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I saw this online in another site and thought I would share with everyone. It got me to thinking about ways to insure my success: 1. Not taking Vitamins and supplements. 2. Assuming you have been cured of "obesity". We have to live a healthy WLS life-style for the rest of our lives or the weight WILL come back. 3. Drinking with meals. The tool of not drinking with meals is a critical key to long term success. 4. Not eating right. In today's society it is a challenge to eat right. Make it easy on yourself. Don't skip meals, don't keep unhealthy Snacks around, feed yourself at regular intervals so you won't make poor choices about meals. Consider having some personal absolutes such as: avoid all fried foods, avoid all sugary foods, always use low-fat options, or only eat in a restaurant once per week. 5. Not Drinking enough Water. Most WLS patients are at risk for dehydration. Drinking a minimum of 64oz per day will help you to avoid this risk. Drinking water flushes out your system, helps you lose weight and avoid kidney stones. 6. Grazing. Nibbling small amounts here and there throughout the day can make your weight creep up. Make a plan for what you will do when you crave food so you will do something constructive that will not involve eating. 7. Not exercising regularly. Exercise is one of the best weapons a WLS patient has to fight regain. It boosts your spirits and keeps our metabolism running strong. When you exercise you build muscle. The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn even at rest. 8. Eating the wrong carbs (or too many). Face it, refined carbs are addictive. If you eat them you will only crave more of them. Eat complex carbs. 9. Drinking Sodas. Some people claim that drinking sodas stretched their pouches. What we know for sure is that sodas keep you from getting hydration you need after WLS. Diet soda has been connected to weight gain in the general population. Find other drinks to fall in love with. 10. Drinking Alcohol. If you drank alcohol before WLS you will probably want to drink it post surgery. Most surgeons recommend waiting one year after surgery before drinking. Be very cautious, you may get drunker quicker which can cause health problems and put you in dangerous situations. Alcohol is connected to weight gain because it has 7 calories per gram where Protein and vegetables only have 4 calories per gram. It is noted that some people develop ad addiction to alcohol after WLS so be very cautious. If you notice a problem, contact your doctor.

I waited about nearly 3 months between the band removal and the sleeve surgery. My stomach became a bottomless pit. My hunger went through the roof. I went to a specialist who put me on a high protein/low carb diet that had many items as unlimited portions. That stopped the weight gain, but I am sure I could have put on 20# in those 3 months without doing some kind of regimen because I was genuinely hungry much of the time.

Mamaz2ndbaby, My consultation is next Thursday OMG it's only a week away. I am almost certain (99% before seeing the doctor) that I will have the band done if the insurance approves it. The honeymoon is over, I know about erosions, and slippages p'bings, etc but I do think that this if for me. FOR ME the RNY is too permanant and I worry about malnutrition from the malabsorption of an RNY, and there are more complications. The lap-band is reversible although I hope everything goes well and does not need to be taken out. I can not for the life of me imagine why being a black woman vs a white woman would make a difference. Since you have 3 months before they will submit to your insurance can I make a suggestion? I bought the book "Lap-Band for Life" by Dr. Ortiz and a couple of others from Amazon. The other 2 haven't been delivered yet and I forget what they were. All I remember is that one of them is humorous in nature and very expensive. I am also thinking about getting the 2 books by Carnie Wilson. She had the RNY and has had problems with her weight afterwards. She had a baby afterwards, which explains some of her weight gain, but she ended up on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club. I can't imagine losing most of my stomach and still having a weight problem. Of course we tend to focus on the apperance aspect of it and not the fat brain that we have. Another good book is "Body Clutter" by Leanne Ely and Marla Cilly available at amazon.com and flylady.net. They help to deal with the fat brain. My opinion is you know you have 3 month before they submit to insurance. Use that time wisely and make the best decision for you. What is right for me may not be right for you. Good luck, Susan

Less invasive. No cutting of my organs. Short recovery. 20 years of poor success and continued weight gain on my part.

They say stress causes hormone changes that cause weight gain. Maybe the stress of this upcoming huge event is to blame. I agree with perforce, how can they refuse the surgery due to weight gain when you have been approved. I am sure your team has seen this before. If you are really scared call the Drs office and talk to someone. Maybe the y woudl have you go on the liver shrink diet sooner. Good luck.

So I have been walking everyday and not changing my diet for the worse. I haven't been eating great but my surgery us Nov. 9 and my Pre-op first is set for Nov. 1. I have gained so much weight!! Is it stress? Water? What? It's making me so nervous for my physical. I have been approved and the date is set. There is no way I won't have it right? God I'm so scared!! And I have no clothes that fit me cause I'm gaining. I just bought some sweatpants and I look like..well I hate it! I wish my surgery was yesterday I'm so anxious!

