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Well today ( 11/11/09 ) I made it to the doctors office... I weighted in @ 345 so I had to reset my ticker.. It came out 5 lbs over so I will call my start date today. My blood pressure was good, no issues there. I took a look at my chart and my last visit was on 8/5/08 my weight then 287.7 lbs.. Man that hit me.. I could not believe I let myself go that way! I saw a New PA and she was cool. I told her my issue and she said thats ok, time to start over a new beginning. I thought that was nice of what she said with a 57 lbs weight gain.. After a brief discussion she began to feel for my port but could not find it. She went to get the other PA ( who I have seen before ) and after he saw my chart you would think he would say glad to see you here, instead he says" what happen " I said long story.. That was a turn off... anyway I think she will be my contact person there from now on....They found the port and recovered only 6 cc of fluid. My last visit he got it up to 9.cc, so it was a little concerning about the 3. 5 cc disappearance. He said hopefully it just demish, but was concern that just maybe I would have a leak. I now have 7cc in my lapband.. I have another appt on 12/2/09 and they will check to see how many CC I have then. I will also attend an aftercare/support class... On is Bariatric essentials ( basically a refresher on what to eat/ how much/etc) and the other is Emotional Eating.. This will be all done on the same day since the doctors office is 1.5 hrs from where I live.. Hope to lose 6 lbs bt next visit! __________________

I have been doing my research and I see that some people are required to take a nicotine test before surgery. I am currently a smoker, not a pack a day but none the less a smoker and it is a battle for me because when I try to quit , my weight increases dramatically then become stressed out and go back to smoking. My question is if I stop smoking and start chewing the cessation gum a month prior to surgery will I be denied because of weight gain during the pre-op diet phase, and because I have nicotine in my system from either the patch or the gum ? Has anyone had to overcome this obstacle ?

I weigh once a week. Period. And FWIW, here's how jacked up it can be: surgery day: 245, 1-week follow up: 232, 2 weeks post: 235. Am I concerned about that weight gain? Not a bit! I went from about 100 -200 calories a day after surgery to 800-1000 a day this second week. That 232 was partially water. It was like getting the flu. This is a marathon, not a sprint. "Finishing the race " (weighing a healthy weight) is what matters, not how fast it's done.

I weigh once a week. Period. And FWIW, here's how jacked up it can be: surgery day: 245, 1-week follow up: 232, 2 weeks post: 235. Am I concerned about that weight gain? Not a bit! I went from about 100 -200 calories a day after surgery to 800-1000 a day this second week. That 232 was partially water. It was like getting the flu. This is a marathon, not a sprint. "Finishing the race " (weighing a healthy weight) is what matters, not how fast it's done.

Deb I have had the lap band for seven years it has never helped my diabetes, I would just lose gain lose gain the same 30 pounds I am having a revision on Nov 7 to RNY, my decision is based on the diabetic factor. I am very insulin resistant I have to take massive doses of insulin which in turns causes weight gain and inflammation through out my body. I am putting all my eggs in the RNY basket. You will find a lot of info on here, just type some search words in and you will find so much info, And everyone here is so supportive, Welcome

I have just got back from a months holiday overseas and am really pleased that in spite of not eating very healthily I still lost weight. Down approx. 1.8kg and almost at goal. The main reason for the not eating as healthily as I should have should have is that for most of the holiday we were staying with other people so restaurants were selected that suited the larger group. We started off in California where we ate mainly Mexican or burger/ribs. I have to say that I like the fact that your restaurants allow and encourage meal sharing as it meant I could have some of hubby's food instead of having to order a huge plate of my own. I know the US has a reputation for huge meals but some of them are so oversized its not surprising so many people struggle with their weight, 4 sliders is not a starter and a sandwich is supposed to be 2 slices of bread not 4 plus chips! It was great to be able to eat ribs without spending the rest of the night in the toilet throwing up which is something that happened to me on countless occasions when I had my band. Then it was onto the UK home of the pub and pub meals. They are fine the first or second time but pubs are like Mexican restaurants - all the same once you get to no 3! We also ate a lot of lunches at store and stately home canteen style cafes. So I was sharing sandwiches with hubby and also sharing cake! One place I loved in both the UK and Hong Kong was Pret a Manger - they had lovely quick easy healthy options like Bircher muesli, yogurt with fruit, sandwiches etc. Our final destination was Hong Kong. This was the only part of the holiday where hubby and I were on our own. We should have had lots of lovely Asian food but we were so busy we mainly ate on the run. The "pasteis de nata" in Macau probably weren't the healthiest breakfast choice but they were fabulous. So essentially I ate a small portion of whatever I wanted without worrying about weight gain. Poor hubby did have lots of leftovers to eat and his relatives in the UK kept commenting on how little I ate although I thought I was eating heaps! I drank alcohol but not in huge quantities. The serves of wine and cider in the UK are huge, they would never allow that much to be served in 1 glass in Aus. I ate cake and I ate chocolate and even had an icecream. I ate that very cautiously as I was terrified I would dump but luckily I didn't. I did have 1 or 2 minor episodes of dumping ( nausea, shakes and palpitations) but that was when I deserved it for doing something stupid like eating chocolate first thing in the morning! Prior to my op I was very concerned as I kept reading about people that had accidents post op.I had visions of having to always carry spare undies or wear adult diapers. Luckily that hasn't been an issue although when I need to go I need to go - sometimes I had to find a loo in a hurry and the hardest place to do that was Hong Kong. Travelling with the bypass has been so much easier than travelling with a band and the variety of food I eat is so much greater and healthier.

