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I'm suffering from PCOS. Irregular periods, weight gain, water retention, anxiety... all the symptoms you can imagine and quite severe. I had my surgery 5 weeks ago in hope to lose some weight and that the body would reboot the whole hormone household and metabolism, having posiive effect on pcos too. I've lost almost 20 lbs in 5 weeks. Currently having a stall and fears not to lose any more weight. But like everyone here on the forum says, carry on with the routine and it will follow. Now coming to effects on pcos.. I feel positive regarding to my body image and weightloss, can sleep much better and have barely anxiety attacks. Can't say anything about menstrual cycle yet. Just hoping it will regulate the cycle too. The facial hair growth has increased though. I was taking inistole prior surgery for PCOS. Stopped at the moment. Will speak to my doc if I should continue taking them. Sent from my SM-N960F using BariatricPal mobile app

Thanks Kirajh. Stinks to being hungry doesn't it! Hope the 21st comes fast. I'm now waiting until the 26th. Hoping it happens then. I guess we should just remember that we didn't put it on overnight and it will take time for it to come off. I hope for both of us that the delay doesn't mean some weight gain. I'm going to keep on walking my butt off (3 - 4 miles per day) and I'm going to bed early so that I don't go to the fridge too many times. Good night and good luck. H-324/S-287/C-267/G-160 Anxiously waiting for fill and full feeling tummy. Sue Magoo

Hey! I am guessing from your use name you may be in Idaho? So am I! The 6 month thing is what many insurance companies require. They want you to follow a medically supervised diet for 6 months. Mine is 3 months. I didn't know what to expect for that and was devastated when I went in for my month 1 appointment and had not lost any weight. It sounds like different insurances are looking for different things. I think some want zero weight gain and others want a few pounds lost....I think they basically want to make sure that you can follow doctors orders. My doctor explained to me that yes they would love to see weight loss during the diet because it makes you healthier for surgery, but as long as I didn't a lot of weight, I would be fine. My doc has been more focused on using the diet and time to really prepare me for surgery.....getting a support system in place, learning about food choices, exercising EVERY day for 30 minutes, even if it is a light walk. It seems like such a long time at first but it goes by very quickly :-)

I have a question about loose skin. I have a bunch of it. A small pannus, arms that could fly, and more than enough belly skin to go around despite my still needing to lose another 50 after I have the bambino and only being down about 70 some pounds. Will I get more loose skin as the bump starts to grow? More stretch marks? Or will the loose skin I already have just sort of take up the slack? I'm only nine weeks and while I can't button most of my pants anymore (no weight gain yet) I am not showing at all, but I am wondering...

From the UK. I had my op 6/2/13 and was doing ok but last week I gained 2lb!! And this week I am at the same weight as my 2lb gain. I was doing ok till then having lost 26lbs in 6 weeks. Has anyone had experience/advice on this. I want to be honest with you all and say that I have been drinking alcohol as I was away for the Easter break with my family and managed that well but I did not over indulge by any means and also this does not account for the 2lb weight gain incurred prior to my weekend away. I'm a bit scared by it. Will I never lose any more. My start weight was 182lbs (13 stone) and I am now at 159lbs (11stone 4). Hope my calculations are correct I do everything in stones and lbs. I'm grateful for some support, advice or a serious talking to......x

It depends on the medication. Remind your OB that you're a bariatric patient and that you are concerned about weight gain. Wellbutrin is a popular one for its minimal impact on weight gain... However, it may not be effective for PMDD. Talk with your OB. If you don't like the side effects of the medication ask for something different. You do have a voice in your mental health care.

