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Hey all, As you may or may not know, I'm going through a tough spot and my doctor prescribed Prozac. Has anyone been on this? I have a history of depression with possible Bi-Polar II and don't react well to anti-depressants at all, and heard this can cause weight gain. Not too good for a recent bariatric patient.

I am a former D1 college wrestler (heavyweight). I've been big all my life, and wrestling/football kept my weight under control. I wrestled at 285 in college and now I weigh 475. While I once blame the immobilization of my two herniated discs in my lower back and the meds administered afterward for my weight increase (common med steroids) ,I think we all know that terrible eating and drinking habits are the true culprits to my excessive weight gain over 2.5 years. Im 6 ft 5 in, and how on God's earth can I go through the sleeve operation without having the extreme drooping and sagging of my skin after losing the weight so quickly?? I hope to schedule my surgery before Christmas '14, but I feel I need to get a gym membership to lift and run asap to start the process now. What are tips and workouts to follow before, during, and after my procedure to keep from having skin removal surgery? I am open to any and everything! I am getting married to the love of my life on 6-4-16, and I want to look as amazing (265) and fit as I did when Liz first met me. I also want to increase muscle mass along with the weight loss. Again, any advice is welcome. Thank you for your help, -Adam

I had a revision front band to gastric sleeve.......I never "ate around my band" and it was highly effective for 8 years until I began having reflux during the night and aspirating. Aspiration pneumonia can kill you!! I was unable to have enough fill in my band for it to be effective, so without my "tool"......my weight began creeping back up. I developed pre-diabetes at end began having joint problems due to the weight gain. So glad you surgeon recommended the sleeve. He said it was a restrictive procedure like the band, and since I did so well with the band that it should work for me. Band failure can be completely unrelated to the direct actions of an individual. Sent from my SM-G930V using the BariatricPal App

Hi All, Mandy... Your daughter will be in my prayers... I hope the medication changes will help with the weight gain. She is very lucky to have such a loving and caring Mom. :eek: Dianne... So glad that Lucy has got her groove back! (((hugs))) Beanie... So glad you had a fun vacation and don't worry about the gain... that is what vacation is all about! Anne... Hope you had fun running errands and hope I follow through with the plan to workout... I feel like a big bump on a log! Kat... I bet you are going to be able to buy a sporty little t-shirt at the next rally... won't that be awesome??/!!! Patty... Hope you enjoyed your last day of freedom! You have cyber exercise buddies... right here. Eileen... Glad you are here... don't be askeered... we'll protect you from the evil hacker...even if LBT seemingly seems unconcerned. I make this assumption as there have been zero announcements about any of the ruckus. Cindy...LOL... one of these days you are going to forget to cover us up on your computer screen...lol I think the make-up thingy party would be fun... as long as I don't have to do it....hehehehehe. Allison... It sounds like you all had a great time with the party...so glad! I'm not much of a party gal... when my DD had her B-Day party with 8 young teenage girls I thought I would need a rubber room by the time they went home... OH THE DRAMA. (((hugs)))

Hi Megan, my date is July 2nd too! I got my date about three weeks ago. I'm going through many of the same emotions that you are. I'm actually having a revision from the lapband. I was very successful with the band and lost from 275 down to 155 pounds in 4 1/2 years, then started having issues with the band. I've gained 30 pounds over the past 7 months, but am happy that I'm able to get this revision done before I have more weight gain. My life has been so much better since losing so much weight. I guess I have gotten through alot of the emotional eating issues, learning to eat small bites and chew really good, and the fact that you just can't eat much. But I am scared about what the surgeon will find once he gets in there. I have had some tests done and we don't think I have any erosion, just mainly scar tissue. So, things should be fine. It is just scary. Good luck to you, and I hope we can stay connected.

That is a scarey thought Wendy. I guess we have to stay diligent in keeping an eye out on any weight gain. Even though I am not at goal, as soon as I see any weight gain I make sure I jump right back into doing more exercise... I think that is why I kept off the weight when my band wasn't working. I guess despite the band, we will be "dieting" for the rest of our lives.

