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New member to the website, although found you all so helpful in deciding to get the band. Banded in Sept 2011 and fell into the category of the 30 BMI with 50lbs to lose, but no health problems. I self-paid and live in LA, so I went to TJ. Dr. Almanza banded me and was wonderful. I have been back for two fills and think they are fantastic and Dr. Almanza is soooooo cute I just like seeing him for 10 minutes. lol Please ask any questions about my experience there. I don't think their clinic is for everyone, but it was fantastic for me and I will give you the truth. I know in some forums "only" needing to lose 50lbs was criticized and mocked, but I found some positive comments here that helped give me the courage to get the band. Carrying the same 50lbs for 10 years was a problem I couldn't solve on my own. I'm down about 20lbs and now I think I need support to get to the last 30 off. First, I think I have about 2.4 cc's in with two fills. I am adjusting to realizing I can just keep on eating, hungry or not, with the same emotional issues as before. I do a lot of what I call "companion" eating. I am single, no kids and work and go to school. I eat out of boredom, loneliness and for a "companion." Nothing feels as good as snuggling up to a big hunk of chocolate cake, right? However, I still think I can eat too much quantity. Just struggling with restriction vs. length of time between hunger. About the only "restriction" I get is if I eat bread type stuff early in the morning or if I don't chew enough. Then it gets stuck, feels horrible and I sorta vomit up slim until it shifts. I don't really every throw up food, just the slime. Anyway, I am still working through eating well and not going to those comfort foods, but I think out of guilt of eating bad foods I don't think I "deserve" another fill. lol Getting the bad doesn't make us any less messed up, does it? Only two fills, so it can be that I just am not in the green zone, right? Thanks for any feedback! Oh, also, I don't have a doctor in LA. I just went and got the surgery so "go talk to your doctor" isn't a helpful answer for me. Just looking for personal experience and encouragement!

All my life my weight has been a relationship issue because I feel fat or look fat or get fat. Kinda the biggest hurdle for me. Now I'm married and I was just slightly chubby when I met my hubby and then gained like 55 lbs over the years. I always thought he was disappointed about the weight gain, as I was. So now after losing my 70 lbs I lost a couple more lbs on vacay and he hugged me tonight was kind said "AGHHHH" and I was like "WHAT?" and he said "I just don't want you to get toooooo thin". Which I'm not, I'm 5'1" and still weight 146. But it was such a great thing to hear someone say. I'm like, can you say that like 200 times to me. Because my whole life men have been afraid of me GAINING too much weight and I've never had anyone worry I might get too thin. It was just kinda funny.

I'm on steroids for chronic back pain and was very concerned about weight gain. It hasn't happened but I understand the frustration behind weight gain when you haven't indulged.

My first posting after lurking... I've been thinking about this surgery for a while but just now starting to seriously do the research. I lurk on other related Yahoo groups and hear so many stories of bad post-surgery health, taking tons of pills to make up for the loss of nutrition of not being able to eat normal quantities of food, weight gain, and scary surgery complications. This is why I'm thinking more of LapB than the bypass surgeries. I haven't gone to any support groups yet but one is coming up that I'll go to. I live in the San Jose, CA area so am just starting to research doctors. The support group I found is for patients of LapBandSF (San Francisco). One issue I wrestle with is the thought that doing potentially life threatening surgery to lose weight is the coward's way out and that I should be able to discipline myself and ignore my food lust and lose the weight. I just turned 48 and first went to Weight Watchers at age 12 and have never been 'normal' weight since then (I always quit too soon). I get frustrated that I am unable (or is it unwilling?) to do what it takes to get the weight off and quit whining about giving up food and having to change my life (exercise more, lay off junk food, etc.). I should just toughen up and DO IT and not do surgery. Fortunately I'm fairly healthy considering being 100+ lbs overweight, no aches/pains just mental anguish and frustration. I know this surgery is a tool and not a quick fix (I wish it was, of course) but it's hard to admit I'm a failure at controlling my desire for food and that I need this drastic solution where I should instead pay the same $$$ to a sadistic personal trainer and a cook to come to my house and make to do 'the right thing.' Does this ring true for anyone else or am I too hard on myself? I've never been one of those obese people who have accepted their body and don't let it limit their lives. I wish I was but I obsess about it and fantasize about the day I can be normal weight (hey, even slightly fat would be wonderful) and do all those things I want to do. My life is on hold and I'm too stubborn to accept this is my life as a fatso and just "get over it." I think if I could experience what it's like to be thin for 1 week that I can use that as motivation of what life could be like. I've always been fat (passed 200 lbs at age 18 and never looked back), haven't worn a dress since age 14, no short sleeve shirts, no bathing suit, etc. I haven't discussed this with my husband, he's the opposite - skinny and not food obsessed. I casually mentioned surgery years ago and it freaks him out and doesn't want me to do it (scared that I'll die). I need to tell him I'll probably die of obesity related issues anyway since I have failed to get control. He says I just need to eat better but he's not obsessed like I am, it's an addiction just like alcohol or drugs (legal or otherwise) and it never really goes away. Ten years ago I did a medically supervised fasting program (500 cals per day) and I lost 3-4 lbs per week for 36 weeks. I ended up quitting early because I was traveling too much for work and couldn't attend the required weekly meetings. It worked great for me, was easy to follow, I wasn't hungry, and no medical problems came up. I was very committed to the program after hitting my max weight of 275lbs; it freaked me out and now I'm 30lbs away from that high point. :omg: I wasn't married at the time so having no food in the house was not a problem, it made it easy. I now have regained 80% of that weight so that's why I'm thinking of surgery. Deborah

