PLS POST SUCCESS WITH BARIATRIC SURGERY

Multifacet

I've never understood how people that have to lose 10% of their weight before surgery still go through with it. If you're a 250 pound person, and manage to lose 25 pounds by yourself, why do the surgery? Sure, losing it the old fashioned way is harder...but nothing good comes easy.

Just my opinion...

Here, let me explain....

The pre-op diet is to shrink your liver. It makes the actual surgery safer. It helps the surgeon with the operation itself. The surgery itself stops hunger in most people. This allows us to eat at a deficit without feeling hunger. Each type of surgery teaches the person to eat a certain way, not everyone uses their tool properly, but that is the idea. Nothing about weight loss surgery is EASY but it is all good in the end and worth it. BTW I eat at a deficit, workout, etc....in other words, I work hard just like you.

"allows a calorie defecit without feeling hunger"

Umm..... call me crazy but that is a cop out?

I feel all my calorie defecits

delete

Multifacet

I have not had the surgery myself but have a friend who has. She tried every diet out there and could not make the healthy lifestyle stick before making the decision to have lap band surgery. She is having great success using this TOOL and my impression of it is that if you stick with the plan, it works. Fall off the plan, the weight comes back. Same as any other weight loss tool.

It was not easy for her, it was not a cop out. It was a very expensive surgery that she turned to. It is her TOOL to ASSIST her to achieve her health goals. She still has to exercise and eat well.

It bothers me to no end when people sit on these threads and bash people for their choices that have lead to their successes. Just because they made different choices than you doesnt mean their achievements are any different, or any less. Just because they needed some extra help that WORKED for them. To me its kinda like getting a tutor to help pass a class that might be easy for someone else, but other people may have a hard time focussing. The pass mark is still the same, even if someone helped you and supported you to get there.

The OP asked for some success stories for inspiration for her procedure. Not a bunch of 3 year olds to come here and yap about how much better they are than someone who opted for surgery. We ALL have our weight loss struggles...

Thank you. The bashing has ruined my morning. I'll go work out now and put this away. (surprise!! I eat right and workout now that my body allows me to) I'm pretty sure I won't be posting about my surgery again.

seedawg23

My aunt underwent a WLS 5-7 years ago. Not sure which one. She has a degenerative bone condition and in conjunction with being morbidly obese her entire life, she needed to lose the weight to have her hip replaced. Her success was awesome for several years post op. She went from 300+ lbs to being within the normal BMI range. Fast forward to now and complications from the WLS have reeked havoc on her health. She has been hospitalized off and on for the past two years. Her muscles have leaked protein causing blisters on her lower extremities. She's lost a good amount of hair, had her vision temporarily impaired and experienced temporary cognitive impairment due to extreme malnutrition. She's 51 yo, but aesthetically speaking she appears much older. She is currently underweight because there are so few foods that she can hold down and gain adequate nutrition from. Her quality of life has drastically decreased and she can only do a small range of activities independently for a relatively young woman.

I am not knocking WLS per se, and didn't share that info to scare you, but please make sure you count the costs and balance the scales before you have the procedure (I'm sure you already have, but as a concerned person I figure it wouldn't hurt to reiterate). Be willing to accept not only the success that may result from your surgery, but also the possible complications. View yourself as a person having the worse complications known, and decide if you can live with those complications. The most succesful and knowledgeable doctors can generate a fairly accurate prognosis for you, but life is very unpredictable.

Best of luck to you in whatever method you choose to become a healthier version of you. God Bless!

Terryism

I've never understood how people that have to lose 10% of their weight before surgery still go through with it. If you're a 250 pound person, and manage to lose 25 pounds by yourself, why do the surgery? Sure, losing it the old fashioned way is harder...but nothing good comes easy.

Just my opinion...

In my husbands case, he had to go on a liquid diet to shrink the fat in his liver. It wasn't a diet to maintain.

Jxnsmma

So you are equating major life changing chance of death surgery to "training wheels?"
ok.......................

Fact: People die from smoking way WAY more often then from bariatric surgery. It is the #1 cause of painful horrible death in the modern world.. Yet you continue to allow yourself to smoke cigarettes. Hum, Perhaps you should look at peoples food addictions similar to your nicotine addiction. I quit smoking years ago. Won't ever pick another cigarette up as long as I live. Maybe if you used the TOOLS available to you to fight your addiction, you'd be a successful non smoker. Instead of worrying about other people chosing to go under the knife to try and better their health. I suffered through my cravings, like thousands of other addicts... and WON.

FiveElevenClimb

I've never understood how people that have to lose 10% of their weight before surgery still go through with it. If you're a 250 pound person, and manage to lose 25 pounds by yourself, why do the surgery? Sure, losing it the old fashioned way is harder...but nothing good comes easy.

