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No its probably just Water retention . I weighed in five days ago and weighed in this morning and I'm up almost 13 pounds !!!! I start my period next week sometime plus we was out all weekend doing things and I ate alot of high sodium foods and that sure didn't help matters any either . I can gain anywhere from 5-10 pounds, a week before my period and it wont come back off till the day I stop , and like I said high salt foods did not help matter. My eyeballs about came out of my head this morning when I saw that lol. But I know there is no way I could I put on 13 pounds of fat in five days , I would have to do some heavy duty eating during that time and even though I have no fill in my band physically I cant eat like I did before cause I would be sicker then a dog . I should have stayed off the scales I knew I was retaining water my ankles told the story lol. Nothing to worry about that is why I dont like to weight in every day . I can weigh in one day and be down a pound and then two days later be up five pounds. The foods you eat, the weather, TOM , sodium all plays a huge factor in weight gain . I retain water so bad though I can eat one day of high sodium foods and I pay the price for it for days I wanted to get some water pills from the doc especially during TOM but he said the more weight I lose the water retention wont be so bad , hope he is right .

Texas give the upping calories a week b4 you judge weight gain. If you were eating too little b4 you body needs a week to realize you are doing the right thing. Then you will lose again. Are you feeling less faint??? Less tired???

Texas u made me smile. I just spent 40 minutes blogging about this very thing. I am sure your weight gain is temporary, if you believe the literature you read, you can gain up to 2-3 lbs in water in any given day and than turn around a lose it. Honestly what you ate yesterday has not had time to turn to fat, I think that is why I stay away from the scales and just go by measurements, Muscle also weighs more than fat. Good luck and stick to what works for you not what others suggest we are all so different.

Thanks everyone. Today is day 1 of 5 day test. I made the comment to my husband yesterday that I do not understand some of the weight gain because I am never hungry. Guess what? I woke up starving. But I have my smoothies and my water (UGH) and I am going to make the most of this, and I AM going to loose the weight again. I will keep you all posted, and again, thanks for the encouragement. T

Oh, sweetie, hang in there!! We've ALL been there, one way or another. Your body is freaking out because of the new reality it finds itself in. You know for a fact that nothing you're doing is causing weight gain--your body is probably retaining fluids, and those will flush out eventually, too. Just keep doing what you can do and stay hydrated. I know when you're eating so little, you feel like the weight should just be dropping off visibly--and there will probably be weeks when it does! Just keep doing what you're doing. Sounds like your 3-week stall just happened a little bit later than some.

Tomorrow is my one month surgiversary. I lost approximately ten pounds in the first week and a half post surgery. Since that time, I have not lost any additional weight. In fact, I have gained a pound and a half in the last week, making my one-month total between 7 and 8 pounds. I have progressed past the point of EVERYTHING making me nauseous, but I am not losing weight at all. For example purposes, on Friday I had four spoons of the instant oatmeal, made with Water and unsweetened for Breakfast. For lunch I had about five spoons of Soup. For dinner I had two small rings of calamari, two shrimp, and two scallops, none of which were deep-fried. The only thing I drank the entire day was water. This experience started out rough with a lot of dizziness, etc, but I was happy I had little to no surgery pain. I was positive with that first 8 pounds or so, and for the past 2.5 weeks, nothing. Then when I weighed myself this morning and saw a weight GAIN I couldn't believe it. I am sooooooooooooooooooooooo in regret land right, and am having a pity party, table for one. Just need to vent. Thank god for this board.

Yumm!!! This whole sleeve thing is the BEST THING IN THE WORLD!! My Mom even made a comment to me, laced with such jealousy... I said I have to eat all kinds of stuff just to stop losing weight... she said, "And you eat whatever the heck you want!!!" LOL!! I know she meant it with the best in mind. It's just really nice. My surgeon has turned me into that kind of person. That said, I know my workouts help with the no weight gains (not since my BA anyway), but I'm very happy with the new me. No complaints!

Hey, I am just the other side of a thigh injury and I was given strong pain meds and anti inflammatory... I will be honest here... I did put weight on... I completely freaked out.. cried, had a 'moment' ... but am pleased to say that as soon as the meds stopped the weight gain stopped and it has now gone. The difference between you and I, is that I was completely immobile during the time I was gaining. Sounds like you have been advised to keep active during the time you take the meds, so, fingers crossed it might not happen to you?! Good luck and I wish you a speedy recovery!

