Search the Community

I was sleeved on Monday 12-19-11. I just got home today 12-21-11. I have gained 10 lbs. The doc said it might just be water weight gain because of surgery. Anyone else have this happen?

Those are a great thing for us Amanda! Imagine yourself looking at those cute glass dishes pre-sleeve, those would never look like a "serving" of food to you then, right? Me either! I have to say I love my sleeve. MissAMcCoy: A lot of people experience the dreaded "stall" in the beginning due to their bodies recognizing the severe calorie deficit and therefore shutting off the ability to burn stored fat as a survival mechanism. This is a long proven theory in the fitness world when it comes to metabolism stimulation- this is why fitness models and body builders insist you MUST eat every 3 hours and have the proper amount of calories each day to burn the fat while keeping the muscle. It's a very high Protein low carb diet. The same rule applies here, calories in actually make your metabolism work harder- and too many calories in cause weight gain. It's a tricky game for people with normal sized stomachs, but we all have a sleeve advantage here- so don't be afraid you're eating too much, and get your protein is my advice. At 500 calories a day, your body is bound to eventually recognize that it's starving and slow down on the weight loss. I find the Protein shakes to be amazing for weight loss and getting my needed healthy calories in from protein. Nutritionally, I find iSatori's Eat Smart Protein powder to be the best out there- they do not promote on here like other brands, but if you read the nutrition on them vs. any other product, they win in the protein/fiber category and have virtually no sugar. Your sleeve is pretty strong, I doubt you can stretch it with mere eating to fullness at this point. If that were the case, people would be "popping stitches" all over the place and this would be an incredibly risky procedure.

I just want to say that I know exactly where you are coming from! I have prayed for a long time for God to show me what i need to do to lose weight and keep it off. And i went to my dr and asked her what kind of diet i needed to be on to lose weight, and she then point blank said....“have you ever considered lapband?” And at first i was kinda stunned and didn't know what to think. But then I started to feel like I had failed bc I haven't been successful on my own. But I realized this surgery is a tool...not a overnight fix....and God knows it's a process, lol...but I need something that will change my life...and I truely feel like God said “this is it, this is your answer”. And of course as soon as I accepted this new chapter the devil has battled me. Making me feel like I will fail if I try this bc I have failed at losing weight my whole life. And then I felt doubt and confusion creep in...BUT then I remembered my Bible says that God does not create confusion....that satan does...so I knew I chose the right path. I am (almost) 27, I have a 6 year old daughter and a great life with my husband. But I feel like I have let them down bc of my weight gain....my weight has held me back for far too long. And i not only want to do this to make them proud of me...but I want to be proud of me. I am still going through my processing stages, and my insurance co. Has an awesome team of supporters that helped me get started. I still have a ways to go....but its exciting, sometimes scary and overwhelming....but I am confident in God that He will give me the strength to accomplish my goals. The devil has told me all my life that im a failure, I am unworthy and I should give up bc I will mess up and fail. BUT I CAN DO ALL* THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHICH STRENGTHENS ME....and so can u! Hold your head up! Rebuke the devil and the lies he is trying to feed u....and put him under your feet! You are a child of the ALMIGHTY and he has set you free! We don't earn forgiveness....he just shows us his love and mercy if we ask! (sorry so long)

I would appreciate your prayers for me for tomorrow. I am having a nuclear stress test. When they did the routine EKG on me for the lap band they saw an irregularity on it. They then did an electrocardiogram and saw something else. I had breast cancer in 1989 at age 39 and it seems the drug they gave me for chemotherapy might have damaged my heart. Great huh? Take this drug to save your life from cancer but it might give you heart damage. 12% of patients that get that drug have damage in their left ventricle. That is the main pumping chamber of your heart. So, tomorrow they are doing the stress test to see how much damage I might have. I don't have a lot of the symptoms (except weight gain and I'm not sure that's why I gained) that people with severe damage have so please pray there is no damage or minimal damage. I'll post when I know more. Blessings, GG

Four weeks post-op you are probably only just getting onto solid food. This means that your body has more fuel to burn for you to lose weight. If you are up to it, kick up your exercise a bit. Stalled loss and even slight weight gain is normal at this stage of your journey.

