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Hello <!-- google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) -->mommakatx2<!-- google_ad_section_end --><SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_547534", true); </SCRIPT> I have not been banded yet but plan to in Oct.07 or Nov at the latest. I have about 85-90 pounds to lose. I felt as if I were reading my own post when I read yours. My insurance will not pay one cent so I am going to have to get a loan to pay for it. I have already talked to my regular physician and was afraid he would be less than supportive but to my surprise, he was very supportive. I am anxious to start my journey. I have quite a few things that being obese is not helping. I have asthma, arthritis, high cholesterol &triglicerides. The arthritis has gotten much worse over the past 9 months or so and my rheumatologist told me I have to "lose weight, lose weight, lose weight". So I am planning on getting banded and hopefully put a stop to the weight gain and be healthier.Good luck to you. Hang in there, you will do great.

If you're eating bigger portions and you can eat solid meals, so that you're not relying of soft foods, you most probably need a fill. Try to fit in a brisk walk at lunch, and other times during the day. Take the steps rather than the elevator. Park at the end of the lot. Try to work in more cardio on your days off. Add a little weight training if possible. When your work slows up a bit, hopefully you'll be able to fit in more exercise. Try to start fresh, and not lament the weight gain. With the band, you can always have a new day one. Good luck!!!

No help for us. We are fat, we are gluttons, we are weak and undeserving of help, sympathy, or adequate medical care. Like Orson Wells said, “Gluttony is not a secret vice.” Do I believe that? Some days I do in fact believe it, when I’m down, and lately more because of how ill I have been. Mostly it is a load of hog wash. Fat does not equal ugly. There has long been a weird relationship with food, the body and the Christian church. And of course, we all know the impact that both Protestant and Catholic sects have had on Western Civilization… Some of the Christian based weight-loss schemes are screaming “fat people don’t go to heaven,” and “use our program based on Leviticus and you will loose weight and be closer to God!” Sorry, I’ve read Leviticus, and I am NOT eating bugs…. (I call them schemes because I think we all here have come to the understanding that “diets” are just schemes…) If you had better self-control, more self-esteem, more will-power, were a better person, loved God more…. You would lose weight and be a better person. There is no understanding for the overweight from most doctors. Before my husband had his band installed, the cardiologist said “Have you just tried cutting out sweets?” Now, on the face of it, this is good advice, advice we could all use. However, this showed a complete lack of understanding on the part of the doctor. You see, before my husband had his band installed, he weighted 596 pounds with a BMI in the high 80’s. Cutting out sweets would have certainly helped, it wouldn’t have stopped my husband from eating two or three fast-food meals at one sitting, or any of the other overeating behavior some of us know intimately, and other behaviors we are only starting to understand in ourselves and others. I am currently having difficulty with my asthma: hospitalizations, steroids, greatly reduced lung function, other things as well. What am I told? Well, just lose some weight, we aren’t going to help with this, we are just going to pass judgment on you. Sudden and unexplained weight gain? Well, just don’t eat as much… (never mind that I gained 10 pounds overnight with severe edema…). I have to suspect that part of Delarla’s current adventure with gauze might have been caught earlier if she was thin. I was told by my doctor that I just need to take up running. Yes that’s right, take up running. Can you imagine a woman with a BMI in the high 40’s running? (Please see the thread about giving one’s self black eyes…) Being fat or overweight or big boned, or under tall, or metabolically efficient or famine resistant doesn’t make us failures, bad people or jerks. We might be over sexed (skin is the largest sex organ…), but we are not failures, or bad people or jerks. If we are failures or bad people or jerks, it is independent of our weight or size.

I had my sleeve August 18th 2014. I have not drank any alcohol since August the 9th over 4 months. I am wanting to drink but I am afraid for a few reasons. I am afraid I will gain weight, afraid I will get sick or dehydrated, but the weight gain is my biggest worry I have come to far to fail now. Any sleevers that drink ???

