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

I had Dr. Kurian when my 1st band was placed on oct 2007. I lost weight gained it back due to steriods. I didnt go bAck to her since 2012 . We found out there was a leak in my band so she put xray dye to see if it will stay since its more thick. I went back didnt work. I made another appt with dr. Kurian to talk about surgery n i wAited over 2 hrs n she said can the nurse practioner see u??? I gotta go get my hair done i am already a half hr late n her hair dresser doesnt like when she is late! I couldnt believe it! She ditched me to get her damn hair done!!!! So i ditched her and a dr i worl for referred me to Dr. Bradley Schwack. Boy did i wish he was in NYU before i let kurian touch me! Dr. Schwack just replaced my bAnd on march 1,2013. He told me he replaced my whole band cause nothing looked righg n dr. KuriAn plAced my band low n thAts probably a big reason why when my band wAs full before the leak i still felt hungry. He is great! He listens to u n answers all your questions and he doesnt try to rush u out of the room to see his next patient. I was so nervous when i was there on the operating table crying cause I was so nervous. N he wAs right there with me telling me everything will be alright. Another main reason about Dr. Kurian that i dont like is... My sis in law (my bros wife) had gastric bypass ln nov. 2007 and she passes away in march cuz they found her intestines were twisted. When I called Dr. KuriAn thAt my sis in law passed away i feel like she didnt really care... So that was the biggest reaSon as to why i was so nervous and crying when Dr. Schwack did it cause i was so upset what happened to my sis in law n i didnt wanna be the same. My niece and 2 nephews lost their mom at such a young age its just so terrible to me till this day.

I have always been a little confused by the information regarding coffee from a few posters here, the information in the uk from my surgeon is that coffee is fine. It certainly is regarded as more of a small help to weight loss than a hinderance in the UK. I found a good article including info from the Mayo clinic which i hope will help some of you ............ The idea that drinking coffee can keep you from getting hungry and aid in losing weight is a common one, and it may be true to an extent. As you might expect, there is more to it than that. While there is some evidence to suggest that drinking coffee will ward off hunger, there is also evidence that a weight-loss plan based around excessive coffee drinking could be misguided.Related Searches: Side Effects of Coffee Coffee and Tea Appetite Suppressant Yes, coffee is a natural appetite suppressant to a certain extent, because of its caffeine content. According to the Mayo Clinic, caffeine may reduce your desire to eat for a brief time, but there is not enough evidence to state that long-term consumption will help with weight loss. When hunger strikes, coffee can come to rescue for the moment. Naturalstrongappetitesuppressants.com says that one way to stop hunger, and keep it at bay for three hours, is to eat a handful (no more than 10) of peanuts and chase them with a few sips of coffee. This combination is said to nullify hunger within minutes. However, eating a comparable 30-calorie snack of any kind may stop hunger just as well if you give it a few minutes for the signal to be relayed to your brain. How much longer the caffeine in coffee will stop hunger is the key question, and the results may vary for different people. Coffee and Weight Loss In addition to the beverage's potential ability to control hunger, there are a couple of reasons why coffee may be effective in jumpstarting a weight-loss plan. Caffeine night stimulate thermogenesis, according the Mayo Clinic. Thermogenesis is a way the body produces heat and energy by digesting food and "burning" calories. Coffee also acts as a diuretic, which may cause some people to urinate more frequently and at higher volumes. This process will eliminate Water weight from the body, and could seem to indicate quick weight loss. However, the loss does not indicate a reduction in fat deposits, and metabolic processes can be stressed by functional dehydration. Side Effects Too much coffee or other heavily caffeinated beverages can lead to nervousness, restlessness and insomnia, and while black coffee may be effective for short-term appetite control, specialty coffees with high fat and sugar content are likely cause weight gain. Read more: Does Coffee Suppress Your Appetite? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/way_5404063_coffee-suppress-appetite.html#ixzz1eyqqgonh