Was your band doc an integral part of your pregnancy? I am just wondering because I found out last week that I am pregnant. I am hoping that I won't have to get an unfill during pregnancy, and that I won't need to consult my surgeon for anything. Not because I don't want to gain weight, but because my surgeon is not covered by my insurance. Long story short, I have a different insurance now than I had for surgery, and my surgeon and the hospital he works at is not covered. And because I have a realize band, none of the surgeons for my new insurance will touch me. So I am just curious if any of you had complications from the band with your pregnancies, and/or if you had to consult your surgeon often? I am not really worried about needing an unfill because I am not very tight and I am able to eat around the band to get all the food I need. Luckily I AM tight enough that I should be able to manage to stay under the recommended 15 pound weight gain, which is good.

Today marks a month since surgery and I feel pretty great. Of course, it's hard not to feel great when you drop 34 pounds in 31 days. I know the first month loss is special and rarely repeated so I am just going to enjoy that number for a few days. I will say that it is now apparent that I am one of the blessed (cursed?) people who can eat pretty much anything without negative physical effects or complications. I haven't done anything crazy but I am going journal shopping tomorrow and will begin seriously policing what I am eating and what excercise I am getting. I gave myself a month to adjust to surgery but I want to work on developing some lifelong habits so I don't have to ever deal with this again. I want to relax and enjoy life, but I hope I stay ever-vigilant for the carelessness and poor practices that led to the weight gain. I am really scared of backsliding now or one day in the future. At the one month mark, I constantly find myself comparing what I eat now to what I could and often did eat before surgery. The sheer amount of food I used to put away in one sitting much less an entire day now fascinates me. Anyone else having these moments?

I understand what you are saying and for me the issue with weight gain ,which i am NOT in any way obsessing over, is more of a mental factor i guess. When i started my lap band journey i was 320lbs and heavy like this my whole life and in less than a year i have dropped 140lbs!!! That's a huge accomplishment to me!! So the thought of putting on 15+lbs, even though its a Excellent reason, is really scary especially after my whole life of trying I'm down to a small and healthy size. Think about it: if you had just worked your butt off losing 140lbs and you are feeling AWESOME how would you feel if your doctor said ok now i want a 20lbs weight GAIN...It would be a little frustrating mentally wouldn't it?... Not sure if you understand what i mean but mentally its scary....I know its for a good reason and i want the baby and myself to be healthy more than anything!! This reason being said I'm not obsessing over the weight gain and i cant lie i had my frustrations at first but after letting it all sink in I'm ok with it all now...

Hall says his findings have implications for the diet wars — vegan versus low-carb or low-fat diets. "They all have something in common. ... Proponents of healthy versions of those diets suggest that people cut out ultra-processed foods." He says that this elimination might account for at least part of the success that people have on these diets. Popkin says the take-home message for consumers is, "We should try to eat as much real food as we can. That can be plant food. It can be animal food. It can be beef, pork, chicken, fish or vegetables and fruits. And one has to be very careful once one begins to go into other kinds of food." https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/05/16/723693839/its-not-just-salt-sugar-fat-study-finds-ultra-processed-foods-drive-weight-gain?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=science Full study is linked in NPR article

I was sleeved on April 23. I have been doing well, losing steadily and not panicking at the stalls. However, today I got on the scale and am UP 8 pounds from a week ago! Yesterday, I noticed I was hungrier than usual, but still only chose foods allowed on my plan (lean Protein and veg). I'm going to start workouts today, but this can't be normal! I am not premenstrual, so it can't be that. Eight pounds!!! How can this be?

