Fern

Thyroid disorder bandsters- curious as to if you think your thyroid complications hold up your weightloss with the band? Whats your overall opinion-- on how you work through it? I have Graves, but am hypothyroid now, treated with sinthrod and my levels seem to be stable for a year + now. There were quite a few bumps along the way to get physically heaalthy from all that. It certainly encouraged me to get banded since no matter what I kept a slow gain.... I was banded in March 2010, and loose 4lbs a month. Lots and lots of exercise, a healthy diet and finally better restriction- as I am a pretty new bandster. What is your average weight loss? Heaviest weight 244, Surgery weight 221, now I'm hovering at 204. If I knew how to set up a poll, I'd do one. Is anyone having better success? Did your meds require a different dosage as you lost? Any success secrets out there?

Hey guys! I've been on both sides of the thyroid- hyper with graves disease to complete hypo after RAI. My body has been through a lot in a few short years. I often wonder what it's role is in this weight loss mission i'm on. I definitely kept gaining weight as soon as I was hypothyroid and I'm on sinthrod forever now. I think my WL is mostly due to the quantity of exercise and effort I put into this. I barely scrape a pound off a week- barely. I Zumba 8x week, Bootcamp 2x week. Even if I have to work super hard at the loss part, in the back of my mind I tell myself- it won't come back on. Just keep moving forward. i think it complicates things, but I've got my eye on the prize. I've lost 50lbs and have about 40 to go. My surgery was in March 10, and post op I've lost over 30. Slow going. I also have 7ccs now.

You see all sorts of things happening on this forum. I lost 10 on the pre op diet, and another 10 post op diet. I have a strict surgeon and basically liquids for 3-4 wks post op. It has been 6 months and I've lost a total of 30lbs+ since surgery. Bandster hell is where things slow down, its waiting the months for the appropriate amount of fill- so basically any weight loss is from sticking it out and exercising like heck. I'm 6 months out with 7cc and just probably in the green zone. Everyone's program is different. Some get lots of cc's right away. I get one a month if that. I can loose 1 lb a week steadily and I am an exercise fiend. Dr says now that I'm closer to goal and fit, things will probably slow down. I still have 40+ to go.

I struggle with being too hard on myself too. It's a hard habit to break. Be kind to yourself. It's a long journey, but worthwhile. I still need to remind myself everyday. Plus, I've chosen to accept that for me, the band is not a miracle worker, but it was the catalyst to get me and keep me on a good path. (not a perfect non cheating path, either!) No matter what your goals are, you'll get there.

I have made SOOO many new friends by going to Zumba. I started out in March. There are all kinds of bodies in our class. I stayed in the back and slowly my confidence brought me to the front of the room. Now, I go all the time. One of the places I used to go has a teacher that weighs close to 300lbs and she lost 200 doing Zumba. I love it, sometimes twice a day. It took me a while to get the hang of it. It tool a long time to not feel like I was going to die! I just laughed at myself alot. Still do. Last week I was asked if I wanted to get certified and teach. Not anytime soon... Thankfully, there are no mirrors in our dance gym. It would take me a while to get over that. Keep going and keep smiling and keep laughing. It does get better and easier.

I highly recommend to all bandsters finding a place/person/trainer to do a fat test. The professional I found did the caliper pinch thing and also used a scale hooked to his computer. Between both resutls, it gave me valuable, helpful information to work toward my goal weight. Humiliating, yes...sort of, but I was so curious if my goal weight was realistic. It took me some time to muster the courage to get my ass there and make an appointment. I'm glad I did it! My clinic for WLS doesn't include this and never suggested this test, and i think it was super helpful. I happened to get some good news because I now know that I have exactly 25 pounds of muscle on me above average women for my height and age. (I thought I was pretty dense, but it was good to hear that number so I could change my thinking). My ideal weight is closer to 155 than 130. This test produces different results than a BMI. BMI does not factor in muscle mass ratio to fat mass. I have 40lbs of fat to loose. Most helpful test along the journey to date for $25 bucks.

Hi everyone! March 15th Bandster. I'm soo impressed by all your weightloss!!! WOW-WOW! I've had a fill every 6 weeks or so. I have about 6ccs, and am going to encourage an adjustment at my next appt October 7th. I've just felt my hunger increase. I exercise a lot and am certainly adding back muscle and toning, but having a tough time loosing on 1300-1400 calories a day. My diet still includes carbs...hummm.... seems like everyone is doing way better without them. I was told just to eat them sparingly which I do.. I burn about 900 calories during my workout daily. I loose about a pound a week. Sometimes none. To loose any more I have to do a lot of meal replacement shakes. I'm slow... sometimes mind state is tolerable, sometimes frustrating because i work out alot. I've lost 25lbs since surgery. Now that I did the math I'm sad! I'm 195. Victory to be in Onderland, and seeing an empty closet. Total WL close to -50. I think I have 40 to go.

Thanks for the info! chewable sounds awesome. I know its just a phase, but I want to feel like I'm doing something too.

Anyone have recommendations for a biotin supplement for hair loss that is tolerable? I bought some; a skin, hair nails supplement-and they are huge pills which I have to cut into 3's which means I have to take 6. They are sooo gross. Anyone who has taken huge prenatals knows what I mean. I can almost taste them all day and gag on them from the smell. I have super thick hair and the qty falling out is alarming. I know it will stop, but I also want to keep it healthy.

