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Your list most definitely hits the majority of the reasons I experienced the weight gain I did. When I first started having weight creep back in, I ended up ashamed of it and after a bad visit with my bariatric team about it, I left and didn't go back to them. Which sure the heck did not help matters! Those, though, are the main pitfalls for bariatric patients to look out for!

It's like 6 of one and a half a dozen of the other. I'm going to have the surgery, nothing is going to stop it unless something goes terribly awry between now and Monday morning at 7:30am, but I understand what you're saying. I was lying in bed last night thinking, you know this is permanent, you can't go back and ask for your stomach. It can't be reversed, it will be gone forever! Are you sure? I answered myself too. I had emergency surgery 5 years ago to save my life. Didn't even think twice about it. Can't get the internal organs back from that surgery. They are gone forever and even though I've had some issues because of the lack of those things, i.e., insane hot flashes, sleepless nights, weight gain, losing all my hair--I know it was the right thing to do and I'm healthier and alive for it! So, I said, I'm approaching this the same way--I'm once again doing this to save my life! We all are.

From the pic (this is of course speculation on my part!), but the majority of your weight is in your upper body. Your legs are not huge, and unless you have on 2 pairs of full length Spanx under your leggings, I think you're golden on the lower half. You may end up with loose skin on the arms if you fail to exercise post-op (once cleared by your MD of course) and do lots of weight training / bands etc. for your arms. Since you've had 3 c-sections, the retraction of your belly will be different from others who have not been cut with a transverse 'bikini' cut like you have; that causes a loss of muscle strength which is worsened by weight gain and the fact that it's been done 3 times. Also, there's likely a seperation of your upper abdominal muscles that can only be repaired with a tummy tuck. If you do decide to have an abdominoplasty after your weight loss, they can create magic for you, and you'll end up with a really nice, flat tummy. I think you'll do great! Youth is on your side!

My PCP doesn't even know I had a procedure and never reacted to my weight gain, increasing blood pressure and cholesterol over the years. Agree with all posters. Bariatric practices are masterful at dealing with insurance issues. Bypass the PCP if you are getting any pushback.

Hi. I haven't been here in close to 9 months and I don't think I've posted in even longer than that. It's great to see so many of you have had wonderful success with your band -- congratulations! :smile2: I'm with those of you now 2+ years after surgery still struggling. I kind of stopped checking in on this site when I felt like I just couldn't relate with the way my personal band experience was going. My band and I were constantly battling. My fill levels have continually gone down (from a high of 7.2cc's to a current 3.8cc's) because I have such wildly fluctuating reactions with the band. Seemingly randomly, my band just closes up. And I don't mean if I mess up bite sizes or not chewing well or menstrual cycles. It's beyond frustrating. When I was laid off from my job last fall after 15 years and my mother's health was deteriorating, I decided to just take a break from this band/weight loss rollercoaster and just focus on more important things. I can totally relate to the scary job market -- it took me 5 months of actively trying before I could even get an interview, much less a job. And in the meantime, my mom passed away, and to be honest, I was glad to be jobless during that period. I've found a new job, albeit with a 70% salary cut :eek:, but it beats unemployment and it's much more personally satisfying. I'm happy to report that my band, while not really giving me proper restriction, at least kept my weight gain to a mere 10 lbs. I can only imagine if it hadn't been there how much I would've put on with stress eating!! I'm working on getting off those extra lbs now (can't seem to find time for exercise with my new 2-hour commute) with better eating habits once again. You know, stop eating soft foods (something I always do), eat hard Proteins first, veggies next, minimize starches, etc. However, I still haven't found a way to break up my love triangle with Ben & Jerry. I still have 50% of my excess weight to lose and really do want to make progress. I'm not sure I remember the password to update my ticker, but first I need to get back to where it was. I haven't had an adjustment on my band in over 7 months because I have an early morning reflux issue, and adding more Fluid will just exacerbate that situation. Between the acid and the many problems I've had with my band (too many slips to remember), I'm thinking seriously about getting a revision from the band to a sleeve (not sure how to pay for that though). I know it's not a magical solution either, but for people who have a real sensitivity to the band, it seems like it might just be a better tool. Anyway, that's my update. Let's see if we can get back on track together. Maybe checking in more frequently will help...

Rhonda, You have done so well. I think this is always going to be a battle for us all. I baked cookies also and when Christmas was over, I tossed them in the trash. They were too tempting and I was determined not to have a weight gain. We will just have to get a handle on it before it gets out of hand. I know you can get to your goal by your bandiversary. Keep up the good work.

