Question:
IS THERE ANY NEGATIVE ABOUT THIS SURGERY?
I KNOW IVE READ A FEW PEOPLES QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO THIS, ALL I HEAR IS GOOD. I FOUND WHERE SOMEONE REGRETTED AND HAD SOMETHING TO SAY BUT THE PAGE WAS DELETED. IM ONE MONTH POST OP AND KNOW ITS GOING TO GET BETTER. BUT SO I DONT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO HEAR FROM PEOPLE WHO KINDA REGRET IT LONGTERM OR OTHERWISE. I KNOW SURGERY HAS BEEN OUT SINCE 1985. THERE IS NO NEGATIVE HERE ON THIS WEBSITE, NOT SAYING I WANT BAD THINGS BUT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SURE I DONT DO SOMETHING WRONG THAT HAPPENED TO SOMEONE ELSE. LEARN FROM OTHERS EXPERINCE. THANKS ANGIE — ANGIE M. (posted on June 14, 2002)
June 14, 2002
Well most are like me, happy with their choice and much healthier. I would
of died without surgery. But WLS isnt 100%. A very small percentage die,
and thats why there is the memorial page. Then there are the terrible ones
like my friend Wanda Smart. Her surgery was Feb 11th and she is still
hospalatized. At least she is improving. <P> But for most after they
are a few months out they are happy. Sadly nothing is 100%.
— bob-haller
June 14, 2002
If you go to yahoo groups wls-uncensored there are lots of dissatisfied
people there.
— ebrazile
June 14, 2002
At this very moment, I regret it. That thought comes and goes. I have
been in the most intense pain for the past three months. Today I learned
that they finally discovered that all my pain is due to a HUGE ulcer in my
new pouch. One that would not have been there had I not had surgery. Now
I have lost 100 lbs, but it is very difficult to enjoy that, when I cant
even stand up straight or work or clean my house or interact well with my
children. The pain is so horrible that unless I am heavily drugged, all I
can do is curl up in the fetal position and cry. Now I do know that it
will get better, but after 3 months of this.....I wonder how much more I
can take.
— RebeccaP
June 14, 2002
I absolutely have felt some negative from the surgery - it's a whole new
way of living life. I'm 9-weeks out and there were plenty of times when I
said if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't. But there was negative,
a lot more of it, prior to surgery. I could barely move - this isn't a
quick fix or a magical tool that zaps people into before and after pictures
- but where in life do we find things like that? Do I regret it now? No
way - I'm 60 lbs. light and feeling healthier than I've been in ten-years.
Was it a "piece of cake"? No way ~ it's work but it's one that
will at least bring us permanent results and one that will get us feeling
better. I just wrote a long letter to a woman who asked some of the pros
& cons of it from my point of view. Hang in there, though - post ops
in the early stage is absolutely the toughest, I agree with that 100%.
Good luck to you.
— Lisa J.
June 14, 2002
In the beginning I did have regrets, but now, I'm so glad I had it done.
I've changed so much, I wouldn't go back to being obese again!
— dolphins94
June 14, 2002
I am 6 weeks post op (open RNY) as of today. I had complications both
during and after surgery. I spent a week in the hospital. I have suffered
for much of the time since surgery. The nausea and vomiting are truly
awful at times. Fortunately, the nausea and vomiting are happening less
frequently and my incision is healing nicely. There are days I wish I had
tried Weight Watchers or something instead of something so drastic, so
final. I have now lost 45 pounds and am finally starting to feel better.
I hope that things continue to get better (quickly) so that I can be one of
the totally happy, satisfied WLS people.
— Jennifer A.
June 14, 2002
Sure there're some negatives... every day of my life for the last 6 months,
there's been something negative... Anywhere from learning every day what I
can and can't eat.. and voiding a lot of things in the process... or the
frustration that I can't eat some things that I think I really want...
Most of the time I think I'm not losing fast enough.. The early on fears
of what I should and shouldn't be eatting ect... Oh yeah, I'm a basket
case... do I want my 143 lbs back... Literally, not on my life...!!! For as
bad as what I've described sounds, it's a very minute part of my life as a
whole, and that's what counts :) Good luck on your journey :)
— Elizabeth D.
June 14, 2002
Yes there are some people here who regret the surgery. Unfortunatly when
they admit it they get blasted by others here. They are shy from coming
forward and I don't blame them. No surgery goes right all the time (I know
that one well). However I'm happy with my WLS but can't say that about some
of the other surgeries I had. When something goes wrong there is always
someone out there to beat you up and say it's your fault. WLS is no
different. They usually don't come forward and say they regret it anymore
because of the nasty individuals here who think they know so much.
