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hi am 23 and when i hit nearly 23 stone i really thought i needed to do something about it so i went to see my gp about things and i was put forward for a laparoscopic gastric band. Then in october 2009 i went to a meeting about what differnt ways there was ballon, gastric band or the bypass i went home and thought about it my next appoint wasnt til feb 2010. By then i new i wanted a laparoscopic gastric band. Altho this was a scary thought i was weighted and told what things maybe causing my weight gain. So from feb i started looking at differnt diets to suit me in the end i combined 2 differnt ones the british heart foundation diet and the free foods list altho it took me at least 3 month to find the right diet for me it was worth it in the end. i lost nearly 3 stone by the time i went back to my next appointment and the pannel team was very happy with my porogress. i had also hit a record weight loss in the clinc of 16kilos i no that is short of 3 stone but i had put a few pounds on before i lost weight after my first appointment i am so proud of myself (i also recived a letter this morning sayin i was a record breaking weight loss for the clinic which will take pride of place in my home to sppur me on the lose me weight). after my appointment in oct i was in hospital the next week for my laparoscopic gastric band to make sure i didnt put the weight back on. i am 3 weeks out of surgy and feel like am ready for this challange . the first few days were hard and i wont lie i had regrets about getting it done but after the first week everything had time to sink in and i know it is the best thing i could have done. since having the band fitted i have lost 6 pound i no that isint a massive weight loss but its still 3 bags of sugar and when you look at it that way a loss is a loss its better than putting more weight on. i am very excited for my first fill which should be in about 3 weeks time i havent yet had a date. every 2 pound i loss i can say good bye to a bag of sugar and the less sugar i eat they more of those bags i can throw!! its easy to get disheartened and feel down and at the time food looks like the best way out i have done it for many years. normally the first thing u grap is the quickest and easy food so why dont you have a look of a free food least (foods that hasnt many cals and is very low in fat) and always have them to hand or prepared in the fridge as this may help. if anyone has any advice for my feel free to email me thanks victoria xxx :cursing:

I went back on Nuva ring 2 weeks post op with no issues with weight gain. I am still loosing. Pregnancy soon after is not recommend and Nuva ring has one of the lower hormone levels compared to the pill.

Been back on nuvaring for a years and no weight gain

Sounds like hormonal weight gain (fluid retention) due to pms to me. Give it a few days and see where its at, hopefully the fluid retention will have gone.

To not have any follow-up care and gain only 15 pounds in two years is verrrry good. But now you're back and ready to dive in again - good for you. I totally agree with Cathy. Get to the doctor. You're not the first person to go missing for awhile and definitely not the first person to have weight gain. I stopped going for follow-ups and gained, too, but I'm back on track. When the nurse gave me a little bit of a rough time about not eating right, etc, my response was a casual, "I know I've not been doing everything that I needed to do, but I'm here now. At least I came back." I got back into the good habits by following the post-fill instructions to the letter. By the time that was over, the cravings were gone. Good for you for getting your head back in the game. Good luck!

I know this isn't on topic, but last week (had surgery 5/10 and 2 cc fill 6/7) had cramps, water weight gain and a little "mini" period! Hey, I haven't had a period in months and didn't miss it! But last week I was ready to eat too much and all the excitment that can come with that time of the month. However, back on track now and always eating my protein first, then the rest.

Yes, all of my primary care drs would annoy me too with "eat a low calorie diet and exercise" which is clearly what Ive been doing lol. I researched PCOS and I literally had every symptom, so I brought that to their attention and I was told I didnt have that either by my pcp. So I saw an endocronologist who specializes in pcos, weightloss, hormone imbalances, thyroid issues, diabetes etc. He diagnosed me, but after years of trying to lose weight on my own and seeing that a symptom of pcos is weight gain and its harder for us to lose weight I knew that's what I had and after I was formally diagnosed is when i decided to have the surgery. I can lose 10lbs and gain 15 more it was a never ending cycle that needs to stop bc it is now affecting my health.

First of all, I'm so proud of you for reaching out to get treatment. That is truly the hardest part! As a fellow anxiety sufferer, I can tell that it DOES get better. As someone who also had WLS I will tell you, from my experience, any amount of weight my meds may have contributed to is NOTHING compared to feeling healthy and strong and not carrying the burden of chronic anxiety. I was on treatment prior to WLS so its hard to say what impact, if any, it had. But even if I were starting today, knowing it might impact me weight, I would absolutely do it in a heartbeat. YOU ARE WORTHY OF GOOD MENTAL HEALTH. That being said, Zoloft may contribute to a ~1% weight gain over the course of the first year of treatment, which is pretty negligible. And its helpful to remember that the med itself doesn't cause the weight gain, the changes in habits it can lead to are what cause the gain. So if you stick to your good habits (hit your protein, drink your water, move your body) you will be just fine. We are rooting for you!

