nervous//why can't I do this without surgery?

Hi, I am about to get my date for bypass, at the end of the week I think. I am a bit nervous, but have been thinking. Has anyone else thought this??? If I am going to eat smaller portions, drink protein shakes, take vitamins, iron, b12, calcium, etc...and I am going to have to walk, exercise, watch the calories. Why can;t I do it without surgery? I have lost before with atkins, sugar busters, etc...I am having a pity party I guess..any ideas where my head is going????

The only and best answer I can provide you is based on a relatively recent discovery: Virtually no one loses weight and then keeps it off long term.

All I can think of,

Dave

That said, the surgery really improves a lot of lives. Personally, I've never felt so good in my life. Most likely, you'll be improving your quality of life greatly.

Kenny, weight-loss surgery should be considered as a last resort. But as "resorts" go, it’s up there with some of the best the French Riviera has to offer..

Sorry, couldn’t resist…. It comes with risk, responsibility, and is only a tool to help reach weight-loss Not a "magic bullet" by any means. That said- The success rate for Morbidly Obese people losing and maintaining their loss With Diet and exercise alone? Approximately a 5% success rate. Diet and exercise aided and supported by Weight-loss Surgery? Approximately a 70% success rate. I’m a bit of a gambler, so I went with the odds….. So far? I had the statistically Rare extreme complications immediately after surgery. (profile) I also had the statistically Typical long-term success. Over 4 years post-op, over 3 years within the "Normal BMI range." Everything about my health has improved. If you are able to succeed with out surgery, then Do It! Either way requires focused attention to changing lifestyle and eating habits. Best Wishes- Dx

If it helps, know that you are not alone.  I thought the same thing - still do, occasionally. I made the same comments on my pre-consult paperwork, during my psych consult, and again when I had my one-on-one consult with my surgeon.  When I said this to her (Dr. Cacucci), she asked me "Why do YOU think you haven't been able to do it without surgery?"  At first, I just thought she was being flippant, but now I realize she wanted me to look inside ME for the answer. Well, here I am a year later (insurance required 12-month doctor-supervised diet), and I STILL don't have a definitive answer.  But what I DO know is that what I HAVE done until now has NOT worked. As someone has said: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results." Well, I'm tired of being insane!    I want different results, and as Dx said, the odds are MUCH better on this path I've chosen. 29 days until my new life starts!  I can't wait!!!      

Everyone else has said the same thing I am going to say but here goes. I was very good at loosing weight but not worth a damn at keeping it off.  After my six month pre-cert diet for ins. my PCP's nurse practioner asked me if i was still going to have the by-pass since I had been so successful on the diet. I saved the smart ass remarks since she is a very attractive young lady and very good at what she does. I would rather go to see her when I am sick than the Doc, but I digress. I told her that I was and why. She was very accepting and wished me all the best.  I really think that with this tool I can and will be sucessful at keeping the weight off. I will never be able to eat just anything, I will always have to be aware of what I put in my mouth, but I can do this.  pan head

Hey Kenny, My date is in hand and less than a month away and I have my times when I think EXACTLY like you.  When I was 25 I weighed 275 pounds and decided to go on a tear and changed my eating habits and this is what I ate almost daily:       BREAKFAST:      Oatmeal or a cup of bran cereal, 2 pieces of dry toast with butter buds. and equal.       LUNCH:    6 OZ can of Tuna or salmon packed in water on a bed of lettuce, raisins and cottage cheese instead of dressing, (pretty large salad).       DINNER:  2 pieces of fruit Daily I exercised 45 minutes to an hour doing Rowing, stationary bicycling, treadmill walk/jog, stairmaster.  I took Sunday off.  Then in addition, I lifted an all muscle 45 minute free and machine weights 3 sets of ascending weight with a warmup and cool down period.   I lost weight like you wouldn't believe, I got down to a muscled 195 pounds.  I kept it off from 27 to 35 years old, then life changes started happening, I moved a couple of times, away from my gym, started getting injured on the weights but was so addicted to the weightlifting that I wouldn't let those injured muscles heal and one day I quit.  SLOWLY OVER THE NEXT 12 YEARS I GAIN BACK ALL MY WEIGHT AND 100 POUNDS MORE I think with the 'tool' I'll be able to find those muscles again AND find that 'feel good weight' again and LIVE.  The only thing different is taking the supplements, doc has told me since that it sounds like I was eating an average of 900 cals a day with virtually no supplements. The only thing that worries me about the surgery is the complications, scar tissue build up, incisional hernias, unknown pain, but jus****ch the boards, a lot of these guys that have this STILL ARE GLAD THEY HAD THE SURGERY - - IN SPITE OF THESE THINGS - - STILL THEY WISHED THEY HAD THE SURGERY SOONER.  It must be a ride.   I've also learned that this is life commitment (scary) you can sabatage or fail by not committing your whole self.  Use the tool, don't sabatoge ourselves by testing the fried foods or sugars to SEE if we dump.  Just don't do those things, it's mind control man. So, I have already decided to have the surgery, but there are still those little doubts that tug on me, I have already dealt with the fear factor, can't deal with it so I went to my God and told him basically I turn it all over to you dude, let your will be done. Sorry for the rant, BobM. Good Luck and prayers.

