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What's really weird to me is how different I feel just those 3 little pounds of weight gain. I feel fat again. I know its completly mental cuz I couldn't possibly look any different but I can't shake the feeling. So I have cut more calories and exercised harder. Any other ideas to get over this now over 2 month stahl? I knew stahls were going to happen but everything I read said it would last a week or two weeks. Not only has mine lasted this long but it happened only 3 months out. Am I alone in thinking there must be something wrong? I go for my 6 month check up on the 21st. It will be sad if I weight the same that I did at my 3 month check up.

Most people that have sleep apnea don't know it because it's generally not that severe. As someone who had 55-60 apneas an hour (5 and under is normal), which is overkill, I can tell you the biggest symptom of this is jolting awake and not knowing why, or having a panic attack like you can't breathe (which is why I was put on an anti-anxiety medication). I've found one of the best ways to alleviate this is trying to change body position while sleeping, or use elevation. Before my weight gain I used to be a back sleeper. When I started having apneas, I found sleeping on my right side helped significantly, while due to sinus problems sleeping on my left side caused congestion. The sleep study is rather easy, they should give you a small bag of stuff to put on when you sleep, follow their instructions, and try to sleep as normal as if you don't even have it on. If you're found to have apnea, they may either take a wait-and-see approach, or they may want to do some kind of intervention which might include a CPAP machine. In either case, if you have OSA, regardless of the insurance situation, you still want this taken care of.

OK.. so I just found this site and I think this might be a good thing for me. Its been a wild couple of years for me. I got a virus in my heart and wound up with a cardiac defibrillator. I was off work for 6 months in total. My blood pressure was giving me grief, way too low, then it would spike.. so my cardiologist did some investigations and discovered I had an adrenal tumour. It was secreting way too much adrenalin. So I had a Lap Adrenalectomy. No one told me that a side effect would be a weight gain. Yeah, I am older---55, so I anticipated that losing weight was not going to be fun.. but I was shocked at how much weight and how fast I gained it. Earlier this year, I was the heaviest I had ever been..310 . Life was really weighing down on me... unhappy marriage, unhappy with myself.. I started thinking about a sleeve.. One of the surgeons ( did I tell you I am an OR nurse?), so one of the surgeons who does WLS did a presentation for the local OR nursing group. It was a life changer for me. He doesn't do everyone who asks for it. You have got to really commit! His criteria? Lose 10% of your body weight. Keep a journal of your food, exercise, water. My cardiologist put me onto Fitness Pal... what a great site. I even went to Australia for a month and did not gain weight! Came home, kicked my husband out ( cheater) and got busy. I had an appointment to see my surgeon at the end of July. OK!! Since then I have lost 25 pounds.. down to 285. I am really excited to have the LSG done. And excited to find this site to help me along the way!!

