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Thanks for sharing your story, Nikki. I too am bipolar and on 4 different meds for that. Before I started my bipolar meds back in '06, I weighed around 160 pounds. After that, I steadily gained weight until earlier this year when I was at a high weight of 334 pounds. I know that my medication played a big part in my weight gain, but like you, I had to have it and couldn't stop taking it. Congratulations on your surgery, and you are on your way to a healthier and happier you! Keep your head up and be strong and resist temptation. You will do great!

Bands are only suitable if food is your poison. If alchol or liquid calories made you obese the band can't do anything to help that - your surgeon would have asked you about alchol consumption at your first consult - did you tell the exact truth about how much and often you really drink? The other person is right - plenty of people go on drinking socially (every weekend) after banding just as they did pre-banding and never get within kooee of a healthy weight or never lose weight at all - I know at least 5 people in real life in that situation all over 1yr out. You have to really watch how much you are actually drinking and think about it like this: 2 glasses of red wine (200mL average home/social size drink) a week will make you gain 1.5kg per year If you have a single 200ml glass of red with dinner every night of the week thats a 5.4kg weight gain each year. If you are a social drinker, especially spirits or beer, your drinking a lot more than that thus you need to assess weather your have a food problem causing your weight problem or an alchol problem causing your weight problem. And don't forget about the high calorie Snacks that go hand in hand with social drinking. People that drink a few glasses a month it really doesn't noticeably impact (only half a kilo a year which isn't that obvious), its when its more than 3 or 4 serves a month that you notice it on the scales and defeat the purpose of having weight loss surgery.

Hi Rowena I asked this question before I was banded as I tend to drink wine on a regular basis. Now I am 5 weeks banded and speaking from my own point of view, I can still drink wine & champagne, but probably not as much as I used to, and I also dont feel like it as much (depending on the day:) ) Everyone will tell you that to achieve maximum weight loss you should not drink alcohol as they are empty calories - I agree as this is probably the single biggest contributor to my weight gain. But the reality is that most bandits who drank alcohol before banding still drink afterwards. Chin chin :bandit

Weight gain is normal from all the IV fluids. Drink as much water/liquids (as your program advises) and walk walk walk. This will help with any pain and get your body back in whack.

I'm down to the wire--and the days are taking LONGER and LONGER to go by. I am at strict liquids for these last two days. I've lost almost seven pounds on this preop diet in the past five days doing strict Adkins. My goal is to be at 205 the day of surgery. I have 1.4 pounds to go--but think that should be attainable doing all liquids. My clothes don't feel so "poured into" feeling--and so I'm glad I didn't splurge and buy some last week when they were all straining to keep up with my last supper weight gains! I'm regretting not exercising as I had vowed to do--haven't so much as walked..but am planning on doing that the day of surgery! Wednesday, June 17th, 2009.... is the first day of the rest of my life. With the force of all my past failures, the suction of the hopes of a new unburdened life, and the grace of God...I will make it thru this transition and finally, for the first time in what seems like a lifetime away, will look in the mirror and see someone "in control" of my self---confident, vibrant, alive. I go to visit my family and friends over Christmas vacation and I am SOO excited about that! I will look at pictures taken of myself from this time and not die an inward death--or try to hide behind someone. I've learned alot this past week of pre-op dieting...I have really felt a slipping of the grip that food has had on me. I really WILL do this this time!

Hello friends! I'm feeling a bit devastated this morning. I just went to my fifth of six required appointments for my insurance. I had gained four pounds 😭. I am two days from "that time of the month" and am SUPER bloated. I can go up 7-10lbs this week of the month easily due to bloat. My previous few appts had been phone visits, so this is my first recorded weight in the office since Feb. I asked the doctor if she thinks I will get denied by insurance. She said maybe. She said she does see them take into account the final weigh in and compare it to the first, but they could deny me for this one weigh-in. She did note that my weight on my scale at home was lower than theirs and I was bloated. She said she couldn't make any promises. Don't get me wrong, I do blame myself 100% for this. I am just frustrated because I have been making positive changes. I have been being careful about not overeating and choosing healthier foods, I walk 15-30 mins each day and have been tracking about half the time (I need to work on this). I've been cooking healthier dishes, swapped to a smaller plate and utensils, dropped almost all of the sugar out of my diet, but the scale just doesn't like to move for me unless I go to extreme measures. This has always been the case for me. I have been making food and non-food changes to set myself up for success - ex. - I recently changed jobs to take a less stressful position because I recognized my previous job was allowing no time to think/act on healthier changes (was working 60 r weeks). I am in the second week of this new job. So, I am just feeling incredibly disappointed in myself and really sad that all of this work the last five months may come down to these stupid four pounds. Again, I own it - I'm not blaming anyone but myself. This is just hard. And it SUCKS. So, I've cried my eyeballs out and now am trying to move forward and make this last month really count. I am determined to drop 10-15lbs before my next appt. Has anyone else gone through this? I have Premera BCBS through Amazon. I am in NC. If my end weight is lower than the first do you think I will get denied? Come hell or high water I WILL weigh less next month! Thanks for listening ❤️

