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I am getting my required nicotine testing done next week, then its just waiting while they send all the info to the insurance company. I am thinking end of February maybe early March surgery date, fingers crossed. It's been a long road - these darn cigarettes. I completed all my other requirements but was struggling to quit smoking. I finally got it- and I am 30 days clean as of Monday, I feel really good about it and no longer having any cravings. Hopefully they don't ding me too hard on the weight gain.

@@sleeve 4 me. I am 10 months out and at my lowest weight (-100 pounds and 12 pounds below goal) But here are my weight "gains" since VSG.... Gained at least 5 pounds immediately post op. Took 11 days to get back to my surgery day weight. Gained 3 pounds at 6 weeks out for no apparent reason, stalled for a month and then continued to lose. Gained 11 pounds in 1 day at 2 1/2 months out after receiving IV fluids when I was severely dehydrated from diarrhea due to a clostridium infection. Gained 4 pounds on vacation at 9 1/2 months out. (Probably water weight from all the alcohol I drank) Dropped those 4 pounds plus 1 extra within 10 days of returning home. Not sure if this is what you were looking for.

Not sure if this applies to you. However, my doctor reminded that since I am of “child bearing age” (lol loved how he phrased it) that I might see the few pound weight gain with ovulation and pms. I track my periods and noticed my stall/gain this week is happening during my ovulation time. The gain is less than before, but in the same time frame. I also noticed I felt the same hunger that I have during this time. That helped me not worry about it. It’s just my body doing what it does monthly. Lol

confidence and how you carry yourself is everything my dear... well not everything, but it plays a huge roll in how men see you. i always had bf's when i was bigger and i met my husband when i was at the weight i am now; i ballooned to 278 lbs within months after we got married, he never said a word about the weight gain, but when i would bring it up he was always supportive. different strokes for different folks, ya know what i mean? so, YES there are men out there that do like big girls, you just got to look more closely :laugh:

OuNewt: Best wishes to you for removal and success afterwards. I didn't update after my initial surgery. I got a postop infection ten days after surgery and was back in the hospital on high doses of intravenous antibiotics for four more days. I woke up with a temperature of 104 on day ten, so I called my surgeon. He had me go to emergency room. They did a ct scan and found that I had infection inside. My kind surgeon was on vacation, but he came to see me twice in the hospital, driving down from Maine to MA each time. He felt badly about the infection. Not sure how it came, but probably from that gross band that had been accumulating food and germs in my stomach. The band actually looked black in the EGD pictures - gross! So, here I am 8 months later with a lot of weight gained. I'm pursuing the sleeve now. Will have to wait and see. I hope that all goes well for you. Please keep us posted, as I'm one of those crazy, caring people that will be worrying about you and wondering how you're doing. Take care and be well. Sue

Going out on a limb here and am scared at the same time. I was diagnosed in '07 as being bipolar, mild,not severe and given a cocktail of meds, along with this disease I suffer from severe insomnia so mostly my symptoms are that along with mild depression. I take Klonopin, Saphris and Zonisamide. All has been going great and no I don't have manic episodes everything was going great up until about a month ago I noticed my moods have changed. As some of you know I live with my mom since my divorce and well I have a tendancy to lash out at her, she knows I don't mean it and she understands completely and I'm even lashing out at my dog. I called my psych the other day and called in Depakote and the pharmacist said, do you know the side effects of this drug of course I said no, she proceeded to tell me that it caused hair loss which after lap band I am experiencing now, severe weight gain and I'm thinking great. Why in the world would my psych of 7 yrs put me on a drug that makes me gain weight? I guess I am jumping out here in hopes that someone with this disease will respond and tell me what they take and if they have any adverse effects from the meds they take. It's obvious I need a mood stabilizer but from all my research they all seem to have side effect of weight gain. I have been on my cocktail of drugs for quite some time and don't know if they have stopped working or what. Someone please have some answers. thanks...Donna