Hi all, I am new to this group but looking forward to participating. Here's my story in a nutshell: I had a Realize band placed in February of 2009. My starting weight was 268. The band was fantastic and I lost weight steadily, with the exception of a few months when I realized how easy cookies were to eat. In December of 2010, I hit the 100 pounds lost mark, I also found out I was pregnant that same week. At about 4 weeks pregnant I had a really nasty 3 day stomach flu. A few days after recovering from that, I started throwing up again. I could keep food down for a few hours, but it was all coming back up. I lost another 15 pounds in 2 weeks. I thought it was just severe morning sickness, even though in 5 previous pregnancies I'd never had morning sickness. I saw my Ob who told me to immediately get my band unfilled and if I was still throwing up the next day he'd have to admit me into the hospital. I got a complete unfill and immediately felt better, but with no restriction and absolutely no mental/physical/spiritual preparedness for no restriction, my love affair with all things bread and pastry renewed like we were never apart. I gained 40 pounds in the first 4 months of my pregnancy. I managed to gain back a little control, but ended up gaining about 60 pounds before I had my daughter in August of 2011. The weight gain took a great emotional toll on me, but I just knew that 6 weeks postpartum I'd get a fill and be right back on track... You know where this is going, right? In October of 2011 I got my band refilled. Pre-pregnancy, my fill level was at 7.2cc in an 11 cc band. We filled it to 3.5 cc and 3 weeks later filled it to 5 cc. I had very little restriction and it just didn't seem right. I'd also started getting heartburn. I went back a few weeks later and we filled it to 5.5. That lasted 24 hours, I had to go back in for an unfill and we went down to 5.2 so I could get water down. I still didn't have much restriction, but I did have terrible heartburn and vomiting in the middle of the night. I lived with this for a few months until I couldn't stand it and went back in and had .5 cc removed. This made the heartburn manageable with daily meds and tums always at hand, but there was no restriction. I could eat all the bread, pasta, rice that I wanted. I knew I had a slip, but didn't have insurance to cover bariatrics, so I lived with it. I tried eating less, exercise, weight watchers, even a juice fast but I've gained 20 more pounds on top of the baby weight. Fast forward to now and I finally have insurance to cover bariatrics. I went in a few weeks ago and had my upper GI. It showed a slip above the band, virtually my entire stomach is above the band, which is why there is no restriction felt, but the band was so tight that flow into the rest of my digestive tract was severely restricted. Food just sat there for a really long time, and the results of that we're just kind of gross. We unfilled the band completely to see if the slip would fix itself, although, we all knew what that result would be. The pregnancy hadn't caused the slip, the stomach flu had and 9 months of an empty band hadn't helped it unslip. I got that confirmation this week. My band is still slipped and the restriction is still severe even empty. I'm frustrated, but quite relieved that there has been a real issue this whole time and it wasn't just me. We're now going through the process of getting insurance approval to revise to a sleeve and I couldn't be happier.

My husband and I are a couple that take advantage of the fact that the band is "adjustable". I love the fact that I am able to adjust the band to fit my life style. For an example, last year when my husband required hip replacement surgery he was able to un-fill his band enough to allow him to eat the amount of food and nutrition that he needed to help his body heal. When your band is at a certain restriction you may know that there are certain food intolerance that you might experience with fruits and vegetable and when you are recovering from major surgery it's good to be able to get those in without worrying about that and being banded he was able to relax his band during that time and concentrate on healing. The same has been true for myself. When I was sick with severe flu, I was able to relax my band to allow my body to eliminate the extra Fluid and mucus that my body was battling with. I have had to have several invasive tests and have had periods of high intensity stress that relaxing my band helped me to process and recover more quickly from. On the flip side going back to the Dr. once things are in balance I and my husband are able to add fluid back into the band to achieve that level of restriction where our food intake is lower due to lack of hunger and craving, and our weight loss continues. During the times when we have had our bands relaxed I can say that the most weight gained was about 2 pounds maybe 5 for hubby after hip replacement surgery but mostly due to IV fluids he lost that with in a week after discharge from the hospital. Slow and steady for us....the goal is at the end and today it's all about the journey.

Hi everyone, this is my first post so please be kind! ???? On March 5th, 2012 I had lap band surgery. My HW then was 371lbs., SW was 350 lbs. And within a year I lost about another 72lbs. After that, I seemed to hit a brick wall, and had issues with keeping things down. Long story short, I went to see my surgeon after another vomiting episode and had emergency gallbladder removal the next day. Ever since then, I had more and more issues with my band to the point where I had to go to the ER and have all my fluid removed due to constant slipping. Since that point my weight gain has sky rocketed from 384, to 391, and now 398! My heaviest weight ever! I have taken full responsibility for going off the handles since my band was deflated, but I am excited for this revision and to get my life back on track. Has anyone else had similar issues? Any and all stories are appreciated, its nice to feel like you're not alone. Best of luck to everyone on their WLJ!!! ????

