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Glad the lap band worked so well for you! What a huge accomplishment! I think that you will find that most who have had the band removed have gained weight....myself included. While you could put yourself on a low calorie diet and potentially hold off the weight gain do you think that you could do it on your own indefinitely? Speaking for myself only, that is why i had to have the band in the first place and why i converted to the sleeve when the band failed. If you can see obesity as a disease than the lapband was to the obesity as the pacemaker is to the heart.

I want to ask a few questions to. I am new to this site. I have Hashimotos and fibromyalgia. Autoimmune diseases are the worst. I take 200 m of thyroxine and am constantly exhausted. Plus all the other things I take for pain and reflux. My body is truely a mess..I am post menopausal and my hashimotos has gone out of control. My weight gain has been 20kg( sorry I am Australian ) about 55lbs. In 4 years... Just crazy. I have been on every diet known to man...lol...hence my name... So I have been reading what others with the same disease are saying and they do have success. My 1st appointment is next week. Do the Drs know the true answer to malabsorption of vitamins? Having autoimmune diseases I am concerned getting more such as Parkinson's because of lack of the proper vitamins to support my body? Will the vitamins I take orally be enough will they absorb? Should I get vitamin injections instead. What are the crucial questions to ask the Dr in my first visit? Looking forward to hearing back from you any thoughts will be well received.

The Beginning Growing up I use to tell everyone I was born fat so I am going to die fat! My story starts on July 28th 1983 my wonderful mother gave birth to a beautiful 10 pound baby girl…. Me! My parents told me I was the biggest baby in the hospital and I was proud of that. Who ever thought that this was the beginning of my obesity life. I am not going to sit here and writing about how I was teased when I was growing up and how I eat everything is sight because I will be lying to you guys and I am many things but I lair I am not. I was never tease about my weight growing up. So what cause me to become plus size diva? One word boredom. I was never athletic in school but I was involved in a lot of different activities like girls scouts, drama clubs and etc. Majority of the time all I did was eating junk food and when I was at home I was eating junk food either because I was bored. Fast forward to my high school life preferably my Senior year. Me and my best friend (Note: Just in case you are wondering we are still best friends!) were going to join the Air Force together but I had to lose 40 pounds in order to join. Guess what? I did as a matter of fact and I lost about 60 pounds. Impressive Right? Too bad I inherited my dad’s feet and could not join because I have no arch in my feet. True Story! I was devastated but life goes on and so did my weight. Life in my 20’s the yo-yo dieting years! Who wants to play I’ve been on that diet game? Since I couldn’t join the armed forces I decided to work for the government and started going to college. I always struggle with my weight and I spent most of my twenties trying out different diets. I gain back 50 pounds that I lost before with a new set of boobs. No I didn’t get a boob job I think 20% of my weight gain went to my boobs. For the longest time I have maintained my weight from 225 to 235. Then all of a sudden I was either losing a friend and a relative every year. I took my frustrations out by eating food. I am an emotional eater and I can admit that. My last diet that I was on was Weight Watchers I actually did pretty well on it until I hit a plateau then I never got back on track. I learned how to accept weighing at 250 or 255 and maintaining that. Until August of last year… For the past 4 years I’ve been maintaining my weight 250 to 255 but this time around my Wii fit (my scale) Said 267! I swear I thought my Wii fit was lying. Until I weighted myself on several scales at work and I found out the harsh reality. Why I chose to have the lap band….. A Quarter life mid crisis! After many bottles of beer and soul searching, I told myself “I gave obesity my 20’s I refuse to give obesity my 30’s!” I decided to start working on a better me. I watch a Weight Management seminar online to get a better understanding on my surgical weight lost options. I immediately knew if I was going to pick a WLS it was going to be the Lap band. Why, because I didn’t want my stomach to be cut in half, my inside to be rerouted and etc. Sorry but that does not sound healthy to me. I didn’t wake up and said I was going to get the lap band this was a 7 month process. I wanted to try to lose weight on my own first but at the same time I went to a local support group to help me with my final decision. I am glad I went to a local support group because some of the YouTube videos I found scared the crap out of me. October I made my decision to get the lap band. On February 9th I got my approval letter from my insurance company and 2 months later (April 9th) I got my surgery date May 1st 2013! I am looking for to my healthier lifestyle and a new me! My goal is to be 20 pounds lighter on my 30th birthday! Wish me luck! Thank you for reading

some people have called this band hell the time before your 1st fill. i go on monday and i'm goin to ask how long before the first fill:scared2: my doc is a stickler on weight gain from now and what could be 4 weeks. I keep the grumbles to a lul with sugar free jello or a tsp. of peanut butter since it's high in protein. i'm so scared for anything else.

