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Hi Bandpal! Hope you had a safe trip back to Israel. I'm working on my Masters in mental health counseling. I enjoy working with children and am now interning at a special school for emotionally disturbed children. The children have disorders such as ADHD, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, BiPolar, Aspergers, etc. I plan on obtaining my license and would like to someday open up a counseling center for children and their parents. For now, I'd like to work in a school until I can receive my license. I have to work for 3000 hours after graduation and take the NY licensing exam before I'm licensed. I'm graduating this May, four days after my son's Bar Mitzvah. Can't wait! I know that many sleepless nights studying and writing papers contributed to my weight gain.

This happened to me for a very long time and I did not know why. I let it go and let it go, I was eating tums like they were candy, had weird noises when I would eat or drink, would wake up coughing cause I was choking on whatever I had drank that night. Finally due to small weight gain I went to the doctors. It turns out my band was to tight and had been for about three months. My esophagus was 8 times its normal size when they sent me immediately for my upper GI. This was due to the fact that the liquids were sitting in my throat at night tearing away at the lining. I ended up having to have my band unfilled for three months, on a liquid diet all three months and had to pray that the swelling would go down. My band ended up slipping. I have been able to get it filled again as the swelling did go down, but my band DOES NOT work the same as it did. I have gained about 30 pounds and my weight is a struggle to keep off now. I went from a size 5 to a 10 in just 6 months. I am at 6.5cc's in my 10cc band. I would speak with your doctor as soon as possible. I would hate for you to have to struggle like I am now. I took being skinny for granted!!! I wish you all luck!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

I have read many posts in the past about the same situation as u. Your body is adjusting.. Once it stabilizes.you will see a continuous drop..watch your salt intake. This can cause water weight gain. U may not want to weigh as much. I did have a little stall for several days ..so I just stopped weighing for several days. Then my weight loss was inching down again.

I got great news today; I emailed my PCP yesterday that I would like her to send me to a bariatric specialist and she emailed me today that she referred me to the Bariatric information seminar. I didn't even have to go see her again. WE had discussed my weight gain at my last visit in February for a physical and lab work. I think it would be best for me to stay on my Kaiser insurance and not switch to my Blue Shield option. I guess that is step 1, I am on way down the Kaiser WLS roller coaster. What should I expect at the seminar? do they weigh me there?

I've always been overweight, but as I put more and more weight on, I didn't realize it. Maybe because most of my weight gain happend around pregnancies, I don't know. After having my last child (he's 5 1/2 now!) as I had to shop for bigger and bigger clothes, 5x, then 6x, then 7x, it still didn't click "hey girl, you are really putting it on" It wasn't until my husband took a photo of my son and I just so happended to be getting dressed in the background...all I had on was my underwear! I saw that and was like OMG!!!! WTF!!! Then it hit me, I am really really huge! YET, I still didn't do anything about my weight! I didn't do anything until my mom won a free 2 month membership for 2 to Curves. And I only went initially because it was free. But, even after losing so much weight, I still don't see myself accurately. I look in the mirror or in window as I'm passing by and think I look ok, but in photos, I'm like, UGH, why don't I look in the photos like I look in the mirror? It's very strange! I wonder if it will still be like that once I get even smaller?

I was diagnosed with hypothyroid about 10 yrs ago and even after starting synthroid I struggled with with severe weight gain. To make a long story short.... I finally found an enternist who would actually take the time to listen to me. She explained to me that thyroid medication is one of those medications where there can be a huge difference between name brand and generic. After 9 yrs of taking levothyroxine, she put me on synthroid (take exactly as instructed) and my levels have been in normal range every since. It's a little more pricy for name brand, but definitely worth it! I'm 3.5 weeks post op and have lost 15 pounds. Im 35 yrs old and I haven't felt this good since I was in high school.

Rachel, I'm certainly no expert, but I would think that most of those divorces had other problems before the weight loss. Do you and your husband communicate pretty openly? I'm fortunate to have been married to my best friend. He was here through my weight gain and I sure hope he'll be here as I continue losing. I hope we're in this for the long haul! And I hope you are too!

I had Nexplanon implanted about 3 years ago. I have always gone up and down with my weight, but after getting it put in I gained almost 100lbs. I had never had that big of a weight gain before- not even close! Normally I can diet pretty easily and loose any weight pretty quickly. Not after the Nexplanon. I tried and tried and couldn't loose the weight. That is the reason I decided to get the sleeve. My doctor told me that I might gain 5lbs when I was getting it put in..... Lucky me I gained 100. After my ordeal I have found several people with the same experience that I had. So just be very careful- it can definitely hinder wight loss. Oh- I also wanted to mention that I craved sugary foods constantly. I would have been happy to eat sugary Cereal for Breakfast lunch and dinner. I lost interest in normal foods. Also I did loose my periods for quite a while. When they did return it was more like spotting. I used to have pretty heavy, regular periods before that.