HI! SOrry to hear about this incident. The band can definitely be quirky..filled or not. My band can get tighter when I am sick, when I go up in altitude..though the doc and his nurse thinkI am crazy because it is a "closed pressure" system..blah blah..but yeah whatever..I know what I feel!! WHen I got unfilled, I didnt know what to expect really. I had a really bad painful experience the first weekend..felt like air pressure was releasing and it sent me to ER. Turned out to be nothing..could have just been a release of pressure or air between the two parts of my stomach and the band..who knows. It was pretty scary how quick the weight piled on. The dietician just assumed I decided to go out and binge on all the things I could not eat beore like pizza and bread and yummy carbs! NOPE! I actually craved salad because that was always hard to get down. I didn't gorge..I am sure I was able to get in more calories than before...but I was not pigging out. It just piled on no matter what I did. I think our bodies hit a set point and when it can..it will try and get back to where it was before.. It is super easy to pile in calories..even if you are careful. I switched to water only..no calorie drinks other than milk in my Meal Replacement shake in the morning. Even counting calories and eating only what I SHOULD lose on I was gaining. The weight gain has stopped with an additional 45lbs on my body. Most of that was gained in the first few months! Yeah quick!! Right now I am bouncing up and down between a few lbs. That would be GREAT if I just wanted to maintain where I was! The worse part for me during the unfill period was having a normal person appetite again. The hunger pangs..I missed my loss of appetite from the band being filled. As I got refilled that finally has gotten back down to where I can forget about food for quite awhile. I am considering doing a pure liquid diet like HMR to control the calories I am taking in and get this weight off. It is not as easy as 48 as it was in my 30's when I was first banded. I would suggest REALLY watching your calories. Eliminate ALL caloric drinks and go to water only. No diet drinks either. I never liked fake sugars anyway..but stay as "pure" as you can without adding chemical crap to your body. Go to my fitness pal and enter your daily calories. Don't go off your maintenance weight calories..go off of calories for your body that you would need to LOSE on. If you see the scale going up rapidly, cut down further! It can be tempting to eat stuff that may have been hard while filled properly but don't tempt fate!!! So not worth it! I don't even want to think about how many hundreds of dollars I have spent on having to quickly replace an entire wardrobe in a few short months including expensive motorcycle gear! Sigh.. Best of luck with the band..praying for you that it is not anything serious and you can get refilled! Hang in there!!

