Binge Eating Specialist

[aroundthetown 8]

In December I went to my Bariatric Surgery clinic the first time for 6 appointments which included meetings with nurses, ultrasounds of my liver and other internal bits, oodles of blood tests, and a meeting with a therapist. After meeting with the therapist, and disclosing that I am a compulsive binge eater, I was rejected from the program. They told me that I would need to find a binge eating specialist and be "binge free" for six months. I was devastated. Completely and utterly despondent about not being able to move forward with the surgery right away. I felt like a fool for disclosing my eating disorder and was so pissed at myself for not lying to the therapist. I wonder who gets to almost 300#'s and isn't a compulsive eater? So after wallowing in self pity I manned up and contacted a therapist who specializes in Binge Eating Disorder. I've been seeing her weekly since Dec, and for the past 8 weeks going to an additional 2 hour a week support group. To say that this was a wonderful experience would be an incomplet description of what I've felt going through this process. The therapist I've found "gets it". She is amazing and has truly been helpful in my treatment. Even just admitting to myself that I had an eating disorder was something I could never have contemplated before I met with her. And the thought of "recovery"? Not even in my vocabulary. Now I see the real reasons for why I binge eat- dealing with feelings of depression, anxiety, and having grown up in a home without 'food stability' (ie: long term neglect and poverty) had lead me to form an extremely unhealthy relationship with food. I've gotten so much out of the support group too! This is not OA, but a supervised group therapy session conducted by my therapist. I've made so many connections with others, and have found relief and solace that I'm not the only one struggling with BE.

So, last week I went back to the Bariatric Surgery clinic, and had to repeat the whole process of testing. But this time I was 30#'s lighter, and could honestly answer the questions from the therapist. I've been approved to meet with the surgeon on June 2nd and this process is actually moving forward! I'm so relieved, and so happy that I've got some good skills under the old belt now to help prevent me from bingeing after I'm banded. Just thought I'd share a little bit of my journey thus far with you all. I know many of us are told to do a 6 month diet prior to surgery, (which I was not required to do) but I was wondering if anyone else was required to see a binge eating specialist? What was your experience like?

[TKW 501]

Well, I have to agree, who gets to that weight and isn't a binge eater. I guess the specific question never came up at my psych evaluation but I would think many of us would be classified as binge eaters.

Interesting that therapy has helped you so much. I have had a pretty successful band journey so far but there are days I seriously wonder how I am going to achieve my goal. Maybe thereapy would help me???

Interesting post... sounds like you have an exceptional head start to the whole process, I wish you much success.

[vickyd 24]

I wasn't required to see a binge eating specialist but I knew that I needed to get my head on straight before going through with the surgery so when I chose the psychologist for my pre-op psych evaluation I chose someone with experience dealing with eating disorders and I continued to see him for several months (up until about a month before surgery). Looking back, I think it was the best thing I could have ever done for myself because from the beginning (even through the pre-op liquid diet) I was very focused and didn't have problems. Now that I am 5 months post-op, I can tell you that the biggest part of this journey is mental and having your head in the right place and understanding why you binged (and coming up with other ways to cope with your emotions other than food) will be a tremendous help after surgery.

Good Luck to you!

[aroundthetown 8]

Thank you both for your responses! Vicky when you were on your pre op diet did you loose any weight? I'm wondering if I should try a few days of all liquid now, just to see what shakes I like and such, prior to making the full 2 week pre op- 2 week post op full liquid diet. Would you mind telling me what you generally eat? You've both lost such an amazing amount of weight in such a short time! You are so inspiring.

[Pammy S Lewis 2]

yeah, when i did the pysch eval i had to fill out a quiz and there were numerous questions about binge eating and it raised a red flag. i flat out lied and said no that i didn't binge eat and in the discussion he told me that i would have been rejected if i was a binge eater. good news is though that since being banded i feel free of it. i am no longer hungry all the time or eating when i feel down. i've been really aware of it and i think being banded can actually help somewhat with the issue.

that's great that you found a therapist who could help and are back on track for surgery! good luck and thanks for sharing because i was wondering about this.

[Elie936 1]

Hello! Thank you for your post. I think you are right also, most of us here do have an eating disorder and it is binge eating. Someone, a friend of the familly who worked for a specialised clinic in montreal has told my mother 3 years ago that she suspected me to have compulsions because i have gone from 150 to 341 in 10 years, yet when i ate in front of ppl, id have reasonable amounts of food! No one knew about my struggles, it had started with bulimia and then i would try to diet and then go on these 2000 calorie compulsions. Your clinic was very smart to have you sent to see a therapist and i think most ppl here would need to consult one to increase their chance of success and for them to finally understand why food is such an obsession for them. I think it would have been dangrrous for me to have had the lap band before stopping my bing eating. I did stop last year, i lost 50 pounds pre op just with the help of my psychologist and nutriotionist, without dieting what so ever. They understand us, we are the opposites of annorexics, but oh so similar! Therapy like this does take time, but in the long run, it is the best thing ever.

