Until you have a complete blood work up for Hypothyroidism, a complete work up for Adrenal function and a complete hormone level check.

If your doctor fails to preform these not so basic tests, he or she could be selling you a surgery you do not need. Or a surgery that will not give you results like you expect.

You need to be sure your labs include Free T4 and Free T3, Cortisol levels via saliva or urine, and hormone levels. Too much estrogen will keep weight on you as well.

Look into Liver Detox, the best plan for weight loss will not work if your liver is not functioning properly.

I found out I was hypothryoid. I dropped 18 lbs on medication in the first 2 months. I've slowed down to a hault. But that is the plight of hypo patients and no amount of intake restriction is going to resolve the weight gain issues of a hypothryoid person. I'm still reading, but thus far it's a no. I'm waiting for my 6 mo mark on meds to have my levels drawn, then I might get an increase in medication and drop more.

At the same time I was going through my journey to dx. My bf went in for LB surgery. She lost some weight during the pre-op and 2 wk post-op and then stopped. She stopped while still on a liquid and soft diet! She has had another fill and still no more weight loss. She is in debt, depressed, and still just as fat as she was in September.

She did not get the lab work ups she should have had IMO. She was sold up the river that a surgery was the answer to her problems. She still suffers from depression which is a major sign of hypothryoidism in additon to low energy and lack of weight loss.

Just don't get sold up the river is all I'm saying. You have to be your own advocate for better health. Be sure you find out if you have underlying causes. Doctors usually only run the TSH thyroid test and for millions it will come back fine when in fact the main hormone tellers T3 and T4 are not fine and have not been checked. I spent almost a year finding a doctor to actually run the right tests and then he was so shocked I spent another 3 months going to another doctor who was a jack a$$ and back again to my doc.

The JA would not run the thyroid antibody tests, the cortisol and adrenal tests, the hormone tests, nothing total waste of my time and money. All he saw was a fat woman w a normal TSH test, he ignorned my super low T4 and T3 levels.

There is a stigma against fat -- I'm fat only b/c I over indulge or am lazy. I'm not lazy, I'm not an over indulger. And docs can't get their heads around it. I was told a doc automatically triples what a fat person tells them they eat and subtracts 3X what a fat person tells them they exercise. I'm shot down just by walking in the freakin door!

Just don't get sold up the river like my bf. I feel for her, I really do. I so want her to go to a doctor and insist on the right tests.

I was diagnosed hypothyroid about two years ago. I stupidly thought once I started meds the weight would just drop off. It didn't, but, when I did manage to stick to my weight watchers points, it came off easier than it did before I started meds. I have lost 60 lbs in seven months, so I'm happy with my progress. The hypothyroidism does make it a little more difficult to lose weight, but I ate like a freaking cow and ate nothing but fried fatty foods, ate icecream literally everyday, and drank nothing but soda all day, so it was my fault I was fat for sure.

i agree with roberta and the others too . This just looks like a case of im not eating the way i should exercising and so forth and im not losing cause i dont put forth the effort and so lets blame it on something so let it be the thyroid. My friend has problems with her thyroid and she gets extensive blood work done every year so they know if her meds are right or need adjusted and they have all recommended the lapband over the bypass. so i think you little post is just a big pile of bs!

Okay...here comes the cold calous Steph....I don't think I was "sold" anything. I didn't get "roped" into a seminar. I went looking for one after I had done a pile of research.

I have been hypothyroid for 8 years. My weight didn't come on because of it but it certainly was helped there.

I knew going in that because of my thyroid I may have a little slower loss, but slow loss vs. no loss was acceptable.

If your friend feels she was coerced into surgery and this wasn't a medically sound team of professionals, she should be looking into legal repercussions. No doctor should try to talk you into something this extreme....and I have to say, someone who allows herself to be talked into it needs to look at her other issues. Regardless, if she was "sold"....then I would be looking for someone to help me tell THAT story. I would broadcast it from every roof top and on television. I would say that all surgery centers are not guilty of this. Mine certainly wasn't.

And honestly, if she couldn't have afforded it, your friend needs to put that on herself too. She had to sign those papers if she financed it. They didn't forge her signature did they? I'm a self-pay. I know it's expensive, but I looked long and hard at what I had to do and what changes would have to be made in order to afford it. I made sacrifices I could accept. I'm sorry if your DF's family is suffering from her lack of doing the same.

On the other hand, I was informed of how this works. We were told how the metabolic syndrome works, how our bodies react to our years of overfeeding and underworking. I was told over and over again how you have to be SURE this is what you want, that this wasn't a decision to be made lightly, and that no one could made it but myself.

I am hypothyroid and I LOVE my band. I bought it, no one sold it. Every day I feel more and more like I look like the "million bucks" this thing cost me. It has been worth every penny...and the looks and comments and "other" my husband has been showing me, it was definitely worth it. Not a waste of money for me!

