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This is the best time of year to get banded - you won't be gaining weight during the holiday season you will be losing -:clap2: Think of it that way in a more positive light instead of the negative - omg i can't eat - well - that's why you are getting the band cuz you over eat... You can have a taste of this or that the band isn't going to stop you - you can have a bite or 2 of cake - just not those hugh and more than one piece that you had before - you can have turkey - mashed potatoes - stuffing - gravey - pie etc - where does it say you can't - it's just you will be eating alot smaller portions and of course you should be making wise & healthy food choices - low fat, low sugar - this is about a lifestyle change You can learn to reprogram your mind to strip away the guilt that comes with dieting. You have to realize that it’s not that the first slice of cake that will doom your diet – it’s the second or third or whole thing that leads to weight gain. As to giving our BEST FRIEND FOOD up - is it really your best friend??? it made you (when I am saying you - I do me WE) fat and unhealthy and is robbing you of your life.... It's not your best freind - it is your drug of choice - you have been hiding behind it for most of your life - we eat to sooth our emotions - boredom - stress - cuz it taste good = sertionan increase in our brain - our high... Ya i felt all these emotions too- (i was on pre-op diet for my Sons BD) I just put on my big girl panties and deal with it - We are not weak people - we gotta stop thinking like one - we gotta quit makeing up all these reason we are going to fail before we even start - (this was always my biggest problem).. You have to listen to your body & respond smartly to your cravings and emotions but over time you will learn how to eat right and mange your craving and that’s when you’ll train your brain to stop obsessing about eating right and punishing yourself – If you stop over thinking you’ll stop over eating..

If you threw up 3 times yesterday, you probably shouldn't be eating prime rib, a baked potato and bread today. You should rest your stoma/pouch after numerous PBs and or vomiting episodes. I agree with Wheetsin that you discuss with your doctor any alternative forms of your medications. Some have a liquid or chewable form, or even a time-release patch. I don't know what your numerous medical problems are, but they may be inhibiting your weight loss. Many medications have weight gain as a side effect. If your health problems prevent you from exercising that can also contribute. I do recommend that you go to your doctor and see if they can examine your pouch under fluoro. You may have lost some fill due to a leak or your band may have loosened due to weight loss of 40 lbs. Drinking with your meals works for some people, but I can't do it. It is also known to wash everything quickly through the pouch leaving you hungrier sooner. Hopefully, it is not a slip. Best of luck to you!

Think of it this way. After surgery, for some people, there is no difference and they can eat pretty much what they want...until they get enough fill(s) to feel restriction. Then they start living as bandsters. For a very few, there is some weight gain during that time, known as "bandster hell". Then with restriction later, the fun begins..... Remember too that people who talk on this site are often looking for support for difficult times, so it appears that there are more problems with the lap band than therereally are. People who aren't haveing prolbems are less likely to post...they're just out living life. Believe me....I had cravings, binge eating, and grazing problems...and all the usual failed diets. For the first time in my life, with the band, I am losing and comfortable. When I screw up, I just stop losing..until I get back on the program. The band waits for me to get it together. I can live with that....

Here I am:D just had a very busy week and week-end DH and I went to the Air Show it was Great :rockon:. TM don't worry about your weight gain it is more then likely the stress! Sue just think, once my Ins. BCBS approved me I was having the surgery in a matter of a week so you don't sweat the small stuff, if Charlene says she figured it out what was wrong just believe that it is all right and hopefully you be an Oct. banded baby!!! You know you can go on BCBS web site and see for your self if Dr. Choban is "In Network" I don't see why she wouldn't be if she is "In Network" for both Debbie and I who both have BCBS it just must have been some typo or miss understanding!! Dorothy must not be addicted to this web site like we are:heh:! I just can't get enough of it even though I was busy I was still thinking of you guys, about yall was doing, what you have been sharing ect. ect. ect. Debbie how was the Octoberfest? I have never been and always say I want to go be when it is going on I am always busy doing other things, guess there is always next year, when I will be thin....... Okay weight loss has been slow for me, at least I think so I am down 35 pounds but I want it to much more..... So I have decided that I am going to work out every day I will be going straight to the Gym right after work, we have a Really nice one at my job that is FREE so I have to get my Bootie up there to be like Debbie!!! TM, your step-daughter's comment is one of the major reason why I choose not to tell anyone about having the surgery, my own mother doesn't even know I had this done, I will be telling her soon due to me deciding to help any one who ask me how I am losing this weight and looking GOOD:o. Anywho don't listen to her because if it was that easy to lose weight why wouldn't all obese people just lose the weight, not every one is blessed like she is to be able to drop weight like that. Okay Every one I am heading upstairs to get ready for bed:notagree. Good night all and I will talk to everyone soon!!!!!!!

