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I'm new here but I think anyone who has or is going to get the lapband procedure understands the fear and depression dealing with weight gain. You have accomplished so much over the years. You should be proud of yourself. You have a great group of people around you supporting you and praying for you. I will also keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Even though we have never actually chatted - - I can completely understand the day to day struggle with weight and food. You deserve happiness and another chance with the lapband. BMI....SHBMI....this procedure should allow patients another chance if the lapband slips or leaks (which is not in your control). Insurance companies can be so infuriating. Again, you are in my thoughts and prayers. Quinn

I have my second pre-op appointment next week, and will be having surgery on the 22 of June. I guess I should confess my history with being overweight. I tried weight watchers for the first time when I was eight years old, and have been trying every diet known to man since. My mother has gastric bypass a few years ago and is now thin for the first time in her life. My mother and I decide, after a 30 pound weight gain after my first year at college, that I should go ahead and do something that we know works. I am so excited about lap-band, because I am so young (only 19) I was concerned about the side effects of gastric, but this seems like a much better alternative. My only concern with the band is it failing, like all of these other diets I have tried have, but I am trying to have faith.

Alexandra, I can literally feel your anguish and pain with having the weight gain, I've often thought that if I have to have my band removed they might as well do bypass at the same time because I'd gain weight all my weight back like a madwoman in no time at all. I wish you all the best in getting your new band, I pray it will all work out with your insurance company. You helped me out SO MUCH in the past with your encouragement and advice, good luck and my thoughts are with you. Hang in there!

