happy2lose

Yes it is possible to adjust to the band and a new job. Being banded only means you must eat slower, eat less and eat healthier. This really isn't that complicated to adjust to. Don't worry!

Melinco, I did see your post about hiccuping after taking the pill. Perhaps the pill was too large and you need to break them in half. I get the hiccuping when I eat too fast. It sounds like you may have been stuck or irritated your pouch, or perhaps even gas. Not really sure! I'm glad you are feeling better. Banded life seems to throw us many curves (new experiences) try to relax a bit. Being too uptight about your band will cause you way too much stress. Take each new experience as it comes and keep a journal of the strange experience and try not to worry. I hope today is a better day for you, Donna

Congratulations! Keep up the good work.

It seems there are many radio personalities who rag on fat people. They are referred to as shock jocks. There claim to fame is shocking the public. I hear you about your feelings on this subject. What has become of the world we live in???

I quit drinking 2 weeks before surgery and resumed drinking about a month after. I had no trouble giving up the foods I love but giving up margaritas has been tough.

The pain in the chest is totally normal. That was the worst part during my recovery. It hurt to breath and felt as if an elephant was sitting upon my chest. Give it another week and you will be back to normal. The port pain does last sometimes 4-6 weeks but otherwise you will feel great. Hang in there and prepare yourself for bandster hell. This is when the hunger strikes before you have any restriction. It will probably hit you at about days 7-10.

You look fabulous! Congratulations on your success!

You should call your surgeon about this.

It's my opinion that the banded people who are not losing much weight either have a medical condition that is affecting their weight loss or they are not following the lapband rules.

I have sinus allergies and from this my stomach tends to swell around the band. If I don't drink enough Water one day I will notice being really tight and struggle to eat the next day. If I vomit I become swollen and can't eat. With all this, it can be a vicious cycle. You must be keeping enough food and liquid down to survive or you would be hospitalized and fed through IV fluids. Take it slow, eat small amounts and take very small bites. Stick with softer, easier to chew Proteins instead of the recommended solid proteins and see if this helps.

Humming Bird, I share your disorder. I can barely make it through a meal without flossing in between. I can't stand to have food between my teeth, it drives me crazy or perhaps I'm already crazy!

Hang in there both of you! It sounds to me like you both need more restriction so you won't be able to eat as much. Food cravings go away after about 10-14 days after you stop eating sugars and starches. It can be tough but you have to be tougher. Make up your mind that no matter what happens you will not give into the cravings. Plan your daily menu ahead of time so that you will be less likely to stray from the plan. Log all your food intake until you are confident you have things under control. Make a plan to exercise. Plan exercise activity for each day. Spend 60-90 daily minutes focusing on walking, running, working out. Exercise also helps to keep the cravings for food at bay. Drink lots of water and this will help you too. Just do it!

It wouldn't hurt you at all to work out twice each day. I sit at a desk all day too and I've been thinking about adding another workout to my days.

Good job Elfie. You even lost weight during the holidays. Good for you!

Sliming is what happens when your food is stuck in your pouch you get an over-production of saliva and can't swallow it.

Are you taking pain meds??? If so, try switching to Tylenol PM instead. When I take Vicoden I am too wired to sleep. I may fall asleep but I keep waking up.

The first 7 months I was a textbook bandster eating exactly by the rules. The past 6 weeks I have stopped doing everything by the book. I skip Breakfast because I really am not hungry and my band is typically tight in the a.m. For lunch I eat a can of Campbell's Soup or McDonald's chicken strips. dinner I eat whatever I want just not much of it such as a taco or meat and veggies. I seem to be losing weight just as consistently as I was the first 7 months but I'm sure I am not as healthy as I could be. I am not able to eat rice, Pasta or bread very successfully with the restriction I am at.

This is the exact same advice I will give you. The band works great if you use it as directed. The weightloss is slow which is healthiest. You will really need to work at it though and exercise is essential. If you do, you will have great results.

Yes, I picture myself the same way. I am obese in all my dreams. When I picture a certain senario I am also obese.

Mandze90, Don't panic, I don't think any of us were able to get all of our protein in the first week after surgery. It's kinda hard when all you can have is clear liquids. Once you can have protein drinks it gets easier.

I had very, very thick hair to begin with but when I say handfulls, I mean literally handfulls. When I shower there was a big wad of hair left on the drain, then when I comb my hair out there was hair all stuck in the comb. When I blow dry, hair all over the counter and all over the floor as well as a lot on the brush. I would estimate my loss around 50%. I have long hair down to just below my bra strap. Since the hairloss just stopped, I went and had my hair trimmed yesterday so now it looks a little healthier. It is most noticeable behind my bang line. Looks like I am balding, otherwise the loss really isn't visable to the naked eye, just mine. I had three previous surgeries and never experienced hair loss before. I believe it has something to do with the trama to a vital organ (stomach being banded) and nothing to do with lack of nutrients. Just my opinion though! Either way, I am sooooooo relieved that it has stopped and equally relieved that I am seeing some new growth. The point of this thread is that I just wanted to let those of you who are experiencing hair loss know that is will stop eventually. Donna

timmmers, I have not experienced what you described but I have experienced dehydration and blacking out. It is equally as frightening. Have you ever had your blood sugar checked? It sounds like you may have Hypoglycemia. It sounds like you are looking and feeling great. Funny thing for me is that I still feel very fat and when I look in the mirror I see a fat person. Everybody tells me how great I look and I sometimes wonder if these people are just saying this to keep me motivated. I really don't need people to do this because I am every bit as motivated as I was the day of surgery. I really just want honesty from people and when I can't see the change in myself, I can't help but wonder. You are doing great! Keep up the good work!

Set you mind on hitting the weight loss game hard come Monday (Jan 4th). Try and minimize the damage until then by only allowing healthy foods to cross your lips. It is also very important to keep exercising. You are both doing great so try not to stress too much over a small gain.

Zinc is available where Vitamins are sold. I don't know if zinc really helps or not though. I have always managed to get all my Protein in daily. I really don't believe lack of protein had anything to do with hair loss.

I started taking Biotin when my hair started falling out. It really didn't seem to make any difference at all. Recently, somebody told me to try taking Zinc. I started on the zinc a few weeks ago so not sure if the zinc had anything to do with it stopping or if it was just time to stop. Either way, I'm really glad it has stopped because I could not afford to lose much more hair. Thank you so much AZ for the compliment. I'm not so sure I deserve it though because there have been times when I wasn't so nice or positive. Happy New Year!