Hey there Kaz, I was actually thinking bout you today and wondering how you were doing. Ahhh mazing by the way!- .5 is still .5 take that and add it to the rest it will all add up in due course. I've learnt early on to remember not every time i overate or ate wrong foods did I see immediate weight gain but sometimes I did and sometimes it came on slowly but eventually it did of course - therefore on the flip side, I expect I should see some immediate losses, some slow ones and some stalls.... Just coming out of a stall and slow loss these last three weeks. Keep going strong - and remember all the good advice and support you give to everyone else :-) Thanks, I needed that. Yes, slipped off the bandwagon into a chocolate lake again. Not the answer! Have to keep reminding myself of the money and pain I've put myself through for this; I'm determined again! X Hi Kazyy! I think we are both walking the same path but we will not be defeated! I know stalls are frustrating but we have to push forward. One of my tools is to only weigh myself once a month or I just wait until I go to the doctor. I took someone else's strategy about getting more Protein in. I also let my clothes tell me if I am losing. I bought a dress on 4/25 that was too small for me (it was bulging on all sides, lol). Yesterday was my second time wearing it and it is now too big. I didn't realize how big it was until I saw myself in a photo my friend took. So although the numbers on the scale aren't necessarily going down, my body is obviously getting smaller. So.....take it slow, keep eating healthy, exercising and getting in your Water and protein and you will do just fine.

Scales, to weigh or not to weight. The scales can not always be your friend when losing weight. Everyone fluctuates 1-3 lbs daily from water weight gain. When you are doing the pre surgery diet, the goal is really not so much weight loss but shrinking the liver so when they do the surgery your liver is not in the way. In our anatomy the liver and stomach are very close and if the liver is enlarged it can prevent the physician from completing the procedure closed. In the beginning we all want that instant gratification of seeing the scale drop but for the long haul it is about results and a lot of our results are in inches not weight. As far as exercising during pre-surgery stages, your going to feel tired. Even now weighing 175 lbs it takes about 1700 calories just to maintain this weight if I wanted with little activity so if your only consuming 500-600 your body needs all of those calories just to maintain and when your exercising your body goes into starvation mode and holds onto every calorie because it needs it to provide energy to all your organs. Remember your heart is muscle and it needs protein also. Maybe taking a short walk in the evenings once or twice would be good but make it a nice walk, time to relax and center your self. Listen to relaxing music and prepare yourself mentally for the journey ahead. Your dedication to the pre-surgery diet will prepare you for the focus you need once your surgery is completed. Proud of you, you are doing great, the day is closer, only one week left.

A lot to me has to do with the excitement of having surgery and wanting to do your best to get the weight off in the beginning. Just like a marriage in the beginning - Love Is Blind as they say. Everything is seen through rose colored glasses and life is better than you ever imagined. Well once the newness wears off you're left with reality. In my case now, I love my hubby more today than I ever have! I hope this is the case with my sleeve too. Not only is my sleeve beautiful to me now but with many years and experience and good and bad times with us - that would only make our relationship stronger. I went to a seminar held by Dr. Cirangle and he has some of the best long term data out there. He did say that "average" weight gain with the sleeve is excellent. It usually comes out to about 10% weight regain for about 10% of patients. So... one out of every ten patients who lose 100 Lbs of exces weight will gain back about 10 Lbs. Sounds good to me! That's news I can use...

I saw this post and I just had to reply because I hit my goal and I am living my bucket list! 1. Fly in an airplane in comfort...done! 2. Fly in a small plane where they need to know your weight before take off (and I told the truth!)...done! 3. Walk through town eating a ice cream cone (a small one) and not feel like people are staring at the fat lady...done! 4. Buy a single digit item of clothing...done!!!!!!!! 5. Buy boots in a department store...done!!! I started at 244 and I am now fluctuating between 129 and 131...I had a life long problem with obesity, and this is my first time living as a thinner person...I am on a drug known for weight gain, so I am watching daily...I am determined to never weigh over 135 again!!!

I had my band removed last year due to slippage. I was only 10lbs from target when it was removed. I started gaining weight pretty quickly... a stone in the first 6 weeks or so and then got pregnant. I've now had my wee boy and he is 3 months old. I have put on 4 and a half stone from when I had band removed and am really struggling. I have tried hard not too regain but it seems to just keep climbing. I don't feel I am overeating and am going to exercise classes during the week. I keep track of my calories and should be losing. It just is not happening. Could this be due to seriously restricted calories for so long? I had a slipped band for a year or so and I was being sick after every meal before getting it removed. It's like my body can't handle food anymore. .. Any suggestions or help at all? Any similar problems? I can't take working this hard with no results. I'm really struggling. Thanks in advance!

