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Ok I searched the forum.... called a friend who had the lap band a month before me and she didnt gain weight... So here I am asking away... Ok liquid Protein shakes sat sun mon and tues.... then nothing after 9pm on tuesday....Surgery on wednesday around noon... Since then I have had ice chips and Water.... I have had 2 shakes since I returned home today (thurs) and I just for the heck of it weighed myself.... AND I am up 10 pounds from Wednesday morning...How does that happen... And how ticked off do you think I am about it Arghhhh! Anyone else experience this....? And if you did when did that come back off... I am assuming it is water and swelling.... All comments welcomed!

Hello All, I'm about 13 months post op (sleeve). I generally have no problems eating and following my prescribed diet. I'm staying at about 1,000 to 1,200 calories a day, getting 65mg of protein in, drinking my water, and staying away from bread, pasta, etc. The only vice I have right now is drinking caffeinated coffee. While I have lost 100lbs since surgery (with 50 more to go), I've been stalled at my current weight for the last 3 months. To be honest, I'm dumbfounded about why I can't seem to lose any more weight. I really think it would be difficult to reduce my caloric intake much more while continuing to get in my daily protein allotment. I tried additional exercise on my recumbent bicycle but that resulted in a weight gain of 5lbs. Can anyone advise on what the secret is to restarting my weight loss? Thanks...Rev

Ouch!! As you said, the weight gain is probably from the bruising. I read the thread initially hoping you had found a way to gain weight, fast. I am continuing to struggle with weight loss and poor appetite - six lbs in a matter of days sounded great, until I read the cause. Feel better! And Happy Birthday!

Thank you for the link to the website. I'm starting day one of the 5 day pouch test today, as I really fell off the band-wagon over Christmas and haven't been able to get back on. I was up until 4am last night - eating! I am so ashamed of what I have done and feel so hopeless. It was doing so well for the first three months, then came final exams, Christmas stress, and weight gain. These things combined made me start eating refined carbs (which I hadn't been eating for the first three months) and I can actually feel an addiction to them this time around. So, I know I need to quit eating those and get back on track (and hopefully the feeling of success will help as well). I really hope this is what I need!!! ~

I am on my third week of my pre op diet and I've lost 25 lbs I am 2 pounds away from my goal weight and I cheated and over ate tonight. I am supposed to go to the DR tomorrow morning to get a check up and I know I effed up if I have any weight gain the moment I was done eating I regretted it. I was regretting it WHILE I was eating it but did it anyway. Tomorrow morning I'm definitely going to skip Breakfast and resume my pre op diet but I definitely feel discouraged rightnow because I cheated and I feel like if I can't change my habits now the surgery will be useless. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I was taken off metformin by my primary prior to surgery because he assumed I wouldn't need it because I was going "lose weight". I have most of the signs of pcos and he thought I had it but was never told definatively that I did have it. I have facial hair, but I'm blond so I'm lucky and shave. Have/had type II diabetes Have so many skin tags that I can't count and want to wear turtlenecks all the time! My periods are six weeks apart give or take a day or a week or whatever but I'm almost 48 and don't plan on having anymore children anyway Can't go on the pill because I get/had blood clots in my legs Really bad dandruff Had a few uterine cysts but got an oblation Forgot on meds for anxiety and depression clonapen and cymbalta Naturally I have a weight problem and have put 20 pounds plus since surgery Anyone with advice. I was put on synthroid for an inactive thyroid that was just discovered prior to surgery but still gained back all my weight and feel like a loooooser!!! but not the right kind of loser!!!! Never lost weight after being banded 7 months ago, lost it during the medifast phase. I see my surgeon on the 22nd of this month so I don't know what he's going to do with me:confused: Thanks, brandyII

