Search the Community

The band isnt designed to make you vomit lol so you sure aint missing out on that! Maybe you arent at decent restriction yet,it took me a few fills to get the full feeling. If you check up some of my early days posts,you will read that I was thinking the band was not going to work for me,and I felt like a failure;but a few fills later,I was on track,feeling full and losing weight! I will never say the band has been easy..it takes a lot of getting used to.Some days I would give anything to eat a fresh crusty chunk of bread and butter!:thumbup: I have tried every diet possible,with weight loss and then weight gain at the end of it. I really think the band is the best thing I ever spent my money on and will never regret it. Good luck to everyone on there journey. Its a bumpy ride at times,but well worth sticking to it!:w00t:

Hi Chloe, As many people on this site will tell you, the band is only a tool to use to help you. Have you had a fill lately? Your tool won't work unless it's at a proper fill level. Are you serious about loosing weight? Then face your temporary weight gain/set back up front, see your doctor and dietitian, and get back on track. Avoiding knowing how much you gain just lets you rationalize that it's OK. Only you can make the choice to change the path you're on. Get rid of the unhealthy treats in your house. Start a new exercise plan. Get into a new routine. Do it for yourself, not your parents and/or the money. It SOUNDS easy, but we all know it's not. All of us who've been banded know how hard weight loss is. Unfortunately, it is what it is, and we have to do this for ourselves! For me, every day is a battle against food. Some days it's a big battle, otherdays not so hard. If you aren't hungry, it's easier to win the battle--so make sure your band is helping you as much as it can. Take care! You are young and have your whole life ahead of you...enjoy it!

Had my sleeve at age 59. Lost 105 pounds in first 10 months and maintained. Gained 10 at year 2; lost 10 at year 2.5; lost 5 at year 3. I was a crazy nut about following my bari program (eating and lifestyle change) exactly for the first 2 years. I've relaxed a bit now because I am confident in how I control my choices. Used to be a power walker (up to 10 miles a day), but had to give that up 'cuz of hip problems. Exercise now is very limited, just walking 30 min/day on soft carpet, and Water aerobics 2-3x/week. I DO think about the natural weight gain thing because of aging, but so far so good. I have identified that those starchy carbs are my enemy so hopefully staying away from them will keep my weight stable. I do have those flappy bat wings now that I could do without, but in the "big picture" I'll live with 'em!

No, you should not do a liquid diet. I didn't need to do a preop liquid diet at all and my BMI was 41. the post op diet was so easy to follow because I had sooo much restriction from surgery. I have done liquid diets in the past and they are wicked. They are hard to follow and for me usually results in huge binges and weight gain instead of loss. Have you met with your sugeon yet? If not, I would not try to lose weight untill you see him. Qualify for surgery and then if you want, try a liquid diet. You can always cancel the surgery once you qualify, but it is alot harder to qualify for surgery if your BMI drops below 40.

I'm so short that even a little weight gain/loss is very noticeable so my friends and family have all commented on it (they don't know I had WLS.) Unfortunately my driver's license photo is from 10 years ago when I was 21 and under my current goal weight......LOL

Thank you all so much. I just had a full blown, hyperventilating panic attack. I'm almost certain it's the Wellbutrin which I won't take again. I'm getting back on my regular medication even though it does cause weight gain. I just have to trust that the sleeve will help me battle against that. Logging on here and seeing these encouraging messages was just what I needed. THANK YOU. Really. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Oh and my surgeon called me today and told me after 6 mos I can take pills again. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Definitely a good idea to read up on ketosis. I think people who have never been on Atkins or South Beach don't understand how it differs from a straight-up low calorie diet. That transition into ketosis is no fun! And the water-weight gain from storing glycogen again is going to upset people who put a lot of stock into what their scale says.

