new w/ questions re: surgery & eating disorders, MGH weight center, psych. meds

Hi everybody! I'm new here (well . . . actually old, but I haven't been here in a good 5 years or so). I'm female, 5'4" and I weigh 284 pounds which is a number that is just going up every day, much to my dismay. I just can't seem to stop eating all day long. This is the highest weight I've ever been at and I'm ready to scream. Anyway, I just got myself an intake appointment with the people over at the MGH weight center. Has anyone here been through that program? If so, I'd love to hear what it was like and what you think about it, etc. I'm going for my initial appointment on Nov 29th and then I will not hear their recommendations for me until Christmastime. In going there, I want to be well educated about what my options are regarding surgery especially, which is why I'm here. I'm wondering if any of you have had an eating disorder? I've had an eating disorder since I was 6, and I"m 31 now. I eat a lot of crappy foods and that's how I got to this weight. I don't binge much, but just keep grazing and eat for emotional reasons. I've been told once that I'm a bad candidate for the lap band by a new local surgeon who didn't want to take on anybody who might not be a 100% success as he was trying to build his reputation. And he said "you can't be purging if you have a lap band". What he doesn't understand is that the only reason I EVER purge, which is maybe like twice a year, is that I get so exacerbated with my weight that I feel totally out of control and am feeling pretty darn desperate. I find it hard to believe that just because you eat the wrong foods, you are a BAD candidate for surgery. Can anyone speak to this? I know you need to re-vamp your eating habits entirely post-op, but don't they have nutritionists and therapists and stuff that will help you to do that? Also . . . I want to know if any of you have taken psychiatric medications in the past and find that they have altered your hunger set point? What i mean is that I've been on psych meds for bipolar disorder, which lots of people gain weight from and I think they stop you from feeling full so then you don't stop eating. Anyone have thoughts on this? Thanks for your help everyone. It's good to find a place like this to get support and get your questions answered.

Hi, I'm going throught the MGH weight center too. I'm 5'6 and weigh 355 lbs. I just had my follow up appointment yesterday, which went well. I met with Dr. Rosenblum and she told me that my team decided that I should go with the surgery. She asked me if I felt I was ready for the change in my life and if I learned anything about the surgery at the mandatory surgical orientation that I attended. I feel that I've learned alot between this website and forum and the orientation. She has referred me to the surgical coordinators there and I should expect to hear from them within the week to schedule a surgery date and nutritionist group meetings. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time! I can't really help you with your questions about eating disorders but Dr. Rosenblum does agree with my therapist that I should be taking an anti depressant. So my guess is that those kinds of medications are ok to be taking? Don't take my word for it though. You might be able to get your answers at the surgical orientation. Or through this wonderful, informative forum! Good luck and email me anytime if you have any questions about MGH or anything else! Jeana

Hello, I don't know much about MGH and I don't take any meds, so I can't address those issues. But I do know that the nutritionist told me that the lap band works best for volume eaters and doesn't work so well with grazers. With the lap band you can continue eating small amounts of food all day long and not lose weight. The idea is to eat small meals that make you feel full for a while so you don't eat. That's my understanding anyway. I am still waiting to hear if I am going to be able to get a lap band myself! I asked the shrink when I saw her why anyone would be turned down for surgery. She told me one example is people who have mental health issues who are non-compliant with treatment. She said that, say someone is bipolar and they don't take their medicine and they say that they keep their therapy appointments but in fact they don't. She said, if they cannot be compliant with their mental health issues then it is unlikely that they will be able to follow and comply with all the specifics of the lap band diet progressin, eating instructions, and follow up appointments. So I guess whatever you do, don't be non-compliant with your mental health! I don't know about how the meds can alter appetite but the person prescribing it must know. Good luck! Susan

Hi, I had gastric bypass on 8/9/06 at Boston Medical Center. I was 424 lbs on the surgery date and had lost ~25 lbs prior to surgery. I am 41 years old. I have not been diagnosed with an eating disorder but it must be pretty obvious to most that you do not get to 450 lbs without some issues. My eating disorder if I had to give it a name was compulsive dieting. With each diet I would lose weight and gain back more and while I was gaining I would say I sometimes would do complusive overeating. For most of my teen and adult years I was either "dieting" (being good) or eating out of control (being bad). Eventually I gave up on dieting and my weight settled into the mid-300s and just overtime it slowly went up. I got diabetes and as it got worse my hunger got worse and that contributed to the slow gain. So I would think that most of us have an eating disorder of some form and that is why we are considering surgery. I am on antidepressants and many of the folks I have talked through along my journey are on them as well. At BMC if you were being seen by a therapist or psychiatrist they needed to write a letter of approval/clearance as well as you primary care. I am 2+ months out from surgery and I have posted before of the trouble I am having. I guess I was under the impression that the first months after surgery I would not be hungry, would not think about food and the weight would come off quickly and almost without effort. I was prepared for it getting harder as time went on. The day after my surgery when I was just allowed water I was complaining of being hunger and as I have progressed through the diet stages I am still hungry. I feel like I am hungry most of the time and I cannot get in enough food to ever satisfy that hungry. It is a struggle and my weight loss is not what has been expected. I DO NOT WANT ANYONE TO TAKE THE ABOVE DESCRIPTION AS BEING NORMAL. My surgeon said I am an "anomaly" because of my intense hunger. I mention it because I think that most of us would agree that WLS is not a magic pill. There is still work we have to do, just like the dieting work we tried to do before surgery, and that is still a struggle everyday. Best of luck to everyone, Terri