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Wow! ((hugs)) You've been through the wringer backwards haven't you?!!! I don't know the answer to your question, but I do know you must do something. It can't hurt to start the process and schedule in a teaching hospital if possible. That way you may have more access to the surgeon to ask your questions. I do know you need to have your med issues sorted out prior to surgery...especially when they deal with thyroid and psych meds. But I don't think it's impossible. But I'm just a schmoe on the internet that makes crap up all damn day! I'm hypo. Take endocrine therapy to keep me in cancer remission. Have so many comorbidities and am on 3 bp drugs and still fight with blood pressure every day. My metabolism is crap. But I'm pursuing this surgery with the hopes that I will have a metabolic reset that might make it easier to lose the weight. Hang in there and congrats on fighting your way through the massive grief you've experienced. You're a fighter and survivor!!!

ivonea No I haven't had the surgery yet. I am still in the process of all of the pre op testing and all that. I should be done with all of this in the end of June or Mid July. After that we will submit to insurance and I am hoping I can have surgery in August. I just did my second night in the sleep clinic to titrate to the machine 2 nights ago. I honestly have to say that I slept ALL night. I haven't done that in years. I was not uncomfortable with the machine or mask and I felt very rested the next morning. They told me that t hey will send the results to my doctor and he will prescribe my machine at the setting that it needs to be set at. I am hoping that I can get the same kind of mask and that it goes as well at home as it did there the other night. I asked the tech the other night if sleep apnea is pretty common and he states it is. He told me everyone has some sleep apnea but the 'normal' number of apnea episodes in an hour are 3-5 and I had 7 so really mild is VERY mild. He told me that I will probably not need the machine once I have the surgery and loss so weight but he couldn't guarantee that and I understand that but I can hope. HAHA. Anyway he also told me that even though my apnea is so mild the surgeon that I am having requires me to have a CPAP because it will help with the healing process and the already high risk because I am obese. I don't mind that either because I am thankful my surgeon is being so proactive instead of reactive if something were to happen or go wrong. He told me to think of all the pre op testing as the most invasive medical physical I will ever in my life have. He said they will look me up and down, inside out and around and around. I guess I am very thankful that he is being so careful. Good luck with your apnea and hopefully after some more weight loss you will not have to wear the mask anymore. Have you tried different masks? I started with a mask that just covered my nose but I couldn't use that because I am a mouth breather at night so then I used a mask that covered my nose and my mouth and I was fine.:clap2:

Here is a link to an article on reactive hypoglycemia post–gastric bypass. https://www.ridgeviewmedical.org/services/bariatric-weight-loss/enewsletter-articles/reactive-hypoglycemia-postgastric-bypass The three most important things after surgery are fluids, Vitamins and Protein. Since you said that "when I drink Protein I throw instantly", have you tried MILK. 32 ounces of 1% milk fortified with 1 cup of powdered milk will give you 56 grams of protein. You cannot drink this all at once but spreading this out throughout the day will help you meet your daily protein requirement.

I seemed to have developed hypo thyroidisym after surgery. My PCP didn't put me on anything yet. I just reached gaol and she wants to recheck it in a month.