Hi There! I'm back after at least a year away from Lap Band Talk. I had surgery on 10/28/08 and am back at working on getting to my goal weight by 10/28/11. I've spent the better part of the past year dealing with a foot injury that caused my exercise to go from 5 days a week to nada. Of course that lead to poor food choices and I'm now looking at a 10lb weight gain. I'm still down 74 lbs from surgery and 93 from my heaviest, but really want to get back on track. Looking forward to reading this forum for support and finding others who are restarting with the band!

No help for us. We are fat, we are gluttons, we are weak and undeserving of help, sympathy, or adequate medical care. Like Orson Wells said, “Gluttony is not a secret vice.” Do I believe that? Some days I do in fact believe it, when I’m down, and lately more because of how ill I have been. Mostly it is a load of hog wash. Fat does not equal ugly. There has long been a weird relationship with food, the body and the Christian church. And of course, we all know the impact that both Protestant and Catholic sects have had on Western Civilization… Some of the Christian based weight-loss schemes are screaming “fat people don’t go to heaven,” and “use our program based on Leviticus and you will loose weight and be closer to God!” Sorry, I’ve read Leviticus, and I am NOT eating bugs…. (I call them schemes because I think we all here have come to the understanding that “diets” are just schemes…) If you had better self-control, more self-esteem, more will-power, were a better person, loved God more…. You would lose weight and be a better person. There is no understanding for the overweight from most doctors. Before my husband had his band installed, the cardiologist said “Have you just tried cutting out sweets?” Now, on the face of it, this is good advice, advice we could all use. However, this showed a complete lack of understanding on the part of the doctor. You see, before my husband had his band installed, he weighted 596 pounds with a BMI in the high 80’s. Cutting out sweets would have certainly helped, it wouldn’t have stopped my husband from eating two or three fast-food meals at one sitting, or any of the other overeating behavior some of us know intimately, and other behaviors we are only starting to understand in ourselves and others. I am currently having difficulty with my asthma: hospitalizations, steroids, greatly reduced lung function, other things as well. What am I told? Well, just lose some weight, we aren’t going to help with this, we are just going to pass judgment on you. Sudden and unexplained weight gain? Well, just don’t eat as much… (never mind that I gained 10 pounds overnight with severe edema…). I have to suspect that part of Delarla’s current adventure with gauze might have been caught earlier if she was thin. I was told by my doctor that I just need to take up running. Yes that’s right, take up running. Can you imagine a woman with a BMI in the high 40’s running? (Please see the thread about giving one’s self black eyes…) Being fat or overweight or big boned, or under tall, or metabolically efficient or famine resistant doesn’t make us failures, bad people or jerks. We might be over sexed (skin is the largest sex organ…), but we are not failures, or bad people or jerks. If we are failures or bad people or jerks, it is independent of our weight or size.

I use to stop at McDonalds 2-3 times a day... just to get a 32 oz. Diet Dr. Pepper. So was probably drinking a liter a day and had been doing so for the last several years. Caffeine withdrawal is not fun... I remember the mental "fog" and nagging headaches. Couldn't live without diet soda until now. I can not imagine trying to digest any type of soda diet or not..and like someone mentioned above its not good for you. I was researching and read somewhere that diet soda can actually cause weight gain and belly fat. I was always bloated and felt stuffed...not to mention the gas ( sorry t.m.i. I know). Disclaimer: (Personal Viewpoint) when I think of all that I have sacrificed ( the financial cost, physical cost, etc.) there is no way I want to chance the possibility of damaging my sleeve with carbonated drinks. There may not be any harm from drinking them...but I don't want to take that chance.

talk to your endocrinologist and listen to your instincts. it sounds like you found the cause of weight gain and it is resolving. you can always do the surgery later if you stall out!

