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All the comments above are accurate. You may need to seek counseling as to the reason you "replaced food with alcohol" for me, food was my friend, my constant companion, my stress relief, and utmost, my anger/anxiety relief. I have had to redirect my emotional eating to something else. In the middle of my journey, i too turned to alcohol. Weight gain scared me and so i did some soul searching and decided i needed a healtier coping skill. Recently it has been the gym and i find that i get irritable when i cant make it there. This is not only a journey of weight loss, but a complete rediscovery of who I/we want to be. It is scary to face the world and reality without a comfort so learning alterative healthy coping skills is a must. You don't want to trade one addiction to another. It's a slippery slope. This site will be a great source of understanding and support, however, you have to search within you and find what you want to change. Good luck with your journey!

Hello JudyJudyJudy, You are doing so good, I am so happy for you. You had your surgery the day before me and we were almost at the same weight. I was 232 the night before surgery and it looks like you were at 235. Now you are only 12 pounds away from being back in the one hundreds. I have 15 more pounds to lose to be in the one hundreds. I recently had to go into the hospital the morning of Dec.24 and got out on Christmas Day. I found out that I have a hematoma on my spleen. When I came out of the hospital I weighed 3 more pounds than I did before I went in. I was hoping it was because they put all those fluids into my IV. I made a trip out of state and just got back late last night. I got up this morning and weighed myself and I couldn't believe it, I only weighed 214.4, I had lost 5 pounds while I was gone those 4 days. I hope I am back on track. I had a stall with weight gain and even though I have read that it happens, it is still discouraging. Now my hope has been restored, especially after reading your post. It is so good to read what others are going through and to know that we are not alone. The concern, support and prayers from all the sleevers really help me alot on my journey. I am anxious to see some pictures of you soon, you are very beautiful on your profile picture. Good luck on reaching your goal!!

Hello, I started my initial journey in 2010. My mother and I were in a terrible, and my journey came to a screeching halt. (At this point, I am still suffering from the accident.) My injuries required steroid therapy; so, doctor put me on steroids and I gained even more weight. Now, I have to explain that my PCP did not agree with any type of weight loss surgery at first. I had to threaten to find another doctor, if he wouldn't at least research it. He finally agreed and my journey began. My doctor was out of the country when my accident occured. So, when he returned, he could not believe the weight gain or the increase of my blood sugar levels. At this point, he had to put me on medicine for diabetes and made me promise to start the process for my surgery again. The accident made me look at things from a different prospective, and I made the decision to lose the weight on my own. Well, that was a disaster and the weight continued to pile on & my diabetes medicine wasn't working. After a major internal struggle, I decided to have lapband surgery. When I went to meet with my surgeon, he threw a monkey wrench into my plans and suggested the sleeve. I struggled with the sleeve because there isn't any long term data to support this type of weight loss surgery. So, I decided to start watching YouTube videos and join blogs to learn more informtion. When attend my third nutrition class in February, I can now tell them that I will be having the Gastric Sleeve surgery...

That's a good list. Those are the things that caused my 10 lb weight gain. Well, that and going into Walgreens every Friday night to buy chocolate! 🙂

Hi Ladies. I'm all moved in. It was hard and exhausting, but I'm liking the new house. Okay, all moved in makes it sound like all the boxes are put away and that's certainly not the case, but we're doing pretty well. My heartburn has been better with the Nexium I'm taking. I am still going to see my doctor on December 2 and I think I'll go ahead and get my fluid out at that point. I hurt most times when I'm eating and I'm frankly tired of it. I am still getting food in, but it takes me forever and is sometimes painful. I just hope I can still keep my pregnancy weight gain to a reasonable amount. I haven't weighed myself in more than a week. I'm afraid to. I know I'm going to be over 200 again and that's just rough. I haven't been exercising much, but I did go the other day to the gym and run on the treadmill. I was glad I could still do it!

