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It sounds like abuse to me. I'm currently doing therapy. Once I had the surgery my tolerance for unacceptable behavior became less than zero. I hadn't been bothered by it before. And now I don't have over eating to cover up with. Now I look and say watch your mouth or watch me pack. I'm not a guaranteed thing in not a possession. This is after less than a month. I even am making a single life fund. My ex loved me when my body was beautiful every time he would see me during my weight gain he would bring up how he should of married me. And how beautiful our kids would of been. Now he's married and I picked poorly.

I’m five years out with the sleeve. I’m maintaining in the 130’s. I bounced back from surgery and had no complications. For me it was a great choice. This site is mainly people researching, are new and in weight loss phase, had weight gain or complications. Understand that many people that are maintaining no longer need support on this site. Read this link to see the positive stories to give you a balanced look at outcomes. https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/423992-what-you-had-no-surgery-complications/?tab=comments#comment-4758950 For newbies We are not ALL doomed to regain. There is no way for me to avoid offending the people on this site that have had regain. What I am saying is not judging them. Have compassion. There are reasons why people regain (medical issues, complications, eating disorders, pregnancy and not following plan. - Anyone who has stretched their surgery needs it diagnosed and therapy to control overeating. I would hate to see anyone stretch a second surgery. If they need a restart, I hope the second one works for them. Bottom line, the only reason any of us gain weight is eating over calories and macros.

I am 3 weeks post-op & have lost a total of 11 lbs since DOS. When I weighed this morning I had gained 2 lbs. What can I do to get this weight headed in the loser's direction & not gain any? I must be doing something wrong. I thought the weight was easier to lose in the beginning?

I have the Mirena IUD..Had it two years before surgery. The hormores relased are localized in the reproductive tract....not like taking oral contraceptives. I had no problems, weight gain or other issues. Love it. My periods are just spotting at this point. The only down side is that it must be inserted while you have your period....very gross.

I'm becoming very frustrated and wondering if I have some kind of metabolic issue. I'm 5 1/2 weeks Post op and I find that on days that I don't exercise I gain 1 pound. I am following all of my nutritionist's guidelines (and what I've learned on here). I am aiming for 60 grams of Protein per day and only eat carbs that come in my low fat, no sugar added greek yogurt (I eat Dannon light and fit which only has 80 calories per day). I eat three small meals and stick to around 300-500 calories per day. I am losing, I try to exercise daily for an hour, but in reality it generally ends up being 3 days a week. I know that I need to be better about that. However, I weigh 274 and at this weight and the limited calories it seems like I should be losing even if I don't exercise. Curious what you all think?

I have read articles about this as well. The first couple weeks of exercise can slow or even result in weight gain. I have done light workouts with little effect, but did an advanced body pump class followed the next day by an intense 90 minutes session with a personal trainer. I gained 3 pounds on the scale in that 48 hours... But I know it is my sore muscles swollen and holding into extra fluids trying to heal. Don't let the scale discourage you, after your muscles acclimate the excess fluids will be shed and the fat loss accelerated. The inches and fat loss are far superior to the typical loss without exercise. The more sore you feel, the more you will see the impact on the scale, but it is temporary. Just Fluid retention caused as your body adapts towards becoming a leaner stronger machine.

Hi Lyndsey, I can relate to how you feel, I felt the same when was due to fly to Brno in the Czech Republic for my sleeve. All worked out really well and I am sure they will look after you like a queen at Southampton hospital. It's not so far from home and getting this done will enable you to retake control of your life. I firmly believe that us fatties have a wrong setting that makes us perfect for stone age hand to mouth existance but prone to weight gain in the 21st century. As we are unlikely to experience stone age conditions (hopefully) getting the offending part of the stomach snipped off seems logical to me. I have been amazed at how much this operation changed my food mindset, I don't like sweet things any more and I am pretty indifferent to most food except when I feel real hunger. Like a normal person eh? No wonder they can stay slim, it's completely easy when you don't want to eat, no great moral high ground really. So bottom line stop feeling down about yourself, we are all on your side here. And let us know how you get on. And post if you need to chat or PM me. Jane x

