Search the Community

When someone loses weight,gets a better education,has more money,moves to a better area,drives a flasher car...It's called Status and suddenly you are perceived as being more Successful ! There are plenty of people who don't want u to do better or to improve your self. When someone is moving up in there life, your Status ranking has changed. This can challenge so called family and friends because it means they will have to make more effort either with there weight or there behaviour toward 's you. As you will be perceived as having more options. Beautiful slim people are perceived as having preferential treatment. So many people think WLS is a magic and easy way to weight loss. It isn't U still have to work at it !!! The only way u can gain weight after WLS is by not sticking to the rules I am 5years out i have gained 14kg in less than a year my personal life has been a mess so i am sorting that out plus working on getting rid of the weight gain

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

First off I gained 5 lbs this week. Not lost. Gained. :thumbdown: Medications - Up until last Saturday I had been talking the following medications. Benicar - Blood pressure medication Antenolol - Blood pressure medication Furosemide - Heavy diuretic (water pill) Klor-con - Potassium pill (counter balance to the furosemide) It's great that I am able to go off these medications now and that my blood pressure is doing so well. My blood pressure reads on a continual basis to be in the middle of the normal blood pressure range. With my legs over the last week I have had a minuet amount of swelling not the measurable amount that I had in the past. I also have not worn the compression socks that I have so I will wear those over the next week and see if that makes a measurable difference. What I am not sure about is going off the Furosemide. I know that some of the weight I gained this week is water weight but I just don't know how much of that is. It's something I have to work through. Exercise - I have to say this has been a decent week for exercise. Of course walking every evening after work but also I have been good also in getting out at lunch time to walk. It feels great to know that I am pushing myself harder with this but I can tell that I still need more. I am going to have to add some additional exercises to my daily program to continue my weight loss. Food - I have made some bad food choices this week. There has been a couple of times that I snacked on stuff I shouldn't have and I know that I am eating more then I should. This has to change and is changing starting today. I can tell that I need a fill and I do have a scheduled fill on the 26th. I just wish it was sooner to help me with this hunger that I have been getting. I have to be strong once again and have the will to keep working at the weight loss. I am so close to breaking that 400 lbs mark and continue on down. Overall - Overall this week is a wash to me. Off medications and doing good with walking but bad food choices resulting in a weight gain. I have to really step it up more this next week. I have had a steady weight loss since the middle of October. In the middle of October I weighed 465 lbs and today I weigh 415 lbs. So yes that is a total of 50 lbs since then and since my highest weight in January of 2008 I have lost a total of 70 lbs but I have a lot more to go and need to keep focus on what it is I am doing. I guess this is my two steps forward and one step back week. Now get moving forward and don't let this discourage me is what I have to do now.

Well, I'll start with my name. It's Craig, I was 29yrs old and 500lbs when I had my Roux en-y. I'm from Dayton OH and there were a lot of things leading up to my surgery. I was born with a hip disease called leg perthissess. My parents & Dr. caught that at around the second grade. That is probably where I had my biggest weight gain. I was pretty much forced to strict bed rest by my Dr. & my parents... So while all my friends were outside playing I was inside watching reruns of Mr. Belvedere & eating comfort food. I was in a exercise restrictive leg brace until the 6th grade. After I finally got my hip back to 100% or as close to that as possible for me. Then life seemed to be getting back on track for me. I started playing hockey competitively and was very good at it but not good enough in Dayton OH, to get paid for it. Had I lived in more of hockey town, who knows. At any rate I started a real job. At 19 years old I started working in a factory, 3rd shift and making decent money. At this time in my life most of my friends were out partying & trying to get laid, maybe working part-time job. I was busy paying on a brand new truck I had bought before I realized that the insurance was gonna cost me as much I was paying on the truck! Working 3rd shift really messed with my eating schedule. I started gaining a big amount of weight. I would eat with my parents through out the day & then eat again. at night with my friends. I worked at the factory for a few years and then began a career as a professional Body Piercer. Now, the factory was hot, and it was physically demanding. Being a Body Piercer was not! My body was still out of wack due to a extreme lack of exercise and sleep depravation. I am a firm believer that you never get to catch up on lost sleep. That being said I also believe that your eating schedule and sleep schedule should kind of be balanced. Mine were no where near balanced. At around the age of 21 I started dating a girl that I got very serious with. I thought I was around 300lbs. Later that year I got sick with phenomena... I eventually had to have lung surgery. I was put in ICU and weighted to find out that I actually was about 380lbs. At this point I started looking into Gastrick Bypass Surgery. I had no health insurance at this time(still don't by the way lol). So I figured I'd just diet. I had a very hard break-up and moved to Columbus for a year. When I moved back to Dayton I had no choice but to live with my parents for while. This is when they really saw how out of control my health had become. I talked with my mom about the procedure and she offered to pay out of pocket for it. I went to Dayton Bariatric and saw Dr. David Bruce who in my opinion saved my life on 1-7-09. On the day of pre-surgery testing I weighed 498lbs I couldn't believe that I weighed that much. The first day I could walk afterwards they weighed me and I had already lost close to 30lbs. From that point I started losing weight rapidly. In 3 years now I have lost a total of 260lbs. It was after my weight loss seemed to be on-track that my "other problems" , started! I began to replace comfort food with other comfort coping tools. I start popping Vicodon like candy. At one point up to 20 a day. Keep in mind up to this point in my life I had never done a drug let alone start to abuse them. I did Vicodone regularity for about 2.5 years. For the last 6 months I have struggled with staying strong to keep away from Vicodone and any other pain meds. It's been hard on me and life partner. I feel like I gave up my food addiction for a pain pill addiction. I know I never did these things before when I was 500lbs. I am trying but everyday is a struggle. I would really appreciate some feedback. I'd love to hear some of your experiences other than my own. I can't be the only 1 out here that this has happened to. Thanks for reading I know I'm long winded sorry again and remember that there is answer you just have to ask the right question. Craigs Story Thank you Katie for your support through all of this I love u and U are my everything!!!

