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I take a psych med with weight gain side effect too. I'm 3 wks post op and it has stopped working. Granted it's an atypical antipsychotic used for off label dosing for insomnia. High unreccomended in the psych world these days. No one said anything about the usage during WLS but I think it should have been addressed. Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

Can someone please share what is meant by 5:2 eating plan...? I see some use it for stalls or if there is weight gain. Thanks. I

Well after many months and many ups and downs I finally have a date to have my eroded lap band removed. March 29th is the big day!!!!!!!!!!! I will have my surgery VERY early in the morning and will stay overnight to make sure there is no leaking from the repaired area of my stomach. Hopefully, if all goes well, in two months I will revise to either the sleeve or banded plication. There is much to consider with both of these procedures and the positives and negatives are pretty well balanced. I have read good and bad things about both procedures. Right now though, I'm just going to focus on getting the band removed and see what kind of damage it's done. So far I have felt no effects other than an occasional pull or tug or momentary pain in the area just below my sternum. I still have some minimal restriction due to there being a plastic ring in the middle of my stomach but I can pretty much eat anything I want and have been. I figure that eventually I will have the tool necessary for me to succeed so I might as well enjoy myself while I can even though the weight gain is making me feel miserable physically. I can't wait to be thin again. Weird how the mind justifies things. If I couldn't eat another cheeseburger tomorrow it wouldn't bother me, but since I can I do! Ugh. I'm definitely ready to get back on track. Let's get this party started!

Maybe you should think before you make a smart ass remark like that. These types of surgeries aren't for vanity reasons. They are medically necessary. I was in an accident on ice and subsequently acquired severe spinal stenosis when my hip was injured. Couldn't walk for over a year unassisted. At that time I wasn't overweight and was very physically active. Having to be sedentary caused me to gain over 140 pounds. In 2 years. Then I developed HBP and severe sleep apnea Bc of that weight gain. This surgery could actually help me to lose enough weight that it may take the pressure off my spine and allow me the opportunity to get off disability. You can kiss my fat ass

I'm condused ..you are losing weight well with your band right and because you have saline in it right? Well, seems to me the band is doing it's job..once you have thesalineremoved you may find you are not losing weight. I had my band unfilled for 2 months and believe me when I tel lyou, it's a whole different world with no saline..thank god it is only unfilled for 2 months or I could of been in some serious trouble with weight gain. If you do not want your band any longer, do not get it removed, get it unfilled, then see how you do, that is the great thing aboutthe band, if you start to gain you can always get it filled again...a question though...why are you sick of your band if it is working for you? How much fill do you have? Have you considered getting a partial unfill?

Same here! Dry, brittle, awful. My guess, in my case anyway, is the (drastically) reduced fat intake, about ready to work a few slices of avocado back in. Holding me back is avocado is def a trigger food for me....love, love that stuff. Argan oil treatments would likely cause less weight gain.🙄

I was exzactly as you said as a girl "big boned". And it is true my bone structure for a female is on the larger size. I also have an endocrine disorder called PCOS. I've had it my whole life according to the Reproductive Endocrinologist who dinagnosed me at 28 years of age with the disorder when my husband and I went to boston ivf for a diagnostic as to why we where having trouble with conception. My relationship with food before the diagnosis was an awful one. When i was her age that is when the trouble started, no matter what I ate it was never enough and I was always hungery dispite eating healthy meals. I also at twelve started my cycle and things just went south from there. I gained weight dispite diet exercise and eating healthy meals. Part of it is the blood suggar spikes that are happening within the body if these go un controlled the weight gain for her is never going to cease. Can you talk to her about how she feels when she eats, for me when I don't eat after a very long time say waking in the am I don't get a hungery signal and I feel sick to my stomach. But when i do finally eat that is where the ravenous hunger would start and from breakefast till dinner it semed the hunger never went away. unchecked high suggars can lead to cardiac problems and even blindness and problems with cirrculation and limb loss. Does she have an incidence of type II diabetis in her family? Did her mom have gestational diabetis while pregnant with any of her offspring? Also is she developing male hair growth(the legs will show dark hair first it hten progresses to the armpits and unfortunately the face and other areas are often covered with hair). The pcos can also lead to dysufunctional and painful periods due to fibroid formation within the uterus. I can understand your concern for your step daughter. She may want some help but might be to intemidated by her mom's poor reflection of you as a step parent. Can you talk to your spouse about it and just say you are worried for your s. daughter's health? I know this is a hard time for her as a teen and she might not realize it now but you are only trying to help her.

