Search the Community

Hi All, Mandy... Your daughter will be in my prayers... I hope the medication changes will help with the weight gain. She is very lucky to have such a loving and caring Mom. :eek: Dianne... So glad that Lucy has got her groove back! (((hugs))) Beanie... So glad you had a fun vacation and don't worry about the gain... that is what vacation is all about! Anne... Hope you had fun running errands and hope I follow through with the plan to workout... I feel like a big bump on a log! Kat... I bet you are going to be able to buy a sporty little t-shirt at the next rally... won't that be awesome??/!!! Patty... Hope you enjoyed your last day of freedom! You have cyber exercise buddies... right here. Eileen... Glad you are here... don't be askeered... we'll protect you from the evil hacker...even if LBT seemingly seems unconcerned. I make this assumption as there have been zero announcements about any of the ruckus. Cindy...LOL... one of these days you are going to forget to cover us up on your computer screen...lol I think the make-up thingy party would be fun... as long as I don't have to do it....hehehehehe. Allison... It sounds like you all had a great time with the party...so glad! I'm not much of a party gal... when my DD had her B-Day party with 8 young teenage girls I thought I would need a rubber room by the time they went home... OH THE DRAMA. (((hugs)))

You should realllllllly consider BC. After the sleeve so many hormones are being released that you become extremely fertile. I have heard of women who were "sterile" for 15 years getting pregnant months after surgery. If you do get pregnant it is very dangerous for you and the baby to continue on, some women have done it with no problems, but the likelihood of having problems is huge. I am one of the few who is on depo and loves it, every 3 months I get one shot, no weight gain, no headaches or nausea. I guess I lucked out.

Ok so really this is the first in a series of blogs on my journey though this addiction called food. I have been banded since june of 008 and have lost 80 pounds to date. That is untill recently...three weeks ago I went to get a fill and had exray done and my band had slipped. So he took all the fluid out and said if it does not go back to normal then I will have to have surgury again to fix....Well to me I heard that the surgury was a for gone conclusion and screw it go on and eat anything you want because ur going to have surgury anyway...felt no hope so I ate and ate and ate and ate.....17 pounds worth of eating....Felling depressed that It has not worked....but really I was not working....I know it is only a tool but I was not ready to give it up....I came into it thinking that ok really it will be forced behavior modification and i just have to choose wisely...well really I have not been...fell of the wagon....I want the freedom and not the prison of food...the goal is not to throw up....to finally listen to my body....please forgive me body for ignore you and for beating you up....I think this blogging will help.....I do not know the plan to be on I think really the only plan is to listen to my body and not throw up....I am not ready to give up the band...I am almost done paying off the band. I am a cash patient and have 2000 left to pay on the bill...care credit is such a loan shark but am thankful to have them out of my hair...so really I think it will be ok....I have PCOS and think that all the yeast and sugar has sent my pancreas into overdrive....that would explain the rapid weight gain....feeding the sickness....so im going to start metphormin again and see if that helps....will keep you posted.....

No help for us. We are fat, we are gluttons, we are weak and undeserving of help, sympathy, or adequate medical care. Like Orson Wells said, “Gluttony is not a secret vice.” Do I believe that? Some days I do in fact believe it, when I’m down, and lately more because of how ill I have been. Mostly it is a load of hog wash. Fat does not equal ugly. There has long been a weird relationship with food, the body and the Christian church. And of course, we all know the impact that both Protestant and Catholic sects have had on Western Civilization… Some of the Christian based weight-loss schemes are screaming “fat people don’t go to heaven,” and “use our program based on Leviticus and you will loose weight and be closer to God!” Sorry, I’ve read Leviticus, and I am NOT eating bugs…. (I call them schemes because I think we all here have come to the understanding that “diets” are just schemes…) If you had better self-control, more self-esteem, more will-power, were a better person, loved God more…. You would lose weight and be a better person. There is no understanding for the overweight from most doctors. Before my husband had his band installed, the cardiologist said “Have you just tried cutting out sweets?” Now, on the face of it, this is good advice, advice we could all use. However, this showed a complete lack of understanding on the part of the doctor. You see, before my husband had his band installed, he weighted 596 pounds with a BMI in the high 80’s. Cutting out sweets would have certainly helped, it wouldn’t have stopped my husband from eating two or three fast-food meals at one sitting, or any of the other overeating behavior some of us know intimately, and other behaviors we are only starting to understand in ourselves and others. I am currently having difficulty with my asthma: hospitalizations, steroids, greatly reduced lung function, other things as well. What am I told? Well, just lose some weight, we aren’t going to help with this, we are just going to pass judgment on you. Sudden and unexplained weight gain? Well, just don’t eat as much… (never mind that I gained 10 pounds overnight with severe edema…). I have to suspect that part of Delarla’s current adventure with gauze might have been caught earlier if she was thin. I was told by my doctor that I just need to take up running. Yes that’s right, take up running. Can you imagine a woman with a BMI in the high 40’s running? (Please see the thread about giving one’s self black eyes…) Being fat or overweight or big boned, or under tall, or metabolically efficient or famine resistant doesn’t make us failures, bad people or jerks. We might be over sexed (skin is the largest sex organ…), but we are not failures, or bad people or jerks. If we are failures or bad people or jerks, it is independent of our weight or size.

