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I saw a recent picture of Carnie Wilson today on tmz.com and couldn't believe how much weight she has gained. She looks like she is 220-240 again. I feel so sorry for her. My doctor said that bipass patients typically gain back 25% of their weight in the first few years. I am so glad I have the band!

I weigh myself nearly every day...first thing in the AM, wearing nothing...I just feel its more accurate (my clothing tends to weigh 5-8lbs depending on the season)...most scales are are off by 1% of your body weight +/-...so I don't put too much emphasis on minor fluctuations. Generally speaking, I have to weigh myself daily because ignorance is bliss for me...if I skip weighing myself for 2 weeks, I'll step on the scale and have a 5+lb weight gain. So it just keeps me focused.

I have to take BC pills to regulate my period due to my PCOS, I've taken it for over 10 years, at the moment I take Marlissa. I don't contribute the BC to any weight gain, as long as I do what I'm supposed to I still lose weight.

Really curious about this as I've seen it mentioned on a few of the weight gain forums!! Everytime someone mentions a weight gain someone says watch ur sodium intake! Can someone explain why?? As after weeks do water and protein I love a bit of salt on my scrambled egg :(

Majority of us falls of the track for whatever reason. Just pick yourself up and think about what you were doing to lose weight. Lapband is only a tool and you have to let the tool work for you. This is not easy and it's definitely not a magic band. Keep your head up, don't be discouraged, and have faith in yourself that you can do it. Please don't harp on the weight gain, it sets you up for a downward spiral.

I too am worried about the pre-diet... I dont have a surgery date but its going to be in Jan 2013. I have been eating like a pig & now im thinking when I go in for my pre-surgery appt they will refuse me due to the weight gain? anyone know if thats a possibility?

I'm almost 4 weeks post op and feeling great. I exercise regularly (3.5 miles 5-6 days a week & weights 3 days a week) which really keeps my energy up. My starting weight Pre-op was 250.5. After 1 week Pre-op diet, I was 235. One week post op, 225. Two week post op, 228 (wk I started adding mushies) Three week post op, 230. Ugh! Had first fill of 3 CCs at 3 weeks. I was required to do 3 days of liquids, now 3 days of soft foods, and then "normal." I was so discouraged by my weight gain before, I am working hard to avoid it this time. I made some poor choices when I could finally eat, not this time. Today, I am 3.5 weeks post op, weight 222.5. I'm very excited!!! Doing the liquids for days really jumped started everything. I lost 8 pounds in 4 days! Craziness!!! To help continue this weight loss trend (although I know it will slow back down) I have started a recording everything in a food journal. I need people's help! How many grams of fat do you eat a day? Calories? Carbs? My doctor recommends 60-70 grams of Protein, not sure about the others. Thanks for your help!

Hello All, I have been a long-time lurker of those boards but am posting for the first time in need of some advice and support. I have been banded for about 5.5 years now. I have originally lost about 90 pounds from an all-time high of 270 lb and had gone down to 180 lb by the end of the second year before slowly settling for 190 lb for a couple more years after that. The issue started last year. I hadn’t gotten a fill in over a year and a half at that time and that last fill (only 0.05 cc) helped stabilize my weight at 190 lb and prevent further weight gain. I was starting though in the last few months to feel really tight, pbing on a regular basis because I was eating in a hurry, not chewing enough, etc…, had mild heartburn occasionally, etc… As I was feeling uncomfortable with the constant PBing and the “tight” feeling in my chest and stomach, I had a tiny unfill of 0.05 cc for fear of doing permanent damage to the band and losing it. This settled all my band and stomach problems right away. 14 months later, I no longer struggle with PBing, heartburn or the uncomfortable tight chest feeling, feel great and all around healthier (I am able to eat more and better). On the negative side, I found myself gaining another 15 pounds over those 14 months, 6 of which I was able to lose through good eating and exercise, putting me at around +- 199 lb. I am posting because I have been thinking for a couple of months about getting that small fill (0.05 cc) back. This is a big decision for me, not only because of my past issues with that last fill, but also because I live 2,000 km away from where I had my surgery so getting a fill/ unfill costs me a good +$500 to fly back and forth. I have tried for many years to have a WL centre here do my fills/ unfills but they won’t see me because I had my surgery done elsewhere. I am also not sure I want someone other than my regular doctor do my fills/ unfills. So my question to you all: is should I go for this tiny fill back or not? I know that at my current fill level, I will not have any issues with my band for many years to come as I am on the loser side of things (though still have good restriction but can eat around the band more that I was able to with the tiny fill in). I am struggling with weight gain though and need to be very careful with every bite I eat to prevent any further weight gain. On the other hand, with that tiny fill back, I am confident I can get back to 190 lb and stay there effortlessly, but will have to suffer more eating wise. I also worry that in the longer term, I would do permanent damage to the band and thus either have to have a much larger unfill for things to settle down or revision surgery like I see happen to many long-term bansters. And this is a risk I cannot tolerate at this point as I live far away from my surgeon and have no money for any revision surgery (I was self-pay). Any words of advice/ support would be most appreciated. Thanks, Seldom

