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Almost 50. Heavy since 2003. Obese since 2003. Mixed with periods of overweight, weight loss with Atkins diet, weight gain to morbidly obese, weight loss again to overweight with b-12 shots and appetite suppressants to once again, obese. Obesity is in my family as well as diabetes & 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 "where" 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...great success through the support of my family, and consideration of my clients I LOVE what I do. 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)

Well, my birthday was 2/28/11 and let me tel ya, Of course I had to have some cake and ice-cream and whatever else. I can say I've gain 6lbs in a week (187). But I'm not going to let that discourage me. I'm back to my gain plan. I couldn't let that day go by without celebrating. I can reframe from cake from my children's and anybody else birthday except my own. That''s the day GOD brought me into this world. So my size 14's are tight but not to worry, I am definately working out it.... GOOD LUCK EVERYONE, I KNOW I CAN USE.

I take small bites too. I don't have any issues with overeating; I'm just not making the best choices regarding WHAT I eat. Even if I eat bread, I can only take a few bites but I shouldn't be eating bread in the first place. While it may not be a huge issue now, I'm afraid it will lead to weight gain in the future when I am able to take more than a few bites.

The Beginning Growing up I use to tell everyone I was born fat so I am going to die fat! My story starts on July 28th 1983 my wonderful mother gave birth to a beautiful 10 pound baby girl…. Me! My parents told me I was the biggest baby in the hospital and I was proud of that. Who ever thought that this was the beginning of my obesity life. I am not going to sit here and writing about how I was teased when I was growing up and how I eat everything is sight because I will be lying to you guys and I am many things but I lair I am not. I was never tease about my weight growing up. So what cause me to become plus size diva? One word boredom. I was never athletic in school but I was involved in a lot of different activities like girls scouts, drama clubs and etc. Majority of the time all I did was eating junk food and when I was at home I was eating junk food either because I was bored. Fast forward to my high school life preferably my Senior year. Me and my best friend (Note: Just in case you are wondering we are still best friends!) were going to join the Air Force together but I had to lose 40 pounds in order to join. Guess what? I did as a matter of fact and I lost about 60 pounds. Impressive Right? Too bad I inherited my dad’s feet and could not join because I have no arch in my feet. True Story! I was devastated but life goes on and so did my weight. Life in my 20’s the yo-yo dieting years! Who wants to play I’ve been on that diet game? Since I couldn’t join the armed forces I decided to work for the government and started going to college. I always struggle with my weight and I spent most of my twenties trying out different diets. I gain back 50 pounds that I lost before with a new set of boobs. No I didn’t get a boob job I think 20% of my weight gain went to my boobs. For the longest time I have maintained my weight from 225 to 235. Then all of a sudden I was either losing a friend and a relative every year. I took my frustrations out by eating food. I am an emotional eater and I can admit that. My last diet that I was on was Weight Watchers I actually did pretty well on it until I hit a plateau then I never got back on track. I learned how to accept weighing at 250 or 255 and maintaining that. Until August of last year… For the past 4 years I’ve been maintaining my weight 250 to 255 but this time around my Wii fit (my scale) Said 267! I swear I thought my Wii fit was lying. Until I weighted myself on several scales at work and I found out the harsh reality. Why I chose to have the lap band….. A Quarter life mid crisis! After many bottles of beer and soul searching, I told myself “I gave obesity my 20’s I refuse to give obesity my 30’s!” I decided to start working on a better me. I watch a Weight Management seminar online to get a better understanding on my surgical weight lost options. I immediately knew if I was going to pick a WLS it was going to be the Lap band. Why, because I didn’t want my stomach to be cut in half, my inside to be rerouted and etc. Sorry but that does not sound healthy to me. I didn’t wake up and said I was going to get the lap band this was a 7 month process. I wanted to try to lose weight on my own first but at the same time I went to a local support group to help me with my final decision. I am glad I went to a local support group because some of the YouTube videos I found scared the crap out of me. October I made my decision to get the lap band. On February 9th I got my approval letter from my insurance company and 2 months later (April 9th) I got my surgery date May 1st 2013! I am looking for to my healthier lifestyle and a new me! My goal is to be 20 pounds lighter on my 30th birthday! Wish me luck! Thank you for reading

