Will I ever feel normal...

[donna12 742]

I'm 15 mos post op and 73 lbs down. Has it been easy, yes and no. As some of you know I've had my share of probs. The first six months I was sickly with bouts of nausea and vomiting due to a sick and diseased gallbladder so my lap band surgeon is also a gen surgeon admitted me and did gallbladder surgery this past December. Well, got that behind me, then I started losing my hair and toenails, couldn't walk because my toes were bandaged up and couldn't wear shoes, so that put a damper on exercising for 4 months. To this day I'm still losing hair and nails and still don't know what is causing it, lots of blood work has been done all is normal. I do my best to get Protein in, I drink a shake every morning and other 2 meals I have at least fish or meat or cottage cheese. Now, for the last couple of weeks I've been battling inner ear probs that landed me in the hospital in Nashville thinking it was a TIA because I couldn't walk and was falling but all tests showed negative for stroke, thank goodness and turned out it is inner ear. Now I'm on Meclizine 3x a day and that in itself zones me out and makes me sleep 24/7 and as if I weren't dizzy and lightheaded enough the Meclizine causes this too. I'm nauseated along with this and this medicine is suppose to help with that and its not. I called my ENT today and he said to continue to take the Meclizine for 2 weeks and since I've only been on it for 4 days I won't see results yet. I was so upset with that answer that I turned around and called my PCP and he said the same thing, well okie dokie, I will do that then. But in the meantime am I suppose to just sleep 24/7 and stay nauseated and dizzy and swimmy head. It's a good thing I live with my mom because I am unable to drive anywhere, I'm still staggering around. I'm at the end of my rope. Will I ever feel normal again...

Seems like ever since lap band surgery I've gone downhill Healthwise, yes I am sooooo happy I've lost the weight and would do it all over again but I sure do feel yucky all of the time.

Went to Walmart tonight and had to hang onto the buggy even to walk, I looked like an idiot because my 74 yr old mom needed it to balance her to walk and here I was hanging on it too, sheesh. Laugh I know, its funny. I will be glad when I can wake up one morning and say boy do I feel great today.

Sorry for the vent.

[Debbie3sons 1,936]

Maybe the doctors can lowerthe dosage till u get used to the meds, you have been thru a lot in this past year so try to stay positive and keep up your weight loss you have done great take more Calcium if you can ithis may sound funny but see if your grocery store sells pre natal Vitamins over the counter and take what it says it may help with the hair and nail situation even if your not pregnant I know it makes your hair grow fast and your nails get stronger iI haven"t taken them for 16 yrs. as my youngest is 17 now , but I think I am going thru menapause cause I am , my pcp and Mother r noticing things I am going thru & doing uh oh lol.

[donna12 742]

Debbie thank you for the suggestions, I will ck into prenatal vit. I do take Biotin daily. I didn't mean to sound like ho hum downer its just I wish for one day I could literally get up and feel great for once since surgery last yr.

[Lori45 70]

I'm sorry to here ur struggles . I'm a nurse and have a few suggestions u might go over with ur primary care. Inner ear infections can linger for awhile and literally make u crawl across the floor. U might call ur dr and let him know ur not tolerating the meclizine very well and see if they might prescribe a scopolamine patch. This is for motion sickness, altitudes, etc. helps with dizziness and nausea just tiny fits behind ur ear. Won't make u tired. Might be worth a try. Goodluck!!!!

[HotButterFly 981]

Don't apologize for venting, we are here to listen to you. I'm sorry you're struggling and I pray there's a ray of relieve in your situation soon. Best wishes. My hairdresser introduced me to a product for hair loss. It's garlic based, has a little garlic odor (that goes away) and works MIRACLES!! I first bought the small 5 bottle, and before I finished it, I saw a difference in the amount of hair that fell out. I would be more than happy to mail you a bottle, free of charge, and if you like the product, we can have some kind of arrangement. PM me

Feel better!!

I should say its in liquid form and goes directly on your scalp. You can use it every 3 or 4 days. You apply to scalp and leave it in.

[jsws91 153]

my 15 year old went through the dizziness thing too. he was put on the meclizine and valium as well. he had to miss the last month of school last year. but after about 6 weeks and lots of tests, the dizziness went away and he no longer has to take the meds. all of his tests were negative too. he was so sleepy all of the time also. I tell you this to let you know that it will go away, but it takes some time. it was a very strange episode. praying for you!

[jfarmer03 20]

Praying that everything gets better for you. Sooty to hear about your struggles.

[TheDuchess 106]

Don't ever be sorry for venting - This forum is meant to support one another. Some of us have an easy time, others a more difficult time - you seem to be getting the short end of the stick for sure!

Sorry to hear of all your difficulties, I'll pray that answers are found and healing comes to you. My heart hurts just hearing about all of this - I too wonder if I'll ever feel normal, and I don't even have the band yet! I wonder if weight loss will simply shift my focus to other imperfections I have or if it truly will help me. You've gone through a lot, and I'm sure there's a reason for it, even if you can't see it yet, sweetie.

Ultimately, we must remember that so much of our process is mental, keep a positive outlook, count your blessings, vent your frustrations, and do what it takes to have a healthy and balanced soul, mind, and body.

[Debbie3sons 1,936]

Their right don't worry about being a (Debbie Downer) Lmao cause we r here to healp each other no matter what I do like the more positive tho as in yours , mine & others weight loss and how we still learn things about each others journey being banded , and I hope you do find things that help hope you get better and stay healthy but do try to remember you have put more years on your life just by changing your eating habits so kudos to you and remember at least you wake up every morning and and r more healthy now than you we're before & keep smiling remember people will wander what your up to or in our case down to lol but do keep posting whatever .

[donna12 742]

thank you all so very much, this touches my heart. Yes Debbie, I wanted to use the phrase "Debbie downer" but didn't...lol, I am still taking my meds for inner ear, missed church this morning because it makes me sleepy and I couldn't get up. Luckily the sermons are on the church's website and I can listen after tomorrow, Lord knows I need it!

Still battling the nausea and dizziness with this inner ear mess. Only thing that sounds good to me is Soup and I know I'm not taking in a lot of cals or enough so my body is going into starvation mode and I'm not losing any but nothing sounds good to eat. Also have been reading that salt and sugar and any processed or canned foods or cheese and bananas are not good for you while having symptoms. Well, I'm bummed because I've been eating canned Soups, cottage cheese and I make my own Protein shakes every morning with Protein powder, 1/2 frozen banana and vanilla light soy milk. I'm at my witts end as to what to do about eating now because in order to get my Protein in that is why i do a Protein shake every morning and the powder is choc flavor and it isn't really good with berries. Heck I don't know what to do. I see my PCP Friday for a 3 month ck up maybe he can shed some light on the situation. Thank you all again for suggestions and concerns. Much appreciated.

[catfish87 3,471]

Donna,

Sorry to hear of your struggle with the inner ear issue...hoping it passes soon.

Do you by chance like Lentils? Reason I ask, is you mention the only thing that sounds good is Soup. And youre struggling with enough Protein. I make this quite often....its hearty, super easy, and lots of Protein.< /p>

Keep in mind, its NOT necessarily low cal/low fat....but it is high protein, and I never have any problem eating it.

Take a package of country ham pieces, the very little pieces, (provided you like it and not too much salt for your likings or any dietary restrictions), put it a pot with a diced up onion. Cook til the onions are pretty done, about 10 minutes. Put in a bag of lentils and about 10 cups of Water. Add any other of your favorite seasonings. Cover it and bring to just a slight boil. About 30 minutes later, YUMMY! And you know exactly whats in it. Last me a few days....unless I take the pot to work. Then it last about 30 minutes! You could also use smoked jowl cut into small pieces as well. Goes wonderful on a cool fall day, watching some Big Blue basketball!

[Debbie3sons 1,936]

Make sure and write down everything you want to ask your Pcp and let them know how you have been feeling and like I said see if they can lower the dosage or what the othe person said about the patch also you might try the musle milk or core Protein ready drinks to get your protein in, I have been doing kind Protein Bars they have some tasty ones it does have just a bit of sugar I think 5 grams but I like those when I am feeling blah and don't want to eat or do anything , but I hope they get you on the right track also I just went for my well woman visit and my Pcp did more labs on me since it has been a year so I will find out if anything is wrong or good soon,

[donna12 742]

catfish I will def try the Soup, sounds good and yes I will soon be watching some UK basketball for us both, go big blue...lol It will soon be that time of year won't it. Debbie, I am going to Walmart tomorrow and hope to pk up a few Protein bars, I like the cliff ones but will ck the sugars since I read that article on inner ear causes. Thought I'd be brave this morning and eat 2 pcs of cinnamon toast, well it didn't get toasted enough and got stuck and puked it back up, and boy do I mean puked it back up,, went soft for the next 2 meals today. I should have known better but it sounded good to me. live and learn.

Still learning here...

Donna