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I have had hypothyroidism all my adult life (am 52) and take Oroxine or Thyroxine. I only gain weight if I'm not getting enough of it. From what others have said here Synthoid is the same ( I don't think it's a brand we have DownUnder). It's the condition that causes weight gain, not the medication. Re thyroid cancer, Hashimoto's followed later by thyroid cancer certainly runs in my family... so I've grown up believing managing your thyroid function diligently was important. So many doctors just read the numbers off your blood test results without applying any other thought processes - how they think they can call themselves specialists and do that is beyond me. I could a child to diagnose me if that is all that is required - the "normal range" is always right alongside if your own result. But that's not just all there is to it, so if you don't feel well don't let your specialist get away with doing that to you! The "normal range" applies to the population, not to individuals - your personal TSH, T3 and T4 ideal levels don't travel up and down within the "normal range" (although they do change a bit with stress, weather, weight and activity levels). If you are inside the normal range but have symptoms of thyroid dysfunction then you are probably not at your correct level. I don't function well at either the high or low end of the supposed normal range, and need to be smack bang in the middle. Others do better at one end or the other. Join your country's Thyroid Association and you'll get great access to sensible information and articles - the Australian Thyroid Association is brilliant at empowering patients, and I've often printed off articles to share with my doctor. It always allows us to have a very sensible discussion about how well I feel and what contribution - if any - my thyroid function might be making to that. Good luck.

Here's the post from Susan re TDEE: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/23110-weight-gained-since-having-gastric-sleeve-surgery/page__st__420__hl__+susan%20+tdee#entry789451

Where did you get that Synthroid causes weight gain?!? ABSOLUTELY false! HYPOTHYROIDISM causes a drag in the metabolism. The disease causes weight gain. The drug props your thyroid up so it can attempt to function properly. If you don't take it, your thyroid may likely continue to deteriorate. I suppose it could slow down any weight loss you want from the sleeve. I wouldn't be surprised if a neglected sick thyroid would run a higher risk of developing cancer, though I haven't researched that because I never miss my Synthroid. If you are hell-bent on avoiding Synthroid, I'd suggest finding out if you should prepare for cancer in a few years. I don't mean to sound harsh.... Truly. Just learn all you can. Ignorance begets fear. Fear begets anger. Conquer it. Learn all you can. Managed with one tiny pill daily, Hypothyroidism is one of the mildest long-term chronic conditions one can face.

When I started this journey, my ultimate goal was to be in the best shape I could be by the time I turned 50. Today is that day. :wub: Tangibly, I hardly resemble the person who started this journey. People who have not seen me in awhile regularly walk right past, not recognising me. This has on occasions been very funny, and on others, not so nice as people have reacted in ways that are surprisingly negative. One thing that has come up more than once is the immediate assumption that I've been very ill, or worse, that I've got something terminal. I've chosen not to talk about having surgery for a variety of reasons, and my stock answer to "What have you done?!" has become, "I eat a lot less and exercise a lot more." Intangibly, I know myself to be in a very different space internally than I was a year ago. Having the surgery did not change some of the serious issues that come with having gained so much weight and those don't go away with the weight. I've had to work hard to reprogram the default software. Old habits die very hard, and when mindlessness returns as a result of stress, or life events, the response is destructive. I've been five weeks at the same weight, but a week of no exercise and mindless grazing caused a small weight gain... panic!! It was a short, sharp, and needful lesson on the need for me to continue to care for ME. No matter how stressful work gets, or what life events happen, if I don't choose to take care of myself no matter what, all this work will be for nothing. Not gonna let that happen. Did some serious self care, bought a treadmill so I could run again (it's too hot outside) and went through my journal of the past year, reminding myself of the affirmations I'd found helpful, of the progress I'd made, and of the reasons I have made this choice. So, today I celebrate 50 years... losing 86 pounds... ...regularly running 7K ...biking 20K with my husband 2 - 3 x week, and being pronounced "completely healthy" by my GP. Yay me. If you're still working at your goals, keep on. Gather up the support you need whenever you need it, and don't give up. Celebrate the little milestones (I found Bling is perfect for celebrating every 10 pounds lost ) and ruthlessly prune your closet as you shrink out of clothes. Think in possibilities and make plans for a future that is different than your present. I know I need goals, and I plan to run a 10K race with my daughter in August. But first, I'm going to go river rafting in Bosnia to mark the achievements of the past year. Hopefully, I won't drown.

