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I think all bandsters go through a period of regret, thinking "Oh my god, I'm starving. I'll never be able to enjoy food again. What have I done to myself?" I know I did. It passes, I promise you. As for the weight gain, it's probably some fluid retention from the IV. My fiance told me I had "pudgy fingers" when I came home from the hospital and I couldn't get my engagement ring on. That went away after a couple days. Don't focus so much on weight loss right now, worry more about healing from the surgery. I was in pain from the gas and had a gigantic bruise from the blood thinners that reduced my mobility for almost a week. Everyone recovers differently, so don't sweat it if you're not up and doing yardwork 4 days post op. You'll feel better in time. Good luck!

Hey everyone! *waves* THE SHORT STORY I've been hypothyroid for fifteen years. Is bariatric surgery effective and worth the risk for hypothyroid patients? THE LONG STORY So, I'm considering WLS. I can't believe I'm actually thinking about it. My husband had WLS about three years ago and is doing fine. He's regained some weight but is still far ahead of where he was. My son had WLS around the same time. He did not do well. He had extreme absorption issues and had to have a feeding port installed just weeks after his surgery. We lost him in November 2015. The official cause of death was cancer, but we wonder if the malnutrition contributed to his developing cancer. For me, my thyroid died somewhere around 2002. I was on the Atkins program, had lost about 70 pounds, and was on my way to single digit clothing size! Then, bam - one week I gained four pounds. The next week six. And then eight. All while still working out daily and eating the Atkins way. DNA? Age? Splenda? Who knows the cause, but my thyroid was done ... completely. The weight gain, it turns out, wasn't the worst part of hypo for me. It was the depression. My doctor put me on synthetic thyroid that didn't help at all. Finally, in 2009 I found Nature-Throid and a doctor who would prescribe it. Nature-Throid eased the depression, but my weight slowly and steadily continued to climb. In 2015, my hair began falling out. My skin had always been dry. Now it peels off in sheets. And I put on an additional fifty pounds within months. I chalked a lot of those symptoms to stress. The last few years have just been awful. In January 2015, my husband had emergency surgery to place a stent in his heart and I blew out my knee. Mid 2015, I had to shop for a nursing home for my mom. If you've ever done that, you know there aren't any good nursing homes. Mom died on Christmas Day 2015 ... six weeks after losing my son. August 2016, my brother was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. Next, I made a super poor career decision and lost my job in December 2016. My brother died January 30, 2017. Yet, I'm still standing ... just barely. Because both knees are now bone on bone. My blood pressure is fine. I'm not diabetic. No heart disease. Except for that damn thyroid, my blood work is all healthy. But I'm at an all-time high of 311 lbs. It hurts to move. It hurts to stand. I carry a lot of the weight in my hips and thighs which even makes it hurt to sit. I hurt and I don't want to hurt anymore. If you've read this far, thank you for letting me rant. I'd love to hear from other hypothyroid patients. What has been your experience with WLS? Pros? Cons?

Well, I don't have your medical thyroid issue. However, I have had a knee replacement - 8yrs ago. I have arthritis in a few joints. The joint stress has been greatly reduced since wlsurgery in October. I have had some work/family tragedies along your lines, add my brother's suicide/homicide, my best friend's son's suicide, outsourced job, and a house fire into mine but I don't consider those issues relevant to deciding on needing wl surgery. Ask yourself if your present conditions will ever improve without surgery? Or will your current path continue with even more weight gain and more joint misery? Only you can decide. I offer condolences for your losses. Your son very likely had cancer prior to surgery, and while malnutrition contributed to the his condition, it could also be said the obesity could have been a bigger factor as well. Good luck with your decisions.

