I have been very hesitant to post on this thread, but since my weight-loss-surgery sister Jiff posted, I felt I needed to finally break my silence.
I too, wish this discussion were not under "fitness scams" it does not belong here. The decision to have weight loss surgery is a long and difficult one. Most of us that have the surgery are battle scared from the years of yo-yo dieting. You cannot just walk into a surgeons office and say I want weight loss surgery, it is a process. It is a process for a good reason, this is not a cure all, it is a tool. If you abuse your tool you will not lose weight. Yes, that's right, you can eat around this. One example is grazing all day long, you take in too many calories and you gain.
So many people think WLS is an easy out, well I'm here to tell you it isn't. I must admit, I too thought WLS was an easy out, until I really started doing my research. Having WLS was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made in my life and I did not make it in a minute or two.
I just wish this topic were someplace other than "fitness scams."
I'll have to ask Suzanne 3FC if we can move this thread.
The situation here is that the person who initially started this thread posted it (for whatever reason) in the Fitness Scams forum. I'm unsure myself exactly WHERE this topic should be placed - as WLS is not really a 'diet plan' so it wouldn't go under that.
I've moved this thread to "Dieting with Health Problems".
Mrs. Jim ~ Thanks so much for moving this thread. Hopefully as it is no longer under Fitness Scams others will feel more comfortable replying.
Thanks Bunbun, Jiffy and DebKay. I think your shared personal stories offer realistic and good information for others who may be considering any type of weight loss surgery. As well as demonstrating that those who may be considering the procedures are not doing so as an easy fix it plan.
I am so glad to see this subject addressed here, and surprised too. I can't believe it was here and I didn't know about it.
I had duodenal switch (DS) surgery on in April 01, and have lost about 140 lb. My diabetes is long gone, blood pressure has stabilized, renal function has improved, back pain has improved, asthma has improved.
I can walk without pain and without becoming short of breath. I can run. I exercise regularly, either water aerobics, bike riding or taekwondo.
I eat a healthy diet, high in protein, limited carbs, a varied diet including vegetables, fruits and whole grains. I have no food intolerances.
Is weight loss surgery the answer for everyone? Of course not! But for some people, it is the answer. The choice, for me, was not between a healthy but overweight body versus wanting to be thin. It was between the very serious health issues brought on by weight versus the hope of improved quality of life.
No one wants to be "the one" undergoing weight loss surgery who dies, or who has major complications, but anyone considering any weight loss surgery has to look realistically at the facts. The risks are there. Trust me, it is not taking the easy way out.
I am a single parent. I was terrified at the thought of dying during surgery or as a result of it, and leaving my children. But, for me, the future without weight loss surgery was that I would one day within the next few years have probably died, possibly in their presence. I didn't want that either.
To say "people should just eat right and exercise", is simple, or maybe simplistic. It should work that way but often doesn't. I hung around the WW100 list and the 3FC boards and other WW and diet arenas for several years, long enough to see many people try desperately to lose - but very few make real progress. Do I think these people were unmotivated. No way. Do I think they just didn't care enough. Again, no way. These people hung in there, picked themselves up and started again and again, and often had many many good months in a row before another crash. These are not "lazy" people. These are not people who don't know they dynamics of food choice and exercise. I can't begin to explain why it doesn't work (for some people) in reality the way it should in theory, I only know it to be truth, from what I have seen. (Just my opinion, however, one my weight loss surgeon and considerable data seem to support). For the record, again, I am not talking about people with 20, 30 or even 60 lb to lose, but those with well over 100 lb to lose.
Even a year prior to my weight loss surgery, I was absolutely set against it. I was horrified when my best friend chose to have wls (she had RNY). But when the time was right, for me, when I knew I had done all I could with diet and exercise, and my health was continuing to decline, I made the choice I felt was right for me. After months of research. Not something I jumped into lightly.
