Search the Community

Type 2 I take metformin, and had things under controls with meds, until yet another weight gain after a failed diet. Now the drs upped my metformin and put me on Victoza. Even if meds keep glucose levels down, diabetes complications scare me. I know weight loss has an effect on diabetes first hand, because when I've lost weight, my need for meds goes down. Short answer, I want healthy levels without medication, and that is one of my biggest reasons for WLS.

Hello everyone, Ive been planning to revise my lap band to the sleeve due to weight gain. I've been having so many issues trying to eat what I should due to the food being stuck and the pain and throwing up it causes. Did anyone else revise there band due to gaining and did it help?

God bless you Katie, and I hope it gets better for you. It doesn't seem fair that insurance would deny a surgery that has such benefits just because someone has multiple complex issues that could cause a weight gain or loss. If I was an insurance company, I would take a holistic look at the person after their six month trial, and if they met all the checklist requirements (BMI, co morbidities, commitment, etc.) just approve it. Hopefully this will turn around for you and start a good momentum...

Hi all - I feel like a Newbie to Bariatric Pal when in truth I have been a non-active or at least not very active member since 2008 when I had my band placed. I am now in the process of insurance approval for RNY. When I first got my band in Sept 2008 I had great success in the first 4 months, losing 60 pounds, but then some stressful health issues raised their ugly head combined with depression and fills/unfills never finding that "sweet spot". I feel like I wasted 6 yrs of my life with the band. My original choice of surgeries was RNY but my previous surgeon talked me out of it due to the fact that I had a DVT 3 yrs earlier after bunion surgery. I guess was afraid of me coding on his watch... but that's another story. I have been trying to get thru all the hoops you must jump for both doctor and insurance approval since May 2013. I was at the point were my previous surgeons' office (not same surgeon, as he's no longer in the practice) filed papers with insurance and I was denied because my chosen surgeon did not work in a COE supported by my insurance company. His hospital WAS a COE just not an approved COE with my health insurance company - United Healthcare. So.... I had to start over with a new surgeon in Jan 2014. I am hopeful for an approval thru my insurance but they DO say that they will not pay for a 2nd WLS unless it is a medical necessity. Well, I think not being able to eat most solid proteins, throwing up or forcing myself to throw up because I feel like I have swallowed a golf ball, total weight gain and multiple comorbidities should be considered in their evaluation. I just hope they see it the same way I do. Good look to you all in your journey.

Hi, I have been at the gym 3 times this week and have gained 3lbs. Am a bit confused as am not eating more than 600-700 calories a day, at least 50g protein and trying to get around 40 ounces of water in a day too. What am I doing wrong? Is this normal? I am 7 weeks post surgery and have lost 35lbs so far. Please help!

Sounds about right, with the lapband....in most cases they have not done anything other than "Install" the device....now is the post op phase where it is all about healing from the surgery and getting back to normal...which sounds like you are doing. The next phase will be a series of band adjustments - fills....this is where the fun begins... Four weeks after surgery I had my first fill, and it was a good one....after which I started to gain weight....untill my 2nd fill 4 weeks after that..... I was very frustrated and upset to say the least....was told I needed to be counting calories, measuring portions, keeping a journal..... I immediately told them that that was what I've been doing with just about every other diet I have ever been on, and there have been plenty, and I did not need surgery and all the hoops and $$ that went into it, just to do what I have done before.... They calmed me explaining the adjustment process, Yellow-Green-Red Zone, etc, etc, and until I got the band in good harmony with me, there was nothing else I could do but diet.....but I stink at diets so weight gain it was...even with the band. For me it took 4-5 months after surgery to get it...then another few months of numerous stuck episodes, etc, adjusting my eating habits and behaviors, a new way of doing things... Happy to say, having gotten through that phase, the band is, and has been working PERFECTLY for the last 3 years now. Diet is a four letter word....I have adjusted myself to co-exist with a adjusted band, and have come to live a new lifestyle....a lifestyle that has brought me back to a normal weight, restored my health, and many other factors.... best thing I could have ever done for myself..... This thing DOES WORK!

Yeah the benadryl didn't work for me either (but I had to suggest it). Ive also tried benzos too (and agreed that I HATE them so I know how desperate you have to be to take them), vicodin, Electrolyte drinks, Vitamins, etc... I did not try the offered neurotin/lyrica as they both have a high chance of weight gain (as well as the fact my step father had been on it before and it made him...weird). I'm eager to know what your doctor suggests since mine seemed to be pretty useless about it, pls keep us updated.