Well they say this is the first stop on here so i guess i should start here! I have not been banded yet but have been trying to be for 2 yrs now. When my mom first heard of this surgery we went to a meeting (Seminar) to get the info on it. Well I waited to talk to the Dr afterwards and I told him that I have been on this continual cycle of getting bigger and bigger and wanted to get this surgery done and he pretty much looked at me and said no way you are a candidate for this procedure. That really pissed me off cause I have seen what weight gain is like in my mother and I am headed straight where she was (before her weight loss surgery) except I am like 5 in. shorter than she is so I carry it very very different! I am still on this band wagon (ha no pun intended) and doin my 6 month term trying to get BCBS to pay for my surgery! Still have 4 months to go. Any suggestions or just a pick me up would really help I am so miserable its not even funny I want to go get a loan and just pay for this damn thing myself!:help:

Good Morning-Question for you experienced banders--I had surgery on 12/16/09 and as of 12/23/09 lost 19lbs!. I was doing so well they only had me on full liquids for 2 days then to purees (which i am on now). Since then I have gained 2 lbs! :smile: I am not overly concerned about the 2 lbs, but is this normal??? Will the weight gain stop? I am following how much they tell me to eat (even though I know I could eat more I am not!). Like I said 2lbs I am not gonna lose alot of sleep over, but I want it to stop! I am doing what I am supposed to be!

Insurance submission was on Tues. Got denied immediately Wed. due to I'd gained almost 10lbs. over the winter instead of losing..apparently they want to see at least 5% total body fat loss prior to surgery. So am working on this but here's the thing..I gained due to having ddd in my back and since last summer haven't been able to really exercise like I was due to the extreme pain in my back and shooting down my right leg..the back pain and getting some of the weight off was one of my reasons for getting surgery..to aleviate the pain some as there's no cure or surgery according to the neurosurgeon..I haven't been the same at all since last summer when I really messed my back up and had to quit the gym and everything, even yard work was trying for me and I LOVE being out in the yard doing stuff..does anyone have any suggestions on how to lose the weight without extreme exercise? I mean, I am eating low carb and cutting my portions but as soon as I can show 5% tbw loss I can be approved.

So due to the holidays I have gained 2 lbs. I have my final nut visit tomorrow. I plan to wear light weight clothing, plan to take an Epsom bath tonight and tomorrow am and only drink a half of a protein shake in the morning before the appt. I have been eating really clean (low sodium etc.) the past few days, drinking tons of water and limiting to 1100 calories so I am hoping the scale looks better tomorrow. So my question- does insurance look at the weight from the first and last doctor's appointment or the nutritionist? It is at 2 different offices and 2 different scales. My doctor appointment is next week and surely I can lose the 2 pounds by then and be less than my initial appointment. I can't delay either appointment due to insurance number of days requirement. Ugh!! I wish I would have been more mindful over the holidays.

I thought the same way, but, you can eat everything (with a few exceptions) that you did before, just not in the same quantities. Be careful with weight gain before surgery, my doc told me that if I gained too much weight, my liver would be inflamed and other complications could keep her from doing the surgery. Eat what you like, but do NOT over do it, hard I know, but you got this!

Thank you, I dont really care about being regular, if it stops I'm definitely not going to complain lol. I'm not worried about getting pregnant I dont believe I want children any longer. And my general feeling about the weight gain was exactly that, you eat you gain.

The weight gain is not real...10 pounds overnight would have meant you overrate by 35,000 calories. In a banded belly, I don't see how that would be possible. Drink your Water, get Protein in through shakes...ride it out and you'll likely drop the 10lbs plus extra

I would venture to guess that the meds are indeed playing into this. I suggest asking your psych about switching to a different med. I have been on mood stabilizers and antidepressants for over 20 years and in those first few years I gained 100 lbs! Years later I learned that weight gain is a very common side effect of taking depakote which is what I was taking at the time. In all these years I have never been able to lose that initial 100 lbs which is what eventually led me to having sleeve surgery 8/15. I'm still bitter over it. I've been on lamictal and Zoloft for several years now without any additional weight gain from it - just weight gain from poor eating habits etc. I encourage you to talk with your Dr. This weight loss surgery journey is tough enough on its own but combined with mental health management it really is a lot to deal with. Wishing you the best.

