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Hi LDM, I know and feel your pain. you should be having something every 2 hours or so. I was on carnation instant Breakfast and I drank 4 oz every 2 hours and when I went to my mushy stage I would continue the Carnations, in between meals. I never got hungry until it came close to my first fill. What is your typical day on the liquids? At this point in time I dont see anything wrong with the cottage cheese... I dont think you have slipped or anything like that. The Cottage chees is a good nutritious protien meal, especially in week 2. The reason you are probally still hungry is because you are not getting enough protien that is why I say every 2 hours. Also are you getting in your water? you need at least 8 glasses of water per day this will also curve your hunger. I know it is hard, Good Luck you will be fine Remember this is your healing stage and the doctors really dont expect any significant weight lose but they also dont want any weight gain either. Good Luck and remember we are here for you Vickie

You are awesome. The weight gain could be a combination of muscle gain and inflammation from using all those muscles that you have not been using for so long. Did you get yourself any kind of walking stick/hiking pole/cane? Not only will it help with balance but it will transfer the impact and strain of walking to your upper body muscles so your lower body muscles (and joints) will not get so fatigued. I noticed that even Walmart is selling the hiking poles now. They are right next to the tents in the sporting goods section. I am a firm believer in them. I don't hike without them. Keep up the great work. You are definitely my inspiration. I don't tell my wife much about what I read here on this forum but I have kept her up to date on this thread. It's a great story.

I have been posting all over the forum about this being my problem right now! Lol I honestly thought it was me and im not doing something right. I hate it. But I keep telling myself this cant be it abd try to push on. I an also 3wks out as of today. I actually returned to work last thursday. Felt well enough but was starting to doubt if I had gone back too soon because of the weight gain. I feel it's just excuses I'm giving myself though lol. I started excercising yesterday so hopefully it will push me even harder. Best of luck. Im pretty sure you will be fine. We can all hope for the best

The weight gain after surgery is usually just from your IV fluids. This will correct itself.

Yeah - that's kinda what I'm seeing - which has led me to be more about lopping out that part of my stomach that I don't need versus adding something else to me that could cause a problem haha. I do know one _ONE_ person that has been banded for a decade that still loves her band - BUT she works for a doctor that does bands. She has free maintenance and everything she needs at her disposal at any given time. I guess that would make it easier My surgeon does do all of the major surgeries. I'm fortunate in that respect. One issue is hospital stay/recovery time. I luckily have a desk job and my brother can get off his butt and do chores at the farm for a while - so I don't have to worry about the physical labor part. I just can't wait to run again. Another aspect that i like is the faster weightloss but no malabsorption - the malabsorption bothers the crap outta me so the bypass is OUT. I have enough issues to deal with - I don't need another :ohmy: Everyone keeps saying that I didn't gain the weight overnight - well yeah - actually I did. Less than 3 years ago I weighed a lovely 174 lbs and ran 5 miles a day. Then i got sick. My fastest weight gain was 64 lbs in 6 weeks from steroid treatments. It leveled off after that. So yeah - quite a bit overnight. Did I make poor food choices that made the situation worse? You friggin' bet I did! Now its time to right that wrong. Anyway - thanks SO much for your honesty and willingness to discuss this frankly. I don't want the politically correct overview of anything - I want the nitty gritty! haha I have no problem with people that want the band - that's great. I was a totally about the band for a long time. And no, you didn't change my mind. The information you provided did. :eek: I wants me a sleeve!

I had RNY nearly 18 months ago. I stopped losing after 6 months. I've been very disciplined, following all the rules. I never reached my goal and probably never will. I hover around 172-178 and I'm 5.4 I decided to go for skin removal and am set for surgery next month. All the naysayers have said horrible things. Stuff like, "it's way too painful, worse than RNY", and the more sensitive comments that have to do with weight gain. I don't want to hear about the whole tummy tuck being for nothing if I gain weight again. I won't gain weight. I'm not that person... and I'm not in denial. I am a person who is grateful for every gift I get, and I can handle the challenge of staring sugar in the face and walking away. I'm looking for positive support, someone to tell me that I'm not insane for going through a double hernia repair, abdominoplasty, and lipo on my back all at once, because I'm tired of dragging around the baggage of the fatlady I once was. Thank you.

