Rookie Question/Philosophical Question

I am new here.  Not to OH but to this forum.  But I have been thinking about this issue a lot lately and wanted to put this question out there.

Do the people that have PS post WLS (once all of the weight is lost)  tend to regain less/maintain than those that have not had PS?

Background behind my question:   I was raised in a medical family - father, brother, uncle etc...doctors and mother a nurse.  I was taught to not jack around with my body (even though I had a severe weight problem).  For example, as teenagers if we ever felt we needed any OTC meds, we had to run it by my father (a kidney doctor) and explain why.  We only had Bayer aspirin and sudafed in our house.  I never knew there were other OTC out there until I went to college - like cough drops, nyquil and cough suppressants LOL!!.  Now mind you, I am totally over that and will take Nyquil and pain meds as prescribed but it shows you where I am coming from....

 It took me FOREVER to decide to take the drastic step to "re-arrange" my body (and oh, I am soooooo glad that I did). I took that decision of getting an RNY VERY VERY VERY seriously. It was a life altering and very impactful decision. My decision to get my RNY meant that I am committed to this process. (not that others don't take the decision seriously,  but I am just speaking about me..... :-)

BUUUUUUUUUTTTTTT My greatest fear is regain.  I have lost and gained HUNDREDS of pounds over the years that I don't trust that I am not going to regain again.  However, I am starting to gain confidence in myself and trust myself little by little the further I am along this journey that even tho it is hard work, that I will not regain, at least if I do, I will catch it before it is out of control.

But this leads me to my question.  I was wondering if anyone knew if regain was less likely when not only have you committed to WLS but also committed to PS journey?

I am certainly not considering PS as an insurance policy against regain......but just curious if it lessens the chances....

Thanks for your input on this....

Interesting post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I think that most all of us are terrified of regain. I know I am. Having spent all of this money on cosmetic work would make regain even more awful. Only time will tell how I do with maintaining my weight. 

One thing that you will notice on these boards is that many of us, including myself, are not at an "ideal" weight. I'm barely out of the overweight catagory. I decided that I'm comfortable with my current weight, and I've been maintaining at this weight for a while now. That's the main thing that I like about my current weight; it's easy to maintain. I also made the decision that I did not want to lose any more weight because I was terrified of having more sagging skin. I like the way my legs look right now, but if I lose any more, I'm going to have problems with sagging knees, and that just can't happen since I live in the deep South and wear shorts and short skirts all the time. 

I have also noticed that many people who self-pay for WLS seem to do much better with goals than people who had surgery paid for by insurance. I'm wondering if having to pay for expensive surgery will motivate us to work harder?

I had a full facelift in March, and had a tummy tuck two weeks ago. I can honestly say that I feel like my tummy tuck WILL make it much easier to maintain. I'm actually excited about my new, flat tummy, and I'm looking forward to trying on clothes, exercising, and basically just enjoying life with a flat tummy for the first time in my life. 

This is an interesting topic, and I hope some of the people who have had surgery for a few years will comment and let us know what they think about this. Hmmmm...

Thanks so much for your response.  I have thought about this a lot and am looking forward to the next phase.  I self-paid for the WLS and will pay for the PS.  I am excited about a flat tummy for the first time in my life as well. It is hard for me to imagine.   

I can only speak for myself.
I had to self pay for my WLS and for both of my plastic surgeries.

Those both contribute to my commitment to maintain my weight loss.

I think that both the financial commitment and the "pain" commitment strengthen my resolve.

I made a significant sacrifice to pay for my surgeries ... No guarantee that I will not have regain, but it does make me think twice when the scale is up a few pounds. I immediately get to work to get them off because I don't want to undo what I have worked so hard for.

I agree that the way that I am "wired" that self pay for both WLS and PS will contribute to my commitment to maintain my weightloss.  Never thought about the pain commitment, but you are absolutely right...I am sure that would be a factor in contributing to my resolve not to gain weight.  Of course this is all supposition as it will be at least 6 months for me until I go down that road.  Thanks for the comment.

Very interesting post.

My WLS was covered by insurance, but my LBL in November will be self pay.  For me, I never considered the pain or money as a motivator to keep the weight off.  I truly was ready to change my life when I started the journey. 

I know I am the only one responsible for keeping my weight under control....the difference is now I feel like I actually have the tool to do it--prior to WLS I was fighting a losing battle (pun intended!) and always felt like a failure when I couldn't do it.  At least now, I KNOW I can do it.

I am looking forward to having this skin gone-now that I've scheduled surgery, I really notice it everyday!  I can't imagine what it will be like to sit and not have this skin/fat blob sitting in my lap!

Great post-makes you think.

My personal opinion is people who are willing to have wls and then plastics are more willing to do whatever it takes to keep themself where they want to be as far as weight is concerned.  I weigh 2lbs above my goal of 138 and after spending 11.5k on my body refuse to **** it up.

 My Kaiser insurance paid for my VSG.  I was so fortunate that my copay was $100.  In December I had extensive plastic surgery with Dr. Sauceda in Mexico.  I was totally self pay for that.

I am committed to maintaining a healthy weight and building more muscle.  My range that I allow myself is anything under 144.  My normal BMI is 145.  I weigh myself daily and if I hit 143 I go for protein and veggies.  I also go to Weigh****chers once a week to step on the scale.  At 61 I have a long history of dieting and need all the help I can get.  I pray that I can eat reasonably and ward off regain.  I know that I personally also need at least 60 minutes of daily exercise.

I think the plastics definitely helps with another layer of commitment.

According to my original surgeon, people who have the plastic surgery are less likely to regain because they are finally able to see themselves as thin... where when you still have rolls of skin (which look a lot like fat rolls) then it is easier to give up because no matter how much you lose, you still feel obese. Not sure if he was basing that off fact or opinion.

Krista

I TOTALLY agree with this! I have seen so many people have WLS and who have skin hanging to their knees. To me, it looks like such a burden to lug all of that around, and in many ways, is even more "disfiguring"  than being overweight was. So many of them just don't have any way to get surgery, and I feel so badly for them. Without surgery, they will never really experience the full impact of reaching goal and feeling "thinner", if that make sense.