Gastric Bypass - I dont understand

BflSaberfan

Someone very close to me is in the final stages of having gastric bypass. He is about 100 lbs overweight. 2 years ago he started going to the gym and cutting calories, did really well, started losing weight and was even able to get off insulin. Then he stopped watching what he eats, and started only going the gym maybe 1 time a week. Put all the weight back on and then some.

He has to lose 20lbs before his surgery so this week he is starting cutting carbs (I told him to watch his sugar and count calories but he wont listen)

He mentions his surgery every time I see him, I know he is excited but it's hard for me to get excited for him for 2 reasons 1. I know recovery will be hard and don't want to see anyone go through that and 2. It seems to me if he can lose 20lbs now before the surgery, and was able to before - the surgery is not needed....I mean why not just continue to cut calories and go to the gym?

I don't get it. Why is major surgery "easier"?? It's his decision and I will support him during recovery but I dont want to ask him why he thinks it's easier so figured I'd come here to try and figure it out.

Also why do doctors think if these people cant control their eating now they will be able to after the surgery? If they cant what difference does it make anyways? Isn't the surgery a risk with no benefit then? I know 3 people that have had the surgery and alll of them put weight back on within 3 years.

butterflyluv1218

I've wondered that myself. I have a friend who had to lose 60 lbs to be able to get the surgery. She did. Why not just continue what you're doing? I personally would be terrified of being put under but to each his own I guess.

JessicaPasieka

I think weight loss surgery of any kind is only a temporary fix for Most people. Having surgery will Not and Does not teach you how to live a healthy lifestyle and how to maintain that lifestyle once you come from under the knife. In my Personal opinion, I think it's the easy way out for a lot of people. But they are too lazy to do what it takes to keep it up afterwards.

ldrosophila

Youre friend is in for a long and painful journey. I hope he gets his addiction managed before it kills him.

alvalaurie

Even this type of surgery requires a lifestyle change in order to be sucessful. We can only hope that his Doctor has informed of this and that he has made up his mind to do what it takes to make it work. All you can do is be there to support him, no matter which way he chooses to lose the weight. Either way, it takes work and dedication!

BflSaberfan

Youre friend is in for a long and painful journey. I hope he gets his addiction managed before it kills him.

This is my stepfather, both of his parents and his sister died in their 50's (all diabetic and morbidly obese) He is 56 and has already had 3 stents put in, has diabetes, and has been overweight for as long as I've known him. Surgery will not help him with his food addiction.

This is the same man that quit smoking cold turkey - the will power is there. I dont get it.

Jennloella

I personally know 3 people that have had the surgery, and all of them have kept the weight off for 3, 5, and 6 years respectively, the one that has kept it off five years has also done it through having two children. I think it depends on the person, the reasons they are doing it, and how committed they are. I've never had to go through it myself - I guess all you can do is be there for him no matter what, usually with matters such as this friends won't listen to us anyway.

cherryd69

I did contemplate a gastric bypass a couple of years ago, good thing was, at the time i was out of work and wouldnt have the money to do it privately, also couldnt get it funded by NHS as i hadnt hit their target bmi.

Im now glad i couldnt, after reading so many failed attempts at weight loss this way and the fact that even though you lose weight faster than normal... theres nothing to help that excess skin you end up carrying around.

I have enough excess skin as it is through being overweight and having c-sections (and doing bugger all exercise) i dont need anymore adding to it.

I think for some it is down to it being easier, before i get jumped on about this... i dont mean it in an offensive way. Iv had 2 c-sections recovery after that is hard enough. Its seen as a magical cure for being over weight and i dont think some people actually think about the fact that for a while your living on pureed things, that you still have to monitor what your eating. Even after the recovery if you dont eat properly..... you will gain it all back.

true life story, woman died after having a gastric bypass. She didnt puree down the chicken properly and it got stuck.

strongmindstrongbody

I was curious about this myself. Weight loss surgery seems so drastic. But from what I read, it sounds like the surgery cuts out a lot of hunger. I could see doing the surgery for that reason alone. It'd make dieting a whole lot easier, wouldn't it? But then I stop to think, why am I hungry? It's because I too often choose more calorie dense foods over low calorie fruits and vegetables. Seems like changing my diet is what's really needed, not the surgery. At least from an outsider's point-of-view.

