BabySpoons

THIS^^^^^^

I will be having gastric bypass done at the end of this month, but when I was trying to decide between sleeve or bypass, one of the resources I used was this risk calculator. In addition to risks, it lets you select your own co-morbidities such as sleep apnea, hypertension, or diabetes to see how likely it is that they will resolve based on which procedure you choose, and shows you a BMI predictor chart at the 12-month mark. I found it pretty helpful. Additionally, I found this video super informative:
The factors that I considered most were GERD risk and the desire to control my blood sugar and blood pressure, as well as feeling like I could benefit from the threat of dumping if I ate too much fat or sugar, my weaknesses! It definitely took me several weeks to decide as I weighed it all.

I can't help but think of all the holidays and special occasions I celebrated with food and where it got me. Falling off diets. Starting again on Monday...etc etc. It was exhausting.
By the time I finally got to my pre-op diet (my birthday fell during that time), I was so sick and over the excuses I made for overeating that I no longer felt like I was somehow missing out or deprived.
Drink some turkey broth and be thankful for the new life that's waiting for you. WLS is nothing short of miraculous. It handed me hope. After losing over 100 pounds, I may even let family members take pictures of me now. LOL
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!! Hugs!!

THIS^^^^^^

And you would have. I realized this past week while going thru years of stuff that I'm finally cleaning out, how long I actually struggled with dieting and weight loss. I found journals and food diaries and counting calorie lists, diet books and recipes etc. It made me sad. I could have avoided a lot of that if I had decided to get the surgery sooner.
But I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and am happy with where I am now, I can honestly say, and I've said it before...my only regret is not getting the WLS sooner.

I went to see my GP this week to get some testing done. I actually looked forward to going, knowing things would to be better than the last time I saw her pre-op. She along with everyone in the office flipped out when they saw me. I'm down over 80 pounds in 5 months. The nurse said I lost a small person. LOL
I could fit comfortably in the chair when they drew my blood. You know that little table that folds down in from of you? I had room to spare. She asked if I was having fun buying new clothes. I told her yes. I love thrifting and now able to get around to do it.
The head nurse had to come in and take a gander at me. She called me yesterday and told me my bloodwork results were amazing. Everything is in normal range now. I am no longer pre-diabetic. Even my liver and kidney functions are normal. Those things scared me the most and my main reason to get the Gastric Bypass. Don't ever let anyone tell you those things aren't reversable.
My GP said she can't believe my numbers. Told me all her sleeve patients don't have these kinds of results in a year, even after prescribing them Ozempic. She sees patients from a local surgeon who only does the sleeve with no follow up support. I'm guessing most of those people aren't following any protocol because I see the good results on here, every day, of sleevers' success stories. I love reading them.
I went out of town to get my bypass in April that thankfully has a great Bariatric support team. I go back to see them for my 6-month checkup Oct 11. They did a Vitamin panel on me last time and all was well except my B12 was a bit high but nothing to worry about. And I go back in January for my annual physical with GP. Was told they can hopefully start taking me off my meds. I will be closer to goal weight by then. Something else to look forward to.

I can't help but think of all the holidays and special occasions I celebrated with food and where it got me. Falling off diets. Starting again on Monday...etc etc. It was exhausting.
By the time I finally got to my pre-op diet (my birthday fell during that time), I was so sick and over the excuses I made for overeating that I no longer felt like I was somehow missing out or deprived.
Drink some turkey broth and be thankful for the new life that's waiting for you. WLS is nothing short of miraculous. It handed me hope. After losing over 100 pounds, I may even let family members take pictures of me now. LOL
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!! Hugs!!

THIS^^^^^^

THIS^^^^^^

I told myself I could do it on my own too. I lost those same 45+ pounds over and over and over again through the years along with attaining a sluggish metabolism through low calorie dieting. Your body will constantly fight to get back to that higher abnormal weight setpoint we made for ourselves. It's exhausting. Regaining the weight always involved a few more pounds and eventually co morbidities. You might not have any now, but you will. Not trying to be negative but realistic. Also, as I got older, maintaining all the added exercise to try to keep it off became unattainable.
WLS is way more than just food restriction. The surgery resets that setpoint, so you are no longer working against your own bodies stubbornness to stay at a higher bodyfat %. Don't pass on doing it based on fear. I would be more scared not to do it, knowing what I know now. GL.

I told myself I could do it on my own too. I lost those same 45+ pounds over and over and over again through the years along with attaining a sluggish metabolism through low calorie dieting. Your body will constantly fight to get back to that higher abnormal weight setpoint we made for ourselves. It's exhausting. Regaining the weight always involved a few more pounds and eventually co morbidities. You might not have any now, but you will. Not trying to be negative but realistic. Also, as I got older, maintaining all the added exercise to try to keep it off became unattainable.
WLS is way more than just food restriction. The surgery resets that setpoint, so you are no longer working against your own bodies stubbornness to stay at a higher bodyfat %. Don't pass on doing it based on fear. I would be more scared not to do it, knowing what I know now. GL.

