Search the Community

Hi Everyone! I am new to this online support stuff. I will just introduce myself. My name is Chandra and I am from Texas. I have been overweight my whole life. When I was 18 I was diagnosed with PCOS and told I would never have children. That led to a depression which led to even more weight gain ontop of what I had already gained. (which was the reason I went to the doc in the first place) I began thinking of the lap band in 2008 when I had my gallbladder removed and my surgeon said that I really really needed to lose weight if I was going to consider children. Well I have a very difficult time losing the weight due to the PCOS. I began the approval proccess once before in mid 2009. Then I lost my insurance and my job. So that put a halt to that. Well now I have a better job and good insurance. I started my proccess back in October 2010. I saw my surgeon and the nutritionist. Then I had my psych eval. Had a couple more appts with the nutritionist and a few days before Christmas I got a phone call saying that my insurance approved me. After the holidays on Tues the 4th I saw my surgeon again. I scheduled my EGD (required by my surgeon) and my surgery. I signed all my consents and then started my liquid diet the next day. So far I am on Day # 4 of the one week liquid diet. My EGD is scheduled for Mon the 10th and my surgery is on Wed the 12th. I am soooo nervous and excited at the same time. I am ready for my life to change. I have been married to my husband for almost 5 years. He is very supportive and excited for me as well. I am a nurse and I will be staying at the hospital that I work at, lol. So I guess thats all that I have to say right now. =)

I really appreciate all of you responding to me so quickly. How long have you all been banded? Have any of you had any weight gain? And by the way, I am post menopausal! Tell me about some of your experiences. Gratefully, Cindy

One thing I want to say, and not in an alarmist way, is that even if you follow the guidelines, it is possible to fail. That is one fallacy I need to point out as untrue. Some people don't ever get the right restriction, for some people the band exacerbates health issues, and for others, the band fails (and I should know, I have experienced band failure in the form of a leak - this is NOT something that is caused by patient non-compliance). The GOOD thing about the band is that you have options to try to resolve issues. If you have health issues and these are picked up quickly enough, unfilling may help. If you have band failure, you can get a replacement band. But the band can also be frustrating, high maintenance and requires more input (I believe) from the patient than other WLS. As for hunger, in my case, when I'm in the green zone I lose all hunger. I am actually choosing not to seek out being in the green zone again (after replacement band surgery) because I want the balance of being able to eat relatively normally and still maintain my weight, and yet, as of this morning, I'm still losing. I've dropped another lb in the last week since my last fill, and it's simply because I'm eating less and it's keeping me full for longer already, but without the potential for stuck episodes or not being able to eat certain things. And lastly, I got to goal in 7 months, maintained for 3 years with the band, and the minute the leak happened, my hunger returned and I started to gain. I eventually managed to arrest the weight gain and even lose a little just prior to getting my band replaced but damn, it was bloody hard work fighting hunger all the time. So I cannot imagine, despite my success to date, being able to maintain easily without the band. Nor do I want to.