Megestrol acetate has another independent use in cancer treatment. In high doses, it is used to counteract weight loss that does not occur for any other treatable reason. Megestrol acetate appears to bring about weight gain through increased fat storage. ---Found this while figuring out what this stuff is suppose to be for. That doesn't sound promising either!!

Hello everyone!! I am 33 years old, 471 pounds and tired of being overweight. I'm married and have two children,and one furkid. I want to do more with them on a daily basis, not just interacting with them daily, but running, rollerskating, hula hooping,and jump roping!! I miss doing those things. My girls have asked for us to take them to Disney World, but I know a large amusment park like Disney, there is no way I could go there and enjoy myself, I want their experience to be magical, not a nightmare because mommy got stuck in a turnstile or couldn't fit in the tea cups ...I have decided to have the bariatric sleeve surgery because I'm just tired of living my life this way, and it's just passing me by. I get angry when I think of all the time I've wasted being this way instead of taking action years ago and having this done. I sought out the source of my tremendous weight gain, and found it to be I am an emotional eater. Now that I have that in check, I think about how I'm feeling before I eat, instead of shoving food in my mouth. I'm done with one clearance which was a stress test and let me tell you, I never ever in life want another one of those. It freaked me out having my heart beat faster from the dobutamine being pumped into my IV, but I wasn't moving. I would have rather run around the bed a few times with the nurse on my back to get my heart rate up. Just one more to complete this Friday, my psychological test, I'm pretty confident about it, I feel that I have dealt with the emotional eating, but will continue to keep an eye on that to make sure I don't slip back into that. I'm one day into my pre-op diet because my doctor wants me to try to lose 30lbs before my surgery date. I'm surprised that I'm not hungry, I thought drinking protien and eating only once, I would be ravenous by the end of the day, I feel great!! I'm hoping to schedule by the begining of or mid-August. My insurance will approve the surgery with a BMI of 70 and co-morbidities with no 6-month requirement of documentation. My BMI is 70ish and I am on meds for high BP. I am looking forward to this surgery, I'm ready to get off the sidelines and start enjoying time with my family.

I waited until I reached goal and was nearly 6 months on maintenance. Then I decided to go with my arms first because they bothered me the most. The result was incredible!!! I had always had what we lovingly called grandma arms. Then of course, my tummy and breasts really bothered me now that my arms were awesome. So I had a full abdominalplasty, breast lift and augmentation in January 2017. Again, the results are incredible. Completely flat tummy and awesome breasts!!! Then my I swear it looked like my face melted off and really bothered me so in July for my birthday I had a full deep plane face lift, Endoscopic eyebrow lift, Lower Bleph and fat transfers. My face lift took what looks like 20 years off my face!!! Most of the swelling was gone in 3 weeks and my body is still absorbing sutures and changing a little in a positive way. I still have slight bruises under my eyes but so slight, only me, hubby and surgeon even know they are there. I was presentable in 3 weeks post op. In between all that I had to have both my shoulders repaired (Rotator cuff and AC joint). Having that much going on in a 1.5 year span has actually caused me to be less active than I would like and about 6 months ago, I began to gain some weight. The dreaded 15%....it is very frustrating and although I am working on it. For me that is nearly 20lbs.....I still look fantastic but that weight gain is freaking me out and the worst is....it is not so easy to lose it as it once was. If I can drop 15lbs.....I do plan to have 2 more procedures. My butt is completely flat and looks like a sharpe dog, and my thighs need a lot of work, especially where everything droops around my knees. My surgeon is suggesting finishing my abdominalplasty on the back side which ultimately will result in a lower body lift, she would then get the fat from my legs and use it to lift my butt as a part of that first surgery. Then 6 months later I would have a thigh lift as my last procedure. I have not decided for sure if I want to go through more and I certainly wont do anything until I drop at least 15lbs, would like to drop 20. Of course the cost of doing all this work has been very expensive but worth every penny. I chose a surgical team that I had complete faith in and they have not disappointed me at all. The pain from plastics is pretty extreme and I am someone who has a very high pain tolerance and dont like to take pain meds. My plastic surgeon tells me I am the opposite of most....my arm lift was the most painful of all. I guess the abdominalplasty is supposed to be the most painful. I had my breasts done at the same time and I honestly think they were more painful than the tummy tuck. LOL... My face was not painful at all. I think I took pain meds for 3 days total. That is more about ice packs..... My TT and BL/A took the longest at nearly 10 total hours and I stayed in the hospital. My arm lift took over 6 hours and my facelift took 9 hours and was completed in a hospital not in the doctors office. Because I had such an extensive neck lift and an endoscopic brow lift, he knew I would get a better result if he used a general anesthetic. I was happy because there was no way I could last that long laying on a table while awake. Anyway.....plastics has been awesome to me. I learned that the most important thing is finding a surgeon that you trust, and not to shop for price. You get what you pay for and what people fail to realize is that after care is critical. If you do any of this work, you are looking at hundreds/thousands of sutures in your body.....there will always be something that comes up that your surgical team will need to follow up on. Especially with weight loss surgery patients.