Looking at your stats, we aren't too dissimilar. You had a higher start weight than I, but our height and goal weight are damn close. I eventually got down to 198 before I started heavy lifting. Well, as heavy as this broken down body will allow. My original goal weight was 220, the weight when i met my wife. I blew past it no problem! The hard part came (and it always does) is the rebound weight and also the muscle mass weight gain. You might be conflicted when the scale goes back up. It is very important to have a good relationship with your surgeon or qualified dietitian that you feel you can trust. I don't say nutritionist because they are nothing more than smoothie recipe repositories in my experience. I have held steady at a 225 lb weight for 3 years. I have seen it fluctuate as much as 5 lbs depending on how bad I was over a weekend. Bad in my case turns out to be eating ham. Not lunchmeat ham, traditional easter/christmas bone in hams. I swell up so bad the skin splits around my fingernails! I only bring this up because while I weigh in every day at the gym (Monday thru Friday), but I only worry about my monthly average. I keep a log of my lifts, my eating, BM's, and weigh. I can usually deduce if I am gaining weight from over eating, water retention, or constipation. Didn't mean to be so long winded. I haven't really talked that much on here in a long while. Keep doing whatever you are doing now if it makes you happy and fuels your passion for exercise. Enjoy the honeymoon phase and do as much as possible to cement the routine in your mind. You look great, best of luck to you! *edit* Forgot to mention - this past Christmas break, I weighed in at 232 and almost shat myself right there. Upped my water intake to flush out the ham's sodium and I was back to 227 by weeks end. So don't freak out if the scale moves the other way once in a while. Just take the steps you know you need to.

Thank you everyone who gave your advise. I now have a better understanding of why this evaluation is so important. When I asked the scheduler at the surgeons office why she said it was just to make sure I wasn't crazy. But going to talk about the addiction to food and the fact that I will no longer be able to use it as my comfort, my friend, or my crutch is a very scary thought. I know that going in but it will be nice to talk with a professional to be able to help me through it. I do have an addiction to food and I have no idea why or when it really started. I have not always been the "fat" girl. It used to be just the opposite. I graduated high school 20 years ago weighing a mere 87 lbs. No I never had anorexia or any kind of eating disorder. I just couldn't gain weight. I never in a million years thought I would be at the weight I am today. My weight gain didn't start until after my 2nd child. My first pregnancy I only gained 25 lbs putting me at 125lbs at delivery. At my 2week check up post delivery I was down to 90lbs.I lost more than I had gained, and they made me stop breast feeding. My 2nd pregnancy I gained 20 and never lost any of it, it just went up. And since then 8 years now I am up to 209 and 5ft tall. I don't think I ever suffered from post pardum, but I do suffer from depression and always have even in high school. So who knows. I do know that I am ready to make this necessary change in my life. I am slowly killing myself with food and it needs to stop. I will read on this forum everyday to educate my self, get inspiration and anything else I can to help me along my way. Thank you for all the support A.

Hell yea I did! My surgery was Jan 14. And I had all the holidays to enjoy. I ate EVERYTHING in sight. It was fantastic. I didn’t morn the loss of food at all. But it sure was great not to worry about weight gain etc and just eat!!!! Kind of like the all in diet a lot of professional fitness people do! :)

