Gastric band v gastric bypass - your thoughts

rbloedow

Any surgery has complications, even having a tooth out can cause a bloody clot, does that mean we shouldn't visit the dentist either

....but I think any sane person would agree.....comparing a pulled tooth to something like a lap band or gastric bypass....does...not...compute.

hpsnickers1

Please forgive me for answer, which you won't like!!

Neither!! U don't need surgery, you need desire, motivation, and support!!! Sorry but that's what I thunk!!!

I agree.... sorry, but it's an easy math equation: Calories out (RMR + exercise) minus calories in (food) = a positive number ... you have to burn more than you eat.
Good Luck~

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-context-of-calories/

FairyMiss

Please forgive me for answer, which you won't like!!

Neither!! U don't need surgery, you need desire, motivation, and support!!! Sorry but that's what I thunk!!!

I agree.... sorry, but it's an easy math equation: Calories out (RMR + exercise) minus calories in (food) = a positive number ... you have to burn more than you eat.
Good Luck~

honestly , do you think if it was as easy as that obesity would be such and epidemic??? just saying

DEEDLYNN

Please forgive me for answer, which you won't like!!

Neither!! U don't need surgery, you need desire, motivation, and support!!! Sorry but that's what I thunk!!!

I agree.... sorry, but it's an easy math equation: Calories out (RMR + exercise) minus calories in (food) = a positive number ... you have to burn more than you eat.
Good Luck~

honestly , do you think if it was as easy as that obesity would be such and epidemic??? just saying

Actually...I do think it's that easy....most of the time (sometimes disabilities/meds/etc might complicate it)...I think we as humans naturally want to take the path of least resistance....and we want instant gratification and results with minimal effort. The bottom line is...it is calories in/calories out.

rbloedow

Please forgive me for answer, which you won't like!!

Neither!! U don't need surgery, you need desire, motivation, and support!!! Sorry but that's what I thunk!!!

I agree.... sorry, but it's an easy math equation: Calories out (RMR + exercise) minus calories in (food) = a positive number ... you have to burn more than you eat.
Good Luck~

honestly , do you think if it was as easy as that obesity would be such and epidemic??? just saying

Umm...I do. The human species is currently more sedentary as a whole than at any other point in recorded history. That, combined with the fact that high calorie, unhealthy foods are available for pennies on the dollar and accessable to every member of our society regardless of income...yeah, it is about calories in and calories out.

Think of the shift in America in the past 30 years - we've gone from an economy where we produced products and our labor force was made up mostly of jobs that required physical labor, to service based economy where sedentary desk jobs are the new norm.

People in the 50's, gasp, actually had to go outside and do stuff when they were bored and wanted to talk to people...today, you can spend hours in front of the television and surf the internet for your every need and desire.

abutterflyemerges

So tried to read all the responses but at work and couldn't finish them all. I had lap band two years ago. I have lost to date 114 lbs. I am not going to say which is better because both come with risk. Lap band takes longer to lose so ask yourself this.....Am I willing to wait for the results? gastric is way faster almost lightening faster. But my friend who had it experienced getting sick, not be able to eat ect...But so did i when my band was too tight. Also in getting the band you have the opportunity to to not occur the hanging skin which comes with gastric. But if i had to do it all over again I choose gastric. I am impatient and i had complications along the way (acid reflux, throwing up, getting stuck). YOU do what is right for you. Everyone told me to just exercise and lose the way naturally. Easy said as I put on another 30 lbs trying. But at the weight you are you are not that fat, overweight yes but your not most bariatric patients who desperately need it. Yes lap band takes up to a year to see results where gastric you will see results in 6 months or less. Good luck to you!

kaffmc

No i disagree the surgery is done by laprascope and some dental treatment is done under anaesthetic, and as i said tooth extraction can cause blood clots so why is it different?

Purecity

Please forgive me for answer, which you won't like!!

Neither!! U don't need surgery, you need desire, motivation, and support!!! Sorry but that's what I thunk!!!

I agree.... sorry, but it's an easy math equation: Calories out (RMR + exercise) minus calories in (food) = a positive number ... you have to burn more than you eat.
Good Luck~

honestly , do you think if it was as easy as that obesity would be such and epidemic??? just saying

Yes.

But to the OP: I personally believe that surgery should be used as a desperate last attempt. I am currently 282 lbs and have no reason for surgery, my two legs work just fine. Just my opinion.

