Needing some advice

Hi! I'm am in serious need of some advice about losing weight. First a little bit of background. I'm 44yrs and I currently weigh almost 280lbs. I just quit smoking a few weeks ago. I suffer from IBSD and am taking Lotronex for it. I also take Lyrica for nerve pain and Fibromyalgia. I have 3 screws in my right ankle as well. I also have a family history of serious heart problems. I'm trying to figure out what the best weight loss options there are for someone like me. Do the shakes work? If so, how workout dependent are they? Any OTC meds that could help? I know I don't want to go to the extreme of bypass, but what about lap banding? I know that I need to exercise but right now I feel like I'm trapped in a catch 22. The bigger I get the harder things are with my ankle. I am just really confused. I know I need to also be talking to my doctor but I was hoping for some feed back from other who might have been in similar situation. 

Hi Christy.  You do have a lot going on and this is one place you can come to get a lot of information.  I am not a doctor and can only give my opinion thru my own history.  Yes, you should be talking to your PCP because, no matter if you have WLS or not, he should be informed of everything. 

Living on protein shakes is never the right answer and if you want to incorporate them into your diet to lose weight, you might want to talk to a nutritionist first to be sure you are getting all the nutrients your body needs.  Even with surgery, most do not follow a strict protein shake diet.  In fact, probably not any would.  Your body gets nutrients from many sources and shakes are fluid and cannot be your only source.

You should first talk to your PCP and then go onto the different boards here and read, read, read.  There is a forum for just about anything and a wealth of knowledge about surgeries and much more.

Good luck.

I very much relate to the "catch-22" feeling concerning exercise.  What finally helped me break out of the cycle was finding the right Personal Trainer.  Even though he's only 23, never been overweight and in excellent shape himself, my trainer totally gets it.  He didn't start me out right away with weight loss as a goal but rather just moving safely and more often.  I highly recommend interviewing personal trainers until you find one you click with and start there.

Best of luck to you.

Hi.  Is swimming a viable option for you?  I am finding it to be the most effective exercise for me with severe arthritis in my knees.  I do agree with another member that shakes are not the answer, I used them after my RNY gastric bypass, which is pretty extreme, as a supplement for protein.  But I find that refined sugar and processed flour are my triggers for compulsive cravings and overeating.  I avoid these and find that I am able to make healthier choices.  I wish you the best of luck in your journey to health.  

I wouldn't wish Lapband on my worst enemy.  WIth your need for NSAIDS, I would recommend DS or VSG.  DS will give you the best chances of losing everything, but it's the most drastic.  If you think dieting 'one more time' might give you success, try eliminating all white carbs, and eating meat, veggies, and nuts and see how that goes.  I was more realistic and knew from years and years of experience that diets don't work.

IN MY OPINION, the LapBand would be the worst possible thing you could do. Given your medical problems, the gastric bypass (RNY) would be the second-worst thing you could do, because it would mean you'd have to give up all NSAIDs.

You don't say how tall you are or what your BMI is, but at 44 I think it's time you did start thinking seriously about weight-loss surgery. The two forms I'd recommend you consider would be the VSG/Sleeve and the DS/duodenal switch. Both would leave you with a much smaller but still fully-functional stomach, and able to take any medications you might ever need.

The VSG/Sleeve simply makes it easier for you to stick to a strict diet. It restricts how much you can physically eat at one sitting, but it will NOT keep you from choosing to eat bad foods or eat too often. (Neither will the DS, but the DS does cause you to always and forever only absorb a per centage of the foods you do eat.)

By the time I was 44, I'd been on one diet or another for about 35 years. I finally accepted that diets were not going to be the answer for me, so I had the DS. Ten years later, I'm thankful every day I made that decision.

I suggest you research the VSG and the DS, and ask any questions you may have after you've done some reading.

Please no lap band! It is very dificult at best to lose weight with the lap band and it is a constant battle even when it does work. It is also not a life long surgery, even the manufacturer says it should come out after 10 years. I'm still suffering from problems because of the stupid thing. Esophageal problems are very common and just not worth the life long damage they can cause. If you have more than 100 lbs to lose please consider something permanent! The band is just not a good tool!

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Hi, if you want to try to loose weight on your own I can tell you what I did a while back. I researched the Atkins diet and lots of people say you should do this diet because of the fat they want you to have but you can be smart about it instead of eating beef all the time try chicken etc. I did and lost 100 pounds.