If the diet pill worked so well in the past, then why did you need the surgery? Diet pills don't work and there is always bound to be weight gain after stopping them. You know what you have to do to get the weight moving again in the right direction. Eat protein first, drink lots of water, moderate exercise, etc. Maybe start tracking your food intake again. Don't waste your time with diet pills. My sister took those pills and lost 50 pounds and guess what? she gained it all back and then some. My friend was taking another diet pill and now has heart problems from years of using them. She lost a lot of weight while taking them but guess what? Now she's gained back all the weight and then some. She's heavier than ever now. Diet pills don't work, hell if they did I wouldn't of needed weight loss surgery.

Okay, so I'm getting banded June 6th! Oh I was so excited when I was scheduled! But here's the deal. It's like the closer I get to the surgery date the more scared I am! It's kinda like what I would imagine an alcoholic or drug addict might go through before being admitted to a rehabilitation center. Food has been my comfort now forever!!!! I eat when I'm sad, happy, celebrating, depressed, hungry, bored....the list goes on....I EAT!!! Now I'm scared about my life after surgery. I'm a lower BMI candidate but I'm also 45 and I am definitely headed to more and more weight gain. I'm a RN by trade and I know when people begin to talk about their experiences (i.e., surgeries, child birth etc) the vast majority tend to make them sound more and more horrible. As I'm reading this board I have to say MANY sound tremendously unhappy and miserable with the band and yet when there was a poll over 90% would do it again. SO QUESTION? If I give this my all.....exercising, chewing, chewing, chewing, small and wise portions, never eating in a hurry(barring complications of course....).....are chances being that I will be glad I got this band?

ok ... i still had a minimum of 50 pounds to lose to even be at a weight i can live with... my first appointment, my OB suggested i maintain while pregnant... at first i seriously thought no problem!! but now that the morning/all day sickness has pretty much subsided, i'm famished all.the.time.... and i've gained about 3-4 pounds... i can just imagine her freaking out on me my next appointment (next Monday) cause i gained... i know i'm not supposed to 'diet' while PG, but there's the mentality there that almost makes me want to...

This is SO true! In high school I weighed in the 140's and thought I was huge. When I got pregnant with my first daughter 26 years ago I weighed 148 at my first OB visit, I thought I was a whale! I wonder now if had someone had told me I was normal weight back then would it have made any difference? I think part of my weight gain can be attributed to the fact that I always thought "oh well, I have never been skinny and never will be, why bother". Sad how messed up our self image is ya know???

to get back on track after being naughty? I read this statement a little while ago and well....after this weekend I can well and truely relate. I went to a bandsters lunch at an all you can eat. I had great restriction when I walked in I swear. I walked out after eating everything I had felt like the past couple of months. At dinner time I thought I may as well have junk since I had already blown it that day and start good eating the next day. Woke up Sunday and did the same and again today. *sigh* I just cant seem to get back on track and the 2kg weight gain since Saturday doesnt seem to be helping me. Any ideas? *Help*

