Kat225

Thank you for reponding. I'm gonna call my doc today and schedule an unfill. But I have a question...you said I sound like you before you slipped. How did you know when your band slipped? What were your symptoms...what changed? Do you think I already have slipped?

Ok I have a number of problems going on. The biggest issue is throwing up. I've been throwing up lately. It seems most days I am too tight to eat anything but liquids, especially before the evening hours. But here is the catch...other days, I can eat a lot! It makes no sense! If I was just too tight and needed an unfill, why can I eat a full meal other times? This causes the problem because I never know when my band will allow me to eat and when it won't! This results in me throwing up! When I do eat or attempt to eat, I always follow the band rules of small bites slowly without drinking. I know a lot of women have problems at certain times of the month beause of hormones and stuff but I am averaging only about 2 out 7 days being able to eat without problems. Drinking hot coffee sometimes helps loosen me up but not always. On the days I can eat, I find myself pigging out because I'm so happy to have food and I'm starving!Then after I've thrown up, I have some pain and irritation. I've had 2 slight unfills already and my doc doesn't seem to understand what the problem is. Do you think I've slipped? Someone else told me I may be intolerent to the band. What should I do? Should I try a more aggressive unfill and go from there? Maybe I try to eat too much when I eat and that's why I throw up? How much should I be able to eat with good restriction? I usually can only eat about 2-3 small bites before I feel it get tight in my chest on the days I have a problem. I can eat a normal sized meal on my good days (pork chop, veggie, starch). I don't think eating 2-3 bites of Soup or other soft food is normal...is it? I'm exactly one year from surgery today...I should be celebrating, not scared and starving. Please help!

Is it Biotin?

How is the NIOXIN working?

You must not be binging too bad if you are still losing. Just go get the fill. I know it's a hard thing to let go of, but just do it! I miss just taking a big messy bite of something. It's really strange the feelings and emotions I go through. Saying good bye to food as we knew it before is really hard but you can do girl!

Basically like you said...I can eat and it goes straight through or it comes back up. I can't call it. I can never tell when I can eat and when I can't. It's a promise that I can't eat in the morning for sure. I can drink fluids though. But then by 4-5 o'clock I am very hungry so I try to eat. Some days I can eat very easily as long as I follow the rules (small bites, chew, eat slowly, no liquids, etc) but then other days (most days) by the third bite I feel it get tight and I already know it's gonna come back up. I had 2 unfills already but they were slight. I am so confused because I don't know why my band is tight one minute then loose the next. After I have and episode where the food comes back up, I am sore. I feel like I am damaging things in there. I have a doc but she is an hour and half away and expensive (I'm unemployed). I don't think she has ever encountered this problem before with a patient. Someone on here told me that I may be intolerant to the band. What do you think I should do?

What do you suggest I do first to figure out if it is band intolerance? Should I go get an unfill just to see if that helps for now? I am throwing up a lot more because I don't know when I can eat and when I can't. I have pain after too. Do you think it is slippage? I'm so confused at this point. I was banded in Mexico and have a wonderful doctor in the US that does my fills but she is about and hour and half away. I'm unemployed now and can't afford to keep going back and forth. I'm not sure she has ever experienced a patient with this sort of problem. She is banded herself (she also went to MX) and she believes a lot band restriction has to do with the reaction our bands have to our hormones. So at first I was thinking my hormones were out of wack but after reading your posts, you sound very simlilar to me. What did you do about the problem? I know you're not a doctor but any advice you can give me would be really helpful. I'm getting really upset. Today is my one year aniversary... I should be celebrating, but instead I'm scared and frustrated. Thanks

I've been experiencing the same problem. Just when I think I must be too tight and I must need to go get an unfill, I can eat a large meal. Of course I eat it because I never know when I will get another chance to eat again. The next day, I will be on liquids. What was the issue with your band that the same thing happened to you? Did you find out what the problem was? What do you suggest I do?

Who did your band if you don't mind me asking? I have been having a similar problem.

bump bump bump

Another question is...will vitamins and nutrition just help my hair grow or will it improve the condition of my hair or both?

I do think some of my issue is nutrition. I was too tight for a period of time and I'm sure I was not getting enough of a lot of things I needed, however would this make my hair break or just fall out? Spud Mama: I think you are right about the dandruff thing...what you described as dandruff is not what I had, but using the head and shoulders did reduce the flakes. I think that shampoo is drying my hair out. Before I started using the dandruff shampoo I was using Ojon. Have you ever heard of it? One of the stylist from the salon I go to uses it as well. We laughed about not having normal "white girl" hair. We both have naturally curly dry hair by nature. This Ojon shampoo is oil based. I really liked how it made my hair look but then I started getting flakes so I stopped to address that. I guess I will call my stylist and see what she says. I also question what is in my Water. I heard hard water can hurt your hair too. I'm so confused!