I called my surgeon because I have been EXTREMELY sleepy, needing 10 hours of sleep or I'm a zombie all day and I feel frustrated that I've only lost 2 pounds that past 3 weeks and it's only been 11 weeks since my surgery. I lost 15 pounds the 1st month, 10 pounds the 2nd month and as of this morning it looks like a total of 3 pounds so far this 3rd month, but it keeps bouncing up and down. My surgeons office said that since I was a self pay, that I should go to my pcp and ask them to do blood work. So instead of calling my PCP, I called my Endocronologist (thyroid doc). Had my apt. yesterday with my thyroid doc. 1. my lab work showed that my TSH was low, it was 0.032 and it should be between .358 and 3.74. 2. Also my WBC (white blood cell) was low, 4.3 and should be 5.0-10.0. 3. And my RDWSD was high at 52.2 and should be between 36.4-46.3. And my RDWCV (red blood) was high, 16.4 and should be 11.5-14.5. 4. He also said my Vitamin D was a little low for a thyroid patient, but my B12 was high (probably because I take the 5000mcg every day) 5. And he said my Iron was low, but didn't say what I should do about that. I'm wondering if it could be because I have not been getting hardly any veggies or fruits, i've been focusing on Protein. Any suggestions? I take my 2 Multivitamins and B12 every day. 6. I told him I have to take Unisom or Benadryl every night to sleep and he said that consistent use of Benadryl (antihistamines) can cause weight gain and that because I grind my teeth (badly) I'm not getting through all the sleep cycles. He prescribed Klonopin .5mg for me to try instead. He raised my synthroid from .088mcg to .112mcg. I'm wondering if this will help my weight loss and my energy???? He also prescribed weekly shots of Bydureon. I'm a little nervous about starting these. Is anyone else on this medicine? I tried Byetta several years ago, but they made me very nauseous when I started the higher dose and couldn't take them. He said this newer drug has less side effects. Sorry this is soooooo long, but I know I can count on all the wonderful friends from this forum to share their experience or their expertise if they are a nurse or doctor. I hope this may help some others on here as well. Thanks so much!

I think the weight gain was from the air installed in my tummy as well as the huge amounts of Fluid they infused in me. And last but not least, TMI - but being constipated by the pain meds. But all is well now. I'm pretty darn happy! The doc said that surgery would probably be 2 hours but I was done in an hour! Started walking around as soon as I got to my room later that evening and never stopped! The walking was key to being discharged and getting my body woken up from the anesthesia. I was discharged two days after surgery! In on Wednesday and out on Friday. Not too shabby! I've not had any issues keeping fluids down or drinking, and I've had to remind myself to take it slow. Pain has been minimal, but of course, if you move the wrong way too fast, you'll feel incisional pain. Not a big deal. I have had a "upset tummy" at times, but I think that is partially from drinking too much at a time. That subsides, and the Omeprozol helps. Happy to answer any other questions! Best wishes to all and I'm so glad I did this! Crash!

Too true Rachel....it is so nice to be able to still eat a nice variaty of foods and not have to stress about things getting stuck so much....then I know if its too tight we tend to go for the easy option of junk that slides down and then you have the weight gain.....like someone said on the video on the sight you suggested "If only they could come up with a band for the brain" ....hey then I would be set

HAVE YOU GAINED WEIGHT AFTER YOUR SLEEVE. Hello everyone. I haven been on this forum for quite a while. I was sleeved back in June 2012. I had the lapband revision to sleeve. So far I've lost 45lbs give or take. My starting weight was 216. I lost my first 20 very quickly but from there on its was like pulling teeth.LOL. Anyhow a year to the day I had emergency gallbladder surgery and had to stop working out for a few month, gained a couple of pounds I was able to loose them again. For the past year and half I had endured Iron infusion for my low iron and hemoglobin. In December my OB/GYN decided I needed a total hysterectomy had the surgery done December 19 again had to stop working out and again gained roughly about 10 this lbs I haven't been able to loose it. I'm very worried and upset that I will be gaining more and more. I'm back working out and I'm very careful with what I eat and nothing scale won't move I know I haven't lost inches either because my clothes still fit tight. Everyone keeps telling it's because of the last surgery and that I look fine. It's sad because I don't like what I see in the mirror. And upsetting because I've put my body through so much and I don't want to be I vain.

