Question:
85% within the first year post op?

There was an article in my local paper about a woman who had WLS - they went through all the possible complications and there was a quote that the divorce rate for post op WLS is 85% in the first year? I had not read the article yet at work when my husband called to let me know about the article and asked about the divorce rate that was quoted. I told him it seemed ridiculously high - that I was sure that some people after WLS may realize that they may have married someone who would not have been acceptable if they were not MO, but that notwithstanding the 85% rate seemed unreasonable. I just wanted to know if anyone has any imput on this. (I also reminded him that I was as thin as I am now when we met and married so he shouldn't worry! LOL!)    — Jean K. (posted on May 6, 2002)

May 6, 2002
I did hear that the divorce rate was high, but you are right, 85% seems a bit much. I was told, however, that if your marriage is good already, that it will only get better, and if is a difficult marriage that this surgery will only exacerbate the problems. For a personal account, I have had a strained marriage. But the bad times aren't as bad as they were before, and the good times are even better. I feel that I have a better attitude because I am not in pain all of the time and my true self is shining through, which feeds into our marriage. I would have to say that our marriage is much stronger and much more fun.
   — Cheri M.

May 6, 2002
I thought the rate was somewhere around 50%. But I think that goes too for people that loose a great deal of weight in general. I know my father lost a lot of weight (100#) on WW. And decided he wanted to sample other flavors so my parents separated. Now I don't know if that is the cause in all the cases but it was in ours. Now as for me, I have lost 110# and my marriage is fantastic. But it always has been.
   — Virginia N.

May 6, 2002
I have heard that the divorce rate is high but I agree that 85% is really ridiculous. I host a very large support group (several hundred great folks) and know of only 1 divorce although it's possible that there are others I don't know about but it can't be too many or I think I'd know about some of them. My own marriage just gets better and better since WLS and this appears to be the case with most of my good friends who've had it. I understand how it could happen but I don't think the statistics could be anywhere near that high. It would be interesting to know an actual figure. Best wishes!
   — ronascott

May 6, 2002
Maybe they got their data switched. Normally people who undergo WLS have a WEIGHT LOSS of <b>85%</b> of their excess weight in the first year... I agree with the other posters, 85% divorce rate seems ridiculously high. Granted, the divorce rate post op is rather high but as someone once told me, if you have a bad marriage <b>BEFORE</b> WLS, you will have a bad marriage <b>AFTER</b> WLS. I don't think it has anything to do with the WLS itself...but rather the family dynamics that are going on irregardless of surgery. You might want to ask the production company to back up their claim with hard data!!! Hugs, Kathie (in Hawaii)....
   — KathieInHawaii

May 6, 2002
I can only speak for myself but my marriage has improved greatly since my WLS. I have been married 20 years. My husband has been very supportive of my surgery I think the thing that keeps the marriage strong is to include the spouse in the research part of the surgery and then keep him/her involved in the post op part. My husband has been to the Doctors office with me at least 4-5 times in this past year. He went with me to the seminars and support meeting. He has been there every inch of the way.
   — susan V.

May 6, 2002
85% seems very high to me. I will say that the higher instance of post op divorce may hve to do with the fact that the marriages may not have been good before and now that one of them has had wls and have self confidence that they never had before, they leave.....Peoples personalities change along with their bodies. People dont have such a drastic body change and it not change their personality...usually for the better.....terri (L.C.S.W.)
   — cherokey55

May 6, 2002
85% does sound high, but it could be correct. The divorce rate for the general population is 50%, so looking at it from that standpoint, I could see where 85% might be correct. And as for people losing 85% of their excess weight in the first year, from what my surgeon has told me, most people never lose 85% of their excess weight--the average amount of weight loss after WLS is 70%.
   — Kristie B.

May 6, 2002
I have heard that it is high. Personally I think that a lot of MO people might settle on who they marry because there isn't exactly a line of guys at their door. After surgery there maybe more options available to them. My husband has read the same thing and was concerned. I explained that when we met 13 years ago I was thin, I never settled. I hope no one takes offense to this, I realize that this does not describe everyone, however, I am basing this opinion on several friends that I have.
   — Linda A.

May 7, 2002
If they don't quote the source of that information, such as a study, then it is not valid. It sounds like some statement a person has made and was taken as truth. As far as I know there is no offical study or research in this matter. It does bring up the point that any information we pass to people needs to be followed up with facts. Be careful what you say, it can always be left to preception. A statement like the divorce rate is high after WLS, becomes the divorce rate is 85% within one year of WLS.
   — Cheryl S.

May 7, 2002
I'm only 7.5 months post op, but I've already lost 78% of my excess weight... so I doubt most people ONLY lose 75% of their excess weight the first year... but maybe I am unusual.<p>As for the divorce thing, I suppose I help skew that statistic; my divorce will be finalized right around 8 months post-op. It was coming for a while, and having the WLS definitely gave me back my self-confidence and caused me to force the big issues.<p>Divorce may not be a good thing, but to be honest, I've never been happier or healthier at any point in my entire life. I think you have to see the ENTIRE picture before you make any judgements; statistics do not tell the whole story.
   — Julia M.

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