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I'm so frustrated!!! For my last weigh in (2 of 4) I gained weight. I was on a new medication and weight gain was one of the side effects. I'm trying to get back down to my first weigh in weight but I'm having such a hard time! I'm so afraid that I'll be denied. I called my insurance company to ask about their requirements and was told that there isn't a weight loss requirement, but a BMI of >40 is required. Which I have and then some, but I'm still nervous.

Hi, I have a complicated story and need some input. I won't go into a long story as it is quite twisty turny. Long and the short of it is that I had an RNY done 3 years ago and lost all my weight to goal in 9 months. I kept it off and loved my bypass. Then at the 2 year mark, I developed a rare side effect and the decision was made by my medical to team to reverse it to see if it would mitigate or relieve the effects/complication with the intent to sleeve me as soon as I was healed to continue with the restrictive aspect. (because it is not a common situation, they knew it was possible it would not help) They reversed it in Sept 2014. Again, I healed great but promptly started gaining (Even though I did my very best to maintain my RNY eating habits) in January 2015, I was cleared to have the sleeve done and I have been working out like crazy daily to hold the weight gain at bay. The complication is still an issue but we have resigned ourselves to that fact and have been managing it quite well. My sleeve date will be mid june.... Here is my query... I loved my RNY. I loved the restriction and everything about it. I hear so much about people failing the sleeve/the sleeve failing the people and converting to an RNY. I am very afraid that the sleeve won't be enough. I regained 40 lbs and only need to lose 40 to get back to goal. I would like to hear some feedback about the sleeve. Do you have restriction? Is it noticeable? Average weight loss? IS it a tool that can work? I know how the RNY works. Can I (if I use it properly and respect it) have an honest expectation to lose weight with the sleeve?

From what you said this is emotional eating. So you may want to lower your stress levels or obtain some professional help to achieve this goal. Some people opt to weight themselves daily and the ups and downs can weight heavily on stress levels. So if you do this, it might be better to weight yourself once per week or once per month. You have lost 110 pounds so far and that is a good thing. Generally advice is to eat Protein first in your meals. Snack on protein or fats and minimize carbs Snacks. You may be nearing the maintenance stage and in that phase it is important to maintain your weight loss and not gain some of it back. A few months back I asked my nutritionist "Why do some people lose significant weight after surgery to gain some of it back?" She said it was due to grazing. So it is important to keep your grazing (snacking) in check. When I reached the maintenance stage, I reasoned that I needed to be happy with my meals in order to achieve long lasting effects. So I experimented a lot. I weighed myself daily and gave myself some freedom both in meals and snack. If I noticed any weight gain, I pulled myself back and fine tweaked my eating habits in order to remain stable.

My BMI was 35 when I got mine done 4/16. I was also self-pay. In the 6 days since, I have lost 15 lbs (207-192). It will probably slow soon (and stall out for a while around week 3), but I already feel so much lighter. I am really glad I got it done now and did not wait until my BMI was 40+. I have been fighting weight gain my entire life and since I turned 40 I was losing the battle. I have no doubt I would have gotten there.

I guess I feel like more of a failure in losing and keeping the weight off because I know I am capable of it with diet & exercise...but my emotional eating (worse with having a mood disorder), constant hunger, cravings & out of control appetite make it so hard..in addition to that I can't stick to anything to save my life, I go from diet to diet and practically starving myself at times until I end up binge eating by the 3rd day and the cycle continues..but are all these good reasons to get wls? Are these some or all of the same problems others have that had surgery to lose the weight and keep it off? I don't have any health problems that cause weight gain, but I do take required medications that contribute to increased appetite & slower metabolism. I don't know who I am trying to prove all this to? :-/ I guess only myself. Because I really shouldn't care about anyone else's opinion, but I wish I had the willpower and motivation and dedication, etc to do this on my own, but I haven't been able to in the last 12 years so I deserve a solution to be happy with how I look and feel And with this new "tool" I am confident that I can achieve that.

