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Have you ever taken it? I was put on that in my teens, when I was barely 6kg overweight! It is awful stuff, I was climbing the walls, vacuuming my bedroom at 3 am, I was aggressive, had insomnia and yes, no interest in food whatsoever, lost weight easily and regained it in a matter of 2 or 3 weeks when I stopped. It is dangerous stuff that can cause heart problems. However, when you feel desperate enough, you do what you have to do, and if you're under medical supervision, its your choise. It will probably make it very easy for you to eat hardly anything, but even with a lapband, if yours isnt providing the restriction you need, then rebound weight gain is going to be a problem when you stop taking it - and you cant take it forever, its too dangerous. No doctor will let you do that. What sort of exercise are you doing - really an hour of cardio a day is going to be necessary when you've already lost a lot of weight - it gets harder and harder and harder to lose it. My weight now, my daily intake needs to be about 1800 calories (WITH an hour of exercise a day) to maintain it, so I wouldnt lose much on 1200 either - you cant eat nothing sot he answer is you've got to burn more. And the exercise may need to be really vigorous - running or interval training etc. Otherwise weight loss does just peter out and may stop at a point you're unhappy with. But duromine is not a long term answer for you, although it will most likely work short term. Good luck and I agree, if it gives you a renewed control and gets you motivated again, then short term it may be worthwhile.

Thank you for your very nice, and concerned response! I have been seeing a therapist, but not for the weight gain. I was seeing one for the OCD and anxiety, and they prescribed me with Lexapro. Ever sense I started taking it, I hardly ever have anxiety or panic attacks. It really has helped. But I heard it makes people eat - go figure, lol. The Lexapro has given me my spirited, outgoing self back. But I still have low self-esteem issues with my appearance. I know I'm attractive, but my weight is making me feel like I'm not myself. I am not at all in the process, besides making the decision to do it. If the Bypass were the only surgery available, I probably wouldn't have weight loss surgery at all. I heard the Sleeve is a bit safer. At this point, I'm going to have severe health issues in the future if I don't get the weight off. I have found a surgeon. His ratings are 4.8 stars out of 5, which is great! I called and left a voicemail at his office, but no one has returned my call. So, I think I'm going to give them a call in a few minutes. I am not being treated for sleep apnea. I haven't had a diagnosis yet, but I am almost certain that's what I have. The only thing is, I've heard you don't remember your dreams when you have sleep apnea; but I almost always remember mine, and have them frequently. WOW!! 200 pounds in a year?! Congratulations! That is so nice to hear. I am so happy for you. That is like 16 pounds per month! Have you had to continuously replace your clothes? Lol! As much as that would probably cost a lot of money to replace that many wardrobes, I'm actually looking forward to it. I still have a ton of clothes saved from high school that I hope to be able to wear again, since I haven't grown a single inch since I was 15. A few things that I am wondering about are my gastritis and PCOS. I found out I have gastritis, which is when the lining of the stomach is inflamed. I'm wondering if this will be a problem. I know you're not a doctor. I'm just hoping the surgery will maybe even improve my stomach problems. I also have PCOS which can cause women to gain weight. Do you have that? I don't have PCOS but your surgeon should take everything into account when recommending a procedure. I have never heard that people with sleep apnea can't remember their dreams. I never noticed that. Other than WLS, being treated for sleep apnea has been the best thing I have done for my health. Getting good, restful sleep is critical. Your surgeon and/or insurance will most likely require a sleep study and treatment. I don't spend a lot of money on clothes. I am not working so I am still wearing old clothes (I have a lot of basic dresses). I do make sure I have a bathing suit that fits: I started with a size 32 and my current suit is a tankini with a top size 20 and a bottom sized 24. I have buy a couple of new skirts and tops periodically so I have something to wear in public. Not long after surgery I bought underwear in three sizes so I always have underwear that fits. I just bought a packet of the next size down. I bought a couple of new bras a while back. I am due to get a new bra. I know a lot of people buy clothes at thrift and consignment shops while they are transitioning. One other thing, I recommend you make sure you use a surgeon who is at a Bariatric Center of Excellence.

