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@@rydersmama, congratulations on developing all of these new problems! And thanks for this great thread. Yes, being cold without 100 lbs of fat to insulate is definitely a problem that didn’t exist before weight loss surgery! It’s nice that I can fit into the extra layers of clothing that I need, though! Another one is the annoyance of people telling me that I don’t need to… “You don’t need to watch what you eat.” “You don’t need to skip dessert.” “You don’t need to work out so much.” Well, yes, actually, I DO need to! That’s how I am able to maintain my weight loss! It is so flattering that people see me as someone without a weight problem, but it is annoying when they think I can maintain my weight without any effort – almost nobody can, even most people who have never been overweight work really hard to prevent weight gain! All these “skinny people problems” are such beautiful reminders of how far I have come, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

Hi Jill, I'm so sorry you had such a hard time of it. I think the weight gain can also be partly because of the IV. If the fluids are going in and not coming out, that could attribute for weight gain. Don't be discouraged though, it'll be coming off soon. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Do you know how strict they are on weight gain during Ur 6 months? Bc I have gained just found out I have under active thyroid and meds aren't adjusted yet so having a extremely hard time losing

Actually he did get into trouble hawking with other told or asked him to sell. So he did get in big trouble. But then again--I benefited from the stopping Lipitor and another anti-depressant. My own Doctor asked me not to take it. He said==Lee you will soon have problems and within 18 months my kidneys were operating at 70 to 80%. It had been reported by Kevin that the drugs they sold were a lie. In November I stopped both medications. Now with 9 months passing by--my kidneyes are back to the a 98% rating. I've taken the tests and I've read them myself along with the Doctor. I do take Welbrutrin myself. I can't any longer take 300 miligrams. It keeps me up past 12. I mean--I even make it a point to take it at 6 am each day. I am going to down to 200 and if need be--to 150 mgs. Yes there are many things we see as a Lie--but many people such as us--have failed to see. Look at all of our Politicians who lie and avoid Jail all the time. Enron is a big example--too bad the big Man died of a heart attack. But what about the life savings and retirement saving many lost.Look at all of the people now on regular social secuity who should have been living on a nice 401 K fund? Come on--Kevins Books are just 15.95 at Sams club. He isn't stealing any Man;s 401 K fund of 200 to $400,000.If I was selling a product another persons company made--but it was fraudulent--of course I 'd be in jail. I recall the Coral Calcium and more. But aren't we living America--the land where people get 2 and 3 chances to do right?? The book has many things we can benefit from--so why not read it. Oh yes--he's ha one problem--so he should be taken out back and shot--right? So why is his books remaining number 1?--If they are so much a bunch of non-sense? Why are many of us banders getting smaller and smaller--since we've learned to not eat any ingredient we can't pronouce called--"Chemicals" or Bovine Growth Hormone? That is why I don't buy fish from super markets--I am better at taking a chance at the fish stores--some of the ones who get them from a boat. I have done that too many times. Many times traveling to far away places to buy the fish--so I will not get farm raised Growth Hormone injected type of food. We have a choice of what we can beleive and what we won't beleive.But a mere fact is--Look at the girls today--growing up and looking like she is 17 and she is a mere 11 years old. Getting her period at 8 and 9. That used to be a shameful thing to have a child with early pubety. Now it's the norm. Look at all of the little girls who's on the Posters as missing. Do you really think they are all kidnapped? Think again...I won't go into details--I'll let this and other things simmer a bit in your mind. Kevin Tradeau is living the American dream. Yes he's gotten now $50 dollars off of me for the books he's sold. I paid the $15.95 for each book. But--what if I add up all of the pills, the other books on hw to be skinny, how to lose 30 pounds in 30 days, how to look like I am 25 again with these simple pills or drink--I can think in the mere hundreds and maybe close to $1500 for me. I had to stop and look at my cabinent to know--what I had done for far too long like many of us. I'd rather think he is ok than many of the Doctors who's hawked pills that kill. Oh yes--the pain pill to give you comfort has killed sooo many. I have gotten phone calls to say--"Mr B____" Stop taking that pill--dump them out today". But had anyone offered me a refund?? Lipitor is one of the biggest frauds here in America. How many people can say they have a Cholestrol count that has gone from 280 to 180 or even down to an acceptable level of 150 within a year from that drug--I am afraid very very few...Read the stats and you will see. read about the Prozac and it's many problems--the side effects that I thought I had 20 of them--that wasn't mentioned on the label or the information packet the Pharmacy gave me. Come on now..I had headaches, swellon ankles, eating more like a pig, skin problems, feet swollen, vision blurry, bad taste in my mouth, no libido, and many more of the long list of "side Effects". I am not going to hawk the "Wellbutrin"--but at least we all know it's the zero weight gain type of medication...it does help

