Pre/Post Surgical Plans Are Not Required

[Djmohr 6,965]

See, like I said.........more drama. LOL

[LipstickLady 25,682]

You should ALWAYS choose what you want to hear. It makes life much more interesting and fun.

If I listened to what many people told me, I would spend quite a bit of time fornicating with myself.

Well, there's that.

[melvin5ft2 56]

This whole thread made me chuckle. Thanks!

[Babbs 14,681]

It's a pretty simple explanation, actually.

You know how we always hear about "so and so had the surgery and gained all their weight back because they weren't ready to change"?

Most of those posts are from the so and so's of the world. You know, the ones that give WLS a bad name. Statistically speaking, it's about 50% of us.

Until the WLS industry decides to stop cranking out these surgeries in order to make a buck or a million and get more stringent about vetting who is actually ready to handle the complete life change it requires to make it successful, there will continue to be so and so's.

[KristenLe 5,980]

@@Babbs Exactly!

[summerset 5,265]

Until the WLS industry decides to stop cranking out these surgeries in order to make a buck or a million and get more stringent about vetting who is actually ready to handle the complete life change it requires to make it successful, there will continue to be so and so's.

Damn, it really is like getting a driver's license! I think quite a few drivers should never have gotten permission to drive a car at all.

All jokes aside - there is no way you can tell if someone is going to "mess up" after surgery or not. You'll never know for sure. There are people getting heart surgery and don't stop smoking or start smoking again, there are people who start drinking again after getting a new liver, even though they stopped drinking long enough to be able to get that liver etc. - and how many times before surgery (being on the umpteenth diet - oops, I mean lifestyle change of course) did we think This Is Finally It! This Time It Will Be Different! This Time I Will Succeed! - and yet we didn't.

About that "lifestyle change": obviously we all needed surgery to be able to do that change and we all messed up a great deal before surgery when it comes to "lifestyle changes", otherwise we wouldn't have been eligible for surgery in the first place.

[sc101071 398]

O

Edited August 14, 2016 by sc101071

[LipstickLady 25,682]

Lipstick, I've been nothing but respectful and never implied anyone "STFU". Maybe it's that kind of abrasiveness that gets me.

OH! So you are the keepers of the WLS! I am so glad you are there to protect it.

What were you saying about being "nothing but respectful", again?

I assume this was also "non abrasive"?

[LipstickLady 25,682]

O

Ahhh... You edited that one.

[4MRB4PHOTO 3,900]

O

Ahhh... You edited that one.

No, he is just reposting it on an installment plan, one letter at a time.

[WLSResources/ClothingExch 3,444]

WLS- I don't care what you think of me, or the length of time on this board or dealing with all things sleeve, but I do know that ive read everything I can and taken every piece of advice from my doc to heart. You keep talking down to people if it makes you feel all mighty on a message board. At least there are those here with pure intent to help others without belittling.

I did not comment on you or your preparation for surgery and life beyond it, both of which I heretofore had no knowledge. I did not express an opinion of you; I have none. The topic is neither about you nor my view of any individual. It is about ways in which people make unreasonable and ludicrous demands, throw tantrums and delude themselves. It is about the frustration and fed-upness they engender. I accept no responsibility for your taking my notes personally. As you and I do not communicate well, I'll let it slide now. I do wish you well with your bariatric and weight-loss endeavors.

[Babbs 14,681]

Until the WLS industry decides to stop cranking out these surgeries in order to make a buck or a million and get more stringent about vetting who is actually ready to handle the complete life change it requires to make it successful, there will continue to be so and so's.

Damn, it really is like getting a driver's license! I think quite a few drivers should never have gotten permission to drive a car at all.

All jokes aside - there is no way you can tell if someone is going to "mess up" after surgery or not. You'll never know for sure. There are people getting heart surgery and don't stop smoking or start smoking again, there are people who start drinking again after getting a new liver, even though they stopped drinking long enough to be able to get that liver etc. - and how many times before surgery (being on the umpteenth diet - oops, I mean lifestyle change of course) did we think This Is Finally It! This Time It Will Be Different! This Time I Will Succeed! - and yet we didn't.

About that "lifestyle change": obviously we all needed surgery to be able to do that change and we all messed up a great deal before surgery when it comes to "lifestyle changes", otherwise we wouldn't have been eligible for surgery in the first place.

I didn't say anything about "messing up". Most of us mess up post op. But you can't argue the fact that there are people who weren't prepared for the complete lifestyle change it requires to make this surgery successful? Otherwise you wouldn't see 50% of us fail.

If having 90% of your stomach removed isn't motivation enough to get your sh*t together, then I don't know what would be at that point! But wouldn't a comprehensive process with mental health evaluations and then therapy if needed and intensive nutritional and exercise classes be more prudent than the joke of a system they have now where you're basically put through the protocol of an hour psychological exam and an hour meeting with your NUT and then deemed ready for surgery? Wouldn't that help people be BETTER prepared?

That really was my point.

[summerset 5,265]

But you can't argue the fact that there are people who weren't prepared for the complete lifestyle change it requires to make this surgery successful? Otherwise you wouldn't see 50% of us fail.

Of course not. However, what would it take to really prepare people for WLS? Is that even possible? To be eligible for surgery you should already have gone through everything else that is available to lose weight so you should be quite educated about all the theory regarding lifestyle changes (nutrition, exercise, therapy etc.) - you would have to self-pay to come around all of this stuff. Maybe I'm underestimating the number of self-payers in the US.

In Germany people have to go through months long so called "multimodal concepts" since a whole while that might last from 3 months up to 9 months, depending on the insurance company and/or WLS center, to get approved for surgery (and even then it feels like playing the lottery and patients can be denied coverage).

Yet patients still have problems losing all of the excess weight or struggle with major regain. Would be interesting to compare failure/success rates though with patients who got minimal counseling before surgery.

[northstar9148 82]

I can't focus because of a brain injury. I would have loved it if I was given a packet of step by step instructions and attended classes. That would have been awesome. I just meet with the dietician once a month. The meetings are just kind of like, check ins. I don't get much out of them. I haven't been able to lose the 15 pounds my insurance wanted me to. Now, everyone is getting mad at me, but I don't don't feel like I had the support to begin with. She told me to do Atkins meals because I am very poor at planning because of the brain injury, but I am also, salt sensitive. Someone on one of the other posts told me that those, Atkins meals are loaded with salt. This is getting frustrating. I only have 6 weeks left and if I don't get the 15 pounds off, that's it.

Sent from my SM-J700T using the BariatricPal App

[Babbs 14,681]

@@summerset

And now we have come full circle.

BEHAVIOR is usually an indication of success or failure with anything, correct? If these programs have a higher chance to help modify the behavior of these folks before WLS, I feel they would have a better chance at success.

That being said, I sometimes see behaviors in these forums that are not indicative of success. Hence the whole point of the OP's topic.

You get out what you put into this for sure!

Oh, and @@summerset, nice chatting with you