It sounds like you are way too tight. Contrary to popular belief tighter isn't better. It can lead to both weight gain and slips. You are clearly exhibiting "soft calorie" syndrome because you're too tight. Please read this article, it will help considerably: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/page/index.html/_/support/post-op-support/tighter-isnt-always-better-r118

I know four people who have the LapBand. Each lost huge amounts of weight, but hated going in for fills. Three had complications (port infections requiring replacement). One got married and had all the Fluid removed and did not go back for a year and regained 90 of the 100 pounds he lost. The other two also grew weary of fills and stopped after maintaining weight loss for three years and have both regained a significant amount of weight. The final person did well and has no significant weight gain, but has slippage and erosion and is need of removal. Three of the people are now going through the process of revisions to the sleeve. All were afraid of going so drastically but all said they wished they had gone for the sleeve. There is also a man in my support group who has had his band for 8 years, he lost 160lbs but it is now creeping up and he is also going for a revision. It was the my wife, four friends/neighbors and this forum who helped me make the decision to get sleeved. I too was set on the band because it was reversible and less intrusive. My wife wanted me to have a more get it and forget it type surgery that did not require multiple fills. I was sleeved and I am now 65lbs lighter and shrinking after being sleeved on 2/19. My wife and I will be celebrating our 25th anniversary next month, and she said this is the best gift I could ever give her. Good luck to you on your journey no matter what you decide. Sent from my iPad using VST

Also, you're supposed to double up on birth control the first 18-24 months. My surgeon strongly recommends a barrier method with pills/implant. However from personal experience, condoms and NuvaRing are tricky. Not hard, just tricky. And I had a friend with implanon that had seizures, weight gain, and pregnancy. It's all your choice though. Just remember to double up!

I'm in the same boat. I'm 3 1/2 weeks out (and an everyday weigher tsk tsk) and have gained two pounds this past week. This morning when I stepped on the scale and it still didn't move down i decided its time to mix it up and got back on the elliptical machine. I'm just going to focus on what I'm doing and I'm sure it'll start moving soon. It can't not if you're following the plan. Weightloss is calories in vs calories out, and we're not (or shouldn't be!) eating near enough calories to cause weight gain. Just stay strong!

I see as many saying 'I've gained' as those saying 'I've lost'. AND MANY have what you describe a few weeks out. From the posts, it ain't "real" weight gain, it's just your body dealing with recovery from major surgery. Just stay with your program and you WILL do fine!!!

I agree. I have fibromyalgia. Bipolar depression and generalizes anxiety disorder. I take a lot of meds but it controls everything great once you get the right mixture. My problem was weight gain due to the meds but hopefully my commitment with the band will take care of that. Don't ever be afraid to get help there are a lot more depressed people out there than you think and you don't have to be depressed or stressed.

I'm anti-iud, every one close and not so close to me have had really horrible side effects. I think the pills are super unreliable, but implanon(the implant) I haven't heard many negative things about it besides soreness after insertation and removal. And the patch The BC that I absolutely love is the NuvaRing. It's what I have been using since I was 15, due to possibly having pcos. I've had weight gain, but it was due to my thyroid and thyroid treatment. You put it in for 3 weeks and take it out for one week. Two weeks ago I had to take mine out but I bled for 8 days straight. Made me remember how it was when I was younger. Because my usual bleeding cycle is now two days when I use the ring.

I was banded March 25th 2013. My first post op visit I was having some vomiting and nausea therefore they chose not to give me a fill( I did not receive a fill during surgery). I weighed in today and they did give me a small fill but they had a hard time accessing my port. I was getting a little frustrated with my weight gain and weight loss but when I went to the doctors they said I was down eight pounds from my last appointment. I can sympathize with you as far as the eating now and the family pushing food my brother in law is seriously a food pusher. After my surgery I was given a card did if I show it to people when I go out to eat it allows me to either order of the children's menu or order smaller portions. I have found for me to keep from snacking I write down every single thing I eat even if it's only just a bite and I only eat at the dining room table. My motto is far as writing down everything is "if you bite it write it" I also keep a journal with me so anytime I feel the urge to snack I will write in it why I feel I need to eat, I also made myself a chart for the bathroom where my scale is it helps me to keep track of my progress. I don't know if any of these options might help you, but I know they have helped me. Good luck to you