I’m hoping that’s the case for me. Years ago when my cycle was regular, I know I would gain at least 5 lbs during that time. So I’m hoping once it goes off, the weight gain will follow. Sending you lots of positive vibes as you navigate your way through the pre-op phase!!

I’m about 5 and a half weeks post-op, and my period showed up about a week ago. I haven’t seen a period in roughly 3 years (very irregular). The issue is this: sweet/salty cravings have surfaced, I’ve gained 2 lbs during this week that my period has been on. I’ve had horrible pms symptoms, my flow has been super heavy 😩. Has anyone else experienced weight gain this early on? Please tell me that I haven’t messed anything up. It’s very discouraging to see the scale go up when I was losing just fine. At 1 month post-op I was down a little over 30 lbs total from my highest weight. I’m just hoping to see the numbers on the scale start to go down again. Especially after my period has gone off; should the weight I’ve gained go away? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Happy New Year 🎆!!

That was the case for me, I was over 60bmi and as such my insurance did not require me to do the 6months physician weight loss plan. but despite being given the green light, I opted for the 6 physician visits, because I wanted to learn more about my body and the food I consumed and as i result i learned more about me. It was sort of strange, every one at my surgeons office from the Physician assistant to the NUT asked me why i wanted to do it this way, and my response was something like, surgery is not a silver bullet, if I don't mentally prepare I will fail.. I am glad I took the extra time.. despite the extra weight gain and pressure to get under 400lbs to even have the surgery, it was worth the battle for me.

I was put on anti-anxiety meds a few months ago due to chronic anxiety and frequent panic attacks, and I got into a really in depth convo with my PCP because I'd already been on a med for my TN (trigeminal neuralgia) that made me gain weight and I was only able to lose half the weight that I gained so I absolutely did not want to go on a med that had a high possibility for weight gain. She told me that basically anything for anxiety or depression could lead to weight gain. So we ended up choosing a med that had less potential side effects and moderately low risk for weight gain which is the med Celexa. I take 20-30mg a day (20 for good days and 30mg on bad days). The holidays f-ed up my med cycle and I had to go without my meds for a solid week (the pharmacy f-ed up my refill order and due to the holiday couldn't get in touch with my doctor) and I had multiple panic attacks in that time and during that week it really hit home just how much the meds had been helping because without them I was an absolute disaster (the worst day of the week I had four panic attacks in one day. FOUR. IN. ONE. DAY). Anxiety is a terrible thing to have to deal with and I'm glad you reached out for help (I waited. I allowed it to get worse and worse and for 3 months I just dealt with it until the panic attacks that were one a week or one every other week started happening almost daily. I hope you don't have the panic attacks with your anxiety. Because it's scary. And sucks. So much.)

