The lapband system

[chiynita]

Anyone have this done or know about it?
I havent been in this part of the forum. I usually post in the newcomers.
I am an addict. And I think alot of my use of drugs has alot to do with low self esteem. I have gained over 100 pounds over the past 7 years. Using drugs. Unreal. the only crack addict to get fat from smoking like a chimney.
Anyway, I have been looking into the lapband system and it sounds like a better alternative than gastric bypass.
I have alot of joint pain. Especially knee pain. I breathe really heavy and hard. I am winded sometimes from just tieing my shoes.
I have high colesterol. Just alot of health problems from this weight.
Going from 120 lbs all your life to 250 in a few years is horrible.
I try to act like I am OK with it. But I'm not. I hate it.
I use to get good jobs and be able to dress in nice clothes. I could do more physically. I see myself in the mirror now and it makes me sick.
I am working on my sobriety and doing good so far. Now I want to get the physical and healthy body I use to have. Well at least close.
Sorry for rambling. Thanks for reading.

[dave47]

Hi Chi, don't know anything about lapband, just wanted to say hello on a different part of SR. A few months ago i also had pains in my knees and struggled to do up my laces. Apart from abstaining from alcohol and eating better i was advised to take multi vitamins and iron and cod liver oil/omega 3. I haven't had any problems since which i put down to an all round effort.
I got married 14 years ago and put on about 85 pounds since,although i have recently lost about 30.Some people from back then don't recognise me now, i also had shoulder length dark brown hair, and now my daughter calls me a grey haired old man(with short hair).
Any time you have slipped up Chi, you have still come back-keep on fighting.

[MyGraySkies]

Chiy, go to ObesityHelp.com and you'll find tons of info on lapband, RNY gastric bypass, Duodenal Switch, and other surgeries for weight loss. They have a ton of info and they also have message boards so you can ask questions from other people that have had surgery or are looking into it.

[GaryArk]

My wife had n RNY bypass and is now a size four (100+ pounds lost). It wasn't easy for her but nothing good ever is. Obesityhelp was a big help for her.

Gary

[barb dwyer]

My best friend's mother just had this surgery.

She's lost about 45 las in a little over a month.

Cost her 22,000.00 CASH.

[BigSis]

I found it interesting that "alcoholism" is listed as a side-effect of stomach surgery... something like 10 percent tend to abuse alcohol afterward.

I am an alcoholic, so I am not considering this as an option anymore. For me, food is my drug of choice, and abstinence (for me, sugar is what I need to be abstinent from) ... anyway abstinence is the only way for me to stop with the obsessive thinking and compulsive overeating behavior.

I wish you well... ((hugs))

[MyGraySkies]

It's addiction transfer. The surgery doesn't cause people to become alcoholics, the addict in them does. I've transferred addictions off and on my entire adult life. Us that transfer addictions will do it with or without something like weight loss surgery. People that have the surgery and become alcoholics are turning to something to numb them and comfort them when food no longer can. Alcohol, food, gambling, sex, shopping, drugs... many people with addiction transfer problems run through several addictions over the years.

[BigSis]

I agree. But I also believe there is a factor due to the way the alcohol is metabolized after the surgery. I remember one poster talking about feeling an immediate buzz after only one drink - that dissipated quite quickly. She began to have that "one" drink to sooth her nerves becuase it was immediate and then gone... which lead to dependence.

But mostly, I think it is a transfer effect. Many of us who overeat have never been in 12-step programs or other recovery and have no idea there is even an addiction to begin with - especially as the advertising and weight loss centers constantly tell us it is only a matter of "dieting" for a short period of time. And not noting that if their programs actually worked, they would soon be out of business....

[Kellye C]

Hi all, I am the transfer addiction queen. I've been fat my whole life. Had gastric bypass in 2000 and got to normal weight but discovered alcohol. Within 3 and a half years I went from someone who rarely drank to a full fledged alcohol dependent alcoholic. Got sober about 3 1/2 years ago and rediscovered food. My health has declined and I was recently diagnosed with fibro on top of having knees that are nearly shot. I am now ready to do something about the weight again and try like heck not to transfer it elsewhere.

Obesityhelp is a great website. I have had a profile over there for over 7 years and it contains a wealth of information, good bad and ugly, for anyone considering weight loss surgery.

Take care,
Kellye