Question:
Seeking Those Post Ops Who Have Been Less Than Successful

has weight loss surgery ever not worked for anyone? here i am moaning again about my slow weight loss! i read the profiles and feel so fed up and wanting the weight to drop like magic. there are so many success stories, but has anyone not lost after surgery and if so why.    — JULIE B. (posted on June 8, 2003)

June 8, 2003
gee since you read profiles for encouragment and info it would be nice if you could update yours as well. :>) Since you don't say how much you've lost there's no way to know if you're realistically a slow loser or not. The first couple months are really hard on people. It was on me but it turned out I wasn't a slow loser, just impatient to get going :>) Hope you get the answers that you seek!
   — [Deactivated Member]

June 8, 2003
Hi Julie, As the previous poster stated, please update your profile so that others may help. I had my surgery the day after you, maybe we can compare notes. Keep in mind that everyone is different. :) MaryLyn
   — Kriola

June 8, 2003
Your profile is very vague to say the least! Since, you read other profiles on this site....You know we all loose differently. I'm here to tell you from my exprience with Lap RNY, although it is a tool, it also takes exercising! And, I don't mean just house cleaning. I'm feel certain the average person will still loose weight without exercise, but to get the most out of this procedure one will have to eat/drink/exercise as stated by your surgeon. This is not just a quick fix! This is or can be a life changing procedure, but it takes more than rerouting your plumbing and shrinking your stomach by surgery to insure the results you want. To get the most out of this surgery........We have to put our entire being into it. We can be a success story or a failure story. I don't plan on being a failure!!! I've been walking, since the day I returned from the hospital (2 days)& 4 weeks out .....water aerobics....swimming...riding bike...weights....jumping rope I will not stay in the house in front of the TV.......This "Not So Fat Ass" is out doing yard work and exercising, like the good old days. I plan on being at my goal in a years time or before!!! Good Luck to All I am making the best of my situation/surgery. It's working for me. Lap RNY...2/11/03...-68 pounds....weight 250 day of surgery/5'4"......22/24's... now 14's I feel "Great" and you can too!
   — Hazel S.

June 8, 2003
I am a slow loser, too. I lost very little until this last month. I am exactly four months post-op, and I lost sixteen pounds in like two weeks! I am not kidding. It is weird. I ALWAYS gain a few pounds (sometimes up to eight pounds) right after a big loss. Then two or three week plateau and a huge loss again. I am four months out and I am two pounds from the 190's. I have learned to take it in stride. I no longer freak when I am not losing. Protein, water, flinstones, exercise. I do consider housework as exercise as well as walking. I have some serious health issues so I take what I can get. Good luck!
   — Red T.

June 8, 2003
I looked at your profile and then your surgery page. You're not even a month out yet. Give yourself a break. Your body has been through a pretty big shock. It takes time to heal and to really see the weight start coming off. As long as you do what you're supposed to, it will happen.
   — garw

June 8, 2003
This is the hardest part! It will get better. Why don't you try and look for people that have been extremely successful with this surgery and learn what their habits were. Remember this is a tool not a miracle. It is up to you how well you use your tool. I hit goal in under 6 months, but I worked at it. I figured that this was my last chance to really lose and I was going to give it my all. Check out my profile. For some real encouragement check out Peter Herida's profile and website. He lost over 500 pounds in the first 10 months. But even at over 800 pounds he followed the program and got out and exercised. His website is www.bigpete803.com
   — Linda A.

June 9, 2003
I am 16 months post op. I do not consider myself a complete failure. I did lose 120 lbs but I still weigh 250 lbs (6' tall). I know that there are things I could be doing better, more exercise, less carbs. I really believe that our body's have a set point. 250 lbs has always been a monkey on my back. This is the weight I got down to years ago on phen/fen. However there is one very big difference here. I have been at 250 since last Nov. I may go up and back down a couple of lbs but never more than that. So that is comforting, if I still had my complete stomach and had come off of any other diet, I'd be up close to 300 by now. My health is greatly improved and I actually like looking at myself in a mirror now, yes even at 250 lbs! People like me still hang around here, but it is extremely hard to motivate yourself to keep updating your profile when there isn't much to report. Hang in there and relax, I"ve decided that this surgery was not meant to turn me into a dieting, scale watching obcessed basket case. It was meant to actually free me of that and it has.
   — SARose61

June 9, 2003
Julie, if you are just 1 month out, you are way too impatient and a bit premature with the moaning and desire to find out if this surgery has not worked for anyone. Why so negative? I'm sure you've done enough research to know that weight loss is different for everyone, some fast and some slow, its just the way it is. Moaning about it won't make the loss go any faster, though it does help to know others are in the same boat with you, I'm sure! Trust me, you are not alone...On a good note, we all lose and can help the process along by sticking to the pouch rules. There are those this surgery fails but they are so in the minority-the reasons why range from a mechanical problem to those unwilling to follow the pouch rules. Those that follow the rules, work at it, and have intact surgeries do succeed. And I agree with the others, update the profile..it helps us to help you. Good luck!
   — Cindy R.