I expected big things from 2011...just not me! I was banded on September 30th, 2010. It has been a long, but quick process, if that makes sense. I have gone from 325-327 (by my at home scale) to 293.6 , as of this morning. It seemed so daunting when I first started the insurance process, seminars, etc, in April of last year. But, it truly went by quickly. Before I knew it, I was banded. If anyone is reading this and is overwhelmed by insurance hoops, don't be discouraged. Just take it one step at a time because the payoff is HUGE! My last fill, # 3, they put in a little more in my band. That was 3 weeks ago and I've lost about 6 pounds since then. Slowly, but surely! Fill 1 was okay...no real restriction, though, fill 2 was an overfill---followed by some being taken out, then fill 3, I feel, is my sweet spot. I feel like I eat too much (i'm so paranoid about overeating), but my husband says I hardly eat anything. In comparing what I ate before, he's probably right. I still keep track of everything on sparkpeople and really am trying to watch everything. It certainly something that isn't easy and is something that we all have to continually work at. Each day, I still argue with my body about what to put in it. I think it will get easier and easier, but it has hard not to stop at McDonalds in the morning for a breakfast sandwich (not that I can really eat it without getting stuck anyway!), but my mouth would still try. I have just started really trying to get serious about working out. I don't really have time for an actual gym between my kids and my husband's crazy work hours. I have picked up Zumba and also love working out to my Wii! My doctor's office has a program they refer to as 'Bootcamp'. It is 3 nights a week for 6 weeks. Of all of the places in my city, it happens to be held just a few miles from my house, which is great. You work out with a personal trainer those 3 nights, meet with a counselor for a few minutes on 2 of those nights and meet with a nutritionist the other night after your workout. And, as long as you don't miss more than 3 sessions, it is all free. So, I will be beginning that on their next session start next month. I really can't wait! I am starting to have loose clothing, which is great, and my knees are already feeling better when I go upstairs. I love that. When I met my husband, I was hovering around 270. Still fat, but nothing as to what I turned into over 5 years! I guess my happiness was directly correlated with my weight gain, which, ironically, caused unhappiness. But, one the road to being a better me feels good! I recognize I will never, realistically, be 135 pounds ever, but I'm okay with that as long as I can get down to a healthy weight of maybe 170. I really can't wait to to do things with my kids this summer! I can already tell I'm getting more energy and can't wait to see how that goes up, too. Anyway, those are the thought that are in my head today. I hope everyone is doing well after the holidays!

So those of you who are post op and are using birth control have you had any weight gain or has your weight loss slowed at all? What type are you taking?

Weight gain after 2 weeks liquids is normal! Hey, my nephew laid in a hospital bed without food for 2 weeks, and no liquids and did not loose anything! But, that is neither here nor there. anyway, it is normal because you are now eating, so gaining little is normal. But you have done fine and will start to lose. If I lost the 1st 2 weeks, I don't remember. But I did gain a lb or 2 after I started to eat. I was on liquids for 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after! Bets wishes to all , Karen

Wow, thanks for your note... really describes 'where' I am as well. I can't imagine being 5'3" (I always have folks say 'but you carry your weight well'). I guess I am lucky I don't have high blood pressure, but I have everything else... I have given up on trimming my toe nails, putting on my socks (and shoes) is a daily nightmare. I work in a warehouse environment and my feet hurt constantly, with recent weight gains I try to sit whenever possible... I keep extra deodorant in my locker as I will start to sweat profusely at the drop of a hat. Thank god I have basic strength due to my size so I can move heavy things (part of my job). Are you still on any of the meds? Curious about the testosterone (I take it to) and there is zero "drive" (another down side, it affects 'everything' not just one aspect. Also find I isolate pretty heavily.I took the shots but am on the gel form (I really hated the shots lol, insulin shots are a breeze, the big honkin' testosterone shots are not!!) I realize the band is a tool, part of why I am looking seriously at this. Do you still see food sitting there and hear it 'calling' to you? How do you handle that? smile, feel like I have met a kindred soul (is it me or is the ratio of men banders to female about 9:1?)

Have you talked to your doctor? It could be hormonal too, so I would clear out any physical reason for your rapid weight gain.

It is certainly possible though not fun! The Protein shakes are a good start- Make sure you get 60+ grams of protein per day. For my pre-op diet I did Protein Shakes and greek yogurt with 64 oz of Water daily. It wasn't bad and the results were impressive. I don't know if you will lose the full amount but you will make a dent at least. I would advise you to let the surgeon and nutritionist know about the prednisone as weight gain is a known side effect. Not to mention they should know what medications you are taking anyway. Good Luck.