Jaime “Pandora” Williams has not had anything handed to her. She has worked hard for everything she has, including every pound of her 250-lb weight loss. From weight loss surgery and overcoming food addiction to figuring out how to deal with her father’s death to paying for training for a new career, Pandora has kept moving forward and earned her spot as one of our weight loss surgery heroes. Jaime “Pandora” Williams has not had anything handed to her. She has worked hard for everything she has, including every pound of her 250-lb weight loss. From weight loss surgery and overcoming food addiction to figuring out how to deal with her father’s death to paying for training for a new career, Pandora has kept moving forward and earned her spot as one of our weight loss surgery heroes. Throughout it all, she has kept her determination to help others. She has shared every step of her journey on her Desperately Seeking Slender blog, and has made a career as a weight loss and wellness coach. Find out how Pandora Williams, who was “Desperately Seeking Slender,” turned her life around and is helping others do the same! Struggling with Weight from Childhood to Early Adulthood Pandora comes from a family that did not eat healthy. They ate fast food often, and home cooked meals were likely to be tacos, pot roast and potatoes, and other high-calorie foods. She remembers father loving his sweets, and her mother struggled with weight gain and obesity after quitting smoking. With a diet of cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets, not surprisingly, Pandora had been overweight since childhood. She hit the 400-lb. mark 4 years after graduating high school, and also had chronic depression, diabetes, and sleep apnea. Atkins and intense exercise helped her get down to 225 lbs. before getting married, but the weight came back after marriage. Weight Loss Surgery and a New Lifestyle Pandora wanted weight loss surgery, but put it off for a few years because she couldn’t afford it. She got serious when her health insurance began to cover it, and got the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in 2010. She chronicled her entire weight loss journey on her blog. She lost 100 pounds by December of 2010, 200 pounds six months later in June of 2011, and entered “Onederland” (under 200 pounds) in October of 2011. Now, she maintains a weight of 165 lb. – quite a difference from her highest BMI of 69.9! Needless to say, she threw away the old habits of eating a half-gallon of ice cream or a dozen tacos. She worked hard to overcome her food addiction. Portion control and measuring were new behaviors she had to follow. Now, five years post-op, she is able to get away without writing down every bite when things are going right. Still, she keeps herself on track by food journaling and calorie counting the second she is unsure of herself, whether because of a jump on the scale or a high-sodium day. Pandora follows a carb cycling plan where she eats higher and lower amounts of carbs on alternating days. She’s an exercise addict, and that also helps her keep her weight in check. Body Image and Reconstructive Surgery Despite maintaining a healthy weight and feeling more confident in overcoming her food addiction, Pandora says her body image is a bit of a struggle. She has had 6 rounds of reconstructive surgery, and still has trouble accepting the mistakes she made in the past with her body and health. A Life-Changing Letter to Chris Powell! By August of 2012, Pandora’s weight was well under control, but she was not satisfied with that. She wanted to help others do the same. She knew she had the “the passion, desire to help, and love” for people who were struggling with their weight, because she knew exactly what they were struggling with. What she needed was help figuring out how to help them, and she just couldn’t get in touch with someone who could guide her. Then, in August of 2012, Pandora wrote a letter to Chris Powell, the celebrity trainer on “Extreme Makeover.” After some persistence, she managed to get her letter to him, and she received a reply! He posted an encouraging message on Facebook, and that was enough to keep her motivated. Since then, she has had a couple more interactions with him on social media – including an encouraging message when she was feeling down – and was able to meet him in Hollywood at the Extreme Makeover Finale. She considers him and his wife Heidi an inspiration. A Day in the Life Between taking care of herself and helping others be the best they can be, Pandora is very busy! Here is a typical day in her life. 8:00 a.m. Wake up, food prep, get ready for work. Coffee, coffee, coffee! 9:30 a.m. Arrive at the gym. May do a 4 to 5-mile run or take a group exercise class like yoga before work. 10:30 a.m. Breakfast: Quest protein bar. 11:00 a.m. Start work - working the front desk and doing either one-on-one training or weight loss/wellness coaching sessions. 12:30 p.m. Lunch: Veggies (cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots): about five of each and either some low-sodium turkey breast with low-fat Swiss cheese or some hard-boiled egg whites filled with chicken salad made with a Greek yogurt base and green onions. 2:30 p.m. Snack: Usually a container of Greek yogurt or some homemade steel cut oats from home. 3:00 p.m. Leads a weight loss boot camp group training session with light weights and cardio – usually works out with the group. 5:00 p.m. Snack: Usually a piece of fruit like an apple or an orange, or a banana on higher-mileage days. 7:00 p.m. Leads a weight loss boot camp group training session with light weights and cardio – usually works out with the group. 8:30 p.m. Finishes running for the day if she didn’t get in an early morning run or get more than 5 miles already that day. 10:00 p.m. Home/Shower/Dinner: usually a lean protein like baked chicken or turkey and steamed veggies. Uses spices and changes the vegetables a lot for variety. Includes a serving of brown rice, couscous, quinoa or whole wheat pasta on days she eats carbs. 11:00 p.m. Snack: Usually Greek yogurt, no sugar added ice cream sandwich, a frozen protein bar, or an extra-thick protein shake. 12:00 a.m. Bedtime Pandora tries to run longer distances after work if she doesn’t get to work out during her weight loss boot camp classes. Her days off on Sundays and some Thursdays may include an extra kickboxing class, a spin class, or a run over 10 miles. New Lifestyle, New Career, and Paying It Forward. As a morbidly obese high school graduate, Pandora had been limited in her career options. She made a living working from home at jobs such as customer support and data entry. Since losing weight and getting healthy, she has thrown herself into something she is passionate about – helping others get and stay healthy through lifestyle. Now, Pandora works as a weight loss and wellness coach at a ladies-only fitness facility gym, and has earned multiple certifications in the fitness and coaching industry. She also pays it forward as a weight loss surgery advocate. She has spoken at the Obesity Action Coalition and Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America (WLSFA), as well as at other bariatric support clinics and groups. She publishes articles regularly, including here on BariatricPal! You can follow Pandora on Desperately Seeking Slender and on Facebook and Twitter @SeekingSlender.

