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Congrats girl :-) Now you are gonna feel like crap for a few days, but not too long! So just be prepared for that. Dr. Almanza rocks! I had my sleeve with him 03/18/11 and everything has been going good and getting better each day. My story was the same as yours except I couldn't blame my initial weight gain on birth control LOL. I gained a significant amount of weight soon out of high school and once I gained some more with the birth of my first son......it has been a roller coaster ever since. Struggling in the 200's for so long and with my third son who is 3 months old, I got way up into the 300's!!! After that, I'd had enough!! Schedule my surgery when my son was one month old and went when he was two months......I mean I wasn't wasting anymore time or life for that matter. So I know how much of a nightmare it can be. Good luck and keep us posted. :-)

I was banded Mar 11, I take several meds for bipolar disorder. So far everything has worked for me. I've lose 15lbs. Which is great because I attribute a lot of my weight gain to the meds. Don't be afraid, stay on top of what your body is telling you..Good luck..

I guess I feel like more of a failure in losing and keeping the weight off because I know I am capable of it with diet & exercise...but my emotional eating (worse with having a mood disorder), constant hunger, cravings & out of control appetite make it so hard..in addition to that I can't stick to anything to save my life, I go from diet to diet and practically starving myself at times until I end up binge eating by the 3rd day and the cycle continues..but are all these good reasons to get wls? Are these some or all of the same problems others have that had surgery to lose the weight and keep it off? I don't have any health problems that cause weight gain, but I do take required medications that contribute to increased appetite & slower metabolism. I don't know who I am trying to prove all this to? :-/ I guess only myself. Because I really shouldn't care about anyone else's opinion, but I wish I had the willpower and motivation and dedication, etc to do this on my own, but I haven't been able to in the last 12 years so I deserve a solution to be happy with how I look and feel And with this new "tool" I am confident that I can achieve that.

Yes and honestly my OB said the same thing to me when I was pregnant with my daughter in 1998! Basically when I was blaming my excess weight gain on not being able to exercise (had some spotting early on) he didn't pull any punches and laid it on the line for me.

I really don't think you are going to find a man who finds you worthy of loving, until YOU find yourself worthy of loving. My advice...and I am not saying it is worth anything!!!...would be to find things in life that make you happy. Work hard to make the best and most productive life you can for you and your son. Focus on the morals, and the attitudes you want him to possess as he too becomes a man. When people, not just men, but everyone, sees that you have that positive outlook, and that you are productive in your life, they will want to be around you. Think about it, if you met a man, regardless of his looks or size, and all he did was complain about how horrible his last relationships were, and how ALL he wants is love and marriage. You would wonder WHY? Why did all the relationships go bad? Was it all the other persons fault? Was he giving relationships time to develop or just wanting seriousness right off the bat? Even tho we tend to put men in another category, they think the same things... And it will be hard for them to see someone worth pursuing a relationship with, if you don't see yourself as worth it. Like P-nut, I too was married twice before. When I married for the first time, I struggled to gain enough weight to keep my dress from sagging in the back...I made it to 116 pounds....I am 5'9". He cheated on me. The 2nd time I got married, I had become a Mom, and was up to 130 pounds. He abused me, and is currently serving time for attempted murder...mine! That began my weight gain.....years later, for the 3rd marriage, I was well over 260 pounds, and he loves me. And I love him. More than I could ever convey in words. He knew me years ago, when I was skinny...but he loves me, and married me when I was fat. He would love me fat til the day I died. But I want more time with him.... Work on making YOU happy. Work on making a good life for you and your son. Then if someone fits into that life, and can improve it, let it happen, don't try to force it. It is much better to be happy alone, than married and miserable! Good luck, be happy!!! Kat

