Looking for feedback on Bariatric Surgery

stevenehunt

Hello. I scanned all the forums for any existing threads on this but couldn't find any, so I hope I'm not covering ground already tread elsewhere...

I'm considering having bariatric surgery. My personal Dr. is recommending it, and so is just about everyone I know. I'd like to know what you guys think? Have any of you considered it? or had it done? or know someone who has? I'd be interested to know how it has gone for those that have. I only know a few people who have and they all seem to be very pleased.

I'm considering the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. It's not a "bypass" at all, it just removes about 75%-80% of the stomach leaving all the connections intact. It does not cause nutrient malabsorption, just restrictive eating.

I'm 43, male, 372 lbs and have done nothing but gain over the last year.

That's the basics... just looking for thoughts, feedback or knowledge of results to help me decide for sure (I'm pretty sure, but nervous).

Thanks everyone.

christine24t

Have you tried consulting a nutritionist and getting you on a certain eating plan and exercise plan?

lisafred24

My Mom's best friend had bariatric surgery. She weighed 503 lbs at the time of her surgery. She got down to about 180 and had two children (could never get pregnant before surgery) but she has since gained back to very near 300 lbs again. I personally would not be opposed to the surgery but I think if you don't do the mental/emotional work of why you gained so much weight then it is not going to last. Also, my Mom's friend has had a lot of complications after surgery. She has 5 hernias around her incision (I have heard this is very common). I think there are people such as her that absolutely need the surgery or risk death from complications of obesity. However, if there is any way for you to lose it without the surgery, I say don't do the surgery.

Kelly_Wilson1990

I had gastric bypass surgery on Feb. 7, 2011. You have to be willing to change your lifestyle forever. I had to change my eating habits and foods. I have to take my multivitamins,calcium and B12 everyday. No matter what type of weight loss surgery you are having, the key is the willingness to make the changes and stick to it. If you go back to old patterns, you will gain the weight back. Another key is exercise. You have to do it. I started logging my food and exercising about 2 months before my surgery so I could develop good habits in advance. You have to be determined and dedicated. You will need a good support system.

stevenehunt

Have you tried consulting a nutritionist and getting you on a certain eating plan and exercise plan?

I have... also Drs, a trainer and a short time with a psychologist to boot.... I still believe I could do it on my own.... but I'v been believing that for 15 years and I'm being forced to face the fact, that although I believe I can, I'm not able to do it.

stevenehunt

My Mom's best friend had bariatric surgery. She weighed 503 lbs at the time of her surgery. She got down to about 180 and had two children (could never get pregnant before surgery) but she has since gained back to very near 300 lbs again. I personally would not be opposed to the surgery but I think if you don't do the mental/emotional work of why you gained so much weight then it is not going to last. Also, my Mom's friend has had a lot of complications after surgery. She has 5 hernias around her incision (I have heard this is very common). I think there are people such as her that absolutely need the surgery or risk death from complications of obesity. However, if there is any way for you to lose it without the surgery, I say don't do the surgery.

Thank you for the info. I'm sorry to hear about her troubles, but it's good to know. I'm curious to know about her incision... did she have one large incision? My surgery (if I go through with it) will be laproscopic, which I hear reduces those problems. I also agree with your comment about trying to do it without the surgery... I'd rather.... but I guess I feel like I'm running out of time to make a serious change before the complications of my weight catch up to me....

christine24t

Well if you've tried everything else and not had much luck, then maybe surgery is a good option for you? Obviously there are risks as the poster above stated, but you have to think that there are many risks from being obese too. I'm not an expert in the subject by any means by the way, but that's just my opinion. please let us know what you decide and good luck you can do it!!

tross0924

I was considering it when I first started. I weighed 357 I thought there was no way I could do this on my own and that I needed help. I decided to give it my all one last time since I wouldn't be able to have it done for a few months if not years due to finances. So during those few months I cut back on my portions. I ate only when I was hungry and only till I wasn't hungry any more. Which meant I was eating all the time, but so much less than before. By the time I could afford the surgery, I'd decided I was going to finish what I started on my own.

Maybe you do need the help, and there's nothing wrong with that, but maybe you don't. It's your decision to make, but just know that it is possible.

Good luck :-)

stevenehunt

I had gastric bypass surgery on Feb. 7, 2011. You have to be willing to change your lifestyle forever. I had to change my eating habits and foods. I have to take my multivitamins,calcium and B12 everyday. No matter what type of weight loss surgery you are having, the key is the willingness to make the changes and stick to it. If you go back to old patterns, you will gain the weight back. Another key is exercise. You have to do it. I started logging my food and exercising about 2 months before my surgery so I could develop good habits in advance. You have to be determined and dedicated. You will need a good support system.

Thank you for replying... I am aware of the changes I need to make and I admit I am concerned about it since I've obviously been aware that I need to make changes for some time and have not been able to do it.

