Gastric Bypass Surgery: Do you know people who have had it?

[undeterred]

I just found out that one of my neighbors is going to have GBS. He is a really nice man and weighs close to 450 lbs at 50 years old. A few years ago he was dieting and lost 80 lbs but his wife just told me he gained it all back, so they changed insurance companies in order to do this. I wish him well. This is really being done to save or extend his life.

Do you know people who've had success with this? I don't know anyone personally.

[AlCzervik]

1. i do, he's lost about 170 pounds, his surgery was 3 years ago about a week before thanksgiving.

he also had plastic surgery to get rid of the skin.

[supernova]

2. auntAgonist is the DU expert

she's been through it and there are a couple of threads in the weight loss group about it. There are different types of GBP.

[undeterred]

3. Thanks.

Sounds like a really big deal.

[Guava Jelly]

4. My republican little sister with MS had it done.

She lost a bunch of weight.
She did it for for her health.
I know a couple who had it done about year ago,both have lost over a hundred lbs each.

[lizerdbits]

5. My aunt had it

She's lost a lot but won't eat what she's supposed to (still eats lots of junk) so she's not as low as she could be. Unfortunately at the time the skin removal was considered 'cosmetic surgery' and insurance wouldn't cover it. Now she has some sciatica that they think might be due to the excess skin (she walks a little hunched over) so it finally might get covered as medically necessary.

[Bennyboy]

6. My daughter had it two years ago.....

And it changed her life. She was 26 and really fat, and 5 foot 1 inches tall.. Now she is so much happier. She has been hired for a great job, one she could not possibly have gotten at her old weight.

She watches her diet but it does not seem to be too big of prblem with her.

[KitchenWitch]

7. I know of two people that had it done

"T" had it done, lost probably 150 pounds, had no complications.

"L" almost died of surgical complications on the table, she went into cardiac arrest. She has also lost somewhere between 150-180 pounds. Her heart is much healthier now.

My uneducated suggestion is that you really research the doctor and the procedure before doing it. And that you have a complete physical workup, including EKG and chest x-ray.

[JCMach1]

8. My mother had it in the mid 1980's, for almost a year she could not eat beef

... several months not even solids. She lost the weight, but the stomach can also stretch again some after surgery.

She still has to watch her weight some. Also, it seems to have combined with menopause to give her higher than normal bone loss. She compensates with extra calcium and exercise.

It was great for her, but buyer beware... there are health consequences.

[lady raven]

9. Hubby's aunt had it

She has lost almost 200 pounds. This was about 5 years ago and her weight has stabilized after a small gainback. She seems very happy but there is MUCH she can't eat without becoming ill.

I'd say it's a really good thing for some, but it's not for everyone. I prefer to do it the slow and old fashioned way unless I were to develop an immediately life threatening health problem.

[SeattleGirl]

10. I know a coupld of people who had it.

One was successful; one wasn't.

The one who wasn't didn't follow the post-surgery guidelines. The one who was, did.

[mwooldri]

11. My wife has had the "Lap Band" put in and it has done wonders.

Down from 350 to 240 lbs.

Safer than a gastric bypass, you lose weight more slowly though and if things do go wrong the thing's reversible, unlike a gastric bypass. You tend to lose weight in stages though - when you reach a plateau, you need to go for a "fill" - where they put more fluid in the band to tighten it up around the stomach.

Mark.

[RebelOne]

12. My daughter had it several years ago.

She lost 200 pounds, but she is starting to put weight back on.

[spinbaby]

13. That seems to be common

I know several people who've had it for a while. The pattern seems to be to lose a ton of weight and then gain some of it back. None of them are anywhere near their original weight, though.

[bertha katzenengel]

14. I know a man and his wife who did it.

About two years later I had dinner with them both. He was slim but she looked like she'd never lost a pound.

[Silver Swan]

15. One woman I know

I know one woman who had such surgery. She was not extremely fat to begin with. While she is now more slender, she also has lost nearly all her hair, and looks much older than she is.