Search the Community

This is really interesting. I'm three weeks away from my bypass and was chatting to my nutritionist about my expectations and hopes for weight loss. In all honesty I couldn't say. A number feels terribly arbitrary and not very helpful. A big motivation for me is to be able to play and run about more with my five year old as he grows up. My weight gain really curtailed my physical activity and now I'm so keen to live more of my life outdoors that, for me, success will feel like being able to cycle and climb hills without wheezing and sweating (actually walking up stairs without wheezing and sweating would be a good start). Beyond that my self image is important, but I have no idea what weight corresponds to when I look great again. Watching the numbers is clearly invaluable in terms of what you eat and how much exercise you do - but when you use numbers as your sole measure of success I imagine there's a danger you disappoint yourself even when your achievements are immense.

I am trying to find the best birth control option after my sleeve. I don't want to take the pill due to the increased risk of blood clots and I have no experience with the IUD. I certainly don't want anything that will cause weight gain either Any suggestions??? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have PCOS and have struggled with acne breakouts on my chin since college. I was prescribed Spironolactone when I was nineteen, and had taken it perpetually up until my surgery in August. It had initially given me flawless skin with invisible pores and a glow, so I was enamored by it. Even when it no longer was effective at preventing cystic acne, and contributed to my skin becoming parched and numerous health problems (including significant weight gain), I was terrified that if I stopped taking it I'd have an acne apocalypse. Still, I slowly eased off it prior to the surgery because I have very low blood pressure (unusual for being overweight) and was worried that taking it while I was consuming far fewer calories during the month of recovery would be problematic. I'm very happy to report that for the most part my skin has improved since surgery, and I never resumed taking the medicine. Spironolactone had been drying my skin out, causing the appearance of fine lines. My skin completely smoothed out and cleared up post surgery. My periods are also completely regular now. I think the weight loss has helped to alleviate PCOS, which in turn has helped with my acne. Stopping the medicine helped to prevent it from becoming so dry and irritated. My diet is also a significant factor because I'm not consuming nearly as many carbs or sugar as I was previously. The last awful breakout I had prior to surgery was following my birthday when I'd had cake and other sweets. For me, sugar is a definite culprit for my breakouts. For others it might not make a difference. Be very careful with taking B12 and other B Vitamins if you're acne prone. It's a bit paradoxical because they can actually help to heal and prevent acne for some people, but cause or exacerbate acne in others. The amount you're taking is also very critical. I had a horrific breakout right before Christmas that I am certain was caused by the B12 I'd added to my supplementation. It was a war zone of cysts and other funk all over my chin, and it took a month to heal. My dermatologist had given me B12, and I'd been taking it along with my Multivitamin (which has B12, but in a smaller quantity than what was recommended for VSG patients) without any problems. When I ran out of it I simply bought more B12 from Trader Joe's. I later realized that the problem was it was twice the amount of B12 as what my dermatologist had given me. I'd also begun taking Probiotics from Trader Joe's and believe they were fuel to the acne fire. Again it's something that for some people can be helpful for acne, and worsen it for others. I'd been taking it because of a Stanford medical study about how probiotics had helped VSG patients to lose more weight and prevent B12 deficiencies. Since I've stopped taking the B12 supplement and probiotics my skin has healed dramatically. I'm just taking the multivitamin and trying to be mindful about eating nutritiously.

I know Im late. I feel your struggle. I got sleeved in 2012 also. June 14th was my surgerversary. I put on 50 pounds in last couple years so I know your frustration. I manned up and went to see my doctor this past monday 6/20/16. I was sure he was going to go in on me for the late visit and for the gain but it was totally different. He said that I carried the weight gain well but said my blood pressure was high. Im 36 and too young to have high blood pressure. High blood pressure does not go with my outfit. LOL I even had to go back to sleeping with my CPAP machine. I was very discouraged but he told me to come back to see the Nut'ist and he wanted to see me in six months instead waiting a year. So Im paying attention to my diet and I walk an hour everyday. It feels like an up hill battle but Im determined to get back to were I was. You can do this. just take it one day at a time and know that you are not the only one who has fallen. If you need someone to hold accountable from now on the let me know. Sometimes I need that myself. I was a sexy fother mucker at my goal weight. LOL! Now I just feel like blah! Thats real talk. My wife likes the smaller me and I did too. She doesn't complain but I want to be healthier to be around for my family so thats my motivation.