I gained 9lbs by one day post op. I know it's all fluid and will come off, but I'm wondering if you all counted your weight loss from the weight pre op or with th weight gain post op. I'm all depressed now thinking that 9 of the 20lbs I expect to los this month are just water weight.

I am on the YAZ with only 4 days off - I love it! No mood swings, no weight gain, super light periods.

@Sweetsoul oh how I understand how hard it is. I am 7” shorter than you. I can’t excercise due to chronic illness but I understand avoiding the gym. In all reality exercise does not help with weight loss. Building muscle (which I cannot do) helps burn fat, but I meant to say is I’ve been here before and I fought so hard the first time and it’s hard, I was losing my ability to taste food and I wasn’t getting hungry or full signals but I felt that needs to just want something good, something rich with flavor, strong taste. Never was a snacker either, love salt need salt fo orthostatic intolerance. I tried vegetarian back then too when I couldn’t tolerate meats. I had been doing extreme low carb and calorie counting to lose weight And I finally did but it was extreme under 10 net carbs and very low calorie. but wanted to add more vegetables and vegetarian foods. I was feeling sick. And guess what my weight crept up. Somehow I managed the best I could but always on the brink of gaining until I eventually ended up having drastic weight gain. Maybe because my gallbladder went bad and I wasn’t processing fats but I was eating more greens, kale salads, vegetarian foods and 800 calories yet gaining, no snacking, I felt like a total failure. And I eventually was able to seek out gastric bypass surgery. And have had to recreate my way of eating. I’m finding salt and fats an issue now and vegetables even though I relied heavily on them before I can’t eat much salt and will need to treat my orthostatic intolerance some other way. But you are right in your approach to understanding the problem. I feel you I do. It’s my fear long term so I’m working so hard on what my long term habits need to be especially as things change. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your surgeon and the nutritionist you worked with too and re-evaluate where you are now. I know it’s easier said than done I’m afraid of my surgeon visits after some issues from my own surgery. That they don’t understand my medical issues outside of surgery. But you won’t know unless you take the step. try to find other things to compensate for what salt offers. It’s hard. I hope my response isn’t too forward. To obnoxious. You came pretty far and maintained well and maybe at some point you can take a step further don’t worry. I’m slow in moving forward with food, I have food issues. You are fairly tall too and some people are naturally curvy. I just know you didn’t fail especially because you are giving it good honest evaluation and thought.