Here’s my opinion & it differs from others: I am 1y post op & have surpassed my goals. I believe that a lot of my issues with weight gain came from diet culture. Now, I live in the land of balance. I absolutely have had Mac & cheese (I like the reduced guilt from TJs & have it with Tuna). I think long term health & success comes from eating a healthy balanced diet. I do not ban anything, and never ever plan to diet or ban foods again. I eat a ton of Whole Foods, lean protein, Veggies & fruit. I feel and look healthy & fabulous. What I avoid the most is processed foods. I also tracked for the first year so I knew how many carbs, protein, calories and fat I took in & that helped me learn good habits. It also helped me learn what was not worth the splurge. So, IMHO, eventually you can have some Mac and cheese- once in a while. I realize everyone is different but this is my opinion & experience. I hope this helps.

I'm feeling frustrated. Surgery (banding) was the 16th. I'm not hungry and not eating that much but I'm still not below my pre-surgery weight. I've been taking the milk of magnesia (so things are moving). I'm struggling to get to 800 calories but I'm just so frustrated that I'm not even back down to surgery weigh in. Anyone else have this problem?

Zoe, I'm sorry to hear about your back trouble. I really hope that the steroids help you asap so that you can feel better and not have to worry about those things causing any weight gain. I'm struggling a little also with weight gain, but mine seems to be attributed to lack of finding the oh so ever sweet fill spot A little background... I have the Swedish band that holds 10-11cc's, so it's the larger band... I flew back to Monterrey for my first fill. I was filled to 5.0cc's (no significant restriction felt) A month after that, I had my second fill with Dr. Houston. He filled me to 6.4cc's. (perfect restriction, a little too tight at first, but I hung in there and it loosened up) On February 19, I was in Monterrey with a couple of ladies who were getting lapband surgery, and Dr. Rodriguez said that he would give me a fill if I wanted/needed one. Since I was already planning on getting another fill soon, I took him up on his offer. (No restriction at all after this fill, as a matter of fact, I felt wide open again) A week ago Friday I went back to Dr. Houston for another fill. (Still no restriction) He said that I only had 4.5cc's in my band. I knew that my restriction had disappeared, not sure what happened in Mexico. Dr. Houston filled me to 6.2cc's using flouro. He said that he didn't want to go any tighter than that based on what he saw on the screen. Last Friday I went in to Dr. Houston for yet another fill, this time he filled me to 7.8cc's! I thought for sure this would do the trick, but to no avail, I still have very little restriction. I'm kind of giving up (for now) on fills....I'm going to see how I do over the next 4 weeks. I keep gaining a couple pounds, then putting myself on a stricter diet and it taking a couple weeks for me to lose those two pounds. Hopefully I will reach that "sweet spot" again with my fill level and start the losing ways again. For now, I'm just kind of frustrated, but have worked too hard to start gaining weight again so I'm going to be extra careful about what I eat and start moving (ugh) a little more. At least the weather is starting to get nicer, maybe I'll be more enthusiastic about riding my bike again. Hang in there! Hopefully you can discontinue the steroids soon~

I've gained 10lbs in 2 months. Not what I wanted to do. My BMI is a little over the limit my doctor sets for laparoscopic surgery with the weight gain. He suggested I do the liquid diet for longer :confused: I don't have a date yet so I'm trying to watch calories and get it off. It doesn't help that I had my period both times I went back in to see him!!!! Next visit I hope not to have it, so maybe some pounds will be gone!

