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Hi, I am new here too. I have been banded for 2 weeks and have so far lost 12 pounds. I too have Hypothyroidism which has always made weightloss difficult, even when I do what I am suppose to do. I know several years ago people with Hypothyroidism were not approved for the band surgery. (Wonder if it is becasue we dropped the success stats???) Still I am glad that Hypo is on the approval list now as this is really my last hope of a tool that may help. I just can't do it myself. So I am hopeful for success with the band, even if little by little. I hope you get approval soon!

I had a hiatal hernia that was repaired during the the sleeve process but because I have an over-reactive sphincter the space was too tight to allow things to go down to the stomach. I had to back to surgery so the doctor could release some stitches from the hernia repair. It sucked to have surgery twice this week but I am all good now!

This article changed my whole outlook, I hope it is insightful for you. Long but worth reading! I am working with a coaching client who had put on about 30 extra pounds since reaching her I am working weight-loss- surgery goal. One of the actions she chose to take to begin to work on her problem was recording what she was eating. After two weeks of setting that goal and not meeting it, I suggested she explore what else might work for her. "But I want to record what I eat!" she said. "I'm just too embarrassed to write it down and share it with you." I assured her she was going to be sharing this information with someone who well understood her problem, someone who had been battling the food demon her whole life, as well. "Okay, so if I take my embarrassment out of the equation," she reasoned, "I'm still left with not wanting to admit what I'm eating. I don't want to give up the foods I love. I want to eat them anytime I want!" In the next breath she blurted out, "Why is it so hard to stop eating? I want to be thin. I don't want to go back to not being able to get out of a chair!" Eating anything you want, whenever you want, is not freedom. If you really think about it, eating with free abandon does not feel like freedom for people who struggle with compulsive eating. In fact, being a prisoner to food thoughts and mindless eating 24/7 can be miserable. Trapped by cravings and food thoughts, a person will conduct their daily business and make their daily decisions based on the eating they want to do. "I can't go to the play tonight," you might say. "I am not feeling well. I think I'm coming down with something." But, what you are thinking may be, "I want to eat the rest of the bread I bought today. With butter! But, I'll have to pace myself. It will take me all evening to eat it." Does this scenario paint a picture of a person who is experiencing freedom? Or does the bread have then trapped? After weight loss surgery, many people get into the habit of grazing, or eating small amounts frequently. That's what my client was doing. She mistakenly believed grazing was a way to be free from the shackles of dieting and food plans. And she hated diets and food plans! Unstructured eating, however, can quickly lead to eating unhealthy foods in unhealthy portions. (Yes, even if you tell yourself you'll never go back to the unhealthy foods you used to eat.) A rebelliousness exists inside most overeaters, and they don't want to give up their freedom to choose what to eat and when. Step back, though and give yourself the "Dr. Phil" treatment. Ask yourself, "And how well is my rebellious attitude working for me? It's time to live in the solution. Many people who struggle with their weight never lose obsessive thoughts about food, but that's partly because they are not living in the solution. The people who are the most successful at breaking free from the burden of unhealthy eating, have transitioned from being rebellious (reactive) to responsible (proactive). They spend some time planning. They establish a routine with boundaries around their eating, so that they don't get carried away. Ironically, when you add some structure to your eating by making a food plan for the day, an amazing sense of freedom can set in - freedom FROM compulsive eating. So, if you're struggling with obsessive food thoughts and overeating, make a food plan today. Write it down and refer to it often. Give yourself the gift of one day of freedom from overeating. Oh, and the "rebellious" client I've been working with has lost 6 pounds already. She told me, "I'm amazed at how much less I obsess about food now that I make my plan every morning. I just write down what I'm going to eat for the day, and then I go live my life." Want to Reprint this Newsletter? If you'd like to reprint any part of this newsletter, do so with the following credit: From Small Bites, the email newsletter for the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. Inc. All rights reserved.

