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hey there, I'm in delaware county and a 13 year veteran of the band about to revise to the sleeve due to complications and multiple slips and weight gain. My doctor is at NYU so I'm really interested in connecting with people locally here and there so I'm not going at this alone again. How is everyone doing?

Hello everyone! I am Jacquie and I am new to LBT. I live in OK and I am set to have my banding done in Aug! Having set the date, let me assure you, does not mean I am definately having this done! I still have TONS of unanswered questions and anxieties about having this done! #1- I am on insulin...so I have concerns about insulin during the pre-op 10 day diet and of course after surgery! #2- I only have to lose 70 pounds max.....my Dr said that with the band I will have to excercise atleast 2 hours a day to lose regular and maintain the loss for LIFE.....so my question is, if I have to work out/walk/whatever for 2 hours a day for life with the band..couldn't I just do the excercising WITHOUT the band? #3- I maintain a strict 1,200 cal diet and count my carbs, fat, protiens, since I am on insulin and BP meds... I do walk 30 minutes and more daily. If I can do that without the band, do I really NEED the band? #4- I wanted the band so I could get off of unsulin and the BP meds...Dr said I would need to lose atleast 60 pounds to do that...soooooo my question again, is if I have to lose that much to get off the meds, and I only need to lose 60-70 pounds anyway..do I need the band? #5- I was told the RNY would be a faster way to get off the meds..but I also know the complications are greater... has anyone changed from a band to the RNY? #6- I have seen FAILURE from all options..I have seen people lose up to 100 pounds by eating/excercise and I have seen people banded and bypassed...and in all forms of weight loss I have seen the weight gain return in 2-5 years....My dr. says that failure with the band is 80% greater than with other WL options...so just what is it that makes people lose with the band and helps them keep it off? #7-the say the band is for LIFE..yet in doing alot of research reading, I see a VAST amount of removals in less than a year and even more within 2-3 years..... what predicts how long a band will stay in ? so many questions and thus far after attending 4 seminars, a dozen or more support group meetings, and reading for hours on the internet...I have NOT found any good answers! Thanks for any replies and info! Jacquie:thumbup:

Ok I know I shouldn't be stressing this right now but I need to know. The day I went in for surgery I weighed 311. The day I came home I weighed 316. Last night (day 6) I was down to 305. I weighed this morning and I weighed 309. I am averaging about 32 ounces a day right now. WHY AM I GAINING WEIGHT?????

Hi. You've really had a hard time of it. All those things you describe shows you have incredible strength. I'm so glad to hear you don't have hang overs but I'm worried about your liver. Do you think you'd ever consider an alchaholic anon group ? Or even one to one .? Regarding the weight gain I don't know about hysterectomy. But that bottle of wine would be really effecting your ability to lose weight. How do you feel about cutting down ? What does your future regarding alchahol look like ? Are you wanting to quit or cut down ? Perhaps set your self some goals. But don't beat yourself up if you don't manage to stick to them. You look amazing and hopefully things will improve for you. Sounds like with your personal life your on track. But there will be a lot of wounds left from those things so perhaps that's why the drinking is like a bandade over those wounds. Are you in therapy at all ? Sent from my Vivo 5R using BariatricPal mobile app

I know how you all feel! Dont give up...... Well today ( 11/11/09 ) I made it to the doctors office... I weighted in @ 345 so I had to reset my ticker.. It came out 5 lbs over so I will call my start date today. My blood pressure was good, no issues there. I took a look at my chart and my last visit was on 8/5/08 my weight then 287.7 lbs.. Man that hit me.. I could not believe I let myself go that way! I saw a New PA and she was cool. I told her my issue and she said thats ok, time to start over a new beginning. I thought that was nice of what she said with a 57 lbs weight gain.. After a brief discussion she began to feel for my port but could not find it. She went to get the other PA ( who I have seen before ) and after he saw my chart you would think he would say glad to see you here, instead he says" what happen " I said long story.. That was a turn off... anyway I think she will be my contact person there from now on....They found the port and recovered only 6 cc of Fluid. My last visit he got it up to 9.cc, so it was a little concerning about the 3. 5 cc disappearance. He said hopefully it just demish, but was concern that just maybe I would have a leak. I now have 7cc in my LAP-BAND®.. I have another appt on 12/2/09 and they will check to see how many CC I have then. I will also attend an aftercare/support class... On is Bariatric essentials ( basically a refresher on what to eat/ how much/etc) and the other is Emotional Eating.. This will be all done on the same day since the doctors office is 1.5 hrs from where I live.. Hope to lose 6 lbs bt next visit!