I really like the Ortholo as I have been on it for years with great results, I had tried Yaz (if I'm not mistaken that's the brand for Gianvi) in the past and had horrible side effects so I prefer to stay in ortho low but I'm just worried about having unnecessary weight gain from it.... So I guess it's not like a written rule that you gain weight from it but I guess everybody's individual. I just feel like I've been through so much and tried so hard that to counteract it right now would just be silly.... I did get my period Once one week after surgery, and that was it, in the past I have never gotten that before without the pills....

We do not decide what surgical procedures are considered elective or not, that is decided by people far above my pay grade. My surgery date was moved twice because it was considered elective. On the day of my surgery my time was moved by two hours in order for a more urgent surgery to go first. Each surgeon and each insurance company has their own process to qualify for these procedures. Not every surgeon requires you to lose weight preoperatively, not every insurance company requires six months medical weight loss. People elect to have surgery in Mexico when insurance won’t cover it. Until bariatric surgery is not considered an elective surgery and they start performing emergency gastric bypasses and sleeves on the obese all of us will have to follow the program guidelines preoperatively. If there are medical reasons that program requirements cannot reasonably be met as far as weight gain due to actual medical diagnoses it would seem that proper documentation from a primary care physician would suffice if submitted to the insurance company.

You didn't deserve to be treated like that even though you've gained weight. Maybe he was irritated by the weight gain - he's a professional and he surely has worked with other patients who found themselves in the same place. You'll pull through and be ready for surgery. Really. You can do this, I promise.

Is it just straight caffeine or are you jazzing it up? I wonder because I'm drinking coffee now and I get dumping if there's to much cream in it. Not related to low sugar so do you know why your sugar drops? If it's not to personal, how's your weight now? I ask because you were so young when you had the surgery that you may not of had the benefit of having a nutritionist to help guide your eating. The stats show we're all susceptible to weight gain after a period of time, and if you have gained what's your thoughts about correcting it? Sorry for all the questions but when I started this journey I was full steam ahead and now that I know I'll be successful in the weight loss I'm looking at what to expect or try to prevent from happening in my future. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience.

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!

I had a different sleeve procedure (ESG), but had the same fears. I thought I was feeling hunger. So I talked to my team about it, expecting the lecture. But they told me something that really opened my eyes: I have for decades interpreted every little stomach gurgle as a hunger signal. (This was part of my problem that led to my weight gain.) Time to stop and think about it first. Is this really hunger, or could it be thirst, gas, another sort of discomfort? I mean, like you I am only weeks out, so there is really no way this could be real hunger. I was told see if it responds to a sip of water. See if a sip of protein shake helps. Change position (sit/stand/turn over if in bed) to see if that makes it go away. Try a lozenge -- I had some sugar-free lemon Ricola drops because of the sore throat typical after an endoscopy. Bingo! That worked wonders! I don't know if it's an oral fixation thing, but a tiny lozenge does the trick. Here's how I know I am not really hungry: if I am working on a work project, I can go all day without feeling hunger. I am one of those that has to set a reminder to eat on my phone. So that feeling I was interpreting as hunger was something else. ("I'm not saying it was aliens, but it could have been aliens." 😁)

