Why do men have WLS

Scott:

Thanks for the reply!  I would have done WLS much earlier too, had it been available.  RNY has been a game-changer for me, upsetting the balance in my favor, and delivering a host of benefits.

I disagree with people who say it is not a cure -- it is.  Like all cures, sometimes people relapse but that does not take away from the cure itself.  On the RNY board I have been raked over the coals for saying this and I will say it again now.  Not everyone who is obese has all sorts of mental issues that are going to make them fail at their WLS.  Not everyone who is obese needs therapy, drugs and psychiatric care.  Some of us are just too fat -- i.e. we like to eat too much -- and RNY (or other WLS) solves our problems.

-Joe

 

You know I agree for the most part, but I do think that most of us who were SMO, did use food for emotional purposes. I think that sometimes there are underlying issues we just don't like to face up to....and we use food as our drug of choice to find comfort.

Granted there are people who just eat too much..and get fat, for no other reason that they like to eat. I thought I was one of them, but at 5 years out I realize that I wasn't one of them...that food was comforting to me, and now I've had man up a bit and deal with issues that have made me unhappy in the past.

My primary motivator was to improve my health.  Co-morbidities were getting progressively worse.  Blood pressure was barely within "high-normal" range with medication.  I was borderline diabetic.  My legs and ankles would become swollen at the drop of a hat.  I was becoming less and less mobile.  Even short walks, or climbing a single flight of stairs left me winded.  I was having more asthma attacks (of increasing severity) more often as time went on.

I'd been thinking about WLS for 5+ years, but kept putting if off because "surely I can lose on my own - it's just about will power..."  So I'd try the next diet in line, and lose 40-50 lbs, then gain it back, plus some.  I was, frankly, too fat to exercise (other than walking, which left me totally winded and with back and knee pain).  I longed to be able to even just "jump" down from our 18-inch-high front porch to the ground without killing myself in the process - much less be able to actually chase my dogs around the yard...

For me, it all came to a head when I went to a cardiologist to have a stress test done, only to learn that I was too out of shape to be able to take a "normal" stress test - they had to use chemicals to increase my pulse rate to determine my heart health.  Amazingly enough (and that's a direct quote from the cardiologist), my heart was in very good shape, with no obstructions and no unusual behavior under stress.  He then told me "But if you don't get rid of at least some of that weight, it won't stay that way for long."  

About the same time, I started thinking seriously about what life after retirement would be like.  At 411 pounds, there would have been a lot of sitting around the house, because anything else would be pretty much out of the question.  I have always wanted to build and fly my own airplane (I've been a pilot for 33 years), but realized that I there was no way I could do it at that weight.  I didn't have the stamina or flexibility to even just build the plane, and flying was almost out of the question, unless I flew a 4-seater with only one other person in it...  I weighed more than two and a half "FAA standard" people!  About that time, my brother-in-law had WLS, and lost a bunch of weight.  That was the final push I needed, so I started researching surgeons and surgery options, made the decision to have RNY by Dr. Nick Nicholson in Plano TX, and here we are...  

I'd would say that the "looking better" part wasn't really a motivating factor in my initial decision to have WLS, but now that I've lost 100+ lbs, the positive feedback from people about how much better I look has, in fact, turned out to be a positive motivation to keep me working hard at it. 

Congrats on your 100 lb loss....it is a big deal! I know it was life changing for me.

Scott

I first checked into WLS in 2007.  Now almost 4 years later all my diabetes is worse, my back hurts, I'm huffing and puffing, my clothes fit and look ridiculous, I sweat whenever its about freezing and I have to walk 10 feet.  I want to get a grip on the diabetes.  I feel way to young to feel like such crap! I hate sleeping with my CCAP and that wall of air blowing into my face.  I am sick of having to shoot up insulin everything I even look at food and I'm sick of *****ing my skin testing blood sugars.  I'm sick of diabetic nuropathy pain in my feet.  I want this to be a new start and it is what I make of it.

PS, the post-op diet is getting abit easier and less frustrating! Thanks for the advice guys! 

I had a tremendous amount of difficulty walking 10 feet preop, at 5 years post op, I rarely think about how far I have to walk. Life is a lot easier when you aren't carrying around a ton of extra lbs.

Scott

I realized many, many years ago that I would never look "good". Too many imperfections to turn heads with my stunning good looks. So, I basically gave up trying to look good. And, that's when I also stopped caring about my weight.

Ten years I started comparing my current health to that of my father (at the same age). My father was overweight, had heart problems (with numerous surgeries), diabetes, etc. and spent the last years of his life with marginal health and mobility.

I started seeing my health issues mirror his and it scared me into action. Another motivating factor was when I got pissed off at my primary care physician. At my last appointment (about a year ago), I asked him what I could do to drop some weight. I was hoping he could perscribe a weight loss drug or provide some new ideas. His only suggestion was to join a weight loss group such as Weigh****chers or Nutrosystem. Had he already forgotten that I had already tried those and failed?!?!?

A couple days after my doctor visit, a co-worker found out our insurance covered WLS and he had an RNY in March. In less than 6 months he had lost 142 lbs and I saw him doing things he could never have done prior to surgery.

Seeing my co-workers success I went to his weight loss center and started the approval process. Have not yet returned to my primary care physician and I'm not sure I'll ever trust him again. It ****** me off that he never suggested WLS as an alternative and only recommended the same failed options.

I'll never look good. But, I'm going to be around a whole lot longer to enjoy being ugly. And, when I do die, I seriously doubt it will be with the same conditions that took my father's life.

Most PCPs don't know about WLS. You would think with all of the press that they would know something, but from my experience, they know little and this is why it's important to understand your surgery, what types of blood tests you need to have, and some "basics" if you have an emergency. I was the one to approach my PCP about WLS, and it was only after I decided to get a 2nd opinion from a different weight loss surgeon that I found out real information about the DS.

You need to be able to explain your WLS to a treating doctor so that you can advocate for yourself if/when the time comes.

Scott

I had wls because I was going to die otherwise. I could barely walk, and I had the entire works of comorbidities. I had no intentions of looking good. My first goal weight was 300 pounds for crying out loud.

Now I do care about looking slim and sexy. I don't think I could have imagined what it would feel like under 200 lbs when i was 400+.

Yehuda

I defintely think there is a progression....from wanting to be healthy to wanting to look "good". I know at 500 lbs, I just wanted to be "normal", and that wasn't primarily a looks thing, but I wanted to do things like fit behind the steering wheel of a car.

Are you planning on plastics after your revision?

Scott