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Yea, unfortunately, women can be mean and jealous! I don't like this aspect of our kind!! I have too have experienced this first hand ... I've told the story before, but I will tell again (now I find it amusing). Just after my sleeve - nearly 2 yrs ago - a friend of mine saw how I was losing weight. She had just had a baby and was caring extra weight. OUt of the blue, like so many other stories, she became a diet and exerise 'expert'. She worked out 7 days a week and hardly ate a thing - her mother had her two kids for her to do this btw. She kept telling me how many inches she was losing, howmany pounds she had lost and what size she was. This would be followed by a half hearted question about my own weight loss. She knew about my sleeve. She used me as competition. She couldn't stand the thoought of me being smaller than her... I have ALWAYS been the biggest in our friendship group. She even gave me her clothes that were 'too big' for her, these included several maternity trousers. She explained this by stating that: 'I know your problem area is your tummy, so these are perfect!' Implying that I looked pregnant! Anyway, fast forward two years... here I am currently maintaining at my 72lb weight loss and I fit nicely into a UK14. My friend however, has put a lot of weight back on and is now a good 14lbs if not more heavier than me and at least one clothing size bigger. I have not said ANYTHING about her weight gain. I have been tempted to pay back her back handed compliments, but I am being the bigger -metaphorically of course - person! Try to ignore comments with negative undertones and outright negative elements... this is your experience. This is your time to get healthy, fit and happy.... bugger everyone else!! Good luck to you ... =]

Dont panic yet - its simply a matter of getting restriction. I must say, the older 4cc bands seem to have people at their sweet spot much much quicker, I found with mine, I had the right restriction for me at that particular time each and every fill. But i know from four years on here that its very very normal to take even up to a year to get good restriction and start losing. till then, well you DO have to summon up some willpower. Dont underestimate yourself - you do have it. Maybe not enough to have 2lb coming off every week, but to start making healthy changes. The band has NOTHING to do with your exercise habits, for example, there's absolutely nothing to stop you going at that really hard and with dedication and that will prevent weight gain, if not see weight coming off. Its a shame its such a drawn out process, but you dont have a "window" in which you have to lose weight or the opportunity is lost, when you get good restriction, it will start happening.

How do you treat Addisons Disease when we arnt suppossed to take cortisone? And what about weight gain as a side effect of the meds?

It could also be a stall - extremely common - except for the weight gain issue. Stalls usually start in week 3 but can start earlier or later & can last for 1 to 3 weeks. I liked to think of them as my body taking a breath to catch up with all the changes - the surgery, reduced caloric intake, change of diet, change of activity levels... You’ll experience these along your journey. Some say increasing or decreasing your caloric intake or activity level will kick start your weight loss again. I just stuck to my plan & the weight would start to drop again. If you’re keeping to your plan, weighing/measuring your food, logging what you’re eating & drinking, making healthy food choices you’ll lose weight. Good luck.

I contacted Ultimate Nutrition, and I did get some free samples. Just make sure to emphasize that you want to lose weight, because I got samples for weight-gaining powders for body builders, haha XD. I'm going to give them to my dad who has cancer and is seriously underweight. Whatever helps To be fair, I also got 2 samples of the regular Protein powder (25g of protein and 120 calories!), so that's great. Premier Nutrition currently isn't offering free samples. Set Point Health will give you a sample of four products (you can choose which ones) on their website for $10 USD (no shipping). So, no free samples, but it's a decent deal. Thanks again for this awesome list!

