Gastric Bypass

I did not have gastric bypass, but got the lap band. And they are the same as in the surgery only does part of the work. You may have a smaller tummy, but it is still so easy to fit bad things... Chocolate, ice cream, all that still goes down way too easy.

So my lap band does about 20-30% of the work, the rest is all me. I tell you this because it is no magic cure. I still have to count calories ect... Yes, it does stop me from overeating... all at once... now if I binge it is just ALLL day ! lol!

Yes, sometimes I miss being able to eat and not get a stop that can be painful...but for the most part I do not regret it.

OH and another thing! DO NOT compare yourself with others who have had the surgery. My weight loss with this has been slow compared to some others I know who have lost a BILLION pounds in the same time.

Heres the thing.. and its just an observation ...but you already lost the weight once. (YAY!) .and you said yourself you lost motivation to keep living that healthy lifestyle and gained it right back...if you spend your money on this..and dont change your habits..and stick with it..you WILL gain it right back..and will have waisted all that money.Right? it isn't going to magically change your mental attitude. You STILL have to stay motivated and live a healthy lifestyle..O_O - So what is different now?...If you have surgery, your life will change overnight. You will not be able to adapt to the lifestyle change gradually as you would with proper food and fitness. you will have to face all those emotional food issues and demons head on (if you have any..) Thats harsh! Everyone loses motivation...you jump in head on ready to go..and a few weeks go by and you are like " eff this this is lame..i want donuts"...it happens!! the key to success is consistancy..and pushing through that mental block and doing it ANYWAYS

Recently..i was going to have the surgery. I am well over 150 lbs overweight. My doctor referred me to a seminar and surgery center. i got excited. Asked a lot of questions..did a lot of research.. it made sense and would have boosted my weight loss and healthy habits into full gear..it would have made fitness easier on my knees and back..it would have given me a selft esteem boost! BUT...then i find out my health insurance doesnt cover a single bit of it.. its excluded..So yeah..now i have no choice but to do it this way.

i in no way think surgery is the easy way out..and people who do..know nothing about it. They just see people lose a ton of weight with it. The life is hard. both my Father and Mother have had it in the last 2 years. My father mentally has struggled with it. He didn't want to change the way he ate. he is an emotional eater and wasnt mentally prepared for this direct, and no-choice lifestyle change. he put 40 lbs back on. hes finally getting it and is losing that.


you need to do what is right for you. i look at me not being able to afford it out of pocket as a blessing. I need to get to the root of my issues with food. BUT..IMO- if you are second guessing it.. I would try this on your own again. Save your money.

Whatever you decide I wish you the best of luck. But don't think for a second you aren't capable of taking control of your life. *air hugs*

My mother and my best friend's aunt both have been very successful with the gastric bypass. Please take the risks very seriously. My mother almost died after her first surgery. Her stomach perforated and they had to redo the whole thing. If my dad and I hadn't FORCED her to go to the ER, she would have died in her sleep that night. After they fixed her up she had great results but almost losing my mom was something I can't forget.

Both of these women were in their 50's when they had it done. I would say if you're younger and have been able to take off weight on your own, don't give up. You CAN lose the weight with just sheer determination and will power. You will be facing the same mental hurdles with gastric bypass as you have been already. I wish you the best of luck with your decision.

I have a family member who had gastric bypass surgery. She lost a lot of weight, but she has had a lot of problems too. For example she has chronic headaches and crippling anxiety attacks. Unfortunately, with the shorter small intesitine, the medications don't absorb well and are pretty much ineffective.

So aside from the surgical risks, there can be other long term consequences to bear in mind.

Now my cleaning lady aslo had gastric bypass surgery She has a thyroid problem. In her case, she loast a lot of weight and then eventially gained it all back.

Good luck, and make sure you make a fully informaed decision.

I had Roux en-Y in April of 2011. Best decision I could have ever made. I was 273lbs and 5'4", I felt hopeless... I had yo-yoed for years, would lose a little weight and then give up. Surgery was the best choice for me. I am happy to say, I am now 120+ pounds smaller and living a very, very happy and healthy life.

