Anyone recommended to NOT have surgery for psych reasons?

linigh · July 24, 2008

Hi - I'm new here & so will apologize upfront if posting in wrong place on wrong topic, etc. I'm considering banding. Am wondering if anyone here was advised to not have the banding due to psych reasons (example: doctor thinks that you won't be consistent with pre & post-op diets, etc.)? I think a huge portion of my battle with food is similar to those with drug/alcohol addictions. I definitely have a "mind-game" going on with food. What do you do if you have the surgery & afterwards the cravings & addiction mindset continue? I had a counselor once advise me against banding because it was her opinion that my problem was a "head" problem. I guess I'm wondering how those of you out there who would identify yourselves as "food addicts" prior to banding are doing now? How tough is this mentally, not just physically?

txmomof2 · July 24, 2008

It was not recommended for me due to the psych eval. I didn't like the psych doctor; we really got off on the wrong foot.

I did really well in the pre-diet and post diet. I can do pretty well on a diet for a few weeks and then it's either hormone related or something in my life that hits me and I fall off the bandwagon and struggle to get back on.

I did well enough to lose 40 pounds and then I have been kind of stuck. I'm not sure really what to do at the moment. So I do not know if I am the best person to answer your question.

I will say this - don't expect to have this surgery and all the pounds just fall off. It will require you to eat right and it will require you to exercise. You will eat less; but it won't keep you from eating again 30 minutes later. You are going to have to work with this and you are going to have to work on changing your lifestyle.

shy_one · July 24, 2008

I also didn't like my psych evaluator, but I was past. I have the same issues as txmomof2, exactly the same. I did really well on the pre- and post-op diet. After about 1 and 1/2 months though, I'm struggling with eating too much. I am proud of the fact that I haven't gone back to eating junk food and stuff (no breads, rice, pastas, McDonald's, candy, ice cream, etc.), but I'm not happy that I can eat so much in 1 sitting. Eating healthy is very important to me. Thank goodness I exercise too. I just hope that with successive fills, my overeating stops. Like you, linigh, food is an addiction to me.

If you can stay away from eating the bad carbs, it might help stave off your addiction somewhat and not make you hungry sooner, tired, etc. Although I can eat a lot in 1 sitting, I do not snack between meals because I no longer eat the bad carbs. Good luck in your journey.