This can all get more intense around the holidays. You need even more discipline and planning when there are holiday treats everywhere you turn. People may notice your weight loss even more because you may see them only once a year. And the ones who share their negative opinions of weight loss surgery may be your relatives. It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture and get down on yourself during this season. But you’ll get through it, and come out on the other side ready to keep losing weight and following a healthy lifestyle. Staying positive helps. Here are some of the barriers you might come across, and how you can try to overcome them and stay positive. Comments from Other People Regarding Your Weight or Weight Loss Surgery You probably get some comments all year. People may notice your weight loss, or want to talk about your weight loss surgery once they find out about it. But during the holidays, this can get nearly unbearable. The people noticing your weight loss may be friends or family who are in town only once a year, and haven’t seen you since last year. They can be shocked at, proud of, or jealous of your weight loss, and any of these reactions can be uncomfortable if you’re not the type to enjoy attention. The other set of comments you might get include comments on your weight loss surgery. Almost every bariatric surgery patient has heard some unfair things about bariatric surgery, such as people saying that it’s “cheating.” What makes them worse now is when they come from family members. These comments can get you down. You may start to feel self-conscious about your body. You may feel defensive about your decisions. The negative feelings can wear you down. What to do about it. You have a few different options here. First, try talking to the people who are making the comments. For example, tell them: “Thank you for complimenting me on my weight loss. I appreciate it, but it makes me feel self-conscious. Do you mind not mentioning it, especially in front of other people?” “Thank you for your concern over my weight, but I think I’m doing okay. I’m working closely with my doctor and surgeon, and they both agree that I still have a few pounds to lose.” “I wish weight loss surgery were a magic solution, but it’s actually not. Would you like to hear about how it works and what I have to do to lose weight? Until you tell them directly, people may honestly not realize that it bothers you to hear comments about your weight. They may not know that weight loss surgery isn’t magic, and that you really do work hard every single day to lose weight and stay healthy. Talking won’t solve every problem. The next step is to prepare for the comments. If you know they’re coming, you can put up your guard mentally so they don’t get a reaction out of you or make you feel bad or defensive. You can also recruit a few allies, such as close friends, your spouse, or your parents. Ask them to stick with you at parties and gatherings so they can change the subject if your weight loss or weight loss surgery come up. Feeling Guilty. You go to a party. You eat a bit of this and a little of that, and then find yourself in the bathroom with dumping syndrome. Or you sneak in a treat here and a taste there, and at your weekly weigh-in, you find that you’ve gained weight. Bad eating and weight gain happen all the time during the holidays, and they can make you feel guilty. The problem is that guilt isn’t usually very productive. It’s more likely to drag you into a vicious cycle of overeating, feeling guilty, and overeating. What to do about it. First, forgive yourself. You can’t work with yourself if you’re mad at yourself. Admit you did something you’re not proud of, then accept your apology to yourself. It’s time to move on. Next, focus on the future. You can’t change the past, but you can shape the future. Recognize that you feel guilty, figure out why you have been making poor choices, and think of what you can do to do better next time. Log every bite, good or bad. Something as simple as keeping an honest record of what you eat is enough to stop you from taking that extra bite. Predict problems, and avoid them. If you know you can’t pass up fudge, don’t walk by the candy shop with free samples in the mall. Plan ahead. Take a salad, some chicken skewers, or a basket of mandarin oranges to your next holiday party so you can be sure there will be healthy food to eat. Feeling Deprived. The holidays are filled with delicious food. There’s candy at work, Christmas cookies from your neighbors, egg nog and finger foods at parties, and feasts with family. The problem is, you can’t have any of it. At least, you can’t eat the way you could before weight loss surgery. You’re limited to a few bites of certain treats. It’s easy to feel deprived. Your feelings can be even worse if you feel sorry for yourself for “needing” to work out, especially if you’re getting up early or staying up late to squeeze in a workout. The solution. This one’s not easy, but you can make it a lot better by changing your attitude. First, know that you’re not alone. Everyone feels that way. Don’t believe it? Go up to the most fit-looking person you know and ask. They will tell you that they are tempted by the holiday food, and they work very hard not to overeat. They’ll also tell you that they have to work to make exercise a priority during this busy season. Next, try to think about what you’ve gained by changing your lifestyle, and not about what you’ve lost. Sure, you can’t eat frosted cinnamon rolls anymore because they’ll give you an obstruction or dumping syndrome, but you can keep up with your friends at the mall. Or, you can’t drink spiked eggnog at Christmas parties, but you can fit into a flattering dress or suit to wear to the party. The holidays are about celebrating, being grateful, and appreciating friends and family, but you’re not alone if you find yourself getting down during the season. Weight loss surgery changes your life, and some of the changes can be magnified during this time. You can fight this by staying positive and planning ahead – just like you do to succeed the rest of the year.

I am considering the following items: Monthly or quarterly meetings. A fun or educational activity at each meeting. Examples include preparing a weight loss surgery-friendly meal, filling out a customized meal plan, or going for a group-wide nature walk. Presentations by surgeons, nutritionists, other professionals or bariatric product companies at local meetings. Annual national meeting of BariatricPal Local Chapters in a location such as Los Angeles, New York, or Huston. Option to go on an annual cruise What Do You Think about BariatricPal Local Chapters? What I would like to ask you for is what you think about the above suggestions. Also, what are your answers to the following questions?All of the above sound great! Would we be allowed to bring +1 to the cruise? Such as spouse or what if someone has children but no babysitter? Would you be interested in attending regular local chapter meetings in person? Would you be interested in being a leader (or co-leader)? Yes!! Absolutely. Would you like BariatricPal to provide agendas for meetings?This would be ideal and very helpful. What additional support could BariatricPal provide to encourage your participation and/or leadership?BariatricPal is super helpful already. Maybe a yearly conference with all of the local chapter leaders, maybe in person or on GoToMeeting would be good to share ideas/stories/etc. Also, some help with venues would be good. Should there be limits on the minimum and maximum numbers of members that each Local Chapter can have?Yes, I think this should really be a stipulation. The maximum should be around 30. Any more than that and it seems like not everybody gets noticed nor the one on one that someone should get in a live support group setting. What other ideas do you have?Setting up different meetings tailored to individual needs such as pre-op, post-op, over 1 year post-op, longer and perhaps by surgery type though I would not be opposed to running any of the above. Also perhaps special sessions for people who are struggling and need help with getting back on track, weight gain, transfer addictions or other.

