I thought this was a forever surg. and now i see post about a window of 12-18 mos.. what does this mean?

Its up to YOU to keep it off for ever by portion control, exercise and healthy food choices. The "window" that you refer to is the period after surgery when you lose the most amount of weight...after that its maintenance. If you fall back into old eating habits you can regain !!!

it is forever as a tool... but you have to use that tool correctly. If you dont change your lifestyle then the tool wont help you.

Stick to the plan....and the tool will work forever!

The 12-18 month window means the bypass will continue to help you lose weight up to 18 months, but after that, your behavior/diet habits determine if you keep it off or lose more.

It gets much harder long term. Use your first 1-2 years and work HARD. Get the most weight off possible.

Oh, I see, so the wt will come off easily as long as you dont eat really bad, but after 18 months, continue to work with the bypass to keep it off? does the malabsorption go away, does the pouch stretch much?

Oh' date=' I see, so the wt will come off easily as long as you dont eat really bad, but after 18 months, continue to work with the bypass to keep it off? does the malabsorption go away, does the pouch stretch much?[/quote']

I don't know how much the pouch can stretch but the malabsorption is forever. You need to take Vitamins for the rest of your life to avoid dietary deficiencies that can lead to serious problems.

The surgery is a tool that works very successfully to help you lose weight. Keeping it off (or continuing to lose) is the result of lifestyle changes like eating right, portion control, exercise, and keeping a Vitamin regimen. These things are easier to implement after surgery in large part because your appetite is almost non-existent (it's true for me), your pouch's food capacity is less, and things like sugar can make you sick (a big deterrent). No one can expect continued success if the lifestyle they lead after surgery is the same as the one that they led before surgery. It's not magic, it's not easy, but it does work if you work with it.

Thank you Terry, I appreciate any and all feedback...this was a last min decision and I dont know a whole lot about it....

Do you have a surgery date, yet? If you have time you should do a lot of research so you know if it is the right choice for you. In addition to joining this group, I googled as much as I could find in the internet, I watched youtube videos endlessly - good and bad, I talked to people who had surgery, I talked to my PCP and my Endocrinologist. I searched out bad experiences so I would know all the possibilities. I did this for months before my initial seminar. Once the decision was made I kept a little notebook to write down questions as I thought of them, and then made sure I got answers to those questions at my many appointments. I was confident long before my actual surgery that it was the right decision for me.

It is a major change and a permanent one. You need to be sure it's what you want to do. If you're not sure yet keep asking questions... it's the only way to learn what you need to know to make the choice that's right for you. Good luck with whatever you decide! :-)

My surg is 1 week from tomorrow....I was having a sleeve gone wrong surg and decided I am tired of bands, sleeve, and I just want to get this done and done right, so GBS it is...last weigh in tomorrow and a week to learn all there is to know...

I don't know how much the pouch can stretch but the malabsorption is forever. You need to take Vitamins for the rest of your life to avoid dietary deficiencies that can lead to serious problems.

The surgery is a tool that works very successfully to help you lose weight. Keeping it off (or continuing to lose) is the result of lifestyle changes like eating right' date=' portion control, exercise, and keeping a Vitamin regimen. These things are easier to implement after surgery in large part because your appetite is almost non-existent (it's true for me), your pouch's food capacity is less, and things like sugar can make you sick (a big deterrent). No one can expect continued success if the lifestyle they lead after surgery is the same as the one that they led before surgery. It's not magic, it's not easy, but it does work if you work with it.[/quote']

I had actually heard that the caloric malabsorption does go away eventually as your intestines develop more villi (sp) to grab calories. The vitamins are for life because your intestines can't regenerate the areas that absorb different vitamins since they were bypassed.

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There are 2 kinda of malabsorption

Micronutrients - Vitamins - we will have this forever.

Macronutrients -fat/calories etc - up until usually around 18 months.

Eventually our bodies become good at as roving again. Here's the full explanation. http://diminishingdawnreturns.blogspot.ca/2011/03/good-explanation-of-bounceback-weight.html?m=1

That was supposed to be : at absorbing again. Lol