KikiM

Hi everyone I am 42, married, no kids, busy with 4 jobs. One of them is writing restaurant reviews. Some things are going to have to change there. I have type II diabetes, practically no "good" cholesterol and chronic pain issues that make it hard to work out. My relationship with food is somewhat self-comforting, but I am so into it as a hobby - studying regional cuisines, writing about it, photographing it, cooking, blogging...I guess if Al Roker could do it I can. Just in moderation and maybe becoming obsessed with finding the healthiest recipes or something. My Dr has been trying to get me to have the lap band for years. Although I am only 80 pounds over my ideal weight, by BMI is crazy and my waist measurement is 44. Family history of stroke and heart attack add to his fears for me. Tomorrow I am going to go in and tell him I have made my decision and to start the process. I am just so afraid to be cut into - the Drs have also been trying to get my uterus out for years but I am so freaked out about operations. I am having panic attacks now that I have decided to do this. Maybe that will affect my psych eval? I have depression and anxiety, but research shows women with depression show marked improvement 1 year after lap-banding so maybe it will be OK. I don't know if they x-ray or ultrasound first - my family weirdly has their appendix behind the stomache instead of where it belongs. I don't know - weird farm inbreeding??? My brother almost died because his appendix burst while they insisted it was heartburn. They had to open my uncle up in 3 places before they found his. Also there might be endometriosis in there - no clue. Maybe I am full of candy and prizes like a pinata. Anyways, it seems of all the expert sites the forums are always know the most and give the best advice, so here I am, putting myself in your hands.

Thanks everyone. I will keep you updated.

Thanks everyone. I am so discouraged. I went to the DR today and he said he doesn't recommend the lapband. He recommends gastric bypass. I spoke to my husband who was in the original appt with me and he verifies that it was lap-band the Dr suggested and I am not crazy. The Dr says gastric changes your metabolism, is more effective and you lose weight much more quickly. He asked why I didn't research it more and I said, "I spent a month researching LAP BANDS, which is what you TOLD ME." It makes me wonder how thoroughly he has considered the treatment's appropriateness for me if he just suddenlt changes. Maybe the gastro salesman just took him out on his yacht. He was also concerned about band slippage. I asked, "What is going to happen? Will it wrap itself around my duodenum and kill me?" He said No, they would just re-do it and I was like, and that is more drastic than having them cut my intestines and take parts of them out and re-connect them to my stomach in a different way? I'll take the belt replacement any day. I don't know. Maybe he gets me confused with other patients. he said, "Well, we have to do SOMETHING." So he will accept lapband tho it is not his favorite. He said some insurances may require 6 months of "medically supervised diet" like Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem first, but that the psych stuff and med requirements should be easy to pass. He said if I don't have to do 6 months of diet, it should be done asap. He is the top endocrinologist for Diabetes in the world. In spite of the weird bait-and-switch there are no better Drs out there. And I would still have the lap band people to counsel me in a more sensitive fashion. I also got a therapist referral. I have to go to work now and I'm trying not to cry, so thanks for being here for me.

What does it feel like when food gets stuck? How do you un-stick it?

I don't know what they will do if they find endometriosis. I assumed they would go back for it later. Maybe my repro endocrinologist will have to be at the ready in the OR. Maybe I can just tell them to keep taking organs out until I look thinner. I resisted the "old" surgeries because I do love food, and heard so many awful stories of people drinking awful chalky diet drinks and vomitng on themselves in airplanes and having to sit there like that - eeek! But this sounds perfect for me - my problem is not so much self-control as a huge appetite and curiosity about food. But it looks like I can maybe choose to have the lap band not taken down as tightly. I still want to eat maybe 4 oz of food. I could happily live with a deck of cards for a meal. I only need one bite of foods to be able to review them. Also, Carnation Instant Breakfast was mentioned and I can totally live with that. Even the sugar-free kind. What kinds of foods aren't tolerated? I heard that healthy foods like lettuce can by hard to digest. I noticed someone else saying here that they learned which foods would "slip through" the band and I immediately imagined a diet of Skittles and M&Ms.