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Why did you/Doctor feel the need to remove saline from the band? Were you too tight? having symptoms? Most often taking saline out is done to resolve problems. I'm curious why he felt that was the "right amount" . I've has saline removed due to reflux on occasion but usually.5 cc. waited about a month then went back for a refill. I don't know your age but when going through a menstrual cycle some women have complained about "Water weight gain" which is possible our body retains water in the cells constantly, due to different reasons, salt intake etc,and the body is 60% water in general. Call your new doctor ask them to come back in, but some saline back in and I think you'll be surprised at how quickly that 10 lbs will go away. Good luck

I actually had an appointment with my therapist today, (thanks to everyone for encouraging me to get in with her sooner rather than later) and after a lot of talking and processing, I went no contact with my sister and 2 other acquaintances for my own mental health. I know I’m going to need every ounce of it in the next 6 months. It sucks, but this is for ME!! I have suffered from chronic Panic disorder since I was in a severe wreck, so when I feel like I’m being insulting, or mean, or anything like that I start to freak out, so I just try to avoid confrontation even if it’s something that hurts me (talk about unhealthy). But that’s something I’m working on. I’m learning quickly the thinner I physically get, the thicker my skin needs to be. My weight has never been a joke per se, but the people in my life have told me my wreck (and 7 major reconstructive surgeries), my hypertension, and the medicine I’m on (serious serious weight gain implications) (125 lbs in 18 months, eating cucumbers and balsamic for almost every meal) isn’t an excuse to have gained this weight nor a reason to have surgery to rid myself of it. So to them it’s just always been invalid. My therapist also mentioned that the reason I’m getting so many negative reactions, comments, and people walking away after telling me I’m an idiot, ignorant, going to be a failure, and am “ruining my life for one year max of looking good” is because almost everyone in my life is either obese or morbidly obese. And to them it’s seen as “not fair” and “the easy way out.” This board has provided more support to me in 13 days than anyone in my entire life. I’m so grateful to have found it and to be a part of this community. Thank you for taking the time to respond and provide me with some more insight and encouragement that I can do this! I know I seem like a wuss complaining and seeking advice and encouragement, and so many people do and have done this “alone.” Thanks again, I appreciate you. I’m gonna start practicing the BCABD way of life and tell people sayonara! I really hope I’m not being a burden on anyone. I know I’m long winded. I’m sorry!

thankyou for all your well wishes people, ohh and due date is 6 July!! It seems that all the books i have read say that most sickness starts to clear up around 12 weeks soooo now at 13 weeks, i only get the odd sick feeling so i can conclude that the sickness was just one of those pregnancy deals that happens with or without WLS. YAYYYYY I have been having trouble exercising.... (and have stopped same as last pregnancy tho... another 12 week symptom, being tired) as i feel theres just not enough energy to go around but have still dropped 10kg since actually falling pregnant so happy days are still here. Hi Marci My baby is 14 months old I and thank god i had this surgury beforehand. there is NO WAY UNDER THE SUN i could keep up with my baby, and feeling all the general associated pregnancy hick ups at the weight i was before!! there is no way i could be keeping up with baby. I am hoping that by the end of this pregnancy i am still way more mobile than i was with the first, as i was able to sit and lounge around and relax at will. this time i dont have that luxury. i have dropped 100 odd pounds since my highest weight and think i am better equiped to not only keep up with my daughter but also avoid some of the joint pain i suffered last time around!! (fingers crossed and time will tell) I think the hardest thing for me so far is going to such extreme to lose weight and just getting my head around getting smaller, enjoying losing weight and considering the concept of maybe buying some smaller clothes to now having to wait/ put on hold that dream. my boobies are already getting bigger and filling out and my 'new' belly shape is also changing. At first i was totally devistated that i was going to be getting fat again, but now i just think hey...what the hell, im gonna lose weight, therefore not get anymore stretch marks. ha!!! lose weight gain baby at same time. ***laughs*** sounds greatttttt in theory... hey deedee I hope everything sorts itself out for you!!! wow! any plans in near future now that you are almost at your goal?? I also wonder about this baby and its size at birth.... it was an unanswered question that was going around my head. my girl was born 9Lbs 14oz so it will be interesting to find out on the day if my habbits have had any impact on birth weight. dont they say that babies get heavier with each pregnancy?? (that maybe for mythbusters) ohhh well the experiment beakers are out and time will tell!! lol cheers till soon Ange

