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It's only your weight from your initial visit....if you lose 50 pounds in 6 months, awesome! I was scared of the same exact thing and the doctors office told me that it goes by the initial weight....they don't want to see a weight gain, as that might be an issue with your "dedication" to the lifestyle change.

I still have a hard time with sweetners. I try to find things with sugar and then just dilute them. I know that it slows my weight gain, but I am happy to loose only a couple of pounds a week. Slower is better because it will be more permanent and I won't have all that loose skin hanging on my body! As long as you are conscious about it, I think you will be fine. I am about 11 weeks post-op and I have lost a total of 48 lbs. I am pretty happy with the weight loss so far and I am even happier that I can finally get in the total amount of fluids. Just this last week, i started being able to drink enough liquid! Good luck! Happy that you are now on our side:)!...the loser's bench always has room for more!!

A big Texas howdy to all my fellow vsg buddies! I'd like to introduce myself.........my name is Carolyn, 59 yrs, married to David and have 2 daughters, Sherry, and Stacey. We also have 2 grandchildren, almost 3 and almost 1. We live in Katy, TX, a beautiful sub on west side Houston. Here's my life as a "skinny" and how it progessed to a "fatty". During my vibrant teen years, I had an overweight sister who tried and tried many diets. Of course, as most of us can predict, she failed at each one. I told her one day "all you have to do is stop eating". How insensitive and ignorant I was!! She finally had an gastric bypass in 1974, when I was less than a month pregnant with my firstborn. My skinny life continued, even after giving birth. I was in great shape and lost the baby fat quickly. Same with my second pregnancy. Time sped by as I fattened up quickly. I was now in my early 40's and it seems like I went to bed thin one day and woke up obese. Gone were the days of volleyball and raquetball. Medicine instead took the place of my sports. The only exercise I was able to do now was bend my arm to eat, drink or take my list of meds. What a vicious circle.......because of my weight gain, I had to take 4 different meds to lower blood pressure, which then caused more weight gain. I also took 3 meds for my type 2 diabetes, then more for my high blood pressure, reflux, cholesterol, heart arrhythmia, and thyroid. Impressive list, right? I remember when I told my sister "all you have to do is quit eating". Words to haunt me! I did just that, I stopped eating, along with my stopping my metabolism. I did that for many years, without seeing any results, other than being exhausted each day that I got out of bed. Okay, so let's diet! Atkins, it worked...........for 3 months. South Beach, it worked..........for about 2 months, slim fast, diet pills, Weight Watches, Jenny Craig, Quick Weight Loss.............I tried them without lasting results. Last September, 2010, I saw my ex-husband's wife at our grandson's birthday party (yes, we are all on great friendly terms:) ). She had just had the VSL done a few weeks previous and she was sharing it all with me. We talked for a long time and I told her then that if this Quick Weight Loss didn't do the trick then I was definitely going to consider having that done also. I went in to see my pcp in early March to get some Patches for our upcoming cruise. Her nurse, Jody, came into the room and Lordy be, that woman looked good!!! We talked and she shared with me about her bariatric surgery. I asked her every question I could think of and she answered them as completely honestly and open as she could. My pcp came in and I told her how good Jody looked. She then suggested to me to consider it also, since I was on so many meds and my health was going downhill (my words, not hers!). That brings me here. I had my VSG surgery last Wed, and came home the following Friday. I went in for my first appt this afternoon. I actually had a panic attack while I was getting ready because I thought, what if I haven't lost weight, what if I've been eating too much, what if he left too much stomach, what if I, what if I, what if !!! My knees were shaking!!! I arrived with hubby in tow, (he's been such a wonderful support partner) and it was time to get on the dreaded scales, # 1 enemy to all of us "fatties". 10 lbs.............I lost 10 lbs in a week!!! Plus, I'm off 2 of my blood pressure meds, 1 diabetes meds, my reflux med and he wants me to talk to my pcp about the rest of the meds I'm on!!!! Results already!!! I'll be on a full liquid diet for another week, then moving on to the soft pureed foods, then slowly progressing forward. This will be a lifechange for me. I thank God I have such a wonderful bariatric dr and staff at hand, ready to answer any question I have. And like I said, my hubby has been the best............he's been there each step, each test, each day at the dr's office with me. Encouragement, support and love..............better than hamburger and french fries any day!!! I'm eager to walk these steps with each of you. I hope to get to know each of you, feel your pain,share your triumphs and let's cross the finish line together!!!