Just my opinion...

Here, let me explain....

The pre-op diet is to shrink your liver. It makes the actual surgery safer. It helps the surgeon with the operation itself. The surgery itself stops hunger in most people. This allows us to eat at a deficit without feeling hunger. Each type of surgery teaches the person to eat a certain way, not everyone uses their tool properly, but that is the idea. Nothing about weight loss surgery is EASY but it is all good in the end and worth it. BTW I eat at a deficit, workout, etc....in other words, I work hard just like you.

"allows a calorie defecit without feeling hunger"

Umm..... call me crazy but that is a cop out?

I feel all my calorie defecits

Well, crashing out on insulin was not an option for me. I'm done posting. This only makes it even more obvious that those of you responding with "cop out" have no intentions of understanding or educating yourselves. I'm not a medical person, just experienced in many years of obesity, diabetes, pcos, infertility, hypothyroidism and wanting to make a change to save my life. Why can't you all just agree that it works for some and not for others? Just like other weight loss plans do. I was only making statements to help people have some knowledge. Maybe some of my replies should have been kept to myself. I have said many times, as have others, weight loss surgery people are not welcome on mfp. It's really sad. I'm tired of defending my choice. I should have stayed out of this, I've learned my lesson. Thanks to you all for reflecting society at its best!!

I agree if it works for you fine. I personally was stating an alternative opinion. You seem to be knowledgable on the subject but most of us posting were not attacking you. It is not wrong to have a differing opinion. I personally don't care if you have had surgery. You are here for the same reason as the rest of us. And you deserve to be here. Society would never progress without differing opinions. But just because someone has a different opinion, they are not automatically a horrible person. They are not trying to be mean. They are simply stating their opinion. Some are tactful, some are not. But it is how we react that shows character. For the record I am in no way better that anyone else. I have never claimed to be. I just have a different view. And in my opinion that is not a bad thing. I wish you success and good health.

CIBBIELOUK

I had RNY done Jan 10th 2013. I weighed in at 264, i Am now 219, and still losing. I am a diabetic, high blood pressure, high hatle hyrnia, sleeping with a c-pap person. I'm glad I had it done. I am feeling better than I ever did before with a lot of energy. Dr. took me off diabetic oral meds., I have no hernia, no gall bladder and a smaller stomach. I can't believe all of that food I used to eat. I am 70 years old too. I am able to be more active.:):wink:

Multifacet

I've never understood how people that have to lose 10% of their weight before surgery still go through with it. If you're a 250 pound person, and manage to lose 25 pounds by yourself, why do the surgery? Sure, losing it the old fashioned way is harder...but nothing good comes easy.

Just my opinion...

Here, let me explain....

The pre-op diet is to shrink your liver. It makes the actual surgery safer. It helps the surgeon with the operation itself. The surgery itself stops hunger in most people. This allows us to eat at a deficit without feeling hunger. Each type of surgery teaches the person to eat a certain way, not everyone uses their tool properly, but that is the idea. Nothing about weight loss surgery is EASY but it is all good in the end and worth it. BTW I eat at a deficit, workout, etc....in other words, I work hard just like you.

"allows a calorie defecit without feeling hunger"

Umm..... call me crazy but that is a cop out?

I feel all my calorie defecits

Well, crashing out on insulin was not an option for me. I'm done posting. This only makes it even more obvious that those of you responding with "cop out" have no intentions of understanding or educating yourselves. I'm not a medical person, just experienced in many years of obesity, diabetes, pcos, infertility, hypothyroidism and wanting to make a change to save my life. Why can't you all just agree that it works for some and not for others? Just like other weight loss plans do. I was only making statements to help people have some knowledge. Maybe some of my replies should have been kept to myself. I have said many times, as have others, weight loss surgery people are not welcome on mfp. It's really sad. I'm tired of defending my choice. I should have stayed out of this, I've learned my lesson. Thanks to you all for reflecting society at its best!!

I agree if it works for you fine. I personally was stating an alternative opinion. You seem to be knowledgable on the subject but most of us posting were not attacking you. It is not wrong to have a differing opinion. I personally don't care if you have had surgery. You are here for the same reason as the rest of us. And you deserve to be here. Society would never progress without differing opinions. But just because someone has a different opinion, they are not automatically a horrible person. They are not trying to be mean. They are simply stating their opinion. Some are tactful, some are not. But it is how we react that shows character. For the record I am in no way better that anyone else. I have never claimed to be. I just have a different view. And in my opinion that is not a bad thing. I wish you success and good health.