Will a pouch reset help after 2yrs rny and gaining back 20lbs? Sent from my LM-T600 using BariatricPal mobile app

To be honest, I feel that the US should allow the sleeve surgery at lower weights than 40 BMI. I struggled with weight gain for so long until I was over 40 BMI and finally qualified plus another 6 months of pre-op weight program. My doctor feels the surgery is the best treatment for obesity and it is sad that the BMI has to be so high as I now have several friends stating they wish they could have surgery and yet they are a few points lower in BMI. Hopefully in this case the doctor will make the best decision for the patient, however I do think that 40 BMI is too high as the threshold. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I've known a few people who had insurance cover their conversion to sleeve or GB after losing their band because the band failed. I think it really depends on the insurance company though, best thing is to call. I've heard the similar line about a former bandster destined to gain all their weight back. I would think that's likely but not because of the WLS. Isn't the statistic for anyone who has lost weight gaining it back pretty high, something like over 50% or higher? I guess my point is make the best decision for you but don't let someone tell you that you have to have another WLS. The decision should be based on your needs. Did you lose your weight and now you just have to maintain? What's different now than before your WLS surgery? Have you learned how to eat intuitively? Exercise regularly now? Write everything down that you eat? If you've developed all of the good habits that people who "lose weight and keep it off" do, maybe you don't need another WLS. I'm in the same boat. I'm having my band removed on 1/23 because of erosion and the surgeon has said that I'll have to wait anywhere from 2-6 months before I can even consider another surgery and I don't even know what my insurance would cover. I'm only 30 pounds over my goal though and he is encouraging my to try it without and see what I can do. He makes a good point that the band was a tool that helped me lose the weight but it didn't lose the weight, I did by eating my Protein, drinking my Water and exercising. I've learned the good habits over the last 5 years, maybe I can just keep doing that. I don't know the answer but I wish you all of the best as you make the best decision for yourself. Take care, Anita

Wow, Jean, I read your post from yesterday and then today's and wow! You've had quite the experience. I have "Bandwagon" and count it as one of my best resources for the band. I've loaned it to a few people who are considering the band based on my weight loss success. I've recommended it to others who have the band and have struggled. Thank you for your honesty. You're right, 5 months out may be too soon to say whether you love the sleeve or not. I love my band too and I haven't quite reconciled that I'm going to lose it. Knowing that I have to wait for a period of time before I can do anything else has motivated me to do what I can to prevent unnecessary weight gain. I've already gained 30 pounds over this last year so I can't let this go. I'm worried BUT proactive.

Reconsider the iud! There are 3 on the market now. Skyla-for women who have not had children yet-it contains hormones and is smaller mirana -the big sister to Skyla and Paraguard which contains copper and no hormones. I didn't have weight gain using the nuvering. I did have issues with the arm implant gaining weight. So in september I will go back on the pill when it's removed. Non hormone methods-diaphram or cervical cap. Hopefully in a couple years I can just get my tubes tied and be done. Sent from my SM-N900V using the BariatricPal App