Patty19550711

Perhaps I can help with this. I had Gastric Bypass 2 yers ago. Have lost 90 pounds and am still losing - although much more slowly now. IF people have a bariatric surgeon who is worth his (or her) salt, they will have made sure that not only is the patient physically ready for surgery, but mentally and emotionally as well. I was required to have a phychological exam as well as meetins with a great nutritionist before surgery. Before surgery I had diabetes (type2), hight blood pressure, high cholesterol and suffered from sleep apnea. I am happy to report that I have none of these co-morbidities now. Weight loss surgery isn't the easy way out a lot of people think it is. YES, it does help you lose weight quickly. BUT - after the initial drop in weight, you have to do the work yourself. Sometimes it takes that initial weight loss to help you continue. PLUS, even though I am 2 years out, I am still not able to eat the way I did pre-surgery. On the rare ocasion I try to 'push it" and eat something I shouldn't or more than I should, I get a reminder in the way of nausea, vomiting, sweating (just like having the flu). SO - weight loss surgery isn't for everyone, but it does work for people who take it seriously, lose the initial weight and co-morbidities with that help, and then CONTINUE to lead a healthy life style.
I hope this helps you understand why some people feel they must have surgical intervention. I guess it would be wonderful if everyone was born with the motivation and knowledge it takes to maintain a healthy life style, but the fact it that most of us were not.

briabner

I really think that people should have to work with a dietician as well as a therpist that specializes in over eating before being considered for the surgery. The surgery is just a quick fix but many times nobody addresses the issues as to why they are at the weight they are in the first place.

ecmorales

We think alike. However, I believe for people who have chronic weight issues, myself included, we want to believe there's a magic bullet, an easy answer. I had this same debate with my sister for years who wanted the surgery and finally got the surgery. She lost over 100 lbs and I was still overweight. I decided I should put my words into action if I thought losing weight without the surgery was so easy and it actually has been. BUT, I'm 51 years old and it took me 30 years of dieting before I finally figured it out -- the figuring it out part is hard, the execution is the easy part. The media is filled with so much conflicting information and 'lost 15 lbs quick' and 'drop 2 dress sizes in 30 days -- Nonsense. your friend, my sister and me have a very different and fundamental problem with not knowing how to eat. That sounds ridiculous in a country of such well-educated people generally surrouding by an abundance of healthy food options.

BUT, even doctors give bad advice - in my opinion the worst being to go to some commercial weight loss program that still keeps the person in the dark about the fundamental mechanics of weight management....it takes so many calories to power the body for a day, eat more than that and you gain weight. if we are gaining weight, weare eating more than weneed -- we can deny it all we want, leave food items off our food journals, even hide it from ourselves. But, it's basic math. Sometimes I feel lke an idiot for not getting it sooner, but I get it now and I share it with anyone who is interested.

The folks who put the wait back on, they didn't get the simple message. There is no magic bullet, and routinely eating more than our allotted calorie intake for the day will only yield one result. Maybe you can plug your friends into MFP?

fit4lifeUcan2

I know of 3 people who had this done. Only one has stuck with healthy eating and exercise and has not only lost all of the weight she needed to lose but has kept it off for over a year now. The other 2 regained all of the weight they lost and then some.
Its supposed to be used as a tool in conjunction with eating healthy and exercise. Some get the continued therapy they need to continue their weight loss and others unfortunately do not. I think they go into it with the right intentions but then some give up.

Personally I wouldn't want to go through surgery to do something that I can do on my own. If you're at the point where you either get the surgery or die then I say go for it. By all means get the surgery to save your life. I'm seeing more and more gastric bypass surgery being done on people who are not at that life or death point. But to each their own. Its certainly NOT the easy way out. There are a lot of problems that can come along with this surgery. Hopefully people getting it done realize that.

caribear1984

In a way I agree with you, but I wanted to comment on the quitting smoking thing. I quit cold turkey too. It was hard, but it got easier because I didn't have to keep exposing myself to cigarettes. Food is different because you HAVE to eat every day, which makes it easier to slide back into old habits. It is a constant battle, not something that you can just get over. Just my two cents.

BflSaberfan

In a way I agree with you, but I wanted to comment on the quitting smoking thing. I quit cold turkey too. It was hard, but it got easier because I didn't have to keep exposing myself to cigarettes. Food is different because you HAVE to eat every day, which makes it easier to slide back into old habits. It is a constant battle, not something that you can just get over. Just my two cents.

I hadn't thought about that, that is a good point.