I am almost 2 years out from VSG. I lost 60 pounds in the first year but have stalled for most of the 2nd year. I regained 10 pounds and if I let myself, I can eat more than I thought I would be able to. When I went to my pain management doctor last month, I got to talking to her about my sleeve surgery and my weight loss. She told me nobody loses weight on the pain medication I am on and most people gain weight. When I talked to my sleeve doctor, he didn't say much and just shrugged it off. This is very frustrating because I cannot be without my Lyrica (I have fibromyalgia). Is anyone else on medications where weight gain is the primary side effect? How has that impacted your weight loss after VSG?

My name is Becky and I just turned 21, I'm a nursing student and am engaged to the love of my life. I started my WLS journey in November of 2012 and got the gastric sleeve at the end of December 2012. My starting weight was 260. From the moment I woke up, I had a stricture and had pain with swallowing. We decided as I healed this would calm down and eating would become less painful. Well, that never happened..I've had roughly 10 endoscopy's and they have dilated the stricture each time hoping to help ease the pain. I've been hospitalized for pain and malnutrition roughly 5-6 times and it's been a tough journey. Now it's July of 2014 and I haven't eaten solid food since my surgery in 2012. I am in constant pain and have been taking the liquid Vicodin on and off this whole time. Living life has been a real struggle because I can't get in enough Protein or Water to stay energized or hydrated so I sleep a lot. I was a relatively healthy (besides some comorbitities) full time nursing student and now I'm barely staying afloat in school. I've pushed back my clinicals which pushes back my graduation date because I just don't have the energy to start them; plus I'm in the hospital so often that I miss class which is not allowed once I start working in the hospital. I went back to my surgeon two months ago and they ran all sorts of tests, he told me if I didn't get this fixed I was heading in the direction of Barret's and esophageal cancer which scared the crap out of me at 21. He said the only way to fix the severe esophageal spasms and the swollen inflamed stricture is to revise to a bypass which would stop the bile reflux and change the anatomy of the stomach which will hopefully help the irregular pressures in my esophagus and let the stricture heal. I agreed since that seemed to be the only option AND I haven't lost any weight...ZERO. It's because I can't eat what I'm supposed to eat, I can barely get down pudding and ice cream much less vegetables or protein so my metabolism is basically shut down and I'm stuck. We are hoping the bypass fixes my pain but it would also be an added bonus to lose the weight like I originally planned. We had set a date of 7/11/2014 which is today but I got a call on Wednesday saying the insurance retracted my approval because they want another EGD done. He did the EGD on that same Wednesday and came back out to talk to me about what he found. He said it's significantly worse than it was two months ago, my esophagus is eroding from the bile that keeps irritating the already swollen stricture. I asked about Barret's and he said not YET...so scary! My surgeon himself called the medical director of the insurance company to tell him how badly I need this surgery. He said he would be very surprised if we didn't get it approved and set a new date for next Friday. Here's to hoping I suppose. I will keep you guys informed when I have a date and I will update on how I'm feeling. Hopefully in a couple of months this will be another success thread, I'm crossing my fingers and toes! I already have all of my Vitamins and Protein shakes from the last go around and have tried a ton of stuff and have a ton of experience with all things bariatric that are soft. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has and am thankful for all of the support that you guys provide. My current weight is the same as my starting weight at 260 but like I said, I'm more concerned with the pain stopping than the weight gain although I'm hopeful that this will help me with both. My surgeon wants to keep me 2 nights in the hospital and saying the surgery will take 2-3 hours. I'll post pictures soon and update the title with the date we select..hopefully it will be 7/18. Pictures: Pre-Sleeve 2012: Pre-Bypass 2014: Recent Face Shot 2014: UPDATE: Surgery is approved but won't happen until August 1st because my surgeon is out of town I'm keeping my head up and am thankful that it is approved at all even if the date is farther out than I had been hoping. I will keep everyone updated and am on a cancellation list so maybe I'll get in sooner.

Will do! I told my NUT about your post and she told me she's never heard of anyone being denied for weight gain so I am praying she is right. Besides a couple loose ends I should have all my paperwork submitted in the next two weeks

It's all about choices for me , in most cases. I can't eat a huge dinner, so I am sure that helps. I can sure eat in between meals and graze, and that's what causes weight gain. I'm 5 years out now, and I know the clue to keeping it off is not eat in between meals and not snack at night.

First--stay calm. Keep your self-talk positive. Celebrate your 52 lbs and tons of inches lost!!! This is a temporary setback. You REALLY do know what to do to get yourself back on track. Sometime we just get temporarily TIRED of our hard work and stumble a little. It doesn't mean disaster. It means we're human. Are you logging what you eat for the day so you know how many calories you're taking in? Are you getting in your right Protein amounts and Water amounts? Are you measuring your portions to be sure they haven't "accidently" gotten a little bigger than usual? I think one of the biggest things for a lot of us after we reach the one year mark is that we realize we have begun to eat more processed simple carbs than our bodies like and that is often the thing that is causing a weight gain (like a few too many chips, breads, muffins, candy, Cookies here and there, etc). The BEST thing is that you are here knowing you want and need to fix this and are asking for help for yourself. You will "regroup" and take charge again, and all will be well.