Keven T has been in prison for fraud and he's made it into something of a conspiracy where he is the victim. He is forever paying off fines and such for his complete and total dishonesty. But even with all the fines he still makes a bloody fortune conning people into buying his books. Check out the following: What Kevin Trudeau doesn't want you to know - Salon And: Kevin Trudeau There are some drugs that slow weight loss and two of yours are an example. The Wellbutrin is a very old drug. It has several uses. One is for depression and that is originally what the drug was for. It has so many side effects (inability to sleep, etc.) that it isn't a first choice for depression anymore. It is the same exact drug as Zyban, it is quite effecitive for those who want to stop smoking. It is also semi-effective for adult ADD/ADHD. I really think its claim to fame is the stop smoking issue. Even though Wellbutrin is a brand name it is essentially the generic of Zyban. As for weight loss and Wellbutrin, the older drugs of that class do tend to slow down weight loss in some people. Other drugs such as Prozac tend to encourage weight loss. With that said, when someone is depressed they often times don't eat well and lose weight. When they take something for depression and it works, they eat a little better and weight loss isn't an issue. Drugs in the same class as Prozac tend to increase weight loss (people just aren't hungry when they take it, however we fatties tend to have more head hunger issues and we eat if we are hungry or not). Yet other drugs in the same class as Prozac such as Luvox tend to make people want to eat more. I'm not sure why that is. Your hormone tablet... Female hormones tend to make us want to eat like a heifer. Consider this, there is a drug that is given to cancer patients when they reach the stage that they don't want to eat. This drug makes them hungry. When someone has cancer the body tends to try to deal with the cancer by not feeding the cancer cells, that is why end stage cancer patients don't want to eat. You can't even tube feed them without a great deal of discomfort. The problem is, the body doesn't feed the healthy cells either. So docs will often give a drug called Megace to make end stage cancer patients hungry. Megace is essentially a female hormone. If you want to look into hormones try something that is identical to what your body should be producing anyway. You can get them at ANY compounding pharmacy. They do require an Rx and your doc can write them for any strength he wants unlike standard hormones that only come in specific strengths. These are not like the standard hormones, these are absolutely the same as what your body does/should be making and they are much safer for you. However, they are still female hormones and female hormones make you hungry. Men really don't know how easy they have it in comparison. Lisinopril... not sure if that one would affect weight loss or not, I'll look it up and see if I can find anything. My own weight loss is twofold... For some time I couldn't eat solids or I'd barf. I mostly drank my calories. I knew it was easy to drink too many calories so I was VERY careful about what I drank. My doc gave me drugs for stomach spasms and such, while they worked a little it didn't really do enough. I just barfed less. So I was extremely careful about what I put in my mouth. While my food choices weren't huge my choice to limit calories was within my control and I keep it very low. Now I'm on Luvox. My doc claims it helps with the nerve impulses between brain/stomach and that has made a HUGE difference! I ate steak last weekend and didn't barf. It's the first solid meat I've kept down since being banded without a huge struggle and typically ... barfing. But Luvox causes weight gain so I've been very careful again and I still limit calories to 600 daily. I also work very hard, I do at least an hour of hard cardio daily but for some time I was doing 100 minutes daily. A couple of days ago it was 140 minutes throughout the day of hard cardio. Yesterday it was 15 minutes, I was a slug. Since Luvox I typically eat something like tuna salad, lettuce salads with Protein sources, black Beans, veggie chili, Matrix shakes, and daily I eat Chinese mixed veggies. I eat a LOT of salad even though it isn't a great bandster food but I went for so long without being able to have any I think I'm making up for lost time now. I still have no problem keeping calories at 600 daily. I also take 2 Flinstones Vitamins three times daily, chocolate chewable Calcium, "Green Source" crap that is disgusting and I probably won't buy more when this is gone, and a product called Xango. Oh, and Valarian Root for stomach spasms that is working quite well with Luvox. If I drink 3oz of Xango before I run I find a huge difference in how long I can run. Honestly, I don't know if it is the quality carbs, if it is all in my head, or if it actually does what it claims but as long as it is working I'm going to keep using it. For someone that doesn't buy the health food store crap, I'm sure buying a lot lately.