I had my band in 3 years ago, was doing fine with gradual fills then i got pregnant with twins. My band doc gave me a partial unfill. I later miscarried one baby and the band doc decided i needed a complete unfill to regain my health to make it through a high risk pregnancy. I gained 15lbs and lost them within 6 weeks post delivery. I shouldve gone in for a fill then, but i didnt because i got bells palsy and became more preoccupied with my paralysis than my weight loss. With the strong steroid medications i had to take for that it was hard and i was getting the bloated side effects of steroids but i managed to maintain my weight loss and didnt gain but i was feeling defeated for not having made any progress for almost two years. I recently kicked that fear out, got my fills back in and am losing again. Point is, I empathize with how an unfill can lead to a phase of frustrations and defeated feelings, especially when theres a lack of support from a medical team that understands your unique situation and needs. IMO after having an unfill its such an important phase to stay connected to a support system to stay in a positive mindset. Like so many here have said, unfills can sometimes be vital to a healthy progress, and dont necessarily result in weight gain. I wish you all the best with your next procedure, good luck :-)

going on day 20of forced bedrest. they are pretty certwin i wont die now though. the drugs cause weight gain. i cant believe i did this to my body. my son nearly lost hia mommy all for vanity. i feel a colosul fool surgery 23rd

God Morning Everyone, I just want to say thanks for being here. I have learned alot from you regarding fills and experiences from having too much of a fill, not enough of a fill and how you combat the inbetweens. With this last fill, I am more restriced. I seem to eat the same amount as before, but I'm staying full longer. And drinking of the water/liquids is really working this time. So well, that I don't get in all my water for the day. And the sweet cravings are not much. I'm still having trouble eating carbs. I don't think any amount of restricion will help that. I'm just carb sensitive. Weight lose is constant when I don't include them in my meals. Yet, when I do, I can tell. But the body needs the carbs. I just have to understand and accept the weight gain and adjust my thinking and meals according. That's the new weight lose issue I now have to deal with. Exercising is constant. Getting in 2x a week still trying for 3x. That'll come with time. I'm not worried about that part. My other issue also is loose skin. It's beginning to show and it's not so pretty. Although I've seen how it looks from photos and tv programs of others, when it's your skin your looking at it's different. And not so pretty. Exercising can only do so much for weight lose of a lot of weight. With about 60+ lbs more to lose, it's going to look horrible. And the thought of another surgery, I don't know. Then again I can avoid all mirrors and don't look down. I LOVE MY BAND. I'm glad I opt for this and not the others. Controlling my destiny for my weight is just another lesson I'm learning. This is trully a tool to use and master. When I master this, the next time to deal with will be retirement. :eek: I want this behind me when that time comes. That will be within the next two years. Maybe. Well, thanks for reading all this. Looking to read great success from everyone.