Thankfully there are'nt to many people here like that, but it only takes a
few. And this site DOES discourage the negatives a bit. Perhaps some of the
people who've had bad experiences will email you. Hope so. This surgery
is'nt for those who can lose weight another way. It only should be for last
resort. Things DO and CAN go wrong. SO THINK LONG AND HARD, and RESEARCH.
Best of luck to you!
— Danmark
June 15, 2002
I can't understand how anyone who has gone through the pain and "daily
blasting" that accompanies morbid obesity would be able to blast
anyone else, but that's not YOUR problem, that's THEIR problem. Each of us
has to make our own decision and live with the consequences. That's life.
I can tell you that every day in the hospital after surgery, I prayed to
God to somehow "switch me back." I felt that I had made the
worst decision of my life. It helped a little when the weight began to
come off, but I'd have to say that for the first FOUR MONTHS I regretted my
decision at least once a day. Sometimes because I was so weary of feeling
debilitated and ill; sometimes because I'd had a terrible day and wanted to
binge eat for relief; sometimes because I hated watching other people eat
and they could take for granted that it would stay down without pain;
sometimes because my scar looked like a hungry earthworm down my front. I
was also sick to death of the Pollyannas chirping relentlessly to me about
my return to health. Fortunately, my husband was equally relentlessly
supportive. When I experienced "dumping," he'd remind me that it
would only last a max of 45 minutes and then I'd feel better, etc. About
the fourth month out though, I began to feel BETTER -- mentally,
physically, and spiritually about my decision. I could eat normally, my
energy level rose, I noticed that life was easier in many many ways. No
more seat belt extenders, no more worrying about seats fitting my backside,
no more moving so slowly that I was the "Stair Speed Monitor" at
work. I hope this has helped. God bless you, dear Angie! CJ
— cjtich
June 15, 2002
At this point, I would have to say I regret having the surgery. In my
case, the surgery failed. I have an enlarged stoma, which has been like
that from the beginning. I'm 6 1/2 months out....I can eat anything I
want...at any portion size....and have been able to all along. I
don't...because my reasons for wanting and needing the surgery haven't
changed. So I diet...as if I never had the surgery. I lost 30 pounds in
the first 6 weeks...and only 19 during the next 3 1/2 months. After my
surgeon admitted the surgery failed (and told me it couldn't be fixed), and
I got over my pity party, I started seriously dieting. I've lost 20 pounds
in 6 weeks. But everyday, when I take all my supplements, I'm reminded
that I have all the negatives of this surgery, without the benefits. I've
set myself up for possible health problem because of malabsorbtion of
essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients - for nothing. I don't tell
people to not have the surgery - it does work for most - and my failure
isn't common - but I also don't advocate it either. I'm meeting with a new
surgeon in 10 days to discuss some possible ways to correct this..but I
don't hold out much hope. At this point, I would do just about anything to
have my stomach reversed, so I don't malabsorb anymore.
— Cyndie K.
June 15, 2002
I'm only 4 weeks out, but there have been times I've regreted it. While I
was in the hospital I would have done anything to go back in time. I was in
pain for 2 weeks. I was out of breath when I walked and tired all the time.
I thought for sure that I was never going to feel better. I have never been
in that much pain before. But one day I woke up and realized that I felt a
little better. Then the next I was feeling even better than that. I've lost
30 pounds so far and that gives me a lot of hope. Nevertheless, I think
about the future. I'm only 19 years old. I want to have kids and worry if
this surgery has effected my chances of having a healthy baby. Or will I
have weak bones when I get older? Then I think about the fact that obesity
leads to heart probelem and a thousand other bad thing I don't want to
have. So all in all I believe I'm happy with my decision. Thinking about it
now, I'd rather live thin that fat. I took my chances and am pleased with
my surgery (so far). The bad side? Ask me in 20 years if I'm satisfied with
surgery. I might have a differant answer, but I hope not. Good luck to you.
— Sarah K.
June 16, 2002
There are so many obvious negatives; pain post operatively, the fact that
you won't be able to eat 'normally', and then the fact that it isn't a
magical cure. People can stretch their pouch by overeating, they can eat
ice cream six times a day and gain weight back, and so on. But for me, it
has been an overwhelmingly positive event inspite of the complications I
had post op, and the fact that I still need to pay attention to my diet and
exercise. Getting the weight off has increased my well being physically
and emotionally. I am glad I did it.
— Bobbi G.
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