Big one in my opinion: Refuse to go to therapy. If I gain, I know I need to go to therapy. I'm not ignorant about the poor choices I'm making....I know this stuff backwards and forwards and I am noticing every ounce of the gain (even if I'm ignoring it.) If I gain...I'm choosing to make poor choices. There's always a reason for being self-destructive. Gotta tackle the reason to make good choices. For me, not going to therapy when I know I really should...is the quickest way to get in trouble. I don't go all the time, but when really hard stuff happens....I'm over being proud and defensive. I just go. And feel better. And make better choices. Boom! I lose weight. For me...weight gain= out of control food addiction being used to medicate emotions. Therapy helps me sort that out. Seems like it should be obvious by now, but it's not. Addiction is sneaky.

A sudden weight gain might be pointing to an underlying new condition (hypothyroidism or the like). Be sure to explore/rule out a physical cause. If you've just let yourself go, then getting back to basics will help. Protein, nonstarchy veggies, limited carbs, vitamins, non-caloric beverages. Good luck!

Coops,, have you considered a medical issue or medications? Why Aren't You Losing weight? By Carol Sorgen WebMD Weight Loss Clinic - Feature Reviewed By Charlotte E. Grayson, MD You're following a weight-loss eating plan. You're exercising almost every day. You're proud of the new healthy habits you've learned. Yet week after week, the scale barely seems to budge. What gives? Chances are your food portion sizes have crept up (time to get out the scales and measuring cups again). Or your workouts may not be quite as intense as you think (start checking that heart rate). But if you know you've followed your reducing plan religiously, there's another possibility: A medical condition -- or medication -- may be to blame. "If you haven't been able to lose weight and you can't understand why, you need to determine whether there's a medical condition underlying your weight problem," says Peter LePort, MD, director of the Smart Dimensions Bariatric Program at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in California. "You need to cure that problem first before you can address the weight issue." Medical Reasons for Weight Gain Several conditions can cause weight gain or hinder weight loss, says Rebecca Kurth, MD, director of PrimeCare at Columbia-Presbyterian Eastside and associate professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University. Among them, Kurth says, are: Chronic stress. When you live with anxiety, stress, or grief, your body can produce chemical substances -- like the hormone cortisol -- that make your body more likely to store fat, especially around the waist. That's the type of weight gain that really increases your risk of serious health problems. (Extra weight around the hips and thighs poses fewer health risks.) Cushing's syndrome. This happens when the adrenal glands (located on top of each kidney) produce too much cortisol, which leads to a buildup of fat in the face, upper back, and abdomen. Hypothyroidism. If your thyroid is underactive, your body may not produce enough thyroid hormone to help burn stored fat. As a result, your metabolism is slower and you will store more fat than you burn -- especially if you're not physically active. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This disease, the result of a hormonal imbalance, afflicts more than 5 million women in the US. Common symptoms are irregular menstrual bleeding, acne, excessive facial hair, thinning hair, difficulty getting pregnant, and weight gain that is not caused by excessive eating. Syndrome X. Also called insulin resistance or hyperinsulinemia (high insulin levels), syndrome X goes hand-in-hand with weight gain. Syndrome X is a cluster of health conditions thought to be rooted in insulin resistance. When your body is resistant to the hormone insulin, other hormones that help control your metabolism don't work as well. Depression. Many people who are depressed turn to eating to ease their emotional distress. Hormonal changes in women. Some women may gain weight at times in their lives when there is a shift in their hormones -- at puberty, during pregnancy, and at menopause. Two other considerations: people tend to gain weight with age for unknown reasons, and though it's not a medical condition, drinking alcohol in moderate to excessive amounts can sabotage your efforts to lose weight. Alcohol (including beer and wine) is a refined carbohydrate, similar to sugar, candy, and white flour. Besides adding calories, alcohol may raise blood sugar and insulin levels, which can contribute to weight gain. A Prescription for Weight Gain? It's not only medical conditions that can add pounds. Some medications can also cause you to gain weight, or keep you from losing it, says Ken Fujioka, MD, medical director of the Scripps Clinic Nutrition and Metabolism Research Center in San Diego. "It's not only medical conditions that can add pounds. Some medications can also cause you to gain weight." This was from a quick search.

