I am 32 and about 295 @ 5'7". I do not have any other health probs but I just can't seem to lose weight. I have a pretty active life running kids here and there working full time. I just can't seem to make time for myself to exercise etc. I know of 4 people who have had bypass and the results are mixed. One of them looks absolutely awful, she is way too skinny and looks like she is not well. One of them looks great other than the saggy skin etc. Her plastic surgeon is telling her there isn't really anything he can do. The other two are gaining their weight back. Probably because of noncompliance but still. So I guess my question is this.. Is this drastic of a surgery really worth it?? I mean I really don't want to be back at my pre-kids weight of 135 because I look back now and realize I didn't look as good as I thought I did. I would love to lose 50-60 lbs. Is the surgery worth the risk. I have two beautiful children that could not handle any kind of crisis with my health. Everyone I talk to says they would do it again but they also wanted to lose in excess of 150 lbs. Anything anyone has to share would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
I don't think anyone can answer that question for you, Trixie. Only *you* know what *risks* you are willing or not willing to take. And if you only want to lose 50-60lbs, I would probably say you're not a candidate for WLS.
I agree with Indigo, this is a decision you need to make for yourself. I would say that WLS is a tool to help someone loose 100 pounds or more.
I know how you feel about the risks, I have two sons myself and I deceided to have the surgery because I need to loose between 100 & 150 pounds. However, I am doing this for myself to be comfortable and then for my kids so that I can take them to amusement parks and play and run with them instead of sitting on a bench and watching.
I could stand to lose 150 lbs but i would be happy to lose 50 or 60. What kind of results did you have in the first few months. I don't know what to expect. I know it is a decision that I have to make. But I was kind of looking for some stories as to what to expect. I work in a hospital and see a lot of people with problems and don't know too many without because they don't come to the hospital. Anyway. Just curious
Hi Trixie, I would be one of those with a multitude of complications and despite two gastroplasty surgeries did not lose one pound through the surgery. The first one was about 10-11 years ago. The second one about 5-6 years ago when a new surgeon persuaded me the first surgery was just 'done wrong' but I didn't lose again. I have serious health issues that compromised my metabolism beyond the average person. For sure. But... having said that, the complications that are a direct result of the surgery have been devastating. From severe hernias requiring surgery, to my teeth literally crumbling, to heart palpitations serious enough to require a 24 hour heart monitor at one point.
The thing is this. I understand the despair as well as anyone. I had the surgery twice and back in the days when the lap wasn't an option so I was cut from my sternum to belly button. And then cut again with hernia repairs. My liver and my stomach adhesed together and had to be surgically seperated too. But I still did it a second time. I was desperate as can be and just so tired of fat being THE issue in my life. I was dying to be thin. And nearly did.
Here is what I learned for me. I learned that despite a surgery that so radically limited what I could eat and that included things like meat and scrambled eggs for instance, the inescapable truth was that it all comes down to food choices. No matter how surgically altered you are, you can still make good choices or bad choices.
I was so angry about my health conditions before the surgeries! I felt ripped off. I felt resentment like you wouldn't believe. I felt like my body was somehow 'done to me' and I just wanted a guarantee that once and for all I could dump the fat and no longer have to deal with this issue. Hah!
As of this morning I'm now 198. I haven't weighed that little since I was 15. I've lost 149 pounds based on the highest RECORDED weight. (It isn't easy to find scales that go that high so I may well have been even heavier.) There is only one reason I lost that much weight and continue to lose. And that's because I had to figure out the fix for my metabloic issues myself and change my diet radically and permanently based on what works for me and not simply based on less food.
I don't have any advice. I just have my own experience but I feel a responsibility to telling people that this is no walk in the park.
Thank you. I've been really struggling with the past few pounds. I hit one of those stubborn 'not gonna do it' points. I told my son it felt like trying to lift a car on one side to flip it over and I just couldn't quite push hard enough to get it past that point. But hey! Look at me I did it!
I also noticed YOU are down another couple of pounds!!! I told you you're going to just slide right on past me! Woo HOOOOO! So how are your clothes fitting you these days lol! I'm at the point where I'm holding out for another 20 pounds before I really start to buy more. I was able to fit into a simple XL in a jacket this year. Unbelievable. I remember a time when a 5X wasn't big enough.
hubs - you're amazing! you might be turning into one of my idols!!!!!
and trixie - i'm one of the people who sailed through the surgery [much to everyone's surprise as i'd been extremely ill beforehand]. and i lost 18 pounds the first week, and then a pound and a half a day for the next 6 weeks. just the opposite of hubs!!!!
but please remember: in general, the heavier you are, the faster the initial weight loss. but this can be affected by many other factors.
the first 3 months were NOT PRETTY, but it's only 3 months... and i held onto the doc's promise that things would improve.
and like hubs said, no matter what, the maximum weight loss, and the even-more important maintenance requires the right food choices and appropriate exercise.
in short, we become just like everyone else, but we have to watch our vitamins very closely and follow a few other rules.
I think you have to pick what works for you. I've "succeeded" at lots of diets and lost weight - what I couldn't do was keep it off which is why I finally looks into WLS. I'm happy to lose the weight gradually and just need a tool to help me keep from regaining the weight, which is why I leaned towards the lap band. It's all about what you want and what you're willing to do to get there. Every post-op I've talked to says it's still about diet and exercise, the difference is the surgery helps you with the diet part.
Sometimes I feel very ineffective when it comes to expressing how I feel about WLS. I just know that whatever you think its will be before the surgery, it all changes with the reality of what comes after. Some of those changes can be very positive. Some can be very sustainable. But the truth is it can be very complicated and dangerous for many. That truth is one that gets glossed over and I believe its a form of a lie to fail to represent the risks properly.
You can only make good choices for yourself if they are informed choices.
you are 700% right hubs. a wise woman who had the surgery always says that WLS is like the war in Beirut. you hear about it, you think you understand it, but afterwards, you wake up in the middle of Beirut, and the reality is far different.
no one around here EVER says that it's the easy way out, or that it's the right choice for anyone. it takes a lot of research so that we understand the good, the bad, and the ugly, and that this is a life-changing event. our lives are never the same afterwards. sometimes that's a good thing, but not always.
no matter how many times someone tells you, for example, to beware of that 'one bite too many,' the feeling that you get cannot be described.
no matter how many times someone tells you, for example, to beware of that 'one bite too many,' the feeling that you get cannot be described.
lol, that's for sure! In fact recently I read something on another forum that is no longer available that was the best description of that 'feeling' I've ever read! I wish I'd saved it!
thanks for sharing everyone. I think I have decided to really give something else a try for six months and then if all else fails i will have the surgery. I think it is something I need to prepare for mentally and physically. I am not at the point where I am willing to give up certain things forever. I really appreciate everyone's input. Congrats to those of you that it has worked for.
trixie
a little more info
