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I'm having portal pain, but it isn't real bad. I say on a scale of 1 to 10, it is either a 1 or 2. I only really notice it when I'm wearing a shirt. It hurts when I touch the skin around it. Otherwise, if nothing is touching it, I feel fine. Could weight gain be causing the problem? I've gained back about 15 pounds. How do you know if your port is flipped? If it doesn't need be filled or unfilled, does it matter if it is flipped?

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

I'm 42 days out and had lost 15 lbs in 3weeks but am loosing and gaining the same 5 lbs since...no change in calories and maintaining exercise...what is this about? I've read many opinions about weight gain but if one is eating less than 1200 calories and exercising then one should lose wt. banded or not?!!! hope the fills make things more consistent and clear..puzzled right now..i am moving foward and just keeping with the program....come this far. Want to love the band:redface:

I have a similar profile, although I'm 46 and 280 lbs. I actually attribute most of my weight gain to the PCOS and corresponding insulin resistance warring with the low-fat diet craze; at the time I was gaining weight, no-one considered low-carb. But I digress. On the go-for-it side: My health has been a steady procession down the list pf problems for a typical obese person, PCOS-->weight gain->sleep apnea->diabetes/hypertension/high cholesterol. Its pretty clear to me I will keep moving down the list to the more dire conditions if I don't lose weight (stroke, heart attack, poor circulation, joint pain). If you feel this describes you, then you are a good candidate. On the try-something-else side: the diabetes medication Victoza (generic liguratide) has done wonders for me as an appetite suppressant. It really helps keep me from being a slave to hunger. On this medication I've been able to be successful at losing some weight (25lbs) and maintaining the loss. One possible option is to try this in combination with a diet/behavior modification plan to lose weight. I've been really successful working with a nutritionist and modifying my eating habits. Unfortunately, It's just not producing enough results for me. But the work I've done has given me a lot of confidence that I can handle the rigors of wls. Hope this helps.

I actually think about this! Before I gained the weight a few years ago, I always used to get hit on and complimented on my looks. Since the weight gain, nada. (Not that I’m fishing for compliments) It was a noticeable difference in how people treat me that I really had a hard time dealing with. I worry that I’ll be “jaded” when I do lose the weight. Like, would you have even noticed my existence if I still had the weight on me? If that makes sense.

Yes, Suzanne, it was divine intervention!!! :wink2: Anyway, I had a thought and was just wondering... do y'all think maybe, just maybe, or bodies are holding everything they get because it thinks we're trying to starve ourselves and our bodies need to adjust to this new way of life and realize we're ok... like protecting us? Sounds corny, I know, but with Weight Watchers you're told "Eat your points, even if you're full, eat your points" and kind of for this very reason. And, if we were doing WW, for most of us, we're in NO WAY eating our daily allowance of points and therefore our bodies are rebelling against us...? Holding what we're putting in? I'm doing a poor job of forming words around my thoughts, but if any of you can read my mind... do you see what I'm saying? Make sense to anyone but me? I guess I'm trying to rationalize this weight gain thing, if only temporary... because it seems common among most of us.

I've since been reading too about those with slips having issues with replacement bands - that they're at a higher risk of slips in the future too. I think if my complication had been a slip I would have been less inclined to get a band replacement as well. I so hear you though on the whole 'just remove it and do it yourself' thing. I gained weight when I sprung my leak but since managed to arrest the weight gain, and even take some off. So everyone I know can't understand why I would get another band. But I know why. It's because I seriously have to be obsessive with food to maintain. And if I can't exercise (like in the last 3 months due to broken bones) I struggle not to gain, because I'm hungry but can't exercise to burn anything off. So I say do whatever works for you. I have chosen band replacement for a variety of my own reasons but if I were to have complications in the future, I'd weigh up all my options again and decide which way to go at that point, depending on all the information I have in front of me. Good luck with the surgery. I hope the 6 weeks will go quickly for you.

before the sleeve: 311 after the sleeve:195 no weight gained but 116 pounds lost !!!!

Before 229 After 129-135 flux Sleeve date - feb 25- 2011 (13 month out) Weight gain- nope Accomplishments - 1 half marathon down - 4 more this year, full marathon next year!!!

