other people's view of those who had the surgery

I've toyed with the idea of having the surgery. My aunt and some coworkers
had it. I wonder if thin/normal weight people see this surgery as a
cop-out. Like we are taking an "easy way out" by having the surgery....
when it is certainly not an easy experience to go through before, during or
after the surgery. So, I'm resisting having the surgery because of this
type of attitude, that and I'm afraid of the healing time afterwards, the
time of getting used to not having that amount of food (mentally and
physically, but more mentally) and then finally worrying about ever being
able to enjoy myself again at a social function (ie not being able to have
some wine with dinner, etc.) And I like to go out with friends once a
month for a beer night, I couldn't do that anymore, right? So I guess if I
sat down with a therapist pre-surgery with these concerns of mine and
mentality, they probably would suggest I didn't have the surgery. Am I
right? I'm sort of just thinking out loud here, but feel free to let me
know what you think.

Angie wrote:
I've toyed with the idea of having the surgery. My aunt and some coworkers
had it. I wonder if thin/normal weight people see this surgery as a
cop-out. Like we are taking an "easy way out" by having the surgery....
when it is certainly not an easy experience to go through before, during or
after the surgery. So, I'm resisting having the surgery because of this
type of attitude, that and I'm afraid of the healing time afterwards, the
time of getting used to not having that amount of food (mentally and
physically, but more mentally) and then finally worrying about ever being
able to enjoy myself again at a social function (ie not being able to have
some wine with dinner, etc.) And I like to go out with friends once a
month for a beer night, I couldn't do that anymore, right? So I guess if I
sat down with a therapist pre-surgery with these concerns of mine and
mentality, they probably would suggest I didn't have the surgery. Am I
right? I'm sort of just thinking out loud here, but feel free to let me
know what you think.

Welcome to asd.

I've mentioned before that a person at my company had the surgery a few
years ago. Nothing has changed because he has found a way to cheat and
he doesn't exercise. No, that's not entirely true. He lost a little
weight, lost an enormous time from work, lost the ability to eat normal
meals, lost his health from an endless series of complications related
to the surgery... Meanwhile, he parks in the handicap spot, has his
lunch and snacks brought to him by a friend so he doesn't have to walk,
and generally serves as a stereotype of lazy fat people.

My point isn't that the surgery is bad in itself; however, it's pretty
much worthless unless you get rid of the habits that made you fat. Good
fortune to you regardless of what you choose. The posters here can help
you make a decision, but we'll need more information. Why not start
with your age, weight, height, and eating and exercise habits?

Neil
was 385/now 309/will be 220 soon

"Angie" wrote in message
...
I've toyed with the idea of having the surgery. My aunt and some
coworkers
had it. I wonder if thin/normal weight people see this surgery as a
cop-out. Like we are taking an "easy way out" by having the surgery....
when it is certainly not an easy experience to go through before, during
or
after the surgery. So, I'm resisting having the surgery because of this
type of attitude, that and I'm afraid of the healing time afterwards, the
time of getting used to not having that amount of food (mentally and
physically, but more mentally) and then finally worrying about ever being
able to enjoy myself again at a social function (ie not being able to have
some wine with dinner, etc.) And I like to go out with friends once a
month for a beer night, I couldn't do that anymore, right? So I guess if
I
sat down with a therapist pre-surgery with these concerns of mine and
mentality, they probably would suggest I didn't have the surgery. Am I
right? I'm sort of just thinking out loud here, but feel free to let me
know what you think.


Welcome to the group, Angie.

Your concerns are valid and very realistic. I know two ladies who had
weightloss surgery and it has been a failure for both. Neither learned to
eat correctly or include exercise in their life. Both are at or above their
starting weight and suffer from health issues as a result of the surgery. I
know it works for many people but we seldom hear about the failures.

There are many people in the group who have lost and maintained a
considerable amount of weight through diet and exercise alone. It's not
easy but it can be done and the side effects are generally more pleasant
than those you might experience from surgery. Keep posting and asking
questions - you'll find lots of information and support here.

Beverly
177/142/~140 since 1996

History question, when did gastric bypass start coming "in vogue"?