My husband & I went to Mexico last week on vacation and I just wanted to share with everyone that it IS possible to have a fun vacation and not worry about food, even though we are on specific eating programs. I am 4.5 months post-op and pretty much adhered to my proper diet with a few exceptions. I took my vitamins, ate a lot of lean/grilled protein and tried to get my water in. If we were off-site on an excursion, I made sure to have a protein bar and extra water on hand. Breakfast was usually an omelet with veggies or a yogurt & fruit and lunch/dinner was grilled or poached fish, shrimp, chicken or lean beef and veggies. We stayed at our favorite inclusive resort and I pretty much ate dessert every night, only had pasta once (two spinach raviolis) and only ate rice once (a couple bites of sofrito & rice). I did have crusty bread at dinner most nights (usually with olive oil & balsamic) and I did drank alcohol most nights at dinner and at the swim-up bars at the pools. Before everyone gasps, I only gained two pounds. We walked a lot and went on several off-site excursions, along with swimming almost every day. I got back home Saturday night and went back on program Sunday. I weighed myself this morning and not only did I lose the two pounds I gained on vacation, but I also lost an additional pound. We took this same trip at the same resort two years ago and we both ate and drank like no tomorrow and I gained 14 pounds. I did have to say “no” to a lot of things that looked delicious and I couldn’t finish a lot of the yummy food on my plate, but it is possible to go on vacation and enjoy your meals with minimal weight gain.

Weight was 231 day of surgery came home and now 237 . Do you loose that fluid weight pretty fast?

Need Advice! I was banded 3 weeks ago. Prior to that I went on the liquid diet for 2 weeks and up until a week ago I had lost 27 lbs. I have started eating real foods now and sometimes get 1000 cals in and sometimes less. I have gained back 8 lbs in the last week. I feel discouraged and don't know why I am gaining. When I drink I can gulp water and even know I eat less than before the band I am not lossing weight. I have never vomited my food back up, but I find chicken can get stuck at times. I haven't had a fill yet and am eating about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of food at meal time. Why am I not lossing weight is my body thinking it is starving? Right now I am not super active as I am on vacation and not at work. Help me with some advice.............please?

Perhaps put the situation in a letter to the surgeon. Lay out what your weight was before starting your low carb diet, your carb, protein, fat, and caloric consumption. Then describe the nut's plan. Explain you are willing to try the new plan, but are concerned about potential weight gain on that plan, and the willingness of the surgeon to perform the surgery if you have gained weight.

I felt like I had a few minor stalls, but looking back at my charts it was really a pretty steady decline. I weighed myself every day & only added it to my tracker if it went down. A few Lbs up or down is not usually weight gain, its usually just normal fluctuations based on the time of day, fluids, etc. I would keep tracking, focus on whole foods & add walking to your routine- that always helped me.

All these threads about the scale, and what we are eating and I'm seeing the words 'good' and 'bad' throughout them. I'm as guilty as anyone else about this but I want to put it out there that eating is not bad. Weighing is not bad. WE are not bad. We might make poor decisions about our food, or we might see weight gain on the scale, but it's not good or bad. It just is. Why is what we weigh and what we eat seen as good or bad. Why do we see ourselves as worthy or unworthy based on our physical appearance. Why am I worthy of the attentions of a man now that I'm thin and didn't feel worthy when I was heavy? Why did I punish myself by wearing horrible clothing and not caring how I looked? I know for me it was like putting lipstick on a pig...but why did I think of myself as a pig? Or a slob? Or a loser? Or lazy? Everytime I think I may not need more therapy, I know I need lots more therapy. I hate how much I despised myself before and I'm scared of how much people admire what I've done in the last two and a half years. I am constantly looking to others to determine my own worth because I still cannot do it on my own. I am moving forward in very unfamiliar territory. I have no fat to hide behind. I can't blame failure on my size anymore. I can't blame rejection on my size, I have to own my life and not look to anything negative to avoid what I do. We have to stop with the good/bad thing. If I eat pizza, it's not good or bad. it just is and doesn't make me good or bad. I want to enjoy food without fearing it. I want to enjoy my life without fearing it. I want to be physically and mentally healthy. I'm working on it, but it's still ahead of me.

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.

