I just had my surgery on nov. 12 so am not sure about the extra skin but i do know that this was the best thing i ever did for myself. I don't think of food at all anymore since I had my surgery nothing really sounds or looks good to me. After the surgery all you really think about at least I do is that you get enough fluids and that you work on healing for the most part. I wasnt to sure about the sugery either untill i got onto this site. This site has done wonders for me and am thankful to be on here. Stick with this group and you will find all the anwser you want plus some. I hope things turn out for you.

Lisa

Hi: Obviously you're no stranger to behavior disorders. You want to seek treatment for that, visit with your GP and a psychologist before even considering wls. Wls doesn't fix behavior disorders. It is no magic bullet. A lap band and gastric sleeve can be defeated by a milkshake and roux en Y can be defeated by continual poor eating behavior. I'm not a preacher, buy my message to you is that you've got to fix what's driving you to overeat before even thinking about wls. This group is good for getting information on wls. Almost all of us have passed psychological exams approving us for surgery and we've already made lifestyle changes to allow for surgery to be successful. Look all you want, but be sure you want to "buy" this car, because there's no trade ins... Also, with your behavior issues, you can forget lap band all together. Good luck!

Definitely try to get your head right and your issues realized, or surgery won't help. For me, now I substitute eating with exercise or some other activity that doesn't involve food. I no longer live to eat, I eat to live and that's it.

As for the loose skin, there are a variety of things that cause everyone's end result to be different.. age, skin elasticity, highest weight and how much the skin has been stretched out.. Mine hasn't been too bad at 5'10" and a 295 starting weight. I have some flabbies and my butt looks like a wrinkled up saggy saddlebag - lol - but it looks great in a thong and tight pair of jeans!

There really isn't any way to gauge how much loose skin you'll have, but I'm sure you can look at your body in the mirror imagine melting away over the course of a year and get a good idea. The skin shrinks back on it's own sometimes over the course of time, especially if you're exercising. Worst case is that the skin will need to be surgically removed.

Sorry, that's about all I can offer.

Krista

Hey Joel, Glad you found your way over to the group. The head stuff, why's of why we overeat do not go away just because our capacity is limited so it is, as you have found in the past, easy to trade one addiction for another... those issues, those why's won't go away with the weight so they must be addressed. If you aren't already working on them I would before they start cutting ;)

As for the excess skin... it definitely can be an issue... anytime you lose 100+ pounds whether with surgery or without you will have excess skin... sometimes exercise will help but sometimes short of a good plastic surgeon nothing can be done to fix the damage... it can have physical and emotional consequences too. I had both those http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/10/not-ok-but-will-be.html so after I lost the weight I went back and got carved up like a turkey at thanksgiving ;)

Best wishes to you in slaying your dragons and your weight loss efforts!
~Michelle "Shelly"

Thank you all for the input, lots to think about. As far as dealing with underlying causes, I've spent a lifetime doing that. Essentially depite being 26 years sober, I'm always newly recovering from SOME addiction. The thing is that just because you deal with issues doesn't take the addiction away.
And then there's the brain chemistry, I am above all a dopamine junkie.
I know that the surgery will make me lose weight and give me a year or two to change my behavior and that if I return to over eating I'll gain it back. Sort of like... antibuse

Here's my story...

You said " I am above all a dopamine junkie".

That statement really resonated with me - I had said something quite similar. I had a lot of problems with alcohol early in life; I was a smoker until age 32; a massive coffee drinker unil recently (now age 53). Food-o-holic.

Two or three months prior to surgery, I went for my pre-surgery psychologal evaluation. Toward the end of my session the person evaluating me asked "Have you ever been told, or has anyone every suggested to you that you might have ADHD?"

ADHD? Me? Surely you jest! No. Never diagnosed. Never even suggested.

"Because you appear to have several characteristics in common with people who have ADHD..."

Nope. Not me. But thanks for the GBS clearance. See ya later....

I initially dismissed the notion as utterly ridiculous. I was NOT hyperactive. Anyone could see that. Since I 'knew' everyone with ADHD was hyperactive, there was no need to consider this further.

Turns out I'd never heard the phrase "Predominantly Inattentive". But I sure needed to hear it.

Thus began a 6 month odessy that revealed amazing coincidence after coincidence reaching all the way back to my childhood. I finally returned for a more thorough evaluation and began treatment. That turned out to dramatic turning point; one of the most important events in my life.

Treatment of my ADHD has been a key and integral part of my success to date with my GBS. I certainly still get food cravings and eating impulses. But I am no longer a slave to these impulses. I no longer feel like a puppet. And for the first time in my life, I have attained a normal BMI. My coffee consumption has fallen dramatically all on its own. And the numerous other benefits of having my ADHD diagnosed and treated? They are incredibly welcome and totally unexpected. One small example: I've wanted a cigarette since the day I quit 20 years ago. For the first five years after quitting I kept reaching for my phantom pack of cigarettes in my front shirt pocket. Today, cigarettes don't even sound good - no desire for nicotine at all - FINALLY. After 20 years.

But that's small potatos really. Consider the how the following impact of having my ADHD treated impacts my chances for long term success with gastric bypass: For my entire life, I've hated exercise. Everyone claimed how good it made them feel. But that whole endorphin thing never worked for me. I always felt worse when I was done than when I started. Still, I tried really hard. I knew exercise was key. But because I really did not like it, I was terribly inconsistent and constantly needing to beat up on myself to get my butt moving.

Within one week of beginning treatment for ADHD, my perception of the effect of exercise moved ever so slightly into to positive side of the meter. A small shift really. But with huge implications. I was now enjoying my daily exercise for the first time in my life. Since starting treatment I have been very consistent, getting 1 hour of aerobic exercise per day 5-6 days per week.

I was concerned this effect would fade but it's almost a year later now and the effect is exactly the same as when I began. A most welcome change.

Today, we know that ADHD occurs in people who are obese at a rate 6-10 times higher than it occurs in the general population (24%-48% versus 4.4% in the general population). The exact reasons for this correlation are not known. But think about it.. ADHD may be a contributing factor (though likely not the SOLE factor) in at least 1 in every 4 people who are obese. We also know that hyperactivity is not always present or, if it was, often fades progressively as a person ages - thus we have the "Predominantly Inattentive" subtype. Adults who are obese and who have ADHD are much more likely to be Predominantly Inattentive.

Often, success with GBS involves working on underlying issue. The surgery is performed on your digestive tract, not on your head. For me, it turned out that ADHD was a huge underlying issue. Not the only issue, but indeed a very big one.

Thanks Jerry, I've pften wondered about adult ADD . something to think about.

Welcome! The skin depends on your age, how quickly you lose, how much you work out and genetics. It's really hard to say.
I no longer use food to cope b/c I can't . I physically can't eat what I used to eat and I really have no desire to do so.
This operation was lifechanging for me!!!

Best of luck to you! It is worth it!