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@@Puppypaws57 good luck to you and please accept my apology. As I read my reply above to you, I come across to myself as preachy. I do not judge you, I want to be clear about that. I should not have made statements like "It seems to me..." I am passing along some advice that someone gave to me. He was very instrumental in my emotional healing. I think ! will always have a challenge with weight gain. I have a book on my shelf that says weight gain is caused by suppressed emotions. I gained some weight this year after my mom passed and I am finally at a place where I can take it off. I pray you find inner peace.

Yep, and tap is right: above all, do not mention her weight gain to her.

Nanette I to suffer from severe depression, and so understand what you are saying in regards to getting out and moving around. Much of my weight gain came with the worst years of my depression. I spent weeks, sometimes months hospitalized, and when at home I was either in bed, or on the couch. I would get advice from well meaning friends and family to encourage me to become more active, and the statistics on how much exercise helps depression. It's frustrating to try to explain to someone that you simply can't. That depression affects not just your mood, but affects the way you think, affects you physically, affects everything. Everything becomes 'depressed', the literal meaning of the word, everything becomes opressed, supressed... depressed. My ability to get up off the couch to take a shower was like running a marathon. Prior to my depression I was doing my masters degree in counselling psychology, while working full time, and training in and teaching kickboxing working towards my black belt. I have never been a lazy or unmotivated person. Depression steals away your motivation, severe depression takes away everything. It leaves you empty, with nothing but pain. Not just emotional pain, but physical aches and pains too are common in depression. It also affects your ability to think and reason. Pre-depression I did the crossword puzzle in the paper everyday, it would take me about 10 minutes to do the whole thing. During the worst part of my depression my husband brought me a crossword book to the hospital - I couldn't do the easy puzzles. I couldn't figure out the 3 letter word for a female pig was 'sow' I couldn't think, some days I couldn't remember my address or telephone number. Depression is a bio-chemical state, altered brain chemistry that affects the mind and the body. No amount of good intentions, desire, or can-do attitude will magically move you towards being able to do things. Now finally with a cocktail of medication that works for me, I am stable and functioning. I am still on disability with my depression and unable to work. But I'm actively trying to live instead of trying to die. Getting banded 3 weeks ago gave me a lot of hope, it gave me a much needed tool, in a whole arsenal of tools I will need to try and move towards a healthier and happier me. I've felt better in these last three weeks than I have in years. Every day is a new day, and some days I can't get out and exercise, and some days I can, just a little, it's going to take time, years of almost total bed rest has ruined my cardio and my strength. I no longer get winded taking a shower now though, and I can hang on to the stairs in the pool and kick my legs for a solid 30 minutes! Just keep doing as much as you can do, and be gentle on yourself for it. You are the only one who understands how incredibly strong you are to be living with depression, be proud of each day, and each mini-accomplishment, and try not to beat yourself up over what you are unable to do. XO Leila

So glad to see this topic. I'm very curious how I'll be effected. I have PCOS...symptoms include weight gain, some acne, some facial hair (waxing fixes it), and painful cysts etc. I had an IUD implanted in March 2012 but my periods have not gotten any lighter or regular. I'm kinda frustrated with that. I had my sleeve done a week ago today. Weighed yesterday & I've lost 14 lbs so far. Had to lose 30 lbs before surgery. That was hard! I started my period the day before surgery but by the time I was out of surgery...it stopped. Then started again on Sunday. It has been ridiculously heavy. I'm not sure what to make of it. Hoping for light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm 30 years and I have tried everything to get pregnant but nothing. I even did 3 IVF with no success. My symptoms besides the weight gain is hair loss. Did you get a lot of hair loss. Is there anything you did to make it better.

No solution or answer, but I also had breathing issues with my band. I was banded in August 2013 and about a year later started having breathing issues. My Dr. said everything was fine but ended up get it unfilled for relief and slowly began with the weight gain. I had the removal in August 2015 and hoping to finally have a revision this August to the sleeve. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I think you are experienceing a very common feeling Just remember that statistics show 98% of obese people who loose weight, gain it it back. Only you can decide if this is what you truely want, but I can tell you, I have never made a better decision in my life.