Every WLS surgery has it's problems. The problem with bypass is Mal-absorption, and weight gain after a year or 2, That's not the ones that worry me though... Everyone that I know that had this type of surgery has passed away. I don't mean do to Old Age or Disease either. I wish you good health, and please take care of yourself.

Sleeved February 22, 2011 Weight Loss - 136 lbs Consistently losing - I've had no weight gain at all I weigh myself once a week just to see if there is any difference - had a few plateaus and didn't lose any but no gains.....yeah!!

I wanted to throw in an update because just... WOW!!! For MONTHS I've been stressing due to all the swellings, weight gains and whatever else comes with plastic surgery... however - as always with time comes healing and RESULTS!!! Every single day now I'm seeing humungous differences!! I'm over the moon right now, and THANKING EVERYTHING GOOD that I chose the right surgeons. They performed literally miracles for me. I. AM. HAPPY. In the last 4 weeks alone I've dropped NEARLY 15 INCHES off my whole body!!!! YAYAYEEESSSSS!!!!! Picture Updates: carweightintrunk.bmp Source: My Plastics Journey - My first one (of several)

I wanted to throw in an update because just... WOW!!! For MONTHS I've been stressing due to all the swellings, weight gains and whatever else comes with plastic surgery... however - as always with time comes healing and RESULTS!!! Every single day now I'm seeing humungous differences!! I'm over the moon right now, and THANKING EVERYTHING GOOD that I chose the right surgeons. They performed literally miracles for me. I. AM. HAPPY. In the last 4 weeks alone I've dropped NEARLY 15 INCHES off my whole body!!!! YAYAYEEESSSSS!!!!! Picture Updates:

So how does one start a blog? I suppose I should just jump in... I'm 27 years old, and I live in Ohio with my longtime boyfriend and our adorable three-year-old son. I am a licensed massage therapist, but my physical condition makes it near impossible for me to practice anymore, so mostly I am a mommy. My boyfriend is back and forth between driving a van for Amish construction crews and taking care of his grandfather, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Our son is adorable, very friendly and smart. My journey up to this point in my life has been long and fairly painful, both physically and emotionally. I have always been overweight, so far as I can remember. I can very clearly recall being called an elephant in the third grade by another boy at school. My mom taught me to medicate myself with food, albeit unknowingly. My grandmother would go on and on about how I should lose weight, then offer me a plate of cookies. I remember tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night, being very careful not to wake my family, and sneaking food back to my room to eat. I can't remember if I was actually hungry, but the food filled some longing that I had within me, so I ate. The next period in my life was very difficult, full of lots of emotional trauma that is better saved for some other time. In any case, it all served to encourage me to pack on the pounds. I had done many different diet and exercise plans over the years, oftentimes losing quite a bit of weight only to have it creep back on. Fast forward to 2007, when I began school for massage therapy. I had finally found my calling, and was on my way to getting paid to do it. I lost weight fairly quickly then, being so much more active because of the massages and hauling around my portable massage table. Everyone was commenting on how good I looked, and I was sooooo happy. In February 2008, almost exactly halfway through my schooling, I found out I was pregnant. It was almost a shock, because my boyfriend and I had been taking precautions. I immediately quit smoking and found a good OB doctor. The pregnancy was borderline high-risk because of my weight (I was obese then) and the low levels of amniotic fluid around my baby. Then, in August, I fell while I was at school. I had been going to extra classes, creating my own "maternity leave" because I knew my due date was right around graduation. It was fairly early in the morning, and I was walking through the hallway to get a drink. The school had recently stripped and waxed the floors, and the mats and rugs were still piled up along the wall. I stepped on the edge of a mat and my feet came out from under me, and I sat down HARD. Two maintenance guys, who had been standing down the hall the whole time, stood there and watched me as I tested myself to see what hurt. After what seemed like forever, a lady in the main office stuck her head out the window, saw me sitting on the floor, and asked me if I was ok. The only thing I could get out of my mouth was "I'm pregnant!" Within minutes, the ambulance was there. They took me to the hospital, where they strapped me in to a fetal monitor and told me that I had to wait until their OB doc showed up and cleared me. Shortly after, a representative from the school came by to apologize and smooth things over. Long story short, I sat in the bed for 7 hours waiting to be checked out, and the OB never showed up. Finally they told me that everything looked fine, so I could go home. When I got up from the bed I could hardly walk. The school rep took me back to the school building and I headed home. In October 2008, I had my sweet baby boy. He was happy and healthy, with a full head of dark hair. I had a c-section, and was in a lot of pain afterwards, but I pressed on and graduated from school with an A average. Unfortunately for me, the pain never really went away. It would get better or worse depending on the day, but not ever actually go away. I would wake up in the morning feeling like I had steel rods fused to my spine, and I wouldn't be able to bend over for up to two hours after I got up. The pain would keep me up at night and wake me up in the morning. My primary care doc didn't seem to think it was anything, so I just tried to push through it. In 2009, we bought a house with a room in it for my home massage office, and I was overjoyed. I started getting clients and was doing fairly well. I had almost lost the 70 pounds that I had put on during my pregnancy. But instead of getting easier, each massage was more and more painful for me. I bought a TENS unit, and I would place the pads on my back before I would do the massage; then immediately after my client left, I would hook it up to the unit and turn it on so I could get some relief. In December 2010, I started having problems with my gallbladder. I had surgery scheduled to remove it in January, and referred my clients to other therapists in the area so I could have some time to recover. It was about a week before the surgery that another healthcare professional told me that she thought I might have fibromyalgia. Unfortunately, she turned out to be right. My surgery went smoothly, but the recovery took about two months instead of two weeks. At that point I was referred to a rheumatologist. Thus began the downward weight spiral. I hurt badly, so I wasn't as active as I had been before. I also tended to use food to comfort myself, since none of my doctors at that point were doing anything for my pain. Add to that several different medications that can cause weight gain and fluid retention, and an MRI that revealed 3 herniated discs, and you end up where I am today. I have been doing pool exercise, which is the most I can do at this point, and had even done several months of Medifast, and I have still managed to gain weight. My rheumatologist was the one who suggested the lap-band, saying that she thought it would definitely help my back if I could get some weight off, plus it might even help my fibromyalgia symptoms. I am praying that she is right. I was shocked to see the scale say that I weigh almost 400 pounds. FOUR. HUNDRED. POUNDS. How could that be? I know I have to do something to get my weight down. Not only am I physically miserable, but the emotional effects of chronic pain and supermorbid obesity can really get a girl down. I have been struggling with depression all my life also, and feeling like a disgusting excuse for a woman doesn't help the situation. Medication has helped lift it somewhat, but I just plain need to lose the weight. If I don't, I will follow in my dad's footsteps. He was nearly 800 pounds when he died of heart failure at the age of 52. He had already had 3 heart attacks, bad cellulitis in both of his legs, and he walked with a cane if he walked at all. I don't want to do that to my family. I want to live to see my son grow up. I want to meet my grandchildren. I have so much to live for, and I feel like this is the step that will help me extend my life and improve my health. I have my informational seminar with my surgeon in January. In the meantime, I am doing all the research I can to try and prepare for the journey that lies ahead. I know it won't be easy, but it will be worth it. So here's to the journey.

