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Hi everyone- I'm new to BariatricPal. I had RNY Gastric Bypass in June 2008. Met goal weight of 118 lbs. by August 2009. Had my son in September 2011 so I gained 30 lbs. which I subsequently lost within 6 months of his birth. I am now approaching my 12 year surgiversary and I have crept up to 180 lbs. I am so mortified and disappointed in myself; and I understand it is also due to the lack of fullness after so long. I am going back to my original surgeon to discuss revision options. My question is, I have NJ Family Care / Horizon BCBS of NJ and there isn't much online as to whether they typically cover weight loss surgery revisions. I am so nervous because my insurance barely wanted to cover a root canal and this is obviously much more invasive. The other problem I have is chronic pain, as I had back surgery in 2013 following a car accident. The added weight has worsened all of my issues and I am dealing with horrible sciatica with the weight gain. I just wish I felt full. I do not drink, smoke, or do illicit drugs. I just would like to know if based on my circumstances if I can be approved by Medicaid for the revision. Thanks for reading and for any advice.

At 10+ years post op I'm also battling ups and downs. My story is different from yours but the bottom line is getting rid of the excess weight. Have you considered options besides revision surgery? I'm likely covered for revision despite relatively low regain due to other health issues. You may improve your chances of approval by focusing on co morbidities caused by regain. A revision would be successful, but until I live differently I may face the same situation in another 10 years. My BEHAVIOR caused my weight gain. INTERMITTENT FASTING is helping me control this need to be full. I'm training my body and brain to understand that feeling hunger is not the same as starvation. It is helping me to drop the pounds and revise my attitude towards food. Jason Fung (search YouTube and online) and others have been my guides. My desire to be full is my eating disorder. Fasting helps me to focus on nutrition and understand when I need to eat vs when I want to eat. As an advocate of health at any size, my diet for life keeps me in good health. Periodically I tweak my program because of metabolism issues. When I stay with my program I maintainin. When I slip from my program the need to get full emerges. Diets to reset my pouch as someone already suggested work well for me. However, eventually I want to feel fullness again and I'm attempting to reset more and more often. This is why I'm working to become content with an empty belly and a well nourished body. I wish you successful weight loss and good health however you decide to accomplish your goals.

Agree with everything you said and one of the things I didn't mention I couldn't eat was potatoes, cake ... Rice, bread and a few other things was more because of in many people it causes problems long term. And because of some of those foods that swell and can lead to more stretching. So my doctor as well teaches moderation (although there are definitely some things she said to never touch again, soda) and says that one day I'll feel like I can eat just about anything I want in small portion, but just to be aware of the ones that are more prone to trigger changes that may lead to weight gain. I think we're saying the same thing and should be proud we're being diligent enough to listen and learn from the experts as well as our own bodies

My first stall happened week three as well. It lasted for three whole weeks. I was so frustrated. But then like magic I dropped another 10lbs. Now I’m in another stall. As far as weight gain it might just be water retention. Especially if you sticking to the program. We don’t eat enough for real weight gain.

Ok Ok Ok...Hold on right here Becky. You told me men are turned on by cimmamon and you were looking to get the old man active.lol lol. So I sent a receip that if made right would do the trick. This plan was to get husband active so you could burn off some calories Hmmmmm won't say how. YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO EAT THE CIMMAMON BARS TOO. Suppose since I didn't add the footnote to the e-mail I sent about YOU not eating any will result in me being sued for your weight gain. Ha go ahead. means you have to make a personal appearnce in court same time I do and then I can give you a big hug...lol I made them damn cimmamon bars last week for a church function and was so proud of myself that I doidn't eat a single one while at home. Got to church and couldn't stay out of them. Wife said looks like you eat three pounds of them. Damn thats what I gained this week. She is good.

