female only Cravings

[sandystone 0]

Hello everyone. I am a food addict and I'm tired of living with all this weight. I am seriously considering having the lap band procedure done. I Googled lap band procedures and came upon this site. Very informative and so much to read! Some of what I've read has encouraged me and some has scared the heck out of me. I have a have an appointment with my GP in late July and, at this point, I am going to ask him for information and doctor referral concerning lap bands.

Here is my biggest concern: Food cravings. I've tried will power and it doesn't work. I'm 52 and absolutely miserable. This morning I weighed in at 314 lbs. Even at that weight, and feeling as terrible as I do, I STILL continue to overeat. Sometimes crying while I do.

Does having the lap band surgery take food cravings away? Will I experience hunger like a 'normal' person? I'm not sure if these questions have been asked/answered on this forum. I've only had the time to review about 20% of the information/posts offered here.

I have lost over 100lbs twice in my life. The first time was in 1996 when my bariatric doctor put me on Phen-Fen. It was a miracle! My appetite was 'normal'. I went from 297lbs to 167lbs in 13 months. Then, Phen-Fen was take off the market. The food cravings slowly returned. Before too long, my eating was out of control. Over the next seven years my weight ballooned up to 327 lbs. So, in 2004, I started taking Trimspa...remember when Anna Nicole Smith was promoting Trimspa and lost weight? I went down to 198 lbs using Trimspa over a one year period. In March 2005 I went through a life crisis...marriage related (things are very good in our marriage now) and I let myself go. I can barely perfom my duties at work. My husband loves me no matter what my size, but he worries about my health. In spite of my yo yo dieting and current weight, I don't have any major problems. I do take meds for high blood pressure and thyroid.

Sorry this post is so long. I'm scared and excited at the same time about the prospect of getting a lap band. I don't mind walking, riding my exercise bike eathing healthy at all. I just want relief from the food cravings and to feel energetic and get my glow back.

I would appreciate any advice/input you can give me.

[rodriguezequal 3]

:thumbup: I found that when I got the band my cravings changed...well they started to. I started wanting fish and chicken...fast food started tasting like...well junk lol. I was a binge eater. I always told my mom "I think I'm a confused bulimic girl" I would binge and binge, but never purge! I'm almost 23 and I'm 5'3''. I weighed close to 300 at my highest and before my surgery I had gotten down to 253.6. I made it down to 192, but then had some stress and what not so I gained some. I need to get a fill, but I need to wait until things calm down in my life for a while. The cravings didn't go away completely, but they changed and the ones that didn't changed were less frequent! Good luck and I hope that something I said will help lol

[sandystone 0]

Thank you for your response. I like what you said about the cravings calming down and changing. I'm scared and excited about getting the procedure done. The idea of the fills scares me a bit but I think it's because I don't quite understand it.

[rodriguezequal 3]

I was SO scared of the fills!!! I hate needles. Sometimes they'll give you a little shot of lidocaine, but I didn't get that and honestly...it felt like I had lidocaine lol. It's pretty numb in that area from the scar tissue. You feel a little pinch, but nothing bad! This is coming from someone that cries everytime they get a shot lmao. I am a huge baby!!! It is so worth it! :thumbup:

[skeeterbait8 0]

Where do I begin.

I know what you mean when you first find this site. SO MUCH READING to do! It's overwhelming. Yes some things will scare the daylights out of you.... and other things give you so much hope.

As far as cravings..... here's the deal, or at least for us (hubby and myself both have had the band earlier this year) so far.

What the band does is to create a much smaller stomach that takes so much less to fill to get to the FULL feeling.

There is NOBODY here that is/was a bigger chocoholic than I was. NOW get this.. now I'm serious, I couldn't live a day with out having cookies..... cake..... pie..... ice cream something. NOW... I honestly don't want it! Go figure!

My husband was horrible too. He'll have a small cup of soft serve every once in a while, where before he'd down a 1/2 gallon in two sittings!

If you've done any reading at all you've seen a lot of people talk about how the band is a tool. It is. It can either be your best friend or you will hate it. No two people are the same. It does take some time from when you first have the surgery till you get enough fill in your band to really work it's best. It takes time. And you will feel hunger, but... it will take so much less to fill you that you will be amazed! Hubby had his 3 weeks before I did. I tried once to eat what he was (and he said he was feeling FULL) and honestly... my first thought was.. OK that was my premeal snack..... where the heck is the rest of it? But now remember, that was preband for me. Now I eat like he does. What used to feed us for one meal, now will do at least 2 meals or a little over! It honestly saves a lot of money due to the fact that what we buy last so much longer.

OH and FYI - I"m 55 and he is 57. He's lost 58 pounds so far! I'm not doing as well has he is, but hey that's just me. I've seen a lot of other women that are older and younger that have done fantastic. I'm one of the stubborn ones. OH JOY..:thumbup:

Feel free to ask questions anywhere on here, someone will answer you honestly and to the best of their ability.

Pull up a comfy chair, you'll be here a while.