Weight loss surgery: Yes or No?
Replies
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I'm curious to know if weight loss surgery magically instills willpower that was not there when someone gained weight?
Honestly, if someone is able to get to 300-400-500lbs then there is a psychological reason for it IMO. Cutting out half of their stomach or lap banding etc etc isn't going to all of a sudden fix the issues which caused them to get to that weight in the first place.
I know this may come across as harsh, but i think they should fix their head space before their stomach space.6 -
What i don't understand is why everyone seems to think that just because a person is overweight they must have a horrible emotional relationship with food. I can tell you that I for one get totally turned off to food in emotional situations. Like it makes me want to throw up turned off and I just really want nothing to do with it while I'm upset. I was starved by my ex husband for two years. Kept locked in a closet and sleep deprived and beaten on a daily basis. I was forced to cook dinner and lunch for him and his son and watch them eat.
I at one point in my life lost 140 pounds over a few years and kept it off for years. But just recently I gained 120 back, and it wasn't from overeating or changes in how I was eating, it was because of a disease called polycystic ovarian syndrome and insulin resistance. Triggered by the depo shot for birth control.
I am now at 327 down from 339.9. I have a lot of weight to lose as I am only 5'4. I am currently in the process of a 6 month doctor supervised weight loss plan to qualify for either gastric sleeve surgery or gastric bypass. Not sure which one yet. I'm already on vitamins because my body doesn't absorb them right. I'm at 1250 calories a day using 2 fitness apps to cross check calorie counts and drink nothing but water. You want to know who referred me to the bariatric department? I did. Because of 7 months of research that says that my pcos can be put into permanent remission as long as I do what I'm supposed to be doing. Well I'm stubborn so I will succeed.
The only reason I have support from my doctor and friends and family is because they see how serious I am about all of this and that I can make the changes necessary to be successful. I go to counseling and I'm going to be in a fitness group at the counseling place I go to called InShape. This is a full lifestyle change not a quick fix. And any doctor or person who sees it as one is just setting themselves up for failure.
I'm not saying that I am for this for everyone because not everyone can handle it, but if you do the research and think you can do it, then go for it. It's not right for everyone. I wish you good luck.
P.s. feel free to add me.1 -
I looked into it while doing research with someone else several months ago (we both were contemplating it) and after reviewing a ton of clinics and all the statistics I could find during that time, I came to the conclusion that bariatric surgery was not a choice I could recommend in good conscience to that person or myself.
Maybe it is the best choice for others due to corresponding health conditions like PCOS and Type II diabetes, but I genuinely believe it is not the best choice for most people. The permanent health issues relating to these surgeries is far too risky and the outcomes for people without comorbidities aren't as great as the clinics lead you to believe.
For a satisfactory outcome a person has to make the mental changes regardless of surgery or not, so why not skip surgery and just make the health changes. If you have to go on a 1200 calorie a day diet to earn the right to get the surgery, why not just stick with the diet? You will lose weight! If you can't commit to the calorie limits then surgery won't magically solve your problem. Instead it often leads to nutrition malabsorption, surgerical complications, failure to lose the estimated amount, and regain of all or a substantial amount of loss.
And finally, at my highest weight I would have qualified for bariatric surgery due to my BMI and risks for certain diseases. I am now 2/3 of the way down to my healthy weight using just a calorie deficit via portion control and occasional exercise. It can be done.3 -
Thirteen years ago I had bariatric surgery. Typically, the loss of weight happens over the first 6 to 12 months. I lost 67 pounds then stalled. One year after surgery, I had to undergo another surgery to repair a major hernia that was a result of the previous surgery. January of this year, I started on my mfp journey 18 pounds higher than what I weighed on the date of my bariatric surgery.
For some people, the surgery really helps, but ... many people, like myself, do gain the weight back. Others end up with serious health challenges. The diarrhea, sugar intolerance, absorption, ... are things that are fairly common.