Weapon. Sound like a true plateau. And yes, they can last for months. To go off of Lisa's comment. Tricking the body is precisely what you want to do. You've been so clean for so long that the body has acclimated, metabolism has shifted etc. This is a an old bodybuilder trick. They eat clean for 6 days than eat like crap the 7th. As soon as the body starts detecting starvation, bam, it has a huge rise in cals and it calls off the plateau (or hoarding of fat reserves). Since you are well into your plateau. Forget one meal, or one day. Try a week. Truly, kick the diet for a week. Let your body 'think' it's flush w/ cals. After a week, go back on diet. Typically any weight gained flies off but you will see the scale start to go down. At that point my recommendation is to have a cheat meal or cheat day weekly to keep plateaus in check. Hope this helps. (and yes cal cycling is effective), however, your 900-1100 cal range is what Im at and Im a woman. Most banded men are a few hundred higher like 1100-1300 and that may be playing a factor. However, you won't hear from me not to weigh or track daily..that's a must in my book <wink>

i'm lucky to have the hourglass shape, and i love being short, but i can't wait to be truly petite. all the women in my family are tiny (none of the men are heavy either...except my dad..we are the only ones). anyways, my mom is 4'10" and most of her life she weighed 85 lbs (she is a nice healthy 120 now, and she thinks she's fat :faint:..haha..she still wears a size 5...but i do joke with her that she just might be considered obese now.. (haha..she has bad health problems and really doesn't need any extra weight, but her new med's caused a quick weight gain..she always sayed things to me out of concern..so now i'm returning the favor..although she is almost 50 and i would rather her be an older woman with some meat on her bones...). anyways..back to the subject, i have a cousin who is the same as my mom 4'10" wears a size 0, a sister who has had 4 kids and is 5'0" and half my size...lol. only one girl in the whole family who is taller than me..... so, i'll be glad when we can go to christmas gatherings, etc., and i won't feel like the giant (hhahaha...it's hard to believe i'm the giant at 5'2").

Hi TaraJane I have also cancelled several appointments recently. Its just so humiliating having to get on those scales and have the nurse record the weight gain. I actually gathered up my courage and went back for a fill in April. Unfortunately, I got too much put in and I basically couldnt eat any solids. I lost 4 kilos in two weeks but it was so horrible, I had to get the band loosened again. Of course, I've regained the 4 kilos and now I'm nervous about getting a refill as well as embarrased about the weight gain. Do you want to support each other in making a commitment to go back for a fill within the next month (no matter what the scales say)? I'm game, if you are.

yeah Ive wondered the same thing on sizes-Im 5'3 and at 214 I wore a 20/22 but I see others with basicly same stats wearing 18-I wished-if I wore an 18 id look squished in and itd define my rolls-lol.I am also top heavy-even before all my weight gain my chest is a 42dd now its a 46dd-ugh-but my doctor will finally sign off to have reduction once I lose the weight as its a health issue with my back and such.

How are things going with your MGB now? How is the aid reflux? R you happy with the MGB compared to the sleeve? Have u reached your goal with no weight gain?

that medication you started the side affect listed on it is possible weight gain. But lets start there at your food habits... Are you still eating healthy? making sure to limit carbs and sugars? or are you just eating whatever? I am only 9 months out and i dont feel the restriction i did 5 months ago. I can eat much larger portions than before. The goal tho is to limit those portions regardless. The goal is not to eat until you cant anymore. Its to eat until you are satisfied. not full but good. Not sure what else you can do with surgery. you already had the sleeve and then bypass which is what most people go to when they gain too much weight after sleeve or have GERD issues.

So sorry for your loss. I hate when people say these things..... They don't realize how much words affect you. My x was my biggest NON-supporter.... but he is gone now (yayyyyy). There are some things you can do: Start logging your food in a food app... I like Myfitnesspal and Baritastic. Do this for a week and really see where your fats, cals, and carbs are coming from. Start to remove them from your diet. Go back to portion control. Start over, do your two-week preop diet. Food prepping is a great way to get back on track. Moving more.... Surgically i think you can do the band over bp, or the DS.... but i'm not 100% Have you been back to you dr? If not... goooooo. Don't be embarrassed about your weight gain. Tell him/her the truth about what's going on in your life and get him/her on board. The dr is there to help you succeed. You are not the first person to regain and you won't be the last..... But, you are the only person that can make the changes happen. YOU CAN DO THIS..... when the nonsupportive people start telling you crap.... walk away, just walk away. Surround yourself with positive people... If you can make an appointment with your NUT and psychiatrist.... they can help you with food choices.... and help you with the emotional part of why. Wishing you all the best....

all those things you mentioned are normal - weight gain due to IVs in the hospital, constipation, etc - normal. Just stick to the eating plan your clinic gave you and you WILL lose weight. The only way you'll fail is if you don't follow the plan.

