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back to topic guys "what was your final straw" i had so many trips/falls due to my heavy weight - knee replacements femur broke twice, etc i slowly realized that all my excess weight caused these problems falling since i had problems because of my "excess" weight i was always so sad about my weight weight gain, weight loss, weight gain etc, etc realized i had so many health problems i needed help, immediately hello sleeve good by diabetes meds/high blood pressure meds, no more CPAP my big NSV one was having my epilepsy meds dosage cut in half i was taking dosage for someone that weighed 235 lbs now that my weight was going down, down etc - i was taking too taking to many meds/pills so meds were less for a smaller person life is great now that's my story and i'm sticking to it kathy

I was very afraid....and I did gain. When I started the mushies phase I gained 3 lbs starting week 2 po. It happens, but it will come off. My surgeon told me to expect some weight gain bc the metabolism is adjusting from liquid to mushies to solids. I was so mad at first, but realized that it quickly came back off.

For my one month update I wanted to share from my overall experiences both good and bad. Lets start with the good: Surgery was on 4/28 and today is 5/28 and I have lost 30.4 pounds. 30 pounds in a month is awesome and I am so thrilled I made this decision. I do feel my restriction and get full very quickly. 4-6 ounces is about my capacity depending on the type of food. Slider foods like Greek yogurt I could eat more of but I just eat a 6 oz container and stop there. So far I have been lucky to not have hunger *knock on wood*. I have felt thirsty though--but this could be psychological because I used to always have a diet coke nearby to drink from--now its water or crystal light but I still have the need to have liquid around allot. Needless to say, I always get my fluids in and usually more. This may be TMI but my urine is usually clear (which is supposedly a good thing) Now lets talk about my diet. Some people say this is not a diet and not to treat it that way- but technically your diet is what you eat so everyone is on a "diet" all the time (neener neener, HA!). I stick to the general doctors orders here for the most part on most days. I count protein, but I have not really bothered with calories that much. I get very full on protein so I try to have some type of fruit or veggie when I can fit in an ounce or more. I think I could still add some more here but I will explain why later. 3 out of every 4 days I am pretty much by the book vsg diet low carb, high protein (70-80). Where I have drastically differed is on my 4th day. I up my calories and do count calories on this 4th day because I want to try and hit from 1800 calories or more. This would not really be possible for me to do without pure junk food IF I tried doing this with just food just based on how often and how much I can eat. So I supplement with a "weight gain" drink called Suplimed. It was developed as a well balanced formula to help those who have lost weight through illness to regain weight. One 8 oz shake in water is 500+ calories and more if its in milk.(sometimes I do half at a time) So I typically do 2 whole shakes plus food to get me to the 1800+ on my forth day. As I can eat more real food in time I will lower the shakes or half them. Why? because I am trying to avoid any weight loss stalls and not allow my system to adjust to low calorie metabolism--and I use the shakes because I don't want to use junk food to up calories. I am not recommending this to anyone, because that would differ from what your doctor would have you do--I am happily the human guinea pig for this and I just want to see how this works for me over the next couple of months. So far no stalls *knock on wood*. This zig-zag calorie method has been in the body-building world a long time--so I did not think it up on my own. I just could never do it pre-op with all my hunger. I started my first high calorie day on my second day of full liquids and have stuck to the 3 regular days 1 high cal day since then. Honestly, I don't look forward to the high calorie days because it is a chore to get the shakes and food in when you have no hunger--but I stick with them like a prescription medication for now--if they stop being effective over time I will drop them. Supplements I take: BA multi vitamin. The orange was nasty but I can tolerate the berry flavor. Twin labs sublingual B12, Vitamin D weekly 50,000IU (set by doc based on pre-op low levels), prescription to prevent gal stones(help me keep the gal bladder), and I take a tablespoon of Barleans Omega Swirl to get necessary fats in. Protein supplements as needed too. Ok the Bad: It has not all been roses--or maybe it has been roses, but there are a few thorns . Let me preface this by saying I am very happy with the sleeve and would not trade it. Post op--I had a wonderful experience until about one week out where it felt like I pulled something on my large incision. It was painful and I had to rest it a couple of days--luckily I did not tear it or have a hernia (internals protrude through incision) but it was a wake up call to me. I should admit this now I guess-- I hit the Stairmaster Stepmill (real stairs that rotate) the day before this happened --STUPID ME! I just felt so darn good and the stairmaster has been my punisher of choice for years--nothing happened that day but the next day simply bending over without bending my knees and popping back up quickly caused the oh crap moment. I talked about the bending over part before, but I had to come clean on the Stairmaster part so someone might learn from my idiocy. This from a guy who skied 1.5 days with a broken collar bone back at age 18--I did not know it was broken but my pain tolerance is a little off and dammit I had paid for those lift tickets! Anyway, I thought I would be super sleever at one week out. That stairmaster is going to get its ass kicked at 6 weeks out I will tell you though! With a couple of rest days I luckily had not messed anything up--whew what a wake up call. The next item I have had to learn after moving into regular food is to slow down. Its easy to remember this with dense heavy foods, but for foods like scrambled eggs--I used to inhale those. Bad habits of not chewing foods like this have led to me throwing up--I would stew for like half and hour trying to walk it off until finally my stomach says "nope!" and up it came. So yes you have to chew even the smaller soft foods. Last but not least I have dealt with some constipation. This is why I think that I need more fruit or fiber in my diet. I have used Miralax (or the Walgreen's equivalent) to clear this issue up some, but I want to get the food right so I don't have to. So there you have it the good and the bad so far at one month out. I am loving my sleeve and the results have been awesome. Feel free to post any questions if you are pre-op or new to this. Thanks!