@@smb1966 As far as artificial sweeteners are concerned, all have their disadvantages and research suggests using them sparingly. I have been told by both my PCP and surgeon that our bodies can actually process zero-calorie sweeteners as it would sugar, causing both weight gain and insulin resistance. I try really hard to use any type of sweetener in extreme moderation. I used to use Splenda for recipes, especially for baking as it worked great as a substitute for white sugar, even the BS Splenda was a great alternative to regular brown sugar. However, I have recently discovered Monk Fruit (in the raw) and it has made a wonderful substitute for Splenda and or white sugar. It doesn't have that licorice taste that Stevia has and it is much sweeter than white sugar. http://www.intheraw.com/products/faqs/monk-fruit-in-the-raw

i'm lucky to have the hourglass shape, and i love being short, but i can't wait to be truly petite. all the women in my family are tiny (none of the men are heavy either...except my dad..we are the only ones). anyways, my mom is 4'10" and most of her life she weighed 85 lbs (she is a nice healthy 120 now, and she thinks she's fat :faint:..haha..she still wears a size 5...but i do joke with her that she just might be considered obese now.. (haha..she has bad health problems and really doesn't need any extra weight, but her new med's caused a quick weight gain..she always sayed things to me out of concern..so now i'm returning the favor..although she is almost 50 and i would rather her be an older woman with some meat on her bones...). anyways..back to the subject, i have a cousin who is the same as my mom 4'10" wears a size 0, a sister who has had 4 kids and is 5'0" and half my size...lol. only one girl in the whole family who is taller than me..... so, i'll be glad when we can go to christmas gatherings, etc., and i won't feel like the giant (hhahaha...it's hard to believe i'm the giant at 5'2").

I'm not sure if there's a WLS solution for heartburn in your case since you've already had bypass - that's usually the revision they recommend for sleeve for those sleevers who have severe heartburn (i.e. sleeve to bypass). Although maybe there's some other type of surgery (non-WLS- related) they can do for that?? Not sure. the only "revision" they can do for bypass is tightening the stoma, but I've read mixed reviews of that. And I've heard the same as the above poster - people usually lose about 20 lbs with that. as for insurance coverage, some policies will cover revisions if they're done for medical reasons (GERD is one - but then, you've already had bypass, but again, maybe there's some GERD specific medical treatment out there? Not sure). I don't think many policies, if any, would cover it for weight gain. I'd talk to your PCP or a bariatric surgeon. I don't know what your options are since you've already had bypass. Sorry you're going through this - GERD is awful!!

Dave...thank you for mentioning the weight gain. I cried when I weighed out before leaving...I was albs heavier than when they weighed me in. And I was in and out in 5 hours. Almost broke my heart to go up that much in 5 hours. But now, this morning @ home I've lost 4 of the 8 (survey was yesterday) and the gas is finally coming out

Dave...thank you for mentioning the weight gain. I cried when I weighed out before leaving...I was albs heavier than when they weighed me in. And I was in and out in 5 hours. Almost broke my heart to go up that much in 5 hours. But now, this morning @ home I've lost 4 of the 8 (survey was yesterday) and the gas is finally coming out

Moon, sorry to hear about your troubles. The one thing that I have heard is that if you are not getting enough protein then one of the side effects is hair loss. The other is weight gain. If you are not eating enough protein, then you must be eating too many carbs which leads to the weight gain. The pre-op diet with very high protein and very low carbs along with getting plenty of exercise should kick everything back in. Get back on your vitamins too, the B12, calcium and iron are very important. The B12 does help in the weight loss. Don't forget the 64oz of liquids a day. Good Luck and keep us posted.

Hi! It's been almost 1 year out (sleeved Dec 6th 2011) and I think I'm just gaining weight back. My lowest was 205 in the summer but now I weigh 235!! I had a rough summer with getting laid off so gained back some weight because of it and could not afford my vitamins. I got a new job now so am trying to lose weight again and taking the vitamins. My hair is falling out so is now very thin. I'm used to having a thick head of hair. Right now I put myself on a liquid diet for awhile so I can lose the 30 lbs and get back on track. I feel I should have lost way more by now so feel like a failure. My weight before surgery was 300+ and highest I been was 400. I'm still glad that I had the sleeve because there is no way I could have lost 70 lbs on my own. Does anyone have any advice on how I can get back on track?

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.

These people posting just had the surgery and are still in the honeymoon phase of it all. You can lose for up to 1.5 years give or take. I would not look at those weight gain as the end all be all. I got pregnant at 1.5 years out from the sleeve and settled into 160 for two months prior to getting pregnant. While I am probably on the high end...I gained 70 pounds. I just had my LO 5 days ago and a significant portion of that weight was water!!!! So yesterday I weighed 206. I believe I will land around 195/198 in the next week as my uterus shrinks and I lose more water. My appetite is so-so now, but I still have crazy hormones going all over the place. I really want to see where I get to in six weeks. I will post again.

