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Yesterday and this morning lots of pain in abdomin and around port site. Today, less pain, but still pretty sore both topically and in the gut. Unable to urinate well due (I think) to anesthesia. Lots of diarrhea and a weight gain of 6 pounds, despite liquids only diet for 3 days. Could it get any worse?

Hi Guyyysss !!! I've been a lurker on this site for a while now. I decided that I'd post something since the surgery is no longer a pipe dream but a reality. I've been approved!!! Surgery date is February 1!!! My emotions run the gamut right about now lol. But I must admit this ain't my first weight loss surgery rodeo. My mom and I had a bands put in Jan 2009. She shelled out $20,000 just like that. It worked...in the beginning. I went from 208 to 159. Looked pretty friggin hott too. But I was miserable with my band. I was losing weight and following the rules to a T but I knew the band wasn't for me. I NEVER felt any restriction so my weight loss in my opinion was a result of militant calorie restricting and exercise bulimia. Then complications lead to loss of effectiveness which lead to weight gain and ultimately removal. I gained all the weight back and then some. But now I've been approved, via insurance this time! No strict pre-op diet, no red tape, and a BMI that barely met the requirement. I've been thanking my lucky stars every day. Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself and thank all of you guys for your informative, helpful, and inspiring posts that made and will continue to make me want to take control of my health. I hope the surgery brings me much needed success and I'll def be updating regularly. Thanks for reading )

Laura - As you obviously know by now, an unfill is not necessarily a bad thing. Being too tight can be downright miserable! In my experience, it was difficult for me to come to the realization that I needed a little Fluid taken out, I didn't want to, but being uncomfortable everytime I ate is not something I wanted to live with. I found myself pbing and sliming a couple of times a week and was embarrassed when it happened with friends. Just a total of .2 cc's unfill was all I needed to make me feel "normal" again. I guess we can both chalk it up to lessons learned. Your weight gain could be from swelling caused by pbing and the inability to eat more solid food. It's so easy to eat slider foods, softer foods that go down easy and yet aren't good for you. It seems like you end up eating all the wrong things when you're too tight, just because it's the only stuff that goes down. But in the end, the ability to eat a more varied diet and more solid food is what helps with the weight loss. I guess sometimes you need to go "backwards" to go forward. Good luck to you! Hope you've found your spot!

As most of you know I have been dealing with a lot of spine problems that have progressively gotten worse over the last 6 months. I had surgery 4 weeks ago to have an old non working neurostimulator removed. They believed that the surgically placed leads were somehow causing this severe nerve pain across my back and radiating into my right rib cage. Honestly this pain has been some of the worst I have ever felt in my life and having severe osteoarthritis in my spine in other places is pretty severe. This pain is even worse. Anyway, we have to wait another 4 to 6 weeks to do an MRI to ensure they don't address artifacts from the surgery I had. prior to this they did do a CT scan which showed a Schwarnoma (benign tumor) on one of my nerve roots in my thoracic spine. Today when the doc examined me we discovered that I have numbness both on my back and my right front rib cage. He believes it is this Schwarnoma on my T11 level that is causing all of this and is not wanting to order an MRI. Instead he wants me to remain on both Vicodin and now gabapentin to see if that helps. If that don't work he wants to do epidural injections and consider putting a new neurostimulator in. I will not agree to that plan. Anyway, he did say that gabapentin can cause weight gain. I have never taken this drug and I am guessing because of how I eat and my bypass tool, the weight gain should not be an issue. I am wondering if anyone is experiencing weight gain with gabapentin and if so do you have tips and tricks on the weight gain front? I have worked very hard to get nearly to my goal and I am very restricted on exercise. I have to be honest I really am nervous about this approach but I am willing to give it a try because this pain has literally stopped me in my tracks. It has been going on since June and it actually overwhelmed me. I have very good coping skills and I normally would not take narcotics but no matter what I do this particular pain has really gotten the best of me. So I am willing to try it but just wondering if anyone has experience with this drug post operative. Thanks for your help!

I had it from 2008-2011, and I loved it for the first while cause I had no periods. And I also had no significant weight gain. But it does take away libido have its been in a while. So I had it removed. I am getting the Paraguard copper IUD. (no hormones! yay)

Four weeks post-op you are probably only just getting onto solid food. This means that your body has more fuel to burn for you to lose weight. If you are up to it, kick up your exercise a bit. Stalled loss and even slight weight gain is normal at this stage of your journey.