I'm 18.5 weeks pregnant. I won't have any issues losing the pregnancy weight. I'll just low carb it again until I get the weight off. I gained a few pounds over the holidays and dropped those pounds in a little over a week just by cutting alcohol and carb consumption. As for the breakdown of weight gain with a pregnancy, this is what they've outlined for my weight gain: Maternal Fat- 7lbs Baby- 6-8lbs (average is 7.5lbs) Increases Fluid (blood volume)-2-4 ( a mother's blood volume typically doubles during pregnancy) Amniotic Fluid- 1-1.5lbs Placenta- 2lbs Breast tissue/mammary system weight increase - 1-2lbs Watch out for the ROSE procedure, it has an 85% failure rate. This is also discussed heavily on the obesityhelp.com Revision forum. ERNY (extended RNY, where they remove more intestine to start malabsorption again since intestinal adaptation has taken over at this point for you) is also an option. They will shorten your common channel by another 50-100cm. You definitely want to know before you agree to a revision if you have a pouch or stoma dilation because if you have actual mechanical failure with your RNY even a band over the pouch isn't going to do much because once the food passes through the band pouch into your RNY pouch, you will still be able to more food, and your malabsorption is gone. As for Jerusalem clinic, honestly, out of over 3 years on weight loss forums, I have never read of one patient having a RNY take down and revision to the VSG being performed there and honestly that is possibly why they are recommending the band over the bypass pouch to give you restriction again. Seriously, I can name 4 surgeons worldwide that are experienced with these surgeries, and with self-pay patients the cost just for the surgeon run upwards of 20-30k because it is such a complicated and exhausting surgery to take down an old RNY. I promise I researched revisions for months once I knew my band had to come out. The risks for complications especially leaks from scar tissue and adhesions literally quadruples with revisions vs. a virgin, unaltered stomach/intestinal tract. I had a leak with a band revision to VSG after only having the band for 8 months, and actually lost more stomach tissue because of the damage the band had done. My surgeon was experienced with revisions, and I happen to be a statistic of his that I'd like to take back. I was his first and only VSG leak so it can happen even with really experienced surgeons. I'm not slamming Jerusalem Clinic, but revisions are super tricky, complicated, and I would hate to see you fork out the money, get a surgery that is as high maintenance as the BOB procedure and then continue to struggle with your weight and be looking at or for another surgery. There have been RNY to VSG revisions performed due to reactive hypoglycemia symptoms and diagnosis after RNY, but again, it's a very complicated surgery with high risks. Just choose carefully, and continue to research your options.

I do find that snacking leads to stalls and or weight gain for me. I have to be very careful because I also get reactive hypoglycemia so i pretty much eat very small meals all day long. That is a slippery slope and can feel much like grazing which is the worst thing i can do. Early on while in weight loss mode my nut had me drink milk for a snack. it gives you added Protein, turns to a solid keeping you full for quite a while. And.....best of all you can add different types of tea to it. My favorite all time snack especially in the winter is chocolate chai tea. I use the loose tea version from teavanna and steep it for 3 minutes. It is especially delicious, hits the spot with NO added sugar other than what is in the milk. I use lactaid because i still have a lactose intolerance. If i dont have that, i will eat full fat cheese, pepperoni, shrimp, almonds and sometimes bariatric pal hot chocolate or bariatric pal vanilla capacciono.