Your thyroid can cause lots of problems: weight gain, hair loss, fatigue, abnormal periods, temperature imtolerance, and more. I hope they get it under control but at least the meds have been proven to be effective. It will work!

Hello Everyone, I am new to this site so I appreciate your help. I currenly have had the LapBand for a year now. I have had many issues with the Band(Including revision of portal site, intergestion, pain in area, weight gain and vomitting. I am having a new DR remove the lapband next week and I was thinking of then going to get the Sleeve Procedure done. Did anyone decide to make this decision and has any insight for me? Thank you again, Jennifer.

A friend of mine that is rather robust in the bust department has a winnie-the-pooh on the top of her left breast..........over the years pooh has gotten taller and thinner It just sort of happens even without weight gain/loss. Mine are on the back of my neck and my foot so I don't anticipate any problems.......will wait to get my next one after I reach goal, maintain it for a year, and pay for my new boobs

Had my sugery in Aug. 2008 @ 353 and at my lowest weight I was 225!!! But then I got a piece of food stuck and had to have all of the Fluid taken out. I've felt like I've lost control since then and can't get back on track. I've put off going back to the doctor because they've changed how they code the adjustments and it will cost at least $300 to have an adjustment. Finances are really tight right now. The other factor, and probably the most severe one for me, is that I'm embarrassed. I've been embarrassed to talk to my doctor about my recent weight gain of at least 50 lbs!!!! And I'm lost. I've tried dieting to get it off without success. That's how I've gained so much...binging. So I googled 'getting back on track with Lap-Band' and found this site. I'm just now deciding to get on track and I'm feeling overwhelmed and defeated. I am just now starting nursing school and time is limited which leads to emotional eating, poor food choices, and excuses to eat bad and not exercise.These are just a few. I'm hoping I can get back on this wagon. It's not my doctor's fault but I just am so nervous to admit/face him...I don't know how to do it...and even worse, facing the nurse; getting on that scale...her writing it down and telling me I've gain 58 lbs...then the questions 'have you been drinking with your meals? Eating between meals?'... Please, any advice is helpful!!!! Jess

Both the weight gain and the hunger are normal. Like the other said, the extra weight will come off quickly and once your new stomach heals a bit the hunger will disappear. I'm only 16 days post-op, and for me it took 2 full weeks for my hunger to go away. Hang in there and be encouraged. Things will come together in time. All the best, Niki

The weight gain from the IV fluids is normal, anywhere from 3 to 7 lbs. The good news is it comes off very quickly as long as you keep your fluids up. You'll be pleasantly surprised when you step on the scale one week out. Hang in there:)

Losing 10 lb in two weeks is a tall order, particularly if you have already been losing some in the months before. Those who report losing that much are either doing so during a longer pre-op diet/exercise program that many docs and insurance companies require, or they had no significant prior weight loss effort so that their 2 week program loss was their initial loss. It is not unusual to have a fairly large initial drop the first couple weeks of any kind of weight loss program. What happens is that most of the initial loss is from your limited stores of carbs and Protein, which lose at a rate of around 2000 calories per pound. After those first couple of weeks you will often experience a stall when your body realizes that something serious is going on starvationwise and works to adjust things before tapping your fat reserves, which then burn at a rate of around 3500 calories per pound, so your rate of loss slows some, but you are then burning mostly fat, which is the whole idea. You have likely already gotten into this fat burning mode from your efforts since June, so there really is nothing to worry about - things are going as they should. Also, don't be surprised to see some weight gain when you get home from the hospital - they are going to keep you well hydrated with that nice IV bag feeding your arm. I think I gained about five pounds during that time, but it comes off quickly in a couple of days as you literally pee the weight away! Good luck with it all - you already have a great start.