Hi Everyone- Private Teresita & Shore thank you again for holding down the fort - even as I type. This has been a HORRIBLE week & I have had zero time to do anything. My mother had surgery & that went fine except she pinched a nerve in her back & welll I have had to travel or spend the night over there through out the week. Than the rain & my ceilings leaking!! Holy COw! The guy is out of business & its only 8 years old. Crappy job he did. So I am dealing with workers. Than of course things in 3-----one of my dearest friend's Mother dies yesterday. So I have food to make & a wake & furneral to go to. So Please all of you keep doing what your doing & know that I am so stinking diligent during this week that I haven't messed up but one time. (over my frineds death) & even than I still haven't gained an ounce. --Why ??? Because of all of YOU!! I don't want to start rep[orting in tomorrow or Sat & have any weight gain - only loss'. Miss you all & I am back just in the BRINK right now;0)

Thank you for writing about your son. Certainly he has had a rough time and of course you yourself have been sharing in his troubles. It strikes me that your child is now stuck in a place where he has a number of factors working against him with respect to weight control. He has severe breathing issues and this will interfere with his level of physical activity. He is also on a number of drugs which cause weight gain. (I was briefly put on an antipsychotic and watched, with horror, my weight skyrocket.) It also seems that you are a bandster member because you yourself have weight issues due to the beautifully efficient metabolism, the very tool which was so useful for survival in primitive times and which, ironically, causes modern folk to end up with the problems of excess weight. This is also something which is hereditary. Your son may have inherited your metabolism along with his other hassles, the ones which lead him to suffer from weight control issues. Who knows? Certainly your child is in a very different situation from that of the young girl who has been the topic of discussion on this thread or, indeed, from the case of any pre-teen or child who is only just entering into her teen years with a weight problem that is neither hooked up with other medical issues nor a case of serious morbidity. In the case of your child his weight issues are both the cause of pre-existing medical conditions and the result of these; and your son's weight problem will seriously erode his health if this is not checked at some future point. All of my heart goes out to you and your boy. He sounds like a champ - I love the "rubber band'" request - and you sound like one, too. It certainly sounds as though the Nemours Children's Hospital will have criteria in place which ideally will assess the medical needs of the child and the maturity of the family before deciding whether the child should be banded or not. I am sure that none of us who were engaged in discussion prior to your post had no intention of dissing people such as you or your son or, for that matter, those young people who are morbidly obese. Weight issues of this nature are medical issues. We were more concerned about this particular kid who had already undergone a year of liposuction/liposculpture while she was still a preteen. Now she has hit the news again because she has been banded at the very young age of 13. The kid is nowhere near 100 lbs overweight and neither she nor her mother seem to have a firm fix on the bandster's role in responsible food behaviour. It was at this point that a couple of other bandster mums waded in to say that all good mothers do insure that their kids learn proper nutritional habits. Knowing proper nutritional habits is never a guarantee that one is going to remain slender, of course. I have superb nutritional habits. My downfall was portion control. I was a healthy fatso, eh. :heh:

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:

Wow, you ladies are very impressive with your exercise. several years ago I did a step aerobic program with a DVD and it did shape me up, but I just ate all the calories I burned. Problem was when I injured my knee and had surgery, exercise stopped and the same intake of food did not. Big weight gain and still have almost daily knee pain. So while I want to get back to my 3 mile walk, which I enjoy, I don't want to use heavier exercise for weight maintenance. It's just not a reliable source of burning calories for me. But it sure makes losing weight harder without it. I don't know how women with a family fit it all in! Have to admire your dedication!

DonnaGT & Bjean I Like Both Of You Started Getting Very Frustrated. I Got My Band On 9/05/06 And Have Lost 31lbs. I Lost Most Of It In The Week Before On Full Liquid Diet And The Week After On Full Liquid. During The Month Of Noveber I Actually Gained Some Back. I Had My First Fill And It Did Nothing. I Then Went Back In 3 Weeks For Another And Can Finally Tell A Difference. I Got Very Discouraged With Weight Gain. I Do Feel Hope Again But Am Worried That I Already Have 2cc's In My 4cc Band And Have 50lbs More To Lose. All We Can Do Is Just Take One Day At A Time And Hope For The Best. Good Luck To Both Of You!