Hi! I'm new here but I can attest for the weight gain. I had RNY in Feb 2004 starting weight was 320 and lost down to 190. Well, slowly but surely, I gained weight and began taking up bad habits and not exercising and ended up back to 274. I went to my surgeon and was able to have a revision on 6/28/12..... So I am starting this journey again and for the last time. It isn't easy and I am scared sometimes afraid it won't work or I won't lose anything. I'm trying very hard. I'm glad I found this group because I will need lots of support.

that's great ur doing good after breast reduction. I agree with u on the HCG diet, I don't think anyone should do it unless they are totally commited, it's very strict and any wavering from the diet can cause weight gain. It took me a lot of research and an article I read is what convinced me to try it. It wasn't the article itself, it was a negative article but it was all th comments after the article. Hundreds and hundreds of comments disputing the article. It convinced me to just try it. The first 10 days were he'll, lots of carb withdrawals, but then it got so easy. There us no way I can do it over the next few months because of all the traveling we are doing, so I have ended it and now on a maintenance phase. I am really restricted now too, I am finally to a sweet spot - I love it! Tonight we went out for Mexican and I could only eat about 1/3 or less of my meal. I got very full fast. My band will keep me from over eating during the next few months while I'm doing the maintenance phase. Now I must get back to my exercise routine and hit it hard!

Cindi - So happy you popped in! You hit the nail on the head, the band is the one that continues to work, its "ME" that quits working with the band. I find that I eat more junk when I get comfortable and the weight creeps back on! I am the one that causes the weight gain, not the band. So good that you are still exercising. I'm become lazy lately at that. I know I need to get back into the groove, I set my alarm this morning to get up, but just couldn't do it. I will be going tonite! Keep posting, we miss u!

The first time I met George Peters, I knew he would be a record holder, I just didn't realize to what extent! He had been sufficiently frightened by several chronic health issues he was living with as a result of his weight. And I knew he was ready to defeat the fear and fight back. While George didn't look like it outwardly, he weighed more than 400 pounds. With the full support of his family, his took his obesity challenge by the horns (and then some). George recently shared his personal weight loss journey on Facebook as a way to show where he had been--and where he is today. He kindly permitted us to share his remarkable story below: Why Weight Loss Surgery By George Peters (shared with permission) It's one month until my first Ironman in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec and I'm sharing my story of ‪#‎whyweightlosssurgery: In 2010, I weighed 425 pounds. I was visiting my primary care physician, and he stated that I would need surgery to have an insulin pump inserted into me to control my diabetes. My realization was that I would probably be dead by age 50, if I didn’t get my diabetes under control. Weight-related Health Issues My diabetes, high blood pressure, respiratory problems and circulatory problems were out of control. I had tried numerous diets to control my weight and health problems, and they always started off with success only to surrender any weight loss, to an eventual failure, and an additional weight gain. I decided that I would have bariatric surgery for weight loss in January 2011. I had gastric sleeve surgery performed by Dr. Ayotunde Adeyeri at Bayshore Community Hospital in Holmdel. Sleeve Gastrectomy Success I lost 125 pounds and started to control my health problems. My weight loss stalled in 2013 and my fear of my health problems returning scared me. I hadn’t reached my goal weight of 240 pounds. I started running in the fall of 2013 when my daughters convinced my wife and me to have our family run in a turkey trot (5K). A New Passion for Fitness, Strength and Endurance I started running and found the workouts to be rewarding. I started cycling again soon after. I hadn’t ridden a bicycle since I was a teenager because I was too big to ride a bike. Soon after my first 10 mile bike ride, I decided to sign up for my first sprint triathlon, in the spring 2014. During the 2014 year, my performance in three of my four triathlons was affected due to gall bladder problems that eventually led to my gall bladder being removed 5 days after the New Jersey State Triathlon. Losing Nearly 200 Pounds Sends George to His First Ironman Competition 2015 has been a year of setting goals and working to achieve them: My goal for this year is to finish an Ironman. I scheduled multiple smaller events to help me prepare for the Ironman. I finished the NYC half marathon in March. My training continued, and I finished the Raleigh Ironman 70.3 in 9 hours 3 minutes. In August, I will complete my first full Ironman triathlon in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. Ironman and Triathlon have given me a bright outlook for the future. I now have a goal of being in Kona by the age of fifty.

