What made you decide to have weightloss surgery?

[Fat&FedUp]

Hi all,

I haven't had surgery, but am starting to consider it if I have no sucess with slimming world.

I have tried WW, SW, Xenical, Healthy eating etc and nothing has really worked.

Last time I saw the Dr, he said that the next step would be surgery.

ANyway, I'm just wondering what made you decide that surgery was right for you.

Sam

 

[charliegirl]

Hi Fat and Fed Up, your name is the reason why I decided to try the surgery route. I was sick to death of being fat and fed up! I have not had surgery yet but have been recommended by the consultant for this and my next step is speaking to the surgeon. I too have tried the diets that you have triend and I have also tried reductil and orlistat, healthy eating programme with dietician and nothing worked. I have lost weight in the past but feel for every diet you have tried and lost on your body adjusts and wont lose the weight afterwards. I am single and have to maintain my own home, car and garden as well as working in a very demanding job and by carrying around the extra weight I could not manage to do it all and feel very tired, sweat a lot and then eat more because I feel fed up. Its a ficious circle. I spent a long time being monitored monthly by my doctor and had had enough because my weight never even stabilised it kept increasing. So now hopefully if all goes well with the surgeon and the phsychologist (most people have to speak to them to ensure we have the surgery for the right reasons) I could be banded or have the bypass. I had never considered bypass but the consultant is undecided which way to go until I speak to the surgeon. I hope this helps....good luck in whatever you choose....life is too short to let food rule our lives, I want to rule my life for me...Linda x

 

[rambo]

hi sam i have done all the things you have ww/sw then i done the slimfast lost 7st over 10 months but it all crept back on over the next 4 years so started again no good second time found never had the willpower i guess this time, seen my doc he gave me xenicol no great sucsess with that either so i asked for banding/bypass surgery he was great got me a referal to see the consultant , i now have to see the sergeon on 2nd sept i really cant wait so i think its the best move for me, all the best for whatever way you decide to go good luck
regards steve

 

[callysplace]

Hi Sam, Like charlie and Steve I was stuck in endless circle of dieting and regaining the weight plus some more! I was depressed about the way I looked and how I felt and I had to give up the one thing that I loved the most, riding my horse.
I have two children and my life expectancy was hugely reduced by the excess weight I was carrying, so after a lot of research and talking to profesional, friends and family I decided to undertake the bypass. It is by no means an easy option and sure fire way to loose weight it still requires comitment to achieve your goal.

 

[Fat&FedUp]

Thanks for your replies.

I think that surgery is a drastic step and shouldn't be taken lightly - I know that all of you haven't, but I know someone who did.

I don't think i could handle a bypass, but banding is something I am beginning to consider.

I have also tried CD, which I failed miserably with - i lasted a day and a half.

Apart from feeling fat and fed up, a am also worried about my health and the fact that my life expectancy is reduced due to the extra weight. Having said that, I would hate to put my ife at risk just to loose weight as i have a daughter, but i guess it's already at risk because of my weight.

I am going to give sw a good go now, to see if i can do this myself, and not have to have surgery.

Thanks for your insights and Steve - Good luck!

 

[tammy]

Hi I too exhausted all diet options and although could lose weight always regained it! Surgery felt like my last ditch attempt to live a happy and healthy life. I want to see my children grow up and i want to be able to enjoy them while they are young. Surgery has been a real positive for me and i haven't regretted it at all. I am now off my diabetic medication and am working towards my BP meds. You are right it is not a decision which is to be taken lightly but the positives far outweigh the negitives. Good luck with your journey x

 

[Silversurfer]

Hi Sam

The risks of having a band fitted or a bypass are very small against the risks of being obese, diabetes alone could leave you eventually blind or without a limb, let alone the threat from heart disease, osteoporosis, cancer etc etc. sorry dont me to be all doom and gloom but it sounds to me like your already aware that you like me and everyone else on this part of the forum know they have to do something about there weight and for each of us conventional dieting hasn't worked!
For me the decision to go ahead and have a bypass was pretty simple, i'd got to my heaviest ever, yes i'd tried every diet under the sun and yes they all had a degree of success, however maintaining the weight lose never happened, and like others have said, the weight goes back on with avengence. I dont have anything really wrong with me except for the fact i'm carrying the weight of a 10 stone person on my back ! but unless i did something how long would my run of luck last, and would i still been here to see my child grow up ?
I originally went to see my consultant for a band, but once he'd weighed me he recommended the bypass as it would work better for me and my lifestyle. i had my bypass on the 16th August (just over a week ago) and since then i've lost 13lb in just over a week, all my clothes are already baggy and today i bought a new jacket off the peg that two weeks ago i wouldn't have been able to get on, the feeling was awsomme, for the first time for years i've been able to buy something in a normal shop

Really the only advise i can give is to go with an open mind and talk through all the options with a specialist consultant that knows and understands obesity surgery, your GP wont know that much but the specialist will, they wil be able to advise what they consider is the best route, and at the end of the day surgery isn't for everyone, but for me it was the best thing i've ever done as i now have a tool that wont let me be fat agian !

best wishes

Richard

 

[Fat&FedUp]

Great post Richard - thanks!

To be honest, my reasons for wanting to loose weight are firstly health resons and being around long enough to see my daughter grow up, and secondly, to look better and feel better being in my body - if that makes sense!

Having said that, I could go through dieting and surgery and be hit by a bus tomorrow.......... I know it's not likely, but that's what goes through my mind when i want to justify eating a huge slab of chocolate cake!

As my GP suggested surgery, i think i will go back and ask to be referred, but carry on with SW and see what i can achieve by myself.

