MollyRN

7/27/10 and 56 lbs down.... CONGRATULATIONS FELLOW BANDSTERS!

My hair is still falling out.... I am about 3.5 months out from surgery - it started at the end of the first month and it continues. I eat about 80-95 grams of protein a day so the doc says I am getting enough. She thinks it is rapid weight loss and told me to take biotin. I take about 5000 mg of powdered biotin everyday - and to no avail. And now it is starting to really show... I am distressed..... can someone provide some comforting feedback on this? My weight loss has been pretty rapid I guess, I am loosing right now about 3 lbs per week - and I guess I would take skinny over my hair - but I am freaking out....

4 months ago, I was reborn I am so happy. So happy with my decision, so happy with me new lease on life. So happy with how well this is working for me. And also, SO INCREDIBLY grateful for this website and all of the people on it who are so supportive. My journey is not nearly over, but I am certainly in a great place and well on my way. Cheers to all of us who were brave enough to make this commitment

Thank you to you all.... I feel calmer now reading all of this - plus that great article. I think I will get my blood work done and change my multivitamin (just in case) - but the whole thing about the different phases of hair growth makes complete sense to me. And, as I said, I would rather be skinny :eek:

I love these things!!!!!!

HIT MY GOAL THIS WEEK! I love these challenges!!! Where's the christmas one?

I feel exactly the same way you are describing - alternatively THIS IS TOO TIGHT and OH CRAP, I AM FINALLY REALLY BANDED. I have gone from never having a PB to having one daily.... but today was better than yesterday and I am indeed being slower and taking more time - so I am going to give it 10 days for the swelling to go down and then see where I am at.

Weight loss has a massive physiological effect - and thus it has to effect our dosing of antidepressants. I have been on Prozac 10 mg for a year - and I also feel like the control it gave me has slipped a little. I take liquid so I have bumped my daily up just a tad and I think that has been working well. I would definitely go to your doctor.

Zeniada....I feel your frustration.... I totally do. Do you belong to any support groups? I see that you had your surgery in Mexico - do you have a good fill doctor now?

286 at start of liquid diet (2 weeks) 275 at surgery 256 at 9 weeks I am losing roughly 6-9 lbs per month

No... but then again, they don't fill us all the way. I got 4ccs, no scope, no freezing spray the first time. 2 the second time - and they backed out 1 at the same visit. And then one the last time. Every time I go, they pull out everything, but I have never had it completely filled.

My surgeon won't let us go more than a month without an evaluation. His protocol is 4ccs at 4 weeks out from surgery.

I am always surprised at how different we all are. My doctor is what some say aggressive - and I have had 3 fills and one unfill in the 9 weeks since my surgery - of course I was eating food before he gave me my first fill. I am at 6ccs now and can BARELY eat chicken - it is hit or miss. I am VERY tight. But my nurse, who has the band, told me that he can eat a big mac at 9ccs and can't swallow his saliva at 9.5 - so everyone is different. I can see I think, the advantage to staying liquid through the fills.... I mean, we get fills, we get swollen, we have trouble eating, we PB, we slip our bands.... you haven't had to deal with that - but really, I agree with everyone else.... I remember when I was first banded and I ate really carefully - and that was just practice for what happens when you are really tight. How will you know what to eat if you haven't had the practice time post-op?

For me, it is brand dependent. I was using a GNC brand that had a powdered multivitamin included and it almost killed me with the gas pain. Try a different brand.

My surgeon is Australian and he has had the band for more than a decade without any issues. I think the general consensus is that revisions start typically after 15 years. The 5 year thing sounds crazy - more than half of the people I know with bands have had them for more than 5 years.

When we go through the screening process for LapBand, they continually talk about your willingness to do the maintenance and I really couldn't understand this part before now. The reality is, as said before me, there is a lot of maintenance, back and forth until you find that sweet spot. But, considering the risks and the side effects of bypass, this was a no-brainer for me. The mortality rates in bypass were too high to be acceptable for me or for my family. PLUS...I have read that with bypass, the weight loss is faster but then most people have a little bit of a rebound....honestly, my psyche couldn't take that. Get down to 150 and then bounce back to 175.... no thanks. Slow and steady is nice!

While we are telling our nasty stories.... I had my first major stuck yesterday which ended up with me highly distressed and then I pbed in my husband's lap.... it was lovely. And all of this after he told me that he didn't want to go out to eat with me because I couldn't eat anything anymore anyway. Maybe he's right....I have been liquid since this happened and totally freaked out.

Machines are really bad at guessing. You can get a better idea online playing with the different calculators. I don't have the time to spend 3-4 hours a day in the gym (I would if I could) - so I do interval training. We have a track around our gym so I walk or run two laps, do a weight exercise, run 3 minutes, do a weight exercise, stair climb 3 minutes, do a weight exercise and so on for 40 minutes every morning (5 days per week) - and so far, this has been great. Plus my calorie burn is pretty high because my heart rate really spikes in those intervals. I think it is a great workout when you have limited time.

This is exactly what I was going to say - and I do work in the medical profession. Sometimes the smallest trigger and create symptoms where we never saw them before.... Find the best doctor you can and get your questions answered.

Got a fill last Thursday - up until then, I could eat almost anything just not very much. Since this fill, even drinking has to be slow or it hurts as it backs up. I was liquid on Thursday and Friday and then mushies yesterday and today, and overything fills like it gets stuck. Today, I had two major PBs when I ate - and trust me, I am chewing everything to straight up liquid and then waiting like 3-5 minutes for the next bite. Am I too tight or is this how things are supposed to be? At this point, I just don't even want to eat - it is such a chore I cannot take it. Experienced bandsters - tell me? Is this how it is supposed to be? I should I go back and get half a cc backed off? NO IDEA.... or should I give it a couple more days? This fill was a 1 cc increase (I am at 6ccs).

I did feel like I was dieting until I got my 2nd fill. The band managed quantity okay, but I really could eat anything I wanted until then. Hang in there.... it happens.

Thank you - sounds like a good plan of action. I can get the liquids down for now - although I feel them in a way I never had before. Thanks for the good advice.

By day 3, seriously, you will be so much better. By night 2, I was much more comfortable in my bed. Take your pain meds and hang on.... it will get better quickly. AND DO NOT EAT food - do not advance your diet. You could hurt yourself. You are very swollen and you do not want a slipped band. STAY THE COURSE - you can do it!

YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!! Share your secrets GIRL!!!!