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I have trouble remembering to take pills, so my DR recommended Nuva Ring. I've been using it for two months & love it! I have not had any weight gain or swelling.

I stopped taking my birth control a month before surgery and haven't needed to restart it. However, my period has been really heavy and I am thinking about going back on it. Has been on the pill affected your weight loss at all? I know it can sometimes cause weight gain.

Ditto here took mine the same night after surgery. i take Ortho-cyclen and it's smaller than a tic tac ! For what my GYN has said the pill will only increase weight gain in some individuals by just 3.5 lbs. If you're swelling up then its water retention and you need to drink, drink, drink water.

PAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whew... You are aliveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! :confused: Sorry about the DS... It's unfortunate that a man's "wand of procreation" isn't a better judge of character. *sigh* One day he will come to his senses... hang on till then! Sorry about the weight gain... we'll kick your butt and you'll be back on track by Monday. :party: Yup... gaining the amount I have back has been devastating... BUT... there's no use crying over spilt milk! :party: Well... My DD and I took the pups for a 45 minute brisk walk. THe walks are a part of Ava's behavior modification program and she is doing really well! I can walk her with her leash draped over my shoulders most of the time and I can stop and talk to people without her flipping out. :party: We can walk by most distractions without her even turning her head to look... she looks at me instead. :party:

Sending the last reply screwed up the formatting. This is how the top line should read: Diet- Started-Stopped-Weight lost-Weight gained back

Went for my first Doc appointment since my surgery. He said I was doing great and I will be ready for my first fill on the 17th which just so happens to be my Birthday so that will be a nice present to myself. He also said to be prepared to gain some weight between now and my fill date and to not worry about it and focus on finishing the healing process. He said the weight gain is totally normal and once I had the fill those pounds plus more would vanish quickly. So excited to get the fill.

Pre op I was a UK 28 (US 24). I am currently a UK 24 (US 20) and I hope to get back to UK 12/14 (US 8/10). Clothes sizes vary from shop to shop in the UK. Before my weight gain I could wear a size 12 in TopShop but require a 14 from M&S.

Was pretty simple for me, I have never been afraid to die, I am just not ready. I gained ALOT of weight after quitting smoking 9 years ago. Because of the weight gain I have HBP, High Cholesterol, sleep Apnea, Diabetes, Neurapathy in my feet terribly. I have degenerative joint disease in my back and knees and my knees are shot now that the doc said if I do not get the weight off I will be in a wheelchair in a year or so. I also have a collapsed arch in my left foot and lots of preblems there. I lost both parents at a young age due to massive heart attacks and my Dad was in great shape when he died. I lost my Mom 4 years ago and 5 months later my sister gave birth to the greatest thing to ever happen to me and that was a little Boy. He is my pride and Joy, I watch him every day while she works and miss him when he is not around. I want to be able to go to his baseball games that will be starting in a couple years. Right now I cannot walk far to get to the fields and cannot go to his older Brothers games. Just about my whole family is obese and I went over to talk to my Uncle and Aunt about my decision to have this surgery 2 months ago. I told him that I did not want to end up like him, in a wheelchair and never leaving the house. I did not want to be like my Grandma, 2 other Uncles and my Mom and two other Aunts. So I was going to do something about it. He was all behind me and so very supportive...Well he passed away a week ago today from heart problems brought on by his obesity. He was over 500 lbs. Everyone has passed away now because of problems that came up by their obesity. I have one Aunt still alive, but she does not leave the house. So for all those reasons and to see my sunshine grow up into a man and marry and have children of his own is my dream and focus now. With my determination and support I know I will do it.... Thanks, Rob

I take small bites too. I don't have any issues with overeating; I'm just not making the best choices regarding WHAT I eat. Even if I eat bread, I can only take a few bites but I shouldn't be eating bread in the first place. While it may not be a huge issue now, I'm afraid it will lead to weight gain in the future when I am able to take more than a few bites.

I have the same date as you both (Jan 6) at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC and was told only to do clear liquids starting 24 hours before surgery. But I've been having a lot of "last meals" which I'm worried will cause more weight gain (I'm on vacation and have no scale) so I think I'll put myself on a low carb diet until the 5th and then do the day of liquids. I'm also weaning myself off of coffee and caffeine now because I really don't feel like going through caffeine withdrawal while trying to heal from surgery...lol

Visalus is NOT a good option because it is SOY protein which is bad because of something to do with Estrogen - it raises Estrogen levels which can cause weight gain.

