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I think it's a very tough way to go. For some, they are so out of control, and the weight seemingly so insurmountable that they truly need this drastic measure to spur the weight loss and help them change their behaviors forever.
That being said, I watched two friends go through bariatric surgery which resulted in destroyed lives. The first year was great for both. Both lost 100+ pounds and in spite of some set backs (infection, rupture) they felt successful. Then one friend resumed her old eating patterns and regained the weight, and encountered significant gastrointestinal complications for years, resulting in a significant portion of her bowels having to be removed.
The other friend replaced one addiction (food) with another (alcohol) and ended up divorced and her life is a mess.
Both suffered severe depression upon reaching their initial goal weight because once the high of weight loss was gone, they still never resolved the life issues that made them gain so much weight to begin with, hence one abusing food again, and one becoming an alcoholic.
Addictions are common for those who undergo bariatric weight loss surgery, and neither friend felt doctors addressed this before their surgeries, nor emphasized the need for extensive, ongoing therapy afterward.
So, no, it's definitely NOT an easy way out. It can and does save some peoples' lives, but it requires a strict adherence and commitment to new behaviors because the ease of initial weight loss with a reduced stomach won't last.
Good luck - you have a very difficult choice to make!! :-)
The other friend replaced one addiction (food) with another (alcohol) and ended up divorced and her life is a mess.
Both suffered severe depression upon reaching their initial goal weight because once the high of weight loss was gone, they still never resolved the life issues that made them gain so much weight to begin with, hence one abusing food again, and one becoming an alcoholic.
Addictions are common for those who undergo bariatric weight loss surgery, and neither friend felt doctors addressed this before their surgeries, nor emphasized the need for extensive, ongoing therapy afterward.
Yes.
Anyone who is thinking about bariatric surgery would be very wise to first spend 6 months or a year attending Overeaters Anonymous.
I'm nearly 5 years out from RNY (gastric bypass) and have maintained every single pound of the weight I lost. I made a commitment to myself and have stuck with it.
Lots of misinformation in this thread, starting with HAVING to lose weight in the pre-op process. Not true depending on bariatric program and/or insurance provider.
I'm grateful every day that I made the choice to have this surgery and it's certainly not the easy way out.
ETA: My 600 pound life is not imo a true representation of the average journey of someone having WLS. I actually dislike Dr. Now and feel he's not necessarily a competent bariatric surgeon.
I'm nearly 5 years out from RNY (gastric bypass) and have maintained every single pound of the weight I lost. I made a commitment to myself and have stuck with it.
Lots of misinformation in this thread, starting with HAVING to lose weight in the pre-op process. Not true depending on bariatric program and/or insurance provider.
I'm grateful every day that I made the choice to have this surgery and it's certainly not the easy way out.
ETA: My 600 pound life is not imo a true representation of the average journey of someone having WLS. I actually dislike Dr. Now and feel he's not necessarily a competent bariatric surgeon.
Please enlighten us. What is the 'true' representation of someone having WLS? How is Dr. Now not competent?
And while it may not be true that some may not have to lose weight, do you deny that many DO have to lose weight to qualify?
ETA: My 600 pound life is not imo a true representation of the average journey of someone having WLS. I actually dislike Dr. Now and feel he's not necessarily a competent bariatric surgeon.
I would really like to know more about what you think about Dr. Now. I watch the show and I love it when a patient is successful, but on more than one occasion I've felt like, I don't know, something's not quite right. For example, why isn't every patient required to attend some sort of therapy before the surgery? To me that just seems like common sense; a person doesn't get to be that extremely overweight unless there's an underlying issue of some sort.
Anyway, as to the OP, I can identify to some degree with you. I've teetered very close to the obesity line for my height most of my adult life. My weight is a serious source of frustration because I just cannot seem to ever really be in control. I lose weight at odd times (pregnancy) and gain it when I shouldn't (breastfeeding). It's so frustrating. I'm surrounded by thin and healthy people. I don't eat more than the people around me and I don't really eat differently (if anything, I'm much more strict about what I'll consider eating). Yet, I'm heavier and always have been. Clearly I am somehow lacking control and I've wondered many times if WLS could give me that control I'm missing.
