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Ohh good to hear that weight gain after you start to eat mushers is normal!! I was down 28 lbs between pre op and post op then started my mushies and gained 4 lbs!! I was so darn mad!! Lol I blamed it on getting sick with upper resp crap and being unable to continue with my mile walk each day! My option was walk or breath! Lol

Maggie This is my experience - I looked in my insurance manuel and asked our health Insurance person if WLS was covered - it states if medically necessary - well i was 244.5 at that time 5'4 52 yrs old. Ck'd my book and the dr here in the desert that does this surgery was approved and so was the hospital in Palm Springs - had to go to a center of excellent - I made the appointment with the surgeon directly and on my own - met with him on 5/31 and he said yes i was a candidate - I had to to a battery of test cuz i don't go to the doctor - lungs (smoker) - heart (had to have a nuclear stress test couldn't pass the treadmill) - colon - pap - mamo - 14 vials of blood - shrink - sleep - I have mild sleep apnea - my breathing gets real shallow when i am in a deep sleep - plus i have high blood pressure - so I have co-mobitidies - once i passed the shrink - my doc's offices sumbitted the paper work to my insurance and i was approved - all the other test are done to make sure you are healthy for surgery - i was still in the mist of getting all the test done when i got the call on 6/21 giving me a 7/17 surgery date - and i think that since it's really just a phyical that your insurance would cover with out approval for the wsl - but I know that medicare does cover this surgery and since I'm not there yet I can't tell you anything about it - maybe it's your secondary policy that wants the supervised doc weight loss diet. I have a gf that is trying to get banded and this is what her insurance requires - every carrier is diff- I have blue cross CA - EXCELLENT... Since your surgeon office deals with insurance carriers all the time i think they know who and who won't approve surgery and what they (ins co) needs to get approval - they want to get you approved and will do their hardest cuz they what the $$$$$ - imho - i am sort of cynical when it comes to doctors - don't get me wrong I LOVE my doctor - but mine has a large program fee - and imho it's his way of getting more than what insurance pays.. This band is NOT the magic cure to your food issues - it banded your tummy not your brain... Only you control what goes into your mouth not the band. I can't stress this enought - I really feel that some people think that the band alone will make them lose weight. The band does not take away all your hunger and it doesn't take away you thinking about food (imho) - it is a tool to control portions The reason we are all FAT right now is cuz we ate alot of food (high fat - high sugar and didn't exercise) That is the plain and simple fact. My typical dinner pre banding would be 3 tacos w/beans (made w/lard) then a hour later 2 more tacos & beans with tons of cheese and then 1 more taco before bed and then during the middle of the night brownies - cookies - ice cream and all I did was sit on my butt Now my typical dinner 4 oz fish - 1/2 cup brown rice - 1 - cup veggies - and I am "full" with this amount of food - but i am still hungry (head hunger cuz it taste good) then later in the evening I will have 2 sf pudding or sf fudgecicle - or sf angel food cake w/dannon yogurt - am I still hungry - sometime even though my tummy is full - ya I could eat more but I don't You have to plan what you are going to eat, you have to shop, you gotta weigh and make individual portions so that you learn what a correct portion size is. Will you have to do this for the rest of your life - hopefully not once you learn what a true portion size is - we fat people have a whole different definition of portion size - "I use to say - who came up with a pint of ice cream being 4 servings - hell that's only one serving" You gotta work at this - the band isn't going to do it for you We are going to be hungry for a while (both head hunger and withdrawls from our addiction)- we are use to eating alot of food but we just don't realize that we were/are eating huge amounts... Got to the thread "At or near Goal" ask those people how they got there - did the band do it or did they do it. I bet most will answer that they made wise food choices and exercised and ya they had some help from the band but that they did most of the work not the band. I just think that too many people think the band is going to do all the work and that they don't have to do any... You are told only to expect 1 -2 lbs a week - if you want to lose then it's all about food choices and exercise... If I lose only 1 lb a week I am happy - but I am working at this lot harder than the band is.. I make wise food choices 1000 to 1200 calories a day which I log and I walk 10- 13 miles a week. The band is only a piece of plastic it can't make your food choices or do the exercise for you... My Doc & Nutritionist said that these were my guidelines- #1 Protein 60 grms daily, low fat, low sugar, 3 meals plus 2 healthy snacks - vitamins, calcium. I am allowed to pick and choose what I eat - I am not limited as to what I eat - just that it's healthy and in size with correct portions - 1/4 cup ice cream (sf) instead of the whole pint made with real sugar & cream. In our lives we allow for a margin of error – which we should also do when trying to eat healthy – if you are eating 1000-1200 calories a day – allow for some of those calories to be used for a little bit of something you really want (chocolate - have a healthy choice fudgecicle - it's s/f & 80 calories)- you need wiggle room in your diet to make it work (I save my morning and afternoon snacks for night time which is my worst time) – the all or nothing practices has to be thrown our of your mind. You can learn to reprogram your mind to strip away the guilt that comes with dieting. You have to realize that it’s not that the first slice of cake that will doom your diet – it’s the second or third or whole thing that leads to weight gain. You have to listen to your body & respond smartly to your cravings and emotions but over time you will learn how to eat right and mange your craving and that’s when you’ll train your brain to stop obsessing about eating right and punishing yourself – If you stop over thinking you’ll stop over eating.. Good Luck on your journey..

