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Hi everyone, This is going to be a long post, so apologies ahead of time! I'm new to VST and thought I'd introduce myself and tell a bit about how I've wound up here. I'm a 39yo (very soon to be 40!) married female, who is an American expat in Australia. I've been here nearly 10 years now. I'm a bandit who will be revising to the VSG. I got my band May 2008, in Perth, although lived remotely at the time. I really wanted to have the RNY but as I was desperate to get pregnant, I didn't want to "waste" 2 years, so I opted for the band. (it goes without saying that I am still childless and largely out of time now :-(, sad but nothing to be done about it but move on I guess). I didn't know about the sleeve. I think it might not have even been around at that time? Not sure. The surgeon didn't discuss any other options, pretty much just said "yeah sure we can band you". There was no pre-op counseling, no meeting with a dietician or a psychologist, nothing. Having read so many tales of having to jmp through hoop after flaming hoop, I thought, "wow this is great!" Of course that said, there was also no follow up care either, except for when I needed adjustments. I had the Internet for support. And of course my husband, who really wasn't all that keen on the idea but went along with it. That was pretty much it. Adjustments were a nightmare to organize. It was a 5+ hour drive one way to Karratha, or a 2 hour flight to Perth to get adjustments, so not only was it inconvenient, I also had to arrange time off work, plus it cost a fortune in travel. Until I learned the new GP could (begrudgingky) do adjustments. More convenient, but also belittling GP who apparently didn't mind letting all and sundry know what you were there for. Shed just announce it loudly so that everyone could hear (very tiny office & surgery). Anyway, I started at 131kg (by my scales, they didnt even weigh me before i went into surgery) and got down to 111kg, for about a minute. Then went zooming back up to 114. Stayed there for weeks, despite following my doctors advice to e letter. The only solution ever offered to help break the stall was "more fill,". It got to the point that I was so restricted often couldn't even get milk down. I would fluctuate between 114-116kg, and constantly told that I simply wasn't complying and that if i would just put as much effort into the weight loss as I did making excuses and lying to myself (word for word from that horrible GP, who took over for fills/removals and stats monitoring after the implant), that I'd have already been halfway to goal. I thought that was a little harsh considering that at that stage I was working my a** off. Not to mention that at that time I hadn't yet learned to eat around the band. She refused to look at my food diary, preferring to just make baseless assumptions about the fat woman sitting across from her (me). If she'd have looked she have seen that yes, I tested the waters and made mistakes, tried to learn from them, but mostly I was extremely compliant. As I said, my band fills got to the stage that even hot peppermint tea would sometimes not go through, nor would ice Water. So you can imagine how painful it was to eat solids and they'd get stuck. chicken, steak, pork, lamb, tuna, any kind of bread, fruit (especially those with skins or membranes), salad veggies (lettuce became an utter nightmare)....all items that would consistently get stuck or rise and fall in my esophagus. dairy products that wouldnt go through made me bring up these great huge globs of slime (honestly, it looks like a mucous plug! Gross!) when you cant get anything to go through, after a while, you get hungry! And being unable to get anything healthy down added to my frustration as well as well as the hunger. I was crazy with hunger some days. True hunger, stomach aching hunger, not just head hunger. Eventually I just got to the point that I let myself eat whatever I felt like, since it almost always all came back up anyway. Never a huge socialiser to begin with, I began to decline social invitations because invariably I'd wind up spending so much time in the ladies room that people would get put off by it. It was embarrassing and hard to explain. People just can't wrap their heads around it. The human auto response to issues, is to just stop doing whatever is causing the issue. Well, you can't just stop eating. Eventually the invitations just stopped. Partly blessing, partly lonely. In Dec 2011 I relocated back to Melbourne, and as such, I'd like to try to make some friends and