WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY

mizzfitnesss did you mean to comment on my response? I see it's quoted but no comment! Thanks :-)

My friend had gastric bypass surgery, she died within a week due to complications. This left two very young little girls with no mother. Scared me enough I got myself under control. I lost 74 lbs with exercise and proper eating. Gained 26 lbs back setting in hospitals for several years and the stress of my parents being ill but have work most of it back off.

I had the gastric sleeve surgery this past June. I had to do a medically supervised weight loss program before my surgery. All told I am down over 150 lbs, with probably about 40 lbs left to go. So far I think it's the best decision I've ever made. I am not suffering from nutritional deficiencies (yes I have extensive lab work done every few months to make sure). I receive excellent follow-up care from my surgeon and his team, including a dietician and exercise physiologist. I've had a very easy recovery, no problems with nausea, throwing up, any of the horror stories that people like to spread about wls.
It's definitely not for everyone. As the saying goes, they operate on your stomach, not your brain. If you aren't willing to commit to serious diet and lifestyle changes after surgery, it's not a good choice for you. The surgery (sleeve in my case) just gives you the tool you need to be effective in sticking with that commitment.
For those who say it doesn't have a good success rate and want to tell stories about their cousin's niece's hairdresser who gained all her weight back or has to have a feeding tube or whatever -- cite me some actual studies that prove it's not as successful as the "old fashioned" way. Not just anecdotal stories about random people. Here's a story that references just the most recent study to say that weight loss surgery is far more effective than trying to do it "on your own::
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-22/weight-loss-surgery-fights-obesity-better-than-diet-or-exercise.html
For anyone who says it is cheating - I wasn't aware there are rules about how to get healthy. Again, citation please :laugh:
I would never advocate that anyone have this or any other weight loss surgery, just because the decision is such an intensely personal one. But for anyone who might be considering it, look for facts -- pro and con -- while deciding. Not stories from internet randoms (including me, I'm an internet random too -- go do some actual research!).

My mom and sister had the Lap Band procedure.

My sister lost 100 lbs and did well. She still struggles though and has had complications from the procedure. Food got lodged and she could not cough it out. Ended up having to have hernia surgery to repair the damage. TWICE. Instead of resorting to getting the band filled and loosened, she has opted to exercise to help control the weight and she is doing great, Plus she likes the way her body looks now instead of just from the weight loss. She is getting leaner and more fit because of the exercise she is doing as well as the calorie intake control.

My mother on the other hand lost 100 lbs and did not learn a darn thing. She has kept the weight off but only because she eats like crap and her body rejects it so she has the dumping effect occur quite frequently. I refuse to go out to eat with her now because of this. Her hair is painfully thin and she is more malnourished than ever before. On the days that she does better her food intake consists of Panera French Onion soup and chocolate chip cookies. It it were not for the dumping effect on her body, she would be heavier than when she started.

To me, I never considered it. 1. I was never big enough to be a candidate and 2. I knew I could do it on my own with counting calories and going to the gym. I had done it before and could do it again as soon as I was ready.

I got ready and I am down 68 pounds. I eat like a maniac as around 1900 cals a day and still lose weight because I burn around 2400 a day. I still eat all the stuff I love and have no regrets.

I don't consider it to be an "easy fix". That is the misconception. It is a tool, like a Fitbit, a food scale or any other. At the end of the day it's still up to me to watch what I put in my mouth and eat healthily. This just really helps with portion control which I need. But what I have been through in the last 3.5 years, hasn't been easy. I still struggle daily. If you don't need the help, then kudos to you, you are stronger than me. I just read the poster above me, and I agree with you, girl!

I had the sleeve gastrectomy surgery roughly two months ago. I'm 5'5", started at 271lb, and am currently down to 227lb. My blood pressure and blood work are already greatly improved, and hopefully I can go off my CPAP in a month or two.

Yes, there are risks to any surgery, WLS included, especially when you're obese, have breathing or cardio issues, or have other risk factors for complications with anesthesia. You should consider these carefully and discuss them with your surgeon. It's also important to read the medical literature to see potential outcomes and success rates.

