I need you advice & support. Please No Judging! I feel bad enough.

Jules,

Clinically speaking the physical attributes of Phentermine only last for about 3 months.  Phentermine is not a long term drug for weight loss because it's effectiveness stops working.  You are coming up on that 3 months. Did they give you time release Phentermine?  That has a slightly higher rate of effectiveness but us RNYer's don't do well with time release medication and it will still only have about 3 months of effective use.

That being said, all of us deal with emotional issues with regard to food.  We wouldn't have resorted to surgery if we had a good relationship with food.  We don't.  We have an addictive relationship.  Right now you've transferred your addiction to Phentermine. Some people transfer to alcohol or drugs, others to shopping and still others even to sex.

I, like Lori, am dealing with weight gain and the cravings that got me to over 450 pounds 5 years ago.  I would strongly suggest seeking out counseling to deal with your food issues.  The Phentermine is not your problem.  You need counseling to figure out what's going on with you.

Don't be hard on yourself though. Just take control of the situation, just like you did when you first had surgery. Having surgery is the easy part of this.  Learning to have a relationship with yourself and food is much more difficult and the farther out you get from surgery the harder it becomes.  Do yourself a favor and explore what is causing you to have an addictive personality. Figure that out and the rest is easy.

Stephanie

Stephanie,

I can tell the difference of the effects of the pill now and from two months ago. It has slowed the cravings down, but they still aren't gone. I think, I have transferred my addiction to Phentermine. Last week was a incredible stressful week and it was my best friend. If you would have told me that they were no longer going to make it, I probably would have gone out & bought every single one I could have got my hands on. Phentermine is not my problem, it just covers the issues, so I don't have to deal with them right now. Over the past two weeks, I have noticed that my issues are surfacing and I keep trying to push them back down instead of facing them. I need to put my "big girl pants on" and deal with theses issues before they consume my life. I didn't get to be 326lbs because I didn't have issue. I got there because I used food to hide what the problem was. Thank you.

Julie

Julie,

You are well on your way.  You know exactly what the problem is, now go and take care of it.  Just keep telling yourself you are stronger than your addictions.  Also, if you are still taking the Phentermine, start taking them every other day.  Then every third, etc.  Ween yourself off.  On the days you don't take them, have healthy snacks around...cheese, fruit, veggies. 

My mistake was that I resorted to my "comfort" foods and started that entire addiction going again.  You'll be ok because you know what your problem is.  Now you just have to go get it fixed.

You'll be fine.  Hang in there, kiddo.

Stephanie

Jules:

You are such a good, kind person, how could anyone judge you.  Especially when I'm sure MANY of us have been down the Phentermine road or some other medication.  I know I have.  The thing I do know about Phentermine, is it works for a time and then you either need more or it stops working and that great "high" of being able to resist everthing is gone.   I know this, because I've been there.

All I can think to tell you is start back at basics.  Remember how you ate when this all started?  Since you feel like snacking all the time, make sure you're eating SMALL high protein snacks every two to three hours.  I wish I was more of an expert and could give you a magic formula to stop the pills and keep under control.  It's just not easy, but I know you can do it.  Drink your water and exercise, exercise, exercise.  One of the biggest things that keeps me from eating too much is exercise.  It's hard work and I just won't waste my time working that hard and then ruin it with too much food. (that just me though)  I'm struggling with my last 10 to 20 pounds and I've been tempted to do something to pu**** along.  I think about cutting my intake in half sometimes, believe me.

For me, even at a year and a half out, I still use my little timers between bites and I always weigh and measure my food.  I never eat more than 4 to 6 oz in a sitting.........EVER.   I don't care whether I feel full or not.  The way I look at it is that's the size they made my pouch and that's how much I should eat, forever.  I also track everyting I eat at The Daily Plate at Livestrong.com.  Then I can see a breakdown each day of calories, carbs, fat and protein, etc.  It sounds tedious, but it really takes so little time for the payback it gives.  It's free too.

I don't know if this is helping you at all, I hope so.  Please don't beat yourself up.  You can do this and we're all here to help you. 

Janeene,

You must remember that feeling of being super woman not craving anything. WOW! What a great feeling of going all day without snacking and the amazing amount of energy. I know it's not normal to have to take two sleeping pills just to sleep all night, otherwise I would fall asleep at 10pm and wake up at 4:30 ready to start my day. I don't want to have to rely on this pill to know that I can resist the temptation. I will admit my exercise level as really gone to ZERO!! My sister who is a gym freak stayed at my house this past Sat night, I dropped her off at the gym & picked her up a couple hours later. My hiney wouldn't even step foot in the gym. I used to be so excited to go to the gym & get my workouts done, but something is preventing me from becoming a better me. I need to figure out what this thing is. I need to get back to the basics or weighing & measuring. These nasty bad habits which I thought went away, somehow found their way back. And now I need to make sure they know the rule, which is, go away & never come back! Thank you and yes, we can do this!

Julie

I totally hear you on the mental roller coaster thing.... Yes, this process is hard, not physically but mentally. I found so much value in going to therapy for a few months. You can learn to eat healthy, to exercise etc....but to learn to think differently is HARD.

My weight has stabilzed too and I'm still a few pounds from goal...last year I founf myself in this weird cycle where I was deathly afraid to regain the weight, and didn't want to eat. My PCP was concerned I was borderline anorexic, can you imagine that? I'm still overweight! But I could see that I was getting weird about counting all my colories and protein grams.... 

I went to a therapist and even though we began by talking about food and such, we ended up talking about other underlying stuff. 

I've come to realize that living with obesity has a big impact on a person's mental wellness, not just their physical form. My advice to you would be to seek out some counseling, you have come so far already. You can make it though this!

 

Monica,

I hear ya on the mental part! Holy Crap is it ever mental. I made a therapy appt about 4 months ago and cancelled because I told myself, I was not ready to deal with those issue and look where it got me. I am at a place right now, that if I don't deal with them, they are going to rule my life. I have worked so hard to be where I am, that I am deathly scared of going back. I do understand the anorexia part. My sister, who is 23 was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and depression, what I learned is when we feel as though we have no control, food is the only thing we can. We can control what we eat and what we don't eat. I love that restaurants are required to post the nutritional guides, it makes it easier when making choices. I will be making a counseling appt today and I want to thank you for your support!

Julie

 Let me start by saying--BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF GIRL!  You need to cut yourself some slack and stick to your plan to see someone to help with with the issues.  As you know I am not the voice of experience in using the WLS tool-but I have gained and lost enough weight in my life time to populate a preschool!  I know that food is my addiction and not my friend--if I don't break this pattern even WLS will just be a bandaid.  Practicing mindfulness is an approach I have been experimenting with.  It encourages me to savor vs scarf and to be aware of what I am doing for or to my body.
You are in my prayers, girlfriend!

Crisiti,

It's hard to gentle when you can saddly see yourself slipping back into old habits. But the good thing is, I can recognize the signs. I am a addict to food and I use it to hide my feelings. I need to face what the issues are and overcome them. It won't be easy and it won't be fast, but at least it can be done. I do need to go back to the basics of chewing & savoring each bit vs. scarffing so I have more time to do other things. Thank you for your support.

Julie

Jules, 

Just wanted you to know I am thinking about you and know you will get past this. Just take it one day at a time. I think going to see a therapist is a great idea. If I hadn't gotten into therapy 3 years ago, I would never of been in the right place to have WLS. Sometimes we just need that little extra help to make it through the day. Although for most people asking for help is the hardest thing to do, but you have asked for help and that is the first step in the right direction.

Hugs

Eileen