get a social life back. Since a lot of social activities involve/revolve around food, and I wasn't getting anywhere with weight loss, I went to a doctor who agreed to take out half my fill. ahh, the relief! Oh, the weight gain! I'm back up to 120kg. :-( So 22 June, me and the husband are heading to our farm, and I'm talking about going back to Weight Watchers. AGAIN. I'm pretty sure I've trial tested every version they've run since 1981 (first formal diet, thanks mom! Not). My husband, my dear, sweet, long suffering husband says "Babe, why don't you just go and have the gastric bypass? Just end this battle so you can stop dieting and we enjoy our life together without you having to constantly be stressed.". Wha??? At first I was gobsmacked. Nearly offended. I mean, this is the guy who wasn't so keen on me getting the band. Then I realized what a gift he was giving me. (He didnt really know what bypass involves, that its not the easy way out he thought it would be). I thought about it for 2 weeks before I told him I was going to do it. But I didn't want the RNY anymore. Id been researching a different bypass, the Duodenal Switch. I know a few people with the RNY and they have all had problems with the anastamosis growing over, things getting stuck in the stoma, staple line leakage, and dumping syndrome just to name a few. DS doesn't have those issues, except for staple leakage if you're non-compliant in the first 3 months. Then I believe it just heals into a well formed scar? I'm not sure. Anyway, I started ringing around to Melbourne surgeons to find someone that did the DS. I found ONE. Dr Stephen Blaemy. Had my consult with him 19 July. Nice guy, a little more patronizing than Id like, but having always been a fat person I've grown accustomed to people being patronizing. He openly admitted that he'd not done a DS in the last 5 years, but that he would still do it. Some caveats first though. If I ended up with DS, it would be the last of a 3 stage process. First, lapriscopically removing my band. 10 weeks later, lapriscopically doing the VSG. One year from then, the DS, if it is necessary. He doesn't think it will be necessary. Naturally I was a little disheartened. I'd hoped to have the DS by end of October this year.....had envisioned Christmas photos with me actually IN them (I generally break my neck to get away from a camera). I must be honest here folks........I have a LOT of reservations and doubts about the effectiveness of the sleeve. I wasn't able to make the band (a solely restrictive process) work, and I don't have much faith that I will be able to make the sleeve (also a restrictive process) work either. I fully admit that I threw in the towel out of frustration and, well, hunger! I am really afraid that the same thing will happen with the sleeve. Although this time, I have access to more tools like: clean, nice smelling gyms (rather than a hole-of-a-building-gym stinking of BO so bad you can TASTE it) Therapists and nutrtionists that specialize in disordered eating Face to face support groups Safe places to walk and exercise (rather than the rocky, craggy snake and fly infested remote towns of the Pilbara) (the Pilbara is beautiful, just you must exercise extreme caution when leaving the confines of established areas :-D ) Complementary therapies like acupuncture, massage, and oddly enough, beauty treatments. I believe the Cancer Counsels Look better, feel better campaign can apply to even those of us not suffering cancer. If you look better, you feel better. Plus, it's good to just be back in "civilization"! So......dr Blamey gave me some info on the sleeve, told me to talk it over with the husband, and get back to him if I wanted to proceed. I did, and called the next day. Spoke with his secretary (who is a little lacking in friendliness....maybe she was having a bad week) and organized to have the band out 14 August 2012. If he's true to his word, and doesn't have a holiday planned, I should behaving the sleeve done around 22 October 2012. I am also really afraid that once I've got the band out, I'm going to lose my collective mind and have a stress binge, and balloon back up to 131 or higher. My plan is to go back to Weight Watchers (I do think it's a sensible approach) for the time being, then switch to Optifast for 2 weeks prior to sleeve surgery, and then go for the gold with the sleeve, following his advice. And I'm going to make the best of a less than ideal (in my mind) situation. If next year I havent been unsuccessful I can revise again to the DS. And that's my story in a (large) nutshell! Cheers!