Hi I am new and would like to say hello to everyone the the site. I was reading about someone just starting there journey. I went to Dr Woodhead in Delta. I did not need a referral, but my Dr wrote me one anyway. It works out well, because Dr Woodhead sent him all my paperwork from the surgery and with my visits, so he is also up to speed. My consult was on Feb 6th 2007 and surgery was set for Mar 7th. It took 6 weeks to get a consult from after filling out the paper work. The surgery is done right next door to his clinic which is the Delta hospital. I lost 15 lbs before the surgery and another 15 in the next 2 weeks. The scales have now stopped at 240 lbs. I am following the diet to a tee. I have a thyroid problem, hypo, and I hope that does not have a bearing on anything. I also had my knees operated on 4 times and it was that reason and the sleep apnea that sent me on my journey. I no longer have any pain in my knees and I am not taking any ibprophen anymore. Life is great. Hope this answers your questions about the Dr. Brenda:)

I had the same symptoms as ms.sss. At 3 & 1/2 months on Thanksgiving, I tried Ben and Jerry’s lactose free ice cream. I had 1/4 cup and it hit me half an hour later, maybe less. I’m finding any sugar/carby food can trigger it, or sometimes it’s a reactive sugar drop a few hours later. Air popped light salt popcorn triggered it last time. I was never diabetic. I find dumping does keep me on the straight and narrow which is good! If you do want to try new foods, it helps to be at home with a time block of a few hours and a protein shake to counter the sugar lows. For those who think dumping is a get out of jail free card; there’s no weight loss. There may be a slight loss sometimes, but it’s water from the both ends pushing it all out. Mostly I find I still gain weight and trigger an asthma attack from all the inflammation. I have even measured my ankles and found them to be 2-3 centimeters bigger the day after a carb incident.

I'm 14 years out from gastric bypass surgery (RNY) and still get nauseated when I eat meat and many other things that I won't bore you with. I still have a protein drink every single day to compensate for the loss of protein from meat products. A young woman stopped by my house the other day asking for advice. She was six months out from surgery and still experiencing nausea with most foods, especially meat. Why would your doctor think your throat had suddenly gotten too small when you have been eating all your life prior to surgery without this issue? I don't think so. My son had this surgery and he doesn't have any problems at all. Yet I have a lot of nausea, reactive hypoglycemia, trouble with low iron and a couple of other things. Each of us is different. Most doctors don't seem to know that!! Give it time. Take it slow. Very slow.

Hi Everyone, it has been since band was put in, June 2009. My experience has been a bit of a mild ordeal discomforts wise, TY to those who taught me about keeping a cup with lid handy... but I am finally on track. As you can see from my ticker below, I can see the progress to my goal, FINALLY. That looks great. My trick, I did an elimination diet in Fall 2010 and by Christmas re-adding things, I found I was extremely gluten intolerant!!! So, since from Winter 2010, the more gluten I removed from hidden things, the more reactive to it I became... Since last summer, I started my healing with the homemade soups for restoring health, greek yogurt *Fage only for the most part*. The soups... Beef Borscht soup with greek yogurt, handmade with fresh organic ingredients, and handmade chicken breast soup, organic ingredients... I will post the recipes on my profile. I was so sick from diabetes in August and September 2011, due to unnatural sugar craves caused by medications... I got to where I could not even keep yogurt down!!! and my very worried sister-in-law from Moscow insisted on feeding me the aforementioned soups. Things got better in October, some backslide over holiday, not much, I did not make Thanksgiving and Christmas, family and I have decided not to be so excessive, we toss so much food, or I get miserably ill from a bite or two... so, simple times and simple meals resulted in much improved Holiday experience. Believe it or not I eat some bacon (crispy fatty) and two easy over eggs (hardly any whites, or else...) most weekdays for breakfast. It does not always work out, but I found the fat and protein gets me through the day. I hardly eat soup now, but I do control appetite strictly, I use my band to do this, to eat very little. I also will have some Mexican or Thai sometimes, but I stick to the very restricted intake, completely gluten free. I believe that the fats in the egg yolk and bacon, seem to do the trick for my personal biochemistry. My August 2011 A1C was almost 11. In October, it was 6.1 Needless to say, my carbs are very very very restricted, I do not eat any breads or anything but occasional tortilla chips. My personality has changed from quite aspy and bipolar, to merely hyperactive. A big change started after the surgery, and during my pre-op Psychiatric evaluation, the M.D. I met with told me that the carb restrictions due to the band being incompatible with breads and such, might help my moods. The greatest changes were since Gluten free. Not only do I not have persistent diarrhea since 22 years of age, but I have a rather normal personality, and not extremely reactive to sounds, tastes, smells, and people like before. I am sure my system is damaged from the years of wheat and oats, and now they put wheat in everything, I cannot eat anything from packages. I can drink soda again, but it causes a bloat. I do not eat much sugar substitute, and a little sugar is ok, but not recommended by me to myself.