I guess I didn't know what else to call this and I'm sure I might have posted a related post quite awhile ago. However, here I am again and I'd like some thoughts from people who understand where I'm coming from. I'm 21 years old. I had surgery almost 3 years ago. I went from 270 lbs to 125 lbs. I feel healthier than I have ever felt, but I'm miserable. I'm getting asked out all the time by guys and it would be great if I could get excited about it. But with each one I just get more depressed. Thing is I look normal...maybe even good...with my clothes on, but when they are off it's a whole different story. I can't afford surgery and have been trying to get my insurance to cover a tummy tuck but I feel that'll take a lot of appeals and maybe a doctor that doesn't have their head up their ass. It's especially depressing because most of my problems stemmed from extreme rapid weight gain that caused deep purple stretch marks all over my body. Thank you thyroid and PCOS. Now I just have to find a doctor who will stand by me when I say it was the thyroid. Anyway. So basically, I know that these guys would not be interested if they knew what I really looked like. It's really depressing me. To the point that I have been thinking about suicide. I would never, but I'm depressed by the fact that I will constantly have intimacy problems, and that physically I will never be good enough. And all that getting to goal has shown me is that I guess it's the physical side of me that matters, not at all my mind or personality. I'm just looking for others out there that feel that same as me or that can give me some advice or something.

I first noticed I could comfortably cross my legs and keep it there at an 18. Thank goodness even with my weight gain I can still do this!

Dear Jeter2: Thanks so much for your reply. I have actually talked to my dr and he gave me the instructions for weaning myself off the Paxil. So, I am in the process of doing that SLOWLY - I get VERY ill if I cut down too much at a time or too fast! My biggest obstacle is that I used to work for my family doctor - the one that prescribed the Paxil 3 years ago. He INSISTS that, if anything, it will have a weight LOSS side effect - but NOT weight gain. And because I can't find weight GAIN as a documented side effect - he refuses to admit that that is even a possibility. I haven't tried any other anti-depressants in the past; but may get up the nerve to ask him for something different - if I can't make it without anything. Thanks again! As for the bc pill - I quit taking it. I see my "girly" doctor the beginning of December so I'll talk to her about other options; however, that one does have documented side effects of weight gain.

Good luck on your revision. If I had known what I know now, back then, I would have gone straight to bypass. Both the lap band and sleeve gave me many issues. Weight loss was good but the band cause esophagus issues so I had to switch to sleeve. Weight gain of course, when they removed the fluid for months to heal... And now the sleeve caused severe GERD and now I am revising to bypass. Sent from my SM-N986U using BariatricPal mobile app

You are beautiful, and congrats on wanting to fix the issues. I think at this point it is deeper than the small weight gain - maybe should get some counseling. Your work might have a program through insurance that could be a starting place. You need coping skills that keep you from destructive behavior, and to learn to be kind to yourself. You need to be able to see the 'red flag' behavior in relationships and not get stuck in that again, maybe even AA or Codependants Anonymous. Or some books by Melody Beattie. Good luck.

i have seen alot of people say they have a small weight gain and it is normal.

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!

Ok guys so as of yesterday my dr put me on purees. I started to finally eat very little bit. Today I see the scale has gone up two pounds!!! What the heck???? Is this normal???? I thought I'm supposed to be losing A pound a day????

You get stretch marks because the skin is stressed out so much from weight gain (or growth spurts) that the elasticity of the skin can't accommodate - they are technically damaged areas of skin that won't ever go away without surgery. All those expensive lotions have in the fine print that they will "reduce the appearance of stretch marks" so don't waste your money. No cream or lotion can remove them, so just use some good moisturizing lotion that isn't too expensive to keep the skin hydrated as they fade out.