The recent statistics from the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) has reported that about one-third (33.8%) of U.S. adults are obese. That number rises every day, and keeping up with it is more difficult than keeping up with your stocks. I work with the finest bariatric surgeons in the U.S. They are dedicated to helping their patients lose weight in an effort to thwart diseases, and minimize current disease progression. I also run several 12-step food addiction groups in the city of Houston and online in many cities. I talk to morbidly obese patients everyday. I teach them, counsel them, eat with them, and spend endless hours reading their journals. These patients have a story to tell, but we aren’t listening and we continue asking the wrong questions. To be sure, obesity is genetic and many times the social milieu of obese patients I work with is chaotic with issues of abuse, abandonment, shame, ridicule, and anger. The genetic role helps explain the body type; the way food may be processed, stored, and proportioned. It cannot explain what keeps the person from changing the behavior that contributes to obesity. In my work, during step 4 of the 12-step addiction group, the group members begin making amends. They look at how their behavior got them where they are. They quit thinking about how they were abused, and begin to consider how they hurt/abused others. The step is painful, gut wrenching and overwhelming for all of these patients. It is also the step I ask them, “How do you benefit from being obese?” At first they look at me as if I am crazy. After all, they are weight loss surgery patients, and have gone to extremes to lose weight. They laugh, shake their head, and say, “Mary Jo, what are you smoking?” Then the room gets quiet. One of the bravest patients will say, “My obesity gives me an excuse. I am not held to the same standards as others; they don’t expect it, because I am morbidly obese.” Another will chime in, “My obesity keeps men away; I was sexually abused by my dad for 4 years of my life.” A statistic that no one likes to talk about was one mentioned in Bariatric Times in 2007. As many as 20 to 40% of obese women have been sexually molested, harassed and/or perpetrated (they know it’s higher than that but can’t ascertain the exact amount). Yet another will talk about how her/his marriage is so distant that food has become their lover/best friend. They are lonely, and they eat to comfort that incredible sense of loss. Another part of my job focuses on the group that failed the weight loss surgery. If you have never been morbidly obese, or gone through a weight loss surgery only to have the weight come back, you cannot understand the depth of failing these patients feel. They are cursed by their unresolved reasons for going back to food. They don’t understand it, and often those who love them most don’t either. A Gastric Bypass, Gastric Sleeve, Lap Band, or Duodenal Shift is never going to successfully keep weight off if the patient has no idea why they are eating, and experience a fear of stopping. Many of the cravings patients feel are emotional; totally unrelated to real hunger. How can a weight loss surgery of any kind manage emotional hunger? It cannot. When we evaluate patients who struggle with obesity we talk frequently about denial. I am beginning to think they are no more in denial than we, the health care professionals. We can talk food all we want, but most of my patients know what healthy food is; they could write a cookbook with the calorie count included! They know food like most of us know our lover. What they need help with are the tough questions. One of those questions is, “What are the benefits you are experiencing from your obesity?” We have to ask this, and we should ask it prior to weight loss surgery so we can begin the process of helping them understand this part. People drop old behaviors when they are no longer benefiting from them. You don’t need to be a weight loss surgery patient to begin the yoyo dieting process. If weight protects you from receiving attention, and you have been sexually abused in your childhood, then when you begin losing weight you are going to turn to food to manage the anxiety you feel when a man gives you eye contact. When patients begin to understand what they are protecting or avoiding with their weight, they can effectively work a weight loss program and keep the weight off. It is also important to look at obese children’s homes especially if there is a substantial weight gain. Many times, something is going on at home that is causing this child to medicate their anxiety with food. Society continues to be judgmental and negative with obese people. One thing is clear: shaming or ignoring obesity is not helping curb or decrease the numbers.

