PLS POST SUCCESS WITH BARIATRIC SURGERY

Not all doctors require a pre-op weight loss progarm. I didn't have to lose any weight prior to my VSG surgery. The pre-op weight loss is often an insurance requirement for the surgery. I self-paid and only had to have the pre-op tests to make sure I was fit for the operation. My surgery was 21 days after I first met with my surgeon. That day truly changed my life for the better.

As much as I have been on here offering advice and words of encouragement when I see post about weight loss surgery (even though I have no problem with people having this done if it is what they deem necessary to aid them in their weight loss) I do like to post on these thread to offer the OP a different view if they haven't heard from or seen other examples. I started at 560 lbs. unable to walk, hell I could barely stand for more than 30 seconds at a stretch and was home bound for over 2 years... I had a computer chair I would roll myself around the house on to get to the kitchen and bathroom. When I hit rock bottom I had spent 3 days in my recliner with a loaded handgun. It had literally come down to get busy living or get busy dying... On that 3rd day I choose life and have worked my Butt off to regain my life. Even from the beginning surgery was never going to be an options because I knew it wasn't my stomach causing my issues it was all in my head... Something was severely broken for me to be consuming 10,000 calories a day and waiting to die.. If I could not fix what was broke in my head then no weight loss surgery would permanently fix this problem so I wanted to get to the heart of the problem first. So my first stop was therapy to address my food addictions from there I had to get a script form my doctor to begin aquatic therapy because I needed water displacement to allow me to stand so that I could stay upright long enough to begin exercising. I spent 17 months in the pool and lost 170 lbs. in the water before I could get fitted with braces (severely bad knee's) to allow me to walk out of the pool on dry ground. I worked with a nutritionist to understand my eating habits and continued to loose weight.. Fast forward 45 months and 311 lbs, down I have almost completely regained control of my life.. (short of 2 knee replacements I am getting in a few months) Was it easy?? Um No!! but I proved it is possible with alot of hardwork... That all being said if anyone feels this method just isn't something they feel they can tackle then by all means do something because the last thing anyone needs to do is to do nothing!!!.... Best of Luck Op sorry wasn't trying to hyjack your thread just offering another view point..... :drinker:

As much as I have been on here offering advice and words of encouragement when I see post about weight loss surgery (even though I have no problem with people having this done if it is what they deem necessary to aid them in their weight loss) I do like to post on these thread to offer the OP a different view if they haven't heard from or seen other examples. I started at 560 lbs. unable to walk, hell I could barely stand for more than 30 seconds at a stretch and was home bound for over 2 years... I had a computer chair I would roll myself around the house on to get to the kitchen and bathroom. When I hit rock bottom I had spent 3 days in my recliner with a loaded handgun. It had literally come down to get busy living or get busy dying... On that 3rd day I choose life and have worked my Butt off to regain my life. Even from the beginning surgery was never going to be an options because I knew it wasn't my stomach causing my issues it was all in my head... Something was severely broken for me to be consuming 10,000 calories a day and waiting to die.. If I could not fix what was broke in my head then no weight loss surgery would permanently fix this problem so I wanted to get to the heart of the problem first. So my first stop was therapy to address my food addictions from there I had to get a script form my doctor to begin aquatic therapy because I needed water displacement to allow me to stand so that I could stay upright long enough to begin exercising. I spent 17 months in the pool and lost 170 lbs. in the water before I could get fitted with braces (severely bad knee's) to allow me to walk out of the pool on dry ground. I worked with a nutritionist to understand my eating habits and continued to loose weight.. Fast forward 45 months and 311 lbs, down I have almost completely regained control of my life.. (short of 2 knee replacements I am getting in a few months) Was it easy?? Um No!! but I proved it is possible with alot of hardwork... That all being said if anyone feels this method just isn't something they feel they can tackle then by all means do something because the last thing anyone needs to do is to do nothing!!!.... Best of Luck Op sorry wasn't trying to hyjack your thread just offering another view point..... :drinker:

Very inspirational, great work!!!!!!

Alot of us on here with MFP suffer food addiction
great that the surgery worked for you
but could u have done it with just the help of mental profesionals, a nutritionist, and gym membership?

Let me ask you one more thing, now that you have had the surgery why is it you are following the advice of professionals when you didnt before you had the surgery?

Well, I don't know for sure if I would have been able to do it with just the help of them and no surgery. I can say that for the months pre-surgery I spent following their diet and exercise plan I wasn't losing. Let me rephrase, I lost about 2lbs a month. If I had less to lose I might have stuck with that and kept going. Since I had let myself get into such a dangerous weight range I was more worried and felt I needed to take drastic measures. I do not regret this, as my surgeon told us very clearly before sugery, it is not a magic bullet. His exact words were that exercise is the only magic bullet for weight loss. However, for people who struggle the way I do, having a smaller stomach is a useful tool.

I did follow the advice before surgery, it just didn't give me the results I needed.