Hello there.. I wouldn't be worried about MRSA in ACS really. If you are paranoid Just mention it a lot!!! Allure...I understand what you are going through. Remember though that this is not like before & you have to learn now how to LIVE with your band and how to incorporate life & your social arena into your journey. It is possible to drink, have cake, don't do the hermit thing and don't be the DD every time there's a night out! Start learning how to live an UNDIET life. You got this band to help you change yourself, dieting alone didn't work. The band is all about portion control and I have found that by being able to portion food correctly I have plenty of room for other things in life I can enjoy without the guilt or the attitude that I'm struggling or that I've spoiled it!! My sister is a regular size and maintains this while being addicted to chocolate, she is also at weddings ALL the time & drinking is a weekly occurance for her. She eats McDonalds on occasion, Indian food , Chinese..basically everything and I always felt she was free to eat whatever without a yoyo effect. BUT i knew that she had some key that I needed to figure out so I began to observe. What I DIDN't observe before was the way she managed this. I only saw her eating or drinking "forbidden" things. That was selective on my part coz I wanted to believe what I suffered (weight gain/yoyo) was unfair when I would eat like her. She sticks to a sensible diet ( WW points system) most of the week saving points etc for the times she would be out. Her portions are MUCH smaller, allowing for a good points saving. If she is going to the cinema, she will save herself for a large popcorn. She doesn't bother with her dinner becuase she'd rather have the popcorn. Now this isn't exactly ideal, but it is the way she NATURALLY has become. She is constantly making allowances for her indulgances. This is what I discovered and this is where I always went wrong. As a serial dieter, I would BAN everything. I would try getting the most food in for my points throughout the day and then when I'd go to the cinema I'd cave in and do the popcorn on top of that "BLOWING IT" hence starting the pattern of an "I've blown it, I can't do this attitude" Instead of anticipating my evening, what I WANT out of it and planning my day around ALLOWING for my wants. This doesn't mean I ALLOW myself everything I fancy, I just am very much aware of what hasn't worked in the past and am aware of my strengths & weaknesses & past mistakes and am now being conciously better prepared for the times when I know if I am too strict I will face a difficulty, a conflict and DIET mode will kick in, leaving room for feelings of deprivation, followed by negative rebellious behaviour. I have also given myself the gift of time & patience. I could and have been known to loose 7lbs in one week on a diet. That entails a week of starving, no bread, no drink, going to bed early & generally being a crank and it's always the longest week EVER. My sister could take up to 7 weeks to loose that same 7lbs, but she will not lock herself away to do it...but she has the same result for less pain & aggravation than I. Because she KNOWS it will come off if she works toward it. She does not have the panic & fear I have. Because I know that seven lbs is threatening my happiness and I will postpone said happiness until it comes off...and I will be miserable not only getting it off but also when it comes off because it was SUCH hard work... This is our problem, we are unrealistic, unyielding, perfectionists and deny ourselves happiness until we feel we are starving our weight off. Let's just try to have happiness now, live our lives and not become our former selves in search of the urgent need to loose weight. You can have your cake & eat it..as long as you count for it. Do not feel guilty anymore...it's OK. I am following WW points system as I go right now, because my holy grail is finding balance this time. It is not about loosing as much weight as I can in as short a time as possible...that didn't work before for me. Sure I dropped an enormous amount of weight & stunned everyone around me but I was miserable all the time, and as soon as I start living again there it was, following me, creeping back on and my heart was breaking a little bit more with every gain because I felt now that I had done the work in one massive effort I should never have to suffer the burden again....WRONG!!! Now I take care to eat, staying within my allowance and being VERY good on days where I have nothing on. If something comes up, like a wedding I know that I have to make room for those calories and I do. then when the wedding day arrives I am free to Celebrate like everyone else but only for that day, or if it's a two day thing so be it. My preparation for getting back on track STRAIGHT AWAY after the celebrations is that I take extra Vitamins, especially B vitamins to give myself the extra energy to get up & not be dragges down by an extended lapse. I enjoy, forgive and get back to work. this is all new to me, but I find it's the only way I can give myself the gift of leaving my past behaviour behind...it truly broke my soul battling my weight for so long. I don't want that anymore, so I have opened my eyes and learned from my past & know my SELF well enough to tailor this band journey to my best advantage. I have lost 26lbs now, I have 5 stone to go, but I feel so good about myself NOW...I am not postponing credit for when it's all off...I am giving myself credit EVERY DAY and walking beside myself NOW this present minute on my journey. I don't LOOK like I have 5 stone to go because I am happy & confident & people notice that as the biggest change of all. I look content NOW...I am relaxed & happy & open. More so than ever, even being a size 12 before I was not as beautiful as I am now because size 12 wasn't good enough and it was a total sacrifice getting there, I was bitter having to work so hard to be something others seemed to maintain so easily. I know now, nothing is easy, but it doesn't have to be hell either. KNOW YOURSELF & work with that. MAKE LIFE WORK FOR YOU...don't spend another minute denying yourself, keeping you happinness locked away in fat prsion!! this is a major ramble but I have to stress to you not to do what you've always done...change your ways, accommodate your self your needs, accept your weaknessess & gather your strengths..Make it all work for you & enjoy your life. Loosing one pound sucks when you're being SO GOOD & denying yourself everything, being too strict & sacrificing, but it's a victory when you give yourself the freedom to LIVE your live how you want, within your boundaries & means realistically, and had a good time while you were at it. I am finally happy to accept one pound!!!

I think Molly nailed it. When I weighed 125 (high school) and when I weighed 225 (or 250!) I never felt like I looked any different. Okay, that's a stretch but at 250 I felt like I looked at 190. At 190 I felt like I looked at 125. Does that make sense? I too took some pictures this time because I know when I get down to my goal weight I will not feel as thin as I will look. I need to learn to not have such a warped body image. I was a cheerleader, I'm 5'5", I weighed 125 and I thought I was a cow. I was self conscious and always covering my "rolls" (which were only created because I wore jeans that I had to be poured into and the rolls were tiny - ridiculous). I really feel my weight gain was to put me physically to the weight I was psychologically. I want to change that so I don't get back up here again. Once I hit Onederland, I never want to see 200 ever again.

