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(((Kelly))) I can certainly understand wanting to be done with all the drama. As devastated as I was to lose my band, I did take some comfort in the fact that I wouldn't have any of these worries again. The flip side is, the hungries definitely kicked back in, and so did my weight gain... :mad: So sorry to hear about hubby - wishing you both the best, and good luck with this difficult decision. xxoo

Thank you for writing about your son. Certainly he has had a rough time and of course you yourself have been sharing in his troubles. It strikes me that your child is now stuck in a place where he has a number of factors working against him with respect to weight control. He has severe breathing issues and this will interfere with his level of physical activity. He is also on a number of drugs which cause weight gain. (I was briefly put on an antipsychotic and watched, with horror, my weight skyrocket.) It also seems that you are a bandster member because you yourself have weight issues due to the beautifully efficient metabolism, the very tool which was so useful for survival in primitive times and which, ironically, causes modern folk to end up with the problems of excess weight. This is also something which is hereditary. Your son may have inherited your metabolism along with his other hassles, the ones which lead him to suffer from weight control issues. Who knows? Certainly your child is in a very different situation from that of the young girl who has been the topic of discussion on this thread or, indeed, from the case of any pre-teen or child who is only just entering into her teen years with a weight problem that is neither hooked up with other medical issues nor a case of serious morbidity. In the case of your child his weight issues are both the cause of pre-existing medical conditions and the result of these; and your son's weight problem will seriously erode his health if this is not checked at some future point. All of my heart goes out to you and your boy. He sounds like a champ - I love the "rubber band'" request - and you sound like one, too. It certainly sounds as though the Nemours Children's Hospital will have criteria in place which ideally will assess the medical needs of the child and the maturity of the family before deciding whether the child should be banded or not. I am sure that none of us who were engaged in discussion prior to your post had no intention of dissing people such as you or your son or, for that matter, those young people who are morbidly obese. Weight issues of this nature are medical issues. We were more concerned about this particular kid who had already undergone a year of liposuction/liposculpture while she was still a preteen. Now she has hit the news again because she has been banded at the very young age of 13. The kid is nowhere near 100 lbs overweight and neither she nor her mother seem to have a firm fix on the bandster's role in responsible food behaviour. It was at this point that a couple of other bandster mums waded in to say that all good mothers do insure that their kids learn proper nutritional habits. Knowing proper nutritional habits is never a guarantee that one is going to remain slender, of course. I have superb nutritional habits. My downfall was portion control. I was a healthy fatso, eh. :heh:

I don't have much advice to offer, but I hope everything works out quickly for you. I know how frustrating it is to be denied and have to prove yourself. I mean really-who wants to have substantiate that they deserve a surgery they're suffering from x y z issues because they're overweight; don't we pay our insurance fees every month? I got all the way to pre-op the day before surgery and my dr.s office told me I was denied by insurance for too low of BMI and that I didn't have the "approved" co-morbs. Had I not asked, they probably would have allowed me to go to the hospital and I would have found out there! I know you can imagine all the preparation I'd put into it, including getting approved for time off from work, buying liquids, protien powders, etc. In my case a supposed "slam dunk" with BSNV was promised and the ball was dropped when they got my denial. That was in June, I've just been approved because my BMI is now 40 due to weight gain (co-morbs not required). It still seems like my dr.s office is not the most organized, but it's so late in the game, it would take way too much to change. If they don't get me scheduled by the end of Jan., I'll go to Mexico. Tired of jumping through everyones hoops-I want to get on with my life already. I don't recall if you mentioned who your insurance is through, but perhaps this might be helpful to you: Members in a Health Maintenance Organization (***) and Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO) Plan The California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) regulates all HMOs in California. If you are an *** or EPO health plan enrollee, and you have fi led a grievance and are dissatisfi ed with your *** or EPO’s fi nal decision, you should contact the DMHC *** Consumer Help Center at (888) 466-2219 or TTY (877) 688-9891 to register your complaint. You also should request assistance through DMHC’s website at www.dmhc.ca.gov. You may contact DMHC if the matter is not resolved within 30 days from the time your grievance was received by your health plan. Contact them immediately if the matter is urgent. If you have fi led a grievance and are dissatisfi ed with your *** or EPO’s fi nal decision regarding your eligibility for health benefi ts or limits of coverage under the plan, you may contact CalPERS for assistance.