I have personally never seen people break up solely because of weight gain or loss, there always seems to be a different problem lurking in the background and this is the easier thing to pick as the motive (even when its closely related its usually health issues caused by it) People who want to be together find ways of making it work and last in healthy balanced ways. Others can't wait for a legitimate "looking" reason to escape without seeming like the villain.

Okay where do I begin?! I'm literally 13 days away from my one year surgiversary and am not excited in the least bit. I am no where near my goal and have slowly gained almost 15 lbs in the last 2 1/2 months. My daughter's father passed away July 28th of this year and it totally just took me by surprise. He was a big guy (but not "that" big) but long story short he went to ER on a Monday . . . learned he had diabetes and was near a stroke and went into cardiac arrest on a Thursday and passed. He was only 28. And even though we've been broken up for YEARS I still took it hard. My daughter cried and is sad but she is doing great. She's 6 1/2 and understands but is doing well. I've stayed away from this site because I'm so embarrassed and ashamed that I let my emotions get the best of me and literally threw in the towel to any and ALL weight loss efforts. For me this post sleeve journey hasn't been effortless. I've gone to the gym the day my dr cleared me to go and have had to burn every pound I've burned. So when I stopped exercising and counting carbs/calories I started gaining little by little. I don't want to make this too long and don't want to be "debbie downer" but I guess I'm just venting in a place where (hopefully) someone has experienced what I have. A little bit of success and then some weight gain and a success again (hopefully). The lowest weight I have gotten to was 206 (from 285 day of surgery and 306 at the start of Kaiser's Options Program). I stay away from the scale but last time I weighed myself I was 220/221!!! . . . but it fluctuates from 217/220 ish. I was SO close to onderland I could taste it! lol . . . and now it seems oh so far away. I just don't know where to start. Oh I guess I should add I got engadged about a month ago to my boyfriend of a yr and a 1/2. So you would think planning a wedding would make me more motivated to get my butt moving. It's done the opposite! lol . . . yikes! I need help! Thanks for reading

I don't agree w some of you just because there skinny don't think they dont worry about weight gain ... You all feel the need to think its something else you do have skinny ppl that worry just because the see fat ppl and that the reality but it's hard to put yourself in their shoes because some use aren't there yet but I've been called skinny I worry about my weight but a person that doesn't kno me would think other wise because I'm skinny I think we should be mindful of others we hate when stereo type us for being fat and we do it to skinny ppl for being skinny

My surgeon told my DH that he put in a smaller band (I didn't know there was such a thing!) and that I could expect more rapid weight loss more quickly. When I got home I got on the scale and expected to see a weight gain because of the IV fluids, which I did. I was up 5 lbs. Today I got on the scale and not only were those 5 lbs gone but so were another 4.5! I am following my liquid diet to a "T". I am on clear liquids this week and thicker liquids next week. Then I go to pureed foods, then eventually soft meats and then "normal" food. It is a 6 week process to get back to regular food.

I am working on my last weigh in for insurance and I have gained weight 5 of the 6 weigh ins. Has anyone had this issue and still got approved. I am so worried this will effect my insurance approval. Help, please and thank you.

I have 10 years of data on my fitness pal showing me that every time I stop weighing myself routinely then I have a dramatic spike in weight. I’m very head-in-the-sand about weight gain, so I know I have to keep an eye on it. Normally I would be a once-a-day weigher, but since I’m in active weight loss right now I’m trying to limit it to 2-3x a week. That way I can (usually) see the scale drop at least a little each time and I don’t drive myself crazy with fluctuations.

I did it today to see what the difference is on a work day. Plus I ate so badly yesterday that I really wanted to get back on track quickly. It really makes me mad that I can't wear a lot of my summer clothes. All of a sudden, I have this spare tire around my middle and all of my tops are too small. It doesn't make sense to me, because I'm not up that much from last summer. I got a book for .50 written by Dr. Oz at the library today. it's a cool book and it explains all about hormones and weight gain. It's not just the women hormones. There are all sorts of other hormones, like the hunger hormone and the satisfaction hormone.

