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I know you can and will take PPIs, in the long run the are gastroprotective Most surgeons surgeons discourage carbonated beverages. A they encourage weight,gain, many of us got fat from overindulgence in Coke, Pepsi and their evil soda cousins. B. Do you enjoy pain? That stuff will bloat up your sore little stomach. If it doesn't cause you to vomit you'll have to belch or blow it out the other end. Alcohol doubtful you'll be allowed to indulge very soon. I've heard 6 months, a year down the road. You have been a workaholic , you do not want to exchange one addiction for another. You'll become drunk on less. And a final note, although I am pre surgery I have gastritis, booze hurts and burns the lining in your stomach and it hurts like the walls of Hades. Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi all, so I have a question because I'm freaking out a bit. The day off my bypass 13 days ago I went into the hospital weighing 275lbs. After surgery my weight went up 10lbs while still in the hospital which I understand is from the IV fluids and what not. However after coming home, I dropped to 264lbs and in the past three days I have gained 3lbs. I know that's not a drastic gain but I'm still concerned. Has anyone else had weight gain after leaving the hospital during the first couple weeks post op ? Sent from my Pixel using BariatricPal mobile app

Skeebo, I can sense your frustration with where you are following your surgery. My surgery is tomorrow (1/3) so I cannot offer any specific information to help you with your situation; however, what I can say is that I have found this forum to be extremely helpful and as you can see by the responses you did get that you at least have more food for thought. Do you know if your doctor checked for any other medical conditions such as Thyroid condition? From your post, it's obvious your weight gain is not from eating, so it has to be something. Much success to you as you work with your medical team to figure out what is going on with your body. Light~ Theresa

I am excited and nervous I complete my last part Of my insurance necessity's Today and then I just have to wait for a surgery date. I had my band placed back in October 2008 and have been having complications with it and weight gain since The end of 2011. I now have my two insurance to help cover all costs! Can someone please let me know if they had lots of nausea with the band and if you have more or less with the sleeve???? Tell me your stories about what the biggest differences please I crave information!!!!

I eat 6 times times a day and im hungry 6 times a day.I asked my surgeon and he said its normal but to.make.sure I stick to mainly protein so I don't risk weight gain after my body has adapted to my sleeve.

Suggest u keep track of foods u eat (I love myfitnesspal and it is free). I am 8 weeks out and ...my goal is 800 calories per day and 65-70'grams off Protein.per day. I do eat fruit with my Protein shakes..sometimes bran cereals with milk, veggies, very little rice, 1/2 slice of 40 calorie bread, I try to eat my protein first. And many times I cannot anything else on my plate cause I am completely satisfied. Exercise has really helped me with a stall I was having for two weeks. I Do cardio for 30 minutes at a medium strenuous pace..the I do machines for my upper /lower body. Get back to basic and u should start losing again. Also r u eating very salty food. ..part of your weight gain maybe be salt retention.

As I said before I had two babies close together. I have four in all, 13, 10 and 1 year old girls and one son, who is 2. The 1 and 2 yr. olds are 14 mos. apart. While I was pregnant with my son, I had a normal weight gain for pregnancy, even though I was over weight at the time (about 220lbs). My previous babies weighed in the 6 lb range and were both born 1 month early. I had a lot of trouble with my son, I started to miscarry at 11 weeks and was put on bedrest. So I lay in bed for about 3 months, and then at 7 months was back on bedrest and meds due to premature labor. I had my son one month early, and he was a whopping 9 lbs. I had been tested for gestational diabetes, but had shown I was 'borderline." He got stuck during delivery, and didn't breathe right away after birth. It was very scary!!! But thank God, he was just fine. Then when he was 9 months old, I found I was pregnant again. I was petrified. This time, I was monitored more closely and did have gest. diabetes. I was able to control it with diet. She was born 7 weeks early, and was only 4 lbs, 8 oz., but she was healthy. I decided that I DID NOT want diabetes, so something had to give. I actually lost weight with my last pregnancy. I began the pregnancy at 232 and ended at 229. I didn't want to eat, I had to force myself to eat. The baby pushing up on my stomach just deadened my appetite. I thought..."If I could only have this feeling without being pregnant!!!" Then I learned about the lap band. I felt like it would simulate the sensation of fullness I had during pregnancy. So this is what I'm hoping for! I decided I liked the lap band because of it's reversibility, and also that my digestive system would stay in tact. I have had some second thoughts, thinking that RNY would be good for losing faster and for discouraging to me to eat sweets (dumping) but really just like the band for it's better (I feel) qualities. good luck in finding a dr! Linda Dr. Bonanni 255/255/150