So prior to my surgery on 4/20 my boyfriend and I didn't use birth control. Because of my weight, it would have been difficult for us to get pregnant. We don't really want to, but we were of the mindset that if it happens it happens. Post surgery, if it happens its a big deal and a bad thing for the first year. My gyno suggested iud, but I've heard too many horror stories from close friends and everyone seems to know someone who's had issues with it. I know there are plenty that don't, however the risk doesn't seem to outweigh the reward for me. I'm also not really into the idea of having to go in and have a procedure should we change our minds and want kids. So my gyno wasn't into giving me a pill because she did a little research and found it could be less effective if you have gastric sleeve surgery. My surgeon said no, it's fine and my gyno agreed to prescribe it for me. After picking up my pills I started to be concerned with weight gain which I know is a very common side effect of the pill. I read up on the pill I was prescribed and found all kinds of women posting that it made them gain weight and now I'm terrified. We really don't want to go back to condoms, but we really also don't want to yet pregnant! It's become a real problem and a huge stressor for me! Help friends! What's your advice other than just get the iud. I'm not willing to do it even if you dont have issues with it. Sent from my SM-G900T using the BariatricPal App

That's not too bad for two weeks. I am a carb addict. I laughed when my doc asked me if a contributing factor to my weight gain was sweets. (This fat chick doesn't like cake! Haha) I am a bread and rice girl all the way. I'm thankful he's letting me enjoy them until the morning of the 29th. But oddly have no problem giving it up for good after. He said it's best that I try my best never to allow any carbs back into my diet after surgery other than occasional potatoes or cauliflower. He said he won't restrict me but highly advises against it even in my maintenance phase down the road. I am really ok with Protein and veggies for the rest of my life. Don't like fruit much so no loss there. But I do have a "texture" problem with yogurt, smoothies and pudding so I am a little worried about the pureed stage of post-op. That texture make me want to vomit. I'm praying I can get past the mental problem I have with it so I can make it through that phase ok. I am so jealous that you aren't nervous. I am holding it together ok right now but know I am gonna really lose it the day before surgery. Part of me is ready to get it over with so the anxiety can go away and the other wishes I would have given myself more time to prepare mentally. I'm not afraid of pain or giving up food. I'm afraid of surgery and anesthesia. If I could just make it through that day...I'll be ok.

I am allowed Babyel and laughing cow in the puréed stage. My Nutritionist also said that Pasta will slow loss or lead to weight gain. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I was a revision from the band. I was always hungry prebad. I was banded in 2001 and there wasn't alot of understanding about metabolic disorders then, which I clearly had. So, I failed miserably with the band but didn't realize until it was removed that even though it had been empty/no Fluid since 2004 it was still "checking" my appetite. My band was removed Sept 2011 and the 2.5 months from that to the sleeve i was insatiable. It was AWFUL. I am not a binger in the sense of emotional eating, but I could eat dinner and be ready for another dinner an hour or two later. I did a high protein/low carb - all you can eat kind of diet which stopped the weight gain and even lost a few pounds (this was before my preop diet). Okay, so post sleeve - there was a period of adjustment... early weeks your hunger sensor is wacky.... well, at least mine was. By 6-8 weeks, back on normal food, my appetite was gone. I still had some head hunger, made a few mistakes but all in all, I was no longer "driven" to eat all the time. My appetite started returning by about 7 months out, but I have learned to manage that very effectively by what I eat. I have to avoid simple carbs or else I get hungry. Anyway, that is just one story, but I was a hungry 24/7 kind of person and I just don't live with that demon anymore. I do continue to eat small portions frequently - basically I have 4-6 "mini meals" everyday. I have lost over 130#in a year and am still losing... have another 20 or so to go.

I love shopping as well but i hate trying on clothes!!! All because of the weight gain.. ummm. I like to listen to music, play with my step children and cook Its great that you are looking in to sewing.. That definatley seems like a great idea to help cut down on cost during your beautiful transition Let wait and wait and wait because you are definately going to get a BIG FAT YES!!!!! Any upcoming sewing classes?

I was banded in 09 and am having my band removed in Sept. my surgeon said it barely slipped but my reflux was so bad they had to take out most of the fluid. I have already gained some weight and I have been strict on WW trying to maintain. Hoping to have the sleeve in November. I am angry too and fear having it out because of the weight gain. My self esteem is soo low right now it's depressing. Nicole I hope you start to feel better. You aren't alone .