Patty19550711

It is not - I repeat - not the easy way out. We who have had the surgery and are successful know that even with the help in the beginning, we have to do this on our own. No one can eat for us, not can they exercise for us. It's just that the initial weight loss of 90 pounds, along with guidance from a good nutritionist and phychologist specializing in weght management, was a huge help in keeping the healthy eating and exercise going. I am more healthy now than I have been in my whole adult life. THAT makes me want to keep up with the eating plan and exercise.

BflSaberfan

It is not - I repeat - not the easy way out. We who have had the surgery and are successful know that even with the help in the beginning, we have to do this on our own. No one can eat for us, not can they exercise for us. It's just that the initial weight loss of 90 pounds, along with guidance from a good nutritionist and phychologist specializing in weght management, was a huge help in keeping the healthy eating and exercise going. I am more healthy now than I have been in my whole adult life. THAT makes me want to keep up with the eating plan and exercise.

I know it's not the easy way out, its the hardest way out - why not just continue to do it on your own?

Patty19550711

O-o-ps. Sent before I was finished. My brother died at age 54. Way, way, way too young. After going through his illnesses with him and seeing he was doing nothing about them, I decided I would do whatever it took to not put my dear husband and family through the pain and sorrow my brother put us through. He had no idea of the hole it would leave in this family when he died. So, after trying on my own for several years and not succeeding, I decided to get professional help. Gastric bypass gave me back my healthy life, and continues to help me each day make better decisions about food and exercise. I will say that this is not for everyone. It's a tough road to follow, but if you follow your surgeon's and nutritionist's guidelines, you can be very successful. 'Nuff said....

rumplesnat

In a way I agree with you, but I wanted to comment on the quitting smoking thing. I quit cold turkey too. It was hard, but it got easier because I didn't have to keep exposing myself to cigarettes. Food is different because you HAVE to eat every day, which makes it easier to slide back into old habits. It is a constant battle, not something that you can just get over. Just my two cents.

Exactly. I know how to lose weight. I know how to count calories and exercise. I never felt full unless I overstuffed myself to "Thanksgiving full". I could lose weight, but I couldn't keep it off.

While some people think WLS is the easy way out, it's not. I've had my entire digestive tract rerouted. I will take vitamin supplement for the rest of my life. I had to go through 6 months of weight and diet documentation, supervised by my doctor, surgeon and insurance company. I had EKGs, sleep studies, GI scopes, etc. Co-pays were a financial nightmare....plus, my husband had the same surgery a month after I did. I will have to get my blood work checked multiple times a year forever to ensure I am getting the nutrients I need. Totally not easy, but for *me*, it was necessary and well worth it.

WLS is not the answer for everyone. If you don't change your habits (addiction), the weight will come back on.

I don't get sick from sugary foods like a lot of people do. I can eat a lot now. Smaller quantities at a time, but I can eat again within 20 minutes.

I have been successful and doubled the typical weight loss in the time since my surgery because I have changed and I've busted my *kitten*. I track all of my food. I exercise daily. I make better food choices. Weight loss surgery helped me know what it feels like to feel full. I have done the rest of the work and will continue to kick *kitten* because I am finally in control.

I am a food addict, and it's taken me years to wrap my head around recovery. If you aren't ready to make the changes for a lifetime, WLS isn't going to fix the problem.

