Lipo, Gastric Bypass, and Tummy Tucks Oh My!
You hear about it all the time. From women getting boob jobs on their lunch breaks to the ‘extreme makeover‘ generation completely changing their looks through various procedures and surgeries.
Given how hard it is to lose weight, it’s no wonder a lot of people look to weight loss surgery as a quick and ‘easy’ solution to the whole weight loss thing.
I’ve been asking around on my other sites, and now I’d like to ask you – would you ever have weight loss surgery of any type?
I used to think my answer was a simple one: No.
However, as I keep working at losing weight and talk to other people, I find that I can’t say a simple ‘no’ anymore.
What if you find, due to some twist of fate or a medical condition, you simply can’t lose the weight? You eat right, exercise every day, all the things that should help you with a slow and steady weight loss…and one or two years later you’ve lost nothing.
Would that change you from the against side to the for side? Would you ‘keep on truckin’ with tradition or try weight loss surgery?
On the other side, there are, of course, who don’t try traditional diet and exercise and go straight for the knife.
What do you think? Where do you draw your line in the sand? What do you think about people who don’t have the same line as you?
Vote in the survey and leave your comments! I’m very interested to see what people have to say.
February 11th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Jaime,
I’m going to skew your poll by sending you some traffic from people who actually know what they are talking about in regards to WLS.
Ky
February 11th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
I will be having gastric bypass surgery on Friday. It comes after many hours of soul searching, and many years of failing to get the weight off in any other way. It comes after years of self-consciousness and self-loathing. It is not a decision I have entered into lightly. But I believe it is what I need to do to save my sanity and my health. Wish me luck!
February 11th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
For me gastric bypass is much like a heart bypass. Without it, I would’ve died. Much heart disease is caused (or at least encouraged) by failure to eat right and exercise - just like obesity. But when someone says they need heart surgery, no one EVER says - can’t you fix it by eating right? or exercising? Even if they did ask, the answer would probably be that the damage is done - its too far gone, and now bypass is the only way. And it has to be done quickly, or death is iminent. I feel that, for me, my obesity was the same thing. It was too far gone for me to fix it with dieting, and exercise. I would’ve died before I got it under control. I wish people could see that. Yes - if I had controlled my eating as an adolescent, I wouldn’t have ended up this way. BUT, the same can be said for heart disease…If I had done it right in the past…
I hope you can see my point of view. Gastric Bypass is not an easy fix. It is a tool, that for the first 6 months or so forced me to eat less, and better foods. Now I can eat pretty much what I want - but, in those first 6 months, I was given another opportunity to learn to control myself, to get my weight into a range that is NOT a mountain to climb. I’m still obese - and now I have to do the rest the same as everyone else. My surgery gave me an opportunity - it gave me a fighting chance. 100 pounds ago - I didn’t have a fighting chance - I was too tired to fight.
February 11th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Did it last October and would do it over again in a nanosecond! I’ve “been there done that” for decades with every DIEt and weight loss/exercise program out there… and this was a HUGE decision for me… nothing “easy” about choosing to have a very serious elective surgery. I’ve lost 73 lbs. and am healthier than I’ve been in decades. My sleep apnea is gone. I was fortunate that it was my only co-morbidity before surgery. Many diabetics are off their meds within a couple of weeks of surgery, and others see their blood pressure return to normal in short times as well. I joined a Y and swim 3 times a week, do dance classes, strength-training equipment (with a trainer) and walk. The surgery is NOT a “magic pill,” but merely a tool to help me get healthy, not “skinny.” I have no words to express how great I feel, in just a few short months! For those considering, do your homework, and do NOT look at this as some “easy” or “quick” fix. Many folks regain their losses after the honeymoon period, so one must be ready and willing to make LIFESTYLE CHANGES in addition to going under the knife. All my best to those having surgery or thinking about it.
February 11th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Kyla - Thank you!
Linda - All the best to you and big hugs. I hope you have a speedy recovery.
been there - Thank you for your comments. I do understand where you and others like you are coming from.
Leigh - Wow! That is excellent to hear.
February 12th, 2008 at 12:07 am
[...] The number of responses has been fantastic. Thank you to everyone who voted and/or commented. [...]
February 12th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Jamie - I don’t know where you got the idea that WLS was “the easy way out”. It is not easy at all. You have to teach yourself how to eat again and hope to God you don’t cheat - because you can cheat just like everything else in the world. What ANYONE thinking about having WLS needs to do is research, research and more research… consult with your doctor to see if it is the right solution for you. I wish I had more time but I don’t…. It isn’t easy and I admire everyone who has made the leap to WLS we are all tough cookies… and I don’t mean oreo’s.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:36 am
Dawn - I put ‘easy’ in quotes to imply I was being sarcastic and that I don’t think it’s easy at all.
I have talked to a lot of people who have been through this now and even before, I was not of the opinion that it was at all easy.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:44 am
For many years I tried to get the weight off while I watched my Grandmother’s health go downhill due to diabetes she developed after giving birth to her 6th child. She ballooned from a 27 inch waist to 300 lbs or more at 5′3″ you can imagine what this did to her body. Over the next 10 years she developed severe arthritis and lost her eyesite along with a few diabetic comas along the way. During my first pregnancy I had pregnancy induced hypertension which caused me to gain 100 lbs and borderline diabetes and after my son was born the weight did not come off. This put me at 300…I had always been what society considered obese but now I was morbidly obese. When I was pregnant with my second child I had gestational diabetes and was told by my dr that if I did not get the weight off by the time I was 40 I would have full blown diabetes. This scared me to death because we were basically watching my Grandmother die from this disease. She begged me get the weight off and I tried so hard but everything I lost came back with more added to it. A friend of mine had a new co-worker who had the surgery and she mentioned this to me…I took the ball and ran with it…I researched until I was sure I could do it. I never got scared until right before I went under but it was only for a brief moment. I will never tell someone what to do but I know this saved my life. I had my surgery in May 2003 and by the last time I saw my granny I had already lost 100 lbs. She could not see me but she could touch me and feel the smaller me. I know that when she passed she was proud of me a relieved. I am proud to say that I lost a total of 170 lbs gained a little back because 130 did not look good on me…but at 145 I gain and lose the same 10 lbs most everyone else does. I do have some advice…think about the emotional impact this surgery will have on you and those around you…it is impossible to stay the same person that you were fat. I know so so many people including myself who have divorced and made some really poor choices since losing the weight. Being in the “skinny” people world is so different you cannot go on dinner dates and not have someone wonder why you are barely touching your food. I have issues with my saggy skin and I know others do too. I swore it would not bother me as long as the weight was gone…ha do not fool yourself. Another thing to consider when you are sad or mad or upset food can no longer be your crutch, no more big bowls of ice cream because the guy you like stood you up, no more all you can eat buffets instead you get yum this is really good today and then you try to eat it the next time and you cannot handle it. Oh and beware of trading one addiction for another like food for smoking, drugs, drinking or believe it or not sex addiction(it is way different after the weight loss). The only real issue I have these days is ulcers but that is something I had prior to surgery. Oh and by the way, I will be 40 in 97 days…no signs of diabetes. Easy way out some of you may think(not referring to the blogs author)NO WAY…it has been almost 5 years for me and I am reminded in someway everyday of the surgery I had to save my life. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat…
March 7th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Thank you so much for stopping by, Jeannie, and for telling your story.
You have given some great advice here. I have heard so many people say, “I won’t mind the saggy skin as long as the weight is gone.
Thank you again for your story and your advice. Those are the sort of comments I was hoping for when I put up this post. I think too many people too easily disregard weight loss surgery, one way or another.