Search the Community

Yes, hopefully the ER you go to will have a bariatric surgeon on call. It sounds like a slip. I have had one, I keep a lose band now. Better a slight weight gain than permanent damage to your body! Best wishes.

Hey guys, I need your help! I am a student in an experimental psychology class doing research on weight loss surgery. If you would like to participate please click the link below. Feel free to share the link! / https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CNKNSMB

My allergic reaction consists of itching of my mouth, lips, gums and for strawberries my throat swells up bt only for strawberries. Also could u imagine never being able to eat any fruit ever again?? I have a 5yr old so when im cutting his fruit i sometimes take a bite or slice and have a slight 1 minute reation. So its not that im eating a full apple or anything. Also i wasnt always allergic these allergies developed over time. It started with an orange and then everytime i ate a fruit i would discover it over the years as i went along until i realized its all fruit. I just put that in there to say pre-op my body was able to tolerate them now just smelling fruit will make me nauseous or vomit smh. Also its not only corn its mostly every vegetable its very weird to me. For example when i was pre-op i didnt like evry vegetable, but i was able to force myself to eat salads and a lot of things that didnt taste good at all to me because i knew it was healthy. Now if i would dare try to do anything like that i ruin my meal. Many times i will buy a sandwich or be out to eat and ill be okay and 5 mins later my body will reject food. And because of this i went to snacks which are no good because theyre "slider" foods which also contribued to my weight gain.

Thank you all for your very kind and helpful words of absolute wisdom. I know what you to say to be true and sound. I had some of the Pintos and cheese from Taco Bell last nite, and tonight I had some green Beans in cream of mushroom Soup. I had vegtable soup (Broth) for lunch. I am walking. I can not do the protien drinks. YUCK I am drinking as much Water as I can, with is 1 16oz bottle a day. I am not a coffee drinker, and had a 6oz cup of decaf this morning to settle my stomach. I know I need to work on more, and wise choices. I know I am going to have to deal with the hit of weight gain too. Every reward is worth the journey and lessons learned to earn it. Thank you again for being there for me. I am honestly greatful for your replies.

Wow, been a long time since being banded in April '07. Done really well, stopped smoking, gained some back and am losing it again. Fellow long time bandsters can probably agree with this from experience....it is a life long battle with the band as well as without. It is just easier to win a battle when you have a weapon. And the band is our weapon. BUT, do not break the rules and lay the weapon down cause then you are in trouble. You have to be vigilant, day in and day out unless you want to get beaten. For example, if you would have told me this time a year ago that I would gain back 40 pounds I would have called you a liar. Sure, I quit smoking and that was the main reason for the weight gain but I mean really...the band did not keep me from gaining weight....the band HELPS to LOSE weight. So, I learned the hard way. I learned a lesson that you would think is common sense? Yep, but it happens. I forgave myself. Now I know...I have to WORK it. I have to work it today AND I have to work it tomorrow. And tomorrow I will tell myself to work it the next day...and so on and so on. I have 2 rewards in this...#1 I still do not smoke anymore and #2 I am smarter about my weapon. OH and #3 I did not have to gain ALL the weight back to realize my mistakes. I stopped the bleeding in time. The first few months with 'the weapon' was tough...losing it twice and keeping it off is tougher. BUT, it is going to happen. Once I learned that this is my life with the band and I learned to accept it, life has gotten better. I went through the 'oh, screw this' phase. You know, the inner fat girl saying "eat it, its OK". I wish I would have woke up before I gained 40 pounds but it is what it is and I am changing it. Like my violet friend Judy says "its not how you run the race, its how you finish". True, and I am running right now:tongue2:

O my goodness, :cursing: I know all that was exciting. I was thinking about you and keep checking your journal to see if you blog yesterday about it . U r a whole new different person and your family didn't even reconize you. That is awesome. I weighed myself this morning and I gain a pound. So that makes it back to 4 lbs gain. I'm okay with it. I have been working out really good. The weight gain is because two of my three kids is in St. louis, mo with their dad. (they been there for a month and 2 weeks) So therefore I havn't been cooking. And also I had a few drinks. But my energy level and spirit is back up with working out. Now since your family know u have lost weight. They are going to be bugging you and asking you how much more have you lost. People seem to ask me that every other day. I'm glad u enjoyed yourself. P.S. Don't worry about the 3 lb gain. U so deserve to treat yourself!!!:eek::cursing::thumbup:

Ive told no one but my fiancee,my 2 best friends and 1 sister who is my biggest confidant-she never tells anything-lol.My 17 year old daughter doesnt even know...and she lives in the house!!!!Im a very private person and never tell people anything and the 2 friends have no ties to my employment so no one will ever know-works for me.I have hated the comments people make about my weight gain-I gained 80 pounds in 10 years and people who hadnt seen me would freak out.I have my 20 yr high school reunion next year and Im totally gonna be there since I didnt go to other ones because of the weight gain.