Hi Kathy, I'm glad to hear that you're well... The challenges never cease. While I've been able to maintain, it's still a lot of work. I got a taste of rapid weight gain after allowing my cereal snacking to get out control. I've been slacking a little on my exercising lately due to being very busy with work and need to get that back on track. Keep fighting the fight... Andrew

I haven't posted in a while and I wanted to say hi to everyone and hope that everyone is doing ok. A lot has been going on with me and it has affected my weight loss. I left my husband in January of this year and of course that was stressful and the past two months I have had a toothache and the only way I could relieve the pain was eat something, even when I wasn't hungry. I have noticed a little weight gain, not enough to not fit into my clothes and size I had gotten down to, 14, but I have noticed a little bit. To top it off, I had my surgery in Dallas and I now live in West Texas and all the doctors in this area won't touch my band with a ten foot poll even for a fill so I am going to have to go back to Dallas if anything goes wrong with my band or if I need a fill. Of course I am stressed and what happens when I get stressed, I eat. I am trying to listen to my band, which most of the time I do, but sometimes I don't, which I get dissapointed in myself and am not starting to think about diets again, which never helped me in the past and won't help me now. I guess I just needed to vent to ya'll because I knew I would be understood. Thanks for listening.

Sounds like you're doing things in a good order. There's another person somewhere on this site who is having trouble getting started on exercise because she has other illnesses and because she smokes so much. If you can get the smoking stopped and then do the band to help stop what otherwise might be even more weight gain, and then get the exercise started, you've taken on a HUGE task, but a worthy one. Good for you.

well actually we shouldn't eat until we are full u should eat until u are not hungry any longer. and most of the times after we eat 1/4 of a meal we are or shouldn't be HUNGRY any longer... Now eating until u are full is something else.... That means normally cleaning your plate... and that is what causes weight gain. Another thing is when u eat until u are no longer hungry means eating smaller meals more often.... which will result in weight loss.... Just eat when u are hungry.. and chew your food really good... Don't eat until u are full and u will be ok...

Hi everyone, I have to say that today was a huge set back for me, I had my fourth weight management appointment and was told I gained 3 pounds. It is hard not to feel like a failure, I just feel as though I will never be able to change unhealthy habits. Anyone out there that has experienced this or is going through this? Any advice or tips? Does this affect insurance approval?

@@Gaby86 Based on your comment - I'm assuming you're having difficulty eating healthy during this pre-op phase (and this wasn't just Water retention). It's very difficult and a huge change for us. I found therapy with the psychologist in my bariatric program very helpful in dealing with cravings and emotional/mindless eating. I would encourage anyone to get therapy pre-op and post-op - as this is more mental than physical. Plan out your meals - make sure you have healthy alternatives available at all times. Bring food to work so you don't get tempted to eat unhealthy (or end up grabbing fast food). Eat from small plates - using small utensils. Eat slowly (put utensil down between bites), don't eat in front of the TV. Try having 5-6 small meals every 3 hours (while awake) - concentrating on Protein and produce. No Pasta, bread, pizza, rice, candy, Cookies, etc. Once you eat them - you'll crave more and sabotage yourself. Cut out soda or sweetened drinks, fruit juice, etc. Drink water or non-caloric drinks. You can do this - and you'll be in a much better position to be successful post-op! A weight gain during this time can effect insurance approval. Hopefully that's not the case with you. Stay strong!!!

