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@shewolf- I contacted my Dr.'s main nurse and she said this was natural and will eventually stop... but it's all hypothetical talk. As in I'm nervous bc it's only been 2 months and I've lost, give or take two-thirds of my hair- so I'm worried if this lasts for another month if I should get a wig. The Dr.'s nurse said it's almost never that serious.. but then again it's "almost"... it's never a definite answer. @Angelica- so rogaine is working??? I was just nervous to use that but will be considering it ASAP @Lacey- I thought about that and a wig!!!!!! @ Alia- I started using a Nioxin shampoo & conditioner..... I also just ordered & tried a Biotin organic type shampoo just to see the results but if you think Nioxin is a better pick then I'll def. go back to using that.. thanks for the advice

See I have never had acid reflux...not that I have ever noticed anyway...thats why this is so strange to me; I didnt have any problems with insurance covering the perscription, I just had a $3 copay...tricare is good for something right; but I am giving it a go bc the dr said so...thats why they get the big bucks right?

You are definitely having anxiety for a reason. This is a major surgery. One thing I wish I would have done was researched it more often. My surgery was lapriscopically. With a robot. I had a dream prior to my surgery that I was being operated on then I woke up during and my eyes were taped down. I guess they realizes I woke up and gave me medicine to put me back to sleep. I wasn't excited about my surgery bc I had so many problems with the lap-band I knew what to expect. But for some reason this time around was far far worse. It's almost 2 weeks post and my stomach still aches on the inside every day. My scars are fine. I'll be 23 Wednesday a day after my post op visit and I started at 327. Prior I lost 116 lbs n gained it all back. So I decided to try this but nothing could prepare me for how I feel now. I kinda feel betrayed by my body. Hopefully when I'm down about 40 lbs my insight will change. I hope all goes well with your surgery.

well, the boiled egg went down GREAT! i just chewed chewed chewed it into an oblivion in my mouth....it went down smoothly, didn't get stuck, and only 1/2 of a boiled egg and i felt full! YAY! the only thing is....am i the only one on here who is getting hungry at like 2-4 hr intervals? i think its probably bc the liquids go down quicker then the mushy food....but when i'm only doing liquids, i get hungry alot sooner. i'm hoping w/the egg now, i won't get hungry again in a few hours. lemme know how often ya'll are getting hungry on stage 1 and stage 2. thanks.

HI there, I am at the same progress as you and finally got some restriction from my 4th fill last Wednesday. I cannot eat bfast but slowly eating all foods is totally working. Protein shakes is my best way to get protein in bc I am struggling to get 800 calories a day since Wednesday. I should totally see some shrinkage now. I dropped to 226lbs after being at 233lbs for about 2.5 mos. I was banded on 27 Aug 2008 I am trying to get a ticker tracker but nothing is working for me to get it posted on my posts.. 255/226/145 CHER

Heather, I had a lazy eater in the beginning and my baby was losing weight bc he wasn't getting enough milk. (Falling asleep at the boob) Ever since he was about a month old I've been having to supplement with formula... He gets breast and bottle every time. (Although just recently, overnight he will take only breast and be find until morning!) I pump at work at get about 2 oz total every 4 hrs. I have tried fenugreek, lactation Cookies, Reglan, and feeding on demand! Since I started pumping at work 4 weeks ago, I do feel like my supply has increased but very little. I eat anywhere from 2000-2200 calories a day now. My biggest setback is Water. I suck at drinking water (I always have, even before my lapband.) I struggle to get in 2-3 bottles of water a day. I go in phases of good hydration to barely getting in one bottle a day (of any liquid... I don't drink pop or juice or anything). Supplementing is working out okay for us as it has helped him gain normally again....although I really hate it because feeding time takes longer, formula is smelly and makes him spit up more, and its just a pain! I'm hoping to get my supply up slowly and possibly get to EBF but I don't have a time frame and I'm not trying super hard right now (see: pumping every 4 hours and not 2) because I'm still playing catch up at my job from when I was on leave! I will def be waiting until he is 6 months to even call my doctor and see what he recommends. I don't think my issue now is calories in...I really think its hydration. Sigh.

Hah hah, I am on BC to regulate my periods, but my hope is that when I lose weight, it will help itself.. and the actual birth control aspect is a bonus. If I didn't need to take it for periods, I'd probably do something else, just to keep from any risks associated with BC in general. I had a gyno in NM that was a real pushy lady about my weight. When I complained about my mood swings and horrible PMS, she wouldn't suggest different meds, or anything.. her answer was 'Stop eating sugar, sugar is the cause of all your problems'. And of course, always harping me to lose weight, I hated goin to her. I knew she was down there judging my fat hooty ha. My gyno now did not say anything about me being overweight, she's smart enough to know.. FAT PEOPLE KNOW THEY ARE FAT. FAT PEOPLE KNOW THEY SHOULD LOSE WEIGHT. She doesn't know about my band, I see her next month.. Hope she notices the 60lb loss!

