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Hello all! I was referred to this forum by a friend who went through the surgery last year. I went under the knife on April 25th this year, and am so far very happy with the results. My doctor was Frank Veninga in North Dallas Texas. I think they did a great job despite me being a very difficult case. I am not small by any means (385 and 5'10" prior to surgery) so I had a ton of muscle and fat in the abdominal area. So far the only issues I have had are with the incision sites. It seems that one got slightly infected, and then the largest one where they placed my port has been weeping a bit. All seems to have cleared up though:thumbup: but now I have a peice of stitch coming out of the scar - keeps on hanging on stuff:rolleyes2:. My only regret was not getting this done sooner. I have pretty much settled back into a regular diet (not necessarily a good thing) and am afraid I am eating way too much. But then again, he had to remove all the Fluid in mine (even the 1cc that is in there to begin with) just so I could swallow after surgery. My first fill date is June 2nd - and I am anticipating great results. I have been active all my life, and played soccer, baseball, basketball and football in High School. When I lived in South Texas I would go hiking almost every weekend. But despite being active, I have also always been overweight. My weight gain reached a crest when I needed back surgery and injured my knee. Prior to surgery I was a hefty 385. I have lost about 20-25 lbs to date (mostly from the pre-surgery diet:unsure:). I am limited in my choices as far as career go right now - but my plans are to loose the excess weight, get back into shape and go into law enforcement. That's been a dream of mine ever since I can remember. Glad to be here! And sorry for the novel:lol:

OMG! You are going through EXACTLY what I did! Initially I tried to brush it off. Eventually I was falling asleep every time I sat down to watch TV or got in a semi-comfortable position. My end-symptoms included tongue-swelling and EXTREME weight gain! FINALLY I woke up and sought out a pulmonologist. Due to my travel schedule for work I was unable to undergo an overnight sleep study. Instead, she sent me home with a machine to record my breathing status while sleeping and asked me to sleep for 4 hours with it. When I returned the machine and they did the analysis I found that I was waking up around 58 times per hour! My average oxygen concentration which should have been around 98% was less than 67%! I tried a normal CPAP but eventually ended up with an Autoset (adjusts automatically to what my body needs). My CPAP has been a GODSEND! I now sleep MUCH MUCH better and can be up for 16 or 18 hours if I need to be without falling asleep. In fact, I took my machine with me to my surgery (at my surgeon's orders) and used it throughout my hospital stay. PLEASE don't walk, but RUN to your doctor and get a sleep test! If I (or you) were to fall asleep while driving a car we could kill someone! Sleep Apnea is a VERY VERY serious condition and needs to be treated as soon as you experience symptoms (as you are and I was). Don't be afraid... just get tested as soon as possible! There is light at the end of the sleepless tunnel!

If I were you I'd check to make sure there was no band erosion.....I had it and it was accompanied with sever acid reflux ( and weight gain) Shorty184

I was on antidepresants for over 20 years. They took mine off the market because it causes liver failure. I tried just about every other one and just couldn't handle the side effects. About the same time, I decided to try to lose weight and started exercising like crazy. I didn't lose any weight but I noticed pretty quickly how much better I felt when I exercised daily. I haven't had to take anitdepressants for about 3 years now. I never lost any weight with all this exercise, but getting off those meds was worth it. That's why I ended up getting banded. I realize now that I started gaining weight all those years ago, when I started on anti depressants. Two of my best friends are shrinks and they tell me all the time that weight gain is a side effect of almost any antidepressants. The anti anxiety med you are taking is a central nervous system depressant and a side effect can be depression. So yes, all of your medication can be related to weight gain. One of the many antidepressants I took caused huge sugar cravings. They tried to give it to me again for insomnia, in smaller doses and I notice immediately when I take the tiniest dose that the next day I crave sugar like crazy. Have you googled your meds and read all about the possible side effects? I always have every single one possible for every med I have tried. My daughter always tells me that I get the side effects after reading they are possible. It's the other way around. I get the side effect so I go online and try to find out what could be causing it. Anyway, I am really happy to be off all meds since I exercise every day. I wish you the best. This is not an easy problem to deal with, I know very well.