I underwent my 1 1/2 year appointment with the nutritionist and doctor. One of the points I brought up was the story that I heard that the stomach begins to heal at 1 1/2 years and absorbs more calories. It turns out that is a "myth". The main reason for the weight gain (in the maintenance phase) is that individuals begin to graze and when they graze they expand their stomach and then take on more weight. They also said that after RNY surgery, the part of the stomach that absorbs sugars and fats has been cut away. Therefore if one eats too much sugars or fats, the intestines don't know what to do with this and pass it through the system (diarrhea). But as time goes on, the intestines begin to adapt and absorb sugars and fats. I am 18 months post-op and my pouch is still tight. I can tell because when I eat solid foods like steaks or chicken, at some point before I consume a cup, my stomach begins to warn me not to eat anymore. I attribute this tight pouch to my meal plan. From almost the beginning, I focused on consuming high Protein home-made Soups and chili. It is a softer food that because the ingredients were mixed had more flavor. Also it was easy to take the required amount using measuring cups and easy to heat using a microwave oven. Also the food went down smoother and didn't generate that painful experience when you eat too much. At the moment, I am about 10 pounds below my goal weight. I stay away from processed sugar. I rely on natural sugars found in fruits and milk, in synthetic sugar such as Splenda and other natural sugars such as Stevia. In the beginning if I grazed I concentrated on grazing on Proteins. But now I mainly graze on fats. Fats have the ability to take away hunger. I stay away from grazing on carbs. I do graze. But I also monitor my weight daily. I laid out what I was eating and my meal plan with the nutritionist. Their take was just keep doing what I am doing.

Since I hurt my back again (& have been having a pity party for myself), I have been dealing with the binge demons. And I suffered a 10 lb. weight gain because of them! I still have my band, but I feel your pain sista!

I ordered the one called Potatoes Not Prozac: How to Control Depression, Food Cravings and Weight Gain... Sounds real good!@ thanks again

I doubt the 4.5 pound weight gain had anything to do with adding puree/soft foods into your diet. Women's weight naturally fluctuates more then men's over the course of the month. If you're retaining water, you can be burning fat tissue, but it isn't going to show up on the scale. Daily weight fluctuations can be really frustrating, but you can't look at it as how much you gain or lose in any given day. You have to track trends over time--how you did in a week, month, two months etc. I know my rate of weight loss is leveling out and the days of of seeing 2 pounds loses overnight may be a thing of the past. That's ok!! If I losing an average of one to two pounds a week (average---not that you actually lose two pounds every week), I'll reach my goal weight sometime in 4 to 8 months from now . That is awesome and is more than I could have hoped for and expect from having this surgery. Even if it takes another year, I'll still be thrilled since I never imagined I could ever lose this much weight and feel this good again--plus I am off my T2DM meds which is just awesome.

I have an issue that I haven't seen addressed here, and I would love to know if others have experienced this. I didn't become overweight until about 15 years ago (when I was 24 or so). Now I'm at 250, and I'm 5'5". The issue is that I don't really eat that much compared to other people!! My husband probably eats 3 times as much as me, but he does work for UPS and is very active. I drink LOADS of Diet Coke, but I eat pretty healthy other than that. I've had all kinds of tests, but no one has found an explanation for my weight gain. I'm so afraid that the band won't help me that much!! I'm scheduled for one week from today!!

the reason why this article did not SHOCK me is because I know how many people out there in the world are UNEDUCATED about the complexity in regards to obesity. Yes I realized that I should probably do something to live a healthier life by choosing VSG but I also understand the biochemical reasons as to why it is so simple and so difficult to become obese and then try to lose the weight. There is a lesson to be learnt by all of this regardless if we want to recognize it or not. The general public (who has a "normal BMI) has no clue when it comes to the issues involving obesity because their body does not react the same as an obese person. For example we all know countless people in and around our lives who are a normal BMI and eat fast food, junk, and have not experienced weight gain where as the obese can eat whole foods, that is deemed healthful foods and still be obese. Yes life is not fair but writers who are going to post something so uneducated is just asking for a war. Needless to say.. just down right immature.

I have BS of CA PPO and also got the gastric sleeve. If you have a bmi of 40+, then you qualify. If you have a bmi of 35 with at least one comorbidity, then you will qualify too. They require a psychological evaluation, nutritional support, proof that you have attempted to lose weight in the past, particularly within the past 3 - 6 months (primary doctor can provide that information - pretty much just showing weight loss and weight gain again). I also had to do multiple tests, but that was due to my surgeon's requirements, not insurance. My surgeon's office told me that Blue Shield of CA is one of the easier insurances to work with. They don't make you have to jump through as many hoops as other insurances. Once my paperwork was submitted along with all my requirement documentation, I got approved in less than a week. Here is a link to a pdf on Blue Shield of California's website. It shows the requirements for weight loss surgery, to help give a more thorough idea. https://www.blueshieldca.com/bsca/bsc/public/common/PortalComponents/provider/StreamDocumentServlet?fileName=PRV_PA_Bariatric_Surgery.pdf

Yes I hate that ive been like that too nd it is really scary afraid of the weight gain....