I read posts, ppl who are trying to diet and wanting a very restricted band, and i find it so sad because they had no one to finally help them with their problems. Lap band for me is not about restricting my food intake, and yes i will still eat french fies, but so little of it. I cannot diet anymore and the liquid diet has been very horrible for me because it made me wanna bindge so badly, it made me understand my progress even more.

My doctor who was given to me by the eating disorder clinic strongly suggested the lap band when i brought it up to him because he said i had so much to loose and it would be a great help.

So far so gOod:)

[Phranp 46]

You were very wise to follow their suggestion and see a therapist. I began seeing my therapist 8 months before my surgery. I wanted to be sure I was having the surgery for the right reasons; that I didn't expect a miracle; and that I had the tools needed to achieve my weight loss goals. I continue to see my therapist today. I intentionally sought an obesity specialist. She is wonderful. I am not a binge eater, but I do eat compulsively -- emotionally. My therapist has given me tools to combat my need to eat in order to "make everything all right". My obesity is 90% head hunger. I am not one of the people that is physically hungry often, but my head hunger can strike at any time. I have learned that when I start looking for something to eat and it's not meal time, I need to look at what is happening in my life at that moment. So for me, the band and the restriction I have, has been a God send because I do not have to start from square one everytime my life goes awry (which can happen often with a stressful job and two college age kids at home). Before the band I had specific foods I would eat when under stress. I did not binge eat, but I would eat a pint of a particular ice cream or large slice of cake -- no more than that, but if you do that day after day for a week or so ... you can gain a LOT of weight. The band and my therapist saved my life, and gave me a life at the same time. I agree with the poster that said that this journey is mostly mental. There are those that do not believe in therapy and I say "good for you". If they can do it without help more power to them, but I wouldn't trade my therapist for all the world!

Congratulations on your success in conquering binge eating thus far. I know that you will be extremely successful once banded.

~Fran

[vickyd 24]

Thank you both for your responses! Vicky when you were on your pre op diet did you loose any weight? I'm wondering if I should try a few days of all liquid now, just to see what shakes I like and such, prior to making the full 2 week pre op- 2 week post op full liquid diet. Would you mind telling me what you generally eat? You've both lost such an amazing amount of weight in such a short time! You are so inspiring.

I lost 10 lbs on my pre-op diet and I agree that it is good to try out some Protein shakes now before you start your pre-op diet. I would also suggest to find a couple of flavors so that you aren't drinking the same thing the entire time...that will get a bit old .

My typical day looks like this:

Breakfast: 1/2 cup eggbeaters with laughing cow cheese and turkey sausage, greek yogurt or a Protein shake (if I'm in a hurry)

Lunch: 3-4 oz Protein with 1/2 cup veggies (usually left over from dinner) or a salad with grilled chicken or shrimp.

Dinner: 4 oz protein with 1/2 cup veggies.

Snack: I don't always snack but if I do it is always protein based...my favorites are Babybel Light cheese, Low Fat string cheese or Turkey sandwich meat spread with laughing cow cheese and rolled up.

I drink 80-100 oz of Water or sugar free Decaf iced tea each day.

I know that carbs are trigger foods for me so I follow a fairly low carb diet (around 30 - 40g per day). I have only had one fill and there are no foods that I can't eat...I have chosen not to eat bread, Pasta, rice, etc and I haven't had any major issues with cravings. A lot of what you will have to do at the beginning is to figure out how the band works best for you...what foods you can (or choose to) eat, how many calories (for me it is 1,000-1,100 per day), how much exercise will you do, etc. What works for me is to weigh and measure my food and eat only that amount of food. I no longer eat until I'm full (or at least how I used to define full)...instead, when I stop eating I am no longer hungry and that takes some getting used to.

Everyone's experience with the band is different so take all the info you get on here as a guide and then figure out how to make it work for you. It sounds like you have done a lot of the hard work with your therapy so I'm sure you'll do great.

Good luck to you and don't hesitate to PM me if you have any other questions...

[nurse535 30]

It's great that you were honest even though it delayed what you wanted at the time - you will be far more successful with the lap band now that you have been working on the emotional issues involved with your weight.

I don't agree that everyone must have binge eating issues or we wouldn't be overweight. I don't go on binges where I eat massive quantities of food, although I do eat more than I should. Maybe it's a matter of definition of binge eating and I'm misunderstanding. Unfortunately, there are many reasons why people are overweight, ranging from emotional reasons to our current culture and availability of food and lack of hard physical labor, etc....etc. I've also been reading a book called Mindless Eating that offers some psychological explanations for our eating habits, and by psychological I mean things like perception and expectations of meals rather than things like depression and stress that trigger us to indulge. This book was recommended to me by both my lap band surgeon and the psychiatrist I've consulted with and I can see why, because it's been very informative.

I hope your Quest for surgery is successful this time around!