Well, hello everyone! I just happened to come across this site while researching. I wish I'd have found it much sooner!. So, I need some assistance. Please be forewarned, this will be a rather long post so, if you don't want to read too much, I won't be offended....feel free to stop reading!! I had DS surgery in 2013 and until the end of 2015, enjoyed a wonderful outcome of weight loss (down to 155 lbs) and pretty much, eating as I pleased and staying at the same weight, within 5 lbs. I decided to have the plastic surgery for the removal of excess skin from my arms as well as a breast lift and augmentation (but with my own tissue, not implants, a story for another time!) in January last year. A couple of days before my scheduled surgery, I was having some issues with something I had not experienced since DS...constipation. I didn't think much of it. Just rolled with it. The night before surgery, I started with horrible stomach pains, continued constipation and cold sweats. Because I didn't want to lose my surgery deposit, and I was feeling ok the next morning, I went ahead with the surgery. It went well and I was sent home the same day to recover. I was still constipated and the following day, began vomiting and started with the worse pain I'd ever felt in my life. (Side note: I am disabled with permanent nerve damage in my neck and can no longer work.....and I have had two neck surgeries (among MANY others). So, I feel like I've experienced pain unlike most people have.) The pain on that day got so bad, I could not get up off of the bathroom floor and ended up calling 911. I was left on a gurney in the ER hallway for hours screaming in pain. The EMTs decided that since I had had surgery the day prior, that was what was causing my pain instead of letting me see a doctor right away. When I finally got to see one, the CT scan he ordered scared him so much that he immediately called one of the doctors in my bariatiic practice (of whom he was a friend) and sent me 45 minutes away to another hospital via ambulance for emergency surgery. I had an obstruction that was so severe, my small intestine had become necrotic. The doctor told me a couple of days later, if I had arrived at the hospital an hour later, I would be dead. After a miserable six day stay in the hospital, I was sent home to recover, finally able to eat somewhat normal food again! For the next couple of months, I stayed full of fluid to the tune of not being able to get in my clothes. I was also still expierencing constipaation. About two months later, I gained 20lbs in a three week period. I was devastated but was comforted by my surgeon who was certain the weight gain was a symptom of the consipation. Regardless, going up from a size 8 to a 12 put me even deeper than my normal level of depression (related to self esteem issues, family issues, etc). I started on a journey of doctor visits, medications and other "remedies" for this problem I was having. I even ended up giving myself daily injections of a prescription laxative that threw me into the Medicare donut hole to the tune of $2000 for 60 days of medicine. During all of this, my surgeon even did a laparoscopy to make sure everything was functioning properly. He did say the other doctor had repaired my intestine during the emergency surgery but made it more of a loop DS so, he put it back the way he did it for my DS. With all these things, my bowels finally started moving again and I was able to back off from the injections. I did not, however, lose any weight. In July, I had another plastic procedure to remove the excess skin from my thighs and back. After a very long and painful recovery (infections not to be believed), I actually, despite having a great deal of tissue removed, had GAINED more weight. Another 10 pounds! That eventually came off and I got down to the 20-25 lbs above my "settled" weight. BUT, despite exploring EVERY avenue, could not lose any more weight. I was even seeing other doctors to explore things like hormones, etc that could be keeping me from losing the weight. It was almost like this was my new settled weight. NOT acceptable to me.....not after knowing what it's like to wear a size 8 after being overweight since age 5.....forget the entire wardrobe I now have and cannot wear! I finally went back to see my surgeon a few weeks ago and he did an x-ray that showed that my stomach was a bit larger than most of his DS patients at my stage and since I have continued to suffer with GERDS, set me up with a procedure they dubbed a "partial gastrectomy". He essentially, stapled my stomach to make it smaller, thereby reducing the volume in my stomach giving food less time to become acidic and travel back up the esophagus. I had surgery on Monday. Came home the next day. He told me I would not have to follow the same prolonged diet as when I had my DS but could do things in 3 day increments (3 days of clear liquids, 3 days of full liquids, 3 days of puréed food, etc). I am swollen again. I am wearing my jogging pants instead of anything that will restrict my swollen stomach. My weight is the same (175 lbs)....which I know consists of some water weight from the swelling....I DEFINELTY feel a difference with the volume I can take in. And, I have actually experienced some vomiting if I overfill with fluid, which rarely happened to me before (and not so close to my DS). I am just having THE HARDEST time consuming liquids only. I've allowed myself to migrate to the puréed food stage a couple of days early and have kept things down fine. I just wonder how long I really need to wait to eat regular food again. I mean, this ain't my stomach's first rodeo, if ya know what I mean! Just wondering if there was anyone else out there that had gone through a similar experience and came out on the other end and what that result was. Anyone willing to share a similar experience will be greatly appreciated! However, NO JUDGEMENT PLEASE. I do suffer with depression and have more stress right now than I care to admit (outside of the whole weight situation). Thank you if you took the time to read this far! I'm glad to have a forum I can now refer to if I have questions or issues and, perhaps even make a few new friends! ~W