I attend the OAC's Your Weight Matters National Convention every year. It's an awesome convention that offers top-notch education for those that have had or are interested in weight loss surgery. I encourage all of our members to join me in 2018! Here are some of the sessions that I thought stood out from the rest of the available sessions: YWM2017: Understanding Your Body's Response to Exercise and Hunger YWM2017: Point/Counterpoint: Which Impacts Weight Gain More - Genes or Environment? YWM2017: Living Nutritiously - Making the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice YWM2017: Point/Counterpoint - Are All Calories Created Equal? YWM2017: I Lost Weight, Now How Do I Keep it off? YWM2017 Event Welcome - The Power of Coming Together: The Harm of Accepting Weight Bias YWM2017: Looking at Your Nutritional Needs after Bariatric Surgery YWM2017: Sweet Dreams - The Relationship between sleep Health and Your Weight YWM2017: How to Turn Struggles into Your Greatest Strengths YWM2017: The Secret Life of Pets and Human Obesity YWM2017: Transforming Your Lifestyle - Building Healthy Behaviors YWM2017: What's Preventing Your Weight Management Progress? YWM2017: Doc vs. Surgeon - Deciding the Best Treatment Approach for Patients

Thanks Beth. I have to remind myself so often. lately though I have been a little more relaxed when I go astray. I know if I eat bad foods that there will be a weight gain, and I know when I get back on track I will lose it plus some. Sometimes it feels like two steps forward and one step back...but at least I am still making progress!

I haven't been around in a while, just now able to really sit at the computer for long. Congrats to all of those on the losers bench and to those joining us soon. I'm still having pain and needing Tylenol every 4 hours, but I am getting around well. I was up and walking a lot right after surgery. They called me their star patient, but I seemed to have a lot of pain and bruising. sleeping is a challenge, but I have no hunger and have not regretted this once. I actually gained 12lbs overnight from all of the fluids. It took quite a while to lose that, but the pounds started melting off within the last 3 days. I am 8 days post op and down 7lbs even with the 12lb weight gain, so 19lbs in 8 days. <laugh> I was able to start mushies yesterday. Everything is going well so far, but I eat very little. I don't want to over do it especially since it's only 1 week since surgery. I can see my muscles wasting away already and cannot wait to be able to exercise and lift again. GL all.

I saw someone post once, "No one asked me the details about my weight gain or how I got there, so they don't need to know the details of my weight loss or how I'm getting there" LOL! For me only my immediate family know as well as 3 close friends.

ok.....Here we go. how should I address a large weight gain with my adult son? he is an RN and is over 250lbs. he seems to eat quite a bit of fast food. hubby says he is a nurse he knows how what to do...son says he is eating less carbs. he had a 12pack of diet 7up he brought to the house on the first night and take out from hardees and snacked on stuff like Graham crackers. we were surviving hurricane matthew and son stayed over since he had no power at his house. I see him about every 3-4 months. he asks me about my WLS and I have been tempted to mention his weight gain.

I'm fine. I have plenty of protein in my diet as I always start the day with a protein shake. 1 cup is too much food for me. Been there, done that ie. weight gain.