Hi Mary Jane - I am 4 days post op and when I got home from the hospital I discovered I had gained 4 pounds. I was like you - how can this be. One of the reponses I got from my post was that weight gain right after surgery is not unusual. It is most likely due to the IV fluids.

My band eroded. put in feb 2003, emergency removal and fixed hole in stomach 4/07. I had NO symptoms at all except weight gain due to no restriction! They couldnt even see the erosion thru the fluoro. THey only saw it in an endoscopy and took me right into surgery to get it out. Pretty bad...ICU, etc. I think that people with slips have more "symptoms" and can try to unfill and play around with it to fix it first before having it removed. Doc said no more bands for me, trying for DS surgery now. Gained all weight back. good luck, make sure you get a fluoro, and perhaps take out some fluid!

Hi everyone! My name is Pamela and I am 27 years old. Oddly enough, I was very thin through most of my teenage years, and very athletic. I played a lot of sports in high school. As I got closer to my senior year, I noticed that I was putting on a little weight. I didn't think much about it at the time. About a year after I graduated, I got married to my high school sweetheart. By that time I had gained over 50 lbs and was at about 200 lbs. I was very concerned about how fast the weight came on. I was also having some female problems too. I went to my doctor and he did several test on me to find out if anything was wrong and the results shocked me! He diagnosed me with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). I had never heard of this before. He told me it was a hormonal disorder and one of the side effects was weight gain. He also told me that I would probably have trouble getting pregnant. My heart dropped when i heard this. I always thought when i was ready i would just be able to have a baby. It took 6 years before we were able to get pregnant and by the grace of God we now have a beautiful, healthy boy. I've tried every diet there is, I think, and nothing ever worked for me. I was 330lbs at my heaviest. I have been blessed with the opportunity to get the band. I've been banded for about 10 days and i am doing great. I am sooo excited about the journey ahead. I lost 13 lbs on the pre-op diet and have lost 16 lbs since my surgery. I know i rambled but i just wanted to introduce myself and see if anyone else has PCOS that has been banded and can tell me about your experience. Thanks for listening! Pamela Banded 9-20-07 330/299/150 :rose:

Post-op weight gain is very common. Congratulations on your surgery!:clap2:

Thanks for the responses Wendy and Danna. Danna you are so right about the pain. Today the pain is definitely subsiding and I feel like I have more energy. I plan to take a nice long slow walk today. I know I shouldn't weigh myself every day but I can't help it. I have lost 2 pounds of the weight I gained. I know my weight gain couldn't have anything to do with the "food" I am drinking! So I will just keep a positive attitude. Did your stomach growl like there is a wild animal inside of you?

I started solids this past week end. My weight goes up and down between 2 - 3 pounds all the time. So, I too am woried about weight gain with the solids. I will be watching what others post.

