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I chose this surgery so I would not fall off the wagon. Falling off for me wasn't just a meal or a day, it was a month and wasn't just a few pounds but 10-15. I was so tired of the yo-yo dieting and weight gain/weight loss. No matter what restrictive surgery you choose, you will still have to watch what you eat (more quality than quantity) and exercise.

Most insurance companies and Bariatric centers of excellence require a 3,6 or 12 month program. They want to make sure you are truly ready for all the changes required to be successful. This time requires that you go to monthly appts with a nutritionist that monitors and coaches your progress, a physcologist to ensure you really are ready, a fitness specialist who helps you build a plan to get moving, a Bariatric surgeon who examines you and works with you to determine the best WLS surgery given your health issues. Some programs even require you to go to classes and support group meetings. It is because this is not easy, and they want to ensure if you have the surgery you will put the time in. I will tell you, it is so worth it and today I am thankful for the 9 months my program took because it really did help me get ready in my head and take the right actions ahead of time. If you smoke, you will have to quit. If you drink caffeine or soda, you will have to quit, you will also learn mindful eating habits and the rules of WLS. There are a few that will ensure you are successful. In terms of the checklist it is mostly checking off if you qualify under the program. Some checklists require you have met with your PCP, they look for information if you have sleep apnea, if you have not been tested they will likely request that you have a sleep study which by the way helps get insurance to approve you. You will likely need to have a BMI over 40 or have a BMI over 35 with comorbitities like sleep apnea, diabetes, high blood pressure, reflux to get approved through insurance. All this stuff is on the checklist. Also on mine I had to write a diary of my weight gain and loss and all the diets I ever tried. I also had to write a paragraph on why I thought WLS was the solution for me..... I know it sounds like a lot but again it is worth it.

My biggest scar is where the lapband port was inserted and removed (used same scar line). It is faded quite white and barely noticable, especially compared to the stretch marks from childbirth and a liftetime of weight gain and loss and regain even more.... Scars from lap surgery are NOTHING compared to the stretch marks and wrinkly skin. One of these days I will have to post a photo of that hot mess...LOL

I am due to have my sleeve on 8/18. I am getting nervous. I was just on the veterans forum and I saw many people posting about weight gains, and struggling to maintain their weight using intermittent fasting. I used intermittent fasting, also a 500 calorie diet to lose 75 pounds several years ago....and it came back despite my struggling with excercise, sticking to a low carb, then moderate carb paleo diet. So, when I see people years post op talking about using weight loss techniques that I have tried and over time failed to stop regaining weight with....well it makes me wonder whether the surgery has lasting value. Will the sleeve help me lose weight? No doubt. Heck, I can lose weight on my own ( we all can) But what I am wondering if it will make it easier for me to maintain! I was hoping that after losing the weight, the sleeve would allow me to eat my normal healthy paleo way of eating ( Protein and vegetables and healthy fats) without always having to go hungry in order to keep from gaining weight. I am quite an easy gainer. Does the sleeve allow you to eat less food ( healthy food) and still feel full when you are greater than 1 year out? What benefits have you continued to notice after a year or more post op?

Hello Blev I started out at over 300 lbs, I was 300 on the day of surgery. I am 45, so you and I are about the same age. I also had a hysterectomy and gained a lot of weight after that. And I am bipolar and the meds really attributed to even more weight gain. So I just wanted to say "hi" and that I was excited like you are! Congratulations on making the decision to have the sleeve surgery. My only regret is that I didn't do mine sooner!

