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After 3 years of band success, my band started leaking and I started gaining weight. My sister started calling me Miss Piggy, I kid you not. She took my weight loss the hardest - I used to be the fat sister, and suddenly guys were walking past her to talk to me. It was hard for her to take, so she was very excited when I started to struggle with my weight again. Funnily enough it was also her that made me take stock after 7 months of weight gain and make the decision not to gain another lb. I have struggled but have managed not to gain anymore for 4 months, and in the last few weeks I've started losing again, despite a malfunctioning band. I also realise more than ever now that it's her insecurity that makes her this way, and I can't help but feel a little sorry for her!

Hello! I need some serious help/adive/steerage here! I am VERY new to the lapband world! I had my surgery on Jan 25 and have lost 35lbs since the pre-op diet! I have been experience such a ladder with the scale, going up and down 6-7lbs. I am excercising as well as eating the alotted diet that my surgeon wants me to follow. I am able to eat soft foods now as well! Is this perfectly normal? I do not want to go into the doctor next month with a crazy weight gain since I was last in. Any advice? anyone experience this?

I am having some different effects from my birth control. But I've had it/been on it even before my weight gain. I have implanon and have had it since August 2007. I have noticed on my big loss weeks I have stages of spotting and moodiness. Now if your doctor has you on antibiotics or blood thinners is possible for your period to pop up irregularly and really it depends on the type of BC you use. Please make sure your staying hydrated. I would check with your doctor on an iron supplement. 14days can put us banders at risk for anemia. Hope this helps... Don't freak just chat with your doc or their med aide they will find the answers!

I didn't have the same problem but I have had similar frustrations. In Jan last year they found I had a leak. I was checked for erosion and slip as well and had neither. In March I got the port and tube replaced but three months later, after complaining of not getting any restriction, they agreed that I was still losing Fluid and I had another operation in August. They checked the band while I was under and couldn't find a leak so they put everything back in and sewed me up. I still couldn't get restriction (got 10cc in my 10cc band at one point) and this past Friday, after not seeing my dr for 4 months, they've discovered I've lost almost 4cc from my band. I've had two operations and the leak is still there. And from Jan to August I gained 12kgs despite not going crazy with food. In Sept I started calorie counting and exercising formally again to stop my weight gain and I managed to stabilise, but it takes work. I have some fill in my band but I've always needed a high level of fill to feel restriction so I might as well not have any in. It's so disheartening, having something be relatively easy then lose it. To gain that weight back so easily, and to lose it be SO hard. So I feel you

I know several people who had the surgery around the same time as myself and have kept off most of their initial weight loss. Some have been more successful than others. After 10 years, many successful weight loss stories don't come back to the forum boards. You usually have had the people who weren't successful and are unhappy with themselves. My sister is having the surgery on 2/25 and I am her biggest cheerleader. She told me how some people are discouraged by people talking about their weight gain on this forum. I can honestly say it's one of the biggest and best decisions I have made in life.

I am thinking a thigh lift is the only way to tighten my inner thighs also : ( I really do not want to have another surgery !! I had a tummy tuck years ago so luckly that was not ruined by my massive weight gain . Good luck ob your TummyTuck and let me know if you have a thigh lift : )

Fifteen years ago I purposefully had my only tattoo put on the top of my foot because that was the only place I figured wouldn't be affected by weight gain or weight loss--and it wasn't (but it WAS so painful to have it done there!). Good luck.

i think the danger in grazing is people don't realize how many calories they are taking in on a given day. You are supposed to eat every 2-3 hours. Ive been told to have 3 meals and two snacks. I think the difference is mainly that your meals and snacks are planned, weighed out and calculated where as grazing you are just kind of going through the day picking here and there. The serving portions and calories just run away from you. I think if you make good, healthy, low calorie, high protein choices, then grazing won't cause weight gain.

