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Sounds like we are all going through the same thing. I am sitting here feeling really bloated... I am amazed at how much I have been able to fit in in the last 2 days. I went for a long walk today and will continue to do so in the next week just to keep the weight gain at bay. Good luck everyone with getting back on track.

Hello everyone thx for commenting! I will try the shakes. I have done some research on weight gain shakes. so far I have tried whey protien powder, with oatmeal, banana, peanut butter, and whole milk. it was pretty tasty so I will contiune those in between meals and see how that works. @SqueakyWheel&Ethyl thanks for the kind words, my family and friends all say i look great and dont look sickly skinny as I think I do.. you have a hand full of folks that think i lost too much weight but I am sure they have said it to others and not me. I am actually a little smaller than I was in high school and I have always been very curvy (thick or thin) but now I am starting to see the curvy vanish and that's bothering me more than anything. I guess this is why they say it's important to attend support groups and ect after but I have failed to do so. I have also not been taking my vit. like I should and I also stopped drinking the protien shakes. maybe that all played a part in me loosing too much. I have also checked on my BMI and I currently at a normal and healthy weight just struggling to see that in the mirror!

First....HUUUUUUUUUGGGGG!!! You will get through this. YOU WILL. I did, and so will you. My divorce and the mess leading up to it is a huge factor in my weight gain. Do what you can to avoid this. It will only make you more unhappy, and unhappy with yourself. I don't know what circumstances are leading to the divorce, but mine was messy and I almost ended my life over it. It wasn't until I realized that this IS a new start, and i am no longer controlled/manipulated/emotionally abused by another, unloving person. Set a day that will be your RESTART. Not only should you change your diet that day, but start thinking about yourself differently. You are free to be you, to better you, and to find people who will life you up (and vice versa). But start with YOU. Focus on you and your needs. Don't fuss with the finding a date and such. That will come when you have emotionally healed. If you don't want to go out on a date a friend set you up with, then DON'T. You need to be emotionally ready for dating. So smack a friend if you have to. I did. She finally got the point. Also, you have us to lean on...sort of. Good for you for asking for help and encouragement. Trust me, hiding everything away is not very healthy. So message me if you need to. I'll be here. Take heart. Read my signature, and what Christopher Robin says to Pooh Bear. This truly did help me get through all the pain of my broken marriage and divorce...and another woman who went through the same things gave it to me. It had helped her too.

I agree! My husband and I are high school sweethearts. When he met me, I weighed 130 pounds. He has stayed with me through my weight gains (mainly from pregnancy). I still love him after losing 111 pounds and I feel the same for him. I am so self conscious with all of my skin issues, but he never complains. I felt so guilty when I asked if we could start saving for a tummy tuck, but he is supportive of me getting one. (We have spent 12,000 between a self pay lapband and revision co-pay) I you have a strong relationship, weight loss should not matter. I do feel though that some people may change when they lose the weight and that could cause them to want to leave their partner, espcially if there are issues before the surgery.

I've been using Nuvaring for about two years and I love it! I don't have to remember to take a pill every day and it doesn't make me feel crappy like oral contraceptives used to. I still use condoms anyway because I am so not ready for motherhood at this point, but it's supposed to be as effective as any other hormonal birth control method. My GYN said it also has a lower incidence of weight gain. Give it a try!

The injectable BC (Depo) is the one I was on. It works very well, you don't have to worry about it, BUT weight gain is a very common side effect. I switched from it because I was having trouble losing. I couldn't tell you whether it helped, lol

Andy here. Me family knicked named me Beamish coz I love it so much. Tis probably me weight gain right there. I'm a farmer, which some people would think being on a farm would help keep the weight down but tis hard. Me wife thinks its the pints. My wife kept giving me rabbit food (salads) and soups for a while but i got sick of it. Didn know there were so many different options to weight loss surgery. Now now, its only a thought in the mind now but still, it is something I need to think about. My doctor said i've a BMI of 43.4 and I should be around 25. No chance o that happening naturally. I'm out of breath just bending down to tie my shoes. I'm going to have to give up my farm if I dont loose weight. i've diabetes II, blood pressure and recently been told ive sleep apnea. my health is getting worse unless sometihin is done.