Maggie This is my experience - I looked in my insurance manuel and asked our health Insurance person if WLS was covered - it states if medically necessary - well i was 244.5 at that time 5'4 52 yrs old. Ck'd my book and the dr here in the desert that does this surgery was approved and so was the hospital in Palm Springs - had to go to a center of excellent - I made the appointment with the surgeon directly and on my own - met with him on 5/31 and he said yes i was a candidate - I had to to a battery of test cuz i don't go to the doctor - lungs (smoker) - heart (had to have a nuclear stress test couldn't pass the treadmill) - colon - pap - mamo - 14 vials of blood - shrink - sleep - I have mild sleep apnea - my breathing gets real shallow when i am in a deep sleep - plus i have high blood pressure - so I have co-mobitidies - once i passed the shrink - my doc's offices sumbitted the paper work to my insurance and i was approved - all the other test are done to make sure you are healthy for surgery - i was still in the mist of getting all the test done when i got the call on 6/21 giving me a 7/17 surgery date - and i think that since it's really just a phyical that your insurance would cover with out approval for the wsl - but I know that medicare does cover this surgery and since I'm not there yet I can't tell you anything about it - maybe it's your secondary policy that wants the supervised doc weight loss diet. I have a gf that is trying to get banded and this is what her insurance requires - every carrier is diff- I have blue cross CA - EXCELLENT... Since your surgeon office deals with insurance carriers all the time i think they know who and who won't approve surgery and what they (ins co) needs to get approval - they want to get you approved and will do their hardest cuz they what the $$$$$ - imho - i am sort of cynical when it comes to doctors - don't get me wrong I LOVE my doctor - but mine has a large program fee - and imho it's his way of getting more than what insurance pays.. This band is NOT the magic cure to your food issues - it banded your tummy not your brain... Only you control what goes into your mouth not the band. I can't stress this enought - I really feel that some people think that the band alone will make them lose weight. The band does not take away all your hunger and it doesn't take away you thinking about food (imho) - it is a tool to control portions The reason we are all FAT right now is cuz we ate alot of food (high fat - high sugar and didn't exercise) That is the plain and simple fact. My typical dinner pre banding would be 3 tacos w/beans (made w/lard) then a hour later 2 more tacos & beans with tons of cheese and then 1 more taco before bed and then during the middle of the night brownies - cookies - ice cream and all I did was sit on my butt Now my typical dinner 4 oz fish - 1/2 cup brown rice - 1 - cup veggies - and I am "full" with this amount of food - but i am still hungry (head hunger cuz it taste good) then later in the evening I will have 2 sf pudding or sf fudgecicle - or sf angel food cake w/dannon yogurt - am I still hungry - sometime even though my tummy is full - ya I could eat more but I don't You have to plan what you are going to eat, you have to shop, you gotta weigh and make individual portions so that you learn what a correct portion size is. Will you have to do this for the rest of your life - hopefully not once you learn what a true portion size is - we fat people have a whole different definition of portion size - "I use to say - who came up with a pint of ice cream being 4 servings - hell that's only one serving" You gotta work at this - the band isn't going to do it for you We are going to be hungry for a while (both head hunger and withdrawls from our addiction)- we are use to eating alot of food but we just don't realize that we were/are eating huge amounts... Got to the thread "At or near Goal" ask those people how they got there - did the band do it or did they do it. I bet most will answer that they made wise food choices and exercised and ya they had some help from the band but that they did most of the work not the band. I just think that too many people think the band is going to do all the work and that they don't have to do any... You are told only to expect 1 -2 lbs a week - if you want to lose then it's all about food choices and exercise... If I lose only 1 lb a week I am happy - but I am working at this lot harder than the band is.. I make wise food choices 1000 to 1200 calories a day which I log and I walk 10- 13 miles a week. The band is only a piece of plastic it can't make your food choices or do the exercise for you... My Doc & Nutritionist said that these were my guidelines- #1 Protein 60 grms daily, low fat, low sugar, 3 meals plus 2 healthy snacks - vitamins, calcium. I am allowed to pick and choose what I eat - I am not limited as to what I eat - just that it's healthy and in size with correct portions - 1/4 cup ice cream (sf) instead of the whole pint made with real sugar & cream. In our lives we allow for a margin of error – which we should also do when trying to eat healthy – if you are eating 1000-1200 calories a day – allow for some of those calories to be used for a little bit of something you really want (chocolate - have a healthy choice fudgecicle - it's s/f & 80 calories)- you need wiggle room in your diet to make it work (I save my morning and afternoon snacks for night time which is my worst time) – the all or nothing practices has to be thrown our of your mind. You can learn to reprogram your mind to strip away the guilt that comes with dieting. You have to realize that it’s not that the first slice of cake that will doom your diet – it’s the second or third or whole thing that leads to weight gain. You have to listen to your body & respond smartly to your cravings and emotions but over time you will learn how to eat right and mange your craving and that’s when you’ll train your brain to stop obsessing about eating right and punishing yourself – If you stop over thinking you’ll stop over eating.. Good Luck on your journey..

Donna I am so very sorry about the passing of your Dad - I feel your pain - I lost mine 15 yrs ago... I dont have a card - all i know is that I have the "New Band" whatever that means - the mechanics of the band is not something i concern myself with - who cares if there is 1 cc or 2 - why would I need to keep track of that - there might be a reason - but i can't figure it out. I have enought to think about... You are under stress right not which is going to cause emotional eating and imho is what may have cause your band to get so tight, But what ever the reason - you have no restriction and you need to get a handle on your eating until you do.. and even with restriction sweets still get through... One way to handling emotional eating is you live & eat in the now – not being upset about what you are in the past and not obsessing about what you will eat in the future. The very thing that’s designed to help people lose weight is the very thing that promotes this heavier – diets promote the all or nothing mentality. In our lives we allow for a margin of error – which we should also do when trying to eat healthy – if you are eating 1000-1200 calories a day – allow for some of those calories to be used for a little bit of something you really want - you need wiggle room in your diet to make it work – the all or nothing practices has to be thrown our of your mind. You can learn to reprogram your mind to strip away the guilt that comes with dieting. You have to realize that it’s not that the first slice of cake that will doom your diet – it’s the second or third or whole thing that leads to weight gain. You have to listen to your body & respond smartly to your cravings and emotions but over time you will learn how to eat right and mange your craving and that’s when you’ll train your brain to stop obsessing about eating right and punishing yourself – If you stop overthinking you’ll stop over eating.. Don't worry today - take baby steps - that food is not really your friend but your addiction. Don't go back to it - it's the devil in sheeps clothing. If you really need a candy bar - go buy just one - go to your room and savor it with all your might - and tomorrow get up say hey that was good - and one candy bar isn't going to put on 43 lbs - but if you keep going out to by them - it will - don't buy them then you cant eat them Well it's late - gotta get ready for tomorrow - :rose::girl_hug: janet

