Would You Have Weight Loss Surgery Again?

[erp 2,016]

Yes, yes, yes. Did I mention, yes?! 7 weeks out only 13 pounds away from onederland. I feel better, eat better, and look better. I move better and am more active. Just got cleared to exercise and now am checking out gym memberships. Tonight I had some Soup and a piece of cheese for dinner and was full. Love it!

[CA712 111]

Skinnyplze, have you told your surgeon or family doctor about how you are feeling? I think that is where I would start first. After 5 weeks post op I do have days that I feel I am in a daze and do not have enough energy. Are you taking all your Vitamins? I take 2 Multi Vitamins a day along with Vitamin D, Vitamin C and I just starting taking Iron supplements. If I am still feeling this way 3 months post op I am going to request a blood test regarding Vitamin levels. I work really hard at getting my Protein in each day and believe me I have to work at it. I just started walking everyother day and have joined a gym but I can relate to what you are saying.

[Sherri297 81]

Yes! Yes! Yes! This surgery saved my life. At 50 years old I found myself with uncontrolled diabetes, (on 3 meds just for that alone). I'd had a heart attack at 46, and saw my life as being very short, with very little quality to it. At 6 months out, I'm not at goal yet, still have another 25-30 lbs. to go. But I'm off all diabetic meds now and getting healthier every day.

[iggychic 1,405]

I deeply regret having had this surgery, which has left me with the likelyhood of needing a feeding tube for life. I caused my family horrific emotional pain, set my child's development back several steps, and suffered pretty horrible pain myself.

And now a dear friend of mine lies in a hospital bed with kidney failure as a result of her WLS (RNY). She was disconnected from all life support last week and is expected to die in the next few days. I know another woman who has a death sentence over her head as a result of the sleeve surgery.

I can't go back, so I have to go forward, but I'd be happy to see this surgery denied a lot more often until they can ensure safer outcomes. As the WLS market grows, so do the stories of people who literally are dying or have died because of WLS. I think it's a horribly overused treatment that should be a last ditch effort as a life saving procedure only. And even then...people will die.

I wish my dear friend had just stayed "fat". At least we'd still hear her laughter.

[luckysmomma 407]

You are NOT alone...I have regretted my decision since that first night in the hospital after surgery. I am so sorry about your situation & your friends' situations. My heart goes out to you all. I will keep you in my thoughts & prayers. I just want you to know that anytime anyone posts anything other than.."I love my sleeve!" "This is the best thing ever!"....certain people will post negative comments to you, or even send you negative private messages...do NOT let that bother you. I got slammed with my first post about regretting it in many different directions. I let it bother me a couple of days. Now, I post anytime I see anything about regret. I will NOT be silenced about it. Our journey, our regret is just as significant and valid as someone who loves thier sleeve & loves their wls decision. I just wanted to say I support you & anyone who has any type of regrets...don't feel alone in your regret.

I deeply regret having had this surgery, which has left me with the likelyhood of needing a feeding tube for life. I caused my family horrific emotional pain, set my child's development back several steps, and suffered pretty horrible pain myself.

And now a dear friend of mine lies in a hospital bed with kidney failure as a result of her WLS (RNY). She was disconnected from all life support last week and is expected to die in the next few days. I know another woman who has a death sentence over her head as a result of the sleeve surgery.

I can't go back, so I have to go forward, but I'd be happy to see this surgery denied a lot more often until they can ensure safer outcomes. As the WLS market grows, so do the stories of people who literally are dying or have died because of WLS. I think it's a horribly overused treatment that should be a last ditch effort as a life saving procedure only. And even then...people will die.

I wish my dear friend had just stayed "fat". At least we'd still hear her laughter.

