Carrie P

Sure! Right now, we're focusing on mindfulness. I have a dissociative disorder. Basically, I'm pretty much on auto pilot all the time and never really take time to "feel" my feelings. I'm working on keeping myself grounded. I have to check in with my body several times a day. It's not natural for me to do that; so there's been a learning curve. I'm told that it will become easier the more I practice it. This is good because I tend to numb my feelings; especially with food. One of the exercises that she has me doing is to every once in a while, look around wherever I'm at and pick five things to look at. I then have to name five descriptive things about it. For instance, right now I'm in my bedroom. I see my salt lamp. It's amber colored and sits on a smooth, round base. It almost looks like a craggy mountain top, with snow (lighter colored salt) resting on the top. It creates a warm ambiance as the light shines through the salt. It was a gift from my husband. I also use this exercise when I'm hungry or feeling anxious. It helps to ground me in the moment so that I can identify what's really going on and make decisions based in the rational part of my brain instead of the survival part of my brain. I do journal, but that is for my own self. She hasn't asked me to do it. Right now, I'm drawing mandalas as part of my journaling. It's interesting to see how they change each day. I got the idea from here: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-28018/want-to-figure-out-your-calling-try-this-10-minute-exercise.html I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.

I see a LCSW that worked for 10 years as a psychotherapist at a center of excellence for eating disorders. She is very good. She is also my yoga instructor. She teaches yoga for Every{Body}. That's how I originally met her. I would look for someone who specializes in eating disorders. Talk to that person and see if you click. Fortunately, there are several good therapists out there who can help.

My band to bypass revision is scheduled for the 25th.

I didn't really set any New Year's resolutions, but I did set an intention last month for the coming year. My intention for the coming year is self discovery.

This makes me feel better to see good results. I am scheduled to have band to bypass on January 25th. I've heard that revision patients tend to lose slower. Any feedback as to how it's gone for all of you who have experience?

I'm sorry. I haven't had my revision surgery yet, but I have been warned by my nurse practitioner. I told my family to be prepared and I'm trying to work on some emotional things now before my surgery with a therapist. Really sorry. I hope you get to feeling better soon.

I highly recommend the Mirena IUD. It is awesome! It can be removed at any time if you wish to become pregnant, but it's good for 5 years. I will never use anything else.

I'm a little confused. Do you think you'll be able to get off of the depression and anxiety meds after surgery? I forgot to take my meds for three days once because I had to take care of something that was totally outside my normal schedule and threw me off. Anyway, I noticed that I was getting pretty irritated with everyone by the end of day one. By the middle of day two, my mood was all over the place. My irritability greatly increased. I just wanted peace and quiet. Day three was bad...so bad...I wound up curled up on my bed sobbing. My husband then asked me if I had taken my meds. I realized that I hadn't. I took them immediately and started feeling much, much better by the next day. So, as far as I'm concerned, they can pry those pills out of my cold, dead hands. I don't plan on getting rid of them anytime soon. I honestly just don't do well without them whether I'm thin or not.

My revision is scheduled for January 25th. I will have the band removed and then have RNY done at the same time. Please keep us updated on your progress!

Thank you to everyone for the answers. I'm calling my psychiatrist next week to get the Wellbutrin XL changed and to see what he says about the Effexor XR. Life is not so great if I forget to take the Effexor...for anyone. I definitely don't want to be having to fight that battle on top of just having surgery. I've also heard that the surgery can make you overly emotional too as you loose weight. Is this because of the hormones released as you lose or something else?

This sounds almost identical to my story. I'm seeing an eating disorder specialist to deal with some of those things from my past and how they affect me now. Sorry, I know it's painful.

I'm seeing an eating disorders specialist for just this reason. I hope that it will help me to wrap my head around everything and learn to be more mindful of my eating.

I hope someone has been in the same situation I am in and can set my mind at ease. I take Wellbutrin XL and Effexor XR. My surgeon told me to contact my psychiatrist and tell him about my surgery so that he can change my meds. Mainly get me off of the extended release because they can't be crushed. I was also told to ask about liquid meds. I can't imagine being without my medications. Let's just say that I'm not a pleasant person to be around if I miss taking doses for more than two days. I really don't want to go back there mentally. Anyone else with this kind of situation? Were you able to take your meds while on the clear liquid phase? Were you eventually able to take pills again?

Update: My surgeon did a peer-to-peer review and my insurance was approved! Yay! Whatever the reason, the Lap Band just didn't work for me. However, it has worked for a lot of people. I wish it had, but it is what it is. :-)

Life insurance... which still makes no sense to me.