I am just starting this whole process. I called the insurance Co. and they sent me a list of requirements they need before approval. One of them is *Documentation from multidisciplinary non surgical weight loss program with unsuccessful weight loss or weight loss followed by weight gain* They don't say for how long? I have been on a million diets, just none of them have been supervised. Does this mean I have to do the supervised diet thing? Already getting frustrated and I have just started!

globally yours, I am jaw dropping amazed at how much success you've had with your weight loss. Keep it up!!!! Although, my expections were different with what I wanted to have lost by now, I am still very happy at the loss that I've had this year as a whole. I am just going to keep praying for some patience and understanding with how to utilize this tool in me. I'll get the hang of it. As long as I am not gaining, i will be thankful and grateful.....so you won't hear anymore griping(well, not alot) from me. Oh, i forgot to mention the reason behind the weight gain.... I have edema and have been instructed to stop taking my water pill for 4 weeks now. I started taking them again on my own and within 4 days dropped 7 lbs.....it was all fluid stored in my limbs(fingers, legs, ankle, feet). I've never used the bathroom so much in the last 3 days. I'll let the doctor know at some point that I've made the decision to start back taking the pill and why.

100lbs!! That is great Christine! I just checked out the website you recommended and I think will start trying to use that daily. It will keep me from kidding myself about how much a cookie is! Long2B... wow 92.5lbs! You should be very proud!! You let us know as soon as you get to 100! I have lost 75!! I am very happy. I did gain a couple of pounds in the last 2 weeks, however, that is nothing compared to weight gains in the Christmas's past!! Happy New Year Y'all!:wink_smile:

I have RA and have for about ten years now. I had RNY due to my weight gain because of prednisone. I have been on prednisone for about 5 years. I decided to have the surgery to reduce my weight with the goal of getting of the steroids. I have struggled with finding a treatment that worked, but now receive monthly iv infusions for my RA. I had my RNY June 5, 2011. I have lost 99lbs and have gone from a size 22 to a size 10. However my biggest accomplishment is that I have gone from a dosage of 20mg a day on steroids to 2.5 and weaning myself to 0 this month. I am happy to report that my joints are happier and not hurting as much. I am playing soccer 4 times a week without needing lots of pain medication. Bottom line this surgery will not cure RA, but it will impact your quality of life with the disease. Please feel free to ask me any questions.