Hello all, I'm Karen. And I am new to all of this, so I hope i do it right. I am a 33 year old wife and mom living in gloucester point VA. Kind of secluded spot, but I have lived in Gloucester most of my life. I have a husband (14 years and counting) and an 11 year old son. I have always been well not skinny. In high school i was a size 16 which to the kids then was practically the size of a house!!!! I am also legally blind, which does tie into my story because I have been that way since 1990. After being married, I had to have knee surgery on both knees from an acident. That is when the real weight gain began. Having no weight bearing for 6 months, no matter how good your diet is, really does bad tricks to your body. I gained most of my weight then. Since then, I have been in and out of the orthopedic ofice. Being almost blind, i can't get out and excercise as much as i would like. I do things close to home, but i can drive, and everyone works so it is difficult to get a ride to the gym. I tried to keep my diet good, but i gave in sometimes. I think thte real deal breaker for me was when last year, I had lost 30 poundsand i was so excited!!! I was getting ready to head out the door and i tweaked my knee, well poop!!! I was in a knee immobilizer for a month,a nd all the weight i lost came rushing back. Even though I kept to my diet, the inactivity killed me. I was SO mad!! Then the orthopedic said the next fix for my knees would be replacement. Um....NO I got in touch with the weight loss surgery center here in Newport News and went to the first seminar in January. I was scared, but I pushed through with it, and had my Sleeve Gastrectomy on May 19th. My doctor is Dr. Terracina at Mary Immaculate Hospital. I have had no ill effects from the surgery thus far. Everything seems to be going well. I can say i don't care for the liquid diet lol, and am not looking forward the the puree either, but if it leads to a healthier me, I'm all for it. So, my weight loss so far is 23 pounds. I was scared really bad as I thought fast loss was bad, but after talking to my doctors I am assured it is normal for rapid loss in the beginning. Well, that is my story up til now. I am getting ready to go and work the treadmill for a while. Karen S.

Don't do the last suppers!!! My friend did and put on 18 pounds in two weeks. Her op was a few years before mine. And now if there is a weight gain between the first consult and surgery, they stop the surgery. This is the surgeries rules, as the want everyone to get on board mentally before the op. I agree best option is eat health and similar to want is expected afterwards, although your portion pre-op are going to be alot larger. I'm 5days post op my meals are 4teaspoons of soft mushy food.

Hello fellow sleevers/future sleevers; Along with everyone else, I joined this forum so i can educate myself a little more in depth of the journey ahead. I am 24 years old. I have a 6 year old son with whom i gained 100 lbs with during my pregnancy (at age 17). Before then I was 170lbs. After pregnancy with the 100 lb weight gain, I let myself go. Almost 7 years later, I have an official date of getting sleeved. I have few questions, as I am anxious and cannot wait to start this journey. Aside from the weight gain from my pregnancy, the surgeon informed me my eating habits may change. It is very difficult for me to eat during the day , missing Breakfast and not eating until dinner time where I "PIG OUT" If i attempt to eat during the day, i will end up with a stomach ache . Hopefully, the surgery can correct that . I have a question for the already sleeved patients on the losers bench; After surgery, when you wake up, is the tube that's down your throat that bad ? Aunt was sleeved last week and she said it felt as if she was drowning. Thanks in advance, Cannot wait to embark on this journey with you all and get back to playing softball and finally becoming able to practice with my son. CW: 404 GW: 170

Not sure what your history is, but here's something else to consider--can you imagine GAINING 32 pounds in 6 weeks? You'd feel like the little girl in "Charlie and the chocolate Factory" and you'd probably be panicking over how fast it was piling on, right? It would alarm you, because you wouldn't want such a speedy weight gain, and you'd be anxious, upset, and desperate to get it to stop. Well, the flip side is that when we want something (like weight loss) SOOOOO badly, it seems to take forever to arrive. Same 32 pounds, different reaction. Also, if you've put weight on all your life, or even just over the course of a few years, try (I know it's hard, but TRY) to keep in mind how slowly and gradually it went up. It's going to sometimes be a slow descent, too, but you will get there! Meanwhile, the weight loss that seems so painfully slow to you is really very inspiring to someone like me, who is just starting the VSG process and has to be patient about getting the surgery. You're going to do fantastically! (Edited for a typo, because I'm an English teacher and it would keep me awake at night to leave it sitting there. Kidding. Sorta.)

