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My surgeon told us about the 1 band that he had leak (of the 200 surgeries he's done). It wouldn't hold saline. They attempted to fix the leak without removing it, but literally couldn't find the leak, even after inserting dye. Eventually they did a revision & replaced the band with a new one that held the saline. It's the only band he's ever removed... and he replaced it the same day. I didn't ask if they found the leak once it was out, lol. Sorry I don't have any first hand knowledge.

SLEEVE TO BYPASS REVISION. I apologize in advance if this is not where I post this at. I have been sleeved for 21 days now....and now I may have to have the bypass within 2 weeks. I never had actual GERD before but have had GERD ever since the surgery. I don't have any vomiting at night like others have mentioned...but it restricts me from now getting any food but cottage cheese in and only about 20 ounces of water. I'm not talking like the tiny acid I used to get with eating a whole pizza and then laying down ...I'm talking like punch you in the stomach pain & sizzling noises all day long in my throat. I boil acid all day long. It's not excruciating...Its just not good on a sleeve and I'm scared It will eat through my staples or hurt my small pouch even more. I was 270 day of surgery and weighed this morning at 238. I'm losing weight like a champ but it's because my intake is super low. I saw my surgeon on Friday and he raised my Nexium but said that if in 2 weeks I was still having the Gerd that he was going to do a sleeve to bypass revision. Has anyone had a sleeve to bypass revision? If so I would love to hear about your experience. Good or bad. I've googled many posts but can't get straight forward answers. How was the pain? Did you have complications? And how is your quality of life now? Tia

Sarabeth3569 - I had sleeve on Dec 21, 2012. I am probably going to be going through revision to bypass. Can you tell me how your process has been, struggles, non struggles, good days, bad days, etc... I was about 289 lbs when I had Sleeve done. I got down to 189. Then I got pregnant and Jumped up to 233. Now I'm back to 210, and I can't get my sleeve into gear. I'm eating way more than I should be able to, and I would like to get back into gear with all of this. It would be awesome to have an email friend.

thanks everyone. just wanted to make sure it was standard operating procedure (no pun intended). i originally planned on bypass surgery, and there was a litany of pre-op tests, but i guess that's because it's a more involved procedure. thanks a lot!

I called to tell them I do not want the gastric bypass and she said the wrong form went out to me. I have an appointment to see if I am medically necesary on Friday Apri 7.

Actually I had 4 operations in one day...The bypass, the lapband, the cosmetic & some liposuction. I was in the operation theatre for 9 hours ! I know a lot of Greek people that hv done lap band. I am a member to a similar forum called www.eatingdisorders.gr ! Relly usefull, as i had many help from people !

Hello to everyone. My name as u can see is Yiannis. I used to weight 192 kgs(abt 427 lbs). On the 18th of January, i had my lap band surgery. Also, i did a gastric bypass and a cosmetic surgery as my tummy was quite...big ! Till today I have lost 55 kilos(abt 122 lbs) and every week i am loosing some weight. I am very happy that i did that surgery, because i am already starting feeling much better ! Best regards Yiannis

I'm not sure about the beautiful young lady that passed away in vidor. However, I can tell you that this is not the first problem with the Medical center in this area. Me and my soon to be husband were looking at homes and we found a nice realator in the area. We found a house but it had major problems and we just decided to wait for a while. We did not her from her but I heard she had gastric bybass and was in the hospital. I ran into her daughter and asked her how her mom was doing and she said that she died. This wa a couple of weeks later. I have heard of other storeis similar to this. But I knew this person. Maybe the young lady had gastric bypass. I am considering surgery but I thought the lapband was safe. I know your body may react differently and that probleems could arise but I didn't think it was major. This is scary. I'm considering Dr. ortix in mexico.