I had my band done in Oct last year and starting in Nov, began having these horrible pains once or twice a month that would last anywhere 4rom 15 min to 12 hrs. I thought maybe I was getting food stuck but I find out 5 months later that it's been gallbladder attacks. I ended up having 2 b admitted a week after I was diagnosed with gallstones in the ER due 2 the fact that I had another attack that weekend at which time 5 stones had passed through and became stuck in my common bile duct. ouch !!!! :eek: I had my band unfilled so they could do an endoscopic procedure 2 remove the stones, then 2 days later had the gallbladder removed. I was in the hospital 4 a total of 4 days..one of which was my birthday. What a way 2 spend it.:thumbup: During my time in the hospital, I wasn't allowed 2 eat or drink for about 4 days. That was rough. Prior 2 going in for all of this drama, I had been stuck 4 about 3 weeks at the same weight which is typical 4 me. I'll not loose weekly but instead every 2 or 3 weeks, then 2 or 3lbs will come off. A couple of days after the gallbladder removal 4 lbs came off. I thought, finally. A week later another pound, a bonus. Must've been the 4 day starvation. But now about 3 weeks post op, I've put back on the 5lbs. granted my band isn't filled but my diet hasn't changed. What the heck's going on? I've heard that people sometimes put on weight after this type of surgery but I'm already on a low fat diet and I have a band so why did I gain? I'm gonna get refilled halfway 2 what I was this Tues. I'm gonna b sure 2 ask my Dr. if weight gain is normal and will I gain more. I hope not, I'll b so mad !! Anyone else have this happen 2 them?

Thanks for keeping it real. I've been doing so well since surgery, but the past few days have had trouble getting my butt on the treadmill. That's how it starts. I commend you for asking for encouragement, so here it is. I decided months ago that since nothing changes if nothing changes, I wasn't going to go into this life change with the same behaviors I did in the past. Namely, let how I feel rule what I do. "I don't want to exercise" isn't a conscious decision not to exercise. It's a fleeting feeling of today. I choose to make the conscious decision to override that feeling. Every single stinking time I do this, and choose the thought-through, smart decision over the fleeting feeling, I'm making progress and working those habit muscles. Eating, exercise, social interaction, you name it. I am NOT a slave to my feelings. Where the head goes, the body will follow. Fake it til you make it. Do it anyway. Pick a slogan. Any of them that work! Thank you for reminding me that I was slipping into "feelings rule" mode this week, and that's a dangerous, slippery slope for me. Matter of fact, that slope is about a 150-lb weight gain slope. Been there, done that, bought the size 4XL t-shirt. Good luck and stay connected!

Hello all! I was also denied by Aetna for weight gain. I don't know where u all live, but I was given a lil tip from a friend on sending my appeal into Aetna... CONTACT YOU STATE REP AND UR STATE SENATOR!! I live in PA, I contacted and emailed Pennsylvania senator Stewart Greenleaf and emailed him my appeal letter on Monday night. Today I was received a call from his office stating that they received my request and sen. Greenleaf was writing a letter on my behalf to Aetna supporting my appeal AND sending it out today!! I sent my appeal letter in today too...sent by certified mail. I gave it to my 2 sisters, husband, one coworker, and my mother and everyone ended up crying while reading it. Sooooo I'm guessing the letter is better than great!! Apparently insurance companies DO NOT LIKE THE STATE REPS AND SENATORS involved. HOPEFULLY this will help my appeal!! I'll let u all know if it works!!

​I won't be generic comments....so I will say this.....Your body can be referred to as a city. If one thing breaks down or changes it causes the whole city to turn into ciaos. So if he thinks that it is possible for you to lose 11 lbs. every week, something in your city is going to shut down to protect itself from keeping things running smoothly. It is impossible to lose that much weight every week. It is recommended that to keep weight off we should lose between 1.5 to 2.5 lbs a week. To keep things balanced. Our bodies go into a kind of shock when we dramatically change it and weight gain or loss can bring that on. This is due to the surgery and the honeymoon period. But it won't last forever. Depending on how much we have to lose each one of us lose at a rate our own bodies see fit. If you stay on course you will lose the weight.... Call it a stall, plateaue or body at rest. But we need that to keep healthy. Going into starvation mode which will eventually give you the chance for your body to eat its self is a prelude to much worse things or conditions such as Anorexia..... Is it his thing to have all the star losers on his watch or is he just being a dick head....It does not even make sense that he should say that.......what a dipwad thing to say!

AWH- So sweet and sentimental sounding Lisa. I know what you mean though about wanting a child just to fall into your lap. Another fear I would have about getting pregnant is the weight gain part, ESPECIALLY if I get it all lost this time around. I don't know what I would do. LOL, Teresa

I don' think food is entirely the blame. My total cholesterol has been under 130 for the past 12 years. It was over 260 before I started eating right. But diet alone isn't going to shed pounds for those of us who are genetically prone to weight gain I can only lose weight when I exercise DAILY, and that means either an hour at the gym or a good two hour daily walk with the dog. Even cutting to under 1200 calories at best will hold my weight. I sure hope they can find a cure a for this disease, and for many people it is a disease or eating disorder. No one should have to undergo WLS in the future. And I hope the public perception of our problem improves.