I've been lurking here for over a month, this site has been really helpful to me in terms of what to expect and all the little details that aren't mentioned on webMD and the like. So my first order of business is to thank everyone! Second order of business: I got a PCP referral and was called later the same day to set up my first two appointments, I couldn't believe how fast it was and how nice the gentleman on the phone was. Well today I went to my nutritionist appt and it was jarring to say the least. The first thing I was told is that I'm not eligible for the surgery because my BMI hasn't been consistently high enough, and that I need to change what I eat. This is before I even had a chance to even tell her what I eat. I had written up an outline of my past weight loss efforts and she didn't even want to see it. She was very dismissive and offered to give me a diet plan, which I accepted. I was there, and need to lose weight, so why not. What she gave me was practically the exact same thing that I was given about 2 years ago by my old ob-gyn (the one who diagnosed me with PCOS and switched me to a different pill and I will <3 him forever for improving my life) and that wasn't too successful. She didn't even acknowledge me when I told her this, just handed me some paperwork. I have only been with kaiser about 3 years and my BMIs from previous physicals were under 40, which is why I do not qualify. According to her (and she's on the approval board) kaiser of VA requires you to be over 40 for a 3 solid 3 years OR you need 3 co-morbidities that cannot be controlled with medication. My most recent weight-gain has led to high blood pressure but they haven't started medication yet, I have to get it monitored for a bit first. She pointed out my lower BMIs, I explained that I have struggled with my weight since I was 15 (developed PCOS and blew up) and while I can lose some of it I've never been able to lose it all or maintain. I have only been successful in losing weight eating 1000 calories or less (and being hungry all the time), and hitting the gym at least 10 hours a week for running, elliptical, and bodypump classes. I have it all written up, the different caloric restrictions, weight watchers, atkins, etc etc. I was told to do it again. I am just blown away by the fact that I exercise being used against me, when in the next breath I'm told that the surgery won't do the work for me. So, I'm not qualified because I've worked really, really hard in the past, but they don't want to operate because you have to work really hard to make the surgery a success. WTF??! I cannot believe that if I had sat on my butt for the past few years instead of trying to improve my health it would have allowed me to have this procedure and thus improved my health in the long-term. I'm beyond frustrated. I was told that my name would be brought to the next approval team and would be denied for sure. Then I can appeal. Those of you who have been successful getting kaiser VA to approve, how did you do it? I really believe that the difficulty shedding weight is related to PCOS, should I emphasize that, or my past efforts, is there something else I should do? Help!

Here's my weekly update! My band was filled to 3 cc's on Monday Aug 4th. I left the doc's office feeling pretty good after keeping down 8 oz of Water before I left. An hour later........MASSIVE MONSTER HICCUPS!!! It was HORRIBLE. (kinda forgot what those were like! I was unable to keep anything down including liquids by that evening. Pain in my stomach was pretty bad that night and I had to sleep elevated. It brought back memories of having the band put in initially 10 yrs ago. ARGHHH!!! I don't think I was prepared for that! By Wednesday, all resolved it self, I'm keeping my liquids down. Protein shakes are agreeing with me and I was able to move to mushy foods by this past weekend. I have lost quite a bit of water weight and am a little dehydrated due to the restriction, but now moving in the right direction. (10 lbs gone.....I KNOW this is water weight!) Living in AZ, we drink water like crazy because it's so FREAKING hot!! LOL I have an appointment with the doc in 2 weeks. PB's have been helpful and I am encouraged once again to be moving in the right direction. The added 45 lbs has put a lot of stress on my hips (thanks mom for your bad hips.....appreciate it!) and my knees. I'm looking forward to walking around the block with my fur babies and not be in pain as much! As for AROSE, my doc stated we can remove the band and replace if the insurance will agree to pay. The newer bands are better than what we have (mine is also a 5 cc band). You have to be off band for 3 months before they will replace it though (at least with my doctor) and he stated he doesn't want to see weight gain during that time. SELF CONTROL!! lol It's all a matter of what you are looking to do. You've already lost 15 lbs. That's such a great start and it seems you are on the right path. Eat right, use small plates, drink fluids after eating! I think you'll find that you will lose those 15 lbs and probably a bit more now that you've found the right doctor. Good luck to you! Let me know how you do!