Hi all! I have been been banded now just over 12 years and lost 130lbs and last 5-6 years have been at the same weight..pretty much at what I would call a "goal" weight..not what BMI charts say. My last fill was at least 5 years ago..don't even remember. The last fills were not done under flouro as I did not go back to my surgeon in Tijuana. Found a "local" dr willing to fill me..but he does "blind" fills..so we never saw my restriction level. The last fills I felt like I finally had restriction enough to get off the last 40 or so lbs I needed to still lose. I was never a really compliant bandster, so it took me awhile to get the weight off. I have been happy at the same size for years. I learned to live with the quirks of the band..I was careful about eating foods that I know would get me stuck. I probably compensated for too tight of a band by drinking liquids alot. I did PB daily, but thought this was just because I was not careful enough. I avoided eating or drinking too close to bed so I would not reflux up..though sometimes still did. This all was just the way it was for a bandster. I was happy to be keeping this weight off. I only even went up and down by 5-7 lbs but knew what I was doing to gain and stopped. So..here is where I am now. Since my band had not really been checked by flouro since my last fill in Mexico at least 7-8 years ago, I figured I should at least have a look at it to make sure all was okay. Figured it was since band seemed to be doing its job. I figured a slip or erosion would make it self know. I didn't need a fill..so just plugged along. I finally made appt with Kaiser here in Nor Cal to just do a routine Flouro this past August. The flouro showed that the barium would barely drain down. They had me practically dance around the room to try and move it down..nope. What this restriction caused was for me to pack my esophagus and it was double its size. The band was perfectly in tact, upper pouch was there..but now my esophagus was dilated. The bariatric surgeon saw the results and told me to get an appt to get an unfill. So a week later, the doctor drained my band. I have a 4cc band and had 2cc in it. For at least a week, I had horrible pain off an on..lots of air and gas..that subsided and the weight started piling on. I was unfilled Sept 19th and as of today, December 17th, I am up by 40lbs! Doesn't matter what I eat or don't eat for that matter, how much I work out at the gym..the weight just piled on. Most of that was right away..at least 1/2 but I continue to go up. This has been an expensive lesson as I have had to buy new work clothes, casual clothes. All my clothes have been size 8 and 10 for years. I quickly went through 10s to 12s and now to 14s. I ache in joints I haven't ached in for years. Dramatically gaining 40lbs in 3 months has been difficult. What I miss the most is the lack of hunger..not necessarily the restriction. This is what I fear the most..that I won't get to that "green zone" where I don't have an appetite. I always told people to not wait on me to be hungry because they would starve. I could go most of the day and not care about food. I want that back!! I worry that getting to that spot again won't happen. So I had a follow up flouro done a month ago and my esophagus had improved enough where my doctor is willing to start refills. He wanted to give it another month at that point, so I am scheduled for a first refill in two days. I have no idea how much we will start with. I am sure he will increment me back up again. I know we won't be going back to a total of 2cc's again since that was obviously too tight...but all I want is that hunger to go away! Has anyone else had to go through this and get back to where they were. I just need to stop this weight gain. I am trying so hard to stop it and nothing works. I watch calories, I am excercizing..even on weeks where i had walked thousands of steps around the city for a conference and ate very well as far as calories and food types, drank tons of Water and managed to pack on 5lbs that week anyway!! I should have at minimum maintained if not dropped a 1lb! I really do think our bodies are thrown into some long term low calorie survival mode when banded and restricted properly. If the vagus nerve controls our appetite and is effected by band restriction against it..perhaps not feeling like you are starving helps us survive on less calorie intake. When that pressure against the nerve is reduced due to unfill, your body is sending signals to get back to where you can store it up again for possible times of "starvation" again..who knows..everyone has a theory..SOMETHING happens. This is not normal to gain this much weight in short amount of time when your calorie intake is at a level where any normal person would at least maintain or lose the avg 1-2lbs per week. I could eat celery sticks or a box of chocolates and still gain weight right now!! I am tired of people telling me I just need to reduce my calories and get in some excercise! I AM I AM I AM!! Doesn't matter!! I am sure I have ONLY gained 40lbs because I have been trying hard not to. If I decided to just fully let loose every day, I am sure 100lbs would have already been packed on! OKay...enough of my rant...I am praying that in 2 days,I get a starter fill that will get me back to wherever it was to help me keep the weight off so I can now get off this excess 40lbs. I am sure it will take work, but right now I feel like I am swimming against a riptide with a wide open band. Maintaining on extremely low calories is impossible right now, never mind weight loss..Uggh!! If anyone else has gone through similar with unfills to refills, would love to hear how it went!!