Just like most people, I have been plagued with weight issues my whole life - starting at a very early age, I swear I could look at food and gain weight!!! Starting with childhood, my mother was very "on top" of this "issue", and did things like making dinner for the whole family, and then serving me a "lean cuisine". I remember spending my summers with my grandparents in Florida (wonderful memories), and coming back to my parents with my mom FURIOUS at my grandmother for the weight I put on (usually between 7 and 10 lbs). I was active the whole summer (swimming, tennis, water skiing), but I also got to have ice cream EVERY NIGHT as a treat :-)! When I was in high school, I weighed a whopping 105 lbs... I was thin... but I thought I was fat because of my lifelong (so far) drama with food (and my mother). But.... I was only thin because I was active... my mother made sure of that! I was on the tennis team, I was on the dance team (despite my "Elaine" like abilities), and my mother put me through multiple "boot camps" every summer... yes I was thin... but at 16, my cholesterol was 220+.... why? Because I ate crap when away from my mother's watchful eye... I ate candy (even hid it under my bed), I ate anything that wasn't green (no salads - ever!)... we had off-campus lunch in high school - so I had Sonic, pizza, sub sandwiches, and I did dabble in drinking on the weekends with my buddies (shhh... don't tell my mother). My mom - super skinny (even when she was pregnant with me, she only gained 15 lbs), would get up at 4:30 am to run - she was a marathon runner, aerobics dance guru, tennis player, etc etc... she had soooo much energy (still does - ugh)... she would wake me up at 6:30 (even on weekends) to "start my day". I had to mow the lawn, clean my room - basically anything but sit or sleep! Note - by little brother NEVER mowed the lawn - not once (he is super skinny - always has been - and they didn't want to make him tired for his baseball games - WHATEVER)!! So, it is no wonder, that when I left for college (left the state no doubt), I had NO skills for eating correctly... AND I was out of my mother's watchful eye.. I didn't have to exercise.... I didn't have to be accountable for what was on the scale! As I grew, so did my friends, so there were plenty of "hand me downs" to grow into - clothes weren't an issue! Bring on the Freshman 15 (or 20)!! So, there it started - age 17 (I was very young going to college) - my downhill spiral to weight gain! Enter early 20's - so I was "sort of thin" - I was around 140ish - size 10ish (I'm 5'3" by the way).... I had boyfriends, I entered into the job market (working for a top company) in a size 6... and BIG bows in my hair (I grew up in Dallas, what can I say?)....I went up and down in my 20's - until I was about 26.... I went on PHEN-PHEN!!! I was about 140ish and got down to 110!!! I looked HOT!!! I loved phen-phen meds - I didn't want to eat - food was disgusting to me, and I was full all the time. I ate 600 calories a day, lost alot of hair (I have really thick hair thankfully - but still!!!)... and I had more boyfriends then I knew what to do with... So I know what you are saying... phen-phen at 140? really? Well - it worked for me - and remember - I was "fat" at 105 to my mother - and now as a young adult - to me too!! 140 - 150 - OMG - FATTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!! (funny to me now - I dream of 140)! Move on to age 28 - getting married at 130 lbs - size 8ish - looked good for wedding.... then started the weight train gain!!! Fast forward 2 kids later...and in Jan 2012 - I weighed in at my highest 259.6 lbs!!!!!! Here begins the journey.... the real journey!!! So - was my mother right to restrict my foods? Was she right to get me moving all the time? Was she right in making me feel fat (even at a size 0 - 2)? I don't know!! REALLY!!! I have gone back and forth with this question... sometimes I like to BLAME her for my weight issues - I mean it is soooo easy to, right?.... but then again, she was trying to set boundaries and keep me from being the kid people picked on, keep me from the fat kid issues, keep me healthy ... she was trying!! and I am the one that CHOSE to break the rules - right? See, it isn't so easy to decide who is to blame now is it? I think as I write this - I am going to have to start accepting my own actions - hold myself accountable - even for what I did wayyyyy back then (I'm 43 now).... I am going to have to grow up and realize - it is all ME - and it is ME that got ME into this... and it is ME that will get me out of it!! My blog is intended for me to self-reflect, document how I feel now that I have been sleeved, and understand who and what I am. I hope you too will find some inspiration in my documentation - but I honestly am doing this for ME (for a change)! For the first time ever, I am putting ME first (though some of my friends would laugh at that statement "It's all about me" has been a "motto" thrown around about me sometimes)... but I mean putting ME and my love/hate relationship with food, weight, and even my mother at rest - understanding my triggers, understanding who I am and want to be the rest of my life (now that I'm a grown up)!