Hi, I just went to the doctor today and he said we could try to get insurance approval but he didn't seem optimistic. I'm 5'3" and 210 lbs and my BMI was 37. I have United Health Care for insurance and the coordinator said they're a tough company. She told me go to my doctor/s and get a 5 year documentation or the weight gain. From what I read on many websites the comorbidities that I had were depression and high cholesterol but I guess they're not that serious because the doctor told me if I had high blood pressure or diabetes I'd get approved with that BMI. This is very frustrating.

I asked about DEPO when I had to stop the Estrogen based pill and my GYNO said it tends to cause weight gain and recommended against it since I was having WLS. She didn't want it to effect things. How did you do? Did it seem to effect you at all?

I'm in the same boat. Surgery 9/2012 260 down to 176 now 210 don't know how to stop the weight gain. Looking for help! Glad to see you have taken some steps in the right direction. Unfortunately most help is not covered by insurance ????

Hi all - I had my vertical sleeve done on 8/28. I ended up staying two nights because I couldn't keep any liquids down on the second day. I finally started feeling much better and was released today! Quick question - I weighed myself as soon as I got home from the hospital and have gained 8 pounds!!! How is that possible only drinking a small amount of Clear Liquids?? So discouraging!

Hi, I need help! I had the sleeve in March of 2015. About a year ago I started gaining weight back. I've gained about 25 lbs back. I recently got a personal trainer and have been working out consistently for 2 months. The problem is the scale hasn't moved. My trainer focuses on strength training. So 4 of the 5 days we workout we are lifting and 1 day is cardio for about 30 minutes. He wants me to eat more because of this but physically I can't ( you guys can relate). He wants me to eat more than 1200 calories a day but I'm only getting in about 600. Maybe 700 or 800 on a good day. I just need advice. I don't know if I should cut back on the strength training or revamp my eating (which I don't know what I should do with my eating). I just want to lose the weight I gained so that I can feel better in my body like I did year 1 and 2 after surgery. Any advise who would! Thanks in advanced.

Almost had a full blown panic attack when I got on the scale this morning. I've lost 120 lbs. I am 17 months post op and for the last few months my weight has been stable. I normally fluctuate from 162-164, which I think is mostly water weight. Two weeks ago I started doing crossfit and got on the scale today expecting to be on the lower end of my flux or even slightly lower. Instead I weighed in at 165.4. I know it's not much, but it's got my anxiety through the roof right now. My husband doesn't really get it and thinks I'm nuts about freaking out about a pound. Needed to get this off my chance to someone that can relate to the fear of gain. I'm just so confused by how this happened when I've upped my exercise level.

Anyone out there that would like to do the 5Day Pouch Test Diet and get back on the wagon together? My email addy is congarich@gmail.com. Let me know!

I would have to agree with you on this one. I am 26 weeks pregnant now. Had my band for just a year prior to getting pregnant and lost about 50-60 lbs. I have since gained 40 lbs with the pregnancy so far. Yes it is frustrating, but puking through the band is way not cool!!!! Plus it hurts. So don't worry about the weight gain, if your MD recommends to get it unfilled then do it!. You lost the weight once, you can do it again.

I am not in the same situation as you but just wanted to say that I have gained about 90 lbs since hubby and I have been together and he never said a word about my weight. I don't think that he "likes" me fat....I think that he just lovea me despite that...lol. He probably never said anything because he didn't want to be hurtful...I'm sure he noticed my weight gain. Lol

Don't care. Surgery is going to give me an extra 0-50 years and I sure as hell am not going to waste them staring at the idiot box. Besides, I'm sure a huge portion of the people here can blame a good part of their weight gain on a sedentary idiot-box-watching lifestyle in the first place.

My surgery (sleeve) was 7/16/15. I was losing pounds until the past 4 days my weight has not changed in fact it has fluctuated 1-2 pounds of weight gain...I got to 246 then went up to 247 now today 248. I am still on clear liquids at this point for God's sake! UGGGH!!! What is going on? Anyone else experience this?

Yes....walk! It's really really important; even small steps up and down the hall, but you must get up and walk. This is a really important step in your recovery. The weight gain is normal; in a week or two you will start losing regularly. If things don't improve in a few days call your doctor.