[No game 14,436]

You are NOT alone...I have regretted my decision since that first night in the hospital after surgery. I am so sorry about your situation & your friends' situations. My heart goes out to you all. I will keep you in my thoughts & prayers. I just want you to know that anytime anyone posts anything other than.."I love my sleeve!" "This is the best thing ever!"....certain people will post negative comments to you' date=' or even send you negative private messages...do NOT let that bother you. I got slammed with my first post about regretting it in many different directions. I let it bother me a couple of days. Now, I post anytime I see anything about regret. I will NOT be silenced about it. Our journey, our regret is just as significant and valid as someone who loves thier sleeve & loves their wls decision. I just wanted to say I support you & anyone who has any type of regrets...don't feel alone in your regret.

[/quote']

I keep reading your posts about regrets... Then you say you were beat up on? I know that when you started posting it, I along with Pdx man asked you questions trying to figure it out.

Are these the attacks you keep talking about?

I think there should be a sub-forum for people to be able to able voice their regrets not just the first week of "OMG what did I do" BUT TRUE REGRETS.

I think it's important for there to be a place for this because as this surgery becomes so popular and more people are jumping in with eyes closed tight.. Information like yours could prove valuable to someone toying with the idea about this permanent and major surgery..

[Chris R 217]

You all suck. There now everyone's even!

You wish...

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I deeply regret having had this surgery' date=' which has left me with the likelyhood of needing a feeding tube for life. I caused my family horrific emotional pain, set my child's development back several steps, and suffered pretty horrible pain myself.

And now a dear friend of mine lies in a hospital bed with kidney failure as a result of her WLS (RNY). She was disconnected from all life support last week and is expected to die in the next few days. I know another woman who has a death sentence over her head as a result of the sleeve surgery.

I can't go back, so I have to go forward, but I'd be happy to see this surgery denied a lot more often until they can ensure safer outcomes. As the WLS market grows, so do the stories of people who literally are dying or have died because of WLS. I think it's a horribly overused treatment that should be a last ditch effort as a life saving procedure only. And even then...people will die.

I wish my dear friend had just stayed "fat". At least we'd still hear her laughter.[/quote']

I am going to go out on a limb here by responding.

You may not like my response as I am trying to be ideological about the consequences of your post.

You, as a person, I have the up most respect for and appreciate reading your stories and challenges along the post op journey.

Now onto my response...

Your complications encountered as a post op VSG is well understood by all who read your responses around VST for we are reminded of your complications in almost every post. We all do emphasize with you and agree that:

Yes, it is terrible that this happened to you.

Yes, it is not your fault.

Yes, others around you have also suffered due to your post op complications.

Yes, you are the 2%. Really understand what that means.

Yes, it sucks to be a part of that 2% statistic.

However, that does not mean you can extrapolate your complications onto VSG as a whole, effectively persuading others that somehow the complications rate is higher then 2% whether that be 20% or 100%. Logically, it is not possible to do that. As such, you will only drive yourself insane trying to achieve a different result, over and over again. Might as well let it go and accept being part of 2%. And move on. Life is much more joyful if not nailed to the cross every day.

Please stop demonizing the surgery for the other 98%. And I am not just talking about those that are looking into VSG as a solution for morbid obesity, but also for those that are already sleeved. It would be terrible to convince an otherwisevhappy VSG person that they should regret their decision.

We all knew the risks going into this. It was very clearly articulated one bullet at a time. We all signed the consent form. It was several pages long in my case. Heck, death was on there next to divorce.

Whether you agree or not, your posts are going to make the success of VSG as a solution for the morbidly obese harder and harder to obtain because these type of posts will drive fear into the hearts of those that need to make the decision.

Please remember the 98%.

[madeformore 25]

I am pre-op, so I hope that I will be glad that I made the decision to have the surgery.

I wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who gave their honest reply to this question.

THANK YOU to those of you who are glad you had the surgery.

And THANK YOU to those of you who do regret having the surgery. I feel your input here is valuable and what you have to say matters.

From my brief experience, it seems that most people on VST have had positive experiences, but that does not mean that people who have had less than positive experiences to share should be unwelcome.

