Survey for my Sociology Class

Thank you for your response. I need all the help with this paper I can get. I swear I am getting to old for this! I hope to meet you one day soon. Rhonda

1. No, my metabolism was shot from yo-yo dieting, anorexia and bulemia at an earlier age. Every time I did lose I would end up gaining MORE, so I was even getting scared to lose weight. 2. Healthier now, yes, but only when I am eating right, exercising and drinking enough water, otherwise I do get easily fatigued. But when I am exercising and "doin right", I have MUCH more energy than before. 3. Much better family life. Not embarrased to go places with kids and see "skinny" moms. I go places like my husband's work functions and really enjoy. I have more confidence in relationship with spouse, so we get along good now. 4. I do not so much recommend to other people as I tell them how it is for me, along with risks involved, and let them make their own decision. If they ask me would I do it again, I say ABSOLUTELY. 5. I do feel support is one of the best tools...I am two years out and was really beginning to "fall off the wagon", found support groups such the WLS board, and other peer groups, and am doing much better. 6. I actually do not see a lot of publicity about WLS, just the few documentaries about people who have had surgery, and they are usually pretty positive (Do no****ch a lot of TV or read news other than headlines). Hope this helps..Good luck and God bless. D.

1. Do you feel that you could have acheived the same results through diet and exercise? No. Overeating and lack of exercise isn't what the problem was. Had plenty of excersize before and was barely eating 1500 cal a day and still never lost, rather slowly gained. 2. Do you feel healthier now than you did prior to WLS? Definitely. Health problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure were almost instantly alleviated. No longer need glasses, nor medication for high BP and now have normal blood sugar. 3. Do you feel that WLS has helped or hurt your marriage/family life? Helped/Helped. Marriage benefits: able to enjoy marital relations even more than before-definitely a plus/ family life benefits: can now do everything with the family as a unit. Sports/ activities, going to amusement parks riding the rides, also kids benefit from the more positive image of the parent that has lost weight, by not getting any more negative comments from classmates about the parent who was overweight. 4. Would you recommend WLS to other people? Yes. If asked about my feelings towards WLS I usually try to guide them in the direction of this website and tell them anything I can tell them in reference to the sugery and afterlife. I would only see this as a last ditch opportunity after all else fails as it's not the easy way out by any means. 5. Do you feel support groups are important to your long term WLS Success, and why? Yes. To keep in touch with others who are further along in their journey to get info on how to handle issues such as stalling on plateaus/ one or two yrs post op, what to eat and how much? 6. How do you feel about the negative publicity on the news about WLS? Baloney!! First off, everyone who choses surgery should have researched it thoroughly and recognized the possible dangers associated with it. To most people it's the last chance to save their life. Thousands of post-ops who would do it again in a second can't be wrong!!

1. Yes, because I had done it before but gained it all back plus some. Could I do it for a lifetime without this surgery. No. I needed this surgery to regain control and to learn new habits that will last me a lifetime and to recover from the years of dieting and eating disorders. 2. Yes, definitely feel much much better. Back to doing things I used to before the weight gain. I used to run and now I can again. Plus I have so much energy so that I can do things with my family more. 3. Definitely helped my marriage and family life. I had a good marriage and relationship with my children before and me feeling better made them even better. 4. I don't really go around recommending the surgery. But if I am asked I will share my experience and the risks involved. 5. Support groups are very important. Most people who have this surgery have food addiction issues, emotional/compulsive eating disorders, or other issues related to food. So just like with alcohol and drugs we need that support to keep us in recovery and on the right track. 6. I see positive and negative things. And if you research you will see the positive with the negative just like there are always two sides to every story. People just have to research and make a decision for themselves. I think people need to know the good things as well as the bad so they don't make a decision with blind folds on. Melissa Good luck on your paper.

1. Do you feel that you could have acheived the same results through diet and exercise? I tried many diets and was very active before my surgery. Living overseas means you must walk a lot, as you cannot drive places. I found that I ate very little, but still was slowly gaining. Everyone remarked about this and my husband for a long time thought I was one of those secret eaters who binge out on candybars and stuff! I had lost the motivation to diet after going on Adkins for a year and losing 50 pounds to see it slowly creep back on their maintaince diet. 2. Do you feel healthier now than you did prior to WLS? Definately! I had high blood pressure, and I still take medications but my blood pressure is more undercontrol than before. I had severe hip, knee and foot pain which has improved radically since my surgery. I still have some back problems but they are improving with my weight loss. 3. Do you feel that WLS has helped or hurt your marriage/family life? My husband feels very proud although he is still skeptical and feels that I might regain the weight in the future. He cannot believe that it is really gone for good. My family is a toss up at this point. They have not seen me since the surgery and so feel that I should have not taken a risk having surgery, it is ok to be fat and happy...... 4. Would you recommend WLS to other people? I would recommend this surgery to persons who can benefit from this surgery. But people need to realize that Gastic by pass is a radical decision NOT a "quick fix"..... It is a life changing decision with long term implications for many positive and negative things. 5. Do you feel support groups are important to your long term WLS Success, and why? Yes, because you can get information and feedback from persons with first hand experience. If you have a problem, people are always there to help you. They give you encouragement and help you to understand the process you are going through. Support groups are very important to overall success and also this board we post on.... It has been a godsend for me!!! 6. How do you feel about the negative publicity on the news about WLS? I feel that sometimes publicity is slanted very negatively. For example, they will track someone who is very obese, with so many complications that it is possible that they will not make it through the surgery, or do poorly afterwards due to the co-morbidities, but they never show those people who are 100-300 pounds overweight who are happy and successful and making a whole new life. It seems as if any kind of diet, surgery is a negative thing, and of course fat people are discriminated against every day of their lives in so many ways.......I wish that they would be more realistic. I also feel that many doctors who do this surgery, although they are good surgeons, do not have a handle on the overall psychological impact on patients and do not try to understand what the patient is experiencing. Many doctors have never had gastric bypass surgery. Those doctors who have nurses who have had this surgery seem to have better feedback for patients... Hope these answers help you with your project. They are as honest as I can make them, and not intended to offend anyone, just how I see life... Cheryl

