thinking about the surgery

[Annabella St. Clair]

I think I've come to the point that having the bariatric surgery may be a choice for me. I've shied away from investigating it because I wanted to lose weight the natural way. I had joined Medical Weight Loss, did great, lost over 85 pounds in less than a year, felt good in many ways, couldn't continue on it due to lack of funds, and gained all the weight back in a few months. I am doing weight watchers but that only seems to maintain my weight. At this weight my feet hurt and I'm never comfortable.

I'm not happy. I didn't want it before because I didn't want to lose the option of eating some of the foods I like. Now I have to deal with Irritable Bowel Syndrome daily and I can't eat anything anyway. I got IBS due to stress at work. That won't go away.

I wonder if you can have the surgery if you have other bowel issues? I'm healthly otherwise. Perfect actually based on all tests I just had run. I could spend money on MWL but once I stop I just gain it all back. I have to portion my food or I have bad pain, even with veggies. I gave up dairy milk for soy. I eat fiber alot and can't have fatty foods now. Kind of sounds like the bariatric diet. The only thing now is if I eat badly I will gain weight but , I pay for it with bad pain and even spasms in my back.

Maybe with being morbidly obese, showing weight loss and failure, I could get the insurance company to pay for it. Problem is...I'm healthy. No diabetes, heart or blood issues and I even have low blood pressure and heart rate. The only thing I can think of is I'm getting older, have belly fat, and have a spine which is slightly deteriorating.

Suggestions?

[DangerousCurves]

I work at a major hospital and I am also very very healthy. I can tell you that if you meet or exceed the required BMI, your insurance will probably pay for it. I am currently in the 7 month program required by my provider before undergoing the surgery. I haven't for sure made up my mind yet but that is what these classes are for. I think it's either going to be the lap band or nothing though cuz I'm not liking all the facts about actual bari surg. Too many risks involved. Lap bands are adjustable and now they have shown that it CAN cure type 2 diabetes. Just my two pence. PM me if you would like to know more about the program I'm in.

[Annabella St. Clair]

I was thinking about the band also. I don't like the idea of having no recourse. I've had major major surgery for a tumor and I know what that pain was like. I have no issues with cancer due to the tumor, it was a dermoid cyst on an ovary. I don't think I can spell today so please forgive me.

Anyway, I didn't know they had a pre program. I am way over my suggested BMI. First time I seriously lost weight I did it to be happy with myself but also to attract men. It worked. Now I want to feel comfortable in my skin.

I am checking out a local hospital that has a good program.

[Lady Hefron]

I had open Gastric Bypass RNY surgery January 9,. 2002. It saved my life. It really comes down to a lifestyle change. You have to change the way you eat...not always what you eat. I had a problem for a couple of years with too much refined sugar and with deep fried stuff.

The band is also a good option. There are still restrictions. PM me if you have any questions you don't want to ask online.

[DoñaNina]

Surgery seriously scares the bejesus out of me. I know food restrictions suck, but it feels preferable to surgery. Just seeing the healing process for gastric bipass made me so scared for people who go under the knife. Whatever you do, please weigh your options.

[AllieSutherland]

My sister (who is a physician) told me that I would likely not be a candidate due to GERD issues (for which I take meds). She also said that bowel irregularities can be a no-go for a lot of people, because of the increased issues that people experience when adjusting to post-surgery (finding out how much of and what your body tolerates). With gastric bypass, your nutrients are expelled much faster than you digest (since you are bascially re-routed), so you have to take supplements. With bowel issues already, this may make your nutrient absorption more complex.

She suggested that I go to a stomach specialist to discuss nutrition options *if* I decided to explore surgery further. She said that in her opinion, *if* I had the surgery, I would need to rely primarily on liquid nutrition as my primary food source (an Ensure-type drink) in my case becuse of the additional issues with stomach and bowel. She said that she thought Lap-Band was riskier for GERD in the esophagus, but that gastric bypass was riskier for the small stomach pouch in having GERD issues. She thought that Lap-Band might be the better choice for bowel issues since the intestines and stomach aren't re-routed.

[Lady Hefron]

I had GERD pre-surgery...went away after surgery. Talk to a gastric surgeon.