Hello everyone. I'm looking forward to hearing what you all have to say about sleeve surgery. From those that are considering it and those that have experienced it. I've spoken to a facilitator over the phone and email and hope to meet her mom who lives near me as she has had the surgery as well and is a facilitator too. She's also close in age to me (I'm 54) and I thought that meeting her face-to-face may help me make a decision. I'm in Canada and the hospital is in Mexico - it has a Canadian connection (I think owned by a Canadian woman) and meets very high standards. Although it's in Mexico I don't feel worried about the level of care, or the abilities of the doctors and staff. I've asked a lot of questions of the facilitator - to the point where I think I've asked more questions, or taken more of her time than she wishes to give. That did turn me off a little - it was only two phone calls and a couple of emails. I guess they have their limit as per how much they get paid? As the hospital is in Mexico I don't get to meet the surgeon to discuss things and that's a worry for me. I'm relying on facilitators with no medical background, just the fact they've been through it and have had some training. My biggest worry: REGRET. This is a permanent procedure. I read something where somebody commented - "why would anybody want to remove a perfectly healthy, functioning body part?!" I get this - it's what makes this whole thing a bit on the bizarre side to me. And what if I just cannot STAND the changes? What if I feel nothing but sorrow and regret and horror at what I've done to myself? There's no going back - this thought haunts me in the time that I've been considering this as an option to weight loss. I don't see myself as somebody that is super obsessed with food. Not once have I ever gotten up in the middle of the night to eat something - not one time. I don't overeat. I choose the wrong foods a lot of the time and I love chocolate. My servings at dinner are likely too big, but I've never just eaten non-stop. Don't eat a bag of Cookies, nothing like that. I noted that I was putting on weight at 9 years old. I distinctly remember the moment I was aware of this. I've battled weight gain for much of my life. The thinnest I've ever been was when I was eating around 1200 calories a day, and working out (literally!) 2-3 hours PER DAY. Yup. I was super fit and looked good. This of course, was before I had 3 children. I'm a Weight Watchers "joiner" as my friend and I refer to ourselves. Never a WW grad, always a joiner. I did Weight Loss Clinic in my early 20's and lost weight. Up and down, up and down. Always weighing more with each subsequent weight gain. I'm sure what I've said here is pretty close to what each of you have experienced. How do I deal with this fear of regret? I can't seem to move past it. I hear what my facilitator says - she doesn't know anybody that has regretted it. She says she has many, many relatives and friends that have done this surgery and they all feel happy about their decision. But I'm also speaking to somebody who WORKS for the hospital and from my point of view, is trying to bring clients in for the money (cost is $13,600 just for me, no companion). A bit cost prohibitive for us, and I haven't mentioned a thing to my husband - he won't have a clue how I feel as he's never had a weight issue in his life - but he'll sure feel reluctant about the money spent! We all have our stories about our rock bottom. In fact, I have many rock bottom stories - each one, at the time, I'm thinking it's the worst thing that's happened to me. The most embarrassing, the most demeaning, the most sad I've felt. I don't see these rock bottom occurrences stopping because I'm not losing any weight. I've dieted my way all the way up to this weight (I'm guessing my weight is around 250 lbs.) and in the last few years I've given up on dieting. I'll just end up losing it once again and then gaining it all back +more, so why try? Why keep doing that? My biggest worries are: 1) Regret - what if I regret my decision? 2) Age - is 54 too old to do this? 3) Post-op diet - along with the pre-op 800 cal. a day diet (wow!), I'm worried about the weeks of liquid diet. I have to work, how will I do it if I'm starving? (my job can be intense and I have to be on the ball all the time). 4) I have chronic migraines and see a Neurologist. Will the weight loss alleviate/lessen migraines, or make them worse? 5) Will I ever actually enjoy food again? Or be able to? We have a favourite restaurant - would hate if I can never again enjoy that sort of outing 6) No caffeine, no alcohol! OMG - that's harsh! I love wine and would miss that. But think it's 6 months off of it? Caffeine. Due to migraines I'm not supposed to have it at all, but I now just have a tea in the morning so guess I could do that. I do love my tea and wine though :-) I so appreciate any comments, good or bad, that you can offer me. I do want to be truly happy in my own skin. I can't picture myself on the plane, in Mexico (never been there), and in the hospital going through with this. It just doesn't seem like a reality. And I really am fearful of the entire thing. My income is very important to my family and I still have a young child (almost 11) to care for. What if I don't recover? What if I can't work and cause my family to suffer due to me wanting to look good (okay, and hopefully ward off diabetes and other weight-related issues). Ugh… I'm a mess! LOL Tracy

