Oh you guys! help!

[lil_boot 0]

Hi Guys!

My name is Cassy and I'm a food addict!

I'm 30 years old, 5'1 and 224 lbs.

I am REALLY struggling on what to do about my weight.

When I diet I feel as if I'm starrrrvvving and I loathe exercising...but I probably could learn to like it.

I am good at not eating a lot of junk, I don't drink soda or anything like that. I also don't cook out of boxes. I'm half Italian and half Czech and come from a long generation of cooks, I don't eat crap. I just have the metabolism of a snail and I do like sweets. I never lose weight unless I eat like only a 1000 calories a day and I'm SO hungry that I end up binging.

I've been in a slump about my weight this past week, just really down.

I just had twins, and I'm proud that I only gained 32 lbs and I lost it all in 12 days, and an additional 8 lbs from my prepregnancy weight, but I've been around the 208-225 lbs mark for years.

I am really considering a lapband surgery in Tijuana.< /span>

I guess my question is: How do you know when you are ready? I don't want this to come out wrong but my self control isn't so great, but I haven't gained any weight in a long time, I have SOME self control, but I guess I am wondering if other people struggled with: "Will I be good after surgery? Will I adhere to a new lifestyle? Will I eat properly and exercise? Will I have surgery and fail still?"

Answers? Advice?

My eyes Water as I type this! So forlorned about it. As you can see, I joined this forum a year ago, I still don't know what to do. I want to live to enjoy my twins. I want to play with them and be active and feel good.

Also-Fill doctors in the Tacoma or Seattle or Auburn area? First fill prices?

[Snoopyloverny 3]

Lol boot, I am 39, 5'1" & 230 lbs. You really should consider taking the next step. With our height and this weight , we have BMI of 40+! that's not good for us, it will only get worse with our weight this high. I just ran into high blood pressure problems and now meds for that. Putting bodies can't handle this much weight. I am choosing the LB. I hope u r able to make a choice soon for your family and yourself!

[Snoopyloverny 3]

Oops that was Spose to be our little bodies.... Not putting!

[brenda62 47]

call Northwest weight loss center in Everett

[Dave_NW 92]

The kind of questions to ask yourself is how long do you want to be fat? How much of your future are you willing to throw away due to obesity? When will you have had enough of clothes that don't fit, airplane seats too small, and tiredness when standing or walking or climbing stairs? How often will you be able to ignore the rolled-eyes expressions of people judging you for your weight, or tolerate being the invisible fat person in the crowd? And how many times will you be comfortable telling your twins, "Sorry, honey, you run along and play. Mommy needs to sit here and watch." Are you prepared to let your children grow up missing out on a life of activity and bonding with you? The questions go on and on, and only you can say when you've had enough.

Once you're banded, and it's adjusted properly, your appetite will be virtually eliminated. You won't GET hungry, so there won't be any "starving." A small amount of food will fill you up and make you feel full, just like a large amount of food did previously. So you won't have that crutch to lean on anymore. (I tried that for years - I hated feeling hungry, so justified being fat. Nowadays it's a non-issue. I eat 1000 calories a day or so, and it's PLENTY of food. Oh yeah, and I've lost over a hundred pounds without ever feeling like I was missing out on eating "big.". It's a no-brainer.)

For me, the decision to get banded came when I finally admitted I was unable to properly do my work. (I'm in IT tech support for a busy hospital.) As a fairly rugged guy, imagine my embarassment when the female employees at work said things like, "Did you want me to crawl under that desk and connect that cable for you?" To my shame, I admit that I let them do it any number of times. And I thanked them for it.

Nowadays they don't even ask - it's quite a different experience. The reason is that I"m no longer that red-faced, sweaty, obese guy huffing and puffing as I try to tuck in my tent-sized shirt into the waistband of my incredibly huge pants, while trying to keep my pants from falling down off my fat ass. I get compliments from everyone I meet, telling me how amazing I look, and how great my (much smaller) clothes fit. I can keep up with everyone, and most times I'm the one in front of the crowd. It's like I was reborn into a whole new body. And it's only been eight months!

Have the surgery. You have everything to gain, and nothing to look forward to as you are except more of the unhappiness you're living with right now. Good luck!

Dave

P.S. My surgery was at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. That's where I get my fills, too. They're great to work with. Give them a call.