Hi sleeved 2/3/14, dealing with reflux and regain of 20lbs (never got under 200 lbs with the sleeve) Surgeon predicted my goal weight as 222 SW: 297. I've never felt my sleeve was done correctly. Looking to revise due to reflux and regain. Being directed toward roux en y, but I do not have a gallbladder, so wouldn't it make more sense (since I'm already sleeved) to go with the DS? HELP, I need some input.

I have pizza all the time. It's just not pizza from a restaurant. I do a "skillet" version, using a cast Iron skillet, a carb master tortilla, organic/low carb marinara sauce, turkey pepperoni, with pizza cheese and veggies. They are about the size of a personal pan pizza, have a thin crispy crust and are lovely when you finish them up in the oven under a broiler so the cheese gets all bubbly and gets those little bits of brown. I can eat half at a meal and it's under 300 calories and low carb to boot, with some decent Protein. You can have all the things you used to love eventually. Just better (healthy) versions, or in smaller quantities/much less often. And the big thing to realize - you may not even want most of the really bad for you foods once you relearn how to eat healthy foods, and feel and look better overall. food issues that lead to obesity usually aren't just because a person is hungry; overeating or eating crap foods to the point of serious weight gain. Most of us have other reasons to medicate with food - low self esteem, fear, depression, using food as a reward/comfort/distraction. You're focusing on food obsession and fears and worrying over changing something that has been a huge part of your life, but likely has caused you more grief than happiness. No matter what, change is hard and can be scary. But if you are a candidate for WLS, then you either have serious health issues exacerbated by the weight, or high enough weight alone where the doctor feels that this is the best path for you to regain your health and give you a fighting chance to relearn how to eat properly - it will give you the time to regain control so you can start over with your relationship with food. .

I think it is hard to compare or even go crazy trying to obtain some number. Botttom line if I stay on track I will lose. I was surprised when I got home and found I had not gained or still retained weight gain fron surgery. I only lost 13 net pre surgery.

i have been struggling with my weight since puberty - it came on swiftly and somewhat without reason, based on my eating and activity level at that time. my ("normal" weight) mother was concerned, of course, but hoped i would "grow into it". i never did. as i grew up, i grew out. my thyroid was tested so many times, with nothing being wrong. when i got older, i resigned myself to being fat and then just let myself make poor choices. i'm fat already, why not? i put more weight on (naturally). a few years ago, i found out i have PCOS and that could explain my early weight gain. i've steadily put on over the years and it's really affected my life. i'm not married, i don't have kids (not sure if i am able, either, because of the PCOS) and i live in an area where being active and fit is really important (phoenix metro area in arizona). i've had some relationships but they were short-lasting and well, i'm lonely. not lonely enough to be with the jerk that's okay with me being fat so he can treat me like crap or the guy whose self esteem is so bad that he wants me to be fat so i don't leave him. and i'm okay with being alone if those are my alternatives. but i'm not okay with living the rest of my life alone. and at least here - girls that look like me have a very hard time meeting (let alone dating/having a relationship with) decent guys. and i'm SO TIRED of being told "you have a pretty face"! anyway, a few things motivated me to finally do it. i've been suffering from heal spurs and they limit my ability to just walk around with friends shopping, it's very hard to walk for exercise. my knees have also started hurting and i know it's weight related. the pain in my feet & knees has made me not want to go to concerts - something i've loved to do since i was a young teenager. and then there's just...i'm watching myself age. quickly. i tell my friends that i think i'm "hitting my wall." it's one thing to be very obese but still kind of cute and looking much younger, it's another to be very obese, physically limited and older, less attractive with thinning hair. a couple things happened that have allowed me to have the surgery - i have a job with insurance that covers a majority of the procedure. also, my parents received some extra money from a settlement and they offered to cover the costs that my insurance does not (to which i am so grateful). the very real possibility that i could lose my job (business is slow, economy related), motivated me to push to do this NOW. i had lap-band surgery because i'm ashamed i wasted my 20s being so damn fat and i do not want to be fat while i grow old. i want to have kids, and grandkids. i also did this hoping that if i lose enough weight, i will also lose most, if not all, of the symptoms of PCOS which have been messing with me for a couple decades now. i've felt i'm racing a clock that's all of a sudden sped up and i need to slow it down! i'm less than a week into this. i don't know what i've lost post-op, if anything, but the 20ish lbs i lost pre-op didn't even make a dent in how i look. so now is the time. i now have a wonderful tool to help me gain a body in which i can more easily move through this world in and hopefully be able to step out of the shadows to really enjoy life while i still can.

