Weight loss surgery

[serenity85]

Ok so im really nervous now im going to have gastric banding surgery im 20 years old n weigh 18 stones and am 5ft 9 really unhealthy so i tried gym n diets but now surgery is the last resort iv paid 6500 for it and im scared but im also looking forward to being me again.

 

Anyone else had wieight loss surgery and whats it like emotionally?

[RayKay]

Well, I have no firsthand experience though know someone whom had it done. And from what I have seen, it is a very emotional thing...and there are very high physical risks too including the risks of the operation, malnutrition, and so on.

 

It's really important you don't use it as a miracle cure....you have to make sure you do change your lifestyle including your diet and exercise because you can "re-stretch" your stomach. A VERY high number of people regain the weight they lose within a few years as they do do this, because they never changed how they ate, and lived, before the surgery.

 

And, emotionally..you have to realize you need to work on your happiness...that losing weight won't automatically make you happier. For that, you need to really work on your "inside".

 

Good luck

[DN]

Note: 18 stones = 252 pounds

[serenity85]

Well, I have no firsthand experience though know someone whom had it done. And from what I have seen, it is a very emotional thing...and there are very high physical risks too including the risks of the operation, malnutrition, and so on.

 

It's really important you don't use it as a miracle cure....you have to make sure you do change your lifestyle including your diet and exercise because you can "re-stretch" your stomach. A VERY high number of people regain the weight they lose within a few years as they do do this, because they never changed how they ate, and lived, before the surgery.

 

And, emotionally..you have to realize you need to work on your happiness...that losing weight won't automatically make you happier. For that, you need to really work on your "inside".

 

Good luck

 

 

Yeh im having some counciling as well about this and i know its not a miracle cure but its a step in the right direction, my bfs really worried im going to change as a person and not love him anymore and im telling him i wont but thats the thing i really dontknow how this is going to effect me emotionally so im scared, iv already changed my eating habbits and on a regular excercise regieme its a whole new lifestyle i have adapted and i love it i feel better n better everyday, now after the surgery its gonna be even more of change n im just afriad ill lose who i am in the process

[RayKay]

Well, the truth is, you may change in a lot of ways. And in others you won't. If you have always been heavy, it will be even a bigger adjustment.

 

I am glad you are getting counselling, as you have to really also deal with the emotional aspects, especially if for you food, and such, was an addiction to deal with emotional pain.

 

I am also very glad you are living healthier You will have to be careful, as because you are not able to eat very much, you won't be taking in very much, which can cause nutritional deficiencies, and a lack of energy for when you are working out...so be cautious.

[rose2summer]

The guy I met yesterday for coffee performs gastric bypass surgeries and funny you bring this topic up, because we discussed the aftermaths of them. He said that they are very difficult surgeries in that they can have complications, but that the outcomes are usually very good. Some patients may have emotional problems as raykay mentioned, you are changing your life. Now on a personal level, I had an associate of mine have it done, and she had "dumping," where she couldn't control her bowel movements, because the food is digested too rapidly.

 

Here's an article I found for you on it

A growing number of people opt for surgery as a way to lose weight, but four in 10 develop complications within six months after surgery, according to a new U.S. government report.

 

However, one expert says that the report is based on old data and in fact, the procedure has become safer and less invasive, with only a fraction of the complications the report authors found.

 

In the report, published in the August issue of Medical Care, the authors looked at 2,522 insurance claims for bariatric surgery -- the general term for surgery to combat obesity -- done in 2001 and 2002.

 

"We found that the complication rate in the hospital was 22 percent, but it went up to 40 percent over the next six months," said lead author William Encinosa, a senior economist at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which sponsored the study.

 

The most common complications were dumping syndrome, which includes vomiting, reflux and diarrhea; complications resulting from the surgical joining of the intestine and stomach, such as leaks or strictures; abdominal hernias; infections and pneumonia, the researchers found.

 

"These additional medical utilizations are expensive," Encinosa said. Costs averaged $36,542 for obesity surgery patients who had complications in the six months after surgery, compared with an average of $25,337 for patients without complications.

 

Moreover, medical care costs for patients who were readmitted to the hospital because of a complication averaged $65,031, compared with $27,125 for those who didn't have to be rehospitalized.

 

"Insurance companies could save a lot of money if they could reduce these complications," Encinosa said. Encinosa said he didn't know how insurers could reduce costs, but he did say that as doctors develop more experience with the procedure, the rate of complications decreases.

 

Encinosa noted that even with a high complication rate, the surgery is cost-effective because losing weight reduces the risk of expensive diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. "The long-run cost benefits outweigh these complications," he said.

 

However, one expert said that the data used in the report is old and doesn't reflect the current procedure and its complications.

 

"This study was done over five years ago," said Dr. Philip R. Schauer, president of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery and director of the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. "Lots of hospitals and surgeons had just begun getting into bariatric surgery at that time, and there were no standards, so one can expect a significant complication rate," he added.