Weight gain is possible in all facets of life banded or not, WE will watch our calorie intake and how quickly we eat, Our band and fills will help with our portions, WE will get thin and healthy and remain there, Amen,

Wow, they actually let you have food in the hospital. I got nothing. The first day was nothing orally. Boy was my mouth wanting H20. The second day was juices and I couldn't sip the cranberry. I was so hungry. I think it was stomach acid. I picked up on mashed potatoes. I focused on eating my protein first, I didn't have any kind of potato until my 8th week out. We need alot of protein sot hat is what I had to focus on because I am worried about losing my hair. Now I think protein, protein, protein and I eat very little. Your weight gain may be water weight. I know you will do it, this is not a failure. It's the real thing. Hang in there and the weight will start to fall off.

Dear Shangefan- It sounds to me that you have had a lot of major life changes happening in a short amount of time which would overwhelm anyone.I think you should search online for some post op support group meetings in your area for local doctors,and attend some of those.That way you might be able to ask some patients how happy they are with the doctor they chose before you commit yourself to him/her for fills.As someone else here said,choose a Bariatric Center For Excellence if you can.You will get the best care possible at one of these. I think possibly joining Overeaters Anonymous (do a websearch to find a local chapter) may also help you as you will be able to get the help you need to conquer overeating with the help of others going through the same thing.Just because we have a brand new "magical" band in our bodies does not mean that our old ways of thinking and feeling about food eating and excersise have been removed/or replaced so we must face these issues too as Bandsters.You can also join a church group or other group where you share interests (do a websearch or look on your local craigslist).I believe you feel isolated due to the move and losing your job,and leaving the friends you had back home.Joining OA and support groups etc.will help you form a social support network of friends and possibly may help you ask around and network for a new job. You are not a failure,but just a human being who is going through a lot of changes.I know you feel overwhelmed but you just gotta take back control of your health and your life by finding that new doctor,getting those necessary fills and eating good,nutritious foods and excersicing again. Taking care of your body and health by loving yourself enough to put yourself first and getting support from others will help you turn this depression thing around. Before Thomas Edison actually invented the light bulb he tried many, many times.When people asked him how he felt about how many times he "failed" before he invented the light bulb he casually remarked: "I have not failed,I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."Don't beat yourself up for the weight gain or the things you think you did wrong,just make a commitment to a fresh start and forget about the ways that you found that won't work and start back using your band as a tool and the band eating skills that do work. Also as a sidebar,could you possibly have SAD>>>Seasonal Affective Disorder in which you also can feel depressed from lack of natural lightin the winter?I just recently purchased a blue lightbox last week to help the symptoms of this and I am already feeling better. I think this is an often overlooked source of fall/winter depression so I just wanted to mention that too. Goos luck to you in all you do.I am sending big hugs your way. ((((HUGS))))

I have been on depo shots for a year when I first started I asked about weight gain. My doc put me on a diet not really to get weight off just so that I didn't gain weight. So I have uhc and I have to do a 6 month supervised diet. I called them today and asked about the 6 month diet and they said It didn't have to be a monthly weight ( I called twice). But I didn't think about the gyno till now. So I typed all this to ask do u think I can use the year for the 6 month supervised diet?

I don't know much about weight lifting, but could some of the weight gain be that you have more muscle now? I think I read somewhere that muscle is heavier than fat. Just a thought.

I am 24 too, and I weigh 318, right now I don't have any health issues like high blood pressure or diabetes, but I know that if I don't put a stop to my weight gain they are coming. I do not have low self esteem, and I am not self concious about my weight, I love putting on a swimming suit and go have fun at a pool or beach. All that been said, airplanes are a pain, going on a public bus is a pain, the fact that I have to buy my clothes online at onestopplus.com is a pain. Right now my knees don't bother me, but a few more years with all this weight and my poor knees are gonna start shouting at me.

