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You probably just have excess Fluid weight gain. Your weight will drop off as Bandista said. Best of luck, tr to clam down. Back away from the scale!!You are in the healing process! Best wishes for your healing! Karen...aka..kll724

@Stevehud This is true! I still love mine, and don't want to lose them LOL! I have had them since I was in grade school, they are part of me... I agree with whoever said that if they have always been pretty big that you will lose less of them. Mine were large at a normal weight from normal breast tissue/fat, but kept getting bigger in proportion to my weight gain. When I lost to goal with the band they went back to my pre-gain size, but not as perky.

Its all relative. This is the BEST surgery with the best stats. Thats just the way it is. I agree weight regain is ALWAYS a concern. But this one has the least regain. You may indeed regain some weight after losing a lot, but it will be relatively little and it will be extremely easy to take it right back off. Right now you probably only notice weight gains of 10-30lbs. After the surgery and weight loss, you will notice gains of 1-3lbs and you will have an extremelly effective tool at taking it right back off. Yes, you can eat around your weight loss surgery and sabotage yourself, so if that happens it is time to see a head doctor to help. Bypass, has really given WLS a bad perception, since so many had it and regained, but this surgery doesn't have nearly the same regain statistics as the old ones.

Wow--your schedule does make things difficult, it is going to be something you might have to adjust as time allows. I too love cornbread, and can eat it without issue, but it is not exactly low cal---especially when I smother it in butter!!! You might try some high Protein Snacks to take with you so you don't get soooo hungry at work. I take a cheese stick, and slice it length wise into 2 or 4 pieces, then roll a slice of the thin lunch meat around it. I can drop 3-4 of these in a zip lock, and snack when I want without worrying about them being bad for me....and they will hold me til I can get a good dinner together. Or in your case until your lunch break at work hits. Plus, they don't leave your breath horrid for dealing with your patients!! Maybe a can of raw almonds somewhere that you could grab a couple of them from time to time if you are starving at work, as well. They are high protein, and will help hold you over. If you got a few divided plastic childrens plates, you could dish you up small servings of the things you make over the weekend, and since it would be in kids plates, the real kids would know it was yours!!! I have one of Tweety Bird!!! I use it here at home, if I make a full dinner, I fix me a plate to have for lunch the next day, and it keeps me mindful of how much I am eating. I know you wouldn't want to take that to work but for eating when you get home. Do you eat when you get home, right before going to bed? I can't do that due to reflux, but I understand it is bad for weight gain too. I notice when I eat oatmeal of any kind, even the weight control kind, I get hungry really quick! I would have thought it would stay with me, but for some reason with me it works the opposite---so you might watch and see if you are reacting the same way. I know prices are so much higher for healthy foods--seems so backwards! Walmart is not my favorite place to go, but I like the ability to price match all the different stores in one place. What I do is this....our grocery store ads come in our Wed. newspaper. So Wed. morning, I sit down and look through them, make notes about what is on sale where. Then when I hit Walmart---and I try to do it at an off time so it is not so busy---if it is in an ad at another store, they will Price match it....so I get the sales from several different stores, and only have to go to one. Like I just did this....and the little baby carrots---peeled and ready to eat are on sale at several places, so I will get a couple bags of those, they are good to snack on, and my granddaughter loves them! Good Luck----you might ask your Dr. if they have a nutritionist you could consult with....they might have some great ideas for you!!! Kat

There could be any number of reasons for that. You'll have to give us some more information: Have you had any fills? What are you eating, and how much? Are you exercising? Do you have any underlying health issues that cause weight gain or that might make you resistant to weight loss? Are you on any medications that might cause it? And most importantly, have you talked with your surgeon about it?

You might consider that you don't want to eat to max capacity Full isn't the feeling we should be shooting for. I always try to remind myself to go for "comfortably unhungry" rather than full. Basically what I was told by my surgeon was that while stretching the sleeve is not really likely to happen under normal circumstances anything is possible if you try hard enough and he told me the quickest way to do that was by pushing it all the time, eating till full every time. That's why I'm just a huge proponent of weighing. I've said it before and I will repeat it here If you limit whatever you are going to eat to 3-4 ounces its very unlikely that you are ever going to experience weight gain and/or sleeve dilation of any sort.