Hello JudyJudyJudy, You are doing so good, I am so happy for you. You had your surgery the day before me and we were almost at the same weight. I was 232 the night before surgery and it looks like you were at 235. Now you are only 12 pounds away from being back in the one hundreds. I have 15 more pounds to lose to be in the one hundreds. I recently had to go into the hospital the morning of Dec.24 and got out on Christmas Day. I found out that I have a hematoma on my spleen. When I came out of the hospital I weighed 3 more pounds than I did before I went in. I was hoping it was because they put all those fluids into my IV. I made a trip out of state and just got back late last night. I got up this morning and weighed myself and I couldn't believe it, I only weighed 214.4, I had lost 5 pounds while I was gone those 4 days. I hope I am back on track. I had a stall with weight gain and even though I have read that it happens, it is still discouraging. Now my hope has been restored, especially after reading your post. It is so good to read what others are going through and to know that we are not alone. The concern, support and prayers from all the sleevers really help me alot on my journey. I am anxious to see some pictures of you soon, you are very beautiful on your profile picture. Good luck on reaching your goal!!

Well last night was the first night in two weeks I felt any restriction while eating dinner. Unfortunately today is my second fill. I hope this up and down nature of restriction is too much to deal with long term. I also think that a lot of my weight gain was from eating soup at the hotel restaurant last week. I think this because in the two days since I got back I dropped 3lbs? That has to be water weight, so I'm thinking the soup had a lot of MSG in it or something? I say all of this because it could be that the MSG also was making me retain water and making my restriction less? It could all be related? I am predicting a .5cc fill today? I know I am still not at as good of a point as I was a week after my surgery, so I know I'm really not to the sweet spot right now.

Well last night was the first night in two weeks I felt any restriction while eating dinner. Unfortunately today is my second fill. I hope this up and down nature of restriction is too much to deal with long term. I also think that a lot of my weight gain was from eating soup at the hotel restaurant last week. I think this because in the two days since I got back I dropped 3lbs? That has to be water weight, so I'm thinking the soup had a lot of MSG in it or something? I say all of this because it could be that the MSG also was making me retain water and making my restriction less? It could all be related? I am predicting a .5cc fill today? I know I am still not at as good of a point as I was a week after my surgery, so I know I'm really not to the sweet spot right now.

I was on it before I had the lapband surgery. And I gained a lot of weight. When I started complaining about the weight gain my dr. changed my medication to cymbalta, but then that made me so sleepy all day. Once I had the surgery my pain stopped so I stopped taking the medication. I am sure once you start losing weight the pain will stop. Good luck.

I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea almost two years ago and for those of you unfamiliar with what apnea does, I will give just a brief bit of information. When a person is not sleeping as they should, your body goes into survival mode. It thinks it's being compromised therefore it starts to hoard it's reserves. There are two main hormones that control metaoblism and those two go into virtual hibernation to slow the metabolism to nothing. Unexplained weight gain is one of the reasons my doctor suspected apnea since she knows I eat a low-fat diet. I was attending a seminar and one of the speakers was a surgeon discussing bypass options. One of the things he mentioned was that every patient on whom he has performed bypass surgery no longer has apnea due to the weight loss. Well my ears perked right up! I thought "I'll do just about anything to get rid of sleep apnea". So I made an appointment to meet with him, went through the six months of counseling with the dietician, followed all the guidelines their clinic required in order to qualify for surgery. My insurance initially turned it down due to a low BMI, even with the co-morbidities of hypertension, GERD and apnea. However they approved it after an appeal was filed. So, now to my issue. I was banded on January 27 and have done fairly well with all the issues that come with surgery. But for the past five nights, I have woken from a deep sleep due to horrible, intense, gnawing hunger pangs. I mean I feel like I haven't eaten in three weeks! And I have eaten!! Now I feel like I am in a vicious circle. If I don't sleep, I won't lose any weight. That's a proven fact for me. What is causing this? The past two nights I have broken the rule of not eating before bed. I thought that if my stomach had something to digest and process, it would just go about it's business and let me sleep. However, it has not worked. It does not seem to matter if I eat before bed or not. I see my surgeon again on the 26th of the month and I will discuss this with him but I am wondering if others have had this problem. Am I just in an adjustment phase? Will getting a fill make a difference? Any advice, insights or comments are welcome as I am so darn frustrated. It feels like the cure was as bad as the initial problem!