I was in the hospital, admitted this past Wednesday and discharged Friday. All of my Vitamin levels were low and I was dehydrated. I don't know if my weight gain is from all of the fluids they were giving me but my diet really hasn't changed. I gained 2lbs. Has this happened to anyone? Sent from my iPhone using VST

30 min after a meal, most certainly; 30 min before meals, maybe (depends on specific program instructions.) You don't want to drink after meals to keep the food in the stomach as long as possible; drinking too soon can help empty the stomach sooner leading to more inter-meal hunger and is associated with weight gain or poor loss. Drinking before meals can be a problem for some for a while immediately after surgery as with the potential for inflammation in the stomach, fluids may still be in the stomach at meal time, impeding getting the food in. As the inflammation resolves - a few days to a few weeks, the fluids move through the stomach easily and quickly and drain out in just a couple of minutes, so the pre-meal limitation is no longer needed. Some programs mention this last detail and open up pre-meal drinking at some point, but many don't bother and leave their patients hanging. (Similar problem as to how long does one need to sip, sip, sip their water before one can drink normally - many programs don't bother saying.)

Thank you to everyone who posted about avoiding the carbs because whenever you try them, they lead to cravings for more. That's exactly what I needed to hear! I haven't tried them yet for fear of the slippery carb slope, and your posts inspire me to keep avoiding them. Thus far in maintenance, nuts, cheeses, and decadent meats have been my treats; and so far they have not led to weight gain. Thanks again for your really helpful advice!

Has anyone ever gained back there weight and went for a second vertical sleeve surgery? I ask because I am back to my old depressed self and I have gained back almost 50 lbs I cant seem to lose the weight im back to eating really restricted one week then fall off the wagon for three days then get back on it and my weight does not go down but 1 lbs at a time seems to increase.

Hey girl you and I were sleeved on the same day. I'm 12 weeks pregnant. Congrats! I'm in a 3lb bounce no real significant weight gain. Had really bad morning sickness that lasted all day. But getting better everyday! How many weeks are you? Sent from my EVO using VST

Thank you! Okay now I feel a little better. I try not to worry about the weight gain (just want my baby to be healthy) but it is hard! Gonna quit being negative, focus on keeping me and baby healthy and look forward to the future!

First off CONGRATS! How exciting...second of all from what I understand after you have the baby 6wks later you can start getting fills again. If your worried about your pouch being streched you can do the 5 day pouch test to re-shrink it. I know your freaked about the weight gain but your pregnant! Cherish this and after your baby is born you can get back on track. Hugs!

Your insurance will probably dictate what and how much you have to lose. My insurance (Aetna) required that I have no net weight gain for my 90 day program. I did better than that. My NUT helped guide me through and I put a nice dent in my weight pre op. I went from 429 down to 386 on surgery day and it didn't feel like I was dieting. It was more of a ok, this month I want you to leave 10% food on your plate and eat protein first and legs aim for 10 mins of exercise 3 days a week. Then the next month we worked on it and went to leave 20% and exercise for 20 mins 5x a week and so on. It really helped. For me, I can usually lose 5-10lbs dieting before it stalls out, so to lose as much as I did and not even have a liquid pre op diet is amazing! I'm now 1 month out and have lost over 70lbs since that first appt in late June. It's been wonderful!

