Still undecided but really need WLS...

Hello. I am 50 and live in Georgia. I'm considering WLS but am truly afraid to go through WLS. I'm a scardey cat when it comes to pain and wimpy about things going wrong such as not waking up after surgery, and a whole host of other things. I was not a fat child and only recently did I start putting on very many pounds. That's why I'm more or less against surgery. It seems there are more having the surgery who were fat as achild. Also, I don't understand why if people are losing weight before surgery why not just keep that going under a supervised program of some kind. My bmi is just about 50. There is no diabetes or high blood pressure. I am very fat with a large protruding belly, which too is almost 50 inches across and I am just 5'2". I notice too that I first signed on back in February and would perhaps be at least 50 - 60 pounds down by now (if not more). I didn't go through with it because during the wls seminar the surgeon admitted to using WW and the 2nd try he lost weight. For me everything is in place: my insurance takes care of everything. I have Cardiomyopathy but no other comorbidities (even though that is a big one). I dread football season because I am close to or near the weight of a linebacker and now my Suzy Q is not smelling as fresh since the summer till now. I no longer want to be the size of a LB and wish not for my internal parts to be smashed to death due to my OBESITY weighing down my parts but am most afraid of having my innerds rearranged and be cut from surgery. Also, I'm oppose to the use of blood of any kind and this may be a problem during surgery. I have had two previous blood clots am severly anemic and just a plain scardey cat of everything. I know my injection fraction would improve and I more than need to take the pressure off my heart because it is enlarged with edema. I'm afraid to live like this and afraid to have surgery...

Really, only you can decide if you want to live like you are living now, or you want to risk what it will take to have surgery, or do something else.

I know that 3 different times in my life, I was able to lose a significant amount of weight (100 pounds, 85 pounds, 100 pounds) and each time, I put the weight back on within 5 years, because I could not maintain weight loss.

I needed a tool that would help me to lose the excess weight, and maintain the loss while I learned how to eat less, exercise more and make better all over life-style changes.

I used Weigh****chers along with my weight loss tool to lsoe the excess weight.  My life is infinitely better with the weight gone.

I did not have your health issues, but I was ready to function in spite of any fear that was holding me back, and go forward with surgery.  We are ready when we are ready --- at the age of 50, how much time do you think you have left at a bmi of 50 and your other health issues?

Due to your feelings about surgery, perhaps you should just try a monitored weight loss program such as WW.  Start seeing a registered dietician and a personal trainer and work at losing weight without surgery.  

It might help to have an appointment with a surgeon to discuss it now that you have gone to the seminar. It might make you feel better about it. I think fear of surgery is natural to some extent. I know I worried about not waking up. I also said to myself my doctor has never lost a patient in something like 3,000 surgeries. What makes me think I will be the first one? You have to trust them to be honest if there are any special dangers. I know as part of my pre-op prep I went to support groups. I also went to one outside the hospital as well. They really helped me feel more comfortable. Talking to other people who had had the surgery, and some of them years ago... and they still felt very positive about it. Good Luck!

Fear of the unknown is normal - but factor in the guarantee of continued health decline if ou don't do anything.  WLS should be considered a last resort, so if you've no given a good diet routine a good college try - then you're not ready.  I tried it all several times before finally taking the plunge.  

I assume when you say "I don't understand why if people are losing weight before surgery why not just keep that going under a supervised program of some kind" you're talking about the weight people lose while doing the pre-op diet.  For me, and I think this was true for many other people, I've always been able to lose weight in the short term, but it didn't take long, and it would stop, and things would get really tough.  I lost a huge amount of weight in my pre-op diet:  22 lbs.  But I also know that if I would've just kept trying to do that, I would eventually stop, get discouraged, and gain back that weight plus more.  All of us who get surgery have tried (many, many times) to lose weight with the traditional diets and so on, but they don't work.  

Do you know if your insurance requires supervised weight loss before approval?  My insurance required at least 6 months first, and it seems like many, if not most, people on this board had a similar requirement.  For mine, it could be with a doctor, dietitian, Weigh****chers, or pretty much anything as long as it wasn't me doing it myself, and there was someone monitoring and logging my weight.  If you do this, you may find that you lose weight well, and maybe can just continue with it and not go through surgery.