Kimmy, I'm 5'3, and a "pleasantly plump" 210 lbs. My BMI is 36.5. I have bounced around from 125 to 298 for 16 years........no less than 6 times. Trust me when I say I have the stretch marks, the batwing skin, the tummy flap, the saddle bags, the inner thigh pouches, the sacks my boobs were once in.......ALL great little reminders of the roller coaster of weight gain and weight loss. I'm 40 yrs old. My mom doesn't agree with the surgery, nobody close to me thinks of me as "that big", but I KNOW ME!!! I'm tired of fighting my weight, losing it, only to gain it all back again over a couple of years. I'm doing this for ME, NOT for my mother and certainly not for anyone who doesn't see me as "that big". I, I, I, I, and may I repeat again, I, ME, MYSELF am doing this so I, ME, MYSELF can bend over, run, breath, feel the muscles in my legs and stomach again, and LIVE LIVE LIVE and LAUGH without jiggling!!!!!! If you know your body, and you've made this decision based on your own personal needs, then you are doing the right thing. NEVER NEVER NEVER let others influence you into something that isn't theirs to choose!~ I WISH YOU THE BEST! Keep posting! Christal

It depends on what kind of work you do. Personally i would try to take a little longer if you can. But at about 2 weeks i felt capable of doing everything minus extra bending and don't lift ! The binder was on me when i came out of surgery. You can buy them also at a home medical supply store. Also i wanted to mention you might have some serious swelling afterwards for a couple days. So dont freak about weight gain. It will come off.

Thank you so much for replying. I'm going to spend my last pre open weekend reminding my family I need there support. I have four adult children that remember me before the weight gain. I'm so looking forward to shopping for my cruise this fall

There is a search button at the top of the forum. It may help to look up topics that relate to your situation. Some links that may interest you. https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/418753-weight-gain-after-veg/?tab=comments#comment-4684219 https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/381839-has-anyone-be-re-sleeved-revision/?tab=comments#comment-4312175 https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/418208-causes-of-revisions/?tab=comments#comment-4676887

I don't know about the weight gain, I had my sleeve procedure done on 12/21/15 and been very successful with loss, so far. However today I had some cream of wheat and although the it was very runny with milk, I think it expanded in my stomach and that was a nice adventure. I think each time we are able to add food, our bodies react differently and maybe retain some water. If you have started to be more active your muscles may have taken on some water that will go away as soon as your glycogen stores have depleted as well. I hope you get it figured out. Keep us posted. I go in for my 1 week checkup on Wednesday as well.

My Story: I'm from Chicago but now live in a suburb just outside of Chicago. I've been dealing with being overweight since my sophomore year of high scool. Prior that I was the skinniest kid in my home. My weight gain started with taking birth control to regulate my periods and from there it was all down hill. I am 39 with a husband and a step-daughter who just turned 18. I've been in her life and help to her raise since she was five. My husband and I have been trying for 13 years to get pregnant with no success. After going through surgery to remove my gallbladder I paid a visit to my new Gyne for the first time quite a few years back and I was prepared with tons of information on what I thought I have. After two sentences she looked at me and said "You have PCOS". All of the symptoms were in plain view including the embarrassing dark ring around my neck, horrible acne, and coarse facial hair. Finally I had a doctor who had a concrete answer for why I was feeling like crap and experiencing these emotional highs and lows. Fast forward I attempted to ask my PCP about Bariatric Surgery and she looked st me with a stern cold expression and said you'd have to be on a six month supervised diet and your insurance may not cover it. I was already having enough of a hard time so feeling defeated I gave up and kept suffering through attempting to lose the weight only to gain it all back and then some. Moving forward its been eight years since I've seen that PCP and I've been with my new PCP a couple of years. He keeps pressing me to lose weight and I want to but it is hard having PCOS. I am now on two blood pressure medications and Metformin for my PCOS. So thats infertility, insulin resistance, borderline diabetes (Pre-Diabetes), and high blood pressure that I am dealing with and all with a BMI of 51. Tall and wide is definitely not the look that I am going for. I just want my life back. I have alienated all of my friends, and most of my family. Most of the time I lock myself in my home and comfort myself by sitting behind a computer learning computer programming languages. I breakdown inside every time I see a baby and pray that its not too late for me. I recently looked back into having Bariatric surgery and discovered that BCBSIL no longer requires the six month supervised diet. With all that is going on with me I am not even sure which surgery is best for me. I don't know where to start or how the process goes but I am going to schedule an appointment with my PCP to discuss my options.