Hi All, Had my surgery Jan 16th, had problems signing in to be a part of this group...finally able to get in to comment. I've been following along since beginning of Jan....so much good info from you guys!!! It's helped me alot!!! I'm down 22 pounds as of this am. Was 23 lbs, but gained a pound this past week?? My visit with Dr. last week went real well. He's pretty much cleared me to eat anything now, stating everyone is different and your stomach will tell you if you shouldn't eat it. Wants me to weigh in once a week instead of everyday. I asked about calorie intake, he's more concerned about protien instead. I've been having a very hard time getting protien in. Cannot drink shakes, tried all of them. Thought I'd do good on Clear Protien water....nope too sweet and I gag when I drink it. Finally found Fairlife Core & Core Elite (from reading comments on here). Also gag now with water!! Never had a problem with water before 3 weeks ago...now it's a struggle. Ice chips work instead. This past week I tried tuna fish!! It goes down easy and high in protien....I find I'm craving salt! I started eating Saltines, letting them "melt" in my mouth. Thinking I maybe eating too many since I have a weight gain this week.(?) I have 2-3 at a time....about 3 times a day. My average calorie intake is 520 or less. Staying within macros guidelines. So I'm a bit upset about the weight gain, since calorie intake is so little. I walk a mile and a half everyday. Ride bike for a mile and do some strengthening excercises for upper body 3 x's a week. I thought I'd be down a pound[emoji53]. Had the 3 week stall, got through that. Thanks to all of you talking me through it![emoji4] I have found I really need to push my plate away, taking the one more bite throws me over into "stuffed", therefore getting that pain where esophagus meets stomach. And boy-oh-boy it hurts!! I'm finally getting a handle on how much my new belly can hold. Thank you all for the good advice you've posted. We are in this together, and you do get me through stuff!! Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I want to be within my target weight maintenance range at the two year mark - Oct 20th. Range is 153-156. Weight this morning - 151.6. I always read that most folks have a "bounce back" weight gain at the 12 to 18 month mark. My weight stabilized at 155 at about 13 months out. I was determined that there would be no bounce back. So far, so good! I'm absolutely convinced that the key is my food log. Which I've maintained since a few weeks after my surgery. And the next milestone will be being in the same range at the three year mark! Lovin the new me!!

My group says that eating less than 1000 calories will set you up to have a starvation metabolism that not only can halt weight loss, but also is correlated with less weight loss, and more weight regain in 10 year studies.....because your metabolism is reset to a sluggish starvation level that works against you when you start eating normally again. You really can't eat 600 calories a day forever without suffering malnutrition eventually. My group's protocol was developed by a major medical research hospital (University of Michigan) and is being picked up by Ceadars-Sinai and Bethesda naval hospital this year due to it's superior performance in longterm studies and excellent reputation in the Bariatric research community. There are still old-school doctors who push super low calorie diets post surgically. The weight loss is fast, and people are very happy with fast results. But they often don't last and can result in an unhealthy metabolism that can't handle normal levels of calories later...and eventually result in weight gain. The newer approach is to advance people to eating normal amounts of calories as soon as possible, so that they have the energy to add exercise and boost their metabolisms into athletic fat burning furnaces that last a lifetime and help them eat sensibly and continue to lose weight. My doctor: You get one chance to reset your metabolism with this surgery, why would you want to reset it to a starvation level that conserves every calorie? My nutritionist says that eating under 1000 calories is correlated with more hair loss, nutrient malabsorption, fatigue and stress. Fatigue and stress trigger cortisol...which again, is contraindicated for weight loss. Everyone has their own approach to who they trust and why.... A lot of my family is in medicine. I tend to trust the research hospitals and the empirical data of solid studies rather than the hype of clinics that are more interested in making a buck. I'm much more convinced by a collaborative consensus of what provably is healthiest long term and works. I've been eating 1000-1200 calories since week 3....very comfortably. I'm walking seven miles a day and feel terrific. The scale is moving down about two to three pounds a week and I'm off all my meds. I am loving this new lifestyle:) And I can live with it long term. And that's really the goal in my mind....the forever habits I can live with.