Hey everyone, was looking for a lap-band buddy. I was banded January 2007, lost weight, gained, and now I'm back on the "bandwagon", just looking for someone for support and accountability especially with excercise (I'm usually motivated, but I fell this week in the snow and in a lot of pain, I'm afraid that I'll lose my motivation) Thanks for reading!

I do get disappointed at times. I lost most of my weight directly after surgery and now am averaging 1-2 pounds per week. I am eating on average 1100-1200 cals/day and am rather sedentary. I'll remind myself that I'm losing consistently, mostly do not feel the insanity with food--the BEST GIFT I could've been given, and am making permanent changes in the way I eat. I know I'll not only reach my goal in time but more importantly will be able to manage my weight long-term. In my experience, reaching goal quickly lends to more grandiosity which leads to rebound weight gain.

Sounds like we are all going through the same thing. I am sitting here feeling really bloated... I am amazed at how much I have been able to fit in in the last 2 days. I went for a long walk today and will continue to do so in the next week just to keep the weight gain at bay. Good luck everyone with getting back on track.

:help:I'm post-vacation and so bummed. I was away for three weeks, and we either had to eat out a lot, or the people we were with were terrible eaters (heavy grease, old food, lots of Pasta and rice, which I can't eat - they hurt), so I ended up eating out some more. I was fairly active, but I came home with a 9-pound weight gain. If that's not bad enough, I CANNOT get back on track. I'm scared to post this, because I don't want a gazillion lectures, etc. I've been banded since December of '06, and I KNOW what to do. Why am I having such a hard time getting back to doing what's right? Could anyone else, who has had this happen, share what toasted their buns back to eating like a bandster? Thanks. __________________

I was banded in 2005. I was very successfull in my weightloss. I went from 220 to 135. I counted calories and went running twice a week. I suffered a knee injury from running about a year ago and have been going downhill ever since. I am now up to 156lbs. I know to most it still seems like a good weight. But I find myself so depressed about my recent weight gain. I thought I had it all under control. I have been eating nothing but crap recently, which is why I am where I am. It's like a switch in my head went off and I can't switch it back on again. I had a recent fill, which resulted in a small unfill because it hurt just to get Water down, and I am back to where I started. I can still eat anything. I can't rely on the full feeling because I feel like it is unobtainable. I have to rely on counting calories. I find myself so envious of people who can only eat 800 calories per day and people who were able to get RNY. Mentally, I feel like I am at square one. I have realized that this will always be a huge battle for me. For the first year, I was on cloud nine. But now, I realize that there will never be a cure for the eating issues that I have. It makes me realize that maybe we are treating our eating issues the wrong way. Maybe we should be getting therapy instead of weight loss surgery. Anyone ever feel like this? Disclaimer: No I am not knocking lap band surgery. I am just trying to work through the mental issues most of us are suffering from...how about a section for doing the head work?