While the old me is still fresh in mind, I thought I'd share a list of all the little things (mostly good, a couple challenging) that make getting sleeved an unbelievable experience. First the good (really great): The numbers: I weighed 256 pounds when I decided to get sleeved (all time high was 272). Surgery weight (Nov 25th 2013) was 246. Today, I weighed in at 212. Eating: It's REALLY nice not obsessing about food. I used to wake up every morning praying that I wouldn’t overeat and then go to sleep most nights regretting what I ate. At buffets, I’d worry about how many plates I was consuming. At family style dinners, I’d worry about how big my helpings were and if I’d go for seconds. When I did manage to eat a healthy properly portioned meal, I felt completely unsatisfied. It’s been 9 weeks since surgery and I don’t believe I’ve been hungry once – seriously. Instead of lusting after food, I mostly concern myself with the Protein content and how hard it might be to digest. The food addiction is over and I feel like the monkey that’s been on my back for 39 years is gone. Clothing: My waist size went from 42 to comfortable 36. I went from 2XL to large for shirts. Over the last few months every week, I went through my closet and pulled out the clothes that were too big. I wouldn't have done this on a regular diet fearing that in a subsequent weight gain, I'd need them. I've pretty much exhausted my existing "skinny clothes" and am having to buy transition clothes -- I'm sticking to cheaper stuff for now. Clothes "fit" so much better now. It's not just the waist -- it's the thighs, butt, crotch, etc. I didn't realize how badly clothes fit when you have to start with something that fits a 42 waist. Lastly, at a size 36 I can shop at any store I want, which was not in the cards previously. Travel: I travel a lot for work. Sitting in an airline seat is soooo much easier now. I used to feel like they were oppressively small torture devices. Not saying I want one for my home recliner -- but I no longer dread stuffing myself into one. Sleeping: I used to sleep horribly, frequently waking up with headaches, and was in the process of getting used to a CPAP machine. I sleep great now with no CPAP. No more headaches either. That means I’m not tired all day and don’t have to drink 12 cups of coffee and 6 Advil’s just to function. This is probably the single best benefit so far. Comfort in my skin: Just about every activity -- walking, sitting, crossing my legs, standing, exercising, sex, drying off after a shower, going up stairs, getting dressed – is easier and more comfortable now. I really didn’t realize how taxing some of these things were prior to surgery. Every one of these things is easier (by a lot) now. Now for the challenges: Eating: It’s taking me a while to learn how to eat slowly. I’ve found that speed of eating has the highest correlation to digestibility and comfort, even more than type of food. Like a lot of obese people, I used to cram food down really quickly. That doesn’t work with the sleeve and is a habit that has to be broken. Social stuff: I haven’t told anyone but my wife a few family members about my surgery. I used to be the guy that everyone wanted to dine out with for food extravaganzas. This change has been manageable but definitely takes effort. I still go out a lot and most people are so busy shoveling food in their mouth, they barely notice what I eat. Other times, I use the “I had a late lunch/dinner” excuse as to why I’m eating like a bird. Since I’ve chosen to keep the surgery to myself, this is just a new reality. As you can tell from the above, I’m really happy with the surgery and only regret not having done it sooner. Would love to hear other peoples revelations good and otherwise, post-surgery.

I'm still pre op. I don't have my surgery until December. However I quit smoking in June because first I was tired of smoking and two I heard it wasn't good to smoke if I'm gonna have surgery. I have gained ten pounds during my 6 month diet documentation per my insurance. My doctor hadn't said anything and my insurance didn't say I had to lose weight before surgery. But maaaannnn I swear I didn't want to gain during this time.

I had "stomach stapling" in the early '80's and after getting to my goal of losing 100 lbs. I gained all of it back over the past 15 years. I'm thinking of a bypass but wonder if anyone has the same story as I and what the result was. Thanks

There’s grazing & there’s grazing. Grazing when you eat an appropriately portioned size healthy meal over a few hours or eat several small healthy meals over the day that meet your caloric & nutritional needs are fine. Anything else, like grazing just to eat, or for boredom, etc. or grazing beyond just a mid morning &/or mid afternoon snack can be worrying & lead to the weight gain fear you have. Consider what you’re grazing on & why you’re grazing. Do you exceed your caloric need by grazing? Maybe try the mini meal grazing or eating a meal by picking at it over a few hours. Or even reduce your grazing to just a single between meal snack. (I snack three times a day. It gives me a needed additional 25 odd grams of protein but still fits within my caloric needs.) Worth trying.

The pill doesn't necessarily make you gain weight but the hormones that are released definitely play a part in weight gain. I have Mirena IUD and the hormones stay located to that specific area. It usually does not encourage weight gain

We're not machines. You can gain 3 lbs just by eating too much sodium or too many carbs. Medications play into it too. Never fret over 2 little lbs. I gained 7 lbs in July when my grandkids came out. I lost all of it plus 1 lb a week after they left. Too many chips, ice cream, fruit slider foods. Fortunately the band kept me from eating too much so all my weight gain was Water. Going back to my band friendly foods brought me back on track. It's the same for you. You can gain or lose lbs of water in days. tmf

