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You know, Sheryl, I do really find it amazing our much of the journey our minds play into it all. I believe someone said in one of the posts recently how crazy it is that we get down on ourselves with a small weight gain when we were OBESE before but I think maybe it also shows that we have turned the corner to true normalcy since I've heard others moan about having to lose weight and I would think, "Yeah, if I had that TEN POUNDS to lose..." ????. Now we are them! Ha! And Sheryl I agree on the visualization part too. 140 is an awesome number. I was Really Proud when I reached my goal of 150 the first time but boy, something about being 139-140 was truly Awesome! So awesome I just gradually slipped up and added too much junk back in and here we go again! BUT, what a great tool our sleeves have provided us! Got a fast day in today. Not pretty and not as low as I wanted (685) but I held on!!! Ha! And returning to good eating patterns feels really good too Glad we are all speaking up and helping each other out in the 5:2!

A couple thoughts about your post..... 1) if you have fundus deformity then your surgeon did not do your surgery correctly. A properly performed VSG Removes all of the fundus, which, as explained above us the stretchy part of your stomach. 2) sounds lime you were grossly misinformed about WLs and what is actually required for long term success. Any surgery (including bypass) is only one small part of what is required for long term weight loss. It was drilled into me over and over that it's the lifestyle changes we make that play a much more vital role. You can out eat any physical changes created by any surgery. Success is much more psychological than surgical. I'm truly sorry you weren't told the truth when making your decision to have surgery. 3). If you are having severe GERD, then yes, bypass is probably the answer for you. But again, your long term results as far as weightloss goes will be the same as your VSG without the often overlooked psychological tools. I suggest finding a good therapist if you find yourself going back to your old eating habits.....or developing new, just as destructive habits customized to eat around your bypass restriction. I saw this all the time in group. 1)The fundus deformity is a result of stretching my sleeve. I am over two years post op; my surgery was done correctly. All of my previous follow-ups indicated so. 2)I am not misinformed about WLS. 3)I do not need a therapist. I am aware of my role in my weight gain. I hear people say all the time the sleeve does not stretch, when in fact it does.

I read an article that, simply put, explained weight gain from consuming artificial sweeteners occurred because the body tastes sweet & so expects there to be sweet it can use for energy. (Our body does need some glucose to function.) But because there isn’t any glucose, your body thinks something is wrong & will store calories you consume as future energy i.e. as fat. Does make sense as your body will go into starvation mode & store as many calories as it can in times when food intake is low. It’s why many find their weight loss eventually stops on ultra low calorie diets. And of course artificial sweeteners do absolutely nothing to modify/eradicate your cravings for sweet things. Plus there’s a lot of the studies about the negative impact of them on gut health & your immune system. It’s hard to get sweeteners completely out of your diet as they’re in so many things but at least reducing the amount you’re consuming can only be a good thing.

Maybe he will come around and embrace the healthy choices that come with your surgery and the new you. I have been very overweight for most of my life with the exception of my multiple huge weight losses followed by huge weight gain. My wife is thin and could have dated and married anyone she wanted (as I had been told by her family and some of her former friends), but fell in love with me. She has been with me every step of the way through several serious and in one case life threatening illnesses and surgeries. When I started this process it was her who went with me to seminars, doctor appts, post op support groups. She spends many nights up late researching recipes, foods and supplements. Our relationship has been further cemented by "our surgery and journey" ( her words). We will be celebrating our 25th anniversary next month, and I am looking forward to being a hot stud for her. She is also looking forward to me to turn a few heads as well. This is just to say if you have a great relationship, things can only get better and nothing has to change for the worse. Sent from my iPad using VST

I just thought that I would check in, and say HELLO!!! I went to my surgeon. I was starving, weight gain, and I could eat anything. "not a good sign" So he flipped out and said untill you get your ass together, i'm not gonna see you. I told him he emptied my band. "he forgot to wright it in his notes" No!! can't be! your full. So get it together. he left. So I to left p****d off, and called a FILL CENTER U.S.A. they put in almost 2cc's and I was bone dry. So now, i'm back to loseing weight. Waite till I go back to see this Dr.. I am really gonna raise the roof. He is gonna find out he is not GOD!!! I tried to tell him to stick a needle in it to check, but he wouldn't listen. O Well!!! Anyway now it's back to loseing weight. Thats cool. How is every one???

At 258, I was wearing 24/26 and 3x tops. At 145, I am wearing size 8 pants - Kim Rogers from JC Penny's. Large tops/some medium I am very pleased to have lost this much weight and kept my weight gain with my unfil to about 12 pounds. I had gotten to 133 in December but was throwing up daily and decided to do an unfil. I put on 10+ pounds in the 1st 2 weeks but after experiencing anemia from nose bleeds last week, and being hospitalized for 3 days with blood transfusions, I have lost excess Fluid and staying around 145. I am grateful!! I think I will keep the band unfilled for a while longer as stress affects my band and I don't wanna go there right now. Good luck to all!