I never thought to ask those questions either! Once you are at proper restriction you need fewer and fewer fills. You may have been gaining for a couple of reasons. You started eating higher caloric foods or larger amounts of foods. The reason for larger amounts of foods with the same fill can be that as you lose weight, you lose it everywhere, including the fat around your stomach beneath your band. When that happens, your band feels looser. Like what happens to a belt as you lose weight. When your band feels looser you get hungrier. For me hungrier means I eat more, eating more means weight gain. I seem to just get a teensie tune up fill yearly. About 0.25cc. It's good though, because I see my surgeon this way, and he checks everything out. He does an upper GI each time to check placement is still good. I had my last top-off in September. According to my surgeon the older bands seemed to have a bit of Fluid that seeps through the bladder of the bands over time. Not so much in the newer bands. He said my AP Standard 10cc band is one of the newer ones. For me, I've reached a fill level where what I eat is appropriate to maintain my weight. At this point, I could not take any more fill in my band. I am far from the capacity of it. I have a 10cc band, I have less than 7cc in it, not sure of the total. My surgeon has the total in his notes, it doesn't really matter to me, what matters to me is that I can eat and maintain my weight.

My surgery is scheduled for February 8th. When I started this last year my weight was 262. By the time I was done with classes I was down to 252. I have quit smoking since September and now back up to 258. Has anybody had some weight gain but still not over your top weight and still had surgery? I'm scared the surgeon is going to cancel. Yes I am still working at losing.

The same thing happened to me and I was about to go bonkers. Thanks to friends on this site, I kept my cool!! I called my surgeon's office about it and they referred me to my PCP. Went there and it turns out that I'm highly sensitive to sodium. Which I pretty much already knew. I've always had "puffy" feet and hands and that totally went away the week after surgery. Pretty much because I couldn't eat or drink anything. I probably got 64 oz of Fluid in for the entire week instead of per day. As soon as I went to mushies, I started to gain a pound per day. Not cute and quite frustrating since I lost 15 the first week! My PCP was floored by that and said it wasn't good. Needless to say, because of this and my fluctuating blood pressure, I was given a diuretic to take as needed. Since I've started that regimen, I've started to lose again. I say all this to say...it's normal. While yours may not be sodium sensitivy, the minor weight gain is okay. Hold tight until your fill...you'll be fine!! Take care!

Quick question.... I was banded on May 18th...surgery weight was 222...Last Wednesday (May 27th) I was down to 205... Over the last week, I have gained 4 pounds! I have progressed to a pureed diet...but my calories are at about 500 per day...I am walking every night with intensity. Has anyone had a similar experience...it's kind of depressing. Thanks.:wub:

I am 34, I had my surgery a week ago on 4/16/13. I am an RN and I work in Neonatal ICU. I have been happily married for 13 years, but we've not been able to have children. My husband actually had gastric bypass in 2009 and lost 150 lbs. Our pets are our "children" for now - we have a yellow lab and 3 kitties, all of whom are very spoiled! I have 2 little nephews (also spoiled by me!) and adult neice who is about to graduate from grad school and an adult nephew who just graduated college. Also I have 2 sisters and 2 brothers, and my best friend who I consider a sister as well. I was a thin child, underweight actually until puberty. My weight gain was gradual starting around age 17. I married at 20 and was diagnosed a couple years later with PCOS while we were still in college. We were told we could not conceive without medical intervention, which turned out to be true. When we graduated college and were ready to start a family, we went on fertility treatments right away. 3 pregnancies in about 6 years of active fertility treatments (everything but IVF) all ending in early first trimester miscarriages. After extensive testing, no reason was found for the miscarriages except for my PCOS and insulin resistance. We are very hopeful that reaching my goal weight after surgery will help with conceiving and carrying a child.