Hello. I'm not exactly new here but I keep up with the forum quite of bit. I know it's alot of information down below but PLEASE READ and GIVE ME ANY KIND OF ADVICE OR SUGGESTIONS! SW: 227 CW: 205 GW: 155 First of all, I had my surgery in 2010 and it didn't go as well as I would have liked. Since then I've been struggling to find a diet that would actually work well with my body and my metabolic syndrome and have found that a low carb diet works really well for me. I just found this out in February of this year and have lost 22 pounds so far. The weight loss has been incredibly slow and I've tried my best to remain calm with the fact that I've only been able to lose 22 pounds 9 months but sometimes. But anyways, I've stalled at 205 since July and I haven't been able to get out of that range no matter how hard I try. I tried re-doing the induction phase of the atkins program but that didn't work. I tried exercising more and even started running 1-2 miles 3 times a week and that didn't work. I researched my medications. I'm taking Propranolol for high blood pressure, Metformin for type II diabetes, Simvastatin for cholesterol, and Ortho-Micronor which is a birth control. I initially thought that it was the birth control because it's notorious for causing significant gain but fortunately it helped me lose the 22 pounds (I feel personally that it has helped in that aspect) I looked up side effects of this medication and lots of women complain of weight gain but I was fortunate in that regard. So I researched Propranolol and Metformin and Simvastatin on various websites and askapatient.com and of all the 3 medications people had complaints about gaining weight, the inability to lose weight regardless of a healthy diet and regular exercise regimen. So I tried not taking it for about 3 days which was stupid because I felt dizzy but I checked my blood pressure regularly and it was always in the range of 124/76 which is still high. But in those 3 days I was able to lose 2 pounds but I know it's not smart to stop taking medications especially blood pressure so I put myself back on it and quickly went back up to 205 again. I'm thinking of asking my doctor to change my blood pressure medication but at 80 bucks a visit without insurance is kind of hard to afford for just a prescription and short visit, especially since I just went a month ago and spent 80 dollars already. But I've been thinking that maybe it isn't the Propranolol because I was able to lose 22 pounds with taking all my medications regularly. So I'm asking for any suggestions whether it be suggestions on exercise or eating or anything to help me bust out of this weight plateau that I've been on since July. I do eat around 700-800 calories a day and I exercise for an 1 hour & 30 minutes to 2 hours 5-6 times a week. I try to switch my cardio up every week. But a typical day would be Jillian Michael's 30 day shred (30 minutes), Turbo Fire (either 30, 45, or 55 minutes), then I finish it off with 50-60 minutes of another cardio workout plus the running 3 times a week. I do have a calorie counter watch and according to that I burn around 700 to 1000 calories a day. I believe that my body is in starvation mode even though I'm not starving myself. I read that the metabolism slows as you lose weight and it becomes harder to lose weight for every 10 pounds you lose. I don't know if I should up my calories to 1200 or so but I find it very hard to eat 1200 calories physically because of my band's restriction and not being hungry My Menu Breakfast Carb Zero vanilla shake 1 scoop - 105 calories 2 scrambled eggs/no milk - 140 2 slices of bacon - 80 calories Nature's own double Fiber bread - 50 calories lunch 1 can of tuna - 100 calories 1 wedge of light swiss laughing cow cheese (to mix in the tuna) - 35 calories 1 tsp of brown mustard (to mix in the tuna) - 5 calories 34 Degrees Rosemary Crisp bread crackers - 6 of them, 41 calories Hello. I'm not exactly new here but I keep up with the forum quite of bit. I know it's quite a lot of information down below but I just thought I'd thoroughly explain myself and my situation. PLEASE READ and OFFER ANY ADVICE OR SUGGESTIONS First of all, I had my surgery in 2010 and it didn't go as well as I would have liked. Since then I've been struggling to find a diet that would actually work well with my body and my metabolic syndrome and have found that a low carb diet works really well for me. I just found this out in February of this year and have lost 22 pounds so far with a low carb diet. The weight loss has been incredibly slow and I've tried my best to remain calm with the fact that I've only been able to lose 22 pounds in 9 months. But anyways, I've been stalled at 205 since July and I haven't been able to get out of that range no matter how hard I try. I tried re-doing the induction phase of the atkins program but that didn't work. I tried exercising more and even started running 1-2 miles 3 times a week and that didn't work. I researched my medications. I'm taking Propranolol for high blood pressure, Metformin for type II diabetes, Simvastatin for cholesterol, and Ortho-Micronor which is a birth control. I initially thought that it was the birth control because birth control is notorious for causing significant weight gain for some women, but fortunately it helped me lose the 22 pounds (I feel personally that it has helped in that aspect because I started taking it around the last week of February for cystic acne and a cyst on my ovary and that's when I started doing low carb and losing weight before that was near impossible). So I researched Propranolol and Metformin and Simvastatin on various websites and askapatient.com and of all the 3 medications people had complaints about Propranolol causing weight gain and the inability to lose weight regardless of a healthy diet and regular exercise regimen. So I tried not taking it for about 3 days which was stupid because I felt dizzy but I checked my blood pressure regularly during this time and it was always in the range of 124/76 which is still high. But in those 3 days I was able to lose 2 pounds with my regular diet and exercise regimen that I describe below, but I know it's not smart to stop taking medications especially blood pressure so I put myself back on it and quickly went back up to 205 again. I'm thinking of asking my doctor to change my blood pressure medication but at 80 bucks a visit without insurance is kind of hard to afford for just a prescription on a paper and a short visit, especially since I just went 3 weeks ago for my 3 month check up and medication refills and spent 80 dollars already. But I've been thinking that maybe it isn't even the Propranolol because I was able to lose those 22 pounds while on it. Maybe it's just a common plateau? I don't know but I'm very frustrated and I feel like giving up some days and just stopping my exercise all together. But I don't. I can't let myself gain those 22 pounds again. So I'm asking for any suggestions whether it be suggestions on exercise or eating or anything to help me bust out of this weight plateau that I've been in since July. I do eat around 700-860 calories a day and I exercise for an 1 hour & 30 minutes to 2 hours 5-6 times a week. I try to switch my cardio up every week. But a typical day would be Jillian Michael's 30 day shred (30 minutes), Turbo Fire (either 30, 45, or 55 minutes), then I finish it off with 50-60 minutes of another cardio workout plus the running 3 times a week and some of the cardio has weight lifting in there. I do have a calorie counter watch and according to that I burn around 700 to 1000 calories a day. I believe that my body is in starvation mode even though I'm not starving myself. I read that the metabolism slows as you lose weight and it becomes harder to lose weight for every 10 pounds you lose. I don't know if I should up my calories to 1200 or so but I find it very hard to eat 1200 calories physically because of my band's restriction and feeling full. I'm also kind of scared to go up to 1200 calories because I think that it's gonna make me gain weight. My Menu - I do track my food in a journal. It helps me stay on track and I eat anywhere between 20 to 25 or 30 carbs a day. I don't drink sodas whether it be diet or lower calorie, I stay away from drinks that have artificial sweeteners in them as much as possible with the exception of the occasional sugar free mousse I have and the Arizona drink mix I add to my Water. And I drink about 65-70 oz. of water a day. Breakfast Carb Zero Vanilla shake 1 scoop mixed with water - 105 calories 2 scrambled eggs/no milk - 140 or 2 boiled eggs, yolkless - 37 calories 2 slices of bacon - 80 calories Nature's own double fiber bread - 50 calories Lunch 1 can of tuna - 100 calories 1 wedge of light swiss laughing cow cheese (to mix in the tuna) - 35 calories 1 tsp of brown mustard (to mix in the tuna) - 5 calories 34 Degrees Rosemary Crisp bread crackers - 6 of them, 41 calories 6 Armour pepperoni slices - 46 calories dinner Either baked fish, grilled chicken, turkey patty, or salmon patty - Around 140-160 calories 1.5 cup of salad - 30 calories Italian dressing - 1 tbsp, 40 calories Oscar meyer turkey bacon bits - 20 calories That's a typical day. Most of the time I eat boiled eggs for breakfast but do eat scrambled eggs on the weekends sometimes. I don't eat the double fiber bread everyday, and I don't eat a salad for dinner everyday. Sometimes I eat green Beans or mixed vegetables from those steamer bags. Sometimes I eat a sugar free Jello mousse for dessert. I'm not a big snacker either because I feel full after meals and that feeling lasts for good while and I've trained myself to distract myself if I do get the urge to snack on things I shouldn't. If I do get hungry I chew a sugar free gum or I drink lots of water flavored with Arizona mix that is 5 calories. I don't eat after dinner which is around 7 pm or 8 pm. On a more positive note..My A1C has dropped from 12.1 to 5.1 and my doctor lowered my Metformin dose to 500 MG/day