I'm one year out, I had 13 more pounds to goal. I've lost 52 lbs, I have lost tons of inches. I went from a size 14-16 to a 6-4 . I workout everyday and tried to be mindful of what I eat. I had Gallbladder surgery a month ago. I've recently stared gaining weight and I'm so worry, it's not a lot 7lbs I'm afraid that's how it's start and I gain all the way back. ( literally crying) I don't know what to do. Has anyone gained the weight back or gained weight. How did you loose it. Help please

This scares me . A lot of people have been denied due to weight gain in the NUT program. I have my last NUT appointment tomorrow and I have gained every month. have Aetna, but I was never told I needed to lose weight. This month will be no different considering my doctor has put me on a hormone pill and I have gained crazy amounts of weight in just 3 weeks on it. I get more and more anxious about all of this every day.

Celexa is notorious for causing weight gain. Your surgeon's office should be able to appeal successfully showing that your weight gain coincided with the start of the Celexa. That being said, it might be worth it to look into other medications that are less likely to cause weight gain so you're not struggling after surgery. I'd also avoid Zyprexa for the same reason, but you might try Paxil if you are taking the medication for anxiety/panic attacks. If you need medication for depression, try Wellbutrin or Luvox but I'd stay away from Effexor (very strong and hard to get off of), Zoloft and Lexapro. All of those are known to cause a lot of weight gain. I hope this helps and you get approved soon!

Good luck with appealing And I'm not familiar with Celexa, but does it cause weight gain? I know a lot of anti-depressant and anti-anxiety meds can cause weight gain (giving good grounds for appeal). Plus with all the other stressors?

1st - i am happy to hear your husband is getting better... 2nd Appeal! In Oct of 2013 I got sick with bronchitis and I couldn’t shake it… I was put on steroids for almost 4 weeks… (we all know what steroids do…) anyway I gained about 15lbs and come Nov when my doc office sent in my paper work, I was denied due to the weight gain. My doc office appealed before I even knew about it and got approved. My surgery was Dec 11th of 2013. DON’T GIVE UP!!! Write a letter, make phone calls… DON’T GIVE UP!!! KEEP APPEALING till you get a YES!!!! Good luck!!!

So after 6 months of tests and appts I was called by the nurse at my surgeons office to tell me that my surgery was denied. I am HEARTBROKEN. ???? I have been though so much this year. As I started this journey, one month in, my 37 year old husband had a heart attack. Which then required a triple bypass because of 3 blockages. We made it through 20 days in the hospital, 6 days in the cardiac ICU. We both quit smoking, and I was determined to keep going forward with this. I kept my appts and tests even with him in the hospital. Just so I could have this done and we can BOTH start our new lives together. Because when he was in the hospital I could barely BREATH let alone eat. I lost 15 pounds. Now because I quit smoking and my husband is recovering slowly but is recovering nicely, I began to eat. I'm starving. I'm following exactly what I should and I put on 10 pounds. I started a celexa for depression and blood pressure meds a few months ago. I was denied because of the weight gain through the 3 month nutrionalist appts. I am so sad, I am so depressed. I feel defeated. I plan on appealing. I don't know how to pick myself up from this. Thanks for reading, advice would be greatly appreciated. Katie

@lisacaron Your post brought a tear to my eye. Thank you! Thanks everyone for the encouraging words. I am definitely a little defensive and one of those people who feels bad/guilty for my weight gain/size. It took the psychiatrist like 4 seconds to figure that out during my appointment. I'm definitely working on that.

I am required to have 6 months of nutritional counseling. There is no specified amount, but I have to lose a little every month. Any weight gain, and I can be denied. I'm 2 months in. Planning for surgery end of November early December. I am using fitness pal with the goal so losing 1 lb. per week. It automatically adjusts the calorie intake based on my high protein low carb diet. I have managed to lose weight, some came from having a stomach bug, but I'll take it. I already feel the difference in my knees. I'm just taking it one step at a time. I didn't get this big overnight, and I'm not going to lose it overnight...until I get the surgery. Lol. I wish you well on your journey. Lucretia

I had my band put in feb 9 th, 2009 and have gone from 325 pounds to 200 pounds ...Recently I gained 20 pounds back and have found myself to get sick 4 outta 5 times I eat now....Been trying to identify suspect foods....Pretty much the only kind of meat I eat is fish, no beef or chicken.....I haven't drank any milk for over a year now...just use almond milk... I worked out the first 3 years of my band being put in...Last 2 years I've limited my exercise. I'm wondering because of my weight gain if I have tightened the band too much ? Anyways, by not being able to keep anything down , I believe I may fix the problem soon . Has anyone else experienced the inability to not keep anything down? I would like to be able to eat again and am grateful when I can.

