Negative views on Weight Loss Surgery...

[Phteven]

I think that when it is combined with a commitment to having a healthy lifestyle it can be a good option.
I read something interesting about stool transplants and gut flora a while ago - they have been transplanting stool from the bowels of slim people into people who struggle with weight and finding that it can help weight loss and reduce diabetes risk so maybe that is a less drastic option.

That's my point, is my body capable of being pushed past its limit without killing me?

If you don't sweat and you don't hurt just a bit it's probably not going to work. Pushing yourself past your limit is how you gain strength and fitness.
If you push yourself you will learn to love the pain and the endorphin rush afterwards.

[Cherished]

Howdy, I posted ages ago in a thread on surgery (that lap band thingo). But no one ever responded to it... hmmmm maybe I'm on everyone block list lol Anyway I'm against it! My sister is very large and she had the surgery. It has done nothing for her. I suspect that it has something to do with the science behind excess calorie consumption making people fat coupled with lack of exercise, not just portion control and the amount of food that you eat. No doubt she kept eating crap food and consuming too many calories makes you put on weight. If she had just restricted calories or at least only ate healthy food and got a little more active she would have lost weight anyway without the surgery (which didn't work anyway). This is just one story though, maybe going to such extremes is just what some people need to make a permanent change to the way they eat.

I also love the new ad "don't stop, just swap" Best advice the government has ever given!!!

[Mum2twoBoys]

My thoughts are the same as everyone else, though i do have some experience in this field as a nurse who has worked with these patients.

Without the will power and determination to lose the weight, the surgery is utterly useless along with having many risks and complications.

I have looked after many people who have had the surgery only to have real bad complications. beit not being able to eat, severe vomiting, infection, slipped band etc.

But the worse ones we always came across were the ones having sleeve gastrectomies. This is a major surgery. And what really annoyed me is that the doctors often would do the surgery on very large patients, because they obviously have a lot of issues with regards to their health. But little did the doctors think about the post operative period. They would put these people through massive surgery without really thinkiing about how things were going to go afterwards, and how cooperative the patient would be with recovery.

I can think of two cases where the patients were very large and were non-compliant with medical advice. the doctors would do the surgery then leave it to the nurses to clean up the mess so to speak. these patients didnt want to remain fasting for the required period, didnt want to do physio and were verbally aggressive to staff. these two patients ended up eating postop within the time frame specified by the drs due to healing surgical incisions. which led them to have food leak into their bodies. which they didnt seem to understand. and no matter how many times youd explain it to them, they wouldnt listen.

this leakage would then lead to fistulas (which are cavities in the body which are very difficult to heal), causing the patient to have oozing holes in their bodies.

they didnt want to get out of bed and do the required exercise postop, preferring to stay in bed and have everyone serve them hand and foot. with no consideration for the nurses who might injure their backs when the patient didnt feel like helping lift their own weight. now there is no way as yet that has been designed to transfer very large people without putting strain on the health care workers backs etc.

their partners were also part to blame, not wanting to do what the nurses wanted. often making excuses for the patient and becoming aggressive towards staff. and the patients often knew how to get their way with their loved one, having done it for many years.

Now i dont want you to get the wrong idea, that these people annoyed me. what annoyed me was that the doctors didnt think about the psychological side of the surgery and recovery. that these patients ended up with horrible complications, which also eventually led to death. and i grew very close to these patients. and they didnt end up having much quality in their life, due to being hospitalised for long periods of time, pain and inability to eat.

I am not saying i am against the surgery, just that when the surgery is contemplated that people think really hard about it. that they are fully informed of what is expected of them in the post op period. and a psychologist or someone similar should be consulted as to the psychological preparedness for this kind of surgery.

Im sorry if this post offends anyone. i am merely trying to pervay my thoughts. and to stop what happened to these patients happening to someone else. coz noone deserves to live the way these people had to after the surgery. may they rip.