HI! I just found the board tonight and am glad I did. I am in the process of gathering information for a band. I had not heard of them until about 2-3 months ago while trying to find another "diet" and talking to a friend of mine (who is a nurse). I'm tired of dieting (not to say the bad influences that they have had on my five daughters! with me yo yoing for the last 10 years). The more I read the more I feel this is the best way for me to go. I have fought weight loss/gain/loss/gain problems from the time I was in Jr. High. I lost a bunch of weight just before I met my husband (went from a size 18 to a size 9 in a year) and then got pregnant. I gained 65 pounds with her. That was 21 years ago (she'll be 21 in June). I then waited (and didn't care about my weight gain at that time, I wasn't "too horrible" and besides I had a new baby) two and a half years and got pregnant with my 2nd daughter. I didn't wait between kids, I had four babies in less than 4 years. They are 11 months apart, four times with the exception of the last one who is 18 months from the one just before her. I was losing weight and exercising when I discovered the surprise pregnancy of the last one. From there I have just kept fighting weight. :help: My family history is that of obesity and I lost my mother in 1998 when she was 56 years old. I am now 42 and looking at either facing the facts that I won't live to see all of my grandchildren OR taking ahold of what the obesity has done to my family and fight it like H***. Well, I guess since I'm here, you all know what choice I have made. I think I can say I"m the only one I know of who has GAINED on several of the diets following them to a "T". So trying another one of then at this point is NOT an option. I fight depression, severe osteoarthritis in my feet, knees, back and hip. I have had two knee surgeries on my left knee and one on my right. I have GERD as well as pre-diabetes (which is also another family hand me down!). I am looking for as much info as I can to take to my GP on the 26th of this month. He is a great doctor and I have before brought him information about other medications/ideas and he listens and helps me with either deciding they are good and moving forward or bad and directing me to another source/help. I think he will be happy that I want to take control of my weight and my life! He has been telling me to exercise and eat less. Why is it that people cannot understand that if I could exercise I would? I have a hard time walking long enough to get groceries, but I will say that I REFUSE to ride the little cart and have only used wheelchairs if there is absolutely NO possible way for me to walk. I want to LIVE, LAUGH and ENJOY my up and coming new grand baby and to watch him/her grow up as well as any other's my girls may bless me with. I want to WATCH my girls as they marry, succeed in college and move on with their lives. But I also want to be able to WALK down the aisles as the mother of the bride and NOT roll down it. Thus, I need help! And at this point the Band is the source of what I feel will keep me on the help line for the rest of my life. I LOVE healthy food, but I am hungry ALL the time....and thus, I eat. At this point my 5'4" frame is holding up (barely) 310 pounds. I KNOW that there is a small sexy woman under all of this fat....but I only see the fat lady at this point. And as I have always said, it ain't over until the fat lady sings...well this fat lady will hopefully be singing this fall when they roll my stretcher into surgery and I can begin a new life! Can't wait to hear from you all and your stories! I need lots of support too! My brother's all live out of state. My parents are gone, my in-laws are gone. I have my husband of 22 years and 5 girls and my best friend in Canada that will be support. But they will never (except my best friend as she has weight problems too!) totally understand the hurt when someone looks at you and points, or a child makes fun of your child because you are fat. The world is mean and I want to survive it now more than ever! I want to be ME! Finally! sorry, i have a lip problem (well, lol, finger problem when typing), family calls it diarehha of the lip. Hugs!

Cindy, First I want to say DONT GIVE UP! Loosing 55lbs without a good fill is excellent! Everyone here have given you great ideas! PLEASE get some blood work to check your thyroid function, hormone levels and your blood sugar and have them check for insulin resistance. If they find an inbalance it could be easily fixed with medication and you'll be on your way to loosing again! DId you know that one of the side effects of birth control pills is weight gain? This could be hindering your efforts. I know the pills are important for you to have but maybe you need a different kind of pill. I also think you need a good fill. Making better choices is much easier when you can only fit a little food in your pouch! I was making bad choices too before I was restricted. Sometimes we have a little tinkering to do with our band before it works well! Hang in there. Please let us know how you're doing. Marsha, RN

This is completely normal. The puréed foods stage usually coincides with the Third Week Stall that 99% of us have gone through. A little weight gain is normal right before a stall due to glycogen storage.

I just got my 4th fill a dew days ago and I think I am a little to full.. I am PB'ing even after I eat yogurt.. I am taking small bites and eating very slow... Even after I drink a few sips of Water I am burping... No Pbing.. I can drink Protein shakes just fine.. Did I read this correctly that you drank beer?? how is that possible? I miss beer and can't drink it.. I have a date (first one with this guy) I think I have to cancel... I have no idea how I am going to eat. Is this okay to PB all weekend or should I stick to Protein Shakes?? Thanks to all of you. It is VERY nice to hear I am not such an exception! I read these boards often and no one seems to have the problems I am having. Even my doctor says my case is somewhat unique to her. I know a few people personally who have gone through being banded. A couple successful and a couple not so much but none of them had my kind of problems. 1 year and 3 months into this and I am FINALLY getting restriction!! The unfill did help A LOT!! I am still able to eat what I feel is just enough. The scale is starting to go down too!! Let this be a lesson to you. DO NOT LIVE WITH THE BAND IF IT IS TOO TIGHT BECAUSE YOU ARE AFRAID IT WILL RESULT IN WEIGHT GAIN!!!! It can mean the difference between misery and your green spot!! Bonnie, Cassie and Sara I hope it all works out for you in the end! (Knock on wood) I am doing REALLY WELL with this NOW!! LOL

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 just want to add that my surgeon does not require a preop diet. However, weight gain is something that will cause him to cancel the surgery. I would be more concerned about where you are mentally going into a surgery that is life changing without being able to follow preop rules.