Hi all! I'm on a week of the strict clear liquid diet. I"m only drinking shakes and Water and some crystal lite. Jello now tastes like metal to me, it's really gross. So, that's all I"m having. I have only lost a pound. I'm freaking out because the Dr. told me if I don't lose a lot more weight he won't do the surgery. Ugh. HiMow, you and I both have Dr. Oh. I was looking at his profile here and you were on there. He's one tough guy don't you think? My Dr. makes me nervous that he won't do the surgery. I haven't cheated AT ALL but because I only lost 5 lbs since the liquid diet he is threatening to call off the surgery and that was Friday and I've only lost like 3 pounds since then. Me = freaking out. LOL I keep weighing myself, I keep worrying if maybe 3 shakes is too many. What about water weight. I'm also seriously bloated because unlike the guys, we have that lovely weight gain before a menstral cycle. I"m a mess people! And I'm so so very hungry. LOL I only have 8 more days of eatting shakes and well...that's it. (I swear I"m so losing it.)

Illumination...I feel your pain. I quit smoking a year and a half ago! It's hard but you can do it!! I'm sure it contributed to my weight gain this past year, so thank goodness you're about to be banded! I promise you'll feel like a new woman.

Scrappy I could say "ditto" to most of the things you say. I'm also obsessed by the food, thinking about it, chewing it, eating it, regurgitating it, trying to eat again, going on the scale 1-2x a day. I was never ever to really diet before the band also. But I don't exervise like you. I'm trying. Don't worry about the weight gain because from the looks of it you'll get it right down again with the way you structure yourself . I wish I would stop at 1.000 calories. and you are below your goal. that is so amazing. I have a very big problem with nightime eating. I feel like I'm binging all night. The food seems to go down much easier at night, and I usually watch tv by myself when I eat. Sometimes it's really fattening food like ice cream and Peanut Butter, and sometimes it's low calorie but then I eat large quantities. I am really annoyed and frustrated with myself. I just don't think about my struggles and just eat - like a magnet without stopping to think. Oh well, I have to learn to change this somehow. And Christine, I am trying to chew beter. Thanks

I've walked by it a few times... just don't want to do it! UGH! I'm trying to figure out what body part I can have surgically removed to equal my weight gain so I can break even!!!!!! LOL!

I hear ya! got on the scale tuesday (surgery was monday) and was freaking out with the 10lb weight gain...all water and gas though! back down to where I was pre surgery

You look AMAZING!!! My starting weight is 399 and after one week pre-op I'm down 13! Happy about that but have a long week to go yet. Can I ask if you have any issues with loose skin particularly on your tummy? After giving birth to twins 5 years ago and then following it up with a massive weight gain, I won't be surprised if I need a tummy tuck!!

Hi, I agree John Goodman looks great and it really doesn't matter how he did what matters is that he did. I have been on a strenuous exercise routine for 30 years now I walk 2 hours a day 5 days a week with 7 serious hills) I think if you added up all the days I missed in those years they would not even make five years and before surgery all that walking did was to slow down weight gain to a crawl. I also spent most of that time on a diet! Surgery was a last option for me and I don't regret it nor do I believe it was the easy route. I am not a fan of Jullian nor of the show. I remember there was once a challenge for a group that had been out to get back in. They had then do steps for five minutes and the one who did the most got the spot. Thing was there was one man whose knees were shot and one woman who had asthma! It certainly did not seem like a fair contest. Also the contestents are not all the same size I would guess BMIs probably range from 35 to 60 and while they go by percentage of what is lost someone who is 400lbs at 5'3" will lose a bigger percenbtage then someone who weighs 250 at 5'3" doing the exact same thing. Nancy

At some point she probably gained 10 lbs and that's the basis of her claim of having overcome being fat. Susan Powter used the photo of herself when she was pregnant. And some of the Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem people have done the same thing. We ALL had to lose weight after pregnancies. That's not the same thing as fighting obesity. Except of course for Jaffa. Doubt if pregnancy played a roll for you. Man, you're going to be so glad you got the revision! It's the best thing I've ever done for my health and my appearance. At this point I haven't had it very long and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that this elation I feel, lasts. I agree with SarahD on that. I've been through so many ups and downs doing every diet imaginable and struggling after every re-weight gain following the strict dieting. No wonder we don't want to share our surgery with everyone. We have a hard time believing this is going to work long term ourselves so why should anyone else think it will? We've been through so much disappointment ourselves, we don't need to see it reflected in our friends eyes. I imagine my friends wonder what I've done because I've lost so quickly. And when they ask and I tell them I have another 30 lbs to lose, they say "Oh that's too much!" But of course 30 lbs will only put me at the same relative weight that they are right now. Slim people are clueless about what obese people go through.