New poster here. My SW was 207 lbs and 6 weeks out, I’m only down to 192 lbs and haven’t experienced any NSV’s like smaller clothing, etc. It goes without saying that I’ve been following the surgeon/nutritionist recommendations for fluids (10 cups/day), Protein (75 g), calories (currently in the 600 range) and exercise (5k brisk walk 6x a week, weight training 2x a week). Purely looking at these results, I guess my self-pay VSG might turn out to be a failure. What I thought might be interesting share is that I am lucky enough to have access to state-of-art instruments that take body composition. These measurements show that over the post-op period, I gained 15 lbs of Fluid and 2lbs of lean mass (hopefully some of which is muscle). If you crunch through the math, I have lost in excess of 32 lbs of body fat. So I guess the #1 takeaway from my experience is that if you are experiencing weight gain and/or a stall, it’s worthwhile to invest in a body composition measurement device. I understand that a decent quality one can be purchased on Amazon for ~60 which might not be 100% accurate in an absolute sense but will suffice for tracking your own progression. After a battery of tests and doctor’s visits, we’ve ruled out the usual medical causes for Water retention like kidney disease, too much sodium, protein deficiency, hormones, etc. I understand from reading bodybuilding forums that exercise itself can cause water retention but I don’t think it’s clear cut that I should stop exercising, since working out can also relieve water retention. The final diagnosis I got was “idiopathic edema” which essentially means that my water retention is a random occurrence for which there is no physiological explanation. When all is said and done, here is the reality that I’m trying to come to terms with. There are a couple ways to do the math but here’s one example – even a highly athletic woman my height carries 20 pounds of body fat, which is “only” 35-40lbs less than my current fat mass. However, I am overweight by 60lbs relative to a 25bmi, and much more than that if you use an alternate formula for an ideal weight. So the arithmetic says that I am carrying around at least 20lbs of excess water, which I have come to learn is a different beast from excess fat. We know that losing a pound of fat requires creating a certain amount of caloric deficit but at this point there is nothing more I can do to get rid of the water weight. The doctor prescribed a water pill but it’s probably not a long-term solution and any water I lose might come back once I go off the medication. I fully intend to use the VSG tool to lose that extra 35-40lbs of fat but at that point, I might still be officially classified as overweight/obese even though the surgery did everything that it was supposed to do. ­­­­Before committing to the surgery, I had scoured through this message board to mentally prepare myself for all the bad scenarios that could come up but this was not an outcome that I was able to mentally prepare for. Hopefully other members out there find my story useful.

Kashia: I am so sorry to hear you are going through this. Unfortunately I am currently on the other side of that decision. I waited on having mine removed almost too long. If you are still getting liquids and mushies you should be ok for a while. I lasted about two months between being diagnosed and having to go in for emergency surgery because by then I had been five days unable to even get liquids. Not trying to scare you, I think maybe I was a worse case type scenario. I had to pay for both surgeries my insurance wouldn't cover anything whatsoever even though it had become life threatening. As long as you can get liquids and mushies you should be ok, it shouldn't cause damage. Check with your Dr's though. I chose to have it removed as I am too financially wounded now to have been able to do anything about a third surgery if something had gone wrong. The hospital charged me full price same as original surgery, anesthesiologist the same. My surgeon didn't charge as it happened in the first year. I had the tighter time around my cycle as well. Yet another lovely signal of womanhood. How far along are you in your pregnancy? I think they don't really know what causes slippage, there are a lot of theories and speculation. I know I followed everything too the letter and still wound up with slippage. My band was never loose though at any time which resulted in internal swelling at the outset which caused me to be unable to keep down even my saliva. That lasted about three weeks. My Dr. said that it wouldn't have caused the slippage later. I suspect my slippage occured about the time I had my fills. (.3 the first, .3 the second, two days later had to have .3 removed, couple weeks later another .1 removed. No improvements over next couple months, went in for barium swallow & was diagnosed with slippage) ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? As for weight gain, I am dealing with exactly that problem. It sounds as if you had time to be a true bandster and develop some good habits however. If you do have to go the route I did please hang on to those good habits. Best wishes, Tuff

