Life Expectancy after WLS

Hi -  The article states an obese person MIGHT live as long as 70........One of my Dr.s asked me a question - "How many obese people do see alive and functioning at the age of 70, 80, 90?? His answer was not many or none. I'd rather take my chances of extending my life 3 more years - even if it is supposedly for 3....

I know that at the weight I was i was bound to have serious health problems and I wanted to try a prevent that as much as possible.

You have every right to be concerned-- after all, the RNY is very serious surgery. The site where you got the data is full of junk studies--- lots of scare tactics with a bias against bariatric surgery. I was particularly suspcious to read studies that were not attributed to any peer-reviewed journals and to the reference made to comments from a doctor that appeared on a recent Donahue show (heck, has there been a recent Donahue show since the early 1980's?). In short, a study from the December 2004 New England Journal of Medicine examined gastric bypass patients Europe who had been studied for over 10 years.  The study found that they all enjoyed a dramatic reduction in the co-morbidities (such as high blood pressure) that robs people of valuable years and quality of life. Furthermore, if you go to the NIH website, you will find that they have broken down the health risks for the obese-- the NIH has documented the very high increased risks the morbidly obese face from expected co-morbidities (such as Type II diabetes and hypertension) and the less-commonly discussed (but no less real) increased risks from cancer deaths which befall the obese.

I would say that the key word here that debunks this as someones personal, subjective opinion is the word theorized.  Theorized has the same definition as guessed, but it sounds fancier and leads you to believe its a scientific finding.  Its a guess, nothing more, nothing less. Here's a thought for you....we see plenty of little old men and little old ladies around, have you ever seen a big old man or a big old lady?????? 

I'm 47 and looking at my mother and all the diabetic complications she has been thru since she was 60 made me know for sure that is not how I wanted to live at that age.  If you can see clearly enough into your future you will know what to do.  My mother was a mirror for me to see my own reflection. 

None of us has a life-time guarantee on anything.  You could live to be 100 or hit by a car tomorrow. We just don't know.  I had open RNY at age 52, and it changed my life.  Not only am I a healthy weight, but I make healthier choices in all areas of life.  The one thing that may get me is that I take more risks in other ways now that I am more physically fit!  That's a catch-22, isn't it? But for me, quality of life is everything.  I can't believe how much I'd either given up, avoided, or adapted so severely as to diminish my enjoyment of life.  I saw my beloved grandmother live to 94 years old, being MO for more than 50 years, but the quality of her life was rather low, and that depressed her.  My mother is 81 years old but has wanted to die since she was 70 because she hates the pain of all of her arthritis and other ailments.  I want to live to whatever age the good Lord grants me and enjoy every last minute of it. In the past 4 years, I have done the 60 mile breast cancer walk, gone on weekend bicylcing trips, taken all kinds of dance lessons, been in two musicals, played on the floor with my young grandson and jumped with him on inflatables, ice skating, sledding, x-country skiing, gone on some of the world's scariest roller coasters, stopped being scared of stairs or what I look like at the gym, stopped being afraid of the camera (so 100 years from now someone might know what I l ooked like instead of staying anonymous), painted the entire inside of my house 3x (I had a hard time deciding on colors!), done massive landscaping.  Those were all things I could not and would not have done 5 years ago. Please do a search on Mercy Unit Bariatric, click on their photos link and scroll down to Janelle.  She's a long time dear friend who had WLS more than 25 years ago.  She's several years older htan me and as beautiful and vibrant as she looks in her photo--STILL! Is WLS the perfect solution?  Nope; it's definitely not for all MO's, and it is not without its own risk.  Only you can decide if the tradeoffs, risks, and benefits are worth it.  Good luck making the right decision.

I agree with the others. This is just an OPINION. GB has become extremely popular in the last few years so how do we really know how many years it will add. And as others said, there is no guarantee we won't get in an accident, etc. My dad has adult onset diabetis and high cholesteral. Though both are controlled well with medication, I know I would be heading down that road. I am young enough to still enjoy a lot of years as a relatively 'normal' size person and do some things I have not done because of my weight. In other words, this surgery is giving me back my life in more way than one!