Hello. My name is Tessa and I am a newbie to BariatricPal. My sleeve was 6/12/15. So I am currently 4 weeks post op. Things were going great until I introduced soft foods this week. I'm up 5 pounds since my weigh in Thursday. I don't understand. I'm eating SMALLER. Why am I gaining? I understand that eating and drinking to together will do that. I wait 20 minutes after drinking and wait 30 after eating to drink again. Could it be the sodium? Not all of my food is low in sodium. I have been so hungry that I haven't cared to check. Could it be sugar? I drink 98% water but will have organic lemonade every once in a while. Please help. I am having major regrets about this surgery. I didn't have it to still gain weight. It is so depressing. Thanks, Tessa

Sorry, no actual swinging in this one! :thumbup: As we are all pretty much obsessed with food, does anybody else find themselves obsessed with not eating food while on their pre-op diets? When I was in high school I went days without eating and walked a minimum of 4-5km a day. It was the only way I could keep my weight below 140lbs and I was just a little obsessed with keeping food out of my mouth. (Yes, I told the clinic people this) After high school I got out of that pattern, got sick, and subsequently packed on huge weight. Part of the weight gain is my fault and part of it is a combination of the drugs and unfortunate genetics. Since I'm having so much trouble with the Protein Shakes, I've had to abandon them in favour of a veg and Protein diet and I was told "to go hardcore" on it. It was like a kick to my subconscious and I feel exactly like I'm in high school again. I'm reliving those days when I enjoyed being hungry and right back in that pattern like I never left it. So far for the week my biggest eating day was 900 calories. Yesterday was my best at 450. I went to bed hungry and happy. I was supposed to get down to 294lbs for surgery and, at the rate I'm going, I'll likely blow by that as I've got two more weeks of pre-op diet and only 5 more pounds to lose. Am I a freak here or is this common... the swing from compulsive overeating to compulsive undereating? Do we always need something to obsess over?

Hi Seimmaj. Just as there are bad doctors there are bad nutritionists. I have spent months reviewing bariatric eating plans from hundreds of hospitals and the most important factor is cutting out ALL refined sugars from our diets. It’s really alarming that a nutritionist would tell you it’s okay to drink regular Gatorade or anything containing sugar. Even adding a cup of regular Gatorade to 32 oz water is sabotage. Powerade zero is delicious and has less sodium and zero sugar and I add water to it because after four weeks of absolutely no sugar I can’t stand the taste of anything sweet. Maybe your nutritionist is under the false assumption that all artificial sweeteners are bad, but stevia isn’t artificial and doesn’t effect glucose levels. It is simply a fact, attested to by the thousands of people on this site, millions of doctors, and years of research that any refined sugar, especially after bariatric surgery, will prevent weightloss and even cause weight gain. Think of your new stomach as a newborn stomach and ask yourself if you would give Gatorade to a new born baby. If you don’t believe us, maybe attend a group session for bariatric patients or maybe ask your surgeon their opinion. Wishing you a successful journey.