I think what you lost is pretty much exactly what you want in this situation for the most part. You don't want to disqualify yourself from surgery, but you also don't want to arouse concern due to weight gain (practically impossible if you've followed the prescribed program...this is the proxy they use to determine whether or not you have done so). So there is a Catch-22, but there is a sweet spot that avoids it, and it is right about where you are. You have more than a shot...I expect this to go through without a hitch.

I am speaking from my past WLS years ago, and had same issue. After weight gain, I realized I stopped food tracking and planning, and backed off of sensible exercise. Once I got back on track, it came back off. Not till my past banding deteriorated so far, that I could not eat anything healthy like meats, veggies and fruits without getting sick, did the weight come back on and I could not stop it. (Also caused my immunity system to shut down) I suggest you honestly evaluate your full program, and find what is missing. Feel free to post here and we may be able to support in more details.

Hi guys Its my first time here so not to sure how this works but I have a question for all of you that have had Lap Band Surgery, well I have just been and had my first consult with the surgeon and I'm booked in for surgery in March 2011 so far the surgeon is the only one saying Go for it, its a life changing experience, all my family & friends are say DONT be so silly its not a good thing to be doing, I am in to mind sets here I want to go ahead with it coz im sooooo sick of being ova weight currently my BMI is 39 and I'm at a stage now I cant do regular excersie due to joint problems hence the weight gain... All I have read or seen online or in books is all the success stories. Everyone one thats against it has told me some bad stories but I need to read and see them for myself so I am wondering if there is anyone out there can tell their own experinces good or bad to help me make this discussion any easier I wuld be really greatful.... I need to hear it from someone that has personally experienced it to me thats the best way so there isnt any sweetness to the story like u see in books and online.... Feel free to email or leave message here. Looking forward to hearing the pro's and con's from someones first hand experience Thnx heaps geckogirl.. :0)

I was once 575 lbs as the name states, my wife too had a problem with the surgery and many others did as I was able to lose 200 lbs on my own presurgery but what they didn't know that I did was I could easily gain back all that weight plus some without a surgical intervention. I had lost 115 lbs in 2007 only to gain it back plus 50... before that I had lost 80, 85, 60, etc etc etc... Now that I have gone through the surgery she couldn't be happier, she still thinks I could have done without the surgery but I know the surgery was the cement I needed to keep the weight off. Now down 317 lbs in less then 2 years I couldn't be happier, without the surgery I wouldn't be as healthy at some point my yoyo would've snapped me back into a weight gaining binge. The surgery breaks the yoyo, I can still gain weight if I eat wrong but can not gain it nearly as fast and i've learned enough new GOOD habits during the process never to get anywhere close to where I was before. Ask a simple question.... How many 50, 60, 70 year olds weighing as much as you do you see walking around happy and healthy... I knew for me my weight was a death sentence and i'm so glad that over 300 lbs of me is gone!!!

