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I thank those who post about sudden or long term problems with the band. It would appear things are going along ok for some of them for years and then big problems and weight gain. Frankly, this scares me. I've adjusted to banded life for over 8 years and am very compliant....but hear others are as well and then BOOM ... Their life changes. Maybe long term success with the band people just don't post often? I know there are many of us out in the world????just wanting to believe that I suppose

Good luck hopefully you will be scheduled in Oct and heeled up for holidays. Wow can you imagine a Christmas without the weight gain! I am figuring it wouldn't be until January, or even Feb before my date, thats if all go's as planned and no insurance hold ups.

If you're taking BC pills you need to continue them for at least 1 year after surgery. The risk is too high to you and the baby if you get pregnant before you lose all of your excess weight. Plus it's very unsafe for a baby to gestate in an overweight mother. While those babies survive just fine, they have many issues as they grow up so it's to your advantage and your future child's advantage for you to get on birth control (no reason to stop taking it 4 weeks before surgery - say on it the entire time - talk to your surgeon about that) and stay on it for at least 12 months following or until you've lost all of your extra weight then about 3 months after you've reached your goal. Once you're at that point you'll know how you should eat. This is crucial because it's very likely you'll have your Fluid mostly - if not completely - removed if/when you become pregnant and if you already know how to eat you'll be able to minimize weight gain outside of the necessary 20-30 lbs for your baby.

Hi, Rahnava... I too was sleeved by Dr. Garcia..Surgery day was April 27.. So far I've lost 55.3 lbs post op, but I lost 16 lbs pre op..for a total of 71 lbs. I completely understand about the 5-6 lb weight gain during TOM. I'm currently going through it right now and its' so frustrating, but even if we're smaller and at our goals this would still happen..I see it as one of the woe's of being a woman.. You'll break out of the 60's I'm sure of it.. I was stuck for about 3 wks at 300 lbs and within 2 days... i literally dropped 4.5 lbs. I upped my workouts and spent more time outside sweating and I believe that helped a lot... I agree with Lauranbob... 60lbs in 6months is awesome! Sure we'd like for it to be more, but I've found that we all lose differently.. I've read on here where some have lost 100 lbs by month 4 but that clearly isn't in the cards for me.. As long as we're losing that's what's important, right? My goal is to lose 9-10 lbs a month. Anything extra is just icing on the cake... Sometimes I've exceeded that and other times like this month I have not.. I've only lost 7.8 lbs for July, but it's 7.8 lbs less on me than before. I have about 100 lbs to loose myself. So I figured 9-10 lbs in a month in a 10 month period is feasible. I don't think I'm reaching for the stars with that amount... We can do this!! Set backs..stall's or whatever you call them are bound to happen.. But as long as we're following the plan we can't lose... Stay encouraged, okay?

Your doc may be right about 140 being a bit too small. I am small-boned. Even at my heaviest I had to have links taken out of my watches and bracelets to fit my wrist. I wear a size 6 or 6 1/2 shoe. My feet have always been narrow so the only good thing that came out of all my weight gain was that my foot got wider and I could pretty much wear any style I wanted. Now I'm back to narrow sizes so I am limited to shoes that buckle around the ankle, lace up or just run narrow. But if that's the only bad thing to come out of this surgery, I'm OK with that.

I don't think you are trying to be obnoxious. And for many to get down to your goal weight is a major struggle. But one has to remember that the band does not cure your root problem in regards to your weight gain. I know some that go up and down with their weight on the band and thats because the total concept is still not yet in place. For years I was eating the wrong food, not being active enough and doing everything wrong until I was so heavy that I was in a critical mode. The band is a great starting point and for some it will take awhile to let it go. I dont suggest that you walk away from the band but look into many other alternatives that address health and weight loss because the more you go down this road the less you will need the band and the associated problems that can occur. (food get stuck etc...)

my post op instructions said to wait for 2 weeks, Buuuuuut, I was never one to follow most instructions, thus the weight gain. But anyway, I was banded 8/29/07 and my DH and I took it REAAAAAL slow and managed 5 days later. But everyone is different. Good Luck on your journey.

