Hyopthyroidism....LapBand questions....

[slowkat 0]

Your words helped a lot. A problem I'm wrestling with also is that a relative, ony about four yrs younger than me, developed hypothyroidism after I did but went on Medifast & lost most of the weight so I was, in my mind, thinking why isn't that diet also working for me. I lost only four pounds in a month so your story makes me feel like I, too, need to go forward with the procedure. Afterall, it's only limiting my food intake which is good about the band. I just wanted to thank you for your story & let you know that it did help.

--SK. :kiss

[jahair 0]

To everyone who's responded so far. The reason I'm still debating is because I feel like I should be able to lose weight w/o having surgery. I'm sure all of y'all or at least most of y'all have felt this way (just assuming of course) & have tried other methods w/o results. I'm still feeling a wee bit hopeful. I'm also just afraid other people will think badly of me, like I took the easy way out or that "oh THAT'S how she lost weight, I thought she did it on her own.." blah blah. I really feel like I'll be judged when people find out because they may think I took the easy way out & it's NOT easy. It's HARD either dieting or with the surgery because it's a total lifestyle change either way but harder due to being completely restricted. The upside that makes me wanna go ahead w/the surgery is because I WOULD be restricted & not have to worry any further about how I eat. I feel that the long term benefits outweigh the negatives but I want to at least try the medifast as my last try before doing the lapband, just in case it DOES work for me. I don't want to be left wondering, well, if I had tried it, would it have worked. :paranoid BUT it does require SOME exercise either way. As for those who asked if I could try Water exercises, well there's no local access to a pool that I know of around here. If anyone knows of a place that's affordable & nearby Katy, TX, (West of Hwy. 99 ONLY please) just post about it here, if you wouldn't mind. Thanx!:straight

Slokat,

I did a little research and found this information about swimming in the Katy area. The YMCA in Katy is an outdoor pool only.

Mary Jo Peckham Park

Located at 5597 Gardenia

This 5.5 acre park facility features an indoor heated, handicapped-accessible, Olympic-sized swimming pool with fully equipped barrier-free dressing rooms. It also features a beautiful playground containing equipment designed to promote integrated play between disabled and non-disabled children. The park is run by Harris County Precinct Three to provide Harris County residents with therapy for the disabled, adult exercise programs, and instruction for all ages through the American Red Cross. Some featured programs include: Adapted Aquatics Lessons, Water Aerobics, Adult Lap Swim, and Adult Instruction. For more information about the park and its programs call 281-391-4482.

Hope this helps,

Jo Ann

[slowkat 0]

For letting me know about the pool. It was really nice of you to find that info & post it here for me & whoever else may've needed it. Thanx again! I greatly appreciate it.

--SK.:kiss

[ReneBean 3]

Slowkat

I have the thyroid thing going on, too - but I think mine went wacko because I have always been overweight.

The band hasn't been QUICK or dramatic in any way - but it works, slowly and steadily. If I don't go completely nuts, the band does what it is supposed to do and I lose weight.

Exercise is important - but I know lots of bandsters who have never been able to really get into that - and it has been ok.

I do know that after losing about 50 pounds since my initial consultation, I have a whole lot LESS pain in my knees and ankles - which should be helpful in maybe you being able to at least sit for longer than a few minutes. Lots can be done from a sitting position - and certainly the pool is an excellent way to get exercise in the summer months.

I think with your thyroid fighting against you, you really need the band to help you maintain your control while you try to lose weight. Besides, it's not just about losing it.... I have lost weight on countless occassions - but the band will help you keep it off. For me, the Keeping it off is more important than the losing part.

Hugs!

[gonnabethin 10]

I have hypothyroid- my endo says she has more normal weight than overweight hypothyroids and that is NOT the reason Im overweight. I disagree with her so.... onward I go and had the surgery.

My band has helped me stay in control of binging. It limits how much I can over eat. I have not been the fast looser and that I think may be thyroid related also.