Yes a weekly accountable weigh in would be great... I must admit I suffer from Scale Addiction... just stepped off mine less than 20 minutes ago and got a frown on my face from a weight gain of 2 ounces.........AWEEEEEEEEE I am addicted.

bless your heart! I can totally relate with you though! I am out now 2 years and when i hit 200 that was it, never made it to onederland, but whatever. . . at least i don't weigh 350 lbs! and i think that once we hit a certain place, our bodies do stop everything. The weight gain is only 5 lbs, could be water weight too, mine usually is. . . i don't exercise and that is now my news years resolution. . . i eat everything there is too (except lettuce, that hurts a lot) just be really careful with the goodies. Christmas time is a very very junk filled season. . . hopefully after the holidays you'll get back into the swing of things. . . we all get that blahhh feeling and just are tired. . you'll be ok, your human and just look how far you have come. . . you lost a whooping 124 lbs! that is a hugh accomplishment. . . you have a great tool to help you and you'll do fine. . . just rest for now, maybe that is all you really need. . .

I will pray for you.Remember God has a plan for you. Maybe these obstacles are really an invite for you to decide if you really want this surgery and a time to reflect if you are willing to do the follow-up. Use this time constructively- read the posts on this website so you really know what you are in for. Go on a pre-op diet. Start slowly-maybe just cutting out all sugar- then cutting out all the useless carbs. I am sure your husband is just afraid. Spend this time educating yourself and him about the risks of this surgery. ALso go to other doctors' seminars and if you can, their support groups. This surgery is a change in lifestyle- you don't just get the surgery and viola, your different. See if you can figure out why you eat, besides hunger. I just got sleeved Tues 12/13, and even though I have been uncomfortable, I am confident I made the right decision for me and I honestly don't care about the negative people's opinions are . My husband has become very supportive and he also understands his part in my weight gain, and how those actions can't continue. (lack of wanting to exercise with me, junk food in the house, etc.) Try not to be overwhelmed and take things one day at a time. Good luck to you.

Troblyer-You need to give yourself some time. You probably still have Water weight gain from the surgery. Also the liquids can go down much easier than solids do. So you can consume larger amounts. Are you getting in enough Proteins? When do you see your surgeon again? If you are that hungry I would definitely call him or the nutritionist if one is available. I don't see how it could be possible to not lose weight on a liquids only diet unless your liquids were loaded with sugars and fats. I'm sorry you are having a rough time and I hope it gets better. Hang in there.

You're right on schedule to have the fear factor, because the dream is becoming real and we all have the fear that any dream may turn into a nightmare. If you're anything like me you have cried over what may happen and even feel a little guilty. I am a mother of 6, the oldest daughter 23 is married and have given me 2 of the cutest grandsons.When would she not need me? She is a new mother and has many questions on how to do things. My 19 year old son who is becoming an independent young man. Who would tell him how to prepare for the financial problems or his need for little extra cash? Who would tell my budding 11 year old girl what a wonderful person she is and what are cuties? What about my 4 year old son who has a speach disability, he has yet to say his own name and I want to hear it. Then there are my youngest twin girls. 3 years of life and wraped up into me. The truth is if your a mother there is NEVER an opertune time to die for you or for them. I took that knowledge and asked myself how did I want to live the rest of my life. As it was, My bmi was 32, just obese, however I have a heart murmur under illness. Bad knees ( I was a competitive skater as a child )and the extra weight would make them ache. I had a hysterectomy and could not stop the weight gain through exercise and a 1200 calorie diet. I was going to bed at 8 pm out of fatigue. Would my health get better if I would not get the surgery? No, The more weight I put on my heart the more dangerous the surgery, the more weight I put on my knees the harder it would be for me to walk post surgery. In 20 years time if I hadn't had vsg I would be just like my family members who wake up to watch tv until bed time ( If my heart held out ).I decided my children deserved better, I deserved better! I took strength from the pioneers. They came to a world with peril because it gave them and their offspring a chance of a better life. I wanted a better life for me and my family. Although I would not have to go any where near the trama our pioneers did. I had a thought of using the braveory they might have had, to have my surgery. My Dr. can't find my murmur now and it's only been a few months. I have so much energy and I don't even want to go to bed until 11pm and I don't remember when my knees last ached. I can now give my youngest the same play time my oldest had. I'm so glad I had this surgery and I didn't let my fears stop me.

