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Thanks Shirley & Crybaby, it is good to hear from other thyroid sufferers. I had Graves disease when I was 16 yrs old, got down to 80pds. Was in the hospital 2 weeks while they tried to get it under control. Had surgery to remove half my gland. Did well with no thyroid meds until age 40. I got hyper again, this time had remainder of thyroid removed. Ever since then it has been constant weight gain and other health problems. You cannot get a doctor to prescribe Armour where I live and we have a teaching hospital! I would like to try it, many of the thyroid support sites swear by it. I have tried synthroid and cytomel together and felt the same. So currently am just on synthroid. What's crazy to me is when I was convinced to have the remainder of my thyroid removed, I was told it would be easier to control my thyroid disease. There has not been anything easy about it! I go about every 3 to 4 mths to my Endo and my TSH is constantly up and down. I will try to not get so caught up on the numbers, although it is hard when people are posting their progress all the time. I weigh just once a week, but I might just take your advice and not weight at all. My next post op visit is mid July. My doc said I might need a fill if I am not losing 1-2 pds per week. I scheduled a follow up for next Thursday, so I will see what he recommends.

I was sleeved on 3/2/11 and I am currently down 68 lbs, but for the last two weeks I have been at the same weight. I have tried a couple of different things to 'jolt' my system to push past this stall (more exercise, more Water, no water, more Protein, less protein, etc), but nothing is shaking it loose. No weight gain, just no weight loss. I am excited with my weight loss so far, but I have had three stalls. This one is by far the longest and most frustrating because I have been 'going by the book' since my VSG. I know this gets asked a lot, but hoping for some words of wisdom (I'm still less than 90 days post surgery, so I'm still learning). Thanks! Texas Red

I agree that it works for some people, and some people want to be able to eat a more varied diet. But for me, I literally didn't have room for carbs(even an apple) if I wanted to get in my Protein grams in 4 meals per day which is what was prescribed by my surgeon. As for carbs on labels, it's hard to screw up carbs on fresh or frozen (no preservatives, no salt, nothing added) on green Beans, broccoli, pinto/black beans(which I made from raw form) and romaine lettuce which is pretty much the veggies I ate through my losing stage. I even skipped using mayo/miracle whip and subbed in greek yogurt for a lot of my meals for chicken/tuna/egg salad, with a little mustard, or dry ranch dressing. I also relied on the glycemic index for veggies/fruits intake for counts. If it was over 55 points on the glycemic index, I never ate it in my losing stage. My goal was to lose as quick as possible. I won't deny that at all. For me, my goal was to hit goal, and worry about maintenance when I got there. I should add that because eating carbs even the "good ones" didn't work for me in the past. I was diligent with weight watchers, and my body fought to lose with eating little portions of "good foods". I did the points system and the "whole foods" program numerous times, and both had minimal results. I didn't see it as a diet, I never felt deprived so that could be why I was so stringent on my intake. I think people just have to find what works for them, and how they want to lose weight, change their relationship with food, and really change their habits. My losing stage taught me a lot about what I was able to tolerate, what I could eat without feeling deprived, and I learned tricks to make food more "sleeve-friendly" while not losing flavor. I live an extreme life of moderation in maintenance because it's what works for me. I drink soda, I eat bread, Pasta, rice, potatoes, all veggies, alcoholic beverages are weekly indulgences (before the pregnancy) so by no means do I live a life of dieting or monitoring all my intake like I did during my losing stage. For me moderation in maintenance is what works for me, also that moderation can easily get out of hand, and luckily, I can go back to "better choices" cutting carbs to an extent, and still lose weight. I should add that I had another driving force to losing quickly. My husband was deployed during my revision. After my complications, and a slow start with weight loss (I was fed 1800 calories a day for almost 2 weeks via a TPN bag/picc line so I didn't lose a ton of weight), a 2nd hospitalization that resulted in weight gain again, I had a goal to lose 60lbs before his return in 4 months from the day of my revision. Because I was so stringent on my intake, I had dropped about 80lbs by the time he came home and he walked right by me at the airport. So, there were some other driving forces to me losing quickly, getting healthy, and making a full recovery after extensive complications. I had to "get better" before he came home. He wasn't allowed to come home during my complications, he was in a shithole of Afghanistan, dealing with the the mental issues of deployment on top of his wife nearly dying due to complications, he was worried that I was going to be "sickly" and not myself. Sorry for the ramble, I just thought I should clarify some of my reasoning and what all went into my decision-making process during my losing stage.

This maybe( TMI) just curious if anyone else went through this. A week before TOM I drop mad weight, last week six pounds. Now that TOM is almost here, nothing. I drink more fluids at this time to avoid additional Water weight gain. Just curious if anyone had this happen. Thanks for any input on this. Deb

Coops is right, this is a tool that helped you stay on track after your weekend of fun and even during. It's so great that we still can enjoy life and are able to go back on track afterwards. I know that before the sleeve had I broke my cycle on the weekend and saw that kind of weight gain I would have just given up. I love my sleeve and I'm sure you love yours too. Congrats on getting to onederland, that's why you were celebrating anyways. Nothing wrong with that!! Way to go!

Hi there, Just wanted to see if anyone can help. I started this whole process in September. I started my monthly dietary evaluations in October and finished them in March. I went through some very hard times and became very depressed during this time, and gained about 30 pounds. Before the weight gain, my BMI was 37+ and I had co-morbids of sleep apnea, hypertension, and acid reflux. After the weight gain, my bmi is now 41. My insurance required a bmi of 35 plus 1 or more co-morbidities, or a bmi of 40+. I meet both requirements now, and all the paperwork has been submitted. I have been through the whole process of being denied once because they said they didn't receive all my paperwork for nutritional eval. They said medically I qualified. My doctor's office appealed and re-submitted the paperwork, and now I'm waiting to find out if they will approve it. I'm worried that they will see the weight gain and deny me again. Does anyone know about this? Thank you, Erin

Hello Everyone. I just wanted to drop by and introduce myself. I got banded almost three years ago on 9/29/08. Since then I only lost about 30lbs of which I have gained back PLUS SOME. I haven't experienced any problems with my band and at times it seems like I don't even have one. I am able to eat the same things as before being banded. (With the exception of potatoes..they are they only foods that act like they want to get stuck). Right now, I am filled with about 4 or 5ccs. I got frustrated with the weight gain after being filled, so I stopped going to my doctor visits. I felt like I was wasting money on something that wasn't working. Lately, I've been thinking that I gave up too soon. Today I made up my mind to "start over" on the pre-op and post-op diets to try and trick my body into losing some of this weight. At this point, I don't know what else to do. Perhaps I just haven't had my "right fit" yet. I'll look into possibly getting an increase in my fills. If it doesn't work, then maybe I just need to have the thing removed and the gastric done. Previously I didn't qualify for it because I didn't weigh enough, but by golly I betcha I do now.

Apparently I suck. I'm beating myself up and I know that I made poor choices over the long weekend but I figured it would be ok since my calories are still so low. I had some potato chips and 3 clamato and vodka over the long weekend of camping. I was just celebrating getting into the 100's and now I'm back up to 201. I know didn't drink nearly enough Water and I know that this is temporary weight gain but it still blows. I know its not real fat weight gain because I'm still only eating 500-600 calories a day but it sucks to see the scale give you a great big middle finger when you stray at all. Back to high Protein, low carb which I know works. I will change my ticker back to 201 when I get home to keep myself accountable. I'm bummed at this tiny setback, self-inflicted or not.

