Carrie P

Sure! Right now, we're focusing on mindfulness. I have a dissociative disorder. Basically, I'm pretty much on auto pilot all the time and never really take time to "feel" my feelings. I'm working on keeping myself grounded. I have to check in with my body several times a day. It's not natural for me to do that; so there's been a learning curve. I'm told that it will become easier the more I practice it. This is good because I tend to numb my feelings; especially with food. One of the exercises that she has me doing is to every once in a while, look around wherever I'm at and pick five things to look at. I then have to name five descriptive things about it. For instance, right now I'm in my bedroom. I see my salt lamp. It's amber colored and sits on a smooth, round base. It almost looks like a craggy mountain top, with snow (lighter colored salt) resting on the top. It creates a warm ambiance as the light shines through the salt. It was a gift from my husband. I also use this exercise when I'm hungry or feeling anxious. It helps to ground me in the moment so that I can identify what's really going on and make decisions based in the rational part of my brain instead of the survival part of my brain. I do journal, but that is for my own self. She hasn't asked me to do it. Right now, I'm drawing mandalas as part of my journaling. It's interesting to see how they change each day. I got the idea from here: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-28018/want-to-figure-out-your-calling-try-this-10-minute-exercise.html I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.

I see a LCSW that worked for 10 years as a psychotherapist at a center of excellence for eating disorders. She is very good. She is also my yoga instructor. She teaches yoga for Every{Body}. That's how I originally met her. I would look for someone who specializes in eating disorders. Talk to that person and see if you click. Fortunately, there are several good therapists out there who can help.

My band to bypass revision is scheduled for the 25th.

I didn't really set any New Year's resolutions, but I did set an intention last month for the coming year. My intention for the coming year is self discovery.

This makes me feel better to see good results. I am scheduled to have band to bypass on January 25th. I've heard that revision patients tend to lose slower. Any feedback as to how it's gone for all of you who have experience?

I hope someone has been in the same situation I am in and can set my mind at ease. I take Wellbutrin XL and Effexor XR. My surgeon told me to contact my psychiatrist and tell him about my surgery so that he can change my meds. Mainly get me off of the extended release because they can't be crushed. I was also told to ask about liquid meds. I can't imagine being without my medications. Let's just say that I'm not a pleasant person to be around if I miss taking doses for more than two days. I really don't want to go back there mentally. Anyone else with this kind of situation? Were you able to take your meds while on the clear liquid phase? Were you eventually able to take pills again?

I'm sorry. I haven't had my revision surgery yet, but I have been warned by my nurse practitioner. I told my family to be prepared and I'm trying to work on some emotional things now before my surgery with a therapist. Really sorry. I hope you get to feeling better soon.

I highly recommend the Mirena IUD. It is awesome! It can be removed at any time if you wish to become pregnant, but it's good for 5 years. I will never use anything else.

I'm a little confused. Do you think you'll be able to get off of the depression and anxiety meds after surgery? I forgot to take my meds for three days once because I had to take care of something that was totally outside my normal schedule and threw me off. Anyway, I noticed that I was getting pretty irritated with everyone by the end of day one. By the middle of day two, my mood was all over the place. My irritability greatly increased. I just wanted peace and quiet. Day three was bad...so bad...I wound up curled up on my bed sobbing. My husband then asked me if I had taken my meds. I realized that I hadn't. I took them immediately and started feeling much, much better by the next day. So, as far as I'm concerned, they can pry those pills out of my cold, dead hands. I don't plan on getting rid of them anytime soon. I honestly just don't do well without them whether I'm thin or not.

My revision is scheduled for January 25th. I will have the band removed and then have RNY done at the same time. Please keep us updated on your progress!

Thank you to everyone for the answers. I'm calling my psychiatrist next week to get the Wellbutrin XL changed and to see what he says about the Effexor XR. Life is not so great if I forget to take the Effexor...for anyone. I definitely don't want to be having to fight that battle on top of just having surgery. I've also heard that the surgery can make you overly emotional too as you loose weight. Is this because of the hormones released as you lose or something else?

This sounds almost identical to my story. I'm seeing an eating disorder specialist to deal with some of those things from my past and how they affect me now. Sorry, I know it's painful.

I'm seeing an eating disorders specialist for just this reason. I hope that it will help me to wrap my head around everything and learn to be more mindful of my eating.

I just wondered if anyone has had anything like this happen. I have BCBS NC insurance. I'll give you the Reader's Digest version of my history. Lap Band in 2008. My surgery weight was 258 and I lost down to 227. That's it. I never got any further no matter what I did. I got pregnant, gained weight, and then have failed to lose it. I started eating slider foods and gained a little more weight. Then, the heartburn kicked in. It led me back to my doctor even though I was ashamed of the weight I'd regained. I had an Xray, an EGD, and a barium swallow. My band is in the right place. It hasn't slipped. No H. Pylori. They didn't see any reflux on the barium swallow. I beg to differ since I was hurting pretty badly and having that awful left shoulder pain after the procedure. Anyway, my surgeon has recommended that I get a revision to gastric bypass. Today the insurance company said they wouldn't cover it because it wasn't medically necessary. They also told me to have my surgeon call so they can do a peer review. Any success stories for something like this?

