gpmed

Honestly, I don't quite understand why your doc is against WLS. I could understand if he/she was being conservative and suggesting you try medication first, but it sounds like your doc wouldn't approve of it under any circumstances. Complication rates for bariatric surgery are similar to comparable surgeries. That says a lot about WLS because most of us would be considered high risk outliers among the patient populations having comparable surgeries. In bariatric surgery, we all have the high risk factors of obesity and often other comorbidities. To just completely dismiss it from ever being an option (I am doing some assuming here, btw, based on your post) doesn't make sense to me. In my experience most doctors recognize the immense health risk of being very obese, have heard the surgery works well and wouldn't say it's a bad idea to consider whether it's a good intervention for a very overweight patient. I mean, if medication gave results anywhere near surgery, a lot of us would probably be using medication instead.

My insurance and bariatric center required a referral from my PCP. Maybe this is the case with the OP? That could make things trickier.

@@bhopeful I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this. Your frustration is definitely understandable. I second the idea of asking the bariatric center you're interested in if they have any PCPs they work closely with. Also, is your bariatric center associated with a particular hospital or management group? I wonder if it might help to see a PCP with the same affiliation. Maybe they'd be more familiar with the center's work and willing to send a patient there.

I believe the OP meant people lose 5-10 percent body weight with the medication her doctor prescribed, not WLS.

Sounds like grammar is least of your worries in this case. Gross.

Wishing you continued success and joy in your new life! My surgery is in 10 days and I can't wait to join you in the losers club soon!

I'm scheduled for Sept. 1 also. I'm excited and scared! Please feel free to add me as a friend. And yay for your good news!

@@Sajijoma Definitely check with your nut. Personally, I was told to keep everything under 10 grams of sugar and 5 grams of fat per serving. I've also been told skim milk will be ok, even though it sometimes has a tad more than 10 grams of sugar.

@@TXhappyday It sounds like you're off to a great start! You're looking at your habits and understanding what's perpetuating the cycle. All that self-reflection will pay huge dividends in end. Others have explained well how using WLS as a tool differs from traditional dieting. I'll just add one thing my surgeon told me that helped when I was asking myself these same questions. He said people who have the BMI to qualify for surgery, but do not have it, have a 2 percent chance of losing their excess weight and keeping it off long-term. Those who have surgery have a 60 percent chance or greater of losing their excess weight and keeping it off. It's not *you*. It's the reality of the battle we're all facing/have faced here.

If you're being ridiculous then I'm being ridiculous. My surgery is less than two weeks away and I'm nervous too! I actually posted about two weeks ago that I was so afraid I'd forget something important. Best advice I got was that it's kind of like having a baby. It's okay not to know every single thing ahead of time because you'll learn as you go. Right now, I'm concentrating on the next two months, getting everything ready before surgery that I can and having/knowing everything I need to get through the recovery period, liquid phases and onto soft foods after I get home. Once I get through those I'll focus on the next few chunks of time. Everything else is too far out into the future. This really helps me focus on what I need to focus on right now. This weekend I did a deep clean of my house so I'll be comfortable while I'm home. I cleaned out my food pantry and fridge and got my Proteins, supplements, meds, etc. organized and easily accessible. This kind of "nesting" gives me something productive to do and helps me feel ready. Also, your questions are not stupid. We're here to help!

Make sure you talk with your surgeon about possible complications, healing time, lifestyle before and after, and which surgery will give you personally the best chance of success. Do your own research too! If you're just beginning the journey, you have some time to decide while complete all of your insurance company and surgeon's requirements for surgery. Personally, I didn't decide on the bypass until my very last appointment with my surgeon. I told him everything I'd learned through research and he confirmed it would give me the best chance of success. Now I'm scheduled for 9/21. I promise you'll figure it out! Best of luck!!

@@Knitchic I hear you! My surgery is actually the day before yours. This weekend I've been channeling my nervousness into nesting. I did my phase 1 pantry and fridge clean out; chucked everything I didn't think I'd eat in the next two weeks or sometime after surgery. I also did a serious deep clean of my house, moved furniture to sweep and mop behind, ended up rearranging my living room furniture. I figure these are things I'll be glad I did when I'm home for six weeks. The last few nights I've had a little trouble sleeping and I keep thinking about all the things I want to eat while I still can. When I wake up the next morning I'm fine. It's just those few minutes. Weird.

Are you saying you've lost 17 pounds in your first three weeks since surgery? That sounds pretty normal and like it's working. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

@@nnv I feel bad saying this while everyone else is suffering, but my surgeon isn't making me do a pre-op diet. I'm just supposed to do clear liquids all day the day before and take a nice bottle of magnesium citrate.

@@mlmanney Mine's Sept. 21 also. We can be surgery twins!

Welcome! We're surgery buddies, btw. Mine's Sept. 21 also! I can't believe we only have a little over two weeks!

@@JamieLogical Thank you so much for sharing! You look amazing! It's really cool how sometimes I'll click on a post here and it will answer the worry I'm having that moment. I'm pre-op and while my primary reason for losing weight is to be healthy, I've also been worrying a bit about loose skin. I've been thinking it might be disappointing if I go through all this work, but what I've done to my body by being obese isn't reversible. It's nice to see someone who had such a great outcome! Maybe that can be me one day.

Totally agree! If you feel comfortable, drawing a very clear boundary would absolutely be appropriate here. Personally, I've made it clear I won't tolerate any inappropriate comments from anyone. The only person I've had a problem with so far is my sister and I made sure I shut that down really fast.

Thank you for posting this! I totally agree! I think the term "elective" should only be used to describe surgeries that are purely for aesthetics. WLS is certainly not one of those. My surgeon is actually pretty cool in that he's an advocate for reducing the stigma associated with WLS. He's lobbying for all insurance companies cover it and to stop making us jump through so many hoops. He said that when you have breast cancer, you can be treated at any hospital and your insurance will cover it, no questions asked. WLS should be like that. Even if some of the prep required by insurance companies is helpful, it should be the surgeons and medical professionals making those decisions, not insurance companies.

Same here and I'm not in a union environment. My boss isn't allowed to ask questions.

At my work, our paid time off comes out of one bucket, whether it's sick time, personal time or vacation. For the first two weeks, I'm using PTO. After that, short-term disability kicks in and pays 60 percent of my normal pay. I'll use PTO to make up the remaining 40 percent and get my normal paycheck. I'm taking off a total of five weeks and working from home one week. I'm also filling out FMLA paperwork. This protects my job. It means they can't just replace me while I'm out. I don't actually get any money from that. I suggest talking with your boss and/or contacting your HR rep to find out what's available to you. If you're comfortable with it, you can just tell them you're having surgery and need to be out, no elaboration. Your HR rep might find out if they handle your FMLA paperwork, but should be professional and keep it to themselves.

@@_Kate_ That was painful! I skip over posts with no punctuation too because they're too difficult to read. I sometimes skip big blocks of text too. They're too difficult to scan.

Dear iPhone Autocowrecks, I never mean "ducking." Love, Letitbeatles9

As an added feature, how about an explanation of the difference between "lose" and "loose?"

Piggybacking on what others have said, I'd advise you to compare the success rates of the band and sleeve. Like people have mentioned, the success rates following the sleeve mimic those of the bypass (though longer term studies of sleeve patients aren't available because it hasn't been around a long time like the bypass) and the band is statistically less successful. Also, research shows both the sleeve and bypass change the levels of several hormones related to hunger in your body, helping you lose weight and possibly feel less hungry. The band does not induce these changes. The hormone changes are not yet fully understood, so it's a bit of an unknown how long these changes last after bypass and sleeve.