Welcome Ndipilato, glad you decided to join our group. I understand your worries about the bypass as I am currently doing my liquid diet to have the bypass in a week and a half, I am actually happy with my choice only because I know my body and my self, and I am ready for this. I also am a yoyo dieter, and too have been a heavy person since I was real young. I am ready for this change and this to be the end of obesity for me. I need this to be and that is why I am putting my full head into it. I hope that you get your decision from the insurance company soon and you are happy with the sleeve. The reason I decided on the bypass was because I had the band back in 2010 and it did not work for me, something happen with the band and made a year of hell for me, so I had it taken out in 2011 and was so discouraged that I didn't have a revision done which I should have and I know that now but because of everything I had gone through I didn't trust something else. So I joined weight watchers thinking that I could do that, and went to meetings and everything I lost maybe 10lbs in 5 months. I have a super bad thyroid that I take meds for and I just think that with that issue it hinders me in losing weight. I went to my doctor to ask about bypass and when he said that if I got the sleeve and that didn't work then I could always get the bypass after right then I was like no way, I am having the bypass I am not going to have a surgery knowing that there is one more that i can get and jeopardize my weight loss with that knowing there was something else I could do. I am all set, so that is why I made my choice!!! Well Welcome and good luck!!!

I am 2 years post Lap Band with 90 lbs weightloss. I am happy with my success, but have suffered with horrible acid reflux and terrible restiction, and lack of sleep many nights due to aspirating. I am trying to get a revision approved with insurance. Dr. thinks lap has slipped. Would really appreciate response about your experience with revisions. My Dr. states that newly improved stitching methods have been developed to prevent slippage. What do you think? Thanks so much! Bullit

Thats cool Margo My one friend who had GBP about 5+ years ago told me she wished she had the option at that time to have the band. She IS doing wonderful with the bypass btw.

My doctors office has support groups once or twice a month, I don't go to them because they are mostly bypass/sleeve patients. I also feel out of place with them, it's very uncomfortable. To me it's a different journey with the band compared to the bypass or sleeve and we need different support. Just like when I went to my pre-op "class" I was the only band patient there, and some of the things they went over had nothing to do with me and I was getting confused with what I had to do and what suppliments I'd have to take. The people giving the class seemed to just assume everyone was getting the bypass or sleeve. I had to ask a million questions only to be told, "oh that doesn't concern you, you're getting a band, this is for bypass/sleeve patients" it was very frustrating. I could be wrong but most of the time it seems like its more of a struggle for band patients. My boyfriends sister had the bypass almost 3yrs ago, and lost most of her weight within the first few months without doing anything, but she also regrets getting it done. She has alot of health issues since her surgery, she said if she could do it all over she would have gotten a band instead. It may sound catty or ignorant but I'm just being honest, I kinda get uncomfortable and maybe even a little annoyed when I hear about how much weight they've lost in only a few months with no effort. I understand they are more at risk and some suffer from Vitamin deficiency and malabsorbtion but like seriously, I'm still working my ass off even after surgery to lose weight! Now I'm just complaining lol.. Anyway, this is what I chose and how I wanted to do it, but I feel the support groups should cater to all WLS patients and separate bands from bypass/sleeve patients as we have different needs.

Lap bypass is 100times harder than the lap-band. Risks are MUCH more prevalent. It may be purely that her patients need the more permanent surgery. I would not let that deter me. The more important question is how many lap-bands does she follow and how long has she been treating and following pts with lap-band? If its more than a year its more than your and my experience. If she has a good approachable bed side manner thats what counts- everyone has to start somewhere!! She could have lied to you but she was honest. Now you need to be honest with her. Tell her your concern if she is worth her salt she will discuss it with you and offer an expert in the field should one be needed.

Hi Sarah, When I was in the process of pre-banding I found out my surgeon had only done 40 bands. I was definitely scared, but he had done thousands of laproscopic surgeries and tons of bypasses. Band placement is considered by some surgeons to be a "breeze" compared to most other laproscopic surgeries. I don't want to be cavalier about it, but I heard one person say her surgeon said that "placing a band is like clipping a toenail". I also heard from a few people on here who were their surgeon's first and they're doing great. As for me I'm about six and a half months out and knock wood, I seem to be doing fine. My doctor was also attended by a doctor who had placed over 100 bands so that made me feel better. I think sometimes the surgeon might even be more careful when they don't have as much experience. --Becky