I am back to enjoying myself! I know that my weight loss is under my control! Before lapband, I would try to lose and get bored and gain whatever I lost back. Now, I know, that even any weight gain or loss is within my control! Karen

I have taken blood pressure meds for a long time, and they have never caused weight gain for me. There are so many different types out there, I would suggest talking to your doctor and trying something else. Good Luck!

Did anyone get the surgery after gaining weight after a hysterectomy? Just curious how that turned out?

Well, I would agree with you but two weeks ago, we went on a Halloween cruise as a last hurrah, and I did enough damage to my liver, I better stick with the diet just in case. Thus, the 4 lb weight gain. But soooo worth it. I am thinking of getting the shirt that says, "Hi, I am B_tchy! The 8th drawf!" Thanks all for the encouragement. It helps so much to talk to people who have gone through this.

My doc suggested switch and i wish I had gone with that. I’m two years post sleeve and having to go back for bypass due to weight gain. :(

I met my husband in 2002, I was around 260 then. We moved in together before we got married and we both started to gain weight together. He was a very healthy weight when we met so his weight gain was about 30-40lbs over the course of 8yrs, my weight gain was 100lbs to 370 by 2013. At a yearly check up with a new PCP she looked at me astounded that all of my blood work was fine, no hyperglycemia, I was still very mobile, only a slightly high BP. She behooved us to try the DASH diet for weight loss telling me my good numbers would not last. So my husband and I did and very successfully lost weight with diet and exercise. My husband lost down to a BMI of 25 and I lost 93lbs to 277. Then last summer we planned a Caribbean getaway and fell off the wagon starting in June. It was slow, but I did start gaining back and by November had gained back 25lbs. I tried again the reset method from the DASH diet of no carbs/sugars for two weeks and only lost 4lbs... Discouraged I went to a seminar with a coworker who was loud and proud about having it done. I was always a naysayer about WLS thinking if you can eat like that after surgery why can't you do it now? I was uneducated!! My husband is very supportive of me and has loved me unconditionally at all sizes that I've been. I decided to make this change so I can travel comfortably in an airplane seat and see the world. My kids are grown and my main focus can be me for a change. My husband was scared about surgery and he, in a moment of complete honesty, said he was happy right now with the way things were which included planning a place to eat out on the days we were off together. I told him it was the simple things he takes for granted, like running into Walmart and buying a cheap Tshirt (I know Walmart has plus size, but plus size belly shirts, they're so short!), not thinking twice about a booth in a restaurant hoping the table wasn't bolted to the floor, not worrying not having your elderly dad say "sit in that chair right there, I think it will hold you"....Those things!

Hi ladies.....there is hope. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 20 always been overweight and never ovulated. It took me 8 yrs to conceive my daughter who is now 13yrs old I always told her she was my miracle baby:) After my daughter I was still not ovulating never had a period and the PCOS was just as bad. I ended up getting a divorce. I am now remarried and happy as can be. So now at the age of 37 I decided at my highest weight of 330lbs to get weight loss surgery done otherwise my husband would never have a chance to have children. I choose the Sleeve due to the issues everyone was having with the band and gastric bypass. So lets skip ahead once I started losing weight I started to ovulate became pregnant very quickly and the Dr said it is due to all the hormones being stored in my fat cells and when you lose the fat all these hormones are released and that is why you need to be very careful right after surgery. Well on a sad note I did lose that child but once again in 2 months was pregnant we also lost that child was very distraught and emotional so the doctor suggested birth control for a few months to regulate my hormones and take a break and to not have to worry about getting pregnant. So I took his advice. I took birth control for 2 months then stopped taking it and bam once again I was pregnant but once again we lost it. That happened on July 9, 2011. As all you ladies know that PCOS can not be cured weight loss can help with many symptoms such as ovulation. But you still have the high risk of miscarriages. After each loss they have you wait to have a complete cycle before trying again and we always do...but in July we also had a trip to Vegas planned and we ended up getting pregnant AGAIN!!!! I am now just about over all this baby stuff not wanting to go through all the pain and heartache of losing all my children. So my husband and I agreed that if we lost this one we would be done. So now it is December I am now 22weeks along and baby is doing good. We know it is a little girl we will be naming her EMMA. So now with the sleeve they do not believe that my miscarriages were connected that it is due to the PCOS. I do have to supplement with a Protein shake called Monster Milk due to no weight gain and low calorie intake. My 18 week ultra sound shows her growing right on time except for her stomach and it is a week and a half behind but my Dr believes that is due to the low calorie intake from me. And now that I am drinking this Monster Milk she should be able to catch up. Sorry so long and please feel free to ask any questions. It has been a long hard road for us but I believe in April 2012 (same month I had my surgery done) we will have out little bundle of joy to Celebrate. Oh and by the way husband said since it is a girl we will have to try one more time:

This post is JUST what I needed to read today!! I'm in a similar situation. I was sleeved May 14, and so far, have only lost 14lbs since the morning of surgery (20lbs from my highest weight). I am incredibly frustrated to have lost so little. I decided to join a local boutique gym, which I'll be visiting today for the first time. Hopefully this will give my butt (aka metabolism) the kick it needs. It's hard not to get down when you see yourself sacrificing and not getting the pay off. But, by the same token, I remember the mammoth plates of food I would eat before and not see the immediate weight gain either. So I am re-learning patience. I wish you much luck on your journey Mystigal, and am confident you will be a great success!!

I just dont get it, ever since August 26, 2005 (my band date) I have been doing great, my knees havent hurt, and my wrists and shoulders and TMJ havent been bothering me as much. During Christmas I had gotten down to 209, my knees and wrists starting hurting again yesterday....now I have missed 2 days of school since last Tuesday! I just dont get it, AND!!! Ive gained like 4 or 5 lbs without any changes to my eating (Im not eating any more than I was, in fact Im eating less). Im soooooo discouraged right now, I thought I was fixed (well kinda) I knew that a fall or extreme activity could push me over the edge, but I havent done anything but start school after 2 weeks (and I worked the entire 2 weeks at Factory Connection!) When I started school I have to take this class called Foundations of Personal Fitness, it's upstairs and it requires hand-writing assignments....Ive only done a partial assignment and have been sitting out from the gym because of my knees and my surgery was less than 6 months ago.......I dont get it.......the class isnt even upstairs anymore..............Im confused.............I dunno, been crying all day from the pain, I cant take anything because its all in pill form..............SO CONFUSED...............I think the weight gain may be from the swelling in my joints.

Pre op I was a UK 28 (US 24). I am currently a UK 24 (US 20) and I hope to get back to UK 12/14 (US 8/10). Clothes sizes vary from shop to shop in the UK. Before my weight gain I could wear a size 12 in TopShop but require a 14 from M&S.

I was told not to have caffeine at all as it can slow your weight loss (that's all it took for me to give it up completely). I started walking in the hospital and regular exercise after 8 week check-up. The other questions don't apply because I do not drink or smoke. My advice is to adhere to the guidelines your NUT and Doc give you so that you can reach your goal quicker. Don't look for reasons to break the rules. I've seen people not follow the guidelines post-op and I've seen "slow" weight loss as a result. I've even seen weight gain in those that went back to old habits. We all loose quickly at first, you have to work it to keep it going. The sleeve is merely a tool to make it easier for you Think back to the motivation you had when you went into this and don't loose sight of your goals because you are focused on getting back to "normal" your "normal" is what got you here to begin with.