Why do people gain back? Like others said, the surgery doesn't fix bad habits, or emotional relationships with food. Some surgeons do include a nutritional/dietitian to go over eating programs to help modify habits, but like any other weight loss, it has to become a lifestyle. You will lose initially no matter what because you are basically on a liquid/soft, bordering on starvation diet, for the early stages. Slowly you do adjust though. Eating heavy meals is uncomfortable, but there's still lots of ways to eat calories without filling your stomach. Too many calories in and the weight will come back. After time, your stomach does stretch again.
In hindsight, I wish I had had something like mfp back then to use and support me to lose weight instead of taking the steps I did. It felt like I had tried everything, and that the surgery would let me get a handle on my weight, but it only gave me a short reprise. Now I live with some of the carry over effects of not only that surgery, but the one that followed. I'm fortunate that I don't have much of the other issues that can accompany the surgery, but I do live with the changes that the surgeries did to me.
It is very much a personal decision to make. For some people, there may be a medical reason that they need to go that route. For anyone who can do it through non-surgical methods, or can take the time to at least try to lose it without surgery, I would say go that route. I lost 67 pounds in a year with surgery. I've lost 43 pounds so far in less than 7 months with mfp. Doing it without surgery empowers.
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First off, I have had bariatric surgery. However, I knew going in that it is a TOOL, and without the proper mindset and will power it will not be a successful tool. However, I was driven, because I had serious illnesses that would kill me within 5 years without the surgery. With those drivers, I have been successful; I had surgery 4.5 years ago, I've lost 150 pounds, I'm still living the lifestyle and losing, with another 70 pounds to go until I can have a body tuck. (I'm 64, this loose skin is NOT going to disappear on its own.) After I get all the loose skin removed, I may want to lose another 20 pounds, but I'll have to wait and see.
Would I do the surgery again? Absolutely. Do I wish I had had it done earlier in my life? Sure, once I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes at age 53, I wish I had it done then. My diabetes symptoms disappeared the day after surgery, and have never reappeared. (I had gastric bypass; diabetic remission happens with about 85% of the gastric bypass patients. It does NOT happen with any of the other WLS. It happens with gastric bypass because of something magical in that six feet of small intestine removed during gastric bypass; no doctor knows why it happens, though they have studied the phenomenon for 27 years now.)
Do I recommend it to you? Only if you have seriously tried to lose weight on your own, or you now have complicating illnesses due to your weight. I believe that WLS is a "last resort," after you've tried and failed losing weight in other ways. As others have said, it is a permanent change; I take extra vitamins, make sure I get in enough protein and water, and avoid refined sugar - which is easy to do, because of the negative reinforcement I suffer when I eat white sugar! I don't miss it, frankly.
The surgery is a TOOL, and without your commitment to the lifelong journey, it isn't a successful tool.
Good luck!9 -
I have had a friend that had weight loss surgery. She has had so many complications and pain since, requiring an extra 3 operations. While being mych skinnier she is still morbidly obese almost 3 years later. From her experience I'd say no, unless the weight could cause serious problems in the near future. Try to keep losing as you are because you have obviously been doing something right.0
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If that's something you are considering, I recommend reading as much as possible about it. First, you need to understand that you will have to develop weight maintenance strategies, and that's the case whether or not you opt for the surgery. Nothing can help you avoid regain but real lifelong food management. Second, you will need to consider if you are willing to give up some of the foods you might really love, which you can still consume on a typical weight management plan but can get painful physical side effects if you do after surgery. Do you think the expenses and recovery times are worth it? Do you think the ongoing medical attention you will need afterwards with supplementation and the like is something you are willing to live with? Do you think the risks of surgery and after surgery complications are an acceptable compromise? Do you have conditions that are known to improve with surgery independent of weight or food intake, like diabetes? Obviously, people are getting results both with the surgery and with classical weight loss approaches. Both are successful tools if used right. Only you get to decide which one would be a better fit for you.