I think you will find that most people who undergo WLS do so for health reasons versus reasons of appearance. I think that may be the part that some do not understand.
no, i'm not the moderator, just someone who has some definite opinions and really wants this BRAND NEW, THREE-DAY OLD forum to offer some real options for those of us who have had, or are thinking about, wls.
I have a few questions for those who have experience d the various types of WLS. What kind of an incision do you have? How long before you were up and around? Went back to work? Were allowed to exercise? How did you find a surgeon that would do this?
Fullhouse: I feel like I'm an (what's the word they use for wemen who have a baby for someone else? )subsitute patient, as my DH Alvin had the surgery and I have been with him every step of the way. He had the RNY surgery and the did it laproscopically. His weight before surgery was 577 pounds. His surgeon was upfront and told him that he had never tried to do the LAP surgery on anyone his size, but would try to do it. If he ran into problems during the procedure, he would revert to the open method. Well he was in surgery for about 6 hours, but he had the surgery on Friday and came home frome the hospital on Tuesday and was back at work part time on Friday. He has about 5 inch long incisions that did not evern require stitches, and are now completely healed. So basically the answer to your question is that it depends on the type of surgery you decide on and the surgeon.
As to how to find a surgeon, Alvin's PCP refered him to this doctor, but other than that, I'd call your local hospital help line.
About the scar, depends if you have surgery open or laparoscopically. I had mine open, as I had several previous abdominal surgeries and I felt it would be the safest option for me. The DS can be done either open or laparoscopically.
If you do a search for weight loss surgery on any search engine, you should get a lot of information.
For a list of surgeons who do the duodenal switch, and an explanation of that procedure, try www.duodenalswitch.com which has some easily understandable information.
As for recovery time, whether you have a lap or open surgery will make a difference. Lap should be faster to recover from.
My own experience with this surgery was that it took a full eight weeks to recover. I did not have any complications, but the recovery was still difficult. It is major surgery, and those who would qualify for it are obviously not at the optimal health or weight to be undergoing surgery, but I was prepared ahead of time for this and I never regretted me decision for a moment.
dawnajoy shared her experience with the open duodenal switch, and now it's my turn with the roux n y bypass. done laparascopically.
i was rolled down the hall at 7:30 am on january 29, 2002, and the surgeon was talking to my sister at 9:30 am. the whole thing took 2 hours.
i had five teeny incisions, all neatly stapled, in a kind of half moon across my abdomen. yeah, it wasn't comfortable, but i had a pain pump. the next day, around noon, the nurse took out my IV and the catheter and told me i could walk. I WAS GONE!!!! up and down the hall, visiting my surgery buddy, getting ice. water. wandering. sitting in the lounge. ANYWHERE but bed.
and the next day, january 31, my sister showed up around 1:30 to take me home.
discharge meds included a pain pill, but i didn't need very many, and stopped them altogether after about 3-4 days. it was a little uncomfortable to sleep for the first few days, but it eased up.
i stayed quiet for about the first week, but made sure i did at least 30 minutes of walking in spurts. the one-week check up went well. and i was told to move off the clear liquids.
and to continue walking. at the 3-week checkup, i was cleared to start exercising.
i was cleared to go back to work after 6 weeks. and now, at about 4 1/2 months, the incisions look kind of like discolored paper cuts, and the discoloration is fading.
as for finding a surgeon, i would recommend checking out the american society of bariatric surgeons. www.asbs.org if someone isn't a member, that doesn't mean he's a bad surgeon, but at least these docs have continued the interest and have the qualifications.
it's a surgical specialty, and it's important to pick a surgeon with experience, and with a bariatric center, or obesity center, or an affiliation with a hospital that has an obesity program. i'm convinced that the quality of care is better in that type of facility than in a hospital where the nursing staff isn't properly trained to care for patients with this kind of surgery.
it's surprising that there are supposedly major medical centers that do not have such expertise. i was AMAZED, for example, that Yale doesn't have a program, nor does it do the surgery!!
I had my surgery open insision because laproscopic isn't available where I live. My scar runs about 5 inches vertical from my belly button. I am only 5 weeks PostOp and I have lost 28 lbs. I have noticed my sleep apnea has improved and I can fit into my bath tub with ease now.
