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Sultana most anti depressants will cause weight gain. I was on Paxil for 1.5 years when my son and mother died andI gained 65 pounds. It is true once you stop taking prozac you will see some weight loss. Most of us overweight people take anti depressants becasue of depression due to being overwieght but I have found once I have started losing weight my issues with depression have diminished greatly. I no longer take paxil . I on occassion take an anxiety medication Xanax. Hope your fill works for you...

Sultana, some antidepressants do cause weight gain. I sure you can check with your pharmacist or the web about particular ones that you're concerned about. The web will give you extensive info. and also what other meds. it is/or is not compatible with. Best of luck!

That is funny... That would be nice if it was a permanent feature. Maybe your esophagus where they put the band is permanently warped. Maybe when they had to repair it they had to stitch that area nice and tight. Who knows. I am glad to hear your still hanging in there. No weight gain so far? Good deal... Oh, I watched a news story the other day. Recall my telling you about that research group that found obese people dont have a particular nerve functioning properly? It was a while ago, well now another group has been doing trials for some time using a stomach pace maker. Huge SUCCESS! It zaps your stomach with tiny electric currents triggering the non-working nerve and stimulating the part of your stomach that says your full. The trial people were saying they feel "Thanksgiving full" all the time and have lost tons of weight. The surgery is even less invasive than the band surgery. You should try to look it up sometime. They didn't think it would be FDA approved for 2 more years but I found it fascinating all the same. If I have future band problems I would be happy to know there is something out there too help me if I NEED the help. Who knows what will be out there for weight in the next few years. Funny thing, if that little pacemaker is correcting an obvious malfunction problem wouldn't the medical/insurance world have to concede and take some of the blame off of our heads. A normal pace maker helps heart misfunctions: a stomach pace maker helps stomach misfunctions. Sounds reasonable. Sorry this goes on and on, I just got excited and have been wanting to tell you about it. Glad to see you and I wish you all the best, Teresa

Your band your right to have a fill. You will find out soon the difference between a filled Band and an unfilled Band it is called “ hunger” followed by “weight gain”. You need the Band to help you keep the weight off. Congratulations on your results very very good! You should be so proud of yourself! That's why you were so sucessful cause you know what to do. Cheri

Hi, I was on Zoloft for situational depression resulting from a medical issue that the doctors couldn't figure out which was causing a tremendous amount of physical pain. While I was on it, I felt absolutely mentally wonderful. The sky was more blue, the birds sang more clearly, any and all obsessive worry or anxiety was totally gone. Even my physical pain was better. The big drawback? I gained 45 pounds in three months! I have to be honest, it's one of the reasons I am now considering getting the band, because I never could get the weight off again once I quit Zoloft. It doesn't make everyone gain weight though; it just depends on individual body chemistry. I am currently on Wellbutrin, which does not cause weight gain and which works on your brain chemistry differently than an SSRI. I like it alot, but then again, I can't tell if I feel happy because of the Wellbutrin or because I finally found a doctor who correctly diagnosed and treated my medical issue LOL. Both SSRI's and Wellbutrin have value in my opinion. The only one I would warn against is Effexor, which causes horrible, horrible withdrawl symptoms according to research I did online and anecdotal evidence from a few friends. Best of luck to you!

I am on Effexor from depression which started from having a stillborn son. I have tried several times at getting off but I literally think it is goin got be impossible. It has worked wonders for me though, even though I have had weight gain from it and troubles getting off I would do it again for how much it improved me.

I have stalled and gained 15 pounds, i exercise 3 times a week and can hardly eat much. Im starting to wonder if my depo shot is to blame. Im 1 year out and have only lost 30 pounds. I have read so many stories about depo shot causing weight gain..has anyone else gone through this? Sent from my LGLS775 using BariatricPal mobile app

Has anyone experienced weight gain after Starting Mushies?