My go to stress reliever for the past MANY years has been alcohol. Did the gym thing when I was younger but it was always kicking back with my boys throwing some back that always took the edge off. Well look at me now. More than 200 pounds over weight and a full fledged alcoholic. The past 3+ years have been the worse as I started having back issues which led me to not be able to work anymore and not provide an income for my family. More weight gain more pain and more drinking. This is the 1st year since I can remember that i'm not getting wasted every night. Not sure what finally flipped the switch but I don't want to die anymore. I still drink but I've come along way from what I was doing. Will completely stop soon, who knows maybe last week was my last. But know for sure if I do get approved for this surgery It is over. Hope to bring the gym back into my life and other activities that can be the new stress reliever.

Here's the problem with that study and many others. It just proves correlation. Nowhere does it mention what these people's diets were outside of diet pop. Most people who drink diet pop were already overweight and had these diseases. We have no idea what else those people in that study were eating or drinking outside of diet pop so how can we say diet pop is the cause? The very few studies that exist that dry to show causation by controlling the diet of the participants have not found a link to weight gain by drinking diet pop. I ate fruit when I was gaining weight. It would be like saying fruit causes weight gain but let's forget the chips, pizza, and Taco Bell was eating as well As to the Water thing, the main ingredient in diet pop is water so it hydrates you as well. What is baffling to me is people will mix aspartame and chemicals in their water and thing it's better than diet pop.

Hi all! I just had my 12 year anniversary with the Inamed 4cc lapband. I was banded in Mexico with Dr Kuri. I was getting fills with him the first 3-4 years but after that found a local surgeon willing to fill Mexico patients. I last went for a fill in 2007 or 08..don't even remember. I had pretty good restriction..better than I ever had from my fills in TJ. I think Dr Kuri's office was being conservative with patients who didn't live close enough for an emergency unfill..I live in Nor Cal but still a good 9 hour drive back. So since my last fill I have been pretty much at my "goal" weight..staying within a 5lb + or - range. SInce I started riding motorcycles and doing track days, my motivation has been able to fit into my one piece leather track suit that is unforgiving even with a few lbs up. Today...sigh...when I hit my anniversary in August I thought I really should get this device checked out and luckily Kaiser covers getting a flouroscopy. Had that early September and it showed that the barium would barely get past my band and drain. My esophagus is twice the size it should be. I had to be unfilled the next week. I was unfilled 14 days ago and have managed to put on 16lbs since! I was already up 5lbs so now I am up over 21lbs! I KNOW this is totally my fault. I have been living with it being tighter than it should be for quite awhile. Thinking it was normal that I would have to "relieve" food from myself when I overate. I was overeating the band. It had been so long, I forgot all the rules and just dealt with it. I really had no pain..only would have acid reflux if I ate or drank too late so I learned to stop way before I went to bed. It is not easy to limit yourself to tiny portions when food just taste so darn good and we are conditioned to clean our plate. I followed the rules initially..but just ate more and more..now with consequences. Luckily and thankfully the band is in place. I think Dr Kuri's surturing of the stomach around the band helps prevent slips..Mine would have slipped long ago given how much abuse it has gone through. I had alot of pain the day of the unfill and a few days later...lots of gas pain..not sure if the unfill caused some wierd release of pressure or something but it was not comfy. I tell people I not only got the band to lose my excess weight (130lbs off total) but more importantly to KEEP IT OFF. This I have done for past 5-6 years that I have lost all my excess weight. I was a slow loser and combined with not so helpful fills initial. I think I had only 2.5cc total in my 4cc band. Dr pulled out 2cc but pretty sure I was filled to 2.5cc..who knows. Today I am seriously depressed because I am just about out of all my clothes. I don't have multiple sizes of clothes..with staying the same size or two for many years..my wardrobe is limited. I am wanting to cry thinking I need to go buy bigger sizes so I can breathe at work! Sigghh.. I have been soooo careful with what I have been eating..back to bandster portions..counting calories..the dramatic weight gain stopped for a few days..I stayed stable..but this morning it was up again by 1/2lb. Perhaps my few days back at the gym caused it...yeah right!! I have my follow up appt with the bariatric nurse dietician on Oct 30th.not sure what the plan is from here. Doctor wants my esophagus to heal if possible. I am hoping it does and that I can get SOME fill back..even 1/2. What I miss the most is not having the hunger pains. I hate feeling like a mere mortal with hunger pains and counting calories and being obsssessed with my weight after years of being stable! Sucks! I really had gone away from forums years ago. Probably typical of most band "veterans" ..life goes on. I really had no clue that so many people have been having problems. Never even knew about the gastric sleeve popping into the market. Now I am scared about all this stuff happening to me! The band looked well in place..no slips or erosion. The pouch looked ok below my stretched out esophagus..so that is the main concern right now. I am just praying I can stave off this crazy gain..I was shocked to see the scale jump 5lbs overnight..I swear I am not eating or drinking anything to cause that dramatic of a quick gain..seems technically impossible. I am sitting at work on the verge of tears thinking I am going to have to give in and head to the store and get bigger pants for work because now nothing is fitting without feeling like I cannot breathe or move! I can't wear sweats to work or stretchy pants...sigh... I always say the band was the best decision I ever made. I have had 12 years(well really half that at full goal) of doing stuff I couldn't have done obese..riding sport bikes is one..I put up with the quirks because I like the way I am..but now..I am scared to go back to where I was. Praying for the best outcome and I can keep my band, get fill back and get this excess weight off again and go back to my size 8s and 10s!! Mwhhhaaa!!