I thought I would jump in and give perspective from someone who is about to hit my 5 year "bandiversary" in August. Would I do it again knowing what I know now? Yes! I can't say it has been a picnic and my loss was very slow over the last 5 years BUT I did not get this surgery expecting to lose it all in the first 6 months and be done with it. I KNOW we all expect it will be fast and some are very quick losers, but I decided I did not want to be a perfect bandster and I eat crap when I want to..but I don't beat myself up about knowing what the consequences are..slow loss vs fast loss.. I feel sad when I read Zengirl's reply that she is already given up on the band in a few months and wished she had bypass. You REALLY don't, girl. There is absolutely no benefit to losing it faster or what you may think is easier. I have personal experience with both. I was banded in 2002 at 286lbs. I initially lost 20lbs pretty quickly, but then it really came off in slow chunks from there..after a good fill a little came off..I would get the flu and drop 10lbs(not a fun way to lose but it happened) and no matter how "perfect" I thought I was..I would not budge..your body will be like that. You need to reverse your thinking on this band. Not how fast or easy the weight comes off, but how much easier it will be to KEEP IT OFF!! I have not gained back an ounce in almost 5 years..took me as long to lose it, but I managed to maintain it! Okay..fast forward to 2005 when my best friend, weighing around 285lbs at her sugery had gastric bypass. For some medical reasons, she explained to me gastric bypass was a better option(personally I think she made that up because her insurance would not cover the band but would cover the bypass or she felt that bypass was better to her..don't know) At the time of her surgery..I think I was just about 200lbs..can't remember..had already lost 85lbs..but after almost 3 years banded..still had another 50+ to go. My friend quickly lost down almost to her goal in the first year of her surgery. She passed me and kept on going. She was bound and determined to not "cheat" or even have sugar pass her lips in fear of dumping. Well that quickly ended when she did indeed have surgar. She doesn't "dump" and get really sick..she just gets extremely tired. She can quickly pass out after a few drinks..she gets stupid drunk fast and I worry about her dating men she doesn't know who could take advantage of this. I tell her not to drink but a glass a wine at the most when around other people. We eat about the same amount and just about the same foods, but she does watch how much sugar she consumes. I finally did get down to about the same weight..I weigh around 150 now..she got to 140 something, but has since started to gain a little weight. So I think she actually weighs a little more than me now. She just started having to take B12 injections and I really don't think she gets enough Vitamins in as she should. Her doctor told her to take a flintstone Vitamin. Not much in those even for kids never mind a bypass patient. She is almost 50 and will need extra nutritional support as she ages..but we shall see. So..you see..we both reached goal..she has more worry about weight gain than I do. I keep my band pretty snug and if I needed to..still do have some room to make it tighter..but I am pretty set where I am at right now. I don't have the worry about eating certain foods or consuming too much alchohol(and we are not talking ALOT to get her seriously screwed up!..a few glasses of wine can do it!) I would worry about the long term effects of actually bypassing stuff and getting nutritional support to my body..she always seems more tired than I am..but I am 9 years younger..but I know people who are 80 and more active than her! Looks like most of you are pretty recently banded and barely begun getting fills. It can take a while to get to a good fill..depending on how your doctor fills you and how agressive he/she is in keeping up with you. I was banded in Mexico and went down for fills, but I don't think my doctor ever really filled me enough worrying that I may have to come back for an unfill (and I live in Nor Calif!)..I finally started going to a fill doctor in Tahoe area(only a 3 hour drive instead of a 9 hour drive to Mexico) and though he fills "blind"(no flouro)...he gave me excellent fills and I finally started feeling like this was working. He spent more time with me each visit and really laid down the law with me...some of which I listened to and other stuff I was the typical "yeah, yeah, I know it all!"..but mentally..I needed a kick in the pants and it worked. Don't Don't Don't give up on this band and wish for that bypass..DON'T assume to be a hare and be fine with a tortoise as long as you don't gain it back. The journey..your journey will be different than EVERYONE"s elses journey..so don't compare. Don't beat yourself up about being too slow..I think we are more concerned about what our friends and family will think if we don't peel of the weight in a few months and THEY think it is a failure or you made a mistake..tell as few people as possible about the surgery..it will save you some agony on your journey. My in-laws were just told earlier this year! They obviously have seen my loss..but I never admitted to surgery until recently..now that I am done, they can know the truth. Does it feel good to be down to a "normal" weight finally? Yes..it does..lots of times my friend and I complain how uncomfy it is being too bony on hard chairs and feeling bones protrude where they didn't before. I was talking to her about seeing a pair of pants on ebay that I used to buy in size 20..in a size 2 and always thought..no way would I ever be there..but last week I tried a size 4 on at a dept store (I usually wear size 8-10 now with a few 6's and few 12's depending on cut)..so 2 now just does not seem that far off! Very weird. It will happen ladies and gents...don't fight it..don't regret anything..just enjoy the journey! Patty