I don't know, but a lot of people say they affect them that way. My daughter was on Paxil and didn't tolerate it very well. I think at one time I myself was on it. There's been a lot of tries and mistries over the past 17+ years. I think there's something about some of these drugs that can make certain things addictive or compulsive. Like I've heard people on certain drugs could spend money out of control so it wouldn't surprise me if the drug had that same effect with food etc... I know a lot of them tend to slow down your metabolism and that in itself makes it difficult. But it's much better to be on than off even if it does slow down your wt loss in some way. Plus they put out statements saying that this drug doesn't seem to affect your weight gain or may make you lose and my docs always would put me on those types and it never made a difference in me. I don't know who those people are that lose weight on anti-depressants but it's definitely not moi!:confused2:

Hey there - thanks for the recap of facilities in Chicago. I'm in desperate need of the lap band surgery and I'm trying to find a surgeon that is covered by my insurance - BCBS PPO. It looks like Dr. Shayani is on my provider list for specialist. I hope that I can get this done - do you know what the coverage is for fills post surgery - is this covered by the insurance or out of pocket? Do you know what the cost is per visit and how often the fills are required? I'm really starting from ground zero and I need all the help and information I can get. My BMI is 50.6 so I know I qualify as I have over 125lbs to lose and I've just moved into the type 2 diabetes stage due to the weight gain. If you want to discuss off the board or if anyone does let me know and I'll send my email address. I'm trying to get insurance approval and surgery scheduled as soon as possible. Thanks for listening everyone this board is awesome!

:smile2: WOOOHOOO - I just picked up my report and CD of fluro from the radiologist and the f/u GI showed that that band was in place, no dilation and no evidence of hernia. This radiologist did my films a bit different then the last rad, this one did it all standing up and filmed each time I swallowed and tracked it as it went down. The other had me do all different kinds of positions. Part of me wants to doubt, but I am keeping faith that this is Gods answer, because I am going on a mission trip to Spain next month and would have had to cancel if I was going to need surgery. I still have to see my surgeon for the "final" answer and get his interp of the report and films, but for now I see this as a negative. I update after I see him to see how we handle the fills. OH and not weight gain either!! For 2 weeks no fill & total of 30+ days I have had very little restriction. :tongue2:

I think the older lap bands had that gap in it that allowed for more of a weight gain if soda was drank and the stomach could stretch more as it would slip through the part of the band that didn't hold the silicone in the older bands... the new ones go all the way around so no slippage and no stretching as easy.. that is what our RN told us in class.. more are losing better with the new improved lap band

Hi Brandy I'm on paxil,didn't notice any weight gain but I do have the other side effects I was really sick when I started taking paxil,it lasted about 3 weeks lost 20lbs but soon gained that back once i was not sick.I think paxil saved my life because I now feel so normal.I think I was depressed all my life and didn't know what was wrong.I like you have generations of family depression.It spiraled out of control once I hit forty.Hang there we'll get through it.I wonder if the meds are the reason I don't feel full for so long.:thumbup:

I think it's a hard situation because when you lose a lot of weight, of course many things change. The good ones will stick around, so it's nothing to waste any energy or too much thought over. Personally, I lost most my friends when I gained weight. Some made the decision, but when I lost my self esteem I realized that life is too short to be around people who hurt my feelings or weren't pleasing ... So, it ended! I've had trouble meeting new people since the recent weight gain, mostly because I'm scared of social situations. I look forward to the banding and the loss, so I can meet new friends.

Most of my family are depressives and I am one, too. I ran into weight gain issues when I was under the care of a shrink who decided that I was bi-polar. This is when I was placed on drugs which fall into the class of anti-psychotics. These drugs will cause a grrl to gain weight and they are often prescribed for folks who suffer from anxiety. My slim husband was placed on one of these drugs because of his anxiety issues. He ended up gaining a lot of weight which he quickly shed once he stopped taking his meds. I also have a friend who was blessed with one of those little skinny gymnast-type bodies. She gained 60 lbs in one year after being placed on an anti-psychotic drug for reason of her anxiety problems.