I'm back to exercising. Feels amazing. Prior to being diagnosed with MS (in the year from hell) my formerly active life was whittled away to almost nothing. Some days, it was amazing I could walk around my house, never mind do anything else. Given that I used to weight train daily, and had begun to rack up miles of race walking (daughters and husband biked or rollerbladed), the slow slide into inactivity really, really sucked. I grew up on a farm ("The Money Pit" as my father called it), working with horses and doing daily chores including milking cows & goats, feeding chickens, and managing my several breeding hundred rabbits. Physical activity (and health) were taken for granted. Grew up, married, had my girls, and just went on living. Married a city slicker, so the horses had to go, but otherwise, I didn't mind the changes. The year I turned 33 started out well, with a family resolution to get physically fit. My girls were 13, 12, & 11. We planned our 'Get Fit' campaign and got to work. In the small town in which we lived the local gym was owned by a couple who were competitive body builders, so the facility was awesome. As a part of their business, they both offered personal training, so we took advantage of that, and started working out on a schedule. Eventually, they gave us the code to the gym and we could use it 24/7 which was convenient for us as my husband was on shift work. By about June, we were all pretty pleased with ourselves and our new level of fitness, and we looked forward to the workouts and our nightly walks as a family. In July, we decided to try rollerblading, and I got a new pair for the first time out. But I could only go to the end of the block. My legs felt soooo heavy, and I was having trouble with my balance. My right foot was dragging, and the girls were teasing me about walking like a drunk. Then I developed a black 'hole' in the vision in my left eye. Yikes! That made me go to the doctor. Hell compressed into a sentence - after months of tests and assessments, I was diagnosed with MS in December 1996. So. No exercise. Fatigue, staggering, dropping things, slurred words. Some good days, lots of bad days. Weight gain. Lots of it. Ugh. I was in a very stressful job, and the specialist told me, "Change careers, de-stress your life, and get rid of some responsibility or you'll slide into a wheelchair and stay there." (I was already using a walker) So, I did exactly that. Changed careers, changed cities, and dumped responsiblity. Got out of the wheelchair, and began to make serious health-related changes. All of which helped me to feel better, but did nothing to dislodge the 80 pounds I'd gained in 1996. Fast forward 16 years. I had given up on losing the weight until the idea of VSG came up with the doctor here. I took the time to do the research, met with the doctor, and decided to go ahead. Sleeved April 4, 2012. Last check up I'd lost 44 pounds. Three days ago I started exercising again. Really exercising. It feels soooooooo good! My muscles are sore, my legs protest as I stand up, and I love it. I have to be mindful of the MS, but I'm remembering what it feels like to have gotten sweaty/hot enough to produce natural endorphins. *baskinginthehappiness* :wub: I certainly can't do what I used to do, but who cares? I'm doing something I haven't been able to do for years. After I was diagnosed with MS I wanted to do a half marathon for the MS Society in Canada, but I couldn't manage the fatigue and the extra weight. Now, I've learned how to manage myself with regards to the MS, and I'm losing the weight... which is making a big dent in the level of fatigue I have to deal with, and I have waaaaaaaaaay more energy. Maybe... just maybe, I'll be able to get to the point where I can do that half marathon. Wouldn't that be something? For now, I need to stand up and get some work done. Ow! Ow! Ow!

I actually do better sticking to my diet plan when I weigh myself daily. I know several other people that do better that way, too. It's an individual preference, but you do have to know and understand the plateaus and even a little weight gain now and then. Water weight gain can be 5 lbs or more. It can happen if you eat too much salt, because of hot weather, as a warning sign that mother nature is about to come calling, or because someone in Thailand sneezed while you were putting on your shoes for that matter. : ) You just have to keep in mind that kind of weight gain will come right back off if you stick to the plan. My scale helps me keep on track. I almost always gain weight when I don't weigh every day.

I told my boss I was having my gallbladder removed. Some people take longer to recover an others. I don't think you have to tell HR what kind of surgery you're having. The doctor does have to complete the FLMA/ short term paperwork. Mine only listed the types of symptoms I was having weight gain, back pain, ... (very generic stuff). If you do end up saying something to HR they can not tell your boss or anyone else because of HIPAA regulations.

Doing the pre-surgery liquid diet, on day 7 and instead of losing weight I somehow managed to gain 1 lb. I'm told it is water weight due to the increased H20 and high sodium content in the broth but it still concerns me. My surgery is Monday and it's freaking me out at this point. Has anyone else experienced weight gain during the 600 calorie, no sugar liquid diet?

I have had the lapband for 4 months, havent gained but havent lost, i dont like the diet at all, im starting to feel like i couldve saved 10,000 & just followed Atkins Diet cause thats basically what my diet is, and i cant do atkins, have never been able to do it, constipates me beyond belief, my band is a 10cc & its filled 6.5, im starting to get discouraged. Has this happened to anyone else?

Week 23 Last week’s weight – 198.4 This week’s weight – 200.8 Total weight gained this week – 2.4 lbs Beginning weight – 246 lbs Total weight loss since surgery – 45.2 lbs Average weekly weight loss since surgery – 1.8 lbs Ugh! I gained 2.4 lbs this week. It is not too surprising. I was gone for the past five days on an anniversary trip with my husband and my eating (and drinking) was way out of whack - plus I didn’t get any strenuous exercise in. I got some exercise in…walking instead of driving in a car but nothing too noteworthy. I also got my period three days ago and I am sure that is not helping. It is a little discouraging to see my weight above 200 again. I missed five days at Crossfit but went last night and this morning (I’m trying to do it at least 3x a week for the first month). I am dog/house sitting for the next 10 days and I am hoping to keep myself on a pretty tight eating/exercising plan during that time just to get back on track. Hoping to report a loss next week.