My band has helped reduce hunger, and increase satiety. Those were MY major issues with weight-gain; Always hungry & a bottomless pit. I was already eating pretty healthy most of the time, except for binging on McD's 1/4 pounders once in awhile. Head-hunger. Had to learn to fill my emotional bottomless pit with other things. Still working on that.

Wow, it sure sounds like I have something to look forward to! I went up a whole size in my weight gain, but because I loved my smaller shoes, I KEPT them!! Wha-hoo!! :smile:

Thought it might be worth updating my report from more than three months ago. Weight loss numbers are very encouraging. I busted through the 300 lb mark into the "2's" this past weekend and am now down 121 lbs, since I started the journey about a year ago, including pre operation nutrition, pre operation liquid diet and post operation sleeve diet. I was sleeved on Aug 29 at 371 lbs and now at 299, just shy of 5 months later. Call it 20 weeks since the sleeve, with a average weight loss of 3.6 lbs/week since the operation. I am just 59 lbs from my basic goal of 240 lbs and have erased more than 20 years of almost continous weight gain. I can basically eat 4-6 oz of any kind of food I want to eat...have not found any limitations whatsoever. I have a very happy sleeve. I am staying with a regimen of a 300 calorie breakfast including eggs and some sort of meat and or cheese based protein, a protein shake twice a day, sometimes with a little other protein added and a fairly light 300-400 calorie meal in the evening. Probably averaging 1100-1300 calories a day with pretty restricted carbs. Have ramped up the walking a good bit for aerobic exercise. Numerous small victories...some new clothes at MUCH reduced sizes and being able to travel by air without asking for a seatbelt extension among them. All blood work is spot on with only a couple of very tiny deviations. Vitamin absorbtion is going well. BP and blood sugar are doing better than they have in 25 years. Early post surgical fatigue is gone completely.....I now have more energy and feel better than I have had in many, many years. Let me say again that my experience with Dr. Kim and his great staff has been stellar.I know there have been some criticisms about Dr. Kim only seeing a patient once or twice during the process, but in my opinion, it is more important for him to be helping as many folks as possible and getting them started on their path to better health and a much improved life. My experience with his staff has been excellent and due to that, I do not feel slighted at all by any lack of direct doctor attention. I hope everyone out there has as great a result from their sleeve as I have had so far. Good luck to all!

Ya know the pill might cause weight gain...IF you overeat because of it....but if the facts are as presented....caloric intake of 1000 calories per day and rigorous exercise then that pill will not make you gain any weight other than maybe a couple lbs of water weight. The regular weight should still come off easily.

(((((((((HUGS)))))))) I am so sorry to hear of your loss, Ezma. I know your husband had been very ill; I am sure the last few months have been very stressful. Any weight gain is understandable and no one is going to comment negatively about it. The VVs are here to help, motivate, support each other. One day, one meal, one walk at a time. Keep checking in with us and we will all help each other. I missed your inspiring posts. I am glad you are back with us. Take care, my friend.

Based on your post above, you may even be suffering from depression. Most of us have had it at one time or another, and for me, it does lead to weight gain. Perhaps talk to your doc about the possibility.... Good luck, if you can improve your outlook on life, your weight loss will continue.