BUT... You have got to listen and follow all the directions they give you both before and after surgery. Especially after. This is a complete life change, and you must treat it as starting over completely. I totally get losing motivation, happens to everyone. It happened to me about a year ago. After tearing my ACL while working out, I wanted to give up. I gained a little weight back, and it was a wake up call! However, I made the choice to push myself harder and get out of the slump.

Whatever choice you make, be honest with yourself about your goals and if you're really ready to change your life. Old habits die hard, but sometimes, they're better off dead

Good luck to you!

i would also say at 258 it is not a necessary surgery.

I sent you a message if you want to chat about it, but I would seriously consider getting a sleeve instead of the bypass o:
And to whoever mentioned a weight loss ranch - I spent close to 20,000 dollars on the Wellspring program when I was 15. And I learned a lot, and I lost a lot of weight. But I put it back on /: Educating yourself on nutrition is a huge part of weight loss surgery, and I have been in almost a year long program with my hospital team learning about nutrition and exercise, even more so than I did while at Wellspring. I think a lot of people assume that surgery is a cure-all, but if you don't eat well not only will you not lose weight, but you can also become very ill due to the malabsorption of nutrition in many cases. It's a huge commitment and a challenging one.

I did a lot of research- have over 150 lbs to lose. I found a doctor I really liked and in my second visit I asked how long before I could eat a whole sandwich again. He said never. The thought of never eating a whole sandwich again made my decision. I like food. I don't want to live knowing I have to eat tiny portions in order to maintain. I think I would be one of those people who would gain it back and that would be humiliating to me. so I am back to the "usual" weight loss plan. Best of luck to you.

Do lots of research and learn how to control your eating before going forward. Know that the surgery is not magical. You will have to be very disciplined with your eating habits.

I know five people who had weight loss surgery. Three had gastric bypass, two had gastric sleeve. One with the bypass had many serious complications and almost died. He was in the hospital for months. Another had several serious complications and required additional surgeries. I don't think any of her complications were truly life threatening, but they were very serious. She lost about 60 pounds and couldn't handle the increased attention from men. She became promiscuous and possibly alcoholic as well. (By the way, my father is a psychiatrist who specializes in addictions and he said alcoholism/drug addiction us common in weight loss surgery patients.) She also started over-eating and started gaining the weight back. I lost touch with her, so I don't know what's going in with her these days, but the last time I saw her she was almost as big as she was pre-surgery. The other with the bypass seems fine but can never enjoy a normal meal (like less than one-fourth of a restaurant hamburger. Granted, restaurant burgers are large, but not even a fourth. And no fries, chips, or salad). I wouldn't want to live the way she does. And while she has lost a tremendous amount of weight, she's still not slim and trim- probably still thirty pounds overweight. But unlike some of the others I know, she has maintained her weight for years, so I guess she's a success story.

On to the people I know who had the sleeve. One who had the sleeve has lost maybe 30-40 pounds. (It has been one year since she had the surgery. She is slimmer than before, but still overweight. The other who had the sleeve had no complications and list maybe 50 pounds in the six months following the surgery. Then she stopped losing and eventually started re-gaining. It has now been two years since she had the surgery and now she weighs more than she did beforehand.

I had the gastric bypass done in September 2010. There were no surgical complications and it definitely worked - I went from 312 to 150-ish in a matter of 18 months. My eating habits are better, it has been ingrained in me to focus on protein and fruits and vegetables, I'm more confident and I'm generally ok with my decision.

However, I am deficient in calcium, iron, vitamin D and vitamin B12. I now have to have monthly vitamin injections and daily thyroid medication (mine's stopped working since the surgery). Eating over 1,200-1,500 calories a day makes me gain weight. It would be very easy to gain some or even all of the weight back without counting calories and being very aware of what I eat, and that is definitely not because I've gone back to old habits - I haven't. I'm constantly tired, my fingernails are thin and brittle, my short-term memory is non-existent and my skin is so dry it looks like I'm covered in dandruff.

Please do not think of this surgery as just a way to lose weight. Yes, you will lose weight. Maybe all of what you need to lose, maybe only a portion. The hardest things to consider are all the things you think will never happen to you, because I assure you they can and very likely will. I'm not trying to be negative, but I was so blinded by the thought of being thin that these things all seemed worth it at the time. Had I known then what I know now, I probably would have gone another route but since I can't undo what I've done, I've resigned myself to make the most of it.