another reason to avoid that surgery....
camtosh
Posts: 898 Member
Scary.
No one told me about the loneliness, the emotional rollercoaster, and how to stay sane when I could only eat a spoonful of mashed potatoes.
I thought bariatric surgery would solve all my problems; 180 pounds later, I realized I was wrong.
by Mollie Hawkins
http://www.salon.com/2015/11/02/weight_loss_surgery_was_easy_it_was_becoming_thin_that_drove_me_to_the_brink/
No one told me about the loneliness, the emotional rollercoaster, and how to stay sane when I could only eat a spoonful of mashed potatoes.
I thought bariatric surgery would solve all my problems; 180 pounds later, I realized I was wrong.
by Mollie Hawkins
http://www.salon.com/2015/11/02/weight_loss_surgery_was_easy_it_was_becoming_thin_that_drove_me_to_the_brink/
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Interesting article. Thank you for sharing the link.0
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Thanks for posting. Many do not realize the mental aspect of weight loss and the work one must do with the mirror! The loss of relationships is real. I no longer spend time with the people I would have considered best friends. Especially after one of them told me that I would fail. I think she was just worried that I would be thinner than her, and now I am! "Eat your doughnut and leave me alone, (insert name here)!"0
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Wow - thank you for sharing the article. Good to know in case anyone I know chooses the surgery. This will help me understand how to better support them.0
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Dr. Jason Fung has a number of fascinating talks about why bariatric surgery works physically. While most people believe it has something to do with the surgery, itself, Dr. Fung believes that's not the case (and frankly, I'm inclined to believe him, since there's no fathomable reason the surgery itself would do anything except for the fact that it's a trauma to the body), but rather, it's the diet that the surgery forces. It's basically an intermittent or extended fast type of situation, and that's what creates the results.
There are links in the Launch Pad if anyone's interested in the specifics of his talks. Or you can Google him. They're pretty much the entire first page of results.0 -
The surgery forces you through a period of starvation and the majority of the weight lost is from muscles. Very few are able to achieve the amount of needed protein to prevent it. I believe that's why many WLS patients look oddly proportioned. The small stomach pouch makes eating meat difficult, sometimes painful, and they tend towards high carb, easy to digest foods. Such a terrible cycle!0
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Thanks for the link. It is a lot to think about before taking that leap.0
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I have personally seen the high alcohol & DRUG problems with bariatric patients. On lady became so neurotic when she could not consume food…losing all the mental, social, physiologic, and human reasons we enjoy eating that she turned to alcohol..and was drunk all the time. Another was 'gifted' the expensive surgery via a local welfare program to improve her self esteem…she promptly became a druggie, lost her 2 year old to child protective services,was couch surfing with strangers, and could not get her life straightened out.
there was NO pre-surgery counciling for these women, and little for most bariatric patients- as the article says, UNTIL there is a problem.
The main issue for most stems from mental health..in all the My 600# life shows these people had severe trauma in their lives… and food was their confort…. and after surgery NEVER being able to eat in volume (cups of rice, big bowls of ice cream) the pleasure of eating until stuffed… it happens so fast for them they are denied this satisfaction..so it really seems logical to turn to what they CAN consume.
Dr. Fung wrote me an opinion that just getting people to try long term fasting FIRST, and seeing success that way, would delay/stop many from ever getting to the surgery. ( and as I saw in ALL examples on the 600# shows was NOT ONE even of them tried limiting foods or any type of diet BEFOREhand..just waited for the doctor to save them, their "last chance" with the surgery. There was NO "buy in" or commitment from the patient.0 -
Great article!0
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This really hit home with me. These fears were exactly the thing that kept me from enduring such a hellacious surgical option. I didn't feel equipped to deal with any or all of those things, and in fact, despite the fact that my weight loss has been far slower, I feel like I am fighting these same battles, maybe with a different "face" on them, but the same, common enemies.
Just this weekend I broke down crying to my fiance, telling him how my body was losing weight in such a way that actually made me feel fatter and worse in some ways than I did at my heaviest. I'm losing here and not there. I'm floppy and wrinkled in some places, and tuck-ins here or there seem to highlight the remaining fat rolls and fats even more obviously. I feel dumpier and not sexy and all of that. It is utterly ridiculous sometimes. As long as I'm clothed, and look at myself from only the front, I feel awesome. But life is not in one camera angle, in one reality...
I still don't know how to adjust fully, and frankly, I'm terrified to ever get back to "normal," whatever the heck that is... But I'm fighting every day to understand it all... Just wow.0 -
Every bariatric surgeon has requirements patients must meet to even be considered for surgery. The program I went through required a psychiatric consult with the Dr of your choice. It's one hour. It's near impossible to diagnose mental illness during this time, especially when there's an agenda. Patients are deceptive, thinking that surgery is their only option, and heaven forbid they ever be told no! The brain work came later for me. I do regret the surgery and wish I would have known about LCHF and it's benefits, but I can't change the past. I can only affect my future by making the best choices today!