Seroquel was actually the only thing that helped me sleep through the night. Unfortunately, it does cause weight gain. It made me crave carbs like crazy. I hate to start taking it again because it's quite a powerful drug. The same goes for Trazodone. I think I'll be weighing the benefits against the risks if I continue feeling like a walking zombie during the day. I have gotten a little better about what I choose to eat at night. It's usually cucumbers or lettuce with vinegar. It is possible for me to eat a whole head of lettuce throughout the night. When I confessed these habits at my OA meeting, everyone looked at me like I was crazy or needed professional help. If my weight is still stable, despite these habits, then why is it such a big deal? I do tend to eat less during the day when I eat at night. My recent labs were nearly perfect. I'm questioning the OA abstinence program because its just a big ball of guilt for me.

Divorcing food is as difficult and emotional as divorcing a person. I am serious. I don't regret having this procedure done because I've lost 30 pounds and I'm 1 week post op. However, seeing delicious food in front of you and knowing you can't eat it because you're fresh out of surgery really burns. In fact, knowing I can't eat it because it'll make my stomach hurt and I'll probably throw it up is what really burns. I've been watching videos of food recently because I haven't seen solid food in pretty much 2 weeks. It's probably not a good habit but its already a habit so the way I see it, I can't eat but I can at least look at it. I thought that my stomach is healing fine and faster than usual, so the other day I had some tuna. It was about 1 spoon full of tuna. My bodies reaction wasn't pleasant. Long story short, my stomach is 100% not ready for solid food or even soft food but that doesn't stop food from looking good. I want to lose 100% of my excess weight. At this point in time, The reason I want to lose weight the most, is so I can eat. Is that weird? I want to eat lasagna one day and with absolutely no thought of my weight in my head. I want BBQ porked. I want to have Georgian, Armenian, Greek, Vietnamese, Chinese, Caribbean, Italian and more in my regular life. Obviously, not all at once. I'm very scared by love of food. People say you have to reset your mind with this surgery. I feel that, although i don't mind giving up sweets things like soda, candy, Cookies and deserts (not a fan of sugary things), I don't want to give up meat and carbs. After I reach my goal weight, I'm really hoping that I can find the perfect balance of eating things I love and maintaining my weight loss and health. This has just been on my mind all day. I think this is my initial shock to realizing that the sleeve is permanent. Unfortunately I have been feeling hunger as of late but It's definitely a lot more manageable than in my pre-op diet. How do you people feel about food? How has your day to day diet changed? What do you eat when you eat out? What foods do you find affect your weight the most? I know the VSG allows one to eat what they like in the end but I know many people cut things out completely because of the fear for weight gain. How do you guys feel about food?

I got mirena in March of 09. I have had a slow steady weight gain since then. Almost 30 pounds!!! I had it removed on Monday and have already lsot 5 pounds. My Doc doesn't believe the mirena had anything to do with my weight gain, but I have found plenty of women with the same problem. I am just praying my weight loss will continue!

I've been reading some old post on those of you that have Mirena for heavy bleeding. I'm wondering if there is anyone that it didn't help with this problem? Has anyone had weight gain since getting put in? Have you noticed a change in how fast your losing weight since you had it put in? And, this may be awkward...but how do you check the"threads"? I've looked on the Mirena website and can't find that...it says your healthcare provider will show you how? Do you check the threads monthly? One of the older post someone states that her partner didn't like nuva ring because he could feel it? Has anyone had there partner tell them they can feel it? I've had my tubes tied since 1990.....never had any reason to give bc a second thought.... there are so many different choices now. I was only on the pill for 3 years before I had my daughter and not quite 3 years after...same pill both times and weight gain was the only problem I had with it. So, that's my excuse for asking dumb questions...naive. Ruth