OMG you are adorable and you've already done so much for yourself. I see you ran in the Susan G Komen in your area, that is AWESOME!!!! I'm running the 5k here in my area on May 7th... Firstly, welcome to VST Secondly, I am a revised lap band to sleeve person. I can tell you, regaining with the lap band is *extremely* easy once you figure it out. I could eat just as much as I ever could, thereby making my band pretty useless. I initially lost about 55 Lbs with the band, and gained it all back up to within pounds of where I started. That included with needing to go BACK on my HBP tmedications and severe joint pain (couldn't run anymore ) I decided enough was enough and I needed something PERMANENT AND REAL. Not something that I could just think that it's reversible so I chose not to take it as seriously. Besides I never ever found good restriction with it... like I was always chasing that dream that everyone else seemed to get. I felt like a total and complete failure, and thought it was me. It wasn't!!! I know this now because since I've been sleeved the weight is just melting off. I'm off ALL HBP medications and I CAN RUN AGAIN!!!!! :D I'm also the furthest from perfection, and yet I'm still losing really well. I know this will work for you. If you were able to make your band work so well, this is going to blow your mind. Can you imagine having perfect restriction every single day AND NEVER, NOT EVER NEEDING A BLASTED FILL???? Yeah it's as incredible as it sounds. I don't miss my band what so ever. I have it in my hat box at the top of my closet even. It's in a ziploc bag so at least its not collecting dust... lmao!! Once it was out, there was no need for it again. Believe me when I tell you, I now have a restored faith in the WLS world all due to my sleeve. I was skeptical even though I took over a year to finally take the plunge to revision. I wondered, well if I couldn't make my band work, what makes me think I can make this work? It's so easy though, it's working amazingly. Yes, it's not all the sleeve either, it is but a TOOL... but if you do what you're supposed to you are going to lose, and lose fast. I have total faith in it. I also have no more worries on whether I'll make goal. I'm more concerned I'll lose too much!!! Can you imagine??? I set my goal higher in case it takes me awhile to get used to maintenance mode, as I just don't think my body structure was meant to be on the thinner side. I'm also not worried I'll be able to hang on to my weight loss, because since the beginning of the newer smaller and thinner sleeve, the weight gain AND the making it to goal stats are pretty outstanding. Again, I'm no angel, but I'd say on any given month I'm at about a 95%. That alone will keep me losing and maintaining when I get there. Blessings to you, and keep in touch. We all love to support, and there are a lot of us revisioners just waiting to tell the GOOD NEWS!!

YOU ARE RIGHT, Melinda, ON EVERY POINT. And frankly, its not news to me, but ALL OF IT bears repeating - and LISTENING-TO, over and over. I am notoriously "half-empty" when it comes to ME. I have a wonderful husband (who married the "chunky me" 13 years ago), 4 awesome kids (DD24, DD21, DS12, DS8), a lovely home, a fulfilling cottage-industry business (www.kcarddesigns.biz) , friends who do not judge me because of my size 20W, nor will they love me more when I am a 12/14M. ... Its ME who can't give ME a break. I was a trim kid/teen/college student. I was 140'ish when I married in 1983...started gaining w/ my first child in 87, and its been snowballing ever since. Lots and LOTS of stressors thru the years, and some underlying "Payback" attitudes toward my first husband during our 13 year marriage (I lost him to cancer in 1996), and some "control" issues in my second marriage...I'm a head-case, to be sure. SO, there are some "issues", just like most everyone else, and lots of SHAME that had accompanied my weight-gain. I hide from the camera like a criminal, either avoiding it altogether or hiding behind someone or some thing. Sadly, my young boys will have FEW pictures of their mama...until now. Boy, do I need therapy or what?? ha. Anyway, I appreciate the nudge regarding improving the shakes. I will definitely look into it. The coconut idea sounds really great. Never thought of adding extracts!!! Duh. I wonder if I had the chocolate variety, if I could successfully (read: DELICIOUSLY) add Peppermint Extract and enjoy it?? I LOVE chocolate/mint anything....hmmmm....maybe I should consider that!? I did manage a 25 min walk last evening. Went the main-loop of our subdivision. Didn't feel overly winded when I got back, but it was stiflingly HOT & MUGGY here in Indy, so I was a sweat-ball when I got home. I cooled down, then took a cool shower. And felt VERY PROUD OF MYSELF for having DONE IT. My friend has also applauded my success and has me committed to doing something today too, as you have!! Thank Heaven it is raining in our area right now, but maybe later today I will get to the street to make another circle. I did do some deep cleaning on my kitchen this morning, working up a nice lather. That surely counts for something??? Still, walking is my best thing, so once I get over "starting" I'm usually good to go. Anyway, thank you again for your kind encouragement. I know I will likely lose some weight in this pre-op stage. I'm counting on it!!... but I also know the critical reasoning behind it, and I do want everything to go smoothly. I stepped on my scale this morning: 221.8 (I need to figure out how to add one of those meters.) It was 224 at the clinic on Tuesday...don't know what it was here, tho. Still, obviously easier for me to track on mine than theirs, so I'll go w/ that. It is empowering, because I know a month ago I was knocking on 225-226. Encouraging. Cheers! Kim