Kellie, what stage of your diet are you on if you had surgery on July 9th? Did I read it wrong? Are you only 11 days out? I was only starting full liquids at 11 days and was on that for 5 weeks. I am still on soft foods until Sunday and I know it's going to be a while until I can actually go to regular foods. I'll be 7 weeks out on Monday and yesterday I had a Protein shake for Breakfast, I had one piece of deli light ham chopped into 3 teaspoons of cottage cheese for lunch, and for dinner I ate about about an 1.25 ounce of turkey tenderloin, 4 baby cooked carrots, about a teaspoon of 1% cottage cheese, and about a teaspoon of instant mashed potatoes. I spent an hour uncomfortable and realized I should have foregone at least one cooked carrots. My entire day I had less than 485 calories, 33 grams of carbohydrates (which is higher for me), 6 grams of fat, 60 grams of protein. You had one bean burrito from Taco Bell for dinner. 370 calories, 56 grams of carbohydrates, 11 grams of fat,13 grams of protein. While newly sleeved until maintenance most doctors ask that you stay within 40-45 grams of carbs per day. I'm sure it went down easy because the shell, the Beans and whatever is in it is just food that can easily be chewed up and swallowed and if you drank anything at all with that, it is just going to slide down your tummy, preventing the full feeling you were suppose to have. I know it's a lot less than you used to eat, but it's not a wise choice and truthfully that's the food that causes people to gain weight in the first place. High carb makes you hungrier. Add what you ate for the entire day and you will see. Are you charting your food, Water etc. on anything like myfitnesspal.com? I just would hate to see someone go through this surgery and wonder why they aren't losing weight or even gaining weight or go back to their bad habits. I would really hate to see you end up with a leak, eating solid foods immediately. I can't imagine your doctor would allow soft or solid food food at 11 days post-op. You may very well lose weight while eating like this at first, because you are only 11 days out and will be losing water etc. first, but you will struggle losing fat because you will be taking in too many carbohydrates and once that is used for fuel it will be restored as fat. Your stomach isn't even healed yet, and you are pushing the limits of it's size already. If you haven't been told where you are suppose to be nutrition wise, I would definitely speak with your nutritionist or find one, because I think you really need to talk to someone. Many people seek support from a behaviorist or therapist, to try to get to the underlying reason for the weight gain in the first place. I think it's wonderful that you see such an improvement but at 7 weeks, I could not eat even a bite or two of that, and it worries me that you don't see that was a bad choice for a meal. I hope you take this post in the light I am intending, as someone who has done a lot of research on the sleeve and started out the six month pre-approval phase working on behavior modification, lowering my carb intake and really fully getting to the root of my eating problems to begin with. Good luck to you and I wish you the best.

I've never watched the show, but I'm not surprised contestants on it would have significant weight gains after it finished. They were losing weight in a hermetic environment detached from the reality of their daily lives, and knowing that an audience was watching them. I think for weight loss to be sustainable it needs to be realistic. You need to weave the habits that will lead to you losing weight and being healthy into your actual life. My weight loss post surgery has been relatively slow, but I'm not depriving myself on a radical diet or dropping everything else in my life to focus on it exclusively. In the past my weight really yo-yo'd, so I'm more determined to lose weight sensibly and keep it off instead of rapidly dropping just to have it pile back on. Prior to having the VSG I did watch several YouTube videos, and one was from a former contestant on the show who gave her perspective about her experience, and some good advice about WLS. She'd also gained all of the weight she lost plus quite a bit more in the years after being on the show, before deciding to have the VSG. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caB3iv_iSxo

Wow! My composition professor would be appalled at my beginning anything with that but January was so insane for me that I can only begin with a Wow! I prayed, I researched, I posted here, I poured over everything I could find on obesity and gastric surgeries. I watched an all day long marathon on the morbidly obese on Discovery Channel. As always, I overdid, I over-thought, I drove myself crazy. I was in church on a Wednesday evening and could not set still. I finally went out into the lobby and called the insurance company. I was so hoping I was denied and then the searching for a decision was over. The man's voice on the phone told me differently. I was approved. By Friday I had my date. Jan. 31, 2007, with my liquid diet beginning on Jan. 17, 2007. In a week and a half my whole life was changing. The only thing I could compare this to was my pregnancies but this time it was all about me. Was I selfish or rather self-caring enough to go through with this? The idea of waiting on approval had actually caused me to go for the cokes and the caffeined sugary drinks even more and my sedentary job was just helping with the weight gain. I knew I had to quit the sugar now or forget the surgery. Guess what the Wednesday evening services were on all the month of January? A personal trainer/ pastor gave health lectures and focused on fasting! When I decided to fast God had the whole church fast! I actually began liquids and protien shakes every day until the 17th followed by a healthy evening meal. I am truly blessed I did because I would not have made it through the two weeks of liquids 24/7 before surgery if I had not began to prepare weeks ahead of time. My next entry I want to share what those two weeks of such a limited diet did for and to me mentally and physically. I learned about me and what I am vulnerable to. I also learned how strong I can be.