TTC lets see. Toronto Transit Commission - no. Tao Te Ching - no. The Tom Tom Club - no. Top Teen of Canada - no. Telecommunication Technology Committee - no. Texas Technological College - no. And the lists goes on-and-on. O.K. you mean "trying to conceive". Congratulations on your weight loss. 208 pounds is fantastic. Generally it is recommended that you not get pregnant during the 12-18 months after surgery because low caloric intake cannot support a pregnancy. But since you are in year 2, it sounds like you have a "green" light. Many individuals become more fertile after weight loss surgery. It is important to gain some weight during pregnancy for the health of the little one. You should be able to lose this weight after delivery, provide the weight gain is from good foods with plenty of Protein and Vitamin C.

My Dr told me that at this point they are not concerned with weightloss. Your job is just to follow their dietary orders and heal. Most people will lose weight in the first couple of weeks because they are only on fluids and mushies. Not to mention you are still swollen from the surgery (which is causing some restriction). When you start reintroducing solid food to your body, there may be weight gain. Dr Marsden said that generally there may be about a 6lb loss (anything over that is great) I am 4wks post op & have my 1st fill next Tuesday. I have lost approx 20lbs and it's been a struggle ...bcz I looooove food!! LOL!! Good Luck, Cheryl

:thumbup: I'm feeling pretty depressed and guilty and discouraged and and and... and I'm tired of feeling this way! I've got my band in april of last year and didnt get my first fill until 6 months later. I've lost 55 pounds since but just cant seem to stay on track these days. Ice cream.. crackers.. mini candy bars at work... sometimes in the afternoon at work, I cant stop thinking about a snack. I obsess over it and end up becoming grouchy because I cant stop thinking about it. I end up feeling deprived and punished because I cant eat what I want... then the guilt that I even feel like that in the first place makes it worse. sigh... WHATS WRONG WITH ME??? I'm so happy with my success so far, but I feel I cant do it anymore. I was going to the gym 3 times a week, so even when I cheated, I wouldnt gain. Unfortunately I fell and hurt my ankle 4 weeks ago and can only do so much before I'm in too much pain.... so now I only go 1 or 2 times a week. I was working back to my consistency, but then I must of reinjured it because it started swelling up and hurting so I am back to square one. Boo! Although I know my depression meds contribute to my weight gain and my lust for sweets, it doesnt make me feel any better. Feels like excuses. Its my 41st bday today and I had wanted to reach my first goal of 200 pounds by today, but am 11 pounds short... and its my fault. I get up every morning and tell myself that today I wont eat anything I am not suppose to and that I will go to the gym and be proud of myself... but that never seams to happen. You only get what you put into it, and i'm not putting into it what I should. Sigh.... Sorry to be such a whiner, i'm just not in a good frame of mind...

I would just say that at this point, there's not a whole lot you can do to "fix" it. What is done is done. Just go into your appt and be open and honest with the surgeon. There's a chance he might cancel your surgery or post pone it, but I think the better bet is he'll just tell you to go on your liquid diet now and not fret about it. Unfortunately holiday weight gain is a problem that led many of us down this path and the only cure is to not to...which is easier post op.

I was super nervous too because I gained 15 pounds from my last PCP appt. to approval but then lost 5 of it and went to pre-op today and my surgeon didn't even mention the 10 pound weight gain as a matter of fact he told me to enjoy Christmas and he would see me on the 28th. Anyways, bottom line, I fretted over the weight gain for no reason and my insurance didn't require weight loss either.

