Can I ask a question? When and what made you decide to go ahead with the surgery? That is where I'm at now. I'm on the "fence" and trying to decide. I thought about serisously trying to lose weight, by myself for 6 mos and see how it goes and if I don't see a big difference, then I am thinking about considering the surgery.

Any thoughts, opinions, suggestions are very much appreciated!

surprise fatt lady!!! i didn't want your question to get lost, so i moved it to its very own thread so people can see it.

for me, i fought the decision for a couple of years, and looking back on it, that was a BIG mistake. i ended up weighing 500 pounds, unable to walk or stand without assistance, and on oxygen. i was NOT a candidate for the lapband, even though it made a lot of sense to me. the reason: i was too desperately ill to wait for the slower weight loss. i needed to lose a lot immediately.

no regrets. gotta tell you, though, i wish with my whole heart and soul that one day the surgery will not be necessary. but until medicine figures out something else to help us all, it'll be around.

Hi Jiffy
 

The lapband is slower weight loss but the doctor will help you decide which one is best. I recieved my band an April 18th this year and I have lost 19 pounds so far and that was quicker than I expected. But I will tell you that once you get either surgery you are on a diet and I wish someone would have told me that it is not as easy as It sounds one the paper they give you. Personally so far it is still worth I just wanted to give you the heads up though. Good Luck!!

Most people have surgery out of true exhaustion. Failing diet after diet, year after year, only to get bigger and bigger, feeling so hopeless, helpless and depressed.....kinda like at the end of their rope. Surgery is a gleam of light for them, one last (if you will) chance at life again.

When your ready for surgery...... you'll know it.

I've considered it for a while now. I've gone back and forth on it because it's such a huge decision to make. I think I'm finally ready to admit that I need that extra help, because I'm not doing it on my own. The last year, I have focused on living healthier. At least 7 of those months, I was completely on plan in terms of diet, and I got enough exercise in to lose weight. I'd lost down to 295 and I thought I'd gotten through the worst of it because it has been a complete lifestyle change and it is just normal for me now. And then in the last 2 months, I started gaining again, and I've gained fairly rapidly. My health is better (no more bp meds, no more cholesterol meds, and no insulin), but for how long? I'm now back up to 330-335, after working so hard to get rid of the weight. So.. rather than let it get worse, I'm making the decision to do something about it now.

I agree with this absolutely. I was at the point where I felt that I'd rather die than go on as I was. Unfortunately, that's damn near what I did.

I decided to have the lap band done (sheduled for May 12) because I'm worn out!! I can't walk with out every thing from my hips down hurting. I'm only 38 - I have a full life ahead of me and it's just time I DO something. I have dieted seriously for long periods of time and have done well, only to regain the weight after all that. It hasn't been an easy decision for me. I'm having to self pay (although the up side to that is I don't have to fight with insurance companies!) and I know I will be changing my life drastically after the band. For me, it's a choice to LIVE and be happy with myself and finally comfortable doing basic things.

Ditto to everything everybody else has said. I couldn't even move my laundry from the washer to the dryer without excruciationg pain in my back. Then one day I just knew I had to do it. No matter what happened I had to give it a shot. Just making the decision was liberating. A giant leap over fears and insecurities I barely acknowledged I had. I was worth it.

I think at 355 lbs, it was obligatory for me to consider WLS. In the end, I decided it wasn't for me. I like to read the posts on this forum though because the struggle from being over 100 lbs overweight is one to be shared. Some people don't know how to lose weight, some people ignore their weight in some sort of denial, some people have serious emotional issues tied to their weight and some people have a mix of reasons for gaining the weight and not losing the weight.

Most people over 100 lbs overweight know how to lose weight, most have tried many times and most also have emotional issues tied to their weight and eating. How can we not? Whatever path you choose, it is a personal journey for you. I would agree with someone saying "you will know" when it is your time.

A post (on another forum) struck my mind a couple weeks ago where a poster was quite surprised at the level of restriction of a certain diet. The diet didn't seem too restrictive to me. A big part of it is portion control and eating a fairly healthy, well rounded diet. If you want to see restrictive, ask the gals here who have had WLS. The diet, at least at first, is very difficult and is near impossible for someone who hasn't had WLS. I don't think the entire process is pleasant at all but it has helped quite a few people.

I would highly recommend trying to lose weight on your own first (not to say you haven't in the past). If you look at jiffy's signature, she lost 100 lbs before she had the surgery. I think that is pretty incredible. Portion control, regular exercise and food modification can take you a long way. Plus, any weight you lose before the surgery if you plan to have it, will help you.

