jenrobbar951

Hey! You are DEFINITELY not alone, as you can tell. I too, have lost A LOT of my hair. Infact, if you were to look at my forehead, you would see a lot of shorter strands of hair...the new hair growth from all that I lost. It started about the fourth month after I had surgery and it has slowed......BUT, I didnt do what I was supposed to have done to prevent hair loss, so I wasnt surprised when it started to happen. Now I make sure to take my Multi-vitamin each and every night, and also take Biotin. It has really helped with the re-growth of my hair and I am not losing as much as quickly. I barely notice that I am losing any hair at all. Dont worry about it too much. It is normal. Hang in there and this too, shall pass! Best of luck!

I was told that you could drink up until you take your first bite of food. THEN you had to wait 45mins to drink after you eat. I was never told that you couldnt drink BEFORE you eat. Perhaps that is attributing to part of your hunger? I too, am still hungry after 4 ounces. I had my first fill and barely any Fluid was put into the band. The fluid got stuck at one point, so they had to take most of the fluid out. I barely have any restriction still. However, I find myself still able to eat almost as much as before my fill. Like people say, it takes several fills to find that "sweet spot." The difference between me and most people is, I didnt have a fill for nearly FIVE months after my surgery. My Mother died the week I was supposed to have my first fill and I chose to spend the days she had left with her and cancelled my fill appointment. THe next available appointment with my surgeon was TWO months later. I have since lost 47 pounds and the doctor was amazed that I lost that much weight...even without the resistance. He said that at the rate I am losing weight, that I should have NO PROBLEM hitting my goal by my one year. Each person is different. Dont feel frustrated. I could have easily lost double my weight. I havent been exercising as much as I should be because of my Mother's passing. I am depressed. But I am still happy that I am losing something. Even if it isnt as much as I would like it to be. Hang in there and dont get frustrated just yet. IT takes time to work!! Good luck!

I am so sorry to hear all the difficulties you have had in trying to get the band slippage fixed. I would be soo angry! I hope the surgery to fix it goes well! Out of curiousity, what are the symptoms of band slippage? Besides the not being able to keep things down part.

Thank you for the words of encouragement. Congrats on your weightloss as well! 52 pounds is a great achievement. Are you still drinking Protein shakes? If so, what kind do you like. I havent found any that taste very good. And how about hairloss......I have been losing some of my hair and have increased the dosage of Biotin to help prevent it. Yikes! Best of luck with the weightloss!!!!

Hi everyone!!!! I was banded on October 27th, 2009, and have only lost about 40 pounds. Although it isnt what I had HOPED, it is something. I am not jazzed, nor am I really disappointed. Afterall, I have not had a single fill yet, nor has my lifestyle changed all that much. I just sit and think about what it will be like when I am able to actually get out and exercise.... So why havent I had a single fill you ask? No, I dont have any Fluid in my band, so there is NO restriction at all. Infact, I can eat foods that I wouldnt be able to eat if I was restricted. I just eat them in moderation. Is that bad? Yes, but at this point in time, I am not worried about it. You see, my Mom just passed six days before Christmas. Things have been really crazy around my Dad's house. I moved back home for the next couple months, and have been working out of my Dad's house. My Dad owns his own company and the books are really messed up, so I have been working 12 hour days trying to get them in order. No real time to do much of anything.... I had to cancel my fill in December because my Mom was dying. The receptionist gave me a hard time about it too. Canceling my appointment that is, and I cancelled it several days in advance. The next available appointment they had for me at the time was February 11th. So, I am due to get my first fill on February 11th, and I am excited!! I cant wait to have restriction! I will be moving back home in April so I can start a regular exercising schedule and start to shed these pounds. Like I said, 40 pounds isnt too bad. I am happy so far. BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE ON THEIR JOURNEY!

