WLS or no WLS...that is the question!!

carpediem · Post by **carpediem** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 6:15 pm

Is there anyone else out there seriously considering any type of weight loss surgery? When I first posted on here (clear back in April) I was debating whether to have the WLS or try to slay the chubby little demons inside me going strictly NoS. All these months later I'm still having the same debate in my head. I feel like all I'm doing is treading water....no closer to shore than I was before.
NoS is great, truly, but I just seem to struggle so much with sticking to the rules. I have a couple friends who recently had the vertical sleeve surgery and swear by it, but of course they're motivated right now because they are currently losing the weight so quickly.
Several of you have offered some great advice (thanks AnnaBanana!) but I would really like to know if there are any others out there who have either had WLS or are plannng on taking the plunge. I know it's not a cure all but too many health issues for me to keep putzien around this way!

~reneew · Post by **~reneew** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 6:25 pm

Weirdest thing... I've never heard of vertical sleeve surgery before and I Just got done watching a news clip about someone who lost 80 pounds doing that. I'll try to find that link again.

I'm not condoning doing it at all, but I also don't believe in coincidents. http://www.mediacomtoday.com/tv/3/playe ... c_17354112

Hope that works.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 10:40 pm

Look for the 5-year results, not the 3-month results.

Unfortunately, the procedure doesn't have a long history, so the jury is out.

This looks like an interesting site.

http://www.thinnertimes.com/weight-loss ... dates.html

I do know of more than one person on the Spark site who, when she definitively decided AGAINST the surgery, was able to definitively commit to strict lifestyle changes and go on to lose 125 lbs. and more. However, the examples I know of from Spark are also under 5 years of maintenance. BrightAngel tells us that even after her surgery (not sure which procedure she had done), she has had to adopt a purposeful low-calorie regime to stave off weight gain. No rest for the weary?

BrightAngel · Post by **BrightAngel** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 2:45 am

carpediem wrote:I just seem to struggle so much with sticking to the rules.
I would really like to know if there are any others out there who have either had WLS
or are plannng on taking the plunge.
I know it's not a cure all but ...

20 years ago I had an RNY gastric bypass, and it was very helpful.
However, surgery doesn't end the struggle,
it just takes the struggle to a whole new level.
If you would like to know more about me and my history,
here's a good place to start.
http://www.diethobby.com/index.php?n=11&id=10

carpediem · Post by **carpediem** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 1:33 am

Thank you all for your responses. Reneew, I was not able to open your link but chances are I've seen it anyway. I've been doing ALOT of research on VSG and have read many articles listing both pros and cons. The risks are pretty limited but just seems to me that it's more a temporary fix than a real solution to the problem.
Oolala, you always have great input. Would be wonderful if I could change my mindset and decide to kick things into gear and do this thing on my own instead of relying on surgery. Not saying it won't happen but certainly hasn't yet.
BrightAngel, I read your blog and certainly appreciate your openness and frankness concerning your stuggles. I guess my question for you would be...do you think you would have lost that initial 111 pounds if you had not had the RNY surgery? Or do you feel the surgery was necessary to give you the jumpstart you needed toward reaching your goal?
Again, thank you all. I am kind of surprised, however, that in a forum such as this one there are not more people who have either had WLS or are thinking about doing so.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 3:15 am

Oh, I was just mentioning them because I knew of them. I've known a couple of people who had surgery but I didn't know if it was the kind you are considering. One of them has gotten quite slim and is glad she did it. For her surgery, she had to lose 40 lbs. on her own. When she did, I asked her why she didn't just keep going at what she was doing. She said she just didn't trust herself. It's been a couple of years and I know she has had to have other surgeries in the meantime because of problems. My niece also had it. It will be two years in October. The last time I saw her she had lost 125 lbs. but starting at 370, she was still quite large. But still glad she had done it. I don't see my niece very often so I don't know much about the details and the other woman and I are not close.

carpediem · Post by **carpediem** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 11:58 am

I am not a big eater, I am a poor eater. I never have eaten alot, just consistently choose chocolate over broccoli. Stands to reason if I don't like broccoli now I won't after surgery. If I don't like celery sticks and lettuce now, I won't after surgery. If I can't stay away from ice cream because I've had a bad day, I will have the same problem after surgery. All the literature I'm reading on WLS speaks often to the subject of overeating and reducing the size of the stomach so a person cannot over indulge. That is not really the issue for me. That's the direction in which my logic usually heads. The other side of the coin is that I was not heavy my whole life, I was thin until my mid 30s. Counselor at the bariatric center feels my initial weight gain may have been (in part) from medications. Now I realize I can't blame it all on meds, but if I am not predisposed to obesity then maybe surgery would at least get me in the ballpark and I can get back to where I'm supposed to be. It's alot to think about for sure!

BrightAngel · Post by **BrightAngel** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 1:46 pm

carpediem wrote:BrightAngel, I read your blog and certainly appreciate your openness and frankness concerning your stuggles. I guess my question for you would be...do you think you would have lost that initial 111 pounds if you had not had the RNY surgery? Or do you feel the surgery was necessary to give you the jumpstart you needed toward reaching your goal?

In my lifetime, every pound I've ever lost, no matter how I lost it,
took a great deal of effort.
I don't consider my weight loss from 271 down to 160 lbs,
with a subsequent regain back to 190,
as a "jumpstart" toward my lifetime goal of being "normal" weight.
By that consideration, every weight-loss I've ever had
at every time in my life would have been a jumpstart,
including all the times before when I lost 100 or 50 or 30 lbs,
and regained all or some of it.

What IF?
There is no way that I can answer your question.
What if I'd been born male instead of female?
What if I'd been born to different parents?
What if I had not chosen to marry my first husband?
What if I hadn't had children,
or if I'd had them at a different stage of my life?
What if I had developed a smoking habit in my youth?
What if I'd decided not to go to Law School & chosen a different career?

WLS is a life-changing event. It is not a final answer for obesity,
but it changes one's body permanently, it gives one knowledge,
and living through the experience changes one's life history emotionally.

It is useless to go back in time to second guess
the possible results of having different events wthin our lives.
Doing so is merely a meaningless mental exercise
which does nothing to predict anyones future...
and although there are life choices we CAN make,
both large choices, and daily small choices,
the final outcome of those choices are not within our control.

Consider the alternatives.
Consider your own personal abilities and objectives.
As much as possible, make conscious choices.
Then, live with that choice while accepting that it was the right one for you.

carpediem · Post by **carpediem** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 1:05 am

I've read through your post several times, BrightAngel, and I appreciate your input. I sense that I may have struck a nerve and if so I apologize; certainly did not do so intentionally.
You're right...I do need to make conscious choices and I do need to consider my abilities and objectives. Just trying to look at this thing from different perspectives.

AnnaBanana · Post by **AnnaBanana** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 1:51 am

Hey Carpe...again haven't been on in forever, so apologize for not getting back with you sooner.

I would have never lost it on my own. I tried for 30 years to lose it and never could.

WLS is some of the hardest work you'll ever do if you do it RIGHT! That means confronting your demons with food and the emotional things that have held you back in life. For me it was like peeling an onion.

There is nothing easy at all about WLS. That is probably the biggest misconception out there. It's hard when folks look at you like you took the easy way out. There was not one thing easy about saving $10,000, going to Mexico alone and leaving 85% of my stomach behind. And every choice after that, that led to this weight loss, the 20 lb weight gain, and my taking it off again, are all about what goes in my mouth and how I move my body. It's nonnegotiable if I want to stay where I'm at. And I like being smaller way too much to go back.

Only you can decide. I'll be your cheerleader no matter what!

AnnaBanana · Post by **AnnaBanana** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 2:08 am

Oh, something else I wanted to say is... with the sleeve, which is what I had and the surgery you're talking about, you HAVE to change what you eat. On the boards I have seen a small percentage of folks fail at it and go on to have the duodenal switch, which is a severely restrictive procedure. What about 99.99% of those had in common was they refused to change what they ate. From the start they ate carbs and what is called *slider* foods that slide right through. I could eat large amounts of cookies and pies, etc., if I wanted to because they slide ride on through my small stomach. So, every day I have to choose all over again to not do those things. I was extremely successful and didn't gain an ounce back until I quit smoking and gained about 20 or so. I've got 5 off and working slowly at it. But I have to walk or ride my bike and do free weights or some sort of resistance training about 5 days a week. But I made a trade off. There are days I think I regret the surgery. Heck I even told you about it before and posted about it. But what I am really wishing is that I could have done it on my own. But I didn't and I don't think I ever would have. So, like Bright Angel is saying, I just go forward from here.

Today's foods:
B: Three eggwhite omlette and turkey bacon.
L: Salad with chicken breast .
Snack: Yogurt and strawberries.
Dinner: Bean, turkey italian sausage and kale stew and a tiny sliver of garlic chiabata bread.

I eat more south beachish simply because I feel better that way.

But that is my reality and if I don't stick to that reality, the weight comes back.

Just wanted to give you 100% honest feedback.

AnnaBanana · Post by **AnnaBanana** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 2:15 am

Crapola... I keep forgetting to say things and have to come back... LOL

Yes, I needed that jumpstart. I had to have that hand up to get me normal again. I was too far down emotionally and physically.

Unless folks have over 100 to lose, I don't think that can truly understand what it's like.

Okay, maybe I should just go to bed and quit yakking to you.

:):)

carpediem · Post by **carpediem** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 11:39 am

Thanks AB! You always come though for me! The reason I think that I can't just decide on the WLS once and for all is the fact that I know it will still be a stuggle afterwards. I feel like I'll be dealing with the same 'demons'. And if I can't slay them now, what makes me think I can slay them later on? Guess that's the same issue we all have to deal with here in NoS land....making smart choices.

BrightAngel · Post by **BrightAngel** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 1:56 pm

carpediem wrote:I've read through your post several times, BrightAngel,
and I appreciate your input.
I sense that I may have struck a nerve and if so I apologize;
certainly did not do so intentionally.

Misperception, as you didn't strike a nerve,
and certainly no apology needed.
My way is to always tell-it-like-it-is for me, personally.
Sometimes it fits another, sometimes not.

Everyday Systems

WLS or no WLS...that is the question!!

WLS or no WLS...that is the question!!

Re: WLS or no WLS...that is the question!!