I spent 6 nights in the hospital, which is common for patients who have open surgery. I think laproscopic patients stay about 3 days. I had pain when I first woke up from the 1 1/2 hr surgery. The nurse was excellent at controlling my pain. I was in ICU for 2 1/2 days, which is standard for the surgery. Pain was controlled by morphine. I developed a fever and high heart rate that was due to a reaction from the morphine. When I was moved to the surgical floor everything seemed to stink to me and make me nausous. On day 3 or 4 gas pains set in and they were horrible. Walking the halls or having my back rubbed seemed to help. After they checked my pouch for leaks, they started me on 1 oz water every hour. Then 24 hrs later I got juices and jello. Nothing tasted good at all. I developed a bladder infection from the catheter. 3 bags of antibiotics took care of that. It was nice to have that thing out! I can't tell you what it was like to have the stomach tube that they normally do, b/c I didn'thave one. Thank goodness, I wouldn't have been able to stand that. I went home on day 7. I was so happy to be home with my kids. It was so important that my husband took care of my every need until I was able to. I couldn't even wipe my own butt for a week. I slept in a recliner for 1 month. I still sleep there if I can't get comfy in bed. I feel more energized everyday! WLS is not the easy way out,if I could have lost the 150 lbs I needed to the "old fashioned way" I would have. Nothing else worked for me I had to do something that is medically proven to work for long term. For more information on WLS go to Obesityhelp.com
The reason this is under fitness scams is because when it began I was just trying to find out more about it and wether it was a scam. If you read the very first posts you would see that. I never dreamed that it would go on so long or precipitate a whole new set of discussions. I apologise if any of you feel uncomfortable about this being where it is.
Actually Cowgirl we owe you a vote of thanks, without this post we may not have a WLS forum.
As WLS patients we have all run across those that do not understand wls, it's not a scam or an easy way out. The dialoge in this thread for the most part has been good. We all dismiss what we don't understand, I think this forum has given more understanding to those who "just didn't know."
I'm glad it helped all of you. I have learned a lot and even though I would not chose it for myself I have a beter understanding of those who do. Imagine my surprise when I checked in and found a whole forum built around my one little thread in search
of some answers. When I read all of your posts and realised some of you were confused as to how it got started under scams I just felt I should clear it up. I don't want anyone to be offended.
Tonight I attended the funeral of my very pretty, very obese sister-in-law. She had a gastric bypass 7 weeks ago and died Friday. She lapsed into a coma 12 days ago and never got to tell her children or anyone else goodbye. She was 48.
I'm particularly sad for so many reason but none so much as the thought that she didn't have to die in pain and agnony and she didn't have to die young. This sweet lady, like so many of us, was not in control of her eating behavior, and chose a route that seemed like a miracle answer. Dieting never even crossed her mind.
I hope her death will be a message to all who are considering having WLS to consider carefully all the data and ask yourself honestly have you truly done everything you have the power to do to reduce your weight without taking this step.
I will always be a chubby chick, I sort of know that somewhere inside. But, I will always fight this thing and even though I may always wear clothes with 2 digits in the size, thats OK. What matters is my soul, my family, my hope for the future, not the size of my butt! I would rather live this life a big girl than to take the risk. I'm sure precious Sandra would choose a very different path if she had one last choice.
Paula,
I am so sorry for your loss. It is awful to loose someone so young. I hope that in the weeks and months to come you can find out why she really chose to take this risk.
Although I am not a candidate for this surgery, I have to believe that there is not a single Dr or patient who does this on a whim or without serious choice. After reading Jiff and Debkay for the last 5 months, I cannot image choosing to do this without thinking it through on every angle and every risk. I think for many people that have considered it or do this, the health benefit out weighs the risk and they have tried everything under the sun.
When I read all of your posts and realised some of you were confused as to how it got started under scams I just felt I should clear it up. I don't want anyone to be offended.