VST has been a valuable resource for me, and I appreciate the information that is shared here.

[butterfly_gal 151]

I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be one of the 1 or 2% of people who have major issue. I am so sorry that it is a part of your life now. I do have to say this though. Maybe it's irrelevant, maybe it is not. I lost a brother in a car accident. I miss him dearly. Do I blame cars for his death? No. It was a freak accident that unfortunately happened to him. Blaming what happened to you on VSG is like me blaming cars for his death. More like a "wrong place wrong time" or freak accident. VSG is a "vehicle" to help people. Not every outcome is going to be perfect, but overall it is a positive thing for people who otherwise would have a dim future. Just my opinion.

[iggychic 1,405]

Fiddle...I was not morbidly obese so my posts are likely not directed to the 45+ BMI patients. See the thing is, you 98%....it was all good for you, so you don't want us to discuss the negatives, but frankly, the negatives are death. DEAD, GONE, FOREVER REMOVED. THese are far off concepts to those who had an easy outcome. You lost weight, you feel great, all is well. Nifty keen hun but some of us die. And we don't like our voices to be quieted by the 98%. There are people for whom this surgery is a bad choice. I was one of them. Low BMI, no comorbidities, etc. I will fight to my death to keep those people from taking this route, like it or not. When god throws a lesson in our faces we can shut up or we can share that lesson. This surgery is not for everyone.

Phyllis took her last breath at 8:15 Alaska time tonight. A victim of WLS. She won't need an extra large casket Fiddle. But is that really all it's about? Her 2% voice should be heard. My voice should be heard. And if you can't deal with that, mute it, but don't dare attempt to tell me that we don't have a place in the conversation.

[No game 14,436]

Iggy, am I correct in assuming that you feel that this surgery is not worth it for those people that have low bmi's no other health issues and are doing it for preventative or "vanity" reasons?

[Chas74 56]

I am going to go out on a limb here by responding.

You may not like my response as I am trying to be ideological about the consequences of your post.

You' date=' as a person, I have the up most respect for and appreciate reading your stories and challenges along the post op journey.

Now onto my response...

Your complications encountered as a post op VSG is well understood by all who read your responses around VST for we are reminded of your complications in almost every post. We all do emphasize with you and agree that:

Yes, it is terrible that this happened to you.

Yes, it is not your fault.

Yes, others around you have also suffered due to your post op complications.

Yes, you are the 2%. Really understand what that means.

Yes, it sucks to be a part of that 2% statistic.

However, that does not mean you can extrapolate your complications onto VSG as a whole, effectively persuading others that somehow the complications rate is higher then 2% whether that be 20% or 100%. Logically, it is not possible to do that. As such, you will only drive yourself insane trying to achieve a different result, over and over again. Might as well let it go and accept being part of 2%. And move on. Life is much more joyful if not nailed to the cross every day.

Please stop demonizing the surgery for the other 98%. And I am not just talking about those that are looking into VSG as a solution for morbid obesity, but also for those that are already sleeved. It would be terrible to convince an otherwisevhappy VSG person that they should regret their decision.

We all knew the risks going into this. It was very clearly articulated one bullet at a time. We all signed the consent form. It was several pages long in my case. Heck, death was on there next to divorce.

Whether you agree or not, your posts are going to make the success of VSG as a solution for the morbidly obese harder and harder to obtain because these type of posts will drive fear into the hearts of those that need to make the decision.

Please remember the 98%.[/quote']

Thanks for the post, i totally agree with your statement. This website so far has been a positive thing for me and really helped with questions i have. I think the site needs to stay POSITIVE because we need to support each other

Sent from my iPhone using VST

[fyre_storm 1,412]

You wish...

Not particularly.

[Chas74 56]

Nobody made any of us get the surgery and iwas explained the risks over and over and I know i did alot of reading on this before i even considered it. I think its important for everybody to stay positive and support each other. This site has really helped me out alot

Sent from my iPhone using VST