That is what I'd expect, too. How worried are you ? Let that worry motivate you.....and not just for insurance reasons. Does your surgeon require a pre-op diet of any kind ? Only you know where you stand in terms of BMI, health issues and comorbiities. Only you know the real risks at this point. For me things were fairly straightforward. I was told by the staff of both surgeons that I've dealt with along the way this Summer-Fall that they would delay surgery if they saw weight gains as they believed it's a sign that you aren't ready. The two that I've dealt with were real sticklers about this and each went out of their way to show actual surgical films that show the liver of folks that did the pre-op diet successfully vs folks that didn't . It really hit home when you see them lift up the liver and suspend it out of the way so they can work. I was convinced that I wanted to do whatever I could to allow my liver to get smaller and less prone to damage when lifted. It makes sticking to this short pre-op diet a piece of cake. That footage scared me. I'm not kidding about the difference in patients, either. It was hard for many in our class to watch.....but it was powerful stuff to see. Sh!t got real. I try to keep in mind that the goal is weight loss......before a& after surgery......weight loss. Giving my back, knees a much needed break. Anyway....not trying to be a jerk......just hoping that you'll keep in mind that the insurance guidelines aren't the ones that really matter. There's a compelling reason you are doing this surgery that is unique to you. It's important to you for some specific reason. Tap into satisfying that need and let it drive your behaviors towards positive results. I wish you the best. You can do anything.....anything that your mind gets behind and wants.

Suggest u keep track of foods u eat (I love myfitnesspal and it is free). I am 8 weeks out and ...my goal is 800 calories per day and 65-70'grams off Protein.per day. I do eat fruit with my Protein shakes..sometimes bran cereals with milk, veggies, very little rice, 1/2 slice of 40 calorie bread, I try to eat my protein first. And many times I cannot anything else on my plate cause I am completely satisfied. Exercise has really helped me with a stall I was having for two weeks. I Do cardio for 30 minutes at a medium strenuous pace..the I do machines for my upper /lower body. Get back to basic and u should start losing again. Also r u eating very salty food. ..part of your weight gain maybe be salt retention.

Hello fellow weight loss pals, well im in a bit of a dilemma.. to start off I had a gastric banding done in the year 2008. Since then I have lost about 66 pounds. I was happy with the band until last year when I was diagnosed with a hiatus hernia. Now to fix the hiatus the docs here suggest that I have to take out the band else the hiatus can always reoccur. My fear obviously is the weight gain once the band is out, to which the doctors have suggested to do a gastric sleeve. Now my apprehensions for this are: 1) Gastric banding is a reversible procedure however a sleeve is permanent. How does it affect the life in future 2) I don't have any children yet, but would a sleeve be a hindrance if and when I do get pregnant in terms of the diet I need to follow, the nutrition required for the fetus and the quantities???? 3) Is the sleeve same as having a band in terms of eating habits. the reflux?? or is there a difference??? 4) I have read that even with the sleeve there are chances of putting on the weight again?? is that true??? I would really appreciate if someone could throw some light on these issues

Hey there Audra! Read your message just now. The nurse at my surgeon's office told me to call my insurance company every 2-3 days to check on the progress. I was nice and waited a week first...lol. Anyway, my info was reviewed on Feb. 8th and the nurse that reviewed my info at my ins. co. (BCBS of TN) sent a reply back to my surgeon's office on the 16th. I definitely understand how you feel. I'm jumpin' through all their hoops too. I am morbidly obese and have all kinds of co-morbidities and I have had a psych eval many times over within the past 10 yr. of my life. However, the ins. co. told me that they needed documentation that I had been evaluated within the past 2yr and they need documentation that I had tried structured weight loss within the past 2 yr. as well. The ins. co. has been sent all kinds of medical documentation about my depression and weight gain (and weight loss) from the past 7-8 of my life but they want more so....I'm gonna give um' more...lol. Just don't give up!