Last May, a WL Dr put paperwork in to my ins co to get a pre-authorization to begin a12-month weight loss counseling program. I weighed 206. During the summer I had a terrible family event and put on 20 lbs. On May 2 my yr will be finished and the Dr will put thru the final paperwork and it's going to show that I gained. I'm worried I will be turned down so now I'm desparate to try an lose 15 lbs in 5 weeks. A little depressed because I don't know if I can do it...... His surgical muse has even penciled me in for June 26. I'm do close but feel so far.

Good luck with your surgery in the AM. I got revised 4/15. Highest weight 311, Surgery weight 288, Current weight 243. I did good with my sleeve till the I fractured my spine. I developed a hernia and my GERD was rediculous. Then I got a pregnant a year later and only continued the weight gain with post partum depression. Doing great mentally and physically now, steady weight loss but I am right on par considering the meds I have to take slow it down. Sent from my SM-G973U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

I have had a few of those dreams about eating. They’re not anything like gorging on unhealthy foods… (my weight gain wasn’t food addiction related) I’m almost 4 weeks post op from my sleeve surgery. My dreams are about having a poached egg on toast or having a salad with grilled chicken… I think whatever you’re missing food wise your brain is trying to help you make up for it somehow with dreams? Anyway I can see how it would be scary to dream you are a bunch of off limits foods in access and be afraid you ruined your sleeve! Mine are more like “I was able to swallow the bite of salad without getting foamies”’.

Will be meeting with surgeon next week about possible surgery. Want to find those of you who are bipolar who have had this surgery. Do you have any difficulty taking your meds after surgery? In general I would like to hear any/all experiences. I need to lose about 100 lbs - part of the weight gain can be attributed to my depression & medications. Will the bipolar medications I must take prevent me from losing weight after sleeve surgery? My bipolar is stable/controlled but it is imperative that I take my medications regularly 4xday.

This is my week 7 post op. I read a lot of messages on this forum and posted a lot of questions before my surgery. So I thought I had done my research and this was the right thing for me. Boy was I wrong. If you are considering vertical sleeve surgery (or any bariatic surgery), and are not more then 100lbs over weight, please read this message. I have been a healthy person all my life (40 yrs old). The worst sickness I ever got in my whole life was the flu once in a while. I have had a history of weight gain and loss all my life. At the time I decided to go through the vertical sleeve surgery, I was 80lbs over weight, and my knees hurt when climbing stairs due to my high weight. I would have also developed diabetes if I had not lost weight. I also felt that I didn't have enough energy [i wanted to play with my kids]. I had to wait 6 months before surgery (insurance requirement). My nutrition counseling visits were a joke. I gained another 20 lbs thinking o, I am going to loose all this weight after the surgery so let me eat up for the last time. My surgeon told me that I will be out of work for 2 weeks post surgery (which I naively assumed to mean it will take me 2 weeks to get better). After the surgery, every second of my life has been hell. Now, I am constantly sick. I have non stop nausea. I have bile comming up from my stomach and living happily ever after in my mouth all day every day. My taste buds have changed so that smells from any food make me gag. I am not able to eat or drink ANYTHING to save my life or give myself energy for any length of time. Most days, I don't even have the energy to speak much less walk. I am constantly dehydrated and lethargic. I look and feel like a zombie. [Remember I wanted to play with my kids :-( ]. My back hurts so bad that I have to wake up in the middle of night and support myself with my arms instead of my back. All my follow up visits with the surgeon have been same. O' you are healing well, the incisions look good. You just need to eat more Protein and drink more Water. I recently made a list of all that I used to do with my extra weight and low energy and I am not able to do A SINGLE thing from that list anymore due to this surgery and its consequences on my body!!!! If I had used the 6 months prior and 2 months post surgery to honestly trying to loose weight, instead of opting for the surgery, I would have lost enough weight to put me in a healthier body. I didn't have to screw up my body to the point that WHATEVER IS DONE CAN'T BE UNDONE!!! I don't know if I will feel better in 3 months or 6 months or never. Imagine the guilt I feel for turning myself from a healthy person to a sick lethargic one. If you want to loose weight so you have energy to do things, THIS SURGERY IS NOT THE ANSWER. There is more. The surgeons de-emphasize or blatantly don't tell the long term consiquences. You know how they tell you that you will have to eat extra Vitamins after the surgery. The exact truth is...The part of your stomach that processes some vitamins (B for example) is mostly cut out. Your body is no longer able to process it doesn't matter how much extra vitamins you take. You will have to be monitored for Vitamin deficiencies for the rest of your life. Eventually, you will have to get Iron infusions or Vitamin B shots once you develop these deficiencies. I wish I had gotten banded instead. Atleast, I had a way to undo the damage I have done to my body and my health. If my email doesn't convince you, Please go see a gastro doctor or some other kind of specialist (other then your surgeon), who see patients who have gotten bariatric surgeries done. Ask them about long term complications. Since my surgery I have talked to two gastro specialists and both of them told me about the deficiencies and how they see patients like these all the time. And now I have to go through a ton of more procedures to make sure there is nothing wrong with my surgery. I am wasting so much time and money, this surgery has consumed my life. My goal was to be healthy, not to be screwed for the rest of my life. And I feel the later is what actually happened. Please do more research then read about the happy customers on this support group.