I hate to hi-jack this thread but it caught my eye because my 15 (just turned 15) year old daughter was just diagnosed with this. Do you think this condition led to your initial weight gains? Any words of wisdom for a mom of a teen with this....for now and/or in the future. Thanks for any information you might share. Her doctor really kind of scared me with all the "high risk" problems associated with this!

You might have noticed how these overly sensitive perfect people on here tried to rip me a new one becuz I said I had my 1st drink @ 3 weeks..and I will say again I had my cocktails already..worked out next day..no weight gain..5 weeks out and still have my cocktails and lost 13 lbs from week 3 to week 5..I say do you! Sip slow and I'll suggest u have something on the rocks!! These people on here can be so judgmental I'm not peeping thru your window when u take a bite of a ham sandwich b4 u reach 6 weeks so don't a girl and her cocktails....POW! And in that order...drops the mic!!

Most of my adult life I maintained my weight at 117 pounds with exception of two periods lasting a couple of years that I packed on extra weight. With dedication and vigilance, I was always able to lose the excess.....until "The Great Weight Gain of 2012". None of my previous successful weight loss tactics were working and when I hit the 10 year mark of struggling to lose the extra weight; as well as, growing health issues from the added weight, I accepted the fact that i now was unable to fight this battle alone. I chose my goal weight of 112 in anticipation of the common regain from the lowest weight acheived to allow myself a five pound alarm system....in hopes of never seeing the scales above 117 again.

How exciting, and how exciting to have the surgery when you are young! When I was your age I was over 200 lbs. and managed to lose over 70 lbs. on my own (low cal diet, lots of exercise). I kept the weight off for a couple of years and then got engaged and then married, and started eating like a "normal person" again, and poof I started gaining weight like crazy. So now it's nearly 20 years later, and I have been back over 200 lbs. for the past 15 years or so, and every year I have told myself "THIS is the year I lose that 100 lbs again!" Every year I tried to lose weight and some years I would lose 20 lbs. But it's a LOT harder to lose weight in your 30s and 40s than in your 20s and I never was able to keep any weight loss off for more than a year. So now I've decided 2011 really IS the year I lose the extra weight, but this time I will have a powerful tool to help me and that is my VSG procedure. I'm so happy for you that you won't have the yo-yo diet & weight gain hell that I've had for 15 years. Yay for you!!!!!

My first 3 dietitian appointments I lost weight and I did not have a cycle. Now my cycle came and I have gained 5lbs. My food habits have not changed. I am worried I will be denied. Has anyone else experienced this? I am starting a 2 day liquid diet to hopefully lose the extra pounds

I was low BMI when I started and my insurance company denied me the first time through. Don't be surprised if you get denied as I think many insurance companies automatically deny anyone who isn't Iron clad with the requirements. Be prepared to appeal and if you don't get through on the first try, you likely will on the appeal. Save the weight gain as a last resort, but it would probably work too. I have offered my appeal letters up many times on this site and have shared them with many people with 100% success. If you end up needing an appeal, I'd be happy to send you what I have for a sample. Good luck to you and let us know how it turns out!

It's a bang on article for me, my depression and weight gain came hand in hand.

