bdbmamaw

I know your pain! I have not lost any weight in the past two months! But, I have been working out and I'm seeing better definition in my shoulders, legs and waist. My arms are much smaller too. I went from a size 20 to a current size 14. But I have to wear a belt because my pants will fall down if I don't. I just let the hem out on two new pair of slacks (because I'm so tall) and I just need to Iron the hem before I can wear them. Size 12!!!! So just do what I find it sooo hard to do. Ignore the numbers and love the mirror. (But I still weigh myself every morning... sigh!) You're doing great!!!

It was awesome meeting everyone there! It was good to hear about everyone else's experiences with the band. crod, you and Janice are such an inspiration. You guys just make me want to succeed even more. Thanks for the invite. If anyone else can make the next meeting, you should definitely do it! Some of the best 2 hours I've spent in a long time! :wink:

Rapid weight loss and losing hair go together like Valentines and hearts. It's more common to lose than not. But it's ok. Take a deep breath... let it out slowly... it WILL grow back. It is not permanent hair loss. It's just scary as hell!!! I have heard of hair getting pretty thin, but nobody going bald so far. So hang in there, continue doing what the doc says and you will come out the other side. With your normal hair and a smaller body!!! Even my hair dresser says that the worst cases she's seen from her WLS customers always have a turning point where the hair comes back in. You're gonna do great!

I got them at Walmart. They are in a little green bottle and the gel caplets are really, really small so they go down fine. I hope this works for you. It seems to have worked for me. But you should also get some blood work done with your doctor in case it's something else. Keep me posted.

My sister (who is not banded) has been losing tons of hair lately. I told her she should see a doctor and get some blood work done as you can actually see her scalp now because her hair has gotten really thin. She went to the doc and he did blood work and said she had a Vitamin D deficiency. She did some research on the internet and, sure enough, it will cause hair loss. Anyway, I was experiencing some hair loss (4 mos post op) and my hair was thinning. I would have a lot a hair in wrapped up in my fingers every time I ran my hands through my hair. And I was getting worried. But i get loads of Protein, so I'm having a hard time believing that's my problem. So i started taking 1000u Vitamin D3 (per my sister's recommendation) and within a week my hair loss has slowed down to almost no hair loss. i can comb my hair now and only have 2 or 3 strands in my comb. It certainly wouldn't hurt to try it too and see if it works for you. Let me know.

I've also heard that when flying can cause problems with the band. Cabin pressure or something. I've heard that you shouldn't eat before or while flying. It could cause you some problems, so I would opt for driving.

About 5 days post-op, I started having problems with pain in the band area from the front to the back. The pain was intense and it only hurt when I was in an upright position. (Weird) My only relief (and it was instant) was when I would lay down. I thought that maybe my band was catching on something. I knew I couldn't continue to lay down for the rest of my life, so I contacted my doctor and he had me go to the ER for a CT scan. They could not find a problem. The Nurse Practitioner noticed from a urine test that I was really dehydrated also. So they pumped me full of fluids and then let me go home. I just wanted the darn thing OUT! Later that evening, I noticed that I was feeling much better. My husband asked me how much water I was drinking and I told him that I was just sipping. I was afraid to drink too much because I did not know how much my tummy could hold. He thought maybe it was dehydration causing the problem. Well, while I was in the ER, they had me drink three 8 oz. glasses of apple juice with the iodine in it 15 minutes apart for the CT scan. I told her that I could not drink that much. Was she nuts? She said that I should be able to handle that amount. So... I drank it. And I was fine. I actually thought that I would hurt myself if I drank too much. (What a silly woman I am!) So I took my husband's advise and started drinking 4 bottles of water a day and the pain has never come back! The moral of this story? Drink, Drink, Drink! You may feel like you're waddling if you're not use to drinking that much, but that feeling goes away and then you start craving the water. New habits are hard at first. But it gets easier with time...:confused:

About 5 days post-op, I started having problems with pain in the band area from the front to the back. The pain was intense and it only hurt when I was in an upright position. (Weird) My only relief (and it was instant) was when I would lay down. I thought that maybe my band was catching on something. I knew I couldn't continue to lay down for the rest of my life, so I contacted my doctor and he had me go to the ER for a CT scan. They could not find a problem. The Nurse Practitioner noticed from a urine test that I was really dehydrated also. So they pumped me full of fluids and then let me go home. I just wanted the darn thing OUT! Later that evening, I noticed that I was feeling much better. My husband asked me how much water I was drinking and I told him that I was just sipping. I was afraid to drink too much because I did not know how much my tummy could hold. He thought maybe it was dehydration causing the problem. Well, while I was in the ER, they had me drink three 8 oz. glasses of apple juice with the iodine in it 15 minutes apart for the CT scan. I told her that I could not drink that much. Was she nuts? She said that I should be able to handle that amount. So... I drank it. And I was fine. I actually thought that I would hurt myself if I drank too much. (What a silly woman I am!) So I took my husband's advise and started drinking 4 bottles of water a day and the pain has never come back! The moral of this story? Drink, Drink, Drink! You may feel like you're waddling if you're not use to drinking that much, but that feeling goes away and then you start craving the water. New habits are hard at first. But it gets easier with time...:confused:

I ended up in the ER with the kind of pain you are talking about. Under rib cage and in the back. They ran CT scans, etc. and found nothing wrong. The pain would subside some when I was laying down but become very intense the minute I was upright. Come to find out, I was not drinking enough Water. They put in an IV and filled me up with fluids and the next day... NO PAIN. I started drinking 4 bottles of water a day (even if I had to force myself to do it) and I have not had the pain since. I still got some gas pain in the top of my shoulder, but this pain was not the same. It was intense! I wanted the band OUT! I could not even stand upright because of the pain. The dr actually thought that a stitch might be catching on something inside. Thank goodness it was just dehydration. I don't know if yours is the same, but try drinking 4 bottles of water today and see how you feel tomorrow.

I have not always had a weight problem. Up until my 40's, I was tall (that hasn't changed) and thin. I never much thought of weight and never judged anyone because of their weight. I didn't have much use for people who did. In my early 40's, however, I started having problems with my hair turning to straw, not feeling well and I gained 40 lbs in 3 months! It took the doctors months, but they finally narrowed it down to a non-functional thyroid. And the weight continued to grow. Thank God, I had a husband who loved me and continued to make me feel beautiful. What bothered me more than anything, though, was the effort it took to do normal, everyday activities. Walking up the stairs never used to be this hard! And every step I took to lose the weight failed miserably. I finally just gave up. But then in June of 2009 I was diagnosed with diabeties. Hello!!!! What a wake-up call. Diabeties is a horrible disease. I didn't want to live like that! So, while talking to my sister one day, she mentioned the lap-band. I started reading about it and talking to my doctors about it. They all thought it would work for me, so I set up a consult with Dr. Wilkenfield's office in The Woodlands. We filed with my insurance and got the approval fairly quick. I scheduled my surgery for Aug 25th. Believe me when I say, 'It was not an easy decision'. I read the good and the bad about the band and still felt it was the right thing to do. But I was SCARED up to and during the day of surgery. I lay on the operating table still trying to talk myself out of it. What the hell was I about to do! :redface: But all I had to do was think of living with diabeties and I calmed down. The surgery was pretty uneventful until the moment I woke up in recovery. The nurse wanted me to get up, get dressed and walk to x-ray! Was she freakin' nuts! :confused: I just had surgery! Well, she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, so I sat up, got dressed and walked. And you know what? It wasn't too bad. They had me stand in front of an x-ray machine and had me drink a little barrion (?) to see if it would go through. It did and they sent me home. Bam! Done! I am now a band'it'. I wish I could say that the rest was cake, but I ran into some problems. I'll tell you all about it in my next blog. Stay tuned....:confused:

I have not always had a weight problem. Up until my 40's, I was tall (that hasn't changed) and thin. I never much thought of weight and never judged anyone because of their weight. I didn't have much use for people who did. In my early 40's, however, I started having problems with my hair turning to straw, not feeling well and I gained 40 lbs in 3 months! It took the doctors months, but they finally narrowed it down to a non-functional thyroid. And the weight continued to grow. Thank God, I had a husband who loved me and continued to make me feel beautiful. What bothered me more than anything, though, was the effort it took to do normal, everyday activities. Walking up the stairs never used to be this hard! And every step I took to lose the weight failed miserably. I finally just gave up. But then in June of 2009 I was diagnosed with diabeties. Hello!!!! What a wake-up call. Diabeties is a horrible disease. I didn't want to live like that! So, while talking to my sister one day, she mentioned the lap-band. I started reading about it and talking to my doctors about it. They all thought it would work for me, so I set up a consult with Dr. Wilkenfield's office in The Woodlands. We filed with my insurance and got the approval fairly quick. I scheduled my surgery for Aug 25th. Believe me when I say, 'It was not an easy decision'. I read the good and the bad about the band and still felt it was the right thing to do. But I was SCARED up to and during the day of surgery. I lay on the operating table still trying to talk myself out of it. What the hell was I about to do! But all I had to do was think of living with diabeties and I calmed down. The surgery was pretty uneventful until the moment I woke up in recovery. The nurse wanted me to get up, get dressed and walk to x-ray! Was she freakin' nuts! I just had surgery! Well, she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, so I sat up, got dressed and walked. And you know what? It wasn't too bad. They had me stand in front of an x-ray machine and had me drink a little barrion (?) to see if it would go through. It did and they sent me home. Bam! Done! I am now a band'it'. I wish I could say that the rest was cake, but I ran into some problems. I'll tell you all about it in my next blog. Stay tuned....:confused:

I havetalked to people who have lost and gained back, and those who have lost and kept it off. The difference is that those who kept it off followed the guidelines. Not one person who gained could say that they did, indeed, follow the guidelines. And their advice? You guessed it... follow the guidelines. That's not always easy, but that is what this site is for. And, Julie.Ann, you are the inspiration that gives me the strength to say 'No' to the things not good for me. Thank you for sharing! You look awesome! Hang in there everyone! We can do it!! If you've slipped up, just get back up and start again! We Can Do It!!!