I completed all my requirements the end of March, met my surgeon April 9 and told my surgery date would be May 28. I was so bummed, 7 weeks of waiting. I have been going crazy. I honestly think I could write a book with all the research I have done in the last 6 months and now I was being told I needed to wait almost 2 more months. I thought I was going to lose my mind. Every day has been a battle of making sure I have been doing everything and to be told I have 7 more weeks of walking on egg shells. Luckily for me I did not have to lose any pre surgery weight, but it is just as hard maintaining my weight, especially knowing that I cannot gain any weight. Four months ago I went up two pounds and was reminded of the program's no weight gain policy, it didn't matter that I was just 3months smoke free, where many individuals that quit smoking gain 20 plus pounds within the first 6 months. With this extra time I have been trying to keep busy, I have all my vitamins, protein powder, stuff for the hospital... Now if I could only make the weeks fly by. I teach middle school and course this is Spring vacation so I have a week off and the forecast is rain all week so I cannot even go outside and enjoy a good walk. I know I need to not be so impatient, up it is so hard, I have never wanted anything as much as I want this. Sometimes I wonder if I have my hopes for this too high and once it happens it will be a big let down.

It is the insurance, but I am struggling as my weight is now screwing with my knee, and I can't excersise and my wait loss had now turned into a weight gain...I wonder if that is gonna be an issue.

There are too many "what ifs" in life. But since you started...What if you don't have this surgery? What if you continue on your current weight gain track? Its totally normal to feel anxious, nervous, scared, excited and whatever other feeling you may have. Just ask yourself why you are having this surgery and why you decided to do it now. Whenever I doubted my decision, I reminded myself why I was doing it. You can do it. Hopefully, you have a support system at home but if not, we are all here for you. good luck

So 6 years ago when i started this process I weighed in at 230lbs. 5'2" and completely out of shape. Fortunately for me that was all i was... FAT. I had no other issues, thank God. But with the family history i have.. i was headed down the high blood pres., diabetes, heart des. path. At that time i had great insurance and it was covered. I did have some out of pocket expenses. A few co pays and some of the hospital.... total about 2k. (he throws that in my face all the time). I had WLS on the Tuesday and was back at work on the Monday... At that point i was laid off from my job of 10 years. But i started cleaning houses and was making good money. but i went back to "work" after 7ish months. At first he was supportive... at least i thought he was. He had made little comments here and there about me losing the without the surgery. I brushed it off. I have had a few other surgeries since we have been married (1 c section, gallbladder, hysterectomy) and he was zero help. I don't know why i thought he would be for this "elected surgery". what was i thinking. I'm grateful that i have a high tolerance for pain and that i recover quickly. Anyway... Fast forward... the weight was slow to come off and he started with the little comments... I thought this was going to make you lose weight... Probably won't work for you.... Then weight loss started to show and the "attention" started, and he HATED!!! it..... He said things that were and still are very hurtful.... When i got to about 150ish... he ask How much more do you plan on losing? I said, i wanted to lose about 20lbs...Why? he said, because your starting to look like a bag of bones you look sick. He also said that i was prettier with a fat face because my wrinkles didn't show then. Are you going to wear that out, that shirt is kind of tight, don't you think... but that's what you want, all the men too look at you. so many others.... But the best one was a few weeks ago when he said that WLS was my HOBBY.... that i really didn't need it and that i could have lost the weight on my own if i really wanted too. we have been married for over 24 years, i weighted about 100lbs when we met. He never showed this side ever. Even through the weight gain he never said anything..... Now i see why.... it's was his way of keeping my self esteem at zero, the more i gained the worse i felt, the more control he had..... but as the weight came off and the confidence started to go up, his control started coming down. This is when the insults accusations got worse..... where are you, what are you doing, who are you with... what man are you flirting with that you could answer my call/text.... I know this is his insecurities.... But it still hurts. We live alone, both the boys are out of the house... My oldest is from my first marriage. We both have decent jobs and money is not something we really worry about (he controls the finances). But we argue most everyday.... the last one was about FB... Of all things. He saw an old classmate "like" a post i made and he blew up... But then i saw on his where he was "poking" 4 different classmates of his (all female all single)... So anyway i deactivated my account and so did he. At the time he said that that would fix everything.... that was almost 2 months ago and we are still arguing. I have BEGGED BEGGED BEGGED him to go to counseling. His answer to me was... Get a part time job to help pay for it and i will go. I know i rambled on and on.... but, don't sweep this under the rug... don't let it get out of hand... face it with him and try and get him to go with you to a counseling session. Have him say what his worries are. Don't be like me.... miserable at 46 years old.