Hey all! As I write the title, I realize it's a bit cringe-worthy! Someone that has already gone through so much bodily trauma, is going to another country for elective WLS outside the safe medical guidelines placed in the States. Sounds crazy, right? Maybe this will help me connect with some people that have gone through the same experiences or maybe my story will help other ladies out there struggling with their weight after early on-set menopause. Let's hope! A brief summary of my cancer story. When I was 32 (only 11 months after my previous pap) I found out I had a 7cm tumor growing in my girly bits and ended up going through 32 radiation treatments, 7 rounds of chemo, 2 cesium implants and lastly total hysterectomy. Before cancer, my weight was 170 (BTW, I'm 5'4"), post-cancer weight I was down to 140. After recovering from my surgery, I embraced the weightloss and started exercising like a boss! But menopause hit me like a brick! I started gaining weight no matter how hard I tried. It was so disheartening and I'll admit, after trying so hard for 2 years or so. I gave up the gym. My current weight is 215lbs. I'm in the service industry in nyc and spend 9 hours a day on my feet. With this weight gain, I'm literally limping home, my feet and ankles swelling out of my shoes. My knees and back aching. Ive developed awful insomnia and need both otc and natural sleep aids to get to sleep and when I do sleep, I snore....like really loud. Most recently, I developed acid Reflux disease which my doc associated with my obesity. I've changed my diet around and it's helped with that a lot. After much research, I've decided to take the leap towards the Gastric Sleeve to help me regain my health both physically and mentally. I've only been overweight in my 30s. I was normal weight most of my life. So, i feel the weight gain has been harder for me to embrace mentally than the change I will experience post-surgery. My insurance will not cover bariatric surgery, so I've chosen dr. sergio verboonen and will be going to Cancun in January. Has anyone out there gone through bariatric surgery after cancer and how have you fared? I'm so curious and would love to share stories. Also, I'm interested in joining a support group in nyc. Any New Yorkers out there? Sent from my SM-N920T using the BariatricPal App

My doc told me they have had a couple denials based upon weight gain lately which makes me nervous. I'm on month 5 and I've gained 10 pounds [emoji51]

@@betterme38 What coverage do you have through UMR? I have UMR UHC Choice Plus. Monday is my 6th appointment for my 6-month Medically Supervised Diet. I think I may have gained weight from my first appt - which makes me nervous. Though! They did tell me there was no consequence for weight gain. So fingers crossed! I'm interested to see how long it takes for me to hear something back after I turn in the paperwork on Monday.

Hey fellow MA bandsters -- I haven't been down to this end of LBT in a while b/c there's usually no posts! Boy was I surprised to see all I've been missing! Welcome to the site all you newbies! I, too was banded at BIDMC. My doc was Schneider. I live in Medway -- (close to you Sherry!) which is just inside of 495 a little SW of Boston. I love my band and hope you all do too. If there's any questions I can answer, feel free to PM me or post here...........As far as protein shakes go, I like the Designer protein b/c it has 28 g of protein and I want to get the maximum bang per ounce since post surgery it's like every little drop counts...........It was interesting in the end, I ended up with strawberry and vanilla flavors and never found a chocolate one I liked -- totally not like me! Off to meet the school bus -- I too have twins (and two singletons). I guess my weight gain could pretty much be summed up (sort of) right there -- 4 kids in 5 years...........20lbs, 20lbs, 20lbs...........great checkin in with you guys!

Het Tellymell I am down 3 pounds also because I lost my water weight gain Just wanted to give you an update Vickie

Alex, I have always had an ALL-OR-NOTHING mentality throughout my life..... only where weight loss, dieting, and exercise was concerned. Thus, I had never been able to MAINTAIN a weight loss. As soon as I would lose, and hit my first plateau, I would start to gain. But, my decision to give up daily and weekly weigh-ins has changed me. I don't see the stalls or plateaus as much, so I don't throw in the towel, so to speak. It was very liberating for ME. Plateaus in the past, would put me over the edge, and in the end, always resulted in weight GAIN, because I couldn't handle them. Enjoyed your article. It made me realize again that the road to weight loss and getting fit is NOT a straight path, but a road with twists, turns, and even plateaus along the way!

