appetite disorder

For most of my adult life, I've been on a weight loss & gain yoyo w/ a BMI of 25 to 30.  When I set my mind to it, I lose weight healthily (1-2lbs/wk) via weight watchers, but I constantly feel starved & eventually fall off the wagon.
     I've always (for as long as my memories go back) been inflicted w/ a consistent & persistent large appetite for mostly healthy foods (just too much of them).  I previously combated that w/ regular vigorous exercise 30-90 min/day.
     However, in the past 6 years, I turned 30, had 6 ankle surgeries treating a serious injury, had 2 babies, & worked full time.  Needless to say, I've been slowly losing the battle of the bulge.
     My ankle makes it difficult to get any meaningful calorie burning exercise on a regular basis w/o using up a couple hrs/day.  And most other diets leave me feeling starved.
     I'm finding myself jealous of the morbidly obese who qualify for lap banding, though I would never intentionally gain weight in order to meet those criteria myself.  Whenever I bring this topic up to my health care providers, they gloss over the importance of exercise and diet, & minimize the concern since I've always had a BMI of 30 or less.  Of course, this offers nothing for my physical limitations to vigorous exercise, & my "appetite disorder" as I call it.
     My thyroid labs are normal, & I'm otherwise very healthy w/ the exception of effexor for mild anxiety/depression.  I do not believe that the effexor is in any way the problem since I've only been on it for a year, & my problems go back way longer than that.  My only other medications are mirena (levonogestrel IUD), multivitamin, calcium, omega-3, & occasional NSAIDs for ankle pain.
    What are my options?  What do you suggest for my situation?  My body image problems are affecting my daily self worth.  My current weight is about 170 and I'm 5'3".  Just 6 months ago, I was 139lbs - to give you an example of the yo-yo.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

This is definetly an emotional eating problem. Your excess appetite is not real hunger, but phantom hunger, a way that anxiety  is created into what appears as hunger.  When you satisfy that hunger you quell your anxiety tempoarily, but also lose touch with the source of the anxiety, that when out of sight always comes back at you until you start dealing with it...my program at shrinkyouself.com is designed to help  you do just that and end this pattern once and for all...

[Jaquta]

Hi
I read another post where a lady put on weight and the expert (I can't remember which forum it was) told her her IUD was responsible.