Gosh I have a way from this site for quite a bit now. I'm actually hiding from my reality. My reality is that I am 3.5 years post opt and in the last few months I have gained about 12 lbs. My lowest was 143 and my highest as of this morning is 156.6lbs. I have times where I eat a lot of junk food. I'm sure I can eat up to 3000 calories in junk when I'm in an emotional spot and just don't care. Other days, I can keep the calories low and focus on mostly proteins. but I am a carb addict and I tend to tell myself lies and postpone the inevitable watching what I eat. This is not the easiest journey for sleevers but a good reminder that this is just a tool. It helps to read that others have the same struggle and hear suggestions given. My bariatic case manager has told me that if I eat more than 1200 calories, I will definitely gain weight. I of course have tested this only to discover how true it is by the reality of my weight gain. So today is the day that I am on proteins and keeping the calories really low. I also had an incident where my cat spelt half of my protein drink. Yayyy that helped cut calories there.

I don't want to scare you, but I just had a complete unfill last September. I was banded in 2002, lost all the weight I wanted to lose and had been stable at same weight for at least 5 years.I figured I should get the band checked by flouroscopy because it has been awhile..even though I was not really having any issues. Probably adjusted to the usual band quirks..which turned out my band had been too tight and I started to stretch my esophagus. Doctor recommened a complete unfill and wait 3 months. I was refilled from 2cc total to only 1cc. I had 2nd fill a month ago and now at 1.25cc. I quickly gained weight..it was crazy..even with little food, my body just back on, 10, 15, 20..all the way up to 50lbs where I am stuck now. I really have to fight to stop the weight gain. I think our bodies go from an abnormal state to a new abnormal state. Calorie restriction and calorie burning that "normal" humans can lose weight don't seem to be working. Do EVERY thing you can to not overeat and get in lots of exercise. Watch calories like crazy. I drink mostly Water other than Protein drink or milk that does in my Protein Drink. Count calories and stay as low as you can. I know that if I was not watching every bite, I would have packed on another 50. I am at least not back where I started which is another 85lbs up. I am eating and working out to the point I should be losing but my body is just maintaining. Very frustrating. Figuring my body is just trying to adjust to its new set point and will eventually start slipping back down again. I am hoping your unfill jourmey goes smoother than mine. I am so depressed to be this size now..even though I am not back where I started, it's alot of extra weight to suddenly cope with after years of being the same weight. I felt "fat" when I was up 3-4 lbs from my usual weight!! Sigh..wish I had THAT problem now instead! Seriously get into "battle" mode..do not get complacent about food and get moving!!

Well I have a bit of a hiccup to report. After suffering some pretty bad migraines, and not really being a migraine kind of person, my doc sent me for an MRI just to make sure I was all good. Long story short....I found out Friday that I have a tumor on my pituitary gland. It is benign, so praise the Lord. But it will have to be removed surgically as it is causing my headaches and messing with my hormones. And YES it is causing me to be completely unable to lose weight! And my acne that I'm suffering from! So now I'm waiting to hear from a neurosurgeon to get a consult and surgery scheduled. While I'm terrified and dumbstruck that I have this tiny alien growing in my brain, I am relieved to know that there is a reason I have been stuck at the exact same weight for months. In fact, I would bet money that had I not had the sleeve, I would probably weigh close to 300 pounds now because excessive weight gain is a side effect of this. Life can never be simple, can it?

1st time post. Question: I would like to hear comments on how you decided that it was time to have the sleeve surgery. I first started looking into surgery in March 2015. I had my first appointment on March 25, it was the introduction and free information seminar. They were able to tell me that my insurance would cover me if we had 3 weight loss evaluations and march 25 was my first one of three. Then we had to provide them with a 3year history of obesity, which my PCP provided. Then I had to jump thru hoops to get all the testing done and pass them. My 2 of 3 ( April 29) appointment will weigh in, psych evaluation, nutritionist and exercise supporter. Along with blood tests, etc. My 3rd of 3 appointments is on May ,19 and will be my 3rd weight loss evaluation. And my pre-op with the surgeon. Typically they schedule surgery 3 to 4 weeks after this appointment. Am I getting nervous or is this too fast? I really hadn't been thinking about my weight for awhile because 7 years ago I almost died from pneumonia and contracted MRSA while hospitalized. I ended up with a poor immune system. And I was happy because I was alive and that I was getting better. Obviously I was eating a lot while I was happy and gained back 65 pounds. Plus my back problem flared up and the medications that I take for the nerve endings and the pain increased which caused weight gain. Partly because of the 65 lbs I gained. The only way I am comfortable is laying flat on my back in bed. I can't exercise because of my back. This has been a vicious cycle. So my husband and I discussed that maybe it was time to go to a free seminar. But March to June is just 3 months. Maybe I'm scared about my future eating restrictions. All our family activity's revolve around food. It will be so different. I know this is probably the only way for me to loose weight. Which will allow me time to meet my grandchildren, do activities with my grown children, travel with my husband in out retired years.