Thanks again!

 

[newbie]

i want to lose weight because i was never thin as an adult and just wanna feel alittle bit of life out there. i wanna be more mobile (am in a wheelchair now) and i wanna feel beautiful! i wanna be able to buy regular clothes. i wanna sit in a plane and not need a seat belt extender. i wanna get off of some of this medication. i want the label of disability to come off. this is just to name a few and i've made the decision that bypass is the help i need to get there.
susie

 

[Silversurfer]

Hi sam

You sound so mch like me, i used to do the same, walk arond thinking it didn't matter because tomorrow i could get hit by a bus, but tomorrow never came lol

this forum is great at giving you a level playing field because your'll see the pluses and negatives of any of the surgical options available, and in my view its a good thing to be aware of everything good or bad, but in my opinion its important to make the right decision for you and your family, and if that means you take the small amount of risk to potentially save or prolong your life then you have to do it, for me it was a no brainer, and you know even if that bus never came along i still made the right choice.

Newbie - Yeah those extention seat belts on planes know the humiliating feeling having to ask for an extention lol, and you know whats worse, they make the things in bright orange, might as well have FAT PERSONS BELT stenciled on them as well just to finish of the humiliating experience lol.

were taking a late holiday in October and i'm hoping i'll have lost enough weight by then to fit in the plan seat without wedging myself in and wont have to ask for the extension.

Best wishes all

Richard

 

[newbie]

i know you'll make it, enjoy your holiday richard!!!!
susie

 

[scorpion]

i have no will power did loose a bit of wieght when i first left college had loads of support which i need from all the girls i worked with but it all came back in next to no time, cant remember not being over wieght.
my decision came after the death of my mum and talking to my older brother who has had a bypass and said its the best thing i could do for myself. i am getting worse not better bigger not smaller tried rimabandt lost 4 kilos in three weeks only they can cause depression and epilepsy. depression and food seem to gotogether like back and eggs you feel depressed you eat , you eat you feel depressed .i have stopped being the jolly fat bloke which was afar better feeling than now.
in my current mind set the is no risk in having the op i dont like what i have become and want to be happier. watch fatdoctor i only feel envious of those who are post op. the are risks in the second series being shown on disc health daniel died 4 days after the op he had already had 3 heart attacks and although be given only a 9 out of 10 chance of survival know it was his only real chance of a life. i personaly would say yes evan if it was just 1 in 10 avtfe all the lotterty is 14million to 1 and i do that.
good luck on the plane Richard whats worse than that belt is the table that comes out of the armrest sits at 45 degrees on your belly so you have nowhere to put food or drink.
not as bad as not being able to do up the seat belt on a rollercoaster i am hopeing to ride kraken at seaworld next holiday after the operation missed out by an inch 8years ago didnt bother trying on my last holiday now you know when your big when you dont fit on american theme park rides.

dave

 

[Silversurfer]

Dave i sympathise with you, and to be honest the risks of having a bypass laproscopically these days are so small its not worth worrying about, your far more at risk being morbidly obese than having the op.

Richard

 

[Silver Shoes]

Hi,

My reasons for having surgery are much the same as everyone else. I've tried all diets going and medication, and got to the point where I was so depressed that if I didnt do something then I didnt want to be around anymore. This is quite selfish really considering I have 2 young children, but its how I felt. I decided to have the bypass as I knew it would work, and with the right education the weight will stay off! As with all ops, there are risks, but I was so confident with my surgeon. He has only lost 1 patient in 2500 bypass ops he had performed. This person was over 40 stone, and actually ended up dying from a chest infection several weeks after the bypass. Its such a shame, but it can happen.

Anyway, I'm 4 weeks post op tomorrow and to date 24 pounds down. I feel healthy, and my post op tiredness has gone (thank god!) Its the best decision I think I have made, as I am already so much happier. I am eating healthily and will eat this way for the rest of my life, which can only be a good thing! i cant eat loads of sugar or fat anymore..so there's no cheating invloved with my diet. And I am happy with this. I thought long and hard about this, knowing that I will not be able to eat certain things again, but as the saying goes, "nothing tastes as good as being slim feels." Give me health, nice clothes and confidence anyday!

I'm 31, and my only regret is that I didnt do this sooner....all the years of yo-yo dieting, only to end up bigger and unhappier! But no more, things can now only get better!

Good luck to anyone thinking about or just about to have surgery! Its a positive step to a new life.

Take care all,

Kel xxx

 

[Amanda123]

desperation!

Tried everything but always failed.

Not being able to get the food in was the only answer for me

 

[Thaialina]

Hi Sam,
I know exactly how you feel. I got to the end of my tether after trying SW, Xcenical and WW as well as other random diets so many times. I wooried about my health and my weight affected my confidence. Now, 3 months post gastric bypass my weight is coming off nicely and I'm much more confident and healthy. Make sure you research into operations carefully and ask about anything you're not sure of. Check my thread if you like for my story.

 

[newbie]

silver shoes, i just loved your thread. nothing taste as good as being slim, give me health, confidence and nice clothes anyday. that is so true .
susie

 

[newbie]

woo hoo sara, 48 pounds now thats super for you!!!
susie

 

[andymc]

why i picked surgery

I had tried sw ww xenical colonic irrigation etc and a little success was achieved so my cardiologist suggested that i be enrolled onto the hospital weight management clinic who allowed me to go ahead and get the surgery done, my pre op is on the 15th sept and I cant wait loosing the weight will give me a whole new life

 

[shelbell]

Hi Andy, I'm just over the water from you