Wow. In one week, I will be celebrating my 3 months surgiversay. I can't believe my new life. It is amazing and I am so greatful for having the surgery. In retrospect, I can see clearly how being so overweight was affecting my life in a negative way. You make your own destiny. I truly believe that. You have to be willing to reach for your goals and seize opportunites when they arise. Being fat made me reluctant to reach for anything other than food. This sounds harsh, but it was true, so very true. Being so sad on the inside and mad at myself was reflected in my choices, decisions, actions, words, looks, marriage. Once some of the heavy weight fell off, so did the heavy feelings and it has been liberating! Since the surgery, my husband has been crazy affectionate ( more so than he used to be), I have earned a promotion and a substantial raise at work, I am remodeling my house and adding a large addition, and better yet, my husband has decided to take us to Cozumel first part of December-will be my first trip out of the country! I really think that because I BELIEVE good things can come my way now, they are. Before my weigth loss, I would have dreaded a beach vacation before because that means swimsuits, I would have stressed about a promotion and gained more weight, I would probably still be indecisive about what I wanted to do with y house because I was fearful of making decisions so I just didn't make them. I have lost weight before, lots of weight, but I was always overshadowed emotionally by the fear that I would gain it back--and i DID, everytime, plus some. This time, I just know in my heart and mind, that WLS is the key to PERMANENT, MEANINGFUL weight loss because it has forced that hand of changing my lifestyle. I have NO CHOICE but to eat right and if I don't the consequences are very real, very rapid, and very lasting. Hair loss, weight gain, feeling crummy, bone disease, dehydration, and malnutrition are pretty serious tools of leverage for maintaing a better lifestyle when I choose what I fuel up with! I never thought I would get such a sense of empowerment and forward momentum after surgery--I guess because I couldn't believe it to be possible, but NOW, I can!

Hello Everyone, I am new to this site so I appreciate your help. I currenly have had the LapBand for a year now. I have had many issues with the Band(Including revision of portal site, intergestion, pain in area, weight gain and vomitting. I am having a new DR remove the lapband next week and I was thinking of then going to get the Sleeve Procedure done. Did anyone decide to make this decision and has any insight for me? Thank you again, Jennifer.

Hi everyone...Just wanted to let you guys know that tomorrow is the start of my journey, and can't wait!! I love reading all of the post on the site of all the succes that everyone has had since surgery, I just hope that I can add to the succes! A little about me...My name is Jason from New Orleans. I have high BP...sleep apnea...I just turned 40 in August, and my wife and I just had our first child (Logan) in July! If that is not enough motivation to do something about your healt/weight, then I don't know what is!! In high school I was a little runt and did everything I could to gain weight, and I think all those weight gainer shakes caught up with me!! LOL! After high school I went into the Marine Corps weighing 160lbs and 4yrs later when I got out I was weighing about 195lbs. I would say that that weight gain was more toned muscle, rater than extra weight, but...from that time until now I have put on weight. My highest weight was around 270lbs and was at the begining of 2011 at that time, I had came to the realization that I was just a "big guy" and kinda excepted my weight. Well since that time I brought a child into the world and I realized, that I have to be here for him!! Not only will I be an "older" parent, but I was fat and unhealthy and really needed to do something about it. That is the time I started getting serious about weight lose. Being that my wife has had WLS, she was very supportive of my decision to look into the Sleeve. She was not familiar with the sleeve but after asking her Dr. about it, her mind was put at ease. At my first visit in Aug. I weighed 266lbs with a BMI of 38,but because I have high blood pressure and slep apnea, the Dr. thought that I would make a good canidate for the sleeve even with a BMI below 40. Since that first visit it has all moved very quick, because I am a self pay patient I did not have to deal with insurance companies. Which brings me to now...my "Surgery Eve" I guess you could say. I only had to do my liquid pre-op diet for a week, and all I can say is wow!! Definatley a enlightining experience!! I am ready for tomorrow to get here, so I can get started! So....at 6:30am tommorow my journey will begin! I am looking forward to getting to know some of you and being able to share my progress with!

Hi can someone help? I am hungry nearly all the time. My stomach feels empty or uncomfortable in the middle above my belly button and between my ribs. It usually goes away temporarily when I eat then starts up again with half hour or more. I take 2 Prevacids a day. One in the morning with Water and one before dinner with water. This was the way I felt before surgery, all through my life-always hungry, always in the mood to eat. My doctor even did my hyatal hernia so that this would be lessened. Drinking liquids does not fill me up or take the discomfort away. I also typically wait an hour after eating to drink. It is getting harder each day to keep below 1200 calories, sometimes I am getting up over 1600 which could mean weight gain. I feel like I am starving all the time. Today I had 2 sausages, 1 egg and a tiny amount of hash browns for Breakfast and made it 2 hours before hunger again. A few days ago there was a post about another acid product to try that I have never heard of. I've spent hours looking for it on this site and cannot find it. Was it something with an "oid" or "Magnesium"? It sounded like a supplement or mineral. I have an appointment with my gastro doctor but would like to try the other product too. Tums only provide a few minutes of relief. I tried 40 mg of Protein like beef. Yesterday I tried a big bowl of salad with a little low fat cheese. Another time, bread, another time, fruit. The best results seem to be protein and carbs like low fat pizza.. That seems to hold me the longest. It is getting harder and harder to have self control and keep my calories low when I feel like I am starving all the time! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I am new to this site and I am wondering if anyone has gone to Dr Aceves or any other doctor in Mexico? Not many of us think outside the box or venture out when it comes to surgery. I have no choice...my insurance company wont pay unless i have a BMI 50 or >. I cant afford a us MD and I need to do something because my life has stalled due to weight gain. So i am considering other options to having surgery abroad. If there is anyone who has gone to mexico or seen Dr Aceves I would love to here of your experience.