These posts are from 11 years ago! We have access to do much more information now. Ask your surgeon about weight loss outcomes when taking medications that are known to cause weight gain. Also ask the prescribing physician if there are alternatives that you could switch to. And you could always start a thread asking other members to share their experiences with WLS while on meds that cause weight gain. Good Luck ❤️

Thank you for reminding me of this MamaBear. I'm in a bit of a freakout, worrying, because I was thinking I must be "stretching" my sleeve or something? I can eat more, and I have to remind myself that 1) this is normal after 18 months of healing, and, 2) my weight gain is likely due to food choices and eating too often, not the sleeve. Anyways, thanks to all who posted here. I'm feeling a bit fatter, but a lot better, than I did earlier tonight.

Hi guys! I am in East Orlando and I had my surgery with Dr. Teixeira in March 2015, I'm having an endoscopic suturing revision done with him on March 1 to combat some weight gain from a stretched sleeve (my fault [emoji21]) I highly recommend Dr Teixeira and would love to get to know some local sleevers for support this time for sure, as I think it may have impacted my success to try and go it alone last time! SW-293 Low- 192 CW-218 Goal-150

A couple of things. My surgeon isn't worried about stretching. Also, as I said, I'm talking about one can of soda over a few hours. Finally, I did look for medically accredited reports on stretching the sleeve by drinking soda and I couldn't find any. This link goes to a website, not a hospital or a doctor. The story was written by the anonymous "OC Staff". Are they licensed surgeons - I doubt it. Also, the "article" the OC Staff link to as a reference was also written by them and is says nothing about soda (see below). My point is that a sleeve is less stretchable than our original stomach. As I said, constant over consumption of anything will cause weight gain and stomach trauma... HOW TO PREVENT THE STRETCH AFTER GASTRIC SLEEVE SURGERY Eating one or two large meals will not lead to a permanently stretched stomach or issues with your hunger and fullness triggers. However, doing this multiple times can lead to issues. The list below hi-lights key points to reduce the risk of stretching your stomach after gastric sleeve surgery. Limit volume not sweets. Instead of totally limiting every aspect of your diet, give yourself a reward once a week with a special treat limited in size. But do not go out and eat a large meal – regardless of the type of food. Do not drink when you eat. It’s better to drink your fluids an hour or two before eating and/or an hour or two after. This lets the fluids digest and they won’t increase the amount of gas that can build or limit the amount of space for nutrient dense foods. If you do have a bigger than normal meal, make your next meal small and make sure you don’t make larger meals a habit. If you are always feeling hungry, then eat small amounts of healthy snacks in between meals. Almonds are a delicious and healthy way to feel satisfied in between meals. Get a good book with healthy recipes that are geared for people who have gone through gastric sleeve surgery. We’ve got a list of our favorite books here. DO NOT get discouraged. If you fell off the wagon and binged one or two meals or even the entire previous week. The stomach and the mind is an amazingly resilient thing. Start over and start eating normal meals again. Call your surgeon and ask for help before it gets too far out of hand. Get on the online forums and ask others for help. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. Here is a list of our favorite forums. So stretching your stomach after gastric sleeve surgery is not a myth. It can happen and it does happen. Be aware of it and prevent it. Remember how hard the surgery and recovery was? Remember what a big decision you made? Its never too late to change your habits and get back on the right track.

Well here it goes. I had vertical banding years ago and my Dr. never indicated if soda was good or bad. In the beginning I could not because of the small pouch, but as I stretched it out soda was fine. BUT I do think soda did contribute to the stretching and expansion of the pouch, and in turn helped cause the weight gain and other issues I now have. I am having revision to Bypass and already steer clear of soda all together. I learned from B4. FYI: My son recently had the sleeve MLS and even though his Dr did not specifically say no to soda, he cannot handle the gas pain it causes.

