Addicted

The surgery won't stop you from doing physical or caloric damage to yourself. You have to be able to do that. It doesn't cure cravings or give you any extra help to not give in. I really hope you're in therapy and that you remain so after surgery to help you in these situations!

The struggle is real and it is ongoing hard work. I commend you for your honesty and bravery reaching out for help. There is "no shame" in addiction. As mentioned every where on this site, therapy is crucial. Learning healthy ways to cope with your feelings, instead of reaching for food, has been a huge part of my journey. I have to practice and remain focused daily. What helps me is not having any trigger foods in the house. Like Liz said, when I eat dense protein at my evening meal it really helps to keep me satiated until I go to bed. If I am truly hungry in the evenings, especially if I have worked out, then I take and allow myself a couple bites of protein, i.e. a chop, cottage cheese/cinnamon, turkey deli meat, etc. It works every time. This may sound funny, but this also works for me, we have a small wire that can be wrapped around the refrigerator handle and cabinet so that if I am feeling an extreme need to eat my feelings at night, my husband locks it up and he hides the key. I choose NOT to have ice cream, chips, etc. in the house. When I have eaten ice cream, french fries, it has been when I am out of the house. I allow myself an, "off plan food" every now and then (serving size) and am able to reign myself back in quickly. My "off plan foods" are far and few between. Keep on putting in the hard work and find healthier coping mechanisms to deal with your feelings. Every day is a learning experience. You can do this.

From my observations (I'm a sleeve patient 3 years post-op maintaining my goal weight of 135 pounds), WLS surgery doesn't cure obsessive behavior, addictions, or binge-eating behavior.

FYI, there's a specific definition of "binge eating disorder" (BED). It's not the same as occasionally overeating. Here's a good place to start learning about it: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/binge-eating-d isorder/symptoms-causes/dxc-20182932

Regarding Liz's and Holly's comments above, here's my take on overeating or binging soon after WLS:

No one is "forced" to eat a lot or a little immediately post-op. Patients' compliance with instructions/advice from their doctors and other medical advisors is purely voluntary. Some comply. Some don't.

Will they suffer as a result? IMO, anyone who tries early on post-op to eat large amounts of anything puts their sleeve's integrity and their future success as a WLS patient at greater risk.

I believe an appropriate analogy can be drawn to those who smoke: Just as everyone who smokes doesn't contract cancer, smoking increases the likelihood that a person who smokes will contract cancer.

So yes, any WLS patient may choose to do anything she or he wishes to do at any time. Of course, other WLS patients may profit from observing the outcomes of their choices.

EDIT: I don't suffer from binge eating disorder. But like many WLS patients I did have nearly a lifetime of disordered eating, e.g., eating for comfort, using food to subdue other feelings, eating when bored, choosing unnutritious foods, "celebratory eating" (a term I learned from kairk who posts here), etc.

I've been seeing a therapist for over three years who's helped me to become much more mindful about my eating and to build a much healthier lifestyle (eating, drinking, exercising, self care, etc.). In fact, I started seeing a therapist before WLS at the suggestion of my primary care physician who said, "I'll support you in any way you want to try losing weight again. But I urge you, first, to find a good therapist who can help you learn why you don't care for yourself."

Of course, poor self care was MY issue, not necessarily yours. Many (most?) WLS patients became obese because their over-eating was motivated by issues they've never fully addressed or resolved. Given that pattern, I urge you to consider therapy for yourself.

As always, others' mileage may vary.

Yes, totally agree. I too was not diagnosed by my psychologist, presurgery, with BED. Ditto re: your edit. Helpful info.

I was diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder about two years post-op. I'm sure I had it prior to surgery, but I never knew until I read about it for a few classes. I definitely never would have talked about my binging to a health care provider because it was too shameful for me.

That said, I had no issues and didn't binge at all for the first year(ish) post-op. It wasn't until my dad's cancer moved to his brain and his subsequent death that the BED came back with a vengeance. So for me the surgery definitely helped to halt the binging. However - I didn't have an issue with binging during my pre-op diet either. My willpower was at its highest then.

I highly, highly recommend that you find a therapist to work with if you don't already have one. The surgery will only operate on your stomach, not your brain. Do not believe that it will sort your brain out. Find a therapist you click with and start working on the brain stuff now when the whole eating thing is easier thanks to surgery. Do it for you - you deserve it.

I used to binge eat a lot pre-op, but haven't at all since.

Everyone is right, the surgery is on our tummies, not our brains, but for me, my RNY recovery was so painful that the thought of ever binge eating again sickened me enough to make the urge go away. Plus, after surgery the hunger went away totally and i had no urges to eat, let alone over eat. I had a lot of inflammation and when I started soft foods, had so much pain my surgeon made me start over with full fluids for another 2 weeks, then 2 weeks of puree, before I could try soft foods again. So I had an extra month of super low calories and I think that helped give me more time to change my habits.

Now I'm 5 months post op and have some hungry days, usually when I've burned more than 1000 calories from exercise, but still no urge to binge. When I do eat more than I've planned, it's in the form of protein, and not an uncontrollable urge but a decision on my part that I need a little more protein for the day (I usually eat 70 grams a day but some days need more and am allowed up to 90 grams on my plan).

I don't crave my old favourites like chips or MacDonalds and actually feel nauseated when I see or smell them, but the smells of other old friends like fre****alian bread, rye bread toast, or pizza drive me crazy with desire, lol. I don't give in, or even think about them unless I smell them, so that's a big change as food obsessions used to be with me 24-7.

I do find myself longing for beef jerky just about all the time now though, and am looking for a second hand food dehydrator :-).

food smells and desires are so funny, my husband has been extremely conscientious about making/eating food around me since surgery because he doesn't want it to mess with my head. I've told him it doesn't bother me, the food smells good but it doesn't make me want it. I do appreciate the smell though, maybe post-surgery I'll be one of those people who likes to sniff bakeries and barbeque joints

So far the only thing I got annoyed about was when my MIL brought home a bag of cheetos for our son (something I've specifically mentioned I don't want in our house). I had a moment of sadness at the loss of what was my favorite binge snack, and I'm certain she didn't do it on purpose and just forgot as she's not the malicious type. In fact she's been making me broth portions for the last two days so that it's not all protein drinks all the time.

I do love and enjoy the smell of fresh baked bread but it makes me want it sooooo badly, lol.

It's nice that your MIL is making you broth; I found it really helped to sip on broth post op.

Isn't it funny how things change after surgery? The biggest for me was my taste buds for sweet drinks. It's taken me months to find more than one thing to drink besides water that tastes good to me.

But just this past Monday I discovered a new aversion that made me giggle (well after it made me gag!). I was walking down the bread aisle at Walmart, checking (fruitlessly) to see if they had a low carb or keto bread. When I got to the end of the aisle, there was a lot of wheat bread. I swear, it hit me like a ton of bricks and I seriously had to race out of there because the smell was making me sick to my stomach!

When I think about it now it makes me laugh because I used to be such a bread fiend! lol Just the memory right now of that smell nearly makes me gag again! Yay for small, weird, miracles hahahaha

It is weird how things change, lol. I wish bread smells made me nauseated instead of driving me mad with desire, lol. You're lucky.

Once I was at the dollar store check out, and there was a huge display of chocolate covered marshmallow candies near the till, and the smell of them made me so sick I barely made it out without causing a scene. I wonder what causes that?

Food court smells are grosse to me, except for the pizza, which smells lovely, lol.

Once I passed a rack of chips and actually gave them the finger, without thinking about it or meaning to do it, lol. I'm becoming so weird, lol.