I've also heard such dire predictions from the so called "nay sayers", and also that on average an individual will loose only 66% of their excess weight with the band. My weight loss has also been basically stalled over the past few months, but I do attribute that to the 2 surgeries I have had since December, 2012. I will reach my first "bandiversary" short of my goal, however also 78 lbs less than I was, and much healthier from a clinical standpoint. I have little doubt that I will reach my goal, as I know how to work with my band and how to eat a healthy, band friendly diet. The carb addiction which was a major factor of my weight gain is in the past, and I am vigilant to keep it there. I know from my history, it will be the exercise which will help me reach my goal. It helped me to begin to use a "Fitbit", which helped me see how many calories my activity level that day had burned, and it motivated me to get on track and exercise more regularly. I still lack the patience to participate in "My Fitness Pal", at least I believe that is where you log your foods daily. I just try to stay with basic and unprocessed foods, and that has worked for me. I also believe that motivation for success and maintaining focus on goals are integral parts to successful weight loss. We will all get to where we want to be weight wise, if we are sufficiently motivated to get there!

Okay so I have blue shield and my insurance is requiring the 6 months of monitored nutritional visits. This Friday will be my third visit. At my first visit I weighed in at 271, my second visit I weighed 264. Since my last visit I've gained about 4 lbs. So my question is...will I not be approved for surgery if my weight fluctuates during the 6 months? Throughout the month my weight usually goes up and down a few lbs and i'm scared they won't give me surgery because of it. Anyone know how that works ?

I am just over a year out from surgery, and am doing well (in my opinion) on the weight loss front. I have lost 100 pounds (285 to 184ish at 5'9"), and am just 10 pounds from what I considered my "stretch" goal weight, meaning what I thought before surgery to be my "thats too skinny" weight. That weight is 175, and is what I am after now. Yet, I have fallen off the "diet" wagon, as well as the exercise wagon, and am stalled. In all seriousness, I can handle the stall. No big deal. I'm not gaining. I'm at my original goal weight. I'm sure I will pick it back up again and find a way to drop that final 10 once summer gets here. What worries me is this: I am back to over eating. And its causing digestive trouble that is affecting my day to day activities. I am eating too much (yes, FAR less than what I used to eat, but I am still eating too much), and my stomach is not having it at all. I think what happens (totally guessing here) is that my stomach gets too full, then dumps everything (or at least some of its contents) into the intestines to make room. While I have heard of dumping syndrome, I do not have the light headeness, or any of the other physical symptoms (pain, etc.) that dumping is usually associated with, other than the digestive trouble. While the good part of this is that I think the food is not digested properly so I am not extracting all o the calories from the food, resulting in no weight gain, I am having to make frequest trips to the bathroom lately, and I dont like that. Also, usually the problem surfaces the day after I eat too much, so that makes me think its not dumping as well. Basically, what I am looking for is this: Any one who has faced this problem, what did you do to curb over eating? Have you heard of the above situation before, and know it to be caused by or termed something that I am not seeing? I really appreciate the feedback, and will keep an eye on the thread to respond to replys. Thanks!

This is something that is best discussed with your doctor. If you are really concerned about weight gain, then talk with the doctor about a different medication. They have a medication called buspar which is really good for anxiety. However, if you have some depression going on that needs to be treated then your doctor will determine this. Again I am not a doctor and I am just recommending that you talk with your doctor that prescribed the medication. There is a reason that he prescribed it for, so it's time for a consultation.

Give the Dr who prescribed it and let them know your concerns. See if there is an alternative. My guess is the weight gain is mostly a Water retention thing, but you should communicate with your prescribing Dr. If it is just a water retention thing, I wouldn't worry about it. Do you want to lose weight or lose fat? The sleeve is going to help you lose fat, and that is what I wanted. You will not be on paxil forever and the side affects will wane once you are off of it. I was on paxil about 13 years ago for a short while, never had any weight gain, but the sexual side affects were not tolerable for me. If you search this site for keyword Paxil, you will find 33 threads about it.

Hi Everyone, I was given a prescription for paxil today for my anxiety and when I got home I read the side effects and one of the main side effect was weight gain. I couldn't find a thread with this on it here so I'm curious is anyone on it after surgery and notice weight gain from it??? I'm considering not even taking it after reading that.

"WLS....but I can't see someone only giving out part of the information that makes them look good or feel accepted." I find my weight no ones business. And I certainly don't give partial info just to make myself look good or feel accepted. I don't give a **** if someone thinks I'm good at something or accept me. To me, my weight gain and/or loss is very personal to me. I guess I could take your advice and when someone insists on prying and asks me about my weight.. And instead of giving a partial answer, I will simply not answer and see how that flies

Well the fact that you two are in counseling shows a willingness from the both of you to make this marriage work.,. Without knowing what your problems are in the marriage. Do you think his insecurity is from just the surgery or does it come from something else? As far as being selfish... Well sometimes being "Selfish" is something we need to do to make us more available and healthy for our husbands and children.. I've never been "selfish" and I think that in part has led to my weight gain. So yes I did something for my "self" but my whole family benefits from it also.

I have PCOS and I have my initial visit with the dietitian at my surgeons office Mar 5 and decided on the gastric bypass vs the sleeve because of the PCOS. My symptoms are not that bad right now. I have the hair growth on the face and chest, and weight gain. Has anyone of you ladies noticed alot of weightloss since surgery? My biggest fear is getting the surgery only to discover that the weight is coming off really slow

I have PCOS and I have my initial visit with the dietitian at my surgeons office Mar 5 and decided on the gastric bypass vs the sleeve because of the PCOS. My symptoms are not that bad right now. I have the hair growth on the face and chest, and weight gain. Has anyone of you ladies noticed alot of weightloss since surgery? My biggest fear is getting the surgery only to discover that the weight is coming off really slow

Libra lisa, I have had pcos since I was 18 and have always had a regular cycle. You should ask to be checked for pcos if you have other symptoms that point to it. I had to really push my doctor to check for it 10 years ago as there wasn't much info on it then. I've been blessed that my only symtoms are the cysts and of course, the weight gain.

I bottomed out around 142 lbs. (90% to goal) in spring 2012 (about 15 months after surgery), but didn't sustain it long, and I ended up stabilizing in the mid 140s for several months. However, since the summer I've gotten very careless with what/how much I eat, and stopped participating in support groups. Now, a bit over 2 years out from surgery, I'm bouncing around between 153 and 155. Seriously, it is all too easy for me to eat at least 2,000 calories a day, which is several hundred above my maintenance caloric load (1,700 - 1,800). 300 extra calories a day X 30 days = 2.5 lb./month weight gain. I never thought of it that way, but it's just basic math. I learned how to eat around my sleeve, have been eating lots of crap, and am back to some nasty pre-surgery destructive eating behaviors. I feel scared, remorseful, and guilty. I must get some help with emotional eating issues, because clearly I haven't fully dealt with them. I started a "slow carb" diet last week and lost a bit over 1 lb., which was disappointing considering I really stuck to it. Then I realized I was still eating at least 1,200 calories a day on that diet. Time to get more serious and get below 1,000 calories a day, until I'm back on track, and once I'm back to the low 140s I must stay vigilant about what I eat. I'm going to take the positive view that this was a necessary (scary) wake up call for me to get back on track before things get further out of control.

So...I've had to follow a strict calorie-counting-type diet. I had lost 10 pounds back in the beginning of December. Ever since then I've just been gaining. The surgeon and specialists have flat-out told me that they "WILL NOT" do my surgery if I have gained weight. My surgery date is 3/20, and my appointment with the surgeon is on 3/11. I've regained 7 of the 10 pounds I originally lost. I met my [new] boyfriend near the middle of December, and I've never been happier... -so- happy, that we've been making poor food choices . He fully supports me and says that we'll work together to eat better and get me back to where I need to be to keep my surgery. I'm stressing hard core and don't think I'll be able to lose the weight and -then- some in time. I'll never forgive myself if they cancel my surgery then-and-there because I've gained some weight after I've jumped through all of their hoops and scheduled my short term disability and completed all the paperwork. I don't know how to deal.