I truly can’t pin point one thing, but growing up as a child, it was any & everything for me: sweets (ice cream/cake), carbs (bread/potatoes) & soda (the infamous Mountain Dew & root beer) my weight gain began as a very young child, my family didn’t have a lot, but we always had food. And cheap food was/is the worst food. Our Friday’s/Saturday’s were always for eating out for dinner & looked forward to my happy meal’s. I don’t blame my parents really because they did what they had to do. I blame myself as a young adult because I could have changed my mindset

Dcprincess...often times I feel undeserving and it seems unreal that I have lost weight. I had an epiphany last week when I realized that "yes, I had lapband surgery but no one put an exercise band in me!" Really, the band has helped get me started but the continual success in exercise and fact that I continue to run in 90+ degree weather here in Texas is MY accomplishment and not because of that band of silicone. I like to mull over that from time to time. BTW I ran in Houston last weekend early in the morning and even at 0700 it was HOT. Way to go with your exercise down there! I had a strange experience several months ago. I was out with some friends in a club and was feeling pretty tipsy (not something I usually do anymore!) Well, I went into the bathroom and when I looked at the mirror I felt real strange. I hardly recognized myself. Surely it was the alcohol speaking but at any rate it was a freaky experience. I wonder if we have all failed to have good body images even before our weight gain years ago and consequently it was what got us to where we are today. I had a very good friend (also a shrink) tell me that I was ignoring my obesity because it protected me from being hurt by others. When I finally came to the conclusion that I could no longer continue to be overweight just the admission that I was truly morbidly obese was an extremely painful experience. I cried for days after I scheduled my surgery. I guess I was fearing losing another (in)effective coping mechanism. Dcprincess, have you ever thought of posting side-by-side pictures of yourself somewhere you can look at them on a regular basis? I just might try that myself....although I find looking at the former pictures very depressing. I just think of the years I put up with lugging all the weight around! Anyone else have any ideas?

I didnt have one foot in the grave, and the cosmetic effect of this surgery was probably the largest factor in my decision - and I'm not ashamed of that. I hated how I looked, hated myself, was miserable. Now I'm proud of what I've achieved. I was a low BMI too, 36 at surgery but to me that was the fattest I had ever been and the fattest I ever wanted to become. BUT - huge but - how many health problems have I forestalled by doing this? I still got cancer, but my colorectal surgeon said to me outright that the likelihood of a permanent colostomy if I hadnt lost all this weight was very very high - reason being that my cancer was low in the rectum, very difficult to access so far down in the pelvis. Yes, I have a nice wide, shallow pelvis that is a big factor, but being able to a) get into the area though a huge mound of abdominal fat and b ) stretch the remaining colon past all that flubber is very difficult in obese people. High blood pressure, cholesterol and heart attacks run in my family, strongly. But my stats are perfect. They sure werent six years ago, not terrible, but not great either. My excellent fitness is the strongest factor I have going for me to prevent cancer recurrence - exercise is a huge preventative - I never could have achieved that without the band, it was a complete package for me. My energy, my health, my ability to beat a deadly disease, I'm just not sure I would have even had the courage to go to my doctor to report that my bowel habits had changed because I was so ashamed and embarrassed of my body. I've had every man and his dog up my backside in the past two years, I've had to be naked on an operating table four or five times, I've had to have treatment every day for six weeks naked on the lower half in front of two very nice youg guys - all horrible invasive, traumatic but so so much more bearable because I wasnt totally consumed with thinking that THEY were thinking what a horrible fat old slug. It sounds so trivial in the face of how sick i was but it really realy mattered to me and made the whole thing easier. It could have all been so different, I could be sitting here today with a permanent colostomy hanging off my huge bulging gut, weighing god knows what now, I'm pretty sure in my old life the stress would have caused me a large weight gain. Instead I had the focus of keeping a strong hold of what I'd achieved and that got me through it, even though people thought I was insane to still be running and going to the gym whilst having chemo. Nuff said, its life changing no matter WHAT your reasons for doing it.

Sleeve, 10 months, 5'5" 130. 5'4"- 136lbs calories 1200 to 1500 Protein 100+ Carbs. Whole wheat and plant based. Fuels my body for the activities I participate in. Type 1 Diabetic..Keeps my blood sugar from dropping. What exercise regimen frequency .Run 3 days a week an hour to an hour and a half. Strength training two days a week for an hour. What role, if any, has counseling or therapy played: Counseling..Helped with body issues. The weight change happened so quickly I needed time for my mind to catch up to my body. Advise. Stay connected to support what ever that looks like for you. Non of us are exempt from weight gain. Monitor your weight and adjust your eating and physical activity to stay in your weight range.