Sunta Water weight gain can fluctuate as much as five pounds. If you don't want a fill than you should get one. Follow your heart and stay on it the way you feel is working best for you. I know sometimes one gets the feeling that at some point a balance is met and you can do this.

There are plenty of Protein drinks without carbs or with very few- look around for them! In fact, a Protein Drink with 30 grams of carbs should NEVER be on our plans- that is a lot of sugar. I've never seen one with that many unless it is for weight gain, like Ensure. Ditto vitamins- tha bariatric vitamins generally do not have a lot of carbs- mine have <1. My Calcium chews do have 4 each but I know you can find calcium without carbs too. It is REALLY helpful to log your food every day- I use fatsecret.com and there are lots of other good ones. I have mine set to show fat, carbs, net carbs, protein, and calories. I log every single thing including vitamins, etc. It helps you feel like you are in control and accountable. Also remember that post-op your capacity will be sooooo little- that lowers your ability to get carbs in.

As for the weight gain, you very well could be gaining muscle since you are in the gym 5 times a week! Hope you are able to figure out the pain and get to feeling better soon!

I was on the Depo shot pre op but didn't get my April 2012 one since I had to be off it for surgery. I just started back up on the shot today. I spoke to Gyn and she said it can cause weight gain but the iud didn't work for me before surgery and at my age the don't like to put you on the pill. If my weight loss stops or stalls alot these 3 months coming up I guess I will switch to another method. Sent from my DROID RAZR using VST

I agree with the previous posts. IV fluids can cause significant weight gain. Hang in there! It’ll come off.

HI Your intentions are wonderful, but weight, weight loss, and weight gain are very personal and intimate subjects. You can never know how someone else will interpret what you say, good intentions or not. Telling someone how they can lose weight is also telling them they are not "ok" as is, unless they have asked for your advice. You have a good heart; just pay attention to being sensitive from the other side ~hiddn

I'm one of the original "failed bandsters" who thought the band would work for me and got it a couple years ago when there still wasn't enough information out on it. I actually "thought" it would restrict me from eating sweets and junk and that was the type of food that went right through. Being a type II diabetic, perimenopausal, hypothryroid etc...just added to the problem, also on antidepressants. Anyway my GERD pain was so bad it put me in the ER one night and after that with the weight "gain" instead of loss and the GERD hospital stay I was able to have my insurance cover it's removal and becuase I felt like such a failure I didnt' revise. I learned more information about lap bands on this site after I was banded but by then it was too late. Anywho long story short I gained a bunch of weight after my band was removed which made me feel even better:thumbdown: so I decided since my daughter had RNY and was successful that I'd give myself one more shot as long as my insurance would cover my revision which I'm lucky enough to say it did.. I'm not saying it was a breeze, longer recovery, more pain and you're restricted from the very beginning no guesswork there or "bandster hell" but it worked for me. I'm never going to be a "Tiger Woods' mistress" but I've lost a chunk so far and I'm off my diabetic meds and keep up with my vit/supplements and appear to be healthy and happy. Anyway the band is a great tool if it works for you and stays in good working order if not well there are always other options. Good luck and health to all of us! Nancy.