I told myself I could do it on my own too. I lost those same 45+ pounds over and over and over again through the years along with attaining a sluggish metabolism through low calorie dieting. Your body will constantly fight to get back to that higher abnormal weight setpoint we made for ourselves. It's exhausting. Regaining the weight always involved a few more pounds and eventually co morbidities. You might not have any now, but you will. Not trying to be negative but realistic. Also, as I got older, maintaining all the added exercise to try to keep it off became unattainable.
WLS is way more than just food restriction. The surgery resets that setpoint, so you are no longer working against your own bodies stubbornness to stay at a higher bodyfat %. Don't pass on doing it based on fear. I would be more scared not to do it, knowing what I know now. GL.

I can't help but think of all the holidays and special occasions I celebrated with food and where it got me. Falling off diets. Starting again on Monday...etc etc. It was exhausting.
By the time I finally got to my pre-op diet (my birthday fell during that time), I was so sick and over the excuses I made for overeating that I no longer felt like I was somehow missing out or deprived.
Drink some turkey broth and be thankful for the new life that's waiting for you. WLS is nothing short of miraculous. It handed me hope. After losing over 100 pounds, I may even let family members take pictures of me now. LOL
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!! Hugs!!

I can't help but think of all the holidays and special occasions I celebrated with food and where it got me. Falling off diets. Starting again on Monday...etc etc. It was exhausting.
By the time I finally got to my pre-op diet (my birthday fell during that time), I was so sick and over the excuses I made for overeating that I no longer felt like I was somehow missing out or deprived.
Drink some turkey broth and be thankful for the new life that's waiting for you. WLS is nothing short of miraculous. It handed me hope. After losing over 100 pounds, I may even let family members take pictures of me now. LOL
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!! Hugs!!

I told myself I could do it on my own too. I lost those same 45+ pounds over and over and over again through the years along with attaining a sluggish metabolism through low calorie dieting. Your body will constantly fight to get back to that higher abnormal weight setpoint we made for ourselves. It's exhausting. Regaining the weight always involved a few more pounds and eventually co morbidities. You might not have any now, but you will. Not trying to be negative but realistic. Also, as I got older, maintaining all the added exercise to try to keep it off became unattainable.
WLS is way more than just food restriction. The surgery resets that setpoint, so you are no longer working against your own bodies stubbornness to stay at a higher bodyfat %. Don't pass on doing it based on fear. I would be more scared not to do it, knowing what I know now. GL.

I told myself I could do it on my own too. I lost those same 45+ pounds over and over and over again through the years along with attaining a sluggish metabolism through low calorie dieting. Your body will constantly fight to get back to that higher abnormal weight setpoint we made for ourselves. It's exhausting. Regaining the weight always involved a few more pounds and eventually co morbidities. You might not have any now, but you will. Not trying to be negative but realistic. Also, as I got older, maintaining all the added exercise to try to keep it off became unattainable.
WLS is way more than just food restriction. The surgery resets that setpoint, so you are no longer working against your own bodies stubbornness to stay at a higher bodyfat %. Don't pass on doing it based on fear. I would be more scared not to do it, knowing what I know now. GL.

60lbs down since the start and 52 since the day of my surgery. 13 inches off my waist and 10 off my apron belly. Feeling more confident. Still a way to go

