Bariatric Surgery

rebeccachobat

Hi everyone,

I have an appointment scheduled for the 28th to consult a physician about the possibility of getting Bariatric Surgery.

Has anyone here gotten either Gastric Sleeve or Gastric Bypass surgery and do you have any information to offer or suggestions of questions I should possibly ask my provider?

garber6th

The general boards here will not get you the kind of responses you need. People on these boards are generally against WLS and will give you negative feedback not necessarily based on experience, but they have strong opinions nonetheless. This members of this group http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/637-gastric-bypass-vsg-lapband are at all stages of WLS from deciding if/when, to people who are newly post-surgery and some who are years out. Some people have had great success, some people struggle. You will get honest and accurate feedback.

jgnatca

I had the bypass three years ago. The chance to get out of the morbidly obese range drastically improved my life and my fitness. I leveraged this change to become more active, and also as a consequence by diabetes is in remission and my blood pressure is in normal range. So I'd say, very much worth it.

Laporascopic surgery can be recovered from fairly quickly. I'd rate it on the risk scale the same as having gall bladder or appendix removal.

This is not a quick fix and you will have to be diligent about tracking your food intake before and after. Follow the instructions to the letter. Even though you may have a much reduced appetite directly after surgery, try and eat to your target daily (as provided by a registered dietitian with experience in this area). If not, you may suffer side effects such as hair loss, brittle nails, fainting, kidney stones and gall stones.

I got brittle nails. I avoided all the other potential side effects (generally from not eating enough, not drinking enough).

earlnabby

garber6th wrote: »

The general boards here will not get you the kind of responses you need. People on these boards are generally against WLS and will give you negative feedback not necessarily based on experience, but they have strong opinions nonetheless. This members of this group http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/637-gastric-bypass-vsg-lapband are at all stages of WLS from deciding if/when, to people who are newly post-surgery and some who are years out. Some people have had great success, some people struggle. You will get honest and accurate feedback.

While I agree that the OP should check out a group devoted to WLS for the best advice, you are wrong re: the general boards. If someone is asking whether they should do it or not, people will weigh in with their opinions (which do tend to be on the "don't" side of the question). People who have already decided or have had it done receive a lot of help and positive comments.

garber6th

earlnabby wrote: »

garber6th wrote: »

The general boards here will not get you the kind of responses you need. People on these boards are generally against WLS and will give you negative feedback not necessarily based on experience, but they have strong opinions nonetheless. This members of this group http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/637-gastric-bypass-vsg-lapband are at all stages of WLS from deciding if/when, to people who are newly post-surgery and some who are years out. Some people have had great success, some people struggle. You will get honest and accurate feedback.

While I agree that the OP should check out a group devoted to WLS for the best advice, you are wrong re: the general boards. If someone is asking whether they should do it or not, people will weigh in with their opinions (which do tend to be on the "don't" side of the question). People who have already decided or have had it done receive a lot of help and positive comments.

True to some extent, but there's a lot of unsubstantiated judgement as well.

rebeccachobat

garber6th wrote: »

The general boards here will not get you the kind of responses you need. People on these boards are generally against WLS and will give you negative feedback not necessarily based on experience, but they have strong opinions nonetheless. This members of this group http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/637-gastric-bypass-vsg-lapband are at all stages of WLS from deciding if/when, to people who are newly post-surgery and some who are years out. Some people have had great success, some people struggle. You will get honest and accurate feedback.

Thank you! I will join that!

Lizzypb88

rebeccachobat wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I have an appointment scheduled for the 28th to consult a physician about the possibility of getting Bariatric Surgery.

Has anyone here gotten either Gastric Sleeve or Gastric Bypass surgery and do you have any information to offer or suggestions of questions I should possibly ask my provider?

Obviously everyone will have their own experiences and outcomes but I'll share my mothers experience as another example!

She got the lap band- I have heard of the band slipping for people and other issues, but she didn't have any like that- the reason she had surgery was because she was having heart trouble in her 50's and they determined it was directly related to her weight, and that weight loss would take the strain off her heart and they wanted her to loose weight asap... hence surgery rather than diet

She lost weight very quickly but has struggled a lot with controlling herself, and when she eats too much or something she shouldn't, she's in the bathroom or sink throwing up- that's one thing she will always struggle with because she didn't get control of her eating habits before surgery.

I think one thing I want to throw at you is- surgery will help you lose the weight no doubt, but when you get to your target weight make sure you are good with it mentally, because many patients gain some or a lot of the weight back in the long run. The question is- can you lose the weight the slow way with diet and exercise, or is your health at risk and you need to get this issue taken care of?

I would ask how they go about making this a lifestyle change for you, what tools are you given? After the liquid diet following surgery, what kind of guidance are you given for the rest of your weight loss journey, and what are the risks for you associated with the surgery, short term and long term?

Hope all goes well, I'm sure you will have many questions for your dr!

150poundsofme

I did not have surgery but seriously thought about it. I went to about 5 different support groups and I asked people who had the surgery questions. I also looked on you tube and listened to what people who have had the surgery had to say - one month out, 5 months out etc. They told specifically what they were now eating and how they were feeling. I also went to 4 or 5 doctor seminars and asked questions to the doctor. One fib just about all told me was that the sleeve comes in one size. So a large boned man 6'9" is getting the same sleeve as the small boned but obese 5'2" woman? I did research on line also about what foods to eat before, how some doctors say you do not need to lose any weight beforehand while others will tell you you need to lose weight so they can see your liver better and not cut it. FYI the sleeve does come in different sizes. I thought at the time I would want a bit bigger sleeve so after my weight was lost I would be able to eat a little bit more "normal". Anyway, lots of research you should do to decide if it is right for you.