But, honestly, it's watching My 600 Pound Life that made me realize that WLS is definitely not the easy way out. It looks so painful and horrible. I don't think I could ever willingly subject myself to surgery of any kind unless there was just no other option.
I don't think anyone who really knows a lot about WLS would say it is easy. I understand why it would make sense in some cases. For me personally, I know logically it is not the solution for me. I doubt if I could even find a surgeon willing to give it to me anyway. But, sometimes my mind drifts to a place where it just seems like life would be easier if I simply could not eat things, rather than relying on willpower alone.
Once I get to a desktop I can write a more comprehensive post but for starters...
Nearly every insurance provider or bariatrics program requires a 3-6 pre-op process where you jump thru hoops to prove commitment to the change of lifestyle. Along with medical testing to ensure your healthy enough to undergo surgery.
While all vary, many do not require weight loss just maintenance of your starting weight, meaning no gain. Personally, neither my program or insurance required loss but you had to document changes you were making. I lost 11 pounds in the first 5 months and another 12 doing the required 2 week prior to surgery prep diet.
This is what my 6 months looked like:
Pre consultation seminar- discussed the surgeries, introduced the team and outlined both pre and post op expectations
Initial consult with bariatric surgeon and her team
2 additional 4 hour seminars, one focused on pre op and another post. Lead by the bariatric teams social worker and nutritionist with post op patients participating in a panel for further insight
Psych consult
Cardiac consult
Endoscopy & colonoscopy
Monthly nutritionist appointments at the program where my food log was reviewed and changes suggested
Multiple rounds of blood work
Pulmonary consultation
Documentation and blood work proving I quit smoking
If you missed any single appointment you click reset to month 1 and you started all over again minus any completed testing except psych. You were again required to meet with a mental health provider. I know several people from my program who did not "pass" the consult and were required to under go additional counseling services before the program would give approval.
From day one yo day of surgery it took a total of 9 months to get thru the approvals process. It was 6 weeks from the initial seminar to bariatric consultation. I finished the 6 months in the appropriate time frame and then it was 9 weeks before I was on the OR schedule.
Being involved with multiple online support groups it seems most programs do not require loss. Kaiser seems to be most stringent in that regard. Others have minimal loss requirements, they want to see some loss not necessarily big numbers for most people.
Re Dr. Now- I know the show is heavily edited but it seems there's little pre op prep outside of go home/go in hospital and loose some weight. Any time there is a mental health provider shown its when the patient is already post op and struggling. In general I believe mental health issues aren't appropriately addressed pre op. Most post opers will agree to this. You're not quite prepared well enough prior to face all facets of the journey but especially the emotional aspects of food that many struggle with.
Also, he's a vascular surgeon. I don't believe he's board certified in bariatrics. That, for me, is a red flag. He's operating in the extreme cases that many others won't touch.
WLS is basically surgical willpower for those who can't say no to overeating on their own. It's a lot easier to say no to that plate of pasta when you are forced to because you know that eating it will make you so sick you will be almost to the point of wishing for death just to end the misery. It's basically the same thing as if there was a surgical device that could be implanted in smokers that would make them violently ill every time they took a puff. With a device like this implanted, most smokers would eventually quit smoking. Or if there were a implant device for alcoholics that ran a very painful volt of electricity through their body every time they took a drink. If every drink resulted in incredible pain, most alcoholics would eventually quit drinking.
If a certain behavior that used to cause pleasure instead now only causes a lot of physical pain and no pleasure, eventually most people will quit that behavior. People get addicted to things because it gives them pleasure. For WLS, it makes it so overeating causes a lot of pain, therefore most people after the surgery will quit overeating (at least in the short-term) because the WLS takes away the pleasure of eating.
Last edited by patches403; 08-18-2016 at 12:22 PM..
The two women I know that had it gained the weight back. My best guess is that the psychological problems behind the excessive eating may not have been properly addressed.
First,there are so many differerent surgeries that they all cannot be placed into one category.
The lapband does not have as much risks as stomach stapling.
The lapband actually has a large rate of complication with little return. Most bariatric surgeons no longer perform the lapband.
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