When you start exercising, you can retain a bit of Water in your muscles which can account for weight gain. Muscle doesnt weigh more than fat, its just that a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat. People say it flippantly and its misleading, what it simply means is that if you have more muscle you'll weigh more. But its fantasy to think anyone can gain few pounds of muscle from doing a couple of weeks of cardio - most women wont gain that much after a year of weight training. The real truth is that when people first start exercising, its hard work, takes lots of effort and dedication but its not really that intense in terms of what exercise can be for someone who is fit and athletic and a seasoned exerciser. It is possible to burn 1000 calories in an hour running, but you sure as eggs cant do that when you start. A couple of hundred calories a day is not that huge an amount of calories to be burning, its not going to make THAT much difference. Also there's the tiredness you feel as a result of your efforts until you're more conditioned, you kind of slow down for the rest of the day and burn less calories overall which kind of nets out the exercise. Not to worry, if you keep at it, you get fitter and you will get to the stage where you can say go out for a run, come home and continue with your day without even feeling tired. You'll get there. You really have to watch what you eat too, its not uncommon to eat more as a result of exercising - it may make you hungrier or you may subconsciously think you can afford to because you've exercised. Weight loss still comes down mainly to diet. All those are factors why exercise may not give you the weight loss result you may expect - at first. Keep at it and it will pay off and at first cardio everyday is GREAT, its the best fat burner and that's what you want for the present time, to get rid of fat. Dont be discouraged by gain, it wont go far and it will reverse quickly.

I get how you feel about weight gain after surgery. It messes with your head and negative thoughts and feelings about your weight/yourself creep back into your life. What do you do now? Take care of yourself and start again. Choose the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. I hate the term fail. This is an opportunity to start over in the new year.Don't beat yourself down. Talk to yourself more positively. We are all a work in progress. None of us are perfect. Focus on each 24 hours. What are going to do today to eat healthy and boost your activity. The sum of small efforts repeated day in day out will get you to your goal. Don't be afraid to ask for help. A consult with your dietician. Might be getting your mind set with weight loss or other issues straightened out. Counseling may help. We are here for the struggle. Be strong and press on!