First treat BMI as a suggestion. Same with any goal you may choose. Body type, your build, age, lifestyle, health, genetics, etc. all influence what is the best weight for you & you can’t put a number on a scale against them. The other factor which you can’t do much about is your body’s natural set point. This is the weight at which your body seems to naturally settle. My surgeon did ask if I had a goal. I chose a weight which was the lowest I reached during my weight loss & gain cycles. It put me at about a 23 BMI. He thought it was sensible & achievable. I reached that in 6 months but continued to lose as I tried to find my maintenance balance. Initially my surgeon & doctor were concerned about my lower weight but it turns out I don’t have a larger frame as everyone thought! As one doctor said you’re actually quite a tiny person aren’t you & they all stopped worrying. Plus I don’t have bones protruding - I have plenty of flesh (fat ha!) on my bones. I’m about 2kgs heavier now than where I had initially stabilised for a year. (I believe an necessary increase in my HRT dosage & protein intake contributed to the sudden weight gain - all happened in the same month.) and I’ve been stable here for a good 7 months. My body seems happy at around this weight & so am I (except for those 2 kgs 😉). You’ll settle at a weight that is healthy & works for you and it’s okay if it ends up being more or less than you initially thought. My food choices & the way I eat to maintain my weight doesn’t restrict me living my life as I want. It’s been a sustainable way of eating for 2.5yrs now. I might make slight changes in the future but for now it’s working. I guess that ‘s the real goal. Being at a weight you can maintain in a healthy, sustainable way that allows you to enjoy your life as you want. PS - the slowing down of your weight loss is perfectly normal. It slows as you get closer to your body’s set point & your calorie intake is nearer to what your body needs to function effectively & healthily. Can you lose more if you want? Sure if you reduce your calories & intake your activity but can you maintain that without impacting your health or your life?

Greetings. I know this post will be contradictory to everything you just read. So bare with me... Here in the US, the band is typical for BMI 40 and higher (35 w/ comorbidities) However, this can be circumvented if you are self pay as there are no insurance hoops to jump through. Our peers in other countries (Europe and Australia specifically) have been doing this much longer and many of their participants are lower in BMI. I would be assumptive to believe their average 'obese' person in their population is not the same as ours. I am not sure at what your height is, but for me 195-200 would be a BMI of 30 for me. And for me, that is obese an unacceptable standard. And despite differing opinions, if you were to ask bandsters if they would find it acceptable to remove the band at BMI 30 because they are not fat enough anymore, they would all balk. I get peeved when I hear others state whom they feel is an appropriate candidate for the procedure. It is likened to family and friends discouraging someone from the band because they deem it drastic. Because hey, all you have to do is eat less right? But in reality, you are suffering like the rest of us. You can mask it with all the positives you want, but in reality, you are out of control and struggle with maintenance like the rest of us. We just managed to gain more. I am certain you can find others here who have the same habits (ie binging etc) and ended up in the yo-yo effect you are living out. Whether you are 300, 250 or 200 the lifestyle, the habits are the same. The negative effects you are having on your body are not mitigated by the 'healthy cholesterol and low sugar' bit. Your playing havoc on your metabolism, wasting muscle weight with fat and setting yourself up for easier weight gain each and every time you reattempt to lose. This is the bodies natural response to this kind of loss-gain-loss-gain cycle. So let's talk mental for a minute. You avoid life as a consequence of being overweight. You feel devalued at work. You feed the emotions etc. This is more of a burden than the weight itself wouldn't you agree? It's the impact fat has on your life, your decisions and your relationships that create this vicious cycle. If all your efforts are unsuccessful, or temporary, you need another solution. We all sat at this intersection and had to determine if the band was that solution. Sure you and I have different circumstances, but our needs are the same. Being vegan you should already be savvy on how to achieve minimum Protein levels through your current diet. I personally find vegan Proteins (ie tofu, Beans etc) much easier to digest than meat proteins so, in reality, you may have a head start on us. Can you achieve 80g min of healthy protein daily in your current diet? Recognize you will be limited to about 1c of food per serving. If so, than you'll be like the rest of us calculating protein levels and finding creative solutions to achieve those numbers. As for the longevity/success of the band. If you want a guarantee, you won't get one...that's true for any diet or wls procedure. However, the band is designed to be placed once and for the life of the patient. True, some need revisions, repairs, replacements or removals for various reasons. But this is still the minority statistic. Much of the success is up to the patient to be compliant. But side note, specific to maintenance. I too was easy at losing weight initally. My issue was always maintenance as I reverted back to old habits. And this is where the band saved me personally. After getting banded I lost 50 lbs easy. THan got pregnant, than had a bad accident that put me into rehab for ovr 8 months. That's 18 months of not dieting. But unlike my 1st pregnancy where I gained 50 lbs, I only gained 20 w/ the band which I readily lost after the pregnancy. And because I am horrible stress eater, I ate poorly the entire 8 months I was in rehab. I would equate it to preop eating but the trick was..I couldnt eat as much. Would you believe I didnt gain weight?!?!?! And in January when symptoms got better I decided it was time to start again and I lost another 50 lbs. There is no way I could have done it w/out the band. Even today, I have a +3lb rule. Where when I go easy on myself and eat more freely, I will go back to strict eating if I gain more than 3 lbs to maintain. It's harder to gain 3+ lbs as it was before and thus I find maintenance to be a cinch. This is how the band can help someone like you. I know that if I did not have the band, not only would I gain weight back readily, but I would find maintenance an impossibility long term. And that's how the band serves me. Just my personal take on it.