First off, this is for bariatrics. If you're only 115 lbs and have never been higher than 175, why are you even on here? Secondly, everyone has different issues which caused their weight gain. Google it. Everyone here is already at their breaking point with their weight, to the point that they're considering extreme measures. They don't need you belittling them for being overweight and throwing your weights in their face. Go away. K, bye. [emoji1308]

I've had a pretty major flare-up of my ulcerative colitis which resulted in me getting severely dehydrated on Wednesday and ending up in the ER for an EKG, fluids and bloodwork. All was OK except the dehydration, so I was sent home with strict orders for gatorade, a potassium drink supplement for 10 days (YUCK) and my gastroenterologist prescribed me a 5-week course of prednisone. I'm hoping the prednisone works quickly because the flare-up is pretty miserable and has kept me from working out for close to a month. My weight loss has stayed pretty consistent but I expect that the pred will cause some temporary water-weight gain and facial swelling, so I'm preparing myself for looking like the "old me" for a bit. I know any weight gain will drop right off when I taper down from the pred, but I reserve the right to be whiny for a while about this. Carry on!

I plan to have the odd glass of red wine, I've no intention of stopping that. It's all about eating and drinking in moderation like a normal slim person. I don't snack ever, eat sliders foods or drink soda. My culprit that caused weight gain was big big meals and buffets. That's totally out now and never going back, but a glass of wine will be fine.

To the weight loss surgery patient slider foods are the bane of good intentions and ignorance often causing dumping syndrome, weight loss plateaus, and eventually weight gain. Slider foods, to weight loss surgery patients, are soft simple processed carbohydrates of little or no nutritional value that slide right through the surgical stomach pouch without providing nutrition or satiation. The most innocent of slider foods are saltine crackers, often eaten with warm tea or other beverages, to soothe the stomach in illness or while recovering from surgery. Understanding Slider Foods The most commonly consumed slider foods include pretzels, crackers (saltines, graham, Ritz, etc.) filled cracker snacks such as Ritz Bits, popcorn, cheese snacks (Cheetos) or cheese crackers, tortilla chips with salsa, potato chips, sugar-free cookies, cakes, and candy. You will notice these slider foods are often salty and cause a dry mouth so they must be ingested with liquid to be palatable. This is how they become slider foods. They are also, most often, void of nutritional value. For weight loss surgery patients the process of digestion is different than those who have not undergone gastric surgery. When slider foods are consumed they go into the stomach pouch and exit directly into the jejunum where the simple carbohydrate slurry is quickly absorbed and stored by the body. There is little thermic effect in the digestion of simple carbohydrates like there is in the digestion of protein so little metabolic energy is expended. In most cases patients in the phase of weight loss who eat slider foods will experience a weight loss plateau and possibly the setback of weight gain. And sadly, they will begin to believe their surgical stomach pouch is not functioning properly because they never feel fullness or restriction like they experience when eating protein. The very nature of the surgical gastric pouch is to cause feelings of tightness or restriction when one has eaten enough food. However, when soft simple carbohydrates are eaten this tightness or restriction does not result and one can continue to eat, unmeasured, copious amounts of non-nutritional food without ever feeling uncomfortable. Many patients turn to slider foods for this very reason. They do not like the discomfort that results when the pouch is full from eating a measured portion of lean animal or dairy protein without liquids. Yet it is this very restriction that is the desired result of the surgery. The discomfort is intended to signal the cessation of eating. Remembering the “Protein First” rule is crucial to weight management with bariatric surgery. Gastric bypass, gastric banding (lap-band) and gastric sleeve patients are instructed to follow a high protein diet to facilitate healing and promote weight loss. Bariatric centers advise what is commonly known among weight loss surgery patients as the “Four Rules” the most important of which is “Protein First.” That means of all nutrients (protein, veggies, complex carbohydrates, then fat and alcohol) the patient is required to eat protein first. Protein is not always the most comfortable food choice for weight loss surgery patients who feel restriction after eating a very small amount of food. However, for the surgical tool to work correctly a diet rich in protein and low in simple carbohydrate slider foods must be observed. The high protein diet must be followed even after healthy body weight has been achieved in order to maintain a healthy weight and avoid weight regain.

