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these were the rules given to me.... but go on and do what make you happy Lap-Band: Rules To Live By For The Rest Of Your Life Eat 3 small meals per day. Eating 3 meals per day will provide the proper nutrition your body needs. Eating more than this or "grazing throughout the day is unconsciou eating and can lead to excessive calorie intake. Limit portion sizes to 3-4 oz. Portion sizes should reflect the size of your new pouch. Eating more will eventually stretch the size of the puch and lead to an increased calorie consumption and weight gain. Eat slowly - when you are comfortably full... STOP. Eating too fast will cause pain and can lead to overeating or vomiting. No snacking in between meals. Snacking in between meals will only add additional, unnecessary calories. It may also revive bad habits of unhealthy snacking and grazing. Do not drink and eat at the same time. liquids will speed up transport of food through the stomach, decreasing the sense of satiety (feeling of fullness) and giving you the ability to eat more. Drink fluids 30-60 minutes after eating. Consume adequate fluids-sipping at all times. Fluids should always be sipped. Gulping can cause pain and lead to stomach stretching. Drink at least 64 oz. of Fluid every day - in between meals in order to prevent dehydration. Eat well-balanced, nutritious meals - Protein first! Providing yourself with the proper food is important in order to provide your body with the necessary Vitamins and minerals you need to survive. Eating your protein first will ensure that you are meeting your protein needs of at least 60 grams per day. The rest of the meal should be balanced with small amounts of fruits, vegetables, and whole grain carbohydrates. *see the protein guide* Limit high calorie food and drinks. Consuming high-calorie food and drinks such as soda and high-fat foods will only increase your calorie intake, leading to less weight loss and possibly weight gain in the long run.

I have a friend who has been thin her whole life. She is feeling really fat right now weighing 150 at 5'7" - 20-25# higher then her normal. So what shocked me in discussing this with her is that while she has never been obese, when she went through that weight gain, it was a very similiar story to what my everyday life was like pre-sleeve. 1. Start eating junky food 2. Get even hungrier then normal 3. Try like heck to "diet"; always failing and being drawn back to the junky/too much food 4. Feel bad at the failures so repeat cycle endlessly In her case, she gained "only" 20-25 pounds but she told me that over the 6-8 months it was happening she was just out of control. Once she stopped eating low nutrition/empty carb calories, her hunger came back down and she is slowly taking the pounds off. In those of us who became morbidly obese, the swing is bigger, much bigger, and I didn't have the big enough losses to ever get down to a healthy weight so I had that metabolic drive to keep overeating. I guess it was refreshing to find someone that really understands this. All the willpower in the world doesn't work if your body is literally screaming for a certain kind of food and driving you to eat. I think that the reason many WLS patients regain is not because their stomach is too big, but rather they slip back into the behavior that "triggers" a re-occurance of the disease or condition called obesity. Then, once the cycle begins it is like you can't get off the merry - go - round. I am not to maintenance yet, but I have seen this even as my weight loss journey is down to the final amount. I started feeling more hunger... felt a little panicked like "okay, this is it - no more weight loss". i took steps such as resetting back to sleever basics and then amping up exercise intensity and I have lost 10 pounds in November - back on track! I am now back t having to remember to eat as I am just not getting hungry whereas a few months ago I felt like someone who had a big return of hunger. Anyway, I continue to learn from this journey and hoping to pick up bits of understanding to help me stay successful over the long haul - truly my biggest fear is regain after all of this!

I have an Allergan omni form (latest band) 14cc band with 2 fills of 1.5cc each time. The surgeon pre-filled with 1.5cc during band date. So I have 4.5cc in a size 14cc band. My surgeon wants me around 2 pounds a week loss or 8 pounds per month. He really doesn't care about "green zone". He believes long term for a patient to adapt to good eating habits first rather than the band doing most of the work. I'm scheduled for a third fill visit on Dec 11, but I'm close to 8 pounds a month in weight loss. So, I might not get another fill until he sees a possible weight gain. I have a very cautious doctor.

My record is 7 pounds! I gain it the week before and then lose it the day before or the first day. My sister is the same but she doesn't lose hers until the end of her period. I'm hoping that when I'm smaller my pre period weight gain will be less too!