Rain What is different about the bandsters diet and WW - I didn't know there was a bandsters diet. My Doc & Nutritionist said that these were my guildlines- #1 Protein 60 grms daily, low fat, low sugar, 3 meals plus 2 healthy Snacks - Vitamins, calicum. I am allowed to pick and choose what i eat - I am not limited as to what i eat - just that it's healthly and in size with correct portions - 1/4 cup ice cream (sf) instead of the whole pint made with real sugar & cream. In our lives we allow for a margin of error – which we should also do when trying to eat healthy – if you are eating 1000-1200 calories a day – allow for some of those calories to be used for a little bit of something you really want (chocolate - have a healthy choice fudgecicle - it's s/f & 80 calories)- you need wiggle room in your diet to make it work (I save my morning and afternoon snacks for night time which is my worst time) – the all or nothing practices has to be thrown our of your mind. You can learn to reprogram your mind to strip away the guilt that comes with dieting. You have to realize that it’s not that the first slice of cake that will doom your diet – it’s the second or third or whole thing that leads to weight gain. You have to listen to your body & respond smartly to your cravings and emotions but over time you will learn how to eat right and mange your craving and that’s when you’ll train your brain to stop obsessing about eating right and punishing yourself – If you stop overthinking you’ll stop over eating..

LOL! Once I do, I will let you know! I have been on solids for 2 days and the only "solid" I have eaten is a salad! I am too afraid of weight gain and I really really want this to work!

Hi everyone, I wanted to say goodluck to everyone who is being banded soon and my thoughts are with those currently on their preop diet that I will soon be doing. While I'm not looking forward to two weeks of a liquid diet I am excited about being banded. My biggest problem right now is that I seem to be eating everything in sight. I find myself snacking alot throughout the day and not caring much about it. I have this faulty thinking that it doesn't matter because I will be doing my preop soon. I have also found myself not wanting to catch up with old friends that haven't seen me in a while due to my big weight gain. Anyway I can't wait to hear everyone's post op stories!!!

Have you tried meditation, deep breathing, etc.? Stress and anxiety can actually cause weight gain as many of us know. It doesn't really boost the metabolism. Also, exercise can help. I'm the worst one to give advice on that, but your body has to burn off the adrenaline and cortisol produced when we panic/stress. I have a walk planned this evening with a friend around a local lake, but then Aunt Flo showed up this morning, so I'm in pain! Has anyone had worse periods since banding? Mine are awful. I never had a problem with my periods until recently. Maybe I'm just getting older and its not band related. Hang in there Cathy. Glad you had fun in Cali Leece. Stay away from chocolate Cindy!(Or have a protein shake or a chocolate vitamin or a sugar free/fat free/caffeine free mocha or something and gradually the cravings should subside!)

I think most people opt to keep their band. The compulsion to over eat doesn't go away with weight loss. I think I would really struggle to maintain if I didn't have my band. I'm okay with verrrry small fills, I don't have a sweet spot as most would think of a sweet spot. As long as I can't eat bread I'm pretty well good to go. Stats for weight gain after losing the band are pretty high. People who erode, have a huge slip that can't be repaired, those kinds of folks. When they lost their band they have a really tough time not regaining.

Hi, You know, if our way worked to start with, we wouldn't have even thought about having a band. I have had to accept that my way has never worked, and if it did, it was only short term to once again be followed with more weight gain. I am 46 years old and at times I have had great will power to lose weight, but at the times when I was "emotional" eating, there was nothing there to stop me or even make me think twice about it.....then as you know it's too late. With the band as a absolutely wonderful tool, when I do have those times when I want to "emotionally" eat, the band makes me think twice, I get uncomfortable over eating and it stops me.....gives me time to think, hurts if I overeat, etc., etc., etc. There has always been a glimour of hope that I will eat normal again on my own......well I am here to tell you that is HOGWASH! My 25 years of experience show me that.....I was banded on May 24th and am down 60 lbs......I feel the best I have ever felt in my life. I no longer take meds for High Blood Pressure and I am off ALL diabetic medicine....I take no meds anymore. This is not to say my life is perfect, but the band has become my tool and my assistant when it comes to eating. I have had to admit I am powerless of food and my life was totally unmanageable until I got my band. I LOVE IT!! Also, please benefit from the experience of all the old time banders on this site.....their experience is phenominal and sooo valuable......they are our ANGELS!

