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Thank you! Yea, sadly they won’t lol My calorie intake eating as I would say like a beast protein after protein yesterday was about 600. Thankfully, I realized where I was gaining all the weight gain, it was from alcohol, I could drink a bottle of wine like it’s no ones business as I cleaned my home. So I quit the fun drinking and now am just focusing on fueling my body with what it needs

MsCarla, I was banded at the end of July 2010 and am down 40 lbs. Mine was elective surgery and was out of pocket. I had to lose 55 lbs. I tried everything and nothing worked! I decided, after long consideration that lapband was my answer. When I spoke to my 10 year old son and asked him his opinion, he told me that he loved me just the way I was, but that if I didn't love myself I needed to go through with this. He is way wiser than his years. Being that i am a full-time single mom and we do everything together I felt the need to explain the procedure to him and the implications.My Mother was a much harder obstacle to surpass. Eventually she came around. Besides my son, parents, and a couple of good friends no one else knew about my lap band. I decided I got enough criticism about my weight gain and any changes I make in my life that it was my choice. Everyone wants to know what "diet" I am on and commenting how good I look. I just smile and tell them lots of exercise and eating right. Mind you, these are a lot of people who use to call me fat and ask me if I was pregnant. She who laughs last has the last alugh. I feel wonderful and am nearing my goal and no one needs to know how I got there. Barbie

My doctor is recommended I have a bypass revision done (currently 5 years put on my sleeve) as I have severe GERD and weight gain. For those that have had this done….. which bypass did they do? Full ? Mini? Or? and did it help? Thanks in advance.

I'm a little over 4 months out, but I feel the best I've felt in years, and can't wait to see what the future holds for me!! I wish I'd done it sooner, but am also thankful that once I made the decision to do it, my surgeon got me in rather quickly. It's funny, b/c with quarantine, I'm really able to focus on myself and my family. If I hadn't had the surgery, I can imagine that this time period would have been full of depression and weight gain. I'm so appreciative of my new lease on life!!!

MrsG, I'm trying to hold off on double knee replacements, too. My knee issues actually began before I got heavy, but over the years the weight gain has made them so much worse. I've had 4 surgeries, and every kind of injection you can name. For the last few years, my ortho has been trying everything to delay knee replacements until I am at least over 50 (I turn 49 next week). About 6 months ago, he finally told me he had done all he could & said I needed to think about scheduling the surgery. I came home from his office & made a list of all the things I could do just 2 years ago that are impossible for me now. The list was MUCH longer than I had realized. I know that knee replacement surgery would definitely help my knees, but I also know it won't help as much as it could if I am carrying all this extra weight. WLS will help my knees, plus other things, as well. I will most likely still have to have my knees replaced at some point, but I'm hoping I might get another decade out of my OEM ones, once a bunch of this weight is gone.

Thanks for this post! I am almost 6 years out and just this past year I have started gaining weight again....7 lbs in one year! And although, like you , I didn't have terrible eating habits; it was just a slow gain over a number of years before my surgery, this weight gain is due to bad habits and I must get control over it. Thanks for inspiring me. I am not in the US either , and went from learning about the sleeve to having it done within a month. (Self pay). I was early on in the Sleeve game....so wrote a book about it. Where are you? In Europe? I'm in Amsterdam, but I'm American.

No it's not causing weight gain for me..but I stopped losing for a long time now and about junk food I noticed that I can eat more of it easier than other food ..still the sleeve stops me at some point ofcourse..thats why I really need to be more careful..I started to write down everything I have during the day,something like food diary..hope it'll help..

So I decided weeks ago that 5/1 would be my quit date from tobacco! I completely forgot that one side effect of quitting tobacco is weight gain. So far today, I have been craving food!!! I’m only 2 weeks post op the Orbera. Do you think I’m setting myself up for failure? Maybe I should postpone my quit date do I do not have cravings...any thoughts, comments, or questions are appreciated! FYI...I use snuff.