I was banded April 2016, lost 30lbs quite quickly. Had a hysterectomy April 2016 and have gained back 14lbs since then...........HELP! Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

All the comments above are accurate. You may need to seek counseling as to the reason you "replaced food with alcohol" for me, food was my friend, my constant companion, my stress relief, and utmost, my anger/anxiety relief. I have had to redirect my emotional eating to something else. In the middle of my journey, i too turned to alcohol. Weight gain scared me and so i did some soul searching and decided i needed a healtier coping skill. Recently it has been the gym and i find that i get irritable when i cant make it there. This is not only a journey of weight loss, but a complete rediscovery of who I/we want to be. It is scary to face the world and reality without a comfort so learning alterative healthy coping skills is a must. You don't want to trade one addiction to another. It's a slippery slope. This site will be a great source of understanding and support, however, you have to search within you and find what you want to change. Good luck with your journey!

I am so sorry to hear about the troubles you are having. I know that a lot of medications for M.D. cause weight gain. Did they take that into consideration before you had surgery? Would there be any way you could try a different combo of medications that might not effect you in the same way? It must be so discouraging for you to have gained back that weight. Keep us all posted on how things go for you. I hope they can think of a solution for you.

I was told it is wise to reprogram your eating habits during the honeymoon stage the first year of surgery, so that by the time you are healed totally you will not eat all these foods that got you to the sleeve in the first place. Weight gain is unavoidable if you keep your old habits and old favorite foods.

Not just fluid although your weight gain will certainly be fluid - did you have keyhole surgery? If so, they actually carefully pump a whole load of air inside you! They use the jet of air to separate your organisation inside to move them aside and make the keyhole surgery easier. They suck some out as they close up but surgeons all leave more or less of it. It slowly dissolves over the next few days, but this is ‘gas pain’ and it is probably the worst bit of the recovery - mine hurt like hell up in my left shoulder, front and rear. Just get up as soon as you can, and walk. You have to walk it out. As you move about, your bodily organs absorb the gas and you go back to normal!

I have gained a bit of weight back, and I have to admit that it's hard not to freak out completely. I was reading up on post wls weight gain and came across this procedure. Have any of you used it? I am thinking it would be very extreme for the amount of weight I've gained. But I am curious.... http://gastro.ucla.edu/site.cfm?id=321

Okay so I just got off the phone with Aetna because I was freaking out. They said it's okay if you gain a little weight during the weight-loss program because weight gain can be caused my retaining water, muscle mass, etc. So I think I'm in the clear! Now, just to get these pesky 9lbs off...

Let me start off that I have not been a model sleever for the past 3 years but in 2014 I reached my goal weight of 130 in less than an year. I was able to maintain it with eating clean/ low carbish diet for awhile until my weight settled around 135-138, and I was ok with that. Over the last 6-9 months I have gained 10-15 pounds and am not happy about it. I started to get more strict on my food with no increase of activity for the first 6 months. Never did exercise much from the beginning just here and there and I could drop 5-7 lbs quickly before. What changed? Now Im super serious about losing this weight. For the past 4 weeks I have worked out for 30-45 minutes 3-5 times per week. My food has been on point with one allowed cheat meal per week, which would consist of grilled chicken, green Beans and mashed potatoes for example. I have not lost one freaking pound! This is extremely frustrating!!! I cannot figure out what Im doing wrong?? BTW i start off my reset with a 3 day liquid diet. Could my metabolism be broken? Has my weight just settled here now? The things that I have always done just don't seem to work anymore. Even with increased exercise.I still eat very little and on a saucer or salad plate. Is anyone else going thru again similar? I really don't want to spend the money on a personal trainer and nutritionist but it's looking like i may.... TIA

