weight loss surgery

Yes I agree with Ninerbuff. Becoming healthier is a "lifestyle change," and the same is definitely true of weight loss surgery. With the surgery you will be forced to eat less and you will also have to deal with the effects it has on your body long term - not all of them are good My aunt and uncle both had it done. My uncle initially lost a ton of weight but he gained it ALL back. My aunt is now an alcoholic.

You've lost 22 lbs already! I beg you to give it one last try before you have someone cut into you!

This is something you must really think hard about, and no ones opinion here is going to matter which road you choose, as a nurse though I would do the sleeve, but only if you are absolutely committed to eating as they recommend because I have seen horrible blockages occur with these things, the reason I would choose this over the GB is because of the terrible effects it can have on your body, and there is always a possibility that if you are not compliant you can just gain it all back. You can gain it all back with the sleeve as well. The question you should be really asking yourself is Am I really ready to change, because if the answer to that question is yes. You dont need surgery. It will not help your health faster to have a GB or a sleeve, it may dramatically hasten your visible results, but if you are truly ready to change, then just change your diet.

I have a former pateint who was 550 pounds at 5'3, at first she couldnt get out of bed, she started eating a diabetic diet and doing excercises for the bed bound. She lost 50 pounds and graduated to bedside activities, she lost another 50 and eventually she started creeping along on a treadmill, got down to 300 and started jogging. Now she is 180 pounds, and I have to be honest with you and say that her body looks a ton better than that of my friend who was in the 300 pound range and had a GB becasue her skin looks horrid. The GB patient also has terrible problems with hydration and electrolytes, she also cannot maintain her Blood sugar. She is in worse health than she was before the bypass.

I know this doesnt really answer your question, but I just wnated to provide you with a point of reference that no matter how big or out of control you are, if you make a decision to change, you will.

I have tried to loose my weight for 14 years now and keep maintaining

100% for more than a year? Because if not, then you're not trying that hard. Many people I've dealt with have told me the same story, then get with me and in a couple of months have great results. Why? Because they became COMMITTED. And there's a difference between trying and being committed. It's a harsh truth sometimes.
Something you should really think about. Because as many have said, dieting and eating right continues EVEN AFTER the surgery. And if you don't have it down right now, it's going to be much more difficult even with the surgery.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

RNY patient here. Surgery is not without its problems and it is not a miracle cure. You still have to exercise, watch what you eat, keep a food diary, count your calories, weigh yourself consistently and generally do all of the things that people who don't get surgery have to do to lose weight. On top of that you have to be really obsessive about eating your protein, drinking your fluids and taking your supplements. And you'll probably have to do all of that stuff for the rest of your life, if you want to be as successful as possible. The difference is that surgery gives you a temporary reprieve from the crazy, uncontrollable, addiction-like hunger that made it impossible for you to lose weight in the first place. But it doesn't last forever — that's how you see some people regaining all the weight they lost after a year or two, the body adapts and eventually you fin ways to "eat around the surgery" and load up on calories if you're not careful. It is ultimately up to you to learn proper eating and exercise habits and stick to them in the long term; surgery just makes it possible for you to do that.

If you've tried, and tried, and tried to lose weight unsuccessfully and are really, honestly ready to use the surgery as a tool to help you make the necessary changes in your life to lose the weight for good, then I say go for it. I'm immensely glad I did.

OP I have said many times that I have no issue with people using weight loss surgery as a tool to gain control as alk_509 has done. On the other side when I was 560 lbs. I was fronted the option of WLS and even after being trapped in my house for over 2 years I was unwilling to do the surgery because in my minds eye, if I could not fix what was broken in my head that had led me to 560 lbs. then no amount of surgery was going to cure what got me there in the first place... So I met with a therapist to get to the heart of my issues and spent the next 3 years and 3 months fixing me, both on the inside and on the outside.... Was it easy?? Hell no, it took alot of hardwork but now coming up on my 5 year anniversary I know that i have the tools established to make sure I never go back down that dark road... After all that, it is ultimately your decision but heed the advice of those that are saying make sure you understand this surgery is not a fix all end all.... You have to put in just as much work for the rest of your life to be successful... I tell everyone this journey is nothing short of a lifestyle change and will never have an end game.... Your always going to be a work in progress..... Best of Luck...

I have tried to loose my weight for 14 years now and keep maintaining

100% for more than a year? Because if not, then you're not trying that hard. Many people I've dealt with have told me the same story, then get with me and in a couple of months have great results. Why? Because they became COMMITTED. And there's a difference between trying and being committed. It's a harsh truth sometimes.
Something you should really think about. Because as many have said, dieting and eating right continues EVEN AFTER the surgery. And if you don't have it down right now, it's going to be much more difficult even with the surgery.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

This is so incredibly true. I tried to lose weight for over a decade as well, but nothing happened until I changed my thought process. I literally had to change my entire life around for the positive before my weight started to budge a bit. I know I sound like a cheesy self help infomercial, but so much of this is a mental battle, and you CAN do it.

I had the sleeve last September. I have done really well so far. Everyone is different. The mental part of the surgery is probably the hardest part. Just do your research before you commit to anything. Good luck!

I implore you to hire a trainer - not some random shmuck at a gym, but a highly certified professional - and to give them full control of your diet and exercise for a couple of months.

