I don't think is related to the band, but I do think it's related to either low-carb eating habits, or maybe just a change in eating habits, or maybe just general weightloss. This has happened to me once before, about 4 months into my Atkins experience. Never happened before, or since, until now. Anyway...

My nails, where the white meets the pink, will start to look sort of transparent in a thin band, following the contour of the nail. Does this for a few days. Then the transparent area starts to turn a reddish purple, but not everywhere, just in spots - sometimes big spots, sometimes little spots, sometimes tiny spots... but all spots follow the ridges in my nail, it's just a matter of how deep into the pink area they go. After the spots have been there a few days, the area will start to have a weird discharge from under the nail. It DOES NOT have any odor or color, and when it dries it just looks like a shiny area, almost like there's dried superglue there. It's thicker than Water because if you push down with your finger, pushing the nail against the skin, it will "stick" for a bit before pulling free... tacky, kind of like glue. The best example I can think of is that it's almost like serum (the clear Fluid that is in blisters). There's no pain/discomfort. From what I remember (last happened about 2 years ago) it will stat sticky/wet for maybe a week, then it will be better, and the white of my nail will be lower down on the bed than it used to, like the pink area where the weird stuff formed becomes detached... but eventually it goes back to normal.

I went to my doc last time this happened and she wasn't sure what it was. She ruled out infection, under-nail fungus, and all other things usually associated with weird nail things. She finally ruled it as, "irritation" and told me to come back if it didn't clear up. It did, so I didn't. I assumed it was a one-time fluke kind of thing until now.

Last time it started with my left ring finger, and this time it's starting in the same place. Last time it ended up hitting both ring fingers, both little fingers, and right hand index finger. So far I only see "signs" of it on my left ring finger and left little finger.

BTW, I don't wear fake nails or anything else known to cause problems. I do get manicures, but I don't have them polish, just buff & oil. Nothing has happened out of the oridinary, I've been doing the same things for years and have only had this happen the two times that I've changed dietary habits.

Anyone else or am I all by my lonesome?

Sorry, I remember the infection had a name, but I can't remember that far back. It caused the nail to be literally eaten away slowly. It took about a month before the whole nail was gone. But mine was only my thumb, so I assumed I picked up something creepy from a nail salon. It didn't look gross at all, just mangled till it was completely gone, then after the antibiotics it grew back.

Do you have it on all your fingers? As far as your hair, tons of mine fell out when I first got banded and continued to fall out for months. But that eventually stopped, and I'm back to a full head of thick hair.

http://www.bchealthguide.org/kbase/topic/major/hw268101/descrip.htm

Check out that site. I guess I was lucky, because the only thing that happened to me was the part that made my nail crack and become thickened and unsightly, but mine was not discolored, discharging or infected-looking: "Fungal nail infections can cause a nail to crack or thicken, become discoloured, streaked, or spotted. As a fungal infection progresses, the nail can become unsightly."

Ok, got some pics, and also found the pic I took last time this happened. It cleared up on its own last time, and once everything dried up you coudn't tell anything had happened.

1. My hand, so you can see the size of the area that's yucky

2. Good nail & bad nail, side by side

3. Another side by side

4. Last time this happened (about 2 years ago), after Fluid started appearing

Mine had white lines running through them post op for the first few months I took a nail and hair vitamin and it seemed to work, now they are fine and have stopped taking the vitamin months ago

Wow!! I never would have know what you were talking about had I not seen those pictures!!! I had some nail problems where they had white spots on them & was told it was a deficiency in iron. But, I have never seen anything like that!! Sorry, I don't think I am any help.

I've always heard the white spots in the nail were Calcium deposits.

It looks a little worse today, and has started getting sensitive to pressure... feels almost tingly if I push down on the nail. After I shower I'm going to try and get some neosporin down there and hope it clears up, I'm on a 6:30 flight out of state Monday morning for the entire week, so next Mon would be the soonest I could see my doc (who would say it's an irritation again)

I would like to know what causes the hair to fall out . I know it is fairly common in weight loss. I asked the doc and he wanted to know if I am getting enough protien. I think so because I have not really lost much wieght. About 20 lbs.

Not losing much weight is not an indication of getting enough Protein. You need to log your protein intake or drink Isopure or some other Protein Drink. You'll never know if you're losing hair due to lack of protein unless you log your protein or supplement. Remember, you need at least 60g of protein per day. I take in more, just to be sure.