I agree that better mental health screening should be done. They do sometimes warn of a separation anxiety from food. Since its always been your friend, it's hard to lose that relationship. Some even write letters telling food good by. It's like anything else though, you won't know what that's like until your going through it. And, some replace the food with alcohol (or drugs), never learning how to handle the original problem that led them to food to begin with.0 -
I can remember a time when I was in my mid 20's and weighing around 110kg thinking "I've tried everything, I can't lose weight, my whole family is big, the only way I'm ever going to get to a healthy weight is if I have the surgery".
I'm so glad now that at the time I couldn't afford it, and I had a job and kids to worry about, and there was enough negative press about the whole thing to make me hold off. Because the truth is I hadn't really "tried everything". What I'd tried to do was restrict my calories to lose weight. I'd been on this cycle for years where I'd eat restricted calories for a few days or weeks and then completely cave and go on an eating binge for 3 months. That was the reason I was fat. But in my mind I'd been "on a diet" for 10 years and never managed to lose weight.
Sometimes I have to stop and remember this, and appreciate how good low carb has been, and how much it's changed my life. I am no longer a helpless victim to food waiting to be saved. And yes, I had my share of psychological trauma and depression back then, but surgery was not the answer.0 -
This makes me even more grateful to the therapist I saw for my eating disorder, and glad that I worked it out early in adulthood, not later.0
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EbonyDahlia wrote: »I can remember a time when I was in my mid 20's and weighing around 110kg thinking "I've tried everything, I can't lose weight, my whole family is big, the only way I'm ever going to get to a healthy weight is if I have the surgery".
I'm so glad now that at the time I couldn't afford it, and I had a job and kids to worry about, and there was enough negative press about the whole thing to make me hold off. Because the truth is I hadn't really "tried everything". What I'd tried to do was restrict my calories to lose weight. I'd been on this cycle for years where I'd eat restricted calories for a few days or weeks and then completely cave and go on an eating binge for 3 months. That was the reason I was fat. But in my mind I'd been "on a diet" for 10 years and never managed to lose weight.
Sometimes I have to stop and remember this, and appreciate how good low carb has been, and how much it's changed my life. I am no longer a helpless victim to food waiting to be saved. And yes, I had my share of psychological trauma and depression back then, but surgery was not the answer.
Wow! I commend your total honesty.
I really think the key to long term success is this kind of honesty with ourselves. And to just own past behaviors and not be ashamed because they are valuable lessons. They build our strength and character and help us to be empathetic to others.0 -
KETOGENICGURL wrote: »( and as I saw in ALL examples on the 600# shows was NOT ONE even of them tried limiting foods or any type of diet BEFOREhand..just waited for the doctor to save them, their "last chance" with the surgery. There was NO "buy in" or commitment from the patient.
This sounds like my sister, who is hoping to have the surgery, having lost huge amounts of weight twice and then gained it all back. Now she is type 2 diabetic. I am worried about her.
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Scary.
No one told me about the loneliness, the emotional rollercoaster, and how to stay sane when I could only eat a spoonful of mashed potatoes.
I thought bariatric surgery would solve all my problems; 180 pounds later, I realized I was wrong.
by Mollie Hawkins
http://www.salon.com/2015/11/02/weight_loss_surgery_was_easy_it_was_becoming_thin_that_drove_me_to_the_brink/
I signed up for Bariatric surgery. When you're on a SAD or LOW FAT diet and you get SO DAMNED HUNGRY all the time, you're willing to do anything to stop the hunger.
I had heard that some that had the surgery gained it back by eating liquid calories. I tend to think that any high glycemic carby food would do it.
I have given some serious thought, going to the places where the Bariatric Seminars are first being held, and passing out business cards that say "DON'T DO IT!" and then have a link on it that would get them to a "Meet-up" group that I would host and then tell them all about Low Carb Ketogenic diet. Its just that I don't have time. Occasionally, I go to the MFP main forums and if I see someone that is considering Bariatric surgery, I'll post to them privately not to do it. Or send them some of my blogs.
I even thought of making a "Keto Education" business, like WW's. Then I would teach them all the aspects of Keto. From recipes, how-tos, dynamics and the science, etc (list could go on and on).
But, my doctor friend told me that it could put me at risk for lawsuits if something happened to someone that tried it and they had a heart attack or other bad thing happen to them as I was teaching them. (But if that's the case, has anyone sued WW's for there horrible plan?)
Dan the Man from Michigan
Keto / The Recipe Water Fasting / E.A.S.Y. Exercise Program
Current weight: 194.9, 119 pounds down, 16 to go. 14 months on diet
It's Ketogenic or Bariatric Surgery! How I Found the Ketogenic Diet
Previous Discussions on the LCD & Keto Groups
Blog #10 Keto: Abbreviations, Acronyms & Terminology Used on the LCD & Keto
Well Meaning Diet Advice Given to You ~ That is Just Plain Wrong!
DittoDan's Keto Sub Groups Blog
Blog #13 DittoDan's Milestone's, First's And Good Changes Since Starting the Ketogenic Diet Updated
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Scary.
No one told me about the loneliness, the emotional rollercoaster, and how to stay sane when I could only eat a spoonful of mashed potatoes.