I was banned in May 2010 and first fill was July 2010. I have had 3 fills since then. In the past year - I have only lost 36 pounds even though I get sick and vomit quite often. I eat right (healthy) and do Zumba. My weight was going down until I upped my Zumba classes which they credited the weight gain to muscle gain from the Zumba - however, I hurt my back and could not continue with Zumba for about a month. I lost 3 pounds but then gained it back. I am frustrated because I eat healthy and exercise and have only lost 36 pound whereas their is a girl in my office who had this done the year before me and she eats like a pig - chocolate/peanut butter eggs for lunch - pizza and burgers and she would not be caught dead break a sweat from exercise - and she has lost over 80 pounds! Another co-worker had this done and lost over 100 the first year and she eats like crap and drinks at least 3 sodas during an 8 hour meeting and she would not exercise to save her life. I have not had a soda since May 2010. What am I doing wrong????????????

The above post offers great advice- I second it. I also encourage you to excersise- it not only works wonders for weight loss but also will help with your anxiety, it's a great stress reliever. Start out slow and gradually increase your intensity/duration. It took me about 4 months post op before I hit the gym. It has now become habit. I admit that I haven't grown to love it, some days I have to really make myself do it. I do weights with a trainer 3 days a week and that really helps keep me on track. I highly reccomend it if you can afford it. As far as eating, I would start out with eating the right foods, low carb, low fat, high protien. Lots of lean meat and veggies. You can worry about portions a little down the road. I am also wondering if you need a fill, or are you relying on "sliders" and that's caused the weight gain. Best wishes!

Yes those numbers are correct. But, I only had a total of 60 lbs to lose prior to surgery. I lost 25 w/i about 2-3 months but it has slowed since.When band was too tight I was eating higher calorie "slider foods" that caused the weight gain. In addition, I am too indulgent at social settings and that is my biggest obsticle b/c I tell myself "I deserve It" problem is I am very social!!!! I need to stop lying to myself. I know what I have to do...I just have a hard time actually doing it in this environment. I m having no issues with the surgery itself, I truly beleive in this surgery. I don't even feel as though I have had any procedure in terms of after effects, side effects etc. It is absolutely the best thing I have done for my weight and health issues. Biggest perk: being satisfied with less food/weight loss. Biggest drawback: not a big one but probably the scars. Back on track and I feel terrific

I experience similar issues. I will eat a healthy 300-350 cal breakfast about 8:30 and by 11 I feel hungry, by 11:30...very hungry. I was at 5.5 but had to get an unfill b/c my healthy protein (meats) were getting stuck and began eating the slider foods which caused me some weight gain. I am probably going to make an appt to discuss this and see what they say. Really confused. I am thinking maybe I am eating too fast at times, but it is always the chicken and turkey that gets stuck.!@#$%. Anyone else????

That's great you are finally going to a psychiatrist. The know much more about issues like bipolar than your family doc. I take 2 meds for bipolar. One possibly causes weight gain but it didn't for me. I lost steadily on it. I would take the meds prescribed for a couple weeks and see how it goes. If you are doing all the right things and still don't loose than you can decide what to do. For me, I'd rather stall in weight loss for a bit than suffer with deppression/anxiety. Good luck!

I've suffered with anxiety and depression for years now and I've tried a lot of different meds and I still don't have a lot of relief from them. Yesterday my family doc said she thinks I have a very mild form of bipolar disorder. She got me a psych appointment but it's not until August. In the meantime the only other med she feels comfortable trying lists weight gain, increased appetite and slower metabolism as side effects. It will most likely make me gain, stall or have a much harder time losing the rest of my weight. But if it works I could be feeling better in as little as one week. Do I try it and risk the weight gain or wait until I see the psych doc? There are meds available that won't cause weight gain but my family doc isn't comfortable prescribing them without the psych doc seeing me first. I want to feel better but I think gaining weight back might make me feel worse:(

I highly doubt you've gained a true 4-6lbs in a week. That means you had to have eaten over 14,000 extra calories, and that's doubtful. Note that the scale can go up 10lbs in one day, for various reasons. Have you eaten a lot of salt? Eaten a lot of carbs? Are you getting your period soon? All of this can cause weight gain on the scale; again, not a true weight gain. More than likely it's Water weight. I wouldn't sweat it. Stay off the scale for a few days and re-weigh.

All of the information given is very helpful. I had immediate success when I got banded in Dec. 2009. I lost about two pounds a week with a caloric intake of under 1000 and very high protein. After losing 70 pounds with only two fills. I felt great developed a sweet tooth but keep it at bay. I changed careers and started driving a truck. For a while was able to stay on a strict diet with exercise for over 8 months. Lost my restriction and lost the time to exercise. I've sense gained 25 lbs. I don't eat at truck stops but have increased my calories to 1500. Everyday I struggle with the weight gain and will have to get another fill soon. I guess with the quick success I was doomed to gain some back. I look at this as a minor setback and have started being more intentional with walking at least three times a week. I'm sure I'll find success again soon. Good luck to all!

Hey Girlie- We're surgery sisters having been sleeved on the same day. So, I am literally right where you are. And, I can say that I honestly go through the same thing as you. I can blame mine on a mulitude of issues. Here's a quick run-down: 1. I killed my best friend when I was sleeved. Sounds nuts I know, but I turned to food for all of my emotional comfort. Sometimes, I feel sad that it had to come to this to get healthy. And, it's taking my awhile to make new "friends". 2. I'm surrounded my social eaters. Everywhere I turn my friends, family and co-workers mark life by what we're serving and who's bringing what dish. When you can't eat a lot and focus on Protein and no carbs this can get depressing. 3. I'm realizing that I blamed a lot of issues in my life on my weight and that simple isn't true. I can't blame my weight for things like my marriage hitting the skids anymore so I have to figure out how to fix it now. It's depressing to realize that I was lazy and blamed my weight and it's depressing sometimes to wade through the crap necessary to fix it all. 4. My mind is ahead of my body. I'm ready for the journey to be over and to begin living life in a normal BMI body. Even though I'm losing weight at warp speed it still doesn't seem fast enough some days. On those less rational days when I see that I haven't come as far as I want, it bums me out. I think the best thing we can do is take a deep breath and face our personal challenges head on so we can begin to sort them out and ensure a future without food and weight gain as a crutch. For me, that means journaling, talking with the BFF, an occasional therapist visit and venting on here. It's nice to know this group is here help. Best of luck to you! Amanda

See my stats... 30yrs old about 9 weeks out. I increased my consumption this weekend to 4 oz at each meal per my NUTs instructions, and I ate kroger deli albacore tuna salad for lunch and dinner... stuck with one egg and a laughing cow wedge for lunch. Woke up this morning and popped up 3# from Sunday to this morning. Did you guys ever pop up like that? I had a little bit of broth from a pot roast my wife made, and I am telling myself its just Water weight from the salt content of the broth. I was on a good run too... down from 229-223 in about a week or so after being stalled at 229 for a week. Thoughts?

I am kind of distressed over how much I've gained so far in my pregnancy, and also still having about 10 weeks to go. My goal was to gain 15lbs TOTAL and for my past two check ups (still going once a month) I have gained 15lbs EACH time! So I am up to 30lbs gained at 29 weeks. I am so afraid to put any more weight on. I lost 75lbs before I got pregnant and watching the scale go back up is really upsetting. I understand I have to gain for the baby etc...but I never intended to gain twice as much as I *should* have gained. So what did you guys gain during your pregnancy? Did you find it easier or harder to get it off (or, the bigger question, HAVE you been able to get it off?) Thanks!