Great Idea My name is Lee Ann, I 41 years young. I have been married for 26 wonderful years to my soul mate. I have a son who is 23 and two beautiful daughters twins who are 22. I also have 2 dogs oscar and pookie. I am a Texas native, I have llived hear most of my life. I am also a stay at home wife. I only ever worked if I wanted to. What started as my weight gain was when I was 21 and my mother passed away at 56. She died from brain and lung cancer, so I started soothing my pain with food and kept on for years. I finally work up one day and said that it was enough. I love animals all kinds. I have a dream of doing so many different things before time runs out, like horse back riding, skydiving, wearing Victoria Secret, flying in an airplane. I always put others first in my and I still do. My family are the ones who finally encouraged me to do this, they always tell me that its my time. I guess I can really say that I am one of the luckiest people in the world because of the way my family appreciates and LOVES me. God Bless Everyone may your destination be your dream come true!!!

melis there is a thread on the board called Pregnancy with gastric sleeve i'm sure there is a lot of good info that will help you sounds like your new bundle was a little bit of a surprise but i can tell are looking forward to having a cutie you've lost 78 lbs!!!! terrific!!!! you "maybe/probably" won't/shouldn't lose weight through these next months of being preggo you'll be eating, giving your "newbie" good nurishment try not to gain too much - but some weight gain i think is inevidable good luck kathy congrats

I just use condoms now (every time), but I'm thinking about getting an IUD too. I used to be on birth control pills, but stopped taking them because they contributed to some rapid weight gain. A copper IUD would be the best thing for me. I personally don't want to stop using condoms, even if I get an IUD. Too many people I'm close to have had unplanned pregnancies (that of course turned their lives around), and I don't want to risk it- especially since I'm getting the band next week.

BTW I have never had any trouble with weight gain while marathon training. I mean you do have to be conscious of the "rungries" as they call it, but I don't experience it any more marathon training than half marathon training. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

My band was installed in Oct 2007 and removed in February 2011. My sleeve was placed August 10, 2011. My surgeon said he could've performed a direct revision but I had chickened out at the very last second. I waited 6 months but I believe it was for a good reason. The scar tissue is softer if you wait between, easier to manuever/peel around and the 6 months allowed me to see exactly what I was up against, as far as weight gain, if I decided NOT to have sleeve surgery.

No Gerd, just weight gain. Scariest thing ever. I do also get a muscle cramp in my abdominal area which takes about 15-20 seconds to ease. I get it whenever I do anything strenuous with my stomach like crunches Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I guess ill see if i get to play later in the month. The medications im on for pain and spasming cause both weight gain and loss. I differ by five or ten lbs one way each morning (it's not the scale lol} so ill not post until I'm off them....god knows when that will be.

@lisacaron Your post brought a tear to my eye. Thank you! Thanks everyone for the encouraging words. I am definitely a little defensive and one of those people who feels bad/guilty for my weight gain/size. It took the psychiatrist like 4 seconds to figure that out during my appointment. I'm definitely working on that.

Good question! For the CPAP, I only started using it about 8 years ago due to weight gain. Even after sleep study in 2014 they indicated I was borderline apnea and was given CPAP to help sleep better. Doc said I could try to go off so I tried. I actually sleep with my smart watch which tracks blood oxygen, heart rate, sleep cycles and snoring. I still snore but my heart rate and blood oxygen is good. I did use my CPAP again last night to see if it affected my sleep any and I did sleep a bit better. My doc said probably another 20ish pounds and (fingers crossed) I can go off fully.