Here you go thanks for posting this! Slider Foods Spell Weight Regain For Weight Loss Surgery Patients Soft processed carbohydrates, slider foods, are the bane of good intentions and ignorance often causing dumping syndrome, weight loss plateaus, and eventually weight gain for gastric bypass, gastric band (lap-band), and gastric sleeve bariatric patients. Learn what slider foods are and why they cause weight regain for weight loss surgery patients. 5 Day Pouch Test Store By Kaye Bailey For most people eating sliders is a good thing. Popularized by the American food chain, White Castle, a slider (originally slyder) is a miniature grilled hamburger or cheeseburger on a steamed bun often served with onions and dill pickle and other condiments. They originally sold for a nickel a piece in the 1940s making it affordable to add a side of fries for just pennies. By all accounts this is a good kind of "slider" food. To the weight loss surgery patient slider foods are the bane of good intentions and ignorance often causing dumping syndrome, weight loss plateaus, and eventually weight gain. Slider foods, to weight loss surgery patients, are soft simple processed carbohydrates of little or no nutritional value that slide right through the surgical stomach pouch without providing nutrition or satiation. The most innocent of slider foods are saltine crackers, often eaten with warm tea or other beverages, to soothe the stomach in illness or while recovering from surgery. Understanding Slider Foods The most commonly consumed slider foods include pretzels, crackers (saltines, graham, Ritz, etc.) filled cracker Snacks such as Ritz Bits, popcorn, cheese snacks (Cheetos) or cheese crackers, tortilla chips with salsa, potato chips, sugar-free Cookies, cakes, and candy. You will notice these slider foods are often salty and cause dry mouth so they must be ingested with liquid to be palatable. This is how they become slider foods. They are also, most often, void of nutritional value. For weight loss surgery patients the process of digestion is different than those who have not undergone gastric surgery. When slider foods are consumed they go into the stomach pouch and exit directly into the jejunum where the simple carbohydrate slurry is quickly absorbed and stored by the body. There is little thermic effect in the digestion of simple carbohydrates like there is in the digestion of Protein so little metabolic energy is expended. In most cases patients in the phase of weight loss who eat slider foods will experience a weight loss plateau and possibly the setback of weight gain. And sadly, they will begin to believe their surgical stomach pouch is not functioning properly because they never feel fullness or restriction like they experience when eating protein. The very nature of the surgical gastric pouch is to cause feelings of tightness or restriction when one has eaten enough food. However, when soft simple carbohydrates are eaten this tightness or restriction does not result and one can continue to eat, unmeasured, copious amounts of non-nutritional food without ever feeling uncomfortable. Many patients turn to slider foods for this very reason. They do not like the discomfort that results when the pouch is full from eating a measured portion of lean animal or dairy protein without liquids. Yet it is this very restriction that is the desired result of the surgery. The discomfort is intended to signal the cessation of eating. Remembering the "Protein First" rule is crucial to weight management with bariatric surgery. Gastric bypass, gastric banding (lap-band) and gastric sleeve patients are instructed to follow a high protein diet to facilitate healing and promote weight loss. Bariatric centers advise what is commonly known among weight loss surgery patients as the "Four Rules" the most important of which is "Protein First." That means of all nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fat and alcohol) the patient is required to eat protein first. Protein is not always the most comfortable food choice for weight loss surgery patients who feel restriction after eating a very small amount of food. However, for the surgical tool to work correctly a diet rich in protein and low in simple carbohydrate slider foods must be observed. The high protein diet must be followed even after healthy body weight has been achieved in order to maintain a healthy weight and avoid weight regain.

Sounds like you're doing things in a good order. There's another person somewhere on this site who is having trouble getting started on exercise because she has other illnesses and because she smokes so much. If you can get the smoking stopped and then do the band to help stop what otherwise might be even more weight gain, and then get the exercise started, you've taken on a HUGE task, but a worthy one. Good for you.

Thanks so much for your reply every little bit of information i can get really helps - il have to keep every one updated on when i get my date for surgery - How are you finding the actual diet and the ammount of food you have cut back ? what sort of things can you eat now ? and finally HOW MUCH HAVE YOU LOST ??? bet its sooo exciting now your losing ? i cant wait ! do you feel like it has changed your life yet hun ? has weight always been a issue for you or has your weight gain been recent ? xxx

Hang in there and tell yourself you can the fight against weight gain. You probably need to go back to the prep diet for a week or two and keep a food journal and even see a dietician. Don't give up you did not go through hell and back for nothing you can do it. Best of luck

So sorry to hear your situation but don't give up. I have Anthem BCBS of Ohio and they are strict but should check for sleep apena. Mine was brought on by my weight gain. I'm at 250, bmi 41 currently and I have mild sleep apena. So just for that, it's important.