 Have you ever heard the statement- "you  can't beleive everything you read?"  Keep that in mind. I agree with what Steve wrote- there is a bias towards buypass surgery and if its not backed up by documentation from the NE Journal of Medicine- than I would debunk it. As for comparisons- how's this? I'm 18mos post op. Im a single parent and was 48 when I had surgery- I weighed 327lbs- Today I am 197 and still losing weight. When I firsr began exercising as  post-op- I could barely do 30mins of cardio- my knees hurt and thats all I manage. ANd If  I did that 3x week I was good.  TODAY- I can do 2hrs+ cardio and feel wonderful and workout every DAY! I even take classes like kickboxing- trampoline rebounding-aerobic cardio-body sculpting- stability ball and Im going to take spinning up next. I try to take one of these classes everytime Im in the gym and then ADD another 60+ mins of cardio - on an elliptical trainer or bowflex treadclimber. The treadclimber is a combination of treadmill, elliptical trainer & stairclimber. It is tough- and yet I did an HOUR on that and burned 750cals!  So you- see- you are the only one who sets limits on yurself. If you believe you cannot do something- it will not happen and if you embrace it- then the best of everything will happen for you.Motivation determnes what you do and attitude determines how well you do it.  So how sick are you of being obese and how well are you planning after recovery- to work your tool into a new body? Exercise is going to play a big part in your your life.  You see a lot of peopel saying they are regaining weight- at 18mos etc- they got lazy, eat more  and dont apply the rules. Your journey will be what YOU MAKE IT. Take everything you have learned to make it the BEST experience you can have- it will last you the rest of your long life. Congratulations on joining the winning side- we are the biggest bunch of losers going! Cheers! Donna 327/197/150

First off life expectancy is only a guess. Look at your family and see who died at what age and what weight they were. No one knows how long you will live in ANY case until you die and then it is too late. So why worry? Now studies have proved based on thousands of causes that some cancers are more likely to happen due to being overweight.  Many folks who are over weight have heart, lung and other organ problems and are more likely to die due to those issues. Over weight folks often do not get around as well as others and that inactivity can lead to major health issues that can result in death. Over weight folks are at more risk during surgeries for complications. They often suffer from depression more. And their health is often ignored by others more until it is too late. In my family many of the woman who are over weight die before they are 50. I'm 47. Now that is a fact I know about my family because the thin ones are still around doing fine. Many of the overweight folks in my family have health issues most of the thin ones don't. Now will my life be longer? I don't know no one knows but I am willing to try to make it longer. I don't know I for some reason like living and just love to muck up some so call know-it-all day. I knew how my life has been and I could see it just getting worse and quickly. So I did something about it. It took 5 years for me to get the surgery. During the time I was fighting for it I became a diabetic and was sick all the time. If I got a cold from someone it would last weeks and end up as a infection. In some causes I was sick for months. I had sores that would show up on my skin as well as acme very bad. I had join pain and could not work for 7 years. I lived at home and rarely went out. I was pretty much a nobody. It would not of been suprizing to my family if one day they found me dead. That would of been the end of the story. So I did something and pushed to have a better quality of life. Since August my health has improved 200%. I no longer walk with a cane, I'm active and not sick all the time. And look No acme. My skin has improved I have no problems breath I don't get out of breath all the time, I can lay down in bed and not feel like there is a weight on my chest. I'm going out, talking to folks and doing things. My mind is sharp and I have plans for my future... and dying is not one of them. Also by loosing weight my doctors now address things better than just saying "it's your weight". I'm at 210 now and have around 60 more pounds to loose. So the quality of my life has improved greatly and that is the one thing I know would be extended. Alright will I live longer? I don't know because I never knew how long I have. No one does. I could die tomorrow from anything happening and non of it related to my WLS surgery or it could be who knows. All I know is I'm doing what I can to improve my life and if that means no longer doing somethings I use to oh well so be it. After all it is my life and I will life it for me and the rest can come on the ride. If I live to 50 and that is it well at least the last few years will be on my terms. If I live to 80 I'll be one fun old lady ready to kick up my heels. Now I would love to live to 100 but I'll take what every years I get and enjoy them. Do not under rate the quality of life. You can live a long time and never have quality in it.

I agree with the others that this is garbage.  BUT, even if its true you might only add 3 years to your chronological life....but the quality of life leading up to those three extra years will be so much better.   So you can live to be 70, and miserable for most of them. Or you can live to be 73 and be happy/healthy for the last 33 of them...(assuming you have surgery at 40 years old).... Even if her garbage stats are right - still worth it.

There are articles out there that are published in refereed medical journals and one that I read suggests that the amount of years of life lost (YLL) is significant without WLS. If you are interested in seeing the medical study, go to www.kp.org and click on visitor. Then search the tab that allows you to find medical professionals. Enter ""Fisher" as physician and then pick David P. Fisher (he is listed as Surgery: Bariatric). This links to his page within Kaiser, then click on his homepage and then on the left side of the page there is a link of further readings about weight loss surgery. You can click there and find the article. I don't believe anything that isn't written in a reputable peer-reviewed journal, and even then I look at it with some amount of skepticism.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Doug