I'm optimistic about a couple of things though and am interested to hear your thoughts... First, the center that may be doing my surgery has an excellent long term program I will have to be a part of. This will include ongoing education, support groups and regular check ins. It will last for 2 years and can go longer if I choose to remain in it. Second, I'm also being told that the part of my stomach being removed is (largely) responsible for the production of the hormone "grehlin" which I'm learning is a factor in all of this stuff that goes on in our bodies related to hunger and weight. If, what the Dr. tells me is correct, the lower amounts of this hormone in my body will greatly assist me in being able to "stick to it". So... I'm concerned, but optimistic.

Any regrets? Happy with the choice?

stevenehunt

Well if you've tried everything else and not had much luck, then maybe surgery is a good option for you? Obviously there are risks as the poster above stated, but you have to think that there are many risks from being obese too. I'm not an expert in the subject by any means by the way, but that's just my opinion. please let us know what you decide and good luck you can do it!!

Well.. that seems to the my personal Drs take on things... nothing seems to be working and the risks that go along with my weight and age are about to catch up with me if I don't lose the weight... one way or another... I'll let you know what happens.. right now I'd say I'm leaning towards it.

stevenehunt

I was considering it when I first started. I weighed 357 I thought there was no way I could do this on my own and that I needed help. I decided to give it my all one last time since I wouldn't be able to have it done for a few months if not years due to finances. So during those few months I cut back on my portions. I ate only when I was hungry and only till I wasn't hungry any more. Which meant I was eating all the time, but so much less than before. By the time I could afford the surgery, I'd decided I was going to finish what I started on my own.

Maybe you do need the help, and there's nothing wrong with that, but maybe you don't. It's your decision to make, but just know that it is possible.

Good luck :-)

Truth is.... I'm just coming to the end of my "One Last Try"..... I agreed with with my wife and Dr that if after this last effort to do it on my own I would consider the surgery if I failed again...... so thats how I got here.....

roggernrogger

Yeah i have experience of Bariatric Surgery. I had LAP-BAND surgery 3 years ago. I got this surgery some what successful. I lose my weight up to 30-40%. But it will gain if you do not control on eating. You have to change your eating habits. And also take too much care about it.

For more information visit: http://www.ebariatricsurgery.com/

princesa_kimberlin

I had gastric bypass surgery 5 weeks ago. The verdict is still out on whether it was worth the price of a new car or not yet (yes, we had to pay out of pocket. Insurance did not cover anything.). But I will tell you that you are not alone in the feeling that you are at your last resort with surgery. I had that feeling which is why I went ahead with it. It's all well and good for people to tell you to see a dietitian or work out on your own, but you know what you've tried (and what you really didn't try too hard at) and how it worked for you.

I was like you. I saw a dietitian, a personal trainer, a therapist. Before I got married, I got to where I was working out 2 hours a day everyday. I still couldn't get below 298 lbs. When people say "just try harder" it makes me want to slap them because they obviously don't know what they are talking about. You try so hard and it just doesn't work. Good for those people that it does work for, but that's not everybody.

Don't you EVER let anyone tell you that surgery is cheating or is the "easy way out." I can tell you it most definitely is not easy. All the posts that say you have to change your lifestyle are correct, but I'm sure you already know that if you've done any serious research into weight loss surgery. I don't mean to vent, but I want you to know you are not alone. Good luck with your decision as it is a big one for you and if you ever need someone to talk to, shoot me a message.

Kim

cramernh

My long time best friend from high school had a consult 18 months ago to see if she was eligible... She had gained over 250 lbs... They told her at the time that she was a high risk patient and that she would need to lose some weight prior to going under the knife..

She began with a low-carb diet, exercising an hour each day for five days...

In one year, she dropped 100lbs all on her own.

She never realized she could truly do this, and has decided NOT to do the surgery. That's exactly 1.92 lbs lost per week in one year all on her own, with careful research approved by her PCP, Nutritionist, and Bariatric physician.


My biggest concern for any patient who considers this radical surgery is that, if you cant commit to changing your eating behaviors now, how will you know you can change them 150% after surgery? If you say to yourself, you CAN commit to this, then I would be wondering how you would feel about exploring the idea of 'WHY' you eat, what makes you want to eat, why do you choose the foods you eat? Any triggers? There are so many behavioral ties to eating that sometimes someone on the outside can see it far much better than ourselves...

I did know of someone who did this and after a year, she ended up back in the hospital - ate herself nearly to death.... she couldnt commit to the changes any longer and she reverted to her usual eating issues...


Im not gonna lie, Im not for any type of bariatric surgery... Ive fired an Endocrinologist recently who tried convincing me that a bariatric surgery was the way to go.... but, my obesity is because of two medical diagnoses: PCOS and Metabolic X Syndrome... I actually have these problems causing my obesity... I used to be 130lbs obese... Im now only 94.8 lbs over... and thanks to my NEW Endo, who works in conjunction with my Dermatologist and my Primary Care Physician, the three of them have found answers that are helping my unique situation. They are 10% of the equation - I am the 90% that needs to make it all add up.

Good luck to you on whatever decision to choose to make for yourself....

Ruby11222

I had bariatric surgery 11 years ago. For me, it did NOT 'make me' lose weight. I didn't lose much after the surgery, until I started starving and fasting. I lost 55lbs.

