need info of pro and con of stomach surgery

My sister is thinking of paying for her son to have stomach surgery to
lose weight. He is an adult with children. I am telling her to get
both sides of the debate, but she feels the doctor's site is enough
information. I would appreciate any feedback or websites that would
help me give her more information.

Ray Wesley Kinserlow Jr.
Lubbock, Texas

"Ray Wesley Kinserlow Jr." wrote in message
...
My sister is thinking of paying for her son to have stomach surgery to
lose weight. He is an adult with children. I am telling her to get
both sides of the debate, but she feels the doctor's site is enough
information. I would appreciate any feedback or websites that would
help me give her more information.

Ray Wesley Kinserlow Jr.
Lubbock, Texas

My father was a very large man, at times over 400lbs at about 6'3". About
15 years ago, he had the surgery where they insert a donut shaped insert in
the stomach, to make a sort of "small" stomach with a smaller opening,
before the "main" stomach. Sorry, but without talking to him, that is the
best I can describe it.

On the positive side, he lost a lot of weight. The surgery forced him to
really chew his food, and eat small amounts more often. It just wasn't
physically possible to overeat anymore. If he over did it, it would all
come back out. He was down to about 200 lbs within 1 year. He has kept
almost all the weight off to this day...but.....

On the negative side, he has had increasing problems in the last 3-4 years
keeping ANYTHING down. Even water. The small opening into the main stomach
seems to close up at times, and won't allow anything to pass. He has had to
go to the hospital a couple times to get re-hydrated intravenously as he has
been unable to get even water orally. The stomach simply throws it back up.
They have inserted devices and stretched the opening, but so far, the
solutions have only been temporary.

Certain foods he can no longer eat as well. Gristley meat, bacon, etc.
Anything that has can't be ground down easily with his teeth tends to get
blocked up.

He has said many times he would do it all over again. He would likely be
dead already from being overweight, but just keep in mind that ANYTHING can
happen, good or bad. Just my story.....

Best of luck to you and yours.....

GT

"GT" wrote in message
...

My father was a very large man, at times over 400lbs at about 6'3". About
15 years ago, he had the surgery where they insert a donut shaped insert
in
the stomach, to make a sort of "small" stomach with a smaller opening,
before the "main" stomach. Sorry, but without talking to him, that is the
best I can describe it.

On the positive side, he lost a lot of weight. The surgery forced him to
really chew his food, and eat small amounts more often. It just wasn't
physically possible to overeat anymore. If he over did it, it would all
come back out. He was down to about 200 lbs within 1 year. He has kept
almost all the weight off to this day...but.....

On the negative side, he has had increasing problems in the last 3-4 years
keeping ANYTHING down. Even water. The small opening into the main
stomach
seems to close up at times, and won't allow anything to pass. He has had
to
go to the hospital a couple times to get re-hydrated intravenously as he
has
been unable to get even water orally. The stomach simply throws it back
up.
They have inserted devices and stretched the opening, but so far, the
solutions have only been temporary.

Certain foods he can no longer eat as well. Gristley meat, bacon, etc.
Anything that has can't be ground down easily with his teeth tends to get
blocked up.

My sister had bariatric surgery that went way, way wrong. Her stomach
opening shut down with scar tissue, and she, like your dad, GT, could not
even keep water down. She eventually had the surgery reversed, as she was
dying right before our eyes.

That said, I've seen 2 people at my school enjoy fabulous success with the
same surgery. It's definitely a huge decision.

--
Bird
============================
Contact me at lindabird --- a t --- musician dot o r g

I have worked with docs for years and I have the utmost respect for the
profession. I am not one of those nurses who thinks that docs are evil and
that none are as smart as we are.

A good doc who puts up a web site to promote his surgical skills will follow
certain ethical guidelines. But, even then, the doc wants to sell you
something. There is nothing wrong with this. We all pretty much sell
ourselves for a living but when was the last time you read a resume that
highlighted flaws in a person's work history rather than accomplishments.