I am desperate and sad. Seeking advice, help or words of wisdom… Like many of you my weight journey started a very long time ago – almost thirty years ago. I grew up with three older sisters and a single mother. My father died when I was seven years old. That was the end of family dinners. My sisters were 14, 17 and 18 – and my mother was 41 (my age right now). You can imagine the dieting / body image / food dysfunction that a household of five single women was a breeding ground for. Of course my mom made sure I was fed- there were frozen dinners (Lean Cuisine), but otherwise, there was not a lot of food in the house as my sisters/mom were always dieting. Having struggled with her weight for many years, my mom did not want me to suffer her same fate. However, when I went to my best friend’s house, that was another story….a panacea of forbidden food and treats – even a cookie jar (so blatant, so open, so tempting) which I so distinctly remember raiding daily. These memories are in no way to blame anyone – it is what it is, but it serves to concretize the all or nothing thinking that let me to my binge-like behavior. The craziness never caught up to me until age 14. I’m not sure if it was the academic stress of my high school or puberty, but I gained 30 pounds in one year – not a normal weight gain for a 14 year-old girl. At the end of that year I begged and pleaded to my mother to send me to weight watchers camp. She finally conceded probably thinking she help me would get this under control early on. I lost weight, I gained weight. I lost weight, I gained weight. Times this experience by five thousand and perhaps you have an idea of the number of attempts I have made in my life…Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, diet pills, Atkins, boot camp, hypnosis, intuitive eating, life coaches, therapists, etc. There is no end to the torture I have felt and put myself through. Somehow the only thing that soothed the pain was the very thing causing it. My identity and sense of self-worth is so intricately involved with my weight – it’s near impossible to separate the two. And no matter how much insight I have into the craziness and the chaos, I have been unsuccessful at pulling myself out of it. -The desperation and the self-loathing getting stronger with every failed attempt. On occasions when I was able to lose weight and maintain for a while – it was truly a blissful feeling. Not because I felt so good about my appearance or ever felt skinny. But because it was such freedom from the obsessive thinking that has plagued me forever. It has been a very long time since I have experienced that – as for the past decade or so, the ‘fat me’ has won. Don’t get me wrong, despite the occasional self-deprecating remark, this is my own private hell. I am a productive member of society – often helping others emerge from their own psychic pain. Friends think I am carefree and bubbly. Though I have not had to purchase an extra airline seat, I feel the pain of being over weight so deeply. I understand feeling invisible and the experience that people judge and do not take you seriously. There is shame and guilt and self-loathing that is difficult for anyone to understand who has not been there themselves. I know I am in a safe place to share this and unfortunately many of you have experienced this pain as well. I had heard something about plication this past summer and I excitedly began researching options for surgery for lower BMI. Plication was definitely not the answer but I began to feel more and more certain that Veritical Sleeve Gastrectomy was the answer. There was no crazy bypassing of anything – just what seems like a completely rational reduction of a stomach that did not need to be so large – no major physical overhaul, less risks. Though I would have qualified in the states, my insurance would not have covered this. Despite my initial trepidation about Mexico, the more I researched it, the more excited I got about it. These doctors have done more VSGs than most any in the states. When I happened upon vertical sleeve talk, I felt like I discovered a whole new world – excitement took over me as I knew I had found an answer to a torture that had darkly clouded much of my world. I spent countless hours reading thousands upon thousands of posts. Weighing out the good, the bad and the ugly. This was not advertisement. These were not scholarly journals. This forum was filled with hundreds of people, just like myself, who have been through the pain and suffering and have emerged on the other side – grateful, free and loving their new life. What began as a pipe dream eventually became a reality. I was scheduled for the week between Christmas and New Years. I told my mother and not another soul. I had a few concerns… obviously fear that something would go terribly wrong as I was by myself in Tijuana, and also how I was going to explain this drastic weight loss to anyone who might notice. But overall, I had a strange confidence that I would be okay a sense of calm about the decision. The process of VSG in Mexico, at least the company that I went with, is like a well-oiled machine. I had no major complaints and the staff were very kind. I read enough of the forum members’ very detailed accounts, that I felt pretty familiar with the whole process. Thank GOD!!! The surgery went off without a hitch. I did not vomit, I had no complications. I was able to eat without any negative consequences. I had gained about 15 pounds between the process of deciding to get this surgery – lost a little before surgery date. In the two weeks following I lost 14 pounds total. That was two months ago. Herein lies the problem. I have not lost any weight in the two months since then. SO I am basically where I began. Or, let me clarify – I will lose 2 or 3 and gain it right back. I have a smaller stomach, I get fuller a little more quickly than before the surgery……BUT IN NO WAY do I have the restriction that any other person on this forum has. I mentioned I was lower BMI. Because of this, my surgeon informed me he decided to remove less than of the stomach than normal. I now read this forum with tears in my eyes and resentment in my heart. How could this not have worked? My appetite is the same and there is very little restriction. So I am at this place where this has been the same failure as any other diet. How can this surgery which has been so life changing to so many hundreds and hundreds of people not even have had a slight impact on my situation? I get it. I know I am the one who is supposed to make healthier choices, and eat less and exercise more. I have always known that. So have each of you. People on this forum lose weight not because of a purposeful massive overhaul on their thinking – yes, of course that plays into it, as it has for every diet we have all tried. People here lose the weight because their stomachs no longer allow them to eat how they used to. Either the food does not agree with them, or the restriction is drastically decreasing the amount of food eaten. Changes that occur with thinking and behavior absolutely do occur – but they occur as the RESULT of the physical changes. Otherwise, there is no way to explain the collective thousands of failed diet attempts. According to many articles the success rate of losing weight and keeping it off is 5%! Do I talk to the surgeon again, or just let it go? I doubt he can do another surgery and feel like he will say ,“It was only a tool.” Am I truly the only person for whom this surgery did not work? The only thing that I am grateful for in all of this is, 1) That I did not die as a result of the surgery and am not suffering serious side effects and, 2) that this surgery did help so many who have been through this same suffering as I. I would still recommend someone have this done, as it has worked miracles for so many. I am trying to finish being angry that it did not work on me – which is one of the reasons I am writing this letter. I am at a place now where I am dieting. I have started a four-day quasi-starvation diet today with the hopes that it will motivate me. I plan to try to stick with Atkins-type diet following that. But I am dieting and living as I always have – with obsessive thoughts (now mixed with disbelief of this failing) and a heavy heart. My pre-surgery bundle of emotions including: excitement, fear, relief, exuberance, etc. Have been replaced by feelings of confusion, sadness and desperation. I am sorry if my feelings of anger come off as offensive to anyone. Any words of wisdom are welcome.