I am a 49 yr-old female who had an emergency appendectomy after going to ER Friday night ( surgery didn’t actually occur until 2am Saturday ) They said my appendix was NOT ruptured but was really nasty. They had a really hard time getting IV’s in me and therefore kept a bag of Sodium Chloride? dripping all the time once I got there and even then they had to change out my IV 4 times to different locations. Back on March 11 of this year I had a a gastric sleeve done. No complications at all. Went home in about 17 hours. No nausea or vomiting. I had lost 47 pounds when I went to ER for pain this past Friday. I thought it might have been another Kidney stone, had those in the past or possibly gallbladder ( heard those are common for weight loss patients ) Anyway, after my surgery in wee hours of Saturday morning I still felt very crappy, Doc said they were going to keep me another night or two due to the infection chances from my “Nasty” appendix, but again didn’t mention that it had busted or anything and kept giving me bags of sodium chloride ?? and bags of antibiotics. Sunday morning because I was in sooooo much pain they ordered a contrast CT where I had to drink lots of this lemonade tasting stuff before the test. They said everything seemed fine for someone at this point so soon post -op. My question is should I feel this crappy still ( 10 x worse than Gastric Sleeve procedure ) and MORE CONCERNING, why have I gained 15 pounds in 3 days? I feel like I’ve been punched and beat up severely. I don’t want my surgeon to think I’m questioning him or the results of the CT on Sunday, but is this pain and WEIGHT GAIN normal? I really appreciate your responses I don’t want to proceed with my doc ( which was the ER on call but from highly respected clinic in our area ) unless this seems abnormal. I have a follow-up Thursday in his office because we are leaving for vacation on Saturday, July 5th.

i went through stages. 1st month: looking or thinking about food and eating made me sick. i was like REPULSED. month 2-3: didnt want to eat (but no longer REPULSED) though i forced myself to eat because i was getting weak. i had a very strong restriction so wasn't able to eat much anyway. month 4-7: there would be days that i wanted to eat and days that i didn't. i stopped forcing myself to eat on no-hungry days at this point and just ate when i wanted to because i started to develop this thing where i felt like eating was WORK and i didn't like that. my restriction was still doing its job though, so i still couldn't eat much anyway. month 7-12: struggled to up my calories to ease into maintenance and i think my not-wanting-to-eat phases during this time period had more to do with a mental block than anything else. i had a bit of a time when i had a challenge "allowing" myself to eat higher calorie foods and carbs, ha. fear of weight gain and all that. though in hindsight i needn't have worried, as my restriction kept me in check. 1 year and onwards: i still get the odd don't-want-to-eat or oops-i-forgot-to-eat days here and there. not as often and regluar as before, but they show up every once in a while. i don't sweat it, as i know there will be hungry days too. my restriction is still very much in play, even at 5 years out, and i have learned over the years what foods and what amounts i can consume before i hit my full mark. i was/am a regular food tracker so its second nature. i tend to only eat things that i really want because, why fill my valuable limited real estate with something meh? luckily the list of things i want does not comprise of just junk. while i do enjoy a bite of dessert and a bowl of chips, i love me a salad just as much. though personally, my fave kind of meal is when there are an abundance of different things to take a bite or two of (like hors d'ourves at a cocktail party, or a tasting menu, or dim sum/tapas/izakaya, or when i go to a restaurant with a large group and get to have a bit of everyone's meal!) anyway, i think i may have gone on a tangent there, lol. but yeah, you are not the only one that gets the food aversions, and while you will get differing advice on this topic, i would say go what works for you. if you are getting worsening physical symptoms from not eating, or if your labs are not coming back satisfactorily, of course, please speak to a medical professional. otherwise, if you are losing weight, AND suffer little to no angst, then in my non-medical opinion, you're golden.

@Elcee.....how does being too tight lead to weight gain? Thank you.

Yes poor eating habits will cause weight gain. This is the reason why everyone that decide on surgery should really think "are you ready for a life change"? this is not the so called easy way out or the fast way to lose weight. It's all up to the individual. If you eat pizza before you stop it completely or you can eat it once every 2 months a slice not a pie or a few slices. It's about mind control portion & if you are ready to change. I haven't gain any weight back even when I get TOM. I eat as healthly as I can because eating a lot & fried food is what made me fat. I want to live long & enjoy my life healthly not a fat woman not wanting to go out & have fun.