Well, I can tell you from my experience that the letter of medical necessity came from the surgeon doing the lap band. The medical clearance comes from your general practicioner. (cause the lap band doc, if he is a specialist only deals in your weight and co-morbidities, but your GP knows your history so they will be able to tell if the surgery is safe for you. I had one visit with the nutritionist and still have to attend another one called "Boot Camp" then I can have the surgery )each visit is $250...ugh....then I had to agree to 12 more visits.....mandatory...otherwise I will not get my receipts and then I can't submit them to insurance. My doc is huge on this because the Lap Band is only a tool....it doesn't curb your appetite, doesn't keep you from craving, so he wants to make completely sure this lap band is gonna work.....my sis only had a quicky meeting with the nutritionist and she gained some of her weight back (gastric bypass) On the upside the nutritional Evaul is great! When I left, I was thinking if I get denyied, I will continue with the nutritionist cause I think i can lose the weight just with them!!!! --I too am waiting to hear--just gotta get my apnea machine and i can schedule. Yay. Oh and I was wondering, why didn't they tell you about these test up front?? My doc told me on the first day....do this, do that...gave me a packet and told me to get it all finished and then we schedule. To maybe set you at ease, I was just looking at my doctor's website and I stumbled upon all his patients who posted feedback...it gave their date of approval and I would say 98% of them were Blue Cross Blue Shield....not one of them had my insurance...talk about nail biting! Good Luck and let me know how it goes!!!!!