Hi EJones2 I' probably quite late into coming into this conversation, have you had it removed already? How are you finding it? I had my band removed 2 years and 1month ago. I sustained a number of band problems prior to having it removed due to the fact that the surgeon over filled the band and I also got ill causing me to be sick a lot. This then meant I had a band slippage and it caused me ongoing esophageal damage and damage to my pouch including a pronounced area of my abdomen and inability, eventually, to eat without severe pain. When I went into A&E, they had to call my surgeon who came the next day. It was actually supposed to be corrective surgery but he decided to take it out. This was really hard for me as I'm sure you are anticipating for yourself. I very much needed the band and was not finished losing weight! After the procedure I was sore and was on liquids for about 8 days before moving to mushy foods, very small portions and eating regularly as you might when you had the band. Due to the soreness going back to the gym was not possible for about 6 weeks so I just went on really long walks each day, sometimes two or three hours a day so that weight gain would not happen to fast. Most of all i just want to reassure you that everything will be okay, and I hope you are able to get your health back after removal. It's a scary thought going without the crutch of the band to prop yourself up, and undoubtedly weight gain will happen over time (I think I've gained 25(ish) pounds since) but I've learned there is more to life than deprivation and being thin and in control. Try to do the things you enjoy, get outside and be in the company of others. It all helps, it's going to be okay. Best wishes and I hope all goes well, Bryony

I received a call today. They didn't submit my paperwork because they don't have a two year weight history with a high enough BMI. I'm being told I will have to wait until January 2016. Very upset and very discouraged. I've done everything. I've been on a yo-yo diet, weight loss and weight gain, but I don't have all the proper paperwork. I can't even get my doctor to write a letter about this.

@@songsmith thank you so much for your response. I'm sorry it took so long for me to come back. I've started my first semester of nursing school and it's been crazy! I went to a counselor a few times who was supposed to specialize in eating disorders, but I think I need a new one. She seems to be a behaviorlist, a therapist who focuses not on feelings or emotions, but observable aspects of behavior. Her advice for me was to keep a food journal and look at myself in the mirror each day and say "I will not eat anything today that I am not supposed to eat even if ISIS attacks my city." That may work for some people, but I weighted 500 pounds not long ago. Just telling myself "No" isn't going to work for me. I'm heading back to my insurance company's list of therapists and trying again. Thank you again. @@mi75 I am so sorry for the loss of your father. That's a horribile thing to go through, and I wish you healing. Thanks for the tip about the regain section. I'll be checking that out. @@mcplu28 thank you! Best of luck to you, too. We can do this. We just have to work each day at it. @@dccarite, I agree with you. Extreme weight gain is a mental disorder. Some weight can be just overeating, but I didn't get to 500 pounds by having a good mental health. I didn't find the therapist for me with my first try, but I'm heading back to the list of therapists for my insurance and trying again. Good luck with your surgery. Keep us informed, ok? @@miamomma YaY for breaking through that stall. That good attitude is going to keep you moving in the right direction. Thank you so much I'm trying daily to Celebrate all the weight I have already lost while moving to lose more! @@Lindairene I don't think there's a single surgery that does that for us! I'm still considering revising to a duodenal switch as I know a few people who've had success with it and it does have the least weight regain of any of the surgeries, but it sure isn't an eat-anything-you-want thing! @@Hollyhock Thank you so much! I really need to keep focusing on how much weight is gone (my sagging belly skin SHOULD serve as a good reminder lol) and just keep moving forward. Do a little better every day. thanks again

Give yourself credit where credit is due. You started out at 500 lbs. You're at 340, regardless of weight gained you are better than where you started. The therapist is a wonderful idea. It sounds like you only fell back into what is comfortable for you because you were experiencing uncomfortable feelings( grief and loss). It's natural for humans to do this. I don't think obesity happens on purpose. I think it's a mental disorder ( These are only my opinions by the way. I do have a master's degree in mental health counseling so I'm only going based on my opinion/experiences). We stick with what's comfortable even subconsciously. You experienced a loss of your only friend, that's traumatic. You're beating yourself up for something you weren't necessarily in control of. A therapist will help you identify new coping skills for life stressors. That's the problem with emotional eating it's our only coping skill. We need to learn to restructure our thoughts( it's possible but takes lots of work). You're reaching out so you've already started. Btw I wish I could take my own guidance... I'm getting the sleeve in 3 weeks. It's easy to spew out all this information but hard to execute the behaviors. I hope this was helpful. Sent from my LGLS770 using the BariatricPal App