For me (formerly 300+ pounds) the answer was a no-brainer. I was not willing to give up starchy things like rice, pasta, and chewy bread, carbonated drinks, fibrous vegetables, the possibility of having to quit dairy products...etc. One look through the "foods to avoid" list here made the decision for me. I love food too much to be making these sacrifices, so I didn't even need to consider any other factors in my decision making process.2 -
evilfairies wrote: »Thanks guys! I guess the general consensus is for me to spend time trying to lose weight on my own again for now and see where it goes from there. My current primary doctor basically told me that "there is no other alternative" than to have surgery but I think he's wrong. I can lose the weight on my own. (And KEEP it off, preferably!).
When I went to see my GP (in the UK) for help with losing weight I was quite bluntly told the only way I'd lose weight is by surgery. I was 290lb at the time, barely able to walk across the room and on track for an early death. 22 months later I'm 152lb, extremely active, able to complete a half marathon (and starting to train for a full next year), with a resting heart rate of 40 (apparently comparable to a athlete).
I did not have surgery, I simply joined this site and started logging my food, eating below maintenance (aiming for 1lb/week loss) and slowly but steadily increasing my activity level. On returning to my GP he was amazed at the difference and couldn't quite get his head round that I had succeeded despite his lack of help.15 -
evilfairies wrote: »Thanks guys! I guess the general consensus is for me to spend time trying to lose weight on my own again for now and see where it goes from there. My current primary doctor basically told me that "there is no other alternative" than to have surgery but I think he's wrong. I can lose the weight on my own. (And KEEP it off, preferably!).
When I went to see my GP (in the UK) for help with losing weight I was quite bluntly told the only way I'd lose weight is by surgery. I was 290lb at the time, barely able to walk across the room and on track for an early death. 22 months later I'm 152lb, extremely active, able to complete a half marathon (and starting to train for a full next year), with a resting heart rate of 40 (apparently comparable to a athlete).
I did not have surgery, I simply joined this site and started logging my food, eating below maintenance (aiming for 1lb/week loss) and slowly but steadily increasing my activity level. On returning to my GP he was amazed at the difference and couldn't quite get his head round that I had succeeded despite his lack of help.
Very well done! That's fantastic
TO: It's been mentioned a few times already, but just to make it clearer: you might need life-long medical attention with this surgery (I'm not saying that you will). I don't know where you life but do you trust the healthcare system in your country to be there for you not only the few months after surgery but for the years to come, regarless of how much money you have, pay for health insurance and the likes? I'm in the UK at the moment and I would do very thorough research on an elective procedure as I don't think the NHS will survive well enough to take care of any potential future needs. In the US I would wonder if a health insurace would accept me at normal rates if it is clear that I have to see a doctor regularly, and with Trump blundering around who knows what will happen to that.2 -
I had the surgery. My comorbidities made me a good candidate. Before surgery I had T2 diabetes and high blood pressure. I was sedentary.
The surgery helped me get my life back. The rest was my hard work. You are no stranger to hard work.
Deciding to have the surgery is a highly personal choice as this is your body, your life.2 -
Me personally no, I would never have weightloss surgery I know I can do it without.
The thing is, its a highly personal choice but in the end both the surgery and using mfp require you making lifelong lifestyle changes for it to be successful. Wouldn't it then be better to do it slowly making small sustainable changes to your diet by using mfp then by invasive surgery with all the dangers and complications associated with it? You already know how to lose weight you just have to learn how to keep it off, right?
To be honest if my gp would have said the only way you can lose weight is through weightloss surgery I would have been so annoyed I would have wanted to prove him wrong and done it by myself but that's just my personality3 -
Hi, You and your family can go to many bariatric doctors' seminars and learn all about the different options with no commitment. You and your family can also go to all their support groups and hear from people who have had the operations. Also many patients have you tube sites where they talk about 1 week out, 3 months out etc. Also you can google bariatric weight loss and see all the pros/cons and also what you would need to eat after the surgery. This might help you come to a better understanding of your choices.0
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What decided me against it was looking at the list of foods that I would have a hard time consuming both post-op and long-term. I'm a vegetarian who loves trying out new recipes. According to http://www.bariatric-surgery-source.com/gastric-sleeve-diet.html#Long_Term_Main, starches, certain veggies I adore, and dairy would be off my list. My dad's had the surgery and can't eat untoasted bread anymore. If there were no other option, then of course, I'd do what I had to to take the weight off. But there are.