So sorry-its so frustrating!!! We're all going at a different pace, and I'm afraid mine is slow too. I've lost about 52. I was almost 240 DOS, am now 188. I was 186.8, but gained about 2lbs and stalled in the last two weeks. I know part is related to my hypo-thyroid, part to not getting in enough protein. I do exercise regularly but not super heavily. My caloric intake is steady at 900, but sometimes I get "the snackies" in the late afternoon/evenings, and it's not "good" food that I snack on. I think we go into this knowing it will be hard, hope it will be easier than what we've done before, get excited at losses, then when we face stalls it's even more disappointing.

I wish this forum would reactivate, and all of us "late baby boomers" could socialize. I had my surgery done on Aug 22, 2013. At my highest weight that I know of (Jan of '12), I was 327. When I had surgery last August, I was 271. I'm now at about 219. I don't really know my actual weight bc I only get on the scale at the doctor's office (I have scale issues.... LOL). I'm 53 (going to be 54 at the end of next week). My husband is 54. We joined a gym in June of 2013, and we are there SIX DAYS A WEEK. He's lost 50+pounds by working out and making better food choices, we are both in better shape NOW than when we were in our 30's and 40's.... Seriously! Keep posting, LET'S TRY TO GET THIS "FIFTIES" THREAD GOING AGAIN!!!!

I'm a pretty solid atheist (despite my mother's best efforts), and for the first few years after making that public declaration I was pretty reactive to all "I'll pray for you" or "God bless you" or other religious-themed messaging, but I think it was residual irritation from the same feelings that made me leave religion in the first place. Basically, I stopped going to church quite young because I knew bone-deep that I did not believe any of the same things that the people around me believed, and it felt wrong to fake it or even to be silently present. It's just weird to sit in a group of adults who have gathered to profess earnest faith in something that you think is unreal, it makes you feel uncomfortable and vaguely feels like you're gently mocking them (you're NOT mocking them, but the feeling is too close to when you're playing with children who have very firm rules and opinions about a game of make-believe, and you don't want to treat religious adults like children, so everything can get pretty uncomfortable). So I think when I fixed myself solidly in the secular world, I resented it when people thoughtlessly brought their religious talk into my newly-fixed sphere. Along the lines of "hey, I respectfully didn't bring up science and the fallibility of the Bible in the spaces where you worshipped something I don't believe, so have the same respect for me in my non-religious spaces". Eventually I mellowed and decided that a lot of religious jargon is just another way for people to say "I'm thinking of you". I mean, there is a certain quality of tone - you can definitely tell the difference between an "I'm telling you that you're important to me and in my thoughts" and an "I am holy and godly and this is another way that I make myself feel good by being publicly pious you heathen" type of pray-for-you - but overall I can mostly shrug it off as a turn of phrase. Part of the mellowing may have occurred from living in areas with not just a huge variety of religions but also some non-Judeo-Christian cultures and languages sprinkled in, so you eventually get used to people just using their own heartfelt phrases to indicate that they value you and want you to know that. (I mean, I never realized that watching a couple of teenagers shout and stomp and stick their tongues out at a suited man in an airport would make me tear up with emotion, but then I was regularly exposed to hakas.) At a certain point it's all just habit, it's the intent that matters. Except for the church ladies who are engaging in holier-than-thou posturing. THEY can cram it, but then again, don't we all feel that haughty better-than-you people can cram it in general? Some people just use religion to do it.

I'm glad I found this thread. I have Hashimoto's and fully expect to not lose weight as fast as some others when I finally get the surgery. I was diagnosed with hypo about 18 years ago, and diagnosed with Hashi's about 7 years ago. Finally everything made sense, ya know? Nice to connect with others going through the same.