I'm thankful for the support here. It's amazing how many aspects of our lives weight gain & weight loss effects. You'd think with a hundred pounds gone everything would be great, but there are still challenges everyday, just different ones. Happy New Year everyone.

Today is Day 1 of my pre-op diet. I am ready for this. I managed to gain another 3 lbs, but I expected that. I hope that starting the diet early will make up for my weight gain during this time. So far this morning I had a single serving yougurt and coffee. I am not even sure what to take for lunch so I thought I would take a tub of cottage cheese to stash in the fridge along with another yogurt and a serving of SF Jello. It is hard to gauge how hungry I will be. I will take my glucometer with me because my blood sugars will be very unpredictable. Another reason for doing this early so that I can have them in normal range consistently before THE BIG DAY!!! THE BIG DAY - not long now. Can't wait to join the banded in this quest/challenge/journey. Update: DH took my before pics and they are not pretty. I find it so interesting how I can look at myself in the mirror to get dressed and not see myself. They were especially difficult to look at - and I really LOOKED - becauseI am wearing underwear that I wore 30 lbs ago! I am too stubborn to buy bigger clothes because I got rid of all my larger clothes last time. I will this time as well, but I am more positive that I will not EVER need them again.

How did you get fat? It's not as easy to answer as how did you get pregnant it is? I think it was many things for me and 45 years is a very long time. #1 Genetics. My father was 500 pounds and had his stomach stapled 2 times. He was 500 pounds again when the cleaning lady came and found him on the floor suffering from a massive stroke. It left him completely paralized. I guess he could only communicate by blinking. He died at age 63 from his obesity related illnesses. I was only 18 months old when he and my mother divorced and he was a deadbeat dad. I met him when I was a teenager. I did not grow up seeing his eating habits and my mother was very thin and ate healthy. So I am thinking genetics with that one. My sister is also obese. I was a chubby kid and did deal with teasing. I thinned out as a teen and was very mature for my age. That led to dating older guys and getting married at a young age. I had a baby at a very young age, but can not blame that for my weight. I only gained 19 lbs during pregnancy and it came off as soon as I had the baby. I ended up being in an abusive marriage. I divorced the jerk and started making it on my own with a toddler in tow. It was very hard because I was so young and wages were low for me. I got very thin because sometimes I could only afford food for my son and not myself. I couldn't afford cars that ran for long, so I did quite a bit of walking. I got too thin for my frame. I was about 128 lbs and size 7 jeans were baggy. I met the great guy I am married to now and he moved in. I was 21 by then and my son was 4. With 2 incomes we got on our feet quickly and I could afford food. This would be my #2 reason for the weight gain I guess. I ate because I could! Food was so darn good and going out to eat was such a treat. I treated myself a lot. I chose whatever I wanted on the menu no matter the cost or the calories. reason #3.....YO-YO dieting for years! I tried every diet on the planet and then some! Take off 30 lbs- gain 40 lbs, take off 40 lbs - gain 50 lbs .......... reason #4..... I gave up! I was FAT! There was no getting rid of it for good and no use trying. It only made matters worse! reason #5 ..... hysterectomy at a very young age. reason #6 .... fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndroms.......constant pain and no energy. I ate for energy. Fast forward to 2009. I weighed a whopping 264 lbs! Then I got banded! I have lost 86 lbs and now weigh 178! I want to get to 150 or lower and keep it off!

