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Your observations seemed to have answered your questions... Try to stick to the foods that were on your plan to kick start weightloss again. But most people cannot eat their fill of anything they want after surgery. That is what usually caused the initial weight gain

Hello, I have been banded for two years and have a oneyear old. It was four months post-op before finding out we were expecting. MyDr. told me they encourage women who are trying to have children, to do so at ahealthier weight and/or a year after surgery. My little one, was a surprise:)...the only thing I suggest is getting an un-fill for the band so you areable to eat (once that baby starts getting bigger, she bumps your tummy and youhave 0 room to eat anything.) Also, there will be a good amount of port discomfortas your abdomen stretches towards the last few months of pregnancy, since theport is attached to the abdominal wall. She is probobly curious about weight gain during pregnancy, I maintained the entire time, fluxuating 5 lbs at most. If you or your Wife have any more questions, feel free to message me! Good luck and take care! Stephanie

You know what's funny? I've lived in the same county for 18 years, and even owned a retail shop here about 9 years ago. The shop had a group of regular customers. Right after we went out of business, I became a stay-at -home Mom, and instantly gained 70lbs. For the last 9 years, I've hardly ever gotten the: {"Hey! How are you, long time no see.. miss the shop..."} But now that I've lost 69 of those pounds, suddenly people are SEEING me! My habits haven't changed, but the weight gain had made me unrecognizable. It'll be really interesting if I again become invisible when I get to goal...

I disagree. If exercise was the answer to losing weight, then why are those who are exercising 3-4+ times a week still having trouble losing weight? As I said before, I lost 70 pounds...and have kept it off...with nothing more than diet. I have *never* exercised with any diet I was on and I still lost weight. Some 'experts' are now saying that exercise is not the key to losing weight and, in fact, may actually be the cause of weight gain because hunger increases. Logically, the Lap Band creates a situation where we should not be able to eat the calories we were prior to the band. The decrease in calories alone should cause weight loss. If not, then there's something wrong with the whole idea of how the Lap Band works. I've received a number of private e-mails from people who have shared with me that they eat just as they did prior to the lab band...but less. They eat like people who are not overweight. They don't count calories. They don't exercise. Their lives no longer revolve around food...either by overeating or by obsessing about calories and exercise. They've lost weight and they are happy. Sounds good to me. Please read my posts again. I don't care if I ever see 130 pounds again. I just want to be at a weight where I can Live! Live! Live! as Auntie Mame says...and that doesn't involve being a gym rat several times a week. I also don't care how long it takes. I'm changing my life...not 'dieting'. The point of this thread though was to find out whether the Lap Band did what it promised...or whether it was nothing more than a mental placebo where diet, exercise and hunger was still the rule of the day for losing the weight. Only a few have answered that question. .

Suzanne. Where you are right now is completely normal. The weight gain is temporary and over the next few days that gain will go away and then some. Take the pain mess you were given and don't let the pain catch up with you. I'm one month out and just had my first fill which was painless I have no pain or tenderness and don't have port pain. It was the right choice and it will get better. Be well

