Spouse Support

Just a piece of information...when I attended the mandatory seminar for my surgery, the surgeon presented a PowerPoint. Without surgery, he said statistically a person has 1-2% chance of keeping their weight off. I thought it was more like 5% but regardless of what number is accurate, the fact remains it's almost impossible to get the weight off and keep it off. I have never even lost more than 30-40 lbs and I have 150 lbs to lose so I would say my chances would be 0% !!! Out of all the people I have known to be obese (and there's been many) the 1-2% correlates with my personal knowledge. I have known of only one person to keep weight off they have lost long term (more than 5 years).

I totally agree with this, I have tried in the past and even if I loose I am worried that it will all come back in a year or so later.

Not a spouse, but my sister is a physician (internal medicine) and she has been my biggest cheerleader. She even did the research to find an excellent surgeon and hospital to recommend to me. She told me she thought it was a great idea and that I would do just fine.

Your husband works in the ICU, of course his view is skewed towards seeing people with complications. The people who are doing fantastic with no complications are not his patients.

Good point. He does not see all the patients that have not had complications. Thanks!

Hello.. I am 4 weeks posts-op. I thought about this surgery for years but never had the guts to actually go through with it. Until last year, my new boss at work showed me pictures of her and her husband in their former skin. I couldn't believe it! They both had the surgery, they did it together and lost their weight together. She was 300+ and he was 400+ and now it's three years later for them and they are both looking great!!

I did lots of research, watched lots of videos, talked to other people that had the surgery.. I finally decided that it was the right thing to do. So I sat my boyfriend down and told him what I was thinking. He at first tried to talk me out of it. His sister also had the surgery, and he said although she has lost the weight, she had lots of complications and she has so much extra skin. So.. I got sad.. and kind of blew it off and decided to just eat healthy for a bit. He felt bad about pressuring me to change my mind and he went and did some research on his own. Then one night we were sitting around talking and he told me to go for it. He said the pros out way the cons. He said he would be my biggest cheerleader and my rock always.

So here I am 4 weeks post-op.. and 75lbs down from where I started.. and it's only going to get better. He is still by my side, no matter what. He was very scared for me at the start and sat down and did his own research. In the end he supported me, and that's what mattered to me.

Good Luck with your choices, I wish you the best.. Perhaps have your husband write a list of pros and cons and see which side wins? That's what my man did.. and he now even eat whatever I am eating, even though he doesn't have to, he does.

This is awesome! Congrats on the 75 pound loss! I hope it works out as well for me as it did for you!

Hi Bethany!

I'm in the same boat with you. I always seem to lose 25-75lbs and then something happens and its back with the regain. I'm still in the preop phase, scheduled for surgery on 11/11. My husband initially was very upset when I mentioned WLS. He is also a workout addict, follows the p90x routine, and runs several miles daily. He couldn't understand why I didn't just jump on board with him and start working out and change my eating habits. Its definitely true that you will have to do both of those things to lose weight even with surgery. The thing is and like others have said, WLS is a tool. It will aid you in meeting your goals, but you HAVE to work for it.

To answer your question, the only thing that truely got him on board with WLS, is when I mentioned that I would start taking Phentermine again. He had worked in pharmaceuticals for years and was willing to relent and support my choice if I promised to not start taking diet pills.

Hope all goes well, Wish you the best and hope to see you on the Losers Bench :)

Bethany.................

My hubby and daughter were VERY afraid for me to have this surgery. But, I told them it was something I HAD to do. They finally came around. Hubby went with me to a seminar and to meet the surgeon. He changed his mind after that. He, and my daughter, are now my biggest cheerleaders!! I consider this the best thing I have ever done for myself!!

Thank you. I hope he will see the light and not let his fear blind him of this opportunity for me to be the best me I can be!

Thank you! You are right, WLS is a tool but it's a tool that I feel like I need to accomplish my goals. I too hope to see you on the Losers bench!!!