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I know you posted months ago and I hope that you figured out what was right for you. I'm replying here (so many months later) because your stats are almost identical to mine (I'm 5'7") and after much consideration, I decided to get the sleeve done (out of pocket because my BMI is 31 without health issues) on Nov 30th. For the comment above about "have you tried everything," I get that question, but I think it's unwarranted. Because this is an elective surgery for me (and I assume for the OP) getting here has not been a flippant decision. Just like people who are more obese, this is often our last choice too. Why should I wait to get more obese when the writing is on the wall--slow steady weight gain without success in losing. What I do know is that I have to pay out-of-pocket currently but I do believe that in the near future, surgery for low BMI candidates will become more common (if you believe the medical journals). I think that most of the hesitation for insurance companies is money (duh). There are places here in the states that do the surgery on low BMI patients as there are places in Mexico, Europe, and India. Just do your research because only you and your doctor can determine if this is right for you.

Dang girl, that has to be scary. You know, I was reading Gypsygirl's blog today, and she went thru so much trying to get a decent fill. Seems every time they over-filled her just a bit too much and then she had to get unfilled a bit. Honestly, I want the full benifit of the band, but Im really not looking forward to the fills. Partly because I'm worried about becoming too dependent on the band to keep me in line. It's great to have as a safety net, for the times we do slip up. A bandster's binge is a joke to what we all used to be able to do huh? So why haven't you been refilled? Is the band still slipped? What's going on? I think you need a hug. *gives you a big hug and smile* You'll make it through this. I know you must be so scared of the weight gain after all of this. Hang in there and lean on friends. Youre not alone.

I'll go there. My weight GAIN was mostly physiological -- four pregnancies in 8.5 years and eating completely wrong for someone predisposed to diabetes explains that, but there are some psychological components. Primarily, it boils down to one thing -- caring for a family of six on one income, luxuries were few and far between. food -- usually simple but delicious -- was a reward I didn't guilty letting myself have. I justified it that I was keeping it from going to waste. And subconsciously pleasing my mom, by living up to her expectations of a clean plate!! STAYING fat was a different story. I know that at least SOME of the reason I got so comfortable in the fat world was that it insulated me from unwanted attention. Last time I had a school girl figure, I was, well.................a school girl!! And I was one of those girls that developed early and looked 18 when I was 12. I got a lot of attention from that -- mostly negative, as you can imagine. I had to fight very hard and stand very firm to not live up to the reputation that I inadvertantly got from that. (Evidently, if you're cute and boys like you, well, you're a 'slut' whether you do anything or not!) Looking back on some of the situations I ignorantly got myself into, it's frankly amazing that I was never a victim of date rape!! But somehow I managed to stay a virgin until I married -- LOL -- not that I'd win any endurance records for that ..... I married 12 days before I turned 17 and got pregnant 9 months later. The 21.5 inch waist was gone forever and with it went the unwanted looks and flirtations of other men, so I actually LIKED that. See, my husband lived 500 miles away and was unaware of those rumors. I guess -- in my immaturity -- I tho't if he saw me dealing with glances and passes from guys, he would think I was causing it somehow and it would cause problems. LOL It seems silly to say that, after 28.5 years of marriage, there's probably not a less jealous man on the planet!!! But in my mind it was a huge deal back then. In 1988 I dieted down to a size 10 after several years of being an 18/20. It absolutely freaked me out the first time someone whistled at me.....I looked around to see who they were flirting with!! But I didn't have to worry about it long, because within a few months I was pregnant again and once again 'safely' invisible.

Hi, I decided to add to my last thread Water. Still I have only dropped 15 lbs now (just gained back 5 despite everything I'm doing right) since surgery on June 26th. My question to any of you in the know is: What anti-anxiety, depression meds will NOT cause weight gain? What meds that treat mania / manic episodes, will NOT cause weight gain? Please do not write to me and tell me 'as long as your mentally healthy, who cares if weight loss is slow?' Being fat makes you depressed and triggerse depression and mania as well - so, even if I'm not having mild swings, I am totally down and hate myself because I'm fat. I want to treat both diseases - obesity AND bi-polar. I've been recommended Abilify, what else is out there that anyone here has tried?