I went into gastric bypass surgery with chronic illness and many medical issues, I also had my gallbladder removed at the same time. It’s been a rough road and it took me a lot of trial and error to find things I could tolerate and I took it slow. Right of the bat I was sick and had a lot of problems with getting into purée foods. I found a protein powder that worked. It’s quite possible that you were consuming things that you were allergic or had sensitivity to. Not all protein shakes are equal either. For me I did best with PEScience protein powder. I stuck to very simple things , very low carb as well. And always protein first. I got protein soup mixes from BariatricPal. Protein shots for when I could barely tolerate anything. Instead of purée meat I started mixing protein powder with Greek yogurt. Even eggs at that point were a no go. Eventually I slowly added a soft boiled egg here and there. Until it’s become fairly regular. A Low calorie low carb protein bar for breakfast with tea. My lunches are simple even now I’m a year in. I started with some BariatricPal protein pasta, then slowly changed it over to adding veggie burger with an egg on top. Dinner well that’s almost always Greek yogurt with protein powder. And some sugar free topping. And a baby banana. It took things extremely slow. I still struggle and have issues. I always will that’s just me personally. But I think you shouldn’t be afraid. Things are probably different now, the surgery has improved, you can have a better nutrition guide. Maybe the dietary guidelines included something causing you to dump too often. Or you were not mindful of portions and eating slow. A lot of times surgeons don’t give proper nutrition guidance and that leads to problems. My nutritionist was very helpful. Although for me I’d already been following low carb for years I needed the added tool of bypass to help me. Learn to be mindful of your body and what your pouch doesn’t like. And take it slow and easy. As long as you get protein there’s no race to eating solid food or even purée. I find it helps to take daily note of weight, food intake, protein and calories. Protein should be based on weight starting at 0.36 grams protein per 1lb body weight. And also no more than 5 grams of sugar in a meal. Especially starting out. I guess to some it might seem obsessive but it’s helped me and yes I’m ocd and on the Autism spectrum. I use the notes section on my iPad and the same format each day and note if I see a doctor and any health issues that come up. For me it was fight to get the tool of gastric bypass surgery to help against weight gain from metabolic disorders and inability to exercise, a fight that’s exhausted me most of my life ... or just give up. it sounds Like this is very important to your wellbeing. There really is no choice here but to take that step forward. I wish you all the best in your journey.

Was pretty simple for me, I have never been afraid to die, I am just not ready. I gained ALOT of weight after quitting smoking 9 years ago. Because of the weight gain I have HBP, High Cholesterol, sleep Apnea, Diabetes, Neurapathy in my feet terribly. I have degenerative joint disease in my back and knees and my knees are shot now that the doc said if I do not get the weight off I will be in a wheelchair in a year or so. I also have a collapsed arch in my left foot and lots of preblems there. I lost both parents at a young age due to massive heart attacks and my Dad was in great shape when he died. I lost my Mom 4 years ago and 5 months later my sister gave birth to the greatest thing to ever happen to me and that was a little Boy. He is my pride and Joy, I watch him every day while she works and miss him when he is not around. I want to be able to go to his baseball games that will be starting in a couple years. Right now I cannot walk far to get to the fields and cannot go to his older Brothers games. Just about my whole family is obese and I went over to talk to my Uncle and Aunt about my decision to have this surgery 2 months ago. I told him that I did not want to end up like him, in a wheelchair and never leaving the house. I did not want to be like my Grandma, 2 other Uncles and my Mom and two other Aunts. So I was going to do something about it. He was all behind me and so very supportive...Well he passed away a week ago today from heart problems brought on by his obesity. He was over 500 lbs. Everyone has passed away now because of problems that came up by their obesity. I have one Aunt still alive, but she does not leave the house. So for all those reasons and to see my sunshine grow up into a man and marry and have children of his own is my dream and focus now. With my determination and support I know I will do it.... Thanks, Rob

It is unfortunate that weight gain is a side effect with so many medications but you need the meds. Your choice on getting banded is not based on 1 year of weight gain, it is over time of playing with your weigh that has brought you to this choice. Keep moving forward in what is best for you and your health.

I went to a lake house this weekend. I grazed, drank beer and had about 7 beers and 7-10 shots over he whole weekend. I ate whatever everyone else ate (just small portions). I wasn't worried about weight gain. I had figured that when I got home I would have gained ten pounds. I came home stepped on the scale and I had lost two pounds. I don't know but I am definitely motivated to get back on track. Going to the gym tomorrow and gonna be a beast!!!