Donna - I think you should definitely take a look. 90 pounds ago, I met an athletic man that we jokingly call a health-freak. We are still together, he never once said a word about my weight gain other than when I brought it up. At those times he says if you want to lose weight then do it. He just wants me to be happy. He has been supportive through all my false starts at this and in between. I am fortunate to have him and if I had been afraid, I would have missed him.

I find it amazing how diff everyone eats after their banding. Tha band makes your new tummy pouch the size of an egg. That's 2ozs worth of room. If you eat more than that at one sitting, then you're stretching that stomach back out to what causes weight gain. This is why it works as a tool. I'm being instructed by my doc's nut to eat only 2ozs (that's 1/4 cup) for the first few months. By one yr, I can move up to 1/2 cup. She said people with good results are up to 1 whole cup by 2nd yr, no more than that. Also, important key to help your body lose weight and curve hunger...PROTEIN!!!!

Well, I was like that before I got banded back in december 07 myself. But these days I look at it more like this which helps me keep the head space. The goal. You want to feel more comfortable in your own skin, and out live other family members. And in my case be less anxious about approaching another woman as a potential partner. Before I got banded, I hated myself so much for being over weight that I treated food as an emotional thing. And part of it for me was too many choices. Both junk wise and more nutrition wise. However after the band I though Ok, this does it, I'm more pissed of, I want a partner and the only way I'll ever get the confidence is if I have help. After it I looked at what I was eating. And I think part of weight gain is not only what sorts of foods you eat but what is in them preservative wise too or how they are manufactured, which is why I now have a mincer with which I make my own burgers. Not to mention a mincer works great on chickpeas too for chickpea burgers. However, Bread deals me damage, along with rice and soda I stay away from. And that is three of the main culprits of carbs. Also, it helps to find the more nuritional foods you absolutely love. I don't have many but some and so I stick with them. Besides it means I don't even have to think about it. As I already know what I may want out of the things I love and so my question as to what I'll make is answered. It may be a bit repetitive but I don't mind. As I'm also on the autism spectrum so yeah. Cooking the way I tend to does take more time, especially if you study. But it does mean you are better off. I also tend to hold onto the joy that I get when I find out how much I've lost each visit. This past 4 weeks I've lost 3.24 kilos. Which is 14 kilos about since december 07. And I'm still going. There was a time I slowed down at one point, but then I altered my diet again and it sped up. Basically my rules (except on the special occasin I get Chinese or pizza which is either once a week to once a month at the blessings of my dietician) would be A) home made, as there are no preservatives. you know what foods/ingredients you love and don't love. C) you know exactly what it going into it. D) I always stick to the low fat stuff. Like sour cream. I don't usually eat cheese anymore unless it is a birthday, a graduation, or Christmas. Other then that, I don't really miss having it. Other things I like I find alternatives to that I like just as much. Like Ice cream, I now eat yoghurt instead of which I have several favourites. However, that just a bit of my story, I could go on but I don't want to bore people with anymore. And I myself are still in the experimenting phase some what. I do this too. A lot of the things I love like Beef or ham, I'll only have very occasionally. In the treat section. Chicken or chickpeas or lentils are more often then not. Sincerely, Kat.

I had my surgery last Tuesday. A little disappointed that I have not lost more weight. Gained coming out of the hospital because of the IV's, I am sure. Guess I wanted it to just fall off...guess that won't happen since it didn't come on over night. Still on liquids for another week before I get to puree my food. My doctor was Dr. Monte Schwartz, Tucson, AZ.

Just thought I'd pop in and say hi again. I've been struggling with weight gain since an unfill in Sept 07 as well. I've had several re-fills but still can't seem to relose those pounds. I know it is mostly head issues at this point but sometimes I worry I may also have a bit of a slipped band. If I could only commit to following the bandster rules again for a couple weeks to see if I still have problems I'd go back in and start asking for some tests to confirm or rule out a slip.

