Gastric Bypass Surgery

Well she may want to address her sneaking food, because if you dont address that - nothing beneficial will come from it. She has to want to change in order to make this all happen for her. I am in process for weight loss surgery, and it wasnt my first resort, but my MS has spiraled out of control. The benefits to the WLS (weight loss surgery) is the long term benefits to her health. Just remember that 3 to 5% of people who take off the weight non surgically keep it off, so looking at those odds, they really arent in her favor. Im not advocating surgery but it may be in her best interest. But as I said, addressing her food issues, and other issues that stir her to eat as she does is very important.

Your daughter may benefit from talking to a mental health professional. If she is a "sneak eater" she probably has an underlying emotional issue that she is compensating for. I know for me food is comforting and makes me feel better when I am blue. But I am not a compulsive eater and I can now deal with my stress/issues in other ways (most of the time).

I think it would be cheaper and better in the long run if you get her help for the underlying issues instead of going with the dangerous surgery.

Good luck!

NOTHINGS works not even surgery if the person is not willing to do what needs to be done to lose weight. This is a self thing just like drinking and drugs. A person has got to want to do the things it takes to lose the weight. I know because I am 5' tall and close to 300 lbs. I had to really want to make changes in my life for this to work. I have dropped 20 lbs so far but I have a long way to go. 17 seems so young to have to go through that type of surgery and she will have to live and eat right or she will gain it right back.

Gastric is a tool, not the answer. Many people do not maintain their post surgery weight loss surgery because they go back to their old ways. The pouch will stretch back out and she will gain weight again. If she has her eating under control and is able to lose weight and maintain on her own then it is a good option. But for most it is not.

I was being considered for it. But before I could get it auth from Insurance, I had to do the HMR diet. So I did and so far have lost 70 lbs since 10/13/10. I have now realized that I dont want to have the surgery and I have changed my lifestyle completely. Now, I am not suggesting the HMR diet for her. Just saying that there are other options. I have changed my diet so completely, I haven't eaten at a fast food place since I started. I eat healthy, and I started walking. I started walking for 10 minutes to begin with. Now I walk nearly everyday for at least an hour and 2 hours on weekends. I started at 305lbs also.

My wife had it done and she's had complications and issues eating every since. My mother had the lap band done and she's back up to the weight she started at. The sneak eating is the main culprit to focus on first. If you don't address that, then the surgery won't do any good. The stomach is a remarkable organ. It will G-R-O-W to encompass all that you put into it. Your daughter could have the bypass, and then enlarge her pouch to where she could eat as much as she does now. What's worse, is that most of the digestion that the stomach does is in the bypassed part, so she could get something lodged in there and make herself extremely sick. Also, if the doctor recommending this surgery isn't pushing for counseling first, find another bariatric surgeon. Best of luck to both of you.

I would not do it unless EVERY other meathod has been tried. and not work. It will take time and work. But the surgery is not easy or without risk. She needs to learn a new life style how to live without surgery

I should also mention that a person who was my best friend had the gastric sleeve surgery done, which is only half of the GB, and while she lost a lot of weight she still eats like she did before. I don't talk to her much anymore because she tried pushing me to get it and told me that it is the only way I will ever lose weight. Well I don't want surgery, I want to do this the safe and natural way, plus I have no insurance and no money to even get the surgery. She has also changed in a way where she is not the same person she was before. She says she is but she isn't.

I know 3 sisters who had it done, one is sucessful, the other 2 are back to where they were and then some, each at over 100 lbs each

also, the one sister works with one lady who had it done, only to die at a basketball game ,and that same ladys own mother in law passed away as well...
the 3 sisters have one younger sister, who refused to have the surgery, and shes about 360, more or less and has had one heart attack

Id think it has to do with being committed........I could have had surgery, but I am scared sh tless of surgery, drs and hosptials, so I stayed focused, came here and met friends and logged everything...............got about 18 more lbs to lose and have never ever been healthier.............good luck, I hope she gets help............Lloyd

If she sneaks into the kitchen to eat now, she will do the same after the surgery. Without changing her habits she won't keep the weight off. Better to enroll her in weight watchers or something that will teach her healthy habits. Maybe counseling to find out why she sneaks food. I would NOT suggest gastric bypass surgery for anyone, especially a child, except as a last resort, and at 17 I think she still has time to find a better alternative. This is just my opinion.