I know tons of people that have taken Paxil and not had any weight gain. I don't know about Wellbutrin though.

Hello Fellow Vets! I was just wondering what everyone's plans are for getting back on track after the Christimas Season? I haven't really done terrible but I did gain 3 pounds in the past two months. It really scares me. I don't really feel I eat more just made some bad choices. But with the weight gain, I HAVE to be eating more. Seems that old "sugar" habit is sneaking back in my life. I've decided to set a new goal for myself and be at goal by my 2 year surgeversay in May. I really want to have a BMI of less than 25 and be at my healthy goal of 145 to 150 by then. I'm excited about getting back on track and having some normalcy in my life after the holidays. I've also had a lot of stress in my life lately and am still dealing with the GERD issues and esophageal spasms. I've decided to try and live with it even though I'm on meds and probably will be forever. I still can't sleep on my sides and have to sleep propped up on my back or else I will get a spasm and they hurt like CRAZY!! Bypass isn't an option as long as I can function without doing more surgery. I can keep down food obviously so I pray that things stay stablized. Well, would love to hear how you guys are doing and what ideas y'all have for the new year! OH NSV.. Even though I gained three pounds, I was able to buy a size 10 jeans yesterday and they fit comfortably. I don't think I will be able to wear a size 10 in everything but I was happy happy happy to buy these! Decided to post these before and afters. I am still so grateful to have made it this far! Would love to see before and afters of my fellow vets! It really does help to see how far we ALL have come. GOD BLESS!

Programs vary all over the map in many areas, though the common elements are: Protein - consistent with need, but generally 60-80 g for women (though shorter than average women can do fine in the 50's) and 80-100 g for men. Protein need is most closely associated with lean body mass, hence the difference between men's and women's needs. Eat protein first, then veggies, fruits and starches Eat slowly, chew well Don't drink calories (protein drinks excepted, though you won't need to do them at this point) Avoid drinking with meals and for 30 minutes after meals. Drink a minimum of 64 oz, though the need is often higher depending upon activity and weather. Those are the things that are common to most plans. Minimizing sugar intake is often sited and sometimes a number is put on it; likewise, carb numbers are occasionally specified, though those can be deceiving and best not dwelt on. Calories are sometimes specified in programs and sometimes not. Those that work best seem to cluster in the 6-800 calorie range, but that is hard to maintain in a regain recovery program. It is best to work with your individual metabolic need, which again can be quite variable; Try for 1000-1200 and see how that goes; 12-1500 is often a maintenance level for many women. Keto and vegan/vegetarian are largely irrelevant - they are more lifestyle type diets that don't have any inherent weigtloss properties, though they can be used if one keeps the calories low enough. The key factor is what kind of diet will help you stay away from the high calorie/low nutrition junk that promotes weight gain. Good luck in your endeavor....

Howdy folks, I am 1 year 3 months out, I was 10 lbs from goal weight...had some devastating life changes, lost my bro, whom was my bff...I lost weight then gained 11 lbs back. I am struggling......just had a double mastectomy with the start of reconstruction, thank the good lord I did this prophyalactly, I don't have cancer, I have the cancer gene.....so needless to say I have been thru a lot of crap..this is not a pity party I am actually very strong emotionally and physically, I just fell off the wagon, while I am recovering I am extremely cautious of my calorie count since I cant run or use the elliptical for a while. Just had my surgery Jan 17th. I need to reconnect with fellow sleevers to help stay on track. I guess I am looking for some encouragement... Kimster

I've gained 9 pounds since my 1st visit back in March. Has anyone gained weight during the preop phase???