I know here lately I've posted and sounded down and maybe I am, I've got a lot going on in my life. Tonight I was watching an episode of I think it's titled "my 600 lb life and where are they now", well I live with my mom and have lived with her for the past year for several reasons, one she's 74 and needs me but for the main reason, I can't find a job and I need her as much as she needs me because I can't make ends meet on my alimony alone since my divorce 2 yrs ago and live by myself. Well, while watching this show I could really relate to these people who had had gastric bypass and their eating issues so I paused the DVR and said to my mom "you know I really need help with my eating issues". Just yesterday or last night I posted on here that I crave something sweet after meals and it is an awful feeling and I didn't know how to deal with it. Her reply was harsh, guess I wasn't ready to hear it and wanted her support. She basically said to deal with it. My feelings to the issue is, this is a real sickness, people are addicted to food as some are addicted to alcohol or drugs. I need to learn how to channel those feelings of wanting to eat at non-eating times to something else. I am paying for my own health ins and it costs a lot over $500/mo for me and my deductible is $2500 and I've had to stop going to my psychiatrist because each visit was going towards my deductible and I couldn't afford to pay out of pocket. I'm crushed, I've been a patient of his for 7 yrs. I did find a psychologist here where I live but she keeps pushing me to do things that cost me, like hobbies and although that is fine and dandy I can't afford it. Now lets talk about exercise: Mom says tonight "I'll pay for a membership to a gym if you'll go", great I say but she doesn't understand that I can barely walk around the block here at home before I have to walk in the door and take a pain pill to kill the pain in my knee that I've had 2 surgeries on. I just feel like she doesn't understand or I feel all alone in this right now. Yes, I've come out of the closet yesterday on here that I'm Bipolar, I take meds for it and they leave me hungover the next day so I usually sleep in till 10:30 and cause insomnia so I'm up till the wee hrs of the night/morning going to bed and the one drug that knocks me out causes some weight gain and cravings but its the only thing that will put me to sleep at night and control my moods. Going back to my psychiatrist, he kept a close eye on me and my bipolar and all my meds, now my reg dr handles all my meds. I have a feeling some of this is mild depression going on, but I just don't have the money to make an appt with my old dr right now. sheesh. My Lap Band dr has me come in once a month for fills and that has been costing me over $100 a time, I'm up to my eyeballs in medical bills. No wonder my hair is falling out. Going back to exercise, I tried to do a Burpee, omg, I couldn't even accomplish that, couldn't squat because of my knee. I thought I was going to have to call the fire dept to get me up. Thanks for listening. Donna

