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Are you using your food journal? I use Loseit on my iphone. I hadn't been using it but I thought I was doing good. Then I started back last week and figured out that I have only been averaging 38g of protein a day. (I already have thin hair.) So I have added a protein shake each day and have been hitting the numbers. It is so easy for me to deceive myself if I don't have concrete numbers.

Although I hate everything that crossed my path in the last month, except for small children, I have not gained a pound! My weigh in on 9-29 and today are the same! What the hell? I swear I ate for all my future hunger and have nothing to show for it, except a REALLY BIG grocery bill. Started liquids today and can't believe you can live on less than 500 calories a day. That was today. Tomorrow you may find me on here pulling my hair out. Come on November 16th. I want some cream soup!!!

I'm going through this right now. I posted on another forum and have copied and edited it a bit below and hope I can help anyone in preventing this. As far as your question, yes you can get the pouch back to normal but you and you only can make that happen. It's difficult, but, it can be done. If the pouch is really stretched badly they will un-fill you and place you on liquids for a period of time. My doctor told me 6 weeks of liquids. Holy smokes!!! Here is my post from another thread: Under floroscopy my doctor told me that my pouch was bigger than it should be. She told me that I would get a warning this time, but if next checkup showed the same, she will un-fill me and I will go on liquids for 6 weeks. For now I have been instructed to measure my portions. I did get a slight fill, so, I'm thinking that I'm not that bad yet. I keep a loose band because my allergies and drainage cause the dreaded lapband cement on the pouch that is only dissolved by drinking lots of hot liquids and is very unpleasant, thus I have to be a bit more careful with my portions. I have decent restriction and my portions have been at least 1 cup of food and sometimes 1.5 cups, however, I got into the habit of not chewing well and eating too fast. I rarely got stuck because of my loose band. In my opinion, not chewing well and eating too fast is what caused the dialation. I was also doing way too much exercise and was feeling more hunger and I would eat way to fast and not chew well with the hunger I felt at times. Someone asked about symptoms. First of all my weight loss stopped for months. My weight would go up and down by 6 lbs. and went on like this for at least 8 months. I tried increasing calories, longer work outs etc. etc. and nothing! My biggest symptom was more hunger in between meals and was getting hungry every 2-3 hours. The most obvious symptom that I should have never ignored was feeling satisfied (full) and would get that uncomfortable feeling of "no more" at meal time then all of sudden I would feel a thump in my pouch, due to food going thru quickly, then I could eat another meal if I chose to and honestly sometimes I would. I thought this was because I needed a fill, however, this was not the case and Doc said that a enlarged pouch of course holds more food and will push everything down quickly. Since being warned I have gone on liquids 2 times consisting of 4 days of Protein drinks and 1 can of Soup a day. In addition, I have modified my drinking and wait 1/2 hour before a meal and 1/2 hour after a meal. I now feel a huge amount of restriction and can only handle the 1/2 cup of food at mealtime. So, yes you can reverse the stretched pouch. I will continue to do the liquid thing at least every other week for a while just to be on the safe side. Since doing this I have lost 10 lbs. Lesson learned? If something doesn't feel right get it checked. I knew something was wrong, but, I was embarrassed to see the doctor because I had not reached goal. I think the biggest disappointment is first myself and second, being banded is high maintenance, but, we are the culprit to our own complications in most cases. I still love my band though! Hope this helps anyone who may be experiencing some of my symptoms and have ignored them. jake

Hi Nance! Yep Lisa's right - I mean it's still really touch and go with individual people. I can tolerate almost anything - BUT - given that I eat it slow enough, in small enough pieces, and chew well enough. Sometimes, crunchy toast will get stuck, or lasagna that's not mushy (al dente is too undercooked for me) or things that SHOULD go down will surprise me and get stuck. Usually the reason is I didn't chew well enough. A common side effect of having the band and eating slow is that you tend to run at the mouth a lot - meaning when you're eating with other people, you start talking and blabbing and getting all social :rolleyes2: You are waiting for the food to pass before taking another bite and soon, you've had 2 glorious pea sized bites of the most delicious cheeseburger with bacon (and maybe a millimeter of that delicious bun) and you are now utterly turned off, full, and uninterested. I wish I'd tallied up all the meals I wasted over the past few years. I blew a lot of money just for a little taste of something. They never microwave right. As far as Pasta, I find I can really only tolerate angel hair. Aaaand Stouffer's Mac and cheese. Major gateway food. Mmmm.

Yay! Glad to hear you are proceeding, I can't wait till we're all losing weight and posting our after photos on here! To add a ticker, you can go to Trying To Conceive Ticker, select the "weight loss" tickers, and pick out your design and enter your info.. the last page has a bunch of different "codes" that you can put in your signature... go to the bottom where it says "ez-code", and copy that Then, come back here, go to your userCP underneat that smiling lady on the top left corner at the top ^^^^^, and go to "edit signature", and paste your link, save... and voila! you should have a ticker. Hope that helps!