Good luck! I was converted 4 weeks ago and was able to do both in one surgery. I too had the Realize band. For me, the surgeries were totally different. The band surgery was easy for me to deal with and I didn't have any issues during recovery. This time around, it has been really hard. I have been extremely tired and I just don't feel like myself. The doctor has told me that I have to keep in mind that I have essentially just had two major surgeries at one time and that I need to take it easy on myself. He told me it could take more than 6 weeks before I start to feel like my normal self. I had pretty bad pain those first couple of days and it seemed like walking the halls was the only time I wasn't in awful pain. I was off the pain killers after the first week and stayed home from work for only two full weeks. I've had to adjust my work schedule a bit and I only end up in the office about 6 hours, but it is better than nothing for my team! I have one of the docs that is very anti-white-carb, so for me that meant giving up the popcorn (so sad) I relied on heavily during my time being banded. It was one of the foods that no matter the amount of restriction I had, I could always eat it. So if I was having a really bad day (meaning throwing up a lot and not able to get anything down) I would switch to Protein shakes and popcorn. I do miss it, but there are so many people on here that can have it, that I just figure if I give myself some time maybe I will try it. The other huge difference to me was that when I was banded, I had no saline in the band when I came out of surgery. It took 3-4 weeks to get my first fill and that really didn't help any. I think I had a good few months of almost no restriction and following the diet was really, really hard for me because most days it was like I didn't have a band. From the moment I woke up from the band removal and RNY, it was like a whole new world. Gone was my ability to drink like the wind and test the limits of my tool. Also, it stopped feeling like liquids and soft foods were sitting in my esophagus like it was with my band - the noose effect I have heard people refer to when talking about the band. Oh and that damn port is gone. I hated my port. It could have been the placement of it, but it got in my way quite a bit and I had pain on and off in that area the whole time I had it. Having it taken out means I had one extra incision for the RNY surgeon. The one incision is a few inches long and it was one of the most painful areas during recovery. RNY causes a lot of left side pain because that is where all of the "work" is done on the insides, but I also had the right side pain to go with it because they have to scrape the port off the wall of your abdominal muscle. Not pleasant, but nothing that pain killers didn't fix! Good luck and I hope you are able to do both the band removal and RNY in one surgery! The best part of that is no fear of weight gain between the two (my biggest fear of all) and only needing to go through one recovery. I was terrified that I was going to wake up bandless with no RNY. I have so much respect for all the folks on this site that have had to go through two surgeries.

Yes I hate that ive been like that too nd it is really scary afraid of the weight gain....

I am almost done with my 6 month supervision diet. I'm on my 5th month. March is my last. It's going by quickly. My bmi is 55/56, I have yet to lose a pound. Well, I lost 3 pounds in 2 months but gained that back plus an additional 6 pounds. Yup, 9 pounds. I've been eating and exercising the same as my pcp told me too. I guess I am just worried I wouldn't be able to get the surgery because of my weight gain after doing all of this. hopefully I have lost weight when I do my next 2 weigh ins. Has anybody gained weight during the 6 months diet and was approved? Tell me your experiences. Thanks. PS, I have bcbsil H.M.O & my surgeon will be Vafa Shayani. They want you to lose 10% of your starting weight. Not sure if it's required but they said it helps the liver for day of surgery? (if this info helps any)

she frustrates me but u can only lead the horse to Water. she is always going to start her diet on Monday. sorry but having WLS is well beyond the "diet" mentality. i eep telling her to get the band deflated and quit torchering herself but she doesn't want her dr to see her weight gain. sorry about spelling but I'm on my kindle and cant figure out how to turn off this auto word stuff.