@melissac79: You said it melissac79. What's interesting about my change is not about having to buy clothes that fit, but fitting into the clothes that I have. My weight gain was due to my inability to condition myself thoroughly after having my spine "rebuilt" because of severe scoliosis surgery. I had only gained weight post-op in my stomach area because of exercise limitations. What's really wild is before getting sleeved, I was a 46" waist. I am now down to wearing clothes at a 40" waist. I have separated my clothes for someone with a 40" waist and a 38" waist and a 36" waist and my goal is to get myself to a 36" or 37" inch waist. I don't want to look at the scale because no news is good news. I will check my weight when I have follow-up appointments. I'm sure that this a realistic goal for me because everything in my closet that I have prior to my back surgery fit fine. My weight gain started when I was 50 years old. Now, at 57, little by little certain items are starting to fit and every time something fits, it's just a signal for me to keep going with my Physical Therapy harder each day. I keep telling myself "Enjoy this for this the good part". "No, try not! Do or do not! There is no try" -Yoda

Hi, I had my gastric sleeve done in August of 2010 and i weighed my heaviest at 324 on June 28 of 2010. I had a complication in my surgery that left an open wound for a month...I also started having severe stomach spasms in November of 2010 that kept escalating to where by May of 2011 I had every X-ray and test known to man and surgeon did exploratory surgery..said he found nothing but after surgery I never saw him or his NP to tell me what might have been causing it except scar tissue. Okay but despite that I managed by May of 2011 to get to my lowest wt of 216..slowly through summer after drama of surgeon vs me & not hearing from him at all after exploratory surgery to see how i was...I decided not to go back to my surgeon bc something wasn't right ...I was very happy and feeling good about myself but i gained a few pounds got up to 222...In September 2011 I was fired from my job which was a major upset b/c i was so shocked..and I was completely heartbroken. Started seeing a therapist in August before b/c of work but after fired could not afford and didn't feel like he was listening to other things I was trying to speak about..Fell into worst depression for 3 months bc could not find a job...I did have one thing keeping me up my NO Saints bc i had season tickets bought before i lost job. But gradually we get up to 229....Did not get a job until February of 2012..And got thrown into a shark tank where i didn't get lunch break and was eating junk and not sleeping right (that had been happening since September..staying up all night sleeping all day to get through pain)...wt gradually creeping up to 240...lost 10 lbs to 230 now back up to 240... I am devastated not only have i had failure in my job area but i failed at having my surgery..I paid lg sum of money and a year ago i was very happy...needless to say this is my fault i have not exercised and the stress and depression has taken over. I am so embarrassed to see some friends b/c they are very critical (only b/c they want me to be successful with wt loss) and I just feel like a big loser. I am trying to get back on track. Then a week ago I had to put my cat of 15 yrs to sleep...I had first severe attack that lasted 2 hrs since February of 2011 (had gallbladder out before sleeve so not that)in which i became so weak and nauseated from pain I almost called ambulance ...then another one last night. Its almost as if my stomach knew that i had insurance so i can continue investigation on why this is occurring b/c I have met so many wt loss its that NEVER had this and they drink carbonated beverages on daily basis ( I may have 16 oz a week if i have any) and its not food instigated..Its like someone is trying to rip something out of me. Has anyone else had wt gain? Did you feel embarrassed and like you failed once again...am I alone in this ..I am trying I have gone back to eating my Protein bars and making my drinks..Trying to be more consciousness (sp?) of all i eat..About to start walking in the morning bc i have to exercise for stress and to get metabolism going. Going to my medical dr Monday and embarrassed b/c i have gained 20 lbs. But I will not go over 240 I will NOT go back..I have to get myself together refocus on ME...i lost that at some point. I have had so much negativity that now instead of feeling good for looking a lot better that i did at 324..i only see that severely obese person. I plan on also going to counseling..which i should have done a year ago when i was having issues with my surgeon and stomach pain..b/c it was a horrible experience.. Anyway, not whining or blaming anything but myself and bad circumstances but you always read about all the success stories ....is anyone out there having any issues like myself or have any words of support..I really need someone who has been through wt loss surgery who understands b/c people who haven't don't although they mean well.. Thank you for listening/reading Tami