Care to Share weight loss sugery - Page 2

lolakimono · ‎03-29-2012

A coworker had it done and lost a lot of weight. She had to attend group meetings for counseling, and of course, still has food "issues." Since losing so much weight (maybe 100 pounds?!) she needed skin surgery, and has large scars running up and down her arms. Then, about two years after the skin removal surgery, she thought she was having a heart attack. It turned out to be some sort of intestinal hernia, and she had to go in for emergency surgery.

I agree with the others. I hope that if you are seriously considering this, you will get counseling (emotional and nutritional) before you embark on something that could require multiple surgeries.

violann · ‎03-10-2010

I think one of the issues with any type of weight loss strategy is that EVERY BODY is miraculously DIFFERENT!

I have frequently had conversations about the right kind of eating program, and as it happens, mine is based on NO refined foods, low carb veggies and fruits, nuts, eggs/egg whites and some fish and fowl. No added sugar, no added salt, no grain, no dairy, because that's what works FOR ME! Cravings and binge eating GONE!

I employ some intermittent fasting techniques and walk whenever I can.

I have developed an eating and movement plan that works FOR ME. I enjoy what I eat, and my medical status is better by far than it was 30 years ago.

Because I was morbidly obese and lost weight rapidly, I DO have wrinkled skin on my face and body. Given the choice, I'll be happy to live with it.

I repeat, every BODY is DIFFERENT!

sidsmom · ‎11-25-2011

Unfortunately, one might be slim, trim on the outside, but every Human on Earth is built the same on the inside.

I've written many times before about my best friend...she's mid-55s, slim, trim, muscular, works out then one day, boom...she had a stroke & changed her life forever. Think about the marathoner running across the finish line, then collapses & dies of a heart attack.

Just because one LOOKS healthy on the outside, doesn't mean they are healthy on the INSIDE.

Instead of protecting our bragging rights about our 'high school weight', we need to protect the Endothelium...the thin layer inside our arterial system which makes us healthy. If a blood clot breaks through that Endothelium wall (i.e. stroke/heart attack), it really doesn't care if you're looking good in skinny jeans.

We have to heal from the inside out.

Dr. Garth Davis, Weight Loss Surgeon in Houston, is a beautiful example. If his name sounds familiar, he & his father had a show on TLC called, "Big Medicine"...featuring weight loss surgery stories. About 7-10 yrs ago, Dr. Davis was DEEP into the protein-meat-protein-meat mantra....for his patients & himself. In fact he wrote a book about it. Unfortunately, he began to pay the price for all this protein & after effects: he was overweight & saw himself on the same path as his bariatric patients. He did an '180', changed his animal diet to a low fat plant-based diet & lost the weight...and his biomarkers became much, much more healthy. Thin is one thing, but Healthy is what keeps you living happier, longer.

Dr. Davis still performs weight loss surgery, BUT he exposes his patients to the Low Fat Plant Based way of eating before/after surgery. AND he wrote a book about it..."Proteinaholic".

If a weight loss surgeon...Dr. Garth Davis as the Captain of the weight loss mothership...realizes a low fat, plant based diet is the key for a long, healthy life, I can't imagine a better endorsement to this way of eating.

Even if one does get surgery, eating a low fat plant based diet will still benefit in so many ways.
Heal from the inside out.

Heres an brief look inside his book. Interesting read.

http://ec.libsyn.com/p/1/a/1/1a1f0e0b1a8cce83/Proteinaholic_Excerpt.pdf?d13a76d516d9dec20c3d276ce028...

violann · ‎03-10-2010

Sidsmom, your zeal is admirable, but as you know, I do not and cannot subscribe to your notion that we're all the same on the inside, because the fact is, we're JUST NOT.

As I often point out, what works for you may or MAY NOT work wonderfully well for me, and if it doesn't happen to work, I can become a very frustrated and unhappy person by continuing along in a pattern that doesn't reward me with success.

As just a small example, when I began my work, I researched natural assists for dealing with hypertension, and learned that SOME bodies respond to hibiscus tea. As my good luck would have it, MINE does! Combing my weight loss and a cup of hibiscus tea every day has lowered my BP dramatically.

Some of my acquaintances benefit from Hibiscus tea, some don't.