Are you going poop? That can also mess with the weight gain. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I am little over 2 years post op. I started at 336 and made it down to 222. I had a slight complication where I got stuck so bad, it took days to be able to eat again. I went to the Doc and he took out 2.5cc's and warned me that I would gain weight. Of course at this time I was convinced of my ability to keep the weight off without the band helping out and insisted to the doc that would not happen to me. (what a dumb-ass) Yeah right. So here I am three months later having gained 20 pounds back. Now whats interesting is I am exercising more now than ever. I spend 1.5 hours at the gym three nights a week, and at least 30 minutes at home on non gym nights. I am also eating fairly poorly (nothing like pre-band) I have two things I am struggling with. 1. I told the doc I would not gain any weight, so now I have a pride issue and do not want to go back in for a fill until I loose the 20 I gained. 2. My weight lifting has really gone crazy lately. I have increased my reps and weight by 20% + in the last month (its getting to the point where I am lifting the stack on most machines). I am also continuing my cardio approximately 50 minutes per gym trip on the elliptical running my ass off. So I am depressed as hell about the weight gain, but how much of it is muscle vs fat. If I knew that I have gained 10 pounds of muscle and 10 of fat then I would feel a lot better than if I gained 5 and 15. Any of you guys (or girls that are spying) have a similar situation?

I had 15 pounds of water weight gain when I was released two days later. It took over a week to lose it. The weight will come off

Hi I am going to copy some of my story here for you. Hope it helps. I am in the process of insurance approval to have a revision from Band to RNY. I have had my band for seven years. I have been very lucky to have not had any complications, no slips ect. My band is unfilled now, because i never did get the 'sweet' spot, either to tight and things would come back up or I would revert to soft high carb foods, or too loose and I can pretty much eat anything. I had my surgery for the band in Cincinnati Ohio, (I live in Indianapolis) The surgeon Dr, Trace Curry was excellent, I do think traveling back and forth for fills ect did hinder me getting where I needed to be for my fill to be right. But no matter what the band was not going to help most of my medical issues. Since the band I have lost and gained the same 30 to 40 pounds. Now at my heaviest. And the band did not help any of my medical problems. I am hoping the RNY both with the smaller stomach and mal absorption and the actual surgery itself will help with my uncontrolled type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. I am so sensitive to insulin that I swell and ache all over but I have to take large amounts to keep my blood sugar down. It is like I am on a merry go round, hurt, can't exercise, can't exercise, gain weight, blood sugars out of control, more insulin, can't breath because of severe asthma and copd, need steriods about once a year, higher blood sugars, more weight gain, can't exercise, and around and around we go My hope and prayer is that this surgery will add years to my life that I can spend with my children and grandchildren. I need to GET a life, because what I am doing right now is not living seven years ago I thought the Bypass was too drastic. I didn't realize then the benefits besides weight loss that the Bypass can do. I think if you have a lot of weight to lose the Bypass would serve you better. I see so many revising from lap band to either the Sleeve or the Bypass. But even see some revise from the Sleeve to the Bypass. Read a lot here, ask questions and listen to your Doc's advice. Then make up your mind. I don't regret getting the band, but I do wish I had went all the way and had the Bypass seven years ago. Best Wishes to you.

Did you ever hear anything about your approval? I'm just wondering because I had United Healthcare try to pull the "one surgery per lifetime" card with me for my revision. It turns out that was not in my husband's company's policy at all and they were trying to deny saying it was something like - obesity surgery standards--blah blah blah. They said they would remove or replace my band only. They denied my case, I immediately appealed and just heard back last week that they are overturning the denial and will be paying for the revision. My advice is if it's truly what you want then don't give up! I'm not going to say it's an easy thing. It's extremely stressful both physically (putting up with the band and weight gain for longer) and especially mentally! You just have to decide if it is something you want to fight for.

I hope you do get some answers as it sounds awful. Cushings is something that causes lots or weight gain so if this is the issue it’s a pity they didn’t test and rule it out prior to surgery as then you may not have required the WLS as well. Are you still bleeding or has that resolved?