RunHardBeStrong

bigbearw and jeff are right....You don't need surgery. The risk far outweigh the results. You can get the loss through diet and exercise...all you need is encouragement and motivation. I started my journey at 251 and I am now at 217....YOU CAN DO THIS without having to risk your health.

My two cents...

I agree completely! I started at 260 and am now at 194. I feel GREAT and did it with good 'ol fashioned diet and exercise. I know that's not the answer you're looking for but anyone can lose weight with goals and determination!!

waguchan

Choose the option that works best for you and is recommended by your doctor.

I had lap band 3 years ago. My weight still goes up and down, but not nearly as drastically as before the surgery. I was 5'3" and 240 pounds when I had the surgery. I chose lap band because I wanted to lose it more slowly so no one would notice that I had surgery. No one except a few of my closest family members know that I had the surgery. All they see is that I eat slowly and smaller portions, and that I exercise a lot.

It certainly isn't the easy way out. It was my last straw attempt to lose the weight for good. Before the surgery, I was a life time member of Weight Watchers. I lost all the weight so many times at WWs, just to gain it all back and more.

I also spent 2 years in a medically supervised weight loss program that included personal trainers, dieticians, therapists, and doctors. I followed the exercise and eating plans very closely. I kept a food diary, so I know I was eating around 1200 calories a day, but I only lost 35 pounds in 2 years. I was very fit, doing triathlons and marathons, but still very fat. I was also one of those surgery haters who thought that surgery was the "easy way out", even though my own mother had a stomach staple 27 years ago and is still maintaining her weight loss. I never tried any diet pills or fad diets, but I spent more money on personal trainers and dieticians in the years before my surgery than the total cost of my surgery.

I've learned that the only way for my insuline resistant body to lose weight is to eat between 800 to 1000 calories per day, spread out over 5 to 6 small meals a day, with low carb/high protein choices. I simply can't maintain that style of eating without this tool around the top of my stomach.

I have several tools for weight loss success: MFP, my band, smaller dishes and spoons, exercise, etc. I have been using MFP regularly for several years now and it has really helped me to lose weight, and rebound when ever I have a weight gain. The best part are my MFP friends, most of whom have undergone some kind of surgery.

Good luck, no matter what you decide!

agwilker

Since you've been under a program for the past six months, it sounds like you aren't really going to be swayed to simply NOT do it. However, I have to be honest and say I'm of the opinion that you should reconsider it.

In 2008, I went through the whole process of orientation and did quite a bit of research on the how the lap band works. I was pretty dead set at the time that I was going to do it. However, a road block came up.

The psychiatrist evaluating me was wanting me to go to support groups for a few months before he agreed to sign off. At that time I was going to college full time and had night classes, so the groups were impossible for me to work in my schedule then. From what research I did, I had never heard of anyone having a problem there. I believe at the time I was concerned one or two people in my family would give me a hard time with it. Which I told him. Looking back , I believe if they thought that's what I wanted to do, they would have accepted it. However, at the time I was VERY angry, thinking that was my only shot and I couldn't do it on my own. By the way, I'm 5'0" and weighed roughly about what you do (maybe a bit more) at the time. So I understand your situation in that regard.

Flash forward 3 years and since then I gained 25+ more pounds. But I couldn't be more happier? Know why? Because I proved to myself the past several months that I could do it on my own. Because I've nearly lost all that I gained since that orientation in 2008. I learned that I had to come to a place in my life where I could commit 100% to making this change. Before I was unable to be honest with myself that my desire to lose weight was half-hearted. I convinced myself that is just wasn't possible. Now, I know without a doubt that with patience and commitment, I will reach my end goal. This is a lifestyle change, not a diet. If you are dieting, that might be part of the skewed mental perspective.

(I do know several people that have had the surgery and busted their band and regained the weight, had to go in for additional surgeries, etc. The risk, was pretty scary to me. For people that are immobile,older, medical circumstances, I think it's a wise option. But for someone so young to make such a drastic change, it's premature imo.)

GaryAlbone

I went for a gastric bypass myself, only had it done 22nd June and lost almost 3 stone already.

Where u from, I live in Peterborough and help out our dietitian team here speaking to people pre op about there choices.