This sounds rough. Losing a loved one is very hard. May I ask what kind of food choices you were making during weight gain periods? Also do you still see your surgeon or are your follow up visits only yearly?

Ok, so I hopped out of bed at 5 a.m. this morning, got to the park by 5:30. Power walked 3 miles (not so power for a few laps -- talking to a fellow walker), got home, did my morning ritual and dressed for work. I was happy and singing and playing music all the while. Well, I put my gray slacks on with a purple top and a gray sweater, gray shoes ... nice combination ... silver jewelry ... everything was going fine. Then I looked in the mirror! There standing before me was the dreaded "fat lady"! She said "you look like you're gaining weight ... aren't these pants fitting a little snug?" I told her to shut up and finish getting ready for work ... but then I got to thinking ... do these pants look as good today as they did when I wore them 2 weeks ago? hmmmmm All of a sudden I am obsessing about whether I have gained weight or not; but I dare not get on the scale ... no, getting on the scale could derail my whole day if I saw weight gain. Geeeez I wish there was a "band" for the brain! The truth is, just like 2 weeks ago, I could actually wear a size smaller in these slacks. But have decided that as long as they are not falling down I will not buy anything new for a while. I tend to turn into a shopping maniac, and since I am trying to get my youngest off to school in Missouri in a couple of months ... all the shopping has to be for him.

What you have written about is normal...you are going through many physical adjustments, and hormone levels are gyrating as well. Mood swings are normal during this time of initial healing...and I do remember me asking myself "what the h#%* did you do to yourself?? The required diets for the pre op and post op times were the worst time for me...and it does get better as the days go by. The new awareness of your eating patterns that you also wrote about will serve you well as you continue on your weight loss journey. Remember that your relationship with food does need to change; and awareness of the problematic eating behaviors which contributed to your weight gain is the first step to that process of change. This journey is a process and not an event...there will be some days that are better than others. Keep yourself focused on your goals, and take a day at a time. Best wishes...