Watch the sodium in the soups you buy off the shelf. With that said, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this Cashew Ginger Carrot by Pacific Naturals and the Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato. They also have low sodium soups out now. They are soooo good. Usually found in the health food isle or organic section. Totally worth the extra money to get through the liquids, post op diet and fills... thats a lot of soup!

I sort of figured that would be the answer. oh, well.

i was banded in March, work very hard on this- and have lost 17. conservative doc, not enough fills. 5ccs in. Next fill next week, hope it helps!!!!

Is your surgeon conservative? What is his fill schedule like? does he put any fluid in the band during surgery? Does he do fills under fluro or on a monthly schedule? How many cc's? Bandster hell can last months for some people......others not. Pre op diets can be conservative and demanding also- for others not so much. Directions post op can go both ways in addition to after a fill. All I cared about was getting through the pre op and post of instructions and I have a conservative doc. These forums help....

Coneflower- I have graves too and was treated with RAI to slow my thyroid. yep, it's gone... on sinthroid. I was banded in March 2010, and have been working really hard for every pound lost. I can barely muster -4 a month. Proper eating and lots and lots of exercise. I am up to 5cc's now, with better restriction- but I would think I'd be loosing more... I think I might post something today. I'm super curious what the loss rate is for bandsters with a thyroid diagnosis. Hyper, Hypo, they all suck. I'm just wondering if it is what makes me slow. I know the graves really messes with me, by my thyroid levels seem to be steady. Has anyone had thier sinthroid level lowered after weight loss? Take Care!

I feel ya. I'm in a conservative program and this part of the journey wasn't exactly clear. We were warned of bandster hell, but they didn't say it was MONTHS long. I got 3cc's, and 1 cc, 1cc. I have a total of 3 fills since surgery in March 2010 -now a total of 5ccs. Next fill will be the last full cc. They start to put in smaller amounts. I am feeling more restriction now in the last week since the last fill. I've been white knuckleing it all along and have lost 20+lbs since surgery. If the band could just work a little harder....i'm doing my part even going to Zumba up to 8 times a week. I've been eeking out a pound or less every week barely and eating right. It's been tough and I imagine I've got another 2 months for things to dial in. By then I'll have only another 30lbs to loose? It is sort of annoying to think I'll have lost nearly 50 already without much support from the band. The bright side? I won't gain it back!!!! I think there are all sorts of programs out there. Sometimes conservative is good, unless you are hungry all the time like me!!!!

Eileen, you can't give up! So it's taking a little longer than we hoped, but you bet we aint going to gain it back!!! Not Ever!!! 44 lbs lost is just about the same is me since the beginning, pre op dieting. That's AWESOME. I also get VERYYYY discouraged and crabby about the process, but I feel sooo much better and finally feel well enough to love exercise again. I didn't quite understand how long it would take to ramp things up to efficiency, but, lol, for now, I'm still enjoying things that may end up off the menu when I'm thighter aka bread and other carbs. I don't have any better advise than that because some days I'm mad a heck too. I just keep thinking about where I was a year ago and what I've acomplished has been my own doing... which I agree is super annoying! A few more months at best till we have some great restriction. My goal is to be at or around 150 by Christmas! Thinking big picture helps, too! I'm going to join in the Christmas challenge. I just failed sort of at the 4th of July one.....

I totally agree! I was banded mid march and have been white knuckling it too! Sometimes its frustrating, plus my surg is very conservative through the fill process. i have 4ccs now, and will get another in 3 weeks but likely LESS than 1 full CC! At Surg my weight was 221 and I am just around 207 now. I can't wait for more restriction. I've been exercising like crazy. 1 hr Zumba 2x a day most days. I'm definitely converting fat to muscle and thats the problem lately. I still want the scale to MOVE! Can't wait for onderland!

argh. After a great week being down to 206, my weight bounced WAY up Sunday a +4!. 207 Monday evening, so a -1 for the week. I'm exercising like crazy and the scale is disappointing day after day. I just hope to be in onderland by the 4th. I don't have much restriction yet...I hope I'm not a slow looser forever. I'm working so hard I should be earning bonus loss.

Fern here. Down another 1.5 this week. I'm going to up the exercise MORE and shoot for a high number this week. Try to get a better dent in the overal goal number. Time is flying by! Maybe a -3 or -4? Just got my 2nd fill last thursday so I have 4ccs now. Not feeling much different. Good luck everyone!

I was diagnosed with Graves in 2005. For a while I was a looser with Graves, then it turned and i gained. I was treated with RAI and went total hypo. It has taken years for the synthetic replacement to level off. I gained a bunch my weight post RAI. 40+, which they said shouldn't happen once my thyroid is balanced. If you are gaining with graves and treat it, you will probably gain if you get RAI. Graves sucks either way because you can only treat the symptoms not the disease. So even if you treat the thyroid, you can still get all the wacky autoimmune effects. Like hives, etc. I think if you are healthy, and thyroid is under control, you will be able to get the band. In my opinion, the sooner you start the journey, the better. Good luck!!!!