If you don't want to read the whole dang story just move onto the colored text at the very bottom of this post. I am so conflicted right now! My husband and I have always planned on having a large family. However I'm starting to feel like I'd be the dumbest person alive to actually INTENTIONALLY get pregnant after getting WLS and reaching goal. Especially considering how much it costs out of pocket for us to get pregnant without insurance for my infertility issues!!! We can certainly afford both......but I can't help but feel like maybe I'm being stupid not waiting to get the VSG. But then, when the thought of waiting occurs to me.....I feel like hell because I know that we will have to wait at least 2 years (as usual) to even begin TTC, and with my infertility/pcos it'll be more like at least 3 years to actually fall pregnant. That is so long to remain unhealthy and unable to enjoy my life with my children. I fear becoming diabetic and getting hbp and high cholesterol as I'm already bordeline...and it's only getting worse the longer I wait to lose all this weight! I also feel like if I waited for the WLS, I'd be stealing a further 3 years plus from my children to have a normal healthy mom who can do everything with and for them that a mom should! UGH! So confused. The thing is.....Both times I've been pregnant, I have had IUGR babies due to my severe loss of appetite coupled with the first two trimesters of nausea. I lose 20-30 lbs everytime I become pregnant, and that effects the growth of the babies not getting enough nutrients like they should. I always thought that even if I wasn't getting any food, the baby was supposed to be fine as he would just take from my body, and the ill effects would just be mine, and mine alone! That is what the doctors told me the BOTH times. But apparently they changed their minds after I had my second child the same way! This last pregnancy I had gestational diabetes, which wasn't even a concern the first time. Both babies weighed approximately 4lbs at birth, and had stopped growing at 37 weeks, and were always measuring 2+ weeks smaller during all of the ultrasounds. Proving that they were not getting what they needed to grow properly. Thank goodness they are both incredibly healthy now and are doing exceptionally well and are not only caught up, but hitting milestones far ahead of their age groups! But the problem still remains, because of my weight and the ever looming PCOS, and pregnancy hormones making me severely ill and causing my loss of appetite due to the PCOS....it's a never ending cycle you know? I know that if I lost the weight, I'd no longer have PCOS, my hormones would be healthy and normal for once. And any pregnancy from then on forward could only be healthier. My doctors say the same thing. However, we are simply not ready to get pregnant so soon yet as the little one is only 8 months today. However, if I do get the WLS and hit goal by 1 year and maintain for the 2 years after, and THEN decide to get pregnant, I fear that I might just actually GAIN all the weight back trying to EAT and KEEP THINGS DOWN this time around. I know that any time I become pregnant in the future I am dedicated to eating ALOT, whether I can keep it down or not, and eating very healthy despite weight gain or whatever else. I CANNOT have IUGR babies any longer, and my doctor agrees that I am one of those women who absolutely need to eat twice as much in order to keep the growing child healthy. Because of this, I feel like I may ruin all of my success after WLS. Basically.....I just wanted to know if any of you knows what the likelyhood of gaining all of my weight back and becoming unhealthy like I am today after the procedure is? I don't want to get the procedure now, and have a pregnancy throw me off and back on the train to imminent disease and early death! But, I don't want to not have any more children either. That is just not fair to my husband, and not to myself. Very selfish of me if that thought ever even occurred to me, which it wouldn't! I know some of you will say that I simply should not have any more children, especially since I have 2 already and my pregnancies barely go well. But my doctor's have pinpointed the actual problem and are willing, as am I, to do anything (even if it means to become hospitalized for the first 2 trimesters in order to keep an eye on my food/appetite and the babies growth) to keep the same from happening again. My doctors have both suggested that WLS would be the best option for me, for my health AND for the health of my future pregnancies and children in so many ways. But............why can't I shake the fear that if I end up pregnant after the procedure and eat like I'm supposed to, and successfully gain weight (albeit 11-20 lbs only, since that is the goal my docs have for me since I always lose weight during pregnancy) that I won't be able to get rid of it and then I'll eventually be back where I am because my stomach will have stretched due to the eating!!! Am I losing my mind here (my doctor sure thinks I am) or are my fears legitimate and rational? In a nutshell: I am afraid of gaining the weight back if I fall pregnant 2-3 years after the procedure. I have a habit of losing too much weight DURING a pregnancy, and gaining it back plus some immediately afterwards when I regain my appetite that was suppressed due to my reaction to the hormones during gestation. I can't decide if I should have the surgery now or after I'm through having children. My dilemma is: If I have all of the children I want than I will be waiting 5+ years to have the WLS, and will be in a much much worse place health-wise by then, than I am now. I feel like I'll have stolen those years from my children's lives as well, they deserve all of their mommy...not just what she can barely give. Not to mention the fact that who knows where we may be financially in 5+ years, yes we do have it well planned....but goodness, in this day and age of recession ya never really know do you? Insurance so far, isn't an option, who's to say it would be in the future. I just want to know if you guys think what I fear is likely? If so, how likely is it? Has this happened to anyone after the VSG and having fallen pregnant? If I exercise and keep my calories/carbs down will that help. I just fear that the extra eating I'll have to do to gain enough healthy weight during a pregnancy will stretch my stomach and it will be a never-ending cycle afterwords.

They require the weight loss to show that you are dedicated to changing your life. I did ZERO exercising during my 6 months and lost 13lbs. I just changed the things that they told me to. My Drs office requires you to drop a certain percentage prior to surgery with NO significant weight gain during the process. If the insurance company accepts it once they'll accept it again. It will cost the insurance company for your friend to continue to be over weight then to have the surgery (in the long run at least). It might also be because of the type of surgery she is having done, since the gastric sleeve is still considered experimental surgery to a lot of doctors it may be something that is 100% needed for her to lose the weight before hand. Maybe she could ask if it's different if she has the gastric bypass??