I was banded on 10/18/07. After I recovered from surgery, I was hungry!! But I had lost 35lbs. After I had my first fill on Nov. 27, I was hoping that would do the trick. No such luck; I have regained 10 pounds over the holidays. While still hoping my second fill on January 8 helps curb my appetite as promised, I changed from going to Curves to the local gym on Dec. 17. At the moment I am keeping the weight gain at bay. I’m trying to stay positive but I need for this surgery to work and so far it isn’t doing the trick. Patience is an emotion that comes and goes with me and right now it is on vacation.

What do these people think is "crazy"? The money spent, the risk of surgery to your health, the restrictive diet, not understanding the procedure....etc. I think I would ask people to define what they think is "crazy", then perhaps I would have a response. I haven't told anyone about my surgery, except my husband and doctors, in order to avoid these conversations. Perhaps when they notice me losing weight and asking more questions, I may or may not answer them. For me, this surgery is a tool not only to help me lose weight, but maintain that weight loss for the long term. I have tried many other ways of losing weight and have been successful on several of them. I have never been successful at maintaining the weight loss and have gained back all that I lost plus more. I think it is crazier to live like that than to find a tool that will help me maintain my weight loss and regain my health. The crazy diets and following weight gain are far more dangerous to my health (physical and mental) than this surgery and ultimately this is why I chose this route. I wish you luck in dealing with the "crazy" comments.

While I have not experienced this my cousin has & I know she to is struggling with wt gain I think u almost have to give urself a lil mental "check" and tell urself u r going to recommit & that it is worth it! Don't beat urself up to bad about the weight gain. Remember that u have kept 30 lbs off! Way to go! R u still tracking ur food? If not start. R u exercisin? If not start. I hope the fill helps u...