Lisa H-- don't mean to be critical but part of the weight gain could be the chew and spit method you are using-- believe it or not alot of the sugar in food can be absorbed in your mouth and into your blood stream, sugar turns to fat when we take in more than our bodies can use. And then also with the extremely low cal preop diet we are on our body tends to grab on to all the calories it can get and not let go-- that is a way our bodies have adapted to prevent starvation when we were cavemen so all the literature I've read says.

NATALIE forgive yourself honey your doing great and when it my time of month i eat all the wrong stuff my skin gets spotty and i blame hormones rather than my increase of chocolate........i bet weight gain not too bad you probably feeling 10lb of guilt...lol BRANDI you sound like life alot of fun at the moment !!!dont worry about knowing how to cope with the attention just go with the flow you will soon know if there is just one you want to be with all the time then concentrate on seeing where that goes ...dont pressure yourself youve taken an amazing journey and this just part of the trip so relax ...enjoy and take control ..it suits you to be confident ..you rock girl ,il be popping in for updates. well im fine now just odd nausea ..not many pains still feel a little gassy but feeling lighter and better...i cant tell though as my son soaked my scales and im praying they dry out and work again .

I'm not taking anyone with me, but I am having surgery on Thurs and not coming home til Sat, so Fri night at the hotel is really the only time I'll be alone. Hopefully I'll meet other people with surgery date around mine when I arrive. What does the incision look like? I'm used to not letting DH see me nekkee very much, since the weight gain anyway.

Good luck Mdrai!!! Laura55...I'm in Ireland too! Are you going with ACS? I'll post more tomorrow..haven't time now.. Hello & goodbye for today!! P.S no weight gain this week!! ( remember I thought I might have gained after the wedding) Yippee...ticker below is officially correct again...it's all downhill from here!!

I told less people than that, I do not think that is silly at all. For me it's not so much about the weight gain or loss, it's about the food policing I'll get, or the constant: "So how much have you lost?" Or if something happens and I need it removed, I don't want anyone to know about that, either. In all other aspects of my life I'm pretty much an open book, but this one I'm keeping shut tight.

Hi BonJosie - I'm new to this site too. I agree about ins co's making people wait for the surgery. I have to do a 6 month weight loss program for them, when all they would have to do is look at my medical records of continual weight gain-weight loss since age 10. But I'll do what it takes to get this done!! Good Luck on your journey!!

You cannot gain more than the weight of the item you eat. A five pound box of chocolates will produce a weight gain of no more than five pounds.

Everything that I've read and been told indicates that any rapid weight gain, as in the Last Supper Syndrome/gaining weight prior to surgery, significantly increases the fat in the liver. Even though the liver is being moved to the side, when it's excessively fatty, it's *easier* to damage. There have been cases of banding surgeries being *cancelled* after the doctor goes inside and sees how fatty the liver is. So even though you've been an OR nurse for 14 yrs, you might not want to second guess the surgeons who are doing this procedure. When they say it's to shrink the liver, I believe it is. If a doctor gives you a pre-op diet, you should follow it. Cindy

Hi Friends, Just wanted to give you a status update. I am almost banded 1 year, June 6th. I had some issues last month and I couldn't hold down solids. I went to the doctor and he said that sometimes the stomach muscles can thicken around the band tightening it. So he took out 1/2 my fill and I promptly gained 4.5 lbs in 2 weeks. I am happy to report that I have now lost that 4.5 plus an additional 2.5. I am happy with my weight loss this year, although I do feel I could have lost more. I am down to 228 from a high of 282. So that puts me at 54 lbs in 11.5 months. I am an average loser. I also rejoined my gym about 3.5 weeks ago and since then I've lost 13 lbs. It is all part of my weight gain I had last month. I am really close to getting into a size 18 now. So that is what has been going on with me.

Hi Everyone, I haven't been here for a while. I was banded in January by Dr Kuri and have only lost 14 lbs. I am 55 years old and will be going for my third fill next week. The doctor I found in Sioux Falls to do my aftercare and fills believes in only very small fills once per month until the sweet spot is found. I was very discouraged for a while, but now I am happy that I have stopped the upward spiral of weight gain and even if it takes several years at least the scale is going in the right direction. I was banded at 216 lbs and am now at 202. I want to get into the 100's so badly!!!

