Surgery for Weight loss questions

[Jig A Low]

Hey Guys, I've been seriously considering having bariatric surgery for my weight, has anyone had any of the following done and would like to share your results with me???

Gastric bypass
Gastric sleeve
lap band

if you want you can I.M. me to keep it private.

I have a bunch of questions, I'm going to talk with my Dr. about it but I would like some first hand "non-biased" opinions on them. I'm leaning toward the Gastric Sleeve which is relatively new but there should be someone out there that has had it done.

thanks, Jig.....

[Lockon]

Only experience I have had was a guy that use to work with me had it done and it almost killed him....he is still not right and has been in and out of the hospital and bed ridden for about the last 5 years :(

[Jig A Low]

which one did he have done?

I have two brother's in law that both had the Lap band done and have had great success with it. they each lost over 100 lbs in about a year, they are retired and walk miles a day for they're excersize.

[ChiefManyRises]

I know a lady that had the sleeve done. She's lost lots of weight and looks and feels great, however, just last week she had to have her gallbladder removed as a result.

How much weight do you need to lose to get healthy?

[Lockon]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Jig A Low &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">which one did he have done?

I have two brother's in law that both had the Lap band done and have had great success with it. they each lost over 100 lbs in about a year, they are retired and walk miles a day for they're excersize.</td></tr></table>

I want to say he had the Gastric bypass...but not 100% sure

[Thib]

Hey man I had the gastric bypass 2 years ago. I can help asnwer any questions you have. Its the best thing I have ever done for myself. I was in the army and deployed in iraq. I got hit with a IED and came home hurt and I gained over 100 pounds. Couldnt loose it at all. Had surgery and went from 364 to 177. I have gained a little weight back and I am currently about 185. I feel great

[swilliford]

Well I will tell you about mine but probably want be much help. I had the Lap Band done a little over 2 years ago. I woke up and was having severe pain (like I drank a 6 pack of cokes and couldnt burp) this was about noon on a Friday. The doctor said the pain was normal and would start to get better. The nurses kept trying to get me to drink water and everytime I did I would throw it back up. The pain continued to get worse and they finally took me down to have a barium swallow on Saturday afternoon to see what was going on. The band had completly blocked my escophagus and nothing could go up or down including water. The immediatly took me back to surgery and when I woke I felt much better until they told me what was going on. The band that the doctor had used was the largest that they make and my stomach lining was the thickest he had seen in 15 years of doing the surgery! BUT instead of taking it out he just unbuckled it and LEFT it in!!!! He told that if I lost some weight they could possibly go in and rebuckle it and it would work!! Duh, if I could lose the weight I wouldnt be there in the first place!!!!!! Anyway I am now walking around with the band in me not doing a damn bit of good! To top it off I asked the doctor why the hell they dont make one that is adjustable for this type of scenario? He looks at me and says, "Wow, thats a good idea, I dont know why they havent invented something like that!". HELLO these are are smart people making this stuff and they never thought of this!!

[RedShad]

My wife had the bypass. It is considered a high risk surgery and they can have complications. That being said, since her weight loss her energy level has significantly increased.

[wildturkey]

My sister has had it (gastric bypass) and lost 96 pounds the last I heard. She is tiny now. Her advice: FOLLOW YOUR DR's ORDERS. I have considered it and was going to the "pre surg. meetings and then insurance decided to stop covering it. I can't afford it out of pocket. So back to manage the old fashioned way for me. Unfortunately my back surgery from blown discs years ago does not agree with many exercises. (Used to run 2 miles and more per day, no more after back surg.)

Good luck if you do it, my sister has done great.

[1781ccT]

Don't just talk to your doctor, Jig. Have him put you in touch with some bariatric surgeons. Note the plural form, there.

Do not choose a surgeon who will ONLY do one of the procedures. It's probably because they don't have any training on the others, or quite frankly, don't have much knowlege at all on the other procedures.

There are pros/cons to each of those procedures. It should definitely be made known up front that they all have a relatively higher complication rate than most other surgeries, and much of that is directly related to morbidly obese patients being at higher risk of complications during or following ANY procedure.

An article that I recently read stated that all three procedures led to nearly the same percentage of wt loss, though the gastric bypass patients had better outcomes overall in terms of long term weight maintenance.

And do not let them gloss over the major lifestyle change that is necessary to take place in order for the intervention to be successful (and not a disasterous failure - think: it's possible and it happens occasionally that a bariatric surgical patient continues to consume large enough volumes of food that it ruptures their reduced sized stomach).

In short, there's a LOT yet to learn.

[jlong341]

Didn't Mark Davis have one of those surgeries? I know he was a lot thinner when he won the classic.

[Duece22]

Everyone wants to take the easy way out. What happened to hard work?

[Ohirolina]

When I was 24 and weighed 195 lbs, I felt the same way. Now that I am 50 my opinion has changed.

[Big Ron]

I had it done 2 years ago, lost a total of 160lbs. The best i ever did, all blood work and medical issues are gone now.

[Boatseller]

I had the stomach stapling back in 1986. I went from 465 down to around 275. I would recommend the bypass if you are going to go thru with any of the operations. If I ever have any signs of "the sugars", I am going to finish the bypass part as it has a 100% cure rate for diabetes. Good luck on whatever you choose and follow the Dr's orders.

[Duece22]

My dad was over weight and had a heart attack.. a year and ahad half later he was 230 lbs for a total weight loss of 110lbs. Hard work paid off. My fiancee works as a nurse on the bariatrics floo and the only thing these surgeries do is make you eat less. Self control will do the same thing.

[EastTnJoe]

My best friend had it done last week, his wife had it 4 or 5 years ago. She had the band, he had bypass. Both procedures were wildly successful. She went from morbid to 108lbs, he's not seeing any weight lose yet but he's home resting and quite pleased that he had the procedure done.

[Jig A Low]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Duece22 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">My dad was over weight and had a heart attack.. a year and ahad half later he was 230 lbs for a total weight loss of 110lbs. Hard work paid off. My fiancee works as a nurse on the bariatrics floo and the only thing these surgeries do is make you eat less. Self control will do the same thing. </td></tr></table>

well, one day (IF) you make it to my age and have lived the life I have you may find out that it's not as easy as "self control".

[SPNRB8T]

I went with the sleeve, it was the best thing i ever did. went from 377 to 269 in 6 months and still going.follow your doctor's directions get plenty of water and walk as much as you can everyday, my diabetes is gone and my blood pressure problems are basically non existence. feel free to call me with any questions 517-404-8367

[Ohirolina]

Check your IMS