“OOmis -Did you ever go through a procedure like the band or bypass?”
No thankfully not, but a little more than a dozen of my friends, family, or good acquaintances have (Almost an epidemic, it seems). Only two of them have been successful in terms of keeping the weight off and recovering with few ill side effects. The VAST majority had bad – to terrible post-op experiences, because a)at times there are just less than desirable results in any surgery b)they were not willing to make the dietary and lifestyle changes needed for a successful outcome c)they were left looking twenty years older, and had digestive problems to boot, and d)they lost weight but had no energy. Three were diabetic, and while the weight loss did help to lower the sugar somewhat, they still needed to remain on medication and watch their sugar intake.
I would never put myself through such a procedure. The discipline needed to follow through AFTER the procedure, is so similar to what is needed to lose weight WITHOUT the procedure, that I can’t see someone willingly doing this without giving a REAL and honest attempt to diet. Only the patient himself or herself, can be honest enough to know if they REALLY tried a healthy diet. Most of us who need to diet, don’t stick to it. Once they have the surgery, they have no choice, and that’s the attraction. Also, the fact that the weight loss is very rapid, gives them chizuk, but it really is a false sense of chizuk, unless they make permanent life changes.
Having had stomach surgery to remove a tumor that in essense effectively “lap-banded” me (prior to being diagnosed, I could not eat more than a few spoonsful of food without feeling overly full, which is how we discovered the tumor), I would be unwilling to go through a procedure that put me in that state ALL the time. It was EXTREMELY unpleasant and uncomfortable, and I don’t think many people going through with this really understand what it will be like. Feeling nauseous all the time is very nasty, too.
Of the people I know who did this, only a very few really benefited from it (so far) for over a year. The rest have either gained back their weight, and then some, or look awful and haggard. Overly rapid weight loss, does not allow the body time to adjust, either. One of them has had to have three plastic surgeries/tummy tucks, to get rid of the excess skin (they didn’t tell him about that problem). Also, he is diabetic, so he healed poorly and very slowly (a very common problem in surgery with diabetics).
Bottom line, I GET why some people feel the need to do this, and if they are happy with the result, kol hakavod, and I am happy for them. But to take it lightly and advise it lightly, is irresponsible, in my humble opinion.