Steph

Roberta, I find it amazing to see how willing you are to leap into threads for other people and attack, and yet turn around and ask for sympathy and support when YOU are feeling down. Have you asked your doctor for help in these extreme mood swings?

Wow, that was mean.

Absolutely, any decent doctor won't approve you for surgery until you have all of these things tested if indicated. I was even tested for H Pylori and I have to start treatment for it because it came out positive! I didn't even know it existed before the test!

Have you asked your doctor for help in these extreme mood swings?

PLEASE let's try to keep this forum friendly. It's OK to have a strong opinion but there's no need for personal attacks.

well put !!!

agreeed...

"Bottom line there is not a "easy" solution no matter what you do"

I'm truly hoping that you didn't mean to suggest that those who get banded assume they've found an "easy" solution to their weight problem. The people here who've had success have worked their weight off.

I have hypothyroidism. I have been taking medication for it since, oh, the early '90s. My level gets checked twice a year, and it's been stable for as long as I can remember. I've successfully lost over 100 pounds, so hypos can succeed at weight loss. (The only problem was me gaining the weight back by overeating high calorie foods and stopping my exercise program.)

You are making a really strong statement to us about our personal health choices, but you also state "I'll take what I can get" when it comes to your own doctor and treatment. You "know more than any nutritionist", but have you consulted more than the one that disappointed you?

I appreciate your concern for my well-being, but my own experiences and the faith I have in my own decisions will guide me.

I have thyroid disease as do many overweight people and also all other segments of the population. I got banded any way and I have lost 63 lbs in 8 months. I am 15 lbs away from goal and I am really struggle to lose the rest but not b/c of my thyroid, it is because I am not doing everything I need to do. I got too comfortable. Now I am not and I am ready to lose again. It can be done with hypothyroidism of any kind. It works if you work it! I and many others with bands will tell you that it worked for them. Don't let it stop you,,,,you just eat right for thyroid and less of that right food with the band and wham. Thyroid makes it go a little slower but it still goes. If you are on a steady medication for it and levels are good, it should not effect the band. Good luck

Susan

looks like you need to do a little more research...gambogal!!!!!

you sound like you really know your stuff, we are all impressed but shut the f--- up already!

LAP BANDERS ROCK, THYROID PROBLEMS AND ALL!!!!!!!

Well, being treat for my thyroid by a gyn isn't exactly the best care. He won't be doing any level tests until next week, 6 mo from the start of meds. I think most ppl on meds get checked and fine tuned sooner from what i read on thyroid forums. but I'll take what i can get. The double whammy w thyroid is energy gone for so long and thus far even on meds, my energy is not back.

Don't get me started on nutritionist, I know more about nutrition than any stupid nutritionist I've ever seen. How about a Celiac herself telling me not to bother w foods over 3 ingredients long! Yeah, that is livable -- not. And certainly not for a child who can have many things like his friends, if you can read a label and call a company. I guess the idea that someone is smart enough to do that was beyond her scope of practice. I feel sorry for those who buy into her no more than 3 ingredient Celiac GF living philosophy.

I just think it is sad that these LapBand docs are holding seminars with "financing" companies telling vunerable women they need this surgery before doing the proper testing. This is how my friend got sold up the river via a seminar! She didn't even try for insurance coverage.

Estrogen dominance can cause weight to not come off as easily as one might expect.

Bottom line there is not a "easy" solution no matter what you do and my df has learned the hard way -- ie family finances a wreck and kids going without Christmas b/c she had to have this surgery.

Well, I'm glad you are a licensed nutritionist, I'm sure you'll be happy with your new found career. This does not change the fact that your information is not necessarily correct.

I am female, I have thyroid issues, and I was not vulnerable, I was quite well informed when I wrote out that check.

The reality is that even though weight may have come on easily, we don't grow to be MO by eating carrot sticks, thyroid or no thyroid problems. ALL of us have to come to a point of honesty with self. We have to acknowledge and admit that we don't always make the best choices and much of our weight gain is our own doing, same with our weight loss. There are many reasons for overeating both physical and emotional. But all of us really have to get to a point where we quit blaming everything outside our own choices for weight gain. Usually by the time someone is banded they realize that the fat needs to be burned and if they don't realize that, they learn quickly when the fat doesn't melt off. Bands don't absorb calories, we are responsible for what goes in our mouths. A lapband doesn't stop us from bad food choices, just quantity of many foods.

Some people have a harder time than others burning fat. But it really does come down to the same thing. We did not get fat by eating carrots and we won't get skinny by eating too many calories.

It's a huge head game we play with ourselves. Who hasn't spent a gazillion hours on line trying to find something that makes this whole weight thing the fault of anything but our own choices? Who hasn't blamed stress, family members, upbringing, thyroid, anything and everything for our own weight gain? We've all been there, but there comes a point where you just have to get serious and get down to business. You have to get real with yourself. And you know... if we buy into your thinking we are not doing you any favors. I don't think you'll find many people who have already been where you are now... who will support your current thinking. Support does not mean patting your head for bad choices and helping you blame something else. True support from those who most certainly do understand happens by confronting thinking that isn't going to get you anywhere.

