Should I get a gastric band?

[SlipperyNipple]

OK I have not name changed so please be kind.....OK, OK wrong place for that.

I'm 5.6 and 16 stone 4 at the moment. This is post having two children in the last 3 years. I used to hover near 13 stone....so heavy but not this heavy. I don't have any obvious health issues other than I get achy knees now.

I would have to go private. We are reasonably financially comfortable. I could get the cash together but it we would feel it.

I think my husband is going to be a very tough to persuade round. He is very kind and wonderful but thinks I should do this with exercise, diet and willpower. He's never had to diet in his life so he doesn't understand how hopeless I feel about this.

I have been dieting since I was 15 years old and it never really got me anywhere. I would go up and down and always end up around 13 stone. Now I just can't seem to make any headway with a diet at all. I'm tired all the time (baby) and comfort eat.

I don't believe in diets any more. But I don't want to be this way. I can't do the things I want to do: shop in normal shops, run for bus without hurting my knees, ski, feel like a normal person.

OK I'll stop. You get the idea.

Why not go for a gastric balloon? It is non invasive and a great short term solution to the eating/weight gain/miserable/eating cycle. I used to work with balloon patients and spent 3 years fitting them, never saw any serious issues.

I'm really sorry for not coming back to the thread. The baby is teething and I never seem to get a moment to myself.

All of your wonderful posts have really made me think.

I don't have time right at the moment to answer some of the questions that you have asked but I will later today.

I think just you all taking the time to give me your opinions has made me feel more positive for some reason.

But I have done WW (3 times)
Cabbage soup diet
Paul Mckenna
Low carb
An app on the phone
Meals delivered (expensive and yukky)
Just low fat
I used to run regularly before the children
I am vegetarian and eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables.

All the diets work as far as they go....but the broken thing is in me. My portions are too large and I compulsively eat sometimes.

Whatever you decide to do i wish you well. In may 2011 I weighed 20st 5. I joined ww and now weigh 14st 4.5.
A GB is pretty drastic and a collegue of my neighbor died after having it done.
Seriously, cutting down and exercising more really is a better option.
Its hard, I was over weight for 25 years. I'm now 50and fell as I'm making up for lost time.
As i say, good luck x

Taking up exercise would help lots. Maybe there are some local groups you could join? The everyoneactive programme may be in your area and give you support.

Slipperynipple, my sister had several sessions with a hypnotist, rather than an app or cd. She'd tried a cd and it didn't help. She got a good deal on it through Groupon.

I think it is a really personal decision, but you are at a weight where it is doable to loose weight over the next year/years with a non invasive solution.

I was a similar weight to you (but shorter) and I found the weight was having a negative impact on my fertility, I had to loose weight to get pregnant and so for the first time in my life I properly stuck to a diet, I got my BMI down to being "only" overweight and then became pregnant.

I found it was helpful to think about the reason why i was eating more calories than my body needed, for me it was that I liked to eat all evening, also I liked to drink wine which was wasted calories and also made me hungry.

I looked into the different diets and decided ww suited me best, I liked it because I could eat as much fruit as I wanted, I spent so much money on yummy fruit and actually i prefere to have a box of cherries now over chocolate. Also I could use my weekly points to have a couple of glasses bottle of wine on a saturday evening, the other thing that helped was buying lots of lovely herb teas, I think for me food=treats and I needed to learn that the treats didn't have to mean high calorie food. I'm actually looking forward to starting counting my points once the baby is born!

Best of luck to you with whatever you decide.

Someone in my close family had it done and I have followed her progress very closely. These are the main points:

1. She had it done in Belgium in an extremely clean hospital with a very kind surgeon. She does need a lot of fills, but he visits two different cities in the UK each month and his assistant visits another one.

1. The operation went very well, she did not experience a lot of pain at all and has no scars, although there are risks associated with the operation and this is something you would need to decide for yourself.

1. She only goes back to the original surgeon (or his assistant) for fills because he finds the band straight away and it is a painless process. Twice she's tried other people and even with x-rays they had to try multiple times to find the band causing quite a bit of pain.

1. She HAS to eat small portions of only some things otherwise the food gets stuck - she has no choice. This has the advantage that she has no choice and cannot comfort eat, but the disadvantage that eating socially is now a problem. She is quite embrassed about the vomiting (more correctly this is not actual vomiting as the food has not reached the stomach so it's not associated with the problems of chronic vomiting), which does happen a lot.

1. She lost quite a bit of weight (27 kilos) but the last bit of weight she needed to lose (about another 8 kilos) didn't seem to want to shift.

1. She then took a break and de-filled the band...she put all the weight back on. The band is semi-filled again and she has lost some of the weight back again but is struggling to get where she was at first.

Unfortunately she had never been able to stick to a diet for more than a few years (all the diets would work but as soon as she gave up she would put on all the weight plus a bit more) and had never managed to motivate herself with exercise. The band is at least stopping her now from putting on even more weight, although she would like to be slimmer than she is now.

Sorry by "he" I mean the surgeon! Re-reading that it sounded a bit cryptic!

Have you tried your practice nurse? Mine does a weight loss plan called Counterweight. Its a nurse led plan and you visit every 2 weeks for the first 12 weeks, they talk through any problems you have and give you loads of booklets to read and set you a personal weight loss plan.
I was 15 stone 7 when I started 10 weeks ago and am now 14 stone 4. I have reached my 5%(14.9) in 8 weeks and am now working towards my 10% (13.12).
My plan allows me 2000 calories a day and its split into carbs 9 servings (25g dry rice, pasta, 1 slice of bread), fruit 4 servings, veg 4 servings, meat/fish/eggs 3 servings (2 eggs = 1), dairy 3 servings and 2 servings of fats. I also get 140 snack/treat calories which I save for my saturday night wine. I have a massive amount of energy and for the first time ever I am losing weight. I used to be able to do 2 hours worth of 30 day shred workouts 5 days a week and lose nothing as I was basically starving myself.
It may be worth asking as they say 13 out of 14 health boards in Scotland and 30 PCTs use the plan.