[amjcal 5]

I am recently banded, and I love it. For me it was like almost having brain surgery, I went in to surgery starving and didn't want or think about food until 3 weeks after the surgery. At that point a little goes a long way. 1/2 cup of food, or 3/4 cup of food and I am full. I mean really full. But I don'e eat until I am full, only until satisfied. I know I am a newbie as far as being banded, but I think it is how bad you want it. I have been overweight my entire life and tired of losing then gaining it back plus more. So I wanted this I want to be healthy for my children so when they are in their 30's they are not worrying about my health, but enjoying their lives. I was worried about the self control myself and once I had the surgery, I have had no problems for the most part. I wish you the best of luck, in whatever decision you make.

The kind of questions to ask yourself is how long do you want to be fat? How much of your future are you willing to throw away due to obesity? When will you have had enough of clothes that don't fit, airplane seats too small, and tiredness when standing or walking or climbing stairs? How often will you be able to ignore the rolled-eyes expressions of people judging you for your weight, or tolerate being the invisible fat person in the crowd? And how many times will you be comfortable telling your twins, "Sorry, honey, you run along and play. Mommy needs to sit here and watch." Are you prepared to let your children grow up missing out on a life of activity and bonding with you? The questions go on and on, and only you can say when you've had enough.

Once you're banded, and it's adjusted properly, your appetite will be virtually eliminated. You won't GET hungry, so there won't be any "starving." A small amount of food will fill you up and make you feel full, just like a large amount of food did previously. So you won't have that crutch to lean on anymore. (I tried that for years - I hated feeling hungry, so justified being fat. Nowadays it's a non-issue. I eat 1000 calories a day or so, and it's PLENTY of food. Oh yeah, and I've lost over a hundred pounds without ever feeling like I was missing out on eating "big.". It's a no-brainer.)

For me, the decision to get banded came when I finally admitted I was unable to properly do my work. (I'm in IT tech support for a busy hospital.) As a fairly rugged guy, imagine my embarassment when the female employees at work said things like, "Did you want me to crawl under that desk and connect that cable for you?" To my shame, I admit that I let them do it any number of times. And I thanked them for it.

Nowadays they don't even ask - it's quite a different experience. The reason is that I"m no longer that red-faced, sweaty, obese guy huffing and puffing as I try to tuck in my tent-sized shirt into the waistband of my incredibly huge pants, while trying to keep my pants from falling down off my fat ass. I get compliments from everyone I meet, telling me how amazing I look, and how great my (much smaller) clothes fit. I can keep up with everyone, and most times I'm the one in front of the crowd. It's like I was reborn into a whole new body. And it's only been eight months!

Have the surgery. You have everything to gain, and nothing to look forward to as you are except more of the unhappiness you're living with right now. Good luck!

Dave

P.S. My surgery was at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. That's where I get my fills, too. They're great to work with. Give them a call.

[SIPS in Seattle 345]

call Northwest weight loss center in Everett

I agree with Brenda. nwwls.com is their website. If you're self pay, the cost is higher than Mexico somewhere around 17K BUT... all your fills for the first 13 months are included. Plus, they're a center of excellence and Dr. Michaelson is just totally awesome in my book. They all are. Most of the employees there have bands, so they know what you're going through AND they're so very kind and caring.

Good Luck!

[lil_boot 0]

Thank you all so far for the imput. It's been really helpful.

Next thing: I am self paying, and flat broke. I am considering Banajor Clinic in Tijuana. The surgeon has done over 5,000.00 lapbands and seems to have a good reputation except for insurance fraud, but I don't really care about that.

I was wondering if I get my lapband in Tijuana if there is a place to get fills in Seattle if you have been banded in Mexico?

I live in Auburn, WA....about 23 miles from Seattle and really close to Tacoma...

Also, how long is it before you get your first fill and when you have the band put in, do you start losing immediately? Is it kinda of tight initially without a fill?

[SIPS in Seattle 345]

I'm not sure where, some US docs won't touch a band placed in Mexico. A lady at my office said her fills are over 500 a pop cuz she got hers done in mexico. I've had 5 fills in the last 2 months, that would be 2500! No way could I afford that.