A nutritionist/dietitian and a therapist are extremely helpful in a weight loss journey. The nutritionist/dietitian helps set you up with a diet plan and helps get you into better eating habits prior to surgery so it's not such a drastic change once you actually HAVE the surgery. The therapist helps you work through if you have disordered eating (such as binging) or if you're going through some other stuff in your life such as depression, stress, anxiety, etc (which are known to add to weight gain). Weight loss is never easy and one of the most difficult things is finding support in those you live with. You'll be on a special diet and it'll be easier on YOU if those you live with aren't bringing in the things you used to eat which would tempt to cheat on your diet. Try and talk it out with them and stress how important to you it is that they don't bring junk food into the house. Willpower is such a difficult thing. I admit, that if I hadn't developed a wheat allergy after surgery what would have ruined me is the junk food that my family brings into the house. Because of my wheat allergy, I can't eat that food. Nor can I get fast food (of which they eat a LOT). So the wheat allergy is a blessing. A sucky as hell blessing, but a blessing none the less lol (there is only a 3% chance of developing a wheat allergy or Celiac's Disease after your surgery. So chances are you'll be fine. My luck just sucks. Well, maybe not, because I really do consider the allergy a blessing in disguise as it keeps me on track and stops me from cheating as I, quite literally, have to keep track of every little thing I eat and the ingredients in what I put into my mouth).

Hi guys, Just thought I would share this and see if any of you have had a similar experience. I took a nap last night when I got home from work (I have been trying to fight off a cold). I woke up from my nap frustrated. I had dreamed that I went to my surgeons office and I had gained 11 lbs. 11lbs! So I was talking to the nurses and dietician and begging them for a fill. The nurses were telling me that he didn't have any appointments open before my next appointment. All the while my Dr. went by carrying a box of pizza and then back by carrying a box of donuts. A big box of donuts. He then sat down on a couch in the room behind them and started eating and watching football. Finally they let me talk to him and I talked him into giving me a fill after I had to prove to him that I had been doing 5 miles a day on the treadmill. Yes there was a treadmill in the office. Is that weird or what. Needless to say I had to get up and go way and Shew! no weight gain. Anyone else had weird or crazy dreams? :drool:

Hi guys, Just thought I would share this and see if any of you have had a similar experience. I took a nap last night when I got home from work (I have been trying to fight off a cold). I woke up from my nap frustrated. I had dreamed that I went to my surgeons office and I had gained 11 lbs. 11lbs! So I was talking to the nurses and dietician and begging them for a fill. The nurses were telling me that he didn't have any appointments open before my next appointment. All the while my Dr. went by carrying a box of pizza and then back by carrying a box of donuts. A big box of donuts. He then sat down on a couch in the room behind them and started eating and watching football. Finally they let me talk to him and I talked him into giving me a fill after I had to prove to him that I had been doing 5 miles a day on the treadmill. Yes there was a treadmill in the office. Is that weird or what. Needless to say I had to get up and go way and Shew! no weight gain. Anyone else had weird or crazy dreams? :smile2:

My therapist knew about my weight issues, so he made sure to prescribe me an anti deppressant that would not cause weight gain. I was on Effexor for approximately 1 year. I found it to work excellently. The down side is that it really gets you wired and its difficult to fall asleep at night. For that reason, I was put on Topomax to help me sleep, but I was so tired during the day. The mix was a terrible experience, but the effexor, alone, was awesome. It 'gets the job done' without the weight gain. I actually lost a lot of weight while I was on it. Cymbalta is very similar to that one.