I was allowed to pick up 5 pounds each arm at one month, but was able to do bodyweight exercises at two weeks. No pull ups from a bar, but things like walking lunges with no weights, push ups against the wall, modified boxing exercises, step up calf raises, up and down stairs, walking and speedwalking to my heart's content.......that kind of stuff. Obliques were out of the question until six weeks. The inner workings of your incisions will let you know pretty quickly if you are over-reaching your healing. I tried picking up my 30 pound kettle bell last week, but that clearly is not gonna happen for a while. I could not even get it off the floor. Just this week (nearing 3 months) I have increased my weights to 8 pounds each hand. I wanted to go to ten, but I could barely pick the weights up. I am learning about Paleo Eating and Paleo Fitness from MarksDailyApple.com, and even purchased some Vibram Five Finger Barefoot Shoes, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE for exercise. I am having my boyfriend help me build a fitness course around the perimeter of our back yard, which is about a 1/4 acre. A lot of what I need to do is post-stroke therapy at a modified level, but I am fighting this fat with every weapon I can come up with. Mark explains Paleo Fitness basics as several primal efforts: our ancient ancestors (mine are orkney Island Stone Masons) did not chase mastadons all day. Their day included activities like these: Move Frequently At A Slow Pace Lift Heavy Things Sprint Once In A While Get Adequate sleep Play (No chronic cardio and exercise bulemia) I really like his approach to fitness. Between surgery and the Paleo Lifestyle, I am becoming a fat-burning beast! Since you sound like a fellow beastie who was sidelined with weight gain like I was, you may already know about Paleo. I used to belong to the National and Campers and Hikers Association back in the day and was even a decent archer and pistol packin' mama. I miss it, but I've gotten cushy in my old age. Now that I am post-op and healing, I will be glad to get outside in those barefoot shoes as soon an this frikin' Chicago weather warms up. I wish you good luck and good health.

Thanks all! I’m 39 but look way older now. I was sleeved in 2012 and had acid reflux and weight gain w it. So they did bypass to fix the acid which I love but I dropped so fast in 2 months. Had my bypass 11/2 and I’m 5’3 176. Goal is 150 and then I get my PS. I went yesterday to the cosmetic n laser np. She said not a big deal but to me man it’s really really saggy and bad. I’ve never had it before and it bothers me more than anything. I guess too, I’ll take being healthier over tight skin nice neck lol it’s just hard seeing it

Hi, I had my Gastic Sleeve 30/6/2011, was pregnant 6 weeks later and had a beautiful baby boy. Lost weight throughout, baby fine and both of us apparently healthy. In March 2013 I was done to 67kg, from 118kg and discovered I had Colan Cancer. Since then I have had surgery, Chemo and am now tumor free. There is a 15-20% chance of it returning, and if it does then it will be terminal. But my old "friend" weight gain is back and biting me hard, I have gained a lot and am back up to 83kg, and NOT happy. That said my motivation is low, self loathing high. If only loathing = action! I know I am eating too many carbs, sugar craving is high. Salads are perfect content, size is massive. I have had every test under the sun ( they keep looking for cancer ) and this includes a gastroscopy and lucky for me I have not stretched my stomach. Thoughts about a good diet to get back on track? I am eating my emotions, was drinking too much alcoal as a stress reliver and could certainly do to cut that out/back. Excersize has never featured in my weight loss to date. My surgeon and I spoke last week and is not concerned about the re-gain, but I have kep a food journal and am meeting with his dietician in a couple of days.

I know why I over eat... I LOVE food, I love cooking food, I love eating food and I love sharing food. I too watch The Biggest Looser and love the show, but I'm sorry, when they do that "root problem" thing, I just laugh. It has nothing to do with my weight issues. I have people in my life that have suffered unbelievable pain and sorrow and nope they're not fat, nor alcoholics or drug adicts, and I have friends that have the greatest life in the world and they're fat, so, to me I believe it's about will power and the ability to change your eating habits and no longer indulge in wonderful tasting fattening foods. I frankly LOVE food, I love butter, whipping cream, cream cheese, and that will never change. I need to be held accountable for my own weight gain and poor eating habits, it has nothing to do with my life issues. There is a member on here that was on "The Biggest Looser" and the world watched her loose all her weight, but soon as her life and reality started again, she began gaining, so was recently sleeved. I haven't read anythig from her lately, so I hope this has helped her.