Hi BBJ- I'm came into this post late so I'll be brief. Marriage is too hard to go into it without the promise of great sex to smooth out the rough edges. You're worth toe curling big Os AND a best friend that treats you right (that means not holding your former size over you). But you're smart and have already figured this out. I wish you peace and strength as you work through this break up. They're never easy; even when you do it for all of the right reasons. He hurting and likely to lash out right now. Continue to follow your instincts. It sounds like they're dead on. Hugs- Amanda PS Hubs (even with a 50 lb weight gain) still makes my toes curl after 11 years. That's what you deserve. Hold out for it.

Good morning to everyone, I am new to this site..I had the lapband procedure performed on August 26, 2010, at Brand Surgical Institute in Glendale, CA.. I was down 31 pounds last week and I weighed in this morning and gained 2 pounds . I am so devastated, can someone please help me understand as to why I gained instead of loosing. I go for my first fill on October 11, 2010.. Thank you, Mirella

Hi Outlaw, Well, it looks like you did a great job with research on both of these weight loss surgeries. However, when it comes right down to it, it becomes truly a 'personal' choice. No one can sway you from one or the other. Remembering there are risks with any surgeries. Now, since you have scheduled surgery date for lapband surgery in 3 weeks, my guess is you have readily thought this through and decided lapband is the right choice for you? Maybe you are just getting cold feet? It happens to all of us! Personally for myself, I wanted something less invasive and god forbid if anything went wrong or my body rejected the band, I could have it removed for my safety. I knew this wasn't an option with the other surgeries. I was also really nervous about malabsorption with gastric and the sleeve, let’s face it I am not a spring chicken and I need all the nutrients/vitamins I can store in my body. Also, no matter what surgery you choose, you will have to work out it, weight gain happens on all 3! The band gives you a little more of an edge because you can always work with it to lose/maintain the weight. Have you gone through the plan with your surgeon what you will be eating like from now on moving forward with the band? If you have, then my guess is you are ready to be a bandster! Best wishes,

thats good to hear. I knew about the surgery weight gain. I actually gained 14 lbs during surgery. 1 week out and I lost that 14 plus 6 but haven't lost anything since. I guess that is normal from what I am hearing today.

I was only there for 24 hours but was given about six bags of fluid and had very little output. I gained almost ten pounds in that day did this happen to anybody else and how long until it goes away. I feel very swollen still.

Alexandra, I can literally feel your anguish and pain with having the weight gain, I've often thought that if I have to have my band removed they might as well do bypass at the same time because I'd gain weight all my weight back like a madwoman in no time at all. I wish you all the best in getting your new band, I pray it will all work out with your insurance company. You helped me out SO MUCH in the past with your encouragement and advice, good luck and my thoughts are with you. Hang in there!

Im not expecting anything within a few days of surgery, im 4 days post op and have gained 6 pounds, is that normal? Water weight maybe?

You haven't gained that much. Baby weight gain is a pretty normal thing...many women gain more like 30, not 10 so it seems you have done well. I guess like most of us you would need to take some sort of action to get back to the 145. I don't really know where you are post op, but in general, going back to basics like eating Protein first, not snacking, avoiding eating late, etc etc are the ways to knock off 10 pounds. I currently weigh 155, still under my goal, but i too want to get back to 145. I am holding steady right now, but come January I plan to tackle it by modifying my eating and exercise.

*PBing, sliming, vomiting, slippage, weight gain, slow process, have to be committed, severe incision pain, gas killing me, starving, hungry, port problems, taking forever to hit the sweet spont, nauseous, etc.* Granted, I'm just under 3 months out, but I've experienced almost NONE of those things. Nausea MY OWN FAULT the two times I ate too much sugar. PAIN, once when I ate too fast. The rest? No problem. No gas pain. No port pain. No slippage (at least not yet). No other issues. But even if I had ALL of those, the weight loss and improved health would be worth it. Because, bottom line, that's what it's all about. If most of us could do it on our own we would have already done so. Whatever you decide, think it through thoroughly!~

I am scheduled for surgery on Friday. I have wanted this so badly for over a year - never questioned the logic for doing so and couldn't wait to get banded. Then - I spend HOURS on this forum and all I see is the bad stuff. PBing, sliming, vomiting, slippage, weight gain, slow process, have to be committed, severe incision pain, gas killing me, starving, hungry, port problems, taking forever to hit the sweet spont, nauseous, etc. It is making me think - THIS IS CRAZY! I feel like I should cancel the whole thing and try one more time on my own, even though I know it won't work. I am scared to death now and I have had all kinds of surgeries and a child and blah, blah, blah and YES - I WANT TO LIVE - but comfortably - not in constant pain and puking day in and day out....am I missing the picture here??? Are we all brainwashed into thinking we have to do something this drastic?