Vent warning! So, yesterday I worked my last shift at work, I have the weekend and the holiday off normally, then Tuesday I am off for another doctors appointment (unrelated). Surgery is Wednesday. I am ready. A little nervous, but mostly excited and anxious to get this done. Hubby is home for his normal day off. All he is doing is giving me crap about the unnecessary surgery and how I can lose all the weight if I just diet more and walk at least 5 miles a day. He conveniently has forgotten that I gained all the weight when I hit 40 and was doing EVERYTHING RIGHT! Including also walking EVERYWHERE. He also conveniently forgets all my failed diet and exercise attempts and how my health has been steadily going down hill with the weight gain. Or how many times he has helped to sabotage me. He is TRYING to be supportive, but he is berating and mocking me at every chance he gets. I know this is his stress talking. He is so afraid of surgery and he thinks of this as an elective/unnecessary procedure. HIS surgeries have complications. Mine are always fine thus far. I see it as a necessary procedure to help me regain my health. Anyhow... he was awful this morning. I finally got angry and nearly broke down in tears. When that happened he finally got his **** together and said he is supporting me. If he wasn't supporting me he would now have gotten time off of work to help me or drive me to/from the hospital. But that doesn't change what a jerk he is being. Just so frustrated! And of course, time feels slower now that I am so close. Need to move the clock forward. I desperately want to get past the surgery so he can stop freaking out and I can start recovering!

It's the strangest thing to watch and feel my body lose weight and change. I mean just the weirdest sensation. I have to wonder why I didn't feel this when I was gaining weight. As uncomfortable and as many weird sensations as I've felt losing it, you would think there would have been some tell-tale signs when I was gaining; but no. Or maybe I just chose to ignore them. So the strangest sensation to me is feeling my ummm private areas shrink. I know most overweight people have what they call a "fat pad" covering their pubic bone area.. but as my stomach shrinks and that area shrinks it's just the strangest feeling. I woke up this morning like something was "off" so I go and look in the mirror and I was right something was indeed off.. FAT and unwanted pounds. But now.. now one side of my stomach is an inch tighter than the other side. Ok so maybe all of this is an overshare but I KNOW I cannot be the only one experiencing this. Like I look in the mirror and while I never had a HUGE belly it did hang more than I would of liked stopping just before my pubic area..but now the right side is up and so is the left, just not as much as the right.. a whole inch difference to be exact. Thank the Lord for being celibate right now because ummmmmm my naked body changes on a daily basis! There's no hanging/sagging skin - THANK YOU JESUS! but the fat I do have is shifting/changing where it's deposited at as I lose it. For instance.. my bra-line incision is now in the middle of my stomach and to the left, not under my bra and centered like it was. I'm at a point where I'm SO anxious to see what's underneath all of this, I now understand why people get surgeries like liposuctions and tummy tucks... Watching my stomach shrink and get definition is AMAZING to me... especially when I really haven't been working out. I know I know.. I could be alot further on in my process but I was so consumed with other things I wasn't making time to workout like I should...and the muscle weight gain I experienced was a turn off but now I'm back at it. Doing what's necessary to burn the rest of this weight off and sculpt the beautiful body I know is underneath. I've always had a nice shape, just a big shape..an hourglass but the big ben of hourglasses....if that makes sense lol. So I'm SUPER anxious and motivated to get to the final result. In the meantime these sensations are just SO weird to me.. and when you think about it, it shows you just how amazing the human body really is. The sensation I'm experience is my skin being able to breathe, being exposed to air after being covered by layers of fat or rolls previously. First it itches and can be painful as the skin is healing but then it just heals up into smooth, soft, supple skin. It's the most amazing thing. The down side is seeing stretchmarks where I didn't know I had them.. like the backs of calves. I've always had nice legs, big, powerful, muscular, as the little bit of fat that was on them goes, I can see the traces of stretchmarks, everyone says I'm crazy and they don't see anything, but I see it, has to be in the right light but it's there.. I see it! Then again I've had stretchmarks since I was 8 yrs old... They're all old and faded and blended in with my skin. Only if I tan too much do they really show or turn red. Ok I'm rambling but seriously this journey is just AMAZING to me... absolutely, positively AMAZING.