Hi, pretty Juli - Thanks for your response. I should know better than to make ambiguous, melodramatic statements like I did, as if everyone here knows my story. Let me explain a bit. I hope this doesn't come across as defensive or even more melodramatic! I moved home from FL eight years ago, which was 6 months after my Dad's heart attack. He had heart bypass surgery just a few months after I moved to Columbus. Since that time, I've witnessed my precious Dad be diagnosed with one obesity-related disease after another, and observe as he suffers through each day and is hospitalized about once per month. My Dad has heart disease, type-2 diabetes, inflammed/fatty liver, obstructive sleep apnea, congestive heart failure, hypertension, high cholesterol, and depression/anxiety. My Dad is only 61 years old. As for me, my body has already failed me once. I have (had?!) Graves Disease, which is autoimmune hyperthryoidism (dx Nov 2002.) I went through three years of roller-coaster riding on meds (cycling back and forth between hyper and hypo, with occassional moments of bliss in a 'euthyroid'/normal state.) When I started to experience the eye symptoms that often accompany Graves (e.g., they started to bug out of my head), I elected to have a total thyroidectomy. Well, it's a good thing I had the surgery because there were two little secret microcarcinomas that only God knew were there. I had thyroid cancer, but it was stage 1 and the thyroidectomy is the treatment for that. Thyroid disease has been a real strike against me in the weight management department. I've gained about 10# every year since I was first diagnosed with Graves. I can very clearly see my future in my Father's struggles. I have hypertension, anxiety/depression, high cholesterol, and a fatty liver already... and as of last week I have added obstructive sleep apnea to my resume'. I don't want to have to continue living with this burden... with this daily fear of what comes next for me health-wise. I am only 38 years old, and I long to be as active -- and as 'at peace' with my health -- as I was before Graves. (I ran a 5k race every weekend when I lived in Orlando!) I view the LB as the tool that will help me to regain my health and avoid 'the family curse.' I don't feel like I'm viewing it as 'the diet of the month,' but I'll talk to my LB program psychologist about that just in case. I know that life will always throw me curve balls, like you said. I long for the day when I can confront them without the added burden of being 'a sick person.' Thanks again for your response and for the opportunity to explain my melodramatic statements a little better. Y'all will probably be hearing a lot more from me in the weeks to come. I've failed my first month of the pre-op program miserably, but I'm renewing my focus now and 'using my resources' to stay focused. I really think/hope that starting to use the CPAP machine will help improve my frame of mind and this dark spiral of anxiety/depression that I've found myself in lately. :thumbup:

I'm not trying to play devil's advocate per se. Is he more reactive with other things? I could do the most amazing thing and my DH would only notice if it involved the very small world of things he pays close attention to. If there's something I particulary want him to notice, or I particulary need a compliment, his "usual self" might hurt that much more, and I might feel like he's purposefully ignoring it. Especially when to me, it might be the center of my universe, and to him, it just isn't something that really matters. (I tend to think much more like a man than a woman, so I just want to offer up another perspective.) That said, lots of insecurities come and go with relationships, including relationships where some significant physical change happens. I don't have enough hands, fingers, toes or hairs on my head to count the marriages I've seen end over what seems like a physical change, but in 100% of those cases there has been something else going on. (Hmm, kinda like obesity, no?) Even secure marriages will still ask, "What if?" Have you talked to him about it? What did he say?

hypo here My dr say weight loss might lessen need for my dosage, but all ok

sounds like a blood pressure issue. This dizzyness occurs with me after sitting from a hard workout in the gym. I read online its called posterity hypo tension...meaning blood pressure gets low after exercise. The cures I found online was to simply just get up slower till your body is fully adjusted to weightloss.

can i just say that thing is driving me crazy. I have turned the sounds off and everything and everytime I change pages it reactivates. I even tried logging out and the chat was still there.....

Hello all! I am new to this site, but so far i love it! Everyone has such great advice and are so supportive! I am 27 years old, 2 kids and am a nurse at a local hospital. I have been overweight my whole life and been looking into wls for about 5 years. My insurance just changed at work and by the grace of God, WLS is covered!!!!! I am 5'3 and currently 247....Yikes! I am not only having wls to lose weight, but i am doing it because I am way to yound to have the health issues that I do! Just in the past year I have been put on BP meds, and an anti-depressant. My labs showed high LDL and high C-reactive protein. I am too young for this!!! Can't wait until the fall so I can get my surgery date scheduled and get my life back!!

You are so lucky you have BCBS. They seem like the best insurance. From all I read you will be fine especially with apnea which is considered serious. I have UHC and they said only "serious " co-morbidities would work which they get to determine what is serious. Basically it was diabetes, hypertension, or apnea is all they would accept under 40 and for 5 years and you had to have two of then!! I have insulin resistance taking metformin for, high cholesterol , triglycerides , and reactive airway. Not good enough after 3 appeals. Anyhow good you have BCBS and sure you will get through approved. Good luck

I have hypo thyroids and I'm trying to figure out would it help me or just be a waste of time?