kamicola, thanks for all the info, you sound like you know what you're talking about. I was originally sent to an endocrinologist when my gen practitioner thought I had pcos and also was found to have high blood sugar at that time but she said my thyroid was "normal" and put me on metformin and said "don't think that you're going to lose weight on this drug". I was like well I didn't but okay???? She had a really bad bedside manner and I had this feeling she hated fat people, I don't remember why I got this impression because it was a few years ago but I remember the feeling. Anyway I ended up losing about 20 pounds after that because I went on a diet drug that I don't remember anymore. Went back to her and she didn't change anything but they did take a blood test every time I went in and that was a big twice! My gen pract. had then written the Rxs for metformin. Then, probably about 5 years later I decided to have lap band surgery and my surgeon was pretty thorough and he sent me through all sorts of testing. It was the blood test that I had done through them that caught the thyroid issue. I've heard there's a thyroid test that is very expensive and many don't have that test done, maybe that's what the one that caught the problem. I did a follow up with their endocrinologist and she's the one that put me on synthroid and I told her how I had been on metformin but my gen pract. took me off and didn't renew my prescription because I had lap band surgery (still hadn't gained it back yet) and she's the one that thought that was weird and I also told her how I never tested my blood sugar because no one told me to or how and was never given a kit. Anyway she whips one out and shows me how to use it and tested it right there so now I have one. Unfortunately she never wanted me to follow up with her but did order some tests so I made an appointment anyway. Probably because I went there for pre-op to lap band and she possibly thought I'd see another endo or something, I have no idea but my script from her for synthroid runs out in a couple months so I'll have to find another doctor because she moved to another office much further than I want to travel. Sorry for making this so long and I hope I'm making sense and not just rambling. OKay, I had surgery the end of last August and have put back all the weight I had previously lost on Medifast prior to surgery. I don't know why I totally screwed this up but you've said and so have others that I need to see the endocrinologist. I understand that I should take this into my own hands and find a new one, which by the way, there aren't that many endos here for some reason, but do you think this could be related to my weight gain? I can get on the scale one day and be five pounds heavier, it's awful. I tested my blood sugar yesterday and fasting was 125 but I kept it down most of the day with just one spike in the 250s and that was 2 hours after lunch which was mostly Protein. I don't drink any sugar drinks and rarely alcohol. Anyway hate to lay this all on you but you seemed to know a lot about this and God knows when I'll get an appt. with a new endo. Thanks for listening, brandyII.:regular_smile:

The past 6 to 8 months I've not like posting my weight on my anniversary, as you can see, it has stayed in the same range. Today makes 17 months since my banding. I am still struggling to get my fill just right. I thought my 10th fill would be the perfect amount, but I still believe I need a tad more. I still can eat anything, bread, steak etc. some days are tighter than others, but I find that it is only about 1 week out of the month that I have perfect restriction - and that is during my monthly. sometimes when I ovulate I am tighter, but again, that is just a few days out of the month. I will be going for fill #11 next week, right before my cruise. I know some might think I'm crazy, but I'm sick of not losing so I don't care if I am tight on the cruise. I don't want to gain on the cruise, I actually would like to lose a few pounds while on the cruise - this will be a first if that happens. The average weight gain for a cruise is 10 pounds and I've always gained weight while on a cruise. Always, at least 5 lbs, last year, I think I only gained around 3 or 4, I can't remember. Well, it hurts, but I have to be honest with myself - so here is my weight history since banding......month by month. I am still determined to finish this race by my 2 year anniversary! I want to lose and hit my goal, I will lose and hit my goal! I will not give up and I will not quit until I reach my goal! Highest weight - 248 1 mo post op - 206.8 2 mo post op - 198 3 mo post op - 193 4 mo post op - 184.2 5 mo post op - 178 6 mo post op – 174 7 mo post op - 178 - went on vacation and ate big (7 day cruise) 8 mo post op - 174 9 mo post op - 170 10 mo post op- 167 11 mo post op - 170 - haven’t even been trying 12 mo post op - 174 - again, not trying. But finally refocused - exactly where I was at 6 mos post op – so basically no weight loss in the past 6 mos 13 mo post op - 183 - Ouch! started taking steroids and made my weight go up, along with not eating right and no exercise! 14 mo post op - 185 - grrrrr 15 mo post op - 180 - weight is finally going down, but inches are actually coming off faster since I've been exercising a lot. 16 mo post op - 178 17 mo post op - 175

Hi all! I found out yesterday that my surgery date is Dec. 21. Now this is strange because I just submitted the final bit of documentation that was needed to submit to insurance. So as far as I know, they hadn't submitted anything to the insurance company for approval yet. I was in seeing my hematologist yesterday, and she happened so tell me that they had contacted her about the availability of a date for me (I'm going through some not fun, non-obesity related heal nonsense). This struck me as weird, since, as I've said they had JUST received the required documents for submission... My pre-op is Dec. 8th and the surgery is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 21. Did this happen to anyone else? Were you given a slot before everything was submitted? Also, I'm a little nervous. I was in the hospital for about a month this past summer. I lost about 30 pounds, but since I've been out I've slowly gained some back. My weight was pretty stable for a while, and in these last weeks I've gained about 4 pounds. It may not sound like much, but I'm nervous they may delay my surgery due to this weight gain. I hadn't been eating really since I was sick, and have had a good appetite for a while now. Should I be nervous?