WOW! Yay, Ebony! Fabulous! G4E - Don't stress over the weight gain - you have a few other things going on in your life to worry about that. Please keep us posted on how things are going. Hugs and best wishes. Glad to hear that! Good luck at the Docs.

have you ever gained inches? I did and can't understand how. Then when I was measured this month I lost alot of inches, but still having a hard time tring to figure out why i gained inches that one month. I like your rule for weight gain.

I'm currently recovering from brachioplasty and have had some complications. I'm almost 3 weeks out and actually am going to have to take 2 more weeks off b/c I had to get 18 stitches today. I can't lift anything... pretty much need to baby my left arm. Since I'm a nurse I can't work without a left arm! All that said... don't be scared I don't regret a thing. I say wait absolutly! The reason... you never know if you will have complications. If you do have complications you don't want to rush back to work b/c you won't heal. The weight gain is also a factor! I gained 30 lbs at one point down 10 of that now but still have 20 lbs to work off. You don't want to have to do that twice! Plastic surgery is no joke. I found my brachioplasty to be the toughest surgery I've undergone. I've had my gallbladder out, pilinidal cyst removed, and the lap band.

KWG, good luck to you on you journey, it's not always easy but if you do ever have issues you should feel free to come here. We're not blaming the band for our problems but we are all different and for a lot of people they seem to sail through this thing but for some of us it's a lot tougher and we have added issues. Our surgeons have not been our doctors for years they're are surgeons so they don't necessarily know everything about each individual and there are things that come up that we don't expect. But if you do come across a problem or a stalemate or a weight gain that is uncontrollable for whatever reason you should have a safe place to come and talk to people about it without being considered a "band basher" which is not what we're about. Thanks brandyII:thumbup:

I started my day as usual.. running like a loon cuz I cant scrape myself from the warm, cozy bed but thats besides the point... I made my 2 scambled eggs w/my hunk of mozzarella cheese on the side. Thank god for the dog.. I could NOT finish my eggs :scared2:. I had my beloved protein shake at my 930 break. It hit me like a ton of bricks.. I was FULL. Lunch was half of a turkey on wheat wrap... I made it with more lettuce than anything. I also had a yogurt. can we say FULL. At my 230 break I had my other protein shake and felt... whats the word I am looking for... FULL. I came home from work and finished my salad (leftover from yesterday) and I am FULL.:biggrin2: Full is not something I have felt before. Not without a lot of food being involved. I am so flippin excited about this whole fill thing. It almost motivated me to get off my ass and use my treadmill. I said ALMOST. Instead I am being a mouse-potato and comtemplating a long hot bath since I now have clearance to take one. I do have one side effect of the fill though. I'm burping like a mo-fo. In the fat-club meetings, they said gas and burping repeatedly but in my first 5 weeks, I had nearly none of that stuff. Today..BURP. Every few minutes... BURP. While it doesnt bother me so much, I have very stuffy coworkers that are not so amused (BURP). Hell, atleast I wasnt farting. I am FINALLY starting to feel as if this has all been worth it and my mood is obviously improving a bit. I still hate my coworkers (most of them) but now I am starting to like myself just a smidge anyway. I am going to take the long awaited HOT bath and I am going to stay in there til I run out of hot water and wrinkle like a prune. OOOOOO. I almost forgot to mention that I went down a size in undies. I can almost buy hanes-her-way in a color other than white. Whoo-freakin-whooo. I have been so looking forward to the day I get to buy some pink panties!!!! Hell, in a few more months, I might be back to wearing thongs. I gave up thongs years ago after my enormous weight gain. While they were still comfy.. I couldnt bear to see the fat girl in thongs. Not attractive. Walmart has/had tummy control thongs. SERIOUSLY. why bother controlling the tummy when the booty is jiggling uncontrollably???

