Unsure

I am so undecided. I have to face that fact that I have a weight problem. Not just a weight problem but probably an eating disorder. My weight has gone up and down for years but I am 5'6 and 230 right now. I have hypothyroidism, PCOS, I'm tired all the time, I'm depressed most of the time, I never leave the house except for work or stuff with the kids. So without giving the boring rundown of my life, I got divorced a few years ago and my weight balooned. I have tried everything. Now I am looking at lapband and my father and coworkers are not supportive. They tell me to eat less and exercise. My sister tells me to take hoodia. Everyone has a plan for ME. Any advice???

I'm so retarded..now that I've made a decision to do it, I'm all happy. I have one concern. I am at a BMI of 37.1. I have medical reasons to get approved but they want me to do a low carb diet pre-op. We're going to have to hope the insurance doesn't drag it out b/c I am not 40 BMI. I am taking the kids to Disney the beginning of June so I have to wait until after that. I can't wait!

What is PB?

So Dr. Spivak's office gave me a pre and post op instruction list to help me make my decision to band or not to. They said my type of UHC typically takes 30-45 days to approve so I should be able (crossing fingers) to make my target date of June 15thish or so. One concern I have is I notice there is no carb beverages. NO MORE LIME DIET COKE??!?!??! Oh my. I have struggled with drinking 10-12 of those a day for years now. I haven't been able to give up the taste or the caffeine and literally crave them. What is so special about the banding that gives people the will power that they didn't normally have before? I mean, how can I give something up that I haven't been able to so far??? help! I'm getting scared.....

I vote no, this is ridiculous. I only chose that one because the thought has never crossed my mind so I couldn't pick that one. I can say that I don't find it ridiculous. I can't speak for everyone's emotional place and I can sure see where extended morbid obesity would be draining and saddening.

WOW!! 3 days!!! How's the incisions? How well are you getting around? This is mad exciting for me to have you going first!

OK...so I talked to a friend of my sister's who is a registered counsellor. I had my med records that have 5 years of weight for the dr. to use for the insurance approval. She said...I have been overweight for 5 years, I have to face that. It's not always morbidly obese but it's enough to note. So I have decided to go forward. I am going to start counselling this coming week and make sure that I don't transfer addictions. I used to be a social drinker and loved to party. When I stopped, I started eating. I have decided it's time to take my life back.

yes! Thank you so much! That makes sense. My dr. is Spivak, as well! i just noticed that in your sig.

Thanks everyone for your responses!! I got pregnant at 17...my first year at college. Back then, they knew less about PCOS and diagnosed me with endometriosis before I had ever had sex. I was told I'd never conceive so I never used birth control. I got pregnant FAST. After that, I had no fertility issues and the PCOS didn't rear its head in force until I got the depoprovera shot. Now my body doesn't want to lose. So can someone explain why an eating disorder won't be fixed with the banding? What IS the banding's purpose? I'm not being facetious....I've been reading and it seems it's for people who have tried all else and can't lose. Wouldn't all obese people arguably have an eating disorder in order to BE obese? Again, I'm not being facetious...I'm trying to sort my way through the realization and some understanding of how I got here.