I weigh everyday to, but I know it is just a number and if it goes up that just tells me I have to watch what makes it to my plate. It really doesn't bother me that much. If it helps put the scale away for a while. I always weigh in the mornings and sometimes I will weigh in the evenings but I now know about how much the scale will go up durning the day and it doesn't make a difference in how I feel about myself. But if it bothers you, you need to get rid of it for a while as stress can/does cause weight gain!!

When I was in my teens I wasn't fat but thought I was!! I weighed 125 to 135#'s but I wasn't like the other girls I wasn't tiny and petite. So even when I was thin I always felt out of control. My mom never had veggies, or potatoes. We lived on meat and gravy on bread. I never developed good eating habits. Then I met my hubby and got married when I was barely 17 and he moved me away from my mom, I couldn't wait to feel normal. I got prego but still, my weight gain wasn't bad. I started eating whatever I wanted, you see my hubby and I had one giant thing in common FOOD!!! He weighed 350#'s when e were married. Years passed I gained weight, pound on top of pound!! Had my 2nd child at 23 but I became a Diabetic on pills then shots. Losing weight wasn't a problem but I never learned how to keep it off. At one time I weighed 285#'s. My diabetes just kept on getting worse until I could not control it at all. We both have a little more in common now, food isn't our main focus!! We have 8 grandkids that fill our hearts to the brim with love!! We are closer now than ever. So I have a lot to be happy with. I had my WLS and I have been in maintenance for 3 and 1/2 years, hubby has lost 200#'s total. Life is AWESOME!!!

THIS! one thousand percent. There are antidepressants that DON'T cause weight gain, but some doctors don't know/care enough about side effects to off those to patients struggling with their weight. If you don't think the prescriber is thinking of this, try talking to your surgeon to see if she thinks this could be an issue. There are so many meds that you could be taking that could be adding to weight gain (but... even the cravings to eat caused by the weight gain can be minimized). Also, there are medications you can take to reduce hunger, like metformin and phentermine, along with newer drugs like Ozempic