Interesting way of thinking. But the flux will happen whether you want it to or not. It is the body's way of dealing with excess calories. Metabolism dictates how the calories are burned so if we are unlucky to have a metabolism that does not work like a freight train spiraling out of control. We will fluctuate in weight. Up and down. but it is up to us to keep it under control. that 10 lb goal to settle the fear of gaining it all back in the future. But our minds will continue to play tricks on us for the rest of our lives. There will always be a voice in our heads that tell us we will fail. And that even 10 lbs will be too much. I am trying so hard to come to terms with my 6 lbs I have gained back. I know it is because my muscles are starting to form again and that is adding weight. I think I look better with muscle definition again...lol. My sister called me yesterday. She feels that she will not lose the weight. She is just over a week out. This is and will always be our monkey on our backs. We will always worry about weight gain. And in a sense we should. But not to the point where it dominates our lives. That is the panic that envelopes many who travel this path. Skinny is a state of mind. Healthy is the the goal. Active in our lives and a new outlook on life. They are so important..... And looking amazing in a little black dress.....

I am 9 months out (down 83lbs) and to my knowledge and based on my weight lost (which is slow but sure 2 lbs per week) I have never seen a stall or weight gain. The secret is simply and I will share this with you. ONLY weigh once a month (and I have since surgery) if you do this you will never know if you have stalled or not by the time you weigh your stall should be minimal or non exsist. Do your part keep up the protein, increase water, maintain low carb intake eat something every 3 hrs (small) to increase matablism and workout. This I believe has been successful for me oh my doctor concurs. Try it let me know what you think. Good luck to all

I haven't been on this site in forever, so it's nice to be posting again. A little back story: I was banded in Jan 2011; starting weight for this journey was 278 and my lowest weight so far has been 165 (my goal; lasted about a day...lol). I'm normally somewhere in the 170-175 range and I'm happy with that. At any rate, I'm currently 5 months pregnant with my first child and just wanted to reconnect with others having band babies. I have been very fortunate that I have had minimal morning sickness and though my appetite was voracious during the 1st trimester I didn't really gain any weight. I was about 172 when I got pregnant and am 176 as of this morning so weight gain has been minimal, though it fluctuates depending on my food/fluid intake. SOO...on to the questions: how much weight did your OB's tell you was okay to gain? Because of my weight history my OB said he would love it if I stayed within the 10lb range though 20-25 would be acceptable for someone my size. If things continue the way they are currently that shouldn't be a problem, but I have to confess I have a history of being a little scale obsessed so it worries me a bit. Other than my belly and a slightly bigger chest I look pretty much the same thank God, so like I said I feel very fortunate that things are going so well thus far. Port: *sigh* I have a love hate relationship with my port. Before I got pregnant I spoke to my surgeon concerning my port; it's not very noticeable when I'm standing but it protruded horribly when I would lie down, especially if I was a bit bloated. He told me my protruding was minimal and that it was something he would revisit after I had a baby but to leave it alone for now. Fast forward about 8 months and it now seems as though my port actually tries to flip when I lie down due to my growing belly; it's not horribly uncomfortable but it looks and feels awful to the touch. For those of you who are further along or have already have babies, should I just expect this to get worse? I know my port is stitched to my muscles, but I have this awful fear it's going to tear and I just moved to a new area so I don't even know where the nearest gastric surgeon is located. Finally: appetite. I have not had any Fluid removed or added to my band in probably about a year and a half; I think I have somewhere between 6-7cc's in a 10cc band. Like I mentioned earlier I ate like a cow first trimester but now there are days where I have to force myself to eat and after about 3 bites I already feel myself getting full. I'm having a hard time getting enough fluids as well . I'm not feeling sick or anything and baby seems to be doing okay, but has anyone experienced this and had issues arise later on down the road? I've never been at a place expect for right after a fill where I have been able to eat the suggest 1/2-1 c of food and feel full; I'm curious to try one of those pouch test diets to see if I stretched it or something but I know now is not a good time for that. Did any of you ladies have trouble eating while pregnant, and did you OB's express any concerns about your caloric intake? How will you know if you're not getting enough, or will that fact that most of us probably started a bit overweight be enough to buffer any possible nutritional concerns for the baby? Sorry for such a long post, but I look forward to hearing what others have to say. Thanks in advance!