Sorry I haven't got back to you. I am sort of going through the same thing. I have a 6 year old and she's chunky. She was normal sized until she was 3 and then I don't know what happened. The last thing I want is for her to go through the same thing I did. I can remember being in 4th grade and having to get weighed and I was 160 pounds already and going to the bathroom and crying after that I stayed at about 180 until I was about 33 years old and now that I'm 42 I weigh 326. I try to talk to her but I don't think she quite understands it all. She says kids say things and I tell just to ignore them. I don't know how she got so big so fast. At school she eats the right stuff and I try at night but sometimes she cries that she's hungry. She's also very active I couldn't even get her to sit down to watch a movie until she was 4. I think when I have my surgery I'm just going to explain to her how drastic this is and I hope that she never has to do it. I'm also going to act like it's the most painful thing in the world maybe than that will stick in her mind. Well I'm at work so I need to go. I understand your hesitation with getting the surgery. I still don't know if it's the right thing to do. But I know I need to do something. The whole process to get to surgery day took about six months so you do have time to get ready, even though I don't know if I'm ready or not. ScaredtoDeath > Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:42:53 +0000 > To: Sherali_9@hotmail.com > Subject: Reply to entry 'The Countdown has begun' at blog: ScaredtoDeath > From: noreply@lapbandtalk.com > > Dear ScaredtoDeath, > > Jess has just replied to a blog entry you have subscribed to entitled - The Countdown has begun - in the ScaredtoDeath blog of Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum. > > This entry is located at: > The Countdown has begun - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum > > Here is the message that has just been posted: > *************** > I appreciate the posts. I, like you "ScaredtoDeath" am in the process of trying to determine if it's actually something I will do. The Pro's definitely outweigh the Con's, but nevertheless it's surgery and the alteration of the body. My concerns? Leakage,weight gain after the first two years, but more than anything what am I to say to my kids. My son (9) is starting to eat more than his fair share and I see him having problems if I don't intervene. Question...how do you tell your kids to watch what there eating if you can't? It's a serious question that I haven't heard many people talk about. Once the surgery is done (I expect to have surgery Feb/Mar) what do I tel my son when he tells me he's upset with himself because of the habits he's engaged in. He's already had people make fun of him and will not take his shirt off at the pool. This is exactly how it started with me. I was 160 lbs in 6th grade, 300 in 9th grade, and now 350lbs at age 34. Although, I have lost 100lbs twice in my life it's never stayed off and my Doctor thinks I'm an ideal Candidate for this type of Surgery. As you can tell, I'm a bit twisted... > *************** > > > There may also be other comments, but you will not receive any more notifications until you visit the forum or blog again. > > All the best, > Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Unsubscription information: > > To unsubscribe from this blog entry, please visit this page: > http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blog_subscription.php?do=unsubscribe&blogsubscribeentryid=2517&auth=6e273263566918511a54571e29bc1e13 Keep your kids safer online with Windows Live Family Safety. Help protect your kids. With Windows Live for mobile, your contacts travel with you. Connect on the go. --Forwarded Message Attachment-- From: sherali_9@hotmail.com To: noreply@lapbandtalk.com Subject: RE: Reply to entry 'The Countdown has begun' at blog: ScaredtoDeath Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:04:46 -0500 .ExternalClass .EC_hmmessage P {padding:0px;} .ExternalClass body.EC_hmmessage {font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma;} Sorry I haven't got back to you. I am sort of going through the same thing. I have a 6 year old and she's chunky. She was normal sized until she was 3 and then I don't know what happened. The last thing I want is for her to go through the same thing I did. I can remember being in 4th grade and having to get weighed and I was 160 pounds already and going to the bathroom and crying after that I stayed at about 180 until I was about 33 years old and now that I'm 42 I weigh 326. I try to talk to her but I don't think she quite understands it all. She says kids say things and I tell just to ignore them. I don't know how she got so big so fast. At school she eats the right stuff and I try at night but sometimes she cries that she's hungry. She's also very active I couldn't even get her to sit down to watch a movie until she was 4. I think when I have my surgery I'm just going to explain to her how drastic this is and I hope that she never has to do it. I'm also going to act like it's the most painful thing in the world maybe than that will stick in her mind. Well I'm at work so I need to go. I understand your hesitation with getting the surgery. I still don't know if it's the right thing to do. But I know I need to do something. The whole process to get to surgery day took about six months so you do have time to get ready, even though I don't know if I'm ready or not. ScaredtoDeath > Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:42:53 +0000 > To: Sherali_9@hotmail.com > Subject: Reply to entry 'The Countdown has begun' at blog: ScaredtoDeath > From: noreply@lapbandtalk.com > > Dear ScaredtoDeath, > > Jess has just replied to a blog entry you have subscribed to entitled - The Countdown has begun - in the ScaredtoDeath blog of Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum. > > This entry is located at: > The Countdown has begun - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum > > Here is the message that has just been posted: > *************** > I appreciate the posts. I, like you "ScaredtoDeath" am in the process of trying to determine if it's actually something I will do. The Pro's definitely outweigh the Con's, but nevertheless it's surgery and the alteration of the body. My concerns? Leakage,weight gain after the first two years, but more than anything what am I to say to my kids. My son (9) is starting to eat more than his fair share and I see him having problems if I don't intervene. Question...how do you tell your kids to watch what there eating if you can't? It's a serious question that I haven't heard many people talk about. Once the surgery is done (I expect to have surgery Feb/Mar) what do I tel my son when he tells me he's upset with himself because of the habits he's engaged in. He's already had people make fun of him and will not take his shirt off at the pool. This is exactly how it started with me. I was 160 lbs in 6th grade, 300 in 9th grade, and now 350lbs at age 34. Although, I have lost 100lbs twice in my life it's never stayed off and my Doctor thinks I'm an ideal Candidate for this type of Surgery. As you can tell, I'm a bit twisted... > *************** > > > There may also be other comments, but you will not receive any more notifications until you visit the forum or blog again. > > All the best, > Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Unsubscription information: > > To unsubscribe from this blog entry, please visit this page: > http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blog_subscription.php?do=unsubscribe&blogsubscribeentryid=2517&auth=6e273263566918511a54571e29bc1e13 Keep your kids safer online with Windows Live Family Safety. Help protect your kids. No message is selected Click any message to view it in the reading pane. Attachments, pictures, and links from unknown senders are blocked to help protect your privacy and safety. To show messages automatically when you select a folder, change your reading pane settings 1 message is selected Mark as safe | Mark as unsafe