I am at a standstill in weight loss, was counting my calories and watching carefully what I ate, keeping away from carbs and sugars, and getting 800-900 calories per day. I went to my nutritionist and she went through my food log with me, and showed me how on the few days I went over the 900 my notes show how hungry I got (my margin notes say "HUNGRY!!! So Hungry!!!") She said this is typical, she sees it with anorexic patients all the time--it is the body's way of saying "hey, you're feeding me! Do this more! I NEED this!" She says, absolutely, I MUST have 1200 to 1300 calories in a day. She showed me research about how the body shuts down the metabolism when you starve it with lower calories. So now I am working hard at getting my minimum of 1200 calories in per day. I know that my weight gain has been from years of doing this to myself, eating at the wrong level of food intake, as I have always been a "starver" in the goal of staying thin (which obviously hasn't worked!) So, 3 meals per day, all solid food (no Protein drinks, slider foods, etc.), protein first, some carbs with every meal, and 1200 to 1300 calories per day, those are my goals. I'm still learning, though, finding it hard to get the calories up to that level.

They say divorce is a huge stress factor. I believe that that stress and corticosteroids factor in weight gain. Sorry, I hope things get better!! (I heard that if you change your diet and exercise regimn it restarts your weight loss, like add more carbs or more water etc..)

At my age and with my past exercise experience...or should I say 'the lack thereof..., the reasonable method(I think) for me is my treadmill. Several yrs ago I ordered a good one from Sears and find that when I DO go on it I see a big difference. This LB 'quest' began when my PCP threw up her hands about my high blood pressure caused by the constant weight gain over the past 2 years. No matter the meds, NADA! So she had to resort to the 'pact'..and made me promise..handshake over it and all to seal the deal...that I would do 10 min a day. Well, (there's always a 'well 'and a 'but' when it comes to my weightloss). I went wild! I was 'Biggest Loser Solitaire' down there in the basement on my machine and went from 10 min to doing 2 miles a day...which is a great feat for a sedentary gal like me. And then I get proud and...quit. There is always something there to use up the exercise time. So the story continues..I start anew every now and then, reach 2 miles a day, lose some weight, stop, eat, gain Round and Round. And yes...I did almost fall off. I read rather than listen as I work, and one chapter was so intriguing I lost the rhythm of the pace and almost ended up face down! Not cute at all. I am not a Water drinker, so thought now is the time to start. Went to Walgreens, Shaws,Rite Aid..no Kellogg's Protein water mix ....finally found it at CVS. I guess it is a big seller..only 2 boxes on the shelf. So now I am trying to ease into it..Carnation Instants,Water and trying to lose 5 more lbs before going back to the dear doc in a few more weeks. In this stage of the PreBand Journey I am "Learning to embrace my hunger" as one famous talk show host said recently. The treadmill needs to be dusted. Hope to meet you also tinywishes! Hope you are doing better now. Have a good day all! singingintherain

All this talk of PBing, weight gain, getting stuck, is making me nervous. Less than 2 weeks for me now. I started my liquid diet and have lost about 4 lbs, which is good, cuz I have my preop appt. on Monday and it will bring me back to my last weight check..10lbs down, hoping to lose another 5 before surgery. Can someone answer this question for me? Do we have to pay for fills or are they covered by insurance, at least say the first couple? I have Blue Cross. I can see how all the filling and unfilling can get expensive if we pay out of pocket. TIA Sandy :wink:)