I had a similar situation last year with my insurance - I had to have bunion surgery on both feet last December - and I had them done 3 weeks apart. I then got my lap band in September. The only thing that may be tough for you, is you may have a harder time getting around. Activity will help with weight loss, and foot surgery will probably limit that for a while!! Good luck to you, and if I can offer any help - let me know! ps - The foot surgery was not bad - I found the pain I had was due to swelling. The Dr. gave me Vicodan for pain, and it did nothing for me. I had a prescription anti-inflammatory that I took instead of the Vicodan, and that resolved the pain issues completely. I know I should not have self prescribed - but I had them left over from a shoulder injury, and I figured it could not hurt. I told the dr, and he understood, and was glad I did that. If you're just out of lap band surgery - I'd check with both your lap band surgeon and your foot dr, as I do know that the anit-infammatories can cause problems with the stomach and the band.

Good morning, all, I will be 2 weeks postop as of tomorrow. During the first week, when I was on liquids, I saw a really good weight loss (and sheesh, no wonder, I wasn't taking anything in!). The surgeon moved me onto purees on Monday, which I was happy about, but now the scale won't move, and I'm terrified of undoing all the good stuff that has happened so far. It's frustrating, because I'm meeting my Protein goals, the calories are relatively low (about 1000 a day), and I'm exercising daily- by all rights, the &*^%* scale should reflect that. It's really upsetting and frustrating. I guess I got spoiled seeing the weight loss before and immediately after surgery, so now that it's stopped, I'm unhappy. :thumbup: Adding to my frustration is that I've had to resume my Metformin, although I've noted that my fasting sugars have been about 20 points lower than they had been prior to starting my preop diet. My blood pressure meds have been reduced by half, so that's progress in that direction as well. I'm to go back to my surgeon on the 31st, and perhaps get my first fill. I guess this is what everyone calls bandster hell. Is there anything I can do? Thanks, Christine

My hair loss also became noticeable at four months. I am at six months now, and still have some hair loss, but I am thinking positive that it will subside at some point. The above replies give me hope.

Hi all, just a question for whomever is kind enough to reply. I lost 77 lbs so far, 6.5 months since surgery. While I am certainly thrilled at the numbers on the scale, I still have quite a way to go. Most of the time I feel great, LOVE the weight loss. But other times - I still 'feel' just as 'fat' as I did before the surgery. Any one else experience this, and if you've hit goal, do you still feel 'fat' every now and then?

I have an appointment with the PA at my surgeon's office tomorrow. I'm 7 weeks post-op as of tomorrow as well. I do not have any fill at this point. I'm consistently losing (average of 2.25 lbs per week, not including the liquid diet phase). I can definitely eat more than I could immediately post-op but overall I am fairly satisfied with small amounts of food. For example, 2 eggs and half a slice of toast, 1/2 cup cottage cheese and 4 saltines with Peanut Butter on them, 2 oz chicken breast and a few green Beans. It seems to me that the less Fluid in the band, the less complications people experience, so I would like to take a conservative route on fills. I know the PA agrees with that. I feel comfortable with not getting a fill tomorrow, but I'd like opinions from more experienced bandsters please. My overall weight loss since I began my pre-op diet (10 days prior to surgery) is 30.8 lbs in 8 weeks. Edited to add that sometimes I am hungry 2-3 hrs after eating but other times i can go 5 hrs or more. What I usually do is eat a small amount when I'm hungry 2-3 hrs after eating but after that I usually go a longer time without hunger so overall my daily intake averages out.

Sorry, the above response was to joasaint, obviously I need to pay attention to detail more ! And he wasn't the one looking for an answer ! (Geesh ! I need to go find my meds ! ) To enjoythetime, and I say this with all due respect, you've lost159 (!) pounds , and you're asking about a tiny weight gain of 3-5 lbs ? Wow is all I can say! Congratulations on your weight loss ! Id consider a temporary 3-5 lb Weight gain as nothing to worry about, but thats just me. Congratulations again !

http://www.obesityaction.org/wp-content/uploads/Weight-Loss-Surgery-and-Hair-Loss.pdf

Yes, I did have the same issue with tuna. So, I didin't drain the can to make it more watery, and I used relish and mayo. I don't like to use mayo, but really wanted that tuna. Since it was the only solid food I ate that day it didn't seem to affect my weight loss.

