CNN's report on gastric bypass surgery

mattschwartz01
mattschwartz01 Posts: 566 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have really mixed feelings about gastric bypass surgery. Part of me is all for it as a tool and an option and the other is really dead set against it for all but the most emergent situations. I always try and encourage everyone to go about weight loss by looking at it as health gain and by eating nutritiously, becoming active, and loving yourself. I don't criticize people that elect to undergo the surgery, I'm just concerned for their health and well being as there really is not enough research data. The only way I really support it is as a life saving measure in an emergency situation. Unfortunately, the person in this article was probably very capable of doing it the right way and while it worked, I'm concerned about her future health: http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/31/health/hughes-weight-loss-surgery/index.html?hpt=hp_t5
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Replies

  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,328 Member
    She said its been 7 years and she has kept the weight off. THAT'S the challenge with weight loss surgery. Losing the weight will happen. But many can't keep it off. If you can't tackle the problem that got you fat in the first place, surgery is only a temporary fix. This woman seems to have conquered the demon that make her fat.
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
    She said its been 7 years and she has kept the weight off. THAT'S the challenge with weight loss surgery. Losing the weight will happen. But many can't keep it off. If you can't tackle the problem that got you fat in the first place, surgery is only a temporary fix. This woman seems to have conquered the demon that make her fat.

    AT what expense though?

    Al Roker had the surgery too..........took the weight off but he looks sick and malnourished now.
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
    I don't have any mixed feelings about it.

    Thanks but no thanks.

    "i can't control my intake so I'm going to have my guts rearranged so that I'm now forced to throw up if I eat too much. Even if I don't eat too much, I might inexplicably crap my own pants, as one of the minor side effects"

    Sounds pleasant.
  • Alicia_P_28
    Alicia_P_28 Posts: 76 Member
    My aunt has had 2 or 3 types of these surgeries (not sure of the exact types but the first one was probably 15 or more years ago)...and needless to say she's larger than she's ever been. There's no quick fix for losing weight. There's just not. AND you have to WANT to be healthier and have to truly hate being the size you are or nothing will work. Clearly my aunt doesn't dislike her condition enough to CHANGE. I'm sure it works for someone out there, but I believe it's not the answer for the majority that get it.
  • judykmmg
    judykmmg Posts: 56 Member
    Al Roker looks malnourished because he probably is. My sister had this surgery about 10 years ago. She has to drink protein because she cannot eat enough to give her the protein she needs, she can't eat many vegetables because they don't agree with her anymore, and rice and small seeds could kill her if swallowed into her "pouch". On top of that, her pouch has a tear or something in it which makes her food cause her to have severe acid reflux. She has almost died in her sleep a couple of times. And the insurance company won't pay anything for the fix. They say it is "weight loss surgery", and they don't pay for that. ??? It is a life threatening thing; and just because she has had weight loss surgery, they call the fix weight loss surgery. That way they get out of paying for her surgery. Oh and BTW, she has gained all her weight back because of this tear. It allows her to eat more food. She still cannot eat much without throwing it all up, but it goes into the larger part of her stomach making her hungry faster.

    Would I have gastric bypass? NO!! Not sure if I would have the banding either.
  • dgoradia
    dgoradia Posts: 109 Member
    I don't have any mixed feelings about it.

    Thanks but no thanks.

    "i can't control my intake so I'm going to have my guts rearranged so that I'm now forced to throw up if I eat too much. Even if I don't eat too much, I might inexplicably crap my own pants, as one of the minor side effects"

    Sounds pleasant.

    Hahahaha, :laugh:

    Couldn't have said it better.
  • mattschwartz01
    mattschwartz01 Posts: 566 Member
    The trouble with it is that the digestive system is highly complex and probably not fully understood. It is a complex biochemical system that is absolutely essential for life functions and we are just on the cusp of understanding a fraction of it. This isn't like the skeletal system where doctors can surgically repair bones and joints. If a patient is in danger of imminent death, then by all means, I'm for the surgery.
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,328 Member
    She said its been 7 years and she has kept the weight off. THAT'S the challenge with weight loss surgery. Losing the weight will happen. But many can't keep it off. If you can't tackle the problem that got you fat in the first place, surgery is only a temporary fix. This woman seems to have conquered the demon that make her fat.

    AT what expense though?

    Al Roker had the surgery too..........took the weight off but he looks sick and malnourished now.