You are polite and bright. I appreciate that. Perhaps you should go back and read the thread again. Many were quite mean. It wasn't you. How I responded shows lack of character? If that was not meant for me, you should have been more specific. I do find you well spoken, perhaps I don't have the ability to get my point across without sounding defensive. All the more reason to not replay to threads again. Now I'm really done.

himilayaneyes

I can't offer you advice from a personal perspective regarding bariatric surgery. However, as a nurse, I can tell that there are definitely pros and cons to having the surgery and not having the surgery. There is the risk of dumping syndrome and vitamin deficiencies. However, if you don't lose the weight, there are even bigger risks like diabetes and heart disease. Ultimately, it's your decision and you have to do what you feel is best. Surgery is definitely not the easy way out nor is losing it the old fashioned way. Either way it's a major/drastic lifestyle change. Good luck op.

ldrosophila

I hope you have many years of success.

I know that if the food addiction becomes out of control then WLS is your only option. I often waffle with WLS and the idea of it especially when my food addiction is out of control is appealing.

CIBBIELOUK

Your absolutly right.

FiveElevenClimb

I've never understood how people that have to lose 10% of their weight before surgery still go through with it. If you're a 250 pound person, and manage to lose 25 pounds by yourself, why do the surgery? Sure, losing it the old fashioned way is harder...but nothing good comes easy.

Just my opinion...

Here, let me explain....

The pre-op diet is to shrink your liver. It makes the actual surgery safer. It helps the surgeon with the operation itself. The surgery itself stops hunger in most people. This allows us to eat at a deficit without feeling hunger. Each type of surgery teaches the person to eat a certain way, not everyone uses their tool properly, but that is the idea. Nothing about weight loss surgery is EASY but it is all good in the end and worth it. BTW I eat at a deficit, workout, etc....in other words, I work hard just like you.

"allows a calorie defecit without feeling hunger"

Umm..... call me crazy but that is a cop out?

I feel all my calorie defecits

Well, crashing out on insulin was not an option for me. I'm done posting. This only makes it even more obvious that those of you responding with "cop out" have no intentions of understanding or educating yourselves. I'm not a medical person, just experienced in many years of obesity, diabetes, pcos, infertility, hypothyroidism and wanting to make a change to save my life. Why can't you all just agree that it works for some and not for others? Just like other weight loss plans do. I was only making statements to help people have some knowledge. Maybe some of my replies should have been kept to myself. I have said many times, as have others, weight loss surgery people are not welcome on mfp. It's really sad. I'm tired of defending my choice. I should have stayed out of this, I've learned my lesson. Thanks to you all for reflecting society at its best!!

I agree if it works for you fine. I personally was stating an alternative opinion. You seem to be knowledgable on the subject but most of us posting were not attacking you. It is not wrong to have a differing opinion. I personally don't care if you have had surgery. You are here for the same reason as the rest of us. And you deserve to be here. Society would never progress without differing opinions. But just because someone has a different opinion, they are not automatically a horrible person. They are not trying to be mean. They are simply stating their opinion. Some are tactful, some are not. But it is how we react that shows character. For the record I am in no way better that anyone else. I have never claimed to be. I just have a different view. And in my opinion that is not a bad thing. I wish you success and good health.

You are polite and bright. I appreciate that. Perhaps you should go back and read the thread again. Many were quite mean. It wasn't you. How I responded shows lack of character? If that was not meant for me, you should have been more specific. I do find you well spoken, perhaps I don't have the ability to get my point across without sounding defensive. All the more reason to not replay to threads again. Now I'm really done.

No I was not saying you had a lack of character. I was simply stating that that is how we show it.

bpotts44

I have nothing to offer other than reading what the people who have had surgery are saying it seems much easier to do what I did...just eat better and start exercising. Sounds like you are going to have to do that anyway with a bunch of potential horrible side effects.

lawandfitness

I hope you have many years of success.

I know that if the food addiction becomes out of control then WLS is your only option. I often waffle with WLS and the idea of it especially when my food addiction is out of control is appealing.

I don't mean this as insensitive, but I don't know how to write this without seeming rude..... A lot of ppl have commented about their food addiction and because of the addiction the only way to a healthy lifestyle is with the surgery.... why do people believe this? Is it because they have tried diets and exercise and never stuck with it long enough to see more than a 20 lbs loss? (I don't meant this towards people with medical issues like diabetes)

My position on this is that if you have a food addiction, and have tried dieting and failed why does surgery seem like the only option? Can you honestly say whole heartedly that you researched what proper nutrition was and tried to change your lifestyle based on you research you did or did you just try a half fast diet that didn't work for you? If you have a food addiction have you seen a counselor or a nutritionist to help you with these issues for a period of time, like longer than 1 month? Are you realistic with your weight loss expectations, such as you want to lose 100 pounds over the next 2 years or are you looking to drop weight quick?