The sleeve really does help keep portions in control. I promise I did not diet during my maintenance time, but I was conscious of my food choices. I eat anything and everything I want. Grant it, about 85-90% of the time I still eat Protein first, but I enjoy all foods. I drink soda, alcohol(not in pregnancy), enjoy a lot of social gatherings which revolve around food. So, I do feel I live a pretty normal little life with food. BUT, I put in the work early out when really didn't have room for a lot of other foods. I remember even getting into maintenance, and being perfectly content with a few chips/crackers. Now, I can sit around mindlessly eat an entire "Big Grab" (those 99cent) bags of Funyuns.or half a sleeve of crackers without restriction. Those are the habits that I was talking about in my first reply. The sleeve really does help us not gain the weight back, but the sleeve doesn't stop ice cream, Cookies, carby/fat/fried foods from sliding right through. None of the WLS options stop carbs and sliders. So, we still have to be mindful and diligent in our food choices. My weight gain was over the holiday season last year. From Halloween to New Years, we attended a bunch of parties, social events, get togethers, etc etc and they all involved alcohol in copious amounts, party foods, Snacks. Seriously, every other weekend, I had somewhere to be and had food and booze in hand. Over those 3 months, I had a solid 7lb gain. I saw the scale gradually go up, and thought "oh it's Water weight from the booze". Low and behold, the new year came and those pounds were still there. I went back to just my normal eating habits, not dieting, just protein first for my meals, and I dropped those pounds in a little over a week. I admittedly hate working out. It's no different than scrubbing toilets. I could probably have more laxity in my food intake if I worked out more. However, I don't want to work out, I don't want to go to a gym, I really just hate exercising. That is a big part of my pregnancy weight gain. I'm eating 1700-1800( about 400-500 more calories than what I ate in maintenance) calories a day with a minimum of 100-200gr of carbs, and 80-100gr of protein per day. The sweet/junk food cravings are unbelievably difficult to fight at this point. I've never dealt with this level of head hunger, or cravings in my life. So, I know that it's pregnancy, and the fact that my eating habits have changed in pregnancy. The lack of physical hunger really is my #1 contributor to my success. I know my sleeve limits, I also know how to cheat the sleeve so it is still all on me to make the best decision on what goes in my mouth for every meal, every day. I can still go several hours without eating. I still never get a stomach growl, or any physical sign that I need to eat. But, I can eat every hour on the hour if I choose. That's the part that is very hard to overcome for me. I know I can eat a meal, and then an hour later I can wander into the pantry and eat more. I wanted to just put it out there that losing was easy, and maintenance is where I (and many others) struggle. That was my issue before surgery as well. I could lose on WW, or any other "diet attempt", but life would happen and I'd gain back what I lost and then some. For me, the most successful sleeve patients out there are the ones who made major behavioral modifications, and really adhered to a solid plan post-op. I have read 100s of topics from people who experience several stalls, slow weight loss, and/or their weight loss comes to a complete halt because they think that the sleeve will do all the work. Sadly, those same patients post how they don't want to diet, how they want normalcy. Well, I hate to say it, but most of us are NOT normal. If we were, none of us would have sought surgical intervention. Pretty much if you are diligent with food choices, and allow indulgences in moderation, the sleeve works. I can still suck down a milkshake, or eat an ice cream without issue. I really do live by the mantra of "just because I can; doesn't mean I should". It's not always easy, but the sleeve helps tremendously.

hello everyone. my name is della and i was just banded on monday the 4th. i am doing pretty good ,better than i thought,but i do notice a tight/pressure like feeling in my chest/upper stomach and was wondering if anyone else experienced that at all? also i weighed 286lbs day of and day after discharge i weighed 293?????? i had lost 13lbs on my pre op diet and after i have gained 7lbs!!! what is that about??? could it be the iv fluids? :thumbup:

I'm anti-iud, every one close and not so close to me have had really horrible side effects. I think the pills are super unreliable, but implanon(the implant) I haven't heard many negative things about it besides soreness after insertation and removal. And the patch The BC that I absolutely love is the NuvaRing. It's what I have been using since I was 15, due to possibly having pcos. I've had weight gain, but it was due to my thyroid and thyroid treatment. You put it in for 3 weeks and take it out for one week. Two weeks ago I had to take mine out but I bled for 8 days straight. Made me remember how it was when I was younger. Because my usual bleeding cycle is now two days when I use the ring.

Posted by Lindata "I never ever thought I would one day be technically 100 pounds overweight. Looking at myself, I would think where would 100 pounds come off of me? Now that I've lost some of that weight it's like blinders have been taken off - I can't believe I COULDN'T see the weight. I really believed I looked way thinner than I did. How is it that we can lie to ourselves and believe what we say?" I do the same thing, Linda. I'll look in the mirror and try to figure out where the rest of the weight will come off of. Even before I lost any weight, I couldn't imagine myself so big unless I looked in the mirror. Whenever I had to write my weight down for anything, I would mistakenly put a "1" where the "2" had to be. At least I'm back into the 100's but I still have so much to go. You're very fortunate to have married a man who loves you no matter what. I wasn't so lucky. I have seen a big change in my husband's attitude with me according to my weight. He married a slim young woman who allowed the stresses of life to affect her eating habits. I can't even blame my weight gain on having children. I only gained 28 pounds with each child which came right off. A rocky marriage, a partial hysterectomy, a car accident, and the loss of my parents are to blame for my lack of control. food became my drug of choice. Like Judy, I think it is the most difficult addiction to overcome. We need to eat so keeping the "drug" out of the house is impossible. The demons are always there tempting me. At least the band helps keep them at bay.