Get it diagnosed if your surgery is stretched. I am hearing it can be from the procedure performed wrong, complications or overeating. If it’s overeating, get counseling so you don’t stretch a second surgery. (I'm hoping @JamesL73 is opening a revision thread. I would like to understand more about this topic) I'm five years out. My situation may be different than yours. I had weight gain in my third year and worked it back off. Did your Dr's let you know that you would feel less restriction as you progress out from sleeve surgery? This is a common experience. Mine is not back to full size but it is larger. Just because I have extra stomach compacity does not mean I have to eat over my weight loss/maintenance calories/macros. Some things that help me satisfy the extra room: I eat dense protein and foods allowed on my plan. I eat as much veggies until the sensation of full. (ditch shakes, bars and soft foods. They won’t keep you full years out) I eat five to six small meals. It helps to keep my blood sugars level. I log to make sure I’m staying within my calories/macros Keep healthy sweet and salty options on hand to satisfy cravings. Once you add extra carbs and sugar you crave them more and they cause hunger. Detox off them. know you will feel crappy for a while. It will pass. The main killer of weight loss is grazing. Eating several small meals healthy and unhealthy options that total over your daily calories and macros. When you eat small meals, you don’t feel any surgery restriction. The sensation as if you never had surgery. You will gain weight.

Hello Ladies! Well, I'm getting excited for my garage sale. We have things ready (mostly, lol) and planning on selling cinnamon rolls and lemonade (like Melissa suggested, I think it's a cute idea). I hope to sell the rolls, because I don't want them in the house, lol! My sweet tooth demon will surely attack them. If there's any left, I'll just have hubby take them to work. And Tap, I made my signs HUGE, lol . . . I agree with you, some people make such small signs, they are impossible to read. Anyway, hoping to make some money this weekend - the weather is supposed to be really nice, so that will help. I hope it all goes well. :tt2: Thanks all for the kind words about my kitty. I still have two cats around the house, so it helps. I think they may be sensing a difference too. Just gonna keep the positive thoughts flowing, and remember the good times we shared. Well I saw my surgeon yesterday, and he is just the nicest guy. He didn't give me any lecture regarding my weight gain at all, he was just concerned that he couldn't give my lap-band even a small fill without giving me heart burn or reflux. So I have to go and get an Upper GI and then he can evaluate the band further. I hope it's not slipped or something. Ezma, if you conquer that cookie demon, will you let me know how please? The seems to be my big problem, I'm just craving sweets lately. I went to the whole foods store after my doctor visit, and stocked up on some fresh fruits in season - plums, nectarines, and some great looking kiwi fruits. I also bought a bought some new things to spruce up salads - sprouts, sun-dried tomatoes (not sure the calorie count on those) and some butter lettuce. Butter lettuce makes good sandwich wraps too! So I'm still trying . . . I gotta beat that sweet tooth demon in the butt. :thumbup: Melissa, I hope you have a great time with your family in Utah! You'll have to share it all with us when you get back. Isn't it great not to have to worry about fitting into seats and other things! :wub: Struggling with you on the exercise Tap - with all the work we've been doing on the sale (plus other family gatherings that have been going on), I just haven't had the energy to do as much as I should. I've been out on my bike, and still working around the yard, but it's not enough to keep up with what I've been eating! I did drop two pounds rather quickly. Maybe it was Water weight? I can hope, lol! Thanks so much for this post Irene - it really gave me lots of inspiration! You are right, we do need to keep doing 90% on our own (although right now I wish my band was giving me a LITTLE help) . . . I loved where you said "there is no limit on how many times we can try again." AMEN to that! :thumbup: Just keep swimming all, and have a great weekend! I'll probably be back on Monday :tt1: ((((Warm Hugs))))