@@bguarneri sorry about your "temporary" screw up on weight gain you did great before you know what to do to back on track follow all the rules you learned start over with Protein drinks, liquids, large Water intake etc eat as much protein as you can little as possible with deviled carbs i know you can become the success you used to be i have my eye on you!! give OP on the board for help!! take care now back to work!! good luck kathy

So sorry you are experiencing this. Your PCOS is the likely suspect or at least a contributing factor to your struggles. Also check your medications. Many common meds are renown for resulting in weight gain. There is not one diet/way of eating that works for everyone. So your nutritionist saying you eat healthily & gave you no other help is pretty poor. Like @Sunnyway, I made changes to what I eat. I did lots of reading. And as I was slowly introducing foods back into my diet, there were some I didn’t start eating again, some I started & dropped again. I really listened to my body & what it needed. There are foods/food types I avoid, others I restrict or reduce my intake. Much like @Sunnyway, I cut out a lot of added sugar, artificial sweeteners & sugar alternatives (so no desserts, cakes, biscuits, sweets, etc.), little starch (no potatoes, bread, rice or pasta). General keep to fairly low processed foods prepping most of what I eat myself which allows me to control the ingredients & how it’s cooked. I eat some carbs - about 2 serves a day but whole or multi grains. But I found this is what works for me. I feel better: no bloating, less gas, more even energy levels, etc. Don’t really miss anything. Eating this way works for me. It may not work for you. Question the nutritionist further - they are there to help you. You may benefit from a eating plan that incorporates aspects of anti inflammation diet, or to reduce foods naturally high in hormones (soy products, lot fed beef & chicken, etc.) There may be additives in more processed foods that are fighting your ability to lose weight too.* Again the nutritionalist should be able to advise you. *- Watched a great documentary earlier this year which showed that a high processed food diet actually increases the hunger hormone in your body & decreases the hormone that tells you you’ve had enough. Gracious knows what they do to your other hormones.

Okay, so I got pregnant with my oldest, and what did I weigh? 208 I had her, lost some weight, gained some weight, then lost, and settled at 208. I got pregnant with my youngest and weighed 208. Had him, lost weight, gained wieght, and never saw 208 again. I weighed 223 when I got banded, and quickly lost some weight. Guess how much? 15 pounds. And that put me at 208. And I have stayed there since day 12 after surgery almost 8 weeks ago. My body LOVES 208. I HATE it!! So today on the scale I weighed 206.4 I'm still not convinced I'll never see 208 again but at some point I'll get below it enough to know I will never look back. It has taken me weeks to convince my body that 208 is BAD. Our bodies tend to get stuck sometimes. Keep pressing forward. 8 weeks is a drop in the bucket compared to a year from now. And you can be pretty well guaranteed that you will NOT be in the 200's in a year. I know you are frustrated. I'm really sorry, but we can do this!!! With the Band, it's not that you just eat whatever just less of it and lose IF you DON'T have good restriction. For me, it simply makes the diet possible day after day after day. And THAT is what speaks to my 208.

Hi everyone, I'm a 21 year old considering the sleeve. I've struggled with weight loss since I got my period. I went from being quite slim to gaining weight rapidly in a year, and haven't been able to lose any since, gradually gaining. I am currently at 76kg (168 lb), 159cm tall. I did find out I had PCOS when I was around 17, which explained my sudden weight gain after getting my period. I have had high cholesterol since I was 19, and have been on simvastatin 20mg since. Recently I started noticing my fasting glucose was getting a bit higher each time, up to 6.8 (122) fasting one morning, although mostly around 5-6 (90-110). I am also on metformin for my PCOS. Diabetes runs in my family, my mum, dad, uncle, grandma etc. all have it, with my mum recently becoming completely insulin dependent (previously T2). Although my BMI is low, around 30-31, as I am of asian descent, the BMI cut-off is lower too. I'm really considering doing this early, so I can prevent all these co-morbidities occurring later in my life. It's frustrating, I am technically "not heavy enough" but those who are are probably healthier than me. Has anyone my age/bmi had this surgery?

One of the office I go to will not touch you if you have not lost weight. You will be sent away. The place where I ultimately ended up having surgery (had nothing to do with weight gain or loss, I left for other reasons) puts you on a strict preop diet and they do expect you to lose weight. I don't know if they would turn you away or not but you are only putting yourself at risk.

I was "normal" sized when we met (around 125 lbs, if I remember correctly). I started my steady weight gaining after I popped out The Kid 8 years later. I've read alot about spouses/partners of those who have lost weight say similar things (i.e., not liking skinny women/men). Which to me is kinda douchey. I mean, if Mr. told me he doesn't like fat women when I gained my 100+ lbs, I'd be doing some serious re-evaluating. Though I suppose until you guys have a real conversation about it, maybe just give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that yes, while he gets turned on abstractly by a relatively bigger physique, in no way does it affect how he feels and is attracted to YOU. P.S. your pic reminds me of Julianna Margulies (the ER actress)!