It depends what is causing your depression? Some peoples weight gain causes their depression so weightloss helps. Some people weightloss makes no difference as their depression is not about that, perhaps an imbalance. The sleeve itself is an emotional rollercoaster, alot have mood swings. I have been down alot. But really happy with my sleeve ( I have been on and off meds since I was a teenager) I am not on meds now. The sleeve is something I am happy with. My health has improved. But it will not make my mental health issues go away.

Hi sleeved 2/3/14, dealing with reflux and regain of 20lbs (never got under 200 lbs with the sleeve) Surgeon predicted my goal weight as 222 SW: 297. I've never felt my sleeve was done correctly. Looking to revise due to reflux and regain. Being directed toward roux en y, but I do not have a gallbladder, so wouldn't it make more sense (since I'm already sleeved) to go with the DS? HELP, I need some input.

Thanks for the response. I'm on SSRI meds that I'm unable to do without and the only one that works well for me is prozac. Ive been on other meds with much higher weight gain. I'm just starting out into looking at this as an option. Ive never been able to maintain a diet of 1000 calories a day... Not even close. The meds make you both hungrier and slow you ability to lose weight. Do people on this forum have experience with doing or at least research doing sleeve in Mexico... Is that really crazy to think about? not because I'm cheap but rather it's because i don't have the money to do it here in the states.. But if Mexico is considered crazy if like to know. Thank you for your help

Does Gastric sleeve help weight gain thats due to meds that you must stay on long term? I'm on meds that made me gain 70 pounds in 2 years and i cant lose more than 10 before i hit a wall. Would the Sleeve help me?

I lost 42 lbs in the first week after my surgery. Due to internal swelling, I was completely dehydrated (well, ok, not completely, else I would have been a pile of dust) and had to have IV fluids a few times to keep going. Last week, I re-hit that 42 lb mark... 4 months post-op. I was depressed at first, but it's really nothing. I spent 15 years of my life steadily gaining weight. Then I spent 4 months losing it FAST FAST FAST (100 lbs). Then I gained 60 lbs back in one month, and 40 in the next month. With the band, I know that those kinds of weight gain are simply impossible. (Ok, I tend to use the extremes.... how about almost completely improbable?). Even weeks when I lose 1 lb, or stay the same, are weeks when I've done better, on average, than any other week in the past 15 years of my life. If you lose half a pound a week (a ridiculously conservitive rate), in 4 years, you will lose over 100 lbs. Where would you be in 4 years without the band? I know you're discouraged... I've been there -- we all have. You've done a wonderful thing for yourself, and all you need to do is keep your eye on the ball. Don't be fed up with yourself. You've turned the corner, reached the apex, made the change. Don't beat yourself up at all anymore -- I bet you did plenty of that (we all did, if you didn't, you'd be unique =) ) over your weight a lot in the past, and it didn't really get you anywhere, did it? =) Keep your eyes on the present, your heart on the future, and leave the past where it belongs. Gaining a few pounds of Water right now means *nothing* in the end. It's nothing you're doing wrong, it's nothing you *should* prevent. And best of all, it's a short term problem. =) I'm not trying to lecture you at all -- I hope it didn't come across that way. I just know, personally, the frustration you're feeling and know that it will pass. Peace to you, Jonathan

I can't speak to whether you've stretched your sleeve, as I'm only a couple of weeks out myself. But as someone who had a complete thyroidectomy earlier in the year, and has had several periods of time where I was hyperthyroid while they try to get my synthroid straightened out, I can promise you that not everyone who is hyperthyroid loses weight. In fact, each time I was hyperthyroid, I gained a lot of weight (7-10 lbs) within a few days. Totally unfair, considering that losing weight is the ONLY benefit of being hyperthyroid, right? I know of others who've had weight gain as a result of being hyperthyroid as well, and it certainly makes you crazy hungry (mentally, not so much physiclally. I'd bet once you get that under control, all will return to normal.

Sounds to me like you may be too tight also Here is an excerpt from the Inamed handbook that is valuable to your situation With the Lap Band system in place, you should be able to eat only small ammount so the food you eat should be as healthy as possible. Do not fill your stomach pouch with :junk: food that lacks Vitamins and other important nutrients. Your meals should be high in Protein and vitamins and low in carbs. solid food is more important then liquid food or soft food. The lap Band system will have little or no effect if you only eat liquid or soft food. It passes through the stomach outlet very quickly and does not make you feel full. Here is another excerpt form the book If the adjustment (fill) results in too tight of a stomach opening you could have a hard time eating most foods, sometimes this causes people to avoid solid foods. They may drink liquid meals or soft food meals and this may result in weight gain. A band that is too tight may cause reflux symptoms and can also cause frequent vomiting. I hope this info helps you

