looking for wise counsel ;-)

[larrytricia 0]

well, bummer. I just wrote my life story with all kinds of questions and lost it all before it posted. how frustrating... LOL.. Well, I am now doing a readers digest version.

I have not had the proceedure yet and am really struggling with whether to do it or not. I am a morbidly obese woman (almost 300 pounds) and have thought about having this proceedure for many years. I have never done anything about it because I always tell myself if I am going to have to control my eating after a proceedure then dang it, I can control it without a proceedure. Well, I have proven this not to be successful for me so far.

In addition to this weight issue, I have been having some female issues and was scheduled for an exploratory last week. It seems that my doctor was not able to complete the exploratory because I am to fat (not from a lack of trying, I am black and blue and sore). The recovery from this has been very surprising. I have found myself literally carrying my stomach around because letting it go pulls so hard on the incision and muscles it is very painful. I told my doctor today that there is no way we can do a full incision surgery unless I loose some of this weight. One strange thing came out of this surgery though. I found myself with NO desire to eat. I could not think of any foods that sounded good or that I wanted to eat for a week after the proceedure. It is starting to come back to me know, of course.. LOL.. I asked if the doctor thought it might have been from beating my stomach up, but he thinks it was just from the combination of painkillers. But it got me wondering if there is any relief of desire for eating after the lap band proceedures. I was hoping that maybe with something on your stomach it would decrease that desire for food all day long. So here I am again trying to figure out what to do. I am thinking about taking the referral for the specialist, but thought I would get better information from people that have been there. If you can sure your experience and/or advice, I would really appreciate it.

I have several questions I have been trying to figure out.

Is there a decrease in your desire or cravings for food with this proceedure?

Why do you think you were not able to decrease your food intake before the surgery if you are able to after it? (I am scared I would just eat past it if nothing changes)

How bad was the recovery?

What do you say now that you have done it and did you think it would help you before you had it done?

I would sure appreciate any advice you can give. I am really scared to do this and to not do this. I just don't know.

Thanks,

Tricia

[beernut 0]

Is there a decrease in your desire or cravings for food with this proceedure?

Why do you think you were not able to decrease your food intake before the surgery if you are able to after it? (I am scared I would just eat past it if nothing changes)

How bad was the recovery?

What do you say now that you have done it and did you think it would help you before you had it done?

I would sure appreciate any advice you can give. I am really scared to do this and to not do this. I just don't know.

Thanks,

Tricia

Hi Tricia!

I'll answer your questions as best I can.

~ My appetite has gone down in general since having the surgery. I do tend to get really hungry the week before my period starts but other than that, each day is different. If I notice my hunger is consistantly growing, I schedule a fill. Hunger and cravings are easier to deal with now because my emotional connection to food is dramatically less than it was prior to being banded.

~ The recovery hurt more than I thought since I tend to bounce back from things like childbirth and gallbladder removal, but it wasn't awful. The first week was the worst.

~ I'm pathetically grateful to have had this surgery done. As my weight has dropped, my worries have also dropped. It's so nice not to worry about fitting in chairs or shopping for the limited and pricey amount of plus-sized clothing and just feeling more comfortable with myself in general. I did worry about whether or not the surgery would work since it's pretty easy to find stories about it not working for other people but I figured it was worth a shot.

I was never scared about the surgery but my dh, who's also morbidly obese, is and it's the one thing holding him back from having it done. I so wish he would but that's his choice to make as it is for you as well. Good luck making your decision!

[isaviolinist 11]

well, bummer. I just wrote my life story with all kinds of questions and lost it all before it posted. how frustrating... LOL.. Well, I am now doing a readers digest version.

I have not had the proceedure yet and am really struggling with whether to do it or not. I am a morbidly obese woman (almost 300 pounds) and have thought about having this proceedure for many years. I have never done anything about it because I always tell myself if I am going to have to control my eating after a proceedure then dang it, I can control it without a proceedure. Well, I have proven this not to be successful for me so far.

In addition to this weight issue, I have been having some female issues and was scheduled for an exploratory last week. It seems that my doctor was not able to complete the exploratory because I am to fat (not from a lack of trying, I am black and blue and sore). The recovery from this has been very surprising. I have found myself literally carrying my stomach around because letting it go pulls so hard on the incision and muscles it is very painful. I told my doctor today that there is no way we can do a full incision surgery unless I loose some of this weight. One strange thing came out of this surgery though. I found myself with NO desire to eat. I could not think of any foods that sounded good or that I wanted to eat for a week after the proceedure. It is starting to come back to me know, of course.. LOL.. I asked if the doctor thought it might have been from beating my stomach up, but he thinks it was just from the combination of painkillers. But it got me wondering if there is any relief of desire for eating after the lap band proceedures. I was hoping that maybe with something on your stomach it would decrease that desire for food all day long. So here I am again trying to figure out what to do. I am thinking about taking the referral for the specialist, but thought I would get better information from people that have been there. If you can sure your experience and/or advice, I would really appreciate it.