I know I know that I have self-pity for not losing more weight. I can't stand the fact that I am tied to the scale. I weigh when I wake up and when I get home and before bed. If I am at the same weight when I get home from work as I was when I woke up I'll eat some protein but if I have gained any weight I'll just have a shake and then I get depressed. All I wanted was this last 2 lbs to come off before Tuesday because that is when I go for my fill. I don't want to have gained weight. What kind of message does that send to my doctor and I know I went overboard for the 4 days I had off. But is my body really punishing me for that. How can someone gain 10 lbs in 4 days? It doesn't make sense. I am losing sleep over this. Today I actually slept in and woke up at 5:30 so that was good for a change. I have this weekend off and hope to sleep in until at least 7:00. I have to take a xanax to help me sleep along with the other 3 prescription nighttime pills I already take. It is a cocktail that keeps me sane. I want to get off some of the pills I am on because most of them are for mood stabalizing and anti-depressants but how many does one person have to take before they feel like they can make it through the day without cutting themselves or the thought of suicide enters their head. That is what I have when I am not on my pills, I have cutter personality, I think about suicide all the time, I am a mean and hateful person and can't take a day with any stress in it. That is why I am on what I am on and now with the surgery and hopefully losing the weight will help my self-esteem enough that I can face people without the help of medication but I doubt it. I will probably be on something for the rest of my life. My grandmother gave me all her traits and she ended up having shock treatments done on her. Before the shock treatment she was delusional, hated the world, you just couldn't stand to be around her for very long because she was so negative and then after her treatment she was the best I had ever seen her. She and I were so close and I miss her so much. She is always on my mind and the good times we had when I was growing up and how we are so much alike. I just wish my husband could have met her because then he would understand where I get my personality and the things that I do came from her. When we first got together there was some stress because I was insecure and had been hurt so many times in the past. Robert was still close friends with his ex-wife and I couldn't see how 2 people that were involved could divorce and remain friends so everytime she would call I would get upset and cut myself. It made the world stand still and the pain go away. He didn't know how to handle it but since he saw how it hurt me he stopped talking to her. I didn't want her to know what was going on in our lives, it was none of her business and she always bragged about how good her life was and what she bought and how she did this and did that so well that he would tell me and I would feel like I was dirt compared to what she was, how could he go from that---a 5'2" 100 lbs beautiful woman to me...5'6" 200 lb not so pretty and then I gained another 70 lbs on top of it. What could he possibly see in me? All I have going for me is I have a great personality most of the time. I am caring, honest, protective, loving, I would give the shirt off my back if you needed one. I have a big heart to match my big body is what Robert says. He is silly. For our one year anniversary we decided it was time for me to get an engagement ring, well I told him I was a big girl and I needed a big ring, So he went out and bought me a 2.75 carat diamond ring, it is beautiful but sometimes I ask myself am I even worth it? He is a CPA so he has his tax and bookkeeping clients and works out of the house. He does all the housework and takes care of the 2 dogs. All I have to worry about is doing my laundry (which I am doing right now as we speak). He takes care of getting the groceries, making the dinners which has become even easier since I don't eat alot. We usually eat the chili he makes or hot wings from pizza hut. Right now I am on a hot dog kick where everynight I have one hot dog. It fills me up and it is protein so I don't mind eating it all the time. I go on kicks, I am sure you do too. Where all you want to eat is one thing and you can never get tired of it but after eating it for 2 weeks you are sick of it but it tasted so good while you were on the binge. That is what I do, my husband says I take everything to the extreme instead of eating a hot dog one night I eat them for 2 weeks, instead of making chili and eating it a couple of times, we make enough so I can take it for the week and I don't get tired of it. We had nothing yesterday for me to take for lunch so I took a can of artichoke hearts and ate them. They were low calorie and not too many carbs so it wasn't a waste and it filled me up enough to last until dinner. After reading on here I see where some doctors say no caffeine and others say it is fine, well coffee is my best friend in the morning, I usually have about 6-8 cups and then go to work and have another 20 oz's. It fills me up so I have a protein shake and then coffee in the morning and that is my breakfast. I figure as long as I have my protein I am doing good. By lunch I am hungry so the cup of food that I take I really enjoy. Sometimes depending on my mood I eat it real slow and take 20 min to eat it and then other times, I am so hungry I just want to get it down so it will fill my belly and I won't feel the hunger pains....is anyone else like that? I get so tired of people on here bitching because they have only lost 30 lbs in 2 months please people I would kill to lose that. It has taken me 9 months to lose this 15 lbs and I'm still fighting to lose. It is like a constant battle to try and keep the weight I have lost off and then to try and lose more, it just isn't happening. At work yesterday my team found out that we get to take the day off from working the front counter and go to Denver because we won "The Midas Award" which is a big deal for the company I work for. We usually see about 9,000 customers in a month and that is working with 9 employees on the team (most days there are 7-8 because of people taking vacation and days off) so last month with this transition we did with cable we saw 30,000 so we got this award and so we get to travel to Denver to meet with the head of the company and have lunch and get our picture taken. It should be fun, a day off from dealing with angry customers to having a leisure day to go meet new people and be recognized for what we achieved, what we did. It was 3 times the volume of people and our little lobby isn't met for that many people so most days they were out the door down the sidewalk waiting 30 minutes just to make a payment... I've been to the post office and had days like that. At our post office there is one lady who looks like she hasn't had a bath in a week, her hair is so oily it just hangs and she pulls it back with clips, but she takes forever with a customer and the sad thing is people in line have been there before and know she is the slowest person. She wants to sell you a PO Box, Stamps, Tape, Shipping Boxes...anything she can sell she tries. I know she is just doing her job but please lady there is a line out the door and sometimes you just have to go with it and get them through. I know we are supposed to sell at my job and I do get my sales every month and a nice commission but I get through the people. The average receipts for last month was 1,700 and I did 1.995 so I know I do my share of work. It is very nerve racking to have a line out the door and when people leave to take lunch or break you can just hear the customer's getting upset. It is so nice to take that 15 min and just relax and read. I have read just about every lap-band book out there and wish I would have read them before I had surgery but what I am learning now makes sense with how I feel and what I should be eating and how I should be losing weight...well we know the story behind losing the weight. I read the "Before and After" book but she had the gastric bypass but there are somethings she says that make sense even for lap band patients. The one thing she says that has stuck in my mind is nothing tastes as good as thin feels. I say that everytime I want to eat that big burger from Red Robins. Now I just eat it wrapped in lettuce but before I had restriction I would eat the whole thing. How could someone with the band eat the whole burgery and not get sick? That is how I was. I just ate whatever I wanted, now I look back on it and say how stupid I was for doing that. Well I am now off my soap box so hope you have enjoyed reading about a day in the life of Kelly. Have a good day and good luck with losing.