Basically what I was going to say... Give her the tools to fix the situation, lots of encouragement, and maybe some professional help to learn to cope with whatever is making her sneak food. Even if surgery helps her lose the weight, it's only going to be temporary if she hasn't fixed the problems on the inside that are making her the way she is now.

i was almost 300 in my 20's and i was one of those "sneak eaters". a lot of it has to do with me thinking it was "bad" to eat, so i would eat pretty much nothing all day, and then sneak Chinese food up to my room in the middle of the night and pig out. problem was (and i'm not saying that you are doing this...) that my parents didn't really get it. they thought "eat less, lose more" and pounded that into my brain my whole life. the more "help" they tried to offer me, the more i would ignore them, but that's just my personality. i HAD to do it on my own, my way, and it had to be MY decision.

i started this diet 5 1/2 months ago and lost 62 pounds by eating NON STOP! i eat all day long, but really healthy, and i never allow myself to get hungry. if i'm hungry, i eat. i didn't even exercise in the beginning, i just changed my diet. it was hard to figure out what kinds of food to eat and getting used to the groceries, but after a month or two, it's habit now.

if she gets the surgery and is still a "sneak eater", it's not going to help. she'll end up gaining the wait back and ruining her body. unless she really decides to change her lifestyle, then i definitely don't think the surgery is a good idea.

i wish you guys lots of luck in deciding what to do. i hope she can do it the natural way, but all that matters is that she get healthy

Ok so I went back and scanned the replys I was wondering about- the future- How does weight loss surgery effect pregnancy? Most of the people I know have problems with nutrition- I have alot of people who need monthly injections of vitamin B- and they have problems eating some types of foods. She is so young it would be awful to do this now and then find out you couldn't carry a pregnancy because of it. Or that it effected your health in your later years. Just a random thought.

While there are many "bad" stories associated with GBS there are several success stories as well. I'm one of the success stories. Although I was overweight when I had surgery, that was not the reason I had the bypass. I went to my surgeon for repair of an uncommon type of hiatal hernia that caused my stomach to become lodged in my chest and he suggested GBS. A month later I had the surgery. Your daughter's age is a double edged sword in this situation because surgery so permanent but being overweight is so hard for a teenager. I would suggest you find a reputable bariatric surgery center and talk long and hard about the pro's and con's. From what I've read it takes 6 months to a year to get clearance for the surgery which includes documentation of a medical weight loss program and psychiatric counseling. Plus some medical testing. Also there is a website Obesityhelp.com that I visited frequently prior to surgery. There's a lot of information from people who have had the various weight loss surgeries.

I would use it as a last resort. Education is key...at least it was for me....I was quite sneeky too.

Ok so I went back and scanned the replys I was wondering about- the future- How does weight loss surgery effect pregnancy? Most of the people I know have problems with nutrition- I have alot of people who need monthly injections of vitamin B- and they have problems eating some types of foods. She is so young it would be awful to do this now and then find out you couldn't carry a pregnancy because of it. Or that it effected your health in your later years. Just a random thought.

I had lap band surgery 3 years ago and have no problems with vitamin deficiency.

I can say that it is ALL about life style change. Gastric bypass and Lap band are just tools. Most of it is MENTAL. SO counseling definately helps.

Side note--I was also about 300lbs and 5' 3".

What about the children question? I'm sorry to be intrusive and ask this personal of a question but do you know about having children after gastric bypass or lap band? Does it cause problems?