Hi there. I haven't posted in a really long time -- I usually just see what everyone else is talking about. But this weight issue is something I think I can help out with. I, too, have put on a considerable amount of weight -- 40 lbs and I'm at 34 weeks. I talked to my OB about it and she told me this: how much weight you gain is not as important as how big the baby is. If the baby is right on target growth-wise, she doesn't care how much weight I gain. If I gain too much and the baby starts to get too big, then that's a problem. So far, my belly has been measuring dead-on for where I am gestation-wise, so my doctor said nothing when I gained almost 10 lbs in two weeks. She also explained weight gain like this -- a pregnant woman has little control over how much weight she will gain during pregnancy. The body is going to adjust your metabolism to gain the amount of weight it wants to. And so even if you're really counting calories and eating super-clean, your body may want to just put on additional weight for whatever reason. Of course, there are the extremes like certain celebraties who used their pregnancies as an excuse to eat nothing but donuts. Obviously, their bodies could only do one thing, which was to gain excessive weight. And so a certain amount of self-control is necessary. But craving milk, juice, fruit, and such is not a bad thing. Additionally, a friend of mine who is a raw vegan gained 60 pounds with her daughter. That really put things into perspective for me. I had a hard time believing that someone who only ate plants could even eat enough to gain 60 pounds -- but it's another example of how the body is going to do what it wants to do. Finally, there has been research that shows that women who lose a significant amount of weight and then get pregnant soon thereafter will tend to gain more than average during pregnancy. This is because the body uses the pregnancy as a way to store up what it needs. You really do not have any control over this. For me, I saw so many stories of banded women gaining 10 or 15 pounds during their entire pregnancies, and so I got it into my head that I was only going to gain 20 lbs. Well, I've doubled that. God-willing, I will be able to breastfeed and that will help with weight loss. Nevertheless, I just had to give up control on this issue and accept the fact that I was going to gain more than the average (25-35 lbs). Of course, I am 6 ft. tall and the doctor also told me that someone of my height and stature is going to gain more anyway. Hope that helps.

Well the bad news is I didn't see a great deal of movement on my scale this week - in fact the only movement I had went up slightly - 300g, Taking me back to 12kg loss total!!! The good news is that I saw my dietician this morning and have been well assured that this is actually normal. I clearly need to have another fill which is scheduled for next Friday. I was really bummed about my weight gain yesterday and thank goodness for some very close friends of mine that are there for me all the way and supporting me because I really needed it yesterday. Today I have a much clearer mind and totally understand that it's a process!!!!! livelovelapband.blogspot.com.au

I love seeing the stats on the ghrelin levels. I have also seen studies that show that increase of reflux follows the curve of the weight gain almost exactly! Any Reflux I have had seems tied to what I eat for sure... crappier food, fried food, sugar = more reflux......= weight gain...?

I think it might have something to do with whether or not you do the emotional work.If you don't work on the things that gave you issues with food you can fall back into the same problems. Slider foods are easy to eat and they taste good. I think weighing regularly and taking action if you gain a couple of pounds will keep that from being a problem for you. It is slipping into denial and the old ways of eating and eating around the sleeve that causes weight gain. The sleeve is a tool m that is all. It would be nice if it guaranteed weight loss and maintenance but that just is not true. We are the captains of our sleeve ships and I for one am committed to not joining that weight gain statistic. I think if you set a firm policy to weigh, and to take action if the scale creeps up then you will be fine. It will take you a while to determine what your maintaining intake looks like but trust yourself!

I completely understand what you are going thru. I felt the same way. For me, after soooo many disappointments, diet failures, massive weight gains (over and over again), the humiliation, physical pain, heqlth problems and limitations, and so on, we are scared to believe in anything. I questioned "could this be true? Get surgery and then lose the weight and associated health complications and embarrassment? And keep it off? It CAN'T possibly be for real! Maybe I'm letting myself in for more heartbreak by chasing this rainbow!" And then, scared half out of my wits, I went ahead with the surgery. I followed every rule to the t both pre- and post-op. And to be honest, unlike what some other sleevers report, this has not been an easy fix. But it IS a Godsend. This surgery has helped me tremendously, but at the end of the day, just like so many say, this is a tool, not a magic mystical pill. To me, it is VERY important for us to address our fears head-on. You are not crazy. You are facing your fear. Stare it down and never give up on yourself. This tool will work for you if you are willing to put in your share of the work. I wish I were one of those people who never got hungry and have to remind themselves to eat. I do get hungry, but not nearly like it was pre-op. My restriction is not as much as some others have but it IS there, and it is very helpful. I am 3.5 months out (surgery 10.17.11) and have lost 64.4 pounds. I can now pretty easily consume about 4 oz of protein plus a few bites of veggies per meal. I am still fighting head hunger and trying to resist nighttime snacking. And I am trying to exercise (walking for now since my hips, ankles and feet are pretty much shot from intense pounding whilst obese) 4 to 5 days a week. So yes, there is effort on my part. But I am so glad I had the surgery. I am attending monthly support group mtgs and read helpful and motivating posted on this forum. I hope this reads as it is intended: as a helpful and compleltley no BS account of my WLS experience. No pretend sunshine; no dramatic negativity. You are worth this. You can meet success. I believe in both of us!