Well I came to this blog and start this journey speaking honestly. I have used Alli for the past 3 years. I spoke to my nutritionist and she said I could still use it with the band. I don't see a problem with it unless it is used as an excuse to overeat. It deters overeating of fat. It only handles about 50% of 12 grams eaten at a meal. If you overeat fat you will suffer. One reason I like using it is that I am regular and never constipated. Obviously it hasn't helped to loose weight or I wouldn't be getting banded but I have maintained my weight for about 1 year without weight gain. Most of my weight re-gain had been right after breast cancer when I felt so out of control of my life..............Well there it is the truth.:thumbup:

Good for you. I got my band to help with GERD and weight gain from that. I've never been skinny, so I am ok with that slow part. Yes, it is unusual for them to only fill you every three months, at least for here. They filled me at four weeks and want to do fills every month. Because of the GERD, the fills have to be small and they warned me I would just lose slower. Losing slowly vs feeling like you are having a heart attack, I'll pick the former. That and it's coming off with the real possibility of not coming back. Hearten up on that!

I was concerned about weight gain with the depo (slightly concerned about reaction as well)... I did hear the same thing about the pill and would not like to take the chance finding out. LOL I was advised against the iud because I do not have any kids and issues with placement when you do not have children. I am concerned about putting more hormones into my body as well as side effects. I have thought about the nexplanon implant, but no long term studies, which makes me nervous too. I had a weird dream that it grew out of my arm and I ended up with cancer, dramatic yes!! My cousin also had the implant and ended up with thyroid issues, another friend bled out and became anemic with the implant, everyone is different, but nothing I want to go through! I'm kind of at a stand still with what form to use. The obvious of abstinence and condoms, but I want to make absolute sure and double up. So much to consider!!

I have Cigna and gained as well. My surgeon's office said that some insurances will deny you if you gain but that Cigna is not known to deny for weight gain. Sent from my iPad using RNYTalk

I'm sorry but your "husband " is a coward! Who does that?! I believe when someone leaves you because of physical reasons (lost weight/ gained weight) that person never really loved you. But the good side of it is you have so much to look forward to! Sometimes it takes extreme measures for us to see the true colors of people. You will overcome this. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I'm sorry but your "husband " is a coward! Who does that?! I believe when someone leaves you because of physical reasons (lost weight/ gained weight) that person never really loved you. But the good side of it is you have so much to look forward to! Sometimes it takes extreme measures for us to see the true colors of people. You will overcome this. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App I have no doubt that my husband did love me and in a way still does. There is no excuse for what he has done or how he has treated me but the demons he was battling simply won out sadly. Thank you for the encouragement at the end of your post. I am trying each day to overcome.

these popped up in my fb memories today. i used to binge eat/overeat. i had decided to use MFP to help me curb how much i ate, but instead i used it as a competition tool to see how much i could fit in me. i was probably around 175 or so in 2012. the comments are mostly me joking about how my ads are all for diet pills now and my friends joking I'll be one of the feeder fetish chicks eventually. the last photo is from 2018 when i was 286lbs and considering bariatric surgery. spoiler alert: it wasn't my thyroid that caused my weight gain. why the eff did i do this to myself!? jesus. Sent from my SM-G930R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

I weighed myself when I went to bed after being discharged and was up 3 pounds. It dropped right off within another couple of days as all of the fluids that I'd been pumped full of via IV worked through my body. Visiting nurse said between that and edema from inflammation, it is very common to see a momentary weight gain right after surgery.

