Frederic

Regarding hair loss not only is my hair thicker post surgery my beard is getting tougher as well I'm going through razors three times as quickly. It really does just boil down to how much Protein you take in and how your body uses it. About 33% or more of my calories come from protein each day.

Focus on habits. We didn't gain the weight over night we won't lose it that fast either. Try to incorporate exercise and nutrition into your everyday activities park farther away, use the stairs, use smaller utensils or chop sticks while eating to slow yourself down. None of these things individually will magically help but the more you do them the more natural they become and they'll lead to more small changes that eventually replace older less positive habits. We aren't perfect we'll mistakes but my motto for moderation is "less than you want but more than nothing"

I also have tons of clothes that were too small and now my closet is crammed tight as I can't bring myself to abandon clothes that I'm starting to swim in. I've committed myself to throwing away at least 1 article of clothing a month (the largest and oldest thing specifically). It's slowly getting easier but after years of struggling to find clothes that fit it's hard to just "throw clothes away" even when they're too worn out to even donate.

My point is in this case the barrier between the physician and the patient is the insurance company not the government. The company never should have offered such a poorly constructed policy in the first place or they could have simply changed the policy to meet the new standards. Their blaming the government is just a bait and switch maneuver to take attention off the poor construction if their own insurance policy. As I said it's like getting angry at a speed limit when you're caught driving too fast just because you didn't crash yet it doesn't mean you were safe.

I disagree. 5 million sounds like a lot but it's approximately 5% last time I checked; compared to over 50 million people with pre-existing conditions who can now purchase insurance rather than relying on Medicaid and Medicare exclusively that number doesn't include people who could not afford insurance at all before but could no buy subsidized insurance which still costs less in the long run due to preventative care being accessible. So I agree the ACA has flaws but I can't agree with hyperbole like "100% disaster" the data seems to indicate it's been an improvement in the nations healthcare system overall despite some harsh specific shortcomings that will need to be addressed.

The said truth is millions more people will benefit. I don't ignore the people who've lost their insurance I'm just not assigning blame the same way you are. I used to sell insurance I'm fully aware that the insurance companies were simply taking advantage of people by offering policies that looked effective but were actually horribly designed for any type of catastrophic care. I'm glad the substandard nature of those policies have finally been exposed.

I simply disagree with your assessment and don't feel this is the right venue for this discussion.

I hope the ACA isn't repealed I've seen a lot of families who were denied coverage in the past finally get coverage. It needs improvement but It's a step forward from what I see. Your mileage may vary but I see more good than bad so far. I see more fear mongering than facts and I'm definitely more of an evidence over anecdote kind of guy. I do think the thread title has steered us off the original posters real concern and into more politics than bariatric concerns.

Your blaming the government for a decision made by your insurance company. All insurance is socialist by nature it only works if the insurance pool shares risk the larger the pool the less individual risk; the alternative is to pay for all medical expenses from personal savings. I'm not arguing which system is better I'm just pointing out a basic detail of how insurance works.

Minimum standards like requiring men to get maternity care coverage................. Yes otherwise women would all have to pay more insurance even though they don't really get pregnant by themselves. In order for insurance to work we all have to share the risks even when we may personally be immune to them.

As a behavioralist I have a hard time incentivizing myself since I know pragmatically I'm always in control. I do get a nice sense of celebration when I can fit in smaller clothes or even find something in a store to wear versus having to mail order everything. I have been contemplating a tattoo though since the permanence removes my control of the reward long term.

Personally I would advise against telling a lie. My reasoning is that the act of telling the lie implies you have something to be ashamed of and the first person you need to convince that isn't true is yourself. Bariatric surgery is not something to be ashamed of and the longer people treat it like something to hide the longer people will think of it as vanity surgery. You should feel no more guilty about WLS than you would about getting a tumor removed or getting a pacemaker. You don't need to introduce yourself by your procedure but there's no benefit to pretending you didn't get life altering surgery. If anything there's a lot too gain by helping people be informed and dismissing the myths. It's a personal choice and I would never "out" a WLS patient but I know I could have benefitted from this surgery a lot sooner if I'd known how common it really was. Now if someone would please bring me a step stool I'd like to dismount from this tall horse.

What you describe is pretty common. Most likely there is some extra swelling around the band site making the hole just enough smaller that food that you used to pass can't now. Take it easy for a few days focus on getting your Protein and and chewing everything to the point it would pass through the holes of a Pasta strainer. If you start to have trouble passing liquids then you might have an obstruction and you'll need to see your doctor (it will still be cheaper than an emergency room visit). BTW: your insurance company may claim they dropped the policy because of The ACA but that just means the plan didn't meet minimum standards and rather than fix the plan they're ditching it. It's like blaming a speed limit for getting caught driving too fast.

