I know it's frowned upon but...

[BobDog]

Hi, i know that it's frowned upon in here, but i was thinking about getting a gastric band.

i've been working my butt off for the last 3 years trying to get rid of my flab. i know a lot of people think it's the easy way out, but i really don't think it is. I have PCOS and have insulin resistance, so it's dang hard for me to loose weight. After discussing it with my gp and all the after effects of the surgery and the fact that it really is life changing. i would be changing my eating habbit's for the rest of my life.

as far as i'm concerned that's a good thing.

i guess i'm asking for some honest opinions, please be nice about it though. i know that weight loss can be frustrating and thinking someone's taking the cheats way out may get some backs up. but that's not what i'm doing. this isn't a choice i'm thinking about lightly. hence i'm asking for some opinions.

 

[chele]

I considered this too but wasn't surprisingly heavy enough.
What does your GP say? Is it nhs funded or private.

I think they for some people they're life savers
For other people they're a waste of time, those who just don't change their habits.
But you sound like the first.

How much do you need to lose if you don't mind me asking?xx

 

[BobDog]

i need to loose 9-10 stone. it's weird cos the NHS won't let you do it if you are under a BMI of 40 and if you are over 50 BMI they ask you to loose enough weight so you are between 40 and 50.

but the punch line to that is they say you've lost so much weight to get you into that bracket that you can do it on your own...

so i'd be going private. the reason i want the band is because it's so bl**dy hard to loose weight with PCOS and insulin resistance. and after 5 years of dieting and denying myself so much for so long, and having very little in the way of results. i just want to be able to jog without my knees buckling under me. and be able to get on a bike without worrying the thing can't carry my. and i would love to be able to take up horse riding again. but most of all i want to fit into the catagory of 30 BMI or less so i can have my IVF!!

all these reasons and more. My main reason as i said is for IVF. and if i can get there myself then i would no questions and no excuses.

 

[ILoveShoes]

Hiya,
I just wondered if you'd been exercising too to lose weight, or just doing it through diet?
Sorry if you've already covered this, and I've missed it.
xx

 

[fuzzylu]

I too have been thinking about this alot recently. I also suffer from PCOS and find it very difficult to lose weight.
unfortunatly for me im not big enough to get nhs funding so would need to go private. think im going to save up and possible get one fitted in 2-3 years time.

I work at a private hospital, so see these procedures done regualy and ive never yet had a patient regret having one fitted. it is a drastic step tho so you need to make sure your able to make such a big lifestyle change.

 

[BobDog]

Hiya,
I just wondered if you'd been exercising too to lose weight, or just doing it through diet?
Sorry if you've already covered this, and I've missed it.
xx

yes, i do lots of exercise, i walk for 2 hours a day with my dog, i swim twice a week, and i cycle. but i worry all the time about the bike not being able to handle my weight. i don't work so i have more time to do extra things. like keeping our garden nice. i do and care for my gran in the morning, getting her out of bed, showered and dressed, then give her her breakfast. i do her housework and gardening too. so i'm kept going all the time.

the only rest i have is in the evenings when i watch my soaps. and for fun we go camping and so walk loads over the moors or beaches and swim with the dog in the sea. depending on where we go camping that is. so i'm actually pretty active. but i just can't seem to shift the weight.

and i've been told off because the dr's seem to think i cheat about what i eat. but i was even on the jenny craig diet last year, i had no other food in the house, so i couldn't cheat! but i only lost 2lbs in 2 months! and the 3rd month i didn't loose a thing! waste of money!

 

[Try Rocking]

It's up to you, I don't know how hard it is but it sounds like it's pretty rough to lose weight but have you considered Weight Watchers? I needed to lose about the same amount you need to and I'm 10 lbs away from my halfway point and it took me 7 months.
It might be worth a try. Either way good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[chele]

With what you said, have you asked the doctors for full blood work to see if there is a medical reason other than the insulin resistance? You're so active, unless you're consuming over 2800/3000 calories a day, there should be no reason why you aren't losing.

Also one more diet to consider - lighter life or Cambridge. I lost nearly five stone on Cambridge
Have you ever done one like that? They're drastic but not quite as drastic as surgery xx

 

[BobDog]

With what you said, have you asked the doctors for full blood work to see if there is a medical reason other than the insulin resistance? You're so active, unless you're consuming over 2800/3000 calories a day, there should be no reason why you aren't losing.