I was one of match's original members. Have a lifetime membership. Met my ex husband on there. Will reactivate once i finish my year of ME

I started my weight loss loss journey in may. All of ny pre op paperwork is done and approved. Im sad because I have gained weight instead of loosing. During the exams the doc found out im hypo thyroid.Dont know if weight gain is due to hypo or me not really eating.

Gingerbug: Sorry forgot to mention. They take your complete medical history. ON my band I have "gastric band", hypo thryroidism, high blood pressure, diabetes. I was also given a wallet card. The Canadian Medica Alert are in the medical field and very discreet. You have to have passwords, etc. Just tell them a gastric band, they don't ask for more information. Doddie

I am getting sleeved on June 22. I am 51, strong family history of heart disease (my mom has had triple bypass, two uncles have had quadruple bypass, aunt had double bypass, two uncles have died of heart attacks, my grandmother had a few heart attacks), currently take daily 81 mg of aspirin per my cardiologist for prevention. I know you are not supposed to take NSAIDS once you have VSG. What does one do for prevention? I will be seeing my surgeon for my 2 week pre op on Thursday the 9th, I will ask him. Anyone else with this problem? I have had blood tests for C-reactive protein which is an indicator of future heart attack and my level was fairly high. This is one the my reasons for this surgery, to get rid of excess weight and changing eating habits and exercise to prevent heart disease. My cardiologist happily cleared me for this surgery. I did a 10 month weight management program through my cardiologist, and I lost 8-10 lbs. I did not think about this until this morning when I decided not to take the aspirin since I want to reduce bleeding risk from surgery. Any answers will be helpful for when I talk to my surgeon and cardiologist.

Hey, ya'll!!! I'm a November sleever, too, and just found this site!!! It's encouraging to me to see how others are doing who had their surgery about the same time as I did. My surgery was done on 11/10/14. So far I'm doing quite well, although the weight loss is a little slow right now. Several days after surgery and while at home, I began experiencing some complications. I we admitted to the hospital again with pleural effusion (reactive fluid collecting around my left lung), infection, hematoma in the gut, and bile collecting under the diaphragm. Spent 13 days in the hospital and another 6 days in inpatient rehab for some intensive physical therapy. Even though I had to deal with all of this, I'm glad I had the surgery and would do it again. I've joined the Memorial Day Challenge with the goal to break under 200 lbs. I'm so close, but keep bouncing around within about a 5 lb. range. I am doing what I'm supposed to be doing - tracking food, keeping within calories, carbs, and protein goals, and exercising (all more days than not ). I'm hoping this challenge will get me into Onederland .

I have been shocked over and over again by what I personally did not know. I studied this for two years. did research and watched videos and asked questions on here and to my team. I did not know: What to eat and when in detail. 64 oz. of Water..say what? I loved water..What I hate it now..Never heard of such a thing! I did not know any nutritional retraining I would need. I did not know that you can get a leak 18 months out. I did not know that you can get reactive Hypoglycemia. I did not know that when you gain muscle you get bigger. I did not know that you could really die from WLS. I did not know that people would treat you mean because you lost weight. I did not know that people would tell me I took the easy way out. I did not know that people can live without eating for 5.5 months... I guess I did not know a lot. But then I live in one of the the poorest Provinces. Not to mention the most backwards Province in Canada when it comes to health. I had no idea that most of the things that happened to me did.....I am shocked that more people are not aware of this life saving chance. And that more people die because they are not invested in the changing of lives.... I had no idea I would hate Tuna after my surgery and I when it was I would be able to finally eat at all....I had to learn to eat again..Who does that! I never knew that people sucked the chocolate off of peanut M n M's and thought they weren't cheating..They should have eaten the peanuts..you know! Or lick the cheese off Doritos and feel satisfied...Say what! I know this is a little off the best but you know what I think: there are still people who think you can't get pregnant the first time you have sex. For such a time of the information age. People are still eating boxed macaroni and cheese and thinking that it is good for you. For now I will try to answer as many of those questions as I can and when and if I do tire out..I will back off and call it a day! For now..nope!