ecstasia

Hello,

My name is Melissa and I prefer to be called Lissi. I'm 25 and have been overweight for most of my teen and adult life. I'm approximately 5'3" and weigh about 300lbs as much as it pains me to admit it.

I had some questions that I wanted to ask and I hope that I am in the right section. If not please feel free to move my post or let me copy it somewhere else and then delete it from here.

I hate the way I look. I actually carry my weight well. People think I weigh about 50lbs less but that's not enough for me. I'm not healthy and I know that my weight is probably the cause of all my health problems. I have tried diet and exercise. And I mean really tried. I have tried low carb diets, low fat diets, low cal diets, low fat and low cal diets, etc. I don't do the fad diets like the cabbage soup diet. However I did do Atkins and it was the first thing that worked. For awhile. I lost 38 lbs in two months on Atkins. And then suddenly gained it all back even though I was eating less and still on the diet.

Anyway, I have been thinking about gastric bypass now for about 5 months and seriously for the last 3 months. I have been researching the surgeries and the options but I prefer to get opinions from people that have been through what I have been through and have had the surgery. So that's where you all come in.

Could you tell me the pros and cons in your opinion? What will I have to go through before a doctor even thinks about letting me have the surgery? I know I have to get a Health and Wellness check up but what exactly does that include? What restrictions come with having the surgery (food and otherwise)? What procedure (bypass or the lap band) would you recommend if I plan on having children in the future? How long would I be out of work (approximately - I have a desk job)? Things of this nature.

While I am seriously thinking of going to my doctor and discussing this with him, I would prefer to have all the information first so I can think it through even more first. I know that I will still have to work at keeping the weight off. I know it's not "wee I have surgery, no more diets yay". I am not afraid of working out and restricting what I eat. I just want this weight gone and I can't seem to do it the normal way. Oh! One more question. What about excess skin? Does it eventually go away or do I have to have more surgery to remove it? Thank you for reading this and for your answers.

-- Lissi

Gina in NY

Welcome to the forum. You can get a lot of answers here, but since I too am pre-op, let me just tell you the first steps I took. (We'll let the voices of experience help you on some of the other questions)

My first step was to buy "WLS for Dummies". It covers everything without glorifying the surgery. Sometimes while reading it, I became nausous just thinking about it - but that was good for me. We need to know the good, bad and ugly to make an informed decision. Also, it goes through lap band and GBP.

Second - write a detailed history of every diet you can ever remember being on. Did you save any of those good old Weight Watcher trakers? Write down everything you can think of - when, how much you lost and how much you gained back.

Third - talk to your PCP. He or she is the first step often in refering you to the surgeon. San Diego seems to be a great place too - you'll find lots of friends close by!

Good luck!

__________________
TT Gym rat club member #5

ecstasia

Gina - Thank you so much for responding! I'm definitely going to have to pick up that book. I do want to know all the good, bad and ugly.

How detailed does the histroy have to be? Most of the diets I failed on were years ago. I wish I still had some of the trackers but i never kept them. I may be able to find my old diet journals but that's if my mom hasn't thrown them out. I have a good memory but I'm not sure how good I will be at bringing up all those details.

Thanks!

-- Lissi

ers2433

Hi Lissi, welcome You have came to a good place to try and get some questions / concerns / education.

I have checked out 3 other forums and am finding the people posting here are very knowledgeable and friendly and very very supportive.

I haven't had my surgery yet, scheduled for May 30. My daughter is having hers on June 20. She lives with me and we are going to do this together.

My pros and cons for going for it were pretty easy.

Pros: I want to live healthier
I want to see my 2 year old grandson grow up
I want to extend my life
I want to get rid of my PBAP machine
I want to get rid of my home oxygen
I want to improve my diabetes and asthma
I want to learn to eat better
I will be changing my eating / exercise habits for the rest of my life
I will be going through this with my daughter

Cons: I will be doing a major surgery
I will be changing my eating / exercise habits for the rest of my life

My surgeon no longer does the lap band, he doesn't think they work good / long enough. We will be doing the gastric bypass.

I have talked with some people who have taken anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 weeks. Those I know who took the 6 weeks was because there insurance let them and they took advantage of that extra time.

I have read that some have alot of excess skin and some do not. At my last support group mtg they mentioned that lifting weights while you were losing helps minimize the excess skin. Don't know if that is true or not.
I do know one lady who managed to get her insurance to cover removing hers, but from what i know most do not cover that procedure.

Have you checked into your insurance yet ? Do they cover it ?

My suggestion to you is keep doing what you are doing,
research / forums / ask all your questions / find some books to read /
check out some of the cook books they have out there.

__________________
Robin


Surgery = May 30, 2006
290 / 219 / 185

Dr. Hunter @ VMMC in Seattle, WA

Charlotte

Lissi,
Welcome to the forum. Yes, you are in the right spot!! You will get all your answers here eventually.
I am getting ready to have gbs so I dont have all your answers but here are a few of my inputs for you.
Your weight qualifies for the surgery. Do you have any other medical issues? If so, make a list of all your medical issues which probably are caused by or at least worse because of the weight. Also list all the problems that weight has caused for you and how it hurts your life physically, emotionally, financially, etc.
Each surgeon and insurance company has different requirements and things you have to do before and after. What insurance do you have? We can give you feed back on how your company is and has been for others.
I as long with a lot of us on this forum are going thru Dr Callery or Dr Potts in Poway.
Your insurance carrier or your primary doctor will tell you which surgeons you can choose from. Ask this question at your appt. and ask for a "referral" to the surgeon. From there, ask more questions of us.
You can see what I have gone thru listed below.
GBS is not an easy road. I am figuring 1 year of a roller coast ride for healing,
ups & downs emotionally, counseling, support groups, focusing on the right food, being sick on & off and it consuming a lot of the 1st year for me. but like i said, i havent had the surgery yet.
I also believe that 95% of the people who have this surgery say they would do it again. The benefits out weigh the costs.
You can have children after gbs but not recommended to get pregnant during the first 18 months. Allow your body time to heal and adjust before it has to support someone else.
Food restrictions vary so much between people but figuring on getting sick if you overeat or eat fattening foods we shouldnt eat anyway. You will never again eat the amount of food you can eat now. Unless you set out to prove the stomache can stretch out again.
A lot of questions for 1 post. Good luck and keep posting.

__________________
Charlotte
233 / 219 / 135 my goal
12-27-05 Seminar
2-1-06 Turned in packet (procrastinator)
2-28-06 All blood work, urine, ekg done
3-1-06 QUIT SMOKING
3-8-06 pre-op & nutrition classes done
3-17-06 Sleep study test
3-28-06 mamogram & gall bladder ultrasound
3-29-06 Physc eval (Passed)
4-20-06 In dictation
5-6-06 Nicotene test done (0 nicotene)
5-8-06 File to Insur for Approval.
5-15-06 Approved and dates set
5-23-06 The big day!!

ecstasia

Thank you so much for answering Charlotte and Gina!

Charlotte,

I have Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding which I was told was caused by my weight. This is in fact one of the main reasons that I have been trying so hard to loose the weight. Because of the DUB I have become anemic. It's not pleasant. I have other medical problems but I don't know if the weight is directly causing them. My left knee has started hurting me a lot in the last 6 months. I cannot stand for long stretches of time. Same with my back. If I walk for too long I get a constant and pinching pain in my lower back. I am pretty sure my weight is causing these. But the DUB is the main things. Emotionally, my weight is the cause of the majority of my pain. The poor self esteem, the jokes heard, the comments made... It's the same that most heavy people go through. Financially I haven't been hit too hard because of my weight. Or I haven't realized it.

My health insurance is Cigna. It's supposed to be pretty good so I'm hoping they will approve it. I actually live in Poway and I have heard very good things about Dr. Callery and Dr. Potts which is one of the main reasons I joined this board and not another one.

I am aware that this is not an easy road to go down, which is why I want to have all the facts first. I just feel that I have done my best and my best isn't good enough and I am tired of being so fat. It's not me, it's not healthy, it's not good at all. I want it gone. And I apparently cannot do it myself.

I'm glad to hear that the surgery wouldn't make it so I could not have children. I don't plan on having kids for another few years. My fiance and I have been together for 7 years (this Saturday) and we both agree that we can wait til we are 28 or 29 before we have kids. I was just worried that I would never be allowed to since I know the surgery restricts how much your stomach swells.

The restriction of food has never really bothered me. I was always able to restrict myself when I was dieting. I'm actually glad that I won't be able to eat much as I do now.

Thank you again for answering my questions! I'm going to purchase the book that Gina mentioned and read that in the next couple of days. Then I guess I will need to make an appointment with my doctor.

-- Lissi

Stugots

Welcome Lissi

Everything you are feeling and thinking is very normal and I would love to answer anything you ask. You can always e-mail me with more questions or concerns anytime. But I will try to answer some questions now. First off I would recommend the gastric bypass but if you go through with this you must know that it is forever and there is no turning back once you get this done. The band you could go back to pretty much normal life if you wanted to. The reason for that is the band is adjustable and can be lossened.

I know that after a year or so you can start thinking about getting pregnant.

For work my Dr. gave me the option of 3 to 6 weeks and I only took 2 1/2 weeks.
A. Ineeded to get back to work (things fall apart when i'm not there)
B. I felt alot better and felt that I could go back
Some people are different and I heard that 15% use the whole 6 weeks. It just depends on your body.

__________________
Larry

Surgery Date Feb. 22 2006
By: Dr. Peter LePort

350/339/190/190

Highest/Pre-op/Current/Goal

Gina in NY

Just wanted to add that I'm a teacher, so I'm taking the whole summer to recover, learn how to eat, what I can eat etc. I know that not everyone has that luxury, but I would take all the time I could afford in any case.

I do not have a desk job and I'm running and dancing around like a crazy thing most of the time. (I teach music) Also, I eat in a group of teachers, whom I haven't told I'm having the surgery. I may or may not tell them in September - we'll see. I want to know (or be reasonably sure) that I can eat a few things or go out to lunch without tossing my cookies everytime before I head back there. It is about 8 weeks I think, but I know I'm very lucky to have so much time.

Good luck to you - and by the way - don't ever worry about telling us your weight - there is not another place where you can feel so UN-judged. We are there or were there. My top weight was 288 and I'm 5'2", so we're pretty close!

Enjoy your reading!

__________________
TT Gym rat club member #5

Dave T in SD

__________________
Dave T
356/330/218/185
Highest/Pre-Op/Curr/Goal
138 lbs gone forever!!!
Dr. Charles Callery
OFFICIAL LOOSER -- April 7th, 2006
Gym Rat #48
Jambabear...
http://www.myspace.com/davidtofte


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