Also one more diet to consider - lighter life or Cambridge. I lost nearly five stone on Cambridge
Have you ever done one like that? They're drastic but not quite as drastic as surgery xx

I've got a huge list of diest i've been on.


Atkins (was on this 4 weeks and felt weak + ill. loss 3lbs)

GI diet, (was on this for 2 weeks as it was much and such the same as atkins. loss 1lb)

Weightwatchers (was on this for 1 year 2 months. loss 6lbs)

LighterLife (4 months. loss 0lbs)

W8 for life - rapid plan (12 days. meal packs made me vomit. loss 4lbs)

Dietitian set diet very low cal, very low fat. (2 years. even tweaks and changes to diet didn't help. body shut down and was hospitalised. put on drip, to raise blood sugar levels. loss 15lbs over 2 years)

and for this past year i've been on diet drops, they made me ill. i've tried my own diet where i allow only healthy foods. no caffine, no fizzy juice, no crisps, no junk food in general. cut down on pasta/breads pretty much all carbs are at a minimum. plenty of veg and some fruits. i lost 2 lbs in 6 months.

the past 4 months i've pretty much given up because it's been 5 years!!

but my mum has told me about yet another diet on the go... its pretty much the same as the diet drops, and i don't fancy being that ill again.

i have asked my gp about it all and he says, "we already know you are insulin resistant, chances are that's it's that that's causing the issue. i don't think wasting medical resources are going to help you" then i leave deflated and as clueless as ever.

 

[BobDog]

It's up to you, I don't know how hard it is but it sounds like it's pretty rough to lose weight but have you considered Weight Watchers? I needed to lose about the same amount you need to and I'm 10 lbs away from my halfway point and it took me 7 months.
It might be worth a try. Either way good luck with whatever you choose!

yes, i've tried so many diets. for 14 months i was on WW's. i never saw as much success as you did. i would be over the moon to loose even a quarter of what i wanted to.

 

[aliss]

Here's a good forum for you to read. I do believe these procedures require counseling as well but that will be useful anyways.

https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/weight-loss-surgery-78/

 

[chele]

Given all that, I don't think the surgery would help either to be honest.
But if I were you I'd do it anyway

Have you been on metformin?x

 

[Try Rocking]

 

[BobDog]

Yeah i was on metformin. but being on it meant i couldn't leave the house for fear of pooping myself! sorry TMI! having IBS means that many things get me like that. it's a wonder i'm blooming here! i'm a walking disaster! lol!

yeah, if it means i'll need to have some counselling for it then that's not a problem. and i'll be doing it privately so i could schedule it round what works best time frame wise. rather than going with the nhs timetable which is sporadic at the best of times.

 

[jenniferttc1]

Why would this be frowned apon? Some people really need this and it works wonderful if you follow the eating and excersise after so its not a waste.
My brother had this done and lost TONS of weight. He was a really big guy and lost about 130 pounds after it and about 2-3 months ago had a tummy tuck cause his skin was so loose cause he got so small. He looks great and very slim now!

 

[BobDog]

Why would this be frowned apon? Some people really need this and it works wonderful if you follow the eating and excersise after so its not a waste.
My brother had this done and lost TONS of weight. He was a really big guy and lost about 130 pounds after it and about 2-3 months ago had a tummy tuck cause his skin was so loose cause he got so small. He looks great and very slim now!

it might be frowned upon because i know that some might see it as a cheat's way out. i didn't want people to think I was being insensitive to their journeys with weight loss.

xx

 

[jenniferttc1]

Why would this be frowned apon? Some people really need this and it works wonderful if you follow the eating and excersise after so its not a waste.
My brother had this done and lost TONS of weight. He was a really big guy and lost about 130 pounds after it and about 2-3 months ago had a tummy tuck cause his skin was so loose cause he got so small. He looks great and very slim now!

it might be frowned upon because i know that some might see it as a cheat's way out. i didn't want people to think I was being insensitive to their journeys with weight loss.

xx

ah okay I see. I see no problem getting it done

 

[skc22]

I worked in a private hospital where this was a routine surgery. Given that you have tried so many diets/exercise, then you definitely should give it a go!! I had some colleagues have the surgery and they look amazing!

On a side note, I had some patients who straight after their surgery (when you can only have a pureed diet) they blend up McDonalds and Mars Bars and then complain to the surgeon that they aren't loosing weight