WLS?

carrieleecrenshaw90 · April 2022

Hi all,

my name is Carrielee and I am 31 years old.

I have battled being overweight / obesity since I was a young child and I’ve finally gotten the courage to taking the steps toward a healthier self.

At 31, I’m 5 feet tall and weigh 278 pounds, at a BMI of 54.29, it’s time to do this.

I suffer from a myriad of weight related health conditions and fear an early death if I don’t take control of my weight and health.

I suffer from acid reflux, hypertension, high cholesterol, Type II diabetes, arthritis, limited mobility, chest pain/angina, sleep apnea, liver disease...I’m slowly killing myself and I’m tired of it.

Any tips for a first consult with a WLS surgeon? My appointment is on April 25.

ReenieHJ · April 2022

No tips but just lots of wishes for a healthier future for you!!! It sounds like you've reached your 'I'm ready' point and keeping that mindset is half the battle. {{HUGS}} and good luck! Many of your issues will most likely disappear as your weight goes down.

cmriverside · April 2022

I would encourage you to try to lose the weight yourself first. I mean, really, truly, try. WLS is a very serious surgery with all kinds of unintended side effects reported. I hope you get some counselling for a year before you even start seriously considering WLS.

Here's a good recent thread from a petite woman like yourself who decided to do it herself. She's an inspiration!

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10837733/my-doctor-suggested-weight-loss-surgery/p1

yirara · April 2022

Yes, I agree with cmriverside. You need to do it yourself anyway after surgery as there are so many tricks around the smaller stomach. Now is the right time to learn new habits that you'll need later on.

PAV8888 · April 2022

Have a look at the first two responses in "Need Help!!!" started by @getfitwithdesi

You're young and I understand and applaud the desire to change. I really wish it had hit me at 31 instead of waiting for an extra 17 years beyond that!

That said you're talking about surgery which is going to try impose via negative reinforcement what you're going to have to do anyway: eat at a deficit for an extended time period, seek stabilization at around maintenance for an extended time period till you can slide into an equilibrium, and then continue to eat at maintenance long term.

Maybe you will respond well to that. Maybe you won't.

But I would recommend exploring all options including consulting with a mental health professional in terms of what may be blocking you from being able to lose and maintain weight, i.e. the counseling part mentioned above. Again, with or without surgery you will continue to face the same issues and multiple paths to overcoming them, including surgery, do exist!

Surgeons recommend surgery by the way. They wouldn't be (good) surgeons if they didn't believe in it.

cmriverside · April 2022

"Surgeons recommend surgery."

Truer words were never spoken.

A Dietician will help with food.

A personal trainer will help with exercise.

A medical doctor would prescribe - uh - medicine.

A therapist would uncover the hidden self-sabotage and help get it solved.

mnbvcxzlkjhgfdsa12 · April 2022

Hi @carrieleecrenshaw90

Congratulations on making the decision to improve the rest of your life. That’s amazing and momentous- go you!

You mention you’ve been struggling with your weight most of your life. It’s going to take time and effort to change that. There will be set backs so when they come along be ready, embrace them. They don’t need to stop you moving forwards - this is a marathon not a sprint 😀

I haven’t had weight loss surgery and I don’t know anyone who has, so I can’t give you advice there. But what I can say is explore all your options. This is your journey only you know what is right for you.

Some people will tell you WLS is the wrong choice, others that it is the only choice. It’s neither of those things universally.

My very limited understanding is that to be considered for surgery you’ll need to demonstrate an ability to stick to a controlled diet over time so whatever route you take making good food choices is going to need to be something you constantly work towards.

If you haven’t, I’d encourage you to seek out opportunities to explore what is driving you to eat more than you need to when the outcome of this behavior (being overweight) makes you unhappy. Understanding what drives you will be part of achieving long term success.

The best advice I can share is that there isn’t any easy fix whatever route you take - dropping weight and keeping it off over time will be a combination of many changes in your life maintained over time. And, being healthy isn’t the same as being thin. You can be thing simply by not eating - but it won’t be good for your health. A balanced diet, regular exercise, good friendships, getting quality sleep and limiting stress are all required for good health. How can you begin to promote those in your every day life?

I’m wishing you lots of luck on your journey.

kaitimae · April 2022

The truth is, of all the people losing lots of weight, fewer than 5% keep it off long term. (Learned this on WLS Podcast, as well as directly from my surgeon.)

WLS is not the an "easy way out." It is *A* way out, a tool to help. Just like MFP is a tool, and hitting the gym is a tool. It will absolutely not be easy... but in my past few months of research, nearly every single person who has the surgery is glad they had it.

To prepare for your visit with the surgeon - write down your questions ahead of time to reference. Be prepared to talk a little bit about your weight history. See how your gut feels after meeting with them. If you didn't vibe, make appointments with more surgeons until you find one you can trust completely.

Honestly, meeting with the surgeon for the first consult was literally 20 minutes after MONTHS of research for me. I am in the middle of completing a dozen visits with my nutritionist. I chose an extremely qualified surgeon, who I know will do a great job and who I trust with my body.

But after that hour long surgery, all the rest of the work is on ME. Start working on habits NOW. Drink all your water. Take your vitamins. (The surgeon will probably order bloodwork and let you know which ones to take prior to surgery... I'm on a Prenatal with Iron and prescription Vitamin D.) Start eating more protein and fewer carbs and sugar NOW. Get in the habit of going to the gym a few times a week NOW.

Resources I have found most helpful: Weight Loss Surgery Podcast with Reeger Cortell, Weight Loss Surgery Workbook: Deciding on Bariatric Surgery, Preparing for the Procedure, and Changing Habits for Post-Surgery Success, r/gastricbypass and r/wls on Reddit.

I'm aiming for surgery sometime in June or early July. If you want a buddy, feel free to send me a friend request!

PAV8888 · April 2022

kaitimae wrote: »

The truth is, of all the people losing lots of weight, fewer than 5% keep it off long term.

WLS is not the an "easy way out." It is *A* way out, a tool to help. Just like MFP is a tool, and hitting the gym is a tool.

It will absolutely not be easy... but in my past few months of research, nearly every single person who has the surgery is glad they had it.

Not sure if it is as little as 5%, I suspect it is much higher. But it *is* low. Maintaining for 5 years increases it to 50-50 or better.

Totally agree with tool analogy. But take its step further and move into gradually changing from pre loss life to post loss life. Are you ready to explore alternatives? Put aside favorite pastimes and habits and explore new ones?

Many obese people didn't get there just because we like food--which many of us do.

In 2013 I would have honestly sworn to you that I was absolutely not an emotional eater. Truly. Honestly. I kept hearing about it. Didn't describe me

Yet when I'm angry or frustrated I walk around (didn't use to which made me even more frustrated, now I do!) and graze continuously on anything handy (always have and still continue to do so)--without stop. Even if full. Anger and frustration are emotions too, just saying.

What did eating out at all you can eat restaurants and buying the best value packages teach me about acceptable portion sizes? No comment! Weighing things is eye opening.

What about deserving or expecting my meal time and meal even though I had snacked more than a meal worth of calories? Never thought of the trade off till I logged everything before eating it

Not to mention my "knowledge" of nutrition: add healthy olive oil to everything. Use sugar instead of evil artificial sweeteners. A Costco muffin (700 Cal) is a good alternative to a mcdouble and vanilla cone that are a few less calories and provide longer satiation. True they have more saturated fat, but neither is a true "healthy" option and either should be an occasional as opposed to regular choice.

Maybe things have changed during the past 8-10 years in terms of WLS long term success.

I used to work with a group of surgeons back in the early 2010s. When I run into one of them in 2015 (started on MFP in 2014 part way through the ~125lbs I dropped) he actually didn't believe that I had not had WLS surgery as that was the only times he had seen WL results like that.

We see results like that often on MFP. And we also run into the disappeared people who come back a few months later having regained.

It is not weight loss and you're done. It is not surgery and you're done.

It is continuous management of weight for the rest of your *kitten* life.

Reconcile yourself to the long term because if it doesn't get managed by you it will manage you. But you know what? It doesn't have to be bad! Omg, this end of the world thing.

Managing your budget means you have to make some tough choices but you also make a few fun choices too, right? A lot of things in life require some management and many can be turned into fun adventures if you decide to look at them that way. And some you just do: brushing teeth comes to mind. Washing behind the ears too!

I looked at WLS back in 2014 right before and after I found MFP in desperation because what I was doing (eating as little as I could while being as active as I possibly could) was about to explode in my face yet again for yet another rebound regain.

My research at the time found way more negative stories that what your research seems to be indicating.

Sufficiently many concerning stories that I was definitely NOT going to take the WLS route even if all I would accomplish on MFP was a reduction of degree of obesity as opposed to heading for normal weight.

Of course I did end up heading to normal weight and have stayed there for the better part of 6 years now.

I'm definitely converted, thus biased in my view.

My own logic was: I'm going to have to work on mental and physical aspects anyway and I respond badly to externally imposed negative reinforcement which is what the surgery provides.

Benefit-cost given perceived potential risks given the stories I had heard about it just didn't compute for me

WLS?

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