this article appeared in Slate yesterday. it always strikes me as odd that people find it best bizarre and at worst shameful that there is a surgical cure for obesity and that people are taking advantage of it. anyhoo, happy reading: Radical Reduction The benefits of stomach stapling for teenagers. By Amanda Schaffer Posted Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2006, at 7:27 AM ET Last month, the already grim prognosis for heavy kids took a turn for the even worse. A study of more than 100,000 women, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that those who were overweight at age 18 were more likely to die prematurely in middle age. And research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that people who develop type 2 diabetes—a condition associated with obesity—before the age of 20, as opposed to later, are at greater risk of end-stage kidney disease and death before the age of 55. Obesity at any age is associated with health woes like sleep apnea, fatty liver disease, atherosclerosis, loss of vision, and some types of cancer, in addition to diabetes. But when these conditions appear in the young obese, the long-term ramifications are just scary. How about a radical solution—stomach stapling for teenagers? It may sound crazy and desperate, but several major children's hospitals, including Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Texas Children's Hospital, and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, have started offering obesity surgery in recent years. Nightline recently followed a 16-year-old Texas girl who underwent stomach stapling and lost 129 pounds in six months, down from a starting weight of 368. The worry is that such stories distract from workaday efforts to improve school lunches, promote exercise, and establish good eating habits for kids. Critics also point out that stomach stapling is expensive and can cause serious complications, like intestinal leakage, bowel obstruction, and nutritional deficiencies. But for extremely obese teens—especially those who already have a related health problem—less radical treatment options may not work, or at least not work fast enough. Surgery, by contrast, can not only lead to dramatic weight loss but also improve or reverse conditions like sleep apnea and diabetes. Only a small group of kids should be eligible for the surgery, but for these few, it can be a very good thing. In a stomach-stapling operation (the medical term is gastric bypass), a small pouch is created in the upper portion of the stomach, and the small intestine is rerouted to connect with it. The benefit is that a downsized stomach will hold less food and may release fewer hunger-inducing hormones, causing patients to feel full more quickly and stop eating. To be sure, obesity surgery is a risky proposition. One small study, published earlier this year in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, found that roughly 40 percent of kids who underwent gastric bypass experienced some kind of complication, such as intestinal leakage, dumping syndrome, bowel obstruction, wound infection, or a nutritional deficiency. (A similar complication rate has been found in adults.) Nutritional deficiencies, especially of Calcium, Iron, Vitamin B-1 and vitamin B-12, may occur partly because patients are eating less and partly because the operation bypasses a portion of the digestive tract that efficiently absorbs many Vitamins and minerals. The potential for deficiencies means that patients must adhere to strict guidelines. All patients must eat more lean, high-quality protein; exercise; and take vitamins and minerals for the rest of their lives. Teenage girls must take additional calcium and iron. Critics argue that teens are less likely than adults to follow these rules and are too young to make a decision to undergo major elective surgery. They also argue that the surgery takes on a different social meaning when performed on young people: It seems like giving up and is hard to reconcile with the cherished notion that kids can always grow and change. There's no sense in soft-pedaling these issues. But Thomas Inge, co-founder of the obesity surgery program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, points out that when teens are more than 100 pounds overweight, the chances are vanishingly small that they will shed the necessary pounds on their own and keep them off. Programs that focus on changing diet and behavior may work for younger children whose eating habits and behavioral patterns are less ingrained; for teenagers, though, the results are often disappointing. Inge has developed guidelines to identify the small group of teens he and other doctors think should be eligible for stomach stapling. (Here's a brief summary.) Preliminary data show that surgery can really help these adolescents. In one study, teens who underwent gastric bypass lost an average of 37 percent of their body mass index by the end of the first year. Other research suggests that the procedure can reverse or improve sleep apnea and type 2 diabetes. Similar health gains have been noted in adults. But that's not necessarily a reason to delay the surgery. Inge points out that the longer a patient has had diabetes, the harder it may be to reverse the condition. The same may turn out to be true for cardiovascular disease, though the data on this are not well-established. Stomach stapling also seems to get riskier the more obese a patient is. So, an extremely heavy teen who is likely to grow into an even heavier adult might be better off opting for surgery sooner rather than later. A procedure that's less risky than stapling, known as adjustable gastric banding, may also soon make surgery a better option. During this procedure, a flexible silicone band is placed, inside the body, around the upper part of the stomach. At follow-up office visits, the band is progressively tightened (here's how). This appears to suppress appetite (perhaps by stimulating stomach fibers associated with feeling full). Gastric banding seems to cause adults to lose weight more gradually on average than gastric bypass. But it has a lower rate of complications. And it's reversible. In 2001, the Food and Drug Administration approved adjustable gastric banding for people over 18. Now a small number of researchers have received permission from the FDA to study it in teens. At NYU Medical Center, about 100 teens have undergone the procedure. About 5 percent have required a second operation because the band slipped out of position. But according to NYU lead surgeon Christine Ren, that's the most frequent complication. To date, there have been no deaths and no hospital readmissions for acute complications. Patients, who weighed 300 pounds on average before surgery, report a decrease in appetite. And they appear to be losing a lot of weight—an average of 95 pounds in the first year. Ren says that adolescents who undergo gastric banding seem to lose weight faster than adults do, perhaps because of differences in metabolism or because they're more, not less, diligent about following the post-surgery rules. There's a lot we still don't know about stomach surgery and its long-term effects when performed on young people. But for kids whose obesity is likely to be life-shortening, not to mention a source of diminished self-confidence and opportunity, the benefits may well outweigh the risks. It's heartening to have a possible life raft to offer them, however bizarre it seems. sidebar Return to article According to Inge's guidelines, teens should have a body mass index of more than 50 kilograms per meter squared or a BMI of more than 40 kg/m2 along with a major medical condition, like type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, or pseudotumor cerebri, which can cause progressive loss of vision. For a typical obese teen who has stopped growing, a BMI of 50 corresponds roughly to a weight of 300 pounds for girls and 335 pounds for boys. A BMI of 40 corresponds to 250 pounds for girls and 275 pounds for boys. sidebar Return to article During surgery, the band is connected to a small reservoir placed deep under the skin. At follow-up visits, saline solution is injected through the skin and into the reservoir, which causes the band to inflate and tighten around the stomach. (Think of a blood pressure cuff being tightened around the arm.) Amanda Schaffer is a frequent contributor to Slate.