Hi everyone! I am just curious about something, I am 5 weeks out as of today and have lost 40 lbs (10 from pre-op diet) why I am super super excited for this amount, I have noticed that my weight loss has slowed down quite a bit since the first week. The first week post op I lost 14 lbs... after that I am ranging between 4-5 lbs a week. Which is still AMAZING! More than I was losing before surgery, when I was trying really hard. Just was curious how everyone elses went. Was it similar to mine?

You are all doing amazing. I am 6 months post op and have lost about 60 pounds in total and on average a 10 pound loss per month. Im totally pumped even though I would like to lose another 25 or so to get to my perfect height for weight/BMI. So I am was on the lighter side as a starter compared to some of the people on this forum, so don't expect the massive loss that those folk will experience. Trust me you are doing absolutely amazing!!

I am 9 weeks post op and I am down 34 lbs. SD was 12-7-12 and I weighed 283 today 249. I feel great knowing that being that I am losing!!! I am sure I am not getting ALL daily protein in but its still a work in progress. For the past month I have worked out 5 days/week. Is this an average weight loss or should I have lost more? I guess I am feeling a bit like my progress is slow and I am not going to be where I want to be by the time 6 months get here in this rapid WL phase.

Those are both normal. The breath is because your body is in major ketosis (weight loss mode) and the itch is from healing. Lots of water helps the breath issue and check with your dr if you are cleared to use lotion on the incisions. Get a lotion with vitamin E oil in it.

THE YEAR 1906 This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! The year is 1906. One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1906: ************************************ The average life expectancy in the U.S.was 47 years old. Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub. Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars. There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower! The average wage in the U.S.was 22 Cents per hour. The average U.S.worker made between $200 and $400 per year . A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist made $2,500 per year, a veterinarian $1,500 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year. More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S.took place at HOME. Ninety percent of all U.S.doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard." Sugar cost four cents a pound. eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. coffee was fifteen cents a pound. Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo. Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason. Five leading causes of death in the U.S.were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!! Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet. There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day. Two out of every 10 U.S.adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school. Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." ( Shocking? ) There were about 230 reported Murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. ! Now I sent it to you and others all over the United States, possibly the world, in a matter of just Seconds !!!!!!!!! PASS THIS ALONG!!!!! Just Try to imagine..... what it may be like .... in another 100 years !!!!!!! IT STAGGERS THE MIND !!!!!!!!!

It more or less happens to everyone. I had surgery on 6/2 and my hair is falling out like crazy too. It should stop before the year mark.

Wine turns to sugar once processed and will be primarily stored as belly fat. So it will slow down your weight loss. Since we are so limited on what we could consume, they want us to choose wisely. Think of it this way a small bottle of wine is about 500 calories (~90 calories a glass), if you drank a bottle a day you would gain 1 lb a week. Ive cheated to and I spoke to a nutrionist, she said to make sure you drink a glass of Water after each glass of wine if I feel I absolutely have to drink when I go out. Dont drink spritzers, I had one and the carbination made me foam at the mouth, it was so scary. I went away for 4 days and drank a few glasses, my weight loss was only 1.5 that week, as oppossed to 7lbs the week before. Good Luck

I previously had 6 different conditions that prevented me from getting any more life insurance, however with weight loss all are no longer part of my life and been removed from my medical records. Thus I have been able to up my insurance.

You are doing really well with your weight loss Debby! I hope to follow in your footsteps....

I do work comp insurance, and I see people find out they have chondromalacia all the time. The doc always suggests weight loss will help, but ultimately the need an arthroscopic procedure you just go in there and clean it up. A lot of people seem to find relief with that surgery because it is not like a meniscus or acl repair.

I have considerably less knee and hip pain now. I do have some but it is more tolerable. I do not take pain meds. I take Joint Juice and Tumeric both reportedly helpful in reducing joint inflammation. My surgery was 2/20 and I've lost 40 pounds. I walk 2 plus miles 5-6 days a week. I do notice a difference in pain ratio with more weight loss.

i haven't had the surgery myself, i'm in the begining stages. my story is similar to yours except for the medical problems. i've been obese all my life and never had any surgery except for dental. i'm an ob/gyn and do surgeries all the time. there are no guarantees in anything, for the most part the complication rates are minimal. one of the keys is making sure your surgeon has enough experience (make sure he or she is a bariatric surgeon), don't be afraid to ask for his complication rate. first find out if your insurance covers bariatric surgery and what their requirements are. then find a bariatric surgeon. they will guide you from there. my insurance requires me to lose weight (10%) first and since i don't have any comorbidities i'm don't know if i will get approve. if not i am heading to mexico (it's going to cost about the same as my copay for surgery here anyway), that's how serious i'm about being at a healthier weight and prevent my family's medical problem from becoming my own. weight loss has been shown to significantly improve morbidity/mortality. you may end up having to take less pills everyday for blood pressure and even require none at all. good luck with everything.