Hello Everyone, I just found out that I may have a low functioning thyroid (which I'm sure you all know causes weight gain, depression, fatigue and other issues) and now I'm wondering if I should be going through with this surgery or trying to treat the thyroid issue first. Of course the surgery is scheduled for Monday, this is the first time I have considered cancelling and now I don't know what to do. I am going to see my nurse practitioner tomorrow. But I'm kinda freaking out! My question is does anyone else have hypothyroidism that is being treated but still having or have had surgery??? Thanks

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.

Well I went into the office and got my second fill today. Not nearly as traumatic as the first one, not as painful and not so much bleeding everywhere. I saw the NP and she only gave me a touch of a fill, .6cc. That seems small to me since my first fill was a full 2.6cc. She told me to wait 2 weeks and then touch base with how it was going. Since I'm self pay all visits are free for me for the first year, so I don't mind going in again if need be. The second fill puts me at a total of 6.2cc in the AP band. My Dr office has me fill out a diet summary and the NP was pretty stern with me saying that I was eating too much soft foods and that I need to eat a more substantative fare. I guess this will commence after my two days of liquids and two days of solids... I was pretty unhappy since I've only lost 5lbs in the last 3 weeks. The NP said that too much soft/mushy food = weight gain. I'm syncing up my i pod right now as I've started to jog around the neighborhood pretty successfully. My neighbors think I'm a riot. Until later!

ryguy - are you tracking your food? You cant fix anything you dont measure. track every bit of food for 7 days and then look at those macros. will you see carbs leading the way. The desire to eat after eating is driven by your insulin rising quickly after carbs and sugar and when it drops 2-3 hours later you will feel hunger again. this up down cycle of your insulin is the driver of the weight gain train. after you track your food for a week try this- Zero sugar for 1 week - none of the fake sugars this week no bread no flour for this whole week no starches this week no fruit this week get your carbs from veggies No snacking - eat 3 meals and take at least 20 minutes to eat your meal - if you eat to fast then try eating 1/2 the plate of food then stepping away for 15 minutes then return and eat the other half good luck and dont give up

I was banded on Thursday, April 22 and have followed the post-op diet very strictly, but I have gained about 2 1/2 lbs. :biggrin: I know that this is a time for "healing" not weight loss, but I'm just surprised that I went up a little, rather than down a little. Anyone else experience this? Thanks!

I would have asked the granny,well what did you get banded for,I thought the cut-off age was limited....I think that would have closed her mouth...I am so glad to hear that you are doing so well,I havn't had my surgery yet but from what I have read that the weight the first week was water weight gain from the liquid diet that you guys are on so don't let that bother you,It will leave and you will be shocked as to how the weight will come off,,,,you take care....and have much luck with your band

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!

It's only your weight from your initial visit....if you lose 50 pounds in 6 months, awesome! I was scared of the same exact thing and the doctors office told me that it goes by the initial weight....they don't want to see a weight gain, as that might be an issue with your "dedication" to the lifestyle change.

Your body is in shock. I am 5 month post op a revision for ulcers and weight gain with my pregnancy (totally my fault). After both surgeries I didn’t really lose more than a few pounds the first month and then it just falls off. I am down 72 pounds at 5 months post op. didn’t get the not caring about food effect I did the first surgery which I like more actually because I can still eat within my diet and still lose weight. I’ve been through several stalls and I just put the scale away for a week or two, do what I am supposed too and keep losing weight :)

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!

