I was just watching a show on TLC about a woman that died after weight loss surgery. I am so glad that I did not choose that option, I want to lose this weight the healthiest way possible..Amen to that...

I just finished watching that too! It kept me from going to the kitchen! Welcome, losing weight is definitely possible without surgery.

I think that weight loss surgery is a very viable option for some people but I certainly was not going to go that route until I had exhausted EVERY SINGLE option that was available to me. I think years and years of yo-yo dieting saps your ambition and your confidence and there are some people that are simply not capable of losing the weight any other way. Weight loss surgery has saved their lives.

But the fact of surgery is that it is a SURGERY! And it's one that is being preformed on someone that is already morbidly obese and so it has far greater risks due to anesthetic and such and being complicated. I'm not willing to take those risks at that time.

I think it's a shame that someone who is taking steps to better themselves dies It breaks my heart.

I am so glad that you are here and doing this by changing your diet and getting more exercise. It can be done

*hugs* I'm glad you found us too.

I have a lap band surgery. Didn't do a darned thing, except give me horrible chest pains. Finally I asked the surgeon to set it to the widest position and leave it there. And now I'm dieting and exercising properly, and showing great results for it.

There are no quick fixes. A shame it cost me 17k to learn that lesson.

Welcome!

I never really considered weight loss surgery for myself as I knew there had to be a way for me to do it by myself. I know many others with severe medical conditions do it as what they feel as a last resort. Although the only person I've known personally (non 3FC) to have it done was someone who didn't want to try otherwise and she ended up gaining most of the weight back. I've always been fairly healthy though and other than minor aches and pains, I've never suffered due to my weight. I can't imagine what it must be like for those that have (inability to move, severe pain when moving, difficult breathing, sleep apnea, etc)

I'm glad the surgical option exists. I know it has saved countless peoples' lives. I wish I could convince my mother to undergo it, because I don't see her living another 10 years without it. I'm also glad that Atkins works for me, because surgery would have been next on my list of ways to get this weight off before it kills me. And I'm terrified of medical stuff!

My parents think I should have gastric bypass, or some other WLS. I really don't want to because of the grim statistics and serious side effects. If I can't lose the weight on my own though, I may have to eventually resort to it. 7% either die on the table or post surgery. I have a friend who's an EMT, and he says they get a lot of 911 calls about people having complications from WLS.

Hey all! I did a google search just now for Renee Williams, the poor lady who passed away, and read that she died of a massive heart attack 12 days post-surgery. I believe that the heart attack was not the result of the surgery directly, BUT as she was so large, the risk of a cardiac event post-surgery was a major concern (which is why people of her size are considered to be too high-risk to have this type of treatment, as the TLC show stated).

WLS is, IMHO, a great tool for those who choose this path in order to address their weight issues. I too was offered it, based on my start weight and BMI, but figured that if I had to be so restrictive about my diet POST-SURGERY, why not be restrictive about my diet and NOT have the surgery?

I feel so sorry for her kids and her mom because her death truly was unnecessary...

Kira

yea...my sister almost died from complications. It was horrible. You have to be emotionally ready to make the chage after surgery. If you're not, you will face horrible consequences, maybe even lose your life. She is doing a lot better now.but she is still not wonderfully healthy either.

I want you all to know that Im not against weight loss surgery...it just scares me so...I totally understand how some people can absolutely benefit from it and save their lives..I was terrified at the thought of eating myself to death or to the point where I could live or die from weight loss surgery...

We know , because most of us have had exactly the same thoughts. Scary, isn't it...
Kira

I agree, i think it was her almost 900 pounds that killed her, not the surgery per se. I know WLS works for some but I worry about people having it and not working on the mental aspect first or during.... I know 3 different people who gained all the weight back even AFTER surgery! where there's a will, there's a way! and if you're determined to be fat, you'll get it somewhere right?! I also watched the second show, of a teenaged boy who was about 800 lbs., with the mother who indulged him beyond all reason. Wow, I wanted to take that family and smack them all LOL. Hopefully watching their weird co-dependent dynamic on tv will shock some sense into them all.

Welcome! Surgery is a scary thing, it's definitley doable without it!