That's just hospital fluids. It's not a real weight gain. I'm glad ur doing better and out of the hospital

When I need to get the scale moving again I go on the plateau buster's diet - which is basically just going back to the lapband "rules". Protein, veggies, then carbs. I started back on it on Monday after some weight gain (8 lbs) and I've already lost 4 lbs. If you'd like I can send you the guidelines.

All I know is, thanks to the band, I eat a heck of a lot less than what I used to....and that is what it took....eating less, (lot less), exercise daily = good steady weight loss until there is no more to loose...equilibrium achieved. Only once in my journey did I not loose weight, gained actually, and that was during my 2nd month...and there was no doubt I knew I was eating too much, not having any restriction....and my Dr. reassured me, not to get very upset, and we will take care of that, and that being his / our goal.... (I have not lost any weight in well over 1-1/2 years, but that's another story)

I was 405 the day of surgery. I'm 38 and was a full scholarship Division 1 football player in the 90's. I was always in great shape but my significant weight gain started after I had three hip replacements on the same hip a couple years ago. I was non weight bearing for several months and gained significant weight throughout the recovery. I am also 6'3 and have quite a bit of muscle mass! I walked for at least an hour a day starting the day after surgery and started working out hard three weeks ago. I am working on losing weight and getting my hips back in shape at the same time. Good luck. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