I have very severe depression with some anxiety, severe enough that before they got me on the cocktail I'm taking now of medications that work for me, I was actively trying to suicide for over a year, and spent weeks, sometimes months at a time hospitalized. It took time before they found medication that was effective for me, I take high doses of Effexor, remeron and seroquel. I can never safely go off of them. My depression is very biological, I don't have normal brain chemistry on my own, and if I don't take medication, I go downhill, and fast. I was on the heavier side pre-depression and medication, but not obese. Most people on the medications I'm on, gain anywhere from 60-150lbs, it's standard, according to my psychiatrist. They are all 3 of them medications associated with weight gain, they slow my metabolism, they make me feel hungry all the time, and make me crave carbohydrates. They also cause me to overheat, and make me tired, making excerising anywhere than a swimming pool pretty much impossible. I gained 100lbs from the time I started taking them 4 years ago. Lap-band was a tricky decision for me, how would it work when so much of my weight gain was tied into my medications?, and the fact that I currently still have active depression, I don't get full relief with my meds, I'm unable to work, and I often find myself house bound and unable to get out, or exercise? Would/could lap band make a difference. Talking with my psychiatrist, my family Dr. and the surgeon, the answer seemed to be yes, it could make all the difference. If I don't take my medication my depression will kill me. If I don't lose weight, my body will. There was no other tool that may work for me. I'm two weeks post op. I have very rarely felt hunger, my caloric intake and my Protein, carb and fat intake I chart every day on fitday.com, I've averaged 1200 calories a day, and 75 grams of protein, low fat. I started my journey post-op 295, pre-op diet got me down to 280 day of surgery, and now I'm 274.5 (though my period started today, the day I normally weigh myself, and I -always- retain 3-7lbs. So I know it's even less than that). I believe it will work for me. I believe I can stay on my medications and can lose the weight. I don't believe the lap-band does it all, but it's a tool. I believe your mental and emotional health is -very- important. I also know from experience that anxiety left untreated can and often will deplete your brain chemsitry and can cause depression, and depression left untreated can worsen and worsen, and that the longer it goes untreated the more it takes to 'fix', if you have mild anxiety and or depression you need lower doses of medication typically to fix it, it will then often stabilize, your brain chemsitry will normalize, and you may be able to go off medication and maintain your own normal balance. The more severe your anxiety/depression is, and/or the longer it goes untreated, the more medication it takes to balance out to normal again, and the longer typically you need to use it, and sometimes, like with me, it becomes unlikely you can ever live without medication. My personal belief, is letting a mood disorder be untreated is like being a diabetic and not taking insulin when you need it, you are possibly causing yourself more damage, and you are diminishing your health and your quality of life. I know not everyone agrees, but that is how I see it, these are biochemical illnesses, and medicine helps restore normalicy. Yes there are side effects, but they are not insurmountable, maybe we will have to work a little harder than some other lap banders, life doesn't dole out fair portions on our plates. I would give your medications a try, I would at least see what happens, see if you can treat yourself with them and restore your mental/emotional health while still working on your healthy weight loss. Maybe it will slow it down, or even plateau for you, but maybe it won't, and maybe it will just be a temporary fix. Don't risk things getting worse with your mood, it's just not worth it. We're all different, we all have different health needs, consult with doctors you trust and decide what is safest and best for you, and the best of luck with it. XO Leila

Hi Jen, I have PCOS and I was put on Metformin as well as BC pills to help regulate my cycle and reduce the symptoms of PCOS (acne, weight gain, etc.). I've been on this combination 1 full year and it has helped to regulate my cycle better and reduce the acne. It has done absolutely nothing to reduce my weight gain, but I do know of others it has helped in that regard.

A BMI of 47.5 more than qualifies you for surgery and it is much better to deal with obesity now before you get a lot of obesity related health issues. You don't want to do like I did and wait until I had almost uncontrollable high blood pressure, excruciating joint and spine pain and greatly reduced mobility. I doubt your family would want those things for you either. At the end of the day, this is a personal decision between you and your surgeon. While I had my surgery in the states since my insurance would cover it, from what I've read on here the program that bariatric pal helps coordinate in Mexico is quite good and there are a lot of people on here who have used it. I do agree it would be best to have someone travel with you - not because it is mexico but just in general traveling a distance for surgery by yourself would be hard but not undoable. I've very surprised your primary doc says surgery is unnecessary at your BMI. But why does your family say that? Have you discussed with them the impact of obesity on your life? As well as the impact of years of yo-yoing weight loss and weight gain? And lastly - you are not alone - everyone here understands and supports you.