A high TSH does explain why you could be gaining weight. The function of the thyroid is inversely proportionate to the actual result. Your result was high therefore the function of your thyroid is low. That equals weight gain, fatigue, skin and hair changes and blah blah blah. This is great for you though. Being on something like synthroid or levothyroxine should make it easier to lose weight. I'm not saying it is going to be to the point that you won't need a sleeve (I'd cry if someone told me I couldn't get mine next month) but it should make it easier for you to lose before and after your surgery. You also may get some additional energy and feel better too. It's good to get all this stuff straighted out before surgery. Your hormones will be going crazy enough after surgery you don't need anything addition to add to it. It usually only takes 2-4 weeks for the medication to be effective enough to change your labs and then they should make a decision on surgery. Good luck! I hope all works out but I am sorry for your bump in the road

Yay! Its going to be a good august. Not only that but hopefully no holiday weight gain. I'm super excited to get this done before the holidays. I don't want them centered around food anymore! Good look to both of you too!

I also agree with the letter, but try to keep the lines of communication open to her, and let her know that your concern for her weight is not about looks. I have fought with my weight since having children and it depressed me to no end, and remarks like "you shouldn't be eating that" did nothing but make me eat more. Then with the weight gain came the diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, depression, etc. I had to start taking meds for everything, and Celexa for depression (Celexa RULES, by the way) and I started worrying about my health but kept it to myself and just got more depressed. Finally one day my husband told me that we needed to talk, he said "I'm afraid" and I asked him what he was afraid about. He told me "I'm afraid for your health, I'm afraid you are going to die and leave me alone, and I just don't know if I could go on without you". He then went on to say he loved me, no matter what I weighed, and would always love me, but that he wanted me be around to see our children get married, and to enjoy and share in having grandchildren together. He said he wanted me to outlive him and he was afraid that wasn't going to happen if my health go any worse. Well, that was a real eye opener for me. Not only was he telling me that he loved me unconditionally, but for the first time I realized how much of an effect my weight had on him and how it was affecting the both of us. I started researching options and found the band. I'm a newbie, have only been banded for three weeks, and I realize I'm having to make changes in my life, but seeing how he is supporting me has made all the difference in the world. Yes, I am doing this for me, but my other motivation is to grow old with the most important person in my life, the one who cared enough about me to be honest and understanding. I wish you and your wife the best on your journey. If there is any way to get across to her that there are so many people going through what she is going through, she may find that talking to some of us can give her hope.

Im a stay at home mom, my boyfriend works monday through friday sometimes he will be gone the whole day so it's easy for me to stay on track eating good through those days but as soon as the weekend comes it goes down hill, we tend to go out to eat alot on the weekends or if were out for a while we'll stop at fast food resturants... i tend to alwasy end up over eating and also eatting the bad things, even when we dont go out on the weekends i alaways tend to cook up a storm also and not eat very good things =/ i just dont understand what snaps in my head on the weekends or when my boyfriend is around sometimes i even dread the weekends because when monday comes i see the difference on the scale and sometimes i wont get back on track for a week !! Does anyone else have these problems and is there any suggestions please?? i'm still battling with my self in july i will be 1 year post op with only about 40 lbs lost

hi so it wasnt until about 4 months ago i started thinking about the land band, someone who i know but not to well got it almost a year ago i believe we are close in body type i might be a little smaller but i also feel given my weight gain in the last 3 years ill be another 10 pounds heavier by next year. i saw her on Sunday after not seeing her for a month and she looked like she had lost another 10 pounds! i feel like its so unfair, i work out 6 days a week and lose nothing! ive been doing weight watchers a month and ive only lost 2 lbs. i had my blood work done its not my thyroid. the doctor told me to count my calories better and it was my genetics i would always have this problem with my weight. i have gained 35 pounds in 3 years, i seem like i cant control a diet strict enough to lose weight i already work out more then most people i know. the last two years of my life have been a constant battle with my weight and every day i am constantly feeling self-conscious about my body, disgusted and saddened with how i look. while on vacation 2 months ago i felt this the worst i ever have. i was so uncomfortable i didnt get to enjoy the beach the way i should have. i couldnt wear shorts nor a swim suit i was constantly trying to cover up while the other girls in family ran around in there small outfits i was sad. so here are my questions. is this right for me. i am 31, 170ish pounds, 5'2 with a bmi of 31. the Quest for lap band grew even more stronger in the last few days when lauren manzo came out about her surgery, for the past few years i felt i related to her best we have so much in common including career. i think she would wonderful with her 30 pound loss, i would like to be 40-50 pounds lighter without the constant yoyo of weight loss and gain.

I agree the weight gain is mostly fluid and medication that was used during surgery. Once your body starts healing, you will see the weight drop. Hang in there!

Call your surgeon. Have you lifted anything, or twisted weird, is the pain by an incision? Do you have a fever? The weight gain could be Water weight so don't fret over that aspect.

Hi group! So I'm just curious. . how did everyone do over Christmas? I did good. . stayed the same weight, didn't gain or lose. I ate whatever, not hugh amounts mind you. . . but at 1 year out I'm used to it. . i did eat fudge and cheesecake though and let me tell you it was yum. . . ginger snaps and some truffles too. . . of course alcoholic beverages and just had a good time. . . Christmas was really fun this year. . . more fun then any other year. . don't know why we did the exact same stuff. . . church for Christmas Eve, celebrating after church, Christmas morning open presents, start cooking for dinner, eat and graze all day long, had guests coming and going . . it was just really nice. . . and NO weight gain. . . loved that part!

I have tried the disolvable ones and almost all of the other triptan based migraine meds, and find that only imitrex works best for me. Coltonwade, I am glad you are doing so well with the topamax. I couldn't handle that stuff. My balance was off, I was running into walls, I would be driving and forget where I was and not recognize my surroundings in an area I have lived all my life, my blood pressure went very low and I would pass out all the time, I forgot simple words and couldn't really carry on conversations very long cause I'd get confused, my hand,feet,arms, and legs would tingle, my back hurt all the time, and I started exhibiting symptoms of Lupus. Not to mention If you quit the drug cold turkey you could have damaging effects and even start having seizures. I quit my trial and error about 3 years ago trying to do the preventative method, so I don't know if there are any new methods now, but when I was experimenting (under docs supervision) the only routes to prevention were anti seizures or anti depressants. Both which cause heavy weight gain with the exception of topamax. During that time I read a book about migraines from the makers of maxalt which was very informative and I tried most of the preventions and triptan based treatments and found no relief. I did how ever find 60 extra pounds from the anti depressants they had me on. Now that I have the band I don't get them as frequently, but I am more comfortable treating my migraines when they come and not trying to prevent them. I am a firm believer that there is help out there for everyone suffering, It just takes forever for an individual to find the right combination that works for them. It takes persistance on the sufferer's part though. I hope those in need find our information helpful in leading them in the right direction to finding their own personal "cure."

I think this is a decision only you can make. You know if you need the extra help that the surgery will give you. It seems like you are definitely on the right track and doing amazing! Even with the surgery a lifestyle change is necessary. The surgery is only a tool for your weightloss arsenal. Eventually you will be able to eat food that will cause weight gain and you'll have to make a choice. The only difference is you won't be able to eat as much or absorb as much. It sounds like you're doing really great! Sent from my SM-F926U using BariatricPal mobile app

Great question. I haven't been banded yet, but will be struggling with the same issues. The only difference is I work 12 hour night shifts (7p-7a). Hopefully, I will be working day shift by the end of the summer. I know working nights has contributed to my weight gain, as all I have the energy to do is sleep. I eat on the run and or at bad times. I can't wait to read the replies you get, as I am also facing this challenge. Stephanie---Waco, Tx

Hi everyone, I am new to this site and new to blogging as well. I got my band on 9/29/08 and was weighing myself about every three days. Driving me crazy. I made a New Year's Resolution to wiegh once a week. I showed no weight loss from last Thursday to this Thursday (actually showed a .2 oz weight gain) and am freaking out a little, so I know how you feel right now. But I'm going to hang in there and you hang in there too. I'm hoping we will eventually figure this all out.