I am doing well and steadily getting better. My plastic surgeon said the staph infection set me back about a weeks worth of recovery but he is very happy with how I'm doing now. My hubby just took some pics of me a few minutes ago and I will post them here pretty quick. I have been taking it easy and laying around in my bed and watching a LOT of daytime television. (Don't ya just love Dr. Phil??) On the 19th of September I will be 3 weeks post op. I feel pretty darn good to be honest with ya. I cannot stand up straight all the way yet but I think that is how it is supposed to be right now. Thank you all for your kind words and information. Answered tons of questions I had about my bloatedness and sudden weight gain. I lost all the weight as quickly as I gained it. I am back down to 169 lbs again. So happy. Cannot wait to get the ok from my doc to start exercising again. I cannot wait to start toning up now. I have had a phone interview as far as that original E.R. doc is concerned. The hospital and most of all my plastic surgeon are keeping me abreast of the situation and said it is most certainly not over yet. I will keep ya posted.:clap2:

HI I was banded on the 10th sept and the same thing happened to me! Surgery now a week gone and I have lost the weight gained and another half stone (over past 3 days) so dnot be disheartened Maxine

Hi Phy: I think I would rather go in slow and be able to eat and not feel too much restriction in the beginning and then gradually work up to the right "sweet spot" as they call it. it's great you can eat everything but less of it. That's the idea and eventually you will have permanent weight loss. You are lucky you are doing it now because by the time you get to my age 48 you will have gotten to a healthy weight. I am going through perimenopause and I can not keep up with this constant weight gain due to hormones and low blood sugar which makes me crave sweets. It sort of feels like pregnancy again ...just great but with the band already in place you can breeze right through it or get more restriciton during this time. Congratualtions on getting banded!

I'm right here with you I have a 36 BMI and my co morbs are hi cholesterol and recently back troubles. The weight came on with the last pregnancy 10 years ago and hasn't budged no matter what I do. Live at the gym eat only healthy but alot. At my age tho 48 I can see where this is going and with menopause on the horizon more weight gain is coming. I almost feel like I did when I was pregnant lately with these hormonal changes. I feel that hunger I get when I PMS but all the time. If Cigna denies me for not having a serious heart condition (that's what they said when I called) I will have to pay $24,000 out of pocket here in NY...OUCH. I hate to go back into debt. Then I worry that the band won't work as well on a women going through perimenopause. My blood sugar is all off. Thinking of HRT but scared. Thanks for letting me post my silly thoughts that rattle through my silly mind.

Hi everyone, I've been reading up on this procedure and all the things everyone here has to say. I really want to do this. My BMI is 32, but I weight more than I ever have in my life...more than I did 9 months pregnant with my first child (21 years ago) and I've done every "diet" known to man. I've lost the weight, gained it back, plus 10-20 every time! I guess what I want to know is...is it worth the (self) paying to have this done and force myself to lose this weight (forever)? Should I try "one more time" to do this on my own? Any advice? Thanks.....and I really enjoy reading what's going on with everyone out there...Keep up the good work!!!!

My dr told me that irregular periods are due to weight gain/loss. Throws the female system & hormones out of whack tremendously! When I was at my highest weight (about 325) I had 2 periods per year and they lasted about 6 weeks each!! Talk about horrible. It will all eventually work out as time goes by and we reach ideal body weights...or at least that is what I am hoping :confused:

Hello everyone, Currently I have Optimum Choice, Inc. and unfortunately the company I work for has a total exclusion for weight loss surgery of any kind, even if it's medically necessary. I am almost 39, 5'4", 250 lbs and have been on every diet possible with success for short periods of time and then total weight gain plus. I have several co-morbidities: high blood pressure, asthma, severe heartburn, depression, anxiety, major back problems, and possible sleep apnea. I am able to change health insurance companies in November to take effect in January. Has anyone had success getting all the prelimary work done with one insurance company (sleep study, nutritionist monitored diet, psych workup, etc) and have them transfer to a new insurance company? I'm thinking about getting all of this started now so that when my insurance changes, it won't have to take as much time to be approved. Thanks in advance!