I didn’t know what to title this. My surgery was April 29th, I ended up in the ER the day after my release from the hospital with pneumonia, critically low potassium and acute UTI. I was also diagnosed with esophageal dysphasia. Because of that my follow up appointments got thrown off course. I had two appointments close together. The second appointment he had me go for a upper gi fluoroscopy and endoscopy. Which found stoma stricture, Schatzki ring, sliding hiatal hernia and ulcers. TBH after the endoscopy I didn’t want to schedule my next follow up appointment. And the doctor hadn’t said when. It should have been 2-3 months post-op but it’s almost 4 1/2 months. I see my surgeon on Thursday and because I need medical transportation it turns into practically an all day affair. I am actually dreading this appointment. He is a great surgeon but my communication skills, especially when I’m fatigued are sorely lacking. I’m at a loss what to say since I feel like I can’t do anything right. While yes my weight has gone down (rather slow) and I think I’ve hit around 53lb loss - I haven’t been able to progress in certain things and have to keep my calories very low otherwise I stall. Due to the esophageal dysphasia I’m not drinking a lot of water. I haven’t attempted purées again and should probably even be into regular foods by now. The most I’ve been able to manage is yogurt mixed with protein powder for breakfast (sometimes a shake) cottage cheese, BariatricPal protein soup (if I have any) juice flavor protein mixes, and sometimes soft boiled egg but I get kind of sick from it so not too often. It’s more an allergy thing with that. My surgeon never really said anything after the endoscopy. I read on the results that he balloon dilated the stricture which it seems to me he did it too much at once and I don’t feel better. The fluoroscopy showed it at 3mm and he dilated 10mm and assumed it was ok because the scope passed? I find it perplexing. And maybe they think the other issues too minor? I don’t. I don’t want to be stuck on proton pump inhibitors. They cause constipation and are not safe long term for things like magnesium, bone density etc. which I have enough bone density loss as is. I told My gastroenterologist about new issues with this of course they said talk to the surgeon and also my PCP. I’ve been having crushing chest pain. And weird strong spasms below my ribs on the left side. Of course I forgot to mention it to my PCP I was too annoyed by her attitude when I caught her up on the surgery and everything after it (she was on maternity leave a few months) well that’s a long story I won’t bore anyone with. My gastroenterologist scheduled me for a colonoscopy the end of this month to rule out possible colitis (a ct scan result said colitis) I was supposed to have had it before my RNY but it didn’t work out that way. I’m not sure how I’ll manage prep. They gave me a prescription for one that is less to drink but I’m allergic to it. Ill have to do clear liquids two days prior to the colonoscopy. Does clear protein count as a clear liquid or do I not have protein? I’ve had colonoscopies before but this is my first after RNY. Also. I have endometriosis and it’s possible he won’t see the problem in the colonoscopy since that won’t show up if it’s on the outside. I worry it won’t answer the problems there. As for endometriosis. I saw my uro/gyn because of hemorrhagic cysts on my one remaining ovary. Which also has endometriosis on it. I guess it’s time to have it out now and I’m scheduled for that October 14th. Which means .............. menopause. But I’m hoping it will ease the endometriosis and pcos symptoms. He had removed my other ovary that was covered with endometriosis during other procedures he was doing at the time. I’m too chicken to ask him about an issue with one of the other procedures he did. Just like my follow up with my bariatric surgeon. I’m at a loss what to say and when I’m exhausted I lose my words. Also doesn’t help that I speak to several people before he enters the room. I feel like they expect me to be cured of all my ailments after surgery, even my pcp had that attitude but with lifelong chronic illness it doesn’t work that way. In fact I knew things likely would get worse for me but this was my last chance at a tool to fight my out of control weight gain. You can only eat so little calories without help of some kind. My surgery wasn’t reliant on comorbidities since my BMI was 40. I have them. But most wont just go away with weight loss. But it doesn’t mean I regret the surgery. (My pcp had the attitude of why did I have it if it didn’t help those things ... well I was already at least 208lbs and BMI 40 (height 5’) like isn’t that enough of a reason? Im sorry I just wrote a very long rant. My memory is so terrible I don’t remember when my last two appointments were and what was discussed at the last one. I don’t think they even mentioned my bloodwork. All I know is that was when he scheduled the tests. Now I’m following up on that. I almost don’t even want to go. I feel like I won’t be able to explain anything. And honestly surgeons just want to hear that you lost a huge amount of weight and that you’re doing great not “it’s complicated. “

My DH tried to join the bandwagon with me when I started out. He gave up cokes too. 7 months later, he drinks them, but we don't keep them in the house (for my sake). So he just buys bottles and drinks at work and at home whatever is left over. Still less than he use to. He also eats whatever I make, or wherever I can go (I don't eat fast food anymore unless it's Wendy's chili). We were eating fastfood 2-3x a day before. So naturally, he was losing a little weight. He has gained weight since I met him (use to be washboard, now it's a little tire ) Went from 30 waist pants to 36 now. I have GENTLY said something every once in while- mostly due to me having to buy him new pants sizes. He doesn't care, doesn't take offense, but he doesn't see the weight gain. His brothers have called him 'fat' at a family gathering once (imagine how my 300lb+ self felt at that time.. I was sitting there). But anyway.. guess my point is, see how he feels about it. Maybe bring it up casually about him exercising with you (I tried this, he's wishy washy about it). Tell him you worry about his Cholesterol and see if he's willing to eat better with you. The worst he can do is say no. Don't be judgey or mean about it, just casual In my situation, things seem to just be happening. He has told me 2 times in the past month (he weighed himself) that he is losing weight. If your DH is eating with you or where you go (like mine), he's going to tend to lose weight due to better food choices. If you make dinner, don't make you your good healthy food, then make him his 'regular' kind of food. I only cook 1 dinner, and if he doesn't like it, he doesn't eat hah hah! Portion is another thing, of course, but if it's a ton of healthy food instead of a ton of fat and calories.. see where I'm going? Good luck!

Oh man, that sounds frustrating. It's so easy to beat ourselves up about weight gains. Yes, parts of it are within our control but so much of weight loss is a biological and psychological mind field. In other words - it's tough. Kudos to you for staring over and not giving up. Break your goals down into small chunks to help them become more attainable. Be kind to yourself and take your time losing weight the right way. The band should help you feel full with less food, rather than physically restrict you from eating. Good luck as you continue your journey!

Just read through this whole post and I am just in the beginning of this journey. So, I haven't had surgery yet. I'm still going through the appointments and consults. However, this story grabbed my attention because this is one of my fears of having this surgery. I don't ever want to go back to old ways. I've already given up a lot of things because of being diabetic. The older I get, the more difficult the diabetes is to control. I take insulin and the insulin causes weight gain. I quit eating carbs and did really well with giving up carbs and sugar stuff. However about almost a year ago my blood sugar numbers started going all kind of whacky. I have not been able to get control back since. I quit smoking over 1-1/2 years ago because of the diabetes as well. I'm so tired of giving things up and nothing changing for the better. This story grabbed me because I don't want to have this dilemma after going through all the appointments, surgery, and the whole liquid to pureed to solid food diet following surgery. I just want to be healthy. I think you are doing wonderful, but my only suggestion would be to quit buying popcorn and chocolate and keeping it available to eat. Keep only the healthy foods and put them in single serve sizes. I try to keep all bad food out of my house. If we host a party or picnic, I will have the foods here for that occasion, but at the end if someone doesn't take the leftovers, they get trashed. I cannot afford to have bad stuff hanging around the house, because if its there, I'll eat it. Hope that helps. Good Luck!

I guess maybe I worded it wrong, My weight has a natural habit of slow loss then a stall, then it moves down again. But as for calories, my metabolism is so extremely slow that when I upped them past a certain point my body wasn’t happy. It really has no impact on my fatigue, which I’ve lived with nearly all my life due to chronic illness. I’m sticking to the plan and it might seem abnormal but I’m just not normal. I deal with brain fog and have a hard time finding words or explaining things. I didn’t sleep last night, just a bit towards morning and woke with a migraine. Our ride was late and we hit a traffic jam. I saw the nutritionist first, she is great. Their scale said I weigh less than my home scale. She used a fancy scale that showed body fat, muscle, water etc. she understands how I can’t exercise just encourages movement. Which I do my best. I showed her my weight tracking and explained my calories and what I eat. I explained I track my calories and food and how when I increased to 470 I stopped losing and when I went back to averaging 370 it started to go down again at a normal pace, She does want me to try to add soft proteins like flaked fish or veggie burgers since I can’t seem tolerate dense foods like chicken or tuna. She said I’m doing good for weight loss. I shared some of the things that have helped me and she said she was going to share it with her nutrition class. She said some people just take longer to progress. And I need to deal with my health problems and as long as I’m getting my protein it’s ok. i didn’t see my surgeon, I saw a doctor that works with him. I had a hard time explaining the problems and forgot how to describe them. At some point when he started asking about exercise I blanked out because they should know my history. I tried to just stick to the main points, chest pain and still feeling the issues with the stricture and ask what the doctor recommends for the symptomatic hernia and Schatzki’s ring. As far as the surgery they feel things are going along ok. Some things are just all the separate health issues I have. That I’m dealing with the best I can. I told him I’m having a colonoscopy and since y surgeon wants another endoscopy he said my gastroenterologist can do the endoscopy at the same time if I wanted that. He gave me my surgical report to give to my gastroenterologist. I need to find out if my gastroenterologist can do the endoscopy since I’m already scheduled for the colonoscopy. I know surgically things are going as well as can be expected. I also knew my chronic Illness would get worse due to the stress on my body. But I knew going in it was either have gastric bypass surgery or not be able to fight the weight gain and give up. I’m not expecting pity and I’m sorry for posting such long rants. TBH living with M.E. Is worse than cancer, worse than HIV, because of how it impacts every part of me. Not just my opinion of it but how it is medically. After I get this colonoscopy and endoscopy done I’m going to try to add soft foods and soft vegetables. Like gardein vegetarian foods. I want to find out what’s going on first. I wish I could get some answers about the esophageal dysphasia besides it’s neurological. But honestly even if I knew the cause, nothing can fix nerve damage and I will have to learn to adapt. I appreciate the responses. Just writing this is like exercise to my body.

Just a little words of wisedom. Your weight gain didn't happen over night and it's not going to all come off over night. Things take time and your body is adjusting to all of the changes it's going through. Eat right and move as much as possible and give yourself time. If you do all of the things you are suppose to do the weight will come off soonier or later. I know soonier is what you want to see but time is the only true judge!

I was sweating bullets because I knew I had gained a few pounds over the Thanksgiving Holidays after my approval. Between the holiday and a couple of "Last Meals" I had put back on about 5 pounds but I had lost 20 in my 3 month weight loss period. He came in and started off by pointing out the weight gain and asked what was up. I told him and he was cool with it and said I would lose those 5 and several more after my 2 week clear liquids pre-op phase so it wasn't a huge deal to him. Btw, I not only lost those 5 but an additional 10!

Hi all! My surgery is next month and my pre-op appointment is tomorrow. I've gained a few pounds since my last weigh-in a couple months ago. Did any of you gain weight after approval? If so, did it matter? My pre-op appointment is tomorrow, so I'll find out then but I wanted to check in with everyone here to see if anyone else experienced this.

Hello. I'm not really sure of where to begin with this post, but I guess that I'll start by saying that I am dangerously... well, obese, I won't lie to myself any longer about it. I am 5'4" and as of yesterday evening, 302 pounds. I have a BMI of almost 53, which has scared the living daylights out of me, especially since I'm still able to not only walk, but run, stand on my feet for long periods of time, fit into "standard" sized seats, etc. I simply didn't think that I was "that bad". But the inevitable health problems have begun to crop up, and I'm frightened that if I don't do something now about the weight (I'm 38 years old), it'll simply get worse over time. Last year, my health provider suggested the idea of surgery, but I immediately nixed it because I was under the impression that it was a very dangerous procedure (however, it wasn't LapBand I was thinking of, but Roux-en-Y, which I still would rather not do - I think I'd prefer the weight problem over my stomach being stapled). Unfortunately, I no longer have that same health provider due to an insurance switch - so now I have no idea of how to go about it finding out how to get qualified for the procedure. From what I've read on this board and others, I know that I have to meet a certain BMI requirement (at a BMI of 53, I don't think that'll be an issue), and that possibly I may have to show that I have tried other options (which I have, I've been on Weight Watchers since November of last year with little to no results). I have not tried Jenny Craig or Nutri/System or the like - and I'm hoping that I don't have to, because I don't think they're going to work for me at this point. I know that I need to see my primary doctor at this point and explore options. I know that I'll have to be tested for everything under the sun before they'll approve a surgery. I'm honestly scared, as I've had some really rotten experiences with doctors and health care in general - but I know I have to do this. I also have a lot of mental health issues (severe depression, amongst other things) which I think may have been a major contributing factor in causing the weight gain in the first place. Anyhow, I just wanted to introduce myself, I guess. If anyone could point me in the right direction as to how to get started, what I should do, what things I can expect, I'd be grateful. Thanks.