This might be a totally different topic, but it's poop related...somewhat. I find this really interesting. http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31168511 A woman has dramatically gained weight after a stool transplant from her daughter, doctors report. It is a genuine medical procedure to transplant healthy bacteria into a diseased gut, but US doctors think it may have affected her waistline. She quickly gained 36lb (16kg) and is now classed as obese, the case report in Open Forum Infectious Diseases says. A UK expert said the link between gut bugs and obesity was still unclear. A faecal microbiota transplant - also referred to by some as a "transpoosion" - is like an extreme version of a probiotic yogurt. The aim is to introduce good bacteria into the gut and it was officially backed by the UK health service last year. New treatment It is used when people have stubborn Clostridium difficile infection in their bowels. This can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain and cannot always be treated with antibiotics. The 32-year old woman, who has not been indentified, had an infection that could not be treated with even the most powerful antibiotics. Dr Colleen Kelly, from the Medical School at Brown University, said the option of a faecal transplant was discussed and the woman wanted to use a relative - her daughter. The daughter was overweight at the time and was on her way to becoming obese. The procedure did clear the woman's infection. But Dr Kelly told the BBC News website: "She came back about a year later and complained of tremendous weight gain. "She felt like a switch flipped in her body - to this day she continues to have problems." She started with a Body Mass Index of 26. Sixteen months after the procedure she had a BMI of 33 and three years after it, a BMI of 34.5. Caution Previous research has shown that transplanting gut bacteria from obese people into mice led to the animals gaining weight. Dr Kelly said limited conclusions could be drawn from a single patient, but called the case a warning as "there's not a lot on safety evidence out there". Dr Kelly has now changed her practices and "as a result I'm very careful with all our donors don't use obese people". Dr Andreas Karatzas, from Reading University, said: "You have to bear in mind that this person was saved. "If you run the risk of losing a patient, you don't bother about what could happen 20 years later." However, he said the evidence that gut bacteria affected human waistlines was still inconclusive. "There is some evidence in animals, but we have to be careful - it is a different organism. Just because it happens in animals doesn't mean it happens in humans as well."

I did have a therapist throughout but not through my bariatric team and not in connection with being overweight. I don't have a food "addiction". I gained weight during a long term illness that left me bed bound and taking medication that causes weight gain. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

You might have hit a stall which would explain not losing any more. But not having a bowel movement is serious and could possibly explain a weight gain. Try colace or your choice or laxative and if you still don't have a normal bowel movement in 3 more days, call your doctor.

I am exactly the same way and was nervous going into surgery thinking it would be yet another 'quick fix' and I would eventually gain all of my weight back. One of the reasons I chose the RnY was because I figured it might give me some negative feedback when I ate things with a lot of sugar or fat. That didn't exactly play out because I'm one of the lucky ones who does not experience dumping syndrome...but the fear of getting sick carried me long enough to get through the cravings and carb/sugar withdraw. I'm only a little over a year out so I can't speak to keeping off the weight long term but when I start to see bad habits creep back in I am much quicker to stop them right away. Mainly because I put so much effort into this surgery - it's not like a diet that I can just quit. My insides were cut apart and rearranged and sewn back together and I can't undo that. If I "cheat" not only am I risking weight gain I'm also literally risking my health, especially during the first several months. And that extra motivation (or fear) has kept me from falling off the wagon so far. I also recommend looking into therapy to address the food issues. That way when you are a few years out you have other tools to fall back on instead of the food.

i feel the same way... so no, you're not the only one! i "gave up" dating a year ago this past July because i wanted to get my life in order... lose weight, gain self esteem, work out some issues with my family, stop letting ex-boyfriends just use me for sex. i "told" myself that i wouldn't start dating until January of 2009 to give myself enough time to get my act together. that date is rapidly approaching and i keep telling my friends i'm going to postpone my "coming out" date until i hit a year with my band which will be April 2009. the truth is... i'm scared that no one will ask me out come January. then what excuse will i tell my friends that i'm not dating? i go out with my skinny friend and the guys always want to by her drinks and since i'm her "fat friend" i get included. at least that's how my mind thinks. i know i still have a lot of self esteem issues to work thru because i still see the fat me in the mirror even though i'm wearing a size 8 or 10. maybe join a new social group where you know no one and have to make new friends and start off with people knowing the new you instead of the old you!