Hi Everyone. I'm so excited because yesterday when I weighed in at Dr K's office I finally made it to the 100's. I went from 204 to 194 in the last 4 weeks which is the best I have done since having the band. I actually even gained weight between my surgery date and my first fill. We decided that I was at a good place with my fill and so I will check in again in 4 more weeks and we will determine if I need more fill at that time. I do give a lot of credit to my Body Bugg. It is awesome and totally keeps me accountable and motivated. It's like a game I try and win everyday so its fun!:biggrin: So the other thing that I wanted to share is that I'm going out on a date tonight....for the first time since my x and I broke it off a little over a year ago. It's scary but I know I really need to get back out there.... :thumbup: And....I was offered two great jobs in the last few weeks and after sitting on the fence (and getting a very sore hiney because of it) for way too long I finally made a decision and I am now officially a software product manager at my company. I have been traveling for work almost weekly for the last couple years (thus the weight gain and the end of a relationship) and I have had enough. This job will offer me the opportunity to have much more of a stable home life and lots of opportunity for growth. Anyway...thanks for reading guys. I just wanted to share. I hope to meet a lot of you Banditos on Wednesday night at Red Robin. :biggrin2:

I have a healthy sex drive and unfortunately my long time boyfriend sex drive has drooped. When we First met we had sex almost everyday if not everyday. But since I've gain so much weight its like I'm pulling his teeth. I asked him was it my weight that was an issue he said yes. I was really hurt by it. I've tried everything to lose weight but I would gain it all over again. We're still together but its not the same, I always have that thing in the back of my mind that he'll leave because of my uncontrollable weight gain and other issues we are facing. :thumbup: (I have not had banding yet)

BJean, It seems that the first reaction my surgeon's team of people would have when you weren't losing weight was to put more fill in you like that was going to be the answer. That happened to me and I didn't question it. Then that one terrible day when I was filled with a cc more than they had recorded and then that 10 hour day of puking my own saliva and after that I knew there was something screwing going on when it came to fills. Hence why I had to beg my surgeon to take out the two to keep me from compensating the lack of regular food with softer/slider foods because whatever you want to call it and I think it's more of a physiological hunger not just psychological my body was telling me to eat whether it was crap or what my body wanted food. The really rotten part is you will go to a site where someone has a problem with the band and they're told to get a different surgery. You look at that surgery and someone has a problem with that and they're told to get a band on top of it and so on and on and on. I don't know how they can specifically find the exact treatment for each of us as individuals. I know it wasn't done through the psych eval, that was a waste of time! Anyone could pass that, at least the one I had and my daughter too. The hardest part is not beating ourselves up and we tend to over focus on our faults, weight being the major one. I know we all are good people I can tell by what we've written before on thread. I was a fat kid out of five the only one, I was never abused, not in the sense that most people think a lot of obese children are but I was always very sensitive and probably had a hard time expressing my hurt or anger or whatever and still today during certain circumstance I go back in that little girl who just wants to crawl up in a ball and not deal with whatever is hurting or attacking me. I know I've posted in many threads and some were about self love and that was because it was so difficult for me to love myself as a fat person and a lot of people took it the wrong way as I'm advocating it's great to be fat and hate all thin people, well some of it got that crazy. Anyway sometimes I think that gets in the way of me progressing, I don't know if you all feel that way too but it's such a complicated issue for a lot of us. Especially hard when you have lost a big chunk and have gained it back. Now I know a lot of you have done that on the band. I never got to that point but I have prior to the band and felt horrible. Took off 100 put back 100 twice and I think I've never felt more horrible about myself and was extremely sensitive to the "few" people that would happen to comment on it. Of course I still carry that in my heart like a wound of many. I think it was much harder to deal with the weight gain than to deal with never having lost it in the first place. Anyway I could go on forever but I think there are a group of us that need extra support because we're not the "just eat less and work out people and you'll lose weight". It's so much more complicated and even with our similarities we are very different. I know I have to live more in the moment and quit focusing on the past mistakes or the future failures or whatever and pat myself on the back once in a while because that's the pat I need the most. I told my "therapist" not really but she's better than anyone I've ever had, that I was concerned as my mother n law was coming up next week for a visit with her eldest son, my bro n law and I was nervous because she's always been kind of critical of me and is one of those people that points out to me that I'm fat, thank God, never knew I was. Anyway she asked me how I would respond to her if she were to do so on this trip. I told her that I'd just sort of walk away, not say anything but bitch to my husband that he has a bitch for a mother. She told me that I need to tell her straight away that it hurts my feelings when she says these things and that I have a major struggle with my weight and this does nothing to help me with it. It wasn't that big of a deal but to me it was because I tend to be over focused on what people think of me. Anyway, I've gone on too long but I felt like sharing and hope I didn't bore you to tears, I think we need a name for our group so someone come up with a suggestion hugs to all, Nancy:thumbup:

Hi Chloe, As many people on this site will tell you, the band is only a tool to use to help you. Have you had a fill lately? Your tool won't work unless it's at a proper fill level. Are you serious about loosing weight? Then face your temporary weight gain/set back up front, see your doctor and dietitian, and get back on track. Avoiding knowing how much you gain just lets you rationalize that it's OK. Only you can make the choice to change the path you're on. Get rid of the unhealthy treats in your house. Start a new exercise plan. Get into a new routine. Do it for yourself, not your parents and/or the money. It SOUNDS easy, but we all know it's not. All of us who've been banded know how hard weight loss is. Unfortunately, it is what it is, and we have to do this for ourselves! For me, every day is a battle against food. Some days it's a big battle, otherdays not so hard. If you aren't hungry, it's easier to win the battle--so make sure your band is helping you as much as it can. Take care! You are young and have your whole life ahead of you...enjoy it!

Cindy, the elliptical is OK as long as I move slowly. Walking a lot hurts because of the up and down motion on my neck. That accident is what did me in with this weight gain. I had other issues too but the lack of activity is what makes it so hard to lose and easy to gain. I agree with you that it's better to lose it slowly even if we get impatient. I'm concerned about loose skin too which I already had on my belly from the kids. Even when I was much, much thinner the belly was sagging from excess skin. Now I can't imagine what it will look like when the weight is off. At this point, I will be happy to look good in clothes. Worry about the skin later. A tummy tuck may not be out of the question for me except I am tired of having surgery. A year before my neck surgery, I had my gall bladder removed. Apparently putting on 50 lbs in one year when my dad was sick gave me gallstones. So I have had 3 surgeries in 15 months. Too much! I could play "connect the dots" with my scars! I figure if the loose skin really bugs me, I'll think about plastic surgery. What's another scar? Anyway, you must look great! Don't worry about the excess skin and concentrate on how good you look 100 lbs thinner!

I'm one of those - 75lbs needed off the body; but I'm also 5'1. At 200lbs, my body had been through the ringer - several miscarriages, inconsistent exercise & regular overindulging of food & drink. I knew I could diet & exercise to get the weight off, my body just did not bounce back like it did when i was 25 when i thought 127lbs was a high number. at 38 - my metabolism was not responding to heathly living w/out WLS, i sought out the band because i needed something to KEEP the weight gain from coming back. just needed a little push & i got it, thankfully. i was able to get the lapband at a BMI of 36 because that still put me in an obese category. Now my Ins wouldn't cover me - I paid cash for the lapband. I come to LBT because I have NO where else to go to talk about WLS. My husband had the band w/me, but he wants to keep this private - and I'm a talker; so my outlet is only here to talk about my issues/results & share w/others and their success. I'm not going to flame you one bit, I will say this - I wish I got the lapband when I hit 175lbs; I'm very respectful of those who have a low BMI to take hold of their issue sooner rather than later. I venture to bet most wish they took charge of their weight issues before they got out hand.