jmwolffyy

I can speak from the viewpoint of someone who used to think surgery was the "easy fix" and now has actually gone that route to weight loss. I was nearly 200lbs overweight, and although I had not been diagnosed with any of the typical obesity health issues, I was feeling them catching up with me. I joined a contest that included gym membership and I did not have the physical ability to do many of the things that the group was doing. I modified and I did as much as I could, and I could not see the changes. Yes I lost weight, but I didn't feel like it was getting any easier to exercise. As a matter of fact, over a 6 week period, it seemed to get harder! I started a different job, where the surgery was a covered service under my insurance and I began to ask questions. I had a coworker who had just had surgery done a couple of months previously, and my boss was a 7 year veteran. Both were eating SO much healthier than I was and I just couldn't figure out how to change my habits. I finally decided that the surgery as a tool would be the way I could wrap my head around the changes in my lifestyle I needed to make.
Honestly, when I woke after surgery, I saw a pizza commercial and I was dying of hunger for that pizza. I immediately realized that the biggest issue was going to be the mental change. I have learned since surgery that while I have always tended to eat relatively healthy foods, I have succumbed to the societal pressure of portion size. I have learned that I can eat very tiny pieces of the "bad" foods (i.e. 2 bites of a Nestle Toll House cookie), and feel completely satisfied. We spend YEARS teaching ourselves that certain feelings mean we are hungry, and it is very hard to unlearn that! I needed to be forced into not being able to eat large portions and into learning what hungry really feels like, as compared to thirst or boredom. I feel very confident now that I have made amazing strides in learning these things, and I am working hard on teaching my children before they ever have to face a decision such as "surgery or not."
With all that said, I fear for the journey your stepfather is on. My surgeon's office will not allow just anyone to choose surgery. There are many criteria that must be met before they will even submit it for approval to insurance, and then they deny about 1/3 of the applications as well. Being 100 lbs overweight would be very unlikely at our office to qualify. They also require at least 2 meetings with their psychologist, who assesses the individual for their understanding that they are ultimately responsible for their own health/weight. The surgery is not the answer. It is only a tool, and as with any tool, it can be used appropriately or it can be done wrong. I hope for his sake, as well as those of you who are going to be his support system, that all of these things are brought to his attention and he realizes how much he must put into it himself, even after the surgery!

rumplesnat

I really think that people should have to work with a dietician as well as a therpist that specializes in over eating before being considered for the surgery. The surgery is just a quick fix but many times nobody addresses the issues as to why they are at the weight they are in the first place.

It is required by many insurance companies pre-op. It's not an easy process to have weight loss surgery. There is a lot of hoop jumping just to get approved for the surgery and for my husband and I, meeting with a therapist and nutritionist was required.

Also, I want to get kinda pissy and *****y/defensive about your comment about "why THEY are at the weight they are in the first place", but I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and not take it as a snarky comment. There is an ugly stigma attached to those of us who have had WLS from some folks and I have mad bat-**** crazy ninja skills that come out when I feel like I'm being looked down on or judged for my decision.

jade2112

3.5 years ago I had weight loss surgery. Not a bypass or band. The surgery I had is called biliopancriatic diversion with a duodenal switch. This surgery is more drastic and dangerous.

My intestines were rerouted totally and I now have a very small working stomach and pyloric valve, not a pouch and stoma, and only 5' of intestine that allows digestive juices to mix with the food I eat.

I malabsorb 50% of the calories I eat. However, I absorb 100% of the carbs and sugars I eat. I have to low carb it the rest of my life.

This comes with a price. I also malabsorb vital vitamins, nutrients and protein and must supplement them in large doses. This is costly.

I researched this for two years before doing it so I knew what I was getting into. The approval process is much more stringent with the surgery I had, because, well, if I don't do as I was told I'll become so malnourished I'd die.

None of these procedures are foolproof. You have to change your whole lifestyle and eating habits or you regain what you lost.

I did it because I was starting a new diet every day with no success. I was only getting fatter and fatter with a whole host of obesity related complications even having a major heart attack.

So, it was die from being obese or take the chance I'd die under the knife in order to live a longer life. I chose life.

runnerchick69

I think for many it is looked at as a quick fix, although it is not quick or always the 'fix' people think it is. Quite honestly I think it should only be for those 125 pounds or more over weight. That said, I do have a friend who has lost and kept off 90 pounds by having surgery BUT unlike myself, he is not always able to eat the things he would like because of how his system responds to it. I lost 10 more pounds than he did but I did it by changing my entire life. I don't know if there is really an easy answer for this topic because each person is different and maybe for those who have struggled for years to control their weight they is the answer. I know I looked at surgery and even went as far as to get approved for it but then I backed out and I am so glad I did In the end my friend did get off all the medication that was directly related to his weight and he has found a healthy balance in his life so although it took invasive surgery, he is healthy and happy and maybe that is all that really matters.

mercurysfire

i'd like to thank everyone who posted about their weight loss surgeries. i guess sometimes we're so swamped by advertisements and stories about the surgeries that we kind of forget this isn't something that you just order from amazon or something. i have known of a handful of people to get them (one was about 23 years old. i was flabbergasted that he was approved for the surgery at such a young age) but everyone remembers the ones that it doesn't work for. the stories they hear about the people who gained it all back. it's nice to hear success stories every once in a while. it's like everything else i guess, the people who have never been in that place, never had to make that decision, they don't understand because they can't. it's not judgemental or snarky (well most of the time i hope) it's just that they have no basis of comparison beyond "i know this person" or "there was this guy at work".

