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Hi mypov......I felt exactly the same way as you. I have PCOS and gained alot of weight very quickly (100lbs in 3 years). I also couldn't understand how I had gained so much weight in such a short space of time. So when I went to visit my surgeon I explained my dilemma to him and he assured me that many of his patients who have PCOS have been extremely successful in losing weight. Unfortunately with PCOS we have an extra problem contributing to our weight gain so the weightloss with the band may be slower BUT it still comes off. At the obesity clinic that I visit the dietician and nurse have both told me that women with PCOS generally have to have greater restriction than most people because our calorie intake has to be quite a bit lower in order to lose weight......also exercise is VERY important in losing weight with PCOS. On the upside....... starch carbs really aggrevate PCOS and with the band it is very difficult to eat most starchy carbs.:cool:

I would still say I have pretty great restriction. I can eat more now at over 2.5 years post op than I could at even a year, but I still cannot eat a lot. It all really depends on food choices that dictates how much I can eat, which I know we can all relate too. I also have about the same level of hunger as earlier out. I get hungry if I haven't eaten for a long period of time, but it is not the same gnawing hunger with a rumbling stomach that I got before surgery. I agree with Cheri about the all or nothing approach and talked about it a little on another thread. Instead as looking at the sleeve as an opportunity to make lasting lifestyle changes, people, for lack of a better word, crash diet. Sure, it might get you to goal quickly, but it is not sustainable over the long haul, just like it was not sustainable before the sleeve. I never took that stance. I decided to make changes that I could live with for a lifetime (limiting processed carbs...white stuff, Protein first, no drinking with meals, etc). I believe in the 90/10 or 80/20 approach. Eating healthy most of the time, but allow yourself some wiggle room. Personally, I knew I could never go the rest of my life never having ice cream with my kids or having a piece of cake at a birthday. But I don't keep those types of food in my house because I do not need to be eating them everyday. And with this approach I was maintaining for almost a year before I started a new medication that caused me to gain 7 lbs in 3 weeks without any dietary changes. I stopped taking the medication and I stopped gaining, but the way I was eating has been enough to once again maintain but not lose. Thus why I have chosen to try the 5:2 method to shed the pounds to get back down to where I was. I also have read that you can start to produce more Ghrelin several years after surgery which could account for more hunger. Whether that is true or not, I am not sure and since the sleeve is still really in its infancy, I think there is a lot more research to be done. I cannot see that you would have a problem down the road if you maintain what you are doing. If you can look at yourself and you regiment and say that you are happy and you feel it is honestly something you can do for life, you will be rocking it 20 years from now! You have made it a new life and have chosen to make permanent changes you can be happy with and sustain. In all honesty, our downfall is ourselves. Allowing old habits to creep back in, becoming more slack, and not making lasting changes is what results in weight gain for most people (of course, ruling out the medical), not a mechanical problem with the surgery itself.

I am not banded nor have I ever been pregnant but because of my job and my parent's professions growing up, I was hoping to offer some insight anyway. The reason why doctor's don't want you losing weight is because your body releases chemicals and toxins that can hurt your child. Your body needs to be able to release the "weight gain" chemicals in order for your baby to be healthy. If you're losing weight, even a pound a week, you might be jeopardizing the health of your baby. Dieting can also lead to malnutrition for yourself or your baby. If you go into ketosis (ie you eliminate carbs from your diet) you and your child will be in a ketogenic state which is great for weight loss but not so good for your baby. In fact it can cause fetal brain damage. Please be careful and ask your doctor before continuing any weight loss program. I hope this helps. Congrats on your pregnancy. Good luck, Sheila Here are some sites that might help you. http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/pregnancy/pregnancynutrition/3561.html http://www.thelaboroflove.com/articles/is-it-safe-to-diet-during-pregnancy/

Gayle, sometimes we just need to vent, that's very normal. It is very frustrating to have any stall, whether it's a wk or months. Trust me when I say, you are not alone with your stall, I have had very long stalls!! I have to stop weighing, because it's such a mind game. But the fact is, you have done an amazing job at losing weight, 120 lbs in 10 months is freaking phenomenal!! It may indeed be slowing down for you, because as we get closer and closer to goal, it does sometimes slow down. But you are not done by any means. You might want to change things up to shake up your metabolism like increasing exercise, lowering carbs but not calories, etc. I am actually going to lower my carbs and not eat any kind of wheat to see if that helps me. I'm reading the book "wheat belly" and it's very eye-opening. Some of us are more sensitive to bread, crackers, etc. You may need to increase your protein? I know it's difficult not to, but don't worry about it too much, stress increases cortisol which promotes weight gain, especially in the abdomen. You're doing great, and an inspiration to me and others!! We can do this!

This is very hard for me - I'm coming clean here with my weight gain and actually moving my ticker, my precious ticker!, up to where I am right now. :crying:

Cheryl is an obesity health activist who writes as My Bariatric Life on Health Central and PM360 Online. She recently launched her new site, My Bariatric Life, and you can follow her on social media, including on Twitter @MyBariatricLife and on Google+. Weight Gain, Gastric Bypass Surgery, and Lasting Weight Loss Cheryl was an active teen, but she went from “fit to fat” as she turned to processed food. At 5’7”, she got up to a weight of 285 pounds and a size 24W. Cheryl got the gastric bypass surgery in 2003. She had diabetes, celiac disease, depression, acid reflux, asthma, and hypertension. She lost over 100 pounds, managed to get off of 9 of her 10 prescription drugs, and does not have chronic back pain anymore. You can see before and after pictures documenting her transformation by watching this video. A Typical Day in Cheryl’s Life As proof that you can follow a diet without red meat and stick to a high-protein weight loss surgery diet, here is a sample day’s diet in Cheryl’s life. The following day has 1,789 calories, 165 grams of protein, and 79 grams of carbohydrates. Breakfast 2-egg omelet with homemade creamed spinach (dairy-free) and turkey bacon Snack Coffee with coconut milk, roasted coconut juice, and egg white protein powder Mineral water Vitamins/supplements Scivation Xtend intraworkout drink with branched chain amino acids Lunch Tuna salad Baby spring mix and grape tomatoes with lemon vinaigrette Terra Real vegetable chips Dinner Smoked turkey leg, no skin 1 cup turnip greens Snack Egg white protein powder in water Getting Rid of the Traces of Obesity After losing over 100 pounds after the gastric bypass surgery in 2003, Cheryl had a lot of extra skin. In 2006, she met a plastic surgeon whom she really liked. In 2013, she decided to get a tummy tuck. The extra skin hadn’t gone away after weight loss surgery, and she wanted to get rid of it. As she describes below, she was delighted with her surgeon and the results of the tummy tuck, and decided to go further. I went from a size 14 jeans being tight to a perfect size 8 in just 4-months. I was so thrilled with the transformation that I decided to do "all of me." In October 2013, Dr. Joseph F. Capella revised the tummy tuck to a lower body lift, and performed a medial thigh lift, extended arm lift, and breast lift. Dr. Capella removed 11 pounds of skin and one liter of fat, and this enabled me to get active in ways that I was unable to with my hanging pannis and inner thighs that rubbed together. I ran my first 3k with my daughter and granddaughter and eventually I was running 5k. What's more, the muscle plication from the tummy tuck placed renewed constriction on my pouch so I am full with less food, as well, I tightened up on my diet by doing Whole30 [a strict 30-day low-carb diet] and going Paleo. In total, I lost 50 inches and 50 pounds after my body contouring plastic surgery. Today I am a size 2, down from a 24W before my gastric bypass surgery. You can go to HealthCentral to read about Cheryl’s decision to get total body contouring after her tummy tuck. She describes the emotional rollercoaster of the experience, the surgery, and her long road to recovery. She is still dealing with complications from her brachioplasty, but stresses the end goal and her luck in finding a fantastic surgeon who cares about her. She didn’t stop there, and instead decided “to reach for the stars” and see a facial plastic surgeon. In one surgery, Dr. Catherine Winslow took about 15 years off my face, restoring the once pretty face that I had when I was thin. I had a total of 10 procedures: deep plane face lift, neck lift, upper eye lid lift, SMAS (superficial muscular aponeurotic system) to tear troughs and lips, lip lift, chin implant, 35% TCA peel, Botox and filler. I go back from time to time to Nurse Triste at Dr. Winslow's practice for filler and Botox. I look at this maintenance routine along the same vein as maintaining my hair cut and color. Destined to Be a Healer Do you believe in fate? When Cheryl visited Guatemala in May of 2011, a Mayan shaman told her her Mayan symbols showed she was a healer. She could, he said, heal herself and others. As Cheryl tells it below, she wasn’t so sure at first. Then she figured it out. I visited a Mayan Shaman when I was in Guatemala back in May 2011. He said my Mayan symbols told that I am a healer. I can heal myself and I can heal others. He said that I needed to heal others, to not keep this gift to myself, or else I would experience sickness or pain and that this was the only way to cure my chronic back pain, which I had suffered with for years. The Shaman said that I need to realize my true self. The Shaman also said the symbols revealed that I am creative — that I knew for sure, but I wondered was he right about me being a healer? So I tried to heal my beloved mother who was stricken with a rare disease. And I tried to heal my beloved boxer dog, Cindi Lu, who was stricken with an aggressive cancer. But I could not save them and felt that I had failed my destiny. Then in 2012 during a personal development training, I discussed this matter with the instructor. And he replied that maybe I was meant to heal people with my words. I did not give much thought to it after that until one night in 2013, I bolted up from my bed and realized that both the shaman and the instructor were right! Healing with Words Cheryl’s work has exploded. She describes the growth of her writing and advocacy career since finding her voice. I began writing as My Bariatric Life for the HealthCentral Obesity vertical in March 2011, nearly eight years after my gastric bypass. I started out writing just a few articles per month as a health guide -- a patient who would share her real world experience in defeating obesity, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and GERD. My work grew legs. I now write 18 articles and develop two recipes per month for HealthCentral where I have a following of roughly 75,000 unique monthly readers. I also write a quarterly patient advocacy column for PM360 Magazine under my name, Cheryl Ann Borne, and I am a long-standing member of their editorial advisory board. Cheryl also makes her voice heard by posting as My Bariatric Life on social media, including Flickr, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest. She is active on BariatricPal and a site for cosmetic procedure patients called RealSelf. Her goal is to provide fair and trustworthy reviews. And this month I will begin writing a monthly opinion piece as My Bariatric Life for BariatricPal. I also am exploring opportunities with the Obesity Action Coalition, and in the past have partnered with Obesity PPM and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). ! Daring Move to a New Career as a Digital Health Strategy Consultant Cheryl has been in the health industry since before her surgery. She explains her career as a digital health strategy consultant. My career has been as a promotions strategist, writer, and designer in the healthcare space with the last 12-yrs in digital marketing. I’ve worked with pharmaceutical and biotech companies and digital health ad agencies and non-CME medical education agencies. I help them to understand the evolving digital health ecosystem and, based on their unique market circumstances, specifically how to communicate with patients and physicians in meaningful ways via digital channels and to ultimately achieve better health outcomes. Cheryl is determined to help people improve their lives. Transforming healthcare is important to me. It's is all about the patient. I want to make a difference; I want to help people live healthier lives. When her company cut her position in 2013, she took a positive approach and decided to focus her energy on fighting obesity. She developed a business plan as a digital health strategy consultant with an emphasis on growing My Bariatric Life, her obesity health activist brand. Paleo Follower and Recipe Developer Cheryl believes in the benefits of the Paleolithic Diet. It is a high-protein diet that you can follow after weight loss surgery. It emphasizes meat, fish, poultry, fruits, vegetables, eggs, nuts, seeds, and oils. It forbids grains, processed foods, dairy products, and potatoes. She plans to help others follow this way of eating. One aspect of my business plan is to launch the brand Borne Appétit in order to teach healthy eating habits and show busy families/couples/singles that it is easy to prepare real food, real simple, and break the cycle of time starvation and over reliance on convenience/processed foods and obesity. To truly understand what it means to eat healthy and break this cycle was something I had to achieve in my own life, and I want to share with people what I have learned through years of experience and experiment. I find the Paleolitihic Diet works best for me…and I enjoy the art of creating delicious recipes within those constraints. I also eat no red meat, only fish and fowl, so this adds an extra level of complexity, which I find stimulating to develop recipes that are not mundane or repetitious. Valuable Life Lessons You can be sure Cheryl has learned a lot of valuable lessons from her weight loss surgery and plastic surgery experiences. She knows the value of maintaining her results, living life fully, and challenging herself to live a life she loves. She also recognizes she has gained freedom and an ability to grow. Beyond the physical transformation are (very unexpected) emotional and spiritual transformations. I’ve returned to some of my roots: ideals and philosophies around the nature of existence that I had walled off (or perhaps ate to insulate myself against) when the emotional pain became too much for my sensitive nature. Plastic surgery was very freeing for me; it freed my jailed spirit. I’ve never been a wallflower but when it came to my body I was timid because I lacked body confidence. And this trickled over into other areas of my life. There were parts of my life that I hid, or situations in which I could not share my feelings, because I was inhibited by the fear of being rejected or judged. And that’s no longer true. I am now able to be my true self, comfortable in my nakedness both physically and emotionally. I am still learning and growing in these areas, particularly in understanding soul relationships and the expression of real love. We are here to play and experience as much as we possibly can. We are here to grow. Often it is through times of adversity that we grow the most because these times force us to get out of our comfort zones. I have come to understand that there are only two emotions. We are either acting out of love or we are acting out of fear, which is the opposite of love. All other emotions are a derivative of love (compassion, forgiveness, self-sacrifice) or a derivative of fear (selfishness, retaliation, deceit). From now on I choose always to act out of love. Do I let go of control and trust my intuition and follow my heart even when it defies my rational faculties or can’t be proven? If I am to act out of love, then yes. Otherwise I return to acting out of fear. As well, I have learned that I need to protect myself from the negative energies of toxic people — those emotional vampires who can turn my love into fear. An Exciting Year to Come Cheryl is expecting a big 2015 in addition to growing her presence as My Bariatric Life and working on Borne Appétit. At the Pharma Marketing Summit in Palm Beach in May, she will be presenting as My Bariatric Life and sharing her story of defeating obesity and its co-morbidities. Also new for this year, I'll finally launch my websites, a dream I've had for a couple of years. I've already launched MyBariatricLife.org for transformative information on defeating obesity and co-morbid diseases. I'll also launch my healthy recipe site BorneAppetit.com and my eating healthy on-the-road travel site BorneVoyage.com. These sites will help a lot of people. It definitely looks as though the Mayan shaman was right when he said Cheryl is a healer. She has come a long way toward healing herself through weight loss surgery, plastic surgery, and healthy living, and she is dedicated to helping others become healthier. Don’t forget to follow Cheryl on social media and through her channel on HealthCentral, and watch for her new monthly opinion piece to be published on BariatricPal! Please click here to read My Bariatric Life's articles in BariatricPal's Weight Loss Surgery Magazine.

Carne did gain 50 pounds with her pregnancy! I think this would be a normal weight gain for a lot of pregnancies, and we all know how hard it is to lose weight after having a baby. I think she is wonderful and a great role model. She is REAL! I hope she does lose the excess 40 pounds to prove to the world she can do it! I think my Doctor at my seminar said that Dr. Spiegel in Houston will lapband a gastric bypasser that has gained weight.

@michigainchic, yes, it IS kind of horrific how little we need to survive and thrive, LOL. One one hand, I truly am eating less/satisfied with much less food and eating healthier, so that's, of course, fabulous. BUT, it's so easy to eat an extra 500 calories in a day! One glass of wine or beer with a snack at night, POOF, 500 calories packed on with a weight gain. There is no more mindless eating for me. I never was this anal tracking my food/drink -- like, down to a bite of my kids' nugget tracking -- but it has given me quite the focus on what do I want to spend my calories budget on. I feel so much better on a high protein/low carb lifestyle though. No more carb comas, dragging my butt around all day spiking with caffeine and carbs and then crashing an hour later. I like the steady energy I have, and the flawless complexion is a nice byproduct of few carbs and cleaner eating.

I am not often hungry and never have been able to eat a large amount of food at one time..but started grazing and stress eating...proactively work on both issues. My approach will be to not overeat, even if I have room to eat more, which is unfortunately how I have maintained the weight gain (65#) from pregnancy in the first place. Prior to pregnancy, I was in the normal weight category and remained that way because I watched what I ate (as did all of my normal weight, "naturally thin friends") and adjusted...some might call that a diet, but mindful eating was a way of life for me. Post-pregnancy, let's just say, I didn't return to it. I have lost weight a number of times since pregnancy, but couldn't maintain it. So, if my team can give me a formula that I can easily follow (amount per meal and number of meals/per day) to maintain the my new weight, I am inclined to follow it. I have tried it my way and was not successful.

I wasnt fat as a child, a pre-teen, teenager, or in early adulthood. I was fairly slim weighing around 125-130, size 7/9, all through school. In my early 20s I went to 150's. At 26 I met my husband and was at 158. (152 in wedding dress) After 13 years being happily married I now weigh 228. There has never been a week/month/year that stands out for weight gain. It has just gradually crept up. Around 5 lbs a year, nothing drastic. I am definitely a yoyo dieter. I have gained and lost the same 20 lbs. so many times, and then some. I sometimes feel like I have let the weight creep up BECAUSE I am happy. I was all the recognized things in high school,,. class favorite, homecoming queen, straight A, etc..... I dont have an unhappy childhood or an unhappy adulthood. I now have a college ed, good paying job, great marriage, and great home life. I always wonder if I would be as miserable about my weight if I had always had to fight it. I have a great self-esteem, has it helped to get me to this weight? I sometimes wonder who has it worse, those who have always been heavy......or those who become heavy, guess this is an informal poll......lol

No need to pop any tablets, you can eat them. Ouch!!!! Food blockages are the biggest pain of a lap banders life. We must prevent this situation occurring daily, as this is crucial to help avoid a pouch forming. A pouch results in a dysfunctional lap band and weight gain is common.Ouch!!!! Food blockages are the biggest pain of a lap banders life. We must prevent this situation occurring daily, as this is crucial to help avoid a pouch forming. A pouch results in a dysfunctional lap band and weight gain is common. Therefore, our primary focus is to avoid food blockages and secondly learn how to manage them. To understand the top three key points that will help you avoid food blockages, get your free ebook at www.weightlosssurgerydiet.com.au with all the answers. In this article, let’s discuss how to manage your predicament once the food has been dislodged and unfortunately you will likely feel a little raw and uncomfortable internally. But why? Improvise with me. If you were to walk slowly through a rose bush forcing your way through, I am 100% confident you will come out worse for wear. Your skin will feel raw, sore, grazed and irritated. Guess what! A similar situation could occur internally, as the food tries to squeeze through the lap band also. The area may get a little swollen and the lap band may physically feel a little tighter and more restrictive. Foods which you would customarily tolerate well may become a little challenging. You must avoid further irritation, by following the next 3 steps: Step 1. Relax the diets texture to soft, wet and easy for the remaining part of the day. Suggestions include soup, casserole, cottage pie etc Step 2. Take your internal anti-inflammatory. This will include icy cold water or ice cubes. Yes this is correct. No need to pop any tablets, just help ice the area and reduce the swelling ASAP. Step 3. Uncover what caused the food blockage and try to prevent this in the future. Wishing you luck Helen Bauzon Dietitian www.weightlosssurgerydiet.com.au

Wow! My composition professor would be appalled at my beginning anything with that but January was so insane for me that I can only begin with a Wow! I prayed, I researched, I posted here, I poured over everything I could find on obesity and gastric surgeries. I watched an all day long marathon on the morbidly obese on Discovery Channel. As always, I overdid, I over-thought, I drove myself crazy. I was in church on a Wednesday evening and could not set still. I finally went out into the lobby and called the insurance company. I was so hoping I was denied and then the searching for a decision was over. The man's voice on the phone told me differently. I was approved. By Friday I had my date. Jan. 31, 2007, with my liquid diet beginning on Jan. 17, 2007. In a week and a half my whole life was changing. The only thing I could compare this to was my pregnancies but this time it was all about me. Was I selfish or rather self-caring enough to go through with this? The idea of waiting on approval had actually caused me to go for the cokes and the caffeined sugary drinks even more and my sedentary job was just helping with the weight gain. I knew I had to quit the sugar now or forget the surgery. Guess what the Wednesday evening services were on all the month of January? A personal trainer/ pastor gave health lectures and focused on fasting! When I decided to fast God had the whole church fast! I actually began liquids and protien shakes every day until the 17th followed by a healthy evening meal. I am truly blessed I did because I would not have made it through the two weeks of liquids 24/7 before surgery if I had not began to prepare weeks ahead of time. My next entry I want to share what those two weeks of such a limited diet did for and to me mentally and physically. I learned about me and what I am vulnerable to. I also learned how strong I can be.

For me, the biggest advantage to going low carb is that when I eat carbs, I crave more carbs. This causes weight gain, not weight loss. I wish I could get them out of my diet completely, and when I do, I am a much happier person. Then someone brings chocolate chip Cookies to work, and all my will power goes out the window.

WOW T thanks I've never heard of Seasonale. what about Weight gain with the pill? I will talk to my doctor SOON about this. My PCP mentioned medirean(?) maybe it's meridian, andyway it kind of scared me. Thanks for the info I will look into to further. We all need to post our pictures on our anniversaries coming up on this thread, don't you think!!

For the past 6-8 years, I've been treated successfully with a combination of: 300 mg lithium (17 yrs) 300 mg seroquel 10 mg ambien 20 mg celexa The lithium influenced my weight gain, especially in the early days of treatment. The ambien caused me to be really hungry before bed. Fortunately, the band does not allow for those late-night munchies.

Thanks for the info about Wellbutrin. I guess I am afraid to take anti-depressants because so many of them have weight-gain as a side effect, except Wellbutrin, which is why I initially thought it would be a good one to try. I probably should see what the dr. says.

Talk to your Gyno to figure out what's best for you. There's a lot more than weight gain when making birth control decisions. For instance, if you're a smoker over 35 then any hormonal birth control is a risk. I can tell you from my own experience: My Gyno said absolutely no Depo-Provera. She said it is notorious for rapid and severe weight gain.

Sarah I continue to check back on this thread because as a newly sleeved person I just can't grasp I risked my life and this could all fail. Please you have already shared so much and for that I thank you but could you please give an example of what you where eatting to cause regain. I really hoped the sleeve would prevent over eatting to some extend so total weight gain would be impossible? Give me an example of a bad day of eatting . Did you feel stuff and ignore that?

Good Lord!!!!!!I am not going to say shame on you but instead you need some help immediately with this journey.You could be a danger to yourself eating those things!!! Identifying the problem is the first step to solving it.No the band will not "work for you" because no,it is not magic(I wish it was!) but instead you must do the work first and foremost (good food choices,following your doctor's recommendations to the letter and excercising 30 min a day minimum 3-5x per week)and the band will mereley help with your portion size,chewing thoroughly and eating slowly which helps with feeling satisfied.It really is a process, not a magic bullet. You must be ready able and willing to make a permanent lifestyle change forever and ever amen. Meaning=You must commit yourself to feeling good and being healthy with the Lap Band and say goodbye to the foods that are literally stealing your health and your life away! I recommend that you get to an overeater's anonymous support group pronto,(do a websearch)visit an nutritionist and cover what your food choices and portion sizes should be plus how many times a day you should eat and no more,plus what supplements you need to take.Last,see a psychiatrist/psychologist if you think you are still "comforting yourself" with food. Depression = comforting your self with food = weight gain (I should know) I am not trying to be mean,I just don't want you to cause yourself a serious complication by not following doctor's orders on this and eating all that horrible food.You can serioussly damage your band and even cause band slippage/erosion from poor behavior choices. Good luck to you and I hope you take me seriously but know I am not trying to hurt your feelings but instead to help you with this.(((HUGS))))

Hello All, I've been lurking here for a while and have appreciated your transparency and vulnerability. I was on this forum almost ten years ago after having a gastric sleeve. I never met my goal weight; over the years, the weight returned. Last month, I was only 50 pounds short of my highest weight. So, on December 12th of this year, I had a revision to gastric bypass. I feel a little discouraged right now because I don't feel I'm making the progress I expected. I lost 11 pounds my first week, but I am only down another 3 pounds for the next 3 weeks. So, I am only down 14 pounds at three weeks post-op. I do not have an appetite at all and am having difficulty getting anything down but liquids, although I was cleared to begin soft foods today. I couldn't even engage in the puree phase too much. Protein shakes are very hard to get down, so I've transitioned to Isopure (which is more of a liquid). Despite eating little to nothing, my weight loss is slow. It could also be attributed to my starting weight being a little lower than most. I started at 5'2, and my starting weight was 222. Additionally, I take bipolar meds, which are known to cause weight gain. Any words of advice or encouragement? I'm feeling down right now.

I take seasonique. I used to be on drop and loved it. But my surgeon says no depo bc of weight gain and hormone issues. If they make you sick try to take them at bed time. HW 283. SW265. SD 3/22/13! CW 238

Just taking the very first steps to the "surgery" Went to my seminar yesterday, filling out paperwork today. Reading everything I can on this surgery. The seminar was wonderful. For once, I was surrounded by people who had all experienced the same thing I had...losing weight...gaining it back, plus some...and so on and so on. My hubby is 110% for this, even tho, its totally a self-pay. He says I'm worth it. My only problem at this time is I really don't have any one else to talk with this about. I can talk with him, but he is 6'0 and skinny. So I found this forum. Will try to keep everyone informed of my progress. Actually feel like I lost 10 pounds by taking this 1st step!!!!

I must say you're right...But being a couch slug was for me when I was sick and not feeling well. I think me spending almost $200 for a new bike was not for nothing. Plus I already know I can do 30 to 45 minutes per day--been there and done that. I have a lot of things pushing me now---dreams, goals that I have to obtain. I was once 315 pounds---I got down to 218 once--but I didn't have the right stuff to keep me there. Now--with the way I feel and all that I have done to get the lap band--I'd have to be a fool to play the couch slug. I am just one Man with 2 small kids. Who do they depend on--me. I came to my final conclusion in November that I had to get off my duff. I lost weight--gained it---lost it--gained it back and more. Now with my new tool--it's more of a confidence factor than anything. Trust me--the minutes last week was just the beginning. I wondered---how did I ride my bike 30 minutes on Wednesday--then go to the Gym for 37 more minutes if my mind was trying to be a couch slug??? Sorry....it will not be that way...

I got great news today; I emailed my PCP yesterday that I would like her to send me to a bariatric specialist and she emailed me today that she referred me to the Bariatric information seminar. I didn't even have to go see her again. WE had discussed my weight gain at my last visit in February for a physical and lab work. I think it would be best for me to stay on my Kaiser insurance and not switch to my Blue Shield option. I guess that is step 1, I am on way down the Kaiser WLS roller coaster. What should I expect at the seminar? do they weigh me there?

Ok, I've been good. I've tried to give myself some time, but now I'm just pissed and about to lose my **** with this sleeve revision. I had the band Sept of 2010. Piece of crap it was. I lost a grand total of 20 when all was said and done. Sliming, weight gain, misery- many of you know the deal. Fast forward to July 9th. The Crapband was evicted from my torso. Gone, never to be seen again. Along with it, a good chunk of my stomach. All was fine and dandy the first two weeks. I went from 217 to 203. Whoo Hoo! Yeah, I know a lot of that was Water, but who cares. But from that point on it's been completely disappointing. The past 9 weeks I have only lost 8-9 pounds. Yes, that is 1 f'ing pound a week on average. Are you kidding me?!!! No, I am not eating sugar, junk, etc. Yes, I am eating loads of Protein. I am not dehydrated. I'm not sitting on my butt all day. I go to physical therapy 3 times a week at a gym for a killer workout to get me back in shape for ski season. My muscles are showing the results of the hard work. I'm active beyond that. I walk. My blood sugar is perfect and my thyroid is allegedly fine(although my family history with it is horrible). What the hell am I supposed to do? This isn't at stall, this is a full stop. I have lost more weight on my own doing Weight Watchers or Atkins! I can not for the life of me figure out how I can be eating 1/4 of the calories that I used to and exercising more and lose a measly 1 pound a week. Am I really that pathetic? My surgeon has basically written me off after two surgeries. I get the same questions each time I go in. I think he is waiting for me to fess up to something so he can bust me, but I have nothing to confess! I don't even feel the need to go back to his office anymore. His solution was to prescribe me Phentramine. I seem to get no where with him, nor my Endocrinologist who should have some better insight into my obviously messed up metabolism. I keep reading the July Sleevers thread and I seem to be literally 50% behind (or more) everyone else in weight loss. Next Monday will be 12 weeks and I will be at maybe 23-24 pounds down. I can't imagine that many others have had this poor of a result, not once, but twice, band included. I would love to hear from anyone who is/has been in my situation. I need some guidance here. This is beyond me wanting to whine. I am past whining. I am pissed off. I have something wrong with me that is preventing me from really losing weight. The past few days I have been starving and eating a lot more than usual. It's not 'head hunger', but growling stomach, light headed, give me food now hunger.