Hmmm, I'll go out on a limb and say most people that have post surgery tummy tucks etc have a lot of fat still under that skin - if you ever see true excess skin only aprons, they're rather thin. But that's fine, why on earth NOT get rid of the fat and the skin in one fell swoop. So more likely than not, your belly is skin AND fat. Lots of fat deposits hang around that are near on impossible to shift with diet and exercise, I have a mid abdominal pouch that just wont go. Its only at the very end of my journey that I could truly say I've noticed excess skin, - that crepy wrinkly stuff. I have it on the very bottom of my belly - hidden by even hipster bikinis thank goodness, and the tops of my breasts which is the only spot of my body where I have bad bad stretchmarks - ironically from puberty, not pregnancy or weight gain. I've had a consultation for a breast lift, which I will probably have in a year or two and been told that even still, that crepey empty flaccid skin will remain, it would take an implant to fill it out. Actually a bit of extra skin doesnt worry me, skin and skin alone to the degree I have it is completely invisible even in a bikini. But the fat that gives you that muffin top, erk. For me though, I'm trying to suffer it out and lose more weight as I simply cannot afford $13,000 worth of lipo at this stage of my life.

Obese people have all sorts of emotional connotations attached to the word "diet", so you'll hear many people saying that you don't need to diet with the band. The truth is, if you want to lose quickly, good old-fashioned diet and exercise are the best ways to do it. The difference now is that the band helps to control the Hunger Daemon that rages inside all of us, so that we can actually STICK to the diet week in and week out for the long haul needed to lose all the weight. Yes, you can lose slowly if you don't consciously diet, provided that you make reasonably sensible food choices. The restricted portions will allow you to eat pretty much anything in moderation and the scales will still slide slowly down. However, if you allow too much junk to creep into those restricted portions, you can stall your progress or even gain weight. The key word there is "IN MODERATION". If you want to lose quickly though, pay attention to what you eat, count your calories, do the exercise and let the band (wonderful invention that it is!) HELP you to achieve success. I think that one of the best things about the band is it's flexibility. You can control how quickly or slowly you lose. When you get to goal, you can let go of all that focus on "dieting" and live like a "normal" person. That means that, like normal people, you need to keep a general eye on what you eat and try not to overindulge too often, but can get away with treats now and then and not have to worry about binge eating or rollercoaster weight gains and losses. Good luck!!

Hi everybody's. I was sleeved 7 weeks ago. Starting weight was 239. After surgery I went up 10 pounds from air, Fluid etc. lost 28 pounds by 3 weeks and stalled for 2 weeks where I hovered at the same 2 pounds. Then I started to lose again and this past Saturday I was down to 207. Since then I have been creeping up and today I am 210.5. . I had been drinking a small decaf iced coffee with skim milk for past week so I cut that out 2 days ago. I am eating 3 meals and 2 Snacks Usually stay between 800 and 1100 calories a day and have 70-90 gems of Protein. I did go out to dinner on Sunday and ordered a chicken dish with a balsamic dressing. I only ate a very small part ( obviously) but then ate it 2 more times for different meals. Won't do that again. Been exercising but not enough it seems. So with all that... any advice, tips, words of wisdom?? I understand A stall but weight gain at this early stage but weight gain?? Very discouraging. I'm trying to look at behaviors and use this as a learning experience but I'm feeling down. I didn't go through all this to fail. Help!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Well hey there, Leslie! It's been a while. Sorry you are not doing so well with your band. When are you having your band removed? I have heard lots of good things about the sleeve. Might be worth checking into. I miss talking to you! I was thinking about the 5k we ran a while back and how you got lost on the course, lol. Good times I haven't been doing too hot either. I'm still 40 lbs lighter than I was when I had my surgery, but still...I have gained A LOT of weight back. My weight gain started when I noticed I was losing restriction really fast after my fills. They started measuring the fluid and I was losing fluid everytime I went in. I thought they were going to fix my band, but they kept putting it off saying I wasn't losing "enough" fluid to validate surgery. I was having to go in every 2 weeks to get a fill and I just got fed up with it and stopped going all together. I was also diagnosed with cluster headaches a while back and had to go on a high dose of steroids for 2 months. I gained 30 lbs in two months from the steroid and I couldn't seem to get back on track after that. I've been meaning to post too. I've been walking with a friend of mine for a couple of weeks and that's been helping. It's nice having a workout buddy....it makes all the difference! I really miss the support we all used to give each other. Anyway, it was good hearing from you! Please check back in and keep us updated! georgia girl