I have several questions I have been trying to figure out.

Is there a decrease in your desire or cravings for food with this proceedure?

Why do you think you were not able to decrease your food intake before the surgery if you are able to after it? (I am scared I would just eat past it if nothing changes)

How bad was the recovery?

What do you say now that you have done it and did you think it would help you before you had it done?

I would sure appreciate any advice you can give. I am really scared to do this and to not do this. I just don't know.

Thanks,

Tricia

Hi Tricia Welcome to LBT. This forum is a great collection of peoples' experience with the band, both good and bad. So read up on here and you'll get a decent variety of different experiences from all different kinds of people.

Here are answers to some of your questions. For the cravings, lapband did and didn't help with this. There are many carbs that I don't have cravings for anymore (bread specifically). I haven't eaten a sandwich on bread almost since I was banded (I think I had a sandwich on flat bread once before I had any restriction but thats the last time I can remember). I do have a bite of crust (if its really hard) when we go out to dinner now and again but I can take it or leave it (and usually I leave it). Before banding, I loved to eat hoagies and things like that, but I don't care about it anymore. I also don't have big cravings for Pasta (with the exception of mac and cheese) or rice (I used to eat sushi and maki a lot but I dont anymore and am fine with it). HOWEVER, I STILL have serious cravings for sweets and Desserts. I also have eating issues at night (always have) where I just crave anything. I'm thinking of going to therapy for this however - to try and sort out some of my head issues. The band will not help you out with your head issues surrounding food.

The recovery, for me, was really easy. The port pain took the longest to go away. I was up and walking around the day of surgery. I walked a few blocks the next day. Getting up and down took some effort the first week but it wasn't horrible. And actually I didn't have the bad gas pains most people talk about.

I did think it would help me before I was banded and I still feel that way. I lost 80 pounds really fast and then regained a lot of the weight shortly thereafter. I've lost most of the weight I regained but even the process of gaining and relosing was a learning experience for me. I have a much deeper understanding of my relationship with food. And I also know that I NEVER want to go back to that place of regaining weight that I lost.

For me, even with all the ups and downs, unpredictability, extensive follow-up care, I really feel that the band has saved my life. But its a personal decision that everyone really must make for themselves.

[reverie 49]

I say take some time, maybe talk to a surgeon about having Lapband to see if it's right for you. I don't regret my decision one bit! Per your questions:

Is there a decrease in your desire or cravings for food with this proceedure? I was never one that "craved" food, if anything I starved myself all day and went nuts when I was home/around food. I can honestly say that now food is not a big part of my life anymore. There are days I forget to eat! Food just isn't on my mind anymore.

Why do you think you were not able to decrease your food intake before the surgery if you are able to after it? (I am scared I would just eat past it if nothing changes) My problem wasn't that I was eating the wrong foods, it's that when I did eat, I ate..and ate, and ate some more, literally until I felt stuffed when I was done. With Lapband, I can eat, and feel a real sense of not being hungry. I'm not stuffed nor full, but satisfied, and stay that way for hours. When you have restriction, you won't want to eat more because eating a smaller amount of food provides you with that satisfied feeling.

Of course, you can eat around the band. Ice cream, candy, junk food, etc, it all goes down easily. You have to have the willpower to eat healthy and only allow yourself to eat "junk food" in moderation.

How bad was the recovery? Not bad. This was my first surgery and I thought it was maybe a 3-4 on a scale of 1 to 10. The first day was a little rough, but it really is just the gas pains that cause discomfort. The port incision is a little sore for a few weeks, but nothing a heating pad and pain meds can't solve.

What do you say now that you have done it and did you think it would help you before you had it done? I definitely thought Lapband would help me before having the surgery. I know that I needed something to control my eating portions and it has done just that. I love my band and I am extremely grateful to have gotten the surgery done. I've lost almost 95lbs in 6 months...who could ask for more?

[larrytricia 0]

Thank you all for your responses, they are very helpful.

I made the call to my doctor today and asked them to make my referral. I am less concerned with not being successful after reading. I never realized that this procedure provided that feeling of satisfaction when you eat. That is what is missing for me now. I can eat nonstop all day and never feel satisfied.

I hope this is the answer to many a prayer.

How long was it from the time you first saw your bariatric doctor and when you got your surgery? Does it take very long?

I am getting excited now and hope it all comes about.

Thanks again for the advice.

Tricia