I think these are really valid and helpful observations and questions. I know they help me really think and own my spit. You know? I never want to rationalize my own "poor" behavior or stinking thinking by convincing myself that my viewpoint is the only right one. I also am hopeful that this might benefit someone else who might not want to post their stuff here--be able to work through some things and gain insight into their eating behaviors that both keep them thin/losing or are contributing to gain. Right? So there is no doubt that I am goal driven. I've never in my life reached my target weight goal--even as a young kid dieting (dieting since 9). 😕 And it became very important to me as I went "all in" with this surgery, that I achieve my goal weight--even if it's only for a day--or an hour. It's just a milestone that psychologically I feel like I need. And knowing what my sis (who is 2 inches taller than me) looked like with a similar build to me -- at 120lbs, she did not look anorexic. Knowing that at 23BMI today on the scale and that in real life, I still have very jiggly fat filled aspirin bottle and thighs, makes me feel like I do still have extra fat available that I can at least achieve that burning drive to 130lbs. At the very least. *I'd have to review the BDG once I get to 130lbs. Cuz it really may not be realistic for me to even hit it. There is NOOOOOO doubt I have body dysmorphia. No doubt. I work on it daily. And the struggle is real. I def don't see myself as super thin. Just normal for a 56 year old woman. Flabby flat as* and all. TY for telling me how awesome I look! Sometimes I can actually feel it - nowadays. Yesterday (no pic) I felt great in my outfit until I looked in the mirror in my white shorts. And felt I look huge in my thighs and ass--so didn't bother snapping the pic. I still wore the outfit and got so many complements including a, "You are so skinny" comment that I was a little "proud" of. I've never been a member of the you-are-so-skinny-"normal"-girl-barbie-tribe. You know? And I'm not gonna lie. It's a seductive group. Great T & A and tiny waists among all of those bi*ches! hehe. I do think I will be thin enough. That's why I think 130lbs will be end of the line for me. Cuz when I was sick just before surgery, I was 131lbs and I felt "right". Even though I was craptastically ill at the time. But yeah, that BD funhouse mirror plays wicked mind games. So the only way to tell is once I get there. I know I have no interest in going deep dive to the low 120s and maybe not even anything under the 130lbs. I keep cals that low and deeply nutrient rich cuz I flat out maintain or even gain weight in the >850 range. And that terrifies me! I'm not like @ms.sss who is having issues deterring weight loss at these levels. I WISH! Right? Cuz if you look at my graph, I'm maintaining. And I'm super terrified I've forked my metabolism. I also know I take a hormone blocker for cancer remission that puts me in supre menopause. So I am trying to restore my body fat hormones while having one hand tied behind my back via the blocking of all female hormone production. Which really sucks cuz the regulation of those hormones really drive a lot of the insulin and hunger hormones response to fat loss. Also being hypothyroid also contributes to the lowered metabolic rate. Sorry for the book. I didn't want to just blow off your question, but rather offer some glimmer of where my thought process and logic is taking me. My hope is that once I hit my 130 Goal #3 weight, then I can officially say, "I'm goal baybeeee!" And then I will be able to maintain at 1000-1400 cals with a day or 2 of fasting thrown in per week like Dr. Fung discusses. Cuz that would be sweet! But my body is resisting going lower right now. And it does not reward me with a scale drop when I up cals and give a treat day--rather it rewards me with the predicted weight gain. Also, I'm not going quietly into that good night. I will fight that fuc*ing bounce like a demon. I am not gonna accept that it has to happen. And if I start looking like I'm eating crap I really want you guys to call me on it and hold my toes to the fire! Cuz I will need y'all more than ever if/when backsliding enters the equation. Right? Ok, so yeah. There you have it. My full 10lbs of crazy shoved into the 5lb can! Certifiable? Yes or no? Here's my weight graph of the past year. The last big jump is from surgery and IVs. But you can see, I'm having trouble maintaining right now post surgery and struggling with huge hunger. I attribute it to IV antibiotics and disruption of gut biome/gut hormone disruption and insulin surges as a result. There is a study just out about this. I think @catwoman7 may have posted this on another board? Can't remember...