I weighed myself one the third day after surgery and pretty much daily from that time forward till just a few weeks ago when I broke past 250 pounds. At this point I weigh weekly on Sunday mornings. You probably shouldn't do this as you can get very discouraged during stalls and weight gains. I know I did. Now I just have a real sense of accomplishment and feel and look really good and consider myself in the home stretch and am not as concerned.

Hubby and I will be traveling tomorrow for CT to visit our family and friends for the holidays. I have many things to be thankful for this year, as I am sure most of you do, as well. I got my lap-band this year, which has helped me in so many ways. I am no longer a diabetic due to diet and exercise. I have dropped 64lbs, meaning I have 4 lbs left to be in the Onederland. I am still cancer free!!!! My new clothes are starting to get big on me, so I know I am doing things the right way. My husband, family and frieds are all doing well. I am happy and I am looking good. I have somewhere around 50lbs to go, and I know I will get there. To everyone of you reading this, have a very happy healthy holiday. May we all get through the holidays with the help of our lap-bands and not have a weight gain. I will be checking in whle on vacation.

you are still on liquids aren't you? that is probably why you feel hunger! I did not worry about how many times I "drank" something at that point. It did not cause weight gain.

Hi All, Well, today I had my SIXTH fill, and I am now at 3.5--the most fill any of my Dr.'s patients has. I am 9 months out and have only lost 30 pounds. I asked Dr. K about the fact that most people lose the majority of their weight the first year, and didn't that make me a failure??? She was very kind and encouraging. I have to explain here that I am in the process of switching antidepressants (MENOPAUSE!!) because Prozac has a weight gain side effect. Right now I am weaned down to NONE for a week before I start the new ones, so I am sure that plays into this. At any rate, I then went with the dietician to have a resting metabolic rate test which was a whopping 1800+ (I have been hypothyroid since I was 19???) and in a very chastising way she said to me, "You know Sultana, most patients lose the majority of their weight the first year". Now I am crying and feeling like it is a lost cause and that I am a failure. I explained to her that I exercise, eat Protein first, don't drink until 2 hours after eating, never drink hi cal liquids, etc. All my previous fill was still there today, I just think I am a freak and need lots more fill than some others. Do you think this long fill process has made me miss my "window of opportunity"? I hated being so emotional today (I am really quite analytical by nature), but I am so frustrated and feel like such a .....NON loser. Thanks for reading this. I feel better just having typed it out.

I was sleeved May 25, 2014. In a year’s time, I lost 100 lbs. I was so proud and I was feeling better than I remember feeling in a very long time. Fast forward to February, 2016 and my husband and I took a trip to New Mexico, and I don’t know why it is, but any time we are on vacation or on a road trip, we feel like we have to eat every meal....all of us. That trip was the start of gaining weight. Early two year later, I’ve gained 30 lbs of the 100 I had lost. I’m terribly depressed about it, but I can’t seem to get myself under control. Eating is definitely a very emotional thing for me....meaning I stress eat, and this last year has been very stressful. I’m scared, beyond everything, that I’m going to gain all my weight back. HELP! Has anyone else experienced significant weight gain? I’ve started time and time again, from the very beginning, but it’s not the same. After surgery, we have no choice but to drink our meals or eat soft foods for several weeks post op, because we just cannot get it in us and swallow, but now that I have a choice, it makes it harder to stay on track. I still get full pretty quick, but I put in a little more than I should, and I had developed the bad habit of allowing myself to have a REAL Dr Pepper once a day, instead my usual Coke Zero and water. I was also eating more sweets. I’ve halted drinking the REAL Dr Peppers and stopped eating the sweets. I’ve been drinking my protein and eating meat/chicken....Eating as few carbs and sugar as possible and nothing! Has anyone been here? What have you done to get back on track? Please help!!! I’m so scared I’m going to gain the rest of my weight back....did I mention I was scared I was going to gain all my weight back? I’m even considering sleeve revision!