My wife, three neighbors with LapBands and this forum helped me make the decision to get the sleeve. My because for three decades she has seen me yo-yo diet and lose 50-100 several times. Only to gain the weight back plus more and she wanted me to succeed this time. The forum because of all the support and counsel I received when I was battling it out with Aetna for 18 months to get approved. Finally I have four neighbors with the LapBand, one is doing ok, but the other three have had serious complications, and weight gain. Think of this as my wife describes it as a more get it and forget it operation because I wouldn't have to go in constantly for fills. In addition, the complication has been rising and success rate plummeting. My doctor is doing less new LapBands and taking out many as he does sleeves. Yes, it is a bit more dramatic but your chances for success are greater. Good luck to you.

I've been on the pill (except when intentionally trying to get pregnant) since I was 18 for non-pregnancy-related reasons. If it caused weight gain, I didn't notice it then. (I'd switch to Mirena now, but my insurance won't cover it. Maybe in a year or two.) pills have always worked well for me. One caution, though, that I think someone else mentioned: it's entirely possible that as you lose weight, you will become extremely fertile. Make sure your GYN is keeping close tabs on you, because you might need to change the dosage of whatever you are using.

Thank you both. I spoke to a relative regarding the bruising - he's a retired oncologist and hematologist. He thinks it's likely a vitamin K deficiency, but also suggested bloodwork, which I fully intend to request during my physical. He also asked if I take Ibuprofen on a regular basis (which I do due to the aches & pains) and he said that could cause it as well. Hoping that's all it is. As for the brain fog, memory loss, and mood swings, I totally agree that it could be hormones. My biggest concern though is the weight gain. I've worked so hard to get where I am...I got on the scale this morning and I'm up another .5#. I just want to cry.

Well, as the title says I'm about 21 months out and now starting to gain. I got down to 143 (my goal was 130, but I was comfortable in the 140s). I'm now back up to 155. Over the past year, I've also developed a bruising issue and have multiple bruises on my arms and legs, mostly on the left side; random but moderate/severe aches & pains; brain fog; severe fatigue, and other idiopathic symptoms. I have a physical scheduled for mid-June, but I'm wondering if any of these things are common after surgery. As for my weight gain, nothing has really changed. I still eat very clean, limit myself to two low-sugar/low-calorie alcoholic beverages a week, and really try to take care of myself. With the aches, pains & fatigue, I'm finding it difficult to keep up with working out, but to be honest, I probably wasn't working out as much as I should be anyway. Mostly walking & biking. I'm also at the age where hormones are likely changing (I'll be 50 in two months). Any idea what might be going on or how to restart the weight loss? Thanks.

According to this story, the gastric bypass surgery was done in 2007 and supposedly performed by an expert. I underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2013 and this story doesn't make much sense from my perspective. Before and after surgery, I underwent many steps. Firstly I had to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to see if I was qualified for the surgery, if there were underlying psychiatric issue that drove the weight gain, they had to be remediated prior to approval for surgery. In order to qualify for the surgery, my insurance required that I undergo a six month program of weight loss and exercise. I had to attend monthly support group meetings. Then there were a variety of medical tests that were performed to detect any medical conditions that may affect the outcome. So over a year went by since I started the process before I had the surgery. I also underwent a day of classroom training prior to the surgery that included very detailed information covering almost every aspect of the surgery and what was to follow and given a 1 inch binder of material to constantly refer to. After the surgery, I lost 120 pounds over the first 7 months. It was difficult because of the extent of the requirements (food types, food volumes, vitamin, etc.) But overall I was please with the surgery. Then there was yearly follow-ups. Gastric bypass surgery requires that the individual must take many types of vitamins for the rest of their lives. If someone fails to take those, their bodies will experience Vitamin deficiencies which caused damage in multiple organs. That is known up front. Every year for the first 5 years, I underwent extensive blood work. These test measured my various vitamin levels and allowed my doctor to fine tweak the vitamin levels. Also there was a mechanism in place for a psychologist in the event that psychological problems arose post surgery. There are many people involved in this process, not just the surgeon. They included nutritionist, psychologist, support group meetings etc. In order for this surgery to work effectively, it depends upon the compliance of the patient to follow the guidelines given and seek help when problems arise.

Wow where to being... I would say that to truly dig back into myself my slide to my current weight (375 at the time of this writing) would stem from my college days. Although I was always the bigger kid in high school, I always hovered around the 220's. My first 2 years in college I completely destroyed my eating habits, late nights studying or just going out, crazy hours, long commutes, etc. I went from 220 to about 280 in what felt like overnight. As I bought new outfit after new outfit, I finally said "enough!" I hopped on weight watchers (which I had used in the past to some success). I enjoyed the freedom of the points program and how I could bank points for a cheat day and work out to bank some points or just use it as some extra weight taken off that week. I managed to lose 70 pounds and get back to 230 over the course of a year. Then my last year of college hit me like a ton of bricks. The class intensity was upped and I took on extra courses because I wanted to add minors into my program. I also met my lovely, darling, beautiful future wife at this point. Although some of the best times of my life happened over the next 2 years (I took an extra year to finish college with all the additional courses) I ended up dropping out of weight watchers and watched my weight skyrocket. After getting my Bachelor's, starting my Master's, getting a full time job, getting married, losing a close loved one, buying a house, having a child, my life became about everything else and all the focus I once placed on myself and my health faded to nothing. Over those 9 years, I would put on over 145 lbs. My shame knows no limits. I tried all the usual tricks: back on Weight Watchers, switched to Jenny Craig, tried Nutrisystem, back to Weight Watchers (which is where I am still at) and nothing worked, mostly because I lost the will to care about myself. It is not really in a negative way that I lost this will. I am not depressed. I don't emotional eat, in fact tough days I tend to eat little to nothing now, and crying just makes me sick to my stomach. Basically, I have dragged any sort of focus I once had for myself onto everything and everyone around me. I now know that I need balance in my life. I also need a kick in pants to get me started. So, September 9th, 2013, I am off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of weight loss surgeries. We discuss the choices that I want to get more information about, the Lap Band surgery and the Gastric Sleeve surgery. Both he says are good options. Due to my age (under 30), and the fact that I don't have any debilitating weight related health issues yet, like diabetes, damaged knee caps, painful lower back (though it's getting there), etc., he says that Lap Band can be a good option as it is reversible once I lose the weight. I like the sound of that, but in the back of my mind, I am thinking of my college days were I did great to lose 70 pounds, only to put back on double that weight. So we discuss option 2, the Gastric Sleeve. Although scary to think about at first, it does seem like the better option. After discussing things with my family and friends, I decided on the Gastric Sleeve. Now the fun begins. Tests, endoscopy, paperwork upon paperwork, letters, issues with insurance, disability forms (just in case) and finally! Sweet, sweet approval! I went to see the nutritionist and behavioral psychologist, learned a lot about myself and the process. I do regret not preparing as well as I should have for the surgery. I have been trying to slow down eating my meals but haven't gotten into a good rhythm. I am still struggling with not drinking with meals and my soda craving has been hard to curb. But I finally feel I am nearly ready. I have made plenty of puree Soups for post-surgery, my favorite of which is the butternut squash Soup, a great meal during the 2 week liquid diet portion post-surgery. I have devised a plan to make sure I am getting all my Protein in during the first two weeks until better sources can be added after the liquid diet phase. I ordered a Nurtibullet in the hopes that I will completely be over soda by being able to grind up fresh fruit / vegetables for delicious smoothies. For now, everything is coming together, but there is still a lot to do as well. I was told to watch my weight gain pre surgery and even to try and lose some before going in (though my insurance doesn't require it). I was able to knock off 10 pounds, but put it back on, and again managed it off, so I might be near 365 pre surgery, but I know that final result on Sunday night. I was also told not to blow it by going all out as a "last hooray". Though I must say I have been somewhat holding to that, I am making a trip this weekend to my favorite buffet in Atlantic City. But I have been good leading up to it know that I am going there, so hopefully I don't ruin my work over the last couple weeks! But I don't think of the surgery as a end to my eating out, and you really can't otherwise none of us would do it. In this case, I just want a weekend getaway pre surgery, and if there happens to be my favorite buffet there I might as well partake. So this is it, surgery is scheduled for March 3rd, 2014. I am ready as I'll ever be. I have told most of my family and most of my friends. That is a completely personal issue that I feel each individual must decide who to tell and when to tell them on their own. I made the mistake of telling my boss, which at first was all fine and dandy, but now as the surgery approaches I keep getting questions like, "when will you be 100%" and "will you ever be able to do X, Y or Z again at work" and "will you be calling out often due to issues with it?" and so on. My suggestion for work is to not tell them. At first I didn't think much of it, but now it is coming back to haunt me a bit. You don't have to lie as the law protects anyone having surgery to not have to tell their employer why they are doing it, but I would definitely not tell them why if you can help it. As for the family/friends, some I just didn't tell pre surgery because I didn't want them to worry about the surgery itself. Unfortunately, my parents had to know since they are going to help watch my son that day and take me to the hospital and all that. They are scared about the surgery going wrong, even though I assured them of the routineness of it nowadays. Heck, it is same day surgery! But of course I understand why they are scared, since it is still surgery. All my affairs are in order though, and I am ready for anything should it come my way. I am so excited for the surgery and I can't wait to be able to finally shed some real pounds. Everything that I am doing can also help my wife and son as all of us will be eating better at home. No more late night fast food runs, no more high calorie / sugar soda in the house, the ability to actually cook meals (i never cooked a day in my life until last month and now I can make some basic, healthy meals!), being able to do more outdoor / physical activities as a family. I am also so excited to finally wear things that have been sitting in my closet for years. Clothes that have never even had the chance to see the light of day. I am also excited to not have the seat of my pants rip out of pants while I am wearing them (3 times it happened, I must say stay away from St. John's Bay clothes). And the Pièce de résistance, I can finally wear shoes that aren't loafers! I wish all of those on this wonderful journey with me the best of luck and I look forward to making new friends in this process too. I am excited for the advice that I can give one day to newcomers and the advice I can receive from the veterans. Good luck to all!

Averaging 800 calories a day at eight weeks out, any weight gain is most likely Water and will quickly disappear. Walking will almost certainly increase your weight loss and reduce the time it takes. It also will help you maintain your goal weight. Lots of options - early morning, late evening, lunch time, neighborhood, treadmill, nearby park, mall - whatever fits with your schedule and your preferences. Start slow and work your way up over time. Even 20 minutes will make a big difference. Set a goal of at least three times a week, four is even better. If you stick with it, you may find that it quickly becomes addictive!

I was also worried because I had gained weight for my final weigh-in, and was scared they would postpone my surgery. Like you, I was still below my initial recorded weight, so I guess as long as you're not over your initial weight, it should be okay. They didn't even mention the weight gain that was noted between my previous weigh in and my last weigh in. That was certainly a load of my chest!

I had the surgery 8/17/2009 and everything went very easy. I was back at work the first of September, by Christmas I was down 50 pounds and by spring I was down 112 pounds, feeling great and looking good, then something happened and I started haveing acid reflux and putting on weight again. Everytime I go in for a check up (According to my doctors) it is always something I have done wrong, Eating to much , eating to fast. It is disgusting after awhile. This fall something went wrong with the band, or my pouch. I was not able to keep anything down, I had Acid Reflux everytime I laid down. If I ate anything after 5:00 I would vomit it back up as soon as I laid down, Two spoon fulls of food anytime durring the day time filled me up. I went in for a check and after 37 minutes the sip of barrium still had not gone through the band. I still gained 14 pounds in the 2 1/2 months I put up with this problem waiting to get into see the doctor ( He is in India) last week I went in on an emergency basis and the band was drained but the weight gain was still my fault according to my nutrionist. I go back in Friday to discuss removal of the band. So I guess I shall see what happens. I am also Diabetic and have Crohn's so my prognosis is not great.

I think loosening it for an overseas trip, where care may not be available is a valid option, but not one you should be doing thinking that you can eat heaps on the trip and really enjoy yourself - that is the kind of dysfunctional thinking that made us fat in the first place. You can actually indulge in unusual or out of the ordinary foods on holidays without loosening your band, and you can enjoy it thoroughly. I think yo'[d find most doctors are willing to unfill for travel becuase it ensures band safety. To think you can unfill for one special occasion, that's not a very healthy way of thinking of life with the band. You need to be committed to a lifestyle change and that means your life no longer revolves around food - the whole point of a holiday or a wedding is not how much you can eat. And with a properly adjusted band, you can eat sensibly and enjoy special meals anyway- if you cant, you're too tight. When you get to goal, you can unfill. I never did, I stayed the same weight for years with the same fill, but recently, I had to be completely unfilled for cancer treatment. Amazingly it has not caused weight gain, over time on maintenance, you do learn to eat your caloric needs one way or another - and in hindsight, I was doing a fair bit of eating around my band - sweet treats, alcohol, Snacks, they made up the gap between the caloric values of the size meals I was able to eat and what my body needed, and they were the "extras' that I wasnt eating during the losing phase. When I was unfilled, i got straight onto tracking calories and have moved onto a three meals but bigger meals and healthier foods (all the fruit, vegies and salad I couldnt eat in real quantity while restricted) and I've actually lost about 20lb more (that I really didnt need to lose). I'm finding my balance over time, but am amazed that I need well over 2000 calories a day to maintain my 135lb - so my metabolism, given all the running and circuit training I do, is definitely not shot, its actually very healthy. But I exercised vigorously all the way through my loss and never dipped below 1500 calories, I think very low calorie diets are going to set you up for having quite a deal of trouble in the longer term maintaining your weight loss. Like the poster above me, I monitor my weight, and adjust if it goes up a little - had a big weekend away with a once in a lifetime gourmet dinner with wines matched to each course for our 20th anniversary. Ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in restaurants and cafes - yeah, got home with 3 extra pounds. So its back to 1400 calroies a day and right back on the exercise regime for the next week or so to shift it. If you remain aware, know what you're eating and are sensible, it is indeed possible to live unfilld once you've lost.

now I'm scared to death LOL.....I'm less than two weeks out and just not sure of anything.....i think I've just read to much of everything! My best friend had this done months ago, and was up walking the same day and has had no problems, I'm mean NONE and then I read on here and its all bad for the most part except for people who are months out of having the sleeve done. And whats up with the protein......I bought the Nector, fuzzy navel and the crystal sky, I don't like chocolate, vanilla or strawberry shakes, well, these things taste awful LOLOL....how are you supposed to get protein if you cannot stomach the protein shake stuff...... I'm taking extra vitamins, biotin, B12, Iron, every time I read something that tells me what I should be doing, I go buy and start doing LOL I am soooo excited and yet so worried...... I keep telling myself I need to slow down, take a deep breath and just let this happen..... I've have other surgeries, hysterectomy, bladder, breast implants prior to all the weight gain, can it really be any worse than any of that???? How long before I can start to work out again? Is anyone else feeling like they are on a merry-go-round prior to surgery? please tell me it was all worth it and OK ......not just months out down the road LOL good luck everyone!!!

Im 7 months out today. It is still hard for me when it comes to food. Just like today, BBQ and delicious desserts every where and you think to yourself maybe just one bite wont hurt. Then I realize I am not the type of person who can have just one bite. It is have it all or nothing. I have had to revaluate why I want the food to begin with and how am I gonna feel after I eat it. Alot of problems I face is head hunger, Im not even hungry but I still want it. Most people feel like they are not gonna diet after being sleeved but for me it has to be a diet or I will lose control and start eating the wrong foods which will eventually cause weight gain and poor nutriction. You just have to take a step back and realize what kind of food addict you are. Can you survive with a small taste or are you like me who wants it all? Good luck, I am proud to say I have no regrets being sleeved, it has taught me alot about myself and who I want to be.

I had a I had a Lap band removal and vsg conversion in June 2014. I started at 252 as my highest weight and 237 as my surgery weighty. My lowest weight was 201. I followed the diet faithfully for almost 2 years and kept the weight off give or take a couple of pounds.. I found that's spinning was my favorite exercise and still is. I was active on and off the 4 years because of complication so with my knee and then plantar fascititis. The last year has been hard cause I my plantar fasciitis and lower back pain. ( which restarted since I've put on weight again) has been really bothering me... so new activities that I love like 5k and 8k runs... well their increasingly difficult to complete. I now weigh 248. Which is above my surgery weight. My GERD isa real problem... I still drink my proteins shakes... take my vitamins.. I eat most things but not in excess because of my sleeve...my weight gain has been a plateau for about for almost 2 years now.. I have not gained and only loose 5lbs here Andy there's and regain it back. I guess give the fact that I really didn't lose as much weight as I expected to with the vsg and gaining all that weight back, has me thinking that the malabsorption piece of weight loss surgery is the tool that would help me final loose weight and be healthier. This extra weight gain is causing me physical pain now and I wann do something about it.