Let me be clear I don’t want to upset anyone. This is my opinion. I was taught to love myself at any size. I did not have a weight problem growing up I was the typical high school school and all the way up to my 30’s my weight gain started with kids and eating on the run ( yeah blaming kids) but we were constantly at different sports event and traveling so we ate fast foods but to get back on subject . My size was a 18 when I started my journey and now I am a 14 since my 3-22 sleeve. I look at my size 18 and they are hanging off so to be happy like I wanna be I decided yeah I need new clothes I still wanna look good so I was just saying out with the old in with the new I know a lot of people on this site are larger and had to struggle as I did with weight and we are at different stages but congratulations to all who are doing something about it so no shade

I had the sleeve done 1 month ago. Lost 24 pounds the 1st 2 weeks and that's it. Gained 2 back! Help! What am I doing wrong??!@ Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

AnnJones, i understand. Life is not easy. I am sorry to hear of your losses. Tthis has to be so overwhelming at times. (I , too lost my mother , when I was losing weight w/o the band and I did a 360 on weight loss and gained it all back). You only gained 20 #, which is remarkable.You know what the changeds are and you can make further changes for your health. Many thingse ,i am learning , affect one's band, esp emotions, coughing, crying- sinus problems. I''ve been on liquids only after a sinus infection which was 'gone' (but the sinus draining continued to point I woke up vomitting at night). yes i drank stuff I shouldn't simply to get something down. Ann, do see your doctor if your band is that tight, still. Do talk with someone, even us; about losing your son and BIL This would to knock anyone for a loop; You deserve to be nice to yourself and not beat yourself up about the weight gain. If there is a local WLS group or some other group you might like, do join them. Do let us know how you are doing. Remember, Your sone and BIL would not want you to be unhappy.

Water retention is a necessary evil of the monthly visitor. It is worse if one consumes lots of processed and sodium laden foods and beverages. The retention is needed so that things actually "flow" out of the body, and once that begins to subside, the weight gain will also dissapear.

Ralheit - You lost 60 lbs that is no small feat - it you did it then you can continue to do it and get the rest of the weight off - you just have become complacent You know that you struggle with emotional issues of confidence & esteem that comes with being fat. But you may not know that you could be what are called as an avoider. This is due to the turmoil that comes with public & private dislike for obesity and you avoid confronting your situation at because of the fear of not being able to beat it. Here is how an avoider thinks – once you deviate even slightly from a diet or healthy eating you figure you might as we drop the whole thing – this stars a cycle that avoider can’t find a way out of – We are fat we try to lose weight we deviate just a little we feel rejection for the perceived failure we isolate ourselves from people we stop talking about it, we stop the diet we eat a pound of candy – we get fat then we try to lose weight and the cycle continues Instead of avoiding bad foods avoider tend to want to avoid other things like the people who want to help them and the disciple of trying to eat healthy. Avoiders try to separate themselves from these 2 strong emotion associated with dieting. The minute you ban any food from your diet you are setting yourself up for failure. If you eat half a cookie or a couple of fires from that banned food list – the diet is dead and that’s where the guilt sets in and now you feel that you lack the strength to succeed. This shame spins you back into the cycle of avoidance When you reach an obstacle you decide that instead of trying to find a way around it you might a well turn around and go back to the beginning – four fry’s leads to a handful then the whole bag. One way to handling emotional eating is you live & eat in the now – not being upset about what you are in the past and not obsessing about what you will eat in the future. The very thing that’s designed to help people lose weight is the very thing that promotes this heavier – diets promote the all or nothing mentality. In our lives we allow for a margin of error – which we should also do when trying to eat healthy – if you are eating 1000-1200 calories a day – allow for some of those calories to be used for a little bit of something you really want - you need wiggle room in your diet to make it work – the all or nothing practices has to be thrown our of your mind. You can learn to reprogram your mind to strip away the guilt that comes with dieting. You have to realize that it’s not that the first slice of cake that will doom your diet – it’s the second or third or whole thing that leads to weight gain. You have to listen to your body & respond smartly to your cravings and emotions but over time you will learn how to eat right and mange your craving and that’s when you’ll train your brain to stop obsessing about eating right and punishing yourself – If you stop overthinking you’ll stop over eating.. Go back to making healthy food choices – low fat – sugar free – I personally love WW style of eating – you get everything but it’s all about portion control – see your doc about your band – why are you pbing – eating too fast?? Not Chewing?? Trying to eat the wrong food?? Sweetie you can do this !!! You have proven you can by the 60 lbs loss – you took a little vacation and now it’s time to get back to work…