Yes, Dorothy Sue, I did. Actually, I lost only 53 or so pounds over a year out. My goal was about 150. Then in the last 4 years, I gained 26 or so pounds and plateaued at 300 for a few years. I had ditched the whole WLS rules and went rogue. Too many reasons to give a hoot. I failed. But something in my Soul recently urged me, excitedly, to start all over again. I use BP as a big motivator, teacher, best friend. It eventually worked because I am now full on into my bypass diet, with the support of my husband, who must follow a diabetic lifestyle. I'm excited, hoping it's not a "honeymoon phase", and doing very, very well. Though I must say that getting in "enough" food has been a challenge. But with all the support I have, I know I can do it! Are you having issues with weight gain/regain? Polly

Karen, First, I am so sorry for the pain you are feeling after your surgery. Back pain is never easy. I certainly hope that it can be resolved. Next, please don't let yourself feel "guilty" about gaining some weight. Managing your weight while you are in pain has got to be very tough. Most of us got to be obese by self medicating with food. That has to be very tempting for you now. Last, please get to your band doctor and have him/her get you to restriciton. You shouldn't have to go through this alone. Your band doctor should be understanding of your situation and should NOT make you feel guilty. Don't be ashamed to ask for help when you fall down. What's important is what you do from this day forward. Forget about any weight gain and start fresh today. Best of luck!!

On my quest to find another GP. On top of denying me, he prescibed Zoloft, and when I looked up the side effects, number one was weight gain!! Now I don't really feel depressed accept being overweight. So how is putting on more weight going to make me feel? I threw my prescription in the trash! Just hope I don't have to do another 6 months with another doc!

I had mine a couple of years ago, because I was constantly exhausted, and snores loudly. It had gotten worse with weight gain. It's definitely weird.... You are all hooked up, and sleeping in a weird place. When I had my study done, they only woke you to try the CPAP if you had a certain number of apnea events per hour. I was just barely under the threshold, which must be high, because I "woke up" about every three minutes. No wonder I was so tired!!! My only advice is to try to do something relaxing before you are supposed to go to sleep. I was in the bed trying to fall asleep for like an hour, and I wished I had brought a book or something. Here's me, all hooked up, lol... ~*~ Find me on YouTube: Trisha's Sleeve Story ~*~

Hi I took a 10 day course after an asthma attack. I knew it was going to have an impact. I just decided I had to roll with it. Let it do its job to get you well then focus on removing any weight gain. You know it will come off. It may just slow you down a week or so. Good luck!

I am so nervous about my 1st appt tomorrow with the surgeon. I have always been borderline the required BMI of 40 (The only health issue I have been diagnosed with is obesity and pcos) . I have been over 40 since September. Before that I have hovered around 38 and 39 with no health issues except pcos. I attended the required seminar over a month ago. Shortly after, I had my first Nutrition visit. Im thinking I should have held off with the NUT visit until after I met with the surgeon but I was in a hurry and didnt know how many months of those visits Blue Sheild/CA would require me to do so I thought Id give myself a head start. I was even told by the staff at the surgery center to go ahead and start the NUT visit but they advised me not to loose any weight because that would take me under the required BMI. WELL I ended up gaining 3 lbs over the holidays. If the Surgeon wants to go by the weight from my first nutrition appt, im hoping she doesn't disqualify me from the weight gain. I guess im not asking for anything here...just some encouragement for tomorrow visit. Is anyone else going through this with no family support?

