Commentroversy
Well, this week we've argued about Shallow Hal and we've argued about the KFC famous bowl--for which I thank you, by the way, it's been very lively!--so I figure we may as well talk about something really controversial: gastric bypass surgery.
Robyn has had it:
"I knew before I even thought about having weight loss surgery that I was going to end up needing surgery to get rid of loose skin on my stomach, legs, and upper arms, as well as a breast lift. I knew that, and I accepted it."
Anne is planning on having it:
"And I think what I’m doing here is justifying myself, which I did not plan to do. This is what I am doing, and those are the reasons I am doing it, and I’m doing it now, while I am still relatively healthy and young, and still devastatingly attractive"
GB Girl is telling the truth about it:
"I would have loved a site like this when I was trying to learn all I could. I am not saying that I would not have had my surgery if I’d known then what I know now…not at all. I just would have been prepared. Properly prepared for everything that could come down the pike, instead of continuously being taken by complete surprise by situations, as I still am, to this day."
And the Fatty McBlog girls are, as always, ready with an honest perspective:
"You might think that the more overweight the person is, the more supportive they would be, but the opposite is true. My chubby, fat, obese friends have mostly expressed shock, scorn, and disappointment that I would ever consider 'the easy way out'. While my thin friends all think it would change my life for the better."
What do you think about it? Is it selling out? Is it too dangerous? Is it potentially a good idea? Any success stories? Any horror stories? Have you ever thought about it? Would you do it? If these questions are too complicated to contemplate, I highly suggest going back to the previous two entries and debate more fluffy topics. Hell, do that anyway!
Also, while we're on the subject of gastric bypass, I do have to report my favorite recent comment about Star Jones, which was "Star Jones looks like a llama." Yes she does. Yes she does, my friend.
Robyn has had it:
"I knew before I even thought about having weight loss surgery that I was going to end up needing surgery to get rid of loose skin on my stomach, legs, and upper arms, as well as a breast lift. I knew that, and I accepted it."
Anne is planning on having it:
"And I think what I’m doing here is justifying myself, which I did not plan to do. This is what I am doing, and those are the reasons I am doing it, and I’m doing it now, while I am still relatively healthy and young, and still devastatingly attractive"
GB Girl is telling the truth about it:
"I would have loved a site like this when I was trying to learn all I could. I am not saying that I would not have had my surgery if I’d known then what I know now…not at all. I just would have been prepared. Properly prepared for everything that could come down the pike, instead of continuously being taken by complete surprise by situations, as I still am, to this day."
And the Fatty McBlog girls are, as always, ready with an honest perspective:
"You might think that the more overweight the person is, the more supportive they would be, but the opposite is true. My chubby, fat, obese friends have mostly expressed shock, scorn, and disappointment that I would ever consider 'the easy way out'. While my thin friends all think it would change my life for the better."
What do you think about it? Is it selling out? Is it too dangerous? Is it potentially a good idea? Any success stories? Any horror stories? Have you ever thought about it? Would you do it? If these questions are too complicated to contemplate, I highly suggest going back to the previous two entries and debate more fluffy topics. Hell, do that anyway!
Also, while we're on the subject of gastric bypass, I do have to report my favorite recent comment about Star Jones, which was "Star Jones looks like a llama." Yes she does. Yes she does, my friend.
posted by mo pie at 8:55 PM
10 Comments:
I'm divided. Part of me hates the fact that being fat is so stigmatized in this society that people would embrace any procedure, even one as radical as GBS, to ensure (even involuntarily) their weight loss. The other part of me knows just how difficult and exhausting life can be (physically, emotionally, mentally, socially) when you are overweight, so I can understand why a person would choose this option if they felt nothing else was working for them. But I still think that GBS is overpromoted (almost glamorized) as a "solution" to obesity and it's not that at all. It's just a new and very expensive fresh start (and one that comes with a good chance of dying). I wouldn't make the choice to have it, but I understand why people do and I do not condemn them for it. I still think it should be a last resort. I also think people who are thinking about the procedure should try the diet plan you have to follow once you have it done for at least a week if not a month (a la Almost Gastric Bypass).
Love your blog.
I had the surgery 2 and a half years ago. It was the best decision I ever made. It is sad that being fat in our society is so stigmatized. I struggled with my weight my entire life, dieted endlessly, yo-yoed, etc.
I am so happy not to have to do that anymore. It isn't however a cure all (contrary to what the popular media tries to portray). I've never worked harder in all my life. Initially, I had to recover from the surgery which was no piece of cake. Then, I had to deal with my emotional issues surrounding my decision (did I make the right choice, was it worth it). Then I had to deal with crap from friends and family who didn't understand, were jealous, were concerned, were overly joyful, whatever. Now, I finally feel that I've come full circle.