It is very common to be denied because of weight gain as a pre op. They're wanting you to lose weight for two reasons usually. One is to gauge whether you are willing and able to make lifestyle changes regarding diet and exercise. The other is to shrink your liver, as it has to be moved out of the way during surgery. You have reason for concern.

I also have no food addictions or medical reasons to have gotten to 243 at 5'3". My weight gain was caused by making poor choices at nearly every opportunity. French fries or steamed veggies, vinaigrette or ranch, etc., etc.. I simply made the tastier choice because my mindset was, "this one meal isn't going to make a difference" This was compounded by going from a physical job to a sedentary job in my mid twenties. Then my weight gain accelerated when I began traveling and entertaining for business.

Have you been to a seminar yet? At our seminar, the surgeon went through each one and which one was best suited for which situation. The lap band or realize bands he said were good for about 60-70lbs but more than that it wasn't going to cut a significant amount of weight and did have issues with long term loss. Like people learned how to eat around it I guess. then he showed us the sleeve and said it's good for 100+lbs weightloss, but a lot of times again, people find ways around it's usefulness and end up with a weight gain and eventually if they have a significant weight to lose will have it switched over to a bypass. It also tends to come with GERD/acid reflux and it can be very painful to deal with that. The bypass he referred to as his "gold standard" in weightloss because it has shown to work long term, the weight loss experienced is quite dramatic and fast and for the most part, a person with bypass can expect to lose 70% for their excess weight in the first year and maintain that loss or improve over the next 5 yrs without slipping backwards. He also cover plication and some new battery operated thing that shocks the vagus nerves causing them to not send the message of being hungry. I forget what it was called, but it was neat. It's not really good for someone in my situation though, I think it was comparable to the lap band in weightloss. I went into the seminar thinking sleeve seemed the way to go because I didn't want anyone fiddling with my intestines and dumping sounds REALLY painful, but by the time we left, I had really committed in my heart to the roux en y because I really don't want to do this again. I want to do 1 surgery and be good for life. I find out for certain what the surgeon thinks is our best plan of attack Fri. I'm pretty sure he's going to suggest the bypass though. At my weight and with my history, I'd be shocked if he didn't.