Gary.

kimbux

i'm 5'2 so...yeah.....very wide for my height! lol

I'm 5'1 and 223 - so we are about the same. I go to the gym every day and have been successful in the past with weight loss. I could have surgery too, but if I don't change my eating habits, then no amount of surgery will cure what my head is telling my body. I know 4 people who have had surgery - 3 gained all teh weight back and more, the other nearly died becasue they didn't hook her intestine back up corretly... and she weighs more now than she ever did.

I wish you luck - you will make the correct decision for yourself. No one can make that for you....

rbloedow

No i disagree the surgery is done by laprascope and some dental treatment is done under anaesthetic, and as i said tooth extraction can cause blood clots so why is it different?

Whoa - I can't believe this has to be explained or differentiated for you to understand the world of difference between the two. In one, you are directly changing the natural function of a vital organ - be it lap band, or physically cutting your stomach and intestinal tract in half via bypass. The fact that the operation is LAPAROSCOPIC means nothing - I can get angioplasty done on my heart through a small incision in my leg - does that mean that it's comparable to removing a tooth - NO.

Also, removing teeth is usually done out of medical necessity...you can't muster up some willpower and hope that your toothache does away. With weight loss, it's 99.99% treatable without having to result to such an extreme surgery.

The fact is, you are altering your body and major organs in a method that is risky, and puts your life on the line....to solve a symptom you have, or at one point in time, HAD control over. I realize that some people get so large to the point where they've ruined their health all together, and the lap band/bypass in their only option at that point........but unless you are at that nexus, the surgery should ALWAYS be a last resort option.

That said, unless you are truly willing to address the underlying reasons for why you have allowed yourself to reach that point, the surgery is only going to address the symptom, not the problem. As you can see from some of the posters here, the procedure isn't even sure fire.

nancyl8198

I had RNY just over a year ago and I wouldn't change a thing! I have been on so many diets, lifestyle changes, exercise routines - you name it I had done it. Nothing worked! I do highly recommend the RNY as opposed to the lap band. I believe that it works better and that the lap band as a higher failure rate. In addition if you have ever had any problems with acid reflux then the band is not for you. It tends to make it much worse. A few things to keep in mind if you decide to do this:

- It is not the easy way out!! I hate it when people say this, there is nothing easy about losing weight after this surgery. You have to work hard. You have to track what you put in your mouth and you have to exercise a lot!

- You will have to follow all the rules strictly or you will not see the results you are looking for. This means not drinking during or after a meal, introducing foods back into your diet slowly and eating lots of protein.

- There is a huge mental aspect to this surgery. You need to be mentally prepared. There is a big commitment to your health afterwards - you have to take vitamins every day, you must drink protein shakes and you have to put in the work.

All this being said, it's totally worth it. I am now at my lowest weight ever as an adult. I feel better then I have ever felt in my life. Also, I only had to take two days off work. I do have a desk job, but the recovery time wasn't horrible. The worst thing about it was not being able to drive and cooking for my kid. That was tough because I didn't want to get anywhere near food the first few weeks! Make sure you have lots of help for after the surgery as you won't be able to lift your baby for a few weeks.

I hope I helped! I know there are a lot of haters out there who will tell you never to have a major elective surgery, but sometimes it's just the best option, especially when nothing else works! People did die from the surgery, but it really doesn't happen much anymore. Be sure to research your surgeon thoroughly and check out his/her mortality rates. Make sure they have a good support staff too as that is invaluable. My dietician has made this process so much easier then if I was just doing it on my own.

mrsdollox

thanks to every that made constructive criticism. its really helped both on the fore and against sides.

for those of you that turned this in to a cat fight and those that just judged and gobbed off - shame on you!! toss pots!

songofserenity81

I had the band fitted in 2007 my heighest weight was 280 lbs at 5'4.5'' but I also suffered from a co-morbidity, I had high blood pressure. Near 4 years on I am within sight of my target weight. The band is a tool that I use in conjunction with watching what I eat and walking upwards of 6 miles every day. I would do it over again if I had to.

kerrymh

Well Haven't really read this thread..but the Band was my choice, seen too many failures and horror stores for bypass, this was safer, and reversible..and I love food and can still eat it..never been sick, and lost 185lbs so far. Really neither is magic you have to change your lifestyle in order for either to have lasting effect. I have, running hiking, kayaking, and just eating better in general..still not perfect but a dang site better than before and never had an issue with my band LOVE it so much I work for the company that did my surgery.

whatwentwrong

i went to quite a few orientations about 4 years ago, but couldn't stick the diet and never went thru with it, and i'm glad i didn't. it's just not for me (at least as of yet), but i support everyone who is interested personally i would have gone for the band, because it's less invasive, adjustable, and reversible.

missphoenix

Whatever you decide your friends on MFP will support you!

