In your experience, what was the most difficult thing to get used to after the surgery? My surgery is May 5th and I'm just trying to get all my questions out. Thanks y'all!:smile:

Thank you for the reply.

Congratulations are in order then for both your weight loss and hair regrowth.

I don't think the Protein had anything to do with it.

I think my body was in shock from the rapid weightloss.

I wasn't aware of that and thought hair loss was solely a symptom of protein deficiency as it relates to lap band - thank you.

Regarding thinning hair, I read that it can occur starting about 3 months after surgery and lasts for several months.

I think hairloss is one of the things they don't tell people about enough. I went to a support group with a friend who was thinking about getting banded. She was going as part of her pre-op research. There were other pre-op people there and one of them asked the lady who was running the meeting about hairloss. The lady told her that only happened with gastric bypass patients. The rest of us in the meeting who were post-op all one by one stated that we all had lost hair.

For me it was most definitely the pre-op diet. I hated it. Beyond that, it's not been that bad at all. I've only had one fill and no real food intolerances or feelings of stuck, yet, so I might still be too early in the process. But, truthfully - if you go in with a positive attitude and follow the boards here (I think there is some GREAT info on here) it won't be that bad. :smile:

Good luck and you'll be SO glad you did it!

1. Stopping when my body says full--so hard to leave good food

2. Eating slowly

3. Not eating and drinking at the same time

My hair is thinning--not bad in that it is noticeable, but getting thinner. I have always gotten 70-100 grams of Protein in a day, so as other posters have said, I am three months out and think my body is reacting to the surgery, I know it will come back. Taking Biotin and protein treatments to hair. Plus, women's hair in the family begins getting thinner around 40.

Edited April 30, 201016 yr by shadst8

Eating slowly and not drinking with my meals.

Drinking...or not drinking....It's habit now and not an issue but the first couple months trying to get enough liquids in and yet not drink 30 minutes before eating or an hour after...was a pain in the butt. I hadn't realize it pre-op but apparently my signal to drink something is, surprise, eating! I've had to totally retrain the brain on that one.

Hairloss is still a biggie for me but I started out with enough hair for 3 people so I'm still ahead of the game, however, if things don't slow down soon it could get ugly. I get the impression the 3-6 month mark seems to be where the hair goes wild. I think some of it is from surgery/anesthesia and them some from the fairly rapid weight loss...it's leveled off for everyone I know that had a problem with it so I'm trying not to obsess.

Good luck!

I don't think the Protein had anything to do with it.

I think my body was in shock from the rapid weightloss.

The first 75 pounds flew off with no effort on my part.

I also think it has much to do with the type of hair I have. My hair is baby fine and very straight. I used to have a lot of hair, but each strand is very fine. It is now driving me a little crazy with all the areas of shorter hair that is filling in, but at least I don't have so many areas where scalp is showing.

Oh no! I have baby-fine hair too! :smile:

Thanks for all the input! It really helps out!

Regarding the hair loss, it seems some people experience it and some don't. I've read it can be due to not getting enough protein, but have also read that it's the body dealing with the "shock" of going through major surgery. I've read of bandsters who have increased their protein and taken Biotine to combat it. Sometimes it seems to have helped and sometimes it hasn't. I just continued with my 60-80 grams of protein a day and it resolved on its own. I have thick hair so I wasn't too worried about it, but it was kind of freaky to see all that hair on my bath towel and in the shower in the morning. I think stress in general can add to hair loss, so don't stress out about it! This too shall pass :smile:

I think hairloss is one of the things they don't tell people about enough. I went to a support group with a friend who was thinking about getting banded. She was going as part of her pre-op research. There were other pre-op people there and one of them asked the lady who was running the meeting about hairloss. The lady told her that only happened with gastric bypass patients. The rest of us in the meeting who were post-op all one by one stated that we all had lost hair.

Oh boy...now that's gonna freak me out. I have locs and it would be VERY unfortunate if my hair started falling out. hopefully the fact it's locked into my head will help and not hurt my cause.

Not drinking with and shortly after a meal!

Not drinking while eating. That I think has been the worst.

Not drinking with meals is by far the hardest thing for me to do. Eating slowly and smaller bites is a challenge when I am really hungry. However, my body lets me know almost immediately when I do eat too fast or take bites that are too big. I start hiccuping, trying to burp, and/or feel a build up in my chest.

So many years of doing Weight Watchers have instilled some diet-habits in me that are hard to break...

1) I drink TONS of Water, all day every day, and taking a break during/after eating is hard.

2) I got so used to adding huge quantities of veggies to everything I cook/eat, to add volume without adding calories. Now that I have to prioritize Protein, I don't have room for all those veggies.

I also have a hard time remembering to take my Vitamin supplements. I know it should be easy, but I forget all the time!

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