LAURIE290

@@LAURIE290 May be on to something there!
I had a double para-esophageal hiatus hernia and I didn't know it. All I knew was that I was popping Tums like candy and had horrendous acid coming up, especially at night. I was banded December 19th 2014 (10 months ago) and my surgeon was the one who discovered the hernias while I was under. He corrected them, and I have been heartburn-free and feeling absolutely terrific ever since.
Good luck - keep us posted!

Ohh please look into the possibility of a hiatal hernia. I have not done the research, but spent the majority of my life taking "Tums" for constant heartburn prior to my lapband about six years ago. The surgeon found the hernia and removed it during the procedure. He did tell me it was the cause and I could not believe the difference!!
I wish you ALL the Best!

I also thank you soo much for telling your story!! Reading many of the positive posts on this site, I have held back my own roller coaster experiences. I truly started to believe I was the only bander eating Ben & Jerry's! As disgusting as it is, I have actually spent over a year eating only alone next to my "puke bucket" throwing up every other bite. I was banded almost four years ago, lost 50 pounds in the first six months, gained it all back, and finally woke up to my horrible choices very recently. I am now down 60 from my original 290 and still have many "rules" I've yet to follow. Now knowing the dangerous possibilities, I believe I've been scared away from continuing my self-destructive ways! Thank you again!!

I also thank you soo much for telling your story!! Reading many of the positive posts on this site, I have held back my own roller coaster experiences. I truly started to believe I was the only bander eating Ben & Jerry's! As disgusting as it is, I have actually spent over a year eating only alone next to my "puke bucket" throwing up every other bite. I was banded almost four years ago, lost 50 pounds in the first six months, gained it all back, and finally woke up to my horrible choices very recently. I am now down 60 from my original 290 and still have many "rules" I've yet to follow. Now knowing the dangerous possibilities, I believe I've been scared away from continuing my self-destructive ways! Thank you again!!

I also thank you soo much for telling your story!! Reading many of the positive posts on this site, I have held back my own roller coaster experiences. I truly started to believe I was the only bander eating Ben & Jerry's! As disgusting as it is, I have actually spent over a year eating only alone next to my "puke bucket" throwing up every other bite. I was banded almost four years ago, lost 50 pounds in the first six months, gained it all back, and finally woke up to my horrible choices very recently. I am now down 60 from my original 290 and still have many "rules" I've yet to follow. Now knowing the dangerous possibilities, I believe I've been scared away from continuing my self-destructive ways! Thank you again!!

I also thank you soo much for telling your story!! Reading many of the positive posts on this site, I have held back my own roller coaster experiences. I truly started to believe I was the only bander eating Ben & Jerry's! As disgusting as it is, I have actually spent over a year eating only alone next to my "puke bucket" throwing up every other bite. I was banded almost four years ago, lost 50 pounds in the first six months, gained it all back, and finally woke up to my horrible choices very recently. I am now down 60 from my original 290 and still have many "rules" I've yet to follow. Now knowing the dangerous possibilities, I believe I've been scared away from continuing my self-destructive ways! Thank you again!!

I just want to say thank you for having the courage to post this. Karen is correct and I think that what she means by saying that people will condemn you is that there are many people who will chastise you for not following the rules and will say that you did all of this to yourself. Well duh, that is exactly what you are saying. You are admitting that you did some things wrong and you are gracious enough to help others by posting this and advising others not to make the same mistakes. I applaud you! A lot of people don't like it when they see posts where people are talking about problems or issues that they have had with the band, especially when it was due to not following the rules. I think that people think it discourages others and gives "banding" a bad name. Well I will tell you that what it does for me is it keeps me on track and encourages me to take care of myself and follow the rules. We are all human and most of us who had to have the surgery in the first place obviously have eating issues. I know I do and it is difficult to stick to all the rules all the time even though you know it could hurt you if you don't. Stories like yours help me realize that I have to look into the future and see what I am doing to myself in the long run when I don't do what I am supposed to do. Thank you so much for posting and I pray that you will be able to get back on track now and get yourself healthy. You can do this. Look at it this way- you learned from your mistakes so now you know what you need to do. Best of luck. If you need a lapband friend to talk to, just let me know. I lost 90 pounds and then started breaking the rules- drinking carbonated sodas, overeating, etc and gained back 40 pounds. I really started feeling the effects of my behaviours and started reading how it affected people long term to do these things and it got me back on track quickly. I am now doing what I should, re-lost the weight and my head is in such a better place.

