Ok, so I'm getting banded in six days! EEK!

I'm curious to know if any of you have seen a counselor/therapist after lap-band to help deal with the emotional issues related to overeating. I think it would probably be a good idea for me since I don't just eat because I'm hungry. (Who does?) I'm just wondering what we would actually talk about. Any insight from those of you who are in therapy?

Thanks!

Amber

Ok, so I'm getting banded in six days! EEK!

I'm curious to know if any of you have seen a counselor/therapist after lap-band to help deal with the emotional issues related to overeating. I think it would probably be a good idea for me since I don't just eat because I'm hungry. (Who does?) I'm just wondering what we would actually talk about. Any insight from those of you who are in therapy?

Thanks!

Amber

LOL!Funny you should ask. I just returned home from a great walk at the Marina and a visit to my therapist (her office is in the Marina). I started seeing my therapist (an obesity specialist) 8 months before my surgery. I knew long before I got my lap band that I am an emotional eater, so I wanted to be sure that I would be able to deal with my food issues, that had nothing to do with physical hunger, once I had the band. I continue to see my therapist because, as you will read here, there is no "band around your brain". LOL The band provides me with restriction and a cessation of physical hunger (I was rarely physically hungry even before banding). Therapy gives me the tools I need to recognize head hunger and deal with it in the moment.

All the best to you on your journey.

~fran

Thanks Fran. So, your therapist basically just gives you methods of dealing with your urges? I just wondered if they are going to want to delve into my past to uncover the "secret" to my overeating. lol.

Thanks Fran. So, your therapist basically just gives you methods of dealing with your urges? I just wondered if they are going to want to delve into my past to uncover the "secret" to my overeating. lol.

Therapists only delve into things you are willing to talk about. This therapist is not my first. On a side note, all therapist are not good therapist, so don't give it a thought if you are not a good match with the first one you choose. Just move to the next one, you'll find the right one for you.

I trust my therapist, but I will honestly say that she does not know absolutely EVERYTHING about my past. And, the truth is, she doesn't have to in order to help me with my food issues. That's because the things I have done in my life that I might be most ashamed of, are related to the simple things that I have done that effect my relationship with food. When she helps me connect the dots on the simple things, I can recognize for myself how the dots connected with the things that I feel shame over. Maybe one day she and I will talk about those things, maybe we won't... doesn't matter as long as "I" come to grips with the "secret" to my overeating.

~Fran

It's definitely not a bad idea. I would try and find someone who specializes in eating disorders. Good luck!

Teapot

Of course remember I am a man so I tend to mask everything with anger and eating to mask other feelings.

I have been in search of a therapist who can address the anger, compulsive eating and self hatred that has built up over the years.

You are ahead of the game if you are thinking about it cause like they say this band is just a tool and when the food is gone and I am stripped away of

my familiar props some stuff is gonna bubble to the surface. I had been googling compulsive eating therapists in my area and then calling to see

what their take is and how I feel toward them. And I hear there are bariatric surgery support groups too...maybe it is a mixture of the two tha helps work it all thru...

My take on it...

Mike

p.s. so have you been banded yet.?

Ok, so I'm getting banded in six days! EEK!

I'm curious to know if any of you have seen a counselor/therapist after lap-band to help deal with the emotional issues related to overeating. I think it would probably be a good idea for me since I don't just eat because I'm hungry. (Who does?) I'm just wondering what we would actually talk about. Any insight from those of you who are in therapy?

Thanks!

Amber