Bariatric surgery... to do or not to do?

ldrosophila

I would also work on the mental and psychological aspects for the reasoning you have reached such a large weight. Those of us who are very heavy with BMI of +40 definitely have a food addiction and other poor coping mechanisms. Make sure you are doing the mental work because no matter which method you use it wont work if your mind isnt healthy.

You may find working on the mental aspects and facing the addiction you dont need surgery.

ldrosophila

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lisalsd1

So I have 3 examples...
I have 1 friend that had surgery years ago and still weighs close to 400lbs. A women I worked with had it and lost at LEAST half her body weight....AND a college friend's mother died during the surgery.

The best outcome is that the surgery goes smoothly, you commit to a lifestyle change, and lose a significant amount of weight and improve your health. The worst outcome, obviously, is that you could die during the procedure.

I'm not opposed to it if you truly need to to jump start a healthy lifestyle, and there is no way, at your current weight, that you can exercise. A better alternative is to give yourself a set period of time and implement lifestyle changes...changing diet and exercise habits. I think no matter what you decide as far as getting the surgery, IF you commit to a healthier lifestyle FIRST, your results will be MUCH better. If you are using the surgery as a starting point, b/c you believe it will "fix" you health...well, that isn't going to go well. That's the approach that our friend (who still weighs 400lbs) took, and he has been very unsuccessful.

fatfudgery

The words DAILY BATTLE should put you off doing this if nothing else does. Life should never be a battle.

Are you f#cking kidding me? What exactly do you suggest those of us for whom weight loss is difficult do, then? Give up? I'll take the route that allows me to win that daily battle over your dumbass advice any day, thankyouverymuch.

All you have to do is go for a walk most days and eat a little bit less of the more calorie dense stuff.. nothing more.

Jesus Christ, lady... Do you really think people don't know this? Do you honestly believe that the reason OP's BMI is 50 is because he doesn't know that eating less calories than he burns will lead to weight loss? I'm sorry, but this kind of "advice" is f#cking infuriating. A huge number of interrelated factors (behavioral, metabolic, neurochemical, psychological, environmental, et cetera) make it extremely difficult for some people to do what you're suggesting. Telling them to "just eat less!" is no help at all.

Do you really want to never have a great time again on say your birthday? If you do it the way we are then yes you get a choice in having days you eat whatever you like!

WTF are you talking about??? How does getting surgery mean your birthdays will suck??? And in what world is it healthy having your happiness depend on how much you get to eat??? Nevermind that OP is considering the sleeve, not RNY!

Seriously, some people... :grumble:

focuseddiva

You don't sound convinced about getting the surgery. Otherwise, why pose the question on these boards?
I'm actually for the surgery. I think you should get it. I think it will change your life. I think that is worth the risk.
I speak from experience -- and I had much mroe dangerous surgery. I had the old-fashioned stomach stapling where they cut you open from stem to sternum and actually staple your stomach. This was in the early 90s. No laparascopic bypass. I was 340 lbs. I was 22 years old. I was trying to save my life. Save my fertility. Function normally.

The surgery was extremely risky. I'm lucky to have escaped infection, vitamin deficiencies, etc. The surgery helped me lose weight, yes. I went from 340 to 250. And then the weight loss stopped. My body figured out that I was starving it by eating 1/2 cup pureed spaghetti for the day. If I ate anything more than that, I would vomit. I could feel the staples pulling at my stomach. But I was never hungry, which was so new and novel that I didn't care about ay other ill effects. But then my weight stopped at 250. Think about that. I weighed 250 lbs. I was probably eating 800 calories a day. And I was not losing weight. How? Starvation. Body conserving. Metabolism slowing. By then I was married. I had a couple of children. And after my pregnancies, I noticed I could eat considerably more. Practically a regular meal. I went for a scan to check the integrity of my "pouch" -- the stapled stomach. Well, essentially the staples unzippered. The staples were still there, but no longer creating a smaller stomach. Part of it occurred form pregnancy and hormones and part was simply erosion over time. Bottom line: I no longer had a smaller stomach. I could eat anything.