Now that it is morning, I want to summarize my first fine dining experience post op: 1. One glass of wine is enough to get really intoxicated. It lasted about 45 minutes before wearing off. I sipped it before eating. I could experience all the "full" flavors of the fine white Chardonnay. 2. Two glasses was too much. I only got 1 sip into it and my body said " no." I wasted the money on the second glass, but at least I know now. 3. Had a nibble of bread for first time. No issues. 4. Had a small bite of spaghetti. No issues. 5. No hang over in the morning. Feel fine. 6. lips are slightly burning. I do not know if this was from wine or not. Anyone know? 7. Had 2-3 small spoonfuls of my wife's dessert ( some round chocolate ice cream scoop with chocolate powder on outside). No issues. First "sweet" since surgery. No issues. 8. No weight gain in the morning. In fact, down 2 lbs. it was probably from waking up my metabolism from all the new food experiences and lots of dancing and jumping around at the Muse concert we went to last night (by the way, most awesome concert, epic). Maybe it was from my 5 mile run yesterday. Don't know. I am going to run again today perhaps even further (training for upcoming race). 9. Only had room for about 3 ounces of veal Parmesan after the pre dinner wine. Rest of it was put on ice for future meals. Overall, sleeve was ok with wine, bread, spaghetti and sweet dessert. No rejections, but a little slime after done eating and some uncomfortable cramping for a couple hours. Feel fine today except the slight tingly feeling on my lips. Eating at the Italian resteraunt was completely worth it for the fine food and drink selection. It won an award for Best Italian in America for 2012. Would I drink wine, eat Pasta or dessert again? Probably not. I didn't enjoy it as much now as I did 2 years ago when dining in Roma. It was good for me to at least find out if I would enjoy it or not by taking a small bite of each. What a night for "first experiences" as a seasoned post Sleever!

I still have to disagree with you. There is a cure for obesity: lose weight. The basic definition of obesity or obese it being extremely overweight or having an extreme amount of excess body fat. How do you get rid of an extreme amount of excess body fat? You remove it. Once you remove it, you're cured of your excess body fat. Most of my family is overweight except my little sister. My little sister is 14 and in a size 4. I was probably in a size 20 at 14. My little sister doesn't eat a lot. I think she only eats when she's hungry. Yes, she does eat junk food, but she doesn't over eat it. For example, she she can have a cookie and be okay with it. However, if I eat a cookie I'll want another one and another one and another one. That is why I don't eat Cookies anymore. I think there is a lot of excuses that people make to justify their obesity. I use to weigh 327 pounds. I use to blame my family and my genes, but it was mostly my behavior. My genes didn't make me go to McDonalds and they certainly didn't make me eat 12 chocolate chip cookies. I believe I was already depressed before I ate those 12 cookies. Yes, depression does get worse with weight gain, but I do think it is a major cause of weight gain. (HOWEVER, depression can be a major cause of weight LOSS. Many people who become depress stop eating and lose weight. It's amazing...) It's all about attitude. If you think you won't ever get healthy or you aren't meant to be healthy (which is probably the stupidest thing I've ever herad) then you won't become healthy because you set yourself up for failure. Those "I can't" attitudes are what brings people to failure. Simply, people need to stop making excuses and do something like getting weight loss surgery, a therapist, a nutritionist, a doctor, etc. You CAN lose weight. It's about wanting to do it and realizing it's going to take awhile. You certainly didn't get this way overnight.

Thank you for putting it all out there and being blunt about it. I really admire that. I liked that you wrote about the fact that it is still a struggle and weight gain is still possible after 4 years. I really needed to hear that. You are definitely an inspiration! I look forward to continuing to work hard to get to where I want to be too.