I was 58 and very worried no doctor would do it as I'd heard I was too old-funny I don't feel too old. Anyway, I wish I could have had this done before I developed just about every co-morbidity there is related to weight. I was very physically active during my youth, but the weight gain really stopped me in my tracks and then all the related stuff about did me in. I do credit this surgery with saving my life. My insurace absolutely will not pay for anything like this to help save a life. :whoo:So I'll be paying back a loan until h _ _ l freezes over. :think Still worth it. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

I agree that weight gain from grazing is something you must be on alert for after your stomach returns to normal ( month 6 for me). Eating small portions of dense protein every 2-3 hours really helps for me, but I am also pretty active so need the protein. It is a constant learning experience to balance eating for nutrition and satiety versus weight management. Just be aware of your goals and try and make good decisions. This goes a long ways to keeping you in a place of balance. Also being active on VST and attending support meetings is really helpful because there is strength in numbers. Try to avoid eating processed foods and those that are high in simple carbs ( even 2g) as they can trigger your eating instinct.

No, you absolutely do NOT. Only about 1/3 have significant "dumping" in the first place, and most of those lose that so-called benefit after a year or two. And the body adapts so that there is less malsorption over time. It is these things, plus the distended, non-adjustable pouch, that causes rebound weight gain in the majority of bypass patients.

Zoloft is one of the safest meds for depression/panic attacks. I would ask your PCP to see if that's a good choice for you or not. Also weight gain is not a concern with Zoloft but there are other adverse events such as insomnia, dry mouth, Steven-Johnson syndrome, depression exacerbation, bleeding..... but again those are not very common side effects. Most people experience insomnia tho. As the natural product OTC goes, there is not a strong evidence that Mg citrate can help with depression/anxiety but it doesn't hurt to try but as long as you are not taking too much of it cause hypermagnesimia has very serious consequences. And just as a reference, I studying medicine and I am doctor of pharmacy. Good luck and I hope this helps

