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What would you do???



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I visited my primary care physician today to get her blessing for my lap band surgery. She believes I'm a "poster child" for the procedure but wants me to try one more diet....with drug assistance (topamax pm and adderall am). The diet is very simple...protein 4 times a day with moderate meals Monday through Friday. weekends free eating. I'm pretty disappointed as I was quite psyched about getting her clearance for surgery.

It's my choice: diet or lap band. What would you do?

215 lbs and frustrated!

:rain:

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Very well spoken Jack... I would question a Dr that wanted you to do another diet and fail instead of encouraging you to get the lapband and successfully lose weight.... (Just MHO)

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I be;ieve that we all knew when we reached the point of..NO MORE will I do the roller coaster thing. We made a decision to have lap band. It is the best decision I have made FOR ME in very long time...no regrets!...Banded April 2003..95-98 lbs lost..maintaining for over 2 yrs..when is last time you maintained for over 2 yrs?? I never did before! Good luck to you!

deb

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I didnt tell my primary care doctor until 2 weeks after banding. I didnt need his approval for my insurance to pay. He can be short and abrupt and I didnt want to listen to him. I have heard people say that their doctor didnt want them to do it, because once they get in better health and off of their meds they dont need their primary care doctor as much. At 52 I felt like I was running out of time to do anything to make a difference.

What happens after you stop taking the diet meds???

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2bthinagn - Amen to that. I didn't tell my PCP until I went to have my BP meds adjusted after 30 days. She was practically jumping for joy when she saw my weight loss, but I don't know how receptive she would have been had I approached her before banding. I am finding that a LOT of professionals are pretty in the dark about banding. They know bypass, but NOT banding!

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I am not a Dr & I know that some drugs can be used for different reasons. I am just curious if you have Migraines because Topamax is used for migraines & for Epilepsy. I have used in the past & I hated the way it made me feel. Also Adderall is meant for people with ADD/ADHD, so basically your Dr is giving you a legal form of speed to take.

I am not banded yet (but will be on Friday) but I think you & your husband have made the right decision!

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hey there...i don't know about you...you may do wonderful on the drug...but I took topamax as well in hoped for weight lose (as well as for other reason)....it didn't work for either problem and gave me some screwy side effects that lasted for quit some time.

anyway, just my thought on that drug...i know they do work differently for ea. person. Best wishes to you and GBYalways

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Try the diet first. The first 6 weeks after the banding there is not much restriction and you are basically doing it on shear will power now after the fill I am sure that is a different story but I have not had one yet.

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I also had very good restriction after surgery. I was banded June 4th and I have had 2 fills... and I'm down a little over 40 pounds. I feel healthier than I have in a very long time. The thing is, we aren't on a diet anymore. Diets are over... this is a new way of living. You don't need drugs to use as a crutch. Your body and your band is all you need to get healthy. At least for me anyway. :)

Good luck! I hope things work out for you!

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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