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Ok so I typed up a big long response, then hit some keyboard combo and there it all went bye-bye. I'll try again, a little shorter. To answer your question re: removal, it was a piece of cake. The worst part of it for me was the sore throat from the tubation & such... easily a few times worse than strep. And it lasted like 4 days. But that's not the surgery, that's ancillary. As for the surgery itself, a little sore where the port had been put in (they really want to make sure those things don't move around), but I expected that. I also ended up with an infected incision - but again, that's ancillary. Overall I would rate it just slightly more painful than having the band put in, which was EASY. There were no specific dietary requirements after that. My restriction stuck around for about 2 weeks, but only in terms of not feeling hungry & getting full quickly. Starting the day of, I could eat what I wanted when I wanted. And after a few years of living with a slipped band, I can't begin to describe how awesome it was to be able to drink in the morning if I was thirsty. As for 1 vs. 2 surgeries, my thoughts/experiences below. I'm not factoring in $ since I was covered under insurance, and the $ is all you. Just my thoughts... The risk of complication for a well-healed stomach going into a sleeve is just slightly higher than a "virgin" stomach. The risk of complication for a back-to-back procedure sky rockets to about 30%. I have the exact stats at home, but it's right around there. My surgeon requires 2 months between procedures. That's the timeframe at which he thinks there's the best blanace between risk mitigation and more negative things like weight gain. By "well healed" above, I mean 2 months between. Most leaks that aren't detected at the time of surgery are "hidden" by swelling. The swelling can artificially close gaps that wouldn't otherwise be closed. So as the swelling goes down, a leak can occur. The less swollen you are, the better. You're going to be swollen either way, but you're going to be more swolen if you've just had your band removed a few minutes ago. So it is directly tied to risks. Scar tissue cen truly be a factor. In back-to-back procedures, I'd think there always has to be give & take between scar tissue/adhesions, and sleeve. My sleeve was my 4th abdominal lap and I knew I had pretty major scar tissue. For one, I could see/feel it from the outside. For two, it actally caused be discomfort if I put pressure on my abdomen in the wrong way (like when I would read a book in bed and try to rest it on my stomach). My surgeon removed a _lot_ of tissue, and spent a little more than double his average surgery time doing it. All in all, I'm now glad I had to wait. My 2 months turned into more like 7 because of insurance. But although I initially wanted a back to back procedure, after reading up on the risk rates, seeing what I was like with scar tissue, etc. I'm truly very glad I had some down time in between. I had my band for about 6 years. The length of time you and I have had our bands (yours way longer than mine, but we're both well above the average band lifespan) plays a roll too. The longer it's in, the more adhesions, etc. can form. It makes sense that your surgeon is now indicating a 2nd procedure might be a good idea. All that said, there are lots of people here who had back to back procedures, and are doing just fine.

I had a lot of head hunger for Taco Bell. But when I broke down and bought a taco, it was the most disappointing taco I had ever had. I found it to be repulsing and have no desire to eat there again. Oh, I couldn't believe their taco's were 99cents. So over priced for nothing. Hummmmm. I use to eat these all the time. Could they contribute to weight gain? TACO BELL bad food! No Taco Bell for me. LOL

Around 6 months ago I ran into a friend that had been sleeved and she looked amazing. This got me on a path that will end with my own surgery May 21. I have research the heck out of this procedure and feel fine with my decision. I will be paying out of pocket and will be going to Mexico for this..... Because I am self pay (and a single mom) I needed to find a place to save money so I could justify the expense of the Medicard payment. So my big decision was to quit smoking, I had my last cigarette Feb 14, obviously there were other reasons to quit but needless to say I am pretty proud of myself. Now here's my problem, when I decided to quit smoking I figured one issue many people had was weight gain and I thought "who cares about that right now, Im getting sleeved in a couple months, I will eat what I want when I want as long as I quit." Well 3 months later I went from being 293lbs to 312lbs. I am pretty disappointed in myself for letting my eating get out of control so badly. I know I will never smoke again, my daughter is too proud of me to even think about it. Is it bad that Ive gained this extra weight before surgery? I start my pre-op diet on Friday.