I'm about to have my final of six monthly nutritionist meetings and I've been worried because I've gained weight since the first meeting. Since I started six months ago my work hours have changed, I had a death in the family and I started taking Paxil for anxiety and depression. I'm not trying to make excuses, I have been trying, but it's been especially difficult to even maintain most months. How will gaining weight over the six months affect my chances of getting approved by insurance? I have BCBS. Anyone have any stories to relate? The reason I'm trying to get the band is because I obviously need help so im really hoping I don't get denied because of this!

Hi I'm two & 1/2 weeks out from surgery. At time of surgery I was 223. So far I've only lost 16 pounds, 207 lbs. I'm on my liquid diet & I gained "2 lbs" was 207lbs now 209lbs. I drink powerade zero, my stomach isn't tolerating water. I do get my soups from Olive Garden, pot belly, & panara bread. I'm shure there not the best choices but it's only two Tbls, twice a day & my stumach has always been finicky so if something actually sits well I eat that. Also my protein drink is called core power, which I love & only 100 cal/20g protein but there's 11g sugar. Could this be why I've gained weight or stalling weight loss? please let me know.

When I asked my nutritionist, why some people who undergo surgery, lose a lot of weight then regain some or all the weight back. Her response was grazing. Grazing means to eat small portions of food, as appetizers or the like, in place of a full-sized meal or to snack during the course of the day in place of regular meals. A regain of 70 pounds is a lot. It will be hard to lose that much weight again. Some causes of weight gain are associated with medication. Some of the prescription medicine that can cause uncontrollable weight gain are: Anti-Depressants Birth control pills Hormones for hormone therapy Steroids Beta-blockers Anti-seizure medication Tamoxifen Some treatments for rheumatoid arthritis Treatments for migraines Heartburn medications Some medical conditions that can also cause weight gain are: Hypothyroidism Cushing's Syndrome Not enough sleep Seasonal Affective Disorder Preganancy

Are you logging your food? Need to see how much Protein you are taking in, how many carbs, and then calorie count. Your metabolism might be in starvation mode and you may have to jump start it by increasing your food intake. Also make sure you are excerising. I've been stalled for three weeks, put on two pounds, and now back down and am hoping it continues to drop. But I'm a slow loser as don't have much weight to lose, so it will take more time for me to get those nasty pounds off. But I can't stress enough your need to log your food intake and make sure you get all your fluids in. I look at a stall like I did with my diets and weight gain. Yo-yo instead of up and down with weight gain and weight loss, now I yo-yo food intake and if it weren't for My Fitness Pal where I can log and it calculates I would be at a loss.

This post is JUST what I needed to read today!! I'm in a similar situation. I was sleeved May 14, and so far, have only lost 14lbs since the morning of surgery (20lbs from my highest weight). I am incredibly frustrated to have lost so little. I decided to join a local boutique gym, which I'll be visiting today for the first time. Hopefully this will give my butt (aka metabolism) the kick it needs. It's hard not to get down when you see yourself sacrificing and not getting the pay off. But, by the same token, I remember the mammoth plates of food I would eat before and not see the immediate weight gain either. So I am re-learning patience. I wish you much luck on your journey Mystigal, and am confident you will be a great success!!

be careful about not eating right...weight gain could delay your surgery

Depending on your insurance, you will have to do a 3 or 6 months supervised diet. My PCP followed me during mine. She said the diet wasn't so much for weight loss, but the insurance company is seeing whether you make the effort and keep your monthly appointments. The doctor who is doing my surgery (tomorrow!) did require that I lose any weight gained from my initial appointment with him. Meaning, when I had my first office visit on May 16th of last year, I weighed 242. I had my appointment to schedule surgery about 3 weeks ago and I weighed 248. I had to lose 6 pounds by today. I went to the office to weigh in today and weigh 240, so I am good to go! Good luck on your journey.....