LMD that makes sense. I don't have access to long term data but it's what I would have expected logically. Usually with major weightloss there's a "bounce up" of some percentage, sort of no matter what you do. Rebound weight gain usually has something to do with people riding the bounce way too far for way too long. But with the sleeve you just really can't get those whole pepperoni pizza binges and triple sundaes packed in fast enough-- or that's what I kind of figured. Otherwise...if there was a danger of a huge regain, why do it?

i have suffered from depression for most of my life but had been free of it for the first time ever for a little over a year before being banded. as a matter of fact, the main reason i needed to get the band is because of weight gain from antidepressants. anyway, i'm about 2 mos post op and have just been hit with horrible depression!! i read in some other threads that it can be common, but i'm wondering why. i'm thinking that it's because of the lower carb diet? i usually get anywhere from 30-50 carbs a day now, which is WAY lower than i used to eat (but eating too many is what causes weight gain for me). i exercise several times a week and am on a low dose of zoloft (which was working great before banding). i really don't want to increase my dose because it causes me to be hungry all the time and gain weight but feeling bad isn't working either. also, i definitely get in my Protein and Water every day and am taking Vitamins so it's not that. anyone else have depression after getting banded? any thoughts?

A lot to me has to do with the excitement of having surgery and wanting to do your best to get the weight off in the beginning. Just like a marriage in the beginning - Love Is Blind as they say. Everything is seen through rose colored glasses and life is better than you ever imagined. Well once the newness wears off you're left with reality. In my case now, I love my hubby more today than I ever have! I hope this is the case with my sleeve too. Not only is my sleeve beautiful to me now but with many years and experience and good and bad times with us - that would only make our relationship stronger. I went to a seminar held by Dr. Cirangle and he has some of the best long term data out there. He did say that "average" weight gain with the sleeve is excellent. It usually comes out to about 10% weight regain for about 10% of patients. So... one out of every ten patients who lose 100 Lbs of exces weight will gain back about 10 Lbs. Sounds good to me! That's news I can use...

Thanks everyone for your replies. Reverie: I am in therapy. My therapist is working on helping me to change the way I think. Some days it works, some days it doesn't. They put me on a very intense high Protein low carb diet. I did it for 1 week, lost 6 pounds and I was very excited then something happened that made me lose my motivation and I gained it back. I have a condition that is causing swallowing issues and I'm having a esophageal manometry tomorrow to see if I will even be able to get a lapband. I gues since it's so out of reach, it's just making me feel less enthusiastic about even trying. If I was counting calories and excercising, I probably wouldn't have posted.lol I could set here and make alot of excuses, I do have some valid reasons but I really just wanted to get support and possibly hear there was someone else out there that knew what I was going through and could shed some light. I know what I need to do, I think this is a mental issue but I'm not sure what it is but would like to figure it out. I'm waiting for the day I wake up and have gained control. cwm812: It sounds very familiar! I'm going through the exact same thing you did. It's good to know your doctor had faith in you and were able to get the surgery anyway. I hope my doctor feels that way about me, I have been very worried. He doesn't know about my weight gain yet, but will see me tomorrow for my procedure..makes me a little nervous. mattie7632: That's a good point you made. I hope I have the same successes you have if I get banded...maybe when I hear that I actually get to have it that will change the way I think? I don't know if it's a deeper issue or not. 54Shirley: I've suffered from depression and anxiety for a long time. I do think that it has alot to do with the reason I lose motivation so quickly. I'm so scared I'll do the same thing if I get banded. In a way the 6 mth diet is a 2 edged sword. On one side it's the waiting game that makes me anxious and unmotivated, the other side is giving me time to get my mind in the right place which is apparently something I need. Thank you, I'll check out that post. crecia1975: I know you are so right. I'm going to have to just face my demons and get working. Maybe I need a life coach or someone to keep me focused. I'm sorry you gained and went through what you did but it's good to know I'm not alone.