Yeah.....I'm with elcee on this one. My weight didn't come on from the drive thru. For the most part, I ate healthy. But the snacking in between meals; especially after dinner, coupled with the lack of exercise = weight gain. I love fries, but only ate them on occasion. When restaurants starting putting the calorie content on the menu, it was a VERY rude awakening! That salad I love is 800 calories. Add the bread & butter, and a few cookies after dinner, I'm already calorically into the next hemisphere! That doesn't take into account the other two meals of the day. Yep, not everyone eats fast food and bags of chips. But Bayougirl, I totally agree that SO many people who post, are in complete and utter denial!!

Yes, my doc said the pill can cause mild weight gain at first because of the hormones.

The sleeve is only a tool. You can eat and do whatever you want. A lot of people develop better eating habits post op because it is easier. The sleeve also isn't a magic bullet for weight loss. Calories in still equal weight gain. So what works for you now, may not always. I nibble at "forbidden foods" every once in a while, but I don't eat them on a daily basis. Too much is at risk: I love how I feel now and would cry if I gained. I'm 11 months and 162 lbs down.

Chickie -- I understand totally. Why then do you see the pronounced rebound weight gains in gastric bypass patients (group at large) but not in lap band patients over a 5 year span? My surgeon also explained to me (perhaps I misunderstood) that one option in some cases of pouch dilation for gastric bypass patients is to THEN apply a band. I'm not discounting your points at all and I don't want to appear to be a newcomer with all the answers. I've enjoyed reading your views on life with the band and think we are of similar mind. Particularly with regard to slow weight loss. My point to the original poster is that the studies clearly show a rebound weight gain long-term (3-5 years) that band patients don't show -- another plus in the band catagory. According to my surgeon one distinct reason for this is the adjustability of the band. Not that it will cure a dilated pouch from "abuse". With regard to slippage and erosion, I wonder how many folks out there have their band embricated to hold it in place and further reduce the chance for slippage and erosion? I'll post that as a seperate question.

Good point Chickie! I'm only a newbie (banded 5/29) here but I've read every study I could get my hands on and discussed them with my doctor. While your point is certainly valid, I'm referring to study outcomes that I've seen comparing the two methods over multiyear spans. You can clearly see a rebound weight gain in the bypass line graph vs lap band pts. And, although no infinite adjustments, one advantage of the band is that it can be adjusted long term vs the bypass. Just pointing out another reason to look favorably on the band vs bypass.

Well crap. So, I've been stuck at the same general area since October. Yes, there has been some movement, but it keeps going back up. Before leaving to visit family last week I had finally made it to 202.8 and was there for a couple of days. While away, I didn't weigh myself at all but I was doing fairly well about my eating. Typically, when I am back home, the stress of dealing with family BS makes me eat poorly. Well, when I got back home Tuesday night, I decided to weigh myself before going to bed. Well, guess what...finally onederland! 198.8 I didn't believe it, so I took off the PJ's and got back on. Still 198.8. Awesome! Logically, ince I had just eaten, that must mean I will likely weigh a little less or the same the next morning, right? Well, no. Wednesday morning I decided to weigh myself to see if there had been any change. Yes, there fraking had. 205.8. WTF!?! And tonight, 208!!! I am so f**king pissed right now. Bummed and eating horribly since Wednesday. Damn discount chocolate...I just don't know what the hell is going on. I work out and eat right, there's little to no movement. I eat farily well and don't work out, there's little to no movement. I imagine some of the weight gain in the passed few days has something to do with my period, but still...I'm just so sick of this. I need to go shoot something. Maybe my neighbors who blast their loud music in the middle of the night. Yeah...shooting them will make me feel better... Excuse me...I'll be back later. Okay...I'm back. How weird is it that this constant plateau has me feeling no different than how I felt before I had the surgery? It's as if I am still that 300lb woman who couldn't lose ten pounds to save her life. I look in the mirror or I look down at me and I see rolls. Not "smaller" rolls (because the fat rolls are smaller, of course), but just rolls of fat. I know these feelings will go away or at least die down once my period is over with and the hormones settle, but right now I just feel like crap.

