My Story

[Fordgal88 7]

I was banded in 2008. My weight on the day of surgery was 274.1 lbs. I never thought I would weigh that much! It was a slow start. After a few fills, I finally got the hang of it and started a relationship with my band. I say that because, I new I could not soley depend on the band to do all the work for me. Afterall I was the one responsible for getting myself to the point of needing the band in the first place. I quickly learned the "no-no" foods and stayed away from those. The other hard part was my family. They are (even now) the types that have a get together and the most important part is the food. The first question around any kind of party or event is, what will we eat. I remember my first party after the band and my mom did a huge sandwich tray. I was so upset because I couldn't eat. I literally went in the bathroom and cried. But slowly the weight started coming off and I was getting used to the changes. In the first year I was down about 70lbs. In that year I also had built up some confidence that I had been lacking and even got a new job. The second year - things slowed down considerably. I was down to about 195. I had to have my gall bladder removed and I was struggling. I went for several fills, only to turn around and be unfilled. I was noticing that my PMS was getting worse. I was suffering from an incurable hunger as a result of my PMS. It was terrible. I would say 3 out of 4 weeks a month I was miserable. The only relief I received was the week my cycle began. I discussed this with my band dr. and he just blew me off. ( I work with Dr.'s and I understand that if it is not in their field, they usually don't get it). So I kept suffering and when I say suffering I mean it. It was mentally excrutiating. I decided on my third year with the band, I would focus on getting my excess skin removed (abdominoplasty). I had that in July 2011. It was another boost to my self esteem. I was finally wearing clothes that fit. I felt years younger. BUT I was still suffering from the issues because of my PMS. My internest put me on Zoloft. I took that for over a year with no ease of my symptoms. She sent me to see a psychiatrist (I was feeling really crazy at this point). They diagnosed me with Adult ADD and they helped me get off of the zoloft (which was HELL). In January 2012 I saw a new gyn. I explained that I really felt frustrated because of the problems I was having with the PMS. She said that she understood and placed me on birth control pills explaining that the hormones were probably out of whack and this is usually a last resort treatment because of my age (38 at the time). I took the birth control pills everyday and after about 2 months I noticed that I wasn't digging through the refridgerator at night or eating until I was sick. Then I looked at the scale and the pounds were reflecting this. I lost 40 lbs in a year! Without really trying. I just wanted to shared this because I know that I thought I was crazy! Sometimes our hunger can be a symptom of something bigger (thyroid, hormones, etc). So if you know you are doing everything you can and still not getting the results you need, there might be a problem physically that is prohibiting you from your success. =) Happy Holidays!

[naturallyjai 129]

Thanks for sharing. I have PCOS and Metabolic Syndrome- insulin resistant. I completely understand that weight could be attributed to something bigger going on in your body. Glad you are having success.

[goalseeker 695]

Thank you so much for sharing! I had a really hard time with hunger during my last bought with PMS. I will make sure I keep an eye on it now

[honk 780]

I have an appointment with a specialist in January to discuss potential thyroid and or PCOS.. The nurse practitioner at my surgeons office feel that I should be losing weight at a much faster rate than I am.