I have thyroid nodules. Do you? If not our bodies are different, and work differently.

I am OVERJOYED that you are happy and energetic and well on a plant based, ultra low fat, high natural carb eating regime. Whether it should be my choice or not depends on how my body reacts to it.

spud188 · ‎09-23-2010

Thankyou all for taking the time to give your thoughtful,personal and educated views on the subject. It is a huge decision for me.

hckynutjohn · ‎06-15-2015

violann,

I could not agree with you more on this topic. Been saying pretty much the same thing on this forum for many years now. Every single human body has it's own unique mold and thus needs an individualized formula for achieving certain, if you will, goals.

hckynut(john)

conlt · ‎03-16-2010

I do know several people. Some have done well and some have not. In any event you have to lose weight before the surgery and you have to change your lifestyle after the surgery so in my mind, why not try a sensible diet before having drastic surgery. A couple of my friends have gained a considerable amount of weight back. I work in a hospital that was trying to get their certification in gastric bypass surgery so they actually offered it to employees for free, several had it. One looks very good and has stayed that way for about the last 5 years, one looks like a walking skeleton, very unhealthy looking. I have a friend that just gained a little back and one that gained a lot back. I know someone who's skin and hair looked awful but she did not take the required vitamins. Then a friends wife died 2 days after the surgery. We had a patient who had complications and it was necessary for her to have a feeding tube for life. She is in her 40's. To me the risks outweigh the benefits for me. I have joined weight watchers a month ago and I have lost 11.6 pounds, to me this is much safer and I seem to be getting the support that I need. People just don't get the surgery and then they can eat anything, you still have to limit your portions. Plus, I like to have my sweet treat occasionally, and with gastric bypass they get nauseated with sugar, think about it, no Christmas treats for the rest of your life. Not for me thank you I will work with the weight watchers points.

Nataliesgramma · ‎03-28-2015

My Son-in-law had it.He was 100lbs overweight. He went thru all the meetings and tests beforehand and I supported him, but hoped he would change his mind.

The surgery went well, but the next day he was really doing badly. He was leaking bile through his staples. Dr gave him a 50/50 chance. He came through the emergency surgery and had to spend 2 extra weeks in the hospital.

He has taken off the weight but is losing his hair and has gall bladder issues. He sits with his protein drink and only picks at meals. Sugar makes him nauseous.He just doesn't look healthy. He is only 31, and I think he should have tried Weight Watchers or something first. My daughter sys he is following his diet and taking his vitamins, but I think he regrets doing it.

sidsmom · ‎11-25-2011

@violann wrote:
Sidsmom, your zeal is admirable

@violann

Thank you! Seeing we are inundated with meat/animal messages in our country, I feel compelled to represent the other side whenever I can.

As as for being different on the Human Inside...sorry.

Any surgeon will tell you, once they open you up, we all look & behave the same.

A bone is a bone.

A vein is a vein.

A lung is a lung.

A heart is a heart.

Heaven forbid if someone thinks they're 'different', ER would spend hours talking to each patient discussing how 'different they are' before treating. "I'm sorry, Dr., my heart doesn't respond to CPR, so we need to do something else." "All that plaque in my veins? It's from eating too many carrots, so we need to do something else."

That's never going to happen because Humans respond the same to the nutrients we give our bodies. We all come out of the womb. How did we mess it up so bad after that?

Eat inflammatory foods & you'll pay the price. Eat animal products full of saturated fat, guess what? Your veins & heart will respond the same as hundreds of thousands before you. Heart Disease isn't one of the top killers for no reason. And it's not from eating fruits & vegetables.

Medical School doesn't teach a 'Now This Patient Is Going To Be Different' class. We breathe the same oxygen. We bleed the same blood. Everything's the same on the inside.

And I haven't even TOUCHED upon the ethical & environmental aspect of reducing animal products...but that's a whole 'nuther topic for a whole 'nuther day.

Tying this back to the OP, why stress the body even more? Your body is struggling with an altered organ. Stress is high. Add an inflammatory food to your system...it only stresses it more. That's why if the elected surgery does take place, eating an alkaline diet of starches/fruits/vegetables will make healing/living so much better.

hckynutjohn · ‎06-15-2015

@sidsmom wrote:

As as for being different on the Human Inside...sorry.