If you reeeeaaaaalllllly want to up your calories/gain weight now beyond what are currently able (I personally wouldn't until you are further out and/or in the "Underweight" BMI category", but that's just me), you can look into weight-gain products that body-builders or the elderly use....lots of healthy calories and and very little volume (ie., Creatine or Ensure Plus).

I was banded in Milwaukee May 12, Dr. Chua. I live on Milwaukee's south side. I am male, 61, single, and determined to lose at least 100 pounds and keep it off. I did the Lap Band because I have seen the co-morbidities creep into my life--sleep apnea, worsened asthma, gout, heart risk, high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, etc. I have six children and would like to stick around to see how they do. Plus I am sick of being a whale. Up and down all my life, but always a little more weight gained than lost. Now I sincerely hope I will never see 300 again (I am now 297, after losing about 10). Anyway, a once per month meeting in Milwaukee somewhere would be lovely, if we can get critical mass. I would like to benefit from veteran lap banders and over time I would hope to be supportive to others.

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)

If you are not having complications why remove the band? Does not make any sense to me. If I want to eat "clean" and eat lots of fibrous type veggies etc, I will just get a small unfill. I guess if you have a tight band with no saline or slippage, or reflux issues, it would make sense to remove the band, but if you have a "healthy band" removing all or most of the saline will be the same thing as NO BAND AT ALL. For Me, removing saline in my band is like having no band at all, so if I ever wanted to eat "freely" I will just get saline removed. I am honest and not cocky, and I KNOW ME, it will be hell to try to maintain my weight without the help of my band, I can actually lose weight on my own, but I've NEVER been able to maintain my weight. If I run into a issue where I can't exercise from injury, or have a stress event in my life, I know I would put back every pound without the help of my band. I am almost 8 years post op and it does NOT GET HARD to maintain weight loss until after the 6 year mark, also I found that the lap band screws up the metabolism, and sometimes WE HAVE NO IDEA of how little our portions are until we get a total unflll or have no band at all. Most surgeons say 95 percent of lap banders will gain all their weight back if they remove the band, I AGREE, I got cocky too after 7 years and thought I could go it "alone" with hardly no saline in my band last year when I had a hernia and I gained back 50 pounds in about 2 months, it was rapid weight gain, and I ate like a "normal person". Also I like the "safety net" with the band, I can always reboot it and as they say..."filler up" as long as I have a band that can be adjusted, I can sleep at night..LOL. This is one reason I would not revise to any other weight loss surgery, the band can always be adjusted as long as there are no complications. Good luck with your endeavors!

I also had the same problem with my first pregnancy but I gained a lot of weight and with every lb gained my blood pressure went up. At around 6 months I was put on meds and I have been on high blood pressure meds since she was born 5.5 years ago. After I lost weight with the lap band my dose was decreased by 1/2. Once I got pregnant my OBGYN took me off of them completely b/c they werent safe drugs. So far my blood pressure has been ok but I think it will go up again with pregnancy weight gain. I have a drs appt today so I will know if it is high or ok.

Prednisone can cause weight gain. See if you can get off of it or find an alternative. If the prilosec is not working ask for a different med. Acidity can make you feel "hungry" when you really are not. Be your own advocate!! As for weight gain, I've see some Vets on here suggest that you go back to basics. Lean Protein only, no calorie fluids, calorie cap at 800. Some even go back to all liquids stage just to "reset." Good luck!

