Weight Loss Surgery Advice

I have not had weight loss surgery, however, I have several very close friends that did opt for the surgery.

The first friend was about 10 years ago, she was close to 500 pounds, and that was after losing the weight required before they would even consider her for surgery. In about 6 months she was down to just under 300 pounds, and things were going very well. Suddenly she got very sick, and they found that during her surgery they had nicked one of her other organs, but because of all the other side effects of the surgery and sudden weight loss it went unnoticed and untreated. She had a major infection and had to undergo several additional surgeries. This is highly uncommon, however, this is just one complication that could happen.

After those surgeries to fix the "nicked" organ & infections, she did very well for the first 18 months with the diet restrictions (which are very limiting). She got to a weight she was happy with and gradually started eating a bit more here and there. It didn't take long before she gained the weight back because in the end she went back to her old eating habits. Keep in mind this was 10 years ago and things have changed some, especially with the Lapband that is available.

My next friend became skeletal. He had the lapband procedure and followed the diet religiously and was looking great. Once he had the band removed he was so terrified of gaining the weight back that he began restricting his diet even further. It was very scary and his wife ended up doing an intervention of sorts. He is now at a healthy weight, eats correctly and sees his Drs regularly.

Another friend had lapband and he did super well. Once the band came out, he gained about half the weight back, but as he realized what he was doing, he made lifestyle changes to his diet and exercise. He is doing very well and recently told me it is what he should have done to begin with.

Another girlfriend of mine had lapband done 3 years ago. Initially she dropped about half the weight she wanted to lose very quickly. Then started having health issues due to diabetes. They had to remove the band because she needed to be able to eat a healthy diet to get it under control, REALITY CHECK HERE... the Dr said HEALTHY diet.... what that says is that the restricted diet that you have to follow after the surgery is not healthy, at least that is what I get out of that!

Sorry I am being so long winded, but from all of these experiences with my friends, it has made me very cautious of weight loss surgery, especially once you find out that in the long run the only thing that really helped any of them was a healthy diet with a moderate deficit and exercise. So when you see and hear people say weight loss is all about calories in/out-a deficit, it really is!

Best of luck to you, please make sure if you do decide to do the surgery that you think long & hard, you do lots of actual research, ask questions of your Doctors and see the councellor before during and after.

I have not had the surgery myself, but my aunt and one of my coworkers had the lap band. I've know two people who had gastric bypass. the lap band seemed to work better granted they did exercise and made healthy food choices they lost their weight gradually. Versus the bypass excess skin and many complications. But I would do my research with LICENSE PROFESSIONAL before you make any decisions. Good luck to you on your journey.

Take a look at the results of the surgery. You are limited because of the procedure as to what you can eat. It is kind of a mandatory crash diet. It forces you to eat only certain things while your body learns to deal with the after effects of the procedure. Isn't it just simpler to just go on a diet. It costs a lot less, and if you lose weight more gradually, the loose skin issue should not be an issue. The MyFitnessPal app on my phone has been very effective for me. just set a goal and stay under it. It is tough at first, but for me it is kind of a game to figure out how I'm going to stay under my limit each day. You can still have pizza for dinner, but if you only have 800 calories remaining that day, you can only have 3 slices instead of the 4 or 5 I would have eaten in the past. You can still enjoy life, I was recently in Florida for a few days, and I totally blew my diet while there. I just went back on my diet and within a few days have lost what I gained in Florida. That isn't an option with surgery.

Don't you have to lose a certain amount of weight on your own before you can get approved for the surgery? You might want to take that opportunity to see if you can just continue losing the weight through diet without the surgery.

I've seen people initially lose a lot of weight, but eventually old habits creep back in and they gain weight back (that may differ between lap band vs. gastric bypass). When you couple that with the chance of complications from the procedure I would think twice.

That being said, if other health issues are exasperated by your weight, then it might be more important to get the weight off in a hurry. Either way, you will have to make serious changes to your diet, the only difference is whether it is forced by surgery or through willpower.

I seriously thought about the surgery. I started at 363 lbs. I am now 314. I know this is a journey and I accept that. I have a friend that did the surgery. She had to eat shakes for like 6 months. is that anyway to live? I didn't think that was the way I wanted to go and I am glad I didn't. I am going at my own pace and that is fine for me. I would suggest really doing some soul searching to see if that is really what you want to do. Good Luck with your decision!

You are definitely going to get very opinionated answers on this question. Especially, the "my friend", "my co worker", "my sister" responses. I am proud to say that I have had the lapband done. Is it a quick fix? Hell no, it isn't...and anyone thinking it is or will be has been badly mistaken. That is why any qualified doctor will put you through a series of tests to make sure that you understand this from the beginning.

I exercise every day....I don't starve myself. I don't drink soda, not because the band won't let me. I don't drink it because it isn't healthy! My whole mindset has changed. I now understand the importance of what goes in my mouth and how much hard work it takes to exercise off putting something bad in my mouth.

You have to be the one to decide that this is something you can live with and use to the best of your ability. You will not get malnourished and starve if you do things like you are supposed to. It is not designed for that purpose and to those of you who think it is, you have been sadly misled. Genetics play a huge role in whether or not you are going to have sagging skin...and that will happen if you lose great amounts of weight (regardless of whether you have the surgery or not.)

You are young...take control of your life now!! Don't wait until you have serious medical conditions that make it harder for you. Embrace your life and go with it

I have not had the surgery myself, but my aunt and one of my coworkers had the lap band. I've know two people who had gastric bypass. the lap band seemed to work better granted they did exercise and made healthy food choices they lost their weight gradually. Versus the bypass excess skin and many complications. But I would do my research with LICENSE PROFESSIONAL before you make any decisions. Good luck to you on your journey.

Advice No 1. Be Happy. you dont need to sound/feel sad at any point.
Advice No 2. A year is all that is required to make the most of it.

If anything can be treated naturally it should be given a chance.
For me actully any diet or surgey which tells me that you cannot eat a certain thing ever in your life that is impossible.

i am also 24 and you too so make a lot of friends here on mfp and we can togethor do this

we have a life ahead girl. Be happy
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1120504-100-pounds-gone-forever

Don't know if these things have already been stated, but here is my input:

--Look into the gastric sleeve, possibly the safest surgical option available and now covered by most insurance (does not include the malabsorption of bypass surgeries, and lap-bands are considered a really bad option by most surgeons)

--Do LOTS of research for each type. There are lots of groups, forums and discussion boards devoted to each type. Join them and hang around and learn ACTUAL experiences from folks who have the same issues you do. Certain surgeries are especially bad ideas for those with particular OTHER health issues.

--In your weight range, you can likely get insurance to cover BOTH the weight loss surgery AND subsequent skin removal if you opt for that. Most cover the latter as well from what I've learned. Even public insurance plans will cover these in the morbidly obese.

--Look at the long-term and consider how good you think you will be at maintaining. Losing a massive amount of weight and then regaining it is much more dangerous to your body than never losing it all. Make sure that whatever you route you choose, you feel it's the best support for the LONG RUN.

I am preparing (I think, unless I chicken out) for sleeve surgery in the spring, feel free to friend me if you want! I'm losing lots of weight now, but this is a one-shot deal for me due to other health issues (see bio) so I have to make SURE that it's a one-way trip ... it can be done healthfully but you have to commit to a lot of things like not drinking soda. Well, I gave up soda years ago, so most of the changes are no big deal for me but might be dealbreakers for others. There are fabulous groups on FB too, and they've taught me a LOT about the real-world experiences that the medical articles don't cover.