Karan: Thats great news on possibly getting things scheduled soon. And lexapro, worked well for Kristen a couple of years back. The doctor prescribed it for her specifically because its one of the only anti depressents that doesn't cause weight gain. Kristen has weaned off of it now...and I think all her moody stuff is normal teen stuff. Anyone want a teen? This morning her dad joked at her and she snapped...or growled "I'm not in the mood" Uh hello? Diane I started the one over in the Journal section....I can go there and talk to myself all day long...LOL Karah's doctors office had new murals all over the office when we went the last few times and it made me think of you...you have did any peds offices recently have you? Kim, how is curtis? Is he feeling better today? I hope the little guy gets feeling well soon. Angie, you feeling back to normal yet? And no popping anymore staples do controlled cheering for the panthers. :eek: Karah did something totally funny yesterday, apparently they started teaching them about nutrition at school. They brought home a really nice kit with flash cards, a video and workbook. Well she went and watched the video, while watching it she kept coming and asking for food. I figured she still doing her restock thing from not eatting much for two weeks. I go and check...and she has carrot sticks, apples and peanutbutter crackers all lined up in front of her two favorite stuffed animals. She was telling them if you don't eat this your lungs will be sick like mine. I laughed so hard I caused a coughing attack. Of course she ate so many "snacks" herself yesterday afternoon that she didn't have to eat the "intersting" stir fry Kristen made. LOL Oh and I talked to Dr. Baumans office...I so love them. They told me I wasn't likely to hurt my port by the coughing...but I could actually hurt the band if I had gagging coughs...which I don't. She recomended Mucinex that will help disloge the crap and let me get it coughed up. And if I still hurt after I'm better from the cough then they can check my port if I'm concerned. So if the cable repair guy ever gets here, I'll go to the drug store for some Mucinex. Melissa

Here is an excerpt from the Inamed handbook that is valuable to your situation With the Lap Band system in place, you should be able to eat only small ammount so the food you eat should be as healthy as possible. Do not fill your stomach pouch with :junk: food that lacks Vitamins and other important nutrients. Your meals should be high in Protein and vitamins and low in carbs. solid food is more important then liquid food or soft food. The lap Band system will have little or no effect if you only eat liquid or soft food. It passes through the stomach outlet very quickly and does not make you feel full. Here is another excerpt form the book If the adjustment (fill) results in too tight of a stomach opening you could have a hard time eating most foods, sometimes this causes people to avoid solid foods. They may drink liquid meals or soft food meals and this may result in weight gain. A band that is too tight may cause reflux symptoms and can also cause frequent vomiting. Sounds to me that your band may be a tad too tight..you should be able to eat solidsand still lose weight. Having as little as .1 or .2 cc's removed will give you releif and able to eat solids while still lose weight..a band that is too tight is at greater risk of slipping.. if it were me I would call my doctor and have a small ammount of saline removed.

I wish I could say YES to that question, but the antidepressant was the start of my weight gain. I had lost 100 lbs when I was 29 yrs old and kept it off for 5 years, then I had tragedy hit my family in a big time way and I was prescribed Paxil, it worked great for what I was going through but I gained 75 lbs in a year, not changing what I had been doing in the last 5 yrs prior to taking it. My Dr. told me the anti depressants slow down your metabolic rate to almost zero..I have to say he was right! I stopped taking it, then looked into the band and here I am banded 18 months at my lowest weight in my adult life. Margo, I went through the same symptoms once I weened myself off of the Paxil, I rode out the storm and once all of the meds were completely removed from my body , things got better. It's a tough transition but in the long run well worth it, alot of my depression was coming from my weight gain, losing weight has been fantastic for my depression..actually what depression? I'm no longer depressed, happier then I have been in years.Hang in there, give it some time. Did you gain weight with the prozac?

MelAnne...tsk tsk tsk!!! You are having way too much time on your hands!! When do you go back to work!! LOL First of all....grrrrr....count your blessings....after my first week of clear fluids, I have to do TWO weeks of "full fluids" followed by TWO Weekies of mushies before I can even consider solids. But, I think in the long run that will be too my advantage!! You are doing fine....I agree with Janet, we'll have to take the weight gain hit at some point...knowing that it is just a step in the long journey of when it WILL come off and STAY off!!! )

I'm sorry you are going through this. Medications and weight gain are difficult add wls and it feels like we have the world against us and we're peddling backwards on an uphill road. I think your thoughts to speak to your doctor is the right move. I wouldn't make any drastic changes to your emotional well being without consulting your physician first. Have you tried to "reset" your pouch? Maybe approaching these 10lbs from a different angle is the way to go. It sounds like you're doing everything correct assuming you're still following your dietary guidelines and water intake upwards of 100 or more oz per day. The pouch reset would put you back into those first days / weeks post surgery. You mentioned your surgeon put you on phentermine, did he make any other suggestions? I would maybe consult with him before you try a pouch reset as well. Sometimes changing up your diet helps, it confuses your body and suddenly you're back to consistent weight loss. Thinking of you and hoping you get the answers you're hoping for from your medical team.