SaraBrown12

For all of you guys who have been brave enough to have surgery. POWER TOO YOU ALL. For tho's too wussy (me) who are doing it without surgery power too you all too. Surgery is not in my eyes an easy option. It is however a way for an individual to solve a problem. A cop out would be to sit on the *kitten* your not happy about and eat whatever and continue to get bigger cause lets face it. That's the easiest option out there.The wrong 1 but easier none the less. However you personally decide to lose the weight then good on you and i wish OP a safe painless op and i hope the weight u want to lose drops off. Well done EVERYONE

Multifacet

I've never understood how people that have to lose 10% of their weight before surgery still go through with it. If you're a 250 pound person, and manage to lose 25 pounds by yourself, why do the surgery? Sure, losing it the old fashioned way is harder...but nothing good comes easy.

Just my opinion...

Here, let me explain....

The pre-op diet is to shrink your liver. It makes the actual surgery safer. It helps the surgeon with the operation itself. The surgery itself stops hunger in most people. This allows us to eat at a deficit without feeling hunger. Each type of surgery teaches the person to eat a certain way, not everyone uses their tool properly, but that is the idea. Nothing about weight loss surgery is EASY but it is all good in the end and worth it. BTW I eat at a deficit, workout, etc....in other words, I work hard just like you.

"allows a calorie defecit without feeling hunger"

Umm..... call me crazy but that is a cop out?

I feel all my calorie defecits

Well, crashing out on insulin was not an option for me. I'm done posting. This only makes it even more obvious that those of you responding with "cop out" have no intentions of understanding or educating yourselves. I'm not a medical person, just experienced in many years of obesity, diabetes, pcos, infertility, hypothyroidism and wanting to make a change to save my life. Why can't you all just agree that it works for some and not for others? Just like other weight loss plans do. I was only making statements to help people have some knowledge. Maybe some of my replies should have been kept to myself. I have said many times, as have others, weight loss surgery people are not welcome on mfp. It's really sad. I'm tired of defending my choice. I should have stayed out of this, I've learned my lesson. Thanks to you all for reflecting society at its best!!

ok and people have addressed and corrected insulin, infertility and hypothyroidsim (all of which my sister and i have suffered with)
just by dieting and excersizing i am saying she took the cop out route and got the surgery and has suffered her health greatly and i addressed those issues by working on them through diet and excersize.

it doesnt make me better i just know now how dangerous and dirty the surgery is. I almost had the surgery. called it off.

i would not let this post get you down if you feel so strongly about the surgery than my opinon shouldnt matter. I am a crusader against this option though and will defed my point as you do yours.

Um, yeah....after 25 yrs of addressing and correcting (insulin pump) and adjusting thyroid meds, I'm aware. Apparently I'm not perfect at expressing the trials I've had. I'm fully aware of adjusting. Happy that the rest of the world is better than me and didn't have to "cop out". I don't get where you think the surgery is dangerous and dirty. People have complications from all kinds of surgeries. Its a choice and a little respect in my choice (not meant to this poster, ty for having some respect with this post) would be much more appreciated. I think that people are a little too harsh in their opinions, me included perhaps, so as I've said, I'm done. Don't bash me for coming in to reply, since I've said "I'm done" a couple of times already.(meant for other posters) That would just be too easy and insensitive.

MDixon26

I had gastric bypass October 2012. I was about 387 before my 2 week liquid diet, pre-surgery. I have so far lost 93lbs. I can honestly say I know I have a food addicition. I can also say this is being addressed, and not only through surgery. Before I was approved for surgery I had to meet multiple times with a nutritionist and a psychologist.

Is it possible I could have lost the weight without the surgery? It might be, I'd tried several times and failed, but you never know, there was a chance I could have stuck with it. For me the surgery was another tool, like calorie control and exercise. The lack of hunger has helped me not eat as much, but it has not taken away my food addiction at all. That is a daily mental struggle. With the help of my nutritionist though I have been able to get through it, and it is getting better. Finding high protein replacements for foods I love has been a big part of it. For which I'll do a quick shout out for Kay's Naturals, who wouldn't life Mac 'n' Cheese puffs with 12g of protein?!!

I guess my advice is, don't expect the cravings to dissapear. When I woke up in the hospital all I wanted was a thick, chewey bagel with slathered on cream cheese and a diet coke. (Even though I hadn't had them in months doing my pre-surgery diet.)

Be patient with yourself, if you find yourself eating when you aren't hungry after the first couple of months, that is the addiction creeping back now that you are eating real food again. Call your nutritionist, or psychologist, or someone. Don't try to soldier through alone, talking about it always helps.

The combination of this surgery, my gym membership, nutritionist, and psychologist, coupled with a whole lot of work may have given me the chance to live long enough to see my children grow up and have babies of their own. Good luck, and feel free to friend me!