The 2 people I know who had them regretted them. They found it hard to adjust to eating smaller portions and so felt ill much of the time as they continued overeating, or found ways to get round the band but still get their calories by eating high calorie more fluid stuff like ice cream.
I would cut down portion sizes and total calories and drink water when hungry ( as often hungry feelings are just due to thirst) and condition your body to accept that sometimes feeling hungry is normal.

I only ever had one band fill. The band was put in with no fill, then there was 3.5 put in a 9 band. Everything I have eaten has gone down, even things that some have difficulty with, rice, sweetcorn, bread, meat. The dietician and I are happy with the weight loss, which is as expected slow.

I had the first comment that I look like I have lost weight now. I don't weigh myself at home, so only see my weight every six weeks at hospital.

To be fair it is early days for me.

Low carb is very difficult as a vegetarian. When you say you eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, do you really mean you eat lots and lots of fruit (sugar) and a few vegetables. I know I did.

I've no way of knowing what your motives for being vegetarian are, and I would never presume to tell you that you should abandon your own principles.

I was vegetarian for years, and was also overweight. My diet was totally overloaded with carbs and sugar. When I was diagnosed with PCOS and was recommended to focus on protein and fat and avoid my staples of bread, pasta and rice, I reevaluated my vegetarian diet. I felt kind of odd about it, but ultimately I was vegetarian out of habit rather than conviction. I went veggie as a young teenager, and at the time I believed it was automatically healthier.

I now eat fish and meat as well as lots of veg, dairy and some fruit. I've dropped three dress sizes in 6 months and I feel totally confident that in another 6 months I'm actually going to be properly slim for the first time in my adult life.

You may well have reasons for being vegetarian which are still valid for you - and if you do then this isn't an option. But if not, giving low carb another go is totally worth trying before considering surgery. The blood sugar balance that this kind of diet can give you, practically eliminating hunger and cravings is amazing.

I would try a lot of other things first. I have a relative about your height & nearing 300lbs when she had her band put in. Was pushing serious diabetes problems if she didn't drop weight. It has saved her life, no doubt, she's a healthy size now. But at a price -- complications about 3 years later nearly killed her & the band has been life inhibiting in other ways.

I went to Overeaters Anonymous for a few years, their approach isn't for everyone. But it helped me get my head straight.

I would never stop being a vegetarian. I don't want to kill animals for my food. I can't kill slugs that are eating all my flowers in the garden so I don't think it's acceptable to eat meat because the animals are killed out of my sight. I also think it's more environmentally friendly.

Anyway my husband hated it when I low carbed more than anything else because of the smell of my breath.

I am not a huge fruit eater. I eat lots of veggies with carbs. I probably need to up my protein a bit and change from cheese.

And yes I know that the milk industry leads to the death of male baby cows but I have found very difficult to be vegan.

I respect your convictions.

But it would really help to switch straight carbs for beans and legumes so at least you're getting protein alongside the carbs. Embrace tofu. As you aren't vegan, you could also look at whey protein and remember that even organic free range eggs are one of the cheapest, most versatile and easiest sources of complete protein around. Good luck.

No to diet meals, slimming world or weight watchers or anything else 'diet' related

You need to change your diet, not be on a diet. Change quantities and massively up your exercise

Gastric band is a cop out imo

See a counsellor about your compulsive eating as you can't manage that alone

As others have said, I think you really have to address your relationship with food and the underlying reasons you comfort eat. These won't disappear with surgery.
DSiL had a gastric bypass a few years ago. She has obviously stretched her stomach as she eats full meals and snacks constantly on biscuits, and sweets. She is slowly putting on weight again, but now has added health problems as she still has a poor diet and her body obviously cannot handle it. She often feels sick, and has lots of troubles with her gut.
There's s good chance she will end up big again, but in poorer health unfortunately.

If you do have weight loss surgery, I think the sleeve is better than the band. Obesityhelp.com is an excellent site with plenty of advice and info. There is a complications forum that I go to. The band can erode into your stomach. Many people get revisions after a band. At 238 pounds, which I think is what you are, you are not all that heavy.

I had a gastric band, and initially lost 6 stone. My pouch became stretched and it ceased to work. I regained 4 stone. I had the band removed, and a gastric bypass - have now lost two stone of the weight I regained. I have found the bypass much easier to live with. It is fully reversible now.

I'm not sure how active you are? Can you rethink your weekly exercise routine? Do more. Run three days a week, zumba one day, swim one day, pilates another day maybe. Get hooked and addicted to excersice and not food. It can be done but there will be a small mountain to climb.

Also eat half the carbs you eat now and stop eating sugar completely. It's rubbish anyway.

Recall, that sounds so distressing. How did you stretch the pouch, was it overeating?

You dont need a diet or a gastric band, you need a change of lifestyle. weghtloss is a simple equation - put in less than you use. If you don't understand this and turn to surgery instead, then the chances are your children could also end up with weight problems like you.
You would spend your money more wisely (and set a better example to your chldren) to hire someone who could help you achieve this - personal trainer etc.

If you compulsively over eat now a band wont help you. Have you had any therapy for this ?