Hi everyone! Well I had to get a complete unfill exactly one week ago today. My band had suddenly clamped down out of the blue and I couldn't swallow liquids. I was terrified of hunger, weight gain, etc., so I decided to start a pretty intense regimine of supplements to offset being unfilled. Let me say that I do not endorse nor sell any supplement, but I do want to tell you all who are unfilled about my experience in the hope maybe it could help you. The first day after my unfill I was starving and I realized pretty quickly that I was going to gain weight. I went to my drug store and this what I picked up: Hoodia Sure Rapid Gels, Accelis, and Mega-T green tea liquid drops. I've been taking the Hoodia in the morning and evening (sometimes I even take an afternoon dose too even though it says to take it only twice a day.) I take the green tea drops in the morning and late afternoon. Then as directed, at bedtime, I take the Accelis (this one says it's "clinically proven" to cause weight loss). Well, I don't know if it's a placebo effect, or what, but my hunger level is much less than what it would be if I were not taking anything. my hunger level is about 20% more than when I am filled, but pre-surgery I would never have been able to stick to band portions as I would have passed out with hunger, and this entire week I have been sticking to band portions completely, with little trouble, and certainly no lightheadedness, dizziness, or irritability. Somehow, I have also managed to drop about 1.5 pounds and prior to this week I had been stuck on the same weight for over a month! so essentially, I'm doing better unfilled than filled!!! Like I said I have no clue if it's just a placebo effect, or what, but I wanted to share my story for those of you who are unfilled. I honestly do believe though that there are effective diet supplements out there and that the drug companies are the ones who start all the hype about nothing working. It seems that there are just too many anecdotal stories out there to discount every single supplement. So now, I'm acutally considering holding off on any fill for even longer (I'm supposed to get 1cc in next week), since I'm doing so well without one! And I loooove being able to eat scrambled eggs and hot dogs again! Anyway, that's my story and I hope no one thinks I am trying to endorse any supplement or anything but I did want to share my experience.

Hey there, here's a link to a whole thread of people in their 20s (and at least one 18 year old). http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/anyone-banded-who-thier-20s-34936/ I was 22 when I got mine, and I'm 25 now, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who sees the pattern starting with the trying to lose weight, gaining more, etc, etc.

Don't forget the first couple of weeks you have a lot scar tissues and the body trying to get itself back to normal may mean that you will not lose as much as you think. I hope that you do lose 15 or more pounds but be too despondent if you have lost a little less. Any weight loss is better than the weight gain cycle we were in pre-op! Good luck and update us on your news after the visit.

We dont state our weight on our licences here anyway. It seems nuts to just keep reissuing the same photo! Regardless of weight gain or loss people change so much over the years. I think I havent aged much, no saggy skin yet etc but when I look at a photo of myself at 28 I want to cry, lol. So fresh faced!

Do what's best for you and don't worry about anyone else. It's so easy for people to voice their opion. But if they are not in your shoes it does'nt matter. So I feel like your make the best decision which is choosing to stop the weight gain before it gets worst. And if your looking for inspriration Look at me I was weighing 462 when I started I'm already down 25lbs since MAy 2 2007. Keep you head up. GOOD LUCK 2 YOU

Steph, glad to know you're doing better. Don't worry about the weight gain, as Pelo said, that'll be off in no time.