I confer with Dave.  It's keeping it off that is the goal.   I'm one week out of surgery.  But, even a day or two before the surgery I went to the movie, (On liquids) and had popcorn.  I couldn't stop myself.  Even a week after surgery I know in the back of my mind that it would only have been a matter of time before I got off my diet and gained more weight..   We have all thought the thoughts that you are having.  Even last night I was depressed thinking why couldn't I have done it with just a diet...  I know I couldn't maintain it...  Today, is a new day for me.  It's not easy, I look forward to real food again.  But it is just a matter of a few weeks when I'm back on solids.  The difference will be the portions...  I'm only able to eat a little, but lurking in the back of my mind is the vision that I'll be around a lot longer than before the surgery.  Hang in there,  we are all here for you. Mike Ray

OK,...everything they said plus I'd like to add: Been there too. Tiwice I tried doing th eprogram without the surgery.  The hunger and mental anxiety is killer.  The difference is,...you still have the large, stretched out stomach.  Post-op for RNY anyway,  1) the stomach detached and bypassed but not removed because it still functions; to secrete the digestive acids and enzymes needed for digestion except now they mee the food in the intestinal tract. 2) you got a new small stomach which has to relearn to digest food and will never be as efficient because it can't do what the old full-size model was designed to do.  If you don't abuse it by forcing food in from mental cravings rather than pysical hunger, it should remain in the 5-6 oz size rather than the normal 24-32 oz size. 3) the portion of the intestine closes to the old stomach, responsible for sugar and fat absorption has also been bypassed so you ability to absorb suger and fat has been altered and can be a benefit to you being a new and different person with some different tastes for food than before.  The way your body dealas with the excess sugar and or fat will also change your life and you will adjust or endure ill feelings until you body adjusts to your forcing in what it doesn't really want.   But you will have a chance to be different than ever before.  Yours to choose. Will you eat some foods you shouldn"t? Yes Will you eat more than you should? Yes Will you be sick from eating bad foods or too much? Yes in varying degree, depending on what you ate and how much? Can you break the new tool?  Yes you can abuse it to eventually be back to where you atarted and then it wil only appear to have been another failed diet.  But know this.  Failure will required effort and determination and enduring alot of feeling poorly,..moreso than following the program wthat will bring you success. The big difference I see is I am not hungry and do not crave food and eating as I did. I have relearned eating.  Cold water is now my favorite beverage and a protein bar my favorite snack. Hope this helps.  This has been a major blessing in my life to-date.  It is not a diet, it is a decision to have a new lifestyle. You will face wanting to go out to eat and realize eating is no the joy it was and what do you do now? Enjoy the company of the people you go out with rather than the food you are planning to consume?  Pysch! Joe

I'm 4 weeks out Kenny.. and all I can say is if you're in doubt, then maybe you should hold off till you know for sure. This is a sudden and drastic life change, and do not go into it lightly. I came out of the surgery wondering what the hell did I do to my body? Why did I allow man to alter what God made perfectly right in the first place? After 4 weeks though, and plenty of ups and downs, I can say that I've lost about 40 pounds already, been taken off all my meds ( a handful each morning), and I now even sleep without my CPAP and get into deep dream state, which tells me that I'm not suffering from apnea anymore. The benefits for me are overwhelming so far, and I try to exercise every day robustly. (very fast walking for 45 minutes or more) . Just be ready if you're going to do it!