Okay, so I had my lapband surgery on October 27th, 2009. Recovery was fairly easy. Went to all of my post surgery appointments when they were scheduled....EXCEPT my first fill. I dont recall what date it was scheduled, but I believe it was in December. Anyway, on December 14th I received a phone call from my Dad telling me that my Mom wasnt going to be receiving chemotherapy any longer. That her Oncologist had told her to "go home, get comfortable and spend her remaining time at home with family and friends." I packed up my kids and moved back home temporarily. During that week, I had called my surgeon's office to reschedule my fill. I felt that spending time with my dying mother was MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than driving three hours to have a fill done. So I called the surgeons office and spoke with the receptionist. Here is how the conversation went: Me: Hi, I was wondering if I could reschedule my fill. I wont be able to make it to the appointment. Her: When was it scheduled? Me: (whatever date it was....I dont recall) Her: You know, it is like a TWO MONTH WAIT to get a fill. THE SOONEST WE CAN GET YOU IN IS IN FEBRUARY, 2010. (And she said it with attitude) Are you SURE you want to cancel? Me: Yes, I am sure. My mother is dying and I want to spend as much time with her before she passes. Her: WELL, MANY people call and cancel for no reason. Are you sure you want to cancel? Are you sure you cant make it in? Me: YES!!!!!!!!!!! I AM SURE. I CANT HELP when my mom dies...give me a break. (Starting to get angry..._) Her: Okay, well we cant get you in any sooner than February 11th. I guess I could give you a call if there is anything sooner.....is THAT okay? Me: That is fine. Thank you. Her: Bye. OOOOH, she pissed me off. My Mom was dying and she couldnt get passed me having to reschedule. Who cares what the reason is???!! As long as I call in the required amount of time BEFORE the appointment, I shouldnt be asked my reason for having to change it. Okay, my question is this, knowing what she said, should I mention something to the surgeon about her rudeness? Part of me wants to find another place to get my fills done, solely because of the way this woman treated me. What would YOU do?

Definitely possible. I have no fluid in my band and every once in a while, if I dont chew well enough, I make that infamous run to the bathroom. So yes, possible. LOL. It sucks too! Cant wait to get my first fill on February 11th! GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE ON THEIR JOURNEYS!

Turns out that the Psychiatric group was mistaken about my eval not being covered by insurance. NOT ONLY DID I PAY CASH for the eval, but they also billed the insurance a couple weeks later. The group hadnt even told me that they had billed the insurance (I assumed they wouldnt when they told me that I had to pay cash because it wouldnt be covered by insurance...) and found out simply because of my explanation of benefits sent to me by Blue Shield. I am now waiting for a $200 refund from the Psychiatric grp......

Sadly, four months after this post, my Mother passed away. (On December 19th, 2009, just one day shy of her 34th Wedding Anniversary....). She is no longer suffering, but is GREATLY missed. My five year old doesnt understand and constantly asks for "Bebe" to come down from Heaven to visit us. My eight year old doesnt say much. And my two year old, the youngest, the one my Mom thought she would NEVER live to see be born, says, "Bebe die" every time her name is mentioned. They are too young to understand. My Mom was such a strong woman, even at the end. She fought this cancer with every bit of energy that she could. But in the end, it consumed her life. I am just happy that we got this extra time with her. These two and a half years passed the brain tumors being removed. Love you Momma! I miss you more and more each day!

I know what you mean about the change in the weight of your face. My double chin has ALMOST completely disappeared! YAY! No more trying to get my chin up in the picture to hide the double chin....haha. Congrats on the weightloss! I have lost about 36 pounds and no one ever notices. I think that they are so used to seeing me heavy that until I start to really thin out, they wont notice the change. I have only gone down one size, but hey, it is a start!!! Best of luck to all of you on the journey to the new you!

I live in Hemet and got my imaging done at Palm Imaging in San Bernardino. I got my Psych eval done by Inland Psychiatric Group. They have an office in Hemet and one in Redlands, I believe. Not sure where in the IE you are located. Just to let you know, my Psych evaluation was paid in cash, but still billed to the insurance company. I was told that insurance wouldnt cover the eval...but it did. Best of luck with the search!!!!

I was scheduled to have my first fill yesterday....unfortunately, I had to cancel the appointment. The woman who does the appointments gave me a hard time about cancelling too. She kept asking me if I was sure that I wanted to cancel. That the next available appointment wouldnt be for TWO months. I told her that my Mother was dying and that I would be out of town and that I HAD to cancel because I wasnt making a three hour drive there for the fill and a three hour drive back to my parent's house. She still gave me attitude and told me that people were canceling appointments because of the holidays. SO WHAT?! That wasnt my reason for canceling. My Mother is DYING!!!! Scheduled for a fill on February 11th. The soonest the surgeon's office offered to get me in. How nice of them....jerks!! Lost a total of 31 pounds so far. ONLY one pant size though. That is frustrating, but weightloss is weightloss. I will take it! Happy Holidays to all!