I don't look down on myself for not being able to do it the "regular" way. I just remind myself that even if I had to do it a different way, I am taking strides to correct my health. Better late than never.

To those who mention that surgery is "dirty" I can only say.. I hope you never need to have surgery. All surgery is dirty. Before my gastric bypass I was told I'd have to have my gallbladder removed. They did it in a combined surgery, and the risk for infection is about the same so I wasn't really concerned about that. Having had a c-section previously surgery wasn't a big fear for me. I did fear some of the worse side effects, like dumping, but not as much as I feared dying from a heart attack in the next 5-10 years.

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!

Take out the combination of this surgery..... And you have the way the rest of us are doing it.
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For those who have repeatedly tried and could not lose a single freaking ounce, it is not as easy as 'oh, just take the surgery out of the equation and you'll surely lose weight!' It's a lot harder than that. It sucks when you eat right, exercise, eat at a deficit, and gain weight. It sucks when you tried weight watchers, followed everything, and even worked your butt off, and gained 2 pounds that week. Then another pound, then .5 pound the following week, and so on and so forth. The doctor said, "The only other option I can offer you is to proceed with the surgery." So you spend approximately 5 years doing it on your own, trying so desperately to lose the weight and prove the doctors wrong, when you have gained 60 pounds and now have to give in. Never wanted it to be an option.

I had to quite reading - too much hateful stuff from people who don't know what they are talking about - and just answer the question.

I had the sleeve surgery 15 months ago. Best decision ever in my life. I have PCOS - never could lose weight, just gain. Finally, when reached 280, with the prospect of gaining the usual 10 pounds per year, with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes issues and about to add a second prescription diabetes drug to the diabetes, cholesterol, and blood pressure meds already taking, I asked my doctor if there wasn't something else out there for me to try. Starvation, living at the gym, and pumping me full of drugs wasn't doing anything but killing me slowly.

I'm also allergic to the water pills you need to take with high blood pressure meds. Off blood pressure meds the day of surgery. Dropped water weight immediately - about 20 pounds.

The sleeve surgery removes the hunger hormones from your stomach. Smaller stomach, no hunger hormones, and a high protein diet helps the body use up its fat stores which equals weight loss. You must meet the protein needs or you'll lose your hair and your muscle. You must also exercise to not only assist in burning calories but to help retain and maintain muscle and give your sagging skin some help.

The people who think the gastric sleeve is the easy way out are misinformed. You must still exercise regularly, you must still live on an eating plan with particular attention to protein and keeping hydrated. You don't wake up one morning a size zero and the world suddenly loves you because you are thin. People who hated you when you were fat because you were fat may like you now but they are still jerkwads. Your friends who liked you when you were fat may have a hard time figuring out how to relate to you as a thin person. Chances are they thought themselves superior to you because you were fatter than them. There are always the people who will run you down saying that you cheated, copped out, had it easy, etc. because you had surgery to help you lose the weight. And, there is the never ending rude questions about how much you have lost like it is suddenly not rude to ask a person such a personal question.

I am very pleased that I did what I did and that it has worked out very well for me. I am no longer on medications for anything. I've had absolutely no complications. I swim 1-3 times every week, do yoga at least once a week, walk on an indoor track or on my treadmill on the days I don't get some other type of exercise, and ride my bike when it is pretty outside. I also don't have severe rosacea anymore - an unexpected benefit. This is a permanent lifestyle - watching what I eat, exercising and engaging in activities good for my body. It isn't a diet that is over when I lose x amount of pounds and then can stuff my face with high fat and fried foods and soda pops.

Talk with your doctor about what is best for you. Do not let anyone who isn't a medical doctor or a person who hasn't had weight loss surgery influence your decision. You have to do what is best for you. Them that don't like your decision are selfish and small minded and need to keep their hatefulness to themselves.

Off my soap box. Back to not participating in the message board side of this board.

Congrats!

I had to quite reading - too much hateful stuff from people who don't know what they are talking about - and just answer the question.

I had the sleeve surgery 15 months ago. Best decision ever in my life. I have PCOS - never could lose weight, just gain. Finally, when reached 280, with the prospect of gaining the usual 10 pounds per year, with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes issues and about to add a second prescription diabetes drug to the diabetes, cholesterol, and blood pressure meds already taking, I asked my doctor if there wasn't something else out there for me to try. Starvation, living at the gym, and pumping me full of drugs wasn't doing anything but killing me slowly.

I'm also allergic to the water pills you need to take with high blood pressure meds. Off blood pressure meds the day of surgery. Dropped water weight immediately - about 20 pounds.

The sleeve surgery removes the hunger hormones from your stomach. Smaller stomach, no hunger hormones, and a high protein diet helps the body use up its fat stores which equals weight loss. You must meet the protein needs or you'll lose your hair and your muscle. You must also exercise to not only assist in burning calories but to help retain and maintain muscle and give your sagging skin some help.