New to this forum and I just wanted to pop in and say this particular thread was very encouraging to me. I had my lap band surgery Dec. 16, 2010, so 5 mos. ago and I've only lost a net of about 18# so far, which I lost by Feb., so nothing really since Feb. despite two fills, the second being just last month. I'm still eating more than a cup of food but if I don't, I get hungry quickly between meals. Also, I have Hashimoto's hypothyroid with a gluten intolerance so there are some things I don't eat anymore at all and with my autoimmune condition, it's advised that I don't "graze," but instead simply eat three meals a day and one snack. I've been doing really good with that so I think it's just my particular condition that's going to make it slower for me. But I'm only 5'1" and I'd LOVE to be in a 14/16 right now and out of my snug 18s. I was in 20s that were getting tight pre-surgery! But I'm remaining hopeful that this will finally work. If anything else, it's forced me to really be careful about what I eat and that I have to take an extra Aleve or two to get through my workouts because of my really, really bad knees. Oh, and just a few days after I started exercising again I was diagnosed with asthma so now that I'm on two inhalers, my workouts are going more smoothly because I can breathe. But anyway, don't lose faith! You're doing great!! And remember, stress can cause weight gain so if you stress over it, you may impede your progress. I know that from experience. That's what I told my husband too, so I haven't measured myself and I've stopped literally counting calories. I'm eating healthier than I ever have and I'm not over-eating, and now I'm exercising regularly - 1 hr. a day so I think my body just needs to catch up to what I'm doing. Glad to have found you all here!

I agree with you! My insurance covers it, according to my plan. Except, it has a 6 months waiting period and here are some interesting pieces of "qualifying" events: 1. MUST be 40+ BMI (no co-morbid conditions) 2. MUST be 35+ BMI (2 co-morbid conditions) All of the following apply to both above: MUST have followed a medically supervised diet program for 6 months (unsuccessfully), MUST have tried x-amount of other programs in the past x-amount of time and then there are a few other qualifying events. Even at that, there is no 100% approval rate. In other words, here I was, with a BMI of 34.4 (yes, .6 below the required 35) but I had no documented conditions that would be considered co-morbid. However, I was short of breath, feeling aches and pains in my body, sleeping poorly at night, and emotionally drained from my weight gain. So, I would have had to gain enough weight to have a BMI of 40+ and live like that for at least 6 months. I ended up paying myself because I hit the highest I had ever been, and I just needed a life style change asap. This losing 40-50 pounds at a time and then not being able to keep it off is not feasible, or even healthy in my opinion. I NEED a tool to help me sustain a life long change. It isn't about "looking my best" first and foremost. I want to live a healthy and energetic life - looking my best will be a wonderful reward from that. Do I believe that my insurance should have covered it without the 2 co-morbid conditions? Yes, because it makes me healthier period. On the other hand, being the devil's advocate - I never had a weight problem when I was younger and I do BLAME myself for being where I am at now (ate unhealthy and did not stick with my "new changes" - and, I believe that because of this, I programmed my brain and stomach that it needed more and more). So, maybe it is right I pay for it. I hope I am making sense. **Please note, that I do not think everyone is to blame for their weight - some people have true medical conditions that have caused them to get where they are and I think insurance should be there for them.

I just got my first fill and had no restriction in my band prior to my fill! Ask yourself these questions. Are you just getting satisfied instead of full? You have to train your body and especially your brain to feel comfortable instead of full (that is the toughest part with this band for most to understand). My dietician and psychologist at Temple did a great job of explaining it to me prior to surgery! Aim for a NEW feeling of stopping with satisfied! Are you following the 1/2 hr. Water before and wait 45 min. after you eat for water!!!!! At first I didn't do this and THIS makes all the difference in the world!!! EAT Protein first!!!! and stay away from complex carbs!!! If you choose to eat them know eat them in moderation! I am also working on my stress level (stress produces cortisol which has been linked to weight gain), and it burns out your Thyroid!!! There are a lot more tips, a fill can take up to 3 weeks to work, and you might need several fills before feeling satisfied! I wouldn't give up on the band just be really aware of what you are eating and use this website, I also use myfitnesspal.com and track all that goes in my mouth! Good luck, Joleen

I agree with the others. You might just have slight Water gain and not a true weight gain. Drink some more water today.

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.

I need some instruction. I had my vsg in March, 2009. I have gained some weight and I am worried. I am a stress eater and I have had my mother for the past 2-1/2 years and she was/i on hospice for the past year and a half. No excuse, just find comfort in food. NOW, I want/have to get back in line. Can you give me some advice on how to shrink my pouch back to what it needs to be? Liquid diet for a few days? Thank you so much for any advice you can give me.