It may be because my weight gain was mostly medication- induced and then due to lack of movement from the pain I was in?? There wasn't a weight issue prior to my getting sick. Who knows? I know most plastics guys want you stable for at least 6 months. Another surgeon I wanted to consult with won't even SEE me until I hit my target weight. Not even to consult for costs. Either way, I would not consider doing anything yet. First- the cost-need to save for it; Second- I DO want to be at goal. Fortunately, the weight continues to come off without stalls, albeit a little slower now. 2lbs drop since day before yesterday! Lol. LOVE this tool!! More? Love having gotten my life back and all of the opportunities and changes it has effected for me! Did you end up having the plastics yet? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

:help:Last night was a really bad night! I have had several episodes where I start by having to throw up something I ate that sticks and then it progresses to not being able to keep down even a sip of water. Usually, by the morning, and with no sleep, I go get my fill taken out. Last night, I determined in my heart to see this thing through without having to call my doctor, drive over to Texas, have the fill taken out, and start over with the inevitable weight gain of the "freedom to eat" ticket (no fill)! Me and the Lord had a long and continual talk through the night and praise God this morning I didn't have to go have my fill out! I am trying to recall all of the enormous amounts of information you get before surgery about eating right, troubleshooting, etc. and I started out this morning with a glass of grape juice. Liquids today, soft foods next, gradually building up to a normal diet (if I can ever find what that is!)! I feel like I have jumped a tremendous hurdle and I feel really encouraged! Pray for me that I can FOLLOW THE RULES! To date, I have lost 30 pounds - several times in the past year actually - and I want that number to be 80!

I am 19 months post op from DS surgery. I’m SO happy with my weight loss. I’ve been fluctuating between 140-144 for a while now (months) this week out of the blue with no change in my diet (which could definitely be better) or exercise (which is always good) I’m up to 145 146 148. Should I be worried this is a wall I’m hitting? Wil I be 175 by the end of the year? Not that I’m emotionally scared from my pre surgey life or anything ha! Or is this just normal and keep on truckin’ and expect to be back in the 140-144 zone in a week or so. Argh so nerve wracking!

Congrats to all of you who have stoped smoking, its a hard thing to do as I smoked for 23 yrs. ashame to admit to it but I did. I wanted to quit so many times before I finally gave it up but it was always the throuh of weight gain that kept me smoking, but one day I just decided on my last day of smoking and when it came I make that commitment and have not been sorry that was 6yrs ago and many lbs in weight gain but I now feel must better and have lost the cough and the control that smoking had over me and with the band the 40lbs I have lost to date have made up for the weight I gained after stopping. Good luck to all of you Angelina

The hardest part is not being able to enjoy my food like I used to I take a few bites and I'm done and food still doesn't taste the same for me...but I won't miss all the weight gain that's for sure

I would suggest talking with your bariatric team/NUT/PCP, and going back to basics before even considering anything a drastic as diet pills or a new surgery. It may just be a matter of refocusing and recommitting to your program, which you can do! You have come so far already. Embrace the Stall! (Which can apply to weight gain.) http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall

I had the sleeve Nov 2014 and I am so happy with the decision I made. I decided on gastric sleeve vs. bypass because gastric sleeve patients don't have the malabsorption issues associated with bypass and my surgeon won't even do lap bands anymore due to the high failure rate. My pre-op weight gain was directly related to my over-eating. But not eating too much at meals, rather eating 2-3 candy bars along with a bag of chips and three scoops of ice cream every night after my family went to bed. Call it binge eating, grazing whatever, it was my way of feeling comfort. Now, post-op, I have control of my head and what I put in my mouth. I haven't felt real "hunger" since surgery, so I eat to live. I still get the late night cravings to eat junk because I'm bored, but I usually just eat a Protein bar while watching TV after the family goes to bed. Plus, eating really sweet foods before bed gives me terrible acid reflux during the night and that is a constant reminder that junk food and boredom eating should not mix. I see many pre-op patients at my monthly support group. They are either waiting for surgical approval or just getting feedback from those of us who have had WLS. It's a great forum for face-to-face conversations about options. I doubt you'll find one person who says they are sorry they made the decision to have surgery. Benefits clearly out weigh any pre-surgery food passions.