I am at work and read through this post really fast and I have PMS and am easily ticked off... so bare with me if I make an a** out of myself. One thing I have learned is to listen to people I trust that are in the field. When I started investigating plastic surgeons, I asked my very trusted lap band surgeon who HE recommended because he knows a hell of a lot more about it than any friend, husband, etc. LISTEN TO YOUR FRIEND. Do not be in such a hurry that you have surgery with an innexperienced surgeon just because you can't wait. All the follow up in the world won't help if your band isn't properly placed in the beginning. My guess is that if you talk to the surgeon's office that your friend suggested he may have relationships with follow up care offices in your area. As for your husband saying he won't give you the money to have the surgery if you don't go to a different doctor- why the hell is he in charge of what you do with your body? Man, he is in for a rude awakening when you get the band, lose weight, gain some self esteem and kick his condescending, controlling butt to the curb. This your body. Your life. Your band future. Megan

I'm in the same boat and most psych meds have weight gain as a side effect. I've been dealing with psych meds since I was 18. Some have made me gain A LOT and others have made me gain in the beginning of taking them. I'm on a new med right now that if I forget to take one and start taking it again the next day, I am magnetized to food. I have fallen asleep eating dry cereal and woke up with the soggy chewed up remains. Now, once I've taken it for a few days, that draw to food seems to be gone. I take this medicine at night because of the drowsiness. The next day I feel like crap after I've been bingeing on food. I take 2 different psych meds at this time and they have been swapping and changing for the past 6 months because of my surgery. I'm unable to swallow pills so I have to crush them or get the dissolvable ones and since my wls I have a hard time stomaching bad tasting things.

@@Comfy_Blue I also got all those comments, and more. How I responded depended on who was asking. I worked at the same place for 30 years, since I was a teen. They saw me go from a cute young thing to an old, fat woman. They never commented to my face negatively about my weight gain, and I think the comments and questions were born out of two reasons: 1)Genuine happiness for me, and/or 2) They wanted to know what my magic bullet was. Even my non work friends, who mostly are thin or at least not very overweight (but work at not getting huge), wanted to know what I was doing. I told the people I was closest to that I had WLS, and the not the others. In both cases, I was forthcoming about my diet and exercise. I think it's funny, because there was always a little disappointment when they learned (in both cases) that it was still just diet and exercise, lol. It is not socially acceptable for people to ask why we are so fat, but it seems once we start losing, all bets are off. It's just the way society is, and I think it's probably because losing weight is "better", ergo, a compliment to mention it. Right or wrong, I think it's a cultural thing.

Hello, I would like to have weight loss surgery, maybe lap band, but not sure exactly. I have completed a six month of supervised weight loss treatment with my family doctor per Medicaid insurance request in 2009. I was a BMI of 39 ½. I have asthma, insomnia, Gastro reflex disease, and chronic cough, usually occurs after meals. I have sent six month records to Winston Salem, I have not received a direct answer from them for two month. I contacted them one last time to check on the status, the nurse told me I was rejected, I wondered why and spoke with director. And found out my records were not read. Now in 2010, Even though my weight loss and weight gain is instable, I had been trying to lose weight to better cope with hyper ventilations. I went down to a BMI of 36. In the same time, I had pursued Duke Hospital around the month of April 2010, I have received a respond from them on August 27, 2010 that I am rejected because I don't have sleep Apnea. In the six month program I had to do I was a BMI of 39 1/2, a weight that I had since 13 years old, all records states that as well, I feel a bit cheated, but What do you guys think?

I am 2 weeks post op and while things seem to be going ok...I have gained 5 pounds back this week! HOW does one gain weight when they are on an all liquid diet of less than 800 calories a day? The only thing NEW is that my General Dr. cut out my heart pill which is a diuretic, and lowered my insulin in half and cut my BP meds down 75%. Not sure why the weight gain, but it is ticking me off to no end! It is not like I am cheating and EATING something... Very discouraged at this point!

Has anyone gained weight from depo while on supervised diet?? I follow a strict nutrition plan, ecercise etc but keep gaining a lb or two a month. The nutritionist and dr both agree its from the depo. Im no longer going to get the depo shot. Im just scared ive gone through everything to get denied because of this.

Went for my first Doc appointment since my surgery. He said I was doing great and I will be ready for my first fill on the 17th which just so happens to be my Birthday so that will be a nice present to myself. He also said to be prepared to gain some weight between now and my fill date and to not worry about it and focus on finishing the healing process. He said the weight gain is totally normal and once I had the fill those pounds plus more would vanish quickly. So excited to get the fill.