We were told to do Protein shakes so that we don't lose our hair. That was wise words of wisdom 5 yrs. ago. I think it's still good advice, because I did what he said, and never lost my hair at all. It is a supplement for a snack or Meal. I do one a day just to keep my Protein level up. Also We were told to much will cause weight gain... So I stay between 60 - 80G a day. I to hear wise words from the Nurses, and I tell them I know the whole program. So when they look at when I was Banded, they are like you been banded before I even went to school.. I guess you know a few things.. I know ! I look at it as job security.

Well, I took a unisom last night, the sleepmelts. I hate taking those though. They leave you with a hangover and they cause weight gain over time. I don't know if it's the surgery that's causing this or if it's just my zoomy little brain messing with my sleep wake cycle. It's probably unisom again tonight.

Hello all the sleevers out there, My surgery is tomorrow morning at 6 am with Dr. Sinnostine in Georgetown Ky. I was wondering if the feeling I am having are normal. First of all, I would like to say thank you for every member on this post. If it wasn't for each of you, I don't think I would have the courage to be a sleever. It definetly takes a lot of courage!!! I have had so many mixed emotions in the past few months. I get excited about the weight loss but discouraged about the idea that i have to say good bye to all my favorite foods and life as I know it. My weight gain wasn't a result of eating too much in one sitting but not eating enough meals during the day, not getting enough activity, depo shots, smokers withdraw, and eating too much resturant foods. However, i do understand that if i eat less than of course i will lose the weight. When I look at all this paper work i am afraid that i will not be able to switch up enough foods to be satisfied during the first 3 weeks of full liquid diets. How am I going to eat and maintain when I am such the picky eater? How will I feel to have 9/10 of my stomach removed? Sometimes i get angry because if my family supported me more than always teasing me and reminding me about my weight than just maybe I wouldn't go thru this to lose the weight. On the flip side, I am excited about losing the weight, I just don't wanna fail. Thanks all and give me some feed back.

Hi Girls; Sorry, Ive b een MIA,, arrived home late last night... we are whooped!! Nice to sleep in our own little beds... Although I told Peter, I wanna switch our KING size back to a QUEEN! I liked cuddling closer up... like we had in the TRUCK camper.... it was cozzy Had such a nice visit with Linda and Mel.. sorry we got there too early to be able to stay for your Retirement Party on Tues... You will have FUN, FUN, FUN... Missing Andy's band too... sorry about thaty! We didn't end up in Shipshiwanna, we barreled straight across Michigan, and stopped in Sarnia to visit my Aunt and Uncle who we bought the truck from... They were excited to hear all about our travels. Then we stopped briefiy in London, On... were going to spend the night with friends there... but they had already made plans .... so we motored all the way home the resty of the weay... We ate our LAST RESTAURANT MEAL, enjoyed it... but now its back to bread and water ....LOL Weight gain, while away was not as bad as I had thought it would be... I was certain that I'd put on 10 lbs... but not even close... less than 2 lbs... YEAH... Protien shake today, coffee, tea and chicken legs and yams for supper... Karri, glad you are progressing to firmer foods, keep it up... you'll feel healthier in no time. WEll, gotta run and check my chicken. Love C

Hi Girls; Sorry, Ive b een MIA,, arrived home late last night... we are whooped!! Nice to sleep in our own little beds... Although I told Peter, I wanna switch our KING size back to a QUEEN! I liked cuddling closer up... like we had in the TRUCK camper.... it was cozzy Had such a nice visit with Linda and Mel.. sorry we got there too early to be able to stay for your Retirement Party on Tues... You will have FUN, FUN, FUN... Missing Andy's band too... sorry about thaty! We didn't end up in Shipshiwanna, we barreled straight across Michigan, and stopped in Sarnia to visit my Aunt and Uncle who we bought the truck from... They were excited to hear all about our travels. Then we stopped briefiy in London, On... were going to spend the night with friends there... but they had already made plans .... so we motored all the way home the resty of the weay... We ate our LAST RESTAURANT MEAL, enjoyed it... but now its back to bread and water ....LOL Weight gain, while away was not as bad as I had thought it would be... I was certain that I'd put on 10 lbs... but not even close... less than 2 lbs... YEAH... Protien shake today, coffee, tea and chicken legs and yams for supper... Karri, glad you are progressing to firmer foods, keep it up... you'll feel healthier in no time. WEll, gotta run and check my chicken. Love C