Try not to fret about exact numbers. Staying calm and focused will help. I am not getting enough Protein yet either. I also had a prolonged period of "starvation" mode. Trying tiny amounts of all sorts of foods can help boost your protein input. And might help with the hypos. Once your liquid diet is finished, and if your team allows it, concentrate on just nibbling things that your sleeve likes. I could tolerate some broth so continuously had the slow cooker on with beef and bones in it. I then slowly started adding tiny amounts of lentils. I also put carrots in as I can tolerate them. I always have some of that broth handy. It has both good protein and carbs in. Even if I can only drink the broth throughout the day, my body is getting nutrition. I also nibble on anything that might help boost my protein. Crackers with slivers of hard cheese, cheese crackers with cottage cheese, tiny apple (no skin) slivers dipped in Peanut Butter. Crispy (which turns mushy) textures seem to be tolerated by my sleeve. But as ill (with c diff) as I am, I still push my body to try different Proteins often. Even minute amounts of different foods will add up over 24 hours. I also found that I was in the routine of not eating anything from 6 pm to 9 am pre op, quite normal especially as I have reflux issues. But post op, it was so easy to become both dehydrated because of that routine and that I was going too long without anything going in on top of only a 300 calorie daily intake. So now I make sure that I have something as soon as I wake up (I keep Lucozade beside my bed just in case) and that I have something just before I go to sleep. I hope that helps. Hang in there. I do really understand how you are feeling. Stay calm, breathe, drink Water, nibble, sip broth. Even bone broth has protein in it. Push your food boundaries every day. Protein can come from a myriad of sources, think outside the box. It is now your sleeve, we don't all fit inside the regular sleeve "box" so explore (with caution), what works for you. If a food offends your sleeve this week, it's okay. You can try it again later. I keep trying with egg because I know it is valuable in protein. Egg drop Soup will work for me but I know that I must push my texture boundaries so I try deviled eggs. I really hate the waste so am learning to only prepare minute quantities where possible. You will be okay. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I missed my six month bandaversary which was 11/26. I was at my mom's who saw me for the first time since before my surgery. She was very suprised when I walked into baggage claim at DFW. I got a lot of positive reinforcement at her house (not from her but from everybody else). Since I decided to do lap band back in January I'v lost about 84 lbs. I'm under 200 for the first time in 6 years and I wear size 14 pants. My arms are horrendous and I am going to focus on them with a trainer (still in 16W), but I'm very very pleased with it all. I had a terrible Thanksgiving. I am still very reactive to stress, and I was stressed out that morning trying to get everything done. At 52, you would think I wouldn't feel like a bad child around my mom, but I do. I took the first tiny bite of mashed potatoes and it CAME RIGHT BACK UP. Luckily in my napkin, but it was like potato slime. Nothing else would work so I just pushed food aound my plate and pretended to eat but my aunt and daughter caught me. I got better by Friday but I realize how stress affects me. This never used to happen. I just got home last night and I feel somewhat better. We worked out every day but Thursday and I lost another 4 lbs last week so I'm happy. My goal is to be at goal by my 1 year anniversary which is 6 months and about 50 lbs away. I have to go back to work this afternoon; I have an interview with a company closer to home this morning. Nice to "see everyone" again and wish me luck today!

yorkshire;1447595]Has anyone been denied by UHC and did you appeal? My claim has been submitted but I'm afraid it will be denied because my BMI has not been over 35 for 5 yrs. - only 3 yrs. I do have several comorbidities (sleep apnea, arthritis, fibroids, back & knee pain, high blood pressure, high cholestral, hypo-thyroid, etc) Does anyone have any suggestions to help with an appeal?:thumbup:

I have not been put on meds yet but I do have hashimotos which is an autoimune disease where my body is destroying my thyroid and will have to eventually be put on meds to control it. Some weeks I can tell that my levels are off becasue I am extremly tired all the time and others i am full of energy. I go every six months to have blood work done but since the tests usualy land on a day that I am feeling pretty good they come back on the low side of normal so the doc wont put me on anything. So I have allready mentaly prepared my self to be a slow looser do to the hypo weeks. Good luck with your testing, and getting the last 20 off!

Good to see this topic, as a diabetic on two insulin's myself my motivation for this surgery is to get off the meds and hopefully go into full remission (fingers crossed). The optifast is helping me immensely to the point I have to be extra careful with my dosages as I've had 2 hypos since I started 7 days ago.

I’m 11.5 months post op and I have lost 175 lbs total since this process. Starting weight was 358, surgery day weight was 331, current weight 183! Prior to my surgery, I was terrible at logging food, exercising regularly, and had a terrible relationship with food (addiction, portion control, etc). Of course I knew what to do conceptually but the follow through was the issue. I told myself (and truly believe) that the surgery was not the fix! It’s just a tool! A tool that allows me to fix the broken things. What I’m getting at is, although logging food is “difficult”, it’s necessary! You have to be willing do do things differently and consistently if you want to reach your goals. Set up your environment to help you be more consistent: meal plan, log your planned foods the night before or first thing in the morning. Proactivity rather than reactivity is key! I treat my food log like I budget my finances, I track input and output and plan ahead! You got this! You just have to tell yourself you’ll do what it takes. The habits that got you in this situation won’t get you out of it! Embrace your second chance at becoming the best version of yourself and focus on the inputs and the desired outputs will happen! Don’t be afraid to consult your medical team and seek mental health help if need be. We all decided we can’t do it on our own which is why we took this journey. You owe it to yourself to be better than you think you can be! Good luck!

My Hypo thyroid is second only to Hashimoto Disease. My Endocrinologist put me on Armour Thyroid, and for the first time in years, my levels are within normal range. This is a Natural Medication. Meaning it is made from the Thyroid of a small animal, like a pig or porcupine. Never the less, it works for me, and nothing has worked for me for years. They put me on Generic Synthroid, and I felt terrible. I told her I want to see a specialist ! She agreed.. Explained it all to him, and he put me on the Armour Thyroid. Some people tell me they have a problem finding it, but I can go anywhere and they have it. Mention it to your Doc. Just to see what he thinks, as far as it's availabilitey. It can even be got on line, at Costco's. Good Luck, Hope you feel better. Also check out are Hypothyroid Bandster Thread. Happy New Year !

i have been HYPO thyroid since I was 16 (i am 44 now)... since surgery a year ago my level has been decreasing ....its down to 0.6 as of Monday lowest it's been in YEARS! ....(it has been up to 30.2 in previous years) and I am stable on my medication which is the lowest dose in 30 years! My dr told me just yesterday that she wanted to watch it close in the next 6-8 months because if my weight goes down more I may have to stop the meds....so I dont get hyperthyroid.

Are you sweating at night or just getting hot? I started having night sweats and mine ended up being reactive hypoglycemia. I had to adjust my diet at night to fix it. RHG is pretty common in WLS patients.

I have this same experience. It feels like "dumping", but truly is reactive hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. When you experience this or can feel it coming, eat something with 15 grams of carbs and the symptoms will subside in a couple minutes. Then follow up with some protein.

As a bandster, I have to disagree with this statement. I'm not saying we need to rigidly schedule our meals and never deviate from that routine, but I've found that if I let myself get too hungry I almost always eat too fast and make myself sick. As a diabetic, here's what I have done (and I'm now off ALL diabetes meds since about three weeks post-op). I follow Supreme Band Rule #1 (I made that up, like it?) and eat my Protein first, then my green veggies, then any low GI carb source last (only if there's room). I am eating very low-carb by default. I also eat a little something every few hours, for a couple of reasons. First, until I am off meds for at least a year I still consider myself diabetic and try to avoid hypo episodes at all cost. Second, that helps to boost your metabolism and keeps the weight loss going. As for your original topic of head hunger, I think we all have to deal with that to a point. I haven't found any magic bullet for it yet. :phanvan

