Any thoughts on lap-band surgery?
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| Wed, 11-16-2005 - 9:32am |
I'm 33 years old, have 5 year old twins and an 8 year old, and I'm lost inside my own body. That may sound a little strange, but at not quite 5'2" tall, and about 245 pounds, it's a fairly apt description. About 11 years ago, when my husband and I were planning our wedding, I was a size 5--and that was a step up from usual. After weight watchers, Jenny Craig, gyms, starvation diets, low fat, low carb, low whatever, I'm still a size 26. I'm lost in here.
Right before our wedding, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrom, put on clomid to try to get pregnant, and the pounds just started adding up. I gained with the fertility meds, I gained when I got pregnant, I gained when I went back on the meds again, I gained (and GAINED) when I was carrying the twins (they started as triplets). The gains just snowballed, and haven't stopped. With the PCOS, I'm at a heightened risk for diabetes. Though my glucose level is fine, my insulin level is through the roof, so my MD is saying that it's just a matter of time if we don't get it under control. I've tried glucophage and aldactone, and to say the least, I didn't tolerate them well. It was ugly, let's leave it at that. The endocrinologist(s) that I've went to all agree that the PCOS has reduced my metabolism to the point that the only diet that will be effective is an INCREDIBLY low calorie one, even with the glucophage. We're talking 1000 calorie-ish.
I have a heart condition (non fatal, just annoying) that causes my heart to convert to a very fast, uncomfortable pace when I'm exercising. Surgery could correct it, but at my current weight, the cardiologist isn't comfortable doing the procedure unless he has to. That makes exercise interesting, to say the least. Try talking the people in the gym into NOT calling the EMT's when the tread mill heart monitor loses track of your heart rate it's so irregular. . .
So, that leaves me facing a diet that I really don't know HOW I could stick to for long on my own it's so restrictive. I've been considering the lap-band surgery for a while, and have put in an application to start the process with the doctors who do the surgery in my area, but I want the opinions of someone who may actually have reason to consider it themselves. It's really hard to take the opinion on what it will mean living with the surgery from a doctor who looks like they would be swallowed by a size medium, no matter how well intentioned they are.
I'm terrified. I scared of being restricted on eating and drinking by this unnatural thing stuffed inside my body. I'm scared of vomiting if I accidentally eat too much, or too quickly. I'm scared that my children won't understand, and it will upset them or scare them. I'm scared that it might not work, and THEN what? But, I'm really, really scared of living like this for my whole life. I'm scared of becoming diabetic, and losing my legs, or my eyes, or my kidneys, and having my children graduate high school without a mother.
I've spent the last several years hiding from my weight. With 125 pounds to lose, that was no small feat, but I put a lot of effort into it. . . I can't hide anymore, but I don't know what to do next. I think part of my fear is that with the lap band in place, I can't keep my struggle with this as private as I have up until now. I have been VERY private about discussing what I was doing to lose weight, or how hard it's been, or how much it bothered me. This will kind of be like "outing myself" as a person who can't control my weight on my own, and I don't know how to feel about that. It's not as if it's not obvious anyway, but this just pushes it into a spotlight.
If anybody has any thoughts, or experience with this, let me know. I'm feeling kind of all alone here.
Thanks
Angela

Hi Angela,
I haven't had lap-band surgery, so I'm no expert myself. But from what I've read, I think surgery is a good decision. You've already exhausted your diet options, and exercise seems difficult, so surgery would be the place to go.
I think there's a message board for weight loss surgery.... yep there is the link:
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-fbsurgery
Good luck!!
Mary
247/214/165
I actually went to an information session at a local hospital to get more info about weight-loss surgery in general. I had been thinking about the lap-band surgery as well, but they really discouraged it. While it is better than gastric bypass in that it allows for normal digestion of your food (thus, you get the vitamins and minerals you need), it is possible for the lap band to expand, so you're stomach could expand. Another downfall is that you'll probably have to have the lap-band replaced after a few years, so more surgery. They also said the lap-band can become dislodged and cause problems. On a financial note, a lot of insurance plans don't cover it as it's a newer procedure, so it's considered risker. Now they probably had a reason they were plugging gastric bypass so much (I'm sure it's probably more expensive), so you can take this for what it's worth.
Good luck with whatever decision you make!
Jen