RachelSRoach1

Whatever you decide your friends on MFP will support you!

amen.

mrsdollox

Whatever you decide your friends on MFP will support you!

Thank you xx

cownancy

I'm baaaaaack....The continuous voice on the weight loss surgery boards.....
As I always say, DO NOT LISTEN TO THE OPINION OF ANYONE who has not ACTUALLY had the surgery, because SO MANY people have no idea what they are talking about. There is so much involved in making this decision, as you probably know by now, yourself. Whether it's "wrong" or "not necessary" or "cheating" or "the easy way" or "dangerous"........all of these responses are from the uninformed as to why people get the surgery and how it works and the modern statistics with the many new methods being used for surgery.

With that said. I have had a lap band for 10 months, however, the first three months, I could not have any fluid in the band due to a large hernia repair that was performed at the same time the band was installed AND I had the fluid removed for three months due to a mastoidectomy operation. When you have a lapband, you must deflate the band for any form of intubation. When the band is deflated, it does not prevent hunger, which is a huge function of the band. So, technically, I have had a functioning band (through no fault of the band surgery, itself) for about 4 months and have lost 52 pounds.

The best source of information on which method to choose somes from your doctor, because he/she knows your history, you Achilles Heel as far as eating is concerned, etc. BUT, if you are offered both equally, here are some FACTS....

1. The lapband is a simpler surgery for the doctor, but more work for you. It can be adjusted at any time or removed. The ports have been updated. The operation is done laproscopically and you are in the hospital overnight and home the next morning if all goes normally. Some people have one fill and they are properly adjusted, others can take several months. I know of NO ONE taking a year to get the band to the right filling, but maybe I'm lucky to have a wonderful doctor who does close to 3,000 surgeries every year and has been performing the operation for 10 years.
2. The lapband is placed where your esophagus meets your stomach and is tightened to keep the food in a location where it stimulates the nerves that tell your brain that you are full, so you learn to get back in touch with real hunger and emotional/mental hunger. Your stomach, itself, it not touched and your digestive system is untouched. This restriction means that you have to eat slowly, chew your foods thoroughly and learn which foods will gum up and get "stuck" and unable to pass through the restricted opening, which causes you to, perhaps, vomit to dislodge the food. Each person has a different set of foods that gets stuck. Generally, white bread, rice, potatoes, dry meats, etc. are the main offenders. IF you eat liquid calories: milkshakes, mashed potatoes, sugared sodas, puddings, soups, fruit juice, ice cream, etc., the band will not help you because these types of foods slide right past the band without sending the "full" message to your brain. If you cannot control these types of food, then bypass is a better choice. If you are a carb craver, this is a good choice for you. The band will help you control your portions.
3. Complications: Band slippage, band erosion......which would require a surgery (about 45 minutes, like the original surgery) to reposition or replace the band. If you do not intend to make healthy food choices, walk at least 15-20 minutes a day, and log your food, attend support group meetings and read your food labels, do not get EITHER surgeries. Many people do not lose all of the weight to reach their perfect goal, but they lose enough to be healthy again. Some people look at it as if it is a diet, and once they hit a certain point, they no longer practice the program and gain back the weight.
4. Lapband....NO HAIRLOSS (unless you do not eat protein), NO MALABSORPTION (unless you do not eat a healthy balance, and a multi-vitamin), death rate on the surgery pre or post surgery is NOT considered "risky"......that is bunk.
5. Bypass....you will lose weight faster because the doctor is doing most of the initial work with the surgery, but you have to realize that you STILL need to learn the guidelines because you will eventually need your willpower again. Your pouch CAN stretch. You CAN get "dumping syndrome" which is throwing up when certain foods don't agree with you. This is different from the band. With the band, you are throwing up to dislodge food, not because you are sick to your stomach. With the bypass, some people are more sensitive than others. I know many people who don't have food sensitivities, but those people are VERY careful about what they put in their mouths. Longer recovery time, but that is because it is a more complicated surgery.
6. Bypass....by reducing the size of your stomach to the size of a fist or a large egg and then rerouting your digestive system, you can only take in a small amount of food in order to feel full. It works very fast and very well during the first 18 months or more. After that, if you have NOT pushed your portions, it will remain small. Now, since I have a band and not a bypass, I can't tell you how it feels after 18 months, but in my support group, I have heard a wide variety of responses. Many people make it a new set of habits, others still face a day to day struggle with their food addictions. Many people keep the weight off and some people gain it back...some or all. Some weight loss patients transfer their addictions to other types of addictive behavior, like shoplifting, alchohol, etc., but it is a small percentage.
7. Many of the horror stories happened during a time when the bypass was NOT being done laproscopically, meaning it was an open operations which risked a higher rate of infection. Now, there IS still a risk due to anesthesia, infection and pouch leakage. But, most doctors who have earned the rating of Bariatric Center of Excellence, use pouch leakage testing right after surgery to ensure that the pouch is properly sealed.