i have no ideas on your matter at hand, but you and i are in about the same boat. ha ha, i just have gone to one seminar, i do not have to have the 6 months supervision, but the surgeon place that i went to the seminar handed out a sample letter that they want my dr to write to my insurance. this sample letter sounds very, very, very urgent to have the surgery as soon as possible in order to save life. i am going to take this letter to my dr tomorrow, i also have to have 5 years of past medical records to show my weight gain and medical problems i havel, so far that is all i have to do. if it is possible perhaps we can email back and forth, and maybe i can find a way to copy this sample letter to you and you can take it to your primary doctor. i know that this whole process is not going to happen with out your drs. help. so i would start with your primary, and perhaps they can fine some sort of supervised diet place that can help, like weigh watchers or something along those lines that would be ok to attend that is close to your house. I hate to say this, if we could all conntrol and loose weight in the 6 months, then we would not need the surgery..doesnt make sense to me with the insurance thought process....but you have to jump thru their hoops in order to get them to pay. i hope you well in your progress.. keep in touch i am a bit computer illertrate and how do to alot of things on the computer so email me and we can stay in touch

You have not really started using the Lap Band for weight loss yet. The first few weeks have not been for weight loss but for healing...weight loss has just been a fortunate side effect of liquid/mushy diet. The meaning of Bandster Hell is the period between when you go on solids to when you start getting fills and really using your band. Weight loss often stalls and weight gain is even common but that is alright and perfectly normal, we've all been through it. You have done some drastic switches to your metabolism in the past 4-6 weeks and now it is a little out of whack but it will normalize. Just be patient and try to stay calm. This was a stressful time for me too, there is a lot of worry and concern over whether we are doing things right and whether this will work for us. But if you just do what your doctor says everything will be just fine.

Thanks for the posts. I had surgery July 11th and lost pretty good the first week and a little the second week. By the third week, my period came on and I had water weight gain. My surgeon totally freaked me out. He berated me and made me feel like such a failure. I have followed all the recommendations and even went down a size. Now that my period is off, my weight has dropped a few pounds. I am doing drinking protein shakes, water, and taking about 6000 steps about five times a week. I know this is a process but I am literally scared to death to go back to my surgeon and not lost like he wants me to. You all have confirm that these things happen, but I am so afraid to return to his office in three weeks without a huge amount of weight loss.

I doubt the weight gain is directly responsible for your misery, but I'm not a doctor. I would recommend you contact a doctor. If it were me, I'd consult a gastroenterologist. Theories on your current situation: Theory #1: You may have long-term, silent reflux. After a while, it sort of erodes the lining of your stomach and causes an ulcer. Theory #2: The changes in your diet may be contributing to an exacerbation of your reflux. If you have reintroduced diet sodas, are they caffeinated? Caffeine can contribute to acid reflux (as per my doctor). The gluten in bread is more challenging to digest. Not to say you're gluten intolerant, it's just the nature of the beast. If you're eating too late into the evening/too soon before bedtime, you may have residual undigested food that's sort of "laying there" and causing your discomfort. Theory #3: The extra weight MIGHT be causing additional pressure on your diaphragm at night and contributing, but is unlikely a primary cause. Theory #4: A combination of theories 1-3. Long-term, untreated GERD can have lasting consequences. Please consult a doctor. In the meantime, if it were me, I'd implement standard GERD strategies: PPIs (prilosec/nexium), make changes in my diet to avoid foods that contribute, sleep on a wedge/inclined bed, do not eat 3 hours before bedtime, etc. Good luck!