Hi, my name is Tonya. I'm a 44 years old mother of five ages 16, 2, 3, 4 and 4. Number 2 and one of the 4's I have permanent custody of and I'm trying to adopt :-) I am going to try and not ramble but I do sometimes. I was never an overweight child, never gained more than maybe 20 pounds extra in high school. In college I was able to maintain 135 pounds with no weight gain. I'm 5'5. When I was 25 I got married. At 27 I got pregnant with my first child and gained 100 pounds. He weighed 11 pounds at birth. 10lb15oz exactly. From the year of his birth, 1998, until the present, I have not been under 200 pounds. My last weight was 300 at pre-op testing. Years of being abused emotionally and mentally by his father made me turn to food for comfort. I don't drink or smoke or do drugs but I had my food. He fussed about my weight so I defiantly ate more and more. He said he was ashamed of me, told me I was worthless for 9 of the 12 years we were together. So, I left him in 2006 and in 2009 reconnected with my best friend from high school. We married that year and now have 2 kids together :-) he never made an issue of my weight and loved me the way that I am. So I thought, he deserves a healthier wife than this because he's so good to me. I really thought I could diet and lose the weight because I was finally happy. Nope. I had learned what a powerful drug food was and I couldn't let go. Almost 5 years after I married this perfect man, I got my sleeve. I now 5 days post op and am feeling great. Feel free to ask me any questions if you have any. I'm an open book :-)

Most of what happens will depend on insurance requirements. For me, at my first appt, I was weighed, we went over diet history, I talked to the NUT and had to give a rough accounting of my daily eating habits-don't worry, a crappy diet is a good thing because it shows that you need help. Then after that, we talked about weight loss goals and which surgeries would be a good choice. When I left, they pulled my insurance info and told me I would be doing the 90 day program(which scares the crap out of me because I had already wrapped myself up in the idea of a 6 month supervised diet). It was all pretty straight forward for me. 90 days, 4 NUT visits, 1 psych eval, no weight gain and we worked on little changes to make to my diet and exercise at each NUT visit, and then there was a class on life post surgery as far as eating and vitamins etc and that was it! I had my surgery 11/9 and so far so good!

I'm sad you feel you're too fat forever. It's just not true. I was banded in Mexico in September 2009 and after a very slow start, I lost 90 pounds but gained 25 back this past year. Mexico bandsters sometimes have to travel long distances for fills/follow-ups and it's easy to backslide when support is 200 miles away. When my restriction became negligible, I slid back into fast food and weight gain. Once upon a time 25 lbs wouldn't have seemed so terrible, even acceptable. That was before 09/09. I could feel all eyes at the office noticing my slow gain. It was humiliating. I finally snapped out of it and made an appointment for a fill. Now I know what restriction is! I don't know how I ever lost 90 lbs - it wasn't because of the band. Now I KNOW tight. One bad move with a bite of food and I'm running for relief. I realize you're fully restricted but could you be favoring easy calories, the ones that don't take any effort? At one point, Wendy's Frosties became my favorite go-to food, breakfast, lunch and dinner! Then I graduated to Frosties with Oreos. It wasn't long before the .99 Spicy Nuggets were added to my order. A little unpleasantness afterward didn't deter me but eventually the weight gain did. I say if you haven't gained any weight, you're in great shape and have EVERY reason to be proud. Don't be so hard on yourself. We've beat ourselves up for our entire fat lives and it has to come to an end. Try those recommended changes. I bet they'll empower you to change things even more. Also, I'd change my online name to FatNeverMore. It will come true.