I know this might be a stupid question but I never paid attention to it when I was heavier but is it normal to gain 3+ lbs during that time of the month? I got on my scale this morning and I was shocked to see the gain and I've been doing everything right.

I'm pre-op too (hoping for January if all is approved) and I can understand how you feel. I have spent so much time beating myself up for not being able to do this on my own. But I've tried so many times and the weight is really affecting my life, happiness and health. My brother told me this: If I had to go in for heart surgery to improve my health, would I be down on myself for not being able to fix it on my own? No, of course not. So that is how I'm choosing to think about WLS. For whatever reason, our bodies hold onto the weight, gain easier, etc. We have medical reasons we need the surgery and it is not a failure on our part. Hope this helps:) Try not to be so down on yourself (although I have the same problem with that)!

Your story echoes many of ours, just different names and places. Puberty is not an uncommon trigger for weight gain, many of us where rail thin till the big P and then BAM! It hits us, middle age widens us even more and before you know it we are morbidly obese. Most all of us here have a success story that we can share, there are a very few who have failures. You have to weigh the risk VS reward. We all wish you the very best as you start your new adventure in weight loss.

So let me start by saying this , I got the lap band to improve my quality of life. Because I have PCOS ( Poly Cystic ovarian syndrome ) and migraines I am at greater risk of things like stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure as it is. Being over weight adds to that. So I wanted the band to reduce that risk BEFORE anything bad happened to me. I am a mother of 2 boys who need me . After I first got the band things were great, I could eat what i wanted, just smaller portions and occasionally threw up after eating too much , or so I thought .. I even changed the way I ate, what i ate , i felt better so I ate better. I was , as you can ask my doctor , the model patient, i did everything I was suppose to (with the expectation of working out and that lesson has been learned trust me ) Eventually what I ate seemed to come back up more often , But after losing 125 pounds I thought I was doing ok. At a year out a slipped my band , that is where my stomach comes up through the band and can potentially be very serious. After it corrected it self I gained some weight ... It slipped again , more weight gain . I was then told my band had scar tissue build up around it and I could no longer get the fills I needed to lose the weight the opening to my stomach would be closed off it was filled again . That was around 2-3 yrs ago . As time has gone on I have slowly gotten worse. You see because of where the scar tissue is I still have " restriction" Meaning , I am still limited on what i eat , so things like steak, pork, chicken , solid Proteins wont go down . The food literally sits on top of my band until it gets either pushed through , which is very painful , or it comes back up . If I throw up too much, my stomach swells and eating any form of solid food is impossible for several days. So i have to go to liquids, milk shakes, Protein shakes , mash potatoes things like that. Those type of things are high in calorie and cause me to gain weight , but what other choices do i have ? broth, Water ? Yeah those fill you up ?? NOT ! So my day goes like this ... Breakfast: Protein shake cause eating in the morning is nearly impossible. That's if I can get it to go down if I cant and anything comes back up then its liquids for me the entire rest of the day Lunch: I try to eat something semi solid but I usually end up eating Soup Dinner: Some times a salad works but most evenings I throw up my dinner several times over and end up in pain from the swelling . By that time liquids hurt to go down ... NOW that leads me to my "other issues" Joint pain Fatigue body aches head aches My teeth are deteriorating because of how much I throw up Cold feet cold hands numb feet cysts on my feet numb hands You see they are finding out now that people who have had bands for several years are developing auto immune disorders like Fibromyalgia .. Problem ? Docs done believe it yet .. So no doc will help me out . With out insurance I cant get proper diagnoses . You can read more about that stuff here . I am now 20 or so pounds away from my original start weight before surgery . That's right I have gained nearly ALL My weight back . And at the rate I am going by next month or so I will exceed the 250 pounds i was before my surgery . I had my revision surgery on 11-14-2012 after surgery they told me the band removal went fine and they were able to repair a hiatal hernia , that was a surprise to them ( and me ) and sleeve me in one procedure. I was SO relieved to have had it done in once procedure. The day after surgery I started throwing up water and unable to keep it down . After a couple more tried they ordered an EGD for me . They told me if the scope went through easily then and showed no obstructions I should be fine and not need another surgery , but if it did not I could have excess scar tissue from the band and I could need another surgery . WHAT !! Yikes . So they did it and it showed no obstruction some swelling around the band area ( where the band was ) they told me to take liquids slow . For several days I was still throwing up just water, in fact it freaked me out because it looked like I was throwing up some blood as well. Finally around day 3 or so the water was staying down . So finally I was able to go home today . NOT an easy process that's for sure , but I am glad its over. The doc told me to progress my liquids slowly , as long as I was keeping liquids down I was fine , the minute i started if i did throwing up liquids I needed to come back . But to just take it slow . I have been home for about a week now and its still a back and forth issue with food. I encourage ANYONE reading this to NOT get the lap band, do not ever tell anyone abou the band and Hope some day it falls off the face of the earth !