The following Abbreviations are commonly used on this discussion board: ACL = Anterior cruciate ligament AMRAP = As Many Rounds As Possible (crossfit) BB = belly button bc = because BCBS = Blue Cross/Blue Shield BED = Binge Eating Disorder bf = best friend BM = bowel movement BMI = Body Mass Index bp = blood pressure BPD = Borderline Personality Disorder or Biliary Pancreatic Diversion bs = blood sugar btw = by the way CBT = cognitive-behavioral therapy CC = common channel c diff = clostridium difficile cos or cuz = because CPAP = continuous positive airway pressure CRNP = certified registered nurse practitioners cw = current weight CXR = Chest X-Ray Dr. = doctor DS = Dumping Syndrome or Duodenal Switch EGD = Esophagogastroduodenoscopy EKG = Electrocardiography ff = fat free GERD = gastroesophageal reflux disease GI = gastrointestinal GNC = General Nutrition Corporation store GP = general practitioner or family doctor HBP = high blood pressure hr = heart rate hw = highest weight ICU = Intensive Care Unit Idk = I don’t know IMHO = in my humble (honest) opinion IMO = in my opinion IUI = Intrauterine insemination LAP Band = Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band lol = laughing out loud LSG = Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy med = medicine MFP = my fitness pal msg = message NASH = Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis nf = non fat NG = Nasogastric NP = nurse practitioner NSAIDS = Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug NSV = non-scale victory (“scale” means “weight scale”) NUT = nutritionist OA = Overeaters Anonymous Onederland = a magical place or destination for those trying to lose weight. It might correspond to attaining a weight in the hundreds or losing a hundred pounds. op = operation OSA = Obstructive sleep Apnea Oz = Australia PB = Productive Burps PCOS = Polycystic Ovary Syndrome PCP = Primary Care Physician PM = private message (email) PMS = premenstrual syndrome POSE = Primary Obesity Surgery Endolumenal postop or post–op = post-operation or post-surgery PPI = Proton Pump Inhibitors ppl = people preop or pre-op = pre-operation or pre-surgery PTSD = Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder PVC = Premature ventricular contractions RA = Rheumatoid arthritis RH = reactive hypoglycemia RN = registered nurse RNY = Roux-en-Y RTD = ready to drink SADI-S = single anastomosis duodeno–ileal bypass with sleeve gastrectomy s/f or sf = sugar free SIPS = stomach intestinal pylorus-sparing surgery smh = shaking my head, scratching my head SO = significant other SOB = shortness of breath sw = weight at surgery tmi = too much information TPN = total parenteral nutrition TT = tummy tuck TTC = trying to conceive Ty = Thank you. [but according to the urban dictionary “Ty” is also an abbreviation for “a total stud with a massive carrot”.] u = You UGI = Upper Gastrointestinal VSG = Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Vit = Vitamin wks = weeks WLS = Weight Loss Surgery WOD = Workout of the Day w/o = without wt = weight or :-) = = smiley face or :-( = = sad face

Oh yeah they can happen anytime, but since you travel so much it is already less likely to hit you that way, as your system is accustomed to the changes. I would suggest maybe finding a list of band approved Dr.s world wide if possible on the Inamed site---you could carry it with you to have for the area you are going. I mean search the areas you are going, and keep those names & numbers handy. So you could be prepared. Also take the info about your band and port, so if you have to hit an ER somewhere you are armed with your info. You may also have your Dr. prescribe you something for nausea---mine gave me phenergren (sp?) so I would have it to avoid throwing up if possible. All in all, just be as proactive as you can as opposed to waiting to be reactive. I know personally if I prepare for the worst and hope for the best it usually works out, but the time I do not prepare---all hell breaks loose!!! Have fun!!!! Sounds like a great trip! Kat

I am in a very similar situation and am hoping for some advice. I was banded in July 2007 and since then have lost 70 of the 170 of my goal. There was a lot of time in between fills as I moved to Ireland two years after being banded and then to India for six months where I lost 40 of the 70lbs and now I'm back in the US. I went in for a fill about a year ago and then around 4 months ago started having issues where I was vomiting nasty black tar in the middle of the night and had HORRIBLE reflux. Just yesterday it was determined that my band had slipped slightly. My band is now empty and will be for the next couple of months, I only had 2cc in my band in the first place and now my nurse is telling me I can NEVER be that full again :-( this news to me is basically telling me I'll be basically empty forever! I'm so discouraged and I don't really know what to do. Has anyone ever been told after a slippage that they can never be as full as they were when the slippage occurred? Also what are some opinions on why I may be stalled? I was diagnosed with hypo thyroidism and am currently not on medication. (long story short my husband doesn't really understand the culture of being medicated here and he doesn't feel I should be "wasting money" on taking medication for hypothryoidism. He thinks that me being overweight is simply my fault for not eating as well as I could be [even though in my opinion I don't eat THAT badly]) on top of that it's hard for me to get my Protein in because he is also a vegetarian and thinks that meat and cheese is bad for you and god forbid I be able to convince him otherwise. I'm at a loss, I don't understand why I'm not losing anymore and I don't know what to do about my hypothyroidism and I'm not sure what to think about never being able to go above 2cc again either! please help!