Went to an amusement park for the first time since I gained all my weight (5'4 250lbs) and it was awful. My feet ached horribly from walking and standing. I had several rides I barely fit in. I wanted to have a full on meltdown. My four yr old daughter had a blast. I was miserable. I NEED to get this weight off. Just another experience to remind me, despite all my fears, that I need this surgery. I'm currently waiting on approval. We're supposed to go to Disney before I get my surgery and I am so stressed about it. I seriously don't want to go. My mom planned the vacation and I don't want to let my little girl down by not going. What if I don't fit on the rides? God how humiliating, I just want to cry. I got heavy quickly from pregnancy then post partum depression which turned out to be bipolar and the meds made me gain soooo much weight. I just don't want to wait any longer. It's been 5 years I've been struggling with illness and weight gain, I want it to be over or I don't want to go on.

So I'm 2 months out and was at 265, with a total of 59 lbs lost since surgery and 107 total. This was my weight on Sunday. Today I weighed myself because I've been feeling a little swollen and was up 3.5lbs. I'm eating like I have been and drinking lots of water. I haven't worked out in a week. Is this a cause for concern? Is it normal? Should I call my Dr? I can't possibly be eating enough to gain real weight, I'm at about 550,600 calories a day.

I'm only 5 weeks post op but was told the IVs and hydration after surgery could cause a temporary weight gain. It's probably just Fluid so don't be discouraged................

i WENT to my Primary Care Doctor on Tuesday, and he was disappointed that i gained the seven pounds I lost at the previous appointment. He asked me what I want to do about this weight gain since my weight keeps going up and the health problems keep going up (headaches, sleep apnea,etc) This is not the recent time he has been upset about the weight gain. I always been a big girl, I tried hiding it behind clothes, and of course humor. So now at 41 and to avoid having my life end early like my dad (he died of heart disease at 58)and having knee problems like my mom. At first I was all excited now I am scared about gastric sleeve surgery, (I never had surgery before ) Does anyone want to be friends and help be my support, I have my mom,my sister, my brother in law, told one friend) I am keeping it on the down low till I go May 18th to Weight Loss Seminar. Thank you and Good luck where ever you are in your journey of weight lost Please respond back to message of being pals Kammie

Well, I made the mistake of getting on the scale this morning. In spite of eating barely nothing since Saturday because I just don't feel like it, I've actually gained about nine pounds. Talk about discouraging. I hope it's just the fluids they pumped into me, but still. Not the outcome I was hoping for. Amy

Aloha Bandedkitten, I am new on LapBandTalk.com, but, have had much success with the lapband since July 2009 when I had it put in me. If you would like to contact me, you can reach me at 808-443-8201, (HAWAII) my cell phone number. I would like very much to encourage you, as you take steps in preparation to a wondrous journey. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetus and high blood presure in 2002 due to my weight gain. Since I have had my lapband I have lost 98 pounds and....no longer taking any high blood pressure or diabetis medication, hooplahhh! How good is that! I understand if you are a little leary about calling me, I would be too! May 12th is coming up real soon and I too was afraid, but yet excited. It has been worth it! Call me! Sincerely, Nico

Wow you lost that very quick! I think time will help heal that lousy self image some. But the fact of matter is we all need to work on self love through this journey. We need to love our imperfect selves. something I think a lot of us didn't do in the past, and possibly lead us to the weight gain.. Love your imperfect self take joy in moving, breathing easier and Celebrate the journey that you are on