Thank you before the weight gain i was a very well self esteemed 170 and full figure thats what i want again to obtain! Thank you for the support!

JenniferD - I had the lapband put in Feb 2006, had it revised Dec 2008 then ultimately removed after a really bad prolasp Jan 2010. The first year was wonderful, I lost over 80 pounds and kept it off for about 6 months until the first slip happened. I had it revised and the doc put in a bigger band and after that it was a few years of heck for me. fills, unfills, fills and then unfill. Many, many nights of not being able to sleep because the reflux was so bad that I'd wake up feeling like I was drowning. Still, if it had stayed for me like the first year I would have kept going. Not everyone has slips but, unfortnately a high percentage do end up with issues such as reflux and weight gain again. The bad foods go through the band better than healthy so when you're suffering with all of I mentioned you eat those things to get something down. What I didn't know was that 90% of folks who have had a revision of the lapband to another band or to correct that band end up with it being removed. Had I known i wouldn't have bothered with the revision. Now...that's just my story and many many folks love their bands. One of my best friends still does well with hers, doesn't feel sick etc but, she'll be the first to admit she eats around it and hasn't lost weight in a while. I did the band because I was afraid of the re-routing of organs etc that bypass has to go through but, now for me.....rny is the what I need to do. Alot has changed since 2006 and it's become even safer so I'm more comfortable with it. I've had many friends do very very well with it. I"ve done lots of research and now am comfortable heading in that direction. I do wish you the best with your decision...definitely talk to all your docs about your situation. We're all different and just because some had issues with any of the bariatric choices doesn't mean you will

I would avoid Pasta and bread. All empty calories. If you can't eat 3 oz of solid Protein you are too tight. My doctor doesn't want me drinking my calories ie Protein shakes. Some people are really tight in the morning and do a shake for Breakfast, I get that. I am at restriction and eat chicken twice a day and don't have any trouble. If you can't eat 3 oz solid protein by lunch you are too tight. People who keep the band really tight because they are loosing weight, usually eventually fall back on protein shakes. This usually leads to other liquid calories and thus weight gain.

Im 7 weeks today and have lost 30 lbs since surgery. From last Wednesday to today I have lost a total off 1.1 lbs. however from Sunday to today I have gained .7 lb. what's the deal. I'm getting between 500-600 cal., 60 grm, Protein, less than 20 gram carb, less than 10 gram sugar, and around 32 oz of Water....before you sayit. I struggle with my water. Help is this normal

Hmm... ER visits? Anything? My first submission for the sleeve was denied and one of the reasons was because I didn't prove that I had been compliant with the prescribed diet of the lapband. Well, the lapband doesn't have a prescribed diet, so how do you prove you've been compliant with it? I pulled up every study I could find that showed %EWL at 12, 24 and 36 month marks, and then added a line of my own numbers, showing that even after my slip I exceeded the mean numbers (including numbers from FDA trials that were used as the basis for the band being approved) by no less than 30%. In order to do that I had to get REALLY creative. I had some weights, but not consistently for the 6 years I was banded. And I had a lot of numbers that could easily look like failure unless I could adequately explain (e.g. "weight gain" that was actually a pregnancy). I also took the dates I could find (PCP, OB, ER, joining a gym, for my job I had to go through an extensive medical review and they had my weight recorded from our phone conversation, weights from surgeries, etc.) Then I built a "timeline," plotted out the verifiable weights, and then added event points to show fluctuations (e.g. pregnancy, delivery, slip diagnosed, etc.) I figured if my weightloss of almost 200 lbs wasn't enough to show compliance, what would be? So I grabbed a copy of my PCP's paperwork showing where I had them indicate I had an NSAID allergy (which I don't, but we wanted to make sure no one mistakenly prescribed any b/c they were a no-no). It's not technically diet, but it is compliance. Maybe you can do something similar (timeline) using your pictures, and write an explanation that you declined office visit weights due to your discomfort, desire to avoid embarrassment, etc. Dated pictures if you have them. Do you post pics on social media sites? E.g. facebook has the timeline feature you could use as a guide, if so. I'd also request a letter from your PCP stating that weights were not recorded, but you have an X year history of obesity... that way there's at least official confirmation that your weight wasn't recorded vs. just your word. The best lesson I learned - you have to be creative and a little loose with interpretations, and as much as I hate to say it, you have to find ways to "think outside the box". Clothing receipts that would show sizes purchased and corresponding dates? Home videos? Etc. Anything, regardless of medium, that could chronicle your weight.