    I don't advocate GB surgery unless its a last resort. There are a LOT of people that have had dangerous problems but there are also some that have saved their lives with it. You have to give the devil his due sometimes. :)
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    Here's my take o it,, from knowing several people who have failed with it: You still have to change the way you eat & exercise, plus you have undergone a major invasive surgery with a lot of risks and have dietary restrictions afterwards. Why bother? Just change the way you eat & exercise, you'll have to anyways. It's also very expensive.


    Edit for typos.
  • tequila09
    tequila09 Posts: 764 Member
    I personally feel that type of surgery is just a quick fix or someone taking the easy way out. Like others have mentioned you have to want to be healthier and overcome the mental issues that made you become overweight in the first place. I really dont have respect for people who do that.
  • jorasims
    jorasims Posts: 75 Member
    I don't have any mixed feelings about it.

    Thanks but no thanks.

    "i can't control my intake so I'm going to have my guts rearranged so that I'm now forced to throw up if I eat too much. Even if I don't eat too much, I might inexplicably crap my own pants, as one of the minor side effects"

    Sounds pleasant.

    So eloquently put! I agree!
  • ambernbarrier
    ambernbarrier Posts: 66 Member
    You know before myfitnesspal I would have entertained the idea of it. To be perfectly honest my entire family is severely obese. No one has ever lost weight. I assumed it was completely genetic. I was predestined to be fat. I had no idea what nutrition was or if I could even lose the weight. To be perfectly honest being human there are days I wonder if I will get skinny. Although getting the correct information about weightloss and nutrition is turning my life around. Even though I may have bad days I have a wonderful group of friends that hold me accountable and encourage me to be healthier. Most people, particularly the individuals considering surgery, or have already done it. Most likely feel that it's their only/ last chance/resort. But I can honestly say after the first month which is definitely the hardest so far. Your stomach does its own version of this surgery. The difference is all the negative side effects. In short now with my knowledge I am definitely grateful to everyone who is helping me.
  • iWillGetCrowSomeday
    iWillGetCrowSomeday Posts: 311 Member
    Interesting that she says in the last line, "Losing weight and the method you choose to do it is a personal choice, but for me, surgery was the answer," yet spent the entire article talking about how it is a miraculous procedure (although "not a silver bullet").

    Bariatric surgery is no joke, and it's no quick fix. It's not the "easy way," either. Like she says in the article, it takes the surgeon 45 minutes to perform the surgery, but the patient needs to spend the rest of their life making changes to the way they eat, move and think. She makes minuscule mention of potential dangers or complications, which isn't her job, I realize. It's a risky procedure.

    And I want to clear something up: OP, you said "The only way I really support it is as a life saving measure in an emergency situation." Bariatric surgery is not an emergent or even urgent surgery. It is considered optional in most cases, in others it can be considered elective. Emergent surgery is surgery requiring immediate attention for a condition that is imminently life-threatening. Urgent surgery requires prompt attention in the next 24 hours. Elective surgery means the patient should have the surgery but can choose not to and the consequences are not catastrophic (as in this case, where the patient could conceivably reduce body mass through diet and exercise in the same amount of time as the recovery period for the surgery). Optional surgery is up to the discretion of the patient.

    Additionally, patients seeking GBS are required to undergo a certain amount of psychiatric counseling to work on the underlying issues and impulse control problems. Something many of these patients deal with is called "head hunger," which can be related to emotional eating or a number of other factors.
  • jeanineolson
    jeanineolson Posts: 37 Member
    I looked into the surgery 3 years ago, but it scared me. I am so happy I did not have it. I was not mentally ready for it. For some reason it has clicked in my head and I have lost weight. I have also changed my habits slowly and in a healthy way. Still able to eat foods I like and enjoy!
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    Y'all might be interested in reading this from the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. It's from 2006 and I don't know if there's been a follow up meta-analysis or more research into the long term effects of bariatric surgery. Anyway, it's
    "Long-Term Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Body Weight, Comorbidities, and Nutritional Status." http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/91/11/4223.long
  • mccbabe1
    mccbabe1 Posts: 737 Member
    read it and saw video.. hmm yeah I agree.. in a sense with the emergency reasons to get gastric bypass... like on a Maury Povich show where a man weighs 600 pounds and hasn't left his house in 6yrs !! that kinda thing...
    BUT then again... idk what its like to be 300 + pounds.. most ive ever weighed is 234 and that was heavy feeling enough... I think honestly for me personally if i had 'let' myself get to 300 pounds and had over 100 pounds to loose I probly would consider surgery.. but more along the lines of gastric sleeve.. the gastric bypass has a lot more complications especialy with vitamins and being malnutished (sp?) if you dont have enough protein your hair falls out.. I have a friend that had gastric bypass and yes lost a lot of wt.. and turned to skinny girl margaritas as a vice.. she was a soda junky before and couldnt drink it after surgery!!! i think also they say 30% or more of peeps that have gastric bypass turn into alchoholics after! (from food vice to alchohol vice)...
    but basically in the end.. she felt she couldnt loose it.. and was def morbidly obese as you can see in pic and is now very thin.. (looks older in the face too for sure) which happens i noticed.. my friend her skin looks much older now :noway:
    not really a cut and dry answer... and to each his own in the end
  • mccbabe1
    mccbabe1 Posts: 737 Member
    My aunt has had 2 or 3 types of these surgeries (not sure of the exact types but the first one was probably 15 or more years ago)...and needless to say she's larger than she's ever been. There's no quick fix for losing weight. There's just not. AND you have to WANT to be healthier and have to truly hate being the size you are or nothing will work. Clearly my aunt doesn't dislike her condition enough to CHANGE. I'm sure it works for someone out there, but I believe it's not the answer for the majority that get it.