It's April 26, 2012. In 18 days, my life will change forever, and I can't wait! Let me start by telling you about myself. (Apologies if this is long-winded, but I think it will give a more rounded picture of how I ended up here!) I am 42 years old. I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with my husband (my soulmate...I waited until 40 to marry, and he's my forever love!), and our 2 cats, Rosie and Maize. I was born October 20, 1969, a very very small (1.9 lbs!) and 8 weeks premature. My mother has smoked during her pregnancy and I think it impacted my growth. Back in those days, they didn't have neonatal intensive care units and ventilators etc. for preemies. I was just lucky to survive! Believe it or not, I think that is where my problems with my weight began! I used to drink 2 or 3 times the amount of formula my mother's Obstetrician has prescribed for me. It was as if my tiny little body was demanding more and more food to make up for the lack of size and development during the pregnancy! During my early childhood, I was actually average size and played a lot of sports. But food was starting to be more and more of a focus. I would have eating contests with my Dad. Food was a reward when something good happened, and a comfort when something bad happened. By the time I was 12, I was universally known as "chubby" amongst my family, friends, schoolmates. Despite all this, I continued to play many sports, and excel in all of them! High school brought fresh pain and more weight. I was shunned by the boys (more of a tomboy anyways, they saw me as "one of the guys"). Girls didn't want to be associated with me...I wasn't the right "clique" material. The only thing that made high school bearable was sports (I was both admired and mocked for my athleticism....a weird combination!) and music. I was captain of almost every team I played on (volleyball, softball, soccer, field hockey), but when we went to "away" games, I would hear people in the crowd openly call me names and laugh at me. It was very painful and even if we won and I was the star of the game, I would invariably end of crying on the way home. What would make me feel better? Food! McDonalds, Dairy Queen.....the more calories, the better! Of course, I went though ups and downs. I would try a diet, find some success, lose some weight.....then invariably, gain it all back plus. In my Junior year, a group of my friends and teachers I was very close with chipped in to buy me a birthday gift. Looking back now, it was incredibly generous, kindhearted and really demonstrated how much they loved me. But at the time, I was mortified (though I put on a brave face). They had bought me 10 sessions with a Nutritionist, so I could lose weight. OMG! Even the people I loved thought I was unacceptable the way I was. It put me in a depression and left an indelible mark on my psyche for a long time. I went to the sessions and tried to lose weight and keep it off. Of course, I failed (I didn't really want to succeed and prove them right, unconsciously of course). In the end, I graduated and went on to University and then the real floodgates of weight gain started. I was 198 lbs when I started University. I couldn't afford to go to school without a full time job (at the same time!) so I gave up competitive sports (I had enough talent to make Varsity....but no time to dedicate to it!). I was working full time hours from 4 pm to midnight most weekdays, and every other weekend. No time for regular meals (I would sleep late, skip Breakfast, grab a lunch to go that I could eat in class, then rush off to work). Often eating dinner from the vending machine at work, or grabbing fast good on quick 15 min breaks. My freshman "15" was more like "50". I continued my education after University, and became a Respiratory Therapist, but developed an anaphylactic allergy to latex. At the time, this was still quite rare, and most hospital equipment, etc. was still made using latex (especially gloves!). I had to quit my profession before it even really began! Backup plan was to turn to something I already loved as a hobby. Computers. The internet was starting to really grow (1997) and I taught myself HTML and online design/publishing. The rest (as they say) is history. I am now an E-Communications Analyst with our Provincial Government (yes, a public servant!). Needless to say, this is a very sedentary job. It's contributed to my weight gain. I've gone through numerous diets and was very successful in 2006 (lost 100 lbs!) with a strict 1200 calorie diet and ALOT of exercise. In 2007 my brother (who lived on the West Coast, on Vancouver Island) was getting very ill. He had been diagnosed with Brain Cancer 6 years earlier and was really a miracle case to still be alive! His health was deteriorating and I flew out to help him set up homecare and prepare for when he would need hospice. The stress was intense, and I started to regain my weight. Later in 2007, my mother unexpectedly passed away. She simply went to bed one night and never woke up! At 73, it was very very unexpected and I was suddenly thrust into caring for my father (79 yrs old at the time) who had many health problems and dementia. 5 months later, my brother passed away. The stress of all of this loss, sudden responsibility (caring for Dad, executor for Mom and my brother's estates, etc.) sent me over the edge. I regained most of the weight that I had lost. I did manage to lose 35 lbs for my wedding in Sept. 2010, but it has crept back on and I am now at 318 lbs and miserable. My asthma gets worse with each additional pound (when I lost the 100 lbs, I went off ALL my asthma meds and I was exercising like a fiend with no shortness of breath!). I am desperate to get back to a weight where I can exercise without feeling like I'm going to die from fatigue or lack of oxygen! I'm getting my VSG on May 14, 2012 from Dr. Ramos Kelly in Tijuana, Mexico. It's self-pay and it's the best money I'll even spend on anything (especially myself!). I am psyched!

My thyroid has been checked through and through. (Because docs look at me and assume thyroid.) I get under 1200 calories a day, never feel hungry really, and I am usually at 700 cal. Due to the Celiac's it slowed down my digestive system very badly. I am assuming my weight gain is due to Celiac's as I cheat a lot (when depressed) and have caused damage because of that. I am really worried about the GERD, I already lose my voice from it. I also have PCOS w/insulin resistance which makes my body turn almost everything into fat. I have been overweight my whole life 100 lbs. at 7 and 200 lbs. at 13. My Mother restricted my food intake a lot but with poor quality foods. I am just super used to not eating. I get sick if I eat something I am not "craving". At this point I am tired... I sprain my back by just standing, and even though I have been this weight for 5 years. I am tired. I need something. I just don't know if this will work for me.

Hi: The last time I had a fill, I stayed nauseated for a while. I noticed it the most when I laid down. Then sinus drainage did not help that at all ! ! ! I thought maybe, a little to tight. Now almost 90 days later. I find myself getting hungrier through the day. I'm scheduled for the end of July to go back in for a fill, but I don't want to be to tight. (I HAVE BEEN IN THE RED ZONE BEFORE, AND IT'S NO FUN.) So I'm thinking of just trying to start to figure out all these different foods that I do eat for Protein, and Calorie Purposes, and somehow change things around to satisfy myself. Also still thinking about a slight tweaking. at the Surgeons Office. I have 2.75 in a 4cc Band. So trying to figure out how to make this work They would like tight , because they don't want to see weight gain. Well I don't want weight gain either, but don't care for this nausea. I'll see if he prescribes something or maybe some PEPCID COMPLETE will do it. PCP won't touch it ! Even if it is sinus drainage also....