The big losers do not necessarily have more willpower or desire. The important difference between the big losers and the re-gainers may be how easy they find the journey to be. Surprisingly, you can control a large part of how easy or hard it is to lose weight. The weight loss journey is not just about changing your digestive system through surgery. It is also about changing your entire lifestyle to facilitate weight loss. Weight Loss Surgery is a Weight Loss Tool, Not a Cure Weight loss surgery is a tool. It can make you less hungry by reducing the size of your stomach by inserting a band around your stomach (Lap-band), removing the majority of your stomach pouch (vertical sleeve gastrectomy) or folding or stapling away the majority of your stomach pouch (gastric bypass, duodenal switch, and sleeve plication). The vertical sleeve gastrectomy reduces hunger by reducing the amount of ghrelin, a hunger hormone, that your stomach produces. The gastric bypass and duodenal switch reduce nutrient absorption. All of these surgeries can help you eat less and lose weight, but none of these surgeries are fail-proof. You can “cheat” by eating high-calorie foods, drinking high-calorie beverages, drinking beverages while you eat solid foods, and eating without measuring your portions. Successful weight loss requires good choices on your part, and making good choices is easier if you focus on your entire lifestyle, not just the part of your digestive system that was changed with surgery. The Influence of Your Surroundings on Your Weight Think about this scenario. You leave home without breakfast and order a muffin and ice coffee at the drive-through on your way to work. You grab a doughnut at your morning meeting, and go out for lunch with your friends. You order the lunch special with a salad, breadstick, fettuccine alfredo and cheesecake. You nibble on some chocolates from your secretary’s desk as you make your way to the vending machine for a soda in the afternoon. You pick up a pizza on your way home because you know that there is nothing else for dinner. Now compare it to this second scenario. You wake up early to meet your friend for a walk before you get home for a breakfast of scrambled egg whites and spinach. You drive to work and have yogurt and some fruit at your morning meeting. Lunch with your coworkers consists of a green salad with canned tuna, and you have a hard-boiled egg for your afternoon snack. You are able to get dinner on the table quickly when you get home because you only need to defrost the meals that you prepared earlier in the week. Which scenario do you think you can help you lose weight? The second one, of course. So why not make it a reality? Do Your Surroundings Encourage Weight Loss or Weight Gain? You have battled your weight for years, if not for your entire life before weight loss surgery. In all likelihood, your environment was set up for you to eat. Take a good, hard look at your environment. Is it more like the first scenario or the second one described above? You have the ability to make it more like the second one. Notice the following items from the two scenarios. Exercise was automatic in the second one because you planned to meet a friend – so you couldn’t back out. Preparing your dinners ahead of time meant that you could eat quickly without going to a fast food restaurant. Packing your own snacks meant that you did not have to eat a doughnut in your morning meeting or chocolates in the afternoon. Make the “Right” Choice Automatic The fewer tough choices you have, the less likely you are to make poor decisions. Set up your environment so that the healthier actions are easier. To make healthy eating easier: Prepare plenty of meals ahead of time so that you always have a ready-to-eat, healthy option to prevent you from opting for take-out. Throw away the take-out menus that you used to store in the kitchen. The extra time it takes you to look up the phone numbers and menus online may be enough to let you come to your sense and realize that you don’t want fast food. Keep your kitchen stocked with all kinds of healthy foods, so that no matter your craving, you have a healthy answer. Do not keep unhealthy foods at home. If they are not there, you cannot eat them. Make sure that the healthy option is the default option. For example, measure your cheese and cut and wash fruits and vegetables ahead of time so that it is easier to snack on them than on cookies. Also consider these ideas: Meet your friends for walks or shopping trips instead of for meals at restaurants. Park your car a few blocks away from work so that you have no choice but to walk those few blocks again at the end of the day as you leave work. Do not drive past drive-thrus if they are too tempting. Also, do not keep money in the car, and consider removing your car’s cup holders so that eating in the car is no longer an option. All weight loss surgery patients have their own struggles. Far from being wimpy, removing these obstacles rather than fighting them is the best way to overcome them. The weight loss journey path will always have speed bumps and potholes, but it will be a lot smoother if you set up your lifestyle to promote better choices all day.

Hi everyone; I've been "lurking" for the past week, gaining valuable information! Had my first consultation, and today scheduled the psych eval and other tests. Can't get in until late in August which is a bummer because I WANT THIS RIGHT NOW!!! Patience isn't a strong suit, but the weight didn't come on overnight so I guess I'll have to be patient a little longer. I'm truly convinced this is the right path for me. I've been overweight for most of my 36 years of married life. My husband has been wonderful; never complained about my enormous weight gain (90#'s) and has always put up with my crazy dieting patterns. I guess that's what true love is. But now I want to get thin and healthy for him as well as for me. Lulu Dr. Engstrand

You have captured my sentiments exactly. I had my surgery almost two weeks ago, and have been second guessing myself for the last few days. I realized that I am grieving the food I wont be able to eat again, and resenting those who can eat whatever they want ( without the weight gain.) I'm trying to stay positive and I know someday I will be thankful for the surgery, but this is one of the hardest things I've ever done.