[Jess55 97]

I agree with Dave. You have to be completely ready, in all areas. In my opinion you can't try one diet and just give up and say I want surgery. I tried dieting but I lost and then went off track and gained back. I got to the point that I was at the end of my road, depressed to much of the time, felt horrible. I always say, I wish I'd done this sooner and in a way I do, but I dont know if I was completely ready before. I have now completely changed my mind set. Without that, it won't work. The first 5 months I didn't really get hungry between meals, not common for most, but at my 5 month visit, I decided I wanted my first fill, it helped a little in the beginning, but not long. Though I'm now 7 months post op and I don't want another because though I do get hungry, I've changed my mindset and I just eat by calories. If I have the calories I eat, if I don't I'll drink crystal light to curb the hunger. I eat anything I want just try to in moderation. In the past I'd screw up and say screw it to the whole day. Now if I screw up, I'll just skip dinner or something to balance my calories. Maybe not the best idea, since then my Protein intake is low, but it seems to work for me.

So if you think your ready, go for it, if not, I would wait.

[54Shirley 105]

Because you even bothered to write, and search this site out, enquire about it.

That tells me that deep inside,,,, you know the answer...

That is for you to face, and come to Grips with.

you have Twins, do you want to be able to keep up with them.

Then you know the answer. You have to figure it out.

[lil_boot 0]

I've done every diet, not just one. I've probably lost and gained 100 lbs before. When I diet, I'm so hungry I end up binging or gaining it back.

I've been thinking about this surgery for a year.

The thing is: I don't even eat that much, I honestly have a sloth like metabolism. My brother eats as much as he wants and he's a model! He eats till he can't breathe, and he weighs 160 lbs!!!!

I am the heaviest of all my siblings, and all the girls are chubby and the guys are skinny!

Anyway- I do think I want this, and I am paying out of pocket.

Does anyone know of a doctor that will do fills in Seattle for patients banded in Mexico? Prices?

[Dave_NW 92]

I've done every diet, not just one. I've probably lost and gained 100 lbs before. When I diet, I'm so hungry I end up binging or gaining it back.

I've been thinking about this surgery for a year.

The thing is: I don't even eat that much, I honestly have a sloth like metabolism. My brother eats as much as he wants and he's a model! He eats till he can't breathe, and he weighs 160 lbs!!!!

I am the heaviest of all my siblings, and all the girls are chubby and the guys are skinny!

Anyway- I do think I want this, and I am paying out of pocket.

Does anyone know of a doctor that will do fills in Seattle for patients banded in Mexico? Prices?

You may be contributing to your weight by not eating enough. "Undereating" is sometimes worse than overeating, because you're causing your metabolism to slow down by not eating right. You may want to try getting some nutritional counseling before going the surgery route, just to be sure surgery is the right path for you. You also can't compare how a man eats to how a woman eats, and expect things to be the same. They aren't. Women store fat and process foods differently than men do. Again, go for some nutritional counseling, and see if you can't turn thigns around. Surgery should be a last resort.

As for fill doctors in Seattle, why not open the phone book and start making some calls? Any practice that does surgery also does fills. And with the transient population in the Seattle area, there are bound to be lots of folks who were banded elsewhere moving to town, and needing fills. So call around and ask.

If you have to self-pay, rather than going out of the country, you may also consider the financing plans that exist for people in your position. There are programs that will finance the operation, and you make monthly payments for it. That would be something the surgical centers should be able to direct you to.

Good luck!

Dave

[54Shirley 105]

Also,, have you ever had your Thyroid Level checked? It's just a tube of blood, and they can tell if you have a problem or not.

If you do, there is Medication to help regulate the Thyroid, which will add to your weight loss. "IT HELPS !" You mentioned that the girls are heavy and the boys are skinny. Sounds like my house growing up, and yep I have a Hypothyroid. It is now under control with medication.

I too have lost and gained.

With the band, once they start giving you fills, your hunger will go away.

But that takes time. In the mean time you will learn to eat differently,

and get by with that. If you are still hungry you will have sugar free puddings, yogurt etc. in your fridge to help you But you got to get there, then we can throw some ideas your way.

In the meantime google Fill center USA. it will ask for your zip code, put it in and you will see where the nearest fill center is to your location.

Good Luck on that one !

Hope you get Lucky, Shirley.