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So, if you are wondering if this operation is worth it and if you can keep the weight off. The answer is yes, but it is up to you. I lost a total of 152 lbs. Because of a back injury about one year ago I started gaining weight back. I had bottomed-out at 197 and knew that is common to gain back 10 to 20% of the weight lost as your body adjusts. My problem is that I used that as an excuse. Instead of getting in to see a doctor right away about my back pain, I lived with it. I know realized that this is another part of my problem that I had not addressed. When you are over-weight you learn "to live" with a lot of things. The sad part is that you aren't living you are allowing. So in the end I was all the way back up to 230 and I had told myself several times that I would not go past that weight. I was not fitting into clothes and learning to accept that my back would always hurt. Then I got a new doctor due to an Insurance change and I had the best thing ever happen to me. She listened and then looked at me and said, "well that's crazy." She got me on pain meds, into physical therapy and I was off to a national conference for my work that demanded a lot of walking for 5 days straight. It was the jump start my body needed. I lost 8 lbs quickly and I thought about the ways and said for the second time in my life, "enough." I am now back down to 207 lbs and working on getting under 200 again. It has taken about 4 months to lose the 23 pounds, but that is how normal people do it. :) It is time to stop making excuses. I need to decide each day if I am going to live or allow and then move forward. I am walking, eating better and asking my husband for even more support. He has always been there for me and really was just waiting for me to let him in to my journey in a more active role. Gastic By-pas is the BEST thing I ever did for me, my family and my life. Choosing to live my life is the consequence of moving forward and deciding that I will never go back. I am not a Fitness fanatic or food guru, but I am happy. there I finally said it and meant it, "Happy." 

 I was asked by a friend who is having surgery in one month the following questions:

Ok so I am wondering how much you lost in the first year?  How long your recovery was?  Did you have a problem with excess skin?  Do you feel people treated you differently after you lost the weight?  In general, what has changed for you since you lost the weight?  Did you go to any support groups?

Here was my short answer :)

Wow, you don’t mess around.  J 

 

Okay, so first I looked up the information concerning weight loss so I would know if I was on track or not.  The usual is that you will lose 80% of the weight that you are overweight with.  In my case I weighed 352 pounds when I was approved for my operation. My body weight should be 165 pounds.  80% of that is 149 pounds, putting me at 203 pounds. My personal goal weight though is 190 pounds.   I lost 10 pounds the week before when I went on a liquid diet.  You usually do the liquid diet for 2 weeks, but as it was the end of the year, my surgeon had to move up the date.  The liquid diet and the hoped for 20 pounds is to help shrink the fat around the liver for the operation.  I was operated on 12/20/10.  I hit the 100 pound lost mark on May 28, 2011.  The usual is to lose 100 pounds in the first 6 months.  You lose the rest of the weight to reach the 80% mark by the 18 month mark.  It has been about 13 months and I am now at 203 pounds, but it is really getting hard now to lose the 13 pounds I would like to, but I have given myself until June 2012.  A very doable goal. 

 

It is so important to remember that this operation is a tool and not a cure.  I thought it was crazy when I spoke with other patients who told me they weigh every day, but I do it now too.  The reason is that I will not gain this back and if I start to move in the wrong direction I want to nip it in the bud.  You also have to realize that you will hit many plateaus and not lose weight for up to 3 weeks at a time.  It is part of the process.  I was very lucky to have co-workers who gave me their old clothes, because you can only wear baggy clothes for so long.  J 

 

As far as recovery, I was in the hospital for 3 days.  I went back to work 2 weeks after my operation, but everyone said I looked like hell and I worked half days only that first week.  Be careful about lifting and don’t shy away from taking your pain medicine.  I would say that by 4 weeks out I was feeling back to normal.  I will say though that I am a fast healer and handle pain pretty well. 

 

Excess skin is part of the trade-off.  Of course the stomach hangs down now, but I love spanks.  J  The weirdest part is my arms.  A lot of hanging there.  You might be different though as you are much younger than I am.  Just so you know I was born in 1966, you can do the math.  LOL!  I have never though had problems that others have had with skin problems.  I think if you just wash a lot and keep things dry, you should be fine.  My goal though is the tummy tuck before I am 50. 

 

My girlfriend who had this operation about 8 years ago, said to be prepared for people to treat you differently, because you are no longer the jolly fat person.  In my case though, I did not find that to be the case.  I think it comes down to you.  I was very open about what I had did and why and shared my successes and frustrations with those around me.  My self confidence has only gotten higher, and I think that makes a difference too.  If you are in the right place mentally for this change when you have the operation, then you will be able to recognize the mental changes you need to make as opposed to worrying about others and what they think. 

 

I went to a support group for about 3 months before the operation and for about 2 months after the operation.  I joined ObesityHelp.com, on the recommendation of my surgeon.  That has been a BIG help.  It has helped me to track my goals and have access to others in the same situation and share with others my experience as well.  

 

As far as what has changed for me since I lost the weight or rather had the operation, I think the answer would be me.  I have accepted that I will think about food everyday for the rest of my life.  How I think about it and how I deal with it though has changed dramatically to having had the surgery.  (I had the Y-bypass).  I feel so much better.  I am still amazed at being able to walk long distances and do things that I thought were behind me.  I still struggle with having to work out and that what I eat now is actually a normal portion.  I feel sexier and have had to deal with feeling guilty sometimes about my body and feeling vain.  LOL!  It is okay to think about you, but I think that is also a girl/mom thing.  We just tend to put ourselves last and feel bad if we do things for ourselves like spending money on my nails instead of buying something for the kids.  I hate to say this, but I feel it has helped in my job.  While we pretend to say it is no big deal, people are unfair in their treatment and expectations of overweight people solely because of how they look. 

 

                In the end, I am so glad I did this and would not change a thing.  I am so excited for you.  Keep in touch and let me know how it goes.  Maybe I can get up there after your operation.  I know the boys would love to see your son again.  Take care and sorry about the very long response.

 

Camille

 

Well it has been 10 days since my bypass.  Before i had the surgery I weighed 352lbs.  On the day of surgery, I had made it down to 340lbs. which for me was really good because I only had 1 week to prepare for surgery instead of 2 because of the holidays and end of the year coming up.  I had my surgery on my birthday and it was the best present ever to myself.  On the night after surgery I had already lost 2 lbs, but the next night I had gained back 5lbs.  It was hard to remember that after surgery your body needs time to adjust and get back in balance.  Once home, really the only problem has been handeling the pain.  I have not had any problems with  dumping, swallowing, keeping food down or liquids.  Really it just comes down to listeing to your body.  One week out from surgery I was down 5lbs from surgery weight and feeling down because it seemed so little for all that I had gone through, but 4 days later, I found that I had lost 10lbs.  So that blew me away and I thought has it really been 27lbs in 17 days?  I don't see any difference but then it took a long time to put all this weight on and it will take time for me to see the differences, make all of the habit changes and make this permentant change in my life and that's okay.  It is happening and it is up to me, now that Dr. Zare and his staff have given me the opportunity.  What an adventure and it is just starting.  I can't wait. :)