This topic is still on my mind. FB has reminded me of where I was a year ago and I am able to look at myself and see that yes I was morbidly obese. When I compare a picture from yesterday's 15 mile training walk to a year ago when I was still recuperating from a total hip replacement, I can see what was obvious to everyone but me. I never talked about my weight since it was such a source of embarrassment and pain. Thankfully my husband sensed this and knew to never bring it up. When I did he was always supportive and even joined me in eating healthy. He has really helped me when it comes to the mental aspect of losing weight. For example, a few years ago we went to an amusement park with our middle child and friends to celebrate their high school graduation. They took off and my husband and I made our way to a roller coaster. When we sat down and I couldn't get the bar to lock, I was shocked. I was mortified when I realized that I had to get up in front of all those people waiting in line. I could feel the judgey comments and disparaging remarks being muttered under their breath. My husband just got up and said this ride hurts my back - let's get out of here and go to the casino. Yesterday, he asked if I wanted to go back to the amusement park with the kids. While I told him yes, I also explained to him that our daughter wouldn't be able to fit any more because of her weight gain, even though she has a different body shape ( I am an apple and she gained hers in her bottom half and our daughter needed a seat belt extender on the last air flight). I explained that I don't want her to have to go through the same experience and how much I loved him for the way he reacted. I have vowed to keep taking pictures of myself and looking at myself in the mirror when I step out of the shower. I can see the flaws but then I remind myself that this body has been through some trials and allows me to do some amazing things that I couldn't have done a year ago. When the BMI chart had my doctor telling me I need to lose another 71 lbs, I laughed. Here is why: my job requires me to lift 50-100 lbs. I have been doing this for over 23 years. I have some muscle on me under all the fat. I showed him a picture of my coworker who is 5' 8" and weighs 180 lbs. She doesn't have an ounce of fat on her but is considered overweight, borderline obese. My surgeon understood that I will not be going by his chart. I will continue to follow my program and do the activities I love but I will not stress about getting down to a number on a scale. I want to be healthy and active, not sickly and weak just to say I can fit in a size 2 jeans. With my personality and competitiveness, I could easily fixate on that but it wouldn't be healthy for me. I don't have to have an "all or nothing" mentality. It can be one day at a time, making a healthy choice for that day. Because soon all those tiny individual choices add up to positive changes.

