Parvathi

Congratulations!! That's a huge accomplishment and you have every right to go celebrate

The first time around, mine started falling out by the handful and lasted for about 4 months. Thankfully, I have a massively thick head of hair and although it was scary, I never could tell the difference. This time though, my hair is cut really short so I'm guessing if it starts coming out like it did before, I'll notice. I know in the different Vitamin stores there are supplements you can get to make your hair/nails, longer, stronger, thicker, etc. I've not tried them though so can't vouch for how well they work. That said, when I was pregnant with my daughter and taking the prenatal Vitamins, my hair grew from a short boycut down to my midback in less than 9 months. It was a bit freaky lol. Just know that it is normal and you're not alone. I've not ran into anyone yet who's lost all their hair due to being banded. It does stop after a few months. Good luck

Oops, I should have posted to this thread rather than make a seperate one :/ lol I'm home now and all is well in the world, apart from some major shoulder tip pain (expected) and a small puncture in the stomach, an accident from removing the band. I'm on antibiotics for the next month, but that's okay. I hate swallowing pills but if they'll keep me well, that's all that matters I met one really nice lady there who had just been banded and was being discharged. She asked what I was in for and when I told her the lapband, she said something to the effect of, "You're not big enough to need that!". I explained that it was a revision and whatnot, but it sure did make my day - and I don't think it was the morphine! LOL

Thanks everyone I'm at home now, thankfully. The nurses were laughing at me cause I've been up since 4am with my bags packed, ready to go. I'll be on antibiotics for a month cause of the stomach puncture thing, but that's okay. Not really in any pain at the moment, but have realized that's mostly because the bottom half of my stomach is still completely numb from the tummy tuck earlier this year. My dear husband has me sat up on the couch with seasons one and two of Nip/Tuck lol .. I've been wanting to watch it but have wanted to put it off til after the surgery hehe. Just had a nice bowl of watery Soup and thankfully, not hungry at all. Hopefully that will last for the next three weeks LOL.

Hi all, Sorry I didn't get online yesterday. I was admitted at 7am, but didn't actually go in for surgery until around 2:30pm. I was lucky enough to get to lay around and watch cooking shows, dreaming of food I won't be able to eat for weeks LOL. Yesterday evening is pretty much a blur. The hubby and daughter dropped by briefly, but apart from that, I just slept alot. The surgeon dropped by this morning. He said that the revision was a bit more difficult than they'd hoped and that he accidently pricked my stomach while removing the old band. He sewed that up, but wants me to stay an extra day or two to be on iv antibiotics. Other than that though, I feel pretty good. Much better than last time for sure. The only pain I've had is shoulder tip pain, accompanied by nausea, but that's only when I'm standing (I've gone for about a dozen walks today cause I'm bored). When I'm laying down though, that goes away quickly. Anywho, just wanted to give you all an update. Thanks for the well wishes and prayers! They worked

Thanks ladies :success1:

... I'd really appreciate a few being sent in this direction :success1: Going back in tomorrow for revision surgery, due to band slippage. Its weird - before I had the surgery last time, I felt I knew everything there was to know about the band. I'd spent SO much time researching it. This time, I'm feeling a bit less prepared. While I know what a pb feels like and stuff like that, I don't remember the simple things like, how long I'll need to stay on liquids/mushies/etc. I guess that's info they'll give me at the hospital tomorrow though. I've managed to pack on a few more kilos in the past few weeks, which I'm seriously looking forward to getting back off. My clothes have started to get quite tight and I absolutely refuse to buy more LOL. I'm going to try to take my pc with me (cause I'll get bored sitting in the hospital), so will post when I can.

Glad to hear that a slight unfill has you feeling better - and definitely glad it wasn't a slip! .. those were the symptoms I had with my slip.

Like the others, I've never heard of a surgeon removing the band to put one of a different size in, when nothing is physically wrong w/ the current band. I had my Fluid removed several times, when I wasn't feeling restriction like I or the doctor thought I should, to check for leaks. Its an easy 2 minute thing to have done. If it shows that you really do have 4cc in the band, I'd definitely opt to have flouro done to see what's wrong. Ask more questions - that's what the doctor is there for - and good luck with it all

Oh thank God its not just me!! The urine thing I've had for like, the past 19 months, since banding! I actually put it down to eating alot of tuna LOL.. cause when I worked in nursing homes, I noticed that when the residents ate fish during the day, their urine smelt fishy at night *shrugs*. Will try adding more carbs as you suggested.

I'm completly unfilled, due to slippage. For some people, having the band is enough to restrict them a little, even without the saline. Not the case for me, unfortunately. Having a new band put in on Nov 10th. Oh and Vickie - 7 pounds til onederland is absolutely fantastic!! You'll be there in no time

One thing that helps me stay on track is coming here. When I come to LBT daily, I seem to remember that I'm trying to lose weight. If I overeat though, I tend to feel guilty and try to avoid this place like the plague lol. I'm lucky in the fact that I don't really care for icecream and sweets very much - chips and other savoury foods are my downfall - but even with those, you can find ways to eat around the band. I guess you just have to make the decision that this is what you really want (weight loss I mean). So many people say that getting banded is taking the easy way out .. but really, its not, is it?