(1) If you "eat healthy" why don't you open your diary? I think that statement is subjective and perhaps some feedback from other users might be helpful.

(2) At one time I was obese, I tried to lose weight by eating healthy and exercising but I was always hungry. My doctor prescribed a weight loss suppressant for three months and I dropped 20 lbs. It wasn't a panacea, but I was then able to go from walking to jogging. I got so much "bang for my buck" while jogging (i.e. a lot more calorie burn for the amount of time I invested). Eventually I went from jogging to running. I was also able to keep losing weight without the appetite suppressant. I guess my point is have you tried less drastic measures first?

The advice to really consider all of your options and what they mean, long-term, is a great one. I highly suggest seeing a WLS "friendly"* psychologist for a a couple sessions to explore your strengths and barriers to long-term weight-loss before making a decision. The fact is, this is an incredibly personal decision that really rests on knowing so much more about you and your history than a message board will address. It's good to ask questions on this board and get perspectives, but realize that every response is given through the lens of another person's experience and what worked or didn't work for them might go differently for you given your circumstances.

Everyone is motivated to have the right answer, because so much rides on it. If I had WLS and I gained it all back, then I'm invested in believing it was the fault of the surgery and not my own failures. If I had it and it worked, then I'm invested in saying it's the best. If I lost weight without surgery (or am trying), then I need to believe it's better than surgery because otherwise it's a lot of hunger and unassisted self-denial and work for a result that may not last (same could be said for WLS-you get my drift). If I'm a surgeon, I have financial interests in telling you WLS is the only way. If I'm a trainer, I have interests in telling you it's better or more "moral" to try harder to do it on your own (with my profession's paid help of course). Not to say that these folks all don't 100% believe in what they are saying. We all do because that is OUR experience based on our life circumstances including personality, emotional and physical health, finances, and our weight history. None of which speaks to you specifically.

All this said: I don't have any experience with bypass or sleeve so can't comment on your actual question

*when I say WLS friendly, I don't mean a cheerleader or surgeon-affiliated, but someone who is familiar with WLS and is not biased against it. Could be someone who does bariatric evaluations but doesn't work in the same practice as the surgeon.

Hi,
I had weight loss surgery, I opted for a vertical sleeve gastrectomy or VSG. Mainly because my surgeon did not feel i needed a gastric bypass since i had on weight related health issues (yet). My personal choice came about after my initial approach at weight loss surgery. that was a few years back, and at that time I could not look at myself in the mirror and honestly say that I had tried everything. So for the next 3 years I tried everything i could get my hands on. I lost and gained the same 40 pounds again and again.
After careful consideration and with the approval of my doctors, dietitians, mental health professionals, and with the piece of mind that God would let me make it through this journey I went ahead and had the surgery.

I would like to say that it is a complete lie that any one surgery is less invasive than the other. I have worked in the health care industry for 13 years and I have seen people die from every single weight loss surgery there is available. I have also seen people left with irreparable physical damage due to a complication after weight loss surgery, you name it, I've seen it. Even if its just an elastic band, an inflatable band, a sleeve, or rerouting of the intestines... and so on, If you are messing with your gut you can end up in big trouble. That is why you have to be physically and mentally ready to do everything in your power to follow the guidelines of your weight loss surgery plan. Also you must find the proper surgeon and weight loss surgery TEAM to guide you thorough this hard journey.

In my experience the surgery was a complete success, I am extremely lucky and a rare case. Hours after my gastrectomy I was ready to go and start my new life. I had no pain, no nausea, no complications what so ever. I woke up the next day and completely forgot I had had a major surgery. Not everyone has this great of an experience but it can happen. I lost a tremendous amount of weight within the first 6 months. After that i fell into what my "normal" weight loss trend would be. I am considered a "slow loser" in a sense but in the end I continue to lose more and more weight. I am not at goal yet but now it is easier than ever to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I would like for people to understand that surgery is not the easy way out. It is actually one of the hardest things you will ever do. You will never be able to eat a full "regular" sized meal from your fave restaurant. Actually you will rarely be able to make a meal out of anything. You just take a few bites and your are done. Also just because you have the surgery it does not mean that you are set and dont have to worry about food all over again. On the contrary, your whole life will revolve around food! getting enough calories in, making sure you drink enough, making sure you eat the right foods, learning what makes your new stomach happy and what makes it unhappy. It never ends, but one has to keep moving forward.

In the end one has to make the decision and you can not worry about what others have to say, especially if you are an adult. you make your own choices and you have to live with them

A final note: Every symptom post surgery, complication, side-effect, is possible with any of the weight loss surgeries available from strictures, failure to thrive, malnourishment , malabsorption, nerve damage, gastric leak etc.. And do not let anyone tell you otherwise, trust me it is well documented.

The advice to really consider all of your options and what they mean, long-term, is a great one. I highly suggest seeing a WLS "friendly"* psychologist for a a couple sessions to explore your strengths and barriers to long-term weight-loss before making a decision. The fact is, this is an incredibly personal decision that really rests on knowing so much more about you and your history than a message board will address. It's good to ask questions on this board and get perspectives, but realize that every response is given through the lens of another person's experience and what worked or didn't work for them might go differently for you given your circumstances.

^^
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