Hi Amber, Yes, this is common experience for many of us. I knew I was overweight. The term morbidly obese was hard to hear. Honestly, I hid from cameras and didn’t spend much time looking in a full body mirror. I was not seeing my self correctly pre surgery. It took time for my mind to catch up with the rapid weight loss. I finally saw myself correctly after goal and my weight settled. A vet gave me a good suggestion. Place a photo of yourself at your goal/low weight on your bathroom mirror. Look at it as you get ready in the morning. I used a counselor to get past this issue. She said some people eventually see themselves correctly, some may take years and some never do. I see myself as smaller. I have confidence and feel comfortable in my own skin. (I should say loose skin) I’m maintaining five years out. It’s ridiculous that a five-pound weight gain can make me feel like I am at my high weight all over again. The fear of weight gain is still something I’m working on. I am better with this as time progresses. I’ve had to learn to trust myself more.

I second everything that was said...and, I can't wait to buy something sexy to wear for my husband. He is my rock. And has loved me and called me beautiful regardless of what size I was...he is my hero. I also can't wait to look great in our family photos. We haven't ever done any with all of us. Because of my weight gain I didn't want to be in them. So much to look forward to!

I mean we all have things that attract us to someone and stuff that does not attract us. Would you expect someone who really isnt attracted to their significant other to fake it? 3 years tho is a long time to not really show any intimate affection. i would be having a discussion probably within the first few months. me personally i know what i am attracted to and what i am not attracted to. and i have been told by a girlfriend before that they are not attracted to me anymore due to my weight gain. but the good thing is they told me. but still the original poster its a bit messed up for being married that long and only now showing interest when you are loosing some weight.

