50 and over crowd?

[pamela 10]

Hi! I am 51 and having a revision from lap band to RNY on April 3. I’d like to hear from someone my age or older… how did your surgery go? Do you think age makes a difference?

[NickelChip 1,253]

I will be turning 50 exactly 1 week from today and had RNY surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago. The surgery went well and I'm doing fantastic! If it weren't for the incisions on my belly and the desire for a quick afternoon nap when that wasn't my habit before, I would almost forget I had surgery at all.

So far the recovery has been far easier than I imagined. A few days of pain managed with Tylenol, some fatigue, and that's it. My blood pressure, which has been high even with meds for a decade or more, has been back in the normal range without meds since the minute I woke up from the anesthesia. I'm not sure age is as important as your general health, immune system, etc. I've been lucky in that I generally don't get sick when others do, never had food allergies or digestive issues, and am in fairly good health except for the obesity related concerns I was hoping to reverse/ward off.

[catwoman7 11,215]

I had surgery at age 55. No issues. I was a slow loser, but I don't know if that was related to my age or not. Some younger people lose slowly, too. That said, I lost 100% of my excess weight, over 200 lbs. So no, it was no problem at all.

[Lily2024 133]

I'm 51, 9 weeks post op. I was working out regularly before surgery, doing well post op for the most part. Pretty sure I'll be feeling even better in another few weeks.

[summerseeker 2,168]

There are a few ancients on here. I was 62. I had a few issues with the surgery early on. My scars always swell and my internal stitch line was no different. It took a while for the swelling to go down so that I could eat again. I lost slow but continually for two years until I had found a weight that pleased me. I then increased my calories to stabilise and its working.

I have massive amounts of loose skin. At my age the elasticity went years ago. This seems to be the only issue for older patients.

[hulabear01 4]

I was almost 55 when I had my surgery (gastric bypass). I just turned 56. I have lost 103 pounds. I have about 35-40 to go. I slowed way down right before my 1 year anniversary. But, I haven’t gained any. Which is good considering I can’t stay away from sugar.

[Nan CC 16]

I am 67 years old and just had VSG surgery on 1/24/24. I had a very easy recovery, I think. Obviously my incisions were tender and my left side hurt when I bent over. But other than that I felt pretty good. A little tired (after effects of anesthesia?) on a couple of days during the week after but a quick nap was the solution. I had no need for the pain medication I was sent home with. I took Tylenol once but it was for a headache. I am 6 1/2 weeks out and have lost 15 pounds. I had the "3 week stall" at 2 weeks and it lasted for 2 weeks but I am back to losing slowly. It appears I am going to be a slow loser, but I was that way before the surgery any time i tried to lose weight. I was (and am) most concerned with reducing my risk for diabetes, which is in my family medical history. I would also like to get off of blood pressure and cholesterol medication.

I asked my doctor when I first went for my consultation if I was too old...he said "Absolutely not. My oldest VSG patient so far was 80 at the time of surgery." So I stopped worrying about age being a factor. And I feel great and have tons of energy.

You'll do fine!!

[BlondePatriotInCDA 496]

On 3/9/2024 at 4:56 PM, NickelChip said:

I will be turning 50 exactly 1 week from today and had RNY surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago. The surgery went well and I'm doing fantastic! If it weren't for the incisions on my belly and the desire for a quick afternoon nap when that wasn't my habit before, I would almost forget I had surgery at all.

So far the recovery has been far easier than I imagined. A few days of pain managed with Tylenol, some fatigue, and that's it. My blood pressure, which has been high even with meds for a decade or more, has been back in the normal range without meds since the minute I woke up from the anesthesia. I'm not sure age is as important as your general health, immune system, etc. I've been lucky in that I generally don't get sick when others do, never had food allergies or digestive issues, and am in fairly good health except for the obesity related concerns I was hoping to reverse/ward off.

Happy birthday early!

[NickelChip 1,253]

3 minutes ago, BlondePatriotInCDA said:

Happy birthday early!

Thank you!

[Christina B1128 23]

I had my RNY procedure last January at 52. So far so good. 2 days in the hospital, I managed my pain at home with Tylenol instead of the hydrocodone I was given. No complications, I did have a bout of dumping when eating Peanut Butter for the first time post-surgery. I can tolerate it now.

I lost a total of 85 pounds. I had a 3-week stall last March. I am off CPAP. My A1C is at 5.5 and I am feeling great. I love my new body. I am working on minimizing the scars with silicone scar and tretinoin via the advice of my dermatologist. My asthma is way under control so need for my maintenance inhaler. I feel that this was a reset in my life in many ways. I do Zumba, walk, and use dumbells to stay in shape. I make sure to stay hydrated per my surgeon's instructions. I follow my surgical team's advice to the letter. I'm just feeling blessed. Best of luck in your journey.