I had lap band in February 2011. My work insurance didn't cover it. But I wasn25 and learned my moms covered it. So she added me thankfully. Then during surgery my surgeon aimed a little high and hit my lung cavity. So I had a collapsed lung and had to stay over night. Then because the port was hitting my rib that had to be moved. Thankfully that was under insurance as I lost my parents insurance when I turned 26 in sept. In December things started going down hill with an emergency unfill. I was ver fortunate because my doctors wife was available. Then again in the spring it happened. My dr and his wife were out of town on a weekend but they were coming home that night and I met them at the hospital for an unfil. Fast forward. After a July vacation I came back in for a fill. He couldn't get the port to accept a fill. Kept hearing a metallic sound and bent the needle. He fiddled around and poked me (I gave him permission to keep trying) for at least an hour. Next week I had a swallow test and reg X-rays and the band had slipped and the port flipped. I was the first port flip he had ever had. I had to pay over 7k out of pocket to have it removed. I could have kept it but didn't want to pay to fix then pay to remove if something else happened. I had lost 100lbs since I signed up for the first seminar. So I think that was 70 lbs with band counting the week after surgery. I was miserable and didn't realize how bad it was. Contortion tricks were used to try to get unstuck or throw up. Hanging over the end of the sofa to remove whatever plugged the whole to my stomach. It was horrible and I didn't see how bad till I had relief. I also gained back all but 30-40 lbs. I had pneumonia that required daily outpatient treatment. All my doctors said that all the antibiotics caused such a weight gain. Been to thyroid specialist as I have all the symptoms only to be compared to a cow receiving antibiotics to gain weight. Needless To say 2012 sucked. I just noticed in January that my insurance no longer had the big red exclusion for bariatric surgery and emailed. My company is literally 500 feet from my old hospital but since they aren't blue certified I will be going two hours away. I wish you luck in getting your surgery. Thankfully the sleeve seems to not have the long term complications that the band has. I have submitted my paperwork to the hospital to get the first appointment. My email from bcbsil didn't list the 6 month diet so crossing my fingers.

I had the mirena IUD and HATED it - basically every sideaffect listed, I got. I had headaches, weight retention, and a weird out-of-body feeling like my body was not actually my body. Also, it can contribute to ovarian cysts so isn't a good option for those with PCOS. I only know one person who used the nuvaring and she got pregnant the second month she was on it, and the nuvaring made it an ectopic pregnancy. I take the pill now, I'm on one of the ones that helps with PCOS symptoms (acne and facial hair). It's taking a looooong time to see those benefits though! I've been on it for 3 months. I haven't had any weight gain from it though.

Almost the exact same ..... Banded 2009 at 44bmi 223lbs, stayed at 143lbs till it slipped in 2017. I loved my band tina.... she was awesome. Fast Forward 2.5 years and a 30lb weight gain. Sleeve SX 8/28/2019 at 173lbs. My weight loss was and still is pretty great. I'm down to 120lbs.... and a 21bmi. 14 months ago

Glad you can balance the good and bad experiences Many of us had no complications and are maintaining. Most of the vets and people that maintain leave the site because life has become normal. Many of the people you talk with are new, in weight loss phase, had a weight gain or complications. IDK about this being expensive. Almost 5 years out and that’s not my experience. Once I got to real food stage it's cheaper on groceries. You ditch the shakes and meal replacement products with whole foods. I eat less and my family eats pretty much what I eat. Example: Chicken fajitas. I give the family tortillas and I go without. Vitamins are my only expense at $29.00 a month. Some have found better prices. Congrats on your surgery date.

Good luck to all of you on the 14th! I will be banded on the 26th of April. I was wondering what these protein shots you are talking about? By the way I am a nurse too, do you think they should of told us in nursing school that nursing adds to weight gain. All that food laying laying around on the break table it seems I was skinny and 20 and I blinked my eyes and am fat and forty! I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers on the 14th. dont forget to let us know how you are doing so we know what to expect

I've only had this question on medical forms - like "any unexplained weight gain/loss?" Just in case I'm depressed or something, I guess... But if an actual person said "did you mean to lose weight" to me, I don't know that I'd be able to hold back on the choice language. I imagine the mildest thing I'd manage would be something awfully sarcastic.... "no, actually - funny story - I was walking along in Short Pump and tripped and fell on a surgeon... Next thing I know, I have 1/4 of my stomach left and I weigh 75 pounds less!!! And $15,000 is missing!! Do you think I should sue?" But what would probably come out of my mouth would be more along the lines of "JESUS ******* CHRIST WHAT THE ******* DO YOU THINK?!" I'm just a b*tch like that tho. Especially if I get stressed. Such low patience for inane questions....