1. Do you feel that you could have acheived the same results through diet and exercise? Heck NO!!!!! Who could lose 202.8 lbs in 10 months any other way and still be losing?????? 2. Do you feel healthier now than you did prior to WLS? Yes, I feel healthier. I have cut out the daily naps and go ALOT. My stamina is very high. 3. Do you feel that WLS has helped or hurt your marriage/family life? It has hurt some and helped some. Em, who will be 14 this coming MOnday, is very proud of her mom's loss and I know a lot less embarrassed about folks knowing who her mom is - even tho she'd never admit it! I do more things for and with my family. It has hurt some.....I am out of my rut, and am fighting tooth and nail to get them out of their ruts. I want to go and do and not sit home. Thankfully, Jim understands and is coming along for the ride more often! It only took a couple of fits to get him going!!!! Em is getting out more with me too. I have to bear in mind that for years and years, they have had a wife and momma who could not (and did not feel like) doing much of anything and they fell into the habit of not getting out and about and it is just as hard for them to break the pattern as it has been for me.... And Jon is thrilled with his new mum..... 4. Would you recommend WLS to other people? Yes, but not on my say-so along. I would encourage them to read and educate themselves and make the decision that fits them best. However, I would caution them that having the surgery is less devastating that continuing along the unhealthy road. 5. Do you feel support groups are important to your long term WLS Success, and why? YES!!!! You need the support of other folks who know how it is. And understand what you are going thru. This is no time to be the Lone Ranger..... 6. How do you feel about the negative publicity on the news about WLS? I just don't understand alot of the negative publicity - other than knowing that it is better for the drug companies to keep us fat and unhealthy.....And alot comes from folks who think "just push away from the table". HA! While, I do feel we need to know the pros and cons and REALIZE what might actually happen with this surgery, I really think it needs to be kept in perspective. My litmus test is: Weigh the pros and cons against the pros and cons of making no changes.....Weight loss surgery wins for me..... Good luck!!! Make us an A!!! Smoochies Arlies

1. Do you feel that you could have acheived the same results through diet and exercise? No and I have tried all the diets out there. Even some that most havent heard of. I am an ex trucker so any diet was really hard to follow on theroad. WLS really was a last resort. I am proud of my choice to do it. 2. Do you feel healthier now than you did prior to WLS? Yes. I have more energy and movement than I have had in alot of years. 3. Do you feel that WLS has helped or hurt your marriage/family life? I feel it helped my marriage. I am able to do more and not just sit around like a bump on a log. I am able to do more with my family as a unit than before. So it is a deffinite + on the family life as well. 4. Would you recommend WLS to other people? I dont go up to them and say you should do this. I tell them to really explore all the pros and cons of it. This is a "Life Choice" not a quick fix or fad to follow. I tell them about my experience including my problems and my scares that I have had. I really stress that they explore this and all the things that go with it both good and bad. 5. Do you feel support groups are important to your long term WLS Success, and why? They are absolutely necessary in my opinion. Noone that I know can do everything on their own. I feel that it really helps to ahve others to talk to other than just spouse or family that have had the surgery that can tell you their experiences as well. 6. How do you feel about the negative publicity on the news about WLS? I am sad that this surgery gets so much "negativity". But I also feel that the truth needs to be out there. This surgery is a life saving procedure. It also has some major complications attatched to it. I feel that one of the things not stressed enough is the emotional and mental aspects of it. I feel that it should require a lot more mental prep than it does. I have seen somne that are mentally prepaired for the life after, and some that no matter how much they talked that they were ready, weren't. This is as much mental procedure as it is a physical procedure and it needs to be known Barry

1. Do you feel that you could have acheived the same results through diet and exercise? Absolutely not. I tried for years and failed. I lost momentum after losing about about 40lbs and gave up. 2. Do you feel healthier now than you did prior to WLS? yes 3. Do you feel that WLS has helped or hurt your marriage/family life? I've been great in that dept. 4. Would you recommend WLS to other people? No. I tell them my experience and that I think it was the best thing I ever did but you have to be ready for huge changes. I've seen disasterous results when people had the surgery and were not emotionally ready. 5. Do you feel support groups are important to your long term WLS Success, and why? Yes but I don't use them effectively. 6. How do you feel about the negative publicity on the news about WLS? It's irrelevant to me. You can only educate those who want to be educated. Good luck in class, Elesha