I thought bariatric surgery would solve all my problems; 180 pounds later, I realized I was wrong.
by Mollie Hawkins
http://www.salon.com/2015/11/02/weight_loss_surgery_was_easy_it_was_becoming_thin_that_drove_me_to_the_brink/
I signed up for Bariatric surgery. When you're on a SAD or LOW FAT diet and you get SO DAMNED HUNGRY all the time, you're willing to do anything to stop the hunger.
I had heard that some that had the surgery gained it back by eating liquid calories. I tend to think that any high glycemic carby food would do it.
I have given some serious thought, going to the places where the Bariatric Seminars are first being held, and passing out business cards that say "DON'T DO IT!" and then have a link on it that would get them to a "Meet-up" group that I would host and then tell them all about Low Carb Ketogenic diet. Its just that I don't have time. Occasionally, I go to the MFP main forums and if I see someone that is considering Bariatric surgery, I'll post to them privately not to do it. Or send them some of my blogs.
I even thought of making a "Keto Education" business, like WW's. Then I would teach them all the aspects of Keto. From recipes, how-tos, dynamics and the science, etc (list could go on and on).
But, my doctor friend told me that it could put me at risk for lawsuits if something happened to someone that tried it and they had a heart attack or other bad thing happen to them as I was teaching them. (But if that's the case, has anyone sued WW's for there horrible plan?)
Dan the Man from Michigan
Keto / The Recipe Water Fasting / E.A.S.Y. Exercise Program
Current weight: 194.9, 119 pounds down, 16 to go. 14 months on diet
It's Ketogenic or Bariatric Surgery! How I Found the Ketogenic Diet
Previous Discussions on the LCD & Keto Groups
Blog #10 Keto: Abbreviations, Acronyms & Terminology Used on the LCD & Keto
Well Meaning Diet Advice Given to You ~ That is Just Plain Wrong!
DittoDan's Keto Sub Groups Blog
Blog #13 DittoDan's Milestone's, First's And Good Changes Since Starting the Ketogenic Diet Updated
This is admirable Dan, however the one problem with it is that Keto (like any eating plan) requires a commitment, a heap of effort, and for people to take responsibility for their situation. Unfortunately alot of people who are looking to have surgery want someone else to take the responsibility and fix things for them, they do not have the emotional strength to take hold and make the change for themselves. I've found people in this situation to pretend to listen when you offer them an alternative but they've already lost the battle in their minds because they tend to think "I can't, it's too hard". Without alot of counseling to get over this mindset, and a willingness on their part to make a real commitment to it it won't work.0 -
I really wish I'd found keto and IF before requiring surgery. I found it, but only after I was so far gone that I couldn't afford the 2-3 years to lose the weight on diet alone. If I'd found it earlier, I might have avoided surgery altogether. Some days, I wish I had. The days filled with gut pain that doubles me over and the uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea from eating something that secretly has a touch of sugar. Those days make me doubt my decision. Then I remember I didn't have a choice.
Going so far that I had no choice is exactly why I speak up when people say they're thinking about surgery. If surgery is still just an option, don't do it. If it's your only option, do it and do the homework to ensure you're successful, because the surgery alone won't do it. It's 80% a mental game. You either have it and you succeed or you don't and you won't. That's true with any diet.
Surgery needs to be the only option, not just an option.0 -
I really wish I'd found keto and IF before requiring surgery. I found it, but only after I was so far gone that I couldn't afford the 2-3 years to lose the weight on diet alone. If I'd found it earlier, I might have avoided surgery altogether. Some days, I wish I had. The days filled with gut pain that doubles me over and the uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea from eating something that secretly has a touch of sugar. Those days make me doubt my decision. Then I remember I didn't have a choice.
Going so far that I had no choice is exactly why I speak up when people say they're thinking about surgery. If surgery is still just an option, don't do it. If it's your only option, do it and do the homework to ensure you're successful, because the surgery alone won't do it. It's 80% a mental game. You either have it and you succeed or you don't and you won't. That's true with any diet.
Surgery needs to be the only option, not just an option.
That's a whole lot of truth and wisdom in a few sentences there!!!0 -
WOW...this really hits home for me. I was on the surgery schedule to have the lapband "installed" on October 22nd....not quite 2 weeks ago!! I cancelled the surgery on October 20th because there were so many "stumbling blocks" being thrown in my path. I have always believed that when something is RIGHT...everything goes smoothly. When it is WRONG...God throws stumbling blocks in my path,,,,,if I don't pay attention...he throws more!
I had 2 full days of EVERYTHING going wrong. So I cancelled.
There IS a Happy ending to this! I had to be on a 2 week pre-surgery diet...and the diet they wanted was ATKINS Induction Phase. OK, that was one I had never tried. I started Atkins...got on myfitnesspal to log my food (because I knew I would have to do that after the surgery too )...and The weight just started falling off !! So..True Results DID help me...by introducing me to the LOW CARB way of living.
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This thread is also teaching me many many things! Who would have thunk that I would learn about eating in my 60's ???0
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