I posted her under this topic awhile back as not having had any problems. Since then had a little bump in the road, but not sure if it's the band or the surgeon... I think I may have been overfilled and not sure if this is the surgeon not being as accurate as possible on how much he takes out before adding more. I ended up in ER after throwing up for five days. Initially had all fill removed (or so we thought). Was scheduled for revision becuase they thought the band had slipped. Surgeon had a scheduling conflict so surgery was postponed but I've been dealing with PA lately. We decided to go ahead and refill partially. As it turns out I still had over a cc still left in the band, which if you include the 8 ccs they took out in the emergency room and then 1 cc I had taken out the month before, would bring me up to at least 10. so I'm really wondering if the throwing up was just because I was overfilled. So I've had 4ccs in for about 3 weeks with no problems (no restriction either thank you very much...agghh...I've gained 10 lbs ...but it's been a great summer...lots of pina coladas...so I've had my summer sojourn...lol) I go Monday for another fill. I'm sure they won't do more than maybe 2. But the PA seems to be better at getting more out of the band than my surgeon was. So we'll see how it goes. I personally think it will all be okay but if it's not, it probably won't rear its ugly head until there's some real restriction on the band. But I'm am so not discouraged. What being unfilled has done has made me get up off my lazy butt and join the gym and also to get out more often to the pool in my housing development and swim as much as I can. So even with my weight gain, I'm not discouraged. I know that as soon as I start getting restriction the bread will be back out of my diet. sorry to ramble...but I don't fault the band. My surgeon is very very inexperienced when it comes to the band, like under 20 total. My daughter had the Lap-Band, no problems, but her surgeon had done over 4k and had told her that the biggest issue with the bands is port placement and stitch placement for the flap that holds it in place. So worse case scenario, I've been approved in case I need it for the revision. Good luck all. Trisha pennreporter

im at 6 months pregnant and already gained 55 pounds i had 7 cc in my band and had 3 cc taken out at 8 weeks for the babies safety i stress every day about my weight gain because no matter what i eat i gain. i dont plan to breast feed but want to know how long i should wait to have my first fill after the babies born? i was at 150 pounds before getting pregnant and now at 205

Alright ladies I need your help! Guys feel free to chime in too if you like! But seriously I have been consuming around 500-800 calories a day! I gained 4 lbs in a week! How? Do u gain weight before your menstrual cycle? I have done great I'm 7 weeks out! But wth? I am needing some advice & support! I work out 3 times a week! Ughh

OMG, I have Crohn's as well. 80% of my 150 weight gain has been from 11 years of being on and off prednisone, and I'm in my 6 th week sleeve post op and wow, I feel normal. A bm once or maybe every other day vs at a min 7 , my terminal ileum pain has been non existent, no bloating, normalcy. I had no idea thus would be a positive for my Crohn's but so happy it is.

Thank you everyone for your input and support. Today I'm feeling fine about the whole thing. I'm actually feeling more excited than scared. I've lost a considerable amount of weight several times in the past only to gain it back. This time around I'm not having any luck losing weight, and am about 20 lbs. heavier than I've ever been. I keep having to buy new clothes because of the weight gain. I feel trapped in my own body, and don't exactly feel good about myself. I know this is the right thing for me to do, and until I actually have my surgery I imagine that my emotions will be all over the place. I'm so glad that I found this forum, and I'm extremely grateful for everyone's support. Wishing you all well.

I apologize in advance for my long leadup to my question. I had an appointment with my PCP today concerning switching meds for my RLS and told him of my plans to pursue WLS with the LAP-BAND®®® - he was very supportive. I am attending a seminar tomorrow evening. My BMI has been over 35 for most of the past 20 years and I have tried repeatedly to lose weight only to gain it back plus more. My BMI is currently over 40, I have been on medication for HBP for at least 13 years, I have obstructive sleep apnea and have used a CPAP since January of 2006 and am having a test done to see whether the air pressure needs to be increased due to my weight gain and daytime sleepiness. In 2007-2008 I trained hard for and completed 2 sprint triathlons and 2 mini-sprint triathlons but only lost 15 lbs in over a year. I had gallbladder surgery in 2009. I had foot surgery earlier this year because of the repetitive stress of the weight during that triathlon training. I have gained 25 pounds back. I have had expensive (unsuccessful) procedures trying to manage my lower back pain and physical therapy for knee tendonitis and a torn meniscus ligament (which does not need surgery at this time). So my question is: I have Aetna NAP Choice POS II insurance which covers the procedure and am expecting to get the requirements in the email any day. Needless to say, it has been an expensive year, medically speaking. I am less than $300 away from my annual out-pocket-maximum and I really need to have this surgery before December 31st. Is this doable, even with a 3 month supervision requirement? I am 50 years old can't wait to be able to be more active again. I am not afraid of exercise but diet is my weakness and need this help to get to a healthy weight and stay there for the rest of my life!!!!!