I just give up weighing during my friend -- it is discouraging! I never really had the weight gain with my period prior to banding. Everything is different now with my cycle -- including the 2X month frequency! But I have noticed that if I lose weight it is after the friend comes & goes -- definately not during! And cheri, don't feel bad, I had2 muffins yesterday since my friend is here......I PBd on one and still had another later -- how stong is that munchie urge!?!?!?

I also had my band put in in 2010. After a year (exactly a year a week) and abysmal weight loss (@25lbs) my doctor discovered my tubing had kinked. He said he needed to go back in to fix it but it happened right after the bliss insurance expired (it is only for 12 months) and I was a cash purchase becuase my insurance doesn’t cover it. He could some how massage my abdominal wall and manipulate tube and get it to fill, but it was always a chance it wouldn’t work. And he wouldn’t fill too much because he was worried he wouldn’t be able to go in and let some out if the kink got worse. Then one day I noticed I would choke/vomit up everything solid, mushy and liquid. I even tried just sucking on ice cubes to stay hydrated. Nothing worked. Ended up at emergency room, doctor was called and greatly reduced band fill. Told me to get upper gi to check for damage and see him in three weeks. He forgot to leave script, came in mail about week later. When I called to schedule my appointment for upper gi a few days later (I was in no hurry since he wouldn’t refill for at least 6 weeks) I was told there was a problem with the script and to call doctor back for correction. When I called back I found out my surgeon had left for a tour with doctors w/o borders to Sudan. WTH. Went to a new recommended doc for a fill in a couple months after and she couldn’t fill it because of the kink. so here I am 8 years later and ready to start again with fills not even knowing if it will work. I called a new surgeon to make an appointment yesterday. I of course haven’t told them about the kinks or my upper gi appointment. That never came to pass. I would prefer a revision, but Medicare will not pay for revision unless there is a problem. Best case scenario is the kink worked it’s self out, it with additional weight gain I doubt it. Or next best for me is there is a band problem and Medicare will pay for revision. It’s kind of sad that my second best option is hoping for problems. Sorry for the length. I just know this is one group of people who understand the frustration. Sorry this was so long.

Ok ???? well my apologies i think everyone is a open as i am-RESPECT(towards you), but on some real stuff ( not sure if you can cuss on here im kinda new also) im the coolest person you ever wanna meet, but i turn into a She when im hungry, as i have been since 12/15! Look, ma you gotta be strong i know its not easy! But your gonna thank yourself & modern medicine & God, when people start giveing you compliment, trust me , it give you life when people compliment you on your success! Granted ive always been obese, but within the last year i became morbidly obease @ 290, thats when i decided on the procedure, now where thinging my unexpected weight gain may. Hv been because of a Thyroid problems, well i wish some would hv told me that 4,500$ ago, im a self pay patient, i went to Tijuana for my procedures, so by my doc not being in the states, as hungy and as hangry as i hv become, I knew there was no room for error! You are playing a very dangerous game! If stomach acid leaks into your diaphragm, its a wrap (its over) , please live & be great ???? ???? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi everyone! I am to be banded this coming friday on Feb 6 and am a little nervous! I think I am reading tooooo much! lol...Anyhow, the dietician told me that I was to do a liquid diet for 2 weeks but when i saw my surgeon on Thursday he said that I just needed to do high protein and low carb, low fat to shrink my liver. He said that the dietician uses the two weeks as a standard but everyone is different. I am 5'7 and 250 but I wasn't told I had to do a liquid diet. I did start yesterday on just liquids and am doing protein shakes and broth. I noticed a lot of people didn't like the shakes and is wondering if anyone ha stried Lean Body by Labrada. The ready to drink shakes are 260 calories, 40 grams of protein, 9 grams of Carbs, and no sugar. To keep my intake small, I drink half a shake at a time. It is a pretty large shake (about 17 oz). I know the Optifast is only 160 calories and about 20 grams of proteins and 20 carbs. But my shakes have less carbs and more protein. I know if I do half and half...that is still 130 calories, 20 protein, 4.5 carbs...and they taste really good!!! I am still pretty nervous about Friday though. I guess I wouldn't be normal if I wasn't even just a tad! I'm 37 and have been a size 8-10 my whole life and an athlete. About 7 years ago, I was diagnosed with LUPUS and have been up and down with my weight being on steroids. Each time I have gained and lost, gained and lost etc...but last couple of times have not lost and have been tired from the weight gain and not working out. My twenty year reunion is in July and I am stoked about getting back down and fit once again! Not too mention I am doing the Susan Komen 3 day 60 mile walk in November for Breast Cancer!! :cheated: Hopefully I haven't bored any of you by my long disertation, but I have been on the website a couple of months and only posted a couple of things and really just reading eveyrones posts. I must say I am touched and in awe of the amount of support I see for each other on here! So good luck to all you Feb bandsters! I'll be keeping you in my prayers! :tongue2:

My husband says I need to exercise more too. I walk about 45 minutes to a hour a day and that’s about it. The thing is I lost the weight without doing any more than that so it doesn’t make sense that I am gaining now because of that. The doctors keep blaming my antidepressants and my bipolar I just think that there is more to it. The weight gain did all start around 25 though which is also when the symptoms of my illness began so idk. I don’t need a referral for a specialist though, so I think I am going to see one just to rule it out if nothing else.