So... I've been a busy new mom, so I haven't been on posting as much as I'd like, but I thought I'd update everyone on how things went. Hopefully this will be encouraging to other bandsters who want to have babies! So after several years of infertility, I do believe that my weight loss from being banded helped me get pregnant, have a healthy pregnancy, and a healthy baby. I got pregnant in July of 2011 (one month after being banded!) and had a miscarriage. Then I got my a** in gear and worked with my doc to balance out my hormones; but she said that she thought I was healthy enough to go for it! I got pregnant with my daughter in January 2012. These were my fears: 1) Nausea and vomiting would make me slip my band... Well, I'm glad to report that although I did have a fair amount of nausea, I was just really careful about keeping it under control as much as I could, and when I did throw up, to treat myself as well as possible. No slippage! 2) Weight Gain Well, I have 2cc in my band, and I still have 2cc in my band, and I still have restriction. I still don't know if I'll ever need a fill or not. I only gained about 17 pounds total for the whole pregnancy, and I've lost that and then some since she's been born (Yay breastfeeding!) 3) Other complications I had NO gestational diabetes. I think though, that this is because I was EXTREMELY picky about my diet throughout my pregnancy. I realized that everything I was eating went directly to the baby, and with the lapband, I had to make the best choices possible nutritionally so that I got enough nutrition in to help my little one grow. That being said, I did have a couple problems. I don't know if they were related to my weight or not... certainly not to the band, but here they are: Kidney stones: Yes, I had them. They HURT so bad!!! I thought I was going into early labor; but nope. Kidney stones! Fortunately, they were small enough that I just passed them. OW! Pre-Eclampsia: I developed high blood pressure at about 26 weeks. It just didn't go away... eventually it got worse and worse, and there was Protein in my urine. I got induced two days before my due date and my blood pressure was 190/110!! Fortunately, the cure for pre-eclampsia is to have a baby! Swelling: I had a lot of swelling, but I think it was due to the pre-eclampsia more than anything. I got scolded by doctors for 'doing too much.' I was told to stop exercising at 7.5 months. C-Section: This was most likely related to being induced. A lot of the time, when the body is in an unnatural state of labor, ie induction, it's just too much stress on you and the baby. I never dilated past 4cm, and the baby's heartrate was fluctuating dangerously. I tried to labor. I labored for over 30 hours, and nothing... so I got a C section. I'm actually not disappointed. The medical staff was awesome, and I really liked my doctor, and they took good care of me. My baby girl was born perfectly healthy 7lbs 8 oz with an apgar score of 9! She had no health issues whatsoever. Funny things: Doctors kept thinking that my port was the baby's foot. It poked out a lot during pregnancy. I called it my 'turkey timer.' So I hope that provides some perspective. I really hope that all of y'all who are hoping to have babies get to experience this joy. You all deserve it! If anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to answer them! Here's my little sweetheart! She's now 3 months old!

I had it from 2003 to 2012. I didn't find out about the erosion until my band was attempted to be replaced because I didn't have any symptoms, other than weight gain. I attributed the gain to stress and quitting smoking. I went for a fill and found no fluid. I had the port replaced first but it kept losing fluid so we thought I had a defective band. I had one of the small bands done in Mexico as self pay. My insurance wouldn't pay. Now I'm married and my husbands insurance pays. And I'm so incredibly happy!

I use the depo shot. I love it. Go in every 3 months, for 15 mins and you are done. I haven't noticed any weight gain and I don't get periods anymore. I would recommend it but check with your Dr.

Hello I'm new to the forum and thought I'd introduce myself im Bec I'm 31 i live in Australia and I've just booked in to have a lap band in October, I'm so excited to finally be able to shed the kilos, I've tried diet after diet exercised personal trainers you name it I've tried it, I have just also been diagnosed with PCOS and found out my weight gain is caused from that so lapband it is for me I look forward to getting to know you all Bec x

you are being way too hard on yourself. Im sure your weight didnt come on overnight... it took a long time, as it did with me. Along with the weight gain we had wrong food choices and portion sizes. ...and to make things worse, we ate for emotional comfort. When you think about it, you didnt just have a surgery to put a band in, you also were put on the road for changes in every area that Ive mentioned above. This takes time... if you have a day where you slipped... just put it behind you and move on. AS for your dr... im sure he will understand completely what you are going through.. after all, he sees so many patients and knows the issues that come with lap banding. I agree that you shouldnt change the drs appointment. If you do that, it could open the door to the wrong approach even further. You dont want to do that. I tell you... you are NOT ALONE IN THIS. Every issue youve mentioned here im sure everyone of us has been there. i know i have. ive eaten more sugar the last month or two than ever before... so its an issue that cropped up with me and i have to deal with it. I can see on various emotional levels and physical levels, more than ever, what needs to change. i had no idea before hand. i think if someone had tried to explain everything in this area to me i wouldnt have completely understood. i had to go through it myself . Despite have issues with sugary confectionary... im still so happy with the band... and know that ive made the right decision. if my weight loss isnt up to scratch... too bad. it will come off eventually. Meantime im busy learning more about my psyche.... and dealing with it. Good luck, and like i said , dont be so hard on yourself.