I have a family member who had the (gastric bypass) surgery in the recent past, but has gained all the weight back. It is truly difficult to see someone who never learned to deal with weight related issues, who then loses a good portion of weight only to still not deal with the issues still and gain the weight back.

Hi Fatt Lady..

I have actually considered surgery 2 years ago, did all the pre-op assessment and was just waiting to do it, but I chickened out! The thought of surgery (any kind of surgery) was too scary for me, so I convinced myself to give it my best and try to lose weight on my own. It worked at first, and I lost some weight (not alot), but then gained it all back. By that time, I felt that I had given up on myself and was really upset about the way I piled on even more weight. I felt powerless to do anything about it. But the thing that really struck me was that although I've always been fat, my obesity was mainly in my hips and thighs. However, lately it had been all in my tummy, that's when I realized that this is a warning sign of what's called the metabolic syndrome, and based on my family history, I knew that diabetes and hypertension were soon to follow with all their complications, all before I am even 30! That's when I felt I had to do something drastic. After discussing the options with my doctor, I knew that a band was not for me, I needed something more drastic and more permenant (it would have been easy for me not to fill the band to tighten it, and now as I am devastated by the restrictions of the new size of my stomache, I feel grateful for not doing the band). So he suggested a sleeve gasterectomy (less time in OR than RNY or DS and less complications, since I was soo scared). And there you go.. I had my surgery in March and despite some hardships at first, I couldn't be happier now :)

Sorry for the long post.. I wish you the best of luck whichever way you choose to do it, cuz what matters in the end is that you DO SOMETHING! Good luck and keep us posted :)

D.

hey there, darlin. glad to have you here. and here's a reminder to be sure to document your 6 month - or longer -'old college try.' if you DO decide to have the surgery, many insurance companies require several months to a year of supervised, compliant weight loss efforts before they'll approve the surgery.

so, be sure to have your doctor document, document, document.

and about my 97 pound, pre-surgery weight loss. it really had very little to do with any actual dieting, although i was 'on a diet.' there's no way on this planet that restricted eating alone will result in a 97 pound loss in a few months.

the KEY to this was the correction of my severe sleep apnea.

it brought my oxygen levels up to the point where, as one of my docs said, i actually, FINALLY, had a metabolism.

sooo, although it's ESSENTIAL to not gain weight before surgery, and STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that a person lose some beforehand, please don't use my spectacular pre-surgery weight loss as a guide for what's right for YOU. these circumstances were a bit unusual, and very severe. most of you are still running around having a reasonably normal life. i was not - i was pretty much bedridden, so this made a huge difference to me.

ok?

I'm sure you'll agree we can all lose weight....but the problem is keeping it off. Thats another reason why people chose weight loss surgery. I lost 150 lbs on my own, kept it off for 10+ years, until something tragic happened in my family... I gained 110 lbs back :(

Its a struggle even for WLS patients to keep it off, but I believe they have a better chance at fighting the weight gain demons.

Hey all. It's been awhile since I have posted. Like most people here, the decision to do WLS surgery was a very difficult one for me. I had been thinking about it for years. When I was diagnosed with sleep apnea about 5 years ago, I knew that my weight issue was really serious. My doctor said that if I continued the way I was going I could be dead by the time I was 50 or 60. I knew this, but I still didn't really want to confront it.

I was scared to do the WLS. Really, there is still not a lot of studies about how this affects you 20, 30 years down the line and I did not feel like being a guinea pig. I knew I had to do something though. About 3 years ago I decided to do WW again. I decided I was really going to put a lot of effort into it. I lost over 40 pounds in 6 months. Then, I started slipping into bad habits and stopped going to the meetings. I gained all of the 40 pounds back, plus 20 more.

So last summer I started to get serious about my health. I researched WLS online and talked to a lot of people who have had it. I went to various seminars of doctors who perform the surgery and finally found one that I was comfortable with. Make sure that you trust the doctor that you go to, and it is CRITICAL that the doctor has a good follow up system after surgery. You will not be sucessful without support.

Thanks and another Q?
 

Thanks for all the advice again. :)

And I have another Q for you Jiffy or anybody who wants to answer. About Sleep Apnea. How does this effect your metabolism? My hubby has it and I am pretty sure I do as well, just haven't went to get tested.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again! You all are Great!