Then over the next few years, I had complications where my stomach opening had shrunk and developed scar tissue, my staple diet became icecream for the next 5 years. I was not able to see a Dr in that time, and my surgeon had retired. So I gained all the weight back and a lot more.

I have had 3 surgeries in the past 7 years to try to stretch the opening of my stomach. Not very successful.

Basically eating anything but icecream since the surgery results in agonising pain.

I could go on for ages, but in the end, despite the pain and even though I have not been a healthy weight, I do not regret having the surgery. I could have become a lot more obese without it.

Have you looked into the lap band instead of the sleeve? It is reversible and adjustable. I have spoken to many dr's about getting my stapling reversed and it isn't possible without an extreme hack job of my stomach that most likely will not even work, and will cause me a lot of problems.

Also, if the lap band didn't work for you, you could always get the more drastic surgery after.

And...people have the impression that a stomach stapling reduces the amount of food you can eat, hahaha no...it just takes longer to eat it. Imagine a funnel, may take a while for oatmeal to go through it but once it has, you can keep going. Maybe that's just my experience, but this is no quick fix.

Feel free to message me with any questions.

seal57

Mate, good luck with your journey....Take one day and one step at a time....

I've never had surgery for weight loss but I did think about it..That's as far I as I got.. I would never have been strong enough to go through with it..

I look forward to watching your progress......

abarr0125

Hello,
I had Bariatric Surgery in November 2000. I do not regret the surgery but, I wish I would have thought it out more and worked more to lose the weight on my own. I was young and dumb so I jumped on the band wagon however, over the last 5 years I have gained back almost 50lbs of what I had lost. I still can not eat everything and anything that I want or even that my body needs. I have been seeing a dietician for over a month now to help me figure out what I can and should be eating to stay healthly and hopefully take this extra weight back off. I joined MFP to help me log everything that I do because I am not good with writing it down (but, typing it helps go figure). I wish you all the luck in figuring out what is best for yourself.

lloydrt

Lloyd here, Steven, I messaged you..........I lost 150 lbs and everday is a challenge

I log my calories, work out at the gym and watch what I eat........Read my bio, and Im 13 years older than you.......
I know some people who have had it and it worked, some have had it and they gained it all back. Get professional help in your decision making process. I cant say one way or another, but for me, and again, this applies only to me, I thought about it, then thought I d try without , and Im back to where I want to be. I lost 150 lbs in 17 months ............were all different, so one rule doesnt apply, but maybe, just maybe try a few weeks without the thought and see where it gets you..........again, read my bio

Ill be your friend and help if I can, ...................Lloyd

dlyeates

I have not had it but I can see how you would see it as a potential solution. As a therapist, I have to agree with what a few others have said. If you are having trouble with your eating habits now it will be just as hard or harder after the surgery to maintain it.

My advice would be to find out what the dietary restrictions will be after the surgery and start following them. I'm one of those people (on a slightly smaller scale) that has had a very difficult time losing weight. After my daughter was born I was unable to lose weight for over 15 months even with breastfeeding and "watching" what I ate. I realized I didn't know exactly what I was putting in my body and thought I knew best.

I would encourage you to use this site, log every single thing you put in your mouth and see what happens. It might be an interesting experiment to do before you make any decisions.

But ultimately the decision is yours and you need to be comfortable with your decision. I also recommend the book "Made to Crave" (it is geared a lot towards women but the ideas and principals work for men and women).

rockerbabyy

my mom had gastric bypass almost 10 years ago. shes kept all her weight off but hasnt "stuck with the program".. she doesnt eat very much (not because her stomach is smaller, she just doesnt eat) and doesnt exercise. she wasnt ready to make those changes in her life and now she looks so thin and fragile, im afraid of hurting her when i hug her.
i dont think WLS is for everybody, i think if youre willing to make the changes of eating less (or more nutritious) and exercising more you should try that for 6 months to a year before going under the knife. if at that time you still arent getting results then go for it. by then youll have the proper tools to help keep the weight off healthily and it wont be such a drastic change

missy5277

I had RNY in 2006 starting weight 306 lowest weight 169, now i weigh 228...hence the reason i am on here, trying to relose on my own this time. For me I thought it was the easiest way to loose because i had seen so many success stories, i consider myself a success story too but i didnt change my lifestyle and that is definately the key. I never had any problems and to this day never have, i continue to see my doctor yearly who is upset that i regained but continues to support me in my journey again. It is easy to go back to old habbits they eventually creep back in, sugar is my downfall. once i realized i could eat sugar without getting sick or what people call "dumping" it went downhill, a bite here and a bite there led to the 70lb regain! I will say it was the best decision for me but that is up to you only to decide, not the doctor or your wife. My father had RNY in 2010 I was his biggest supporter he had always been overweight and tried many diets nothing worked for him. He had a heart attack on the table and according to the doctors he was blocked 100% and amazingly lived through it, ended up with a pacemaker and in the hospital for another 1 1/2wks, i will never forget the look on his face when he got on the scale for the 1st time after surgery and saw that he was 298 (starting weight 360) he was so happy to be under 300lbs, 8wks after his RNY he passed away from another heart attack but i know he wouldnt have changed a thing, he wanted this so bad and he was so happy he went through with it.