[EllieMayClampett 6]

Hi, I had a gastric band many years ago which I had removed in December 2023. I have just had a mini gastric bypass. 4 days in and recovery is going well. No pain meds as I have not needed them since leaving hospital. Am now officially sick of all the little Protein rich Soups I made and froze before surgery! Am making a Thai Soup broth, to jazz things up a bit.

[ShoppGirl 4,862]

On 3/9/2024 at 10:47 PM, catwoman7 said:

I had surgery at age 55. No issues. I was a slow loser, but I don't know if that was related to my age or not. Some younger people lose slowly, too. That said, I lost 100% of my excess weight, over 200 lbs. So no, it was no problem at all.

Question. How do they determine “excess weight.” Is it calculated from a certain BMI?? I tried to get an answer to this three hears ago when I was awaiting the sleeve and I still haven’t figured it out.

[Arabesque 7,332]

11 minutes ago, ShoppGirl said:

Question. How do they determine “excess weight.” Is it calculated from a certain BMI?? I tried to get an answer to this three hears ago when I was awaiting the sleeve and I still haven’t figured it out.

Interesting question. Some say it’s the weight you need to lose to put you at a healthy BMI. Some say it’s the weight they personally want to lose to put them in their happy weight zone - a weight that worked for them in the past or they think will work for them in the future.

Personally, I think of it simply as the weight you want to lose to get to your goal regardless of how you worked it out or chose it. Not as a sort of standardised amount of weight defined by someone else (surgeon, dietician, etc.) or statistical data. This (weight loss) is all about you & your experiences & no one else’s.

As you know not every one reaches their goal & statistically average weight loss with sleeve or bypass is about 65% of the weight you are to lose (based on BMI defined excess weight). And then there are those who find they’re happier at a weight that is more or less than the goal they initially chose. They all lost excess weight & are healthier for it.

[EllieMayClampett 6]

From what I know if you look at your BMI range, it is the top figure weight, say in my case, 78 kg. You now take your current weight, which when I started surgery was say 128 kg. Sorry I work in Metric but it works the same in imperial. 128-78 equals 50 kg. That 50 kg is my XS weight, so if mini gastric bypass has a predicted loss of 70 to 85% of the XS weight then it is 70% of 50 kg to 85% of 50 kg. I.e 35 to 59.5 kg is what I am expected to lose with the procedure.

When it comes right down to it from what I understand. If like me, you have been obese all your life. Then you will have thicker, heavier bones to support that weight, more skin to wraparound it and a larger heart to pump blood around your body, so that means no matter what the general BMI limit is it is not totally relevant and there has been some suggestions by bariatric surgeons that to aim for a BMI of 30.

BMI is intrinsically a flawed concept as it does not take into account, body muscle mass. You will know the example of the brick **** house musclebound New Zealand rugby player with no fat, looking like a crazy obese person on paper because they have a BMI of 45.
I am 52 this year, so I think I would be happy with something above the BMI range. Otherwise my skin will waft in the breeze! 🤣

[EllieMayClampett 6]

7 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

Question. How do they determine “excess weight.” Is it calculated from a certain BMI?? I tried to get an answer to this three hears ago when I was awaiting the sleeve and I still haven’t figured it out

From what I know if you look at your BMI range, it is the top figure weight, say in my case, 78 kg. You now take your current weight, which when I started surgery was say 128 kg. Sorry I work in Metric but it works the same in imperial. 128-78 equals 50 kg. That 50 kg is my XS weight, so if mini gastric bypass has a predicted loss of 70 to 85% of the XS weight then it is 70% of 50 kg to 85% of 50 kg. I.e 35 to 59.5 kg is what I am expected to lose with the procedure.

When it comes right down to it from what I understand. If like me, you have been obese all your life. Then you will have thicker, heavier bones to support that weight, more skin to wraparound it and a larger heart to pump blood around your body, so that means no matter what the general BMI limit is it is not totally relevant and there has been some suggestions by bariatric surgeons that to aim for a BMI of 30.

BMI is intrinsically a flawed concept as it does not take into account, body muscle mass. You will know the example of the brick **** house musclebound New Zealand rugby player with no fat, looking like a crazy obese person on paper because they have a BMI of 45.
I am 52 this year, so I think I would be happy with something above the BMI range. Otherwise my skin will waft in the breeze! 🤣