that is not true all the time about the weight gain, I had surgery on june 6th and at my one week appointment I had lost 15 lbs I am just barley moving the scale down now though

7 months out but I WAS NOT told. I remembered how brutal IV weight gain was from my C-sections. You should lose about 10 lbs or more of baby and amniotic fluid but you gain 15 (25 net from IV fluids). Prior experience was my only clue....and I wasn't told before my csections either!

Hi All It has been a long time since I have been here. I have lost a lot of weight and now I'm trying to keep it off. my band was to tight my doc took out 2cc and I started to eat like I didn't have a band gained 10lbs in one month trying to get back on track. When the band was to tight I couldn't eat hard foods and eat a lot of soft or ice cream and this went on for 5 months before I told the doc because I didn't want to be unfilled I lost 40lbs doing this it was not good weight lost and now for the first time since getting the band I have weight gain I'm trying not to think about it just get back on track but it is hard to stop eating the way I was when I was tight. The doc will only put back a little at a time so now I can eat and not feel full. I should have good eating habits after 2 years but I don't I now must write down what I eat and no more sweets. Thanks for listening I'm still down 150lbs and I want to keep it off. I was banded 01/07/08

I just wanted to note, for anyone that is stating that artificial sweeteners can cause weight gain and don’t drink diet because of them, I would absolutely not use this as a reason or to drink diet soda. There are artificial sweeteners in your protein shakes, protein bars, yoghurt, jello, pudding, Gatorade, mio/water flavorings, and many others items you consume. These are all foods and additions that are heavily relied upon on almost every single post op diet I’ve seen here.

I went to my LB support group last and the subject was Plateaus and and one of the comments is that sometimes a plateau will turn into an avalanche of weight gain. Now there is absolutely no logic in the world to the thought process that say "I'm not loosing, so I will gain weight instead", yet, I totally, totally have done that, as have many of the others on this forum. It is similar to the logic that we use that says, "I failed at one meal, so I might as well blow the whole day and eat like a pig". That is like saying, I made a mistake in my checkbook and I am 10.00 overdrawn, so I am might as well go out and buy a new TV! I walked away from the support group with reminded that much of what we are doing in our journey revolves around our mind, rather than around our stomach....Now if only there was a band for our brain BTW, I met a nice lady there who recognized me from the forums, but forgot to ask her user name.

Well, for several reasons I need my parents approval when I do things. I've got that kind of personality. Sometimes I do things against their approval, but I have a lot less anxiety in life knowing they support me.. so it was important they were on board with me. I didn't know about lap-band. I wanted RNY.. 3 years ago or so. They said they were completely against it, just diet, etc. So I did.. I lost weight.. gained it back.. then this past December, after gaining another 60lbs on top of my highest weight.. I decided I was getting RNY with or without their support. I was doing research to get information put together to convince them this is what I needed to do. That's when I found lap-band. So instead, I presented them all the lap-band info.. before I could show them anything.. I had to take a deep breath and explain.. I was doing this.. and my mom had seen a Dateline on the lap-band the week before I came to her, so the 'fight' never happened. She said she thinks it's a great idea, they support me. I asked if I could get a loan from them to pay for it (my insurance won't cover it), and they said they would pay for it without it being a loan. So that was that. I'm sure if she hadn't seen Dateline, it would be a relapse of the RNY thing.. how I shouldn't do it, it's unhealthy, I'll get sickly, etc. Maybe your parents just need the educating! Get information on it, show them how it's reversible if it ever needed to be, it's adjustable to fit your lifestyle, etc. Show them the death rate, and complications statistics. It's a no brainer when you get to the nitty gritty. Compared to RNY, where the statistics are scary.. but being the overweight party you're willing to risk it.. even when family is not.