THAT was terrifying, because I didn't learn how to eat properly. So I learned on my own as best as I could. I went from 250 to 180 -- all while being able to eat whatever I wanted, if that is what I chose to do. When I got to 180, I stalled again. I was eating healthy foods -- just too much of it. I went on Jenny Craig. I lose the remaining 40 lbs. I hit my goal weight. I became a runner. I signed up for races. I was in the best shape of my life. I maintained that for years. And then ... old habits crept in. And here I am, back at 180. But I am not 250. And I am not 340.

So what I want to say is: The choice is yours. Getting my stomach stapled was the best choice for me at the time. Without, I may not be here today. Without it, I may not have my wonderful children. Who knows what the trajectory of my life would have been had I kept going, hitting 400 pounds or more.

At the same time, losing weight on my own was the best choice at the time, too. It taught me a lot about how many calories I actually needed -- and I'm honestly telling you that my metabolism is totally scrwed up as a result of this massive gain/loss cycle I've been on for my entire life.

No choice is the right one or the wrong. It's just yours. Make it wisely. But make sure .. please make sure ... that you learn how to eat healthfully and that you learn to love exercise -- not just for the calorie burn but for the health benefits, the stress relief, the freedom you'll feel just moving your body. Good luck no matter what you decide.

Missjulesdid

I was sleeved in march and have not regretted it for a second. My vitamin levels are perfect with only taking a simple inexpensive multi-vitimin and a few extra calcium pills each day. There is nothing I can't eat if I choose to and I feel better than ever. The surgery is not magic. There are foods that can be eaten in excess that you have to be careful with (ahem, chips, icecream, popcorn) I also have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I will NEVER ever ever be able to just "eat what I want" unchecked. I'm always going to have to watch what I eat and make a conscious effort to exercise moderation when it comes to "treat" foods and make the better choices. The thing is, that for me, having had the surgery just makes it a bit less hard to eat fewer calories. I still have to make the decision to do it, and avoid junk food, but having a smaller stomach and less physical hunger really makes it easier for me to deal with the psychological aspect of eating because the whole portion size part of things is basically controlled by the sleeve so all I have to to worry about is WHAT I'm eating and how frequently I'm eating.. which honestly is STILL hard for me so it's nice to have one less thing to have to worry about now that I'm sleeved.

Of course as you can see, I think that the VSG is a fantastic tool for weight loss, but it's still surgery and I wouldn't ever recommend it unless you are absolutely convinced that you've made every effort at weight loss and you NEED this tool.. If you can do it without the surgery then you SHOULD so there's nothing wrong with giving it another try before going through with surgery

I wish you much success regardless of which path you choose!.

garber6th

The words DAILY BATTLE should put you off doing this if nothing else does. Life should never be a battle.

Are you f#cking kidding me? What exactly do you suggest those of us for whom weight loss is difficult do, then? Give up? I'll take the route that allows me to win that daily battle over your dumbass advice any day, thankyouverymuch.

All you have to do is go for a walk most days and eat a little bit less of the more calorie dense stuff.. nothing more.

Jesus Christ, lady... Do you really think people don't know this? Do you honestly believe that the reason OP's BMI is 50 is because he doesn't know that eating less calories than he burns will lead to weight loss? I'm sorry, but this kind of "advice" is f#cking infuriating. A huge number of interrelated factors (behavioral, metabolic, neurochemical, psychological, environmental, et cetera) make it extremely difficult for some people to do what you're suggesting. Telling them to "just eat less!" is no help at all.

Do you really want to never have a great time again on say your birthday? If you do it the way we are then yes you get a choice in having days you eat whatever you like!

WTF are you talking about??? How does getting surgery mean your birthdays will suck??? And in what world is it healthy having your happiness depend on how much you get to eat??? Nevermind that OP is considering the sleeve, not RNY!

Seriously, some people... :grumble:

All of this. Thanks for this post.