I definitely get a lot of ick seeing diet culture words and phrases slung around on these message boards as well as sentiments I recognize from folks with eating disorders. Things in the same vein/tone as to “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels…etc” Having had a severe ED in the past and otherwise socialize in diet culture for most of my life I can’t help but cringe in seeing people would have made the choice to grow healthy through weight loss surgery choice to clinging to some of the most problematic diet culture undertones. I also get major ick seeing people put down their past selves and bodies. I think it’s amazing to feel and confident in your own skin, but there are so many factors that contribute to weight gain and so many ways fat people are misunderstood, treated unfairly and undermined in our society - something most of us have personally experienced to some degree, I hate to see people acting in ways that contribute negative societal construct.

This is all so very confusing to me. I am 5'3 and weighed 230 last May at my initial appointment. At my last pre-op I weighed in at 213. I've already been cutting back on my food intake to the point were I am still hungry all the time but telling myself I can do it until I get the band. My surgery date is October 11. From what I understand, my Doctor is only using the large size band. I work in a building w/5 other lap-banders and they all had the size 4 and have had very good results. I go to a support group meeting at the hospital and have been going weekly for months. From what I have hearing, the restriction is much better in the size 4. Some have had much success w/no fills at all. The newer, larger band patients are experiencing little restriction even after 2 or 3 fills. I emailed the support group leader who is also my surgeon's wife, by the way. Here is part of the response I received: "Dr. M will be the one deciding which size band you will have. It will most likely be the larger band. I know it must sound out of control to hear Linda being hungry. You will be ok and if you are hungry, you do have options to help you feel betrter without the weight gain. You can have thicker Soups. You may not be hungry, you just don't know. The advantage with the bigger band is that you have less of a chance of the band coming up through the stomach if you have too much fill. You will have more flexibility with the fill. We have had less complications an good weight loss esults so far." (By the way, Linda is good buddy of mine and has been very, very hungry since her surgery on the 22nd of September) I've been waiting for so long to finally get here - probably shouldn't worry about band size but can't help thinking that the smaller band is more effective.

We had my youngest sons birthday party today and we had such a good time. The whole family was here and the kids made out like bandits. All my kids got gifts "just because". My least favorite is an electric guitar that is very noisy and annoying. But the kids love it.. My dd said something that crushed me today after everyone left. I was fixing dinner, and she said "mom, I don't want to eat tonight, I want to shrink my tummy." I was like What? Why I like your tummy. She then tells me that Nana and her step aunts (nanas dd's) told her she needs to stop eating so much so she can shrink her tummy. This pisses me off beyond belief. I am quite aware of my childs issues, yes i think she can lose weight but I am not going to tell her she needs to stop eating to lose it. I also don't agree with putting that kind of thoughts into a 5 YEAR OLDS head.... I am going to take a step back and look at the whole pic. My father, yes I love him but I have always felt that he did not support me like he should because I was overweight. He left us as kids for months at a time, we didn't know if he was dead or alive. As a child I always felt that I was the reason my dad left my mom. He left when I was two weeks old because of another woman. When my dad was around he would make hurtful commits about my weight that were not incouraging or supportive. I wonder if that played a roll in my weight gain and addiction to food? My dd looks up to her aunts, and her step grandmother (who is the same age as me I might add). They are obsessed with looks. Nana allows the girls to "advertise" with the way they dress. They both have shirts that say things that I would not wear as an adult like "size does matter" and "this shirt looks better wet!" I don't know they are just such snobs that I don't want there opinions about body image effecting my dd happiness. My daughter is thick but in no way is she fat. I do see some signs that tell me she is not eating only when she is hungry. And I am battling those demons, everyday. We are changing our whole family, begining with me. I want our family to HEALTHY not skinny because its the thing to do. My dd will alway be bigger than others her father is 6' and her mother is 6'2. I just want to scream "STAY AWAY FROM MY DD"

@@Pinkgirl1234 - I agree with you but NOT all women are catty, but some of us are VERY catty - and especially when it comes to weight gain or weight loss. just sayin' @@ididit34 - NSVs like wearing smaller pants are THE best and I remind myself a lot that even though the scale isn't showing huge loses the pants/shirts are getting smaller

I am back to enjoying myself! I know that my weight loss is under my control! Before lapband, I would try to lose and get bored and gain whatever I lost back. Now, I know, that even any weight gain or loss is within my control! Karen

Hypothyroidism is an endocrine disease that contributes to obesity because the thyroid regulates the rate of our metabolism...( how we burn calories...etc). The symptoms you listed are typical but don't think you didn't need the surgery. Taking thyroid medication will help you regulate your metabolism but in the morbidly obese this rarely contributes to much weight loss. In fact those on thyroid medication most often still have the weight gain and yearly creep as they age. Getting thinner however will help your Hypothyroidism and all other body systems ! Hope this helps!!