I am new here. I have been approved for the sleeve surgery and will be having it done pretty quick. My original surgery date was July 3rd at the hospital. The called last Friday with a cancellation and the surgery date has been moved up to May 22nd !! I am both excited and scared at the same time! My employer is quite okay with the change and my coworkers are quite supportive. Here is brief history about me. I have only been heavy since I was 25/26. I have a history of brittle asthma. I was exposed to field burning smoke after harvest while at school. I was constantly on prednisone and gained a lot of weight. as a result. I came home from school and lost a little weight. However, I was living in an apartment while sustained a crack in the ceiling and subsequent Water leak (winter 2003). I started having increased asthma trouble shortly afterwards. I suspected trouble with the apartment and a pulse oximeter confirmed them. January 2003 - A lab tested and confirmed that I was being exposed to toxic mold (Stachybotris chartrum). The improperly repaired apartment after major water damage (which I found out after I moved out – March 2005). I have gained over 100 pounds with the prednisone weight gain. Has anyone else experienced this? Anyways, my efforts to lose weight have been futile. I would lose the weight just to gain it all back and more. I tried diets, mild exercise, portion control, diabetes diets, Byetta. None of them had any long lasting positive results. I decided I have had enough dealing with the weight and pursue weight loss surgery Dec 2011. I originally pursued getting the lapband. However after further consultations and research I decided to go with the sleeve. I am doing okay right now despite the pain and the asthma has stabilized. I still have to be on prednisone bursts sometimes but have been off of them for several months. I am looking forward to changing my life for the better. I deal with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, chronic back/neck/shoulder pain(car accidents), hip pain, foot pain, bad knee, and asthma. I have hope that this will improve the weight loss. I have lost a little weight already from the pre-op diet. 3 out of my 4 meals are Protein shakes and I have one sensible meal a day the dr was okay with this). I work different hours (3am-11am) hence I need the 4th meal. I am quite used to the shift. I work as a telecomm tech that has the responsibility fixing and maintaining 3 room-sized dial tone computers so I have to work these hours. They are quite demanding but I do love my job. Sorry about the long introduction. I just wanted you to know where I was coming from and tell you my unique story. I am looking forward to taking my life back from morbid obesity and the adverse effects. I hope that everyone is doing well. Have a nice day.

Thanks for asking. I was doing really well up until last week when my ENT surgeon attempted to sew my trach hole close. It hadn't entirely closed by itself. He left a chain of stitches that looked like he was working on a crazy quilt (or was crazy). Over the weekend I started running a fever, my motor co-ordination skills completely crashed (I couldn't hold anything in my hands and I kept falling on the floor), and I began vomiting. Two visits to downtown ERs later, it turns out that I have pneumonia in my right lung and a giant oozing infected hole in my gullet. I feel lousy and the hole is seriously gross to look at. I am back to spending most of my time in bed. This is depressing because I was - only last week! - in the process of getting my life back. I was just starting to contact friends I haven't seen since I first got cancer and I was beginning to work renewing my passport. Well, this should slow down my weight gain, eh. lol

Bandito: With all that you have on your mind, you are tremendously successful. To not show a weight gain is awesome. Think of what would be happening if you did not have the band. Emotional eating can get out of hand, but your band is working. Doddie

Hey readytobehealthy! I am scheduled for 2/25 and I too feel alittle shamed that I could not lose and keep it off ......that I had to resort to surgery......but I know this is the way to a better life, for me. I have battled weight gain since high school and it has taken its toll on me.....lose 10, gain 15, lose 5, gain 8, etc etc....exercise, swim, walk.....this is the right decision for me now. I wish I had done this 10 years sooner, because I feel like I have l lost 10 years of living, sucumbing to existence only. Good luck!

@@Djmohr - my hair loss began about 10 years ago and it thinned a bit. it sucks but like you said I am so much happier being post WLS than I was before. @@LeslieT63 - the start of menopause I think did help with the weight gain

I am six months out, and just visited the gyno last week to get on hormonal birth control to control the deluge...I took two sick days for the last one! It's hard to explain what kind of "sick" you are to your male boss, and female coworkers who might think you're being wimpy, heh. My cycles are getting closer together and much heavier and painful each month since the surgery. I was wondering if losing weight has made me fertile Myrtle or something. But it's definitely problematic...hopeful the BC helps more than the bummer side effects (like weight gain). Good luck to everyone having the same issues!

I self-paid in Mexico. The actual day of the surgery, my BMI was 29.75. It was 32 when I decided to do the surgery, after 6 months of painstakingly chasing the same 10 lbs up and down. (I guess my highest BMI ever was 37.) The cardiologist who cleared me for surgery told me I "wasn't that big" -- 45 minutes before I went to the OR! Not a helpful time to be planting doubt. You have to decide for you if it's worth it. There are risks to any surgery, and it is a hard adjustment to make...every once in a while, I suddenly realize how permanently and profoundly I have changed my eating habits. It's great on a Tuesday when you're losing weight hanging out by yourself drinking Protein shakes, but I'm guessing Christmas dinner is going to suck, or my birthday when I really truly do not have room left for a piece of cake, and everyone around me is trying to force me to eat it, because they think I'm just being coy, instead of actually being afraid of vomiting. But, on the other hand, I watch people struggle every day with both the big and little repercussions of being obese: heart disease, cancers, leg cellulitis and edema, not being able to fit in a booth at a restaurant, not being able to enjoy a day out with your family because you know you walk so slow that it will hold them back. I could see exactly where my weight gain journey was going, and I decided to head it off at the pass. And, as a doc said to me, you so often see people wait till they're old and super-obese before they get surgery, and then the damage is done, and they don't get the full enjoyment of being skinny, because theirs knees and feet etc. are permanently damaged. (Please don't flame me for this...it may be the particularly Canadian viewpoint, where you have to be SO obese to qualify for surgery...and then you have to wait 6 more years to get in the OR. And in the meantime, socialized medicine lets the rest of you go to pot too.) And, just a note, a radiology tech could lose their job and their license for expressing such a medical opinion to you. Totally inappropriate.