Adjustable gastric banding is much more effective long-term than a very low-calorie diet for people who are about 50 pounds overweight, a study shows. Medical guidelines support this surgical procedure — which puts a band around the top of stomach to create a feeling of fullness — in patients who are extremely obese, about 100 or more pounds over a healthy weight, or those who are almost as overweight and have serious medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes. Researchers at Monash University Medical School in Melbourne, Australia, recruited 80 patients who were on average 52 pounds over a healthy weight. Half had the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band surgery. The other half followed a medical program that included a variety of strategies such as a very-low-calorie diet (500 calories a day) with liquid meal replacements, prescription weight-loss medication and behavioral therapies. Findings in today's Annals of Internal Medicine: • After six months, both the surgery patients and the low-calorie dieters lost an average of 14% of their starting weight. • After two years, the gastric band patients lost 22% of their starting weight. That was about 87% of their excess weight, or roughly 45 pounds. They also showed marked improvement in their health and quality of life. • At the end of two years, the dieters had regained much of their lost weight but were still 5.5% below their starting weight. They had lost 22% of their excess weight, or about 12 pounds. Researchers are still analyzing the weight-loss data. "I'm very happy that the gastric band patients are continuing to maintain their weight loss," says lead author Paul O'Brien, director of the university's Centre for Obesity Research and Education. Since the study, he received grants from INAMED Health, maker of the LAP-BAND System. In this study, the surgery was as safe as the diet program, but O'Brien notes the procedure does carry risks, and some may need follow-up procedures, such as readjusting the band position. The surgery costs $14,000 to $18,000 in the USA, he says. Insurance companies vary widely in coverage of gastric banding or gastric bypass, a more complex surgery that creates a much smaller stomach and rearranges the small intestine. Average cost: $26,000. Under certain conditions, Medicare covers both surgeries.