I had a bypass earlier this year and so far zero regrets. My weight loss, even with bypass, has been slower than average due to a screwed-up metabolism from years and years of dieting. I know if I had gotten a sleeve I may have had slower weight loss and more stalls, so I am happy with my choice to get the bypass. Since the surgery, I have a really strong sensation of restriction, next to no hunger, food aversions (sweet and fried foods) and I can taste things way more intensely. I can eat very small portions of junk foods like ice cream (1 or 2 tablespoons). Anything more than that and I just feel icky so I just avoid them. I lost my sugar cravings, which was the cause of my weight gain in the past. I hope those sugar cravings are gone for good because not having them will help a lot with maintenance. The only struggle so far, however, is dehydration. I have to be so focused every day on meeting my water goals. If I don't, I wake up in the middle of the night with the most awful dry mouth. Other than that, all is good.

I eat 6 times times a day and im hungry 6 times a day.I asked my surgeon and he said its normal but to.make.sure I stick to mainly protein so I don't risk weight gain after my body has adapted to my sleeve.

We have developed abnormal relationships with food. We eat to cope. We eat when we're bored, happy, sad. Food can be a lover, a friend. The biggest problem with this is that food works really well and really quickly in these situations and we gain weight. If we only ate when we were truly hungry we'd all be thin. We also train ourselves like dogs to be hungry all the time. This is not true hunger. This is phantom hunger. If we eat in the mini-van, in front of the computer or in our chair in front of the TV, what this does is that every time we are in the mini-van, in front of the computer or in our chair in front of the TV, we are HUNGRY. This is not true hunger. This is phantom hunger and we've gotten really good at it. A major help is to only eat at the table so that it is the only thing associated with food. If you go up to a dog and say, "wanna treat?" they will go absolutely bizerk because they associate this with food coming in. There are many terms for phantom hunger - emotional eating, mindless eating, non-hunger eating, etc. This is the hardest thing to solve. The keys are to recognize our triggers and to identify sources of deep-seated psychological pain and address them so the phantom hunger will go away. The best book I've seen on this is called "Shrink Yourself" by Dr. Gould. True hunger is a physiological NEED for food. It is patient. Any food will do. There is no associated guilt or shame. Phantom hunger is a DESIRE for food. It is impatient. There is a specific craving. ("If I don't get chocolate right now I will harm somebody" etc.) It is a reaction to a stimulus. It is associated with guilt or shame. The easy test to see if you suffer from phantom hunger is if you can't stop yourself. Phantom hunger is the most complicated aspect of weight gain and therefore the hardest part of successful weight loss. It comes from many different things in each one of us. We all have this. Skinny people have phantom hunger but they control it. A great example in Dr. Gould's book is an overweight woman whose life's dream was to get paid to sing. Unfortunately, in high school, a boyfriend made fun of her singing and this hurt her deeply emotionally. Every time this psychological pain came up, she ate. She struggled to lose weight. When Dr. Gould identified this and encouraged her to sing again, she finally agreed to sing at a friend's wedding and she received many positive accolades after. This led to a job as a music teacher in an elementary school - she was getting paid to sing. Guess what? She lost weight successfully. She solved the source of deep psychological pain and therefore eliminated the source of phantom hunger. Another example is women who were sexually abused as children. Food treats the pain and obesity is an outer protection against abuse. This is very difficult to deal with alone and typically requires the help of a professional to bring this to the surface, deal with it and treat the source of psychological pain and phantom hunger. You see similar situations in unhappy marriages and basically any source of real stress. The secret in all these things is to deal with the source of pain and also find non-food ways to cope with them. All this is easy to say. This is the most difficult aspect of weight loss. Finding a psychology professional that deals specifically with weight loss can be helpful to tipping the scale in your favor. An interesting test in Dr. Gould's book is to ask yourself who you are jealous of and why. He sees many patients who can't pinpoint their source of psychological pain so he asks them who they are jealous of. This is how he identified the source of pain in his singing patient when she told him she was jealous of a friend who was paid to sing. This is a tiny amount of information on a very complex topic. You can do the nutrition and fitness stuff perfectly and still not lose weight if there are issues in the brain stuff category. Ask yourself if you suffer from phantom hunger and if you have difficulty stopping yourself. Consider working with an expert or reading Dr. Gould's book. Positive self-talk is another important topic in this discipline and I go into detail on this and more on YouTube. Search Watkins Weight Loss Class. I hope this is helpful. Weight loss surgery makes all this stuff much easier but it is still important to be smart in the disciplines of Nutrition, Fitness and Brain Stuff. I wish you all the greatest success in your weight loss journey. Remember the importance of buying yourself a really nice present when you reach your goal. Brad Watkins MD