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!

I would love for someone to explain to me how to do a food log. I know the purpose, but I have no idea how to do it. I haven't met with the Nut yet, so this is still a learning process for me. I also use My Fitness Pal but others on the forum give Spark People very good reviews as well. The first thing you'll do with any of the apps is your settings. You'll enter height, weight, gender, age, etc. etc. and then you'll enter your goal weight and (at least with MFP) how much weight you want to lose per week. From that data the app will calculate a recommended daily calorie intake. Remember that number is just a "one size fits all" calculation based on the info you've entered. Every one of us is different and there are a lot of variables like exercise, calories burned in your job, raising a family, duties around the house, etc. Do not hesitate to experiment a little. Make adjustments to your calorie goal until you find "your" number - the one that works best for you and your lifestyle. So let's say that MFP "recommends" 1200 calories a day based on your settings. That's a good starting point but what you want to do is follow the recommendation for a week or so and see what happens. If your weight loss goal is a pound a week and you lose a pound, great. If you don't lose or even gain, then adjust the calorie goal down by say 100 calories and try it for another week. The point is that with a little experimentation you can fine tune the app for the calorie count that produces the results you're looking for. You're just a few weeks post-op. Perfect time to start logging! The longer you use it, the more you learn. But you're unlikely to be able to consume the number of calories that your app will recommend. That's fine - just adjust your calorie goal to either the number of calories your doctor recommends or if he or she hasn't made a recommendation, adjust the goal to whatever number you think you can achieve based on where you're at in your journey. Perhaps the most important thing to understand is what I call "The Law of Average". It is crucially important to understand and treat your calorie goal as an "average". Regardless of what your calorie goal is, you are not going to meet that goal every day for the rest of your life. Ridiculous. Unrealistic. And unsustainable. More importantly, you don't need to! When (not if) you exceed your calorie goal for a given day, all you need to do is reduce your goal by 100-200 calories for a day or two and you're right back on track with your - AVERAGE. It's easy, it's fast and it works like a charm. I've done it not once or twice but many times. And you don't have to do it too many times before your confidence soars. For what may be the first time in your life, you're managing your weight (and your diet) instead of your weight managing you. Food logs also make you accountable to the only person that matters - YOU. Logs educate you regarding the effects various foods are likely to have on your weight loss or weight gain. Logs "train" you to recognize what meals will lead to weight loss and which ones will lead to gain - and how much. They also allow you to track the macronutrients (Protein, fat and carbs) and see what effects (good or bad) increases or decreases have on your weight. They also allow you to track your exercise as well as many of the micronutrients aka Vitamins. That's a LOT of information all in one place and the app doesn't cost a dime. Finally, it has been proven again and again by countless studies that folks who maintain a food log lose more weight, lose it faster, and are more successful at maintaining their goal weight than those who don't log. Versatility, confidence, education, accountability and greater success in less time - all pretty compelling reasons to use food logs. You're gonna love the new you!!

First time poster, long time lurker A bit about myself, I was sleeved in 2014 at 136kg and manged to get down to 96kg before finally falling pregnant [yay!]. Now I am 1 year postpartum and my weight is rapidly spiraling out of control again The head hunger and being home all day with bubs is my biggest problem, I graze ALL day on sugary quick grab foods. Having a little one I find myself tired and am seriously lacking motivation with jumping on the weight loss band wagon as my son is my first priority. I've always had a larger sleeve than most and was able to eat half a sandwich, now after being pregnant I can eat a whole sandwich no worries. Being pregnant was my downfall when it came to the weight gain as I was hypoglycemic and had to eat every hour, plus bubs was draining me of everything which is why I was constantly hungry and I simply cannot break that habit now. I don't believe I have stretched my stomach but I like to hear from other sleevers that have a similar story to myself and that can reassure me that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Google says: How can I avoid gaining weight on Zoloft? Maintain your normal eating habits. Sertraline may affect your appetite, causing you to feel less satisfied by food than normal. To minimize weight gain, try to maintain your previous eating habits, such as food choices, portion sizes and meal timing.