I'm afraid it's not going to work

Hello all, I'm a newbie here. I have started the process for surgery. We got a loan approved so now I'm setting up the exam appointments, etc. Here is my biggest fear. I hope someone relates and says the right thing. I am addicted to sugar. Truely addicted. I crave and go through physical pain if I don't get my daily fix. I am at the heaviest I've ever been and can't seem to stop eating chocolate. I know the surgery is a tool. But I'm so afraid that my addiction will over ride any surgery. I must do something however. I'm almost 250 pounds, I have diabetes, and my joints ache. I'm not doing the bypass, I'm going with the lap band. My friends say I should do the by pass. That way I'd dump if I ate sugar. But I know two people that had the bi-pass and neither one of them dump. I also have the thought that at least I won't be able to eat as much choclate with the surgery. Am I only one that has this issue? Karen

Karen, I'm still pre-op, but have found that only you can say what is right for you. You have to want it to work and that's the key, which ever surgery you get. I certainly am addicted to sugar/chocolate as well. I can't go through a day without it so I know what you are saying. All I can suggest, is to keep doing research and this website is awesome. It's a long process to get approval for the surgery, so you may learn someone in the meantime that will put you at ease with your decision or change your mind. Keep reading girl!@@ Take care. Tina

Hi Karen, Keep your thoughts positive, do your research. But I highly recommend you seek some therapy before and after the surgery. I've done about 5 months of therapy to help with my addiction to food in general. I find that I use food to stuff the emotions. My therapist is familiar with addictions and how to assist in the process. I'm finally having surgery on January 12th, and I've come a long way. I'm now confident I've made the right choice (lap-rny). When I went to my first consult with the surgeon I too was doubtful that this would work for me, or that "I" would fail. I know I could do it, and so could you. Take care and keep coming back to the board and asking questions. Lucy

Hi Karen, You are the only one that can decied what is best for you. But I will share my story. I would eat nothing but sugar if I could get away with it. I have been addicted for as long as I can remember. My son teases me about my diet by saying the only way I would eat a vegitable is if it were deep fried in chocolate. In 1986 I had the lap ban. I lost 65 pounds. However I started at 355#. I gained that back pluse more. I now have a date for the bypass. This is what my doctor tole me. You can talk to your surgeon about it. He told me that when you are as addicted to sugar as I am the band is useless. He told me that the bypass is my best chance because of the dumping and the fact that you don't obsorb all the calories. I told him that I have heard that not everyone dumps. His response was that the people that say they can eat surgar have tried a coupld of cookies without dumping. But he is reasonable sure that if they went overboard they would dump. Also he said that he can control that by the amount of intestine he bypasses and he plans to bypass a enough to be sure I dump. I told him that if I could eat sugar after this, then I should just not bother. The first surgery I had limited the quantity of food that I could it. In fact it still does. I can't eat a whole hamberger and I will still through up if I eat to much. But hun, I can eat all the chocolate and sugar I want. When I found out that eating regular food was going to take some work (little bits, chewing forever) I just started eating sweets. There may be others with a more positive experience with the band. But if you are a sugar freak I would reconsider the bypass. Talk to your surgeon about the sugar problem and see what he thinks. The other thing I would recomend is to find a surgeon with lots of experience in both methods, he will know the sucess/failure rates of both. I will be having my revision on 2/2 I'll let you know how it goes. Hugs Dianna

Well, my 2 cents...I was told the same thing and its the truth...I made xmas cookies this year because at work we was having a cooking exchange well, Im telling you that one night I ate one cookie and got away with it...I didnt dump...so then a little while later I had another ...I did not dump...so a little later I had another and another and boy did I get sick...LOL 2 cookies are my limit from here on out...not only did I throwup my heart started beating fast and was sicker than old dog...

Sugar is really the most concentrated form of calories. It doesn't take a huge volume of sugar to pack on a lot of pounds. The lap band is a purely restrictive operation. Even with the restriction you could eat a lot of sugar, especially if you drink it in the form of ice cream, milk shakes, non-diet sodas etc. Truthfully I don't think either the lap band or RNY would help someone who insisted on continuing taking in sugar.

The thing is - gastic by-pass tends to take away your appetite, at least for the greatest majority of patients...lap band won't do that. I had the same fears that you have now, but it's been OK since my surgery 8 wks ago. Good luck with whatever you decide to do, it's not an easy decision to make.

Karen, I was a total sugar junkie for years before my surgery. Besides all the chocolate, cookies and other stuff I ate during the day, I would eat a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream every night before I went to bed! I had my surgery September 9 of this year and have not had a problem yet. In this holiday season I have had the occassional piece or maybe two of chocolate, but that's it. I haven't dumped on that small amount but feel confident that I would if I ate a whole lot of it. I have not craved sugar or gone looking for it. I also won't have it in my house. I live alone so that works for me. I don't know much of anything about the lapband but I've read quite a bit and the RNY has much higher success rates than the lapband. I'll bet I could eat a lot of ice cream with the lapband!!! Since my RNY, food has become pretty much a non-event for me. In fact, because I had some complications and have ot eat a minimum of 100 grams of protein a day, food seems more like medicine that I have to get in me some days. The malabsorption aspect of the RNY is a very effective part of the weight loss. Now, I will say that I worked very hard in therapy for several years dealing with the issues that I ate over. I thought that when I finished that process, I would magically lose weight. Ha! I tried it on my own again for two years before I finally had the surgery. If you really want this, you will succeed. And even though I spent 33 out of 61 days in the hospital, I am thrilled that I did it. Ruth

Karen, I had non-adjustable banding surgery in 1997. I wasn't really addicted to sugar before the surgery, but I developed a sugar addiction within a couple of years. When I had banding, I started at 396 lbs and got down to 255. After a couple of years, anything healthy (chicken, vegetables, etc.) caused physical pain. Chips, cookies, ice cream, chocolate (junk) did not cause pain... so, I ate the junk. My weight went back up to 314. I was just revised to RNY. I don't know whether I will dump on sugar or not, but I have told myself that I will dump if I have more than 3g of sugar. I'm praying that will help keep me off the sugar. The adjustable band may not affect you the same way the non-adjustable did me. Good luck with whatever you choose. Jackie

I had open RNY and dump painfully and horribly if I even think about having sugar. I was never big on sweets though. I WAS addicted to carbs big time. Did you surgeon ask you for a food profile, meaning you write down what you eat? I researched the lap band and found that it's success rate was not nearly as high as the RNY. I know I would have definitely turned to sugar had I not had the fear of dumping syndrome. (all it takes is once, and trust me you don't want to do that again!) Basically you have to do what is right for you, not anyone else. If you feel you can make it with just the restriction, go for it. Just remember that chocolate melts and will slide straight through, as will ice cream and other sugar filled sweets. This means your band will not be helping you if you continue to overload on sugar. Have you thought about entering some type of counseling program? Food addictions are very real and can be very scary. Since my surgery, I have totally changed the way I eat. WLS is a tool, not a cure. Best of luck in whatever you decide!