I do believe that sugar is toxic for us....Here is an article I thought you might like to read and give your opinion on..... Your Brain on Sugar It gives you a rush, messes with your mind, and always leaves you wanting more - and now researchers are calling for the government to regulate the sweet stuff like a drug. Is sugar worse for you than, say, cocaine? According to a 2012 article in the journal Nature, it's a toxic substance that should be regulated like tobacco and alcohol. Researchers point to studies that show that too much sugar (both in the form of natural sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup) not only makes us fat, it also wreaks havoc on our liver, mucks up our metabolism, impairs brain function, and may leave us susceptible to heart disease, diabetes, even cancer. So far, no federal action has been taken (advocates blame industry lobbyists), and experts say simply raising awareness isn't enough, especially when 80 percent of our food choices contain sugar. "It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion," says coauthor Laura Schmidt, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco. Nevertheless, after the shock of hearing the news, many of us shrugged and turned back to our cupcakes. Yet, truth is, women in their 20s and 30s may already be feeling the effects of too much sugar without even realizing it. Here, the most common sugar-induced issues and how to beat them to prevent long-term damage—and feel your best right now. STRESS EATING For a pick-me-up, you may feel the urge to inhale a bag of M&M's or scarf down a box of Cookies. But the impulse goes deeper. To examine the hold sugar can have over us, substance-abuse researchers have performed brain scans on subjects eating something sweet. What they've seen resembles the mind of a drug addict: When tasting sugar, the brain lights up in the same regions as it would in an alcoholic with a bottle of gin. Dopamine—the so-called reward chemical—spikes and reinforces the desire to have more. (Sugar also fuels the calming hormone serotonin.) THE FIX In times of stress, dieters are more likely to binge, studies conclude. That said, a cookie once in a while (say, twice a week) is fine, but on most days go for oatmeal with brown sugar, suggests Jeffrey Fortuna, Ph.D., a health and behavior lecturer at California State University, Fullerton. The whole grains fill you up and the sweetness is just enough to release serotonin. INEXPLICABLE WEIGHT GAIN You stay away from burgers and drink diet soda. But sugar—both real and artificial—is the secret saboteur. When the pancreas senses sugar, the body releases insulin, which causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen for energy. Eat too much at once, though, and insulin levels spike, then drop. The aftermath? You feel tired, then crave more sustenance to perk up. Faux sugars don't help. "Artificial sweeteners travel to the part of the brain associated with desire but not to the part responsible for reward," says Dr. Gene-Jack Wang, a researcher at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. Nor do they trigger the release of the satiety hormones that real sugar does, so you're more likely to consume more calories. THE FIX Feed sweet cravings with fruit (the Fiber will help keep insulin in check), and sub in sparkling Water for diet soda. If you must indulge, go for a small snack made with real sugar, and eat slowly. Add fruit or yogurt to feel fuller and prevent a crash. BRAIN FOG Blanking out in the middle of a meeting? Research out of the University of California, Los Angeles, suggests that sugar forms free radicals in the brain's membrane and compromises nerve cells' ability to communicate. This could have repercussions in how well we remember instructions, process ideas, and handle our moods, says Fernando Gómez-Pinilla, Ph.D., author of the UCLA study. THE FIX Stay under the USDA limit of 10 teaspoons (40 grams) of added sugar a day. Read labels and available nutrition information at chains: A 16-ounce Starbucks vanilla latte and Einstein Bros. bagel will max out your day's allotment! A wiser choice: black coffee and plain yogurt with antioxidant-rich blueberries and walnuts, sweetened with honey. AGING SKIN Sugar causes premature aging, just as cigarettes and UV rays do. With young skin (generally under 35), when skin support structures collagen and elastin break down from sun or other free-radical exposure, cells repair themselves. But when sugar travels into the skin, its components cause nearby amino acids to form cross-links. These cross-links jam the repair mechanism and, over time, leave you with premature wrinkles. THE FIX Once cross-links form, they won't unhitch, so keep sugar intake to as close to zero as you can. "It's the enemy," says Dr. William Danby, a dermatologist with Dartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire. Avoid soda and processed pastries and trade sugar packets for cinnamon—it slows down cross-linking, as do cloves, oregano, ginger, and garlic. A SLUGGISH WORKOUT Muscles need sugar for fuel, so carbs (which break up into glucose, a type of sim-ple sugar) can kick-start your morning jog. But fruit or prepackaged Snacks touting "natural sweeteners" contain just fructose, which is metabolized in the liver, not the muscles. The result: bloat, or even the runs. THE FIX A glucose-packed snack with just 4 to 8 grams of fructose—it'll help increase glucose absorption, says Dr. Richard Johnson, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, Denver. Try a sports drink like Gatorade or trail mix with dried fruit an hour before your workout.

Hi everyone, I wanted to say goodluck to everyone who is being banded soon and my thoughts are with those currently on their preop diet that I will soon be doing. While I'm not looking forward to two weeks of a liquid diet I am excited about being banded. My biggest problem right now is that I seem to be eating everything in sight. I find myself snacking alot throughout the day and not caring much about it. I have this faulty thinking that it doesn't matter because I will be doing my preop soon. I have also found myself not wanting to catch up with old friends that haven't seen me in a while due to my big weight gain. Anyway I can't wait to hear everyone's post op stories!!!

If you're in pain then you need to have some fluid taken out, in my opinion. The risk of injury to your stomach from a too tight band is too great compared to the possibility of weight gain. Then you need to make an appt with a doctor/surgeon and talk about your options (including financial options.)

Wheetsin I listed the most frequent comment he makes which is "you are gonna change" referring to me wanting another man. Let me tell you my husband is an extremely macho man who shows very little to no emotion. I have had some major insecurity and trust issues in my marriage, stemming from weight gain (approx. 100 lbs over the last 10 yrs). I have experienced my weight affecting our intimacy, not to mention we have four small kids which is a whole other battle in itself. Along with our intimacy being affected I have felt at times his attention has been elsewhere, you know how women have that gut feeling but no proof but you know deep down in your heart of hearts.... I am deciding to take back over the reigns of my life, health and marriage. I felt like big or small he was supposed to be ok with it, but now I know that's selfish. What's the saying, "the same things you did to get em' you gotta do to keep em'. So I guess I did leave some essentials out.