I don't know what's up with me but I am totally wired. Last night I was fully awake until 9 AM this morning and I fell asleep til about noon. It's 2 AM right now and I'm just not going down, I'm sort of puttering and putting on moisturizer and I can not sleep. I am a pretty terrible insomniac but ever since surgery I've been sleeping at night and waking up in the morning at least. It used to be so bad that I would give up on sleeping at all for a couple days just to make myself tired enough to go down and stay down. I have herbs. Passionflower, hops, valerian, skullcap, etc. I have unisom but diphen causes weight gain doncha know. I have Ambien I can't really take yet ( and I never do because that stuff scares the crap out of me). None of the OTC/herbals really work all that well. I have no Ativan and decided to cool it on that stuff when I ran out last month. ( Actually that is a functional untruth. In reality the doctor at my clinic threw me out the last time I asked for more and threatened me with a drug panel) I'm still in the healing phase and I know I need to rest. I'm not doing it though. Are ya'll sleeping and if not what are you doing for it?

I have taken anti-depressents for 10 years. True, I did gain weight but in hindsight I don't think the meds are responsible at all. The fact that my diet was not balanced, I aged 10 years and didn't exercise is much more likely that I gained about 10 pounds a year, doesn't everyone agree? People with anxiety/depression, even when controlled with meds, tend to be less energetic, which is another factor that contributes to weight gain. I am still taking my meds and still losing weight so my advice, try the meds if you think you need to, they might help. But have a psychiatrist prescribe them, Family Practice MD's don't know enough about mental health meds and might end up giving you a dosage too high or not the best med for you. Good Luck!

The weight gain after surgery is usually just from your IV fluids. This will correct itself.

I'm sure there must be more than 1 psych in your area...try getting into a different office. These meds are extremely important as being depressed can cause you to gain weight (IMO). I personally think you're better off trying a medication at least until you're able to go in August OR finding another dr. I have been on diff meds and 1 of them caused a lot of weight gain, but they weaned me off of it and I'm not experiencing the cravings like I was. So if they put you on it "temporarily" to relieve other side effects, that may be best. I can't speak for you...but I know I wouldn't want to be without my meds for several months. They help me feel better and think more clearly.

I agree with the post surgery swelling. Give your poor body a chance to recooperate. Try not to feel like you should have woken up from surgery all of a sudden "skinny". I'm 33 days post op. I was on a 2 week stall, then I gained 5 lbs, started my period and turned into overweight psycho lady. That was last week. Woke up this morning and have lost 6lbs!!! Don't stress over a lb. Don't even stress about 10 lbs!!!! Stress causes weight gain! The best advice I can give you is to stick to your surgeons post op plan and walk walk walk walk. It gets better!!! I promise.

I was so happy to see your post when I logged on this morning!! I too, have a lower BM I(33.3) but I feel very passionate about fighting for this surgery. I have been in the support group since Oct and fighting with insurance, etc ever since. I have gained almost 70 pounds over the past 6 years and it won't budge. I have recently been diagnosed w/ a blood clotting disorder which significantly increases by heart attack/stroke risk. But when paired w/ my weight gain I am even at greater risk!! So... I had the MD write another justification letter so now I am waiting again from insurance!! There are some amazing books out there they go through all the pros/cons, list hepful tips, websites, etc I have found it to be inspiration to attend the local support groups out hospital has. Its one of the best programs I have researched and I have done a A LOT!!! I wish you all the very best...keep us all posted!!