OMG!!! I forgot about the Weight Gain 4000 episode! Gotta love every bit Cartman does!

Yeah, that seems to be a bit of a controversy at times. I think some people.....ectomorphs.......can and almost have to eat this way (dirty), to put on mass. Maybe that's kind of what he (author) was referring to, but he needs to realize that not all people are ectomorphs, in fact most are not. I knew guys like this in high school.....they lifted a lot, skinny as a rail and until they pretty much ate everything in sight, they couldn't get bigger/stronger. Even when they ate everything and anything, they still had trouble gaining weight because their metabolisms were so revved up and/or they were very active. Those kind of people frustrate me, but it's not their fault I suppose. Anyway, I think people that are like this are typically young (teens to maybe early 20s) and are setting themselves up for weight gain down the road when their metabolism slows and they are used to those bad eating habits.

My friends and family all know I am going to Mexico for the surgery. That's just the kind of person I am, very open and honest. I don't hide anything. My dad is nervous about it being done in Mexico so he is going with me. He said he talked to his doctor about it yesterday, he is very overweight and having some health problems now. She talked to him about the pros and cons and he wants to wait and see how my surgery and progress goes before he decides to have it done. My dad was always super skinny when he was younger and this weight gain is really getting him down so I think he's hoping it works well for me. That just motivates me even more knowing he will be watching me.

Good questions! How long did I wait? About 3-4 weeks. Wanted to make sure I was getting my full 64 oz of liquids first before any alcohol. For fear of dehydration! Any complications? I'm a big wine drinker and most of the time the acidity gives me major reflux or heart burn. Liquor I haven't noticed a problem. Don't mix with sugary stuff, high sugar can cause some "dumping" effects. Still can't handle carbonation, champagne, or beer, one sip can be painful. Weight gain? None, still loosing and I'm 6 months out. Drink much less than prior to surgery. Sip much slower. Addiction? I can stop whenever. It doesn't go down as fast and easy as it use too.

I think Cleo's Mom is just being honest about her struggle with the lap band and trying to help others. Sometimes people put blinders on and see the band as their magic golden ticket or something and it doesn't always work that way no matter how they work the band. She just shows that even though she followed all the "rules" that she still didn't get the results promised to her by Lap Band! Also that there are some greedy doctors out there that will do almost anything for $$. I think that it can be very difficult to tell who the band will help and who it will not help, that is my honest opinion because I came to this site a long time ago when I got my band installed searching for answers as to why it wasn't working for me. I thought that maybe I'd get some answers here that would be the clue into what my problem with the band was and could turn it around from gaining on the band to losing like I bought it for! But after a few months here I still got no answers and did come across many of the smug people that said things like "it's only a tool" and when your band is not working and you hear that it's very frustrating to say the least! I then learned that it works for some and not for all and that's that and I wasted my time and body on the band and should have had a different WLS to begin with. I also went to see my surgeon or his PA for all my fills and checkups on a regular schedule and after a year of trying the band and it not working we decided it was time to discuss it's removal. I was very depressed after this "failure" of mine that I didn't even think of revising to another WLS after my surgeon removed my band. Physically I was having terrible GERD And was put in the ER for chest pains and because of that and my weight gain and not loss my insurance company covered it's removal. After the band was removed my normal size stomach once again appeared and I gained ever more weight so that I weighed more than I had prior to banding just like another failed diet, which is kind of my impression of the lap band although not everyones! It took a few months of soul searching and how I wanted to deal with this and also discussion with my surgeon that we would go ahead and revise to RNY. At that time I joined a support group which also helped me with my decision. I also have a daughter who had been successful with her RNY and two nieces now who have had it. So I went for it and even though RNY is not a magic golden ticket either I at least felt like I had some success and am at the point now where the weightloss stopped and so did the malabsorption of calories and I'm basically on my own now. I've put on about ten pounds since the fall and am honest to say it happens not with everyone but with many. I know that you go through stages with RNY and I'm just in that one now and am dealing with it. Anyway before we start knocking down CM with honest story of her experience with the lap band I think as others have said just because it works for you doesn't mean it will work for everyone and trying to figure that out before you have surgery is probably the most difficult task a person has! I wish everyone well with whatever WLS they choose because it can be a very difficult road, Nanook!