Question:
Will this surgery work to facilitate weight loss for everyone that has it?

My arthritis doctor said it was a good idea to get the surgery... "if it works". What did he mean by that?    — Eleanore Davis (posted on May 12, 2003)

May 12, 2003
WHile the surgery will help you take it off in the short run. How you keep it off is up to you. I was very strict at first. Too strict and I DID NOT follow the rules. You have to do what the dr says. Take vitamins. I developed ulcers on the staple line and am now scheduled for a revision. Hopefully with the new plan I have I will be successful this time. You have to work it. Good Luck to you.
   — snicklefritz

May 12, 2003
The surgery is a tool. I had it and it is working very well. However, I know of a woman who had it, who has failed to lose. I don't know if there is a physical or psychological reason for it. I am lucky and hope to continue to be so fortunate. Most people I know have been successful. Keep a good attitude. You are in charge of your destiny.
   — Rhonda V.

May 12, 2003
Maybe your doctor meant, you really have to figure out how you're going to keep the weight off, once you lose it (no matter how much you lose), in order for the surgery to really work. It's easier to eat "around" the pouch than you'd think, once all the healing is done and the initial big weight loss period (first six months or so) is over, when your appetite and eating capacity start returning. As long as you keep focused on what you'll do to keep it off, and make that a primary goal from the very beginning (even before you have the surgery, be thinking about how to use the tool to keep the weight *off*), I think you have a better chance of succeeding. I wish more docs would emphasize this, instead of the fantastic weight loss amounts that occur in the early months and first year. I'm much more impressed when I hear that somebody kept their weight off for five, eight, or more years (and even went up a little, but battled it back down or kept it from going up more), than I am to hear about anything else, as wonderful as the fast weight loss is for most of us. It's the folks who trudge along doggedly and keep on working at staying healthy who are the really successful ones, from what I can see (not that they can't have fun in the meantime, though!). Good luck!
   — Suzy C.

May 12, 2003
Yes, it can work. Yes, it can work only to reverse itself, mechanically or because the victim has not been given the right tools. When you go forward, try to actually lay eyes on as many 5+ year patients as you can. How is their weight? Their skin tone & color? What is your impression of their general health? Is "diet" still the focus or is life, with reference to diet only? That will tell you that yeah, this doc is a great cutter, but his after care is broken or that his type of surgeries are subject to mechanical flaw. OR that his type of surgery is good, his aftercare actually works. Another clue would be if that aftercare has continued to evolve as time & information goes on.
   — vitalady

May 12, 2003
I replied to your other question about arthritis.....osteoarthritis damage is permanent....the pain will ease and walking will be easier with weight loss but losing weight wont fix the damamge that has been done....maybe that is what he was referring to??
   — cherokey55