What you wish you knew.

Hi everyone, My name is Kellie and I am new here. I am 22 years old, and weigh around 250 (havent been on the scale for a few months :shrug: ). I am very interested in getting gastric bypass, and I wanted to know what you guys wish you knew before you got it done. What is life like after surgery? How was surgery? Was it hard to get approved by your insurance company (and any advice on that). I have been reading online like crazy, but I want some real account from real people, of course all of the websites that are advertising it are all for it, they want to make money. Thanks in advance for your help!

I too weigh 250 at 5' 7". I have been afraid of the dangers of Gastric Bypass so I am holding out for the Lap Band. Have you looked into that as an option? I know we both feel fat at 250 but in the world of overweight, we are on the lighter side of avarage. Before committing to Gastric Bypass please Google Lap Band or Inamed (the inventor of the band) The death rate is 1 in 2000 rather than 1 in 200 with the bypass. It is adjustable and removable. At age 22, you may want to have a child someday and it is perfect for that. The "Fill doctor" can loosen the band a little to allow for proper nutrition during a pregnancy. JillybeanOhio

I am 6 weeks post op and might get flamed but here goes. It HURT LIKE HOLY HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!! All I read was how "uncomfortable it was, lemme tell ya I am just now reaching "uncomfortable" I thought i was going to die for 2 weeks, I wanted to die for a week after that. I am just now at the point where I dont regret the surgery totally. I have an amazing tolerance for pain so this caught me off guard. On a bright note, at 6 weeks out I have lost 32 pounds averaging 5.33 pounds per week. I would prolly have the surgery again I just wish I had been more prepared for the pain.

I had the same pain. It was the worst I ever had. I did have open. I hated myself for what I did to my body. Now I am 129 pounds out and at goal. Glad I did it. Hugs Barb

i'm new to this site so I'm not sure if I'm in a LAp Band only site. Can you tell me which surgery you had? I was told about some pain yesterday in my pre-op so I'm thinking PAIN, but i"m curious which surgery you are talking about and was it laproscopic>

Kimberly, Thank you so much for your honesty. I have been searching the forums trying to find someone to admit they were in pain! I am two weeks post op and I am still in pain and I agree it hurts! Left side is very painful. Use my girdle-it helps! Now i know that at least in another month, I might feel better! Thanks for the post! becky

Hi Kelli, I am 8 weeks out and feeling better than I have in years. And 50 lbs down. The two days post-op were the hardest. I just wish I would of done it sooner. Gayle

Kelly, I would echo Jill's advice about looking into the lap band. For young, lower BMI patients such as yourself it can be a very good option. I do both band and bypass, so I'm not really biased other than to recommend what is best medically. Good luck in your decision! Dr. C

Hi Kellie I wish you luck on your journey. I think I can honestly say that nothing in my post op life has been a big surprise. Well, not exactly. I was surprised that I don;t dump very often. But I did so much research that I was "ready" for the "afterlife." Good luck - do your homework Sharyn

My biggest recommendation is to research all of the procedures -- become an expert on everything. That's the only way you'll figure out which will be best for you. I started looking into one procedure and found another that was perfect for me. It's good to get a doc who does a couple different procedures to give you some straight answers. Dr. Curry does Band and RNY and my doc, Dr. Rita Anderson does RNY and DS.