Is it what they used to call "stomach staple"? I guess I heard about some
woman getting that in...gee, musta been the mid-80s, so I guess it has
been around, if it's the same thing. (Of course, her sad story was that
she burst the staples, but I imagine the technique would have improved
since then.

Still, I remember when liposuction was the thing you tended to hear more
about. Though I imagine its success rate is even worse if the person
doesn't change the habits that made them fat to begin with.

(I guess I should just count myself fortunate that I've started to take
corrective action well before any reputable doctor would let me consider
any such approach.)

227/210/180.

--
QUOTEBLOG: http://kisrael.com SKEPTIC MORTALITY: http://kisrael.com/mortal
"Anyone who says life is short really isn't paying attention." --March 4 2001

"Kirk Is" wrote in message
...
History question, when did gastric bypass start coming "in vogue"?

Is it what they used to call "stomach staple"? I guess I heard about some
woman getting that in...gee, musta been the mid-80s, so I guess it has
been around, if it's the same thing. (Of course, her sad story was that
she burst the staples, but I imagine the technique would have improved
since then.

Still, I remember when liposuction was the thing you tended to hear more
about. Though I imagine its success rate is even worse if the person
doesn't change the habits that made them fat to begin with.

(I guess I should just count myself fortunate that I've started to take
corrective action well before any reputable doctor would let me consider
any such approach.)

227/210/180.

--
QUOTEBLOG: http://kisrael.com SKEPTIC MORTALITY:
http://kisrael.com/mortal
"Anyone who says life is short really isn't paying attention." --March 4
2001

I'm not sure when it started becoming popular but this site has some history
on the different surgeries.
http://www.asbs.org/html/patients/story.html

It was in the late 80's when the two people I know had their surgeries.
Unfortunately both were unsuccessful in long term weight loss.

Beverly

"Angie" wrote in message
...
I've toyed with the idea of having the surgery. My aunt and some
coworkers had it. I wonder if thin/normal weight people see this surgery
as a cop-out. Like we are taking an "easy way out" by having the
surgery.... when it is certainly not an easy experience to go through
before, during or after the surgery. So, I'm resisting having the surgery
because of this type of attitude, that and I'm afraid of the healing time
afterwards, the time of getting used to not having that amount of food
(mentally and physically, but more mentally) and then finally worrying
about ever being able to enjoy myself again at a social function (ie not
being able to have some wine with dinner, etc.) And I like to go out
with friends once a month for a beer night, I couldn't do that anymore,
right? So I guess if I sat down with a therapist pre-surgery with these
concerns of mine and mentality, they probably would suggest I didn't have
the surgery. Am I right? I'm sort of just thinking out loud here, but
feel free to let me know what you think.


I would say, it's not other peoples' attitudes you should worry about it is
whether it is right for you. I'm no expert in the area but my understanding
is that once you've had it done the way you can eat is limited in quite an
extreme way for the rest of your life (unless you cheat as others have
mentioned). Do you really want to have to do that or would you not rather
get into a healthier way of eating generally?

Rachael

On 15 Jul 2006 03:35:43 -0700, "The Historian"
wrote:

My point isn't that the surgery is bad in itself; however, it's pretty
much worthless unless you get rid of the habits that made you fat. Good
fortune to you regardless of what you choose. The posters here can help
you make a decision, but we'll need more information. Why not start
with your age, weight, height, and eating and exercise habits?

I couldn't agree with you more. I don't know anyone personally who's
had surgery (I think it's a bit less common here in the UK than it is
in the US, but give us time....).

In my view, an operation is useless unless the mind is changed first.
And if you can change the mind, then you shouldn't need the surgery.
As someone who's been prone to binge eating I'm 100% sure that a small
thing like surgery wouldn't stop me finding a way to ger round eating
less if I put my mind to it.

janice

"Angie" wrote in message
...
I've toyed with the idea of having the surgery. My aunt and some
coworkers had it. I wonder if thin/normal weight people see this surgery
as a cop-out. Like we are taking an "easy way out" by having the
surgery.... when it is certainly not an easy experience to go through
before, during or after the surgery. So, I'm resisting having the surgery
because of this type of attitude, that and I'm afraid of the healing time
afterwards, the time of getting used to not having that amount of food
(mentally and physically, but more mentally) and then finally worrying
about ever being able to enjoy myself again at a social function (ie not
being able to have some wine with dinner, etc.) And I like to go out
with friends once a month for a beer night, I couldn't do that anymore,
right? So I guess if I sat down with a therapist pre-surgery with these
concerns of mine and mentality, they probably would suggest I didn't have
the surgery. Am I right? I'm sort of just thinking out loud here, but
feel free to let me know what you think.