I think alot of people have had some covid weight gain. Both wls people and non-wls people. Reduction of activity, boredom, stress, proximity to the fridge/pantry all day long, etc., etc. I had a small gain of 6 lbs that I acknowledged mid-summer. As of this week I finally said good bye to those stinkin’ pounds. There really wasn’t a secret strategy to the loss: I cut calories and increased exercise a smidge. Took me 4.5 months (which is a stark reminder that weight loss is not as fast/easy as it once was, as the ease of not eating has decreased by a lot). I’m sure I could have probably done this faster by cutting more calories, but honestly, I just didn’t want to. I accepted the slower loss in exchange for extra cals. Its actually a good thing that you “caught” the gain and are making (it seems) an effort to address it now rather than later if/when the gain is much, much more. Remind yourself the eventual outcome if you continue on this path (an old Before Picture, perhaps?). Rid your place of the foods that are contributing to the gain, and replace with more appropriate foods if u are able. When the urge to eat when u are not truly hungry comes around, do something else: drink water, do some yoga, wash the dishes. If f u still want to eat 45 mins later, portion out a small-ish amount (like 1/3 cup or something) and commit to only eating that until another 45 mins has passed. Rinse and repeat. You know what to do. Its up to you to find it in yourself to do it.

The further out I get, the more I adopt the attitude of Never Say Never. I have regular crap food in my diet. As I do healthier stuff (i love me some salad). I love food and can thoroughly enjoy eating in my much smaller quantities. Balance and portion control is key for me. I started eating bread again (the regular, non-keto, full-everything kind WiITH butter) about 2-ish years post op…and surprise, surprise, I didn’t implode. Warm, fresh bread is THE BEST (my Mr. is the bread whisperer lol). Now, I won’t eat 5 slices anymore, I’ll likely just have 3-4 bites (as it is very filling for me), but still. Other than excess sugar, I can enjoy a wide range of foods with no ill effects nor unintended weight gain. Im 3 years post op and been maintaining my weight consistently at 115-ish since reaching goal almost 2.5 years ago…non-healthy food choices (with portion control) and all. My most recent labs a couple weeks ago showed once again that i am the picture of health. I do understand that for some folks, some foods are triggers or potential starts of slippery slopes. I guess just know what your boundaries are and strive to stay within them. You may not be perfect, but u can be perfect ENOUGH. Indefinite denial and avoidance, especially if it causes you angst is a meltdown waiting to happen. P.S. For those early in the process, for me it helped to tell myself: “Not right now, but maybe later”; or, “This kinda sucks, but it won’t always be so”. Making peace with the fact that nothing is forever helped with accepting my present circumstance. and who knows? what u really want today may not even be on ur radar tomorrow or next week or next year. And if it is, you can always have it then. Good Luck! ❤️

me too exactly .. as far as back pain , try a heating pad .. does wonders with some tylenol , for me it was lower back .. i am wondering if it may be monthly weight gain ? im thinkin its about that time 4 me

I am now at 7cc on 10cc band I'm still not losing weight, gained 3lbs. I'm giving up.