A similar situation happened to my husband just before the holidays. He had a fill that was either too much or it aggravated the esophogus so much that swelling would not allow even Water to pass though. He was unfilled and went through the holidays this way. He gained about 10 lbs but is now back on track with a good fill that is working for him. Try to remember that your doctor wants your body to heal from the trauma. It may mean a small weight gain but you'll get back on track too. Hopefully, your doctor uses flouroscope for fills. My husband has had fills with flouro and without. He is a fan of the flouro. I'm just beginning my lapband journey. Just had my surgery Jan. 8th. Good luck to you.

Hi: I am wondering if you take meds with MS that are interfering with your weight loss? My Sister has MS and was taking meds that had a side effect of weight gain. Maybe you should discuss your weight issues with your Neurologist, Nutritionist, and your band doctor. Another thing I thought of when reading your post was whether you are getting enough nutrition or not. Are you getting at least 1200 calories per day? If not, you could be making your body go into "starvation" mode. I hope things improve for you soon. Sue

I think you need to watch your own video carefully. You will here yourself talk about food, eating, cooking for you. I believe you have a Food Addiction. Not to fear.... I have one too. The band makes it possible to cut your appetite, so you won't want to eat all kinds of stuff. Depression,, that comes from being overweight. So yep you were right about the weight. It throws your Hormones out of whack, so everyone in one way or another gets Depressed. When you lose weight, you lose the Depression. Alter your Digestive system, or shut it down ? You have the wrong surgery mixed up with the band. That does not happen with the band. You will eat at least 3 x a day, probably some Snacks, but it will be Healthy Food, not the stuff that you love to eat that got you where your at. Somethings will be altered, and some things are in portion control. Either way you will be satisfied. But that comes in time ! First you have to have enough adjustments, then the band kicks in and takes the edge off of eating. Until then,,, you will learn control on your own, like we all did... Does it work ? I would say YES! I was 356, and last time weighed I was 241. I'll see next week when I get weighed again. But yep it keeps coming off as long as I watch what I eat, count calories and Protein, 800-1200 calories daily, and work out 3 x a week. So I don't kill myself, or burn out. Weight Gain yep I gained it almost all back, this is my second time around.. Surgeon deflated me by thinking he blew the band. Well he was wrong. He overfilled me, and that was all. But he deflated me, and it took time to get another surgeon to look at it, and see that there was nothing wrong, then he filled the Band.This was a surgeons mistake that was fixed with a fill. THIS IS NOT A COMMON THING. The weight Loss on the Ticker is from January only. Actual weight loss is 115Lbs. So yep I know it's possible. This is not sugar coated either ! Shirley.

I was banded in Oct of 05. I am about 50lbs lighter, but was 60. I quit smoking and that is what i am blaming my weight gain on??? I haven't eroded but I have had some problems. I get some incredible stomach pain, and have ended up in the ER two times for it. I throw up and don't stop until i get a shot of an anti-nausea medication. No one seems to know what is wrong. No one is willing to try figure out what is wrong. The only thing I have been told is to stop throwing up because it's bad for my band. I am currently taking protonix which is helping. I really wish someone would take the time to help me discover what is wrong before I end up having to have my band removed. Dawn

Hi! I'm 24, almost 25, and have had 3 kids. Mine aren't so close together but they've definitely contributed to my weight gain I weigh about 230 pounds and I'm a diabetic. My surgery is Feb 10th and it can't come soon enough! Good luck to you!

Re fear of weight gain ... I can't imagine each of us doesn't fear that. But I'll speak for myself: I fear it. I'm only four months into maintenance. There's no way I feel stable at this point.

Im 30 yrs of age, never had any major issues with health , but with the weight gain after losing my.mother 5 years ago (part due to obesity )i now have high blood pressure..i have surgery in 2days.and my emotions and fears are all over the place...

I just found in another post how this is normal. It was the 7 day post gastric sleeve post. I was so glad to read those responses I thought I was having complications. By the way my weight was up to then I did some yoga poses for gas pain relief and started passing Flatbush and having diarrhea and my weight start going down. I had been told the weight gain was the gas they pumped into us to do the surgery and we had to wait till the bod absorbed it. guess mine finally is. Also any surgery is treated by the body as an acute trauma so you have holding on of fluids and inflammation that adds to that weight gain. Give it 3 days and the normal surgery weight gain will go away.

mksy. thank yall so much! I have gone to great lengths to loose weight. and i may be young but i knew i was truly hayy when i lost a lot of weight. but i didnt do it the right way. i have always been active and worked out for at least 3 times a week but it never helped me loose weight. it would just keep my weight the same. and when i would stop is when i would gain tons of weight. and i still am gaining lots of weight. it has been worse and more rappid weight gain than i have ever had. i know i will be truly happy when i get this done. and trust me, im scared s***less. but from alk the research i have been dong i know its the right path for me!