Also throwing it out there, muscle cramps are very frequently caused by dehydration. Sodium levels play a big part in cramps. More so than potassium issues. Another thread we were discussing how a few sips of pickle juice helps with the dehydration and sodium deficiencies. It really works. And there is mounting evidence to support it. Like a shot glass full - not a lot. But rhabdo can have less shocking symptoms than tea or cola colored urine. Decreased urine output (oliguria), muscle soreness, stiffness (especially if you're not upping your workout and you're staying sore), fatigue, muscle stiffness, unintentional weight gain (likely edema) and joint pain. Treatment involves upping the fluids, but also adding sodium bicarbonate. Hospital it is given IV. Sodium bicarb is found in many antacids. It protects the kidneys from the byproducts of muscle breakdown that can damage them. Severe cases of rhabdo can cause acute renal failure. Nothing to play with. The combination of severe muscle trauma (including from workouts) with suboptimal hydration can cause rhabdo. A mild case can cause damage to the kidneys. Hydration is ssoooooo freakin' important! edit - Don't try to treat yourself if you suspect rhabdo. They are trying to flush the kidneys. But outside of a clinical setting you are risking Fluid overload if your kidneys start shutting down. You may not get the alarming symptoms until irreparable harm has been done to the kidneys. It only takes 60-90 minutes of decreased blood flow to the kidneys to end up on dialysis.

This is SO true! In high school I weighed in the 140's and thought I was huge. When I got pregnant with my first daughter 26 years ago I weighed 148 at my first OB visit, I thought I was a whale! I wonder now if had someone had told me I was normal weight back then would it have made any difference? I think part of my weight gain can be attributed to the fact that I always thought "oh well, I have never been skinny and never will be, why bother". Sad how messed up our self image is ya know???

Unfortunately some of us made a bad decision and moved to Louisiana.... LOL I miss it (downtown queen at heart) Blame my weight gain on moving out of the city. Did a lot of walking and hanging in NYC. Hate the driving and not walking aspect of being in the city. Sent from my SM-G900H using the BariatricPal App

I am hesistant to post this but its on my mind so I wanted to share. I somehow gained 6lbs between Sunday morning and Tuesday morning. Monday mornings are my usual weigh in but I missed it yesterday. As I have mentioned I do still struggle with making the right choices but I have not experienced any weight gain till this point but 6lbs was alarming. I blame the birthday cake but I had a slice not the whole cake. It was a bit of a wake up call just how quickly things can change but I will chalk this up to carb bloat.

When I began my journey I knew that I wasn't dealing with my stomach issues, I was dealing with my head issues. That was going to make or break my success with this program. Immediately after my first meeting with the Bariatric program I contacted a therapist and began bi-weekly appointments to deal with my head around food so that I will be successful after surgery. It's not the food that caused this problem, it's the reason behind why I overate that caused the excessive weight gain. Understanding and dealing with that will help me the most on this journey.

I am concerned that you are taking such a drastic step physically without considering the mental/emotional aspect of your eating choices. If you gained your weight back with the sleeve, how will you prevent it this time? It can't be a solely physical solution - your body adjusts and your brain learns how to get the calories it wants, you've already proven that. Weight gain isn't solely a physical thing - the solution isn't solely physical either. It really worries me to see folks keep cutting away at themselves thinking the next surgery will be their nirvana, when what really needs to happen is dealing with the mental issues that drive the weight gain. From a personal perspective, I started looking into WLS two years ago and went in to therapy to deal with my compulsive eating issues before I had the surgery, and I think it's still a challenge even after all of that work. Just a thought, this isn't a judgment by any means, I found therapy to be really helpful and I'm so glad that I have that support right now as I deal with post-op stuff.

Big baby (over 10lbs at birth), but was never fat as a child. I was however positively HUGE compared to my skeletal sister and brother. So although I wasn't fat, I thought I was; an earlier poster stated it - a self-fulfilling prophecy. By the twenties, after university the weight gain started. Slowly at first but then more and more. I would diet, lose some, gain more - most of us know the result. It took my 50th birthday for me to grow up or something and say 'enough is enough'. My skeletal brother and sister still are, and not by intent or diet. They just are. But most times I forgive them this sin.