So...I went on low dose oral steroids less than a month ago and while my pain has lessened...I've gained nearly 7 lbs. I'm going to start to titrate myself off by going to one pill every other night and tell my rheumatologist I want off all together. I think I'd rather have the pain than the weight gain and all the potential side effects.

I think an "implant to help control hunger" is a pretty accurate description. I think that people need to remember that Lapbanders are learning to control their lives they are learning how to finally take control of themselves. To me, the only lap band failures are those who just continue to eat out of control. AND, they are only failures if they do not seek additional help and support to continue the process. There are lapband misfortunes such as erosion, accidental slips, body rejection, etc. Bypass and rerouting surgeries are usually successful, yes, but when you factor in the weight gain that they usually have at the end, to me, that is failure. There was no self control and no change in lifestyle and thinking about eating. I went to eat with two ladies one night, one with the band and one with the bypass. Both ate regular fat-laden food to the point of having to stop on the way home and BOTH women were out of the car throwing up. They eat what they want and then when they are too full, they throw up. To me that is failure. They did not learn to change their lives and how they eat to be healthy.

@starrspunn I've been on Lyrica for almost 2 years. Started out 75mg 2x per day but now 200mg 3x per day (max dose). Sleepiness was my #1 issue. Every time they upped my dose it would literally put me out for the day. By day 2, I'd be better. Never affected appetite or weight gain.

Thank you, Zoe, but do I accept your weight gain challenge even though you have the steroid advantage? Sometimes ya just gotta laugh!

I don't suppose anyone would think a weight gain challenge would be very funny? Cause that's one I know I could win.

Nikki you should be eating or trying to get 800 calories at least in. As everyone says you must get. 64 ounces of water or more in a day. I really don't think the weight gain is anything but water retention or time for that monthly nightmare!! Other then that we are more fertile so pregnancy can cause weight gain too

This is a difficult one. 1. tastes change after both surgeries 2. Not everyone dumps after bypass 3. Some people dump after sleeve 4. Bypass would help long term in not absorbing all the calories from sweets 5. But, because of 2+4, bypass people might get too comfortable continuing to eat sweets...leading to weight gain. These are confounding generalities... But, as for you, specifically, are you diabetic or prediabetic? Have you always had a sweet tooth, or has it gotten worse? I never had a huge sweet tooth until I became prediabetic. The condition changed my cravings.. And, do you have heartburn, acid reflux, GERD? Sent from my SM-N920R4 using the BariatricPal App