:hug:

*TFL*

I'm not sure how sleep apnea affects your metabolism, but it stresses your heart and deprives oxygen to your brain. I would wake up with severe headaches because I wasn't breathing right.

oh geez. i didn't get around to answering your question, fatt lady. a thousand apologies.

this is what my pulmonologist [also a sleep specialist] told me, and i strongly recommend that your husband talk to his sleep specialist about it.

when a person has sleep apnea, they stop breathing. that means that the heart isn't pumping and therefore the blood isn't going through your body. and whenever that happens, the oxygen that the blood carries can't be exchanged in the cells. it's like a train at a station. when it pulls up, the people get on and off. if the train starts up again, people will get on and off at each stop. if it just sits there, nobody new gets on, and no one else gets off.

that ends up starving your tissues of oxygen. if the apnea is severe that the the person stops breathing A LOT [like 30 -60 times an hour - which works out to every minute or two], the tissues never quite catch up - they never get enough oxygen - and they don't work at all well. so the lungs work harder and harder, you get more and more tired, so you fall asleep while you're driving or just sitting, and then you stop breathing. it's a nasty, vicious cycle.

so, the treatment is to keep you breathing. that's what the CPAP [or, in some cases the BiPAP] is for. the CPAP provides a flow of air to keep you airway from collapsing [which is - bottom line - what happens in most sleep apnea]. when you inhale, it provides a little extra push.

the BiPAP helps you both inhale and exhale [i had to use it as my respiratory muscles were so weak].

oxygen can also be added to increase the amount of oxygen to the cells. this was an absolutely essential part of my recovery. i doubt very much that i'd be sitting here typing this if i hadn't had this.

does this help?

My Dh had sleep apnea surgery and it was a godsend!
however you do have to watch the weight around his neck my dh has gained about 30 pounds and he started snoring again

Appt. this Wednesday
 

Hey All,

Thanks for your replies on the thread that I started. I should have posted on this one.

My initial appointment is two days away. I wish it was here, I am so apprehensive.

I'm tired now, but don't want to go to sleep.

More later.

For me I was 325 lbs at 5' 2" tall and I was dieing, my BMI was 60. I had just had my 4th son and had diabetes, PCOS, sleep apnea to the point that I would pray at night before bed that God give me one more day with my family.

It was my last resort. I had/have tried it all, I can lose weight, I can never keep it off. I was watching CNN one night and there was a story about morbidly obese people losing weight, (not about WLS, just dieting) and the statistics that they quoted where that only 5% of morbidly obese people that lose the weight, keep it off long term. That we in this country, do not have a problem with keeping it off, that most not only gain it back but they gain it back plus more. That hit home for me.

I began researching; and found that 85% of patients that have the gastric bypass keep the weight off. So for me the statistics were much better.

I found out that my insurance company did not cover it, so I had to wait until open enrollment that was 9 months away. So I joined a non-surgeon specific support group started and run by patients in my area. That was the best thing I ever did.

I not only got to find out the good, bad and the horrible but I found my surgeon, and without him I would be dead today, literally.

I wanted to live to see my children grown and I knew that I was going to die; I could not walk across the room and breath at the same time.

This surgery is the best thing I have ever done, but it is not without risks, I have had 11 surgeries in 2.5 years, not all because of the WLS but most. I am alive because I have a GREAT surgeon.

I knew I was going to die, and I was either going to die on the couch or I was going to die trying to live, to be here for my family! It was a risk I was willing to take!

me before
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...18357588-1.jpg

I lost 49 pounds waiting for surgery, and you couldn't even tell
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ulandHazel.jpg

Me now.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...iefrog1/me.jpg

Hazel!!!! you gorgeous creature you! where have you been? so glad to see you post and that you're doing so well!!

what's new??? how's the divine debkay?

much love to you both

Hazel Wow you look like 2 different people completely! BTW you're GORGEOUS!
great work!

OMG Hazel... YOU ROCK YOU ROCK YOU ROCK !!!! Fantastic job, you look amazing. WHOOT! I'm so happy for you. I wanna look just like you WOWEE.


Can I ask?? did you have any cosmetic surgery for excess skin?

Thank you all; you sure know how to make a girl feel good!

Jiff Debbie says hi, she is doing great!! Debbie is THE best thing that happened to me in this entire process, meeting Debbie, she is truly my best friend. I cannot imagine a day without talking to her! She has sat many days with me in ICU/hospital when my husband had to work she has seen me at my best and at my worst and still loves me!

I could not love her more if she had been born into my family. She is the best!!!:hug:

Yes I have had some plastic surgery, I had a lower body lift! Where most people have an apron, I had a mini skirt, I had hanging skin all the way around even on my butt. It was really painful but oooooohhh so worth it! I would love to have my arms and breasts done, but I have been through a lot and still not sure if I am ever going to have them done :dizzy: !

I went into the hospital in size 14 jeans and came out (after the swelling went down) in a size 6 Levis!!! Now I wear a size 4!