I gained weight on mushies and was starving as well. Then I started eating meat and getting fills and I started losing 2 pounds a week. Don't worry it will get better. And on a side note, I never raise my ticker. I consider any weight gain as "bounce" those pounds are so new they will be easy to get rid of its those really old pounds that are 20 years old that are hard!

so im going to be my normal Smart a$$ self and say..... you can find a study most anywhere that will back what ever one wants to believe. My view.... Children are what they grow up with. If the parents are over weight the child has a higher chance that he/she will be over weight too.... Only because they eat what we eat... if we as adults eat food that is unhealthy so will our children. My parents were not over weight when i grew up... because my mom or dad cooked a meal... We rarely ate out and hardly ever ate at Fast food places. My weight gain came in my late twenties and thirties... Why.. because i move to the city and started eating bad foods. Next time you go eat at a buffett.... Look around at the over weight people there... then look at their children... 90% will be over weight and so will their kids. I think the Food stamp program is another contributor.... It make it too easy to buy unhealthy food choices. Ever get behind a person at the grocery that's paying with Assistance..... it is horrifying ... basket full of candy, chip, Cookies... pre packaged food... tons of soda and ice cream... unhealthy foods... and this is what our youth of today has to chose from in their homes... Video games... another contributor to weight gain.... we NEVER stayed inside.... we were riding bikes, running... building forts... playing hide and seek...... Get the kids eating better by being a good example and make them go play out side.....

Hi there i haven't had the surgery yet i been told by others who had RNY that when you start seeing the weight gain to get back to basics. High protein low carb and water should help keep hunger away long enough to keep the snacking at bay

Thank goodness...I seriously worried about you all day yesterday. NO being too tight will not lead to faster weightloss...It will lead to all sorts of problems though. My bet is after an initial bit of weight gain (1-3 pounds) of your body getting back to its proper nutritional state that they weight will start coming off if you can eat the solid proteins and veggies. Please do not hesitate to PM me if you ever need to chat or get suggestions. So glad you are feeling better. Welcome to the life that a bandster SHOULD be living! You had to have thought banded life was hell!

The link that I posted says something about the old school BC's and weight gain. I wish I could go on Mirena (it's an implant that goes up in your biz, Katy) but I haven't had any babies. My OB won't put it in, something about the cervix not being dilated before. So, I'm on the Nuva ring which is low dose too.

I had my surgery done by Dr. Pohl (Johnston, RI) back in 12/04 (I was 34)and had a couple of fills in the spring of 2005. The last office visit was.. lack of a better word, Painful!!! They spent 40 minutes stabbing my belly with a long needle trying to find the "fill reservoir", they couldn't find it since I had a lot of scar tissue. So I ended up having to reschedule and go to Roger Williams Hospital (Rhode Island) and use an X-Ray machine so they could find my reservoir and filled it. That was the last time I saw Dr. Pohl or his office, life got out of balance after that when I went through a divorce, job lose and almost a foreclosure in the next 2 years after that. It was a tough couple of years, I didn't bother with the fills, weight or even a diet, I was just doing whatever to get through life.. Now my life has been rebalanced, I have a wonderful fiancee, great job and I'm finally happy with my life! Now I want to get my weight under control and live a healthy life. I was at 301 (5' 8") when I had my surgery in 04 and got down to 230 in 05. Now, over time, I'm back up to 255, I was eating whatever and whenever I felt like, the stress was killing me and I wasn't exercising either. In time, I noticed that the lap-band doesn't really restrict anything anymore except for when I eat food quickly, it ends up getting stuck and I have to .. Well you know... I can now eat as much food I want without feeling full. For all I know, the lap-band could have stretched or worst, slipped. Do you think the doctor will help me start all over again? I'm not too crazy about Dr. Pohl or the Dr guy who did me fills with Dr. Pohl, but I need to finish what I started! Can I start over with another Dr (any suggestions)? Will I have any problems with fills with my new insurance (was BCBS now it's UHC)? I'm going to call Dr. Pohl's office this week and see what my options are. Anyone ever do this, go a few years without Dr. care and then go back? Any comment or ideas? PS this Forum is great, back when I had my lap-band in 04, there was very little info on it. It's nice to see other people feeling the way I did/do. Christian

I have been on depo shots for a year when I first started I asked about weight gain. My doc put me on a diet not really to get weight off just so that I didn't gain weight. So I have uhc and I have to do a 6 month supervised diet. I called them today and asked about the 6 month diet and they said It didn't have to be a monthly weight ( I called twice). But I didn't think about the gyno till now. So I typed all this to ask do u think I can use the year for the 6 month supervised diet?