Same thing happened to me. As a rule of thumb, I set my timer for every four hours; however, if it has been only three hours since i last had something to eat and I'm hungry, I eat a controlled portion of something HIGH in Protein, like cottage cheese or an egg.

My name is Tamie and I was banded in July 2009, I had to have my port replaced in nov 2011 due to a leaky port. I had lost 100 then gained back 50 in that time. Now today I am down 106 lbs I feel great and eat like we are suppose to eat, small portions of anything. I make sure to eat healthy and every now and then I can have a treat. The key is proportions, I still take a lot of different foods for my lunch so I can have variety and this keeps me from straying to bad food. They make a dark chocolate granola that fills my cravings. I still eat on a small plate and my stomach does not like some foods any more but that's ok it just means I don't need them ( bread, tortillas) I have learned to layer my foods to make sure I an getting the right amt of proper Vitamins. Veggies first, then my Protein. Sometimes I just want desert so that is when I pull out yogurt ( vanilla) and add that chocolate granola. Yummy and 140 cal. Also log your food every bite!!!! I use My Fitness Pal, it is great and works with endomondo a exercise tracker. Don't worry just log it, this is for you to help you, another tool in your journey. Good luck every one, YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!
Tamie
246
140
July 2009
PS; I AM AT GOAL have been for 2 years now. I still track my food and exercise.

Sorry to hear you had such difficulties I am sure the removal will offer you some relief but I think the valve fix will be far more beneficial & let's not forget the hernia!! Basically your digestive track needs a huge break!! I have had assorted family members with stomach issues and they can be very painful. While I have had no complications I know there are some who do. In a perfect world everyone's body would react perfectly to WLS but it is not a perfect world, the human body can be quite a mysterious thing!! I hope you are soon on the road to better health & good luck!!

I'm also a stylist. I've suggested and now use Nioxin professional hair products for over 17 years. I also take Biotin in chewable form (found at Walmart) twice a day. Both have helped, but after a bit over 3 years being banded, my hair has gone from thin to thick and back many times. Finally, I realized my Protein intake makes a Huge difference! I try to stick with 60 to 90 grams of protein a day. If I slack, the hair begins to break and come out in clumps in the shower. Hope that helps!

Hi,
In a way, I, too, am getting back on the lapband wagon. I started in 07, reached goal in two years and after a year, discovered sweets chip, and pastry slides right through my lapband without any discomfort. Having a "big sweet tooth", I gained back lots of weight. I didn't want to feel a failure so I just stopped going back to the doctor, thinking I'll lose some and then go back and I would not feel like I let him down. So I tried slim fasts and Protein bars for a couple of weeks, months ..years and only gained more and more weight.
Finally having gone up a large number of sizes, I just kept looking at the lovely sized 10 clothes in my closet (had given away all my fat clothes, thinking I would never use them again). I bought cheap plus sized clothes so I could go out of the house again.
I finally said I must go back..... So here I am writing down what I eat,
Going to support groups, and nutrition classes, joining a lap band support group, charting my exercise daily. So if one loses weight, and stops keeping a food diary,keeping creating healthy good eating habits, and exercise regime, the weight will creep back on. Existing on slimfast and diet foot, and then eating all kinds of sweets late at night is a recipe for disaster. Good luck to you maybe we can motivate each other.

best of luck...went and found this for you

I'm a hair dresser and for thinning hair I ALWAYS tell my clients to take Biotin and use Nioxin products. They aren't cheap but they work. Down sides to it are it takes about a full bottle of Shampoo and conditioner to notice and you can't stop using it otherwise you'll go back to the way your hair was.