I can't add much more to what the others have said - they always give good advice here. As someone who has had their band slip though, trust me when I say you don't want to have to go down that road. If you think its hard controlling emotional eating with the band in ... well, you'd remember to before the band surely how much you could put away (like I do). Excessive vomiting can definitely cause a slippage and they're just no fun. Good luck in resolving the issues! Its sure not easy.

Hey Pam, I'm really sorry to hear of your erosion. To say it sucks is a huge understatement. Since mine slipped several months ago, I've piled on the pounds and I'm hating it big time. I get it replaced on the 10th of November .. hope I'll still be able to wear something in my closet by then. Good luck in your research and decision making! I'm not sure what I'd do if mine were eroded. At one point I thought my band wasn't doing much - that I had learned great will power. I now know I was kidding myself and that I personally, need this band to continue what I've started. You'll be in my thoughts!

I didn't know about the tattoo belly button thing. I could have saved myself some major cash .. where were you last year, Cam? lol Manny - I think we talked some last year on the yahoo board. Were you banded by Mr Nottle? I had my tt, a breast reduction and a bit of lipo from the hips in April of this year. All up, I paid around $15,000. Had to take out a loan. Insurance didn't cover much at all, but it was well worth it. Good luck!

Good luck Anna! You'll come through with flying colours I'm sure

I loooooooooove Beechworth - most of all for its deadly bakery lol. The best pies in the world, I reckon. The old prison that just closed up there is beautiful too.

Thanks folks! I am indeed lucky to be in Australia where the healthcare system is alot cheaper out of pocket. I can't imagine how much I would have spent already on this were I in the US. Heck, I probably wouldn't have even had the luxury of being banded there, as I couldn't have afforded it. The only thing that bums me out about having to redo the surgery is that we're going to the Maldives in December and I won't be able to wear a bikini, due to the open incisions lol, but I'll get over that. The surgeon did say there's an increased chance of open surgery the second time around, but its minimal and in my opinion, worth it if it means I'll get back on track.

Hey folks, Just thought I'd do an update. As some of you know, I was diagnosed with slippage about a month ago. They unfilled me for a couple of weeks, then the doctor added back 1.8ml. The reflux has returned, as has the ability to eat bad foods and not good foods (I want my salad!!! lol). So I had my consult with the surgeon today. He reckons the best thing is to go in and fit me with a new band. I go in Oct 27th for that. It sounds to be very much like the original surgery, except I'll keep my current port (unless they find something wrong with it). That's a good thing though, cause from my memory, the port/muscle stitching thing was the most painful part afterwards. I'm excited to get this over with and start losing again. I'm dreading having to give up going to the gym for a while again though lol .. I've just gotten back into it good! Guess I'll work on my abs really hard for the next few weeks in hopes that it'll make the surgery stuff heal faster. Luckily, the only out of pocket expense will be the barium swallow, which is about $120 and then I file that with medicare and get $90 of it back! YaYYY .. I love a cheap surgery lol.

I had a complete unfill several weeks ago after a slippage and developing a pouch. Then had 1.8ml added back in after being empty for several weeks. The reflux/not being able to eat correct food returned and now I'm having a revision surgery next month for a new band.

I could definitely do a weekend in Sydney. The flight there would be cheaper than petrol money to get me to Albury/Wodonga lol. I'm easy as far as timing goes, except for Dec 1st - 14th as we'll be in the Maldives. Are they doing that conference thing in Canberra again this year or have I missed it already?

Here's the results of the survey I posted on our website last week:- I am physically attracted to people who are:- Skinny - the skinnier the better 5.86% Fit and trim 31.17% Curvy and cuddly - something to hold onto 36.44% Large - the bigger the better 2.90% I don't care about appearance - it's what's on the inside 21.44% Other - please specify 2.22% Total Votes :3927 Total Comments :48

I work for a webcam chat site with 3 million members. Part of my job is running the weekly survey. I've posted the following question there and will post the results from it here next week. Usually get a few thousand responses at least... should give us some idea. I am physically attracted to people who are:- A. Skinny - the skinnier the better B. Fit and trim C. Curvy and cuddly - I like something to hold onto D. Large - the bigger the better E. I don't care about appearance - it's what's on the inside that counts F. Other - please specify

I like my men (and women lol) to have curves. I am not attracted to someone who's morbidly obese, but I'm *really* not attracted to stick figures.

Hi Surby, I was diagnosed with a slippage last week, after being banded for 18 months. There are several factors that can cause slippage, so I guess I'll never know for sure, but the doctor reckons the main issue was I was overfilled for too long, which makes things difficult to go down and while sitting in the upper pouch, they cause gas, eventually expanding your pouch. She said a new band has been developed that is more flexible and hopefully, they'll start to see less incidents of slippage. Good luck in your band journey