I wouldnt do it, I think its totally the wrong way to think about eating, and you wont believe how fast you can put on weight - remember with a band you're living on a "diet" so to speak so unfill it and its liek going OFF a diet, vacations do way more damage than they do when you've already been eating a lot anyway. If it were me, I'd also ruin my vacation worrying about weight gain and moaning about how much I'm eating. I've enjoyed several vacations with good restriction - enjoy tastes of this and that and get home as thin (or thinner) than when you left - who wouldnt want that?

Wow, thats amazing (maybe there isn't as many problems with the sleeve as with other WLS). . . with the sleeve the death rate isn't that big, head hunger of course but then you would get that with ordinary dieting as well. . . that is the reason most folks are not very successful doing it the traditional way. . .the weight gain, sure if your not careful and eat everything your not supposed to. . . this is JUST a tool, not a miracle thing! As with a hammer, it won't bang the nail into the post without you doing the work. . . the sleeve is the same, it won't MAKE you lose the weight, it helps you lose the weight but you MUST work on it. . . you have to watch your intake all the time! it's just easier having restriction to HELP you not overeat. . . my DH is an occupational therapist and hasn't seen the problems with all your sister says. . . so this must be different areas. . . I am out 15 months and the only problems i battle with at times is head hunger. . . but who isn't. . .you have to be able to combat it. . . obesity is a health problem as well as a psychological problem, you need to work very hard to help yourself with it. . . and the other is a problem that may have already been there but was never tested prior to the WLS is Vitamin D deficency. . . we're working on that now. . . but other than that, I've lost 150 lbs of fat that i will never gain back UNLESS I will it and don't work on it . . good luck to you on your future endeavors

I have been on Cymbalta (90 mg.)for about 1 1/2 years and I have struggled with weight gain, but also take trazadone at night too. This did't help my weight!

I've been reading again for the same reason. I joined when I was banded back in 2007 long story short I lost some weight down to 224 band was too tight for a long time I gained to 246 and then had an unfill due to dilation so I gained up to 276 and now from there I'm sitting at 320. I had Fluid added back in last year, but all it has done is stop the weight gain. I visited another surgeon hoping to have a revision to sleeve. My insurance right now is UnitedHealthcare Plus Choice (something like that) my RN told me that if it was approached as a revision surgery I would have to show some kind of complication with the band which my doctor said would be slippage, erosion, or the band somehow failing mechanically, otherwise it would be treated as a new surgery and I would have to go through the 6 month supervised diet, psych evaluation, and would have to show a 5 year history of heights and weights from a doctor to prove a history of being morbidly obese. Because I haven't had complications my surgeon believes that it is likely my insurance will deny the request for revision and possible deny it as a new surgery because I don't have the 5 year weight history I need so right now I'm looking into self pay options. I hope your insurance will approve you and you can get the sleeve. I've also struggled with feeling like I failed so I understand that. If I had just found the money to go back and get the band unfilled instead of living with it being too tight I might've kept losing weight. I just try to learn from it.

Well of course she did... After all... I am the good twin!!!! Kewl on the eDiets charts... I used mine from the last number of years there as well!!!! Hey... are you still a member there??? There is a support group under the WLS heading there that a gal named Sanda started and it was ALL about GBP/RNY. I barged my way in there and said that I thought it would be important for people to know that there is a safer option for those that can't "stomach" the idea of GBS. I whined when she went to other posts and did a promo for the support group without mentioning the Lap Band and she nicely added to the info. (o: I would love to have another pre-bander there... the dynamic pre-band duo!!!!!! Lets let all of those folks know that they have a safer option! I promise to be the evil twin if ya come and join me! Good luck with re-submitting the "proof" ... I didn't have all of my booklets from WW but I was able to get my old info from Jenny Craig and of course the LOOOOOOOG print out from eDiets showing my huge weight loss and then my HUGE weight gain. I am keeping my fingers crossed for you and hope we can still manage a bandarama with dates that are close! Okay... can only hold out another hour before I call... pretty soon I'll just be able to tell them my name and they'll be like... OHHHHH you again. (o: Darcy

Similarly qualified Psychs here.... I have seen no one mention meds they may be taking for other conditions that can cause all kind of munchy & weight gaining effects to the brain. Is that a possibility?