The weight gain is not real...10 pounds overnight would have meant you overrate by 35,000 calories. In a banded belly, I don't see how that would be possible. Drink your Water, get Protein in through shakes...ride it out and you'll likely drop the 10lbs plus extra

Thanks, I am glad that I'm not the only one who experiences these things! So I have many, many more years to look forward to? Missy, it does suck! About the weight gain, I have a conundrum...I gained 10 pounds OVERNIGHT! I imagined you could gain a few, but 10?

If I had a STABLE BMI of 38 and I wasn't afraid of going higher then No, I would not even consider this procedure. BUT my situation is much different than yours. When I was in the low 200s, my shape was very much a pear shape. I held most of my weight in my thighs and hips and very little in my abdomen. I had no comorbidities(and still don't even at 40 years old and 330 pounds) I had no joint pain at that weight. I could do everything I wanted to do.... I could even jog and I could hike for 20 miles in a single day! so no. I would not have had the surgery at a 38 BMI unless it was to prevent future weight gain... NOW, If I was YOU, I would DEFINITELY have the surgery. If you have comorbidities, then your body is begging you to lose the weight. No two bodies are the same so it's really not fair to compare. I was in a way "blessed" genetically. Yeah, I do have some thyroid issues.. and I have a propensity to gain and hold on to weight and compounded with a healthy appetite and not always the best choices I wound up at 330 pounds... BUT I have low cholesterol, no signs of heart disease, normal liver profile, normal blood sugar.. etc. I am fortunate. Not everyone can be so lucky, so I say take advantage of this surgery in order to combat against your genetic predisposition! Best wishes to you!

I was banded 14 months ago and have lost 88lbs. In the last month I have gained 4 back. =( I have no motivation. I was working out with a personal trainer 2-3x a week, but that was a 6 month plan that ended in September. I haven't done much for working out since then. I am also not eating great. I was still losing up til the first of November and then the 4lbs happened. I am an emotional eater so the weight gain leads me to bad places. Ugh. I need to get out of this rut. I am having oatmeal for breakfast today. We will see where the rest of the day takes me...

Thanks for your replys. I'm glad I'm not alone I just cnt wait until I have all the money saved to just book and sort my life out. I have researched and know this is something I have to do for myself or possibly face death as my weight gain and food intake completely out of control Sent from Indiana's iPhone using LapBandTalk

I like that thought......New Year back to the old me.......I hope I get back to myself in more ways than weight.....it funny how much a weight gain can change so much in your life.

I agree with hely88 if I were in your shoes, I'd be asking for a slight unfill. I wouldn't be happy that tight at all. Being as you're not vomiting and are able to eat (though it's not easy), it comes down to personal preference. Some people are happy with super tight bands, others are not. I personally have my band so that I can still eat anything I want just in moderation. Plus, if eating is that much of a chore, the temptation to rely on slider foods is too great and that leads to weight gain. If you're not happy, then get a slight unfill. Regardless of what anyone here or even a nutritionist says, you're the one the has to live with your band so it needs to fit your needs and lifestyle.