Im 2 weeks out from surgery and things are going good for now, but I know that eventually Im going to have to start introducing and incorporating real food back into my diet and my calorie intake is going to get higher, I'm just terrified that once I do that even of its 4-500 calories my weight is going skyrocket! Has any one experienced weight gain durring their transitional phases? How did it work out? Did you have to start hitting the gym daily to continue loosing? Can you please share your stories. Thank u

I know there are pros and cons for the various types of WLS as well as pros and cons for trying to do it on my own. Reading the various opinions here reinforces that. And they are good for me to see. Like WLS itself, I consider all of this information to be a tool to help get to where I want to be...healthy and fit. I do have a lot of confidence in my surgeon and the entire group of people associated with his practice. I visited both of the notable groups in the area and researched what they do and the outcomes. All things being essentially equal between the groups, I selected this group and surgeon because they feel right. Ability to talk about everything and bedside manor are also important to me. Right now I am facing the major test as to whether I will opt to do it by myself or proceed with surgery. My sister is having surgery for breast cancer on Tuesday. My father (88) was taken to the hospital Friday and admitted for breathing difficulties. He has emphysema and this is his first major setback. We normally share responsibility for him but it is all on me this time. I have and always will be a stress eater. If worrying about both of them and having to go work on top of it, doesn't trigger a weight gain I think I may have a chance to do it myself. So far I'm not doing so good. :-) Not as bad as I used to do but definitely not good. No decisions will be made until some time in October/November and a lot will depend on results of upper GI. Thanks again for all of your input!

Have you been testing for metabolic disorders like thyroid, etc? I've heard that stress can cause you to have cortisol build up and that causes weight gain. There is also some disorder caused by a tumor on the pituitary gland. What theories does your doctor have???

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

I am getting so frustrated. I am taking steroids for an eye issue. Been in them since March and doing a slow taper off if them. But I keep gaining weight. 40 lbs so far. Made a special appt with the NUT and that was a waste of time. Drink more water. Stop all soda and caffeine. Eat smaller portions. Duh!!!! My mind is working overtime on the weight gain that I can't focus on redirecting towards better choices. Uu Ok thanks for letting me vent

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

I do the same thing, I am just happy to see the weight going down on a scale vs going up, its harmless and I am also prepared to see it stay in the same spot for awhile while I work through a stall. Hopefully by the time that hits I will be able to increase the amount that I am working out. One of my personal goals is to be able to do a 5k without having to stop, or slow down, before my weight gain I was doing a 5k in less than 27 minutes, and once I get to that point again this big boy will be doing cartwheels down the street!!!!