Hi: The last time I had a fill, I stayed nauseated for a while. I noticed it the most when I laid down. Then sinus drainage did not help that at all ! ! ! I thought maybe, a little to tight. Now almost 90 days later. I find myself getting hungrier through the day. I'm scheduled for the end of July to go back in for a fill, but I don't want to be to tight. (I HAVE BEEN IN THE RED ZONE BEFORE, AND IT'S NO FUN.) So I'm thinking of just trying to start to figure out all these different foods that I do eat for Protein, and Calorie Purposes, and somehow change things around to satisfy myself. Also still thinking about a slight tweaking. at the Surgeons Office. I have 2.75 in a 4cc Band. So trying to figure out how to make this work They would like tight , because they don't want to see weight gain. Well I don't want weight gain either, but don't care for this nausea. I'll see if he prescribes something or maybe some PEPCID COMPLETE will do it. PCP won't touch it ! Even if it is sinus drainage also....

So I'm not off the rails by any means, but struggling to get even a few lbs off. I'm 2 yrs & 8 months post VSG. And 4 months post LBL. Up until my LBL I'd consistently maintained a 130 lbs weight loss. Maintaining that loss was not without effort. My diet in check, track everything I eat, exercise 6 days a week. Immediately after LBL I feel like a switch got flipped. My weight bounced around a bit with the expected weight loss with my skin removal (which was minor as it truly was just skin being removed) and then the expected gain with swelling and of course lack of activity while I recovered. Nothing that concerned me. But now I'm up 7 lbs and I can't seem to shake it. I've locked down my eating, increased my water intake, I've been back to previous amount of cardio for over two months, I'm keeping a tight control on sugar and carbs which is much harder these days, getting in all my protein and still the scale isn't moving. It's like my body is intent on holding onto the extra weight. What gives!!!! I feel like if my calorie intake goes above 1,000 a day, I gain weight which is crazy. I was able to maintain eating 1200-1400 a day before. I know it's just 7 lbs, but 7 becomes 10. And fear of returning to old habits and regaining weight is always top of mind with me. I'm sure I'm not alone. Hoping this is just part of the recovery.

I am 3 months and was 34 pounds down hit a stall and started gaining. 3-4 pounds. The stall I can handle, the weight gain has me discouraged. Is occasional gain expected? RJ will say a prayer for you! I see you post often and you rock!!

I've been banded almost 4 years now. Like you, I've never really assumed this will be a lifetime thing, I really hope to get 10 years out of it, if nothing better's out there and my band wears out, I wouldnt hesitate to get another. I'm intrigued by the sleeve and I do believe for a lot of people its a better surgery but I dont think I'd swap over, I think I'd get another band. If I were so lucky as to get 20 years out of it, I dont know what I'd do then, whether I'd have any other WLS at all. I really think the longer this goes on, my habits are becoming more and more consolidated. I dont want to be so arrogant as to say that I could have done this without the band, but I am now maintaining my weight on about 1800 to 2000 calories a day which is quite a reasonable amount of food (I have to work REALLY hard to get it all in, but I need it) and I will never give up running, I love it. So I lost 120% of my excess weight and whilst I'm sure I'd have rebound weight gain if I lost my band in even 10 years, I dont think I'd really shoot up to my previous high, which was heavily influenced by being a stay at home mother of young children, something which no longer applies to me. Not sure there. But I do think somewhere in the future they'll work out how to control our appetites, not restrict our stomachs! i dont need an emergency fund, in Australia, if my band slips, wears out, or I just want it out, its pretty much free. Our health insurance covers it, no arguments, no pissfarting around. Its paid for. I paid a once only $3000 fee and I will never pay for any service from my surgeon out of my own pocket again. He bulk bulls everything, so its billed straight to our public health system and my private health will always pay for ANY hospital stay costs.