Yup, this! I have a lap band and my weight loss rate is much slower than someone who had RNY. For one thing, I'm not 100% restricted yet - probably about halfway there as I can still eat ~2500 calories a day. But that's less than my standard 3500 calorie diet so I consider that to be a win either way. It's enough of a difference that I lose about a pound a week. I'd lose about a pound a week through diet and exercise alone. The only difference (right now) is that I'm not suffering like I did before I had my band placed. Weight loss used to be torture. Now it just kind of happens, which is great! I'm looking forward to increased restriction so I can lose weight even faster but for now 1 pound a week is better than 0 pounds a week, or worse, weight gain! Now if you have RNY, you get the benefits of reduced absorption in addition to restriction and that helps the weight come off faster. So yes, it depends on the type of surgery you have. Regardless of what type it is, you will lose weight and just remember that any loss is good. Don't get discouraged if it's not as fast as you hope While it would be absolutely lovely to get to my goal weight in a couple months it just ain't gonna happen. It took a long time for me to get this fat, and it'll take a long time before I'm normal again.

I am 38...had surgery in April of 2015. Made goal within 8 months (over 150 pounds lost). I went on birth control (ortho-tricyclen) 3 months after surgery. My doctors and nurses assure me that BC does not cause weight gain. Literally ever since I have been on it, I ONLY lose weight during the week of my cycle. The day I take that first white pill I gain 2 pounds and it stays until the day before my cycle starts and then it's gone. Before I was losing 10 to 15 pounds that week. This past month I only lost 4 and have already gained that 2 back. What's even crazier is that I go crazy on carbs during my period usually. This past time I didn't because I had a stomach virus and ate NOTHING. I like the BC because I have PCOS and my cycles were crazy before I had surgery. Since you don't have to be careful about getting pregnant (due to BF) then I would probably go off of them or get a different kind.

I am hoping to be ready to start maintianing my weight by fall and would like to hear if any of you have a maintenance plan and if so what it is. I discussed this with my Dr. at my last appointment and we decided that we would start removing small amounts of fill until I was maintaining. This is what I wanted to do but I am having second thoughts. I don't think this will happen for a few more months. Even though I am close historically it has taken me a while to loose the last 20-25 pounds so it is not like it is going to happen tomorrow. I am just trying to think ahead because I have gone to my goal weight twice before in the last 12 years and managed to gain it back. The first time I maintained well for one year and then gained about 12 lbs. per year for the next three and then gained 25 lbs. the fifth year. Lost 61 pounds, but managed to gain back that 61 + another 25 before I stated looking into the lapband. The second time I started gaining it back as soon as I stopped "dieting." I am determined not to do this again so maintenance is on my mind these days. The thing is I don't diet at all with the band. I eat whatever I want; I do Protein first so I get full and don't ever want much else. I don't count calories and I don't use fat-free or low-fat, etc. Two things that were likely big issues to my weight gain in the past were 1) alcohol and 2) Dr. Pepper. I haven't had a Dr. Pepper or any soda for that matter since I was banded on 8-11-2005. The alcohol is another story, right now all I can say is that it is much better.

So after meeting with nutritionist a few time these past 5 months i have not lose a thing but gained 10 lbs. Ugh has anyone experienced this and did it effect your eligibility from insurance? Sent from my SM-N910P using BariatricPal mobile app

Give the Dr who prescribed it and let them know your concerns. See if there is an alternative. My guess is the weight gain is mostly a Water retention thing, but you should communicate with your prescribing Dr. If it is just a water retention thing, I wouldn't worry about it. Do you want to lose weight or lose fat? The sleeve is going to help you lose fat, and that is what I wanted. You will not be on paxil forever and the side affects will wane once you are off of it. I was on paxil about 13 years ago for a short while, never had any weight gain, but the sexual side affects were not tolerable for me. If you search this site for keyword Paxil, you will find 33 threads about it.

1. How difficult did you find the pre-op diet? My Dr only does pre op diets for ppl with a BMI over 50. 2. I have had 3 cesareans and my gallbladder laproscopically removed. Does anyone know how the pain and/or recovery is in comparison? I have had 2 ceasars and it wasnt even comparable. I will say it was painful but NOTHING compared to my ceasars. 3. Now this is one I really haven't seen at all and am a bit shy to ask, but it's better to ask now then end up in the ER. How soon can one umm hmmm be intimate and are you limited in well you know <WHISPERS>positions? I waited about 2 weeks or so. 4. After going on solids, is there a weight gain? I plan on eating only healthy (low carbs) on the liquid and solid stages and fear that once I go on solids I may actually gain weight. Should I jus eat whatever I can tolerate on liquids and solids and worry about losing the weight and low carbing after I go on solids? I gained back a fair few lbs switcing, and then some more when I needed a fill. Nothing huge just Fluid mostly I think. 6. For some reason it is very easy for me to lose 40lbs (after each of my 3 pregnancies I have lost all of my pregnacy weight which has been 40-45lbs within 2 weeks after delivery AND each time I have done Atkins I have lost 40lbs and then I stall). Do people stall on this and if they do and it has nothing to do with the restriction, how can you tweak your program to break the stall? Or is it a matter of just being patient and waiting it out? I have lost 59 lbs and mine has stalled alot over the last few months. I dont mind though, at least it is coming off. Good Luck :eek:

1. How difficult did you find the pre-op diet? I didn't have a "preop" diet but I was required to lose 10lbs and then light dinner the night before surgery and nothing after midnight by mouth. I did a modified Atkins anyways and dropped 25 lbs before surgery (my doctor removed my gallbladder 3.5 weeks earlier and said that he could see much better inside due to dropping the weight. 2. I have had 3 cesareans and my gallbladder laproscopically removed. Does anyone know how the pain and/or recovery is in comparison? I had 2 c sections, one lap gallbladder removal and the band. The C sections were the worst, I had stones but no symptoms so my gallbladder was a breeze - the band would fall right in the middle for me. I went back to an office job with modified duties (no filing) at day 9 and did just fine. 3. Now this is one I really haven't seen at all and am a bit shy to ask, but it's better to ask now then end up in the ER. How soon can one umm hmmm be intimate and are you limited in well you know <WHISPERS>positions? I have to agree - when you feel up to it. One week is the most I could get away with! 4. After going on solids, is there a weight gain? I plan on eating only healthy (low carbs) on the liquid and solid stages and fear that once I go on solids I may actually gain weight. Should I jus eat whatever I can tolerate on liquids and solids and worry about losing the weight and low carbing after I go on solids? I did not gain any when I went over to solids but I was a chicken - I am afraid to test the limits of my band so I did just fine. 6. For some reason it is very easy for me to lose 40lbs (after each of my 3 pregnancies I have lost all of my pregnacy weight which has been 40-45lbs within 2 weeks after delivery AND each time I have done Atkins I have lost 40lbs and then I stall). Do people stall on this and if they do and it has nothing to do with the restriction, how can you tweak your program to break the stall? Or is it a matter of just being patient and waiting it out? I'll let you know when I get there. Good luck!