I got the Lapband in July 2009. Before I got the band I had a severe mental block with "calorie counting," making healthy choices, exercise, etc. Like many people who get weight loss surgery, I felt like I needed to take drastic measures to protect me from myself. No matter how much I wanted to be thin, no matter how depressed my fat made me feel, I could not stop eating. I thought the Lapband was the thing that was going to protect me from myself. And it did, for a while. From the time I got my band I lost about 10 pounds per month. I felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders because no matter what food I chose to eat, I could not over eat. I could eat cake if I wanted, but just a little. I could go out to a restaurant and order anything I wanted without feeling scrutiny from the crowd. And I did not have to worry about whether I was making a bad choice or not because I knew I was still going to lose weight. The band was my ever present friend, protecting me from myself. It was wonderful, and effortless. The world around me began to treat me differently. I had been thin before, so I knew what it felt like to get positive attention from others regarding my looks. It felt good. It also felt good for my boyfriend who was now the object of envy, whereas before he was the object of curiousity. "Why is he with her? He is so cute, she has gained so much weight," etc. I went from a 242 starting weight to 220, 210, 200, 190, 180, 170, 160, 150, 140, 135 ---- It was amazing. Every time I stepped on the scale I had lost weight. Then, in November 2010, I kept losing and couldn't stop. I went from 135 to 125 then 118....which is too thin for my height. I looked like a skeleton. I thought that my band was too tight and needed to be loosened. However, when I couldn't get an appointment with my band doctor soon enough, I went to the emergency room. They did some blood work and found that my potassium was dangerously low and I was at risk for a heart attack. The doctor also did an x-ray and told me that my band had slipped down and was strangling my stomach. They told me that they had to do emergency surgery that day to remove it. But first they had to get my potassium high enough so that I would survive the surgery. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!. Don't take away my security blanket! Don't take away my insurance policy and leave me to my own devices! Especially, don't take it away from me today without any warning. I cried. The doctor took out the lapband. He was NOT a fan of the lap band claiming that he had to take out about 4-6 per week that slipped. The moment they took out the lapband a sheet of anxiety hit me like a ton of bricks. I began to think that I was going to gain weight uncontrollably. The anxiety about about food and gaining weight caused me to eat. I felt anxious about eating, so I began to eat. I tried in vain to take some preventative measures, like join weight watchers. But my uncontrollable will to eat was stronger than my willpower to stop it. I immediately began gaining weight. Which was 'ok' at first because I was underweight to begin with.But then I began to gain more and more. I went from underweight, to normal weight, to overweight. Now I think I am on the brink of obese again, If I have not already reached that point. This all happened in a span of 7 months. I am now at 210 and don't know where I am going to go from here. The doctor told me that I had to wait for one full year for my stomach to heal enough to have any other kind of surgery. I can never have the band again because of what it did to my stomach. Now my option is the sleeve. At first I just wished they could put me in a coma and wake me when it was time to have the surgery. I did not feel that I could sustain the horrors of weight gain. At about 192 I started therapy for my disordered eating and began really learning a lot. I had been in therapy before, but never with someone who specialized in disordered eating. I am learning that I am not truly alone. Many, many people use food as the mechanism to deal with any emotion they may feel (or may try not to feel). I am learning that for myself, and for other people, food is a constant in my life. It is always there for me when I need it, It never lets me down. I eat when I feel happy, eat when I feel sad, eat when I feel anxious, eat as a response to almost any emotion. At this point I believe that when I am able to have the sleeve in October 2011, I will still want it as my back up plan to protect me from myself. But I hope at that point to have a different perspective and possibly the ability to show different responses to feelings and emotions other than eating.

Has anyone heard of gaining weight when you transition from mushies to solid food? The nutritionist said that there is a possibility of a small weight gain initially....what the heck?!?! Is there any way to avoid that???? Thanks, Katie

I am self conscious, to the point, that I need surgery. My stomach looks worse than WWI trench battlefield. When, I was 23 I had open surgery on my intestines. The way they closed me up and the subsequent weight gain over the years my stomach almost looks like a bell pepper. I am married. My wife does not mind it that much. But when I go to the Doc's and swimming, it bothers me a bit. I am looking forward to surgery to get rid of it. I hope next year this time to get it done.

@@mrsbailey921 an article on webmd says tonsil removwl can can leqd to weight gain http://www.webmd.com/children/news/20110201/tonsil-removal-may-lead-weight-gain