Folks, I cringe to read the title of my own post. I think it's every Baratric patients nightmare. The mix of embarrassment, guilt and resentment that I feel is horrid. Especially because my lapband failed and the Sleeve was supposed to work. Now I'm not saying it did not work, I'm saying that I have seriously fallen from grace and need your help and compassion to get back up again I was doing great, working out North of an hour a day and loosing weight steady eddy! At my 4 month appointment my doc could not be prouder, he told me to keep doing what I'm doing and he'll see me in another six months...by month 6 I'd lost a total of 69lbs, and at 204lbs's I was just 1 lb shy of the big 70, and 4 lb's shy of the amazing Onederland that I have not seen in 16 years...life was good. And with my new found confidence, I finally made a move and took my dream job, that is a mix of stay at home and travel, and that was the tipping point... Although the best career move ever, my new regimen of working from home (moving less), but even worse the travel, with the pitfalls of constant restaurant eating, company functions and buffets, I let my guard down! One carb led to another, and the travel accompanied by sedentary tiredness, socializing and pressures of breaking in and fitting into my new job left me with less focus on my bariatric journey and not much will power to dedicate. In a short month (between month 6 and 7) I blinked and even though I maintained workouts (albiet no so intense), on sheer food alone, I gained back 10lbs!!!!!!!! Woa? How could this have happened? Surely it's Water or monthly hormonal gain, but who was I kidding...the weight stuck! In complete panic, I cut out the obvious crap that I know I was doing wrong in the carb department, and cut out the diet sodas that crept back in etc, and have lost 3 of the 10lbs in the last few weeks...but it's slow and painful and I'm so down trodden about it. How could I actually GAIN at a time when I should be in loosing honeymoon? I mean I expected this perhaps a couple years out, but the sheer ferociousness with which the lb's jumped back on is beyond scary! So here's my problem...I've cut out the crap and I'm back to my old workout routine, BUT I'm constantly craving carbs and although I'm eating the right things...I know I'm eating too much of them and in the wrong quantities.., I get full on more than what should fill me...then 30mins latter I'm hungry again, so I pop another Protein bar, or bowl of cherries, or low at mozzarella cheese stick with a wassa cracker, or cup of lowfat yoghurt and fruit., or some nuts..you get the picture, and on some mornings I can do all of the above slowly via grazing. But I just get SOOO hungry. What happened to all the Grelin being gone?? I also eat late at night as it is when the kids go to bed, I hop on my laptop to catchup on work and I like to have a nice hot cup of tea and something to munch on. Pals, Iike I said, I know I have only myself to blame and I feel horrid about it ...I've avoided even coming on Bariatric pal (did not want to move my ticker 6lb's UP, which I just made myself do!!!), I want to hide like an Ostrich and pretend this is not happening, I should be loosing, not regaining and trying to loose what I regained!!! ..but...I need you, and if I'm not accountable and if I don't plug into a source of help, well...I don't even want to think where I'm headed for. So any thoughts, encouragement, similar situations, advise...ANYTHING, would be so much appreciated in this time of disappointment in myself. PS: I called my docs office after re-gaining the first 5lbs...I don't live very close to them. The nurse told me to track all I eat for 3 days and said I'll be fine "you know what to do! You got this!". But then I suddenly had to travel for work events involving TONS of the hardest to resist food, and the 5lb's became 10lbs (3 of which I have spent the last 2 weeks loosing). It's like my stomach can eat so much more now and it's constantly wanting more...I'm quite embarrassed to call my doc's office and tell them I'm further in the hole.

I am just starting my own pre-op diet (dr. only requires 2 week Atkins-type diet). Initially, I lost about 5 pounds, but have slowly been creeping back up .5 - 1 pound at a time. A lot of us go through last supper syndrome, which can cause weight gain, so don't stress out too much about putting on a few. Just try to control how much you eat and balance any "slips" with some healthy eating and exercise to keep any gain from being too dramatic. I can't imagine a few pounds would matter too much, but your dr. might not liek ti if you really start packing on the pounds because it will make performing the surgery more difficult. Good luck!!

I have Anthem BC/BS. Our plan is called a POS (point of service) Don't know how that differs from PPO or HMO. I am in the early stages of this process. My doctor did a referral in Jan. and I will see the surgeon for the 1st time on March 13. Because I have read about such a variety of experiences w/ BC/BS I did a little investigating in regards to the policy I have through my employer. What I found is copied below. The caveat is that this is specific to the policy my employer subscribes to. If you go to the Anthem site (http://www.anthem.com/ ) and look up your state, you may be able to find out what the policy is re: WLS based upon the plan you subscribe to. Medical Policy Subject:Surgery for Clinically Severe ObesityPolicy #: SURG.00024Current Effective Date: 04/16/2008Status:RevisedLast Review Date: 02/21/2008 Description/Scope Clinically severe obesity is a result of persistent and uncontrollable weight gain that constitutes a present or potential threat to life. There are a variety of surgical procedures intended for the treatment of clinically severe obesity. This document addresses those procedures. Policy Statement Medically Necessary: Gastric bypass and gastric restrictive procedures with a Roux-en-Y procedure up to 150 cm, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (for example the Lap-Band® System or the REALIZE™ Adjustable Gastric Band), vertical banded gastroplasty, or biliopancreatic bypass with duodenal switch as a single surgery, is considered medically necessary for the treatment of clinically severe obesity for selected adults (18 years and older) who meet ALL the following criteria: BMI of 40 or greater, or BMI of 35 or greater with co-morbid conditions including, but not limited to, life threatening cardio-pulmonary problems (severe sleep apnea, Pickwickian syndrome and obesity related cardiomyopathy), diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease or hypertension; AND The patient must have actively participated in non-surgical methods of weight reduction; these efforts must be fully appraised by the physician requesting authorization for surgery; AND The physician requesting authorization for the surgery must confirm the following: The patient's psychiatric profile is such that the patient is able to understand, tolerate and comply with all phases of care and is committed to long-term follow-up requirements; and The patient's post-operative expectations have been addressed; and The patient has undergone a preoperative medical consultation and is felt to be an acceptable surgical candidate; and The patient has undergone a preoperative mental health assessment and is felt to be an acceptable candidate; and The patient has received a thorough explanation of the risks, benefits, and uncertainties of the procedure; and The patient's treatment plan includes pre- and post-operative dietary evaluations and nutritional counseling; and The patient's treatment plan includes counseling regarding exercise, psychological issues and the availability of supportive resources when needed. Surgical repair following gastric bypass and gastric restrictive procedures is considered medically necessary when there is documentation of a surgical complication related to the original surgery, such as a fistula, obstruction, erosion, disruption/leakage of a suture/staple line, band hermiation, or pouch enlargement due to vomiting. Not Medically Necessary: Stretching of a stomach pouch formed by a previous gastric bypass/restrictive surgery, due to the patient overeating, does not constitute a surgical complication and the revision of this condition is considered not medically necessary.