On the flip side, there are some horror stories. I do not doubt for a
minute their veracity but I do not think that those results are typical.

I saw a lightweight documentary on long term weight loss a while ago. They
explored three people who lost weight, one of whom did the bypass surgery.
It was successful. What impressed me was the intense nutrition counseling
before and after the procedure. A psychological exam was also done. The
lifestyle changes are enormous even with the help of surgery.

Questions to ask the doc:

How many of these procedures have you done?
What is the rate of complications?
What is the rate of death?
What kind of pre-surgical care is given?
What kind of post-surgical care is offered?
Is there a support group of former patients with whom you may visit?
What is covered with the cost of surgery? Anesthesia? All meds? Sometimes
there are hidden charges.




"Ray Wesley Kinserlow Jr." wrote in message
...
My sister is thinking of paying for her son to have stomach surgery to
lose weight. He is an adult with children. I am telling her to get
both sides of the debate, but she feels the doctor's site is enough
information. I would appreciate any feedback or websites that would
help me give her more information.

Ray Wesley Kinserlow Jr.
Lubbock, Texas

Hi Ray,

I know 4 people that have had the surgery done. All of them had the gastric
bypass version. Anyway, they all had various complications, some minor and
some not so minor.

One of my close male friends had it done about 1.5 years ago. He is 6'6"
and weighed about 400 lbs. He had a complication with the catheter and he
is currently impotent from it due to scar tissue. He is considering a
lawsuit. He has lost some weight, but not very much.

My best friend had it done as well last October. She has been in and out of
the hospital about 6 times with pancreatitis, gastritis and horrendous
headaches. She's lost about 120 lbs in 12 months and looks better.
However, she didn't work on her eating habits or go to the gym. She is
pretty saggy now. She also eats what she wants, just smaller amounts. I
can tell that her stomach is stretching because of the amount of food she
can now eat. She thought that this surgery would be a cure all and solve
her weight problem permanently....

The two other people that had it done have not had any complications that I
know about.

How I personally feel is that this surgery is a band-aid and does not
address the reasons that cause the weight gain. The surgery has alot of
complications, many of the really long term ones aren't even known yet. The
stomach can stretch... I've heard of several people that had to have the
surgery a 2nd time due to the stomach stretching.

Gastric banding may be a safer option. However, the weight loss may be
minimal and is much less permanent then bypass. In addition, if the issues
causing weight gain are not addressed once the band is removed, then the
weight loss will not be permanent.

I would suggest trying the HMR diet. This diet can be as effective as
stomach surgery w/out the pain and suffering. Also, the cost is generally
cheaper then the surgery. www.yourbetterhealth.com for info. There is a
link there that has a number you can call for a location in your area. I've
been on it for 8 weeks now and lost 42 lbs so far. I work out 4-5x a week
and feel great.

284/242/199/???

--
Email me at:
perpleglow(AT)comcast.net


"Ray Wesley Kinserlow Jr." wrote in message
...
My sister is thinking of paying for her son to have stomach surgery to
lose weight. He is an adult with children. I am telling her to get
both sides of the debate, but she feels the doctor's site is enough
information. I would appreciate any feedback or websites that would
help me give her more information.

Ray Wesley Kinserlow Jr.
Lubbock, Texas

My SIL had gastric bypass about a year ago. She is very short, perhaps 5
feet, and weighed 225.

She lost only 30 pounds, has had hernia repair surgery twice now (caused by
the stomach surgery), and still manages to eat too much. It is possible to
eat very small amounts many times during the day and still take in too many
calories.

Our cousin had it done a couple of years ago and had great results. She has
lost somewhere in the neighborhood of 130 pounds and looks and feels great.
She is also more active and took up regular exercise as she was losing.

Melissa


"Ray Wesley Kinserlow Jr." wrote in message
...
My sister is thinking of paying for her son to have stomach surgery to
lose weight. He is an adult with children. I am telling her to get
both sides of the debate, but she feels the doctor's site is enough
information. I would appreciate any feedback or websites that would
help me give her more information.