Can you feel that you are banded? Or do you live a normal life? I am just thinking about it and it kinda scares me but it seems to be very safe.

Can not tell that Im banded. Feel completely normal!!! Would do it again!!

[wretched_hyena 0]

I am 5'-10" and, in 1985, weighed 165 lbs. I had been skinny all my life. Suddenly, I began gaining weight. I didn't overeat and was getting lots of exercise. It continued for several years. In 1089, I was in a car wreck. Because of a back injury, my lawyer sent me to his doctor buddy (whom I later realized was in cahoots with selling me down the river and therefore not concerned about my well-being). During one of my visits, I told the doctor about my weight gains. He said I was just big-boned and should be a football player, a statement I knew to be untrue. He offered the Medifast plan, a plan for which I had no funds. He never checked my blood, but then, this is a doctor who never did a single X-ray or MRI for a back injury in a legal suit. (He claimed I just had a strain, and the lawyer led me to settle for ten-thousand- only six of which was mine.) In 1993, I went to another doctor because my face was swelling, I was hurting all over and my weight continued to climb. The first thing he did was run blood tests. He called me and said I had Hypothyroidism. I was in an advanced stage. That meant that it had begun years before, like in 1985. Upon taking the Synthroid, I lost the pain and swelling and some weight. I couldn't lose all the weight. I asked a doctor why, being given the hormone, I didn't go back to my normal weight. He said they can't give you the amount of hormone your own thyroid produced when healthy because it causes deterioration of the bones. They simply keep a balance that keeps it in check. Yes, hypothyroidism causes weight gain. No, thyroid medicine doesn't cure that. That's the indication I've gotten from doctors. Meanwhile, two back surgeries and countless diets later, I got banded at 280 lbs. My other point is that the idea that a lawyer is going to get you the most he can because he gets a percentage is a myth. The lawyer will weigh how much money he will get for the amount of time it will take to get it. Often, that means settling for the bottom dollar with very little time invested. Richard

[slowkat 0]

Thanks for your story. It's great to know I'm not alone. :straight So has the band worked for you?

[1bunni4me 0]

Every person living or dead that I have known in my grandmother's line thru my mom and daughter and all my aunts, uncles, cousins have hypothyroidism.

I have about every sign and symptom of it but other than antibodies attacking it confirmed thru bloodwork, my thyroid functions. Several doctors have told me that if I lose the weight (being banded 1/31/07) that I will greatly reduce my predisposition to this crazy health risk...I hope so.

Did you know they used to put people in mental hospitals who were just hypothyroid victims? Yes, I read too much!

[wretched_hyena 0]

I've only just begun. Banded last Monday, Jan. 8. I'm just in the middle of my liquid diet. I have lost from 280 to 269 so far, though. 104 to go!

[TamifromAL 1]

Those of you on thyroid supplements...when do you get checked to see if you need an adjustment to your meds? I normally get checked once a year, but should it be done after a certain amount of weight loss? In other words, is dosage dependent on weight, or is it determined simply by the amount of thyroid hormone produced by your body?

Tami

[wretched_hyena 0]

Until I was diagnosed with diabetes, I was checked for thyroid every six months. At one time, it had been every year unless the dose was changed, then it was six months. The doctor I have now does six months no matter. With diabetes, I get checked quarterly as I get checked for everything else. I think you're correct that, if you gain or lose weight, you need to be checked again.

[VelvetKiss 0]

I too have Hypothyroidism, Mine went undiagnosed for years because my dr's just thought it was because I was gaining, well I was gaining because of my thyroid or so I have been told and I now am on meds and at a good level. I was banded in July and I have the large vg band and have not had a fill and have lost weight with the band while on meds, so it is possible to lose with thyroid issues. I get checked every 6 months for my levels. The band made it possible for me to lose weight because without it I just didnt lose enough. I hope this helps.