Since you've been doing your homework, you probably already know that your chance for any complication is just under 6% and your chance for a serious complication is about 2.5% with the RNY. On the flip side, you have about a 74% chance of curing your sleep apnea and a decent likelihood of reaching a BMI in the healthy range.
I am scheduled for surgery next month, so I can't tell you about my experience with it yet. What I can tell you is why I am choosing it after almost 7 years in my hospital's non-surgical weight loss program. I am 5'6 and 49 years old, with 2 teen/tween daughters. At the start of 2017, I was 249 pounds and on blood pressure meds, no other co-morbidities. My primary care doctor referred to me to the weight management center. They said aim for 1500 calories per day, 30 minutes of exercise 5 days per week, and check in with them every month. I was motivated and started tracking my food and exercise. I went in for nutrition, psych, and medical meetings as directed. The weight came off. I was thrilled! I got down to 202 in 6 months. I was so close to being under 200, and I was certain I could easily get to at least under a BMI of 30 to no longer be "obese." Piece of cake! Or rather, some suitably healthy cake alternative. Like apples, maybe?
And then I stalled for months. I never hit that magical 199 on the scale. I kept doing everything the same and my weight didn't budge. I ate a little less. I exercised a little more. I gained 5 lbs. I gained a few more. I became discouraged. Life happened. I would lose 10 lbs, gain 8, lose 5, gain 15... I tried various meds but couldn't afford them longterm. I lost health insurance for a year and couldn't afford to go to my regular check-ins, which I know were partially responsible for keeping me at least a little motivated even when the scale didn't cooperate. I got health insurance again, and went for my physical. My blood pressure had worsened and now I was prediabetic. My doctor urged me to go back to weight management. I had to wait 3 months for an appointment, and despite wanting to lose some weight in the interim (so the doctor there wouldn't be disappointed in me), I weighed in at 251, which tipped me over to 40 BMI. That was the most I ever weighed. When the doctor recommended I consider weight loss surgery, I knew that was the answer for me.
One thing I learned in all this is people can lose weight, even a lot of it. The likelihood of keeping it off longterm without meds or surgery is around 10%. Between a 2.5% risk of a serious complication or a 90% chance of being obese and on blood pressure meds the rest of my life, and risking diabetes, I prefer to take my chances with the surgery. It's not the losing weight that worries me, but the keeping it off that I don't think will happen without it.

I don't know if the OP was a troll but I think the post has merits for the reflections it has created. My partner sees a therapist that specializes in eating disorders. She seems to be rather WLS negative because she sees patients that struggle with it and regret it. But in talking about it I realized for most of these people the regrets are driven by unrealistic expectations or having food addiction issues they've never dealt with--they weren't prepared to say goodbye to their relationship with food like Babyspoons points out. The surgery is hard on our minds and if our head game isn't strong it will take us down!

Unrealistic expectations are so damaging to one's long term happiness. I don't know if it is the individual's issue, or a combo of that and surgeons painting a fairytale picture, but I had pretty frank discussions with my surgeon and GP about what I could expect from the surgery. I don't expect to lose 50 lbs in this first month. I don't expect to ultimately get down to 130lbs. I've set a reasonable goal for myself and we all agree it is attainable if everything works right. Not everything works right all the time. But I picked the surgery that had the highest chance of giving me what I really wanted---a loss of my co-morbidities. I decided that if I could kiss my diabetes and high blood pressure and high cholesterol goodbye, it would be worth the surgery even if I don't lose all the weight.

Of course I want to lose the weight, but I'm a pragmatic person and I had to really dig deep and decide how I'd feel if I never meet my weight loss goal. I didn't want to be stuck with regrets, I hate regrets. But I think most people don't do this internal work pre-surgery so they are left trying to reckon with it all post surgery when expectations don't meet reality. I think there is a lesson in that for all of us...

And you would have. I realized this past week while going thru years of stuff that I'm finally cleaning out, how long I actually struggled with dieting and weight loss. I found journals and food diaries and counting calorie lists, diet books and recipes etc. It made me sad. I could have avoided a lot of that if I had decided to get the surgery sooner.
But I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and am happy with where I am now, I can honestly say, and I've said it before...my only regret is not getting the WLS sooner.

And you would have. I realized this past week while going thru years of stuff that I'm finally cleaning out, how long I actually struggled with dieting and weight loss. I found journals and food diaries and counting calorie lists, diet books and recipes etc. It made me sad. I could have avoided a lot of that if I had decided to get the surgery sooner.
But I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and am happy with where I am now, I can honestly say, and I've said it before...my only regret is not getting the WLS sooner.

Dr. John Morton, Division Chief of Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery at Yale School of Medicine, discusses if the new injectable weight-loss drugs are having an impact on people choosing bariatric surgery.
https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/yale-doctor-discusses-differences-between-bariatric-surgery-and-weight-loss-drugs/3145715/?amp=1

Update: Gastric Bypass Date 8/16/2023
Starting weight 376
Current 295
Down 81 pounds.
My heaviest was 387.

I’m 12 hours out from surgery. Or at least from having to be at the hospital. Having some Protein broth. It’s actually pretty good it’s chicken Soup flavored Protein Powder that you had to hot Water. My doctor ok’d it for the pre surgery diet. Luckily my program only requires 2 days of liquid diet before surgery. They used to require the two weeks but claim studies have shown 2 days is enough. Still nervous as I said in my last post because I am high risk because I have kidney failure and heart failure but everyone cleared me for surgery. They do think I will have issues with infection and leaking because I am on chronic steroids.


My highest weight was 509 pounds and my weight today is 399 pounds. I am 6 feet tall and my goal weight it ideally 180 but I will be happy at 200

@BabySpoons
Love, love, love this....saved it!