Weigh Loss surgery????

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sara_f
sara_f Posts: 29 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone out there had or concidering a form of weight loss surgery? I am in the process of starting the 6 month process with my Dr. to have surgery later this year. I am still researching and attending all the classes my Dr. has reccommended to determine if this is what I want to do and what type if I do decide.

I am concidering lapband or a newer version of the gastric bypass called Restrictive Vertical Gastrectomy/Gastroplasty. I am hoping that with all the changes I have made, eating better; working out; and using MFP I can avoid surgery.

I am aware of all the risks and that is why I would love to hear from anyone who has had or is planning on having any of these procedures to hear about your experiences!!

Replies

  • thicansxy
    thicansxy Posts: 66
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    Try this first most of my family has had the lap band or the whole thing. I going to do lap band but after seeing them with the problems or weight gain. I think I am going to stick with this.
  • washironfucketc
    washironfucketc Posts: 3
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    I've seen people gain back most of the weight they lost with these surgeries. I think they can be used as a TOOL in your weightlosss, but you need to realize it isn't a forever fix. So long as you can commit to a lifestyle change you can do well.

    When I was 250, my doctor suggested I look into it. I honestly wasn't a fan of the side effects.

    Do what works best for you!
  • afyfe
    afyfe Posts: 93
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    I had lapband surgery 18 months ago and while there are pros and cons, I would do it again in a heartbeat.
  • havingitall
    havingitall Posts: 3,728 Member
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    Maybe I am mistaken here but your ticker says you want to lose another 29 lbs. You want surgery to lose that?
  • tayner
    tayner Posts: 372
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    i think you should try everything else first. Your body is a machine and if you treat it right it will act right naturally. I spent a couple decades not treating it right but just in the last 10.5 months ive been treating it right and it is responding. Ultimately it is your choice, but I would try every single other thing first.. and commit the change.
  • samseed101
    samseed101 Posts: 97 Member
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    I have personally seen 3 people do the bypass and one person have liposuction. Within a couple years, all four of them are back to AT LEAST their original size, if not bigger.

    Unless there is a major lifestyle change, it's probably not going to work. All of them started out ok, but fell right back into eating crap and hardly exercising, if at all. They weren't able to shed any pounds through diet and exercise before, so they were completely unable to keep off any pounds after.

    Personally, I'd say that if you are sticking to a good diet and exercise routine, and if it seems to be working, then stick with it. Even if it works slowly, stick with it. There are no shortcuts or easy ways out. Sure you can "delay" it or turn back the clock a bit. But if the lifestyle change isn't there, then it's only a matter of time.
  • 33KIKI
    33KIKI Posts: 304
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    I weighed in at 259 and opted to have Lap Band surgery in Oct of last year. Including my pre-surgery weight I had to lose I am down 53.5 pounds. Now the band is merely a tool I had to do a lifestyle change and learn to eat better and exercise. I had tried all the pill fads, Weight Watchers, Slim fast, etc. I think it was a good decision for me. I chose this because I knew 1-if I wanted more kids in the furture they could release the band for me to eat healthy 2- It wasn't going to be a quick fix that I had to make the commitment to continously try and suceed. I try to lose 5-10lbs a month but the with the band you take in less so it's harder to consume the needed calories to burn. But it's all about learning.

    I felt like I hit rock bottom when I saw pictures of myself, I couldn't keep up with my kids and I had 2 family members with diabetes and 2 with high blood pressure. I didn't want that. Not everyone agrees with my decision and each person decides wether or not they will share their story with folks. Personally I do because I am proud of what I have accomplished.

    Anyways - if you have any ?'s, doubts feel free to ask and I will try to give you my honest opinion and help. I am still learning but I take it one day at time and remember my ultimate goal :flowerforyou:
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Whenever you ask about WLS, people always tell you about someone they know who gained their weight back. The impression you get is that almost no one loses weight via WLS keeps it off. But the number of people who gain their weight back with WLS is only 10-25%. The number who lose 50 lb. or more without surgery and gain it back is 90-99%!

    I have a sleeve (VSG) and it's awesome. Before I got it, I could diet because I have a lot of willpower, but my stomach made too much ghrelin and it was telling me I was hungry ALL. THE. TIME. So, I'd eventually gain it all back. Just like the rest of the 90-95%.

    Now I'm only hungry when I really need to eat and my body is no longer fighting me to get back up to 220-225 pounds. It thinks my current weight is a good one and so we're in sync. As I said, it's AWESOME! :laugh:

    I did lose weight prior to surgery and several people tried to convince me that I didn't need surgery because I could lose weight without it. But, as I told them, I wasn't getting surgery to lose weight. I know I can do that because I've done it many times. What I can't do is keep it off. I had to ask myself, what is different about this time than the last times you lost a lot of weight that makes you think you'll keep it off this time? And my honest answer was: nothing. I was dedicated before. I was educated before. I had will power before. I was in a good program before. But that wasn't enough. I had to change my physiology.

    If you want to know more about what it's like to have a sleeve and why I ended up getting this surgery instead of the band, you can read about it in my blog (http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com). I've documented *everything* since I first started looking into weight loss surgery back in Feb. 2008.
  • sara_f
    sara_f Posts: 29 Member
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    My ticker is for my 1st weight loss goal. If I put how much I really want/need to loose I wouldnt see results fast enough and I would give up... need some kind of instant gratification!! LOL My BMI is just about 39 and I am doing this with a Dr so I am being VERY smart about it!!! I would love NOT to have to use surgery as a solution, but if this dosent work, its my last resort!! I had a DVT several yrs ago and was told by my Dr. that extra wieght is not going to help me prevent another one! I also am pretty healthy concidering, but dont want to wait until I am not to do something about it!!
  • Mary_Burris
    Mary_Burris Posts: 120
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    I had Lapband 10 months ago and would do it again in a second! Ive worked hard and have lost 125lbs since my surgery date....I Love my Lapband!!! :o)
  • sara_f
    sara_f Posts: 29 Member
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    Thank you for your replys...If I can loose a good amount of weight in 6 months I will post pone surgery. If I can keep it off for a year after that, then I will forget about surgery. If in 6 months my health is still a concern then I will most likely have some sort of WLS. So far I really feel like MFP will help me and seeing everyones progress really motivates me and gives me hope!! :)
  • waguchan
    waguchan Posts: 450 Member
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    Nicely put MacMadame!

    I had lapband surgery 1-1/2 years ago. I'm still on my way to reaching my goal, but I am glad I did this. The nice thing about lap bad is that it's adjustable as your needs change. I still have visits with the terrific nurses and dietitians to help me reach my goals. I used to think that people who had surgery were taking the "easy" way out. It is no easy way out! There is no such thing. But I spent years working out with personal fitness trainers, seeing dietitians and weight loss specialists. I've tried Weight Watchers a number of times, but I never tried any fad diets. No matter how hard I exercised, no matter how much I counted calories and kept track of what I ate under the guidance of dietitians, I got stronger and healthier, but I lost little weight and didn't burn much fat off until I had the surgery.

    My mother had the "stomach staple" surgery over 25 years ago and she hasn't gained it back. She has never gotten larger than a size 14 in all these years since her surgery. And then she always gets back down to her goal after a set back. She still eats like a bird, despite all the stories about your stomach growing back, etc.

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