gastric bypass

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  • rsbm77
    rsbm77 Posts: 4 Member
    Sometimes, WLS isn't just about weight loss. I had a gastric bypass seven weeks ago. Yes, I was morbidly obese. But, even more, due to severe problems with my diabetes meds (a bout of pancreatitis being one) my blood sugar levels were getting out of control. And before someone spouts off about controlling my diet and portions and exercising, I was doing all of that. WLS was suggested as an option. I did my research. I attended the lifestyle changes classes, I went to the support group meetings to learn about the problems WLS patients were having. I did the six months physician monitored weight loss program (and, no, what I did to lose the weight required is not sustainable for anyone to do long-term) and had my gastric bypass. I left the hospital with no diabetes meds. I haven't taken any in 7 weeks. And my diabetes is considered to be resolved. The weight loss is a happy side effect. Yes, I will only be able to eat small portions. Yes, I exercise for at least an hour every day, seven days a week. I take my supplements as prescribed by my surgeon. And I am in the best health I have been in for years. Could I have done this on my own? No. I've tried. Hard. Because my life depended on it. Sometimes, no matter how much you want it or how hard you try, you need that additional tool in your weight loss toolbox. A gastric bypass is the tool I needed.
  • JPW1990
    JPW1990 Posts: 2,424 Member
    I am going on 16 years post op. I have kept off 2/3 of what I lost. The 1/3 that's been gained back isn't all fat, and is the result of a hereditary condition that causes blood clots and edema. Still working on getting that treated, and I'll be happy when I know exactly how much of it is water and how much is the fat I need to lose.

    The only complication I've had from surgery is some scar tissue that makes me sick if I eat too fast and don't chew enough. I have multiple health problems, but they are unrelated to the surgery, and are a result of a very ugly fluke of genes that has caused about half of my family to die before the age of 60. Surgery was a tool to help me try and beat that trend.
  • daizyk70
    daizyk70 Posts: 16 Member
    I had the Roux n Y surgery 14 years ago this June. It has helped me keep over 100 pound off with little complications. I am still overweight and I am working to become fit and eat healthy and hopefully lose more weight. Surgery is risky, but it's a great tool to help those of us who struggle.
  • TFMoon1224
    TFMoon1224 Posts: 2 Member
    The decision is never easy and is very personal. For me WLS was a last resort. I was in so much pain I would get out of bed in the morning to go to work and the pain in my feet and back would be so intense that I would stand and cry. I was not someone who just sat at home; I worked multiple jobs and took care of family. I had very little time for myself. Before I knew it is was almost 300lbs at 5.2"; I tell people I felt like I was one nap and snickers away from being cut out the side of my house on a reality TV show. That was in 2006, and today I weigh 155 with my lowest weight was 135 which I am currently working on getting back to. You all are right when you say that isn't the only way to lose weight; but I needed the limitations and the instant penalty of the bypass. My one thing I would recommend.... Go to a Food Addiction Therapist. It will make all the difference in your learning how to eat to live and not live to eat. Good luck to those beginning their journey.
  • FindingSassy
    FindingSassy Posts: 4 Member
    Wow, I find it mind blowing how many people can be so ignorant. There are a lot of folks out there that think WLS is the easy way out or suck it up and go to the gym and lose weight the old fashioned way. What happens when you are no longer able to work out? Because your diabetic, have back issues, have asthma, high blood pressure, bad knees. There are a slew of reasons that make WLS a viable option.
    I heard from both sides when I made my decision to have WLS. I spent years wanting and needing this surgery. I've tried so many diets out there that helped lose a few pounds and that was it, I put it all back on and then some. I grew up fit and healthy and then moved out of state with a totally different climate. Within weeks I was hospitalized for severe asthma. I was on a steroid diet that packed on 115 pounds in 18 months. I never asked for the weight gain and I tried the "old fashioned way" to get rid of it, nothing worked long term. I still need the occasional dose of steroids but nothing like I used to, the side effects are not worth it.
    I had my surgery in January 2015. I still get sick with every other meal, throwing up is not the easy way. Living the life I was living, was NOT living. I made a very informed decision on having this surgery. I knew the risks going into it, it was my decision to put my life on the line in having the surgery. Death was a real side effect of having the surgery. I'm glad I made it thru the surgery and am now LIVING my life again. I made the right choice for ME and no one else.
  • taylorizal
    taylorizal Posts: 25 Member
    I had a gastric bypass one month ago today. It is the best decision I have ever made. I was addicted to food and I needed a real intervention. Now I can't be addicted to food. This made me totally change my lifestyle. So far the only complication I've had is not being able to eat enough calories to kickstart my metabolism on a daily basis. I put hours of research into this surgery. Read about the bad and the good of it. I went through a 6 month waiting period where I couldn't gain any weight so I could be approved by my insurance for the surgery. I went to one of the best hospitals for this surgery. I regularly have doctor appointments to make sure I'm doing well. WLS is not a quick fix or the easy way out. You have to be extremely dedicated and willing to change your life.
    I am under 300 pounds for the first time in about 7 years. I never would have done that without WLS. This surgery really, truly saved my life.
  • MarciBkonTrk
    MarciBkonTrk Posts: 310 Member
    kmbrooks15 wrote: »
    I am not trying to start an argument, but I want to share a story about gastric bypass. There is a lady my sister knows from her work in the ER. This lady, an EMT, had gastric bypass surgery a few years ago. Last week, very suddenly, she became very ill (one day she was fine, the next she wasn't). The gastric bypass surgery site had developed a problem, and she quickly became septic. She was on life support for several days; her family is burying her today. Please, if you are considering gastric bypass, DO YOUR RESEARCH. This surgery has proven to be incredibly risky, and many who have had it have long-term complications and health issues. I know there are success stories out there, but here's the thing...this lady was a success story--until she wasn't.