My PCP was dead set against me having a bypass. The complications arent' worth the risk. When I went to see my surgeon (he does both procedures) he never once tried to change my mind. There was an article on the news here one night that stated they are finding more long term complications from the bypass that they never knew about. Some doctors are stopping the bypass and will only be doing the band in the future. I don't know how accurate that report was, but atleast with the band, I know I don't have to worry about future complications, atleas not anything that couldn't be fixed by easily reversing the procedure.

Congrats!! I'm scheduled for June 27th!!! Bypass!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I thought this article was very interesting: http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/08/08/gastric_bypass/ My big fat obnoxious former self I'm glad I don't weigh 571 pounds anymore. But I miss my big-girl righteousness and bravado. By Rebecca Golden Aug. 8, 2006 | The best thing about weighing 571 pounds is eating whatever you want. You don't worry about gaining five pounds. You know that it won't make a difference. You know that starving yourself and losing five pounds won't make a difference, either. The futility of the situation creates its own inertia. At 571 pounds, I thought nothing of drinking all the cherry Coke I wanted. I ate triple cheeseburgers and Dutch apple pie and quiche Lorraine. Weighing 571 pounds should have meant that I had diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease at the very least. I had none of the above. I drove a car. I worked. I never became permanently fused to a plaid sofa. Burly firemen never had to remove a picture window from my house so they could haul me away to the hospital. Still, I longed to do ordinary things. I missed having the ability to get up off the floor unassisted, to sit in booths at restaurants and to ride in Japanese cars. I missed other things, too. I missed having a job that took full advantage of my various skills and talents. I found it difficult to convince newspaper editors that a 500-pound woman could cover whatever came up in the course of a day. I missed having a boyfriend. I found myself at the age of 33 trapped in my mother's house, disabled and alone much of the time. I had no idea I weighed 571 pounds; household scales don't go above 350. I found out my weight one day at the pulmonologist's office. His very efficient electronic scale spelled it out for me, the number writ large in neon green lights. That sort of a number comes as a huge shock. You try to deny its significance. If you're me, you leave the doctor's office, head directly to Wendy's, and buy a Classic Triple, large fries and a cherry Coke. You eat this meal in your car, and you cry like a little girl. I'd had wakeup calls before. Five years ago, I weighed 525 pounds, and managed to slide into denial about this fact. I did nothing about my weight. But something about this new number, 571 pounds, disturbed me profoundly. It may have been the proximity of the number to 600. I had told myself in the past that 525 pounds was barely 500 pounds at all -- really fairly close to the 400s. But 571 pounds? I finished my cheeseburger and started researching gastric bypass surgery. I stopped eating fast food and drinking soda pop and made an appointment with a surgeon. I joined the Y and stuffed myself into the world's ugliest bathing suit -- a backless, braless "swim dress" with matching underpants -- so I could do Water aerobics and swim laps. My Russian surgeon required me to keep a journal of everything I ate, to eat six times a day and to take Vitamins. I learned that after surgery I would need to do these things for the rest of my life. I developed a taste for Protein bars and grilled chicken. My doctor had no idea of the irony-fraught historical ramifications of my operation: He was as a descendant of Cossacks disemboweling the granddaughter of Russian Jews. Still, when the day of surgery arrived, I let some people cut me open and rearrange my guts. I woke up and saw the scar for the first time. An eight-inch line of steel staples divided my torso. I walked the hospital halls, putting in 10 circuits a day, 10 times past the nurses station where my caretakers snacked on Doritos and sugar Cookies. I admired the knitted Christmas stockings and construction paper decorations lining the corridor, but I made them take the candy cane off the door to my room. Now, seven months later, I can clasp my hands behind my back when I stretch after aerobics. I can ride in a Hyundai Elantra. I can sit with my knees together. I can cross my ankles. I've even taken to man shopping on the Internet. We postops take extraordinary pleasure in the suddenly ordinary. Wiping your ass? That is a red-letter day for some of us. These are victories, sure, but also the sort of clichés that abound in the world of gastric bypass. Everyone takes the same "after" picture: They squeeze into one leg of an old pair of fat jeans and mug for the camera. It is my effort not to become a weight loss surgery cliché that is my deepest struggle apart from my continuing love of food. One of the only good things about weighing nearly 600 pounds is the sense of uniqueness it bestows. People had no trouble remembering me. I was a rare, elusive creature. But, day by day, as I dwindle down, I become more and more ordinary. Weight used to define me, even manufacturing my personality. My whole persona, the boisterous, obnoxious fat girl, lent me an aura of toughness. As the weight comes off, I find myself changing inwardly, becoming more feminine and more delicate in ways that both delight and terrify me. When walking down the street makes you an object of pity and disgust at worst, and unfettered curiosity at best, you need a certain amount of righteous hostility. But the battle armor doesn't fit anymore, so I go out into the world without its reassuring heaviness. I have lost some of my dense outer layer of crankiness. These days, I'm a bit more open, a bit more hopeful in my presentation. And yet, I despise the idea of losing my big-girl righteousness as I lose the weight. People like to tell prospective bypass patients they'll become a whole new person. This never appealed to me. I never hated myself. I hated some aspects of my body (breasts should point up, e.g.) but never the inner person. But like it or not, that person has changed. Losing 180 pounds will do that to a girl. As I move forward in a drastically altered body, the inner fat girl diminishes. Much as my body troubled me, I can't help feeling nostalgic about that girl. I hardly think about Cherry Coke and fast food anymore. But that girl's scrappiness and general bad attitude saved my life a thousand times. I'm going to miss her.