I just had mine removed on Monday without warning as well. I also pleaded with him, Since he no longer places lap bands, I asked for a revision. He said there was too much swelling. I won't have another surgery. I am so worried about weight gain. Have you been able to keep off any weight gain in these last 5 months? Because if you have that gives me a lot of hope. i will do what I need to do even though I am still feel very sad I don't have my band.

He may not be jealous. It may be that he is afraid of you leaving him behind. He might be even depressed about his weight gain and feels helpless. Hopefully he will come around and be supportive again.

I was on depo for over 10 years, and I attribute a lot of my weight gain to it. I have mirena now and I love it. I took the shot every 10 weeks instead of 12 for spotting issues. It made me into an eating machine.

UGH- I know that kind of dr...they should not be allowed to interact with people! The make you feel more like an 'it' than a person. OMG - YES on the 'you're going to die on the table'. When I came home and happily shared my surgery date with my husband, he asked what my last wishes were and he was NOT kidding/teasing. Sure, those type of discussions are ones that we should all have with family/friends/etc. at some point and sooner rather than later..no matter age or physical condition as there are no guarantees that tomorrow will come for anyone. Your enthusiasm is contagious and you and AZHiker are helping me get mine back. I know none of us will know what issue we might have after surgery, but I have an 'up front/in my face' realization of issues I now have before surgery and I'm willing to make the trade. This!! How did you know this?! That is what I've been fighting with the past few years. I worry so much for one of my daughters as she is 27 and although she is 5 inches taller than me...she is the same weight as I am. I worry so much about her. She has other issues, including medication issues that contribute to weight gain but these meds are not optional. I don't fear dying from my own standpoint as much as I am in terror thinking about what would happen to her if I were to die. We've lost so many people in the past 5 yrs that were wonderful, loving, incredible people who adored me and her..and we adored them back. My Dad...my best friend of 20 yrs (brain cancer), my Mom 2 years ago...after a gut-wrenching/traumatizing 3 year battle with dementia..and then my FIL 1 year ago. All of the kind of people who were truly capable of loving us unconditionally...are now gone from our lives. With both parents and my best friend gone..it's a rather stark realization to know there is no one left in this world who has the capacity to love you unconditionally as you once were loved. I'm so thankful that neither my daughter nor I ever took that for-granted and we treasured and spent time with these people long before they were gone so that is a blessing as the regrets would be almost insurmountable if we had that do deal with as well. I wish..especially my Mom and my best friend, Kelly..were here..to be with me as I wait for surgery. To make me laugh...to hug me. Kelly would have been making me laugh and giving me all the assurances I needed. Actually, having this surgery concludes me doing the very last thing she ever asked of me before she passed - I have done everything else she already asked of me with the exception of this..and that was "to get my life back...to have the surgery...to quit waiting". I miss them all so very very much. I sat outside the other night and talked to her..and told her "Kelly, I'm almost there!" Oh my gosh..my eyes are "leaking" like crazy. Part in relief at people on here caring and understanding....and because I miss my family and my best friend oh so much...their absence is STARKLY felt right now... Thank you for your kindness..and your words...your honesty...

I reached the lost 58/ 58 more to go stage a couple of days ago and even though I get stopped multiple times at work about my weight I still find it hard to not say I have ONLY lost 58. Its actually 74 from my highest but it is hard to not feel like it should be gone in a *snap*, even though I know like @@MrsKarenC2008 said the weight gain didn't happen in a *snap*. that's why I really appreciate my NSVs - those make it REAL!

I use to wear a 9 or 9 1/2 but now I wear a 10 sometimes a 10 1/2 but I'm guessing that is weight gain. I have some Skechers and they are good but hurt after a few days. I'm going to check out the synergy shoes though :-)

Good morning. I am new to the forum. I have been reading quite a bit but have not found this issue. I am on the six month diet required by my surgeon. I lost some weight then my lab work showed low levels of potassium and iron. My doctor changed my blood pressure medication from a Triamterene/hyrochlorothiazide which I had been on for eight years to Amlodipine. The scale has gone up dramatically. I am worried I will be penalized for this gain though my calories have remained at 1500-1800 a day. Can someone give me some advice?