    Just food for thought.

    I WOULD LIKE YOUR ACTUAL STATISTICS ON THIS!


    It's always I know someone who knows someone. And these kinds of post always start with "I don't mean to offend" "I don't mean to start an argument." That's exactly what the poster intend. Before you post some anecdotal story, please at least try to educate yourself about weight loss surgery. What you posted is not accurate, it's based on someone you know who knows someone. Statistically you are very inaccurate.
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    edited April 2015
    MarciBkonTrk wrote: »
    kmbrooks15 wrote: »
    I am not trying to start an argument, but I want to share a story about gastric bypass. There is a lady my sister knows from her work in the ER. This lady, an EMT, had gastric bypass surgery a few years ago. Last week, very suddenly, she became very ill (one day she was fine, the next she wasn't). The gastric bypass surgery site had developed a problem, and she quickly became septic. She was on life support for several days; her family is burying her today. Please, if you are considering gastric bypass, DO YOUR RESEARCH. This surgery has proven to be incredibly risky, and many who have had it have long-term complications and health issues. I know there are success stories out there, but here's the thing...this lady was a success story--until she wasn't.

    Just food for thought.

    I WOULD LIKE YOUR ACTUAL STATISTICS ON THIS!


    It's always I know someone who knows someone. And these kinds of post always start with "I don't mean to offend" "I don't mean to start an argument." That's exactly what the poster intend. Before you post some anecdotal story, please at least try to educate yourself about weight loss surgery. What you posted is not accurate, it's based on someone you know who knows someone. Statistically you are very inaccurate.

    How can she give stats on this? It's a story about one person. Her stats are: one out of one people the story is about, died.

    For actual stats, it's not frequent but complications do happen, so it would be silly to swing totally one way ("You might die!") to the other ("Don't be silly, why worry about nonexistent complications?"). I think you probably know the statistics already, and that yes, this obviously could have happened to one person, so I'm not sure why you're asking as if you disbelieve the poster's story or it couldn't possibly have happened or something, but according to WebMD, anyway, 10% experience minor complications, between 1% and 5% experience major complications and a little less than 1 in 200 people die. And before you jump on that in a righteous and redundant rage, comparing that stat to other surgery-death stats is irrelevant. Dead is dead. It is a consideration...no matter what surgery one is having. Whether or not the risk of that death is lower than the anticipated risk of death due ot being obese is also irrelevant to the topic you're currently getting upset over, i.e.: that some people DO die following gastric bypass surgery. Again, this means it IS a consideration. It doesn't mean it's going to happen to every other person who has the surgery...obviously. But it just as obviously means that your dismissing the poster's story out of hand as apparently impossible, is pretty silly too. http://www.webmd.com/diet/weight-loss-surgery/what-is-gastric-bypass-surgery

    I keep seeing you bring these posts up over and over again, stating over and over again that you want to see them gone. If you want to see them gone, why do you keep bringing them back up? One of these at least you had to have dug some to find. You will never be able to get people to stop relaying personal stories on message boards, and as for correct information, you can probably give that once, and let people do actual research, rather than trying to pound us over the head with this.

  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    dominicams wrote: »
    I had the Rn Y 9/23, after trying to lose weight for almost ten years, i was so worried about my health that I went for the surgery. For all those of you who say it is the easy way, you are so wrong. You have to be committed to the surgery two years prior. You have to have two years working with a doctor to lose weight on your own, you have see a psychologist, you have to have nutrition classes before you can even get approved for the surgery. I was skinny as a child and teenager, it was after my daughter that I couldn't maintain my weight, but that was not from trying or caring. I do not see this as a quick fix or a fast track. It is very hard to fight your mind and do what needs to be done.

    I wish this was true for everyone. I have a dear friend who has been cleared for WLS in a few months. There has been no pre-surgery weight-loss, no starting any kind of fitness routine, not even walking. The habits that put on the weight are still in full force: over-eating, eating out most meals, eating lots of high-calorie/high sodium/high fat processed foods, no exercise, a diabetic on insulin who eats a lot of sugar. She thinks the surgery is the answer to her problems. I'm worried she's setting herself up for disappointment or worse. I'm just hoping I'm wrong and am being as encouraging as possible. It's not my life.
  • mjf0461
    mjf0461 Posts: 470 Member
    I too am considering the sleeve surgery. I've been a big girl most of my life. I am 5'9 and 265 lbs right now. I lost back in 2011-2012 almost 100 lbs, and yes I've gained it all back. I've tried the diets the exercise and the pills. I just need help and this seems to be one of the good ways. Still doing my research on it and will check all the basis before making the move.
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