Barring any medical reasons eg thyroid issues, compromised metabolism for other reasons or medication that causes weight gain, we gain weight when we eat calories over what our bodies use for energy. We can only speculate and a couple of things to be considered are eating a lot more calories than realising eg very calorie dense food; or secret eating.

First, as a disclaimer, this post is under "General WLS Discussion"....and my surgery was the Lap band. So different people with different surgeries will have different experiences, and different stories to tell.... No one wants to have to resort to surgery in order to loose weight...at least I didn't. But I tried and tried over years of dieting...and failing all the time...Up-down, up-down...gain weight, loose weight, gain it all back again.... Plus it was really staring to effect my health, in a very serious way.... So yes, for me it was a last resort...perhaps a desperate resort....as hesitant with 2nd thoughts as I was, what was the alternative? I wanted to be skinny and fit! I wanted to be healthy...I wanted to dance at my daughters wedding.... Know what? I got all that...AND MORE....I am absolutely ecstatic with my decision, and THE RESULTS! It CHANGED my life in ways I can't put into words at this moment. So what if it is the easy way out...EASY IS GOOD...what's wrong with that? Some people think that's a bad thing....I DON'T....and look at what I got in return! Where would I be today without this surgery? Probably 6' under, or ashes in an urn...not kidding! Weight loss surgery is not for everyone...it is not about the surgery, but it is about LOOSING WEIGHT! However you do that, it's all good. I needed my stomach tied off, restricted...after 4 years I'm still good with it! Like I said, I have been down all those other roads, and diets do not work for me. Perhaps for the first few months, then it all come back......surgery is permanent!

I have been overweight for most of my adult life. Big boned was the explanation and quite true in my teens as I was very muscular, broad shouldered and round in the butt.... After miscarriages in my early twenties, two successful pregnancies for beautiful children, and two more miscarriages in between them my weight went crazy. Also I started to get Gerd, arthritis, IBS, diverticulosis, kidney stones and gallbladder issues. After my son was born in 2000 my female issues increased rapidly and I was in pain so much that exercising was intolerable. In 2006 after a year of non stop ER visits and doctor appointments I was diagnosed with Adenomyosis of the uterus. I had a total hysterectomy due to that and pre cancer cells on my cervix, cysts on my ovaries... I was told I absolutely had to take HRT even though I didn't want to. Six months into them I had gained 47 lbs. Believe it or not, I was eating 1500 to 1800 calories a day, swimming or walking 4 miles 4 times a week. I was devestated by what was happening to me and stopped the HRT on my own.. No more hot flashes, anxiety or weight gain.. phewww.. The only problem was I couldn't lose the weight. I went to a nutritionist and kept food journals on sparkpeople.com,, kept exercising and started to become seriously depressed. The only thing that made it worth it was that I didn't have anymore PMS or other female problems or moodswings. My doc said I was BS'ing her and needed to get it together.. Last aug 07 I fell of a landing on the river and shattered my leg.. 2 months in a wheelchair, 6 months physical therapy,, jan to april in a gym.. full exercise 3 days a week for 60 minutes, stationary bike at home 5 days a week and still no weight loss.. We were so broke from me being out of work I couldn't aford to overeat.. total frustration... My lipid specialist wants to refer me for lap band surgery.. I'm terrified of being layed up again, but fear onset of diabetes, heart attack and stroke.. I have 2 brothers who had attacks at age 50, one wasn't even overweight. I also fear that after I go through with the surgery that it won't help because of my hormone issues.. Has anyone had lap band after hysterectomy and been helped???:confused2:

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

Congrats on five months out. I like that you divided your goals. I understand the fear. I had doubts because I would lose weight gain it back with extra pounds. I'm grateful that I’m still maintaining this far out from surgery. I wish there wasn’t pressure about choosing/achieving goal weight. I agree 100% It doesn’t matter where we end up on the BMI chart. Healthy is the goal.