Having weight gain during pregnancy is desirable. Back in the 1970's when we had our children, we went the natural childbirth route. Generally a weight gain of 35 pounds at full term was a minimum to reduce the probability of having a child with a physical birth defect or mental retardation. My wife was small. She weighted less than 100 pounds when she got pregnant and gained 52.5 pounds at full term. She lost all the weight after pregnancy. The weight gain should be on healthy foods such as Protein and fruits, not potato chips and candy bars. Otherwise it can lead to blood toxemia in the latter stages of pregnancy. But having gone through gastric bypass surgery, I think you know the difference. Our children turned out great. Good luck on your pregnancy and birth. Enjoy the little ones.

My first bariatric surgeon looked about 14 months pregnant. My first consultation was in November and he was OK. My second was in December and he warned me about holiday weight gain. (DUH!!) My third was in January and I was appalled that he went from 14 months pregnant to about 19 months. I, in turn, had lost 2 pounds. He had the AUDACITY to tell me that I clearly ate crap all holiday. I told him he clearly ate an elephant. It was our last appointment.

Darcy its good to see you, I was getting worried. Be gentle on your back okay......Hey chicken little, I know your struggling with your eating lately but hang in there, some times we just go through these awful slumps that last longer than we want but you'll make it threw. Hey I was thinking... could your depression be part of the eating culprit? I know for me 90% of my eating and weight gain is b/c of depression. I can do good during some of the summer... like a high but then poof.... the rest of the year I get depressed enough to start shoveling chit into my face and not really knowing why the hell I'm doing it. Also food is my drug of choice... no matter how I'm feeling, I run to food and don't know how not to :Banane27: Cindy I don't know if there's such a thing as reverse SAD, I mean I don't see why not. Depression affects people in so many different ways. I bet your dd is having a blast co-babysitting. I know my dd would love it ! Well its time for me to put on my PJ's I've had enuf sun today and Im pleasantly pooped lol. Y'all have a wonderful evening... I wish we could all sit together on a beautiful evening like this and share some coffee or tea and chat. Hugs and Kisses !!!

Thanks for the update Gail!! I hope things get better for you and you can get another fill and get back on track.:laugh: We have the same dr. and i'm petrafied of weight gain. I have a pre op appt on Monday and I'm sure he will give me the rules & regs on being in this program. Best of luck & keep checking in!!

I’m 2 1/2 years out from Bypass. Highest 227, lowest 138 and I settled at 142-144. I just had a recent weight gain for the first time and saw 153. Went back to surgeon, scheduled a nutrition appointment and trying phentremine for the first time. Back at 151 and this is part of expected maintenance. I can eat/drink just about everything except for bread, only in small amounts. Working on bringing some numbers back down and I know I have all the tools to do it.