My advice is for people to practice the post op diet before surgery so their easier to manage afterwards but that advice is too late for you I'm afraid. The reasoning is twofold A)you don't want to take up space in your stomach that you need to absorb nutrition fluids make it easier for food to pass through the hole created by the band so it's less effective Eventually your surgeon may okay you to drink fluids more frequently but this early in your journey I'd encourage you to follow your physician's instructions as closely as possible so it's easier to identify how your body is responding to the band.

Hyvee is a grocery store chain. Locally I can say the nutritionist at Hyvee often seems to be more well versed on current nutrition trends than the nutritionists at our hospital. I can't say if that's true across the country or not.

If your physician says moderate alcohol is okay I would suggest scotch on the rocks. It's full flavored enough you won't be as tempted to drink it quickly. If your not a scotch drinker already get a small bottle of something on the more expensive side like Laphroig the bottle will last a good long time so don't let the sticker shock scare you off. After that I'd suggest bourbon just avoid the temptation to use it as a mixer or drink it in shots. My third choice would be wine but at that point it's harder to identify a specific bottle that you can enjoy without drinking too quickly due to personal taste. My goal would be to find a drink that I can enjoy sipping from a single glass for as close to 2 hours as possible. If that doesn't sound like something you'd want to do regardless of what the doctor says then I'd encourage you to just skip the alcohol that night.

Have you ever had a sleep study? Just because you're sleeping doesn't always mean you're getting rest. The most common issue among heavier people is obstructive sleep apnea but there are numerous other possible problems as well which would only be identified by professional observation. Lack of quality sleep will both make you experience fatigue and lower your immune system. (It also slows metabolic function).

I didn't get stuck but I did feel restriction so had to wait while after taking some bites. I actually felt most uncomfortable about not being able to try everything. My family fixed so much food even with just a small sample of each thing I couldn't try everything and felt guilty about "snubbing" my family's efforts to contribute. It really just reminded me that a lot of psychology goes into how we got to be fluffy in the first place.

So I've lost over 100 lbs and have been hovering close to weighing less than 300lbs for 3 months now without actually breaking that barrier. The other day I realized I was about to slip back to less than 100lbs lost and immediately had less of an appetite and shed 5 lbs over the next 3 days. I'm going to see my surgeon next week and I'm torn about whether I need a fill or if I just need to refocus on my behavior (cold weather has ruined my running routine). I don't have much Fluid in my band (less than 4cc in 10cc band) and still feel restriction but I'm really frustrated with the stall I'm seeing on the scale.

Stickies normally refer to forum threads moderators have flagged to remain at the top of lists. They usually contain commonly sought information. I don't have a stickies tab on my app but this is my best guess based on other forums.

I've been staying under my calorie goals and increasing my protein helps but my reduction in calories hasn't offset the reduction in exercise. I'm not even sure it's fat that's responsible for the weight even with my wieght yo-yo-ing by 10lbs my smaller clothes keep fitting. One of the problems with weighing this much is that gaining or losing 2lbs in a day is pretty common I really depend on looking at the tend over a month and it's frustrating to see there hasn't been much change from my weight 3 months ago. Does anyone whose hand the band over a year have any insight on winter weight?

I chose the band because it was reversible and I felt it's affect on satiation response would be more effective in treating my insulin resistance than the malabsorption other procedures depend on for weight loss. The slower weight loss has been a bonus since my skin's elasticity seems to be keeping pace with my weight loss so far, so I'm not overly concerned about needing cosmetic surgery for excess skin.

I'm checking in less often since the message system appears to not function I used to have a daily dialogue with another band patient which was usually my first visit to the site each day. When the message system started malfunctioning for both of us I stopped coming to the site as often which meant I check the forums less often which in turn means I get less notifications on a thread I'm following. I do think this site serves an important role and am trying to make an effort to swing by more often.

I started walking 5 min every 2 hrs the day after surgery. Started running 5 min each morning after 2 weeks and have slowly built up to 2.1 miles each morning over the last 7 months (weather permitting).

I think you've self identified some of the real problems like that you're a stress eater and you don't always follow the rules but 2 things really stick out to me. First of all you are dismissing the weight you've lost. You're describing it as a "measly 20 lbs" but when you were at 249 you'd lost 10% of your body weight. That's not a small accomplishment. Too often we get caught up on the # of lbs we've lost and don't take into consideration the fact that not only our our metabolisms different our entire body make-ups and structures are different. For instance I would love to weigh 277 that would be 10lbs less than I weighed in college at what definitely felt like the peak of my physical form but for you that was just a starting point. Don't dismiss your progress just because it doesn't fit your preconception. Second of all you've identified you have a behavioral component to your eating and as you've identified the band is just a tool but specifically it's a mechanical tool. It is easy to figure out how to eat around our bands which is why we have to focus on our habits first and foremost. I would really encourage you to try and find a bariatric support group where you can talk about your eating and exercise habits with others who understand. If you're too shy to do that or there isn't something available near you then I'd encourage you to identify a person on the forums here who posts frequently and generally says things you find insightful then ask them to be your friend and start exchanging messages or emails regularly. Having someone to talk to one on one can make a huge difference.