New pre-open revision to sleeve, scared needs support

I just joined as the information on this group said pre-ops welcome. I need help finding an eating disorder therapist near my area as I already feel the need for therapy will be strong and helpful soon after surgery.

Does anyone else have therapy and find it helpful in recovery and with weight loss?

I live in the Seattle south suburbs area of Renton, WA.

Any discussion on therapy help pro and con appreciated.

Karenyt

I'm on the east coast and don't have therapist suggestions (others in this group might). If you haven't already done so, putting this question on the General Discussion Forum might yield more responses.

Sorry Karen. Am in Canada so no help. All the best!

Hi Local Girl! I'm typing this in Bothell. Welcome!

I think there are two questions here.....is therapy helpful and how do I find it? Edited to add....a third question might be what KIND of therapy did peeps find helpful?

Therapy is a help for 99% of us and absolutely essential for many of us. For myself, I found someone that I talked to the first 6 months of WL. Ultimately, I decided to put those dollars into something else (yoga) which the therapist herself supported. She said, "maybe it will quiet your mind" which I still find amusing.

My therapist ended up providing what I think of as talk therapy. I had hoped to find someone who could help me be more action oriented along the lines of cognitive behavior therapy or something. I don't regret the time that I spent with her at all, but in hindsight moving on was also the right move.

You might ask your program if they have suggestions although I totally struck out with that approach when I tried. I thought they would have names of local providers. But, he (the program psychologist) had absolutely nothing at the time.

I ended up going thru https://www.psychologytoday.com to find a therapist that took my insurance. I am sure her bio said she had an interest in eating disorders. That is still a good place to start, but I wish I had thought to treat the first appointment (or two) as an interview about what therapy with her would look like.

Of course that means that YOU have to have an idea of what therapy will look like, too, which might be harder. It is hard to have insight to what you need especially if (like most of us) you don't know what therapy is even available. But, starting to look now is perfect.

By the way, recently I spotted my original therapist arriving at my yoga studio as I am leaving. (Her Mill Creek studio closed.) She wouldn't recognize me at goal weight and I have been hesitant to go up to her to re-introduce.....public area, what if she doesn't remember me and all that jazz.

Best wishes for your journey. We have great resources in the Seattle area.....just have to be willing to dig and not settle. I know you have those skills because you found THIS group!

Shel

Hi Karynyt,

Welcome to our little group. (Actually, there are a lot of us, but only a small core group posts regularly.)

Therapy... boy where to start? Yes, I would recommend it highly. As far as I'm concerned, you are already ahead of the game because you are questioning whether therapy will be of benefit to you. I had no such thoughts pre op. I was all about eating right, following rules, and getting to goal, which I did steadily without stalls. I did everything "right" EXCEPT learn, understand, and change the habits and beliefs that led me to obesity in the first place. I became a thin, lean person with a fat person's brain. That brain led me to significant regain.

When I realized I needed help I had regained about 40 pounds from my adjusted goal weight. I sought help from my PCP, a therapist covered by my insurance (Kaiser) for the short term and also found an outside therapist who had a history working with people suffering from disordered eating. In addition to the eating disorder therapist, I worked for about 18 months with a nutritional counselor (RD and certified nutritionist) who worked on helping me understand some very warped diet mentality thinking that sabotaged with regularity.

I have been working with the therapist now for over 2 years. I am also seeing a psychiatrist who is helping me deal with my depression and Binge Eating Disorder. I am extremely happy and grateful for this most recent gift. The medication is proving to be extremely beneficial.

So for me, it's been of the utmost importance to understand what has been driving my emotional eating since I was a child. VSG altered my stomach. Changing my relationship with food, eating, and my inner self has been a process brought about because of my VSG, but a process I had to take on myself. VSG didn't change my "fat brain", per se.

Hindsight being what it is, I know that therapy would have been a great tool for me during WL post op. However, I was not ready for therapy at that time. I had to go through my journey my way - LOL! My weight has gone up and down over the past 4 years. At times I have been desperate and distraught. Therapy has allowed me to lose the shame, guilt and embarrassment of being obese and my obese eating habits. Therapy has allowed me to step away and examine myself without judgement and accept the scientific research that is beginning to explain the medical aspects of obesity - the drivers, the emotional components, the genetic composition, etc...not just the physical outcomes. Therapy has allowed me to maintain hope.

I believe that therapy is NOT for everyone, but if you think it might be of benefit, follow through because it probably will be - even if it's short term and what you find is you don't really need it.

Wishing you much success on the new chapter of your journey!

Hi, Karen. Late to this as well, but wanted to support your instinct to find a good therapist.

I'm in the Midwest, so have no specific recommendations of a therapist that would be useful. However, I've been a seeing a therapist for nearly 3 years now (only once a month these days), and I've found his support so very, very helpful.

Other things that support my focus on a healthy lifestyle include:

• Yoga classes (twice a week -- they're the touchstones of my week)
• Aquarobics 3 days a week -- surprisingly athletic and a great socializing support as well
• Walking on non-class days
• Tracking on MFP all my food instake. I use MFP for planning my meals, too. Works great for me.
• Weighing every morning. It doesn't make me crazy and keeps me focused.

Not sure what kind of revision you're having, but I wish you the very best in your surgery and recovery.