So true the cleaner/healthier we eat our bodies hate junk /processed food. Yes the cruise will have good choices as well as for me I'm packing some Protein powder and bars for mine. I can't eat in the am until late morning so I Make protein lattes n back a bar for the excursions just in case. I found my band has been tighter the past few weeks and when I went for my annual check up he said it looked good but a but a tad tight and asked if I wanted an slight unfill I was scared about gaining weight do I sad no after a horrible weekend of not keeping much down I'm going Thursday to get a slight unfill just to make sure I won't be sick on my cruise. I already eat right and work out so a slight unfill hopefully won't cause weight gain . I think it's in my head so the first year was great I'm going to make the lifetime band living better than great so I'll take a few bumps as we adjust to living together forever . Lol not sure if it's the weather or some stress I'm going through (who doesn't have stres) but I must do what's necessary to keep my band and myself in sync with the help of my dr

LeeB1946 is right, insurance companies do not pay for tummy tucks but will pay for a panniculectomy (skin removal only) IF medically necessary. If you have any rashes under the skin fold, see your doctor, take photos; that's your best bet for it being medically necessary. Also make sure your weight loss has been documented by your doctor, as your insurance company might want to see documentation of your weight loss & that your are serious about keeping the weight off; my insurance required this documentation. My insurance paid for the panniculectomy & I paid the difference for the full tummy tuck. With a tummy tuck more of the skin is removed (a lot more in my case) and your muscles are repairs (tightened back to normal, as they were stretched with your weight gain too, just as your skin was stretched). I had so much extra skin I immediately went down 2 pant sizes after surgery & after all swelling went down ultimately went down 4 pant sizes after the tummy tuck!! Scars...yes there are scars. I have a scar from hip to hip...literally!! HOWEVER, placement of the scar is key. Doctors differ on their technique & this is an art, so make sure you research your doctor & see before & after photos from your doctors other patients. I was able to wear a bikini (YES A BIKINI!!!!!) for the first time in 20 years last weekend & my scar was completely covered. My doctor did an AWESOME job placing the scar low with a perfect curve! I will also add this surgery is NO JOKE!! It was the worse surgery recovery I have ever had & I've had my share of surgeries. I was down for a month & SLOWLY got back to normal thereafter. It is painful & takes everything out of you to heal...leaves you with NO ENERGY!! Even knowing how awful the recovery was, I would do it again knowing the results I have! The Lapband changed my life & the my TT changed my life to a place I never dreamed! Without that roll of skin I am able to property exercise, I can wear pants that actually fit me, I can be completely proud of my hard work & weight loss AND did I mention I was in a bikini for the first time since I was a teenager! TOTALLY worth every minute of the recovery. Just do your research on the doctor you choose. Good luck with your journey!

I finally stopped throwing up 3 weeks ago. Feel bad for you that you had to endure not feeling that well on your vacation. The weight gain could be Fluid retention from flying too. I usually swell up like a balloon on flights over 3 hours! I too am suffering from quite a bit of a queazy feelings after drinking anything. And for first time in my life I have been experiencing heart burn but mostly when I drink plain Water?!? Odd Overall though, I feel GREAT. Down 26lbs since surgery, now that my calories are between 800-1000 /day the weight is moving much quicker. Started up with my Pilates instructor for the first time since surgery and she was shocked. Said I looked like I lost half of me! I love her! She's probably exaggerating - but it was sure nice to hear. I have a brand new wardrobe weekly it seems. All of the beautiful clothes that I have bought over the past few years only to never wear them or rarely wear them do to my ever increasing size. Only now, I can wear them and some I've only worn once or twice and they are falling off now - what a tremendous journey. I hope everyone is doing well too!

@@tfowler I hope you had a great weekend! We really enjoyed the lake and the turkey burgers were a huge hit! I went low carb with mine and wrapped it in lettuce instead of a bun. I am finding eating healthy to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. I have my last doctors appointment today and then my scope is on the 17th. I can't believe how fast the time is flying by! I understand completely about wanting to be healthy and not be the "fat" relative. I have a younger cousin who asked me why I had gotten fat. Like your sister, my aunt punished her even though I insisted that it was not her fault. I am the biggest member of my family. Obesity is not hereditary in my case, but endocrine problems are. I just happened to get the endocrine issue that causes weight gain and makes it extremely hard to lose weight. My family thinks that it is so easy to just eat right and exercise, but I have been there and done that, and in the end, diet and exercise don't work for me. I am so ready for this battle to be over and to start my new life! I know you are excited as well, only two more weeks!!! YAY!