DOn't know if this OP is still looking for replies, but for other visitors...I didn't stretch my pouch, but stretched my esophagus! I was too tight for too long and overeating and managed to make my esophagus an extra part of my stomach. I didn't realize anything was wrong for years..just thought I had usual band quirks. Decided last summer to finally go and get a routine check. My surgeon is in Mexico, but luckily I have Kaiser and they covered me getting checked out. WIth a routine flouro, I had barely any barium passing and the next week, I was completely unfilled to let my esophagus rest for 3 months. I gained 45lbs in that time waiting for a recheck. I went back and esophagus was back to normal. surgeon waited an additional few weeks to get me refilled. I am on the journey back to where I was before..hoping I can get this weight off. So I recommend getting a flouro check routinely. It had been at least 5+ years I was down for a check to Mexico. My last fills were done "blind" by a northern california doctor who accepted mexico patients. Last saw him for a fill 3-4+ years ago and had been stable at my goal weight all those years. Glad I decided to check it out. Hated the weight gain, but hoping I reversed the damage and will be more vigilant now!!

I have been about 1 1/2 years in this process. At one point I stopped due to a new job and hoping I could do it on my own. I completed an extensive program through the VA to get approved for surgery and there was a delay time and again. I finally got the approval but the surgeon I chose also had requirements, most of which I had already done with the VA. I was frustrated and I was so jealous when people would get their surgery dates. But I think the extra time has been so helpful to me. I feel confident I can make this change because I’ve already made massive changes to my diet and lifestyle. Changes I would not have done without the wait. I would have relied on surgery to “fix” everything. They may think your weight gain is due to your depression and anxiety and want that addressed so you are successful. Jump through the hoop and put the time to good use. Your time will come and you will be better prepared due to the wait. We didn’t gain this weight in 6 months and it’s ok to not be on the fast track. Better to follow the advice and lose the weight and keep it off than to find a way to bypass it and undo the surgery a year from now. You got this!!! My surgery is 3 weeks from today and I feel like my time is almost here. But I still get jealous that people are scheduled before me. Good luck!!! P.S., I’m going to talk to my doctor about seeing a therapist on a regular basis just so I don’t end up undoing my surgery.

Hi Karri! Saw your post and I am looking for a mentor. I also work with crazy high schoolers (guidance counselor), live in South Florida, and am 34 years old and married, no kids. I was banded 3/25/08 and have been doing decently with the weight loss. These past two weeks have been difficult - I'm up in NY for summer vacation (my hometown) and needed an unfill right before I left due to issues. You guessed it - no restriction, weight gain, and I had to see a doctor up here in NY. I am just feeling at a loss right now and need to get back on track. I feel like this is so hard to "get right" and would love to feel like I'm not doing it on my own. If you're interested, I would love to buddy up with you!:ohmy: ETA - My birthday is July 3, so I will send birthday wishes for a successful surgery!!!

I keep telling myself if I hadn't gained that 25 extra pounds when I had to have my thyroid ablated because hyperthyroidism a year before I decided I had to have surgery intervention to lose this weight, I would be at my goal right now. After my thyroid was ablated, I gained 25-30 pounds in 3 months. Not my fault, mind you. I had no metabolism. I had to start on synthroid and get regulated and the weight gain stopped but not before I hit almost 300 pounds! It has been so difficult to get the scale to move. I'm so close!! Just can't get there. I've tried everything. The pouch test, going back to basics, the 5.2 diet. Ugh... I'm just tired. I realize I've done great but I want that 24 BMI and that 150 on the scale. I'm 5'6" and I want to get there. I'm 169 right now. I keep gaining and losing two pounds. Since my one year surgeversary, I've not really lost anything. I'm 15 months out andI have to do something. No, I don't exercise everyday but I do walk 3 to 4 times a week. I have a bad back with bulging disc and stenosis so I have to be careful as to what kind of exercise I do. Ok.. just ranting and praying that one day I will get to goal.