Oddly I gained three pounds in the third week post-op. A week later it disappeared. I would not attribute this gain to hormonal changes as I am post menopausal. I have several autoimmune diseases and I am inclined to believe that this sudden weight gain is related to inflammation.

Join us in the veterans forum. There are a lot of us who are fighting weight gain after being sleeved awhile. You can do it. You need motivation from the rest of us. There is also a maintenance thread in there. It helps to be accountable. I am working on 10 right now.

I've read that weight relapse can happen between years 2 and 3. I am coming up on my second anniversary. We'd all love to be 5 # less than we are, and that is true for me as well. One year ago I was careful. to lose weight before my one year weigh- in and so I got down to 148. Since then, I bounce between 152 and 154. The only way I know that is because I weight myself every day. Now, OA used to discourage weighing in more than once a month (or, was it once a week?) But, I got fat from going unconscious about my weight. Truthfully, I do feel a bit of fear / terror that I will step on the scale and be 155. Wow, that does look crazy once I put it into writing! But, that is my drop dead highest weight, Spirit willing. When I eat several days of carbs, I can guarantee a 1-2 # weight gain. I used to track calories (like around 1200 a day kept me stable). But, I'm going to add tracking my volume of the food I eat as well. The absolute hardest thing for me is not drinking at meals. I certainly don't gulp, or drink a cup of water, but I usually take meds with meals so add another 1/3 of liquid to my meal. I don't get to support group much due to schedule conflicts, but am active on my Discussion Group. I am writing just to check in and keep myself accountable. BTW: I am 64 and take meds for hypothyroid and depression. I walk to the grocery store 2 - 3x a week as my exercise, and walk with friends when I can. Start weight 243, SW 214, CW; 154.3 Love to you all, TJ

I'm only two and a half weeks out, so I haven't gained any, but I don't think you're gonna find anyone who has gained more than 5lbs on here. I have a feeling that most people who have gained their weight back post-op gained it because they didn't have a support system or anything to stay on track, hence the weight gain.

You know, Sheryl, I do really find it amazing our much of the journey our minds play into it all. I believe someone said in one of the posts recently how crazy it is that we get down on ourselves with a small weight gain when we were OBESE before but I think maybe it also shows that we have turned the corner to true normalcy since I've heard others moan about having to lose weight and I would think, "Yeah, if I had that TEN POUNDS to lose..." ????. Now we are them! Ha! And Sheryl I agree on the visualization part too. 140 is an awesome number. I was Really Proud when I reached my goal of 150 the first time but boy, something about being 139-140 was truly Awesome! So awesome I just gradually slipped up and added too much junk back in and here we go again! BUT, what a great tool our sleeves have provided us! Got a fast day in today. Not pretty and not as low as I wanted (685) but I held on!!! Ha! And returning to good eating patterns feels really good too Glad we are all speaking up and helping each other out in the 5:2!

I was fat before I became fat. Eventually my physical appearance matched how I felt on the inside. During high school I was always 140 but felt like I was obese. Hated my body. My rituals with eating began early.... Ohhhhh Snickers bars eating all around the outsides, then the nougat on the bottom. Then each bite after that I would let melt in my mouth. It was like making love to my food. Everything I loved to eat had some sort of ritualized eating pattern associated with it. I always had food battles with my parents. Now I realize it was all about control. I would have to sit at the kitchen table for hours because there were certain foods I refused to eat. I would get nauseous just thinking about them, then and now. Grits, eggs, black eyed peas just a few on a very long list. To this day I don't indulge in those foods, lol. My siblings, cousins and I would have food parties. My idea of course. We all would buy something from the store with our money we'd been saving. Then go on the back porch and divide the goods. We called it a picnic. As a teenager I would by a snack from the store and hide it under my mattress. Depending on how I felt I would finish it in a day or maybe 2, a whole box of Little Debbie Pies. When I moved out on my own at 18 I really settled into my food addiction. Until this point my binges hadn't resulted in weight gain. There was no turning back. I wasn't aware that what I was doing was blocking feelings of low self worth. Giving myself love the only way I knew how. I did not connect all the childhood abuse to my eating. I was just trying to survive. A young adult and teenage mom trying desperately to make ends meet. Too bad it's taken me many more abuses as an adult and reaching the age of 41 to began mending my mind. When you know better you do better. In therapy for a year doing the dance of one step forward two back. Thankful to have just taken a big leap forward.