I would try to find an impartial source for information about the surgery,
not one of the seminars presented by WLS doctors.

I contemplated surgery nearly 4 years ago and I am sooooo grateful I didn't
do it. More and more surgery patients are gaining back their weight because
they believed it was a magic solution and didn't change their habits. If
you qualify for surgery (BMI 40+) and you feel like you've tried everything
possible to lose weight, there are still some other options. I went through
a medically supervised liquid diet and it worked well for me. It's also not
magic, but while extreme it's not as extreme as permanent reconfiguration of
your organs.
--
the volleyballchick

"Kirk Is" wrote in message
...
History question, when did gastric bypass start coming "in vogue"?

Is it what they used to call "stomach staple"? I guess I heard about some
woman getting that in...gee, musta been the mid-80s, so I guess it has
been around, if it's the same thing. (Of course, her sad story was that
she burst the staples, but I imagine the technique would have improved
since then.

It's similar but there are more varieties of bariatric surgery now. The
staple simply reduces stomach size as does gastric banding. Bypass is when
the intestines are literally rerouted to reduce absorption of food.

Still, I remember when liposuction was the thing you tended to hear more
about. Though I imagine its success rate is even worse if the person
doesn't change the habits that made them fat to begin with.

If you get lipo or a tummy tuck and don't change your habits, the weight
gain will do very horrible things to your skin and you'll end up looking
worse than when you started. That's why reputable surgeons won't perform
tucks and lifts after major weight loss unless the patient has maintained
the loss for 1-2 years.
--
the volleyballchick

On Fri, 14 Jul 2006 23:44:25 GMT, "Angie"
wrote:

I've toyed with the idea of having the surgery. My aunt and some coworkers
had it. I wonder if thin/normal weight people see this surgery as a
cop-out. Like we are taking an "easy way out" by having the surgery....
when it is certainly not an easy experience to go through before, during or
after the surgery. So, I'm resisting having the surgery because of this
type of attitude, that and I'm afraid of the healing time afterwards, the
time of getting used to not having that amount of food (mentally and
physically, but more mentally) and then finally worrying about ever being
able to enjoy myself again at a social function (ie not being able to have
some wine with dinner, etc.) And I like to go out with friends once a
month for a beer night, I couldn't do that anymore, right? So I guess if I
sat down with a therapist pre-surgery with these concerns of mine and
mentality, they probably would suggest I didn't have the surgery. Am I
right? I'm sort of just thinking out loud here, but feel free to let me
know what you think.


I know a surprising number of people who have had the surgery in some
form or another and so far it's been successful for all of them. I
say "so far" because the jury's still out on wether they can keep off
the weight.

One of my colleagues recently had the lap-banding technique done and
has lost about 70 lbs in the past two months.

I have mixed feelings about the surgery. I'm sure that for a variety
of reasons (psychology, lack of willpower, health issues) there isn't
much of an alternative, and my problem has been deciding if I'm one of
those people. My doctor gave me a referral to a surgeon who does the
weight loss surgery, which sparked a lot of controversy among my
friends and family- most of my family is against it and my wife wants
to change doctors. Most of my friends are either ambivalent or think
I should do it.

Since there's no consensus among the people in my life, it's obviously
a decision I have to make on my own. There's two facts about the
situation:

1. I'm 35. I *have* to lose weight.
2. Surgery is an extreme option that presents a health risk all by
itself, and is surrounded by a certain amount of social stigma.

Eventually I decided to use the surgery as a last ditch effort- I'd
start by trying to control my wieght on my own by monitoring my daily
intake and setting goals for myself. If I'm unable to do that, I'd
try one of the weight loss programs like LA weight lossor Jenny Craig.
Failing that, surgery would be the last ditch effort- I'm hoping it
doesn't come to that.