OK, I might as well weigh in on this thread as I am waiting for a date. Everything is done except for the nutrition meeting next Monday. They will not set a date until after the nutrition meeting, so I am hoping the date will be at least by early July. Starting at 430 for my welcome to medicare physical April 24. I had lost from about that point to 398 on Atkins in spring of 2006 before spending 9 months working in New Orleans living in a hotel and gained it all back, again. Over the years, I have lost several clones of me on Atkins but no long term net loss. My LB doctor requires a 2 week liver shrinking liquid diet before surgery and they will not give me any information until the nutrition meeting. For you that have done the pre surgery liquid diet, is something like Atkins canned shakes acceptable for that period or even productive? Is beef and chicken broth with Protein powder better? Or should I go with egg drop Soup from the local chinese restaurant with Protein Powder added? Or all of the above? I would like to hear from some of you guys in addition and in advance of a clinical nutritionist. An additional topic or two. My Doctor and his group recommend Crystal Light for a drink with this LB long term regimen. I love CL peach tea but have become a little alarmed about the aspartame. I have read that aspartame works on the brain to increase head hunger. Anyone have any information about this? So many foods available at restaurants and in grocery stores have MSG in them now and I read that the glutemate in MSG causes a brain reaction that also causes weight gain. Nyone have any information on that as well? Jim

I am completely in agreement, I went to France for mine cause my GP kept telling me to count calories. After a weight gain of almost 5 stones in 2 years I think I was way past counting calories. If it was that easy, we would all be thin right?? LOL I paid £3300 in France for the op and the surgeon there told me that I was a prime candidate with a BMI of 46. The NHS board refused to refund the op cause they said that I would not have had it on the NHS if I had been patient enough to go through the year long process of seeing all the specialist pre-op so I am glad I went abroad! Surely it is about time they realised that being obese is as much an illness as being boulimic or all those other thin illnesses around! They are advertised as ill people to be pitied, we are put up as a figure of shame to be ridiculed???!!!!!

I thought someone might find this helpful. It's the approval guidelines for BC/BS Regence. Even if this isn't your ins. co. it's a good guideline. Policy/Criteria 1.Gastric bypass using a Roux-en-Y anastomosis with an alimentary limb of 150 cm or less, or adjustable gastric banding, consisting of an adjustable external band placed around the stomach, may be considered medically necessary in the treatment of morbid obesity when all of the following criteria are met: A.BMI greater than or equal to 40 kg/m2; or BMI greater than or equal to 35 kg/m2 with at least two of the following comorbid conditions which have not responded to medical management and which are generally expected to improve as a result of obesity surgical treatment: 1)Hypertension 2)Dyslipidemia 3)Type 2 diabetes 4)Coronary heart disease 5)Sleep apnea B.Documentation of active participation for at least one year in a structured, medically supervised nonsurgical weight reduction program, meeting all of the following criteria: 1)Medical supervision must be provided by an MD, DO, NP, PA or a registered dietitian under the supervision of an MD, DO, NP, or PA; and 2)Participation must occur during at least 12 consecutive months within the 24 months prior to the request for surgery; and 3)Documentation must confirm structured oversight and active participation, including: a.At least four visits over the course of 12 months, occurring approximately once every three months; and b.Assessment and counseling concerning weight, diet, exercise, and behavior modification; and c.Either weight loss or no further weight gain over the course of 12 months. C.Evaluation by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist documents the absence of significant psychopathology that can limit an individual's understanding of the procedure or ability to comply with medical/surgical recommendations (e.g., active substance abuse, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, uncontrolled depression); and D.Documentation of willingness to comply with preoperative and postoperative treatment plans; and E.Age greater than or equal to 18 years. Surgery for Morbid Obesity

Originally Posted by househuntress Well tonight..I blew it. I ate WAY more than I have ever since getting banded. It was almost like I was just trying to see how much I could eat. Now..let me add this..it's NO WHERE NEAR..what I could eat before the band. It's just about double what I have eaten a day since banded.But I'm still very pissed at myself.I keep trying to listen to myself and say it was just ONE day, just ONE day ..I don't feel so alone now. Last night I ate three chicken tenders, a baked potato and a few bites of salad. Late last night I ate a protein bar. I continue to sip water. So my choices in food are far better than they use to be, and like you the amount of food consumed is nothing like it use to be. I'm feeling really guilty right now. Up five pounds! But I do believe it is PMS weight gain and I didn't take my water pill yesterday..but still!