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

I am bipolar. I have to take 7 different medications. Not taking my medications is not an option for me. My medications do have the side-effect of weight gain. What the medication does is it turns off the brain's signal to tell me when I am full. That is where the band comes in. I have accepted that my medication has an effect on how fast I lose the weight. But I am still losing!!! So I rock!

I know this was addressed under the "Lapband Strugglers" thread, but I wanted to start a discussion about anyone's experience wih their past/present psych meds. How do you feel your experience with weight loss (before or after the lapband) has tied in? How to you deal with the side effects (if you have them)? I've taken a few different medications with different results. Paxil and Trazadone worked for a time but I gained about a pound a month while I was on that combo. The doctors warned me about that. That was especially frustrating because I purposefully increased my activity level to compensate, and the emotional blunting with Paxil was dramatic. Prozac didn't have the gaining side effect, but not the mood elevating side effect either! Finally, Wellbutrin, which I took for 3 years, was my most successful med. I was in an emotional place where I was motivated to be more active and, at the same time, it allowed me to at least maintain my weight. How's everyone else doing with theirs? Finding the right med can be such a harrowing journey, I wanted to put forth a place in this forum to reach out for help and validation. Also, please note that I am not purporting that psych meds that cause weight gain are some kind of blanket excuse for struggling with weight loss. I regret I have to make that explicit. Psych meds are one factor that can make it tougher for some than others, and this is a place to discuss those experiences.

Kim McNeely, Congratulations on your pregnancy and your weight loss. I am not sure how you feel about gaining weight but I was a bit...well very scared about regaining the weight. It was emotional because I knew I needed to eat but at the same time I often forgot. Of course not on purpose but hte band was doing its job. After a few months I relaxed and tried to remind myself to eat often. I guess I must have been eating enought because my daughter was developing fine and I gained an acceptable amount of weight. To my surprise I lost all of the weight. As of today I have lost all of the weight gained during the pregnancy. Oh, by the way my married name is Neely so initially I thought we had the same name. Also, I was born and raised in Houston. I am considering returning to the area as it is so very expensive to live in the DC Metropolitan area. Did you see my before and after picture? I posted a picture of me at the beginning of my weight loss and then another at about 5 months pregnat. I thought it was hilarious. The tag line said, "This could be you" LOL. You know after we lose all of that weight out husbands become..."frisky" LOL. AGain, congrats!!!

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

Interesting. I'd like to see those because I've only seen studies that show a correlation between lack of sleep and weight gain, not proof. Great thread. I'm a chemical plant operator (no....not a telephone type operator). I make detergents that go into your car's engine oil. But I'm about to quit to go back to school full time to be a vet tech. Ssshhhhh....don't tell them. Oh yeah....part time massage therapist and part time bicycle mechanic as well. I stay busy.

I dont even know for sure where to start.....all i can say is i went for what i thought was gonna be a fill....well it went poorly.....my blood pressure was up the Nurse Practioner was rude basically yelling cause I gained 10 lbs....I tried to explain that my Endocrinologist said my sugars were high and suugar was spilling into the toilet in my urine....now sugars are better due to going on insulin pump and due to better sugars i am retaining some calories causig a lil weight gain. She said.....they are NUTS and yelled thats the craziest thing she ever heard....I tried to explain i feel i need a fill.....i am not getting a full feeling....she wouldnt even listen.....do i deserve to be treated and chastised for making a mistake.......i guess i just need to vent....so how do i know i need a fill??? and also what point is there in even going when she said i am at 6.5 and thats the max fill.........my band is a 10 cc can i not ever get more?? if thats the case why do i drive 2 hrs to go get treated poorly.....and when i leave there end up in an er for high BP?????? thanks for listening

Interesting study....and perhaps I'm missing something, but it still looks like correlation. Even in the study, they cannot "prove" cause, they only list "possible causes for shift work related weight gain." To me, that's like the correlation between watching too much TV and obesity. Yes, people who watch alot of TV may be more likely to be overweight, but watching the TV is not the cause. And correlation is not causation. Never mind....I'm not trying to get picky. I'm a shift worker, but I'm making plans to give it up. Trying to eat right and stay fit are difficult enough. Doing it while being a shift worker takes it to a whole other level of difficulty, but I'm living proof it can be done.

I am RTRM (mammographer). It was partly my patients that helped me make my decision to have my sleeve done! Seeing first hand many, MANY very overweight and obese women telling me how their" weight gain got worse the older they got"! I have had to help young women in their 50's unable to stand undress themselves- I have heard countless stories of health problems caused from obesity! It's different when you hear it from the skinny news anchor or even your own doctor. Most of these women have no reason to discuss what they do with me however they do and I have been listening.... I had the surgery I have lost 55lbs since my surgery on 11-14-12. I have been struggling lately but I am trying to get back in the groove!