If I may weigh in... The breakthrough bleeding will happen no matter what bc you're on, bc losing a ton of weight so quickly does crazy things to your body & hormone levels. It was the most frustrating part of this process for me. I tried to get my dr to put me on depo & she used the "weight gain" deterrent. Honestly, after this long, & all my stalls & losses...I just still cannot see how it could affect weight so much. I was on it after my 2nd son was born & gained a TON of weight (80# or so). BUT I certainly wasn't eating like a Sleever, nor was I exercising or even eating healthy foods. Honestly, when I go back for my annual physical in April, I'm going to have her put me back on it bc I keep forgetting pills! Oiy!

I was banded on 4-4-07 and when i weighed in for my 2 week post op i had lost 13.5 lbs and was super excited !!! Since ive gone on soft foods i find myself eating "normal" things that i would before the surgery, just chewing a little more. I recently used a doctor office scale at my university to see my progess and it showed i had gained back 3 of those pounds. I have not had my first fill yet and attribute some of my ability to continue to eat regularly to that, but ive also began to excercise again walking/running 3 miles at least 4x's a week. In my mind scientifically there should be no reason for weight gain. Its really discouraging to me to see these kinds of results. I really want this to work for me, its my last resort. Does or did anyone else have this problem ?

All of you are so inspiring. I have done the research and now trying to find the right facility - will go to the 3rd and last seminar this weekend, then make my choice. I am ready! I won't feel guilty or ashamed. I HAVE tried, many times, as have all of you. I have reached the point where only the most drastic of diets will help me lose weight, and the subsequent "maintenance" plan leads to weight gain almost immediately. At some point I just give up. Keep trying, but without real hope. Those of you in your 30s and 40s are in the perfect position. I am 65 - no lifethreatening co-morbidities (thank God), but very severe arthritis that limits me physically. As my doctor said - can't exercise without losing weight, can't lose weight without exercising... I have a very active, very supportive husband, but I feel like I am holding him back and keeping him from enjoying those things he loves to do. No more. I count my blessings that he is healthy, and I don't yet have the really bad stuff that comes with being overweight. We have a chance. Please don't feel guilty about saving your life - and don't allow ANYONE to make you feel that way. Many of you have kids to play with and raise. Kids take a lot of energy and strength. You are taking the steps to make sure you have what it takes to make life good for you and your kids. As for me - I'm making plans with my wonderful grandchildren! I wish all of you great success.

I know it's normal for your period to be irregular after surgery but seriously?? I'm just about 8 weeks post op and am on my period for the FOURTH time since surgery! Every two weeks I turn around and there she is again! I was on a normal cycle before surgery, am not on any type of birth control and haven't been for quite some time. The most frustrating part is the weight gain randomness... I finally broke a 3 week stall, past the 50 lbs down mark and then BAM I'm up 2-3 lbs again. FRUSTRATED!

I'm on para guard which is an IUD and I love it, no added weight gain or hormones, couldn't stand the depo with all the weight gain and raging hormones, just MHO

I use Mirena, I have had used it for the last 4 years. No weight gain, no bloating, no mood swings, and the best---no period.

Anyone who has been following me knows I have been asking about the water recommendations. Even though I am a little past 9 months, I was told by a few people on here and also my docs office that I should still be doing the required 64oz of water per day. At 6-7 months I cut down to 6 cups per day so I could eat more protein. If I didn't do that, I wouldn't be able to get in all my food because I was just too full. It was concerning because I had already reached my goal weight and couldn't maintain. I let the docs be aware of this and was told that I still had to do the 8 cups per day. I made my own decision not to listen to them. At this point, I am drinking only 4 cups of water per day. By doing this I am able to eat more. I have been doing this for at least a week. I was excited to get on the scale today because I just knew I had put on a few lbs. but alas I have actually lost more. I am so frustrated because I really thought this was going to work. Less water being less full means more food intake means weight gain. Isn't that how it would logically work?