Thanks for the replies. Since my band has been un-filled, food passes through like I was never banded. All the food I did not or would not eat when my band was working I am now able to eat (hence the huge weight gain). I went into a full blown panic when my doctor told me they had to un-fill the band completely. I know myself and I have no self control with the amount of food I eat, that is why the band worked for me so well. It put limits on the amount I could eat. I am glad to hear that with the sleeve it has pretty much the same food limits as the band. As much as I tried to eat the same way as being banded it just does not work. The longer time goes on and the more weight I gain the more depressed I get. I have started hiding the amount of food I eat again. I have pretty much stopped going out (except when absolutely necessary) because I am embarresed with my weight gain. You know how you hear "you dont play well with others" well..... I dont play well with food. My doctor warned me about the scar tissue and such and although he is going to try the all in one surgery from band to sleeve there is a possibility I will wake up and only have the band removed. This thought alone drives me crazy. As for my insurance, my doctors office filed an appeal to get both the removal of the band and the sleeve surgery both covered and my insurance stayed steadfast with the fact they have a "lifetime weight loss benefit limit" and getting my band took 75% of that "lifetime limit". I did GOOGLE "Bougie Size" and found that information very interesting and helpful. Did anyone else go from band to sleeve and have that LONG period of time where they could eat anything they wanted and gain a whole bunch of their weight back?

I was taking monthly steroid shots in both knees, which can make weight gain & fluid retention. I stopped the treatment after I got the Lap band.

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

Thanks for the GREAT replies! They are full of good advice and feedback that I need to hear now. The office I go to really plays up the LF/SF menu, but I think part of the original problem of my weight gain was trying to subsitute these usually inferior versions for the originals, and I would end up eating a lot more b/c they just don't seem to offer me the same level of satiety. I have been wanting instead to a more Mediterranean diet with a lot of flavor, veggies, etc. I am like restlessmonkey, I want to learn how to eat, enjoy it, and FORGET ABOUT EATING until it is actually time to eat again. I don't want food to be my focus, nor do I want eating it to be a chore because it is unpleasant. I'm very glad to see that generaly healthiness and common sense seem to be the main theme with the most successful bandsters. I think I can do that!

I only gained 12 - 14 lbs with my last three kids. They wete fine. 2 came out 9 lbs and they took the othrr early bc I had a history of *** babies. I did not have the band then but I was careful on my weight gain. Congrats on your pregnancy!

Know what you mean, two year ago I watched as my weight steadily climbed. Each doctors visit was 25 pounds more than the previous... I was 136 and ended up over 200 again. {entire family over weight and 136 came only after a year of Atkins} The band halted my weight gain and after the fills kicked in, has slowly reversed it. Hang in there and pray about it. You will make the right decision for you.

We have a lot in common! I was a normal, healthy weight until I began taking Effexor XR for depression right after high school. After a few years, I had gained 100lbs. Once I was diagnosed Bipolar (not just depression), I went off of Effexor XR and my weight stabalized. Last year, I participated in a medical trial at the National Institute of Mental Health, which lasted 4 months. In the last month and a half, I started the treatment phase and was put on 2 new medications whose first side effects were weight gain. I had no choice but to take the medicine because if my Bipolar isn't controlled, how can I ever hope to control my weight? In that month and a half, I gained 25lbs. In the 3 previous months in the trial, I gained 3lbs. So, quite obviously, it was the meds. It is so awful how we have to manage so many problems. But I think getting you Bipolar stabilized, as much as possible, and then working on your weight would be an excellent idea. Afterall, the better you feel and look, the less your Bipolar has to grab a hold of and "use" against you. KWIM? Good luck and contact me anytime. So few people understand our predicament, so sticking together is great! Be Blessed, Kelley

I gave up carbonated drinks many years ago because of the gas (terrible hiccups & aggregated my reflux) & the calories. I only drank soda, tonic or mineral water (& wine, gin & scotch 😁). I didn’t miss other carbonated drinks. Now, I only have tonic or soda, which I let flatten a bit, the rare times I have gin. I agree with the studies about artificial sweeteners @s@ssen@ch mentioned. Artificial sweeteners don’t do anything to stop your desire for sweet things because they provide you with the same sweet hit just with much fewer calories. Sugar has addictive qualities as does the caffeine in many carbonated drinks. That’s what you’re likely missing @Heather13 not the Diet Coke itself. For me, this process has been perfect to cut out, reduce or limit my intake of things like sugar, carbs, alcohol, etc. All the things that contributed to my weight gain & inability to lose & maintain loss in the past. You’ll notice for every person that says they can eat or drink something or can or can’t do something after their surgery, you’ll find someone who doesn’t or can’t. Remember, we’re all different & have different experiences on this program. One of the big learnings is discovering what works for you & brings you success. I’ve very much appreciated the suggestions, advice & stories people posted on these threads & through trial & error I’m working out my what helps me & brings me success. Good luck.