I had never gone to a spa until about one week before my sleeve surgery, a little over 2 1/2 years ago. My friend and I were on a girls weekend in Vegas and she wanted to treat me to a massage. I was absolutely against it. Embarrassed and ashamed of my body. She told me it would be one of the best pleasures I would ever know. "Besides," she said, "nobody knows you, they will never see you again." So, reluctantly, I agreed. When we first arrived and they took us into the back to change, they told me I could go full nude if I wanted to, but--at the most--I had to strip down to my underwear and bra. I think I turned beet red. As they gave us a tour of the facility and its amenities, so many women were in the nude! Sitting in the sauna, steam room and hot tubs. Ugh! The movies were not so far off. I was so uncomfortable and I felt like I did not belong. I was surrounded by women who were comfortable in their bodies. I was not. But alas, there I was, so I stripped down to my underwear and bra, put on my robe, wrapped it around me and held onto it for dear life. I was offered some wine...which I gladly accepted to calm my nerves, and when I was called back into my massage room to meet my masseuse, I was MORTIFIED! The masseuse was a GUY, and I wanted to die. He told me he was going to step out of the room and allow me to take off my robe and get onto the massage table, under the sheets. When he shut the door, I seriously contemplated leaving. However, my friends words echoed in my head: I would never see this person again. I did as I was told and got under the sheets (and trust me when I say that I wrapped them tight, like a human burrito). He came in and talked to me in a very soothing voice. However, he noticed that I was fidgety and avoiding eye contact. He asked me if I was nervous. I admitted that I was, and I even confessed that it was my first time and that I was very insecure about my weight. He graciously told me, "Sweetie, every woman is beautiful. No matter her shape or size. This is going to be a relaxing and enjoyable experience, and I do not want you ruining it with such nonsense." Oh my goodness! What a wonderful and beautiful thing to say. I loved him from that moment on. My nerves and reluctance melted away and I REALLY enjoyed the experience! My-oh-my, that 80 minutes felt like 20 minutes! I wished it lasted longer (actually, I think he added on an extra 10 minutes; tipped him big too!). So, here I am. 30 months post-op. Learned to work my sleeve, eat right, religiously spending 8-10 hours in the gym a week, lost all of my excess weight, completed plastics, and loving my body. So, the girls and I had a spa day over the holidays and I decided to go fully nude in the hot tub, in the steam room and on the massage table. I wasn't uncomfortable. Totally owned it. I even had one of the girls who joined us (mind you, she is 10 years younger than me) say, "Jeez...what I would do for your body." [Mind you, yes I had the sleeve. Yes, I had plastics; but, I work my butt off in the gym lifting weights and sticking to an eating regime that is healthy 90-95% of the time. Some people love to say that I cheated to get this body, but I say all the sleeve did was give me QUANTITY control. The sleeve does not control QUALITY and it does not dictate my fitness. After 4 kids, major weight gain, rapid weight loss, there was no way that my skin was going to put itself back together. I am not ashamed of my plastics and praise my doctor for helping complete my weight loss journey.] Okay, mini rant over. So, anyway, I felt AWESOME. I have never, EVER, had the confidence that I do now. And my ability to confidently lounge around in the nude was my biggest NSV yet. For the first time I realized I was just like those women in that Vegas spa.

It is so refreshing to hear all of your stories about mates supporting you, etc. I'm afraid that my story is not so fairy tale like. I was in a very difficult marriage and my husband was diagnosed with a personality disorder 6 years into our marriage., There were so many ups and downs that the stress caused me to eat and that is the way I dealt with my emotions. Over the last 5 years my weight went from 144 to 212. Along with the weight gain came sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a hiatal hernia and GERD. WTH? Who new being fat would lead to all this. I'm only 5'1 feet tall so it has caused a strain on me and I just feel horrible most days and fake my way through it. Well after being told that all I do is sit around and eat cupcakes all day and told that I was not sexy anymore, I left my husband and decided to take control of my life. I am turning 40 tomorrow and wanted to find myself again and get back to the person I recognize and not this stranger I stare at in the mirror everyday. Surgery is scheduled for 5/12 and I AM SO EXCITED! I wish everyone here luck!

