Gastric Bypass - I dont understand

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!

FussyFruitbat

Wow, judge judge judge that's all I ever see in these forums.

gettinfitaus

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 can only speak from what I know of my Father's experience. He didn't think of it as the only way out either but he had literally tried everything else. Going to the gym 5 days a week, shakes, pills, blood type diet, regular diet, low carb, high protien etc etc. You name it he did it. I watched my Step Mum measure out his food for him or him do it himself. My Dad isn't one to cheat, if he is going to do something he will do it properly and that includes diet but despite what everyone says about calories in calories out etc etc after he got to a certain weight which was still over 100 kg it just didn't matter NOTHING ELSE HAPPENED!! Eventually he went and got the surgery and in the induction session was told that he had the lowest body fat percentage the nurse had ever seen in the clinic.

Since the surgery he has lost allot of weight, put some of it back on when he started to slide back into bad habits and then started slowly losing again once he got back to eating right and moving more. Point being is that for some people and I would assume a majority of people it is a last resort. They are doing the right things and still not getting a response.

Missjulesdid

WLS has an exponentially higher long term success rate among the morbidly obese than diet and exercise alone. Yes, many regain some of their weight.. some regain all of their weight.. but you are still statistically much MUCH more likely to be successful with the surgery than without it. Anecdotal evidence of all the people you know who "just put all the weight back on" is irrelevant.

He's clearly tried diet and exercise alone and was unsuccessful at keeping it off.. the WLS might be that added push that allows him to be successful. It really doesn't matter if YOU think it's not needed. HE feels it's needed.... losing 20 pounds is not the same thing as losing 100 pounds and keeping it off... not even close.

ALSO as for him going low carb.. good for him! If he has certain metabolic issues, many doctors who specialize in treating obesity recommend low carb to their patients... he likely is being given professional nutritional counseling so he probably isn't going to be seeking your advice on what to eat.

mfleeg

First --

I hate when people say that they hate people for judging weight loss surgery candidates or weight loss surgery itself. If something like this is brought up, there's nothing wrong with putting in someone's two cents. It's not JUDGING the person, it's JUDGING the procedure and a society who views this as their easy ticket out and doesn't truly take it seriously. There are many people undergoing this procedure who don't fully listen to all of the facts, which is probably how so many of them end up regaining part, if not all of, the weight.

With surgeries like this, it is easier to lose the weight, but will take as much work as anyone else to maintain a goal weight. It is another tool, but it is one that has its complications. My boyfriend's mother recently had one done in February.... she is 54 pounds lighter now, but when she was in surgery there were complications where she couldn't breathe, they thought she was having a heart attack and it was just alarming.

I feel like with diet and exercise, it's a slower journey to lose the weight and you might regain it back that way too.... I really don't think someone will lose the weight and maintain the weight unless they are in the right place emotionally when they started and have dealt with their issues with food. I think that is true for weight loss surgery and diet/exercise. Honestly, before someone undergoes gastric bypass, I really think they ought to see a good therapist for a few months to determine if they are truly prepared to do this and maintain the weightloss.

MzPix

I can only speak from what I know of my Father's experience. He didn't think of it as the only way out either but he had literally tried everything else. Going to the gym 5 days a week, shakes, pills, blood type diet, regular diet, low carb, high protien etc etc. You name it he did it. I watched my Step Mum measure out his food for him or him do it himself. My Dad isn't one to cheat, if he is going to do something he will do it properly and that includes diet but despite what everyone says about calories in calories out etc etc after he got to a certain weight which was still over 100 kg it just didn't matter NOTHING ELSE HAPPENED!!
..... Point being is that for some people and I would assume a majority of people it is a last resort. They are doing the right things and still not getting a response.

This is me. I have been consistently dieting and exercising for 4 years now and I just lose and regain the same 10 pounds, a few ounces at a time. All 4 years I have continued to have increased co-morbidities like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, etc., which increases my chances for heart attack, stroke, and premature death.
How many more years should I do this calorie-in-calorie-out routine before considering a different and more dramatic option?

I've not had the surgery. I'm not promoting it nor criticizing it. I'm not pursuing it, nor ruling it out.

I also don't have a problem with people taking "the easy way out" (although I don't agree that WLS necessarily meets that criteria), if the "easy way out" produces the same end results as the "difficult way out." I pay someone to clean my house every week. For me, that is taking the easy way out because quite frankly, I detest house cleaning. It also frees my time to get out in nature and be more physically active, while still having my house cleaned. The end result is that I didn't have to do something I hate doing, but my house is still clean. The "I don't agree with WLS because it's the easy way out" argument makes no sense to me whatsoever.

And on a professional level, I find the personal anecdotes as testimony a bit ironic. There are scholarly studies abounding in medical and research journals to support or argue one's position for or against weight loss surgery. If people would take the time to do the research, they could make more educated statements. Do the research. Quit taking the easy way out!