The Nuva Ring is the best birth control I have ever been on, Just pop it in and go for 26 days. So easy and convenient!!! I actually lost 8 lbs in the first 2 months I was on it. I will nerve go back to any other BC.

I am 6 days out and have my period havent had one in five years thanks to depo shots for bc but now r u kidding me cramps on top of everything else Yolo

I'm feeling good 3.5 wks out but still not allowed to exercise, ride my bike, run, or do any lifting for another 2.5 weeks. I've been very careful to follow that bc although I feel healed on the outside, I know my body on the inside is still healing. What did ur dr recommend?

Hi all, I'm post op 11 days. Right now I'm still in my full liquids phase, and I made a bunch of Soup to help get past this phase. I added unflavored Protein and it has a gritty, chalky flavor which I can't stand. I love the soup, but without adding the unflavored protein I won't be meeting my protein goal. I want to give up on the 60-70 grams of protein I should be having, it sounds crazy to me.. besides the Greek yogurt and occasional Protein shake.. and then just really pick up on it when I start my puréed diet next week bc I will be able to have puréed chicken. Would this be really bad? Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Hi all, I was banded on Feb 9/2011 in Vancouver, BC at False Creek Medical and have lost 130 lbs. I reached goal in August.I never dreamed of being this small. I love the new me . Now I am focused on tightening and toning. Cheers, Kristi

Hi - I'm in BC - banded 2004!

I, too, was glued shut - had one open up and get slightly infected, but some thorough attention closed it up pretty quickly. I ended up buying some butterfly bandages and holding it shut while it healed to give the new skin some time to get established. RE: the saltwater...while I know we are not horses, when I was a kid, we'd always take the horses to the beach and walk them in the Water if they had any kind of infection on their legs (and they healed quickly and with less scaring). My father INSISTED on gargling with salt water for a sore throat (and it really did help). When I had an infection in my finger, the doctor told me to soak it in hot salt water to draw out the infection. Salt water is nothing but good for healing wounds (though I admit it CAN sting a bit)...it's the nasties in the water you need to be careful of - if you are going to a place where the water is pretty clean, I would encourage you to get in the water:thumbup:! Of course, MY only PhD is in BS, so I can only recommend what I would do. :confused:

So I'm 9 months out down 126 still have about 70 to go to get to my goal. I am 32 and have one filling in my mouth. It fell out and I need a root canal and have 4 cavities surrounding it. Thats only one section my of mouth not the whole thing. They will look at the rest later. I feel that I'm having these issues BC of surgery. My teeth were fine a year ago. What can I do to prevent future problems? Thanks!

All done all my requirements and the doctors office submitted my package to BC BS of North Carolina last week. Heard today that they need a single doctors visit from 2011 to verify my weight and a thyroid test. I'm READY! Tired of this waiting game and all the hoops! Just wondering if they will keep coming back with additional requirements after I get them the records and have my thyroid test???

I hate the reaction too, and that is why I decided not to tell anyone. People have these ideas in their head and they think that just bc they have never had a weight problem, you shouldn't either and it is just your willpower. Screw 'em!!!

I had a lot of chest pains. I ended up staying an additional night in the hospital bc of it. It was just the gas that they fill you up with, but they did it as a precaution. Scale of 1-10....8ish???

I was in the same situation as mnmlst. I had help for the first 2 weeks then I was on my own with my 11 month old daughter. My husband is military and went on a field op for 2 weeks. You just have to be very cognizant of finding alternatives to not lifting. We put my daugther's crib mattress in on the floor next to our bed so I wouldn't have to lift her in and out of the crib. I fed her sitting on the floor so I didn't have to use the high chair. I held her hands while she climbed up and down the stairs. Anything I could do to not lift her. That said, there were times I had to lift her and I did pay the price. I was sore and in pain on those days I did too much. Thankfully nothing more serious. Just take your time and use your legs if you have to lift, but avoid it as much as you can. Good luck!!

Bc with normal tummies it's a small bar and Water is to help feel full. They recommend that with most bars. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Today is FRIDAY the April 13, 2007 Although I can see myself purposely try and sabbatage my body, I am aware of it now and I am taking the steps to prevent any and all BS that comes into my mind. The first two days were rough. My husband and I set up the Bowflex we bought for him and I. We had our "Final Meal" Monday night.......the funny thing about this final meal is that....ive had a bazillion final meals.....but for some reason this one was different. I didnt go "all out". I still had steak dinner...and I still ate the mashed potatoes with EVERYTHING on them.....but it was different....i didnt finish it all. My band was unfilled about 4 weeks ago because of personal reasons....i was required to get it unfilled. So for the past 4 weeks I had basically been eating like a pig. I never really lost weight from the band...but i cheated the system. I drank when I ate and I only had 2 fills the entire time I have been banded...which is not a good thing. On Tuesday I went to my Dr. and had my lapband refilled. I told him this was it....I was really going to do it....Im sure he has heard this all before so in a sense I felt really stupid....2 years have gone by and I have nothing to show for it.....same clothes...same size....same miserable self. I had started a job in September 06 and it was a work from home job. A DREAM JOB FOR A FAT GIRL. I was making $500 a week to answer the phone lines as a customer service rep. The job was completely legit and was great....except I sat at my computer for HOURS on end. The girl I worked with was absolutely nuts! She was the owners sister and she was 50+ and thought she knew everything...NOT. After making a new discovery in my life that my health was #1 and my job was making me SICK that B%$#H e-mailed me a nasty lwork re-lated email for the last time. I quit immediately putting her and her sister(the owner) in a nasty spot with no one to cover my shifts. SERVES THEM RIGHT! I'm tired of people taking over my life and making me miserable....but then I thought...thats exactly what I have been doing for YEARS!! :clap2: DUH So i'm sitting here thinking to myself....what can I do to make sure I don't for lack of better terms (fall off the wagon) and I remembered lapbandtalk.com. I am going to try and stick to this...hopefully a year from now I will have an entire journal and tons a weight down! Today I walked 25 min and .93 miles....which is a huge leap from yesterday...(at least to me it is) Yesterday i walked 20 min .64 miles I broke a sweat both days...YIPPEE (kyle(my husband) is working out with me...so this makes it a lot easier) Right now im eating liquid things(because my band was just filled)....i was told by my lapband dr that i should NOT be drinking protein shakes because they are "empty" calories. So i've ditched that idea I have been told to eat 5-6 meals a day......that's hard for me because my meal selection is slim....any ideas? Right now it has to be soft foods but in a couple of days i can go back to normal. Just an update! I will be shooting for 25-30 minutes tomorrow...and possible start holding some weights while i walk... Thanks for all the encouragement!!! Kyle says i should be walking at night tonight.....so maybe i will hop on for 15 min...... tata for now Krystal

When you finally get that restriction you have to really start remembering all of the things they warned you about like eating slow, chewing everything to death, and watching out for breads and pastas. When I first got banded, I thought, HA I can still eat this stuff and I am losing weight, but when I got good restriction, I slowly learned that I was not quite as invincible as I thought I was. I generally avoid breads, rice, pastas, lettuce, steak and most beef. On the upside, the weight is falling off and at a good rate. It is like my body is telling me this is how I want to be fed and it is slowly but surely going back to the way it used to be.

Hi, Thanks for getting back to me. Which doc refused--- surgeon or primary? Did you call Federal Blue Cross and they told you that or did the office call? I called Fed BC today and the woman was clueless. All she did was send me the official policy criteria, which I already had. I explained that I needed to know if there are any exceptions to the 3 month pre-op diet. She she did not know and did not know who would know. Thanks! Dana

@@teedsg does your surgeon know about the phentermine? I told them I used it in the past. I just started again after my visit bc of my upcoming trip. I was at 270 in July. I am now at 256. I'd like to get down to 215-230 to feel more comfortable, confident and to show as much effort. Definitely trying not to gain weight and really control my appetite with the phentermine. Could you elaborate a bit on the nutritional labels? In other words, does it mean to keep carbs under 10g? Just want to be sure I follow. Very awesome that we are on a similar expected surgery date really hoping these 6 months go by fast. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Going to mexico!! The crazy thing is, I have never even considered going for surgery. But something in me changed. I think mostly i am just fed up. I was paying cash for my surgery where i live. Not only is it 3 times the cost of going to Mexico, But I also paid 2k out of pocket for testing. Then when I had a date, i was so excited and then got a call that I needed to be rescheduled for a month later. I had worked my butt off to jump through every hoop (not insurance company hoops) I was heart broken. So, after reading through hundreds of posts on here, my husband and i sat down and made a decision.....Mexico! I got in touch with Dr.Kelly yesterday and by the end of the day I had a surgery date, flights, everything! I feel so at peace with my decision. So now I have questions.......What is the area like? Did people go with you? Did you like the hospital/hotel? Did you feel safe?