The weight gain is from all the fluids the pump you with to keep you hydrated while in hospital. No worries, it will all drop off pretty fast. Your healing.

Well I've always been insecure. lol I went through really awkward years in my early teens(about 20lbs overweight, horrible acne:pizza face, braces, horrible dressing/hair) lol But when I started growing out of that I met alot of different guys and I was between 170-190, I'm sorry but I'm personally turned off by guys that find really skinny girls attractive. However then my thyroid went off and I was a shut-in for 3 years and gained 90lbs. I think it was the sleeping 15 hours a day that made me feel the most unattractive. It really has to do about personality and confidence sometimes though, I can say that I've had a LOT more attention recently now that I'm back to 167lbs. As I've gone down in weight you start to realize how sensitive an issue being fat is. It's sad that people look down on you for it, but I am so thankful that my family and awesome b/f stood by me through weight gain and weight loss and loved me the whole time. And unfortunately a lot of people don't have that. That's why this forum is amazing, because we all know what it's like. Sorry if that was really long-and somehow turned into a I-Love-Lapband-Talk! lol

So I'm almost three months out and have had my share of ups and downs, yada, yada, yada. What I don't get is the physiology of my new stomach. How can I gain weight by eating roughly 1200 calories a day and of those calories, some are carbs? I mean a normal person eating 1200 calories a day would not gain weight but three straight days of "being bad" has resulted in a three pound weight gain. Doesn't make sense to me?

I have a health o meter that I bought at walmart. You can program it for up to 3 users and since it stores information, it shows/tracks weight gain/loss and really lets you know. I think I paid like 25 bucks for it. Good luck on your search!

According to WebMD : http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/antidepressants-weight-gain?page=2 Wellbutrin can cause weight LOSS. It's also used for people to quit smoking. It's well tolerated by most people and a very mild med. Honestly, this is what I'll be trying. (I'm still pre-op, but I anticipate this being an issues because I already have some mood swings that I know will likely increase after surgery) Others to consider: Effexor and Zoloft - they don't typically cause weight gain. They are also both mild meds and easily tolerated. I took Zoloft years ago, and it was helpful, but during the first 2 weeks on it, I had the WEIRDEST dreams/nightmares. But once the med was built up in my body, I was fine. One to avoid: Paxil. Seems to cause the most weight gain. Also, meds that are also used for more severe mental disorders :Lithium, Abilify, Zyprexa - these can have major side effects, effect your blood sugar and cause weight gain. Avoid these, unless you have some severe symptoms of anxiety/depression. As far as how you're feeling with snapping at people and needing your personal space, a fast-acting anti-anxiety med like Lorazepam or Alprazolam (Ativan and Xanax) are good for using as needed. They are also more likely to cause a dependence, so your MD would give you a really low dose and expect you to use it maybe 2-3x/wk AT MOST. And using these in conjunction with a daily anti-depressant will help with the side effects of starting the daily anti-depressant, and when the daily med gets built up in your system, you'll need the Lorazepam or Alprazolam less and less, until, ideally, you won't need those at all and can maintain on the daily med alone. With any anti-depressant, make sure you talk to your doctor before discontinuing. MOST meds require a tapering dose before discontinuing them. You could really put yourself through the ringer if you stop cold turkey. Hope that helps! Definitely talk to your MD about it, there's NO REASON anyone should suffer mood swings like this. Good luck to you!