It does give you a fresh start if that is what you are looking for and if you are motivated to use it. I eat a very healthy diet. I exercise every day. Let me repeat that - EVERY DAY! After two years your stomach stretches and there is a danger of gaining back some of the weight. I gained back probably around 10 pounds after I hit my goal weight.
Anyway, this is starting to ramble but I made the right choice for me and 6 months after my surgery, my mother had it as well. For some of my other family members they have decided not to have the surgery and that is okay as long as they are looking into other options to stay/become/continue to be healthy.
What I find interesting is that in Europe the lap band procedure is the most popular one whereas in the US they seem to push the RNY or DS surgery. I think this is partly because it got approved over there first. I've always wondered what makes someone choose one or the other.
I idly contemplated WLS when I had to have my gall bladder removed at 23 and my surgeon told me my weight was taking at least 7-10 years off my life. However, he was also a surgeon doing the surgery at the less popular hospital in town to do it, so I kind of wondered if he was just looking for practice. I decided I would at least give a really, serious try to weight loss the old fashioned way before looking into the surgery. A year later the stars aligned in my favor and I actually managed to somehow start losing weight. I'm now too thin for the surgery, but if things hadn't turned out as they did I would probably consider it.
What shinypenny said, pretty much. I say I wouldn't do it myself; I say the weight I've lost with conventional methods is enough, or nearly; I say lots of things; but then I fold up double and feel my breasts resting on my stomach, and I know that if I were REALLY thin, and rich, and knew I wouldn't gain anything back (and rich), I would seriously consider doing something surgically about The Girls, which can almost literally be tied in a knot now. And how is that any different? People have to make their own choices based on their own comfort and the options we have now; it's no good saying we shouldn't have those options. What the very heavy suffer, physically but especially emotionally, is indecently painful. I can wish that there were other ways to reduce that pain (like a law gagging every person who makes a derogatory fat comment for one week per comment), but the bottom line is that I want to see less suffering. Of all kinds. In whatever ways work.
I really love the people who write on this site. My God, you're incredible. And shinypenny, you are SO right...there is NOTHING glamorous about it and it is not a solution. For some it's just the only way to health. But that is all it is. And I know everyone has heard this thirty times but it's also Not The Easy Way Out. Because it is so hard...for such a long time...
Sorry to rant.
I, too like shinypenny, am divided, because WLS is "marketed" as a "solution", and she wisely points out that it's simply a fresh start. Simply isn't a good word here. I had a radically different view of what WLS is and isn't BEFORE I knew of two people (one physically local to me, the other a dear online friend), and learned what kind of work is involved (not to mention risk, etc). Physically, I'm not a candidate for the surgery, and psychologically, I'm not either: my issue still remains that I have a certain discipline that I have to embrace and make part of my life -- its a discipline that is possessed by those for whom WLS is a success. I'm the kind of person who would be an ugly failure statistic with WLS, because I'm looking too much for the magic bullet, which I am slowly learning does not exist. By the time I learn that lesson, I'll be at my goal. But the two women I know who are successful already had made a permanent committment, and had the self-discipline to make it work for them. Somebody else commented, I think on Fatty McBlog, that the screening for the procedure should include a psychological screening as well -- well I thought it was! Then again, there will always be unscrupulous surgeons who will perform for anybody with an open checkbook.
I've learned a lot about the process through my two friends, and in all of our cases, "know thyself" is the crucial thing here. And in the case of the weight, you really have to soul search and identify the root cause of the problem, because in the case of WLS, choosing a solution that doesn't solve the root cause of the problem (weight is a symptom/effect of a problem, its not a problem in and of itself) can be disastrous. WLS won't solve my problem, but it solved my friends'.
I don't think you could call it either a solution or a fresh start - I keep thinking of it as a tool. A big, scary powertool that I'm going to have to be careful using.
There is a psychological screening to go through before my doctor will schedule me for surgery; as far as I know, all surgeons who are members of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery are required to request psychological testing. I am pretty sure I wouldn't go to a doctor who wasn't an ASBS member.
The insurance companies insist on the psych evaluation. They need to find out if you have the potential to "change your mind" afterwards and force the doctor to put you back together again, which he/she would be forced to do. They would have to do it if you insisted. And this costs the insurance companies big bucks. The onus is on the psychologist to determine if you are aware of all you will go through after and if you can handle it.
What shinypenny said.
Especially about that diet. I'd rather lift weights and eat (I know some people who have lost a hundred pounds doing that).
That being said, Patti Austin had the procedure done, and she had diabetes prior to it, and now her diabetes is gone.
But, going back to what shinypenny said, is it because of the surgery, OR because of the diet you have to follow once you've HAD the surgery?
Has anyone else ever asked that question of the surgeons?
And the people losing the hundred pounds were not men (we all know they lose fat faster b/c we women have more fat to start with).
And they haven't gained weight back, some of them past the 5-year mark.
And I've heard that there ARE some people who gain the weight back after surgery. I can't even imagine what I'd do if that happened.
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