I decided to talk with my husband and children about it, my mother and my brother. Some online friends I have met through my business . I lost 30 in the first 2 months of my 6 month program. My mom, brother and husband are on board, but all asked me to reconsider and loose it naturally. I was a skinny person with crazy high metabolism until 30, received medical attention for anxiety and severe depression and poof, weight gain constantly since. I am 41 now. Always was active and was labeled medically induced morbidly obese. I have been to ‘diet doctors’ nutritionists, doctors, tried getting off the medication and gain plus all the time. I was literally doing one meal at dinner and ‘testing’ shakes and purée phase foods for the other meals. Because honestly I am terribly anxious for the liquid diet. Which I happened to start yesterday. I in total lost 50, but gained back 5-10 in a nervous dip and adding back to 3 meals. Trying the yogurt recipes (I gain with yogurt 😢) My doctors still want me to stick with the yogurt. I do know that carbs are my gains. I have my RNY scheduled May 10 and can’t wait. It’s not a secret, but I am not trying to tell anyone because it’s my body and my decision. Judgements are always made and sometimes (always) my family (aunts uncles cousins) can be completely rude. All in all, I am doing this for myself and my children, I want to live and annoy them for a long time and love the families they ave. So don’t worry about anyone else. Immediate support group small~ All I need 🥰

I agree! Physicians as a whole tend to be dismissive of the mental aspects of our health. Not just bariatric surgeons, although one would think that doctors performing wls would be more in tune with the mental aspect of weight gain and loss. I'm disappointed with the lack of follow-up care with my surgeon. It's not bad, the center has monthly support groups, required visits with a nutritionist, and a patient coordinator who is available to answer questions. However, I find that the support group is more like a pep rally and doesn't give me much support. And my 3 month f/u was scheduled for 4 months, and I'm told by other patients that I won't even see the doctor. I'm ready to cancel it and wait for my 6 month f/u. Why pay the copay just to get weighed on their scale and tell them I have no questions? I've looked for support outside the wls community as well. I talk to a therapist and I've gone to oa meetings. It helps a lot.

i've heard of some people not being able to eat dairy due to weight gain, as pretty much one of their only symptoms of an intolerance.

My (ex) bf and I have dated for nearly 5 years; he lives with me. The last year of our relationship has been rocky anyway, but ever since I told him I had decided to have gastric he became even more standoffish and argumentative. Two weeks ago we had a huge blowout over something completely idiotic, he comes back to the house, and says he has been acting the way he has because he thinks that once I lose weight I am going to leave him and that's all he can think about. Mind you... I have not even had the surgery yet. He said I am going to lose weight, gain self-esteem, realize I am too good for him, and leave him. Well, guess what, pal... I don't need to lose ANY weight to realize I am too good for you. It's been a long time coming, but I think it's even sadder that he is using my choice to get healthier as a justification for being an a*s. The only thing this does is put me in a rough position as far as someone staying with me while I recover. My mom and stepdad are going to take "shifts" as long as they can, but they both work. And the ex is currently dwelling awkwardly in my basement, but will probably not give me a hand at all. It does make me sad because I had hoped he would be there at the hospital with me... but then all of this BS happens. *insert gigantic eye roll emoji here* I am okay, though. I need these next 12 months to focus on me and getting healthy and fit and not dealing with unnecessary dramatics and stress. I have always thrived when single and he actually had moved out of the house for a year and it was fantastic. I hate to say it, but I'm looking forward to this new chapter - of not just weight loss, but of being single and free!

