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If I had a STABLE BMI of 38 and I wasn't afraid of going higher then No, I would not even consider this procedure. BUT my situation is much different than yours. When I was in the low 200s, my shape was very much a pear shape. I held most of my weight in my thighs and hips and very little in my abdomen. I had no comorbidities(and still don't even at 40 years old and 330 pounds) I had no joint pain at that weight. I could do everything I wanted to do.... I could even jog and I could hike for 20 miles in a single day! so no. I would not have had the surgery at a 38 BMI unless it was to prevent future weight gain... NOW, If I was YOU, I would DEFINITELY have the surgery. If you have comorbidities, then your body is begging you to lose the weight. No two bodies are the same so it's really not fair to compare. I was in a way "blessed" genetically. Yeah, I do have some thyroid issues.. and I have a propensity to gain and hold on to weight and compounded with a healthy appetite and not always the best choices I wound up at 330 pounds... BUT I have low cholesterol, no signs of heart disease, normal liver profile, normal blood sugar.. etc. I am fortunate. Not everyone can be so lucky, so I say take advantage of this surgery in order to combat against your genetic predisposition! Best wishes to you!

I'm sorry you're going through this. Stalls do happen and they can be very frustrating and disheartening. It's possible you're not getting enough liquids or enough protein. But you may be losing inches. Are you taking your measurements? You may be doing everything right and just be in a stall (gaining a pound could just be fluid retention or lack of a BM that day - not a true weight gain). If it keeps up for a while, reach out to your nutritionist and discuss. I would also keep a food log or track your calories and liquids on an app so you can discuss with your nutritionist. Good luck!

Today was my last weigh in for the six-month medically supervised diet program. The final word is a 12 pound weight GAIN! Yep! So, as a form of punishment I ate three double cheese burgers from White Castle, potato chips, cake and ice cream. I was so sad and humiliated by performing so badly and possibly jeopardizing my chance for insurance approval for my surgery that I just had to make myself pay. I keep asking myself why I can't master this. Why can't I simply get my weight and eating under control? I say that it's all I want so why can't I make that one thing happen? I ask and ask and ask and I can't come up with an answer. A friend of mine reminded me that in spite of all of her success and the fact that she has access to anything in the world she wants, Oprah can't get it right either. That's an excellent point, but it still doesn't help. I keep beating myself with every weapon I can find because I can't get a handle on this. My question for the day is if one cannot see a future for oneself does that mean that it's time to die. I haven't been able to see a future for myself in decades, but now it frightens and worries me. I don't see more than a few hours in front of me and maybe I don't need to. I remember someone saying that when you're driving on the open highway at night, your headlights only illuminate so many feet in front of you and that's all you need to see in order to complete your journey. I know that I want lap band surgery. I know that I want to release my "Kick Ass" self and get over all the bullshit that I hold on to as beliefs. I know that I want to live. So, I trudge forward boldly sending my record from the program to my surgeon for submittal to the insurance company. I'll have to see what happens. More to come!

Thank you guys for the encouragement. I get a fill next week, I hope it will help me start to eat less. I am trying not to be depressed about the weight gain but I really want it off!!!!

I am 17lbs short of the needed BMI for lapband, I am a type 2 diabetic, and I'm starting on the insulin pump this week. I already take metformin and lantus, as the dr has increased my lantus I've started gaining, now the pump comes. I was wondering if anyone who is on a pump or was on a pump can tell me if gaining weight on the pump is more rapid that shots? I've heard it can be. I'm honestly not hoping for weight gain, but I'm so OVER diabetes and all that comes with it, I really wish I could have the surgery, I see so many on the boards talking about getting off most or all their meds and I would love to have that happen! Thanks Ren

I'm going through it right now. I've been banded 5 years now and had lost 100lbs but about 3 years out my band slipped. I could hardly get anything down most days, I was living on soup/broth and serious GERD. I had lost my insurance and my job so had no money to see a surgeon. So I lived like that for 18 months or so until I could afford to go in to see my doc and we found out under fluoroscopy that my band had slipped. He took the fill out and after almost 12 months (and 40lbs weight gain) I went back in for my fill (about 5 weeks ago). This was done under fluoroscopy and he did state that my band was still "mildly slipped" so we'd see. Well, I'm back to not being able to eat anything solid at all and horrid reflux. I'm going to ask him to take imy band out when I see him next week. I have no clue whether the insurance will cover that surgery much less converting it to a bypass but I'll attempt to get it covered. Otherwise, I guess I'll just go back to my old self! :smile:

Do what's best for you and don't worry about anyone else. It's so easy for people to voice their opion. But if they are not in your shoes it does'nt matter. So I feel like your make the best decision which is choosing to stop the weight gain before it gets worst. And if your looking for inspriration Look at me I was weighing 462 when I started I'm already down 25lbs since MAy 2 2007. Keep you head up. GOOD LUCK 2 YOU

So I am waiting in the lobby of my surgeon's office yesterday for my 2 week post op appt. After a long, hard road, I finally got my Lap Band on April 10th. This attractive obese woman sitting next to me speaks up and warns me that the doctor is running approx. 45 minutes behind. We engage in small talk and when one of the staff members notice me and comments on my recent weight loss, she asks me when I had surgery. I tell her, and she was amazed that I was looking so "full of energy" so quickly. She is clearly obese, but tells she had the RNY surgery...6 years ago! (Not done by my surgeon, but another in a different town) It made me wonder what weight she may have started from. She is bundled up in a sweatshirt (it's 74 degrees) and I ask her if she's cold. She tells me she is just trying to hide her fat rolls. We laugh and I tell her she is in the safest place to not worry about that at the moment! She goes on to share with me that although she had orginally lost a significant amount of weight, she had started gaining. She said her weight gain was now out of control. She warned me..."whatever you do, make sure you change the way you eat!" "I could eat anything I wanted and still lost weight. I never learned to make any changes". I told her how the Band works, and how we must change our eating habits immediately after surgery. I told her that we still have absorbtion of all the calories and fat, etc. We are 'forced' to change our lifestyles as this is only a tool. She thought that was wonderful and wished that dietary changes had been stressed to her for long term success. She had come to see my surgeon to see if there was any further surgery that could be done to correct the stretched out pouch she'd created and hopefully get her back on track. I felt bad for her. I can't imagine going through all of this (or any other kind of WLS) only to gain it all back. How sad. She knew she was going to have to change her lifestyle. I have been struggling with hunger since surgery, but have so far found the will power and strength to resist eating too much, too often or the wrong food. I hope I am able to do this until my first fill or however many fills it takes to keep my Band working hard! I am so grateful that we are told up front that this is not easy. That we will have to work for it. That this is only a tool. I'm glad that I will get the satisfaction in the end of all this, knowing that I worked for the weight loss. That is didn't come easy. That I had to exercise and choose healthy foods. So meeting her, I realized that I don't want to see myself in a surgeon's office in 6 years warning someone else about watching what they eat and taking care of the gift we were given! So I just wanted to share and encourage everyone that we can do this! We were given this wonderful tool to help us get healthy, not just skinny. Let's make the best of it! Learn from the wonderful staff of doctors, nurses and dieticians! They are there to help us, and keep us accountable. And of course, we have eachother! Have a wonderful day and a great life! ~C

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

Hello All! I have been looking into getting surgery for years now. I have a job that covers the surgery so long as I meet the requirements. I have Cigna and one of the requirement is that I follow a weight management program for >89 consecutive days or 4 visits. I have my last visit on March 13th and I am nervous because my surgeon advised not to gain weight. I gained 2 lbs my last visit so now I'm working towards losing those 2 lbs I gained plus an extra pound or two. My question is did anyone go through the weight program with Cigna and gain and still got approved? They don't specify whether you need to lose during this time or you will be denied so I just wanted to ask others on here to see what your experience was.

I've regained a little too but I think its a combination of a simple return to health and the result of all my efforts at Body Pump. I knew I was skeletal after chemo finished and I wanted to make sure that I put muscle back on, not fat. But overall I'm still much lighter than I was this time last year and pretty thin, I just feel fat because I did buy some size six clothes whilst I was so light and now they give me a muffin top :-( 10lb on my body is a LOT of weight now, I can feel it, but I'm still a good 10lb lighter than I was before cancer struck. I'm finding the biggest challenge this far out (six years) is that I really think my body has adapted to my band and it doesnt work the way it once does, possibly because I've been totally unfilled and then refilled (for surgery) int he past nine months. I am finding more and more that its just plain hard work to keep the weight away, its my hard work. I still exercise, more than ever in fact and every single day is a "diet". Every day I say no to foods I want to eat and fight cravings. I'm not sure if just another tiny fill would solve that, because its rather tiring. I can do it, I'm not afraid of weight gain but I have this tool, am I not using it to full potential? Even this far out, I dont really know.