Thanks for posting, Anything you can say about your weight gain would be very helpful to us all...and we will be there for you and your continuing journey too!

I'm curious to know, what would you say are the main reasons you had a weight gain? I'd say 21 Lbs is rather significant gain. I'm hopeful that keeping a good eye on the scale, my workouts and doing a good job watching what I'm eating for the most part will help keep the weight from creeping back up. I don't plan to be super rigid with my eating, but I'm hopeful that if I notice my scale going up more than a normal 5 Lbs bounce I will work toward getting it back off. Thank you in advance for any insight you might have! I'm just trying to avoid this if I can.

Hi ladies.....there is hope. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 20 always been overweight and never ovulated. It took me 8 yrs to conceive my daughter who is now 13yrs old I always told her she was my miracle baby:) After my daughter I was still not ovulating never had a period and the PCOS was just as bad. I ended up getting a divorce. I am now remarried and happy as can be. So now at the age of 37 I decided at my highest weight of 330lbs to get weight loss surgery done otherwise my husband would never have a chance to have children. I choose the Sleeve due to the issues everyone was having with the band and gastric bypass. So lets skip ahead once I started losing weight I started to ovulate became pregnant very quickly and the Dr said it is due to all the hormones being stored in my fat cells and when you lose the fat all these hormones are released and that is why you need to be very careful right after surgery. Well on a sad note I did lose that child but once again in 2 months was pregnant we also lost that child was very distraught and emotional so the doctor suggested birth control for a few months to regulate my hormones and take a break and to not have to worry about getting pregnant. So I took his advice. I took birth control for 2 months then stopped taking it and bam once again I was pregnant but once again we lost it. That happened on July 9, 2011. As all you ladies know that PCOS can not be cured weight loss can help with many symptoms such as ovulation. But you still have the high risk of miscarriages. After each loss they have you wait to have a complete cycle before trying again and we always do...but in July we also had a trip to Vegas planned and we ended up getting pregnant AGAIN!!!! I am now just about over all this baby stuff not wanting to go through all the pain and heartache of losing all my children. So my husband and I agreed that if we lost this one we would be done. So now it is December I am now 22weeks along and baby is doing good. We know it is a little girl we will be naming her EMMA. So now with the sleeve they do not believe that my miscarriages were connected that it is due to the PCOS. I do have to supplement with a Protein shake called Monster Milk due to no weight gain and low calorie intake. My 18 week ultra sound shows her growing right on time except for her stomach and it is a week and a half behind but my Dr believes that is due to the low calorie intake from me. And now that I am drinking this Monster Milk she should be able to catch up. Sorry so long and please feel free to ask any questions. It has been a long hard road for us but I believe in April 2012 (same month I had my surgery done) we will have out little bundle of joy to Celebrate. Oh and by the way husband said since it is a girl we will have to try one more time:

I just got back from Mexico having to get a port replacement. Apparently the tubing between my port and connector had needle pricks in it causing the fluid to leak out. I was within 20 lbs of goal and off nearly all my diabetes medication. I got sick and in order to take the medication I had to have the band emptied. Then the nightmare began. After 5 attempts with one doctor going in by 'feel' I finally went to another dr who used a flouroscope and found that my band was still empty. After a few times the second dr. put a thicker fluid in the port and found the leak. Now I am out $3200 for surgery, all the useless fills and transportation and lodging to Mexico to get things fixed. My diabetes is back with a fury and worse than ever (now on insulin) and diabetic kidney disease is back due to the contined weight gain as I went a total of 10 times over 8 months to get fills. Does anyone have any experience in how to make claims. I have the medical records, the damaged port and floroscopies. Would not like to have a big expensive lawsuit process if not necessary. Thanks in advance for any insight.