Hi, I’m considering having surgery for weight loss but I’m not sure it is the best option given I have binge eating disorder. Does anyone have experience with this and can provide some advise?

Thanks!

I am a binge eater - and I had RnY about 18 months ago. For the first 6 months or so I only had the desire to binge once and that was curbed very quickly because I couldn't eat much quantity at all. Now that I'm farther out I do struggle with the desire to binge a little more frequently but it is fairly easy to use techniques to get through it. I've had to learn to deal with my emotions/stress/life in different ways since I can no longer binge - which has been difficult but worth it - and therapy helps. I was also hoping RnY would cause dumping syndrome for me which would be negative feedback if I did binge but alas I do not experience dumping syndrome.

I don't know if it's the best option for you or not - only you can decide that. It won't cure the binge eating at all but it can help provide a tool to fight it.

Thanks so much for your comment, this is really helpful to read and reassuring. It’s great to hear that your urges to binge have decreased and yes, I can imagine that it has been challenging finding other ways to deal with your emotions, as no longer having food but yes, I’m sure it is a relief to now have an alternative. Therapy is definitely helpful and will certainly make sure I utilise this along the way. Thanks again :-)

You may also want to talk to your physician about Vyvanse, which is often prescribed to treat Binge-Eating Disorder (BED).

Thanks for the advise, I certainly will ask about that :-)

I was diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder almost 4 years ago, and I was just sleeved on June 4th.

Everyone is different, but I wouldn't have been ready or prepared to take on the surgery before this point. I think the important thing is to talk to your eating disorder therapist if you have one about whether they think it is the right time for you. Many will be supportive of your decision for WLS once you have been binge-free for a certain amount of time and have gone through the proper ED programs and are considered "in recovery."

Setting yourself up for success in the most important thing, even if that means taking some more time.

Keep in,mind most insurance companies,refuse to pay for Vyvanse. They regard it as a diet drug and a"trivial un-needed expense" not my,statement but that of my ex-insurance,company. Drat their fiendish money clinging souls. I suspect,when an insurance executive,is hatched, not born for they don't act human, the first phrase they learn is We Won't Pay. ?

On 08/07/2018 at 7:33 PM, maybelle1228 said:

I was diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder almost 4 years ago, and I was just sleeved on June 4th.

Everyone is different, but I wouldn't have been ready or prepared to take on the surgery before this point. I think the important thing is to talk to your eating disorder therapist if you have one about whether they think it is the right time for you. Many will be supportive of your decision for WLS once you have been binge-free for a certain amount of time and have gone through the proper ED programs and are considered "in recovery."

Setting yourself up for success in the most important thing, even if that means taking some more time.

On 08/07/2018 at 7:33 PM, maybelle1228 said:

I was diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder almost 4 years ago, and I was just sleeved on June 4th.

Everyone is different, but I wouldn't have been ready or prepared to take on the surgery before this point. I think the important thing is to talk to your eating disorder therapist if you have one about whether they think it is the right time for you. Many will be supportive of your decision for WLS once you have been binge-free for a certain amount of time and have gone through the proper ED programs and are considered "in recovery."

Setting yourself up for success in the most important thing, even if that means taking some more time.

Thanks for this information and that’s really good to know this. I have been struggling with binge eating for about 28 years and would say I am fully in recovery...I have been speaking to my therapist who is support of WLS but still not sure if it is the right path for me. Will continue to so research.

On 08/07/2018 at 7:57 PM, Frustr8 said:

Keep in,mind most insurance companies,refuse to pay for Vyvanse. They regard it as a diet drug and a"trivial un-needed expense" not my,statement but that of my ex-insurance,company. Drat their fiendish money clinging souls. I suspect,when an insurance executive,is hatched, not born for they don't act human, the first phrase they learn is We Won't Pay. ?

Thanks for this heads up, sounds really challenging....I’m in Australia, so insurance may likely be different, as we are under universal health. Will see how I go, fingers crossed.