I dont even know for sure where to start.....all i can say is i went for what i thought was gonna be a fill....well it went poorly.....my blood pressure was up the Nurse Practioner was rude basically yelling cause I gained 10 lbs....I tried to explain that my Endocrinologist said my sugars were high and suugar was spilling into the toilet in my urine....now sugars are better due to going on insulin pump and due to better sugars i am retaining some calories causig a lil weight gain. She said.....they are NUTS and yelled thats the craziest thing she ever heard....I tried to explain i feel i need a fill.....i am not getting a full feeling....she wouldnt even listen.....do i deserve to be treated and chastised for making a mistake.......i guess i just need to vent....so how do i know i need a fill??? and also what point is there in even going when she said i am at 6.5 and thats the max fill.........my band is a 10 cc can i not ever get more?? if thats the case why do i drive 2 hrs to go get treated poorly.....and when i leave there end up in an er for high BP?????? thanks for listening

As some of you know I'm 47 and divorced, will soon be 2 years this month. Let me start how my weight gain all started for me, I wasn't an obese child nor a teen. I married my high school sweetheart in 1986 and boy did I think I knew the world, if I knew then what I know now, ha. He was shy and I was the outgoing one, he was super skinny and I was average. He ate and ate and ate and I thought I could eat along with him so my weight kept creeping up over the years of our marriage little by little. By 1990 I weighed 199, said to myself I'd never let myself weigh over 200, I ate crow alright. We were unable to have children so we occupied ourselves in the life of luxury of world travels and cars and later in life our dream home in '06. By that time he had a corporate job, I had not worked in years and we had our dream home with a pool. It was all I could do to keep house it was so huge but I loved it. Guess you could say starting in '06 I could see a change in him and I began to stress eat more. His job was very stressful, afterall he managed a factory, oh how proud of him I was but then the alcohol began and then my food addiction began. From 2006 until he left me Oct '09 I literally watched him become a full blown alcoholic and my eating had well, let's just say I gained about 25 lbs. He began staying out late till the wee hrs of the night/morning in bars, coming home drunk, it was horrible. Then on that fateful afternoon in Oct. '09 he came home and said he was leaving me, I was devastated to say the least. I had no idea he wasn't happy. Yes we had our ups/downs like anyone else but I guess he had gotten tired of looking at a fat wife, I had let myself go, certainly not the girl he married. I stayed in the marital home a few months until I couldn't care for the acreage and pool and he made me move out and he move back in. At this time he had asked for a divorce and I was at my all time low, a deep depression. I guess I have to admit I was on the verge of suicide but I'm deeply religious and knew better and had it not been for my faith in God and my mom and of course my Psychiatrist I never would have made it out of the dark hole. My mom stepped in and bought me a home close to her and I rented it from her. Guess she wanted to give me my independence for the first time in my life. By this time it was May of 2010, divorce proceedings were ongoing, I was living alone and eating and eating. BIG mistake. I had no accountability, I was sitting alone in a house with a dog and a tv and eating whenever and whatever I wanted. I literally was eating myself to death. I knew I didn't want to die an early age like my dad but yet I still kept eating. I had ballooned to 294, I was huge, could hardly walk, couldn't breathe. In early June '12 I moved in with my mom for financial reasons and she sold the house, talk about humbling, having to move back in with a parent at age 47. One afternoon I asked my mom to go with me to a seminar for lap band surgery, this was April 2012. What a revelation. Yes I had done my homework, I had actually gone to a seminar back in '08 but wasn't ready mentally then. This time I was ready. The next day I called my ins, they covered it, called the dr's office made an appt, got right in, from start to finish I was banded in like 4 weeks, his office pushed my ins approval thru really quick. Needless to say this saved my LIFE. Has it been a struggle, yes, I struggle each and every day with head hunger and sweets and sometimes give in, that is why my weight loss is slow but I'm proud of my 68 lbs in 1 year and will never look back. My eating habits have changed, for the better of course, I look at food differently, I taste it now instead of gobbling it down. Had it not been for all of you all on here answering my questions throughout this last year and Jean's book I don't think I could have survived my first year. Thanks to all of you out there you're the best! You guys are family!!! Looking forward to the next 12 months of a happier, healthier new me. Donna