I would love to find a mentor too:) Had my surgery last March down 57# wish more I have tough time food choices & meal planning trying new foods.Mother of 8 would prefer quick easy meal for brkfst & lunch I don't know....started curves to get moving more. I have daily back and hip pain on meds that cause weight gain. Having trouble getting protein in don't like fish some meats tough going down.Could use some help please )))

The big losers do not necessarily have more willpower or desire. The important difference between the big losers and the re-gainers may be how easy they find the journey to be. Surprisingly, you can control a large part of how easy or hard it is to lose weight. The weight loss journey is not just about changing your digestive system through surgery. It is also about changing your entire lifestyle to facilitate weight loss. Weight Loss Surgery is a Weight Loss Tool, Not a Cure Weight loss surgery is a tool. It can make you less hungry by reducing the size of your stomach by inserting a band around your stomach (Lap-band), removing the majority of your stomach pouch (vertical sleeve gastrectomy) or folding or stapling away the majority of your stomach pouch (gastric bypass, duodenal switch, and sleeve plication). The vertical sleeve gastrectomy reduces hunger by reducing the amount of ghrelin, a hunger hormone, that your stomach produces. The gastric bypass and duodenal switch reduce nutrient absorption. All of these surgeries can help you eat less and lose weight, but none of these surgeries are fail-proof. You can “cheat” by eating high-calorie foods, drinking high-calorie beverages, drinking beverages while you eat solid foods, and eating without measuring your portions. Successful weight loss requires good choices on your part, and making good choices is easier if you focus on your entire lifestyle, not just the part of your digestive system that was changed with surgery. The Influence of Your Surroundings on Your Weight Think about this scenario. You leave home without breakfast and order a muffin and ice coffee at the drive-through on your way to work. You grab a doughnut at your morning meeting, and go out for lunch with your friends. You order the lunch special with a salad, breadstick, fettuccine alfredo and cheesecake. You nibble on some chocolates from your secretary’s desk as you make your way to the vending machine for a soda in the afternoon. You pick up a pizza on your way home because you know that there is nothing else for dinner. Now compare it to this second scenario. You wake up early to meet your friend for a walk before you get home for a breakfast of scrambled egg whites and spinach. You drive to work and have yogurt and some fruit at your morning meeting. Lunch with your coworkers consists of a green salad with canned tuna, and you have a hard-boiled egg for your afternoon snack. You are able to get dinner on the table quickly when you get home because you only need to defrost the meals that you prepared earlier in the week. Which scenario do you think you can help you lose weight? The second one, of course. So why not make it a reality? Do Your Surroundings Encourage Weight Loss or Weight Gain? You have battled your weight for years, if not for your entire life before weight loss surgery. In all likelihood, your environment was set up for you to eat. Take a good, hard look at your environment. Is it more like the first scenario or the second one described above? You have the ability to make it more like the second one. Notice the following items from the two scenarios. Exercise was automatic in the second one because you planned to meet a friend – so you couldn’t back out. Preparing your dinners ahead of time meant that you could eat quickly without going to a fast food restaurant. Packing your own snacks meant that you did not have to eat a doughnut in your morning meeting or chocolates in the afternoon. Make the “Right” Choice Automatic The fewer tough choices you have, the less likely you are to make poor decisions. Set up your environment so that the healthier actions are easier. To make healthy eating easier: Prepare plenty of meals ahead of time so that you always have a ready-to-eat, healthy option to prevent you from opting for take-out. Throw away the take-out menus that you used to store in the kitchen. The extra time it takes you to look up the phone numbers and menus online may be enough to let you come to your sense and realize that you don’t want fast food. Keep your kitchen stocked with all kinds of healthy foods, so that no matter your craving, you have a healthy answer. Do not keep unhealthy foods at home. If they are not there, you cannot eat them. Make sure that the healthy option is the default option. For example, measure your cheese and cut and wash fruits and vegetables ahead of time so that it is easier to snack on them than on cookies. Also consider these ideas: Meet your friends for walks or shopping trips instead of for meals at restaurants. Park your car a few blocks away from work so that you have no choice but to walk those few blocks again at the end of the day as you leave work. Do not drive past drive-thrus if they are too tempting. Also, do not keep money in the car, and consider removing your car’s cup holders so that eating in the car is no longer an option. All weight loss surgery patients have their own struggles. Far from being wimpy, removing these obstacles rather than fighting them is the best way to overcome them. The weight loss journey path will always have speed bumps and potholes, but it will be a lot smoother if you set up your lifestyle to promote better choices all day.