Speaking of "friends," I have one that KEEPS referring to me as someone with an eating/obesity problem. She knows nothing of the surgery, so it is as if she hasn't noticed that I have lost 50 pounds and am terribly fit. It seems I have moved on and she has not. She may prefer the fatter, more vulnerable and needy me. She was my friend through the hard times, so I need to find a way to understand, but not allow her to drag me down. I may be the opposite of what I am reading. My entire life I have been very social, until a rapid weight gain took me prisoner. It seemed an alien had taken over my body. To deal with the discomfort and shame, I avoided friends and poured myself into a new line of work, charity, and advanced education (to find self-worth that was not predicated upon my appearance or socially-acceptable weight.) Now that my weight/appearance/health are returning to "normal," I have begun to reahc out to the old friends. As was mentioned, the confidence to just be with anyone and focus on conversation is great. NEW TICKER MOVEMENT!!!

The only harm alcohol causes us is empty calorie weight gain. Most likely people get drunk more quickly due to the fact you have abstained from alcohol for a good bit of time. Your tolerance is different. I used to enjoy a couple glasses of wine every night, but 2 now is way different. I don't do it simple because I'm still trying to make goal and wine is way off my course. It's a mind set

I think the key is to remain mindful at all times as the others have stated above. We can not get comfortable with our success and must always stand on guard. One slip here and there may not manifest in measurable artifacts such as scale increase or softness, but repeated slips will aggregate into weight gain, and worse, feelings of disappointment and a lack of a strong foundation to stand on. Lets stay strong together and always be mindful! Happy labor lay to my American friends.

I have the copper to prevent weight gain and it was very painful - but ive never had children

Before I even signed up for an orientation, I checked out forums like this to make sure VSG was right for me. I have always been an Atkins oriented eater, so the whole protein first thing wasn't a problem. I am a social drinker (weekends only -- no high calorie drinks) and observed that most VSG veterans who were drinkers before the surgery seem to do so without problems after. I also listened closely to my surgeon during orientation who clearly stated that one of the big differences between the VSG and RNY was that that the recommended no one ever drink alcohol after RNY; okay in moderation with VSG. I also found that most threads on the topic of alcohol are full of people who didn't drink castigating people who did, which tended to distort the true information exchange, so before I get tp the questions, I humbly request that people who never drank, or gave it up since their surgery feel free to troll, but please don't comment -- I'm only interested in first hand factual responses! QUESTIONS: 1. How long did you go before having your first drink? 2. Have you had any MEDICAL complications with your surgery that were attributed to drinking alcohol? 3. Have you gained back significant weight from drinking alcohol? 4. Have you developed an alcohol addiction post VSG after having been able to control your drinking before? As I said, I have read all the guidelines and see questions 2, 3, and 4 listed as "risks of drinking alcohol". At the same time, I see lots of comments from people who have returned to drinking post-opt with no complications, weight gain, or sudden addiction. By the way, I have also read all the "doctor's orders" and have found total inconsistency (ranging from never drink again to a month or two). My own program doesn't even have a consistent answer, which is why I'm asking for real stories... Thanks!

to be accurate: the DR in the videos maybe/ was wrong THEN, in 2012, he may be saying something else today. and also one article by one source is not the end of the conversation. However I wonder if he WAS correct on the location of the ghrelin 'spot' "....But neither of these theories fully explains improvements in beta-cell function and insulin sensitivity after bariatric surgery, Kashyap told MedPage Today." In addition I saw a medical researcher (will find if I can to document source) indicate that the CHANGE in diabetic response is IMMEDIATE within hours of the surgery...so not days or weeks of improvement, but 'something' in the (possible shock) to the body of disconnecting the stomach severely with WLS is what makes the difference. No studies yet to confirm I have seen..this may ALSO be wrongly interpreted, but for people with severe issues with BG/insulin problems this is one solution for them. shouting 'wrong' (like politico John McLaughlin) does not take away that real science is open to debate constantly as nothing is absolute. with a very short time of results of bariatric there is still much to be revealed. I am more concerned (for myself) with what I see on all the issues years out, weight gain, leaking sleeves, redoing RNY somehow again, etc.