For me, the overall health benefits were much more important than looking better.  You don't have diabetes or high blood pressure right now, but at a BMI of 50 at 50 years old, it's only a matter of time.  Plus, with an enlarged heart, you really need to drop weight.  If you can do it through diet and exercise alone, then more power to you!  But for most of us here, we couldn't do it just through that alone.

I was worried about surgery also.  Pretty much everyone is.  But these surgeries are much safer than they were even 10-15 years ago, and after just over two months, my health and my quality of life have dramatically improved.  And it's only going to keep getting better.  It's the best decision I've ever done.

Okay,bottom line---have YOU ever been successful at losing most of your excess weight, and keeping it off for five years or more? No? Well, neither have most of the rest of us, and that's why we chose WLS. People who do lose 100+ pounds through traditional diet and exercise rarely keep it off more than 5 years. People who choose WLS have a MUCH better chance of maintaining that loss long-term.

You say you only recently started putting on weight, yet you have a BMI of 50. That doesn't happen overnight. Have you made ANY serious diet attempts since you became MO? If not, then yes, you certainly need to try that before having MAJOR surgery.

You write "but am most afraid of having my innerds rearranged and be cut from surgery." Have you researched the VSG/Sleeve form of WLS? ALL forms of WLS will require you to be 'cut', but the Sleeve simply reduces the size of your stomach. It doesn't rearrange your 'innerds' at all. It simply makes it much easier to stick to small portions.

The other common forms of WLS are the RNY/gastric bypass and the DS/duodenal switch. They do rearrange your 'innerds', which can have some amazingly good effects. You need to research and understand them ALL before you decide which, if any, form of WLS is a good choice for you.

It's completely normal to be afraid of surgery, even when you do all your research & pick the surgeon & hospital that is the best, that fear can still be there. I think when you discuss your fears with your health team those fears will be a lot less, & praying to a higher power will make those fears even lower.

As far as losing weight b4 surgery, I think everyone on here has done that, but maintaining the loss is a whole other matter. I wouldn't have maintained my loss without my tool, I usually would have been gaining by now, but if you haven't done any serious dieting to lose & keep the weight off you might as well try, but really think on why you haven't loss anything. There's usually something else going on to get to a bmi of 50. WLS is only a tool, one of many you need to lose & maintain the weight loss & you'll still have to diet & exercise after wls.

I didn't want my insides rearranged either which is why I went with the sleeve, but do your own research into all your options. When I first started this weight loss journey I was firmly in lap band territory. I knew I needed a change but I didn't want anyone cutting my stomach or rearranging my insides. My insurance required the dr supervised diet for 4 months & during that time I did a lot more research & with much soul searching opened myself up to other possibilities. It came down to the VSG & the DS, which was a long way from where I felt when I first started out.

The journey starts with your decision, not just the surgery but everything that leads to it, thru it, & beyond. I wish you the best on yours.

I live in GA, too. I'm in the Atlanta area.  Who is your surgeon if I may ask?  I am also a bloodless patient and I had no issue with my surgeon on that point.  Peachtree Bariatrics out of Atlanta Medical Center was wonderful. I had Dr. Hobson for my surgery.  Atlanta Medical Center has a bloodless medicine program.  People are losing weight prior to surgery because for a short time they can tolerate the liquid/low cal diet but it's not something we/they are able to do long term.  I hope you will be happy whatever you decide to do!

Hello Earthgirl thank you for your and ALL the replies! I decided to at least attend a wls seminar and did this week. My obesity surgeon is OBESE herself! How can that be??!! She is the director of the robotic and laproscoptic program. Both the coordinator and dietician were on what appeared to be the pre op diet because the coordinator mention being tired of the applesauce and puddings and drinks. I sat up front and heard and saw everything! Well despite that I scheduled a preliminary meeting for January 21st. In the mean time I am following the Food pyramid plan I used some years back and walking three miles a day. This really is for my heart. I do not want a stent, a defibrilator, pacemaker, or even have a heart attack. But my chances go up for one or all of these things as I age. And this weight business is making things critical. I'm afraid to have the surgery and not to have it. Hey how can I contact you personally?