    that is so sad :sad:
  • mccbabe1
    mccbabe1 Posts: 737 Member
    I have another friend who got the gastric sleeve and band done! and lost weight the same speed as me on mfp if not a little slower.. and she payed cash (no insurance) 14 grand! :noway:
    she would tell me "youve lost the same as me and I spent 14 grand" im like yep!!
    she didnt change how she ate what she craved and is extremely lazy and doesnt workout..
    and hasnt lost weight in months... and again here I am on mfp.. and here she is with her stomach CUT IN HALF basically AND a band around it!
  • SarahSmilesCA
    SarahSmilesCA Posts: 261 Member
    What the medical field needs to figure out is how to fix metabolic resistance and emotional eating, without screwing up the digestive system or making a person live on less than 800 calories a day...there has got to be a better way than removing 2/3 of someone's digestive system.

    I know people who have the surgery and think they were successful. I know some that lost all their hair (and it has yet to grow back). I know someone who will NEVER be able to take anti-inflammatory drugs (that really scares me....getting older and having no way to deal with pain...)

    I also know before MFP I entertained the idea, especially the POSE method...I have thought, if I just get down to within 50 lbs of goal I can do the POSE and it will take off the last 50 and help me maintain it. The trouble is I know a lot of people who have stretch out their new stomachs so there is no way you have a guarantee that it will be a long term solution....not cool
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
    if you are a good candidate for bypass surgery, you are already in deep, deep trouble.

    being at the stage of having your stomach cut out as a last ditch to saving your life, then you are basically a giant slowly ambling out of breath corpse.

    its too late. you pretty much already ate yourself to death.

    bypass = a 900cal almost liquid diet afterwards right?

    seems better to do it through calorie restriction.

    but yeh. I think its almost irrelevant. if you are a good candidate, you already jumped off the cliff.
  • iggyboo93
    iggyboo93 Posts: 524 Member
    Based on the weight loss tickers of the posters in this thread, many of you have achieved some amazing successes without surgery. Hats off to this group.

    People have suggested GB surgery for me but I am not sure if I could have made it through the psychological assessment - I'm the consummate emotional eater. Apparently the good therapists dive deep into your history to see if you have the fortitude to follow the eating plan. It's still the same as what everyone is doing here - eating fewer calories and moving more. But there is now just a sort of "chain link fence" in your gut - chain link fences can still be compromised though.
  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
    if you are a good candidate for bypass surgery, you are already in deep, deep trouble.

    this is true
    being at the stage of having your stomach cut out as a last ditch to saving your life, then you are basically a giant slowly ambling out of breath corpse.

    its too late. you pretty much already ate yourself to death... I think its almost irrelevant. if you are a good candidate, you already jumped off the cliff.

    this is not true. there is hope for everyone.
    bypass = a 900cal almost liquid diet afterwards right?

    seems better to do it through calorie restriction.

    agree with that.
  • iWillGetCrowSomeday
    iWillGetCrowSomeday Posts: 311 Member

    bypass = a 900cal almost liquid diet afterwards right?

    Not a liquid diet after the immediate post-op phase, unless you enjoy dumping syndrome. Eventually they eat normal foods, with restrictions. These patients need to limit fluid and carbohydrates in their meal or else risk gastric dumping that causes hypoglycemia, extreme sweating, heart palpitations, colicky stomach cramps, explosive diarrhea, and passing out. (The way to diminish this is by lying down for 30 minutes after a meal). Diet after surgery at first is very restricted, but eventually allows for 1000 calories per day (plus supplements).