I don't think without the comorbidities you have a good chance. I am at 36-37 with high cholesteral and dr told me it was going to be tough to get approved and enjoy eating for now. Every additional 5 lbs is a point - checked it out in case I needed a little help. I called insurance and they told me that I met the criteria 35+ with one or more comorbidities, but until you go through all the pre-op stuff, I can't get pre-certed. So I have to do it all first before finding out if I really will be approved. This is all out of pocket expenses. I am hopeful but I do not know. Before you go in to see a surgeon, call insurance and explain what you think you currently have and could you be a canidate. If you get weighed at the surgeons, that is the weight they go by so you won't be able to gain at that point because it looks like you can't follow the nutrionist's program. It is crazy to me that there is a procedure out there that can prevent medical ailments and excessive weight gain, but you have to be "unhealthy" first. I think the best candidates are the people who are border line and have tried getting those extra 50+ lbs off before getting unhealthy. If you have the comorbidities it can cause complications. I wish you luck and hope I am wrong - just going by what I was told

This is such a timely post for me. I am, I think, 20-30 from goal (still not sure what goal is but somewhere in there seems reasonable for a 5'7" frame). The truth is I have no idea where I'll feel comfortable and finished with losing. Meanwhile, I am so happy with what I have lost that I also stopped losing and even gained several back. But it's not complacency; it's much deeper than that. There is a "don't look at me, don't look at me" voice inside, leftover, obviously from all those years of feeling embarrassed about my weight. Since dropping weight I have received uncomfortable attention and have been trying to sort through that (my boss, so some one with financial power over me), but it's not just that. I am enjoying how much more "normal" I feel and how my introversion over the years is now shifting and I am so much more at ease out in the world. I like to dress up and have fun, talk to strangers and laugh loudly (actually despite being one of those very soft spoken people I have always had a really big laugh, which should be a clue that I was just hiding before and the real me, the laughing one, doesn't mind being out there, quirky, funny and enjoying herself). On biology, I'm adopted and when I met my birth family I immediately understood that not only was my weight gain due to personal issues in my life but clearly genetics played a big role, eeek. Lately I have thought that I may have put myself on pause because I wanted to let not only myself but the people around me and new people in my life catch up with where I am, who I am, how I look at this point in my life. Not 70 pound heavier me, and not 100 pound lighter me, the "me" now. But I am not yet where I want to be and I know that. I am enjoying being able to buy a size 12 suit off the rack and just go to Maine and out it in and look/feel fine. What? But I still have a paunch -- not the Mrs. Winnie-the-Pooh of yore but a belly. I want that gone. And I want to wear the size 10 linen pants I greedily scooped up at a sale and out in my closet as motivation (one pair in purple, one in red -- nice and long so no high waters but they are way too tight), I want to be able to stretch and bend with less stuff in the way. I have arthritis and still hold out hope that less weight on my frame will mean less pain. I wrote myself a letter to be opened at goal and I want to see what I wrote then. It was a thank-you letter. Maybe I will go back to my posts here and see what I wrote two years ago at this time while I was waiting to go to the mandatory information session and start my process. I will be two years out in November and would like to start next winter at goal. I'd like to be someone who can monitor a small gain and catch it. Right now being some one with 20-30 to lose feels like such a luxury, especially in our society where people are heavier and heavier, but I want to take it to the next stage. By now I know how to do it. My dimmed appetite allows me to have a regime which before I coukd do but it was so hard I woukd bounce right back afterward. This my third day of a fast. I'm doing it to try to clear out congestion in my joints and see if I can identify any triggers for the increased inflammation of late (probably more related to the barometer; will it ever stop raining?). But I'm also doing it to get on course. I tend to gravitate toward grazing. An ongoing wine and cheese party is not doing my waistline any favors. So a fast nips that in the bud. I like the idea of intermittent fasting -- a couple of days a week. It simplifies things for me and I think I have he right body type for it. So here I am at day three about to do the Epsom routine with olive oil and grapefruit tonight. It's hard core but I gravitate in that direction and realize I need to do that for my health. A liver cleanse, like the French (back to wine and cheese party issues). I don't know how long I will go. I have done three weeks in the past and it wasn't that long ago I was in pre-op liver shrinking mode for the surgery. I've recently increased my exercise, although mine is walking outdoors so the rain harshes that groove. Still, when I work out I am working so much harder now. My body likes/needs that. So now the brain needs to be on board. No secret folds of self-sabotage -- everything out in the open. If being thinner makes me anxious, what is that about? No longer being able to tamp down anxiety with food means that any anxiety (and there is plenty) is coming to the surface. Well that's good,I'm guess, though it can be messy. We had to pull over the car on the way home from the coast as I was so anxious. Fortunately my new remedy for that is walking it off, not eating it down. So, a therapist? Probably a good idea! I saw one to prep for the WLS surgery and for a little while after while I found my way. Maybe time for another round. But meanwhile very thankful for this place where I can tap out my thoughts freely, knowing that there are people who so get it. Thank you!