Bariatric surgery has worked to varying degrees with my dad and sister. (Dad's weight is creeping back up. Sis's is higher than it was immediately post-surgery, but she's stabilized way lower than she was before the surgery). I'd never tell someone not to consider it. For me, though, the disadvantages outweighed the advantages. I'm eating less and moving more. And 9 months later, I'm more than 60% to goal.0 -
A lot of people go on the five bite diet to mimic the surgery. It's a non surgical bypass they say. It's very rigorous and you probably can do any healthy foods diet and still make changes without extremism, but if it were me, I would do that over having someone actually change my body. There is a book and Facebook groups if you look it up. I've seen a lot of people lose large amounts on it successfully!!1
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I too have been considering it off and on for a number of years. What stops me is that I see the all the negatives of the surgery and I do not see as many positives. When I had my consultation with the surgeon, the gastric "sleeve" is not an actual sleeve that I thought was placed on the stomach, it was actually REMOVING the stomach and shaping the left-overs into a sleeve. It was too drastic for me. One thing I do remember from my consultation was that the surgeon told me that I HAD been successful in the past. I told him that I had failed countless times keeping the weight off...his reply was that I had actually been successful all those times at getting the weight off so I would be able to do it again. Here I am on MFP, preparing for the long-haul and the possibility of being on the app for the long-term. Good luck with your decision!3
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I agree that it's a very personal decision. I know several people who have had it, including my aunt, who had it in November. She's lost close to 80 lbs and looks like a different person. She also has a lot of loose skin, though, from losing the weight so quickly. She still uses MFP to track her calories and protein intake, too. Of the people I know who have had it, only 1 or 2 have gained weight back.
I lost my weight by eating less and moving more. The idea of that kind of surgery terrified me. I'd never do it, but that's just me. I was much happier doing it the way I did.1 -
I had sleeve surgery 3 months ago and I would do it again in a heart beat. My blood pressure is normal, my type 2 diabetes is reversed, and I'm more healthy and active than I've been all of my adult life so far. It's only a tool to help with weight loss, but a good one.
I'm seeing a lot of negative on this thread toward it, so it's good to do you own research on it, not just listen to people who haven't actually been through it. Feel free to add me. Check out the MFP bariatric group as well.4 -
Yes, absolutely yes. I had it six years ago this Halloween and it was the best decision I ever made for myself. My mother and three friends have also had it and none of us have any regrets. Let me explain something first though; while I believe it to be the best tool available, it is just that -- A TOOL. If you don't mean it as a real lifestyle change and if you don't change your relationship with food you will make yourself sick and end up gaining the weight right back. A lot of people who talk about the complications they had later on fail to tell the whole story about how they didn't follow their diets, didn't listen to their surgeons, and ultimately didn't actually change anything. I attend and speak at support groups, I understand that some complications do stem directly from the surgery. Do your research and when people make statements about the risk, consider the risk you take every single day living your current lifestyle. Everyone's opinions are nothing compared to the research you do for yourself and following what truly feels right for you. Feel free to request me and ask me anything you might be curious about, no limits.0
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With weight loss surgery you need to be able to do what you'd need to do without as well: manage your weight. You can easily cheat by for example constantly eating chocolate paste. Plus you'd need to be on vitamins and minerals for the rest of your life, including vitamin B12 shots.
Vitamin shots comment is inaccurate. Myself and no one I know whose had surgery has to do that.1 -
I honestly think it's a personal decision, based on what that person wants and their health.
For me personally, I prefer to do it with diet and exercise (no surgery). I have seen a few people succeed and I have seen more fail after surgery. Some people view bariatric surgery as a quick fix. Losing weight is a complete lifestyle change. Although it isn't for me...I would suggest making an appointment and speaking to a doctor for more information. Good luck in whatever you decide!!!0
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