New to the forum, compulsive overeater considerin weight loss surgery

Hello, everyone!  Just a quick introduction and some background on me.  My name's Ann, I'm 37, never married (self-conscious about this!) and I currently weigh 226 pounds.  I have had lots of ups and downs in my weight over the years, but I started steadily gaining weight in 2004 after returning from living abroad.  I went up to 270, then down to 240, up to 306, and then over a period of about two years, down to 185!  Losing that much weight was amazing.  But I relapsed and regained 70 pounds.  My Dad died really suddenly about a year and a half ago and this has not been easy to deal with.  Since getting back up to 250, I've been able to lose some weight (at 226 now), but it is harder than I remember and I fear I've developed a inguinal hernia due to my weight (have a doctor's appointment this week to check on that). 

At my high weight of 306, I was seriously considering WLS (was planning on having it in Mexico as insurance at the time didn't cover it).  But I knew I had to deal with the issues which were leading me to overeat before surgery.  And I really felt like I needed to give non-surgical weight loss a "really good try" first. 

Well, I feel like I've done that and am just so frustrated at this point.  Staying away from overeating is SO difficult for me, and I think the only thing that will work is to have an actual restriction so I physically can't eat too much.  I am in a 12-step program to deal with my addiction, and it has helped, but I feel like I need the surgery as an additional tool. 

So, I would love to hear from anyone with suggestions and insight, especially other compulsive overeaters/those suffering from binge eating disorder.  I want to be healthy, and a normal weight, and not fight the obsession with food so much.  Has this surgery helped you with these struggles?  Am I just deluding myself into thinking it will help since it won't cure me from being a compulsive overeater?  I would welcome feedback, especially from those who are a few years out from surgery.  Do you still obsess about food/overeating after surgery?

Thanks, and I look forward to getting to know others in this community!

Ann

Welcome!

First, I want to tell you how proud I am of you from bringing your weight down from 306 to your current 226. That's a wonderful achievement.

Most of us here have lost and regained over an over again. Please don't let having done so make you feel like a failure---believe me, you're in good company. (*grin*)

WLS doesn't STOP this struggle---it just makes it easier. It's SO much easier to lose weight when you feel full and satisfied with a small amount of food. (Think of it as dieting made easy. *grin*) Maintaining that loss---well, that's always where it's gotten hard for ME---how abut you?

As far as physical restriction---yeah, that usually works GREAT for the first few months post-op. ALL forms of WLS provide pretty good physical restriction for the first 18-24 months. Then---not so much.

There are three components to the current approach to WLS---restriction, malabsorption, and metabolic change. The Band and the VSG/Sleeve rely solely on restriction. The RNY/gastric bypass relies on (primarily) restriction and (for a short time) malabsorption. The DS/duodenal switch relies on (initially) restriction AND malabsorption, and (long-term) on metabolic change.

You need to research them ALL, in order to decide which one's the best FOR YOU.

Welcome.

As both someone who has been living with RNY for almost 8 years and as someone who works professionally with people who have -- or are seeking -- some type of weight loss surgery, I can tell you that having WLS (I assume you are referring to either RNY or VSG) is not going to cure you of obsessive overeating.  It will help because it will be uncomfortable to eat too much at one time, but it will not prevent you from overeating. Almost everyone is successful at first, when the surgery is new (and motivation is high), when it literally only takes a couple of bites to feel full, and when there is little or no appetite. As those things fade over the first few months, though, the old food demons often rear their ugly heads, and the struggle returns. Not for everyone, of course, but for many who describe themselves as "obsessed".

Some will continue to eat until they make themselves vomit (which can ultimately result in stretching of the sleeve or pouch/stoma); others "eat around" their surgery by eating every hour or so or by drawing out a single meal into a 45-60 minute event; a small number find themselves drinking with their meals (sometimes consciously, sometimes not) to wash the food they have already eaten out of the pouch/sleeve so they can eat more.

Please don't misunderstand what I am saying, though.  You absolutely CAN be successful with surgery! I am just saying that in order to be successful you will likely need to participate in some type of counseling/therapy to deal with whatever the psychological/emotional driving force(s) is(are) underneath the overeating.

I would strongly encourage you to get into counseling now (if you are not already).  I am almost 8 years out from my own RNY, and -- after years of emotional eating -- I still sometimes struggle with the urge to soothe very negative emotions with Haagen Dazs! Before I had surgery, I reached for the food almost subconsciously (that is how ingrained the habit (coping skill) became).  Now, I at least recognize that I am battling that old habit/demon, and I win the battle much more frequently than I lose it.  Even if I give in and DO have some ice cream (or whatever), I do it knowing that I am doing it  and why (as opposed to mindlessly reaching for the food). Counseling has been a big part of getting me to this point, though, and I don't think I would have been successful without it. No, I know that I wouldn't have been successful -- or at least not AS successful -- without the counseling.