Thanks everyone! It is definatley a rollercoaster ride, but so worth it. @Beecharmer1982 I am 5 months Post op. I have lost 50 lbs since surgery. It has slowed down to about 1-2 lbs a week, but that is OK with me. So long as I am losing, I am happy. Every pound adds up in weight loss just as it does in weight gain! @favordone LOOK AT YOU!! you look GREAT chica! @Giselle 3264 the numbers will make you CRAZY! I really try to focus on how I feel, how my clothes feel...and now how my towel feels! LOL! Thank you everyone for your kind wishess and encouragement. It really does help and makes a differance in our self esteem and self worth. We have ALL battled that fight. I FEEL THE LOVE!! :wub:

Re: Protein shakes. I have been trying them and cannot stand them. I was sleeved the 24th and went for my 2 week appt yesterday. Dr put me in the hospital overnight because I was dehydrated. I assume that will mean a weight gain because now my wedding ring, which was loose, is a little tighter on me. Oh well, I feel so good today compared to the last 5 days.

Dehydration was a major side effect of my surgery. I wouldn't worry too much about a 2 1/2 pound gain one week post-op. Very good chance it is just Water weight after being dehydrated. I don't think it's that uncommon - they told me that there is always the possibility of a slight weight gain post-op.

I too have had some weight gain- 40 of 107 lost. I don't know how it frieken happend. Anyway, I am told I got to thin so of the 40 I want to loose 15-20. Not feeling real motivated- have a couple vacations coming up. Overall I am struggling. I will be happy if I don't gain any weight over the next month or so. After my vacations I will hopefully get back on the wagon and start loosing. I had a tummy tuck and am very worried I ruined the results of that with the weight gain. I guess only time will tell on that. Get a fill and get back to basics. You can do it!

I had my surgery 12/12 and have lost 55 lbs as of today, 5/8! yea, me! but does anyone know where I can get statistics on this surgery in terms of effectiveness, weight loss, weight gained back, anything like that?

I am not losing like I thought i would also. I was banded 4-18. I have kept a food journal since day 1. I have either gained or stayed the same on 600-700 calories or less some days and I am confused. I walk alot...I for the first time yesterday ate some more calories(1000)...got on scale gained...really??????? I have lost 10 pounds since surgery....it is three weeks, ten pounds... I also have not gone to the bathroom(if u know what I mean) in three days....trying to fix that today....maybe that is the weight gain. It is a puzzle we all are trying to solve, as each of us is different and most accept our bodies reaction to the surgery and lack of calories... I at time have felt why did I not just do this low calories and forget the band...and then I remember I needed a TOOL in my life to assist me....the band is not going to work unless we also work at this journey