Congrats to you,you're doing that thing! I too noticed a weight gain after 2yrs RNY, was down but now getting my life back with exercise and more mindful eating! Congrats again! Sent from my LM-T600 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi Everyone, Today has been a banner day because this morning I saw my Primary care doctor for the final time required by my insurance . Let me step back in time 6 months . Like so many others on this board I have a lifetime of being plus sized. I have many reasons over the years not the least of the is that I have a congenital disorder that requires me to live on steroids. This has always made weight loss difficult but not impossible. So over the last 2 decades i would go up and down more up then down. Then this strange thing happened called menopause and the ups kept happening and the downs got harder and harder . Hours in the gym would result in weight gains. I felt like as long as I was healthy and active then I would be okay not everyone in this world was meant to be thin. I have a great life so i was content with the state of this for a really long time . Then I Quit Smoking and changed medicine and the menopause at the same time and I gained a lot of weight very quickly. This tipped my scale so to speak . I Started having serious medical problems . i kept saying to myself I am only 4_. This will get better but it did not . Then 6 months my insurance changed and I had to get a new Dr. She did a physical and a full on battery of test to "see where I was" . 2 weeks later She called to tell me i was diabetic and needed to be on medication asap. My Grandfather, My Father and My partner of 12 years all died of complication to diabetes , I know that road. i hung up the phone cried for 10 minutes . Picked up the phone and made an appointment for a consult with a surgeon. i was not letting that disease control my life. I was ready or at least I thought I was. My Insurance company had a few things to say about that. They have had me jumping thru quite a few hoops. I have never seen my primary care doctor so much in my entire life!!! I have had go and talk to her about diet and exercises once a month for the last 6 months. The Funny thing is as far as the insurance company is concerned I have to go and get on a scale talk about diet but if I do not loss a pound that confirms for them that I "NEED" the surgery. Whereas My surgeon will not do the surgery unless i loss between 10-20 pounds. In the middle of all of this my original doctor Dr Jossert left the practice and I had to switch to his partner.Dr Cirangle. What made today a banner day is that the day i called I had no Idea what i weighted because my scale only went up to 330 and I was over that. The day I arrived at LapSF I weighed 327 pounds . Today I weighted 314 pounds . I lost the last 3 pounds over the weekend and because i did i got a Surgery date of Nov. 29 today. As long as the insurance approves everything that is my date. So that is my story to date... more to come i am sure

Don't worry, I have been on many weight loss forums and it its VERY common for weight gain or stalls in the 3rd or 4th week of any diet/lifestyle change for some reason. Carry on and you will see results.

I am 3 weeks post op and was doing pretty good. In the past week, however, I have gained 4 pounds. I go next Friday to get my first fill. I am rather confused and frustrated. Not sure what I am doing wrong. thoughts??

No, not yet. My husband and I were suppose to do the sleeve together. We were going to be each others support. Surgery was scheduled for this upcoming Friday September 26. He already got the approval from Aetna with a 4pd weight gain. I called my ins on Friday and they stated it was still in review. My husband starts the liquid diet tomorrow and he wants me to start it too. He states everything will be okay and approved. However, I would hate to keep having hope and then Aetna comes around denying me. I have all emotions going on. I hope I get an answer soon.

Today at around 7 I will be attending my seminar. I'm nervous not really sure what to expect of what will happen. I need this, I don't just want it I need it in order to survive. I had a nightmare last night and now I really don't know what effect the rest of my personal affairs will have on my surgery. I bring this up only because with the weight gain many things have changed in my life. I was athletic in high school, very active, and focus on the tasks that I had to complete. With the weight gain myself esteem seemed to evaporate. I allowed myself to do and engage in activities that I knew were more damaging to my mental and emotional well being. I guess one of the areas that have really been affected has been my love life. When I was what society thought was acceptable I never really had a trouble finding someone to love or be attracted to me. It seemed as if men were more interested in me as a person. Now it seems as if I live my life as a sex toy to be played with at the whim of men. I know that this might nit be true. And I also know that this has alot to do with me as a person but I can't help but wonder. I have come a far way in knowing who I am and what I want. I don't want to continue being the fat girl, the sex toy the person that gets used. I have fought hard to hang on and rebuild the sancitity of normalcy that is my mind. I guess this is turning into some kind of confusing rant so I'll try to wrap it up. My new life is being embarked upon.

From what I've read thats pretty normal considering the weight gain you have right after surgery. My doctor says 72 ounces of liquids, it seems like 100 gallons!

Dr Weiner mentioned metformin for weight loss in his videos and I did a bit of research and it has been used to offset a lot of psychiatric medications with side effects of weight gain. Never tried it but another thing he said about weight loss medications is you have to stay on them long term or you may gain the weight back. This shouldn’t be an issue for you though since you will be having surgery I assume.