Alright, I'm kinda new around here and I just recently got filled so that I'm finally losing weight. In the last 3 and a half weeks I'm down almost 18 pounds (liquids, blenderized, soft, etc) and I've changed nothing in the way that I'm eating over the weekend. But now the scale went up 6 pounds since Friday. Now, could this huge weight increase be because I'm supposed to "start" pretty soon or what? I'm keeping track of all of my foods/calories/protein like I should be. I'm getting 1200 - 1500 cal. per day and 60 - 70 grams of protein a day. I'm only drinking water like I should be and I'm walking, like I should be. But it's just frustrating that after weeks of losing I started to gain some this weekend and of course, I go back to my doctor tomorrow. Could starting your period really cause that much of a weight (water, more than likely) increase? What can you do to help it along as well? Thanks!

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

It sounds like you have identified some options for yourself... going to to the hospital and having outpatient interviews, or waiting for an appointment with your PCP. These may not be your first or favorite choices, but I suggest you get both of those things going until you can figure out something better. As a psychiatric social worker, I can tell you that early intervention is the best thing for both Depression and Anxiety. Also, as for the weight gain that comes with some antidepressants, not all are created equal... talk with your whoever you end up seeing when you have your appointment and discuss this concern. There are lots of meds on the market that do not have this side effect. A good one right now that many people have lots of success with is Pristiq. In the mean time while you're waiting for your appointment (which I'm hoping you will schedule today especially since you've already identified might be a wait), please do some self-care and be gentle with yourself. You're just recovering from surgery. You're body and mind are in transition and that's no small adjustment. Allow yourself some grace. It's okay to feel overwhelmed at times, worried, frustrated, uncertain, however you feel. I'm so glad you reached out here. Keep talking to others!

Congrats! It was great to see how you stuck with it, even with the plateaus and weight gain setbacks! Great job, awesome!!!!

My name is Kerri and I'm a 37 year old wife and mother of 2. I've been battling PCOS since 1999, gaining weight, losing weight, gaining more...blah blah blah, you know the story! I've been on Metformin for more than 10 years, but my a1c keeps creeping up. Doctors have suggested that I look into bariatric surgery, so I went to two seminars. That was two years ago, when I found out that our insurance doesn't cover a dime of bariatric surgery, under any circumstance. In the meantime, I prayed that we could come up with the money. I have all of the support of my husband and family, but the funds just weren't there. To make a really long story short, I got some blood test results recently that gave me an official diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. I'm feeling pretty crappy with headaches and horrible, throbbing leg pain. I decided right then and there that I need to make this happen sooner rather than later. WE HAVE THE FUNDING FOR MY SURGERY! I'm currently scheduling my scope, then I will have a surgery date! I'm hoping for end of June. I am so excited to go on this journey with you all! Now I'm off to explore this fun site!

Christine, I did get my band removed. I'm one of the people the band didn't help (other than that it make me take a serious look at my eating habits and just try harder...that's worth a lot), so no I wouldn't get it again. My surgeon still feels like I would be a good candidate for the sleeve since I did follow the rules and would most likely be successful, but I'm just not at the point of reconciling myself to being that drastic. Now, if in the next 6 months I see my weight climbing and problems once again with needing meds for my diabetes...yeah, I'll do it in a heartbeat. There are all sorts of possible problems with every WLS...some they don't even think to tell you. You just have to weigh those issues against what you're dealing with as far as weight gain and possible health problems and then decide which takes precedence *for you*. .

Hey everyone, was looking for a lap-band buddy. I was banded January 2007, lost weight, gained, and now I'm back on the "bandwagon", just looking for someone for support and accountability especially with excercise (I'm usually motivated, but I fell this week in the snow and in a lot of pain, I'm afraid that I'll lose my motivation) Thanks for reading!

I don't weigh daily. I just weigh monthly. Have seen a downward trend each and every month for the past year and a half. I personally, can't handle daily fluctuations. Many people can. I'm not one of them. I may change to weekly weigh-ins once I get to maintenance, but for now, once a month is the way I avoid those fluctuations.......You've probably always had a little weight gain from Fluid retention during your cycle, but you're probably in super excited mode about your stellar weight loss that you have a heightened awareness of the numbers on the scale. Give it a few days and weigh again. VIOLA .......You may be even below that 150 mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!