Greetings Gastric Sleevers! My name is Jay. I am 45 years old and I have been Morbidly Obese my entire Life. Here is my story. I had a Work Physical in December 2006. When I stepped on the scale I weighed 326lbs. That was the most Obese I had ever been, and enough was enough. I had had it. I needed to do something drastic to stop the weight gain. I decided to have a Lab Band. At the time I didnt want to have any physical changes to my body, and people were having very good weight loss success on the Band. In February of 2007, I had my surgery. From February 2007 to September 2007 the band worked great!!! I weighed in at 207lbs. I was extremely happy!!! But sometime in September the tubing to the band developed a kink and then the tubing cracked and the band was worthless. March of 2008 I underwent my second surgery, this time it was a port and tubing replacement. Everything seemed fine until I went in for my first fill. When they tried to fill the band they werent able to. The tubing was kinked again!!! Are you F'ing kidding me? I had enough and was just going to do my best on what the surgeon had put in the band ( I think it was 9cc's). It wasnt enough, I started to gradually put on weight. In 2012 I had enough again. I went in to have the band filled under X-Ray Fluroscopy. For whatever reason the band took in 15 cc's The band I had was only supposed to hold 12. Needless to say the band was closed off, and I couldnt eat or drink anything. Two days later I had emergency surgery to release the band. The surgery went well, but the Surgeon didnt replace the band. When I went in for a fill they put in the Max CC's of 12. Guess what? No restriction. Yup in was stretched out so much it was ineffective again! I had had enough with the Lap Band, it was nothing but a big giant headache for me. I decided to have a Gastric Sleeve in 2015. I had my surgery on June 24th 2015. The day of the surgery I weighed in at 275lbs. Today is September 11th and I am down to 240lbs. I am very happy with my Sleeve, but the adjustment to the new diet was very hard for me. I am doing 3 Protein shakes a day and I added 1 KETO OS drink a day to my diet. It has made a huge difference. My energy levels are through the roof and I feel absolutely Fantastic!!! The weight is coming off twice as fast for me ( from 2 pounds a week to 4) I took the time to research this product and it is the best decision I have made in a long time. Check it out for yourself: http://C7W6R4.pruvitnow.com

So this last week has been a busy week. I had my nutritionist consult at Starbucks. She was nice I guess, but looked at me like I was out of my mind when I said I was going to self-pay. She literally stopped talking, put her papers down, her eyes got big, her mouth hung open a little, and she just stared at me for what felt like 3 hours. I know a lot of people (my husband and mother-in-law...) don't understand why I would go that far in debt for this, but I guess I can't really expect them to understand. They haven't lived their whole lives like this. Feeling like an outsider all the time. And now that I'm older (ripe old age of 25), and heavier, the daily physical pain, lack of energy, not being able to really be "me." My heart breaks when I can't play with my daughter more than a couple of minutes without being exhausted and winded. She deserves better than that, and I deserve to be able to be the kind of mom I want to be. Ah well, I'm rambling... So I had the nutrition consult. Took maybe 30-40 minutes. She had the nerve to drink Starbucks in front of me. I've cut Starbucks out cold turkey. I almost asked her if I could just take a sniff of her coffee. But that would have been weird... Then Thursday I had my first appointment with the surgeon's office. $150 to watch a video explaining the lap-band surgery :biggrin:. That was pretty much it. They weighed me, and I found out I weigh 5 lbs more than I thought I did. I thought I was at 405, but no, I am at 410. Sigh. Then I had to watch that video for an hour. Then, the lady gave me a paper with how much the cost of everything will be and the loan amount I need to take out. Yipee. Stupid employer exclusion... Friday, I had an appointment with my family doctor. I love him. He is so supportive of this decision. He had his letter recommending me for the lap-band surgery already written and typed up before he even came in the room. He also ordered the bloodwork, x-rays, EKG, upper GI, etc that the surgeon's office needs. I was so happy that he ordered it for me. That means my insurance will probably cover those tests since he ordered them, instead of my lap-band doctor. He completely understood and was very happy to do so. He said that he has several patients who have had the lap-band and been very successful. One lady was actually around my current weight, and is now down in the low 200's. He reminded me to be saving my money for plastic surgery as I lose the weight. The most interesting of all the pre-op appointments on my checklist, was the psych eval. It was on Friday too, after the family doc appointment. The psychologist/psychiatrist was very nice, and really funny. He cursed like a sailor and had really funny stories to tell (including one story about a man that liked to have sex while wearing his CPAP machine :crying:). He picked at my brain a little, but I think he could tell I'm ready for this surgery and fully aware of the physical & non-physical risks. There was only one thing that stumped me, and I've been thinking about it ever since. He said he has lots of patients that have been banded and aren't successful with it. They either don't lose much weight at all, don't lose any weight, gain weight, etc. Basically, the band just does not work for them, usually because they aren't sticking to the program, exercising, etc. He asked me, what about me makes me different from any of them. I told him that I am super-motivated and I'm going to do my very best. He replied that that's how they all felt in the beginning too. That kind of hit me hard. There are lots of bandsters that were just as motivated as I currently am with all the intentions to do everything right and lose all the weight, but they failed at it. What is going to make me different? I didn't know the answer to this and I couldn't answer him. I still don't know the answer to this. I wish now that I had thought to ask him if he had any suggestions of what could make me different from them. This question is kind of getting to me. What is going to make me different? So the only thing I've got left on my checklist is my upper GI stuff. I think that's usually done at a hospital. Someone is supposed to call me for a date for that. Even though I don't want the surgery until the last week of May or the first week of June (so DH, the teacher, will be out of school and can help out with our 2 year old), I feel so relieved to have pretty much everything done and out of the way.