Creatin produces weight gain

They suspected Lupus and thyroid problems with me for years, but all the tests always came out fine. I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia and CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) in 2006. Stress brings it on full blown. My mom died toward the end of 2005 and it was so stressful for me. It caused the fibro to be full blown and I went to a new PCP. It didn't take him long to diagnose and I believe he has the correct diagnosis finally. It sure does explain all the symptoms I had for so many years. I think I've had fibro most of my life including childhood. He put me on cymbalta, Ultram, and a fab med for the fatigue ....... I'll have to think of the name of it and get back with you ........ It worked GREAT!!!! but then my husband's job changed and we no longer had insurance, so I had to stop the meds. Since then I have been able to control the fibro with stress reduction. I do still have to use some NSAIDS. I know they are contraindicated with the band, but I just take a double does of Jr. Strength liquid ibuprophen. I don't have to take it often because the stress reduction really works like a charm. I think that Rx for CFS is called Provagil. At the time it was new and very expensive. They may have a generic out now. The problem now is that with the band taking pills whole is bad and these can not be crushed. I don't take and Rx meds right now and only take vits. and things in liquid, sublingual, or chewable forms. I don't exercise. I'm not sure if the fibro & CFS can be part of the reason or not. I do find it much easier to be more active in general with all the excess weight gone. I know the FMS & CFS can be blamed for some of my excess weight gain over the years.

For the last few weeks I have been working 5 days a week including working out with a personal trainer. Since I have stepped up with my exercising I have been gaining weight instead of losing. I have gained 3 pounds and I'm feeling discouraged! Did anyone else have this problem after stepping up and working out more? Do I need more calories ?

I to did HCG pre-op and lost 45 pounds! Then I got prego and gained all that weight back within like 3 months and just kept gaining. My OB had me on a very restrictive diet to try and slow my weight gain but nothing worked. I ended up 20 pounds heavier than I was before I started HCG after I had the baby. You lose the weight but gain it right back. My hubby did it too with the same results. Lost 50 and gained 60! And my friend who introduced us in on the HCG roller coaster. She's loses 20 gains it back and then goes right back on it.

I have been creeping around LBT since November of 2011 and have never posted because I didn't think I had anything to add. A little back story on me... I never struggled with my weight until my mid 20's. Even when I gained 50 pounds in college I was able to lose it with no problem. After having 3 kids in 3 years in my late 20's I gained 150 pounds and had tried everything to lose the weight with no success. After several years of trying to lose the weight I gave up and told myself that my weight gain was genetic and there was nothing I could do about it. Then in November of last year I lost a very close uncle at the age of 53 due to complications related to Type II diabetes. I made up my mind then that I would not leave my husband and kids at such an early age because of weight related issues. In November I weighed 325 lbs and I am 5'7". I rejoined Weight Watchers and was able to loose only 8 pounds before I finally considered WLS. I went to a surgery seminar with a friend of mine in December and saw the surgeon for my consultation in January. I was banded on March 16th and have not looked back. Today I weigh 273 lbs. I have lost 52lbs since November and I feel great. I am able to eat healthy and I can honestly say that I don't miss the high fat, high-sugar food that I used to eat. I also used to be a caffeine junkie drinking a pot of coffee and 3-20oz Diet Cokes a day. Now I drink 8-10 glasses of Water a day and I may have 1 tea. For those of you considering surgery or those that are worried about how you will do I am here to say that if you believe in your heart that this is the only way you can lose the weight and you are ready to give up your old habits, then you can do it. It will save your life. I know it has mine.

Best of luck!!!! And you WILL be gaining - the GOOD kind of gaining - not gaining weight - gaining a new life!!!!

Here's a question back - why are you weighing 1 day into your pre-op diet? Don't do that! Liquid diets (assuming it's a low-carb or sugar free diet) purge extra sugars from your body. Your liver stores a lot of sugar, in the form of glycogen. 2 - 3 days into a sugar free diet there's usually a rush of weightloss as these sugar stores begin to deplete. Then there may be nothing for several days, even weeks. Your body is purging other fluids as well. About half of what you lose in the first week or two, possible more than half, is Fluid. This is why so may diets are quit before they can really do anything. People start a low carb diet, lost 8 or 10 pounds in a week and think "Wow I'll be at goal in no time" (not realizing only a small portion of that (if any, at that point) is fat loss. Their body depletes its stores, puts on the brakes, and focuses on trying to rebuild the stores so there's minute or no weightloss in the next week or two, so they say "Forget it, this diet isn't working, I'm not going to give up my <favorite food> and net even be losing weight..." <- and unfortuantely when the scale doesn't change, the most frequent reaction is "I am doing something wrong" so there's a really strong emotional component as well. Gaining a half of a pound is nothing. Sounds like you could very well be retaining Water. Keep in mind that 1 cup of water (8oz) weighs a little over half a pound. Most "inexplicable" weight gains are rooted in fluid.