I saw my OB yesterday and she said that of all her patients that has had weight loss surgery and the IUD, none of them had reported any weight gain. She doesn't think that the Mirena is affecting me adversely. And I'm not gaining weight, I'm just stalled. She told me to keep and eye on my progress and if it's an issue, she'll pull it. I have no other side effects from it otherwise so I would hate to have it removed, but if it's hindering my progress, it has to go.

Hi shelly! It sounds like you did a great job! Even with weight gain you seem very successful, congrats on that! Stay positive!

Hi all - My name is Shelly and in a few weeks, I will reach the 7 year mark since getting my lapband. My pre-op weight was 306 and my lowest weight was 165, which I reached about 5 years ago. About that time, I moved to another state and stopped having regular check-ins with my lapband doc. Naturally, I lost restriction and got lazy, which earned me about a 50 pound weight gain over the past 4-5 years. I recently re-connected by finding a new bariatric doc here and had a recent fill. I'm working on getting back to where I want to be and returning to following the rules and using my band as the tool it should be. In the 2 weeks since the fill, I've lost 5 pounds, s I'm beginning to feel hopeful again. I'm hoping that by joining this group, I will be able to re-capture some of the enthusiasm and motivation I had in the beginning. I've looked around the site and suppose I should feel fortunate that I have had no complications with my band whatsoever. I just learned over time how to defeat it and went back to old eating habits. Hopefully I can return to the successful behaviors I had before! Shelly

I saw myself as "not that fat" for many years. I'm thinking from puberty I had this mind set and then over the years my weight has gradually increased and I still thought the same way. It wasn't until my recently that I have accepted the fact that I am morbidly obese and need to do something and fast. I dread taking full body pics. When you see my avatar I don't look that bad there right? lol. I met my husband online and only had a head shot on my profile and when he met me he admitted that he thought I was much smaller.....well surprise surprise lol. He still loves me and has been with me and supported through the weight gain and even the small successes that I have had with diet and working out. But like I said I finally accepted the fact that I'm obese and I'm not ashamed to take pictures...mainly because I know that I'm not going to look this way for long and I want to invite people to view my journey to encourage those who may come after me.

I have hypothyroidism. Was discovered in my last pregnancy nearly 12 years ago. Your thyroid function is essential for metabolism. The medication does not cause weight gain. In fact, around my 3 month mark my weight loss seemed stalled for a few weeks. My TSH was very elevated and my medication was increased. My weight started coming off.

OMG! I have been diagnosed with hypothyroid and my Dr. wants to put me on Synthroid. Everything I have read on synthroid causes weight gain. I have worked so hard to loose weight I just can't emagine taking anything to make me gain. I am not going to take it no way.

I really need help. i have gone back to the dietician, spoke with the doctor, and even went to my regular doctor for some assistance. The weight still has not budged. They said add more protein so i did that. More aerobics ...still no change..kept a food diary..nothing. I have now went into a slump, I am eating as the dietician has required and i am now getting deressed because i am not moving forward. 3 months is a lonnnnnngggg PLATEAU. Does anyone have any suggsetions. i have had 8 fills in 9 months . Every month since the surgery. I have Prayed and cried ..and feel helpless.

Basically that was what I was told yesterday by the psychologist and it made sense. I would rather be safe than sorry, so I actually don't mind waiting. Although I really don't want to wait too long but I will, won't have a choicel. I just know it will be a fight to maintain my current weight, plus I'm not strong in the will power area. Just don't want to have to lose it all over again. That is my main concern, weight gain without the band. The "damn band" is now actually working now that it has slipped. I really know when to stop eating, as it tells me. Go figure.

I was banded Dec 28,2012 and have only lost 40 lbs. Last month I only lost 4 lbs when before it was going so fast. I hate to ever tell my business but I suffer from bipolar disorder and the meds were what caused my weight gain of 75 lbs in 5 yrs. I don't need a fill,I am already super cautious because I seem to get"stuck" pretty easily. Is the hunger just in my head? I used to not get hungry for hours and now I find myself grazing. Not gaining weight,just not losing as much. Any advice?