Informed Consent do you really understand the risks?

 It's a scary enough to make the decision to have WLS without fear mongers littering the board with their anti-WLS propaganda.

My post is not for the OP troll but for newbies and people researching WLS.

Granted, I have met many pre-ops at support groups who may not fully grasp what they are getting themselves into.  However, is is up to the individual to be responsible and research their surgery options.  If you sign up for this thinking it's a quick and easy cure, you have another thing coming.  And odds are an uninformed patient  being non-compliant to the program set forth by your clinic will increase the likelihood of complications, IMO.   It is ultimately the patient's job to know what they are signing up for.

I am a newbie in that I am only about 6 weeks out from my surgery, but my quality of life is already significantly better than it was before.  The transformation of my health is amazing--I'm diabetic and my HbA1c has dropped from 8.7 to 7.8 in just 6 weeks.  My blood pressure has gone from an average of 130/80 to 111/61 and my resting pulse has already dropped 10 beats per minute. I rarely sit in front of the TV, snoozing.  I have much more energy than just a few weeks ago.

There is plenty of time in the future for me to have to deal with complications.  Because I haven't had any yet doesn't mean I won't suffer from any in the future.  Maybe I will have some, maybe I won't.  I'm not going to worry about that until it happens.  If it ever does.  I'm just going to stick to the rules.

I have no regrets whatsoever.  I feel so much better now that even if I should suffer from problems down the road, it will be worth it.

Just be in charge of your health, do your research and make an informed decision.  And realize surgery is not a quick fix.  As I've heard often around here, surgery doesn't fix your head.  But don't let the original post scare you out of making a decision that will transform your life.

I really don't understand what these people have to gain by trying to scare us.  I have battled with obesity my entire life and have lost and re-gained over 400 pounds over the years.   I am a 45 year old mother of three and am currently in nursing school.  I want to begin this second half of my life with a new career, a new attitude and a new body.  I currently have no weight related issues (high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.) but I want to do everything in my power to prevent them in the future.  I am strong and confident in my surgeon and ready!  You have all helped bolster my strength and I will surely solicit you for prayers on May 18!  Thank you all so much! 

Well Mr Sunshine, you have found yourself to be the proverbial "duck out of water" here on this site.

I encourage you to disappear from OH.  You say you are trying to help your GF.  Guess what--your GF is not considering this surgery for you--she is doing it for her and not having your support is the WORST thing you can do for her.  Stop being so friggin selfish.

You might do a bit more research on the positive side of WLS.  There are way more success stories than failures.   You see, the thing is, most people have their surgery and go one to live normal lives and you don't hear from them--they are out living the life they didn't have before surgery.

I went to the website you posted.  I will not take the blog of a nurse who has never been obese over REAL facts and experience.  Most of the studies she quoted from are YEARS old if not DECADES.  The surgery that was performed in 1996 is not the same surgery that is performed today.  Your thought process and "facts" do not hold water to real-life experience.

Do people have problems after this surgery?  Yes, some do.  But we make that choice.  Most of us live happy contented lives and wouldn't change a thing.

Take your downer attitude somewhere else.  Give your GF the support she needs and deserves.

Fu*k off !!! I have seen the risks 1st had .i'm living a few at this time .but I would do it all over in a fu*king heart beat .now eat sh*t  and  go away  .YOU NUT CASE .Red In  TEXAS .

I, for one, understood the risks implicitly. I was fully prepared to "live free or die." Truly. I had a living will and advanced directives made which that make that very clear.

I didn't have a cosmetic surgery or to prevent any hypothetical or "overexaggerated risks." I came to this surgery as an attractive, accomplished, self actualized, aware and intelligent fat woman who could not longer tolerate the pain and associated illnesses my obesity was directly causing me. I was not hoodwinked, bamboozled, mislead, manipulated, or sold anything. I did my own research and found a potential solution to excrutiating pain, immobility and illness, and went with the best solution I could identify.

To suggest or even imply by making such a generalized statement as yours ("Theyll just sign" et al) is shortsighted, pompous, and insulting.

Sandy doesn't take kindly to re-posting of her articles.

I got in trouble for it once.

Be careful.

Oh, I was well informed---informed that unless something changed, I wouldn't live another five years.

I had WLS almost six years ago, and life has never been better.

What a lot of nonsense... I wasn't allowed to "just sign" my informed consent. I had to paraphrase each paragraph. (It was a PITA, too.)

Btw, I always love these articles that state there is no clinical data supporting the benefits of bariatric surgery. I guess whenever a study is published that shows that WLS increases life expectancy by 7 years or any other of the studies that show WLS resolving all sorts of co-morbidities, they close their eyes, put their fingers in their ears and sing "la la la. I can't HEAR you." because that's the only way they could make such a statement and truly believe it.

on the theory that he might want actual information, I sent the OP a couple pms.

in his last reply he referred to "you people" and wanted to know if I was a "femi nazi" against free speech. Gah!

we can only hope his girlfriend will go out and do her own research. and lose weight. and leave his ass.

Most likely this troll's girlfriend has looked to OH for information from folks who have "been there done that".  His girlfriend is most likely starting her journey to WLS.  The troll knows that if his girlfriend sheds the weight, she may dump him (well known that shakey relationships frequently fail after WLS, while strong relationships are made stronger).  Hence the negative posts from the troll to discourage his girlfriend from WLS.  Tough troll, tough!