Any surgeon will tell you, once they open you up, we all look & behave the same.

A bone is a bone.
A vein is a vein.
A lung is a lung.
A heart is a heart.

Heaven forbid if someone thinks they're 'different', ER would spend hours talking to each patient discussing how 'different they are' before treating. "I'm sorry, Dr., my heart doesn't respond to CPR, so we need to do something else." "All that plaque in my veins? It's from eating too many carrots, so we need to do something else."

That's never going to happen because Humans respond the same to the nutrients we give our bodies. We all come out of the womb. How did we mess it up so bad after that?

Eat inflammatory foods & you'll pay the price. Eat animal products full of saturated fat, guess what? Your veins & heart will respond the same as hundreds of thousands before you. Heart Disease isn't one of the top killers for no reason. And it's not from eating fruits & vegetables.

Medical School doesn't teach a 'Now This Patient Is Going To Be Different' class. We breathe the same oxygen. We bleed the same blood. Everything's the same on the inside.

And I haven't even TOUCHED upon the ethical & environmental aspect of reducing animal products...but that's a whole 'nuther topic for a whole 'nuther day.

Tying this back to the OP, why stress the body even more? Your body is struggling with an altered organ. Stress is high. Add an inflammatory food to your system...it only stresses it more. That's why if the elected surgery does take place, eating an alkaline diet of starches/fruits/vegetables will make healing/living so much better.

While I respect what some feel to be the right thing for everyone as bolded and underlined above? The above can also produce some "theories" as to why some live longer/healthier and happier lives than others, but is it all factually based?

Seems like I am reading a lot in the above, but one thing that is very conspicuously absent is the word "genetics". I won't go into a diatribe about genetics other than to say this. To leave it out while talking about: long life/healthy life and a physically fit life?

Consider myself to have lived about as healthy as I wished since the late 1960's. Included being a vegetarian(not vegan)since the mid 1970's/staying very physically fit, top 5% of my age category(as tested via Balke/Bruce and several other Fitness Protocols). Also have used Meditation/Relaxation Response, and I could list many others to what I consider to have enhanced my life in the past and in the present.

Now even with all of my above mentioned I still had 2 heart attacks. During my 72 Cardiac Rehabilitation Classes I was asked many times. You're skinny/a vegetarian/about as physically fit as one can be, along with a seemingly very happy and stress free person, why did you have 1(or 2 depending on which 36 class session) heart attack(s)?

I am sure someone can explain this away to attempt at removing my genetic predisposition, even though everyone on my maternal side died of heart related disease. But to completely leave it out of all the above mentioned ways to longevity/health/happiness and physical/mental fitness?

I feel I know why I had those 2 heart attacks and to me that is all that is necessary. What someone else on this forum believes is up to them and what they want to believe, I really don't care.

While I have espoused health and fitness of this forum for over a decade plus, I always kept it within a realm of what I considered to be a possibility of many being able to follow without having to feel they have to leave their whole way of living behind.

I very seldom quote or have quoted passages or theories by many that claim to have all the answers in the medical/mental or All Natural way of living ones life. I say things more off the cuff from my own personal experiences along with being driven to stay happy/healthy and mentally and physically fit.

However, much of what I pass on to others on this forum, and in real life, are something I believe are attainable without being overindulged in diatribe about every single element present in one's human body. I am not a "if you do this, this will be the result" type of person. Never was and never will be.

The harder and more difficult one thinks it will be to make subtle changes in their lifestyle, to follow what some espouse as being the "only way" to a healthy/physically and mentally fit life? I see less of a chance for success for many of them.

While I have had many I have personally met in my rather long life change their lifestyles to make them more healthy, I have never enumerated anything close to "you will definitely live a longer life" if you follow what I have suggested.

There can be many reasons why a person suffers from serious health issues. Sure, many can be considered to be "self induced", but to say that is a "given", is perpetuating a false premise. Some lead terrible lives when it comes what they eat and what they do to their bodies, but live long and happy lives. Others do everything they can to live long and healthy lives fail. Why?

While I believe in everyone doing what they can to keep themselves healthy, both physically and mentally! I am also one that believes in the old saying:

"It is not the number of years in one's life, it is the number of life in ones years".

Think I've said enough for one sitting!

hckynut(john)