Been with my husband for 23 yrs, married for almost 19. We've always been known to be extremely physically attracted to each other, even with our weight gain over the yrs. my husband has no problem dropping pounds, where it was never easy for me. But sex has always been great. NOW, after the sleeve is a different incredible experience. While hubbie was very supportive during my struggle to get healthy, surgery or not, I think he's happier than I am now. I think he thinks he has a new wife. I laugh & tell him I'm new & improved. Lol... Everything has gotten smaller, not worried about that because I was a size 3/4 when I met my husband & a 5/6 when we married. So not worried about him seeing my small boobs, smaller bottom, or my very very small scars. Yes, I feel more confident that I no long look like I am pregnant. No longer have to spend hundreds of $$$$ on body magic garments to tuck stomach. Everything has shrunk to both our liking & appreciation. And still shrinking. When I say everything has shrunk, it's left one thing exposed quite often. "Not being shy, right?" So when I walk or sit, I'm turned on. Incredible!!!!!! So you can only imagine what happens by the time I meet up with my husband thoughtful the days. Funny that we do stuff now that I don't recall doing years ago when I was a size 7-8. We laugh now only saying I was still being "conservative" then, now that we really really now & respect each other, the things we do, WOW!!!! I new found attraction. Oh so happy!!!!!

Glad I helped. Don't worry about the weight gain. I at first was upset about the lbs coming back on. But I knew I had my lapband to help me afterwards. Keep us posted/updated as you go along. Nadine

Well the day that all this started I was down 51 pounds. When they put me in the hospital they of course started putting all sorts of fluids in me so when I got out of the hospital I was up 5 pounds and only have 1 more of that five to lose and then go further. I existed mainly on liquids at the hospital so I was surprised to see the weight gain. Isn't it neat that you can have solids again? Chew chew chew. Do you have a fill yet? Take care Candle, shelli:ranger:

Hey! First off, congratulations on even making the decision to go through with the surgery.I have aetna and I got approved in September. My surgery is scheduled for November. With aetna they required a 3 month supervised visit with the NUT & NP. I started that in June. I also had to provide my highest weights from two years ago, have a psych evaluation, which was the most boring thing ever, and a sleep study. Aetna'so policy states that you can't have a net gain...AT ALL. So when I had a weight gain of about 2-3 pounds I wanted to give up. My NUT told me they would write an explanation in my reports for that weight gain. My sleep study test came back negative...which was a bittersweet thing. My only real health issue was that I was borderline diabetic and that I had been overweight pretty much my whole life. I surprisingly got approved about two weeks after all my paperwork was sent in. So Aetna isn't always the big bad wolf lol. Good luck!

I wanted to chime in here on the plateau issue. By tracking my weightloss over several months I discovered something very interesting about my metabolism and the way I loose weight. I don't loose for two to three weeks...and then in the fourth week I will loose 4-5 pounds. Then I maintain again for two to three weeks, then I'll loose about 3 pounds. I've been watching this happen for 8 months now. Now, if I'd follow Jesse's advice (from Smartbandsters) about getting a fill if you haven't lost in two to three weeks, I'd be way too tight. But, because I keep track and weigh myself once a week- I can see that I just have to hang in there a little longer to see results. Right about the time I start to panic, that fourth week will hit and I"ll be down. The only time I've gotten fills is when I've actually gained weight for more than two weeks. That seems to rule out Water weight gain and that time of the month stuff. I just thank God I got the band because I always thought I was a failure at dieting...when really if I would have stuck with it for another week or two I would have seen results. But my band doesn't let me quit and it helps insure my success. I have to keep plugging along. Megan

Diva, I was so touched by your post. I too have felt this way -- a lot of regret about what I've missed out on in life. Here are some ways to counter that feeling of being fat and stupid that helped me. I hope they might comfort you, too.:confused: 1. We've been brainwashed to believe that all we have to do to lose weight is to control our eating behavior. But, 95% of people who lose weight gain it all back. Why? Because obesity actually results from 3 things: genetics (which predispose us to gain weight), environment (all the junk food around us, etc.), and behavior (eating and exercise). When we gain weight, our hormone balance really gets out of whack. Many of us are always hungry. Why? Because fat people have an excess of the hormone that tells us we're hungry and a deficiency of the hormone that tells us we're full. And, the more a person loses weight, the more the body hangs on to every calorie that comes in. This information helped me understand that there were valid reasons why I'm obese. I can control only some of the factors that contribute to my obesity. That helped me feel less guilty about "doing it to myself". 2. I've always being hard on myself. A wise friend taught me this saying: "If I could have done better, I would have done better. Now that I know better, I'll do better." When I start beating myself up, I say this to myself and it really helps. It reminds me to treat myself with compassion. So much of our healing from obesity is more than just physical. We need to heal our spirits and souls, too.