1st time post. Question: I would like to hear comments on how you decided that it was time to have the sleeve surgery. I first started looking into surgery in March 2015. I had my first appointment on March 25, it was the introduction and free information seminar. They were able to tell me that my insurance would cover me if we had 3 weight loss evaluations and march 25 was my first one of three. Then we had to provide them with a 3year history of obesity, which my PCP provided. Then I had to jump thru hoops to get all the testing done and pass them. My 2 of 3 ( April 29) appointment will weigh in, psych evaluation, nutritionist and exercise supporter. Along with blood tests, etc. My 3rd of 3 appointments is on May ,19 and will be my 3rd weight loss evaluation. And my pre-op with the surgeon. Typically they schedule surgery 3 to 4 weeks after this appointment. Am I getting nervous or is this too fast? I really hadn't been thinking about my weight for awhile because 7 years ago I almost died from pneumonia and contracted MRSA while hospitalized. I ended up with a poor immune system. And I was happy because I was alive and that I was getting better. Obviously I was eating a lot while I was happy and gained back 65 pounds. Plus my back problem flared up and the medications that I take for the nerve endings and the pain increased which caused weight gain. Partly because of the 65 lbs I gained. The only way I am comfortable is laying flat on my back in bed. I can't exercise because of my back. This has been a vicious cycle. So my husband and I discussed that maybe it was time to go to a free seminar. But March to June is just 3 months. Maybe I'm scared about my future eating restrictions. All our family activity's revolve around food. It will be so different. I know this is probably the only way for me to loose weight. Which will allow me time to meet my grandchildren, do activities with my grown children, travel with my husband in out retired years.

5 back surgeries have also contributed to my weight gain. I'm very excited to change the hand I've been dealt

Glad to read that I'm not alone in this. I had my GB in 2017 and got down to 150lbs and was maintaining. These last 6 months the hotflashes started/intensified and the weight gain spiraled so fast I thought my scale was broken. I'm up to 185lbs and am SO unhappy. I'm beating myself up mentally every day. That old "overweight" feeling in clothes, in the mirror and even the thighs rubbing just brings me down. I hate this. Gotta figure out how to turn this around.

I had gastric sleeve in December 2018. I started out at 258 pounds and I'm 5'3''. I was down to 222 the day of surgery. One month out I was down to 201. My doctor commented it may be too much too fast. I haven't really changed anything and now 2 months out I'm up to 205. Not sure why, still exercising, no sweets, eating 2 oz of food every meal. Any ideas? Hard not to be discouraged. Maybe I am looking at the scale too often. Maybe I need to take it in months and not weeks. But if I am doing something wrong or could do something better, I would like to know....

I'm not sure how much direct help I can be, as our metabolisms are likely quite different (between a 5'10 man and a 5' woman) but I'm stable at around 2000 calories per day, give or take depending upon how routinely active I am, typically split up between about five meals per day. I do about an hour of dedicated exercise per day, usually split between a half hour or so of running the dogs woods or canyon in the morning (they run, I hike) and a half hour or so of swimming or strength training in the afternoon. I don't keep track of the fluids anymore, but it is at or above the typical 64 oz recommendation (I down a 1.5 liter bottle of water per day, plus ice and whatever other incidental fluids I have - iced tea or milk products; more if I am doing something specifically dehydrating during the day. There is a series of videos from one doc that has some relevance - I'm not entirely up with everything in his program, but he is one of the few that I have seen that discusses the increasing meal volume that we typically see over time, and offers a way to handle it. I do something similar in that I have a fairly vegetable rich diet, and do more of his "veg first" approach rather than the traditional protein first that we see in the bariatric world. It does make some sense in that veg is typically high bulk, high nutrition and low calorie, so does a good job of filling that extra capacity that we develop over time in a way that minimizes the caloric load that leads to regain. The more typical low carb (and worse, low carb, high fat) diets that are all the rage today have some weight gain built into them as they are typically higher caloric density which can lead to regain if one doesn't keep on top of the overall caloric load. So, that is something to consider if that can fit with your dietary personality (something that you can stick with long term.) He has some other vids on related topics that may also be useful. He seems fairly down on revisions as a solution, which fits my experience as there seems little that can be done to a bypass that isn't just a short term fix; a revision to a DS seems to offer the best results but is a very complex procedure that few surgeons can perform, so that tends to be a last resort.

Thanks for sharing this info. May I ask, what attributed to your weight gain? Had you started back eating what made you heavy to begin with? I'm preop and just observing real life stories concerning how to keep the weight off? I know it's a struggle...but, how can we maintain the weight loss? Sent from my SM-G935T using the BariatricPal App