i wanted to ask you how do you define "restriction" i know i had the wrong idea of what it was. i thought i would be able to eat like 3 teaspoons of protein and feel like i was gonna throw up if i ate another bite...well to my surprize that's not was restriction is. lol i found out the hard way that true restriction isnt necessarily about how much you eat, but about how long you are satiated between meals. sometimes before i got restriction i would be hungery like 2 hours later. now i can go anwhere from 4-6 hours before i am truley hungry and not just "head hungry". (boy is that a hard lesson to learn as well.) I feel your frustration on the weight gain to,. i was about to jump off a bridge whenever i gained one pound! but i've figured out that my weight is gonna fluctuate a few pounds and now i just focus on how my clothes fit. Hope something i said helps. Keep up the good work. Jennifer

Regarding neuron growth and Ghrelin: Here is what I see in this primary article. (I found a few others that mirror the same results I just figured I would include the one). Ghrelin does seem to positively correlate with the growth of some neurons. However, these neurons control appetite and hunger along with other dietary regulatory functions. So, by this research, yes wikipedia is right in saying that Ghrelin seems to support neuron growth. Although, based on the other studies I have looked at, there are other places in your body that contain Gherlin. Removal of the stomach does not remove Gherlin from your body. If it is true that Ghrelin stimulates neuron growth in the areas of the brain that dictate appetite, then the neurons do not stop growing, they just slow down. The body has many specialized neurons that only respond to certain chemical ques. Not all neurons are related to memory function. There are not enough studies done on this to predict other roles that Gherlin might play. In this, we are all a bunch of lab rats. It is very clear the detrimental effects of chronic obesity. I will continue researching this and let you guys know if I find anything new. Does anyone read this differently? I am a biologist, not a neurologist or biochemist so I could be missing something. Thank you for the original posting. I really needed to look more into the biochemical function of this hormone anyway Memory loss can be attributed to so many things in the case of a surgery like the sleeve. As was mentioned above, we also have to look at the chance that it could be post-op healing, dehydration, change in metabolism, lack of nutrition, psychological and physical stress etc. http://journal.9med.net/qikan/article.php?id=196709 1. Hypothalamic appetite regulation Feeding is a basic behavior that is necessary for life. Long-term lack of food results in death. It is well accepted that appetite is controlled by the brain and that feeding behavior is regulated by complex mechanisms in the central nervous system, in particular the hypothalamus (70, 207, 256). Removal of the lateral hypothalamus causes hypophagia (decreased feeding), leading to death due to severe weight loss. On the other hand, removal of the ventromedial hypothalamus causes hyperphagia (increased feeding); treated animals increase both feeding amount and frequency, leading to weight gain and severe obesity. Thus feeding is regulated by a balance of stimulating and inhibiting forces in the hypothalamus. Recent identification of appetite-regulating humoral factors reveals regulatory mechanisms not only in the central nervous system, but also mediated by factors secreted from peripheral tissues (174, 216, 250, 267). Leptin, produced in adipose tissues, is an appetite-suppressing factor that transmits satiety signals to the brain (79). Hunger signals from peripheral tissues, however, had remained unidentified until the recent discovery of ghrelin. 2. Ghrelin neurons in the hypothalamic appetite regulatory region Immunohistochemical analyses indicate that ghrelin-containing neurons are found in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus, a region involved in appetite regulation (133, 148). This localization suggests a role of ghrelin in controlling food intake. Moreover, a recent report has indicated that ghrelin is also expressed in previously uncharacterized hypothalamic neurons that are adjacent to the third ventricle between the dorsal, ventral, paraventricular (PVN), and arcuate (ARC) hypothalamic nuclei (48). In the ARC, these ghrelin-containing neurons send efferent fibers onto NPY- and AgRP-expressing neurons to stimulate the release of these orexigenic peptides and onto POMC neurons to suppress the release of this anorexigenic peptide (Fig. 10). Neural network of ghrelin in the PVN is more complex. In the PVN, ghrelin neurons also send efferent fibers onto NPY neurons, which in turn suppress GABA release, resulting in the stimulation of corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH)-expressing neurons, leading to ACTH and cortisol release (Fig. 10). 