Holland, I did extensive research before I chose the sleeve. I am a breast cancer survivor. I am 61.5 years, 4'11 tall. Being older and short makes losing weight more difficult. I was sleeved on 11/12, down at least 10 pounds in two weeks and I feel fabulous. My research led me to believe that, in the long run, the sleeve is substantially safer. Ten years down the road, the people who were not deligent about taking Vitamins (and for RNY that's a ton of vitamins all day, every day) experience serious health issues due to malabsorbtion of nutrients. Their teeth rot, their hair falls out, they have physical health issues. I already know that I am not going to remember to take all those vitamins. I also know that I don't want anything rerouted. Period. I went to six months of support group meetings before my surgery. What I learned is that the RNY patients still had issues with hunger. Not some. Most. I also met people who gained a lot of weight back. One patient has never lost weight, but she eats alot of pizza and ice cream (some mental health issues there). There is a thread on this site titled "weight gain with the sleeve" or something like that. Read it. My Dr.'s practice is a Center of Excellence. Not sure what that means, but my RN daughter says it's a big deal. He does RNY and Sleeve. If the sleeve wasn't good, he wouldn't do it. Just like everyone said, do your own research. You can change your mind at any time. You need to be happy with your choice. Your friends and family love you, want the best for you. After you do our research, show them the facts and how you came to your decision.

I think that you need to do some research on your own. I believe (I'm not a medical doctor) that your pro's and con's list is totally inaccurate. All the research I have read reports that the sleeve has a lot less complications than the RnY. It is one of the safer wls out there. From my understanding the RnY is not reversible and people do regain their weight because their pouches stretch. In fact for individuals that are extremely obese, they would first do the gastric sleeve before the RnY procedure. I have a friend that had an RnY and she regained 40 lbs of what she had lost. Other people I have spoken with have had weight gain too. Plus there's a lot of dumping and malabsorption issues with RnY. Your friend has good intentions but is grossly misinformed....... Please do the research.... I love my sleeve and would do it over in a heart beat. BTW I have had no complications from my surgery. My problem is my head hunger and sugar addiction. If you have any questions, please ask.....

I also have the same issue; I started writing down the week of PMS in my calendar for two reasons (1) so I would be aware if I was eating "slider" foods and needed to be in more control and, (2) I don't weigh myself that week because I also have at least a 4 pound weight gain ~ the cravings are pretty rough ~ good luck

Too tight. Keeping it that way leads to eating sliders. These tend to be higher in cals leading to weight gain.

Ok so I see what your saying.....I need to look at the overall benefit that I gain from it and talk to my doctor to see if we feel as if is a hindrance to my weight loss. I know that when I went in to get my Mirena I was 202 with the lapband, and after 4months I ballooned to 230, and from that point on I could not get the weight off. That then lead me to struggles with my band and I ended considering RNY, and I was approved then shortly after went through the process. The only thing is that I never thought that the weight gain could have come from the Mirena until recently. So I'm gonna google this topic some more. Thanks soooo much for sharing. Oh and I loved the I'm not an expert! Lol SD: 10/10/12, Converted from Lapband to RNY, HW (before band) 263, HW (RNY) 230, Preop 219, after surgery 223, current 201

ok preop i’m 100 more than you - if you just look at % - I am SIGNIFICANTLY heavier than you - and - I did gain about 2 yrs after I went on the merina - weight gain is NOT a side effect listed by the manufacturer - but you can ask 20 people and get 20 different responses - I have 2 good friends on it and neither appear to have gained (OR LOST) since on the merina - Now - on the flip - I used to hemorrhage - think bleed through 3-4 pads in an hour - which is when they think you misscarry - it was impossible to work (i own my own business) and basically I wouldn’t work for the few days when I had my periods - I used to get very bad cramps - in 3 yrs (it might be 4) I haven’t had a cramp - AT ALL - I’m a bitch during my cycle - but really zero cramps... Now - I get that icky nuisance bleeding - rarely ever a clot or any kind of big bleed - I am not fond of weight gain - but I’m ok with that as a trade off for the excessive bleeding. The last few months I didn’t even get that - but last week my psudo period was back. I gained 13% body weight on the merina - over 3 yrs - I also had some excessively stressful years at the same time - so I can’t definitively say I gained with the merina - or i gained with HUGE ASS life stuff - I’ve seen some online forums that vilify Merina - and for me - it works - now - post surgery - and I don’t loose all the weight I’m supposed to - I am open to pulling the Merina and trying albation - but right now I have so much on my plate - I’d rather not screw with one more thing -- JUST MY OPINION - I am neither a medical expert - nor do i play one on tv - Good luck with your decision - for me - it’s worry free - and I like it - on the pill I get high blood pressure - and/but without Merina I had high blood pressure - technically I’m 200 lbs overweight - for what the charts say I should weigh - so who the hell knows....