The people who think the gastric sleeve is the easy way out are misinformed. You must still exercise regularly, you must still live on an eating plan with particular attention to protein and keeping hydrated. You don't wake up one morning a size zero and the world suddenly loves you because you are thin. People who hated you when you were fat because you were fat may like you now but they are still jerkwads. Your friends who liked you when you were fat may have a hard time figuring out how to relate to you as a thin person. Chances are they thought themselves superior to you because you were fatter than them. There are always the people who will run you down saying that you cheated, copped out, had it easy, etc. because you had surgery to help you lose the weight. And, there is the never ending rude questions about how much you have lost like it is suddenly not rude to ask a person such a personal question.

I am very pleased that I did what I did and that it has worked out very well for me. I am no longer on medications for anything. I've had absolutely no complications. I swim 1-3 times every week, do yoga at least once a week, walk on an indoor track or on my treadmill on the days I don't get some other type of exercise, and ride my bike when it is pretty outside. I also don't have severe rosacea anymore - an unexpected benefit. This is a permanent lifestyle - watching what I eat, exercising and engaging in activities good for my body. It isn't a diet that is over when I lose x amount of pounds and then can stuff my face with high fat and fried foods and soda pops.

Talk with your doctor about what is best for you. Do not let anyone who isn't a medical doctor or a person who hasn't had weight loss surgery influence your decision. You have to do what is best for you. Them that don't like your decision are selfish and small minded and need to keep their hatefulness to themselves.

Off my soap box. Back to not participating in the message board side of this board.

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I keep seeing people saying it's a "cop out." Relax, it's not a copout. The person going through surgery will have a lot of pain, just like you. They'll be forcing themselves to adapt to a new way of life, just like you. You don't have to be mad that someone else is taking the "easy" way out, because it's not. They're getting their freakin' bodies cut open to do this. That's not the easy way out.

There is no easy way out of weight. Don't you worry -- we're all suffering, no matter how we deal with it.

I wish OP the best of luck with this journey and look forward to hearing your results and successes. I've never worn any shoes but my own, so i can't tell you how to walk in yours.

I am your age!
u only feel attacked because your side of the argument is not convincing me to change my opinion!
I DO feel it is a cop out when statements are made like
"the surgery decreases your appetite so you have a calorie defeceit"
because we all have an appetite
we all suffer the pangs of calorie defeceits
we all get hungry
to me a surgery is like a magic pill

all that being said that is all just my opinion
not fact

so i would not let it get you down

I am not going to change my opinion or stop arguing that i feel it is dirty and dangerous

but that is not attacking you
i have my opinion you have yours

you want to get emotional call it being attacked and use your age and your conditions as a defense that is on you.

I am telling you i am inyour age range and have had similair problems and have found alternative means to take care of myself and i do not advocate or support the surgery.

Your ignorance and arrogance are appalling. Just leave the poor woman alone, at this rate you are bullying her. You are pretty much imposing your opinions on others and blatantly disrespecting those who have made the choice to go through with it. You are the reason why people, like my sister, are too nervous or ashamed to say that they have had the surgery. You are the reason why people think it's a cop out, easy, that there are no benefits. You, my dear, should be ashamed. You are just one mean person, aren't you? The world needs happier, lenient, open-minded people. Not someone who had a bad experience with a surgery, ignores the facts, and says that just because of that one time, it should never be done. Haha.

I am ignorant because I disagree?

If I am ignorant than you are controlling

Just because I don't agree and can't be persuaded that upsets you and resorts u to defensive name calling?

Another argument based on emotion!

The surgery is a cop out, dangerous, and dirty.

Quite honestly I think it is for lazy people that don't want to address their real life emotional issues, don't want to work out on any level, or suffer the temporary discomfort of becoming accustomed to a healthy diet.

My opinion again, go ahead and hoot n holler. I am not trying to sell roses here so u won't get a phony pitch from me about what a wonderful option wls is.

I don't think it is so much what you are saying, but how you are saying it. There is such a thing as tact.

Absolutely agree with you 100 percent. You are an adult and are capable of making your own decision. I've been through the surgery. It's not easy. But it was the best thing I ever did.

I just want to thank people for their opinions and kind words, but this post has got to stop. I honestly wish that I could just delete it. I had a lady email me informing me that she was in tears by what people were saying and she has now deactivated her whole account. Trust me I appreciate peoples opinions even if they weren't in favor of me having surgery, it just shows that you care. However, attacking each other is not cool.

Had VSG in Oct 2011. I was at 365, A year out I was down to 253. Been maintaining since then but I'm want to start another losing cycle.

2nd best decision I made after marrying wife #2 ;-)

Good Luck with the surgery!

I had WLS back in 1994. The one thing I can tell you is to remember, it's just a tool. If you don't use the tool, you will gain your weight back. There are ways to "eat around" the tool. DON'T GO THERE. Follow the rules:

1. don't drink with your meals;
2. Eat all your protein first, then if you have room eat veggies;
3. No snacking

There's a great WLS site - www.livingafterwls.com - it was a godsend for me! Lots of support, recipes, etc.