Sheril can only imagine how you must be feeling problems with ovaries, possible cyst, cancer must be scary i hope you have a support system - DH, mom, siblings et al having the hysterectomy will hopefully help/solve your possible problems i had a hysterectomy yearsssssssssss ago - don't remember any effect between weight gain and the surgery but............maybe meds you get for a bit, might cause weight gain first things first.............. have the surgery, get all fixed up - you must eat, drink and keep yourself strong don't worry about the POSSIBLE weight gain - take care of yourself with surgery first later, get back on the horse, you know what to do - I have confidence in you you lost 125 lbss i'm sure you will be able to continue your great weight loss, and feel terrific congrats on losing 125 lbs good luck with your surgery healing thoughts being sent your way hugggggs kathy

Are the laser treatments expensive though ??? Bout how much do they run ?? LAurenrd .... you've lost alot of weight and you are still showing your PCOS symptoms ... I thought they go away once we lose the weight... Here are the symptoms and dandruff is in there... I have hair growth, dandruff, HUGE waistline, skin tags, oily skin, and the Patches of thick dark areas in between my breast on my neck and inner thighs!!! What are the symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)? Not all women with PCOS share the same symptoms. These are some of the symptoms of PCOS: infrequent menstrual periods, no menstrual periods, and/or irregular bleeding infertility (not able to get pregnant) because of not ovulating increased hair growth on the face, chest, stomach, back, thumbs, or toes—a condition called hirsutism (HER-suh-tiz-um) ovarian cysts acne, oily skin, or dandruff weight gain or obesity, usually carrying extra weight around the waist insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes high cholesterol high blood pressure male-pattern baldness or thinning hair patches of thickened and dark brown or black skin on the neck, arms, breasts, or thighs skin tags, or tiny excess flaps of skin in the armpits or neck area pelvic pain anxiety or depression due to appearance and/or infertility sleep apnea—excessive snoring and times when breathing stops while asleep

Vera, you know me better than I know myself! Self-hater? NOT. I'm too in love with myself for all that! Though if I continue to eat & gain, I will certainly join Penni in her depression. I'm all about love, babies! And Vines, I just kissed my fur babies goodbye on the way to the post office to mail my daughter her Easter basket and birthday gift. Peace, love & flower power. I've completely let go of my past so I don't blame my childhood for being fat. Yes, there's the big connection to my childhood since that's when this addiction/hoarding/binging started, but now it's just plain addiction. I'm addicted to the bad eating habits, and my brain simply screams at me to eat. That's what I did all my life, so the screaming doesn't just stop because I want it to. I'm up 10 pounds, POOF, just like that. And my stomach pain is getting better, but the acid in my esoph gives me a full time lump in my throat with cough. As far as OA meetings, I've been a 12-Stepper most of my life. Southern California has the BEST OA meetings in the world. They say when things get bad to go to 30 meetings in 30 days, but there aren't even 30 meetings in Vegas to go to. Vegas is a different planet than the rest of the world. We have thousands of AA meetings and just as many NA and GA (Narcotics & Gamblers Anonymous.) But the OA meetings here are lousy; I've tried going throughout the years, and there's no sponsorship here. Nobody "works the OA program" here. Small group meet and focus on sharing, but NOBODY shares about their food struggles, it's just a big bitch session. I've shared that I need help with my food and and weight gain, and I've asked for phone numbers, but they look at me like, "Who's the fat girl interrupting our chat session?" Weird... definitely weird in Vegas.

You'll be swollen for several weeks so don't worry... it's definitely not weight gain. Focus on healing.

Welcome to LapBandTalk! Did you know that if you don't get enough sleep, your ghrelin levels rise? This could explain how the sleep apnea caused weight gain -- since it cuts into your sleep time and you aren't as rested.

You sound exactly like me! In 3 yrs, I've never counted anything nor measured anything. I go by what my body tells me. Measuring and counting remind me of dieting - something I swore I'd never, ever do again after getting the band. I also don't write down everything I've eaten. Had to do it for a week for my previous trainer and it was a pain in the butt. Don't know how people do that all day. To me, I'm trying to get my focus OFF of eating, not to make it more of a focus. I'm trying to be like a normal, thin person. And normal, thin people don't write down everything they eat. I also eat carbs. My PA lectures me about my carb intake everytime I see him. Never wanted to diet again, and again, watching my carb intake is just like dieting. But I'm stuck at a certain number and the only way down from there is to start counting, I guess. I still remember how many calories are in EVERYTHING cuz I was such a proficient dieter in the past! I don't think I have a problem with how big my bites are - it's how fast I shove them in my mouth. Elcee, I think we have so much in common. Like the recent weight gains we've both had after almost reaching goal. Too bad you're on the other side of the world! Marci