Wow, I'm scared. - ThinnerTimes - Gastric Bypass Forum, Lap Band Forum, and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum

SharonDalton · 02-16-2009, 12:13 PM

Hi, my name is Sharon and I am interested in having Gastric Band surgery. I had my first appointment today and the information was a little overwhelming. Can anyone tell me from experience how their surgery went, what it was like, and how their coping with it. What about hair loss? What can you do to prevent it? Also, is it very painful to have the surgery? What does it feel like? Do you feel any pain in your stomach daily? Thanks for your replies.

Sharon

Sparkles · 02-16-2009, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SharonDalton

Hi, my name is Sharon and I am interested in having Gastric Band surgery. I had my first appointment today and the information was a little overwhelming. Can anyone tell me from experience how their surgery went, what it was like, and how their coping with it. What about hair loss? What can you do to prevent it? Also, is it very painful to have the surgery? What does it feel like? Do you feel any pain in your stomach daily? Thanks for your replies.

Sharon

Hi Sharon, I am a newbie too. Sorry I can’t be much help but hopefully you will get all the info you need. This site seems to be a great help! Good Luck!

sassy37 · 02-16-2009, 12:41 PM

Hi Sharon and welcome to TT ..
I had a gastric band in the Uk 4 months ago , I feel great and havent had any hair loss .
Check my pics out I posted some new ones today as I hit my 4 stone loss thats 56 pounds .
Surgery was uncomfy but not too painful , The gas pains are the worst .
If I can be of any help just ask away .

Good luck in your decision
Sara x

terriB · 02-16-2009, 01:17 PM

I had surgery just over 3 months ago. The surgery itself wasn't painful. I won't say it was fun and everyone goes through a time where they get buyers remorse but it gets easier. What was harder for me was the working up to getting the surgery done. The hair loss has been hitting me recently I hope it will end soon but so far I don't see a difference in the thickness just that alot more are all over my body. Hair loss is a part of anesthesia and changes in your body not just weight loss surgery. Everyone tells me the hair will grow back. Oh well I will have to wait a long time due to having almost waist length hair.

Vikkator · 02-16-2009, 03:19 PM

Hi Sharon and welcome. I'm about 3 1/2 months out and have had a fairly easy time of it so far, except I have had pneumonia for the past month which is unrelated to the surgery.

Surgery wasn't painful for me, pain meds helped, and I had no complications. I'm down close to 60 pounds overall, 53 since 11/4. I'm thrilled to put on my skinny clothes and bagged up all of my fat clothes over the weekend and they're going off to Goodwill tomorrow. I started using Rogaine and taking biotin before surgery and so far haven't had any issues with hair loss, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I lose hair, but just a few. It's not coming out in chunks or anything like that. My hair stylist also recommended I use a hair thickener, which makes my hair appear thicker.

This surgery is the best gift I've ever given to myself. Now if I can only get over the pneumonia I can get on with my life and start feeling really good.

Mssunnytx · 02-16-2009, 04:52 PM

Hi Sharon,

Welcome :-)

I had my surgery 3 1/2 weeks ago...I feel great...just got back from Mardi Gras so you know the surgery doesn't keep you down very long...

I had alot of pain for the first couple of days but they the doctors are great with pain control and you will get plenty of pain killers...

I have had no complications. I never get hungry and have to force myself to eat. I am struggling to get in the recommended amounts of protein...I am struggling just to get in food :-0

I would say it is the best gift I have ever given myself after having been fat for 20 years.

I can not wait until I am throwing away my plus size clothing and BUYING NEW TRENDY CLOTHES....

My only regret is I wish I had done it sooner....

Counting the liquid diet pre-surgery I have already lost 28lbs....

:-) GOOD LUCK!!

Marella · 02-16-2009, 05:08 PM

Hi Sharon, I had my surgery over 9 months ago. It was an open RNY, but even still, the recovery went great.

For me, I do not feel anything different internally. I feel quite normal. Adapting to the new way of eating is a challenge for anyone, but since you have to adapt, you just do.

I've had minimal hair loss, very insignificant. My NUT tells our group to eat high protein meals beginning 3 months prior to surgery, which is the lifecycle hair growth and this may minimize hair loss. My diet was always high protein, so maybe that's why my hair loss was minimal. Others suggest biotin.

Post-op life has been great. As I adjusted to losing, I became more determined to continue to lose more. Some people become real fiends for exercising and going to the gym. That wasn't me. My body pain still limits me in what I can do, so I basically just do weight training with wrist and ankle weights AND I get my heart going by walking my dog and using my Gazelle. All things I did very rarely prior to WLS.

Good luck, Sharon. May I recommend "Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies". It's a great book that can help eliminate all of that overwhelming information that was thrown at you at the seminar. It covers both RNY and banding. Read a little each day and you'll feel more comfortable and confident with going forward toward surgery and your choice of procedure. It will give you more insight into what to expect, and in a very down-to-earth manner.