The main reason most people fail with weight loss surgery is that they have NOT been honest with themselves prior to surgery. They expect the surgery to do it all, or figure that once they lose the weight, they can have the pizza and cake and the hidden stash of chocolate. This is a TOOL. It is not without effort and sacrifice. It is not 100% without risk, but most people who choose these surgeries have a BMI of 40 or more and have additional health risks that, STATISTICALLY, pose a higher risk than that of the surgery.

The bypass will require you take vitamins and eat enough protein. Same with the band, but there are more side effects if you don't do so with the bypass.

If you do NOT have a BMI of 40 (35 with 2 or more co-morbidities) or are 100 pounds overweight for your height.....if you have not yo yo dieted...if you haven't seriously tried dieting, then surgery if pre-mature for you.

Falacies:
1. Everyone can lose weight the same way...psychologically. Just set your mind to it. OK, well, if you've lost that same 100 pounds 2 or 3 times over and over......chances are, you can use the help of wls.
2. WLS has a high rate of mortality.....False....I don't have the most recent stats, but bands have a very small rate and when bypasses were being done open, I believe the rate was 1% or .5%, much lower than the risks or obesity.
3. It's a "drastic" measure. The band is a 45 minute operation and both surgeries require extensive testing and evaluation prior to surgery. It will not be performed unless the doctors, psychologists and other specialists feel that a patient will be successful.
4. It's a "bad idea"......that should be left up to the doctors.

If you don't have as much weight to lose and just need a bit of help, I would choose the band because you will have to do more work yourself, which means your weight will be slower and you are more likely to make permanent habit changes. But, ask your surgeon his opinion on both of them and the pros and cons for your unique situation.

Email me if you have specific questions. And, see if you can find someone with a bypass to give you more indepth info from a personal perspective. Ask that person if they still go to support groups, if they plan their meals and make sure that they ARE following the program. If not, and they complain. It's them and not the surgery that is probably the problem. In our practice, we have lifetime nutrition support and are encouraged to make regular appointments (no charge) with the staff of nutritionists after surgery. We can attend as many as 9 support groups per month at different days and times and locations.

Good luck on your decision about whether to have surgery and, if so, which surgery you choose. (By the way, there are many support group topics on dealing with the WLS trolls and jealous friends, non-supportive friends, people who want you to fail, are misinformed about surgery, etc.....you should be sure to attend ALL of these because many people who are uninformed, think that because they have a friend or co-worker or even a few of them, makes them "informed", and do not realize that there is much more than hearsay to being truly "informed" and "educated" on wls.)

cownancy

Whatever you decide your friends on MFP will support you!

Thank you....there are so many people here who don't support wls patients, but true friends will learn the national success rates, visit your doctor, etc. and MFP friends should be able to give you unconditional support.:flowerforyou:

cownancy

I've been to Vegas plenty of times and one thing i do know is that the house typically wins.......

so be honest, is this really something you are doing to be healthier overall, (considering all the possible negative complications) or for vanity?

Wow, is this a non-sequitur! "The House" in Vegas has NOTHING to compare to a medical procedure that has two decades of successful history. Vanity? Then all weight loss must be vanity? I am so sorry, but if anyone is tempted to accept this post as any factual or helpful information, please reconsider. While I respect others' rights to voice an opinion, but it has to at least be comparing apples to other fruits. This is compaing games of chance to a tested medical procedure. :noway:

cownancy

Any surgery has complications, even having a tooth out can cause a bloody clot, does that mean we shouldn't visit the dentist either

....but I think any sane person would agree.....comparing a pulled tooth to something like a lap band or gastric bypass....does...not...compute.

