Responses be damned

Okay, I have to post this, even though the last time I did it I was flamed.  But hell, I'm thick skinned. On the Main Board is a post about a woman getting approved for WLS in "record time."  I was curious, as I always am, about what brings someone to WLS.  So I read her profile to find out that her BMI is 39.9 and the only thing she could say about wanting WLS was that she "wanted to keep up with her husband and her children." She has three young children and she only refers once to possibly something happening to her, and wondering whether it is something she should do.   I guess I wonder at those out there who have BMI's of 70 and have a very difficult time getting approved.  Then there is someone who doesn't even make 40, no comment on any co-morbidities and she is taking the risk of rerouting her insides.  I don't know, I just don't get it. Thanks for listening to the rant.  Flame away.

i hate to admit it out loud, but, many times it is an insurance thang. Better insurance = wls however you want it. I would ask this person a couple  questions:   1.  how old is she? If under age 40, get back to work and keep trying.  2.  does she have any good habits for her health in place at all? if none, try establishing at least regular exercise before you go the gut re-route.  Some chance that she will drop some weight by moving around a bit and not killing the grass by standing in one place all day long!  If she's a McD's momma, try cutting that out for one month and see if any weight drops! If she can honestly defend either of those questions above, then to me, as I have said, 40 bmi with no comorbids is fair game to get surgery.  She can get there by gaining 2#, sounds like.  I say, it's fair to get wls without first getting so huge and damaged as some people have waited.  To me, some "non-comorbids" like crushed degenerative back vertebrae/knees/hips/feet should be considered as a quality of life issue! I have an aunt who must be 350# standing still who has zero traditional co-morbids but her feet and knees have her in a wheelchair!

i would not get RnY if I were here...LB is perfect for someone like that... on the border.

Yanno.. when I was hunting around for a wl surgeon.. I talked to the staff at a few places, and without knowing a thing about me, they insisted that RNY was the only way to go (even though I wanted information on the lap band because I wanted something less invasive and I didn't want my plumbing rearranged. It seems to be the trend these days.  People are really enjoying their success and after going through that, they really should. I can't comment on the insurance factor because my first question was always:  If I walk in with cash, how long will it take to get me on the table? I have the co-morbidities and I won't even consider RnY.  ut uh.. 

Hey Neecee, I won't be asking her any of those questions because frankly it ain't my business. And this isn't about do it on your own, RAH RAH RAH.  Both ways are hard, in the end.  What concerns me is the laissez faire' (spelled that like crap) attitude about this whole thing.  I mean, heck, there are people out there suffering from some real crappy long term affects from low iron which is rather benign compared to obstructed bowels, hernias and other really really huge reprecussions to this surgery.   What most see is that they can lose weight in a short amount of time, and be skinny and shop for clothes and shoes. **** yeah, that's all tempting.  But people really need to start totally educating themselves about this surgery. oh well, it's like Bert said, I won't agree with everyones decision and who gives a crap if I do.  Bert didn't say that last part, I added it. LOL

I completely understand your angst, really i do. But wait for it...wls IS the pathway to someday, I think very soon, people will not have to be fat.  They will be fat because they choose it. Some people would say that day is now. I'm not exactly there, but I can see that RnY, LB, all of them are an idea whose time has not fully arrived. It will...the terrible side effects will be less and less...they are fairly low now, which is why I defend it as a viable choice after careful consideration.  You are right in many ways...people with higher risk "deserve" the surgery more, however: In my estimation, the worst side effects are seen in people who, by some argument, should have been dead from how very obese they were when they finally had surgery.  In other words, they truly waited until they were a walking time bomb, with surgery or without it. WLS gave them one final chance to be near normal. You're saying,  a person at 39.9 bmi is rushing it. i say why wait until you are decrepit and your fair chances to fully survive the surgery are almost nil.    I in all ways agree with you on this...surgery is no laughing trite matter. Plastic surgery, cesaerean section, knee surgery, etc. There is an inherent risk of death or stroke or paralysis or ???? But when the benefits outweigh the potential risks of NOT having the surgery, it's time to have surgery. LOL..we will never agree on this fully. I would only hope that people look long and hard, especially RnY, there is no going back.

"Why wait until you are decrepit ?" Death, sepsis, nestidioblastosis, post surgical strictures, adhesions, malnutrition, stool impaction, intractible pain, blood sugar issues....ad infinitum. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. 

but that is ~1-2% of all wls surgeries! If one continues to be over 40 bmi, there is another list not so pretty either...stroke, diabetes, deadly heart attack, spine/hip/feet/knees degenration.  Take your pick.

I know many healthy people with BMIs over 40.  I know (personally) no people who had WLS who are perfectly content and have no post-surgical issues. WLS causes problems-- some minor, some major-- and that number is considerably higher than 2%. You can't get your guts sliced open without some kinda trouble after, y'know? Most people do okay. Some do not. Some like me are called "complete successes" even though they have to live with chronic pain or blocked stools, what have you. It ain't Christmas for most people. So I believe that if you have none of these (mostly retrievable) co-morbs, and you don't feel one coming on, you don't do it.

and I am batting 1000 here, 6 out of 6 people have no health issues after wls.  One lady had heres 5 years ago, open rny, and it was a LONG first year...she did have leaks, adhesions, ect.  She would change one thing. She was the heaviest of all my 3D friends who had wls, for what it is worth.  All of them have been heavy 40+ bmi for many years.  Fat people can and do live long lives alla time...saw a 350-400# friend yesterday...she and her DH are happier than most people will ever know. for 40 sumthin years.  hey, if she is happy, i am certainly happy for her. She's been that weight range for at least the 25 years i have known her. She's only about 60 years old now, and who knows...they may celebrate a 60th wedding anniversary for all i know.  Her skinny dh has had 2 stints put in his heart...it's a crap shoot, this life.

lemmee spell it out a different way: I am healthy, follow all orders, work out regularly. I had an RNY. I was an ideal patient. I lost a pile before surgery. I take all meds and supplements. Today, again, I spent almost FOUR hours trying to get impacted waste out of me. I was left with searing pain and a toilet full of blood. I guess I am in no mood to rubber stamp this WLS **** for casual users at the moment-- maybe later. Right now, I am sticking with "You'd have to be outta your goddamn mind."