I am 13 months post op, I have lost about 40 pounds. Everything was great with band until 5 months ago. Severe reflux and vomiting had to wait 3 weeks to see my Dr. I was not happy it took so long. Had UGI, showing relux had band unfilled for 6 weeks. Had follow up UGI reflux gone and I was feeling better except for the weight gain. I was told by the Dr that about 30% of lap band patients bodies can not work with the lap band and that my problem of being too tight leading to reflux will continue. She gave me 2cc's and said most likely she would not put any more to keep the bad from being too tight and slipping:( I was dissappointed but decided 2cc's are bettee than 0. Now two weeks later out of no where I am having abdominal pain not associated with my port. I feel full and really bloated in the evenings. When I move or take a deep breath I hurt sort of on my left side barely below my rib cage. Maybe it's just gas but I don't know. Does anyone have any insight for me? I have had set back after set back and am at my wits end.:blushing:

Anyone can be unhappy. Not just about loss of food. It may have had an influence, but it is not to blame totally for someones problems. This young lady obviously had other issues to have caused the weight gain in the first place. It is just a loss of the coping mechanism for this young lady. I am sorry for her family that she chose to end her life. I have not told many people because of they way they react. I took a great deal of time to contemplate my surgery before I had it. I had a year of weight loss counseling, already had adopted some different eating habits, exercise habits and had time to wrap my head around it. I had my psyche counseling and then after approval by insurance, went to support groups for two months before proceeding with my surgery. I had given myself time to make the mental changes. I told a co worker about my surgery, asked her not to share( she is a manager and I needed to let someone at work know that I could be out longer when I had my surgery) and she had the surgery herself after I told her. She went to Mexico as a self pay. She did not think about it more than two weeks. No counseling, no follow up, no support groups. Then she has shared it with others-actually everyone-two other people have gone to Mexico for the surgery since then (August) . I am really concerned that she and these others are not prepared. I do not want that on my conscience. I am choosing not to tell anyone else unless necessary. I asked her not to share that I had surgery, but think she has done so already. It is my choice to tell, not someone else's. On the other side, I hope they are happy with their weight loss. I hope they are able to cope well. I am very happy that I can use this tool to control my own weight. I don't want to hear of other peoples horror stories. I do not want to influence other people to choose something that may not be right for them. I hope they have made choices on their own. They have to live with their choices, good or bad. Choose to keep what you want to hear and dismiss what is not important. Thank those for compliments and tell the others that have negative stories that your appreciate their concern, but you're good with it and walk away. This is long winded, roll eyes, sorry.

Nykee - The purpose of the unfill is not only so you can eat more - but eat more healthfully. If your variety of foods is so non-existent at this point, but the purpose is to provide you with the ability to make better CHOICES by introducing more variety into your diet. Elfiepoo and the others have given you good solid advice. Honestly, I think your mental issues far exceed the physical at this point. I'm not trying to say it in a hurtful way, just that seeing a qualified professional therapist that specializes in addictions/food issues would help you get to the bottom of what's causing your self-sabotage. Do not equate an unfill with weight gain. That is something many do. It is a way to allow you to make better food choices, drastically eliminate any pb or vomiting episodes and take responsibility for your journey. The idea is to have this band long-term. I am a firm believer that with your current mindset, gastric bypass will not do you any good. Sure - maybe for 18 months or so - but then as your body adjusts to the "new" reality and malabsorption subsides, you will start gaining it back. I wish you the best, you truly do need help. But you have to be willing to do the work it takes to get there. Please keep us posted on your journey.

Thank You for you words, But I had been working out everyday and was told to limit myself to 3 times a week. And yes i see a nutritionist every month for three years now. But the weight gain is driving me crazy.

I have PCOS and this is the reason why my husband and I decided the surgery was the best way to go. My doc pretty much said my body needed a rude awakening and this drastic measure would help me achieve my dream! I've been married for 10 years and we are EXTREMELY excited about the many possibilities in the future.. I just recently had my surgery so I haven't been to meet with my doctor.. I kinda don't want to take BC because I have had many bad experiences with them (mainly weight gain) and I also don't know how long to wait for it.. Aaahhh... the many possibilities!! I see the light!!

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.

Sleeveme, I think I know where you are coming from. Once you lose the weight, you will start thinking, now why couldn't he treat me this well when I was overweight? Why would the pounds make such a big difference? I feel this way. My husband has always been naturally thin and I gained most of my weight while undergoing multiple surgeries that caused me to be incapacitated. I couldn't move and I ate. My husband never completely understood the weight gain and the pain I was in. When I told him in January that I was ready for this surgery, he was so utterly excited that I was ready to have this surgery that it made me mad that it was so important to him. Yes, I weighed 105 pounds when I met him 35 years ago but still! I never got the I love you know matter how you look talk... Even after 31 years of marriage, it's important to hear things like this.

I am worried I will resent my husband for treating me differently after losing weight. When we met I was much thinner and I definately notice a difference after the weight gain. I am worried that when I lose the weight he will start treating me differently and pay more attention to me especially when we are out in public. Anyone have that issue? Can anyone offer some insight?

it's been a year and half seens my last dr.visit and i have gained 35lbs back i keeped trying to lose on my own and i just keeped gaining and i want to go to my dr.and get a fill but im afraid he will chew me out and maybe that is what i need to get me back on track so the question is has anyone went back to their doctor after a big gain?and if so what happened?i'm sure it depends on your dr.some can be asses.