Quite honestly, given the choice, I would rather go through lapband surgery again over wisdom tooth extraction. The recovery period is MUCH faster for the lapband, no bleeding, not as much pain and I wasn't sick like I was after tooth extraction. Also, I didn't have to take pain medication the day after surgery when I went home and with tooth extraction, I was in pain for days.

mrsdollox

thank you, Nancy. i really appreciate you taking the time to go thru that with me

MissMaryMac33

I'm not even going to read the replies because I know there are a zillion completely uneducated people who love to comment on this topic.

If you are a candidate, your doctor thinks its an option for you and you are willing to change your habits to make whichever tool you choose work, then that's all that matters.

I had my Bypass almost 3 years ago. I wasa not the heaviest one in the room -- but I had type II diabetes already from the weight, high cholesterol, heart worries (history in the family) and I also have PCOS. Having 2 insulin resistant illnesses AND being over 40 pretty much made it impossible to lose weight. I never even thought of surgery -- it was my primary care doctor who brought it up.

This surgery reversed by diabeted within hours of having it --- I went into the hospital needing insulin and 2 hours later, my glucose tests were fine and I've never taken insulin or meds again. I knew this one was final chance -- I was on the road to dying by the time I was 50. I was committed. I followed every single rule, I take a buttload of GOOD vitamins (not flintstone gummies), I joined a gym, I signed up for the Susan G Komen 3-Day (60 mile walk) to keep me motivated all year, I track every bit of food, exercise, fluid. I work my *kitten* off to stay this way --- -but I would NEVER be in a position to do this wihout surgery.

Anyone who has dieted and gained 20,40,50,100 lbs at a time -- many time in their life knows its just as easy to lose weight on a diet and gain it all back. It's also possible to gain it back after any of the surgeries if you aren't commited to changing. The surgery is a TOOL and if you can use it AND make the needed changes it can be living saving -- I am proof of that.

PS I had absolutly no complications with my surgery, no infection, no food aversion, no illness no nothing. I called my doctor once to ask if I raeally had it because people on the forums did nothing but complain about all their problems --- he told me this sage piece of advice:

If people are happy, they aren't on the internet looking for a place to complain about it -- they are living their life!

That stuck with me.... just like buying a car. You buy a lemon, you can be sure you'l on the web letting everyone know about it and how much you dislike that "brand"

MissMaryMac33

The bypass will require you take vitamins and eat enough protein. Same with the band, but there are more side effects if you don't do so with the bypass.

If you do NOT have a BMI of 40 (35 with 2 or more co-morbidities) or are 100 pounds overweight for your height.....if you have not yo yo dieted...if you haven't seriously tried dieting, then surgery if pre-mature for you.

Gerawt Post -- just 2 comments:

1. If you have co-morbidities like diabetes, you can get approved with a bmi of 35 and be less than 100 lbs overweight. AND surgery still covers it.

2. This is the perfect time to change your goals here to include higher protein, lower carbs .. I still love protein shakes and 3 years out it would still be hard to eat 100g of protein a day for me, so I drink it.

cownancy

MissMaryMac33....Great post! I agree whole-heartedly about how we usually only hear about the people who are unhappy with the results of ANYTHING over those who are happy. That's why I always suggest that potential surgery patients go to the support groups. You get to talk to a wide variety of people and can almost always find someone in a situation similar to your own. And if you attend on a regular basis, while waiting to get all of your testing done, etc., you'll meet even more people and learn a lot of things you just might encounter post-surgery.

The biggest reason that I come here and post on every surgery post I can find is because I am afraid that someone in a situation like your per-surgery condition will come here for information and be scared away by the uninformed "know-it-alls" who have a zillion friends and family with "horror stories" that are most often explained by non-compliance by the user. Someone could actually DIE from their co-morbidities because they were given misinformation by someone with an ignorant prejudice against surgery.

You've done such a great job and I am so happy to hear that you've gotten your life back. I've heard so many stories of people leaving the hosptial after a bypass operation no longer needing insulin. They quickly stop using blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds, etc. I see these people one or twice a month at the meetings and it is like a miracle. In that way, the surgery IS "magic"....and, often, a life saver.

Continued good luck and great health!