i guess what i'm trying to say is thanks for sharing. it's a hard thing to understand from the outside, and i'm glad that you all had success with it. keep going.

dellaquilaa

I think it's just part of the lazy person's search for the magic bullet solution - it's easier to spend a few weeks recovering from a surgery than actually learn to change a behavior. My aunt had a gastric bypass a few years ago - she lost about a hundred pounds, and was doing great for a while. But then I moved in with her and saw what she was ACTUALLY doing - she eats complete ****. Juice boxes, snack pack pudding cups, mashed potatos, bacon, fast food 5+ times per week. She would brag that her stomach is the size of a golf ball and that it's literally impossible to put weight on.

But it actually got to the point of clinical malnutrition. She puffed up like a blowfish one day and wound up in the hospital - she lied to the doctor the whole time: "I eat great! Fruit and veggies every single day, I watch my fats and carbs, I don't understand how this happened!"

That surgery combined with that mindset is seriously going to kill her, probably sooner than later. Even after her hospitalization, she's been eating eggs & bacon 2-3 times a day. When I asked her how she's been eating - "great, totally balanced now. I'm just still puffy because it's going to take a year to get my albumin back in normal range". I'm sure.

Oh, and her teeth are rotting out of her mouth because she would binge on junk multiple times a week, and then throw it all back up. So yeah....I would NOT consider that a healthy lifestyle, even if her BMI is in the normal range now. I'd rather be fat than falling apart.

mamabravo68

No offence to anyone who has had this done, but I've had 3 of my friends who had the surgery out of pure laziness.. didn't want to excersise, or eat properly.... what pisses me off the most, is that i bust my *kitten* every day, and eat properly , with no loss.. So, i should go out and get this surgery? I think not....Its nothing but a quick fix... one of my friends, is still smoking, and eating whatever, to the point she was sick from eating too much.... not cool....

rumplesnat

I challenge either one of the last two ignorant people who suggested WLS patients are lazy to keep up with me and my routine for a week. I'd suggest you walk in my shoes before you paint me and other WLS patients with such a broad brush, but I'm not willing to let you borrow my shoes. If you want to learn more about it, have the decency to be open to educating yourself instead of being close minded...and wrong in your ASSumptions.

Lesa_Sass

Youre friend is in for a long and painful journey. I hope he gets his addiction managed before it kills him.

Yep, this is what I was going to say.

lilbearzmom

I challenge either one of the last two ignorant people who suggested WLS patients are lazy to keep up with me and my routine for a week. I'd suggest you walk in my shoes before you paint me and other WLS patients with such a broad brush, but I'm not willing to let you borrow my shoes. If you want to learn more about it, have the decency to be open to educating yourself instead of being close minded...and wrong in your ASSumptions.

THIS!!!!!!!!!!
The ignorance displayed about WLS and those who have had to resort it to ASTOUNDS me!

jessilee119

Even this type of surgery requires a lifestyle change in order to be sucessful. We can only hope that his Doctor has informed of this and that he has made up his mind to do what it takes to make it work. All you can do is be there to support him, no matter which way he chooses to lose the weight. Either way, it takes work and dedication!

I agree with this. I actually know someone who had his mind set on getting the surgery because he said nothing else worked. He was told that he didn't weigh enough to qualify for the surgery so he actually made it his mission to gain weight so he could get the surgery. That didn't make sense to me, but this was years ago and he has been able to keep the weight off so it looks like it worked for him (of course I'm only going off of his physical appearance which has nothing to do with his overall health).

There was an interesting article I read on Yahoo about a month ago. It was written by a woman who lost half her body weight from weight loss surgery and she said that she should be happy, but the surgery only fixed her weight issue and not any emotional issues that went hand in hand with weight gain. Everyone says she looks great, but she still sees the overweight woman when she looks in the mirror. Now she's talking to someone about uncovering the emotional issues...

I've seen people succeed from the surgery and people fail from the surgery. Whichever choice he makes, I hope that everything works out for him.

Babygi6003

I had the Gastric Sleeve done 2 years ago and it is definitely not the easy way out! I still have to count calories and work out for the weight to come off, it just helped me get the kick started that I needed and helped me to not eat so much.

I have gone from 263 to 180 and I feel so much better! I am no longer pre-diabetic, my cholesterol levels are great and I am just over all healthy!