Just a "heads up"... If you DO have WLS, you will likely find that you are even more obsessed with food, at least for a year or two as you have to focus heavily on making good food choices to get enough nutrition in and to keep the weight loss going (or to avoid early regain). So it is an obsession of sorts -- and many people during the first 2 years lament that they are sick of having to think about what (and how much) they are going to eat every single meal of every single day, but it is a much healthier obsession, and eventually a new, healthier way of eating does become more second nature. The old demons/habits -- for me, at least... and for a number of the woman I have as clients -- are never too far away, though, and remaining successful means remaining vigilant and having to make conscious choices every single day.

Lora

Well one thing that is said often on this site is that surgery is on your stomach not your head. Counseling will probably be needed to get to the reasons behind your overeating, otherwise you might fall into bad habits like eating around your sleeve/pouch, or eating to the point where you want to throw up. 

However if you can work out your eating issues with a counselor & have whichever wls you think is good for you, you can probably be very successful in taking off & keeping off the weight. I'm a little less than a year out & I still struggle with the emotional part of my eating sometimes. I wish you well in your weight loss journey.

Many of us find that overeating is exacerbated by eating refined carbs, such as bread, potatoes, pasta and rice.  If you're seriously considering WLS, I'd like to recommend going through your cupboards and eliminating all of the carbs you find.  That really helped me when I first made the committment to myself about wls.  I've found that the more I eat of refined carbs, the more I want.  It has something to do with Metabolic Syndrome, which is when our bodies convert all the carbs into fat, but we don't feel full.  I have had to restrict the amounts of refined carbs I eat.  When I do that, I don't feel as if I need to eat nearly so much.

Overeating isn't nearly such a problem post-op;  with restriction of food amounts and malabsorbtion, we just can't eat as much.  If we do, it is not uncommon to feel so rotten you'll never want to repeat the experience.  I'm speaking from personal experience, here.

Others have said it for me. Surgery doesn't cure anything but it makes it easier! You have already shown you can lose weight and so many of us were like that, yo-yo dieters. Surgery can be that helping hand we need. But it is not, as I am sure you know, a miracle cure. Obviously it also carries risks and you need to feel those risks outweigh the risks of obesity in your own case.

i suggest reading! Research studies will give you facts and figures, but boards like this will help you understand his it feels to live the post-op life. Look on all the surgery boards here ( click on forums in the blue bar). 

Like any addict, an compulsive overeater will always be in recovery mode.  Surgery is not a cure, but it is an effective tool.  You will always be able to outeat your surgery and always have to fight the obsession with food.

But as others have said, it is so much easier to fight when you can get full on a few ounces of food.  For me, RNY combined with low carbs and high protein has made my weight control easy.

Fellow compulsive over eater here.  You are very smart to consider this as you look into WLS.

I had WLS in 2002 and at the time I thought it was a cure, not for my overeating but for the consequences.  And for a while it seemed it was.  But, not having made any changes to my eating or dealing with my overeating I managed to regain 100 lbs, not to mention suffer even more consequences from eating too much and to many things that I could no long physical tolerate.

July 23 is a special day.  Not because it is the day I had my revision but because it is my first day recovery from my food addiction.  Of course I haven't been perfect but I have done better then I ever had before and has a result my weight has been stable for nearly 4 years.

The recovery was definitely helped by my surgery.  I know that, having never being able to control my overeating over any period of time before.  It really is a tool and it has helped me immensely to not eat that way, but it was just a piece of the puzzle, not the whole thing.  It is a tool, and like any tool it does nothing just sitting there in the toolbox.  Used properly it can be a big aid, along with counseling and support.

Good luck to you.

Just want to say thank you to everyone who has responded so far; the support and insight is greatly appreciated!  I have a lot of thinking and researching to do before I make a decision, but I really appreciate the feedback/advice. 

I haven't had surgery yet, but I can tell you from personal experience how helpful seeing a health psychologist has been for me. I was initially "failed" (e.g., not cleared) by the psychologist at my weight clinic due to my emotional health history, depression, binge eating, etc. Her requirement to clear me was to establish regularly with a therapist. It really makes a world of difference to work with someone trained in helping you change your relationship with food, and just as importantly, change your relationship with your thoughts and feelings.