I had my band for almost a year now and I recently started to lose my hair. I don't how much is falling out from the scalp but I have A LOT of breakage! What does this mean? I knew it was normal for it to fall out but what about breaking? I also over the past month or so experienced dandruff so I switched to Head & Shoulders. Do you think this kind of shampoo could be damaging my hair? The dandruff has gotten better but now my hair is breaking. I bought some biotein awhile back just because I heard it was good but I really wasn't using it but I am now going to start. Does anyone have any good advice? What can I do to save my hair?????????????? P.S. I haven't had anything done to my hair in months as far as color and chemicals either.

I hate to bring bad news but if I had to take a guess, I would have to say you probably won't be able to eat soft totillas. It seems the softer type of breads etc are the worst. If it is toasted, you may have better luck. Crispier things break down easier when when chewed up. Just my opinion....

It all depends on the person. Some people can't touch bread and rice. It will depend on you and your band. my band has a mind of it's own. Some days I can get away with eating a subway sub and other days it would make me sick as a dog. Either way I still eat less than I ever did! Rice is not my friend!

I am many months out and my stomach makes noises all the time. so does my throat! Sometimes it's embarrissing! I had pain for about 2-3 weeks. Not severe, but sore. I can't say much for your co-workers comment. I am 10 months out and have lost about 55lbs. I plan to lose about 50-60 more so we will see. Many people on here have lost that amount of weight so why can't you!

Whoa! Slow down. You are fine. No. most people don't lose weight right away. It takes some of us many fills to get to the proper restriction. I had 5. I am practically all the way full. I lost 12lbs right after surgery because I was restricted to clear liquids and all but after that, I didn't lose for a while. My weight loss really didn't start happening til the past few months. Chosing the band meant chosing a slower process. It is not like the bypass. If you read many threads on here, you will soon see that most people struggle at first. It sounds like you just need more fills. You will get there. Just hold on. Read! Read! Read! Read as much on here as possible to educated yourself. I have noticed that everyone has different situations but if you look long enough you find someone on here you can relate to.

Yeah it all depends on what your particular employer decided to pay for under your benefits. UHC probably does cover it but not if your employer chooses not to provide it under their policy. Example: Two people could have the same insurance company like Blue Cross and one person may be able to have the surgery paid for and one may not because they work for different employers. A lot of employers choose to exclude weight loss surgery because it ups their rates.

I usually throw up when this happens. I get that slim and then it just comes up. Maybe everyone's body reacts differently. All my problems end up in the food coming back up. It's like if the food doesn't go don't easly, it comes back up.

I'm not sure I know what being stuck is... Usually when something won't go down, it comes back up for me. Isn't this PBing? Not sure I know what the difference is between PB and being stuck. Anyone have a better understanding?

Thanks for the tips...

Today I am happy with my band. Other days when I have problems, I might answer differently. I had a rough few weeks when I was overfilled and certain times of the month, I get too tight and I don't like the consequences. My band is very "moody" if that's what you wanna call it lol! Some days I can eat fine with small bites and chewing properly but other days, sipping water is all I can do. I'm an emotional person and my band reflects that. High stress and hormonal changes influences the restriction of the band. All these things need to be considered. But I have lost 50lbs and hope to lose 80lbs by my bandaversary. Just know that it is not easy and good after-care is essential!

I recently discovered a dandruff problem. I never had this problem before. Is anyone else experiencing this problem? Wondering if it's due to not drinking enough water??? Or lack of food intake or nutrients????

Dr. Oz on Oprah says that our poop should float but I forget why. Mine always sinks and is rarely solid but I've always suffered from IBS so I already knew I wasn't normal.

I'm not saying that your PA does not know what she is talking about, but people do fail with bypass. There is a way around any weight loss surgery if one really wants to. I mean with the band when you have the right restriction it forces you to make changes or at least it did for me. Both surgeries have consequence if you don't follow the rules. If you look at the statistics after 3-5 years, the results with both surgeries are comparable. Maybe you don't have good restriction. Did you do after-care? How many fills did you have? Oh and there is the guy on the Biggest Loser that had the bypass and look where he is at!