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives. Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Krispy Creme Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?" And Man said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it, add some sprinkles." And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled. :phanvan And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size 14. So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan presented Thousand-Island Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast. God then said, "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them." And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. :hungry: And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof. God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it "Angel food Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's Food." God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds. Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds. :faint: God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, "You want fries with that?" And Man replied, "Yes! And super size them!" And Satan said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest. God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. Then Satan created HMOs.

Hi Mlevel. Does that mean Midlevel??? I agree with the last person. Do your reading, research the band and the gastric bypass. There's several sites which describe them all, and then you can narrow in on a procedure and check out individual sites too. One place with some helpful info is obesityhelp.com This might help you on your path to control! Best wishes! Cat

When I told my hubby he was like so your suppose to lose it fast and not learn anything. when we saw her at a pizza place I seriously could not believe what she was eating. We know several people who have had bypass and are big again. I knew I had to do something my son is almost 8 and weighs 110 lbs. I need to learn to make better choices so he doesn't grow up to be like me. Thanx so much for the support everyone. It helps alot.

Hi Terilen, I havent' been banded yet, but like all of us, I have struggled and struggled with weight loss forever. It is really hard to accept that obesity is a disease. One of the things that society wants us to do is TAKE RESPONBSIBILITY for ourselves. Sometimes it is really hard for me to differetiate between lack of willpower and having a disease process. Trying to control the disease of obesity and bulima has to take a supreme amount of mental and physical energy. So you havent' gotten quite gotten where you want to just yet, but you will. You are working with your doctor and therapist. You have recognized some of the mistakes you have made with the band. The key is that you keep trying. One day at a time and NO GUILT. I don't know if you have thought about maybe doing a different type of surgery, like Geezer Sue did. She had a lot of problems with the band and ended up going with a different type of surgery and did really well with it. I am not saying the band is wrong for you... only you can say that along with your doctor. My surgeon recommended that if you have a problem with sweets to go with one of the bypass surgeries. I chose to go with the band for now...because it is the least invasive. But if I have problems or if I don't lose weight over a couple of years then I would consider a different surgery. In other words if the band doesn't work for me, I am not going to beat myself up about it. I know that I have a big sweet tooth and that my surgeon says that increases my risk that the band won't work for me. I would think bulima is a disease that would increase your risk of having trouble with your band. I would also think the band may increase your risk of having trouble with your bulima since it is so easy to PB with the band. I am sending good vibes to you....