Oh yeah, my insurance company paid 100% of my lower body lift all $26,000.00 of it :carrot: !!!

Hazel !! All I can say is WOW !

I too struggled with WLS decision until my sister had lapband surgery 18 months ago....I have watched her lose 100 pounds during this time......I was banded on March 7, 2006 and I have lost 48 pounds to date....slower than bypass but without any of the problems.....I have never thrown up, slimed or any of the other nasty things.. you hear about....I am not really on a diet, I am given the choice to eat well or poorly.....I can eat anything that I can chew up and swallow...I seem to have problems with Macaroni, but can eat Lasagna, trouble with corn, but can eat brocoli.....you just have to figure out what you can eat, it is differenct with everyone.....The thing I like about the lapband is if I begin to feel hungry or that I am eating too much or not losing weight, I can go and have a fill and be back in the losing game....I do not regret my decision for one minute....even when I choose to eat poorly....I can not eat as much, I feel full, so my portion is controlled. This month I averaged 1.5 pounds per week which is right on schedule and I had cake on my birthday!.....It is a personal decision each person has to make....go to seminars for both Gastric and Bypass, talk to people who have had both, weight the risks and the benefits of both....I did, chose lapband and am very happy. Gastric people seem to be against lapband, and I guess lapband against Gastric, but I have seen successes with both WLS, you need to decide what is right for you.

After 10+ years of being obese and hating myself and 2 serious years of research I decided to have WLS in Dec03. It is the best thing I did for myself. I have tried every diet out there only to lose the first 25 pounds and then gain it all back. The final "good ol' try" I lost 30 pounds and regained it but was able to hold off any additional weight gain. I topped out at 271 in May03 when I finally started the necessary tests to get approved for RNY. Luckily my insurance covered all costs. I am coming up on my 3 year mark and I am currently looking into reconstructive surgery. I see a plastic surgeon tomorrow about a tummy tuck. I'm told that just on my abdomen I am carrying 10 extra ppounds in excess skin. If this plastic surgeon accepts me tomorrow then it will be covered by my insurance plan. So say a prayer for me. :crossed: I can't say my journey has been uneventful as I am just coming out of a battle with severe anemia which led to a hysterectomy for me in March of this year and I am still receiving monthly iron infusions in order to build my blood levels back up. I am also living in daily pain due to a bulging disc in my lower back. My chiropractor says the excess skin is aggravating my back, so I'm hoping that qualifies me for the tummy tuck. I do not regret my decision but I always warn people to do their research first as it is a HUGE,HUGE decision. Best wishes to you on your own journey.

I'm a newbie around here and I look forward to getting to know you all. :wave:

Thanks and another Q?
 

Hey all, :thanks: for sharing all your stories and personal experiences. I sure do appreciate them. :hug:

I just learned someone I know just had gastric bypass. I was just wondering, have any of you came across negativity towards the WLS with your family or friends? Because I'm getting a lot of that now. (I personally have not had the surgery yet, still considering)

Thanks so much!

aahhh. negativity. it comes in many forms - sometimes it's along the lines of 'what makes you think it'll work for you since you can't stick to anything.' or wls is the easy way out and if you only did .... you'd be able to lose the weight.

what are people saying to you? bottom line, it's YOUR decision, YOUR life, YOUR choice

Thanks Jiffy and you are right. It is just so irritating to me when people try to be so negative instead of trying to see the positive side. I know there are negative aspects of the WLS too. But in the end, its me who has to live with my decision. ;)

:hug:

Ohhhh I've encountered a fair bit of it. One of my best friend's Mom is a dietician and she can't understand why I'd want to do this (she's also superbuff and athletic) since she's not living here right now I'm not going to tell her untill afterwards every other time I looked at Drs she and her mom took the pulpit and I don't have time for that.
My PT keeps asking me why I have to do this. and the best line what if you go out somehwere and you want to EAT. I think he was of the school of the easy way out. However I said to him It's a tool you have 2 years to find a healthy way for you to eat and if you don't you gain. .

Lastly I have the friend who is a heavy woman and can't have it right now (there is a waiting list in Canada) so I get the jealous jabs. . . "Well I'm doing it the old fashioned way yadda yadda"
I learned yesterday not to discuss my concerns with the non supportive peeps
it's your life and your body and your decision. No one elses I suggest offering them a roll of duct tape for their mouths!

Thanks KO and your so right. Its my body, my life and my decision. I just have an extremely hard time losing. I know I can do better with my eating and exercising, but its like riding a bike uphill backwards to lose anything. It just gets so frustrating. But I still want to give it more effort on my own part while at the same time researching more into the surgery too. ;)

:thanks: you ladies are great! :D