WLS is Dangerous! - ThinnerTimes

livelifewell · 03-15-2005, 07:27 AM

I know someone who has just (2/04) had this surgery. I've known her for 5 years. Prior to having the surgery she was not doing everything she could to lose the weight naturally. She was walking on a regular basis, but was not addressing her diet at all. Both go hand-in-hand in order to see results and to make a complete lifestyle change. She is having problems now and is suffering from malnutrition.

I have a problem when someone decides to have major organs that ARE functioning properly - cut-up, stapled, rearrange and damaged, because they do not have the mental will power and determination to control what types of foods they put in their mouths.

Granted I know there are some who have severe obesity problems due to medication or some severe cases where the person is bedridden and weights over 500 pounds. I believe this surgery was intented for individuals facing those types of serious health issues; not someone who is 200 pounds overweight -because they CAN get control and they CAN lose the weight without surgery, it has been done and CAN be done.

Yes, many people despite their list of excuses are using this as a "quick fix" because they do not want to do the long and hard work it takes to get control of their eating habits and their physical well being. That takes work, time, commitment and a mental change in how one looks at food -- and in today's society where surgery is mass advertised as a quick solution to weight loss and beauty -- why are we surprised that people are abandoning the hard work of committing to a lifestyle change, for what they believe to be "quick results" without the extra work.

What is really going on is people are cutting up major organs and finding that their bodies are shutting down, other organs are failing, malnutrition and constant vomting is rotting away their bones and teeth, their hair is failling out, liver and kidney damage, hernias, infections, destruction of their stomach lining. They lack the nutrient the body needs in order to function because the surgery is straving them to death.

They can't adsorb food nor the vitamins and nutrients the body needs from those foods. Even if they give them supplement orally, it is not being adsorbed properly because their intestines has been re-arranged. Also remember the body can't live on "supplements" alone - hence the word supplement - which means in addition to something else and that something else is solid FOOD!! The body needs daily intake of healthy solid FOODS....

...And HOW can you get the daily intake of solid foods, when the surgery reduces one down to eating rat portions (and many can not even hold that down without throwing back up).

You can NOT cheap the body, you can not try to re-arrange and cutup organs and cheap the body, you can not strave the body of life-substaining nutrient and think you will be okay. Even if you are 2 or 5 years post-surgery and feeling just great! Your body will collect on that debt later either through prolong damage of other organs, osteoporosis, arthritis and who knows what else. The long term effects for these types of Weight Loss surgeries are not fully documented and are really unknown.

Since 2000 these WLS have "boomed" and the doctors and hospital are collecting a huge payday at the expense of people's physical health. Now lets see where these WLS survirors are 7 and 10 years from now. What will their overall physicial health be like.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is and be very, very, carefully what you ask for because you might just get it and host of other things you never expected!!

LAD · 03-15-2005, 07:32 AM

Get lost! You don't know what you're talking about. No one said surgery is a quick fix or easy! You don't belong on this site.
Help your friend get to this site and maybe with her doctor and us she can get well! You are not going to help her!

livelifewell · 03-15-2005, 07:35 AM

This is exactly the reason why anybody considering this surgery should think long and hard and get all the facts.

You got people on these messageboards that are promoters of this surgery and you never know what is in it for them. Be very, very careful - do not rely or make a major decision solely on the info you find on the internet. Find "real' people who had had this surgery and ask them what they are dealing with on a day-to-day basis. This is your health you are playing with!

lealphachienne · 03-15-2005, 07:37 AM

Sounds like we have a crusader from the opposite camp of thought.

WLS is dangerous. So is being morbidly obese.

Jennimaria · 03-15-2005, 07:41 AM

Wow...just wow.

I really took offense to that post. Even though I am only 235 and it may not seem that bad, it really is. You have no idea what the battle is like for some of us to even try and just maintain a certain weight. It's a never ending battle.

I also know what it is like for someone to go through with the surgery because my mother has.

LizardQueen · 03-15-2005, 07:54 AM

I made this decision after a year of thought, soul searching, and research. If I didn't have it I was going to die. My health has improved drastically in just three weeks. I don't think anyone hear is encouraged into doing anything they do not want to do! We are hear to support each other down this path that we have chosen to take. through the up's and down's! I don't know what compelled you to post if you are so opposed to our way of life! So please do us all a favor and crawl back under the rock you came from! we don't need your negative energy! I am sure there are lots of support groups on line for negative A**h****'s such as yourself!

watergirl · 03-15-2005, 07:54 AM

Everyone is entitled to their opinon. For everyone that may go bad, I can tell you of 200 that went well.

Being Morbidly obese is a slow death in itself.

We encourge people to find the good and bad. I hope everyone here that is considering weight loss surgery reads your post.

xocats · 03-15-2005, 07:56 AM

You sound like you have a profound fear of WLS. A natural reaction to fear is anger. You sound very angry and afraid.

If you would like to begin a dialoge with members of this forum about WLS...you might be more effective, if you begin with a more empathic approach. Your anger just alienates the people that you are supposibly attempting to reach. What does that achive? Not much.

What is your interest in this issue? Have you lost a loved one to WLS? If you have...tell us about it. Maybe we can help.

Tell us your story.

pambragg · 03-15-2005, 07:57 AM

There speaks an ignorant person. Until you have walked a mile in our shoes you should really keep your mouth shut. It is uninformed, biased minds like yours that prevents people from getting this lifesaving procedure. If you are really a friend you would support this decision. Hopefully, unlike you, your friend will have done thorough research and will make an informed decision. As for your naive statement about weight loss history, those of us who have opted for this procedure have run the gamut of diets, lifestyle changes, etc, etc, ad nauseum. I am deeply offended by your post and hope you go peddle your crap on some other website. You are not welcome here.

Christina · 03-15-2005, 08:00 AM

That is why it is a LAST RESORT, not a quick fix. Of course having a heart bypass is also dangerous, but if your family member was suffering from heart disease would you not want them to do what they could to be healthy? It's the same concept. You're right, nobody should consider surgery as a "quick fix" although unfortunately some do. However, the majority of people who have this surgery are well informed and have tried other vigorous means to lose weight to no avail. I am one such person, I have plenty of documented attempts and failures. I was 137 lbs overweight. I could NOT lose weight any other way, I tried.

Malabsorption is not what you are thinking of. We do NOT malabsorb our food, we collect all of the callories from eating! That is why we must make a major lifestyle change when we have this surgery. We had to committ to do the right thing and stick to it, otherwise we would fail. As far as the vitamins go, there are ways to ensure you get your daily vitamin intake. You do have to supplement, but everyone should anyway. So what, so you have to take some more vitamins who cares!

I might suggest that you get your facts straight before you go reprimanding people for making a lifestyle change or belittling those who had no other alternatives but to have this surgery. All of us were made aware of the risks, benefits, complications that we may endure. We all knew that exercise, eating right, and living a healthy lifestyle afterwards were part of the "deal" when we had this surgery.

Until you live in any of our shoes, do not judge us, do not try and tell us what to do and DO NOT tell us what we should or should not do. This is OUR life and we have made these choices. I have had some complications but they are a far cry from the complications I had as a morbidly obese person. I also knew these were all part of the deal. I knew I could die, but I would have died anyway from my weight. Once you get to a certain weight (approx 100 lbs overweight) you don't have the luxury of losing weight as easily anymore, therefore you must resort to other alternatives.