Ive ALWAYS carried the majority of my weight in my thighs. I think this had a lot to do with my image issues when I was younger. I always felt fat, even when I wasn't. At one point I was so super thin, I would faint and get sick... this is NOT good. My doctor wanted my Mom to send me to a psychiatrist. It was a really weird time for me. I went to a few appointments but never went back. I was able to break out of that terrible cycle but that's when the weight gain began. Then the long story begins... Anyway once I got thinned out right now, I noticed that I was still carrying a whole heckuva lot of fat in my thighs. The terrible thing was looking at my face and upper body made me not want to continue to lose because I was (still am) boney skinny up there. It made me feel really lopsided and un attractive. So that's why I chose to have the liposuction procedure performed. I knew I couldn't keep trying to lose weight anymore. I was able to put on some very small sized pants but they would always fit really weird. Really tight in the knees and thighs but loose around the waist. My lipos were the only way I was able to fix this problem. NOT to say you will have to go through this too! I'm just sharing my personal experience. Good luck!!! Everyone loses differently. It is my hope that you will lose evenly. Merry Christmas!

I am 21 months post RNY and I am still losing weight. My HW 325 (2/20/20), SW 311 (3/9/20), CW 133. I had an abdominoplasty on 10/27/21 (weighed 145, no lipo due to little to no body fat, and I don't know what amount was removed). I saw my NP today for pist abdominoplasty and then an emergency illness x2 following abdominoplasty stay in hospital same week for bowel obstruction. My labs are normal, my NP says I am healthy BUT, I am on the low weight end and just a few pounds from being underweight according to their standards. She advised me to add in healthy fats (nuts, nut butters, avocado daily), 2 protein shakes, 3 meals, 3 snacks. I just can't eat all of that. And little to no cardio and focus on strength training with weights. They are giving me 3 months to gain more muscle mass and gain weight and fill out more. And then return for re-evaluation. IF my weight continues to drop, they are talking about reversing my RNY! I literally cried in the office, on the way home, in the pharmacy (when the girls asked me how my weight and post abdominoplasty were going....they've known us many years) and then I cried several times on and off at home. I keep thinking about the old me, the 325 lb me, the old capacity, no restriction stomach and its ability to hold more, leading to weight gain and then it getting out of control, leading me back down the hole I just struggled to dig myself out of. This scares me so bad. I mean, it's ultimately up to me, right? As in, if they ended up scheduling that procedure months down the road, it's my decision if I go or not, it's my body. I'm thinking of seeking out a different opinion on this because this just doesn't seem like it should be the conclusive answer to this issue. Does it?

I jumped on the scaled and saw that I've put on 2kg is this normal ? I don't understand how I could put on weight I was eating the same food I eat last week ?? Last week I lost 4kg and this week I've put on 2kg , I felt that I didn't lose weight ? I'm getting worried that I'm gonna start putting weight on again

I have had the lapband for 4 months, havent gained but havent lost, i dont like the diet at all, im starting to feel like i couldve saved 10,000 & just followed Atkins Diet cause thats basically what my diet is, and i cant do atkins, have never been able to do it, constipates me beyond belief, my band is a 10cc & its filled 6.5, im starting to get discouraged. Has this happened to anyone else?