It is not a magic cure, and it is by no means an easy cop-out or "magic wand." It does not cure head hunger, though the sleeve does remove the physical hunger for most patients (myself included). If any of the many honest efforts I have made in dieting, clean eating, exercise, supervised nutritional counseling, personal training, supplements, etc. etc. etc. had successfully let me reach a healthy weight and stay there-- even with continued hard work and compliance-- believe me, I would NOT have chosen to deal with the pain of having my insides rearranged.

It is absolutely possible to re-gain weight after surgery IF you are non-compliant and go back to eating crap. After surgery, you can eat less food (around 1/2 cup in a sitting, maybe less), so if you eat twinkies and ice cream you will probably gain it back; most research I found on PubMed suggests that regain is linked to post-op dietary noncompliance.

I had gastric bypass in 2005 (at age 35). I started at 345 lbs and had been super morbidly obese since approximately the age of 13. I have since been diagnosed with an eating disorder. (Surprise, surprise!) Within a year of the surgery I had lost 175 lbs. I had no problems with the surgery and the weight fell off. I had several skin removal surgeries, as well, and they were a bit more tricky to recover from, but nothing very problematic. Then I got cocky and started breaking the rules and gained fifty lbs back over a couple of years (wherein I steered clear of stepping on the scale). At that point (about two years ago) I realized that I was right on track to end up right back at 345 lbs. So I started taking care of myself, and started to realize that EVERYONE who wants to have a healthy weight and be fit and happy must eat properly and exercise. Since then, in getting some counselling for my eating disorder, I can see that I have, for most of my life been bingeing and restricting. A great way to get yourself up to 345 lbs. Here I am on MFP, trying to lose 35 more lbs and get down to my goal weight. And STAY THERE. That is the biggest challenge, for me.

I had the gastric sleeve in October and like tj1376 I feel it's one of the best decisions I have made. I was fortunate enough to go through the process with a surgery group that is very highly rated. I made the commitment to lose weight months before my surgery date was scheduled. I used MFP and made some changes, and I was able to lose 70 lbs in 9 months before surgery. That is a lot to be able to lose on my own, but at 382 lbs, I still had 162 more to go to get to my goal weight of 150. Could I have done it on my own? Maybe, but my health issues and my history led me to the decision to have surgery.

I have had no problems as a result of the surgery. I haven't lost any hair, I haven't been sick. I go to the gym 5-6 times a week, doing both cardio and strength training. My health has improved tremendously, and so has my quality of life. I still log all of my food and exercise in MFP. I do what everyone else has to do to lose, and I have an additional tool that helps me too.

My feeling is that you really need to try to change before surgery to make the surgery work for you. It's a tool, not the solution to your problems. I had therapy for a year prior to making the decision to have surgery to deal with my food issues. I worked very hard to prepare myself mentally and physically.

My opinion is that most of the failures come from three things: lack of preparation, lack of real commitment, and not following the instructions of your medical team. You would be surprised at how many people really don't grasp that they have to make lifestyle changes to make this work. It isn't magic and it won't work by itself. I see people posting in groups about how hard it is in the beginning, and I think to myself, really? You didn't know it would be hard and challenging? What DID you think?? I know someone who had sleeve surgery and one week later drank a glass of wine. I can't even fathom that level of stupidity. I also saw someone post in a group that they tried a bite of cake a couple of weeks out. So yes people regain and have problems but those are quite often the people who don't do what they are supposed to do.

I find that many people on MFP are so against WLS. Most of those people don't know firsthand what it's like to be morbidly obese, or they haven't tried and failed at weight loss many times over. If WLS is used correctly, it's an amazing tool that can be positively life changing.

When I looked into the procedure a while ago, I saw that when most people who failed with those operations, it was because they adapted and started eating very small portions more often throughout the day. Heck, I already do that. In addition, everyone I know of that had it done has had some sort of complication. No thanks, I'll stick to the old fashioned methods even if it takes me years to do so.

I have researched it and do not care for WLS.
But how you feel about it and what you do is none of my business. Carry on.