Hi! I am 15 years out from DS. I will tell you what I was told not only by my surgeon but more or less everyone in my support group. I say from my support group because when I had surgery there was no DS Surgeon in our state and everyone left the state to have surgery, hence I don't think any of us had the same surgeon other than a married couple. EMBRACE THE FAT!!!! Number one rule! If you don't see fat in your toilet your not eating enough. My skin gets extremely dry any time I cut the fat. I am shocked that you were told or assumed that low fat was great for you. Protein should be about 100 grams a day split up in 20-25 gram servings, so any fatty meat is good!!! Avoid sugar. Sugar isn't as bad for DS'ers as it is for RNY, we don't dump. However, we absorb 100% of the sugar we take in. I am also surprised you can eat bread at all. Most DS'er will have bloating and serious gas issues from bread. For me (and from most I have heard from) the gas hits at the night so you may not be aware of it. For me it has been so bad the stink wakes me up at nigh, thank goodness I can blame the dog Try going flour free for a month then reintroduce it to your body, if you have a reaction please stop. To make your diet easy for you, the order you should be eating your food, fatty meats,non starchy veggies with butter or olive oil, if your still hungry go back to fatty meat you didn't eat enough!!! Go easy on the starchy veggies. IF you need bread and desserts, no more than a bite or two. But as my surgeon says, if you still hungry by the time you get to bread and dessert your out eating your surgery! As for malabsorption, you absorb about 20-25% of fat, 50ish% of protein and 100% of sugar (carbs are sugar, stay way from carbs that are not veggies) You need to go back to experimenting with your body, bread...flour based food give me gas, bloat and in the end a lot of time in the bathroom. I also feel like I have the flu. My husband will look at the cookie in my hand and will ask me if I have plans for tomorrow and is it worth being sick on the couch for. Most of the time it isn't! I also have issues with rice, it will clog me up. I have heard of other DS'ers with that issue with rice too, but many more with flour. Sugar will cause the scale to go up. I still eat sugar, but it is a rare treat, not a daily ,weekly or even monthly treat. Mostly a yearly treat at this time of year. But I still very easy on it because to much will cause bloating and gas too. That is normal for humans who don't eat sugar, not just DS'ers. On the sugar note, if your craving sugar your going thru withdrawal or some protein drinks will cause cravings or you need to up your vitamin Bs special B12. Ok, what to eat on the go. I drive for a living so I have this down. My favorite is meat and cheese roll ups. What ever meat and cheese is on sale at the deli. In the roll up I will put a slice of red pepper or a some cream cheese or a smear of spinach dip (fat is your friend!!!) Jerky and beef sticks are great! Nuts. Costco has parmesan cheese chips, LOVE THEM! Tuna salad eaten with a fork with a cheese chip on top. I get the fatty tuna and a bit of crunch from the cheese chip. Love it! Salad with LOTS of meat. I can do chicken strips, bunless burgers, salad at any fast food place. Be careful of yogurt, most are low fat and high sugar. Actually in general avoid any food that is low fat, the sugar is crazy high. If you want yogurt, plain and add your own fruit or sugar free jam to it. You can eat fruit, pick higher fiber ones just be aware of the amount of sugar your eating. I do apples slices and berries mostly, easy to pack for the road. These are treats, not staples. Depression, I never had depression issues before surgery and was not prepared for it after. It hit me about a year out. I take lexapro now, it does not cause weight gain. I have noticed that when I eat more fatty fish, salmon or can tuna in fat (hard to find anymore) I feel better. I upped my omegas when I caught that, so now I am taking those with my vitamins. I would suggest talking to your primary about depression and then getting a therapist or councilor to talk to. Not only for everything going on in your life, you have a lot! but also for food addiction. Surgery will not fix food addiction and if you don't get a handle on it, you will eventually out eat your surgery.

I have a healthy fear of regain. Its a reality. Statistically, it's a truth. I've already beaten statistics by losing nearly all my excess weight. I've kept it off three years, but I know that could all change in a short time. I still track my intake and weight daily. It takes very little calories for me to maintain my weight, so diligence and restriction are required. I've done a few short term experiments of just being careful and not tracking, or a day or two of letting myself "have a break" and every time it results in significant and immediate weight gain. I then have to work a little harder to get that back off. I use that information to know what I have to do to maintain. Every day I feel like I've been given a gift, and I'm not going to squander it. I am cautiously optimistic I can keep it off, but I have no illusions that it does not require a tremendous amount of effort on my part.

I was soooo addicted to carbs, too! Pasta, potatoes, pasta&potatoes! Everything. I never ate red meat or pasta until 2012, but when I was pregnant, I was always overeating on it all. My weight gain was from pregnancy & post-pregnancy cravings

From what little research I've done, I would think the weight gain was mainly from Water. As your body converts your food to glycogen, it takes 4 oz of water for every 1 oz of glycogen your body stores. And after WLS your restricted diet reduces your glycogen stores. It sounds like you had a small carb fest and your body took the opportunity to easily convert the carbs to glycogen. I had watched on Sleevers journey on Youtube and he correlated his weight loss directly to his Protein intake. On days of increased protein and decreased carbs, he lost weight. On the high carb days, his weight loss was slower or non existent.

Weighed 204 @ 8 Months. I finally look pregnant...like really pregnant. Baby is 4 lbs. 2 More months give or take to go. So total weight gain so far is somewhere between 40 and 44 pounds. Some days are better than others. It is true if you just stick with protein you crave less carbs...add that sugar or bread...man...talk about cravings. The fact that the heartburn is getting serious makes me not want to eat so much at one time. I am exhausted and have cankles at the end of the day. I am actually so excited about losing it. I will take prevacid as soon as I pop her out. I hope the hunger goes away, but if not I just feel like it won't be as strong. My hunger is OUT OF CONTROL. If I don't eat something...I will kill you! LOL. But...I still can't eat a lot at once. I will check in again soon. I am going every two weeks to the doctor now.