A few weeks ago I got the insurance approval from Cigna and my doctor said a surgery date for October 17th of this year was approximately is about 52 days from now... Yesterday, much to my surprise, I got a call from my doctor saying that there was a cancellation and that they were wondering if I wanted to move my surgery date up to September 19th of this year which is 23 days from now... I had a moment where I got really nervous and fearful and a little panicky going from 52 days to 23 days and 10 seconds is quite a lot to prepare yourself for dot dot dot worrying about my bills and the time off from work and this and that took me by surprise... And then I took a deep breath and I realize that in 23 days my life will be completely different... Little back story about me I grew up very active I played softball my whole life I went to state twice I went to college on a softball scholarship and have numerous trophies from weightlifting where I still currently hold the record and woman squats at 425 pounds and bench press @ 140 pounds at my high school... So to say that I was always very sick would be an understatement although I was still Baker I guess my goal weight is 135 140 whereas in high school I was around 1:55 160 but I was very strong I had a lot of muscle... And then I went to college and I just started gaining weight I still worked out I still was his ass if I just could not lose weight I didn't know what was going on I just thought it was a really bad case of the Freshman 15 then I started noticing that I wasn't having a menstrual cycle or it was very irregular and about three years of going through weight gain fluctuating and all that I went to the doctor... I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome when I was 21 in 3 years I had gained 80 pounds and I went from 162 to 240 pounds... I had always been active I still was active I just couldn't go to sleep we tried various options of metformin and hormone supplements to try to treat all didn't work I didn't lose any way you could just got sick... I waited 5 years... 5 years to go back to the doctor because I was ashamed of myself I was afraid they were going to tell me that I was incredibly unhealthy and that I was doing something wrong finally after 3 years of not actually having a single menstrual cycle and went to the doctor... I told them that I have had a personal trainer for 12 months who also help me with nutrition and meal planning and in that 12 months I have lost 7 pounds that was it I work out 5 times a week for 90 minutes and all I lost was 7 pounds when I went to the doctor I went for a weight loss supplements... And that was when he weighed me and that my biggest I was 288 pounds with a BMI of 49.5... And that's when it hit me I went from a BMI of 9 249.5 in less than 10 years... He didn't hit me with some statistics on my family history and blood pressure and the fears of cancer for people with polycystic ovarian syndrome in my family history and then he hit me with the biggest statistic I've ever heard... Without bariatric surgery, my chances of conceiving a child was that a mere 8%... I can handle being big I can handle high blood pressure and maybe people staring at me and looking at me like I'm huge for people from high school not recognizing me but it was the thought of never having my own child that sent me over the edge that was when I decided that this was it something that I could delay any longer sure when I was 21 and the last thing on my mind was having a child that has a seizure at 26 it's a very real... So in April I decided that I was going to have bariatric surgery I did everything that my doctor asked and then some followed insurance policies and procedures and in the Five Short months I got approval now to some people this is a chance to look at it as Samantha a chance to fit into that little black dress that makes them feel sexy to have people's head turn and look at you and just say wow look at her but when I got the call saying that I got approval and my surgery date I cried because it was a group of individuals telling me that I get a chance to be a mom I am so happy... I'm so relieved that this is something that I did my life has not been easy I've had to fight tooth and nail for everything that I have and for once I feel like something's on my side I know this is going to be the hardest thing that I've ever had to do but hard things seem a little bit easier when you know that at the end of the line there's a happy ending... I know I can't have children for two years after that surgery and it's going to put you right at the right age when I want to... The surgery means so much more to me then just looking good... This is my happily ever after. this is my chance to be the me that I was supposed to be all along and to be one hell of a mother... Just wanted to share with everybody I might be going through the same thing that I am... Sent from my LGMS631 using the BariatricPal App

I've been banded 2 years and recently had a 20+ lb weight gain after being within 40lbs of goal. So here I am, 60 to loose again. :biggrin: I went in for a long over-due fill 2 weeks ago. My fills have always gone smoothly, and I only once had to get an unfill as I wasn't able to get liquids down. I am not one of those quirky people who doesn't feel the affect of the fill till a week later, etc. Sunday night I was stupid and ate 2 fish tacos with really spicy salsa. Took me over an hour, but I got them down. Ever since I've been having coughing fits at night, having a hard time even with liquids, although I get them down. It's different then when I was too tight, it's a constant dull pain that is really annoying. Does this sound like slippage? I've been doing liquids the past 2 days to play it safe. If i'm not better I'll call my doc tomorrow. Just wanted to see if anyone who has slipped had any of these symptoms?

I know that some psych meds make you gain weight. Would the sleeve help that? Is there any research on med related weight gain and surgery? Tia

I think most people opt to keep their band. The compulsion to over eat doesn't go away with weight loss. I think I would really struggle to maintain if I didn't have my band. I'm okay with verrrry small fills, I don't have a sweet spot as most would think of a sweet spot. As long as I can't eat bread I'm pretty well good to go. Stats for weight gain after losing the band are pretty high. People who erode, have a huge slip that can't be repaired, those kinds of folks. When they lost their band they have a really tough time not regaining.