Sigh, another newbie. Oh well, I'll answer...AGAIN. :eek: 1. How difficult did you find the pre-op diet? I keep thinking I can't possibly do a liquid diet for a week. Not everyone has to do a pre-op diet. If you do, it's not as hard as you think. A week goes by faster than you imagine, and if you really think about what's it's for you'll find the motivation to continue. I once did a liquid diet for 12 weeks and there was no surgery at the end of it to keep me honest. But I stayed on it anyway. 2. I have had 3 cesareans and my gallbladder laproscopically removed. Does anyone know how the pain and/or recovery is in comparison? Can't answer this, never having had abdominal surgery before. I will say banding surgery was easier than giving birth naturally. 3. Now this is one I really haven't seen at all and am a bit shy to ask, but it's better to ask now then end up in the ER. How soon can one umm hmmm be intimate and are you limited in well you know <whispers> positions? If it feels good do it! The only restriction on physical activity, usually, is no heavy lifting for several weeks. But otherwise if you feel up to doing whatever activity floats your boat, your body knows best. 4. After going on solids, is there a weight gain? I plan on eating only healthy (low carbs) on the liquid and solid stages and fear that once I go on solids I may actually gain weight. Should I jus eat whatever I can tolerate on liquids and solids and worry about losing the weight and low carbing after I go on solids? You might gain weight, you might not. I don't remember gaining any once I started on solids, but the weight LOSS certainly slowed down in a hurry at that point. The most important thing during the liquid stage is staying on liquids so you can heal, and IMO that means it's important not to get too hungry. It's not a time to be worrying about calories. 5. What is the longest a person went without any fills (after surgury) and STILL lost weight? There are people who have never needed a fill. But that's meaningless to you, because the only thing that matters is when YOU need a fill. The band can't do it's job without proper, personalized adjustment and you just won't know what that is until you get there. You might need a fill, you might not, you might need 8. What's the difference? You'll find out what's right for you when the time comes. 6. For some reason it is very easy for me to lose 40lbs (after each of my 3 pregnancies I have lost all of my pregnacy weight which has been 40-45lbs within 2 weeks after delivery AND each time I have done Atkins I have lost 40lbs and then I stall). Do people stall on this and if they do and it has nothing to do with the restriction, how can you tweak your program to break the stall? Or is it a matter of just being patient and waiting it out? That has always been my downfall with Atkins, I would get discouarged and just start eating the foods I liked again because I figured I wasn't losing anyway. I don't like the word "stall." It's a simple fact of weight loss that there will be plateaus, and this is NORMAL. But what IS different about being banded and hitting one is that you simply CAN'T go back to your pre-banded eating habits. The band is still there, keeping you from overdoing it and destroying your progress. And since that's the case, the "stall" ends and your weight loss starts again. THIS IS NOT A DIET, and it's not about being "on" a plan and trying to rack up a certain amount of loss in a certain amount of time before you go "off" the plan. If you plan on being banded for the rest of your life, there's no point in worrying about stalls and plateaus. It is all just part of the journey.

My current OBGYN has referred me to the bariatrics team at LGMC. He advised that there were other, pharmacological forms of treatment that we could try before using surgery as a solution, but I was insistent that I needed to take this next step as all that I’ve tried has failed and I didn’t hold out much hope for other "similar but different" treatment options, let alone I was afraid of being kicked off of insurance before finding/completing treatment. I weigh 242lbs. I went to a mandatory seminar at LGMC within a week of seeing the doctor. I was worried it was going to be more of the same, trying to talk me out of surgery as an option, citing it was “easy to lose weight, fatty”. To my joy, that was not the case. They took my insurance card and my weight. I sat through a presentation about the different surgeries offered by one of the laparoscopic surgeons. I was visibly the smallest, youngest person there. It has made me think that I am less worthy of a surgery. I don’t know. I just feel like I might be thought less deserving of this tool. The nurses advised they would use my insurance information to call and check on coverage and call me back within a week. I felt giddy. Elated. Just, lighter. Relieved. I got a call back promptly from the surgery center and have scheduled my first meeting with a surgeon. The nurse also let me know that the only requirement from my insurance was to have a psychiatric evaluation. Our first meeting is scheduled 02/21/2017. I'm excited to meet the surgeon although just the appointment is $250! I will be calling them Monday to see how much the surgery will cost and what my out of pocket will be-if they know. This money will be contributed to the total amount of surgery if I go through them, but if they are 5k more than someone else, I might want to look at other options. I hate to let my frugal flag fly, but money is not disposable to me. While it is important that I go through a reputable surgeon, I can’t bankrupt myself doing so. There must be a balance. Their program and facility are very impressive, though. I know someone who went through self-pay with them. They have a very involved team for the bariatric surgery center, and a high success rate. I think they put a lot of effort into it because we live in the south with a high rate of morbid obesity and a culture of “clean your plate”, so it’s easy to fall right back into bad habits. The first ingredient in many things my family cooks is butter. My adopted family is French – Lebanese, several family members have wrestled with weight gain over the years. On my birth mothers side, they are Italian- American with few weight issues in immediate family. My paternal grandmother, it seems, lived with undiagnosed PCOS, and I pulled the short straw when it came to inheriting those genes. Though, I am the tallest, so nyah! I feel nervous about the evaluation. I know why it’s necessary. I just worry about being denied and having to start over or something. Unfounded worries about something that probably isn't that bad. Reading everyone's posts here has done a lot for my internal dialogue. I feel like if I keep a level head and don't stress about everything coming up, take everything one step at a time, I will be ok.