Here is an excerpt from the Inamed handbook that is valuable to your situation With the Lap Band system in place, you should be able to eat only small ammount so the food you eat should be as healthy as possible. Do not fill your stomach pouch with :junk: food that lacks Vitamins and other important nutrients. Your meals should be high in Protein and vitamins and low in carbs. solid food is more important then liquid food or soft food. The lap Band system will have little or no effect if you only eat liquid or soft food. It passes through the stomach outlet very quickly and does not make you feel full. Here is another excerpt form the book If the adjustment (fill) results in too tight of a stomach opening you could have a hard time eating most foods, sometimes this causes people to avoid solid foods. They may drink liquid meals or soft food meals and this may result in weight gain. A band that is too tight may cause reflux symptoms and can also cause frequent vomiting. Sounds to me that your band may be a tad too tight..you should be able to eat solidsand still lose weight. Having as little as .1 or .2 cc's removed will give you releif and able to eat solids while still lose weight..a band that is too tight is at greater risk of slipping.. if it were me I would call my doctor and have a small ammount of saline removed.

I hadn't seen my therapist (food issues) since a week or so before the surgery, so we caught up in our session last night. She is not a proponent of WLS, but doesn't push her own agenda and is supportive to me. Here's my spare change on the matter (and pretty much what I shared with her): We are learning so much about weight gain and loss, and I hope that for my daughter's generation they have non-surgical options that work. Surgery is certainly a drastic treatment, especially when it involves removing a large part of a working organ. BUT. Right now, we know surgery does some very specific things that provide a better place for getting to and staying at a healthy weight, and it's not duplicatable by other means. Especially with my comorbidities and auto-immune arthritis, I have less than the statistical 5% chance of losing the weight through non-surgical means and keeping it off long term. I have been dieting for over 30 years, and I'm heavier now than I ever was, and with the auto-immune disorder, I no longer have the stamina to diet, period (which was probably the best thing I ever did, but I'd already topped 300 lbs before I stopped dieting). My life and relationship with food is SO much different now than it was 3 weeks ago. While I'm still struggling to get enough food in because of the restriction (but I'm only 3 weeks out, and I see it getting better every day, so it's fine), it's so much more than the restriction. I used to binge eat comfort foods: honey buns and chocolate fudge poptarts were my nemisis, but anything with loads of sugar, salt, and fat were game. I didn't think it was that unhealthy because they weren't HUGE binges, and I've never purged. Just overeating to a way unhealthy point. Looking back, it absolutely was bingeing behavior. And if I went shopping, it was pulling teeth to make myself NOT put those things in the cart. Went shopping the day I got cleared for soft foods with hubby. Walked past the Little Debbie display. Part of my brain went "ooooh, Little Debbies counts as 'soft' I want honey buns". Then the part of my brain that imagined eating a honey bun went "eh. doesn't sound that good, actually. I want Peanut Butter." Walked away, easy peasy. Repeat experience in the Breakfast aisle with poptarts. Though the fruit poptarts had a bit of appeal, I easily recognized that my body might want some fruit, and I have many ways to get that without all the sugar and fat that goes with poptarts, and that actually sounded better. It's like a switch went off in my brain and while I'm still having the disordered eating thoughts, it's incredibly clear to me that those thoughts don't fit. And with those thoughts calming down and shutting up, it's like I can hear what my body really wants for the first time. Combine that with the fact I'm forced to slow down my eating and chew food thoroughly (I used to wolf it down), and eat several small meals a day.... this feels like the way I should have been eating my whole life. In fact, when I was the healthiest I was pregnant and had to eat small Protein meals every 3-3.5 hours to avoid nausea. I was sharing this with my therapist, and said "I know it was a really drastic way to get to this point, but I really feel like this is the right place for me to be in with food" and she had to admit that where I'm at right now is the goal of therapy around food issues, though she also agreed with the "very drastic" comment as well. LOL. I don't know if this will last forever. But if it can last long enough for me to establish healthy eating patterns and learn to really listen to my body, it's SO worth it. So for my case... drastic? Yep. And I think I'd have gotten here eventually through therapy - but it could easily have taken YEARS. This way? 3 weeks. I'm already seeing improvements in my medical conditions as well. Small, but definitely there. I'm a nurse, and one of the things that is hammered home to us about medical treatments - every treatment has benefits and risks/side effects. If the benefits don't outweigh the risks/side effects, then the treatment is not the best choice. Here, besides some of the complications that may or may not happen, the risk/side effect is losing part of a functioning organ. But the benefits for many of us far, far outweigh the risks/side effects. Ultimately, you have to make that evaluation for yourself and your situation. For me, there's just no question. It's premature to say "best thing I ever did for my health" at only 3 weeks out, but that's seriously how I feel.