Thank you for responding I did do the post fill protocal Liguids purees and soft foods. back to really watching my Protein and measuring my food intake along with a food diary. I am glad I found this site and am looking forward to seeing your blog. I don't feel so alone! I needed to clarify that I didn't have the "prolapes" just the dialation of my esophogus. I blaim myself for not watching the signs and eating wrong. the band was too tight I have an appointment on 21 Feb to see where I am at . Although the Doctor said I may see a slight weight gain, stay away from or watch the carbs and not go crazy! I had to get my head wrapped around that! My biggest fear is having the band removed but now that I know what I need to do I will be okay! I haven't gotten sick since some of the Fluid was removed and I still feel a slight restriction which is good. I have lost to date 75 pounds and since the defill have gained 3 pounds. anyway thank you again! Elce

I have been experimenting with Chia Seeds and Quinoa based on the recommendation of the people who did my blood work. My doc has signed off so I'm starting to put these in the mix. So far I'm just putting Chia Seeds in my yogurt (tablespoon) and mixing Quinoa with beans for a high protien starch. Any known problems? Any weight gain after adding them to your diet? Any improvement in blood work? Bang for the buck in terms of protein seems really good, but always looking for other people's experience.

I got my band Oct of 2012 and have only lost 40 pounds at first. Now since my one year bandaversary I have gained weight. I am having such a hard time losing. I have a 10 cc band (I guess) and have 7cc fill. I have not seen my Dr in months for another fill because I was ashamed of my weight gain. I fell like a failure and thinking about having the band removed. I am at the point that I just have to accept that I will always be a fat girl/mom/wife. My body is never going to change to matter how much I want it to. I feel like I wasted everyone's time and money getting this wonderful band in. I feel ashamed I have not lost any weight. I can eat full meals and not feel full. Now and then my food will get stuck and I get rid of it, but then I will take another bite to replace what I just lost. This just is not working out for me. I guess I am just that one person who will not succeed at losing weight.

I'm sure it depends on your insurance. If it makes you feel better, I put on weight for the first 3 months, then lost for the last 3(only minimally) and I just got approved yesterday! Oh, and my weight gain was slightly more significant than yours. I think the most important thing is to convince your doctor that you are really trying. If it was easy to have consistant weight loss, we wouldn't be in this situation!

Your band can get tighter because of stress. I had this happen when I had to go to St. Louis for a few days. The trip wasn't stressful, but I never felt that I had enough time to eat. Many people notice that their bands get tighter during their period -- well, right before it and when it first starts. My theory, you ask? Alot of women retain water before their period (thus the weight gain)...I think that affects the band too. Causes things ALL OVER to swell. Also, when you have a PB, you should back off a little bit. If your first PB was bad enough, your stomach might have been irritated because of the PB making you even tighter than you were before. This is very common -- alot of surgeons recommend going back to liquids for 12-24 hours after a PB because of this. The restriction may have kicked in. Alot of people swear that they don't feel their fill until 2 weeks after it. I haven't ever experienced this and I personally can't figure out the "science" behind it, but so many people have said it, that I just got to believe it to be true. SO....in my opinion, go back to liquids for 24 hours. Then start solids again, but VERY SLOWLY. Cut what you think is a bite, then cut it in 1/2. Chew that 20 times. Then swallow. See if that helps. jayme <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->