I apreciate you not WANTing to sound like a cold heartless a$$, but you are only reading what you want to read. Does nobody actually read an entire post? I have said many things in my posts but I don't recall talking about wanting to EAT. I said and I quote "I am looking for options on removal, but in no way am I looking for imeadiate removal. " and the reason: "One less thing to cope with and one less thing to learn to function through one less kind of pain." Which means I AM IN PHYSICAL PAIN from the band, the gas is one thing, but everytime I eat I IF I get solids I have to take TINY bites and chew VERY slowly, more so than what the doctors have explained over and over to me. THEY (meaning the doctors) unfilled me because of this... it has helped but not entirely. Nausea and shoulder pain are STILL a daily thing for me ON TOP of everything else. This has been going on Since the first day I was banded. NO WHERE DID I SAY I WANTED THE BAND OFF TO EAT!!!! Where do you get this??? I know I haven't been as successful as the rest of you but why do you think I would get it off just to EAT!!!???? I lost 35lbs my first month...I went from 292lbs - 257lb...yay me...everybody dies then unfortunatly I began drinking alchohl and fruit juice...whole milk....ice cream...mashed potatos...because A.) those were the foods I could keep down and, B.) Yes they were comfort foods. I gained back up to 278lbs and I stopped all the foolishness once I realized what I was doing...I switched to healthier semi-solid foods...I am back down to 270lbs( have since been mantaining that weight), however the weight gain I am most disapointed about was the gain of FAT and Loss of Muscle that is what really worried me... lifting weights had to stop because of port pain. stretching my arms over my head or twisting, crunches all resulted in feeling like my port was being ripped from my muscle. Curves hurts but if I start to over tax myself (unlike other gyms) no one puts me down or looks at me in disgust for taking it easy til the pain gets to an easier point and I can begin again. BUT I KEEP GOING! I have also said that I have been working to correct what I've been doing...instead of a milk and Ice cream I'm now just sipping slimfast. I can keep that down. THAT is also a baby step in the right direction is it not?? I know how big I am I know I could gain more weight with band removal...thats why I am just taking in OPTIONS. Being on the band isn't the easy way to lose weight...so why would you attack me for wanting the option of removal which is Obviously a harder way??? Instead of trying to talk me into keeping the band users attack me and call me stupid and lazy and to top it off you think I want if off for the sole pleasure of EATING? I could have kept eating the ice cream and mashed potoatos and shakes if all I really wanted was to eat because those were my comfort foods before the band anyway. But I haven't...I am 22lbs down STILL from my heaviest. What are banders who are happy with their bands doing on a thread for people who aren't happy anyway? Do you get a sick kick out of making people who probly already feel like failures feel THAT musch worse about themselves?? Do you feel better? You said come here to vent and scream and whine...I thought thats what I was doing...but as of yet you and the others have not allowed me to do so without feeling like a complete A$$. Like you said, this is MY LIFE and MY experiance how could you take what I said so personally when I've been spending all my time defending your attacks? Better question; why would I want to be a part of such a judgemental community? I thougt I was in a forum where I could complain and discuss removal without judgement. I am grateful for those who have given me the little kind support I have recieved. I'm hurt and disapointed in those of you who think I'm looking for an easy way out...by now there is no such thing as the easy way, I am damned if I remove (no tool to help in my weightloss) and damned if I leave it in (constant physical pain)

No, it doesn't have to happen. It happened to me though, and it was hard to take it off. You have to be vigilent, and not snack or think you can make a whole lot of changes in maintenance. The farther you are post op, the harder it is to take off weight gained back. Whatever you're doing now, tracking your food, counting your calories, etc, it's pretty much a life long plan. If you keep losing and you don't want to lose, you can add in a healthy snack, like avacodos, nuts, etc. You'll find your calorie range.

I am 9 wks pregnant and 41. I was sleeved 9/10/15. My tubes have been tied 12 years now I got pregnant 7 years ago and carried her to 29 wks and delivered her( stillborn) they tested my tubes said there wasn't a pin hole leak. I have lost 112 pounds and freaking out about weight gain and something happening with the baby Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

The most common side effect of trazodone is weight gain. I’d avoid that one!

I am almost 3.5 years post op and still could not eat as much as your cousin ate. I actually feel a little sorry for him as he is on the fast track to weight gain and obviously did not take this surgery as seriously as it needs to be taken. This surgery is a chance to make changes and start over again. I am far from perfect, so I would never claim to be. I do, however, still follow a lot of a general "rules". I never counted or tracked, but I cut back on "bad" carbs and still do not eat/rarely eat rice/pasta/bread. I rarely drink with my meals. I never drank pop much before, and I now rarely drink it because it still hurts my stomach. I eat Protein and veggies first. I do eat treats sometimes, and I have and probably always will mess up here and there and over do it. But what has made it easy is it is always fairly easy to get back on the right track. I think it is not so following a strict set of "rules", but making it a lifestyle change. So many have said it, so I will only echo that it is a tool to work with. The sleeve will not do everything for you.