Dub, good lessons being learned. I am with you, I pretty much do not eat out in a normal way anymore, just not worth it. When I do eat out, I just order an appetizer. Now that my weight loss "fast" time is done, I know that weight gain is possible... so being very vigliant about my eating and exercise. I had a major shoulder injury four months ago, but that is better and am able to start swimming again this Monday. On eating fast -- I was always an inhaler... very fast and very big servings. The stomach will not allow big servings so even with the small serving, I was still eating way too fast. At 5 months, began in earnest to change that habit. Set an old fashioned timer (the one with the avocado green dial and a big ringer) for 20 minutes, and the divided all of my food into thirds, to be eaten at 6-7 minute intervals. Sometimes I would space out and forget, and all of a sudden the food was gone. Finally, now at 10 months, I have my slow going on.... 98% of the time. Whew. Same thing on drinking Water with meals. Big bad habit. Now, never drink 25 before or 30 after, it is finally habit... Still trying to figure alcohol out. At 10 months, had my first beer last night, actually 1/2 beer, sipped. A 1/4 cup of wine sipped over 30 minutes is my normal. It goes right to my head.

I do have asthma and I am on a brown inhaler but I haven’t been on steroids as such for about 6 months I only go on steroid tablets if I get a chest infection. I will have a look into my other meds and see if they cause weight gain.

This is where you're absolutely, positively wrong. In the short-term, gastric bypass patients do lose weight, pretty much no matter what they do. But after the honeymoon period, this can--and often does--reverse. The body gets VERY efficient, with its new machinery, and if not fed appropriately, weight gain is not only possible, but more common than not. Look, whatever surgery you have, you're going to have to change your lifestyle dramatically or you WILL have difficulty reaching and/or maintaining goal. If you want a magic bullet, you're not going to find it. Anywhere.

I had to laugh because I have not gotten that 'holy crap' moment I've been waiting for from anyone either. The other day someone at work took a good look at me and said your ponytail looks nice lol. I'm like really that's the best I can get out of people! I keep thinking 5 more pounds, 10 more pounds and then it will come. I think maybe people don't want to acknowledge my weight loss because they politely ignored my weight gain. Loose skin, wrinkles and hair loss but I just keep truckin along. Maybe a summer tan will do the trick lol .....signed, Hopeful

Hello. First-time poster here. Had sleeve surgery February 19, 2010. Lost 20 pounds in 5 weeks. Was on blood pressure meds and was taken off due to much better readings. Then the water weight pounded on me. I've gained 6 pounds since getting off the Benicar (bp meds) a week ago. I'm so discouraged. Not losing anymore. Eating the same. I am a huge fan of fish...eat it daily. Very few carbs. Hoping it's the water weight gain and it will even off soon and I'll start losing again. I drink water all day long...I mark my cup with a marker as I drink all day making sure I drink plenty! I know it's water weight gain because Benicar is a diuretic...and suddenly I am no longer taking one...plus I can't get my rings on my fingers! AND my eyes are SO puffy! Thanks for listening!

Thanks for the information so far! I did a little research on the Internet and the following is an excerpt from Chalene Johnson's Blog Spot The temporary weight gain explained: When someone starts a new exercise program, they often experience muscle soreness. The more intense and "unfamiliar" the program, the more intense the muscle soreness. This soreness is most prevalent 24 to 48 hours after each workout. In the first few weeks of a new program, soreness is the body trying to "protect and defend" the effected or targeted tissue. Exercise physiologists refer to this as delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS. This type of soreness is thought to be caused by tissue breakdown or microscopic tears in muscle tissue. When this happens the body protects the tissue. The muscle becomes inflamed and slightly swollen with Fluid retention. This temporary retention of fluid can result in a 3- to 4-pound weight gain within a few weeks of a new program. Keep in mind that muscle soreness is not necessarily a reflection of how hard you worked. In fact, some people feel no signs of muscle soreness, yet will experience the muscle protection mechanisms of Water retention and slight swelling.