I think we (myself included) need to take a step back and stop stressing. I know that we are in this together, but I've found myself worrying over a stall, comparing my progress post op to others with surgery dates near mine, and at times wondering if I will be one of those people that the procedure didn't work for. If you are anything like me, I spent YEARS lamenting over my insignificant weight loss or significant weight gains. Now I have a tool that in three weeks has worked better than an entire year of weight watchers, and yet I'm all chicken-little-the-sky-is-falling because I'm not losing FAST enough?? Admittedly, patience is not my strong point. When I thought about it in those terms, I felt like I was poo-poo'ing all of the amazing progress I've demonstrated so far. Seriously, when have I EVER LOST 30 pounds in two months? So if I'm stalling right now, so be it. I know my weight loss will come.

Exact same medical issue. Sleeved 4 yes ago. Hiatal hernia present, mild weight gain, surgeon recommended sleeve to bypass conversion on March 19th Sent from my LM-Q710(FGN) using BariatricPal mobile app

I woke up this morning and noticed my face was so round. Well, I started reading the side effects of my medication that I'm taking and it turns out the big side effect if taken more than 14 days is weight gain! I'm on steroids, and have been on them since 1/17/08. So that explains the weight gain. Although I haven't made the right food choices, I was a little shocked that I had gained so much, because I never have in the past while not making the right food choices. So, I was a little depressed. Well this weekend I did really good with eating, and still gained another 3 lbs. Then I noticed my face looked distorted this morning. So I started researching the medication I'm on. Well, not only am I takig orally steroid, I'm also putting steroid drops in my eyes, so needless to say, its causing a weight gain. I should be off of it all by the end of this week. Scale this mornng was really ugly 186.2. I do think once I quit taking the steroids I will start losing. Okay menu today Bfast 1 egg 2 slices of turkey bacon Mid moring cup of coffee w/cream Lunch salad dressing on side Dinner ground hamburger salsa Exercise -

I'm about 6 weeks post now, losing nothing. Had 1 fill so far and going for another next week (although I'm really not sure I need one, I don't have any type of hunger that I can't deal with). I'm watching Protein (at least 60g) and carbs (around 50g) each day, not snacking and definitely finding it hard to get more than 600-700 calder unless I'm eating junk between meals. I know this could be a problem but.. I also take lithium for bipolar disorder (which I'm having a hard time with right now but that's a different story). Lithium's main side effect is weight gain. I don't have the option of not taking it (trust me). I was wondering if anyone else took it and if they find it affects their weight loss much? I'm scared that it's playing a huge role in mine but like I said there's not much I can do. Does anyone still lose while being on lithium? Do you lose like normal or slower?

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 was sleeved May 25, 2014. In a year’s time, I lost 100 lbs. I was so proud and I was feeling better than I remember feeling in a very long time. Fast forward to February, 2016 and my husband and I took a trip to New Mexico, and I don’t know why it is, but any time we are on vacation or on a road trip, we feel like we have to eat every meal....all of us. That trip was the start of gaining weight. Early two year later, I’ve gained 30 lbs of the 100 I had lost. I’m terribly depressed about it, but I can’t seem to get myself under control. Eating is definitely a very emotional thing for me....meaning I stress eat, and this last year has been very stressful. I’m scared, beyond everything, that I’m going to gain all my weight back. HELP! Has anyone else experienced significant weight gain? I’ve started time and time again, from the very beginning, but it’s not the same. After surgery, we have no choice but to drink our meals or eat soft foods for several weeks post op, because we just cannot get it in us and swallow, but now that I have a choice, it makes it harder to stay on track. I still get full pretty quick, but I put in a little more than I should, and I had developed the bad habit of allowing myself to have a REAL Dr Pepper once a day, instead my usual Coke Zero and water. I was also eating more sweets. I’ve halted drinking the REAL Dr Peppers and stopped eating the sweets. I’ve been drinking my protein and eating meat/chicken....Eating as few carbs and sugar as possible and nothing! Has anyone been here? What have you done to get back on track? Please help!!! I’m so scared I’m going to gain the rest of my weight back....did I mention I was scared I was going to gain all my weight back? I’m even considering sleeve revision!