Welcome to bandland Cathy. I was banded on the 27th. I came out of anesthesia early while my incubator was still in and started vomiting. So my throat is very sore. I also have the gas pains and rumbling in my stomach right after a meal. But I feel full. I also have the weight gain effect but I'm not worried at all. My fear now is that my arms, legs, and neck feel very week. I haven't had very much to eat since Monday afternoon. I hope as I keep working on the proten shakes that my strength will return. My port site is a little sore but now it's just the gas and muscle weakness that's bothering me. I'm going to take a walk today.

I'm thinking that him not being upfront about his physical appearance is the root of your disatisfaction with him. He probably considers his weight gain as being unattractive and a fault for women, so he's trying to get women to meet him in person and get to know him before crossing him off simply because of his weight. Honestly speaking, isn't that the mentation that we have all lived with for way too long? He just hasn't owned up to his weight gain--yet and you not only have acknowledged your weight, but are dealing with it. I think that is the reason, why you got those "negative vibes" at first appearance. It's not that he was overweight. It was because he failed to take responsibility for it and didn't think anyone could possibly be attracted to him with the extra weight. He "sold you short" before ever even meeting you. You've been there--Done that. We all have.

I vote for mothers of young children or super woman syndrome. The woman who does it all! The hectic life of caring for others and putting ourselves last is a common trend among the modern "super woman" and in many cases is was the root of our weight gain. I think many LBTers would fit this profile.

Hi- I thought I would post an update to my June post on this thread. In July I had my band removed. It's not the outcome I wanted, but my doctor felt there was too much scarring to give me another one. Since then, I've regained quite a bit of weight and I'm almost back at my starting weight pre-band. It's so hard... I'm now investigating the gastric sleeve. All this and I'm still pro-band. However, I do suggest that before having the band or any other WLS that you research this in depth. I subscribed to the Obesity-related medical journals so that I could read the studies coming out about the various WLS methods. Don't rely upon these boards for your statistics. Speak with your surgeon and read the medical reports for yourself. My surgeon cooborated what I've read in several journal articles that complication rates for bands are as high as 25%. And a good number of patients will require intervention at the four or five year mark and beyond. If you are a long-time bandster and experiencing complications or weight gain, please don't hide out from your doctor. Please get evaluated. Wishing you all the best~

I've had hypothyroid since I was a skinny(ish) little thing. It's just gotten worse with the weight gain. It's a lifetime thing, but nobody was nasty to me about it when I was much thinner.

I’m sorry you are having this experience. Deciding to have WLS is not easy and you should expect your team to be supportive and encouraging. Everyone in this forum will tell you there is no one size fits all (no pun intended) in this process though I can see benefits in a general introduction to the basics of the process in a group class before your individual appointments. Yes, in Australia it is different and each doctor has their own requirements. Mine requires his patients to visit a dietician before surgery and regularly for at least 12 months post surgery. A much younger friend went to a different doctor and only had to see a dietician once. She is struggling post surgery with her food, trying to take the easy route of takeaways and frozen meals & wonders why she is in pain & vomits a lot. My doctor also recommends therapy but considers each patient’s weight gain/loss history & personal history before making the recommendation. He said I didn’t need to but provided a list of therapists I could see if i wanted pre or post surgery. My dietician isn’t very good but better than the one I went to years ago who told me I didn’t eat enough. Consequently I put on weight seeing that one - thanks a lot. This one asks what I eat (I just tell her my basic menu), what I weigh and that’s it. Five minutes & I’m gone. No information about calories, macros,... I rely on my own research ( God bless google & this forum) and a friend who had the surgery 12 months before me. Be patient, keep calm, breathe deeply when attending meetings with your team and follow the steps. Keep up your own research & this forum. Don’t let your frustration with this pre surgery process hinder your surgery. You won’t regret it. Good luck.