I have hypo thyroid as well. I'm 5 1/2 mos post op and have lost 92 pounds so far. 74 since being sleeved. Still have 50 to go. I was surprised at my 2 month blood work that my T4 was actually high and my Doc had to decrease my meds.

I had my sleeve April 4 in June I had an episode in a grocery story were I passed out. The episode happened twice in about a 45 min period. Went to the hospital all tests were normal. I chalked it up to waiting to long to eat but followed up with my primary care. She did a 3 hour glucose test and found within an hour my insulin level went from 10 at fasting to 211, for those not aware that's and unheard of level, which she has seen one other time and that was in someone who had also had Bariatric surgery but she was 2 years post op not 3 months. She put me on metformin hoping to regulate and I ate about every 3 hours. I thought it was takin care of until out of nowhere I had another episode a few weeks ago and have felt pretty poorly since. I can never catch a sugar drop at least not at levels I believe should make me pass out. I get a continuous glucose monitor this week to wear for a week and have an endocrinologist appt at the end of the month. I can't find much research on this issue but my doc did give me an article about it. Essentially your body thinks its starving so it over reacts to food it gets producing too much insulin dropping your blood sugar ( sort of reactive hypoglycemia but a more intense reaction). And can actually cause your pancreas to grow. I am so pumped about my weight loss ( 80 lbs in 5 months) but I did this to be healthier too and I have followed surgeons/ nuts instructions to a T and feel very discouraged by this development. Has any one else experienced this? Essentially it's nothing I am doing wrong it's just a negative reaction my body has decided to have following surgery. But again not much research out there so I thought maybe some of you may have insight.

"Bottom line there is not a "easy" solution no matter what you do" I'm truly hoping that you didn't mean to suggest that those who get banded assume they've found an "easy" solution to their weight problem. The people here who've had success have worked their weight off. I have hypothyroidism. I have been taking medication for it since, oh, the early '90s. My level gets checked twice a year, and it's been stable for as long as I can remember. I've successfully lost over 100 pounds, so hypos can succeed at weight loss. (The only problem was me gaining the weight back by overeating high calorie foods and stopping my exercise program.) You are making a really strong statement to us about our personal health choices, but you also state "I'll take what I can get" when it comes to your own doctor and treatment. You "know more than any nutritionist", but have you consulted more than the one that disappointed you? I appreciate your concern for my well-being, but my own experiences and the faith I have in my own decisions will guide me.

I have hypo thyroid and I was sleeved on June 17 ad I have lost 37 pounds just in the first month!

I've had thyroid disease for many years. I've had more than one Endocrinologist tell me "you can't blame everything on your thyroid". Like being overweight, thyroid disease does run in families so it's very likely that you could have a thyroid problem. If you're being advised to take thyroid medication by a PCP, don't take it! Go to an Endocrinologist and have your thyroid function checked. The biggest mistake people make is listening to a doctor who has no clue what they're dealing with. See a specialist. When you start toying with your thyroid function you are playing with more than just your weight. Your thyroid controls a host of functions in your body that you won't even think of. Over-medication, under-medication, and non-medication of your thyroid can causing lifelong damage to your other glands and organs. If your TSH level is between 1.5 and 5.5 and a doctor puts you on thyroid medication that doctor is a quack. That is a normal thyroid function and medication can cause your thyroid to become hyperactive, which is just as bad as hypo. In all the years I've been on thyroid medication I've not been able to lose the weight I want to lose. My thyroid function has been in normal range for many years. I lose some weight, then it just stops. I eat a healthy diet always and see my Endo every 3 months to have my TSH checked. Sorry to sound like a medical journal. My thyroid almost killed me several years ago and I hate to see anyone taking chances with theirs...I hate even worse to see doctors handing out thyroid medication.