"I'm not fat, I'm just big-boned!" "BEEFCAKE!" "I'm so buff I can't fit through the door." I think it was the Weight Gain 4000 episode. OMG.... I cried I was laughing so hard.

I'm at wits end , band done 2012 done really well until 2016 , horrendous pain down port side going into pelvis, after NHS diagnosis tube disconnection and embedded between pelvis and uterus , hospital group wanted more cash and then advised a new band operation , I didn' have enuf money , doc offered full removal but I was scared , weight gain was rapid , 2017 saw surgeon at Nuffield who offered repair costing 3000 but it hasn't worked , constant pain feel tummy is full of hernias I need this out of me and I'm looking for advice , wish I'd had sleeve done now

I'm in no position to give advice because I am currently losing and I'm also a newly sleeve patient. I can tell you that I've spent a good amount of time on this forum and I've learned a few things from the vets: Food logging is vital! I've noticed that the ones who maintain years out are still logging their food. They're able to see what they are doing wrong if there's a gain and catch it quick. Basically they have more control of their weight. I've already accepted the fact that Ill most likely be tracking for many, many, many, years lol. Keeping up with your appointments is just as important. I've read that a lot of maintainers see their surgeon once or twice a year just to check in. What @FluffyChix and @catwoman7 said! I see a lot of maintainers weigh their food still and eat as if they are still losing (protein, veggies, fruit/good carbs in that order) Lots of maintainers weigh themselves on the same day every week. I've also read that some even weigh themselves everyday so that they can control any spikes in weight gain. Maintainers are doing some kind of physical activity every week or more. Once again I am in NO POSITION to give you advice so please don't take it that way. These are just my observations from reading this forum. I'm hoping to observe and learn more so that I can be just as successful as them at keeping the weight off. Obesity is a disease and it should be treated as such, constant thought and action for the rest of our lives.

Most of the time slowly is best. I guess because it was medication that brought on my weight gain and once I had this surgery, it came off to fast. I've gone from a 22-6 in less than a year and I'm even trying to find ways to stop this loss. I'm never hungry, and when I do eat, I'm still under 1oz of food without pain. The drs are looking into what could be causing the pain, but the weight loss is rapid and I'm losing to much muscle. So slow gets it done. And you'll be more healthier for it. Good luck

Thank and please keep us posted on your recovery. ..I'm just barely getting started...and I'm excited for you....did you ever sought about getting the surgery Sent from my SM-G386T1 using the BariatricPal App I actually had second thought many times throughout my 2 wk preop liquid phase. I wondered if I could really do it or not. I pushed through and jumped in with both feet and did it. I can't honestly say that I made the right decision yet as it is too early to tell. Last night I ran a 102.4 temp and have gained 5 lbs in 24 hours. I believe the fever was a result of a virus lurking around instead of it connecting to my surgery. As far as the weight gain, I have no idea....I look 8 months pregnant....and feel it too. I'll post more updates on my experience. We will get through this together! Sent from my SM-N900V using the BariatricPal App

We are doing this thing! Stress is a killer. Literally, it's not just the weight gain there are so many areas of our body that chronic stress and emotional upset affect. My wish for us all in 2014 is that along with making our personal goals, we all take the time to take care of and love ourselves. When we do that, we combat stress. Speaking from personal experience in the face of extreme trauma and stress, taking the time to care for and show yourself some compassion and love is a hard thing to do. In 2014 make time for YOU as well as others. That is my personal goal this year Happy New Year to All.

Brookelany, I hear you! I also had a little weight gain with the cream Soups, but I switched to Gardennay which are very creamy and no cream. Much healthier. I have to say that I have barely cooked for my family. They eat what I can take out of the freezer and go into the microwave then I get out of there pronto! When do you start muchies? I start Thursday and I hear that it is easier. Hang in there, girl!

I remember when I was in Wt. Watchers that they claimed many medications can cause weight gain, including antibiotics. Were you on any for your throat? Make any other changes in medicines? Even Advil taken for more than a few days can cause you to retain water, according to what I was told. Did you cut back on drinking with your sore throat? If so, you may have tricked your body into retaining fluids it already had. Try drinking more water now and it'll flush out the "bad stuff" you've accumulated.....