I need to be on a 3 different types of psych medications that cause weight gain! I didn't want to take them, but my sanity and health depends on them and I was taking one of them before surgery. I have asked for similar medications that don't have the weight gain side effect and it seems like there are none that would take care of my symptoms. So I've been taking these. As a result, my weight loss has been very slow and compared to others minimal! I am at 13 months post op and have already gained 6 lbs after starting my last medication which was a month ago! Now, I'm not saying I have been perfect, but I don't think I've ate so bad as to have gained 6 lbs! I'm ashamed to tell anyone, but I'm sure they can tell themselves! I have already stopped taking one of the medications that causes weight gain because it really wasn't helping my symptoms much. There are 2 other medications I take that cause weight gain but since these are in my system long term, I am afraid to stop taking them and seriously doubt my doctor would approve. I'm afraid of not taking them too. I am seeing my doctor tomorrow, but I doubt anything will come out of it. There aren't many weight neutral psych medications! and it's already been difficult to get me stable so since these meds work for my condition, I doubt that my doctor will change them. And quite frankly, I am afraid to try other things since like I said, it took a long time and many trial and errors for me to become emotionally stable. My weight loss surgeon said the meds makes it harder to lose, but they have actually caused a weight gain! He gave me phentermine to help, but it's been two weeks on them and I see no difference! My eating hasn't changed much from when I was losing. I still exercise daily and stay away from starchy food. I haven't been consistent with logging food, which I started doing again yesterday. I'm 10 lbs away from my goal but I am not hopeful that I can lose these last 10 lbs. and I'm afraid of gaining more weight if I continue taking these medications. I feel defeated and feel like a failure because of the 6 lbs I've gained back. Has anyone been in this situation? What did you do? Please share your experience if you have had similar issues. Thank you

i went through stages. 1st month: looking or thinking about food and eating made me sick. i was like REPULSED. month 2-3: didnt want to eat (but no longer REPULSED) though i forced myself to eat because i was getting weak. i had a very strong restriction so wasn't able to eat much anyway. month 4-7: there would be days that i wanted to eat and days that i didn't. i stopped forcing myself to eat on no-hungry days at this point and just ate when i wanted to because i started to develop this thing where i felt like eating was WORK and i didn't like that. my restriction was still doing its job though, so i still couldn't eat much anyway. month 7-12: struggled to up my calories to ease into maintenance and i think my not-wanting-to-eat phases during this time period had more to do with a mental block than anything else. i had a bit of a time when i had a challenge "allowing" myself to eat higher calorie foods and carbs, ha. fear of weight gain and all that. though in hindsight i needn't have worried, as my restriction kept me in check. 1 year and onwards: i still get the odd don't-want-to-eat or oops-i-forgot-to-eat days here and there. not as often and regluar as before, but they show up every once in a while. i don't sweat it, as i know there will be hungry days too. my restriction is still very much in play, even at 5 years out, and i have learned over the years what foods and what amounts i can consume before i hit my full mark. i was/am a regular food tracker so its second nature. i tend to only eat things that i really want because, why fill my valuable limited real estate with something meh? luckily the list of things i want does not comprise of just junk. while i do enjoy a bite of dessert and a bowl of chips, i love me a salad just as much. though personally, my fave kind of meal is when there are an abundance of different things to take a bite or two of (like hors d'ourves at a cocktail party, or a tasting menu, or dim sum/tapas/izakaya, or when i go to a restaurant with a large group and get to have a bit of everyone's meal!) anyway, i think i may have gone on a tangent there, lol. but yeah, you are not the only one that gets the food aversions, and while you will get differing advice on this topic, i would say go what works for you. if you are getting worsening physical symptoms from not eating, or if your labs are not coming back satisfactorily, of course, please speak to a medical professional. otherwise, if you are losing weight, AND suffer little to no angst, then in my non-medical opinion, you're golden.

Everyone's NUT has different suggested diets. Mine says that we ARE allowed full fat ranch, mayo, cheese etc etc since we only eat a few bites at a meal anyway. I however, choose to eat low fat, low carb. I will NOT let myself become overweight again once my goal is reached. Many people are denied this surgery and I appreciate so much that I wasn't. So I will not sabotage myself for a few minutes of satisfaction followed by hours of guilt and possible weight gain. I am taking advantage of the lack of hunger and not listening to my head. Head hunger is the worst. Meal prepping has been a life saver so there are no last minute changes in what I plan to eat. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I heard that diet soda can also cause weight gain, but I didn't know why, Thank you for the information now I will have no problem letting diet soda go for good!

My doctor is recommended I have a bypass revision done (currently 5 years put on my sleeve) as I have severe GERD and weight gain. For those that have had this done….. which bypass did they do? Full ? Mini? Or? and did it help? Thanks in advance.