Hi

I'm new here and looking for some info. Have any of you had lap band surgery for eating disorders that did not involve obesity? I'm having a hard time finding a doctor in the u.s. that would do it. I'd appreciate any feedback.

thanks

Anya

I'm not sure what other reason one would need a lap band for if not obesity?

bulimia and binge eating. if i can't fit it in my stomach, i can't eat it.

Anya,

You won't get ANY surgeon in the U.S. to band you for eating disorders. You need to be in therapy so that your problem can be managed. Please don't waste your efforts trying to be banded. You'll lose valuable time getting the real help you need.

Unfortunately I think what would happen if you had a lapband to be much worse than the eating disorders you were trying to avoid. Overeating with the band causes major problems including slipage. This could permanently damage your stomach, but not rid you of the disorder. Bulimia would cause vomiting, again another drastic behavior for the band. The lapband would not cure the underlying causes of those disorders. In my opinion, you would be better off working with a doctor to modify the behavior. The lapband won't help you with that.

Good luck to you. We are all suffering with disorders. Lapband owners overeat and eat the wrong things. We are life-long abusers of food.

Stay strong and asking for help is the first step.

The Lap Band is absolutely not a good idea if you suffer from bulimia. In fact, most US doctors require a psych evaluation and one of the purposes is to rule out people disposed to bulimia and/or anorexia.

i've been in and out of therapy for years. i can stop the bulimia, but not the binging. i'm just a smaller version of the same kind of hell you are all going through. why do i have to be a hundred pounds overweight to get banded?

It was hard for us being over weight. We still struggle every day with over eating.I ate to much today. If you want to binge you will binge even with the band. It is just a Tool to help you. It does NOT stop you from over eating.You have to stop your self. It tells you you have had enough. But it is up to you not to go past that point.

For me I saw weight loss for the first time with my band. I thought can really do this. Some days are hard some easy. Just like AA. I have to tell my self I will not overeat today no matter how stressed I get. When you do not have the band it seems like you can diet for months and lose two pounds. The band is a tool that keeps you from being hungery all the time.

There is eating because you are hungry and then there is head hunger.

It will not help head hunger.Only you can work threw the head issues.I do not mean to sound judgemental. We all have some kind of eating disorder. Good luck to you. I hope you find peace and health.

The band won't stop binging. Anything liquid will slip past the band, I know some people struggle with binging on ice cream which slips right past the band. The band is a tool, but it still requires the person banded to be able to work with it. Dr's don't want to band you, because it's not the right tool to help with your problem, and can cause you to have even more health problems if you try to binge with the band. I would keep on with the therapy, and don't give up, the only solution for you is an internal one.

XO

Leila

If you binge with the band (and you will, if you suffer from bulimia), you will also purge, which is very harmful to the band. Vomiting causes the band to slip, requiring at the least a long period of no fill, and at worst, surgical intervention.

About 30 years ago I was anorexic, weighing in at 89 pounds at my worst - and mine was a moderate case. Anorexia isn't about being thin; it's about control. I suspect that bulimia is the same. A band would simply help you make yourself sicker, faster.

How tall are you and how much do you weigh, by the way?

I would think that if you were bulimic or a true binge eater, you could quite literally kill yourself with a band.

Binge eating really has little to do with how hungry you are, so the fact that you dont get as hungry with a band isnt going to have much effect. And binge eaters and bulimics eat way past when their body tells them its full - you can still do that with a band too, but you will make yourself sick. Its not as if you cant physically force more food in there after a certain point.

But more worrying than that is consistently overloading your new stomach could cause your band to slip and/or erode and then you can be very sick.

I can sympathize....but lap band is the wrong "cure" or answer to the problems of bulimia and binge eating. It is like taking a drug for cancer to help with an acne problem. Not making a judgment here, only saying that that it is the incorrect "drug".

Sorry to say, but if any surgeon does band you, knowing the problems that exist, he/she is completely unprofessional and borders on unethical.

I agree with the others. We all have our food issues. Keep receiving good help with your bulimia. The band wouldn't be a good idea as it would be dangerous.

Good luck. Shawn