I had Gastric Bypass March 25th, so about 6 days ago. I am very frustrated, I have been having some weird post op experiences I never expected to deal with. 1. Bad constipation 2. Feeling incoherent at times, even being slightly combative 3. Feeling frustrated if not down right disappointed with myself. So first I have had extremly bad constipation. I still havent had a full bowl movement, today, tuesday 3/30 I sent my husband to buy milk of magnesia to help. It has helped a little so hopefully things will get better the rest of this week. Secondly is anyone else incoherent and even combative at times? It only happens when I am waking up from a nap. After exercise or activity I get really tired and almost feel like i am in a fog so I take a nap. My husband wakes me up every hour to 2 hours to get me to drink some water. When he does I am really out of it like I dont know whats going on but even worse I will argue with him. It scares him. Worse I dont really remeber it and I am not even medicated. I have been avoiding the pain medication to try to help relieve the constipation, so I know it is not drugs altering my perception. Its freaky! Lastly I feel like I am failing or the surgery was a failure. I know its the iv and stuff and I shouldn't let it get to me but the scale is showing a weight gain of almost 8.5 lbs. Add that to the swelling from the surgery and I feel so disappointed. I cant shake it. I havent gotten back on the scale since everyone let me know it takes time to get rid of the IV fluids they pump into u in the hospital. I have to keep reminding myself "I AM NOT GOING TO CHECK IT AGAIN UNTIL THE 2 WEEK Post Op" which is 9 days away. But that doesnt make the bad thoughts go away. I never thought I would deal with negative thoughts and feelings this close to the surgery! Anyone else struggling? I feel like its just me failing and it sucks so much!

Carol, Carbs started to creep back in to my eating, and I'm learning quickly that if I don't stop it, it quickly leads to weight gain, not just a stall. The further out I am from surgery, the easier such things to down - my smaller stomach does not help me here. Fortunately, I learned during the pre-op diet that getting the carb count VERY low for a few days completely kicks the cravings and makes it much easier for me to stay on track. So, when I get into trouble, I have to white-knuckle it through about three days, and then it tends to be smooth sailing. I'm afraid I'm coming to the conclusion there are some foods I just have to say goodbye to if I want to keep my weight off. I'm not an "everything in moderation" kind of girl. Happily, I'm learning to find substitutes I enjoy, and am discovering a world of low-carb, sugar free baking options for those times I just have to have a treat. See if you can go "cold turkey" for about 3 days, it might be all you need to get back on track.

I am with you Donali, my mom loves to buy clothes and fairly often they are too small for me (yes even my adorable mom under-estimates me). I have two whole drawers full of new clothes still with tags on in varying sizes. Just in the last few weeks I am fitting back into my last year summer clothes (recall I had a 40 lb weight gain last year that scared me into getting the band). I can't wait to where smaller and smaller things. T

I’m 16 months post op & 130 lbs down. At Drs goal but want to lose another 15. During my journey experienced many stalls for no reason at all. For 2 MONTHS stuck at 160-161. Back & forth. Then all of a sudden dropped to 155. Did nothing different. Just followed the course. Since this stall happened later in the journey didn’t stress as much as I had in the beginning. Remember. When you stress it raises cortisol which can create weight gain. For beginners I’ve always suggested to take measurements, try on clothes vs always jumping on scale. For me that was very hard habit to break. Used to weigh daily. Finally during losing process I was able to pick the same day each week- Wednesday- & weigh then. When you get to goal you should weigh yourself more frequently so any weight gain can be addressed immediately. I have great program were we had weekly support group meetings & we still continue now with zoom meetings. It’s so important to reach out to others like this so keep doing it. I’ve learned so much by sharing & with our therapist who leads group. Biggest lesson. Stay the course. It works!

I am 34 months RNY gastric bypass. I chose this type of surgery because I have severe acid reflux (GERD) prior to surgery and this is the recommended approach for that condition. I was in the weight loss phase for 6 or 7 months and then transitioned into the maintenance phase. What you are requesting, I believe is how to minimize your weight gain prior to surgery. This is somewhat similar to the maintenance approach, perhaps the following article might provide you some clues. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf