Have You Had A Gastric Bypass?

[barry1010]

I was offered one on the NHS some years ago but declined.  I distinctly remember the consultant telling me that I would reach my lowest weight and then put 'a small amount' back on.  He said it would be 'virtually impossible' to regain a significant amount of weight.  

I read an article yesterday about 'the world's fattest man' who had a bypass and his excess skin removed but has since gained 19 stone.  At 38st today he is far lighter than his former 80st but is still twice the weight he reached.

My question is, was it made clear to you before the operation that you could still regain a lot of the weight you had lost?  How long ago was that?

 

[Old_Geezer]

Can't help you with your specific query, but to comment on your example story...

 

That is really unexpected: at least by me. Seems to suggest (strange physical conditions aside) that the issue may well be of a mental nature. Either as a compulsion, or as an inability to ignore the hunger pangs until the time they reset and stop arising inappropriately.

 

FYIW my weight dropped considerably after a) covid, (not recommended, but the fast was a useful kickstart), and b) restricting carbohydrates (blood sugar warning, also not recommended getting). Makes for nowt much compliant on pub/restaurant menus though. On those occasions one has to turn a blind eye to the "slip".

[pastafreak]

I've watched quite a few episodes of "My 600 lb Life"...and the back stories for many of the patients are horrendous. Abuse, desertion by parents, bullying. For many, food was and is comfort. I've no doubt there are both mental and emotional issues causing an inability to stop or control eating.

Surgery won't solve that...its one of many tools to help.

O_G...eating out doesn't need to be difficult. Just don't get the starchy carbs...ask for more salad 😒 I know that's your favourite bit 😋 😉 😜 lol!

[Old_Geezer]

😋 Yeah, that's a non-starter. Have to tell places to "hold" that.

[Ringlet]

My close childhood friend Mary (not her real name of course) had been overweight all her life. She was brought up by her grandmother, whom she believed to be her mother.  Mary's  real mother was the woman that she regarded as her sister, who had given birth to Mary  when she was only 16. Mary would describe her childhood as the experience of being the black sheep in the family, and rejection caused her to eat anything and everything she could find, throughout her childhood and teenage years.   By the time she was 18, Mary was huge.  I do not know what her actual weight was, but she used to try on size 26 dresses when we went shopping, and often they would be too tight for her.   In her late teens, and early twenties, Mary had her jaws wired together but this brought unbearable pain, and didn't work anyway as chips can be liquidised, and that is when Mary learned to do.  When she was 25, in 1978,  she was given gastric bypass surgery, with no reference to the reasons for her over-eating, nor any warning about the possibility  that she might put the weight back on.  

By the time she was 48, Mary had regained almost all her original weight, and her heart was beginning to be affected.  She was fortunate enough to be able to afford private care, and she underwent a revision of her gastric bypass.  This time, however, she also entered into a programme of psycho-therapy that helped her to address the childhood traumas that she had experienced, and to see the connection between food, and her response to the trauma.  

Mary is now 70, and has been at her target weight for the last 16 years.  A real success story and I am very proud of her.

Obesity and over-eating is more of a psychological condition than a physical one, so gastric bypass surgery is not going to be entirely successful in every case, as it is a physical remedy for the problem, and does not address the psychological issues involved.  

Patients who are given gastric bypass surgery also need to be given psycho therapy to help them to overcome the compulsions that drove them to over-eat. If the compulsions are untreated, surgery will fail.     

[barry1010]

I lost a lot of weight and kept it off and have eaten carbs throughout.

My question is specifically about whether people were told before the op that it is physically possible to regain the weight

[nicebloke1]

Maybe it comes under the category, there are risks with all kinds of surgery. The risk in this case is it may not work. Most if not all know the above before they go under the knife.

[barry1010]

I didn't know that a gastric bypass could be reversed.

Every day is a school day

[barry1010]

Nicebloke, the paperwork I was given by the consultant listed all the things that could go wrong, including risk of death, but no mention of regaining the lost weight 

[Rosetta]

At the very beining of My 600 Pound Life it is anounced that only 5% are successful in maintaining their weight loss over the long term. I would hope any reputable surgeon gives them the information, but again from that series the surgery becomes an end in itself and doesnt always address  the underlieing issues

[barry1010]

Is that series specific to gastric bypass?

[pastafreak]

I'd say maybe 50%+ of participants on that series are offered psychotherapy. Some are quite reluctant to take part. 

[naomi24]

A friend of mine had one and was told that unless she watched her diet she may well gain weight.  She did have the operation in Spain though - I don't know if that makes a difference.  I would have thought that, gastric band or not, common sense would say that if you don't eat sensibly you're liable to gain weight.

[pastafreak]

Barry...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_600-lb_Life

[barry1010]

I know gastric bands can fail, I didn't know then that gastric bypass can too

[naomi24]

Sorry barry, I meant bypass. 

[barry1010]

Thanks, pasta

[JinnyJoan]

well I just can't get over Lisa Riley (actress) - documentary was done on her some years back on the whole thing - lost the weight and then we all saw the skin being cut off - but what I see her on Emmerdale she seems to have put quite a bit on again.  

 

Was it worth it for her 

[barry1010]

She always denied having surgery to lose weight, she said it was a strict diet and exercise regime.

I haven't seen her for years, it's sad if she has gained the weight, JJ

[JinnyJoan]

Barry - that's hard to hear as I watched the whole documentary and I couldn't get over the skin they cut off her

[barry1010]

JJ, I believe she did lose the weight by diet and exercise but losing that much weight does cause excess skin.

I decided to live with my excess skin. Apart from the huge expense I thought where would it end?  Get one bit done, then the next. Then it would look odd if I didn't have that bit done as well....

I'd end up looking like a patchwork quilt.

Although I am having my eyelids lifted in a couple of weeks, only because they interfere with my vision and cause dreadful headaches