Inner surfer girl I do not find you guys to be rude at all. I am taking it all in. I was giving a menu for what to eat and when to add more. I follow it to the tee. I am not worried about eating bad carbs I was always good about that. My weight gain is only last 2 years I have not been heavy all my life I lost a brother and father in law in the same week that tragic loss made me quit the gym my job and I sat on my butt for a year I gained over 100 pounds. I lost it on Medifast eating 500 calories a day when I stopped boom that and more! I went in to deep depression and started to see a shrink she's the one suggested I get the surgery. I will show you a pic of me from 2013 Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using the BariatricPal App

Anyone had the sleeve and getting a revision due to having no restriction and weight gain? I was Sleeved April 2015 and only lost 60lbs. I’m scheduled for revision on Sept. 4th. I lost my restriction with my sleeve 6 months out and could eat regularly. I don’t have GERD issues. I’m nervous for my bypass because I keep seeing soooo many stories of people not losing enough weight or really slow. My highest weight with the sleeve was 330 in 2015. I’m currently 320. Anyone loss 100+ lbs after revision?

I weighed in today with a 3 lb weight gain for the last month. Prior to this I lost 6 lbs over 2 weeks. I am naturally disappointed but I was not perfect. How do you regroup after a disappointing weigh in? Me? Imam having wine tonight and will regroup for the next 6week weigh in.

Par1959 you are so right, logging is a key factor in weight loss success for most people. I know that When I am brutally honest with myself not logging my food intake is first on the list of things I haven't been doing also not chewing enough, not waiting between bites and eating to many carbs. This certainly explains my weight gain. I will be having my revision surgery in two weeks to fix the incredible heartburn that I'm having. I'm not looking forward to starting over but I do feel like I have a second chance to relearn everything to keep my weight loss successful.

Here is my experience with RNY. First, I had my original gastric bypass in January 2005 at the age of 24 with a starting weight of 249 lbs. I did great with no real problems. I never had a goal weight but I got to my stable weight at about 6 months (157 lbs.). My weight stayed the same till January of 2009 after my divorce. I did gain back about 75% of the weight I loss. It is 100% my fault. I could eat anything prior to weight gain but after the divorce when my entire life changed dramatically I started to eat more often and much more carry out/fast food. The weight came back quickly but I was in denial. This past July I decided to look into a revision. I met with a different surgeon that was a revision specialist. My pouch had obviously stretch. On October 31 I had my revision with a starting weight of 217 lbs. I am now 33 and my recovery has been very slow and painful. I have only lost 10 pounds but I have lost inches. I am struggling with Protein intake. I am positive that I can do this again and commit 100% as my life is drastically different and I actively participate in therapy. So in my nine years here is what I know: #1 You gain regain your weight if you stop following the eating rules. The pouch will stretch. #2 Vitamin deficiencies are very real and you MUST take Vitamins for life. You must also take bariatric vitamins. I will note this part was not true in, research wise in 2005. I developed a deficiency because I was told pills like Centrum and Citracal were just fine. I know now the importance of bariatric geared vitamins. #3 Once I got t to about a two years post op I forgot I even had the surgery because my eating habits were just natural. I didn't think about it. #4 I became extremely fertile after bypass and hormonal birth control didn't work. Most people here are under 3 years out so I hope my story tells a more long term view. I am not a model patient. I admit I did not have to try very hard to lose my weight the first time. But on the other hand it didn't take much to regain it back. For me I went back to letting food be my emotional crunch and coping tool. Now that I have that under control I can be successful. I am 110% delighted I had my original surgery in 2005. Even though I am not having an easy time this go around I know that I am older now but I know what is down the road for me. This keeps me in check.

I am looking to get Gastric sleeve done. I am concerned that surgery will not be succesful because i am bipolar and one of my medications is seraqul. Seraquel is known for weight gain. Seraquel has been working very good for my bipolar. Does anyone know if Seraquel and gastric sleeve would be successful?