I'm Almost 50. I've been Heavy since 2003. Obese since 2003. The years between 2003 and 2013 were Mixed with periods of overweight, weight loss with Atkins diet, then weight gain to morbidly obese, at 253 pounds. Then, weight loss again to achieve overweight status with b-12 shots and appetite suppressants to now---once again--- obese. Battle-battle-battle Obesity is in my family as well as diabetes & heart disease. I lost my father this past April to heart disease. I have high blood pressure & I am borderline diabetic, now I have new severe back pain and ailments coming out of seemingly nowhere. But, the "nowhere" is bad health and it finally got my attention. Researched options including lap-bands in 2012 Sleeved 2/25/2013 The rest of the story...will be Great Success (and I will keep you posted) through the support of my family, consideration of my clients and support from forums like Vertical Sleeve Talk. We were born into a community because we all need each other. I LOVE what I do. I am a Licensed TX Broker & Realtor and I am the happiest girl in the world. I am ready to give more to my community and really live life to the fullest. I am very grateful for this opportunity and do not intend to squander it My life goals: To Breathe life where ever I go. To Give the gift of encouragement. To live with incredible passion so that "Life itself" continues to be THE most amazing lover I've ever had ! (Copyright)

Divorcing food is as difficult and emotional as divorcing a person. I am serious. I don't regret having this procedure done because I've lost 30 pounds and I'm 1 week post op. However, seeing delicious food in front of you and knowing you can't eat it because you're fresh out of surgery really burns. In fact, knowing I can't eat it because it'll make my stomach hurt and I'll probably throw it up is what really burns. I've been watching videos of food recently because I haven't seen solid food in pretty much 2 weeks. It's probably not a good habit but its already a habit so the way I see it, I can't eat but I can at least look at it. I thought that my stomach is healing fine and faster than usual, so the other day I had some tuna. It was about 1 spoon full of tuna. My bodies reaction wasn't pleasant. Long story short, my stomach is 100% not ready for solid food or even soft food but that doesn't stop food from looking good. I want to lose 100% of my excess weight. At this point in time, The reason I want to lose weight the most, is so I can eat. Is that weird? I want to eat lasagna one day and with absolutely no thought of my weight in my head. I want BBQ porked. I want to have Georgian, Armenian, Greek, Vietnamese, Chinese, Caribbean, Italian and more in my regular life. Obviously, not all at once. I'm very scared by love of food. People say you have to reset your mind with this surgery. I feel that, although i don't mind giving up sweets things like soda, candy, Cookies and deserts (not a fan of sugary things), I don't want to give up meat and carbs. After I reach my goal weight, I'm really hoping that I can find the perfect balance of eating things I love and maintaining my weight loss and health. This has just been on my mind all day. I think this is my initial shock to realizing that the sleeve is permanent. Unfortunately I have been feeling hunger as of late but It's definitely a lot more manageable than in my pre-op diet. How do you people feel about food? How has your day to day diet changed? What do you eat when you eat out? What foods do you find affect your weight the most? I know the VSG allows one to eat what they like in the end but I know many people cut things out completely because of the fear for weight gain. How do you guys feel about food?

Givemeglory I am in the same boat. Stuck with most foods, can eat easier and too much at night, and stuck at a plateau the past few months. I started a thread called hungary and eating at night in the Janusry 08 section. I go up or down 1-2 lbs since the beginning of November. I'm so frustrated. Last time I went to the doctor 12/9 I had a .25 unfill. I can't say it helped much but I've been working on my chewing and eating slow so more food is getting down with no weight gain thank god. Girls - Hi everyone - Update Tonight was my first slimming. I thought I ate and chewed okay and then soon after I got this wet mouth feeling, chills, nausea an had to throw up like immediately. Slime and the rest of my food came up (sorry so graphic). I'm trying to pinpoint why that happened after almost a year of being banded. Anyone got any ideas?

Hello everyone! I'm 2 years post op and I was wondering if any bypass veterans out there developed an intolerance to dairy this far out after surgery. I've never had a problem before, but now it seems like anytime I eat dairy, especially milk or heavy milk based foods, that I have terrible gas and my tummy rumbles like crazy. Sorry for the info!! I'm blushing as I share this, but I need advice. I bought fat free Lactaid and it was too sweet! Yuck!! I've noticed some weight gain too and constipation issues. Today I got some light unsweetened soy milk and it was pretty good. I'm going to try it in a shake tomorrow. If it is lactose intolerance, I'll be bummed. Yogurt, string cheese, and skim milk are some of my faves. However the gas part is embarrassing and uncomfortable at times. Thanks in advance for any input!!!

I am also currently pregnant. Due Sept 19th. I did have a complete unfill at 10 weeks due to horrible all-day sickness. I was very anxious and worried about weight gain, but after getting ahold of myself, really I'm doing all of this for my baby. I can always get filled again and jump back on the weightloss track. To be completely honest I don't really have the ability at this point to even eat as much as I did at my most filled state. The baby is taking up so much room, so I am back to eating small meals/snacks throughout the day. My surgeon wasn't worried about the calorie intake while pregnant he was more worried about calories during breastfeeding. It is your decision maybe just a slight unfill as the months go on will work for you. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!!!

Ok thanks for your responses I googled the Mirena and only then discovered that many other women report that is caused weight gain, libido problems and acne.

Hi all! Just needed a little encouragement. I just got denied (first time) for my VGS because I gained eight pounds during my three-month supervised weight loss. The reason I gained weight is that I was a "lightweight" at 205/5'2 and my nutritionist told me not to lose too much weight or I might be denied. Eight pounds isn't a big deal, I know, and they said I just need to come in and weigh when I have lost that. So now I think I'm going to try to practice the liquid liver-shrinking diet I'll need to do pre-surgery to drop those pounds. It's day one and only breakfast and I am starving, lol. Any tips or tricks to get yourself through the liquid diet? TIA.

I would recommend using a calorie tracking program such as Myfitnesspal, or whatever you find easiest to use. It will give you a better picture of your calorie consumption. Using McDonald's medium carmel frappe as an example: 550 cal, 9g Protein, 23g fat, 79g carb (71g is sugar, and you can divide that by 12 to get the equivalent tablespoons), and no Fiber. So, I'm guessing getting diarrhea was more likely due to the 23g of fat and roughly 6 tablespoons of sugar you consumed than drinking through the straw. My guidance is to aim for 25-30g protein in each meal, and 9g just isn't enough. I would highly recommend you find a healthier alternative for these drinks if you are going to have something like this with any regularity. I'm not one to recommend cutting fat and sugar too far, but you are really not doing yourself any favors here. WIth your described weight gain and diet, I would think that your sodium consumption would be an unlikely culprit, you are probably not exceeding the sodium recommendations. Best of luck and congratulations on your weight loss so far!

Just was wondering if others have a weight gain right after surgery. I know that it must be water weight but I gained 7 pounds! How quickly did you lose it? thanks for your response

I had a conversation yesterday with my OB about this same thing. I expressed to her that I had difficulty losing weight. She told me that 60-70% of her Mirena patients reported the same thing. Not so much of a problem with weight gain, but problems losing with a Mirena. I then told her that I was having WLS, without hesitation she said I should have my Mirena taken out and possibly consider tubal ligation or esure. She also suggested ablation to resolve my issue of heavy cycles. My nutritionist said the same thing - that my Mirena could possibly slow down my loss. I am having it removed. She also indicated that the Mirena was maybe only one factor of many (middle age, insulin resistance, etc.) that was causing me difficulty with losing weight. I'm sure this form of b/c effects everyone differently. I am pre-op, planning a December surgery.

@@mnmlst I am 9 month's out from surgery. I follow my eating plan that has been modified by my surgeon. I exercise more than what is required . My weight loss has not moved in months. Not keeping up on my plan I believe would send me into weight gain mode

Hey y'all! I was banded on 8/6/09 (I weighed 265 the day of my first appt with the doctor and then more the two weeks before surgery on the liquid only diet - lost about 17 pounds after surgery but gained 4 of those pounds back before my first fill which was this past Monday 9/28/09. Got 5 cc's in an 11 cc band. Since the fill I've lost 7 pounds! I have not felt hungry at all since the fill. I had to be on liquids for 2 days after fill and ate some black eyed peas last night. I wasn't hungry but I ate a small bowl knowing I had to eat and finished it all but did not feel stuffed, just content. I do have a tootheache that is not letting me think of anything but pain right now so I have not even thought about Breakfast and it's noon already. Once I see the dentist at 1:30 today it might be game on with the food, don't know yet. My doctor told me DO NOT weigh yourself between my followup visit and my first fill. He did not want me to get frustrated because I probably would gain a little weight. He said he would be happy if I maintained but if I gained he would not berate me because he said, let's face it, you got the band for a reason - dieting wasn't working for me so he did not expect me to lose during the bandster hell period. I didn't listen and weighed myself every day. Fortunately I did lose so he would not have even known about that 4 pound gain since I had lost 13 according to his scale and the last time I was there! They do have a new rule they explained to me though. My next appointment is October 28th and if I want/need a fill then I have to bring a food journal with me to show them that I am trying but it's not working. I have to show proof that I am actually dieting instead of just getting the fill for the heck of it. Don't beat yourself up over the weight gain. Apparently the doctors are prepared for it! Oh, and GEAUX TIGERS!!!