I am sitting here waiting on the insurance company to approve the surgery so I can start my new life! I am so excited about this procedure. I have had weight issues since I was abused by a family member when I was approx. 10 years old. I guess I decided to hide behind the weight and it would protect me. :thumbdown: But it started coming on when I was in the 5th grade. Up until then I was thin. In fact, my mom told me that when I was a baby they had to take me to the doctor because I would not eat... WELL not having that problem now!:eek: Anyway, I was active in Jr. High and High school, being a cheerleader all through those years. I was still larger than all the other girls, but had/have a great personality and pretty enough face, that I didn't let my weight become an issue in my life until I was married and having babies. Not being able to blame the pregnancies on my weight gains. Only gained 12 lbs. with first pregnancy and 20 with the second! It really started when ex husband started having affairs that the weight came on and it came on fast, I am one of those ladies that keeps everything inside until she decides to explode! Well it took me 18 years to finally explode and when I did, I lost 120 lbs of my own and his 180 lbs as we divorced. Then I did the rebound thing... I KNOW I KNOW,, stupid and he turned out to be an alcoholic and all the weight I had lost came back on as I saw my life going south again.... Then we divorced and I lost some of the weight after that. No my thyroid is pretty much shot, I am on medication but the doctor told me that with my thyroid issues I would have a lot harder time loosing weight and that is when I decided to try the route of the lap band. I have done alot of research and think this will work for me as it will help me to keep it off. My support system isn't very good with family, my mom is always telling me about these shows she watches on tv about the lapband and all the bad stuff that happens. :mad:(Yes, I told her to stop watching so much tv.!) So I am looking for a different support system and that is where I came across this site. I am hoping to connect with a few people on here to help keep my spirits up and my head up at the same time. Anyone out there interested in supporting one another in this adventure I am game!:bored::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

I am sitting here waiting on the insurance company to approve the surgery so I can start my new life! I am so excited about this procedure. I have had weight issues since I was abused by a family member when I was approx. 10 years old. I guess I decided to hide behind the weight and it would protect me. :rolleyes2: But it started coming on when I was in the 5th grade. Up until then I was thin. In fact, my mom told me that when I was a baby they had to take me to the doctor because I would not eat... WELL not having that problem now!:eek: Anyway, I was active in Jr. High and High school, being a cheerleader all through those years. I was still larger than all the other girls, but had/have a great personality and pretty enough face, that I didn't let my weight become an issue in my life until I was married and having babies. Not being able to blame the pregnancies on my weight gains. Only gained 12 lbs. with first pregnancy and 20 with the second! It really started when ex husband started having affairs that the weight came on and it came on fast, I am one of those ladies that keeps everything inside until she decides to explode! Well it took me 18 years to finally explode and when I did, I lost 120 lbs of my own and his 180 lbs as we divorced. Then I did the rebound thing... I KNOW I KNOW,, stupid and he turned out to be an alcoholic and all the weight I had lost came back on as I saw my life going south again.... Then we divorced and I lost some of the weight after that. No my thyroid is pretty much shot, I am on medication but the doctor told me that with my thyroid issues I would have a lot harder time loosing weight and that is when I decided to try the route of the lap band. I have done alot of research and think this will work for me as it will help me to keep it off. My support system isn't very good with family, my mom is always telling me about these shows she watches on tv about the lapband and all the bad stuff that happens. :mad:(Yes, I told her to stop watching so much tv.!) So I am looking for a different support system and that is where I came across this site. I am hoping to connect with a few people on here to help keep my spirits up and my head up at the same time. Anyone out there interested in supporting one another in this adventure I am game!:blushing::thumbup::biggrin::thumbup::thumbup::tt2:

PS Read you blog. Don't worry about the weight gain. As you record your weight, you will see your body's pattern for weight loss. IE. My weight is less at the start of the month and as the month goes by, I gradually gain weight. Then at the start of the next month, I am down to the original weight plus some. Never fails. I have kept weekly records since pre op days. Seems my body likes to replace the fat with water. Don't know the science of it all, but I think you will find how your body treats weight loss. The secret is to keep upbeat and don't let the scales get you down. I find I have to weigh weekly even though I know I will show a gain. This keeps me trying even harder. Good luck