I had surgery April 2014. At 5'7", my highest weight was 245 and I was 226 on the day I was sleeved. My surgeon's goal weight for me was 160 and today i am around 150-152. I started in a size 20 and I'm now in a size 6/8. My recovery was a breeze! I didn't have one single complication after my surgery. Trapped gas pain? Nope. Acid reflux? 14 months out, never had it or a reason to ever take the prescription medications. Heart burn? Nope. Throwing up? Nope. Dumping? Nope. Aversions to food? Nope. The only "real" issues were things you really can't avoid which are hair thinning between months 3-8 BUT by one year it all grew back in. I also had a hard time with vitamins, but found some awesome melt away kind and the problem was quickly resolved. The first 24 hours in the hospital I was cursing the BP community for not warning me. Coming out of surgery wasn't fun as I was nauseous from the medicine. Once it was out of my system, I was fine. I didn't need much in the hospital except my cell phone, charger, long extension cord, my own pillow and toiletries. The first 3 days at home were the hardest and after that I didn't feel like I had surgery at all. I was back at work by the end of two weeks. I could have gone back earlier (I sit for a living, it's not very active.) and honestly, I found the process harder having so much unstructured time at home and the ability to wander into the kitchen. The supplies you will need post-op are minimal. I went overboard and bought stuff I still have never used 14 months post-op (example: those sugar free torani syrups.) Don't laugh, but one of the most handy things I found to have was Dixie paper cups. They are the perfect size to measure a few ounces of cottage cheese and other food and then you don't have to wash endless dishes! Keep in mind that everyone's process is different. The scary thing for me is I couldn't imagine what it would feel like to have my stomach removed post surgery. You just feel full quicker at first after you eat. Some people get into trouble when they push their new tummies limits. I'm not sure why, but adjusting to a new lifestyle was easy for me. It's not to say it didn't have challenges. I didn't go out much to eat in public at first. Now 14 months out I can eat whatever I want. It's both a blessing and a curse. I was able to reach my goal weight within a year without issue and am now maintaining. For the first time in my life, I'm not really worried about weight gain. I love the fact that I never feel hungry. I love that I feel satisfied after a small amount of food. 14 months out I still have a great amount of restriction. I've never pushed this. I know my tummies capacity and stop eating well before then. It probably helped that I ate a pretty clean diet pre-surgery. I wasn't one to binge on Big Macs and never drank regular soda or any drinks with calories in them. Many of the "rules" this surgery requires I was already doing. Other rules I couldn't do before surgery, but after surgery it's really easy to do. For example, I had difficulty not eating/drinking at the same time before surgery. Now my tummy is so tiny that I can't drink while eating! I do still take tiny sips though! Do I follow the rules 100%? No way! I log everything into my lositapp on my phone and for me, having that accountability has been key. I pretty much eat whatever I want (in smaller quantity) BUT I find myself typically making healthy choices. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy dessert on occasion or other treat that I want. For me that's what makes this a lifestyle change vs. a diet. Good luck!

I've been through it, I know how you feel. I had to ahve all my Fluid removed for a big surgery to remove my rectum and part of my colon and to form an ileostomy. Part of this was several colonoscopies and bowel preps, a fair bit of fasting pre procedures and a whole lot of fear and stress, then it took about seven days to get back onto solid foods following the surgery, followed by a couple of weeks of very very high stoma output, diarrhoea. As you can guess, i dropped a fair bit of weight during this time, and had also done so during the pre op chemo and radiation so all in all, I finished up at a BMI of 19, from my previously healthy 21 or so. I've been in contact with my lapband clinic regularly. From telling me when they emptied my band that I could begin refilling 3 weeks after surgery (and then unfill again for the second surgery to close the ileostomy some months down the track), my doctor has steadfastly refused to give me ANY fill at all because of my low weight. I get this, I havent truly asked for it, but most people will need fill to maintain their loss and I'm no exception. Anyhow, today I finally got some, six months later. I've worked so so SO hard over the past six months to not gain weight and all I've regained is just enough to bring my BMI up over 20, but with chemo finished, full recovery complete, my appetite is returning to normal and its been getting easier and easier to gain and I've had several weeks of "dieting" after small gains to get them off before they stick around. Today I had to absolutely do my block in the surgery because my doctor didnt want to give me any because she said "you're a healthy weight". Well, duh, it was that same doc who told me to expect a weight gain with the unfill, that virtually nobody could keep the weight off long term without it. I wasnt looking for tight restriction to lose, just enough to maintain my weight. After I kind of yelled a bit and said that I had this damn band and I wanted to use it, she gave me a 1cc fill, with another 1cc sheduled for 3 weeks time. So...... it IS possible to keep the weight off for quite a long period of time. I simply "dieted" the whole time. I finished eating when I knew I should, i stayed away from bad foods, I filled up on fruit and salads, I exercised, and overall tried to eat not much more than I did with restriction. I found I moved from a pattern of little and often eating to 3 square meals, but overall calories remained about the same. You can do it, its simply a matter of how much you want it, harsh as that sounds. But six months was stretching the limit of my abilities, I'm finally starting to crack and am very very glad to have had some fill. Good luck to you!