Hi nursejen. take a breath and think for a minute how you will deal with plateaus and even weight gains. If this will discourage you, no need to broadcast it and make it worse. I see too many people on this forum focus on the scale and the number. If you can deal with it, great. If you think this tactic will keep you accountable, then go for it girl. Just remember it's only a number and there are so many other successes that have nothing to do with the scale. For me, there was nothing better than the first time in years that I could sit in a plane seat and not request the seatbelt extenter, and I could put the armrest and tray down without any issues. If I could have, I'd have told everyone on that darm plane about it, I was so excited. Don't get me wrong, do whatever works for you...just remember it's alot more than a number on the scale. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Hello. I'm new here. I'm going from band to bypass. Band removal is scheduled for April 25th. I have to wait 3 months and then revision to gastric bypass. I'm looking forward to this. The band has slipped and GERD is really bad now. My highest weight was 340. My lowest weight was 280 before additional diabetes medications caused some weight gain. I've been lurking on the forums for awhile and just wanted to say Hi.

The sugary drinks don't have to be soda, Kool aid, my doctor considers sugary drinks anything other than water and zero calorie power ades Gatorade ... He's not a fan of real fruit smoothies either.... Natural sugar can also affect weight gain.

First thing - you may want to change your user name - having your email address as a user name will likely result in a lot more spam due to the email bot finders. So to the advice from people around you - I am assuming they are not medical or health specialists? They may be well meaning and while some family members may be concerned about possible medical complications are more likely to be concerned about the change in the status quo. You are likely to lose the weight that is required for health and maintain that loss long term? If so, you may not need the surgery. But if like most of us, you can lose some weight (not likely all that was needed) and are not able to maintain that weight loss beyond the short term, you will greatly benefit from weight loss surgery. Your medical team believes you are a good fit for the surgery and believes there is a need for it, you had reasons for looking at weight loss surgery - are those still valid? If you don't do the surgery where will you be a year from now? More weight gain - more medical issues?

I'm not banded yet, but I've always experienced either no weight loss or a little weight gain around my period. I don't weigh myself for a few days before until after my period. Your body retains a lot of water and is bloated. It'll go back down, and probably lower than pre period.

I too have PN and I've stopped taking my meds for it because they cause weight gain. It's a horrible feeling but I think the worst part was the testing for it. I will never forget that.. -__- Please contact your Dr ASAP! Best of luck to you!

I had my surgery yesterday and when I weighed myself today, I gained 5 lbs. Is this just water weight or weight from being bloated? I haven't had any "food" since Monday, so I can't imagine that it's actual weight gain. But, I have a heart condition and have to also watch my fluid retention, so I'm wondering if I should take a water pill or just let it run it's course over the next few days and give it a chance to leave on it's own. Also, when does the bloated stomach go down? The top of my stomach area is bigger than my bottom and I'm assuming it's just from the gas and swelling. I'm looking through my paperwork, but there is nothing there listed about looking bloated. I haven't had any pain in my shoulder, just around my port and getting in and out of bed has been a struggle. I'm finding that sitting in a chair is easier for me.

Has anyone had their surgery pushed back because of weight gain?

Yes, but it is not neccesarily a physical weight gain, I know some Dr's will cancel if the liver is to big because it obstructs their view and cause complications. I know alot of people prior to surgery take like a Meal Replacement to help with liver shrinkage. Have you seen the Bariatric Advantage Meal Replacements they are actually scientificaly proven to shrink liver. Here is the link, Bariatric Advantage - High-Protein Meal Replacement

Hi Mary Jane - I am 4 days post op and when I got home from the hospital I discovered I had gained 4 pounds. I was like you - how can this be. One of the reponses I got from my post was that weight gain right after surgery is not unusual. It is most likely due to the IV fluids.

Please don't feel this way. I know it's hard but you have to remember that you are more than likely still swollen and still have gasses in you. Talk to your surgeon about this. As long as you do what they say, you should be fine. You never know, in a couple of days you could get on the scale and see a huge drop. The bigger issue is inches. As overweight people, it's hard for us not to think the scale is the way to go but trust me, you may surprise yourself. Also, you could be getting ready to start your monthly which causes weight gain too. I know it's frustrating, but try to keep your head up. I will be praying for you. The reason for this site seems to be so that we can all support each other....so, I suggest reading posts and asking questions. The only thing I would say is to make sure you walk...the more you walk the more you feel better. It's not easy going through this, but as long as you know you're not alone, you should be able to find some strength. And STAY away from the scale right now!!!!! It has been my downfall many times before this surgery and I am sure it will let me down again....take photos so you can see the changes and take measurments so you can see the inches dropped. Hope you cheer up. I will be thinking about you.