Wonderful news on the lack-of-cancer news! Congrats. That must be such a HUGE relief. I'm so happy for you. It sounds like you have really evaluated what is important in life. Glad you aren't beating yourself up over weight gain. I'm sure you'll get back to where you want to be--all things in due time. Stay positive--your attitude as served you well throughout your cancer and lapband journey. You are an inspiration. Thanks so much for the compliment. Unfortunately, my computer crashed last year and I lost all of my before pictures. I'm sure I can find some around and get them scanned or something but I really don't have any right now that I can use for comparison purposes. I'm surprised you remember how I looked (I hardly do!). You made my day. Take care and keep us posted--it's so good to hear from you and so good to hear such great news. Karen

I was unfilled for nine months while I had chemo. It was hard work but I didnt gain. I ran and went to the gym (rpm and bodypump) like normal during treatment, yeah I was pretty run down but I had to do it! I couldnt let myself gain! If I can do that through two surgeries, radiation and chemo and keep the weight gain away for nine months you CAN do this!

I walked right by that issue and never looked back! I'm happy for them--they did it their way. I think it's one thing to become heavy at one time in your life due to major surgery that keeps you from exercising, a pregnancy, etc. and quite another to have fought weight gain since childhood. I didn't read their stories, so I don't know why they said they were overweight. I do know from a lifetime of experiences that there really is something wrong with the "wiring" in my body. The band is a tool that will help me outsmart my "short circuit." I'm not embarrassed that I got the band at all. I know it was the right thing for me to do!

quote=chill01]weight gain sucks especially after u lost all of your weight. I go to Dr. Fred Maese, he does my fills (my insurance covers it) but when it didn't it was $100 he is GREAT!!!!!!!

Well, since I hadn't tried to buy it for personal use yet, I didn't know it took a doctors prescription. I would suppose that your Mom could get a prescription from her doc then. Just take him some information from the web site on how good it is for skin, since she is having problems with her skin. A lot of older folkes have skin that tears easily, and the extra nutrition would be wonderful for them. It isn't high in calories, so she wouldn't have to worry about weight gain. From what I've read of the ressearch though, it can help to promote lean body mass, which a lot of older folkes need. I'll have to see about getting an order in and see if they ask for a prescription. A cs. is 24 bottles. At $1.99 a bottle, it may be considered a little expensive. She could probably just drink one a day or one every other day and get good results and stretch her use of it out. They sent us double cases, of 48, but I would imagine that they can break them in to 24 a cs. I was planning to order a cs.

Jenpa, thank you as well. It's comforting to read the physicians are comfortable and successful. Abdominal compliance is definitely challenging. I am tight and with the weight gain I feel extremely tigh. Which of course makes me so nervous. I've decided to go with Dr. Illan in May. So if anyone has used him after TT. I would love their input as well.

I haven't posted in quite a while and decided that as I start this year "anew", I needed to post again to signify my "new"/"renewed" start with my band journey. I was banded 8/03 and have basically done quite well. In fact, overall, I've lost 115 pounds. However, after having almost no problems for the first 10 months or so, I have been struggling for quite a while. I have been on a major (6-7 month) plateau. I then had problems with reflux and difficulty tolerating food; had tests for a possible slipped and/or eroded band (which so far shows that it has not slipped and there is no sign of erosion); got an unfill a few weeks ago (which eased the reflux); and as of today, got another fill and am starting "over". In the meantime, after a long plateau, while I had a 3 week period of an unfill and while I was away on a 10 day cruise (I just got back on Saturday night), I gained back 12 pounds! Although I am not happy about the weight gain, I know that it WILL come back off. I think I really needed a period of not feeling so restricted. (And, fortunately or unfortunately, I wasn't restricted at all while I was away!!!) One of the things that was certainly reinforced for me is how important the band is as a tool. Over the last 16 months, I have certainly worked with this tool - I basically followed the bandster "rules"; I made generally good food choices; I exercised regularly; and I went to support groups. However, it is clear to me these are NOT permanent changes. I worked "with" my band, but I certainly do need the band. Having little or no restriction showed me how easy it is to go right back to "old" ways. So... this critical little "tool" is still the essential ingredient for helping put it all together. As of today, January 10, 2005, I am using this post to publicly re-commit to a new start and to moving forward with my banding journey! I have worked too hard and have come too far to gain it all back! And I have experienced too many of the hard won "rewards" of weight loss to not keep going forward. I've come a long way - but I still have a long way to go. And now I am on my way. I'm attaching a new before and after photo update. The 1 month pre-surgery photo was taken on a cruise - at my "ATH" weight. The 1/05 photos were just taken on another cruise - showing a 115 pound weight-loss. Wishing myself - and all of us - a good journey in 2005! Mary

awe, don't get discouraged.... i went through the same thing & ended up gaining 11 lbs more because i got so discouraged, then i felt worse when i got approval cuz of the weight gain. then everything went so quickly i couldn't even wrap my mind around the whole thing! lol, I'm 10 days post-op & feeling pretty good now.... good luck to you & keep your head up....