short I have gained all my weight back it came on fast after I got to 185 and my back and hips started hurting so bad I could barely walk... Anyway. It happened to me and now I'm going to go through the sleev process all over again... This time I know what I'm getting in to as well I'm more prepared and hope against hope that I'll be able to get back to myself and exercising. For me the right amount was fast walking 30 min, 15 min sit ups and 15 min push ups on my knees 5 days a week. I just want people to know that this weight loss surgery is not permanent unless you make it that way. your hair grows back and you will be able to eat just about the same you ever did. Use your time to change what and how much you eat AND drink and pay attention to weight gain of 5 lbs. if that happens don't shrug it off don't buy bigger pants fit back into the small pants by exercise. You don't have to run a marathon but don't make excuses or wait because the weight can and will come back. I hate that I wasn't able to maintain my weight and I know that I could have done more to prevent it. Sad, 44 and I can hardly move because of my vitamin d and calcium deficient bones and this weight just makes it worse. Please read my words and heed my 5 lb. warning. Write if you have questions⚠️⚠️⚠️

That doesn't sound right. There is no way you should gain 50lbs in 4 weeks and have someone tell you, you just need to adjust. Please call and let them know about the weight gain and swelling and ask to see the doctor.

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) - New research indicates that an extract from the Korean pine nut could be effective in treating obesity by suppressing the appetite, an expert on obesity said on Friday. "We have a lot of new drugs that are in the pipeline and this is very encouraging," said Denise E. Bruner, an obesity expert from the United States. She said U.S. research showed that pinolenic acid extracted from Korean pine nut could dampen the appetite. "They looked at a group of women who had pine nut versus a group who didn't and they saw there's weight loss and they felt full longer," Bruner told Reuters on the sidelines of an anti-ageing conference in the resort island of Bali. The levels of two hormones that act as appetite suppressors, cholecystokinin and glucagons-like peptide, increased by 65 percent and 25 percent respectively in the subjects, she said. She also said she was encouraged by a new obesity drug produced by French company Sanofi Aventis, called Accomplia, also known as Rimonabant, that has been approved recently in the United Kingdom. "It blocks receptors in the brain that stimulate eating, so you don't feel hunger. This is a good agent," she said. Bruner said experts were also working to develop a vaccine against a virus called Adenovirus-36 which has been associated with weight gain. She said the social cost of obesity was staggering, with the United States spending $117 billion annually in health care in this area. "This is not to mention the loss of work and loss of productivity," she said.

Hey there Bermy: I am no longer banded since Dec 2005. I lost my band to erosion. So the weight gain is from no band and eating like a pig. I am struggling every day with the head demons but eventually I WILL WIN!!! Now back to the regularly scheduled program,... I made a comment that the title was harsh. I didn't mean the content was harsh. I tthink the content is "spot on" as Gordon Ramsey would say. He was the chef from "Hell's Kitchen". Anyway, the only thing I am ever so gradually getting around to saying is that in the rush to post sometimes we all need to think about how things are worded. I think we should all do our research. As Photonut commented about the thread I started "Be your OWN patient advocate" it gives the researcher some tools and questions to ask. But then again even doing the research you can NEVER answer all the questions or you might not be ready to hear the answers at that time. Life is a learning process and sometimes you just gotta roll with it. Tricia isn't asking us to conform to her way of thinking. I believe that she is just frustrated with the repeat questions at times. But let me clarify that she is NOT frustrated at the person but at the situation. Then again I don't wanna put words in her mouth either. That is my perception of the situation.

This is a tough question. I am not a mom, but I am a daughter and I know first hand what a mine field food and body image issues can be between mothers and daughters as well as fathers and daughters. As a former college student and also someone who has worked with a lot of college students here are some of my initial thoughts. College is the time when she really does need to learn what works for her. Trying new things and making mistakes is part of the process. Some of the danger areas related to weight gain as well as other risks that I see in college are: excessive drinking, lack of sleep, learning disordered eating behavior (dorms and sororities can be really dangerous places for anyone who is susceptible to eating disorder behavior), freedom to eat or not eat whatever or whenever you want, and lack of money/scarce funds. College is a time where she is learning to be independent. A parents role shifts from that of close supervision to trusted advisor. (That shift can be smooth or rocky depending on a lot of variables.) Good habits like a regular exercise routine, time management, and nutrition skills and knowledge can be helpful. What she has learned up to now and what she is learning in school both formally and informally will come into play. In my opinion, many of the key success skills related to succeeding in college are time/life management/balance issues. What can you do? I think the best thing you can do is love her, and be supportive in a nonjudgmental way. Instead of focusing on what you think she should do, work on developing an open and honest dialogue with her. Be honest about what you are going through: struggles and successes. Listen carefully to what she is concerned about but instead of telling her how to handle something, help her to explore solutions. Some recovery phrases come to mind: Your role as mother is shifting more to that of trusted advisor, so sharing your experience, strength, and hope is what is important. Hopefully, as she sees the changes you have been making and the results from those changes, she may be interested to learn more about what is working for you. Be open and honest but try to resist the urge to tell her what she should do. I know how hard it is to refrain from advice giving and try not to do so unless asked. But, look for openings when she is genuinely interested to talk about what you have learned along the way, whether it is related to nutrition tips or even sharing an easy recipe that you found that might be easy to make in the dorm, etc. I know this is disjointed. After thinking about this more I may have more thoughts. I would love to hear what others have to say.

Hi everyone! So this is my second real attempt into the beginning of getting Bariatric Surgery. I have visited this option for many years now, but it has never been something that myself or my family ever considered to be a smart or reasonable option: not until this past winter did I ever bring it up to my family and tell them that I really wished to do this. I am 21 years old, a senior in college, and weigh 300 lbs. This is the highest weight That I have ever been at and I have decided that this will always be the highest weight I will be at. I think starting from the beginning will probably be easiest for me (maybe not for you, lol) but I hope I get some people to read, give me some feed back (good and bad). I don't remember a time not being overweight, I see pictures of myself when I was heading off on the first day of school and that was probably the last time I saw a skinny version of myself. In every school picture I have I see myself getting bigger and bigger as I get older and older. It wasn't til 4th grade did I finally realize something wasn't right. I was the only child in my class who wasn't wearing the cute outfits and didn't have lots of friends; In fact I was the only kid to get made fun because I couldn't run as fast as the others and I was purposely picked last in games because I was fatter and slower. 4th grade was the first time I started to diet to try and lose the weight. Obviously It didn't last very long and my life growing up was a vicious circle or 1 step forward 3 steps back. I have tried about every diet out there; medifast, atkins, weight watchers, nutrisystem, the new weight watchers points plus, weird diets i found online, liquid diets.....so on and so forth. I've also wasted hundreds of dollars on gym memberships in which i attended for about a month and then gradually went less and less till I was just paying to have a tag on my key chain. Once I hit high school I just began to ignore the problem, I was a size 20 and could care less about it. I had the mentality that I was invincible, I was fine just the way I was and if someone said something about it they could (in my teenage angst voice) "suck it". 3 years out of high school and I have gained 80lbs....I have gained over 100lbs in just 8 years....wowwwww. ha, Yea this is not okay. After my last and final "diet" program is when I confronted my parents and told them that this is something that needs to be done. Though they were very displeased with this because of the risks they knew things were going to get worse if i didn't make this change. I am already at a weight where I have restless sleep, terrible knee pains, I have a hard time bending over to pick things up, not to mention my asthma is getting worse...I now have to do this awkward side back bend to pick something up because my knees and back just arn't doing what they should be at age 21. I also visited my OBGYN about my period being so off schedule; she told me it was because of my weight and that my body is confused and thinks my rapid weight gain is because I'm pregnant. The thing that made me most upset to hear from my OBGYN was that I am at such a high weight and am considered morbidly obese that If i even tried to have kids there was GOING to be complications.....Now I am NOT trying to have kids in the first place, but If I have gained over 100 lbs in 8 years what is my weight going to be in another 8 years when I am ready to have kids? I visited a seminar on WLS about 3 months ago, and I began the process about 2 months ago....I got as far as deciding I wanted lap band, and going to see the nutritionist the first time to meet her and get paper work started for blood work and my psychological evaluation. I think I get nervous and gave weight watchers point's plus a try, I lost 10 lbs but then had a hard time with tracking and gained it all back. I am now getting ready to go back to the nutritionist and talk more with them about what to do. I am pretty sure That I have to start over from square one, but that's okay because It gave me more time to realize that I no longer want lap band, but feel that the VSG is a much better fit for me. I want a permanent life style change, so I want something that Is going to permanent. There is no easy way around this, I am ready for something to finally kick me in the ass and force me to make the decisions I need to make. Now I know this surgery will not make my brain want carrots and peas but If I can slowly retrain myself to eat as well as to like new foods then that's how It needs to be. I am already trying new foods and cutting back drastically on fast foods, eating out, and have practically quit smoking. I have been on and off smoking for about 4 years. I haven't bought a pack in 4 months, and have only had about 6 cigarettes in those 4 months. I honestly don't feel the urge to smoke anymore! .....now to quite drinking diet pepsi.....I hate coffee and tea so idk how i'm going to get my caffeine fix!! so to conclude this entry, I believe I am ready to try again and actually go through with this. My question for all of you who actually sat here and read all of that.....what were some of the worst things you didn't expect after surgery? how many of you had 2nd thoughts and/or even backed out like I did? why? did you go through with it? Also did anyone have issues with cigna insurance covering this procedure? Thanks for readying everyone, sorry if it got kinda lengthy. (I will also apologize now for this blog's and any other blog's gramatical errors...writing is not my strong point! lol) -Heather