I stalled for 2 weeks at weeks 4 and 5. Just about lost my mind but just kept with the diet. Then I just all of a sudden started losing again. I'm convinced it was my fat putting up a fight! Yea, I was stalled for 2 weeks, then had a 2.6 pound weight gain last Friday.. started my period. yay. :/ this morning I was down 2 of the 2.6 pounds.. my body is definitely fighting.

Try the 5 day restart. It works great. DO NOT get discoraged. Do try to keep a food journel, the my fitness pal has a great one. When I was 3 months in I was still having problems drinking. Your insulin might be slowing you down as well as other meds. A lot of meds have a weight gain in the fine print. But infortunitly, (excuse my spelling) fruits are OUT. My Dr. won't let me hve them cause they have to much sugar. Also, no salads cause they take up to much room in your new pouch. Give the 5 day restart a try, try the myfitnesspal. Keep up with updates for more support. GOOD LUCK!

Hey everybody, here is my situation....I started at 283 pounds, after struggling with my weight yo-yoing up and down all of 2013/14 I decided to go for weight loss surgery and got down to 262 pounds on November 11, 2014, by my next visit December 12, 2014 I was 252, getting through Thanksgiving and Christmas I still managed to lose 9 more pounds by January 29, 2015 which was my last required visit for insurance approval, In Feb I just maintained 243 and gained 1 pound on March 26, 2015 making me 244, by then I was approved and wasn't put on any strict dieting, or two week pre-op I hear every one talking about towards my date this Wednesday 22 Apr 2015, since my last visit I have gained weight due to a lot of back to back celebrations, my husband was promoted, and of course I was ecstatic about my approval.....I gained 4lbs then lost 2 of those lbs, then I look again and gained 5lbs, I don't know if its because I am a little anxious or I am checking too much, so today I just did liquids and I'm going to do so until my date and hope that I lose those 5lbs again, I would hate to have done so well to not be able to get it done because of 5lbs which I am hoping is due to my strength training I took on last week, I'm so mad, because I am so close, Has this happened to any one??

He did go to the first consultation and has a clear understanding of the surgery, etc., from me explaining it and bringing brochures and sending him info from online, he just doesn't understand the problems I have with emotional eating, appetite control, weight gain from my meds..and everything else that causes my failing on every diet. And whether he is fine with how I am or not ..this is for me and will make me happy & complete. I am sure he won't mind though when I am thinner and looking hot lol

Glad to be here with all of you. Last night was a big success. I was the DD for my pals and drank one glass of cranberry juice and about ten glasses of Water all night. food was planned and moderate. The band we saw was quite good. Today I have a birthday outing to a restaurant/winery with another dear friend, planned weeks ago. She will understand and I'll just have tea. Her 20 year old son is going through alcohol detox right now. No explanations will be necessary. After I posted here about this, I had an incredible feeling of lightness the rest of my day. It was like, OK. A decision was made. By me, nobody else. I'm taking charge of my life. This is good. And it is. I'm not stressing over the weight gain. It will come off, sooner rather than later. I logged in MyFitnessPal yesterday and I may do that again for a while. Get a reality check. Busy weekend for me with food and social events. Birthday outing at lunch. Movie night with my bestie. No crapcorn. Tomorrow a couple I became friends with this year is taking me out for lunch for my birthday. It's all good.

Also keep in mind that clothing makers are all different too. Many of the plus size clothes are made so that weight gain/loss isn't so noticeable in sizes.... You may be in a 3x shirt or pants and lose 30 lbs or more before before you change sizes. Where as if your in a size 7/8 and gain or lose 30 lbs the size is much more noticeable. Make sense?