thanks all for the responses and for understanding. Yes this is an issue for my psychiatrist but I'm an hour and half away from him, he's in Nashville and I'm Ky so it's not like I can jump in the car and make an appt and go see him on a whim. I have to do these things by phone. His assistant called today to ck on me and to see if the Depakote was helping and my response was :::"why in the world would he prescribe me something that causes major weight gain knowing I'm a wight loss surgery patient and on top of that due to my surgery I already am losing hair and this med causes that so no I'm taking it". she said oh, well, let me talk to him and call you back. Well, the day went on and never heard back from her. This is not like my dr, I've been with him for 7 yrs, love him to pcs, he's been there with me thru ups/downs and my separation/divorce but right now I am kinda peeved no one called me back today. On the otherhand my medical doc mentioned Lithium in a low dose...torn between doctors here. All I know is I cannot continue being short fused with everyone including the freakin dog of all things, she doesn't know any better. Zingy, like you I don't take criticism very well either or I take it to heart or wear my emotions on my shoulder so to speak. Thank you for sharing your story, it was brave of you. At least I'm not alone. Donna

I weighed in at 272.0 lbs. I showed a weight gain. I know it's not much, but a gain is just that - a gain. I have showed a weight loss then I show a weight gain. It is very frustrating.

I admit I did it... but I was also self-pay. The surgeon I went to see first wouldn't even consider doing the surgery (self pay or not) if you weren't 40 BMI or 35 with co-mortalities. He wouldn't even consider high cholesterol or high trygliserides or an immediate family history of diabetes and heart disease. My insurance had an exclusion so it didn't matter what my BMI was they weren't paying for it. I was desperate because I had struggled for so many years and all the diets and exercise and hard work just got me about 30 pounds more each year. I wanted and needed to stop the weight gain... for my health. I went to another doctor and he also said the same about the 40 or 35 BMI so I added clothes and rocks and heavy shoes... I was 5 pounds shy of the 40 BMI they needed. I later found out that my new doctor was way nicer and would have done it without the deception. He made exceptions for self-pay that the other center wouldn’t. I asked them but didn’t ask again because they told me it was the law. (it was a law I was willing to break – kind of like speeding) I'd do it again in a minute. I couldn't take another day of failing at diets, which really just felt like failing. It was a daily struggle not to let my weight balloon 100's of pounds out of control. <!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o> Since I was self-pay I don’t feel too bad about it.

Sounds exactly what I went through after my first year. Everything was going great then all of a sudden I started having acid reflux at night which could not have been the result of being too tight (no fill in the previous six months when the problem started). However I did have a slight unfill and the acid reflux stopped but the unfill naturally resulted in weight gain. I also started having occasional heartburn which I took a weekly Prevacid for. Fast forward to year 5, my band slipped. I just had it fixed last week along with a hiatal hernia that I did not know I had. I am convinced that the hiatal hernia caused the acid reflux, heartburn, and eventually the slip. Do not ignore acid reflux and heartburn it is a sign that something else is wrong other than simply being too tight.