When I started the mushies/soft foods, I actually started gaining back the weight I had lost. At my 2 wk appt, I told the Dr about this weight gain and he gave me a fill then. Just keep at what you are doing!

I tried all of the above mentioned solutions...raised the head of our bed, Nexium 2X a day, restricted eating and drinking in the evenings, avoided acid producing foods. Nothing helped until my band was totally unfilled. I understand concerns Bandsters have about restriction levels and gaining weight. I was able to continue to lose even with an unfilled band. Every one is an individual, and my solutions may not work for others. Removing Fluid does not need to mean weight gain. Best wishes to feel better...

Hello everyone...I'm back. Most of you don't know me because I haven't been on the forum for about 5 years, but I was on it almost every day from the time I had the sleeve in October 2011 at 57 years old. First, having the surgery was a dream come true because I had been heavy all my life. I lost 88 lbs in the first year (I wrote a weekly blog which I turned into a book and interestingly, I reached my goal at EXACTLY one year). At 135 I FELT SO FREE!!!! Yes, I looked a lot better, and Yes, I was healthier and Yes, I was happier. But the freedom of it was the best part. I felt like a normal person and not the fattest person in the room (or worse, in Amsterdam where I had moved....trust me, there are no fat people here!). I felt free from food. I don't think I have to explain that hold that food has on us to most of us.... My look, my health, my happiness and the freedom lasted for 5 fantastic years. I couldn't believe I was living the most extraordinary life in my late 50's and 60's. I had a breast reduction in 2013 and it was THE BEST!!! (I have 22 year old boobs instead of sag wagons) ..love them!) Then in April 2016 I had a tummy tuck and it all started going wrong. First, I couldn't exercise for 2-3 months, after faithfully exercising for years. So a few lbs went on. Then, over the next 4 years, a few lbs went on every year. My clothes still fit but they were getting tighter. I tried to get the weight off but I didn't try hard enough and I started making bad choices again. Now I have that dreaded section in my closet called 'WHEN I LOSE 10LBS I CAN WEAR THESE AGAIN....) So, do the math....3-4 lbs a year for 5 years and here I am now 20 lbs overweight and MISERABLE. In fact, it's so interesting that I feel more uncomfortable now, heavier now, more self-conscious now, than I did at 223 lbs. So here is my advice: If you are in your first year, ENJOY that honeymoon period where your restriction is still there....learn good habits and stick with them. Stop drinking soda. Seriously. It's so bad for you. I drank it for 40 years and gave it up. I took a sip a few years ago and gagged. Why drink your calories anyway? Weigh yourself regularly. If the scale starts to go up a lb, 2 lbs, then do what you need to do to get it off before it becomes 4-5 lbs. Oh how I wish I would have done that 4 years ago. Because I was relatively early with the sleeve, and because I was in Europe and traveling for a year, I had no post surgery support; but if you have that, stick with it or come back here because it really does help. If you have major surgery that keeps you from moving, talk to your doctor about what you can do and when. I really think that was the start of my downfall. Having said that, please don't let me scare any of you that are considering this surgery....it was hands down the best decision of my life. And just so you know, I'm not happy with my weight gain but I'm not beating myself up either. Be kind to yourself. This is hard. I would really be interested in hearing advice from other veterans and particularly interested in connecting with any European veterans. Queen of Crop

It's all about moderation. If you love Chinese, eat it once in a while. That won't hurt you. I went to a Japanese/Chinese buffet with my son and DIL last night. I'm OK in buffets now because I can manage the amount I eat. And I'm fine in a place where I can get fish. I don't eat the Chinese food when I'm eating there....I stay with the sushi and sashimi. Less rice that way. I had one plate of food....not three. And the one plate was not piled to the ceiling. Even so, I'm up about a pound today. No problem. I expected it. The soy sauce, even cut with Water as I do, has so much sodium that I know I'll gain weight. But it's water weight and will be gone in a day or two. You can eat out anywhere as long as you are smart about it and manage your expectations. Don't eat fried foods...eat veggies and Proteins. Easy on the Soup...again it's loaded with sodium. If you weigh yourself often, don't be surprised to see a temporary weight gain. Good luck, and keep us posted.