I wonder if it's him who is actually wanting 'an easy way out', using the WLS as a means to force a break up? FutureSleevie read your own post back a couple of times, now what would you ask/tell or advise a close friend or family member after you've watched them struggle with weight gain and maintaining losses for a long time, struggling with obese related health issues, struggling with making what is one of their most important decisions in their life? I am guessing you wouldn't be telling them they are taking the easy way out and that you would be a hell of a lot more caring than that.

Hi...glad to see I'm not the only one gaining weight. I am on maintenance and found Doritos. Delicious, cruncy, and go right thru. Gained 2 pounds this week. A body cannot gain weight unless there is too much intake. Even those w/ medical issues that causes weight gain won't gain weight if they don't eat. - not realistic; however. I am just going back to meal planning and ensuring I have plenty of food that won't cause weight gain (I slime if I eat to much) and stay away from Doritos. Yes, get a fill. Paying out of pocket is something many if not most of us do. But it's so worth it! Good luck and keep us posted.

I'm really glad you posted this. It's certainly an idea to keep in mind if I can't struggle through my own food issues with a filled band. I didn't realize that the band could cause many problems with eating the way you're supposed to. Trust me, after a half hour stuggling to get meat down, then coughing it back up, just to relieve the pain.. I have hit the ice cream in the freezer just because it goes down, doesn't hurt, and tastes good. I've lost about 70lbs thus far with the band, and I KNOW I could not have gotten this far without it. I just... need to figure out how to get the rest of the way...without a ton of pain. I don't regret my band, but there are times, when I'm in a restaurant with friends or family, and I have to shift around, or I'm visibly uncomfortable (despite me trying to hide it) or that I have to excuse myself and run to the bathroom, where I think "I miss eating like a normal person." I actually have avoided a fill the past few months because of a small weight gain, and also, I'm still having problems getting meat down from time to time. I'm actually in North Carolina now, visiting my boyfriend for a month. I figured I always behave on my diet here, so I'll go back once I get home... Hopefully I can lose what was gained and the doctor won't have to scold me too harshly. :thumbup:

My kids are older, in their early 20s and late teens. They have watched me struggle with weight all their lives. I have exercised on and off, been good and bad role model on and off, and really, really tried to just focus on 'healthy". They all have the propensity to gain weight, and my oldest daughter had a sleeve 6 months ago. So, while I think I'm a pretty phenomenal mother in spite of my failure to really teach healthy habits, you might not actually want advice from me! But I'm going to give you advice, anyway! I do think it is fine to weigh and measure food in front of your kids and read labels. I don't see how that is damaging to anyone. It's just a reality for some of us. It's not anything to hide or be ashamed of. By the nature of their genetic makeup, most of our children are probably predisposed to weight gain. Giving them some solid tools and actions they can mimic to control intake and weight is good. Portion control is critical to success in maintaining a healthy weight. I think making your time with your children active is a no brainer. Also, I think talking about and modeling weight management can only help your kids. Contrary to what so many people seem to think, they actually do listen to us. I suppose the trick is to not beat them over the head with it ad nauseum. Kind of like I do now.....talking about "I just want to lose 10 more pounds" over and over and over. Do as I say, not as I do

I take 2 calcium 600 mg daily, 2 multi vitamin bariatric advantage. I also get a monthly b 12 shot. That's it. I try to eat a lot of protein. I don't count anymore. I have blood work every 6 months and the protein is always good. Mostly I eat protein first and then whatever. When I eat something not good for me the worst result is gas or diarrhea. No weight gain. I drink water all day and swim for exercise.

A dog ear excision is a relatively small procedure that can be done in office with local anesthesia. Most plastic surgeons will remove this without charging the patient because it is really a "touch up" from the abdominoplasty. They may or may not submit it to insurance, but will likely not get any reimbursement from this "cosmetic" procedure. I do not think that weight gain contributed to this dog ear.

Careful with Boost. That is a product designed for people who need nutrution and weight gain. It is NOT designed for dieters. I like Matrix. I like it because the quality is high, the protein/calorie ratio is perfect, I like the flavor, and I don't have to mix it with milk. Milk... blehhh unjury is another great quality Protein and you can mix it in anything, Jello, broth, juice, milk, whatever your preference. Isopure is also another high quality protein but it tastes what like dog pooh smells like. It's just disgusting. Stay away from the bullets, shots, and shooters. The protein quality is about the lowest on the market right now. Regarding protein quality Matrix, Unjury, and Isopure are the best and most consistant quality products on the market. They range in quality (scale from 1-100) from 80-100. The bullets, shots, and shooters (stuff in a plastic test tube) are between 4-6 depending on brand and flavor.

I've had the IUD for 10 years. I never felt it contributed to my weight gain. The extreme weight loss over the last year hasn't caused any problems with it's placement either. I highly advise you to have it placed by a GYN doctor and not a general practice physician though. It's more likely to be improperly placed by a GP than a GYN.