There are SO MANY things that can cause weight fluctuation. Try not to panic! If you are indeed stepping up your workouts, you should read this fantastic article that explains weight gain when starting a new exercise plan: http://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=why_the_scale_goes_up_when_you_start_a_new_workout_plan Lots of other things can lead to temporary Water retention as well. Like a super high sodium meal, hormonal changes, constipation, even dehydration. I can promise you that you haven't eaten 17,500 excess calories in the last week, so it is not actual fat that you are gaining!

The weight gain is from the fluids pumped in for surgery as well as swelling from surgery. He best advice that I was given and seemed to work great was keep walking. It helps to move and expel the gas while promoting healing. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

Almost two years ago I had my band taken out after having it for three years due to it slipping twice. I was able to get to my goal weight with it however, I've been struggling with weight gain. This morning I found out that my insurance approved my sleeve surgery. I feel so fortunate and grateful.

Good for U!! I had a band from 2007-2014 and it was all down hill after about 2010. My band didn't slip, but I started to either wake up an have vomiting episodes and develop these wicked stomach pains almost every month or 2 that lasted about 3 days each episode. Like I was literally waking up and holding my stomach to walk to the next room. 2013 endoscopy shows nothing! No erosion no slippage! Continued on, most things I tried to eat that had any real substance like steak, chicken etc would always make me have to throw it up. It always felt like it was getting stuck. I started eating loves good food and more bad food ( cookies dissolved, icecreams, chocolate etc) since the bad food went down much easier without throwing up. I gained most of the weight back.... I joined a gym went 4-5 days a week n got back startin to lose 3-4lbs a wk. then one morning I had the wickedest of pains, was vomiting on and off and had bad lower back pain. I laid in bed and just slept and threw up all day. I are nothing and could barely hold down any drink either. This went on for a few days finally like by day 3 I was only getting worse I booked another endoscopy and once again no problems. They advised i go to ER. I did that and after lying almost 30 hrs in the ER being tested poked and prodded the doc tells me the scan shows that the cord tubing from my lap band port was entangled with my small intestines, and emergency surgery was needed. They had to cut me open down the middle like a coconut, took the band out along with 20% of the intestines, and also removed adhesions/lesions on my stomach and intestines. My dr said it was the most randoms freakish thing he's ever seen a band do! It's not even a risk or precaution of band surgery because it has never been something any dr has ever come across or has happened to any patients. I was in the hospital 1wk and it was pure hell! I couldn't even have a sip of water or ice chips for like 4-5 days! Finally I got out with pain of course. I was able to eat anything I wanted to! I started with the stuff that l could never hold down. Eventually the NO restriction and even no vomiting caused me to over eat, gain weight and lose my energy and desire to excercise, or even go outside where people could see me and my fatness and weight gain. After months of back, knee and ankle pain and now multiple hernias from the 2 abdominal surgeries, I went back to my surgeon asked for help and recommendations on what to do. He recommended the sleeve, I agreed so in February I started my insurance requirements I finished by May and had my surgery date before Memorial Weekend. I was Sleeved June 3 and so far everything's great! Went to post op visit on Fri which was 9-10 days post sleeve and I lost 12 lbs since day of surgery! I did well on liquids so now my doc told me I can move on to purée's/mushies. So that's my triple stomach surgery experiences in a nutshell! I am trying harder this time around, I know this has benefits and the outcome can be great but I have to put the work in, it's not magic, it's a tool. The 1st few months weight loss is like a gift, or a big head start. This is where the fastest weight loss will occur! Once on all solids and regular foods It's kind of in my own hands, what I decide to eat and how much of it will make me lose or gain. I plan on keeping a balance of protein shakes and certain foods. If I allow myself to eat foods just cause I can now eat them then I will stop losing and either plateau or gain. Im not trying to do any of that! I want the body of 20yr old me back, and above all I need my health back! So failure is not an option!!! Thanks for letting me tell my crazy story! If anyone has a question or anything feel free to ask!