With that said, your thinking isn't going to get you anywhere. It's time to get real here. Maybe you do have more or different challenges than others. I don't really know. But your current issues will not prevent you from losing weight. It just won't. We ALL have our own unique issues to deal with and overcome and you just aren't any different from the rest of us.

You can do this, the first step is to want it bad enough to make the right changes.

Good luck to you! Keep coming back and posting. Get really involved with others facing the same obesity issues as you. Read everything you can, but most of all it really is time to change your thinking.

If your friend put her family into financial ruins and had her children go without a Christmas in order to get this surgery, her problem is not the band, it's her own state of mind.

I think you'll find that most of the people here haven't gone into this lightly. It's not a miracle cure, and they know that. Sounds like your friend didn't do her research, and didn't use common sense before making a life changing decision.

There's nothing I would spend my money on before Christmas for my children, no matter what someone said at a seminar.

Until you have a complete blood work up for Hypothyroidism, a complete work up for Adrenal function and a complete hormone level check.

All of these tests were performed on me, my husband (not sure about the hormone check with him :eek: ), my two personal friends who have the band, and will be performed on my other two personal friends who are getting the band. I think it's pretty standard for most docs to get this work up.

...You need to be sure your labs include Free T4 and Free T3, Cortisol levels via saliva or urine, and hormone levels. Too much estrogen will keep weight on you as well.

Don't know about this or much about hypothyroidism except that I personally know some people that have lost and maintained weight loss with this condition.

...At the same time I was going through my journey to dx. My bf went in for LB surgery. She lost some weight during the pre-op and 2 wk post-op and then stopped. She stopped while still on a liquid and soft diet!

Most people stop losing or even gain back a little in the mushie and soft diet phase...this shouldn't be a shock to the well educated bander. She went from very little calories to more calories, while being unrestricted, and most likely relatively inactive...of course her body would slow down or stop with loss during this phase. I know mine did and so did my DH and friends. But we're all losing now (Well except for one friend that needs another fill)

...She has had another fill and still no more weight loss. She is in debt, depressed, and still just as fat as she was in September.

One or two fills is rarely enough to get good restriction. You never mentioned what her diet is and even if you did, unless you watch her 24/7, you don't know what 'closet eating' she's doing. You also never mentioned her physical activity.

Perhaps encouragement to get active and recommit to eating properly and going with her to the surgeon for another fill would be a better route than telling her "she got sold up the river". That's a destructive way to deal with it...be proactive...get her to the surgeon, have her point blank tell him/her what her qualms are and make a plan to make it work

Best wishes to you and your friend :Banane20:

May be! I've thought for years something must be wrong w/ my hormones or something...but each yearly physical the results come back within normal range.

Doesn't make sense.

However, I have found that even though things may be in normal ranges...what is normal for one may be considered low or high for YOUR body.

But, I'm glad I don't have to worry anymore about why can't I lose weight...why didn't that diet work...

Ummm...to the OP: Where on earth did your friend get approved for a LapBand before they did an entire rundown of lab & blood work? Who does that? My insurance required labs for ALL my bloodwork. Every single metabolic disorder had to be cleared before I could get approved for surgery. If I would have tested positive for some sort of thyroid issue, then I would not have been allowed to have the surgery until I tried medication first. I would think good insurance or a good, decent lap band surgical facility would do what is a normal, necessary thing before having any sort of surgery. Perhaps the problem is with your friend's specific location, or sounds to me like she has one idiot of a doctor...IF what you've stated is in fact the truth.

If she paid out of pocket, perhaps it was her own negligence and being in too big of a hurry to slap a band on herself hoping for a miracle cure. Anybody who is their own advocate and researches properly should know in advance that rushing into something without properly researching first can be a potentially huge disaster.

Anybody who knows anything about metabolic disorders knows that the lap band can definitely still be of enormous benefit to a person's life. Medications aren't cures and neither is the band.

Also, if your friend has properly researched her lap band surgery prior to running in to have it done, she would have known that in NUMEROUS cases, restriction is not felt until after 2-3 (or even more) fills! Not only that, but many, many MANY lap band patients do not lose weight during the post-op healing diet.

My best friend lost weight during the 1st 2 weeks of full liquids, but has not lost anything since then. She has had her first fill, and has absolutely no restriction still. She's frustrated, but she's educated herself enough about the new tool inside of her body to know that is perfectly NORMAL. She's eagerly anticipating her next fill (or next 2 or 3 if that's what it takes) to feel restriction and to begin losing weight. She certainly is not blaming her thyroid issue or lack of bloodwork on something that she already knew was normal before she even got the surgery.

I'm really surprised by the lack of education that seems to be fueling your post.