Hello, I have had my band for a few years now but have had various ups and downs so here is my journey............... As a teenager I was always a healthy but as I hit 19 my weight began to creep up and up and it was discovered I had polycystic ovarian syndrome which was the doctor said was the trigger for my weight gain, I carried on gaining weight and then I fell pregnant with my son at 23, I actually lost weight while I was pregnant, however after having my son my weight began to creep up again and after lots and lots of research I decided I would have a Gastric Band, so I flew to Brussels and had one fitted by the most amazing surgeon Dr Bruno Dillemans , this was back in January 2006, once back in the UK I had a first fill of 3ml which gave me a small restriction, however my partner and I had to move to Northern Scotland and at that time the nearest place I could get a fill done was a 5 hour drive away, at this point my band just got forgotten about, I kept saying I was going to go but just never got round to it due to various things and my weight then began to creep up again. I then moved back to my hometown of Torquay and went to see my G.P who advised me that she would put me forward to have further treatment through the NHS which I was not expecting but pleased about, it was a long process of visits with dieticians, specialist etc, and then the day of the band fill came, I was so excited, but it was not to be , my portal is in a funny position, so I was referred to have my fill under x-ray, I had 5mls my first fill and it was to tight, I couldn't swalow my own salivia without feeling like my chest was being crushed and being sick, I had 1ml taken out and went on to lose 2 stone, I then went back and had another fill up to 7mls which was tight and it took me a while to get used to it but once I learnt my do's and don't's I was ok with this and went on to lose 5 stone, I was over the moon I hadn't been that slim since I was 19 i'm now 31..!!, then I fell pregnant by mistake, I had to have my band totally deflated which was ok, I could of had a couple mls put back in but decided not to and was very careful with my eating during my pregnancy and ended up just gaining 7lb which I was over the moon about. My problems started once my daughter was born, she was born in November 2011 and with a cold winter I sat in most of the day on my own bored and eating...!!! my weight has shot right back up again so I begged for an earlier appointment with my specialist nurse, who tried to fill me but again I had to go under x-ray, I had 6ml put in and felt restriction for about a week then it seemed to slack off so I requested another appointment which I got 5 weeks after my 6ml fill and there was only 3ml still in, so it is thought I may have a small leak in my tubing...!!!!!!, I am now at the point where I was filled up to 7mls 10 days ago, which is a mega restriction, which I like, but i'm now just waiting to see if it slacks off to see if I have to have my tubing replaced....!!!! So there is my journey so far, I came so far but am backk where I started and my journey is just beginning again...!!! Wish me luck xxxxx

Your welcome. I had exactly the same thing happen, only I tried to live through it for the weight loss. My doctor INSISTED it was not the lad band and that I would have had reflux with or without it and it must just be me. I got down to 158, but basically from starving and dehydration. I could not keep anything down and would throw up constantly so I just stopped eating. I wound up in the hospital on IV and having to have an EGD etc. to figure out what was happening. Again, the doctors looked for every other explanation, pancreatic tumor, celiac, etc. I kept suggesting the band, but was dismissed. I went to a totally different doctor for an unfill. Within minutes I felt better, go figure. They weight loss was nice, but the cost was not. The weight gain is frustrating, but my health and well being is more important. It sounds crazy, but I used to joke that I would do anything to lose weight and if I wound up in a coffin at least I would be thin. IT IS NOT WORTH IT. Go slow, and at least periodically get fills using floroscope. That's the best advice I have. Good luck!

D1, I chose para guard cuz there r no added hormones or expected weight gain. Mirena has hormones just like depo did and I didn't wanna risk more gaining. My periods are normal. I get them and sometimes I don't, I really wanted something that I didn't have to think about taking each day, having my cycle wasn't a concern for me.