Gastric Sleeve

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  • Health_Gal
    Health_Gal Posts: 718 Member
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    I am 9 days out from having the gastric sleeve surgery. For years I tried and yo-yoed up and down 20 lbs. When I hit 300 lbs. I just couldn't take it any longer. I was never skinny, but after a car accident 13 years ago and lots of medication weight kept coming on, and less active I became.

    I find now after having the surgery, I want to get up and move. I love all the walking I am doing. I feel great, I am not hungry and I have lost 11 lbs. already. I never thought I would have had surgery myself, but my Rhumatologist suggested it and for six months, I took classes and got prepared physically and mentally.

    I do realize that there are legitimate reasons for weight loss surgery, such as your situation, but unfortunately, many doctors and WLS clinics are recommending it for people that still have many other options to explore. That is really upsetting to me, because I know people that tried WLS who were not really all that overweight, and had undesirable outcomes.

    It is sad to hear the local hospital advertising their WLS program on the radio and TV. I am sure that if someone is in need of WLS, their primary care physician could refer them to a WLS doctor without hospital patients having to foot the bill for this kind of advertising. I remember when the hospitals were owned by the county, and were not the for-profit corporations many hospitals are today. Back then, hospitals felt no need to compete with multi-million dollar advertising campaigns -- everyone knew they were there if they needed them.
  • realme56
    realme56 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    As a psych nurse I get to see lots of folks who had gastric bypass but either substituted one addiction with another or gained all the weight back and more.

    Best is lifestyle change, if you can't do it that way then surgery might get weight off but you still need to address the addiction. Food is the only thing that an addict must have to live.
  • Health_Gal
    Health_Gal Posts: 718 Member
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    As a psych nurse I get to see lots of folks who had gastric bypass but either substituted one addiction with another or gained all the weight back and more.

    Best is lifestyle change, if you can't do it that way then surgery might get weight off but you still need to address the addiction. Food is the only thing that an addict must have to live.

    You are absolutely right. I know of emotional eaters that had WLS, and their addiction problems became worse because they could not even eat a normal, healthy amount of food without being in pain after the surgery.
  • dootdado
    dootdado Posts: 4
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    I had the VSG done 2 weeks ago, and I have lost 24 lbs since surgery. Going through the process has been one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life, and I haven't had an easy life :) A lot of people like to judge and say it is the easy way out and why can't you lose weight the old fashion way, but who the F cares what they think. It so far has been the best decision I have ever made.
  • katherinemm31
    katherinemm31 Posts: 163
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    @BeautyFromPai - You have NO RIGHT casting stones. Keep you nasty opinions to yourself.

    There is a support group on here for WLS folks so you can join and have support instead of judgements. Be kind to yourself. Do what you need to do, and yes know it is a tool to help you get out of risk from the severe obesity. As long as you are making an informed decision go for it. Friend me if you would like more support. :heart:
    There is a support group for weight loss surgery? Am I understanding that right? How can I find it? I had lap band surgery Feb. 2009. Lost about 70 pounds, gained back about 12 and need to lose about 25 now.
  • lgroner
    lgroner Posts: 3
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    I had Lap Band surgery in 2009. Awesome! Congratulations everyone!
    I lost a whole lot of weight, put a little back on and lost most all of it once again. It is an adventure for sure but I'm glad for it.
  • Health_Gal
    Health_Gal Posts: 718 Member
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    I had the VSG done 2 weeks ago, and I have lost 24 lbs since surgery. Going through the process has been one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life, and I haven't had an easy life :) A lot of people like to judge and say it is the easy way out and why can't you lose weight the old fashion way, but who the F cares what they think. It so far has been the best decision I have ever made.

    Two weeks post op is a really short time to decide if having WLS was the best decision you ever made. You are still in the "honeymoon" period, and do not yet know if the positives will outweigh the negatives of having that drastic of a surgery.

    I wish you the best of luck with your weight loss, but just want to caution others who might be reading your post that not everyone that has WLS feels that it was the best decision they ever made, especially when they realize the lifelong impact WLS can have on what and how they are able to eat, and the high rate of long term complications that many WLS patients experience.
  • JanicaPeterson
    JanicaPeterson Posts: 10
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    Pretty much anyone I have known thats had WLS has TRIED to do it the "old fashioned" way and was not successful... Do you REALLY think we wanted to have our bodies cut open and all that wls entails?

    Unlike those of you that are able to do it the "old fashioned" way, I and many others like me, have it even HARDER now since the WLS as unlike you, we CANNOT eat alot of the things (even healthy things) we used to eat due to the changes in our bodies.

    I myself live in constant fear of something going "wrong" with my surgery and my having to have my TOOL (in my case, the lap band) removed....

    If you have never walked a mile in someones shoes that HAS tried it as you would say the "old fashioned" way, then just stop talking. For you have no idea what I nor anyone else has had to endure just to get the HELP weve needed to get healthy.

    As a formerly "fat" person (I still am that same "fat" person on the inside-something I work on daily), I had gotten sooo heavy I could barely walk, and no I did not just sit around on my butt all day long "stuffing" my face, I have a health condition that requires medication more than once daily that caused a great deal of my weight gain, and added to my depression, which also contributed to my weight. yes, I admit, I am an emotional eater, however that is an addiction just as drugs and alcohol are to other people....

    So, please, until you KNOW of what you are speaking... zip it!!!!

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