 

Schauer said that the American Society for Bariatric Surgery and other groups have established standards to qualify hospitals and doctors in preforming the procedure. "Complications are decreasing as there are more generalized standards accross the country," he added.

 

When you look at the complications, many are minor ones, Schauer said. "For example, 19.5 percent of the complications were dumping, vomiting and diarrhea," he said. "These are common after weight loss surgery, self-limited and innocuous, and, in most, cases don't require medical treatment. That's nearly half of the complications." h

 

Schauer noted that in 2001 the most common operation was open bariatric surgery that necessitated making a large incision. A lot of the other complications are the result of this type of an open abdominal incision, including leaks or strictures, abdominal hernias and wound infection, he said.

 

Today, he said, most surgery is a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure. "More than 60 percent of these operations are done laparoscopically," he said. "Within two to three years, it will be more like 90 or 95 percent."

[Meow18]

My uncle had that surgery. He was VERY overweight and suffered from diabetes and breathing problems.

 

He really needed that sugery. Being overweight really does get in the way of living life. And some people try everything, but when they are too overweight they sometimes need help.

 

But there are risks with it. You should make sure to do lots of research about it and make sure you know your doctor. My uncle had blood clots that really put his life in danger, and at some points we were worried if they would kill him. That wasn't the doctors fault though I don't think.. there are just a lot of serious risks with doing a surgery like this.

 

But 2 years later my uncle is down to a healthy weight. And he's really happy and energetic. Oh, and his breathing problems and diabetes are both gone.

 

The thing is, you really need to want to change your lifestyle. I know it was hard for my uncle to only eat small portions. But because he was dedicated to changing his life around, he did it.

[rose2summer]

My father just lost 120lbs via changing diet, and I lost 42 lbs via changes in diet/exercise. There may be better methods to losing the weight without all of the complications.

[Lady Bugg]

I remember seeing how much Carnie Wilson changed after her surgery..she looks like a COMPLETELY different person..but I think she said she STILL obssesses about her weight. I agree with Ray Kay in that working on the inside is JUST as important as the outside. Also look at Al Roker...I think he is WAY too skinny....and Star Jones.Skinnier is NOT always better. Some people simply are not meant to be thin.

[rose2summer]

The problem is that the skin doesn't just magicly pop back into place, it loses elasticity with great weight gain, so that is something else to consider. Now that I lost a lot of weight, I can see a little bit of skin pudginess along my abs, but that comes with all weight loss methods.

Serenity, I think you have made an excellent decision here to take charge of your life, the outcome will be great, but please take note of the outcomes you will be faced with, so it's not as much of an emotional struggle when it occurs, such as nonelastic skin, changes in your body shape, etc.

[AwdreeHpburn]

like the rest, I only know someone who's done it. She has for sure lost tons of weight (not literally) but she is having some very real issues.

 

The skin that once covered all of her weight did NOT go away and now she is looking to get that removed.

 

She can't eat very much at all without getting really sick and nauseous and is losing even more weight because of that.

 

I know, that's a "good" problem to have, right? No. She is getting so thin she looks anorexic and is actually, quite unhealthy looking. But her Drs say she is in good health and is in no real danger right now.

 

She was big her whole life and though you can see it in her eyes that she feels better about her looks, she's still the same person and did couple the surgery with counseling, which seems to be helping her understanding of her self and the emotional response.

 

It IS life changing, she has said that many times. She's glad she did it. She hopes the eating thing will get better but she wouldn't change her decision if she had it to do all over again.

 

We have another friend who is very over weight as well and the girl who had the surgery is trying to convince our still overweight friend to do it as well.

 

She said her knees feel better but she still got winded going upstairs for the first few months, just because her body was still out of shape, it was just lighter.

 

She's been very candid and open about her experience and I was in such awe, I asked a boat load of questions. Hope her story helps a little.

[rose2summer]

Have you watched Dr. 90210, I like that show, when they do some surgeries, it's all plastic surgery, but at least you get an idea of some of the outcomes.

[BellaDonna]

I just wanted to add, one of my grandmothers has gastric bypass. She lost weight but she is still not thin. If you want lasting results, you need to be sure to eat healthy foods and exercise too. Surgery can give you a jumpstart, and help reduce the threat of morbid obesity, but you will also have to be able to commit to a lifestlye change after surgery.

 

The one negative thing my grandmother experiences is that she gets nauseous easily. There are a lot of foods that don't "agree" with her now that she was able to eat before the surgery. She has to be very careful about what she eats or she'll throw up. She has stated that if she could go back- she would choose the weight over the constant stomach problems she is now experiencing.

 

The singer, Carnie Wilson, has been very public about her gastic bypass surgery. link removed

 

 

BellaDonna