Hey Pete, I'm not sure! I'm only 10 days out so can't laugh at all yet because it hurts! But I know that when Jared Leto gained 67 pounds to play Mark Chapman in Chapter 27, he said that it changed the way he laughed. So perhaps the same can happen as you lose weight? :thumbup: Edit: And look! You've lost 67lb! Haha what a coincidence! Must be something about that exact amount of weight gain/loss that makes you laugh different. :thumbdown:

I have to start my liquid diet now, even before I have a surgery date because I gained 3 pounds since April. I think mostly from quitting smoking. I have everything done, just an ultrasound because they found gallstones when they did my upper GI. I am really dreading it, but hopefully I can get through it. I am waiting my doctor is sending my paperwork to get approval from the ins company, BCBS of Mass. Does anyone have experience with being denied because of a weight gain? Even just 3 pounds? Dr. Didn't seem to be too concerned, but I have to go to the nutritionist to start my liquid diet now, even before getting a surgery date, who she said could be November!! Don't think I can last that long on a liquid diet!!!

I can soooooo appreciate this thread. I am actually going through the EXACT same issue. Plus more prone to the weepys. I'm guessing that the weight loss has caused an added release of Estrogen into my system making everything haywire including the 3# weight gain. Which makes me pissy them weepy. I do hope next month will be better. Until then I cheated and had a 3 oz dark chocolate bar that took forever to eat. I guess that's the good news. LOL

My doctor told me to crush metformin He refuses to give me glucaphage (I think cuz it leads to weight gain??) the pill is much smaller and thats what i want, I HATE crushing pills and honestly.. I just stopped taking them at all.. and I have been fine. (NOT that a reccomend that)

LOL! That cracked me up about the food police thing. Your right, my family has tried that a few times and they get met with a very insulted look. Considering they are all still gaining weight from eating and drinking whatever they want, I figure at least I'm on the downward trend. If I want to splurge once in awhile they can deal with it. I can't think of a time since being banded where a splurge has ever caused a weight gain. I typically will plateau for several weeks at a time but it stays pretty stable. I don't know how many times I have gone in to weigh thinking I've gained 10 pounds to actually find I've either stayed the same or lost a few pounds. One of the nicest things you could do is rub your partner's back when she gets a stuck feeling. I get a huge cramp when I get stuck and that really feels good. Teresa

I have buckled down! Watched everyday what goes in my mouth (both food & liquid) written down not only what I have eaten but the calories, fat content etc. keeping my calories at 1750 or lower. I was going to the gym getting back to the routine that I was in prior to my daughter leaving for college and my father suddenly passing away. In about 2 weeks I was down 7 pounds, to say totally over the moon was an understatement. Now today I weigh and I gained 4.6 pounds in 7 days!!! Why the sudden weight gain in the short amount of time? What do I do? I had gastric bypass 5 years ago, my heaviest was 265, my lowest was 128. My dr.'s goal weight for me was 175, I eventually ended up at 145 for a good long while. 2 years ago my dr said that he would like to see me at 160-166. I know I shouldn't complain at all since I am weighing 163.4 but when you see the scale go down after going up for so very long it's very discouraging, almost heartbreaking. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

@ Thanks for your honesty. With weight loss surgery the work is never over..Right? Bravo to you for getting back on the horse. No point in beating yourself up over the weight gain. Push forward. We know you have done this before and you can do it again.