The first 6 months after the sleeve you are healing and your stomach is swollen so you have the most restriction and can eat the least. This is the best time to build good healthy habits because your stomach is going to offer you the most support and you should hopefully have no legit physical hunger during this time period (notice I said legit physical hunger, you can still have head hunger or confuse acid for physical hunger). 6-18 months you are fully healed but you should still have little to no ghrelin (stomach hormone that signals the brain for hunger). It gradually returns over time. The first 18 months you get the most physical support from your body to facilitate weight loss. You also have your set point lowered so your body is not actively trying to maintain a higher weight. So while you have this support from your body and this hormone and physical reset, you should take advantage. Learn new eating habits so they because a new lifestyle not a diet and avoid things that cause weight gain. I don't eat carbs, I didn't eat them during the first 6 months and now I don't want them. If I have the occassional carb, it is a once a day once a week kind of thing, not a habit. They just don't appeal to me. You can really change the way you think about and relate to food if you follow the eating steps laid out in your plan. WLS is more than a physical thing, it offers the chance for a complete mental reset in how you think about and relate to food. If you don't follow the plan or the steps you blow that chance and a lot of people end up feeling like they are dieting forever. So the difference ends up being, creating a new way of life, or being on a diet forever, or worse, failing. This Dr has a lot of very good information about Weight loss and weight loss surgery

It’s tough being around loud, pushy people who voice every emotion they feel when they feel it. On the opposite end of the spectrum and easier to be around are quiet people who don’t complain and keep their feelings to themselves. As it turns out, your body begins suffering physical symptoms when you hold unresolved emotional feelings inside. Research supports that the more the emotional baggage is felt internally, the worse it is for the body. Nowhere is this demonstrated as clearly as heart disease or with emotional issues such as depression and anxiety. Women’s bodies are another area that suffers from emotions held in is. According to experts in mind/body medicine, our emotions affect our bodies because they are linked to our bodies via our immune, endocrine and central nervous systems. Just as a broken heart affects our heart and can lead to death, what we feel affects our body and how effective it works. For women, emotions such as unresolved grief or anger at a partner can cause intestinal problems and headaches as easily as it can cause chronic pelvic pain, and many other bodily issues. Holding in emotions weakens your body’s immune system which make it tougher to ward off colds, infections, and when you do get sick you have a more difficult time getting well. Observing a list of body functions affected when women (or men) hold in their emotional baggage is staggering. This is why when you become ill it is so important to evaluate what you are feeling, and what you have been feeling for the past six months because some illnesses, such as rheumatoid arthritis, may take months to become symptomatic. Constipation or diarrhea, as well as stomach pain/ulcers Back/Neck pain Depression Insomnia High blood pressure Anxiety/Depression Weight gain or loss (eating disorders always have an emotional aspect) Sexual problems Rheumatoid arthritis Fibromyalgia Asthma Cancers (for example, pancreatic cancer may present with depression before the patient is symptomatic with cancer) Emotional healing is very different from physical healing. When I worked with cancer patients I was reminded of this fact many times. The tumor went away, and the body healed, but the mind lingered sometimes for years over the experience of losing hair, a body part and/or trust in your body. Counseling becomes a wonderful way to release pent up feelings so you can heal emotionally. There are many ways you can help your loved one or yourself unpack your emotional baggage. Try these suggestions and practice them frequently. Laugh as much as you can. Watch funny videos and allow yourself to laugh out loud. Cry when you need to, don’t hold it in, and just let it flow. Practice voicing, “I’m angry.” You don’t have to do an action with it, just say it out loud and say why. Mindful actions. Before you take any medication for a headache, tummy ache, backache, to stay awake, or to fall asleep, ask yourself what am I holding on to. Begin jotting things down. This small action offers huge rewards. Massages are a common treatment for people who have gone through horrendous crisis, and they’re also a wonderful treatment for fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. Breathe and let go of held in emotional pain as the therapist works on the body part that holds the physical pain. Medical care has come a long way with advancements in treating so many illnesses. Your body is more than physical though; there is an emotional and soulful part, which is more complicated to treat. Knowing yourself and being able to express uncomfortable feelings is healthy, not only for your mind, but for your body and soul as well. –Mary Jo Rapini

Honestly i never wanted this surgery WLS, i refused it fighting with the doctors the whole year. But when i learned it was actually meant for GERD patients to help us eliviate the reflux and saving our throat is when i said Yes i'll have the surgery. Doctors noticed the weight loss for GERD patients then it became the number 1 surgery for obesity. Perimenopause has a huge hand in our weight gain belly and reflux triggering more. Our hormones are off the track so I do take BHRT (BioIdentical Hormone Therapy) to help with a lot of my symptoms. Overall i really cant tell if my reflux is worse or not it's there regardless and i cant get off my meds.