will it reduce my hunger?

[debbiek01]

i am new here. I have been to a couple seminars. talked to my insurance company and they say they will pay 90percent. i had my psychological evaluation and in two weeks have an appt with a nutritional counselor.
Every one tells me that everyone they know who has had the surgeries gains back their weight. which is okay with me. I figure if i lose a hundred and gain back 30 i will still be happy. right now i am 287.
what i really want to know is if it is true that getting the lapband will take away my hunger pangs? one seminar even went so far as to say that i would have to be reminded to eat. this sounds like heaven to me because i am always hungry. Is it true? because if it isnt i am afraid this just wont work for me.

[kebsa]

Hi Debbie
When the band is adjusted and you find "your sweet spot"- the ideal fill for you it does help with physical hunger. A lot of us ( i think I say most of us) start to realise more and more, the difference between physical hunger and what you will see called head hunger. Head hunger is eating for all the other reasons - emotions, comfort, habit and just pure pleasure etc. The band is not a miracle, it is a fantastic tool that helps if you work with it. IF you never feel hungry it can be a sign that the band s a bit too tight.

As for regainng weight after weight loss surgery, if you look at some of the research from countries that have used the band for longer than the US you will see that the long term stats are promising. The advantage with the band that it is adjsutable as long as you have it!! It can be unfilled if you have health problems and re filled later etc or just adjusted as you change- its not the one shot deal that some of the other wls surgeries are. You are also rght that even if you do regain some weight, you are still better off than before. for most of us that have gotten to the stage where we are considering surgery, we know one thing to be true- we have trouble losing weight and if we do lose it, we regain.

with the band, once you are healed properly and have the correct amount of restriction you will not feel continually hungry or deprived. IF you have head hunger issues it wll probably help you work out the difference between that and true hunger- then you can deal wth that more easily

[Kathy]

debbie, the folks saying you will regain after losing may be confusing Lap Band with RNY Gastric Bypass. Weight regain happens very frequently after RNY. Some RNYers are even getting banded!

I find what the band does NOT really help me with is "stress eating". That wandering in the kitchen opening cuppards, the fridge, the small underlying panic...feed me, do something with me please shove something yummy in my mouth I'm starving...feeling. *shrug* Even at pushing 2 years out from banding, I struggle with feeding my stress. It's a mind game.

What the band DOES do for me is limit how much real damage I can do during those times. Yeah, I wish I could just leave the house and go for a walk...I have young children and sometimes there is just no escape...which is really what I'm looking for in the food, right?...but if I graze a bit more wisely I'm doing damage with a bowl of oatmeal, followed by a York Peppermint Patty, then a cup of coffee with sugar and flavored creamer, then a handful of goldfish and 5 Pringles...whew! The Nosh Fest is finally over! Well, that's a whole heckuva lot less damage done than pre-band. I'd have eaten a 1/2 can of Pringles, some Chex Mix, 3 handfuls of goldfish, a bowl of cereal, and a sandwich and some leftover casserole plus a bowl of ice cream...or something...you get the pic.

It's no cure, to be sure, but it give me a fighting chance. I'm currently fighting off the last 20 or so pounds...oh, 30 or so now :rolleyes: but I know I'll do it.

You are Blessed to have insurance coverage. Make the most of it! :)

[lil'bitty]

Debbie, Kebsa and Kathy have done a great job summing it up. I am 2 months banded. I was banded 11/29 right before the holidays and let me tell you, I enjoyed all of the normal holiday foods, just like a normal person. Like Kathy mentioned, the band keeps you from eating the quantity that you would have pre-band. Like Kebsa said, it's not a miracle cure. You still have to work it and there are good days and bad. The band helps you get back in check on the bad days. Congrats on your insurance victory and on your pending band surgery! We are all here for you.

[debbiek01]

thanks, that helps me a lot. if i ever got to the place where i could just eat 5 pringles that would be a victory!!!! i think i will do well on the band because i eat healthy foods now--i just eat tooooo much healthy food!!
my goal is to get my BMI out of the 40s into the low 30s so i can live long enough to enjoy my retirement.

[503-250]

Debbiek01, welcome to the looney bin, pull up a seat and warm up your sense of humor cause its gonna get a workout here.

I'm nowhere near as hungry as I used to be, I can no longer eat anywhere near the level of food I used to eat, and even when I snack, it's an amount so much less then I would have in the past that I am stunned.

I'm not currently in my "sweet spot" with fills, but before the band 4 slices of pizza would have made me Thanksgiving day filled, now if I get about 1 1/2 slices in no crust I would feel like I was going to explode.

[tattooedsuess]

Welcome to B2G Debbie and congrats on your pending surgery.

[Kathy]

...whew! The Nosh Fest is finally over!

Question: is it Nosh Fest or Gnosh Fest? Just wondrin'. I should know how to spell colloquialisms before I use them, huh? :blabla: :)

[Sand Pirate]

Welcome to b2g we are all in the same boat about controlling the hunger. Like your insurance its 90% head games the your stomach pulls on your head. If we can stop those cravings to binge that is what the band is all about. I could have polished that whole can of Kringle's and after I threw the can in the trash My head would be in the pantry looking for what else I could eat. I might as well just brought my TV the the grocery store because I was never satisfied with just a LITTLE snack.

[lil'bitty]

but before the band 4 slices of pizza would have made me Thanksgiving day filled, now if I get about 1 1/2 slices in no crust I would feel like I was going to explode.


I could have totally beat you at a Pizza eating contest!!!! I have eaten a whole large pie myself. I don't think I would have admitted that anywhere else but here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Stitchy]

I think that your sources are confusing Lapband with RNY. It is pretty common for RNY to gain back the weight. The band will always be with you and since it is adjustable, you can have a fill to get back to your *sweet spot* and lose any that you might have gained.

For breakfast, I usually blend a cup of milk with some protein powder. I don't even think about food until lunchtime. I still get hungry late in the afternoon before dinner. That has always been the time of day I would go grazing. I try have something light, like some Ritz crackers and hummus. That usually tides me over until dinner. And of course, I am hungry. It's dinnertime, after all. But I can only eat a small serving and then I am full ... not hungry anymore. I can eat about a cup of food. Prebanding ... ? Well, I never measured it, but I filled up my plate. Sometimes, I get pangs after dinner, but I know that is head hunger. A glass of water usually takes care of it. I read somewhere that hungry pangs and thirsty pangs and triggered from the same source, but I don't remember where I read that.

[debbiek01]

that's a good one!!! i never thought of taking my tv to the grocery store!!!