I gained weight in the 6 months prior to surgery. It scared because I thought "If I can't control this now, how will I be able to control myself after I'm banded?" I reached an all time high of 285 lbs before my surgery on 10/12/10 and now I'm down 65 lbs. So the pre surgery weight gain did not doom me to failure, but it did put me farther away from my ultimate goal. Don't think of the 6 month wait as a bad thing. Think of it as time to get you mind together before you take the big plunge. It can also be a time to work on some things like slowing down your eating or taking smaller bites. The six months will pass before you know it and I'm actually glad I had that time to get some things in order. Good luck to you!

I was banded in December 2005. My highest weight was 327 I got down to 200 (never made it to onederland but was very comfortable where I was). I moved to another state in 2007 found a great Dr to do my fills. I really stopped loosing weight when I moved here and only stayed at 200 for a short time but settled at about 210 for most of the time. I broke my ankle in November 2008 and put on a few pounds like 7 and then started infertility treatments. I gained weight from the drugs and went up to about 225-230. I got pregnant and was gaining slowly then was put on bed rest and the weight packed on , I ended up at 290 at last weigh in and then lost the fastest 20 pounds when she was born. I have a beautiful 11 month old to show for all my weight gain LOL and would not trade a "goal" weight for my little one. However I need to get back on the "band" wagon and loose this weight again and more if possible because of my health and wanting to be active with my little one. I have a bad knee that really hurts even with little exercise, I have been doing Water areobics to get some exercise in but even that hurts my knee. I feel like I am in a catch 22.....my knee hurts because of all this extra weight but I cant exercise too hard because it hurts... gggggrrrrr. I want to hear from others who maybe gained back due to pregnancy, injury, or whatever....the cause is not as important as the journey. Also has anyone been able to re-lose weight by using this wonderful tool? Any problems that you had, tips, any info or support is always welcome. I need to get my head back into loosing mode it has just been so long. I know I can do it because I did it before. Thanks and look forward to hearing from you guys!

I totally forgot about TOM! Well, I didn't really forget, she reminds me monthly... ..I just forgot about the possibility of weight gain. Thank you for the reminder, now I can go back to being my happy self. I thouhgt I had done something wrong...lol...

It looks like you've lost 8 pounds since your surgery. You're doing good. You didn't put the weight on overnight. It's not going to come off overnight either. When they blow your body up with gas to do the surgery, it causes a weight gain. That weight will come off as the gas dissipates from your body. That takes a while too. It sounds like you're doing everything right. Keep it up, the weight will come off. If it helps, in the beginning, I had months where I only lost 3 lbs. Then I would have a month where I lost 15 or more.

Most Drs call the honeymoon period the first 4 - 6 months. That's when the weight just melts away almost effortlessly. You absolutely will keep losing if you're doing the right things and from what I've read it sounds like you have been, it just slows down. Did you read the bottom of Dr. Aceves' page where it says approx. 96% of excess weight will be lost during the first 12 months? Don't worry, you'll do it. About it being harder to lose weight after a weight gain, I was just talking about this with Gabby this morning and she said it's mostly because people are the most diligent right after the surgery and then as time goes on, they slip up. They always will have the tool though, but they have to make the decision to get back to the basics and kick start it in again and thats hard for some people to to, get back in that mindset. Renee`

Aloha Bandedkitten, I am new on LapBandTalk.com, but, have had much success with the lapband since July 2009 when I had it put in me. If you would like to contact me, you can reach me at 808-443-8201, (HAWAII) my cell phone number. I would like very much to encourage you, as you take steps in preparation to a wondrous journey. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetus and high blood presure in 2002 due to my weight gain. Since I have had my lapband I have lost 98 pounds and....no longer taking any high blood pressure or diabetis medication, hooplahhh! How good is that! I understand if you are a little leary about calling me, I would be too! May 12th is coming up real soon and I too was afraid, but yet excited. It has been worth it! Call me! Sincerely, Nico