Hi everyone. I am so Happy I found this website a week ago!!!! I am from Lynn, but now for the past 10 years now, I have lived in Northampton, MA. About 7 miles away from UMASS AMherst. I would love to join this support group. I had mmy surgery on 6/25/13 at Baystate Hospital in Springfield, MA. Bad experience with thia hospital. I haad Dr. Kuhn. I found him to be little ion the mean side. I have BMC and Mashealth. So here were my requirements: 3 group meetings 6 NUT meetings, and she was tough. Her nick name was the nutrition natzi, lol 2 visits with the lab doctor 2 phyic visits 1 sleep clinic 2 meetings with Dr. Kuhn (WL Doctor) I started with a huge seminar on 9/23/12. I got the 3 group mmeetings out of the way quickly. By November I had all 3 done. I had my frist appt. with the lab Docotr the day hurricane Sandy hit. It was October 29, 2012. My appt. was the last one that day (1:00 p.m.) Cause they closed the hospital after that appt. I will never forget it cause when I went in I was 264 (down from 301 earlier in that year). But my weight to start was 264. We were told in the beggining that the weight from the seminar was the weight which we could NOT gain from. So I got ion the scaale and I was 262.4. I started crying. Because the rules at Baystate nd the insurance ere as such: If you gained from your started weight, your surgery would be an additional 6 months post poned. That was your warning. Secound time you gained weight you were suspended for a year and the doctor had the right to "suggest" you go elsewere. So needless to say when I saw the 4 ounce weight gain, I cried. The nurse looked at me and said that the doctor might refuse me. So when I went into her office I was till crying. She came in and asked me why was I crying. I told her I didn't want to get kicked out. She told me scales vary from one office to the next and that I had to worry bout the scale in Dr. Kuns office. She said she would change my weight to the 264.4 but that was IT. No more weight gain, period. I aslo had to quit smoking as well. I did that on October 23, 2012. I did have lot of breakdowns cause they expect you to loose weight AND quit smoking, not easy but |I did it. They told me "the story" abut how a woman was actually getting preped for surgery, she smelled of smoke. So they gave her a drug test. It came back poitive for nicotine. They post poned her surgery for 3 months. They said she a actually in her hiospital gown. I thought this was nuts, but I did as they required and quit. I had to meet with the NUT once a month and she was tough. I finally jumped through ALL the hoops and in March of 2013 I meet Dr. Kuhn. He tried to talk me into the sleeve, bt I wanted the gastic bypass. My insurance has a once in a lifetime policy. So I wanted the one that would give me the best results. Lucky my husband was there cause he almost talked me into it. I got upset and my husband looked at me and asked what did I want. I told him the GB. He looked at the doctor and said, "if that's what she wants and you can do it, that's whaat she should get". I am so glad he was there. SO I got the bypass. I got approveed in April. He was so far behind I got a 66/25/13 date. I was in the hospital for 4 days. It took 2 months before I could even drink 12 oz of water. It is 22 months out and I still have a problem eating. I had always had an eeating disorder and now it has showed it's ugly head , again. I am in theropy, but \i am grateful that |I found this site. I would love to talk to people who have walked in my shoes. I have lost a few friend who I guess wern't true friends caue of this. I would love to find anyone in my area to maybe go for walks with on the bike path. Thanks for taking the time to read this long story. I am not a VIP so my email is kimerick2008@gmail.com. I am looking forward to heaqring from you all. Everyone keep up the great work!!!!!!1 Thanks again, Kim

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!

My tummy tuck held up AMAZINGLY well and, so far, the fat grafting to my butt seems pretty well intact. I haven't been losing the fat there on my way back down. The main issue I've had is that my left breast implant has become malpositioned with the weight gain and re-loss. Like as I gained the weight, the real fat tissue expanded and pushed the implant out of position and now that I am losing that fat again, the malpositioning is obvious. I will have to have a revision to fix it. I've had a consult with a local surgeon and I've had some talks with my original surgeon back in Mexico. I haven't completely decided what and when I am going to do about it. I've decided to sort of take a "wait and see" approach, since I still want to lose about 25 more pounds. I think I'd rather wait until I'm at goal and maintaining for a bit before addressing it.

I had my second follow up on 4/14, and my Dr. and Nut wanted to increase my calories 800-1000. I had been getting in about 4-600 calories a day, and hit the 3 week stall, so I've been stalled about 2 weeks now. This morning I was up 2.6 pounds. I'm trying hard not to freak out about it, but I am definitely having the feelings of this isn't going to work for me and wtf. So, did this happen to anyone else? I'm focusing on getting in my Protein and liquids. I've been getting at least 60-85 grams of protein a day, and mostly staying lower carbs. They want me to start getting in more veggies also. I'm still mostly soft foods right now. Any advice?

Like I said, for now. Everyone will eventually find a method that works best for them, scales or tape measure. I know that as long as I am following my plan, I will get to goal. There will be stalls, I have the patience to wait them out. There will be weight gain, I know how to get ME back on track. You asked for help, I answered what works for me. I hope you can find what works for you!

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