A few weeks ago I was sorting through school work and papers that came home in my fifth grader's backpack at the end of the school year and had been left in a pile. In his math folder I found this great handout: Problem-solving Top-ten List." It's intended to help students who are stuck on a math problem, but I found it to be great life advice and very applicable to eating and weight loss battles. What do you think? Top Ten Reasons For Getting Stuck in the First Place: 1. You tried to rush through the problem without thinking. We are often great at rushing into new weight loss programs and diets hoping each one will be the magic answer. Clients often tell me how they've picked programs in the past that weren't compatible with their tastes or their schedules or their preferences and that they probably knew from the beginning they wouldn't want to continue long term. 2. You didn't read the problem carefully. We don't just run into this difficulty with math problems. In many life situations, if we don't clearly understand the problem, we might choose a problem solving approach that isn't going to meet our needs. In my emotional eating programs, I encourage users to take the time to understand their unique situation. Taking the time to understand your reasons for overeating and the types of solutions that will work for you is essential to not getting stuck further down the road. 3. You don't know what the problem is asking for Again, this doesn't just apply to math problems. If we're working to solve the wrong problem, we aren't going to get anywhere. If you are struggling with emotional eating (stress eating, boredom eating, or eating when you are lonely or upset), no food plan or diet in the world is going to fix that--because it's not about the food--it's about figuring out what to do with the feelings. 4. You don't have enough information. I often tell me clients that if they feel like they aren't getting anywhere, or if they feel like they are beating their head against the wall, odds are that there is a part of the problem that isn't being addressed. The program I use with my clients devotes a significant amount of time to showing you how to collect information about yourself, about your hunger, and about your unique relationship with food so that you can solve the eating problems once and for all. 5. You're looking for an answer that the problem isn't asking for. If you overeat because you are bored or stressed or anxious or angry (or any other emotion), the problem isn't about food choice. The answer the problem is asking for has to do with finding new or better ways of responding to your emotions, your stress and your needs. The weight loss industry spends billions of dollars convincing us that if we follow a certain diet we will be beautiful and happy. Food plans don't create happiness and diets (or weight loss) don't help us cope with stress (or anxiety or loneliness or boredom). A schedule of when and what to eat (a diet) doesn't prepare us for what to do when we stop using the schedule, and it doesn't help us figure out what to do INSTEAD of eating or overeating. The truth is that diets aren't the answer for this problem. Enduring change and enduring weight loss happen when we make changes that work with our lives--not when we try to maintain behaviors that leave us hungry and grumpy and feeling like we are missing out. 6. The strategy you're using doesn't work for this particular problem. I'll say it again. Diets tell you what to eat. Often, being on a diet will increase the amount of time and energy someone spends focusing on food. Diets don't teach you how to change patterns of emotional eating or overeating when you aren't hungry. They don't teach you how to feed yourself and expand your life in ways that won't leave you feeling deprived. Users of my program and participants in the groups I run are often surprised at first by how little time they spend focusing on food. The programs I offer don't count fat grams or calories or carbs because I feel it is most helpful to target the *reasons* you feel hungry and the *reasons* you eat even when you aren't. My focus is helping you GET OFF the diet rollercoaster and put food in a much smaller place in your life. 7. You aren't applying the strategy correctly. If you've been dieting for years, it can be hard to move out of the mindsets of deprivation and of blaming yourself when the diet doesn't work (even though the diet was probably doomed to fail in the first place). Using the right tools takes practice. I find that clients initially have a hard time looking at their eating patterns and their emotions without feeling the old self-blame, shame and guilt. One of the biggest benefits that clients in our emotional eating programs and groups note is being able to stop feeling guilty and bad all the time. That's huge! 8. You failed to combine your strategy with another strategy. If we try to fit ourselves into a strategy or a program instead of finding a strategy that fits and works with our specific individual situation, we're likely to get stuck. Cookie cutter eating plans and programs are problematic because we are all different. For instance, my Emotional Eating Toolbox™ program guides you to your own answers and strategies through the work you do and the answers you provide about yourself. You are encouraged to explore a variety of strategies and choose the solutions that will work for you. 9. The problem has more than one answer. There is no ONE magic cause of weight gain and there is no ONE magic answer for weight loss. People's paths for taking control of their emotional eating will be different. Once you have the basic set of tools, you will be more successful if you learn to use them in the way that complements your personality, your strengths, your struggles, and your life. 10.The problem can't be solved. This one is tough--both with math problems and with life. Emotions and tough times are real. We might not like them but we can't just wish them away. Trying to ignore or bury emotions doesn't work well in the long term either. The truth is that there is no diet or food plan that is going to help us cope with tough emotions. If we forget about the emotional part of our eating and simply focus on the food, we're going to get stuck and we're likely to fail. And then we are likely to blame ourselves--which isn't helpful either. There ARE powerful tools that can help anybody get through the emotions and situations that they struggle with. When we learn them and practice using them it's easier to put food in its place, make choices that feel good about eating, and put more energy into creating the lives we really want to be living. Melissa McCreery, Ph.D. is a Psychologist and the founder of Enduring Change Coaching. She helps her clients create and live the life they crave. She is also the creator of the Emotional Eating Toolbox 28-day Program for Taking Control and Moving Beyond Dieting. Sign up for a free teleclass about emotional eating after WLS, learn about upcoming WLS seminars and other programs or contact her www.enduringchange.com.