Except for the weight gain, its a beautiful story...and welcome to our world...everyone needs support at some point in their life...Good luck on your journey bec thats what it really is...l think l would have gone nuts without this web site..so many caring people and so many stories..no matter what kind of day you might be having, something you read here, will cheer you up. we all basically go through the same things here..we are each others support...Welcome

I was first diagnosed with PCOS when I was about 18 years old, this was around 1992. At that time, little was known about PCOS. I was basically prescribed birth control pills to regulate my periods. I think I was probably around 200 lbs then. I actually participated in a clinical trial at a research hospital where they were researching the use of metformin to treat PCOS (yes, it's been a while:/). Gradually, the weight gain, painful acne, facial hair, diabetes, high cholesterol, high triglycerides snowballed. All that became complicated by clinical depression. By the time I was 30, I weighed more than 300 lbs. I could not understand why I continually failed at weight loss attempts. I had graduated colleges with honors, earned a Masters Degree, and excelled in my career....I knew I was not lazy nor ignorant, but I could not succeed with weight loss no matter how hard I tried. The depression spiraled out of control and I generally stopped caring about my health, defeated. At 32 years old, I topped the scales at 333lbs. Then I began having long, heavy periods which was my body screaming that something was wrong...endometrial cancer. In 2006 I had a complete hysterectomy at age 32. Single, no children, devastated. Then came medical menopause. I eventually began to feel better and was able to lose down to about 265 on my own with diet and exercise, but it was a hard, hard struggle. From 2008 until 2012 I bounced around on the scale from 265 to 280 or so. My diabetes was out of control, cholesterol very high. I had lap band surgery in March, 2013 weighing 258. Today I weigh 222. My recent lab work revealed excellent control of the diabetes, cholesterol that is only slightly elevated. My skin/complexion has never looked better. I sleep so good at night and wake up rested. I want to lose down to about 180. I don't have periods any more due to the surgery, but I do feel that the WLS has helped to alleviate the PCOS symptoms. PCOS is more than just a disease of infertility. It affects your whole body and your whole life. It is nothing to deny or to play around with. Oh how I wish I had the information years ago that I have now. I would have had lap band surgery years ago. The lifestyle for wls still requires work and conscious decisions to make your health a priority, but the difference for me is that the work I put in actually yields results! Yesterday I bought a size 18 pants when it wasn't too long ago I barely squeezed into a 28. The NSVs are great too! I know that was a long post, but I hope it helps someone.

Thanks so much for sharing your stories. I was banded in March and am down 33lbs. My pcos symptoms are slowly fading. Good to know there are others out there as frustrated as I was with the catch 22 of having a diagnosis that causes weight gain while the only "cure" for it is weight loss. Best decision I ever made!

Everyone handles maintenance differently. We each have our own weight gain risk factors. Its important to know yourself. Will you need to remind yourself you had surgery? Is it healthy habits? Precautions? Simply eating less? Do whatever works for you to maintain and not go back to obesity. Five years out, I never want to feel like my normal “obese” self before surgery. I feel better than normal after weight loss and maintaining in the 130's. I have no issues. I bounced back with minimal pain and I have no complications (Gerd, dumping or vomiting etc.) Personally, I don’t need to remind myself. I have a healthy lifestyle. Maintaining has become habit/mundane. I don’t put much thought into it. I eat mainly healthy and indulge within reason. I give myself a ten-pound bounce range. If I gain, I go back to weight loss mode and work it off.