A big Texas howdy to all my fellow vsg buddies! I'd like to introduce myself.........my name is Carolyn, 59 yrs, married to David and have 2 daughters, Sherry, and Stacey. We also have 2 grandchildren, almost 3 and almost 1. We live in Katy, TX, a beautiful sub on west side Houston. Here's my life as a "skinny" and how it progessed to a "fatty". During my vibrant teen years, I had an overweight sister who tried and tried many diets. Of course, as most of us can predict, she failed at each one. I told her one day "all you have to do is stop eating". How insensitive and ignorant I was!! She finally had an gastric bypass in 1974, when I was less than a month pregnant with my firstborn. My skinny life continued, even after giving birth. I was in great shape and lost the baby fat quickly. Same with my second pregnancy. Time sped by as I fattened up quickly. I was now in my early 40's and it seems like I went to bed thin one day and woke up obese. Gone were the days of volleyball and raquetball. Medicine instead took the place of my sports. The only exercise I was able to do now was bend my arm to eat, drink or take my list of meds. What a vicious circle.......because of my weight gain, I had to take 4 different meds to lower blood pressure, which then caused more weight gain. I also took 3 meds for my type 2 diabetes, then more for my high blood pressure, reflux, cholesterol, heart arrhythmia, and thyroid. Impressive list, right? I remember when I told my sister "all you have to do is quit eating". Words to haunt me! I did just that, I stopped eating, along with my stopping my metabolism. I did that for many years, without seeing any results, other than being exhausted each day that I got out of bed. Okay, so let's diet! Atkins, it worked...........for 3 months. South Beach, it worked..........for about 2 months, slim fast, diet pills, Weight Watches, Jenny Craig, Quick Weight Loss.............I tried them without lasting results. Last September, 2010, I saw my ex-husband's wife at our grandson's birthday party (yes, we are all on great friendly terms:) ). She had just had the VSL done a few weeks previous and she was sharing it all with me. We talked for a long time and I told her then that if this Quick Weight Loss didn't do the trick then I was definitely going to consider having that done also. I went in to see my pcp in early March to get some Patches for our upcoming cruise. Her nurse, Jody, came into the room and Lordy be, that woman looked good!!! We talked and she shared with me about her bariatric surgery. I asked her every question I could think of and she answered them as completely honestly and open as she could. My pcp came in and I told her how good Jody looked. She then suggested to me to consider it also, since I was on so many meds and my health was going downhill (my words, not hers!). That brings me here. I had my VSG surgery last Wed, and came home the following Friday. I went in for my first appt this afternoon. I actually had a panic attack while I was getting ready because I thought, what if I haven't lost weight, what if I've been eating too much, what if he left too much stomach, what if I, what if I, what if !!! My knees were shaking!!! I arrived with hubby in tow, (he's been such a wonderful support partner) and it was time to get on the dreaded scales, # 1 enemy to all of us "fatties". 10 lbs.............I lost 10 lbs in a week!!! Plus, I'm off 2 of my blood pressure meds, 1 diabetes meds, my reflux med and he wants me to talk to my pcp about the rest of the meds I'm on!!!! Results already!!! I'll be on a full liquid diet for another week, then moving on to the soft pureed foods, then slowly progressing forward. This will be a lifechange for me. I thank God I have such a wonderful bariatric dr and staff at hand, ready to answer any question I have. And like I said, my hubby has been the best............he's been there each step, each test, each day at the dr's office with me. Encouragement, support and love..............better than hamburger and french fries any day!!! I'm eager to walk these steps with each of you. I hope to get to know each of you, feel your pain,share your triumphs and let's cross the finish line together!!!

All protein bars are not created equal. You just have to read labels. Some bars are for weight gain, some are for building muscle mass, and some are meal replacements. Some are just glorified candy bars, but there are some really healthy ones, also. Remember to subtract grams of fiber from carbohydrates to get "net carbs". It is entirely possible to be successful using protein bars to supplement a healthy diet. Some people just can't eat enough food to get all the protein necessary. Do your homework and find what works for you. Your NUT should be able to help as well.

That's a good but difficult question. The simplest way to put it- the band doesn't change your behavior at all, it's your job to change your behavior. Very often, band patients do revert back to old behaviors if they haven't deal with the psychological aspects that lead them to obesity to begin with. There is a saying around here "the band goes around our stomachs, not our brains". If someone is eating for a reason other than physical hunger then they need to deal with that issue because the band can't change that. Another reason it's imperative to deal with the psychological issues of obesity is because the biggest weight gain "comfort foods" are also slider foods. Slider foods are foods that you can eat a ton of because they essentially liquefy when you eat them so they slide right through like the band isn't even there. For most of us (including me), chips are a slider. So is chocolate and ice cream. Some baked good are too- I found this out when I made homemade sugar Cookies last Christmas. When it comes to slider foods, you can easily binge and really sabotage your weight loss efforts. It's a slippery slope and one that really needs to be dealt with. What the band does do is allow you to be satisfied on much less food for much longer periods of time. Essentially, it controls hunger. This helps significantly for two reasons- it's a lot easier to eat less food and you're not so pre-occupied with food when you're not constantly hungry. If the band is removed, or Fluid removed, it is common for weight gain because all the sudden your appetite comes back with a vengeance. Last summer I had to have a total unfill for surgery (not band related). I got out of the hospital and I swear I was starving. I mean... my stomach was growling hungry all the time. I didn't gain weight during that time but boy it wasn't easy. Getting my band refilled couldn't come quick enough. If I'd had to stay like that long term, or worse lost my band forever, I have no doubt I'd gain weight. My personal feeling is, the better mentally prepared you are for the necessary changes with the band the better off (and more successful) you'll be. Best wishes.