I was banded on 5/12 and lost 10 lbs by the time I had my first f/u. I am due a fill on 6/18, however, I have not lost another pound since 5/21 my f/u. I have type II diabetes and am on an insulin pump. Have you considered being tested for insulin resistance? This can cause weight loss to stall as your body is not using the insulin you produce properly. This can also cause weight gain - even if you are eating 1200- 1500 calories a day. Don't give up, ask them to test your hemoglobin A1C - if it is between 6.0 and 8.0, you probably need glucophage to jumpstart your body into using insulin properly. This will assist you in your weight loss also. Talk with your doctor.

I had extreme swelling too but I was able to get liquids down, slowly, by only sipping through a 1 ounce med cup and I could get very little in at first. Do or did you have any sort of chronic inflammation issues or have you seen a rheumotologist in the past? I assumed my swelling is the fact that I get chronic inflammation throughout my body due to mixed tissue disease / Lupus. You could visibly see that my stomach (about 2 inches above my belly button) was extremely swollen 5 weeks after surgery. It does get better every day. Hopefully they do a blood test on you since they are actually starting you steroids to check for inflammation and check for positive ana's. In case you are worried about the steroids/weight gain don't. Steroids will not make you fat. They do increase the appetite which may help you get liquids down and they actually can give you extra energy, something I am sure you are lacking right now. Since you can't get liquids down you aren't going to overeat. If you aren't using a one ounce med cup try using that to take slow sips, and realize this is temporary. I am so sorry you are going through this and I'm sending you my thoughts and prayers.

she frustrates me but u can only lead the horse to Water. she is always going to start her diet on Monday. sorry but having WLS is well beyond the "diet" mentality. i eep telling her to get the band deflated and quit torchering herself but she doesn't want her dr to see her weight gain. sorry about spelling but I'm on my kindle and cant figure out how to turn off this auto word stuff.

Its GREAT to hear from everyone. It makes me feel a little more 'normal' hearing everyone update where they are and how they feel. I too am having trouble eating too fast or large of mouthfulls. I realize I need to pre-plan my meals better and really focus on what I'm doing. I'm frustrated by my lack of pounds lost. So many of you are really doing awesome in that department! Congrats to you all! I'll be there soon with you! I did some searching online and enjoyed some 'refresher' info from Dr. Connie Stapleton of MindBody.com. on youtube. I'm also going to purchase a book from Judith Beck "THE COMPLETE BECK DIET FOR LIFE : The Lifetime Solution for Permanent Weight Loss" which I think will help me personally with training myself to eat/think like a thin person. I've observed the differences between my 'normal sized' sister and I. I realize that I need to think and act more like her which involves more planning of my meals so that my hunger is no longer the 'emergency' that I normally feel that it is. Beck refers to planning as being important for many things but one that struck a chord with me was that planning helps b/c you can withstand hunger b/c you know exactly when you will eat next and what you will eat. So mentally it becomes more bearable and less of an 'emergency' to eat now! I also am going to try a tip given by Dr. Stapleton which is to create a tip jar. You cut up 50 (or 100 or as many as you want) of small slips of paper. On each you write down things you can do INSTEAD of eating. When you feel the urge to eat outside of your plan, you go get a slip of paper from the tip jar and do whatever it is that you pulled. It can be as simple as 'go pull 5 weeds from the flower bed' - the idea is that it should be a distraction to go do something else. By the time you're done with the distraction - you may be past your moment of weakness and you're re-training yourself to deal with the urge to eat vs. feeding yourself and your emotion/issue/craving with food. The other major difference between my fit sister and I is that she exercises daily. I swear I have it in my mind that beautiful men and women who look fit - just are - without working out everyday. I'm learning that just isn't the case. So if I want to act like a thin/fit person - I have to exercise daily. At the Harvard conference on Obesity, according to Dr. Stapleton, exercising 60 min per day: prevents weight gain. What do you know, that's what she does - about 5x per week. I mean, we all know this right? Its not earth shattering - I've just got to get wtih it!! I'm also going to post this top 9 list for myself fr Dr. Stapleton. I'm sorry for the long post but wanted to share in case it helps any of you: 1. Make consistently healthy food choices. With the band, we're eating less - 60g Protein per day is important to us. So making the consistent choice to eat the right food source to provide 60g of protien is something I'm going to have to do. Protein, then Vitamin rich & antioxidant rich vegetables and fruit! That means - don't eat food from white flour/white sugar. Don't knock myself down if I screw up and eat some chocolate - in fact plan into my eating to enjoy some of those 'forbidden things' just eat really well 90% of the time! 2. Maintain portion control: for me, no more than 1 cup of food, 3x per day. 3. Have to exercise on a daily basis - I'm a busy working mom - so I really don't have the time. That means I'm going to have to steal 60 mins from somewhere else - some other thing I'm doing - I'm going to have to give it up. Maybe that's watching tv, sleeping in, or some other activity that's going to just have to give way to get replaced by exercise b/c I really DON'T have the time to exercise. I just have to figure out what 60 mins I'm going to have to replace with exercise. 4. Drink Water all day long. I won't drink 30min before or 30 min after. And this is the only way I'm going to stay hydrated. 5. Plan your meals. On Sun, I'm going to cook some ckn breats in a crock pot and portion it out for the upcoming week. I'm going to have cottage cheese, Soup, tuna, etc. on hand and planned for the week. -No grazing. (I do this and I know its where extra calories are coming in) -No sliding (I do this too b/c its comforting. I'm leaning toward mashed potatos, refried Beans, all the easy stuff) 6. Keep a food diary. I'm using calorie-count.com, but there is the daily plate, and so many others. I even read about an iphone app someone is using. Writing it down keeps me accountable but more importantly - when my weight is stalling, I have a clear picture of what may be contributing to it- and I'll also have a history to track what breaks my plateaus so I can use the same strategy later when I need it. 7. Keep an Exercise Log. This is going to allow me to give myself rewards for accomplishing what I dislike the most. I may also purchase a pedometer -studies have some shown people who wear pedometers tend to meet their planned steps per day and end up exercising more b/c they have that 'accountability' and tracker right there on their waist. 8. Get adequate sleep. Its good for my brain, my skin, and for my metabolism. 9. Utilize a healthy support system. That's what this forum and you Lucky Losers are to me! What an amazing group of people you all are - and we need to continue to fully support each other when we're down and when we're up! Sorry again for the long post! Keep up the great work everyone!