The reason I said it may be overkill on the stomach sizes is not because I cannot eat a balanced meal. Because a year out things are relaxing. Some days are better than others, and it depends honestly. I am much pickier about food and need to be very relaxed when I eat in order to fully enjoy a meal. It feels like it is because you are left with the hard part of the stomch so if it tightens bc I'm nervous or upset it is harder to get the food in it comfortably. It isn't a huge deal, just something I've noticed that I eat better at home now or sitting calmly at my desk than I do at a restaurant. Especially if arguments ensue at the dinner table, my lil tummy will tighten. But I don't feel I eat so little that it is embarrassing at a party anymore. I don't even think about that. But I might get overly full on hors d'oerves if I am hungry when I arrive, and that can make eating dinner qutie difficult. But just because the long term data is not in, that is why I'm not sure if the boughie size is good. I haven't had any trouble getting too thin with this boughie size, that is for sure. In fact, I'm having trouble getting to my goal so maybe I don't need a bigger tummy after all. I m just always aware that we don't really know for sure what the long term health implications might be for removing so much of our stomach. But I knew that when I got this surgery, that it is a risk. Being overweight was huge risk too for me. Already I know there could be Vitamin deficiencies with sleeve if I don't take my Vitamins, and that is something I was not aware of before surgery. I look forward to knowing more long term. You might also consider the sleeve plication. I would have considered that but it wasn't really being done yet, or at least I didn't hear of it. You don't lose the ghrelin as much, but if you eat less some people believe the produciton of it goes down naturally. I wouldn't let the ghrelin deter me from getting plication, because if it doesn't work out you could still get sleeve or something else later. The fact that it is reversible is a plus long-term. Honestly, I probably would have done that surgery if I knew about it in time. I love food as much as ever, although what I eat has changed and I'm pickier about my food. But I personally haven't felt a great different as far as hunger, just that I get full with less food than I used to. At least I can get full, I just kept eating before, so that is different. The control is what I gained from the surgery. Control b/c it reduces the volume I can eat. To me I don't see that I am not hungry. I still get hungry. I just feel like a person with a smaller stomach that still really likes food. But I'm not suffering, full is still full, thank goodness. The most calories I know of that I've eaten in a day is 1300, but usually around 1000. The truth is if I'm at home all day and feel like cooking I can graze basically on and off all day. So I have to be careful of that. My doctor knew my medical history and chose a 34 boughie for me. I'm 5'1". It has worked out fine for me. If I had a choice I would have chosen a 40 bc of concerns about reflux. But for me I've been able to control reflux by controlling what I eat and not eating right before I go to sleep. But some say a slightly larger boughie has less issues with reflux. My doctor said to trust him, so I did. Its done, but the longer you wait the more data will be available. But as far as thyroid, I think this has been great in helping me reduce the weight. I would NEVER have lost the weight without some type of surgery. Someone said that the low thyroid didn't make them regain weight, but I disagree with that. I think it lowers your metabolism in such a way that you tend to crave carbs and sugar for energy and that leads to weight gain. Then the extra weight makes you more sluggish so it is a domino effect b/c you don't feel like exercising. Also though I think Vitamin D is an issue with that too...I think the sluggishness I felt sometimes was also bc of Vitamin D deficiency. People with a normal thyroid that then go hypothyroid can tell you that it is a drastic difference in energy levels and vitality. I don't notice it bc I've been this way for so long. But eating less has made a positive difference in my overall health. But my thyroid still didn't kick in and work better.

Hi guys. New to forums. Had Lap Band in 2009. First visit to surgeon was 346 lbs. 321 on day of surgery. Lowest weight was 176. Had car accident, (broken ribs, etc)... lost restriction. Steady weight gain since. Checked for band slip, checked for dilation. Currently 290+. So... Have heard positive feedback about sleeve. Wondering.... is it worth a shot in the dark to get things back in control. Should also say... cardiac surgery in 08, cardiac surgery due next week. 1) Revision surgery - does insurance still require a pre-surgery supervised diet or do they exclude that by situational circumstances? 2) Would you have done the sleeve again, as a revision, if you had to turn back time? I had a great experience with the band, while I was rockin' it. However, I feel like the doctor's office stopped supporting me when I started regaining. So now.... what do I do?