    No bypass patient can take NSAIDs or any drug that is meant to be broken down in the stomach, because their stomach is smaller and empties before the drug has been properly digested by gastric juices. Most will need to take meds in liquid form. It is a huge lifestyle change.
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
    I wonder, and I have no idea the answer, what the results would be if instead of paying for surgery, insurance or NHS, as the case may be, paid for the plastic surgery to remove the skin if you lost the weight on your own? No way to know for sure, but human nature tells me that, at least some people would use that as motivation. Lose the weight the healthy way, get the body lift for free.
  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
    I wonder, and I have no idea the answer, what the results would be if instead of paying for surgery, insurance or NHS, as the case may be, paid for the plastic surgery to remove the skin if you lost the weight on your own? No way to know for sure, but human nature tells me that, at least some people would use that as motivation. Lose the weight the healthy way, get the body lift for free.

    what an idea! would be great to at least do some surveys to see if there'd be interest
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    its an easy way out and drastic...I mean seriously if you need someone to go in and make your stomach smaller that is extreme. It's easier to eat less and do it the healthy way
  • obeseandsassy
    obeseandsassy Posts: 118
    Surgery does not fix the psychological issues that cause many people to be as big as they are (depression, binge eating disorder or compulsive overeating, etc, eating while bored/stressed, etc.) This type of surgery assumes that all fat people just need to eat less and all their problems will be solved.

    I've known almost a dozen people who've had variations of the surgery, with a grand total of ONE long term (i.e. 5+ years) success story. The others have ended up malnourished, didn't lose weight, lost weight and then gained it all back plus more, or in two cases, dead.

    Seems like a drastic measure for such a small success rate. But hey, anything to stop the ~obesity epidemic~, right?
  • StheK
    StheK Posts: 443 Member
    if you are a good candidate for bypass surgery, you are already in deep, deep trouble.

    being at the stage of having your stomach cut out as a last ditch to saving your life, then you are basically a giant slowly ambling out of breath corpse.

    its too late. you pretty much already ate yourself to death.

    bypass = a 900cal almost liquid diet afterwards right?

    seems better to do it through calorie restriction.

    but yeh. I think its almost irrelevant. if you are a good candidate, you already jumped off the cliff.

    Wow. Just wow. I really hope nobody struggling with obesity is relying on you for support and encouragement. That is one messed up perspective you've got going on there.
  • JennyLisT
    JennyLisT Posts: 402 Member
    I wonder, and I have no idea the answer, what the results would be if instead of paying for surgery, insurance or NHS, as the case may be, paid for the plastic surgery to remove the skin if you lost the weight on your own? No way to know for sure, but human nature tells me that, at least some people would use that as motivation. Lose the weight the healthy way, get the body lift for free.

    what an idea! would be great to at least do some surveys to see if there'd be interest

    That's kinda what I'm going for. I started out at 360, so I acknowledge that I might have an uncomfortable level of excess skin.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
    if you are a good candidate for bypass surgery, you are already in deep, deep trouble.

    being at the stage of having your stomach cut out as a last ditch to saving your life, then you are basically a giant slowly ambling out of breath corpse.

    its too late. you pretty much already ate yourself to death.

    bypass = a 900cal almost liquid diet afterwards right?

    seems better to do it through calorie restriction.

    but yeh. I think its almost irrelevant. if you are a good candidate, you already jumped off the cliff.

    Wow. Just wow. I really hope nobody struggling with obesity is relying on you for support and encouragement. That is one messed up perspective you've got going on there.

    ok, ok, maybe thats a bit harsh. ill rephrase.

    if you are a good candidate for bypass surgery, where having your stomach cut out is a viable last ditch option to save your life, then you are in deep, deep trouble.

    hopefully its not too late, but you are well on the way to eating yourself to death.
    as it was

    bypass = a 900cal almost liquid diet afterwards right?

    seems better to do it through calorie restriction.

    having GB surgery is irrelevant without a change in mindset and eating habits, and you could do the latter without invasive surgery.

    cutting out your stomach to eat 900 cals seems really, really stupid when you could work with health professionals to regain your self control, eat 1800 cals (or whatever healthy deficit), loose weight and keep your stomach.

    even with the surgery you would need to regain self control, cause if you don't you will just stretch out the bypass and be back at square 1.

    so whats the point of GB surgery again?

    sometimes what people find hardest to hear is the truth.

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