Freewheeler’s Posts
yea.... It's not that simple. His position right now - it actual can expose him to issues like transfer addiction, alcoholism, etc. And being in public view is not something I would want. I don't envy him.
I had my RNY when I was almost 48. I worked hard my whole life and I was able to afford some skin removal surgery. Not all of it, because I had enough of surgeries, but the ones that physically bothered me the most. I never have arms lift or thigh lift because I can live with batwings and loser thighs. I'm not in a public eye.
10 years after my RNY - I decided to have a face lift, because I looked older than I felt. I wanted my "jowls" to be gone. But, unless you know I had my face done - you couldn't tell, it was just "a refresher". I look more awake - rested.
I don't have a cook, but I can afford a good quality food, and eat healthy. That did not stop me from gaining 35 lbs over my personal ideal for me weight (my covid weight-gain), or get too comfortable with drinking too much (I longer can drink alcohol and be happy).
I'm 10 lbs away from my personal weight goal. I could stop losing now, I look good, but my joints don't like the extra 10 lbs. And I still like to be active, working a full++ job, plus travel. So I'm working on it. It matter what I put in my mouth and how much. Cook - chef - they wont help a person who keep pushing food in their mouth. or keep drinking booze.
Truth be told, I think most people transfer one addiction for another, especially if the reason why they were overeating in the first place was due to anxiety, stress and emotional eating.
So maybe they get that same dopamine hit from constantly shopping for clothes that they couldn't wear when they were overweight, etc and putting their new lifestyle on credit.
Many gain the weight back after surgery. It is just a tool. Not a solution. If you haven't fixed the problem in your head, you will probably gain the weight back. We have seen this with other celebrities too, so it is entirely reasonable to suggest that Billy may gain the weight back as well.
I was just suggesting that it will be a much easier process for him over the general public, given that money isn't an issue for him. Having someone literally cook your every meal would solve most people's problems. It is when they are left to their own devices is when they repeat old behaviors.
It is certainly inspiring, but the difference is that he can afford to get skin surgery right away and have cooks make all his meals, etc.
So it isn't exactly an apples to apples comparison with the general public who get the surgery.
Thank you very much for your feedback.
Are you taking supplements to fight the hair loss or was it something you never really considered prior to surgery, so you never tried specific vitamins in relation to hair health to see if it would make any difference?
I know loose skin is unavoidable. I am mostly just concerned about the hanging skin in my groin area hanging even lower. When you have to move skin around to go to the bathroom - that's a problem.
I wish you all the best with your gallbladder surgery.
I am so sorry that you had to go through that. Similar to my situation, were you not entirely happy with your surgeon from the get go or he became a problem after the fact?
I have never heard anyone ever mention issues with teeth after gastric surgery. Do you mean loose teeth? I will look into that.
Yes, I am especially concerned about the skin in my groin area - it is already hanging low and clearly an issue when it comes to using the bathroom, so I am hoping it shrinks during weight loss and not just start hanging down to my knees. I will absolutely need a panniculectomy.
I think that is why some have gained the weight back after surgery, because while they now have a tool to lose the weight, they haven't fixed the issues in their head as to WHY they overeat, etc. This has been my concern as well for myself as well when it comes to anxiety and using food as comfort with emotional eating. I know my brain will still send those signals/cravings to go eat something when I have anxiety to get that dose of dopamine. I am hoping seeing the weight loss will motivate me and stay on track like you said.
Thanks!
I totally understand.
I wasn't always overweight/obese, so I guess the hope is that in addition to losing the weight and getting healthy - you can go back to how you looked before in better clothes or a suit and somewhat have a comeback when it comes to your confidence and appearance.
Ideally you don't want to thin now, but bald. 
As long as you trust your surgeon's skills, his personality shouldn't matter unless he is abusive or harassing. It's sucks to not feel her personably cares about you but I'd rather have a surgeon that's a tool but good at what he does than one I'd like to chat with that is bad at surgery. Is there anyone else in his practice or your program that you can connect with, that you would feel comfortable taking your questions to?
I think it's not unusual to be anxious about surgery, but to put that 1 in 1,000 perspective that's .10%; hip replacement surgery has a mortality rate about 3 times higher and you rarely hear of anyone dying from that. Complications can absolutely happen in anything but they are rare. Understand your risks, take care of what you can before hand and then just focus on your program and the next steps! Hopefully you will be amazed at how quickly you are on the other side of things!
Hey Partlypollyanna,
Thank you for responding.
I trust the surgeon in that he has the credentials and a respectable hospital position - it just would have been nice if he didn't exacerbate my worries by just not caring about them. I felt like I was dealing with a used car salesman who just wanted to close the deal.
When you put it that way per the mortality rate, that does make me feel better. I guess I never really considered other types of surgeries in the same manner, because those have been going on for decades, so you wouldn't think I might die from a hip replacement.
What was your experience with surgery, weight loss, hanging skin and hair loss?
Thanks.
I understand your concerns. You're about to undergo a life changing process. It's normal to worry about the unknown.
May I make a suggestion? Is there a therapist that you could talk specializing in the area of wls and obesity? You want piece of mind.
I'm one of the rare people that did have complications from my rny, (some stitching broke, led to pancreatitis, and somehow got a fungal infection in the lungs). Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! It made me realize how fragile life is. And how strong my will to live was.
Hey Kathleen,
Thanks for responding.
I don't really lack a support system per se, but my brain is just wired a certain way where I will just focus on my worries anyway and then after the fact if everything goes well - then I will say that I worried for nothing and that I am glad I did it.
I just wanted to get some more feedback from people here who have actually gone through it vs. people trying to make me feel better who haven't.
I am sorry to hear about your complications. Was it due to mistakes made by the surgeon or just a rare occurrence that can't really be blamed on anyone?'
What was your experience with weight loss, hanging skin and hair loss beyond the complications?
Thanks again.
Greetings All,
I am am having gastric sleeve surgery soon and I wish I could be excited about it like many people are about their surgeries, but I am kind of dreading it for numerous reasons.
I completely acknowledge that I need the surgery, so that isn't the issue - but I do have anxiety about some things that may or may not be an actual problem. I am diagnosed with anxiety in general and I have ADD, so I hyper focus on things that worry me.
I don't like my surgeon. He is perfectly qualified and and all that, but he has horrible bedside manner and is very transactional. I am just another obese person in his revolving door of obese patients. I am just a number to him and he didn't really care about my concerns. It's a business to him.
I have to admit the death rate is still pretty high in my mind and scary. Recent info that I saw is that 1 person dies per 1000 surgeries. If someone wants to correct me in case that info is wrong, please do - but a 1000 people is not a lot. I would feel somewhat better if it was 100,000+ people.
I am worried about all the new problems I am going to have when I do lose the weight with the hanging skin - that is already hanging pretty low. I will have to move the skin aside to use the bathroom. I know OHIP covers panniculectomy surgery and there are specific requirements to qualify, but I am sure I will have other loose skin issues that are not covered and quite frankly I cannot afford, so will have to live with the hanging skin.
Those 3 reasons are pretty much the main thing outside of some smaller worries like hair loss. Has anyone here had the sleeve surgery and had hair loss and did it come back after a certain period?
I would greatly appreciate any feedback from people - especially from people who have had the sleeve surgery and even skin surgery removal to maybe put my mind at ease. I am happy to answer any further questions as well. I start the Optifast next month.
Thank you.
FW
Batwingsman · 4 replies · 1323 views