Bariatric Surgery?

[mishalaa]

Yes, the surgery is only a tool, it is not a cure. LapBand has had a lower success rate and many banders end up getting the bypass later. The band can work, you just have to be very strict with your diet. Same with the bypass, but there is less room for cheating with the bypass.

I'm not sure about the lapband, but I know with the bypass you have to be on a dr. supervised diet for 6 months before the surgery even takes place, basically to prepare you for those lifestyle changes. It is, I think, a good program.

 

[tunes]

Certainly if someone is just out to destroy themselves, they can, in time, stretch out the stomach and find themselves almost back where they started.

It happens all the time, and it has nothing to do with people destroying themselves. I'm a medical transcriptionist and I type people going back in for bariatric surgery after bariatric surgery, specifically Roux-en-Y procedures, all the time. The latest "quick fix" is a duodenal switch procedure. Many people are having this done because they had the bypass done, lost a bunch of weight, then gained it all back and then some. It's very common, which is why the point Meanie made is very valid. I don't know why they think the duodenal switch is going to work for them when the other didn't. They are just searching for the quick fix, but they don't want to make the diet adjustments they need to make.

I also know people who have had the lap band who just ignore what they are told. If you don't follow the directions given to you by your doctor strictly, you end up in a world of hurt. One guy was just sure all it took was the magic band and he could eat whatever he wanted, but the band would stop him from over eating. He ended up back in the hospital for 2-1/2 weeks after the surgery after he got sick because he refused to listen and follow the diet instructions.

Never underestimate people's desire to do what they want. Whether it's with this or other health issues. I worked with a brittle diabetic who would suck down 3 or 4 regular Cokes a day, eat Little Debbie cakes like they were going out of style, and her blood sugars would run in the high 300s at every check. She simply wasn't going to let diabetes interfere with the lifestyle she wanted.

 

[jfleenor2]

It happens all the time, and it has nothing to do with people destroying themselves. I'm a medical transcriptionist and I type people going back in for bariatric surgery after bariatric surgery, specifically Roux-en-Y procedures, all the time. The latest "quick fix" is a duodenal switch procedure. Many people are having this done because they had the bypass done, lost a bunch of weight, then gained it all back and then some. It's very common, which is why the point Meanie made is very valid. I don't know why they think the duodenal switch is going to work for them when the other didn't. They are just searching for the quick fix, but they don't want to make the diet adjustments they need to make.

I also know people who have had the lap band who just ignore what they are told. If you don't follow the directions given to you by your doctor strictly, you end up in a world of hurt. One guy was just sure all it took was the magic band and he could eat whatever he wanted, but the band would stop him from over eating. He ended up back in the hospital for 2-1/2 weeks after the surgery after he got sick because he refused to listen and follow the diet instructions.

Never underestimate people's desire to do what they want. Whether it's with this or other health issues. I worked with a brittle diabetic who would suck down 3 or 4 regular Cokes a day, eat Little Debbie cakes like they were going out of style, and her blood sugars would run in the high 300s at every check. She simply wasn't going to let diabetes interfere with the lifestyle she wanted.

I understand what you said, and I agree. But it has everything to do with people destroying themselves, whether they will admit it or not. That's what they're doing.
The diabetic person you described, pretty soon her diabetes is going to interfere with her lifestyle -- diabetic retinopathy, kidney dialysis, diabetic neuropathy, lower extremity lesions > gangrene> amputation, if she lives that long.

 

[lsknc]

my mother has the surgery. it been....very difficult to say the lest. the eating portion was never a problem. it was finding out which of the food your stomach accepts and which they dont. her friend at the time has the surgery also and they made a list of which foods settled and which came right back up. they were both different. my mom finds her self hugging the toilet from time to time because something just didnt sit right.

there is also some other risk that you have to consider. you have to take a crap load of vitamins for the rest of your life. and even then its sometimes not enough. my mom is now on B12 shots because of the surgery. and they are painful.

and they said that the surgery would take care of her diabeties. really it only made it worse for her. they said it was a rare case that hers got worse but still they should claim it solves everything when there was a chance it didnt.

i dont disagree with the surgery but i hope everyone does all the research before getting it done. just dont look at the happy effects of it. personally i wish my mother never had the surgery done. the psych effect was enough. instead of being happy with herself (like before the surgery) she worries about even ouce she gains (which is bound to happen after 6 years). it drives me insane i just wish she would look past the little things and realize that she is beautiful no matter what.

 

[jfleenor2]

Kayla, does your mom have Type I or Type II diabetes? Did she lose alot of weight? If she lost alot, the Type II should have been alot better, if not gone. With Type I, however, I don't know.

 

[lsknc]

my mom has type II, it runs strongly in our family. she did lose a lot of weight. and yes it shouldve gotten better but it didnt. for about four-six months after the surgery her numbers were between 500s and 600s. after getting back on the meds it has gone back down but they still spikes every once and while. her doctors didnt know what to do when this all happen.

 

[Riven]

I agree in part with Jan. Americans in general are very lazy people, our bodies break down more because of our poor diets and lack of exercise. If you don't use it, you lose it!

Some obesity is genetic as well. I like to think personally that if I had a major health issue, I wouldn't have kids ( not saying anyone should or shouldn't have children at all, that's a personal choice ). Why would I want them to suffer like I do? Along that same lines, two people with minor health issues have more chance of them combining to become bigger health issues for their kids, so on and so on.

I've seen people who get lipo and stuff done to "fix" themselves, but then just gain it all back.

I guess like Jan said, if you can't follow the diet now... I think before the surgery maybe people should have to follow the diet so they know what to expect. I don't know. I do know that I love food... I love all kinds of food, chocolate food, read meat, chicken, pastas, and italian... and somewhere if I want to lose more weight, I'm going to have to come to a point where I say, something has to give. I'm guilty of it too, we live in a world where we get what we want, bigger is better, and we need to eat everything on our plate...

 

[3CsMommy]

My aunt had gastric bypass and at some point while they were in there, they nicked her bowel. She ended up with a staph infection in her spinal fluid and was very *very* sick for a very long time. However, she also dropped over 130 pounds, and has kept most of it off in spite of smoking and not paying the sort of attention to her diet that she should. Thanks to that infection, though, her back has slowly deteriorated to the point that, at 62 years old, she claims she can't walk or even exercise while sitting in a chair without unbearable pain, and has started putting the weight back on.

There are great risks to this kind of surgery, but at your age, and with children to worry about, I think it's definitely worth looking in to. Good luck.

 

[Chingal]

Although I have never dealt with weight issues I do feel for all of you who struggle as My mother is an RN as well as PHD in health and nutrition and has sturggled her entire life with her weight, and she has looked into the surgery and while it can be successful. You are still literally starving yourself to lose weight. If you cannot stay on the strict regimin then you will gain it back and maybe even more and with starving yourself your metabolic rate slows even more than before the surgery. She has had friends and patients who have had it and they do vomit alot, have diarhhea alot, and find they have very little to no energy. She has opted to not do it. She just watches what she eats, does not go out and works out when she can however she still sstruggles with being overweight, but she is trying to be as healthy as she can be.