Ok so I have been trying to read up on everything so I can make the best educated decision about having surgery. I have read that the first 30 days is when death could happen from surgery. And that 1 in every 50 people die. That seems really high. I have anxiety disorder and I fear that I will go insane the first 30 days worrying about something going wrong. I'm scared of all the complications

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I could have read a site that wasn't very reliable. But thank u all for putting everything into perspective and giving me some reliable information.

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Actually we are just a bunch of people on the Internet with no medical degree. Everything we said is either hearsay or opinion. Make sure you find a reliable study and talk to your surgeon. It will back what we say but always get this info from reliable source.

A room full of people aren't needed, only 3:

Silly me. Here I've been thinking that this website is a bastion of pulchritude.

@@beccaconaty87

I am glad to see you are reaching out and doing some research before plunging forward. From all the responses you have received you can see most of us would not have chosen to move forward if the death rate you quoted was true.

What's funny is most people don't understand how much safer these surgeries are given how dangerous staying obese actually is.

Your best chance of getting to a healthy weight, keeping it off and extending your life is by choosing one of the WLS tools like RNY Bypass, Sleeve or even the lap band.

I am not sure of your current statistics like weight, height and age but I can tell you, the longer you stay obese the more long term damage you do to your body. Everyone always asks me if I regret having RBY Bypass.

My only regret is waiting until I was 51 to have it.

I damaged my joints, my spine and my kidneys by staying obese so long.

I am now 53, 5'10" and I weight a slim 161lbs. I look fantastic and aside from my severe spine arthritis, I am healthy!! I no longer have diabetes, high blood pressure, anemia, sleep apnea, high cholesterol. My stage 3 kidney disease is in remission!

I used to wear a size 24 jeans/26 slacks and 26/28 tops.

I now wear a size 8 jeans/10slacks and Large or 10/12 top!

I would not use death as the reason not to have this surgery. Focus on the reasons you are considering it. Do all your research and follow all of the instructions and you will do fine. People have complications and even die when they don't do what they are supposed to. Getting up and walking after surgery is critical to your success. Drinking all your fluids, Protein and Vitamins is critical to long term health following any weight loss surgery no matter how much you don't like the taste of protein.

I promise you, every ounce of work you put in is so worth the end result!

This decision was the best thing I have ever done for myself.

Best of luck to you!!!!

@@beccaconaty87 I am glad you asked because if you found that data, likely someone else has too and were too shy to bring it up!

What I will say is there are haters (fat acceptance movement for example) and sometimes the internet being what it is, those haters will write whatever they want... twisting or giving false interpetations. The best thing to do for research online, in my opinion is to read actual studies on places like medline. Or go to reputable sources like Cleveland Clinic, Mayo clinic etc. Another great resource is the ASMBS.

http://asmbs.org/patients/bariatric-surgery-misconceptions

Then, you may have questions or be unclear and if you want to get some feedback, it is really helpful to reference the specific study or info that you read. Of course, these are good questions for your surgeon too, but like a lot of people you start out online and then get more focused on questions that will help you choose if surgery is a good choice and if so, which one is the best choice for you.

Good luck in your research!

I think if there was a voluntary surgey where 1 in every 50 people died no surgeon would ever do it. My surgeon has done several hundred sleeves. If one out of every 50 of her patients died I think she might have lost her licence.

sad statistic - 100% of WLS patients will eventually die.

@@beccaconaty87

two things in life that can't be avoided

death

taxes!!!

kathy

Some variations on a relevant quote:

Not sure where the op got his stats from, but they are not even close. In fact, I can't even find that stat when doing crazy searches to find it.

According to a study done at Stanford University, the mortality rate for Sleeve Gastrectrlomy is 0.08%.

I would suggest you sit down with an actual surgeon and go through some of the beginning steps and actually gain an understanding of what the procedure entails before worrying about statistics you got from who-knows-where....

SOURCE: http://asmbs.org/resources/studies-weigh-in-on-safety-and-effectiveness-of-newer-bariatric-and-metabolic-surgery-procedure

Try this statistic on for size.

1. Remain morbidly obese - 90% guarantee of dying soon.

2. Do whatever it takes to not be morbidly obese - LIve ALOT longer.

The only time I ever hear 1 in 50 or 1 in 20 is on Fat Doctor UK. That is because most of those people are in really terrible health to start with. They have a ton of really bad issues. And those numbers are tailored by the Dr exactly to them, not in general.

Wow I'm glad I never saw that statistic. One thing I did pay attention to on Laura's VSG you tube channel was to stay away from the negatives. If it's any consolation I had my sleeve done on March 23rd and I'm still here and I don't accept blood transfusions so I was already scared about that. Talk to your doctor about your fears.

@@beccaconaty87,

Death is a possibility with surgery, but 1 in 50 sounds a little high. As others have pointed out, if it’s death you’re worried about, you’re probably dropping your chances by having surgery. If it’s pain and suffering you’re worried about, you’re probably dropping your chances by having surgery. Except for the first week or few weeks post-op when you will probably feel terrible, losing weight post-op will probably make you feel way better. You’ll be less tired, have less joint pain, spend less time at the doctor, and worry less about your health after you lose some weight.

If your real worry is that you’re going to worry, maybe you can schedule some sort of counseling just to get you to surgery and through the first month post-op.

The statistic I saw was the mortality rate was like, 0.01% for sleeve. A little less for band and a little more for bypass.

The mortality stats I have consistently heard from the Centers of Excellence I considered was 0.2-0.3%.....or 2-3 people per 1000.

And they said their rates where that high BC they are the go-to people in my region, and they try and fix other doctor's mistakes.

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The mortality stats I have consistently heard from the Centers of Excellence I considered was 0.2-0.3%.....or 2-3 people per 1000.

The mortality rate my surgery center gave was 0.2% for the VSG over the length of the study (1 death per 500 patients).

The mortality rate for just being obese for the same time frame was 6% (30 deaths per 500 persons).