Research tell us that most weight gain happens after 3 years. I think there are both mental and physical reasons for this. Some of the reasons are unknown by medicine....they are looking into it more than ever. Lots of new research thinks that changes in the biom have something to do with why we lose, and if we start back into eating those refined foods we used to eat, the biom slowly changes back to how it was before surgery. (Some research suggests that when you eat lots of refined food, you grow more bacteria in the gut that processe that kind of food, and the bacteria has an imperative to get you to eat even more of that food FOR THEM. Creepy hugh? Our gut floura tells us what to eat. So if you stick with the right foods long enough, the gut will want you to keep eating them. Slip up for long enough and the gut will trigger chemicles that scream EAT CAKE! Not kidding. That is only part of the story, but those primitive voices that call us to eat cake are real and hard to ignore. There is thought that the surgery sets the gut biom in a new direction and gives us a boost towards a healthy reset... that combined with a smaller stomach helps the initial weight loss. I am at 41/2 years, have struggled with my goal... took 3 years to get to goal, and have bounced around a bit there... I am about 14 pounds above goal right now... and holding... always going back to maintaining consciousness about what i eat and how I move when I slip up... lots of good habits I keep up all the time...I consider myself a success (and so do my docs)... of course I would rather be at goal... but its still a work in progress. Why couldn't I just lose it and keep it off before surgery? I wonder why too, but seeing the stats about how many people can lose and keep off the weight withought surgery is reason enough for me to have gotten surgery. This is the very firt time I could get it all off or stay anywhere near goal this long in my entire life. I have achieved many things in my life, lots of travel, interesting jobs, notariety in my field.... really, the only thing that has been the bane of my life and health has been being fat and not finding success taking it off or keeping it off. Like most of us here, I spent at least half of my life trying without success. This surgery has been the tool I needed to have some success there as well.

After RNY gastric bypass surgery, there are two phases which are the "Weight Loss Phase" and the "Maintenance Phase". At around 7 months post-op, my weight loss came to an end and I naturally slid into the maintenance phase. @@Melanie89 said "Hi I am 16 weeks out lost 67lbs but weighed this morning and im up 3lbs like HOWWW?" There are probably 3 things at play here. 1. Holiday's are rough on weight loss. One tends to eat or drink too much and this can result in some weight gain. 2. You weight will fluctuate on a daily basis. I generally weigh myself first thing in the morning butt naked to obtain my lowest daily weight. My clothes and shoes can add 5 pounds to my weight. If I weigh myself after meals, that might add another couple pounds. Some women have issues with Water retention. Stress can also affect weight loss. 3. At 16 weeks post op, your meal volume has started to increase which gives you have an option. One thing to do now at this stage is to assess your Protein intake. Your protein requirement is met by a combination of the protein from your meals combined with the protein from your supplements (Protein shakes, protein bars). Since your meal volume is beginning to increase, that also means that the amount of protein from meals is increasing, especially if you concentrate on consuming high protein meals. Therefore you could be able to reduce your reliance on supplements and the calories they contain. I went from 3 protein shakes a day, down to 2, then 1 and finally zero when my meal volume increased to 1 cup per meal at a year and a half. That is the method I used to break my stalls.

After RNY gastric bypass surgery, there are two phases which are the "Weight Loss Phase" and the "Maintenance Phase". At around 7 months post-op, my weight loss came to an end and I naturally slid into the maintenance phase. @@Melanie89 said "Hi I am 16 weeks out lost 67lbs but weighed this morning and im up 3lbs like HOWWW?" There are probably 3 things at play here. 1. Holiday's are rough on weight loss. One tends to eat or drink too much and this can result in some weight gain. 2. You weight will fluctuate on a daily basis. I generally weigh myself first thing in the morning butt naked to obtain my lowest daily weight. My clothes and shoes can add 5 pounds to my weight. If I weigh myself after meals, that might add another couple pounds. Some women have issues with Water retention. Stress can also affect weight loss. 3. At 16 weeks post op, your meal volume has started to increase which gives you have an option. One thing to do now at this stage is to assess your Protein intake. Your protein requirement is met by a combination of the protein from your meals combined with the protein from your supplements (protein shakes, protein bars). Since your meal volume is beginning to increase, that also means that the amount of protein from meals is increasing, especially if you concentrate on consuming high protein meals. Therefore you could be able to reduce your reliance on supplements and the calories they contain. I went from 3 protein shakes a day, down to 2, then 1 and finally zero when my meal volume increased to 1 cup per meal at a year and a half. That is the method I used to break my stalls. Thank you so mucj Sent from my SM-G935F using the BariatricPal App

Weight gain is normal after most any operation from the bloating and fluids. I had an out-patient band procedure, and upon returning home I was 12lbs heavier than when I left. It's been a week and I'm "technically" down two pounds from my pre-surgery weight. I know I still have plenty of Fluid left to lose before things balance out.

Thank you so much! I'm probably going to look into these doctors when the time comes. I think I'd rather pay to have it done than go with Kaiser. I'm very comfortable with my Health Plan. I'm still talking a ways down the road but that's ok. I can't give up my band until it's run its course either. It is helping lots with weight gain prevention if anything. I've already come a long way. Who knows? In time more insurances will start to pick up on this procedure. I don't think I'll ever get the Rouxen-Y though. I'm not knocking it at all, I just already have nourishment issues. I'm sure that surgery would be bad news for me.

I had the band in 2010, revision to sleeve in 2014 due to major band slip (couldn’t even drink water with empty band), and now having acid reflux and weight gain following a hysterectomy in 2016 and looking for options to revise again. Anyone else have a similar situation and any success with insurance approval?