hello guys, so today i weighted in @ 219.6...... yeaaaaaa for me. that brings me to a total of 7.4 lbs loss. still a ways to go but the way im starting to see it now is sum loss is better than no loss, and way better than sum weight gain. how is everyone doing?? im going to go to the gym in a lil while to ride the bike again that bike is a monster, but it must be doign sumthing for me. how many of u guys are working out?? can u tell me what u are doing and is there anything good for the stomach, besides sit-ups, lol.

Amen sista! The low carb revolution gave people a new lease on low-glycemic eating, but with the launch of so many low-carb substitutions (Splenda included) we haven't learned how to eat differently - we just substitute it for engineered, low-carb alternatives. I just can't imagine we're not paying a dear price for this. Our bodies just don't recognize the content of some of these chemical bonds and the result is free radicals roaming around your body, resulting in aging, weight gain, loss of energy, and in some cases cancer. I'm an organic gal, myself. I figured I'd change it ALL when I got banded and began to eat organic, non-processed foods. You can't imagine how quickly the craving for sugar dissipates. Your eyes are brighter, your skin looks better, you have a lot more energy! But it's definitely a lifestyle alteration; one that's not easy to convert to (ecspecially if you have a family).

I know. I hate it. my choices are so limited compared to others. I can't have anything that Heather listed. I'm really curious how each diet's statistics are as far as weight gain back or not goes...

I was sleeved 4/16 and have had two periods since. The first one was brutal because I hadn't had one in 2 years. Dr put me on birth control and the second one wasn't so bad and not heavy like the other. Thank God! Pcos sucks. Weight gain, excess body hair, thinning hair and possible infertility sucks. And no one knows anything about it unless they have it. No one else understands either. My weight loss has been pretty good. Had about a 3 week stall but seems fine now. Surgery weight was 284 and now I'm 210. Hopefully these pcos symptoms go away. Hubby and I want a baby. That was the main reason for surgery. I'm 30 will be 31 in August. My clock is ticking really fast!! The 18 month wait is gonna be the hardest!