We dont state our weight on our licences here anyway. It seems nuts to just keep reissuing the same photo! Regardless of weight gain or loss people change so much over the years. I think I havent aged much, no saggy skin yet etc but when I look at a photo of myself at 28 I want to cry, lol. So fresh faced!

My surgeon highly encouraged yearly followups, but as I am self pay and know what I am supposed to be doing and the last few appts were frankly unproductive for me (paid, charted progress, told to keep doing exactly what I was doing), I am not returning unless I have an actual issue or serious weight gain. My regular doc knows I had the sleeve and can monitor my general health otherwise.

I was sleeved 2/18/14. My starting weight was around 300, Day of surgery 278 and I dropped down to 198. However, I have been taking care of my dad and working a lot lately and have completely falling off but I don't know how. My weight has jumped to near 230 since February. I'm sooooo depressed. I need help bad.

Thanks for the advise, it will be hard to find a new Protein drink. This one is pre-made and not thick it goes down so smooth with no after taste. My stomach is very particular, if something smells funny, I'm nauseous. If I look at food that is slimy or bloody ect, I'm nauseous. If food has a bad taste or is gritty or leaves a bad after taste, I'm nauseous. These nauseous feelings have led to throwing up, hart burn, & the sweats. My parents stopped saying "just try it" along time ago. Lol The Protein drinks I've tried are: muscle milk (both powdered & pre-mixed), EAS Advanced Edge, EAS Myoplex, ensure , Special K, stuff from lifetime fitness, pure protein ready to drink, boost, Isopure all of which made me nauseous & threw up after one. If anybody knows of any Liquid Protein drinks that are real good, please let me know. As for the weight gain you were right I just weighed myself & I went down to 205lbs. Also I'm taking your advise on the home made Soup, problem is I'm not a cook, but I have a crock pot & the will to try. Thank you so much.

If you really think about it, and I’m not being sarcastic, you couldn’t physically gain 5 pounds of fat in a week right? So it had to be fluid. Every person who panics about weight gain after surgery needs to remember that it’s not possible to gain fat if you’re not eating and if it’s that rapid (5-10 lbs in a week)

I had my sleeve done 07/07/2015. I am 9 lbs heavier today, 07/08/2015, than when I was weighed immediately b4 surgery...... is this normal?!??!