:focus: I said in my first entry I would post about my second marriage and how some of the things that we went through contributed to my depression and my weight gain. So here I go. As I said in my first entry, I met my husband via the internet. We met in a social chat room. A friend of mine wanted to have penpals to write her via snail mail and I put an advertisement (for lack of a better word) on this social chat room for her. This was way back before everyone had a computer (or 3) in their homes. My husband is one of the people who responded to my advert, and I put him in touch with my friend. While he was writing her, I also wrote to him wanting to have a penpal. So, when my friend received letters from him, she allowed me to read them and started to really like him. We became friends. And as I said before, it grew from there. We set our first meeting for March 1995. He was flying to Oklahoma to meet me in person. He stayed at my apartment with me and my daughter. We had a fantastic time although we both became sick towards the end. We then set a new date for a meeting in May 1995 where I was flying up to visit him in Canada. It was a big deal for me as I had never been on an airplane before and never been out of the USA before. I flew into Seattle and he drove down from Vancouver to pick me up. We had a nice drive back to Vancouver and we stayed the night with his parents. We continued our visit and I left to come home. We talked and wrote and missed each other for another 7 months before we saw each other again. He flew back to Oklahoma to spend Christmas with me and my family. My birthdate is on New Years eve and that is when he proposed to me. On my birthday 4 seconds to midnight. I was so sad when he had to go back home. But we made arrangements for me to then drive up to Canada in April 1996 and begin our lives together and that is what we did. On Sept 7, 1996 we were married and then the fun began. My daughter was then 10 years old. At first she liked my husband. They got along quite well, and did things together. Then the hormones hit. And well, lets just say things went down hill quickly. We were dealing with many challenges, here is a list of the things we had to contend with in the first 7 years of marriage: 1. becoming a resident in Canada - cost $3000 2. husband father dying 3. daughter acting out as a teenage, drinking, staying out all night, and getting pregnant at the age of 13 then hiding an abortion from me (which is legal in Canada). 4. husband learning he had a brain tumor and needed surgery 5. my mother dying 6. me learning I had Endometrial cancer and needed surgery 7. daughter moving out of the house at age 16 (legal in Canada) We had quite a time in those 7 years. And most people, it would have pulled them apart and broke their marriage. Luckily, my husband and I were brought closer. We have been able to develop a great communication between us and can talk out anything. But as you can see, I went through quite a lot of emotional ups and downs, and when you are already depressed, it causes you to go deeper into it. I went to visit my family doctor one day and I could not tell you why I was there. Before she could ask me anything I burst into tears, told her I wished I was dead because I just could not take all this stress and unhappiness. She recognized what I was going through, chemical depression, and immediately placed me on anti-depressants. I was on them for 18 months while my brain chemicals realigned themselves. Although I was no longer technically depressed I was still eating to help hide the pain. And I gained up to 302. That is when things started to scare me. That is when I began looking at options. I began going to therapy, I began looking at WLS, I began taking seminars for WLS, and l learned that I can do it. I have the support of my husband and my God. I know I can do it. Well, that is my story. From now on I am going to write only about what is going on with my WL journey and the feelings, apprehensions, joys, highs and low I experience. S

OMG, that woman was totally out of line. You should report her you know what as soon as you can. I had been made to feel like a failure many years ago after a small weight gain--it totaly derailed my progress. Now, looking back, older and wiser--i wish I never gave that power away. That PA is a liability to that doctor's practice and he should know about it. And i hope you are finding a way to recover from the experience. We are all unique and on unique journeys. My progress the second time around is much slower than the first--but it is happening, slowly but surely. Stay focused on how much better you feel, and how much better you will feel in the future, however long it takes to get there. Best of luck to you.

The claims of significant weight gain when using chemical birth control have never been substantiated by research.