Ray Wesley Kinserlow Jr.
Lubbock, Texas

I think somebody needs to stop being the mommy.


"Ray Wesley Kinserlow Jr." wrote:

My sister is thinking of paying for her son to have stomach surgery to
lose weight. He is an adult with children. I am telling her to get
both sides of the debate, but she feels the doctor's site is enough
information. I would appreciate any feedback or websites that would
help me give her more information.

Ray Wesley Kinserlow Jr.
Lubbock, Texas

Just the other day there was a TV News article about an alternative to
gastric by-pass surgery. The docs insert a small device under the skin near
the stomach and attach a wire tot he stomach. The device gives small
electrical jolts. While they don't yet understand why it works, studies are
showing that it does reduce appetite. They said that there have been 27
surgeries in the US. Don't know what it was called, but it might be worth
looking into. It's very reversible and doesn't have a lot of the bad side
effects associated with the by-pass surgery.

Sandy K.

On 10/16/2003 9:24 AM, Sandy K. wrote:
Just the other day there was a TV News article about an alternative to
gastric by-pass surgery. The docs insert a small device under the skin near
the stomach and attach a wire tot he stomach. The device gives small
electrical jolts. While they don't yet understand why it works, studies are
showing that it does reduce appetite. They said that there have been 27
surgeries in the US. Don't know what it was called, but it might be worth
looking into. It's very reversible and doesn't have a lot of the bad side
effects associated with the by-pass surgery.

Sandy,

Are you referring to the "stomach pacemaker?"

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH...ewsx24003x7228

It's approved in Europe but not in the US yet.

Perple Glow wrote:

My best friend had it done as well last October. She has been in and
out of the hospital about 6 times with pancreatitis, gastritis and
horrendous headaches. She's lost about 120 lbs in 12 months and
looks better. However, she didn't work on her eating habits or go to
the gym. She is pretty saggy now. She also eats what she wants,
just smaller amounts. I can tell that her stomach is stretching
because of the amount of food she can now eat. She thought that this
surgery would be a cure all and solve her weight problem
permanently....

there were 3 ladies at work that had it done. 1 at Curves
1 regained most of her weight over 10 yrs or so.
1 ate wrong afterwards and had terrible problems with bowel obstructions.
1 I just saw after about 6 months and she looks like she has gained at least
30 lbs back
The lady from Curves went from 275 lbs to 145 she is back up to 155 but
works out and looks good. she is taller than I am by a few inches.

If LC hadn't worked for me this time, I was going to gain enough weight to
get a Roue-N-Y procedure. but I've been quite successful this way so I dn't
have to think about that anymore.

--
Lori
220/147/135
LC since 1/17/03
Oct Challenge 150/145
http://community.webshots.com/user/lorismiller


The two other people that had it done have not had any complications
that I know about.

How I personally feel is that this surgery is a band-aid and does not
address the reasons that cause the weight gain. The surgery has alot
of complications, many of the really long term ones aren't even known
yet. The stomach can stretch... I've heard of several people that
had to have the surgery a 2nd time due to the stomach stretching.

Gastric banding may be a safer option. However, the weight loss may
be minimal and is much less permanent then bypass. In addition, if
the issues causing weight gain are not addressed once the band is
removed, then the weight loss will not be permanent.

I would suggest trying the HMR diet. This diet can be as effective as
stomach surgery w/out the pain and suffering. Also, the cost is
generally cheaper then the surgery. www.yourbetterhealth.com for
info. There is a link there that has a number you can call for a
location in your area. I've been on it for 8 weeks now and lost 42
lbs so far. I work out 4-5x a week and feel great.

284/242/199/???


"Ray Wesley Kinserlow Jr." wrote in message
...
My sister is thinking of paying for her son to have stomach surgery
to lose weight. He is an adult with children. I am telling her to
get both sides of the debate, but she feels the doctor's site is
enough information. I would appreciate any feedback or websites
that would help me give her more information.

Ray Wesley Kinserlow Jr.
Lubbock, Texas