3. Ghrelin is a potent appetite stimulant When ghrelin is injected into the cerebral ventricles of rats, their food intake is potently stimulated (122, 173, 211, 246, 266). Among all discovered orexigenic peptide, ghrelin has been found to be the most powerful. Chronic intracerebroventricular injection of ghrelin increases cumulative food intake and decreases energy expenditure, resulting in body weight gain. Ghrelin-treated mice also increase their fat mass, both absolutely and as a percentage of total body weight. Not only intracerebroventricular injection, but also intravenous and subcutaneous injection of ghrelin have been shown to increase food intake (173, 246, 265). Ghrelin is produced primarily in gastrointestinal organs in response to hunger and starvation, and circulates in the blood, serving as a peripheral signal telling the central nervous system to stimulate feeding. 4. Mechanism of appetite stimulation by ghrelin The hypothalamic ARC is the main site of ghrelin's activity in the central nervous system. The ARC is also a target of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone produced in adipose tissues, and NPY and AgRP, which are both appetite-stimulating peptides (76, 163). NPY and AgRP are produced in the same population of neurons in the ARC, and their appetite-stimulating effects are inhibited directly by leptin. At least part of the orexigenic effect of ghrelin is mediated by upregulating the genes encoding these potent appetite stimulants (Fig. 10). As suggested by the distribution of ghrelin-containing neurons in the hypothalamus (Fig. 10), intracerebroventricular injection of ghrelin induces Fos expression in NPY-expressing neurons and increases the amount of NPY mRNA in the ARC (122, 173, 211). Moreover, intracerebroventricular ghrelin injection increases the AgRP mRNA level in the hypothalamus. The appetite-stimulating effects of ghrelin are blocked by an antagonist of NPY receptor 1. Intracerebroventricular injection of an AgRP inhibitor, anti-NPY IgG, or anti-AgRP IgG inhibits the appetite-stimulating effects of ghrelin. Intravenous injection of ghrelin also stimulates NPY/AgRP neurons in the hypothalamus. Immunohistochemical analysis indicated that ghrelin neuron fibers directly contact NPY/AgRP neurons (48). These results indicate that ghrelin exerts its feeding activity by stimulating NPY/AgRP

Hey everyone I have had my band for around 5 years noq my starting weight was 128 Kgs and got down to 78 kgs !! Im 30 years old female and from australia, My husband and I started trying for a baby we fell preganant so I went adn got 2.5mls taken out of my band I had 3.5mls in the start with in 6 weeks I put on 12 KGS !!!!! we lost our baby due to a misscarriage this was a hard time for me as it was my secoud in about 2 years, We are ok though I have awesome support from my husband which is great! My issue is that after 5 years and sitting on around 78-82 kgs I really thought in my mind I had it under control my eating.... as soon as I knew I could eat I did!! I was out of control I went to see my doctor today he put 2mls in so I now have 3 mls I need to get myself back into it and lose the 12kgs I pt on !! It actually freaks me out to think that this band is so important to me as I need it more than I thought I did ! Why do I always think of food? has anyone else felt this way ? A x

A fluroscope is used for fills. The dr has me drink a Fluid that he watches pass through the band to gauge the amount of fluid needed in the band. Upper GI is when the dr uses an endoscope inserted through the mouth to view the esphogus and stomach. Everyone I know that has a band has either spasms or gerd or both. Anyone know why this is? Anyone out there that doesn't have either? I am frustrated by the spasms and the gerd but not wanting to get my band removed. Afraid of the weight gain. I also have Fibromyalgia and Osteonecrosis both of which complicate matters for me. The FM can and does cause the spasms and gerd along with a host of other things and both limit ability to exercise. Would like to know if others that have FM have similiar banding issues.