It would be awesome if we lived in a society where health and wellness were so encouraged that WLS wasn't prevalent. I am MUCH more concerned with Monsanto, McDonald's, and multimedia promoting sickness that leads our society to a point of even having conversations about weight loss surgeries. If we are going to look at problems of society, I think we should be wise enough to realize that WLS is not the problem. It is the consequence of the problem. For those who are so avidly against WLS, what might you suggest on a macro-societal level that could help industrialized countries avoid it in the first place? Besides diet and exercise, which obviously isn't working for many people, which takes my post full circle.

GatorGirlUT

Its a far different thing to lose twenty pounds before surgery than to maintain the excrutiating level of will power an obese person must have to lose more than a hundred pounds. Then to keep it off. Likely your friend would gain it back and more like he did before. But unless you've been morbidly obese you cannot comprehend the difficulty to lose weight and keep it off. Likely because super obese are just wired different. You should abandon all judgment and support his decision. It sounds like he wants to talk but you are more focused he do it the 'right way'. While the RNY and DS procedures have complications its better you talk about these with him. Most people find bariatric surgery a successful tool in long term weight loss, and maintaining the weight loss.

If he could have done it the right way, he certainly would have by now. And abandon this notion he has unresolved emotions or is an addictive eater. Lots of people have issues, skinny, normal and obese. Some people's bodies just behave differently in the presence of highly processed crap food.

spfldpam

I had WLS June 11, 2012. The Gastric Sleeve. It isn't the easy way out or magic wand or bullet for obese people. I have dieted all my life, was a member of weight watchers before age 10, I weighed 11 pounds when born. I have been fat all my life! At 48 years old, my knees were killing me, had bone on bone, knee cap sideways and other structural pain from the weight. I decided enough was enough and looked into WLS. I started my WLS program in Feb 2012. I lost 47 pounds pre op 2/12 to surgery day 6/11/12. I have since lost 97 pounds post op for a total of 144 pounds lost. I am done losing weight and working on maintaining. I exercise almost daily, I track all my food, weigh measure it out. It isn't a magic wand but a tool in my tool box. If I pigged out or ate milkshakes daily yes I will gain it back.
Any WLS program that is truely a good program makes their people go through nutrition classes and visits with a nut. A psych visit to make sure the person is ready for WLS, visits to a bariatric physical therapist to teach or show them how to exercise before surgery if they don't already exercise and visits post op about exercise. My program did all this and you have to be team approved or get the ok from each member on their team before you can ever get a surgery date. They are very particular about who they team approve and make sure the person is ready for this life changing surgery.
I don't regret having WLS at all. My only regret is that I waited till I was 48 years old. I am finally the correct weight for my height for the first time in my 49 years! It isn't for everyone and you have to realize it is a lifestyle change and if you don't exercise, log your food and eat the correct foods you won't loose the weight or keep it off. I have worked my butt off to met my personal weight goal.
I just wish more people would be better educated about WLS or saying it is taking the easy way out.

rumplesnat

I had WLS June 11, 2012. The Gastric Sleeve. It isn't the easy way out or magic wand or bullet for obese people. I have dieted all my life, was a member of weight watchers before age 10, I weighed 11 pounds when born. I have been fat all my life! At 48 years old, my knees were killing me, had bone on bone, knee cap sideways and other structural pain from the weight. I decided enough was enough and looked into WLS. I started my WLS program in Feb 2012. I lost 47 pounds pre op 2/12 to surgery day 6/11/12. I have since lost 97 pounds post op for a total of 144 pounds lost. I am done losing weight and working on maintaining. I exercise almost daily, I track all my food, weigh measure it out. It isn't a magic wand but a tool in my tool box. If I pigged out or ate milkshakes daily yes I will gain it back.
Any WLS program that is truely a good program makes their people go through nutrition classes and visits with a nut. A psych visit to make sure the person is ready for WLS, visits to a bariatric physical therapist to teach or show them how to exercise before surgery if they don't already exercise and visits post op about exercise. My program did all this and you have to be team approved or get the ok from each member on their team before you can ever get a surgery date. They are very particular about who they team approve and make sure the person is ready for this life changing surgery.
I don't regret having WLS at all. My only regret is that I waited till I was 48 years old. I am finally the correct weight for my height for the first time in my 49 years! It isn't for everyone and you have to realize it is a lifestyle change and if you don't exercise, log your food and eat the correct foods you won't loose the weight or keep it off. I have worked my butt off to met my personal weight goal.
I just wish more people would be better educated about WLS or saying it is taking the easy way out.

^^^100% agree x10!!!

Adw7677

I almost had it done in '07. I was going thru the pre-workup stuff with the doc, but then my husband (ex now, thank goodness) quit his job and we lost the insurance.

Looking back, I'm glad I didn't get it. I've been able to lose some weight without it. I've known a few people that have had the surgery and haven't lost as much as me. I don't really understand that one.

It's a very personal decision. All you can do is support your friend, without ANY judgement, or you will lose your friend.

fbmandy55

I too have never understood how one could not lose weight on their own, but could lose weight to have the procedure. Makes no sense to me. :frown: