Gastric by-Pass Surgery

Does she realize that she will need to keep a healthy diet after the surgery? Otherwise, she will end up where she started in a few months.

i wanted to have the surgery, but after seeing the diet- I was pretty sure it wouldn't work for me. The thing is, after you have the surgery, you're physically unable to eat the way you used to. Carbonation is 100% out and so is sugar.
At first, you're unable to eat anything other than what your body will allow, which is mostly small bites of protein and not much else. Gradually, you can add things back in, as well as upping the quantities, but then your stomach starts stretching and growing again. many people end up right back where they were or even heavier within about 5 years.
I think even if you sit through all of the consultations and doctor meetings, the promise of being practically guaranteed to lose 100+ pounds without a ton of effort on your part is just fantastic that the diet and exercise portion of the program gets overlooked.
It sounds like she's looking for a quick fix, and while this might work for a short time, unless she changes her routine and starts eating more healthily - she can't be successful.

I had intestinal bypass surgery and stomach reduction in Sept. 2011 and have lost 65 lbs. so far, but I have 90 lbs. to go. She just has to remember that the surgery is a tool and not a cure to obesity. I screwed up and platued for the last month. That is why I am on this site. I've learned a lot.

I've known 2 people who hav e had the surgery and both of them are now larger than they were before. I would hope she has a great mind frame to continue her journey to health and maintain! I'm sure you can help with that.

Me too! One lives on peanut butter. The other would break the diet to the point of getting sick less than a month out. I think she developed an immunity or something. I'm not sure she lost any weight at all. If you aren't committed to it, it is a waste of time and money.

Two former co-workers (at different jobs) had the surgery.

One was very successful; the interesting part was that another person in our office when on the same diet and was just as successful without going under the knife.

The second didn't change her lifestyle. It turns out that you can't lose weight on alcohol and milkshakes, but you can land yourself back in the hospital for malnourishment.

At first, you're unable to eat anything other than what your body will allow, which is mostly small bites of protein and not much else. Gradually, you can add things back in, as well as upping the quantities, but then your stomach starts stretching and growing again. many people end up right back where they were or even heavier within about 5 years.

That is EXACTLY why I decided not to go through with it. I thought to give MFP a chance and so far, I lost 19 pounds since October,, it is working -- change your lifestyle. I know several people who had the surgery and they lost so much then got most of it back.

Like the other poster said, I too am surprised that she's getting the surgery without pre-surgery attempts or counselings.

copied and pasted from a previous post of mine

desparate times require desparate measures.............I think, IMHO, that each case is unique and different

If I weighed 600 lbs, as there are people that weigh that much, and if I have EVERY known obesity related disease, ie, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, etc, then I would do what I had to.........to save my life. I d take care of myself and not worry about what people thought........think about it, if you weigh 600 lbs, its obvious what you are doing ISNT working, Sleep apnea can kill you, asthma can kill you, congestive heart disease can kill you.........If Im plagued with all these chronic illnesses, then I need to make a life saving decision because its obvious all my other choices arent working...............So I think its a right decision to use the surgery as a tool.........

I used the gym for 15 months as a tool, to get healthy and lose the weight.......I used the gym as my tool to get healthy, along with a healthy diet........... I made a life saving decision and Ive never felt better and plan to stay that way. I have stumbled for sure, Im human , but Im not going back to that black hole I was living in , prior my weight loss............

If a person uses the surgery as a tool, to help them save their life, so be it ........I support their decision.

Happy and Healthy New Years to all...................Lloyd

My mom, dad and sister all had gastic by-pass sx. They are all 3 successful
sister 400 lbs to now 165
mom 340lbs to now 150
dad all I know is was a 42 pants now a 32 waist

It was hard watching all 3 go throught he whole liquid diet thing to start with. It was also hard watching my mom go down to 120 lbs and knowing she had many of those pounds in lose skin. I have seen her naked and boy! yuck. I feel for her. But now she is up to 150 and looks much better. They have all kept it off for more than 4 and 5 yrs.

My dad was on insulin for diabetes and almost imediately after surgery he came off it. He is so glad no more shots and checking BS all the time.

The only negative I have experienced in watching their lives change is their personalities changes as well. Lets see my sister left her husband and 2 children after she gained self confidence, my mom has become a major control freak who's hard to be around anymore and my dad has become a liar and had an affair on my mom after 42 yrs of marriage. So yes it has its pos and cons.

What I don't understand and I'm not sure if the patient's fully understanding IS...YOU ARE STILL REQUIRED TO DIET!
So why risk serious complications to end up doing the very same thing you could do without the surgery.

I'm one of those dullards who really hates the idea of having an operation. Unless it was something like a heart transplant, I can't imagine choosing to go under the knife. Queasy chat!

Anyway, my mother had a gastric bypass this year. She is 50 now and has been obese for about 25 years. Before the operation, she ate tons and tons of ****ty foods and exercise was almost a dirty word to her! She paid to have the operation private which is why I assumed she wasn't told to try and lose weight naturally first although judging from the comments here, I sense that this doesn't always happen with NHS/state funded procedures either.

Before the operation (July) she was about 215lbs and now she is about 135lb. She still does no exercise at all but she eats hardly anything. I went to visit her the other day and we went out to do some shopping. We went to a cafe for lunch and I swear, she had about a tea spoon of her curry and felt full and sick. This has been how things are for her since the operation. She's a food lover but food is now her nemesis. She can't enjoy anything. I personally believe being obese was probably less of a burdon than her current situation. She seems happy that she can wear nicer clothing and gets compliments about her weight loss but I know her and can sense her frustration.

My mum is the sort of person who doesn't really think things through. She didn't take time to properly consider the implications of the bypass and I honestly think the fact that it's an irreversible procedure was lost on her. People see the phrase "life changing" and immediately think that life changing means good. But sometimes, changes to your life are not glamorous or easy.

People tell her it's amazing she has lost weight. Frankly, I don't see the big deal - she's put no effort into losing it, she just physically can't eat. I wish she had just got off her *kitten* to diet and exercise normally because I think she has a lollypop head now and she has loads of saggy skin. It's sad to see her looking all droopy. Other people have actually - out of shock at seeing what she has lost in such a short space of time - accidentally blurted out that she looked better before. I can tell that is hurtful but sort of agree. She does look better in some ways - nobody suits a great big belly. But she looks frail...I dunno, I don't like it!

She has implied that if she could go back in time, she'd not have had the surgery. It's definitely put me off wanting to lose weight in another way than a sensible, natural way.