My surgeon recommends that I weigh every day for the rest of my life. He said it's a lot easier to fix a 5 pound weight gain than it is a 30 lb weight gain. If it ever becomes something that messes with my mind or makes me upset or uptight, then I'll cut back, but for now I'm fine with it. I remember reading a post a while back written by a woman who said she'd been in tears over a 2 lb weight gain. I thought to myself that someone who is that affected by the numbers on the scale shouldn't be a daily weigher.

Well--I'll give you my first account experience of this...so far. I was banded on April 18, 2006--have been doing VERY well--had lost 25lbs. A week ago, I discovered I was pregnant (fourth child). You have no idea the shock and frustration and yet at the same time, the joy. I've been nauseated a lot lately--but I haven't vomitted. I never received a fill, so I won't until 6 weeks after the baby's born. I have slight restriction but am able to eat a fair amount of food. My doctor said he'd be pleased if I eat about 1800 calories (of healthy foods)/day. He said that the baby would be fine--even if I lose weight in pregnancy because I'm overweight--he said that the baby would get what he/she needed first and then I would get the rest (calories/nutrition,etc.). So--another adventure--another chapter in my book of life....I just PRAY for no or minimal weight gain. I've been exercising a lot, so I know this will help. One thing I know--I don't want my tubes tied after this baby, I want them cut out, burned, and thrown into the dead sea. Bless you all--

I am almost 2 years out - sleeved in 2010. My struggles are that I can eat whatever I want. This has helped me to regain a little weight from my lowest (9 lbs ago) Post surgery is all about choices once you are healed. Because slider foods are easy (chips/candy/junk) goes in and out of the stomach with little resistance, now I can eat more than I hoped even with the sleeve. If I stick with the plan and make great choices, I don't gain weight and can even lose weight. Decisions - good or bad food. This is what maintenance is all about. I have no regrets save not doing this sooner for myself. Best wishes in your choice ahead. Edit for another post: It is really hard to confess when you have gained back some weight. Ignorance is not the reason I gained weight back, my stupidity and gluttony is the reason. I allowed sweets along with unlimited sliders back into my life. Working towards losing back the weight. I am still well within normal range of weight even with weight gain. Just don't want to get out of hand, so I progress towards my lowest (Think I was too skinny though for my height)

Hi All, Well as a very unhappy bander who had a sleeve surgery date (6/20) Passed nutritionist appt.. pysc evailuation, and was waiting to take the sleeve class tomorrow I received frustrating news today. First, I am self pay, I was self pay in 2008 when I had my band put in. Used the same Dr. here in VA who was to do my sleeve. The call I had today was to tell me that Blis, the co. for self pay catastrophic insurance ( part of my surgery fee now may not approve revision to the sleeve because of all the complications that can occur). My stats are below but I have kept off most all of the 85 lbs. (all but 12-15) in the 3 years I have had my band. Despite all the problems this band has given me. So my BMI is lower than someone who will be a new VSG patient. I have no major health issues, no diabeties, no history of clots, no HBP, I really am healthier than when I had the band surgery. The revisions my DR. has done from band to sleeve have all been paid by health insurance. They have not done a self pay revision. His results are good from what I can tell and he is a Blis participating DR. My question is have any of you had this issue? Scrapping up the $ again was no small feat but now to hear they may not approve it means I might have to sign away permission to pay any and all possible complication costs if he will still do the surgery. Or just have my band out and nothing further done, which scares me of further weight gain. Despite my constant gerd, esophageal spasms. and not being able to eat solid foods well, I need this restriction!