After waiting for 6 weeks I finally saw the Surgeon on July 22nd. He felt I would be a godd candidate for the Lapband. He wants me to take 2 Nutrition classes, get a Psychological Evaluation, a cardiac evaluation (I have no heart problems so not sure why) and bloodwork done. He also wants me to get with my PCP and find something other than Voltaren to take for the pain. Plus I need to get with the Pain management Dr to get off of Lyrica. It seems the Lyrica causes weight gain. I already had the Psychological Evaluation this week. Next Monday I can get the blood work done and Thursday will be the first Nutrition class. I will need to call for a Cardiac evaluation and schedule the 2nd nutrition class. When the Surgeon's office has all the evaluations I will be able to see him again, get a surgery date, final insurance approval and attend the preop class. When I asked how many more weeks he stated about 6 to 8 weeks. So we are looking at a possible Sept surgery date. In the mean time on July 17th I had three Thoracic Facet Joint Injections in my spine and have been finally able to do things for the first time in over 10 years. I still have some pain but not the knife stabbing, take away my breath kind of pain. I am walking about 6 to 9 minutes with 2 canes where as before I could barely walk 1 to 2 minutes. Instead of rolling around on the desk chair in the house I am now walking. I have been swimming and in the hot tub as I can finally lift my leg high enough to get up the stairs. I have taken day trips down to Fort Lauderdale and loving every minute of the drive. I am finally living and not just existing. I just hope and pray the pain does not come back as I will be even more depressed and upset if it does. Till next time have a great journey!

After waiting for 6 weeks I finally saw the Surgeon on July 22nd. He felt I would be a godd candidate for the Lapband. He wants me to take 2 Nutrition classes, get a Psychological Evaluation, a cardiac evaluation (I have no heart problems so not sure why) and bloodwork done. He also wants me to get with my PCP and find something other than Voltaren to take for the pain. Plus I need to get with the Pain management Dr to get off of Lyrica. It seems the Lyrica causes weight gain. I already had the Psychological Evaluation this week. Next Monday I can get the blood work done and Thursday will be the first Nutrition class. I will need to call for a Cardiac evaluation and schedule the 2nd nutrition class. When the Surgeon's office has all the evaluations I will be able to see him again, get a surgery date, final insurance approval and attend the preop class. When I asked how many more weeks he stated about 6 to 8 weeks. So we are looking at a possible Sept surgery date. In the mean time on July 17th I had three Thoracic Facet Joint Injections in my spine and have been finally able to do things for the first time in over 10 years. I still have some pain but not the knife stabbing, take away my breath kind of pain. I am walking about 6 to 9 minutes with 2 canes where as before I could barely walk 1 to 2 minutes. Instead of rolling around on the desk chair in the house I am now walking. I have been swimming and in the hot tub as I can finally lift my leg high enough to get up the stairs. I have taken day trips down to Fort Lauderdale and loving every minute of the drive. I am finally living and not just existing. I just hope and pray the pain does not come back as I will be even more depressed and upset if it does. Till next time have a great journey! If you noticed the date, this was written in 2008. It is now 2015. The pain came back in a matter of months and the weight went all the way up to 390. I am starting over again in 2015 to be approved for the sleeve. So anything after this date is my journey for the second try at WLS.

The barium test is a standard practice among surgeons who specialize in gastric surgeries. It is the best way to ensure there isn't even the slightest leak. It's done within the first 24 hours this way if anything is even detected they can fix it asap instead of waiting for the problem to come up later on. I knew about having the test before I had the surgery it was explained to me ahead of time. Now for me I drink Muscle Milk for my protein. It's 310 calories for 32 grams of protein even drinking that 5 times a day would put u at 1550 calories in just shakes alone. Then add in food. In order to gain 20 pounds in under 7 weeks you would need to average 3 pound weight gain a week. There is no way unless drinking weight gainer protein that someone ONLY 7 weeks out gains that type of weight AND there surgeon tells them they stretched out there sleeve. You CAN NOT stretch out that sleeve on a basic liquid diet it's physically impossible. I have to agree with others that if her surgeon did a sleeve on her and told her that then she needs to see a different surgeon to ensure he is being honest with her in the surgery that he did and 2 that it was performed properly and correctly.

I'm now 11 weeks post op and I drink plain or black cherry seltzer water from time to time and haven't had any issues at all. My surgeon told me that as long as it has no calories or sugar and it's not brown soda (as the caramel coloring is the worst part) it's fine in moderation. The only thing I'm having an issue digesting is salad. Everyone is different though! and it's important to listen to your Doctor! The Doctors give you best advice based on your individual health issues. Like the saying goes "Everything ain't for Everybody" Be safe, Ask First! Also, I haven't experienced any stalls or weight gain. My scale just keeps going down! started at 345 lbs and today I'm 270lbs! 75 lbs in 5 months! I love my sleeve!

I wasn't prepared for the huge weight gain right after surgery. The day after I got home I weighed myself, and it was literally 19 pounds higher than surgery day -- and that was a shocker. I figured it out pretty quickly, but it did little for the confidence. The rest of my journey has been remarkably easy, pain-free, and lacking of regret.