I guess I'm lucky as far as it comes to the process. I've met my surgeon and really like him! It has been pretty easy and pretty fast. I am just ready for this change, i'm ready to star seeing results. I feel so lost, I have gained so much weight I don't even recognize myself! I'm recently single after 5 years and I am afraid to visit with old friends (guys and girls) because of the weight gain!

I completely understand what your going through. Two months before lap band I gained 62 pounds. I ate so much junk food, fast food preparing for this new life style. My family kept telling me I was sabatogizing myself and they were completely right. My advice is: each pound you gain before lap band surgery is only making you further from your ultimate goal. I am so incredibly mad at myself for gaining so much weight right before surgery. Start now!! They say with lap band we can expect one-two pounds per week of Weightloss. Each pound you gain preparing for surgery is adding a week to loose...I know my body can gain one pound per day and it did. If I only didn't do what I did I'd be almost 200 pounds today but instead I'm 275. Also, my surgeon explained to me that the weight we gain before surgery is belly fat that can cause complications during surgery. He said the fat all stays in belly first and makes the surgery harder to perform. That scared me, and I wish I knew this before gaining 62 pounds right before surgery. Also, be careful about weight gain because you can get denied if they weigh you, and a month later you've gained more. It shows insurance and surgeon unreadiness for life style change. Also, try going on a shake morning and lunch..and eat sensible dinner..I lost twelve pounds week before surgery drinking the two shakes and having dinner. Three weeks of liquids is a lot....and mentally if you know you don't have too, it makes it very difficult. Try one day of replacing breakfast and lunch with shake and see if you can manage that before going straight to all liquids.....

Hi dreamers! First of all, take a deep breath. I had a lot of worries going into this too, knowing I wanted to make the change but not believing that I could after so many years of unhealthy habits. Congratulations for quitting smoking -- you have just added YEARS to your life! Many of us went into panic mode that week before starting the pre op diet. I hit all of my favorite restaurants and drive thru's. You know that you are only sabotaging yourself, so it is essential to reach out for help. What does your doctor say about the 30lb weight gain? Are you required to see a nutritionist or therapist? Please set up an appointment ASAP so they can help you get to the root of this. As far as practical suggestions -- how is your exercise? You have not been banded yet but the earlier you start, the better. Even just 15 minutes. Have you considered a personal trainer for motivation and accountability? If hubby is willing to work out with you, even better. Figure out your trigger foods because frankly those will have to go for the next few months. DO NOT have any unhealthy foods in your house, period. Pack your lunches for work. It is not worth damaging your chances of having the surgery, and later damaging your band. How would you feel knowing you threw away this life changing opportunity just for the temporary satisfaction of junk food? You deserve better.

I live in South FL. I have a very busy life and would like a "partner" in getting back on track. I have researched revisions to a RNY as I never got to goal. I let my weight dictate my life and am missing out on it all. I am socially dropping out and am having a lot of physical pain. I weigh 208 today and carry it all in my middle, causing a lot of arthritic leg and foot pain. I am ready to attempt to embrace the band and restriction. I will call for a fill this week. I can eat everything now except for maybe a hamburger. My metabolism is a wreck and I have to take Nsaids for the pain. This is weight gain after getting an unfill at weight of 190 because I was just sick of the restriction and thought I would eat fruit! Well, I rarely eat fruit. I am a carb addict! I have a gym buddy who is very supportive but cant really relate to the band. I heard that 60% of banders are getting them removed or revised. Any encouragement is welcomed!