I wish I wouldn't Have!

[lapbandbarb 0]

Hmmm....

I was banded in January this year. It has been a slow process for me. The surgeon that banded me is an excellent surgeon, but my surgery was done just about a year after he first started doing lap band. I have felt since the beginning that they weren't agressive enough with their fills. I got frustrated with dealing with them and gave up on getting fills for a while. In my frustration I started researching other fill options and found 1 doctor in my area willing to do a fill on someone he didn't do surgery on. I scheduled with him and at my first (and only) appointment I found out that he was the first physician to place a lap band in the US. He has been doing WLS since before I was born and was extremely knowledgeable in the area of weight loss. He believes strongly in aftercare. The band without aftercare is pretty much worthless. His eating philosophy is "If it can run you can eat it + eggs and cheese." Basically all Protein no carbs. To help with the cravings for carbohydrates he prescribes phentermine. This is not a weight loss drug, it is simply to reduce the cravings for carbs so you can stick to a high Protein diet.

I came away from my meeting with him feeling inspired and frustrated. I tried the all protein no carbs diet for a while, and I'm not completely convinced that it is a healthy option. But I will say that my fasting blood sugar dropped by about 60 in a 3 day period-so it can't be all bad. The phentermine definitely helps. He prescribed it for daily, but I have taken it only on days where I anticipate food cravings, or where they've already started.

The reason that I was frustrated is because he was not able to access my port because he did not have fluorscopy in his office. But my visit with him inspired me to read the Southbeach diet which is actually what my surgeon's office had recommended. Southbeach is high protein low carbs. It is a great read because it explains that we are addicted to carbs, and there is a reaction within our system that causes us to go back for more and more.

After all that, I ended up going back to my surgeon's office for a fill and I have lost more since that fill then any other fill I've had, partially because the fill gave me a little more restriction and partly because of the insight I gained (and the phentermine I got) from the other doctor.

Now after I originally read your post and none of the f/u posts what I really wanted to talk about was the emotional reasons for eating. At my highest weight I was 378 lbs... That is what I weighed when I started WW in 1997ish-a heck of a lot for my 5'5 frame. I was in the most horrible relationship (I'm not implying that you're in a bad relationship), and I felt as unhappy as I could possibly be. Over the course of the next year or two I got down to 294 lbs on WW... but what a struggle every day was to make the right choices. It was about that point that I just gave up and started gaining it all back. Around 1999 I decided I was going to try counseling because obviously diet alone was not working. I spent at least a year in counseling discussing things like being abandoned by my father when I was 4 years old. My mother emotionally leaving me when she met her 2nd husband when I was 11, having a step father who couldn't stand me and let me know on a daily basis by only talking to me if he had something negative to say. food became my comfort at the age of 4, at 6 years my mothers last entry in my baby book says, "My child is eating constantly and I don't know what to do about it." Every chance I got to be alone in my house growing up, I was eating.... and that was often. Food was my companion. I can't say that my time in counseling completely cured me of overeating (obviously or I wouldn't have gotten a band this year), but I can say that I have never weighed as much as 378 lbs again, and my weight actually did stabalize for a period of years which had never happened before in my life. It was because my weight had stabalized and I wasn't on a constant upward motion that I decided it was time to get banded... I thought that was an indication that I was eating more simply because my stomach holds more then the average person before I feel full. I still think that is true. But I recently started counseling again to get at more of those core issues.

What I have figured out for myself is that being "morbidly obese" does not stem from 1 issue. Therefore, it does not have 1 solution. Success at weight loss has to come from several directions.

Obvioulsy heredity plays a role, but personally I think part of that is just learning poor eating habits from your parents and you don't know anything different, and making changes to something you've done your entire life is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT!

Part of it is an actual addiction to carbs.

Part of it is emotional eating.

Let me just say that as far as counseling goes... if you do decide to go that direction you have to find the right counselor. If you go to one and you don't feel comfortable with them then find someone else.

Keep getting fills and don't say the band is a failure until it is completely full with 10cc's and you weigh 511 lbs again!!

And remember what they say in those "Anonymous" programs when you're reading all these posts, "Take what you need and leave the rest behind."

And also... congratulations on your continued weight loss and best wishes on your journey!

Hi---

Thank you for that post. It is both inspiring and very informative. I have personally found much of what you said to apply to me too. I know that my success with my weight problem and food obsessions will come from many different sources.

I take from OA only what I feel I need and leave the rest, I seek weekly councel with a therapist I feel comfortable(after going through many others) with. We deal with "mindfulness" rather than past issues. I had a mother similar to yours in many ways and have always found companionship and salvation for every feeling or situation in food.

I have been on phentermine and still have a supply. Thing is, that I was told that it IS a diet pill(part of the Phen-Phen) which caused many problems years ago. I investigated it in depth and had not heard of its relationship to stopping cravings for carbs. I used it to try to get control for my pre-surgery diet but had bad reactions to 30mg.1x day. I went to 15mg 2x day and it worked better. I am hesitant to be on it now although I'd like to use it late in the daybecause that is when I have my problems. It does not keep me up. Did your Band Dr say it was Ok ? It was my GP who gave it to me in the first place. I am very interested in what you know about it.

I investigated so much--was banded by one of the most experienced surgeons. He also has the band so really understands it. He is agressive with fills and I am restricted. It is the "mind" hunger that still is there. I try not to graze but that is what I am used to and it is possible even with the band. In the morning I am restricted. By night, I can eat a lot if I allow myself. This is my issue. I have been trying "distraction" as a tool at night when the urges come. It is hard!! I am looking forward to next week when I start work and my kids go back to school. Summer has been very unscheduled and a routine helps so much!

I am very interested to know the name of the Dr who first placed the Lapband in the US. The one you went to for help.(if you would rather PM me, fine-thank you!)

I hope my fellow banders don't mind this long post and perhaps it has helped someone. I get so much out of reading and posting on this site! We are all in similar boats and sometimes we can share the same life jacket!

Best Wishes to everyone!!!

[Bigb 0]

Has everyone given up or just given up on this thread. I have been eating better and trying to get with it again without going nuts. I have been trying to help coach my son's little leauge football team and that takes up a lot of time that I was using to exercise. I went out in the middle of the day today and rode my bike 10 miles. It was the first time that I had rode in a long time and it wasn't too bad. Now for the bad news. I got on the scales today and had lost only 6 pounds in the last month. I guess that is to be expected considering my recent eating habits. Hope all of you guys are seeing some success. Let's keep pulling for each other. Thanks for all the kind words.

BRAD

[Kalogo 0]

Mylapspirit is right! DON'T give up! I was banded 4 weeks ago and lost 33 lbs. and I started walking at the gym. Sometimes we just need to do something a little different. Add something to your life. If you don't exercise, start by walking......taking baby steps until you can't live nwithout your daily walk! It hurts my heart to hear you say you wish you wouldn't had gotten banded. Look at you, you are still better off than before you lost the 80 lbs. Hang in there, Like Mylapspirit, I too will be your support. I care too much about people to let you continue to feel this way.

Talk to me if you need to. Let me know how you're doing.

Big hugs,

Kathy