I am someone who lost too much weight. I weighed 95 lbs in August 2012. I was following my diet too closely and couldn't give myself permission to just eat carbs. Sounds simple but it wasn't. I am seeing a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. No problem gaining the weight I needed once we figured out I was anemic. Lots of nausea, fatigue, vomiting.......I worked so hard to learn a new way to live with food and my body and became "stuck" on rules. Also was having MAJOR issues with lactose intolerance (even with Lactaid pills). So it has been bumpy these last 2-years. It's a tricky thing; while the surgery took away the constant hungry feeling, it also took away any "comfort" that I used to feel from foods. As far as losing too much weight, I knew I was too skinny but couldn't tolerate all the yogurt and dairy that I was trying to gain weight with. Many factors were involved: anemia, lactose intolerance, psychological.... Currently, I still follow eating guidelines--healthy eating habits, 3-meals /day at least. Focusing on taking my supplements properly. No more dairy, even with lactose pills. Post surgery I became even more lactose intolerant, so much so that I completely avoid dairy. AND, Tums has lactose in it. This upset stomach thing was with me even Pre-op. with all of the major lifestyle changes and physical and emotional changes I couldn't figure out exactly what was causing all the diarrhea and vomiting. Ha! If only I'd figured it out sooner..... My guilty pleasure for weight gain = Starbuck's white chocolate mocha (SOY)! This post rambling but it's my first time sharing anything about my surgery on a message board or forum.

Hi. My name is Ashley. I have always been the largest person in my extended family. I was always shy and introverted because of my weight. It took me a long time to get comfortable being out in public. To this day I avoid large groups of people. I began putting on weight when I was 9 years old. My family doctor told my mom it was just "baby fat" and I would be fine, no reason for concern. As the weight continued to gain and I became the largest person in my grade every year at school, I began seeking out answers. Eventually, I diagnosed myself with "Stein-Leventhal Syndrome" and went to see a gynocologist at age 17. He confirmed the diagnosis, saying it was more commonly referred to as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS. I was told I was in a Catch-22. To lose weight would help control my symptoms, but obesity and weight gain were inevitable. I was also informed that I had a 25% chance of ever conceiving a child. This crushed me. I was about to go to college for a major in Child Development because of my love for children. I first considered Bariatric Surgery when I was about 20 years old. I knew I had to do something because I couldn't even stomach looking in the mirror anymore. I was weighing in around 240ish at this time. I started researching Gastric Bypass because Lap-Band was not as well known. I was quickly informed by anyone and everyone with an opinion that I was taking the easy way out. So once again I turned to dieting. Unsuccessfully, of course. I continued to steadily put on weight over the next few years, I couldn't even find the motivation to lose weight for our wedding in October of 2007. On New Years Day 2010, I was alone at home, feeling sluggish from the holidays. TLC was having a marathon on weight, seeing as how that's most people's New Years' resolutions. I watched these 683 lb women, one ton woman, Big Ben's story, etc...and i thought to myself- that's going to be me. The last one I watched, they gave the woman, who was 28 and had two little girls and was bedridden, Gastric. She died two weeks later. I turned it off and immediately began researching. I vowed if I could ever afford to get it done, I was never going to screw up like some of them. (One of the boys was given free Gastric surgery and two years later was overweight again.) I weighed in the next morning at 301. A normal scale wouldn't have weighed me any longer.To summarize the next few months, I attended a seminar in Reston at the end of January, waited for them to deal with insurance for 2 months (they claimed although calls to insurance proved them liars), then got pissed and moved on. I attended a seminar at RMH in Harrisonburg, VA on April 9th. On April 15th, I started the process. I went through all the steps, even the setbacks like therapy to deal with food/emotions, and was approved for surgery upon first submission to insurance on June 7th, 2010. They scheduled me for surgery on July 6th, 2010. I began my 2 week liquid Pre-Op diet on June 22nd. I still weighed 301. The day of my surgery I was down to 280. I was so proud of myself. Then for a combined total of 4 weeks I did not put one thing that wasn't on list in my mouth. After 4 weeks I was down 38 lbs. Since then I have lost half of my goal. I'm down 79 lbs with 79 to go. My BMI has dropped from 47 to 35 and its only been 4 1/2 months. I've dropped from a size 26 jeans to a size 16, with the 14's in sight!I'm looking for people to share experiences and /or questions with, since most of the people in my life don't even know about my surgery.

So sorry to hear your situation but don't give up. I have Anthem BCBS of Ohio and they are strict but should check for sleep apena. Mine was brought on by my weight gain. I'm at 250, bmi 41 currently and I have mild sleep apena. So just for that, it's important.

Hey Southern Missy, I had a look at your post and just had a couple of questions (I did not have to do a 6 month preop diet thing)... 1) What is your 6 month preop that you have been on? On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being not so good) where would you say you are on it with how well you have been following the diet guidelines? 2) Is the medication that you have been taken known to cause weight gain as a side effect?