Hey everyone! I am getting sleeved tomorrow and I'm as nervous as all get-out. This will be my 6th surgery over all- when I was a kid, I had open heart surgery. Then I had a lap band in 2009. Two skin removal surgeries in 2013. And I had a lap band removal in 2014. Now, I'm getting the sleeve. I have this nervous feeling that my body wont be able to handle anesthesia for a sixth time. I know there are a lot of people who have had more surgeries than me, but my anxiety has to manifest somehow, I guess. I'm also excited, though. Here's a little bit about my back story: I was 385 lbs at 21 years old when I had the lap band in 2009. Lost 170 lbs and ended up being around 212 lbs at my lowest, after skin removal. I was a size 10/12, down from a tight size 28. In 2014, I had weird abdominal pain and swelling they couldn't figure out (turned out to be a kidney infection) so as part of the testing, they did a CT on me. When they did the CT, they found that the lap band had moved from its position. Explained the year and a half of upper abdominal pain I was ignoring and my weight gain. I had gained about 30 lbs by then. They removed the saline from my lap band and I instantly gained 10 lbs. So when I met with my surgeon, he gave me three options: (1) fix the band, (2) remove the band, (3) convert to a sleeve. He was pushing for the last option, but I was sick and incredibly gun shy about having another surgery. I was not ready to have them do anything else to my body. And my husband and I also wanted to start trying to have a baby, and I would have been postponed by at least a year. So I told him to just take out the band. I knew how to work out and eat right and I had worked my ass off before, so I didn't see why I couldn't do so again. Probably the worst decision I have ever made. I experienced injury after injury that led to more and more weight gain, compounded by the depression (triggered by a lot of things, not least of which was losing one of my biggest life accomplishments, weight loss). Two years later, I'm 322 lbs (as of today- my highest pre-op weight was 338, pre-liquid diet), I'm on a CPAP, my knees creak all day, I have a bulging disc in my back, I can feel my skin stretching around my plastic surgery incisions (which is another huge worry of mine- the plastic surgery recovery was far worse than the lap band itself, so I really don't want to have to redo it), I'm prediabetic again, my PCOS is back, and my life is basically on hold. My worry that I would postpone trying for a baby for a year became 2 years of weight gain that will lead to at least another year, if not longer, of postponing the baby. That's 3 years, instead of the 1 if I had gotten the sleeve 2 years ago. But hindsight is 20/20, I guess. And if I wasn't ready for the sleeve, then I wouldn't have done well on it. So I'm glad that I'm doing it now. And I already feel better after losing 18 lbs on the liquid diet. My clothes fit better, I don't hear myself breathing as loudly as before all day. It's only gonna get better from here. I can't wait to get back to working out 6 days a week. Besides the clothes and the confidence, the thing I miss most is being strong and working out. I was doing an hour of cardio 6 days a week, yoga 5 days a week, and strength training 4 days a week. At 212 lbs., I was fit, pain free, with a flat stomach and probably no more than 30 lbs to lose. I need to get back to that, and continue down to a lower weight. If you pray, please pray for me tonight. If you don't, send out good vibes into the universe for me. And if you need a prayer, I'm happy to pray for you too. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I am wondering for those who needed surgery to try to combat PCOS or just trying to get pregnant, which surgery did you decide and why? Are you pregnant? Have you had weight gain that you can't loose after pregnancy? Any struggles?

Yes, Suzanne, it was divine intervention!!! :wink2: Anyway, I had a thought and was just wondering... do y'all think maybe, just maybe, or bodies are holding everything they get because it thinks we're trying to starve ourselves and our bodies need to adjust to this new way of life and realize we're ok... like protecting us? Sounds corny, I know, but with Weight Watchers you're told "Eat your points, even if you're full, eat your points" and kind of for this very reason. And, if we were doing WW, for most of us, we're in NO WAY eating our daily allowance of points and therefore our bodies are rebelling against us...? Holding what we're putting in? I'm doing a poor job of forming words around my thoughts, but if any of you can read my mind... do you see what I'm saying? Make sense to anyone but me? I guess I'm trying to rationalize this weight gain thing, if only temporary... because it seems common among most of us.

During my pregnancy I didn't gain any weight until I was 38 weeks pregnant. Then I gain three. Then I gained 2 pounds making my pregnany weight gain of 5 pounds. If you are overweight from the beginning they don't stress out if you lose weight. My doctor didn't.

Gee I didn't have to give any pre-surgery weight history at all. I do think BCBS is a bit less strict. They want letters from your primary care doctor and from the surgeon stating why you need the surgery. I got my approval yesterday. I have gained weight since 1985. Up and down 50 lbs. here and there. I had early menopause and hypothyroidism that wasn't diagnosed for a few years. I gained a lot of weight then. Showing a weight gain shouldn't be that bad since your having the surgery because of that weight gain. A history and a letter from your doctors saying you have tried to lose weight and were unsuccessful over those 5 years should be all they need. Good luck everyone Having surgery August 7, 2008

Had pre-op bootcamp today. Xrays, bloodwork, education, etc. But when I came in I had a 5 lb weight gain and my left leg is swollen (normal for me) but my Water pills are not pulling Fluid like normal and I am not sure if it is due to lack of sleep. Since they gave me my surgery date, I cannot sleep but 10-20 minutes at a time. Going to see my pcp at 3...just frustrated. Sent from my SM-S920L using the BariatricPal App

I don't get it. I admit I'm relatively new to this (10 days banded) But I thought just an unfilled lapband prevents you from pigging out? That you'll vomit or PB or whatever if you eat more then a cup or so. Is weight gain from eating ice creams and stuff that slips through the band? Or fast food? Or large meals? I'd love to understand more.