Update: My surgeon did a peer-to-peer review and my insurance was approved! Yay! Whatever the reason, the Lap Band just didn't work for me. However, it has worked for a lot of people. I wish it had, but it is what it is. :-)

Life insurance... which still makes no sense to me.

Thank you. We already did that. My surgeon just called me and he's getting on the phone with insurance. He said that I'm one of those people that the band just didn't work for. My insurance covers revision in that instance as well. He said he's confident that he can get the decision overturned. I'm crossing my fingers.

Thank you for your insight. However, I had been following the diet. In fact, with a few exceptions, I'm still eating like I would with the band. My band is empty right now. I've been on Prilosec about 2 months now and am feeling better; but I'm also more hungry. What I didn't say was every time they try to add Fluid to the band now, I get heartburn...even though the barium swallow didn't show reflux. It did show irritation near the pyloric valve consistent with my symptoms though. The slider foods started after I started having heartburn when I would try to eat solid Protein.So, I started eating more cottage cheese, tuna with mayo, etc. I'm also wanting to revise to gastric bypass. I have been on the struggling lap band board as well as both the sleeve and bypass revision boards. I'm just asking about insurance.

This is probably a silly question, but here goes...do you lose pubic fat (FUPA) when you lose weight? If so, does it get saggy? Is it a problem or no? Sorry, genuinely curious about what to look forward to.

Well, it appears that I will not be one of the lucky ones. I imagine there will be some sag and extra skin. Hopefully, insurance will cover plastics if it causes a big problem.

You've already gotten some great advice. I'm a failed Lap Band patient and am waiting for insurance approval for gastric bypass. So, I'm no expert with weight loss, but I am an expert at being poor. Once upon a time, I was in very bad financial shape. eggs are cheap. They don't have to be cooked into muffins. They can be prepared a lot of different ways. Cottage cheese, Beans, etc. You can do a lot if you add in broccoli, edamame, lentils (you can season this like taco meat for a mexican twist), peas, and asparagus are all pretty high in Protein for vegetables. Frozen vegetables are usually less expensive than fresh. I'm not sure what you can have for Snacks that might not cause problems. I'm assuming pretty much anything since you don't experience dumping. Apple slices with a little Peanut Butter? I understand how bad bipolar 2 can be. My daughter suffers from bipolar disorder and there are some days that she can barely get out of bed. Keep getting up and trying each day. Be kind to yourself and break down overwhelming things into small jobs. Lists help too. Sending good thoughts!

Hi everyone, I've been a frequent lurker, but I have not interacted on the boards. I now find myself in a position that I'm unsure about and could use some feedback. I was banded in 2008. I haven't had any problems until semi recently. Two weeks ago all of the fluid was taken out of my band because I started having bad heartburn while I was sick with a summer cold. Oddly enough, this was just a little over a week after seeing my Lap Band doc and being advised to consider revision to either sleeve or gastric bypass due to not really seeing much in results. My surgery weight was 258. My lowest weight was 221. Current weight is 247. Anyway, since having all of the fluid removed, my body is all kinds of messed up. I can actually eat LESS than I could with the band. I eat, I get heartburn. I get too hungry, I get heartburn. I eat solid foods too close to bedtime, I get heartburn. I'm also experiencing lots of gas and some bloating almost every time I eat something, Yesterday, it happened with water. Now, I'm on Prilosec per my doctor. I have an EGD scheduled for Thursday of next week as well as a barium swallow the day after. They've already done an x-ray and they say that my band is in the correct position. So, I'll have some answers soon, but I want to know if anyone has any kind of experiences that might give some clue as to what's happening. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

Shrinking Meme...I was just coming back to see if you got any answers. I'm sorry you're going through this. We're still waiting on some answers for me. They didn't see evidence of GERD in the esophogus or a hernia, but my duodenum and pyloric valve was very swollen, irritated, and red. They did a biopsy and we are awaiting the results. They suspect that I have an H. Pylori infection. I did two weeks of Prilosec and am feeling a bit better, but I'm being super careful and am primarily still on liquids. Grammy, I'm glad your Lap Band has worked for you. Mine wasn't giving me any trouble until recently and I had my surgery 8 years ago. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for a lot of people for various reasons. The UNC Bariatric team that I go to will no longer perform Lap Bands due to all of the complications they've dealt with. So, now my options are VSG or bypass. I haven't fully decided, but the VSG scares me much less than the bypass. We all have to do what works for us. Thank you for all the replies and good luck wishes. I am wishing all of you the best of luck too!

Tvaz - I'm thinking the same thing. I have all of the symptoms anyway.

I love cottage cheese with pepper, garlic powder, and paprika on it. I also like to mix it with salsa and a dollop of sour cream for a dip. Good stuff!