I'm trying to get through the process so I can be approved by my insurance. Does anyone here have any experience with either one?

Before I retired 2 years ago, there were about 6 women there that had the gastric bypass surgery and several of them had a horrible smell to them. It was as if something was constantly being excreted from their pores. One of the coworkers would describe it as the same smell she remembers as when she was in high school and her appendix ruptured. The said the smell was awful and that is what she related the smell of those couple of women to.

Also no one would dare use the restroom for a long time if we knew that any of those post surgical women had been in there because the odor was undescribable.

Perhaps they have now perfected the surgery and this is no longer a side effect. I can't imagine having to live with an odor that I or others found offensive.

My 26yo niece had the gastric bypass last September and in March of this year had to be hospitalized with blood clots at the site where they disected her stomach. She was a mess inside AND they had a hard time getting her off the vent after the surgery. She's lost about 150 pounds tho' and looks great. I think I'd go for the less invasive procedure if it was me.

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I had a bypass 8 years ago. No problems and i don't stink (That's pretty funny) I would do it again in a heart beat!

Hey Rhonda,
Didn't know that we were quite kindred spirits. I had my gastric bypass on 9/11/02. I was a bit worried about the date, and it all went well. I went from 268lbs. down to 148lbs., but six years later, I am able to keep my weight in the 150range. I do stink on occasion. My body does not know what to do w/ raw foods. I know to only eat broccoli and lettuce in my own home. Other than the green stuff, nothing else makes me "stink" too much. If you go with gastric bypass, you will learn very fast what is acceptable to your body, and what you just need to say good-bye to.

I am seriously considering the lap band.


I just don't want to have anything that invasive happening to me. But that is just me.

My girlfriends who have had the gastric bypass think that i am crazy for not just doing the bypass. but I feel that I want to have more control over my weight loss..and don't want to have parts of me cut out that I can't get back.

Lapband was my choice because it is far less invasive and I don't want to lose hundreds of pounds. Also with the lapband you have less of a chance of regaining because it is adjustable even though you can still gain even if you are eating smaller portions but eating the wrong foods like high fat and high calorie. I have had a weight problem all of my life and now I have hypothyriod and high blood pressure that is affecting my kidneys so I see this as a tool to help for the rest of my life. I have been to a local support group and everyone says that they would do it again. I have been in the process for over a year with wll the nutritionist counseling ect. So hopefulley next month at this time I will have my date and insurance approval.

Sept 22,2000 280 to 165-175 now. Size 26 then now 11-12 and 13 Jr. LOVE LOVE lettuce but I have to be careful with broccoli also, it hurts if that makes since.

Don't you have to be like 100 lbs overweight? You don't look fat in your pictures.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I have the gastric bypass on Nov. 22nd 2006. I am thrilled w/ the results. I lost all my weight in a little over a year. No issues. A GREAT web site to go thru is Obesity Help - Weight Loss Surgery, Obesity Support Groups, Obesity Forums, Surgical Procedures

there is some great people on there. I'm Julie Von or mommie02 (I cant remember which) on there so look me up. Good Luck, either way you go bypass or band get all the info you can.

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Mommy to Samantha ~ Charles ~ Derrick

Does anyone know if Tricare covers weight loss surgery or drugs (phentermine, etc.) I probably could stand to lose 50 pounds, and I've tried it all, too.

I just lost 50 lbs starting in April by lowering my food intake to what is the normal amount for my body size and by increasing my exercise. I know it sounds like alot but 50 lbs is manageable.

I am not special I am not better or smarter or have more willpower than anyone else. If I can do it then everyone else can do. It's a matter of motivation and that enlightening moment when you finally get it that the perceived pain of being hungry or without something is not as bad as being unhealthy and unhappy.

We always ask each other questions about how to be successful at things or do things better but it seems like when it comes to losing weight nobody wants to have to do the hard work a lot of people are looking for that magical easy quick fix.

That being said I have nothing against these types of surgeries for people who really need them. The rest of us need to move more and eat less. Myself first of all.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

have been going through the process since Feb. I am sched. for laproscopic gastric bypass for Nov. 13 this year. I have had 3 back surgeries and need to lose weight but I can't exercise. If I do, I can't walk for a couple of weeks. I work as a RN and need to be able to walk so I can work. I need to lose about 100#, wt. 239.

I talked to the dr. and nurse practitioner and debated about both surgeries but went with the bypass over the lap band for 1 simple reason. I LOVE chocolate. With the lapband you can eat choc. With the bypass most people get ill after eating and have the dumping syndrome. I know me and if I am going to do it (And I am!) I am going to do it 100%. I want to know I just can't eat choc. (I am sure that there are people out there who are saying, I had it done and I eat choc. That is great for them but I need to know in my head that I will get sick if I do and I do NOT like to get sick so I will not do eat it and try)

That being said- My husband had the surgery Mar 5 of this year and has lost `150#. He feels better than he has ever felt. He weighs 280 now and is still losing. He has a lot of things he can't eat. Still has some problems so I am being very realistic about everything. I have seem exactly what he has gone through and it is not always pleasant. He had the open procedure too and has a 12" insicision line (he calls it his zipper! still red like a recent scar). He is off most all of his meds, no more insulin, hypertension or chol. meds. He is at a convention in Washington DC now and has been walking miles daily just to get to everything and feels better than he has ever felt. He would have never been able to do this in the past.

He doesn't stink in any way. He is bothered by quite a few foods and he has a lot of foods he can't process and ends up vomiting with them. It isn't always pretty but he is doing well and doesn't regret it for anything.

You are sorely mistaken if you think that having gastric bypass is the magical easy fix.
And just how do you define those who "really need them"? Most people I know, myself included, who went to gastric bypass had tried everything else. Gastric bypass was the avenue of last resort.

My sister had bypass in 2000--she nearly died from it. Spent months and months in the hospital. Had at least two surgeries to correct what the first surgeon screwed up....and yet, 2 years later when I asked her what her advice to me would be if I was thinking about--she told me without a doubt she'd tell me to do it! I've struggled with my weight since I was a very young child. I tried every diet, every program known to man....Gastic bypass was a tool that enabled me to lose weight. It was NOT the easy way out or the magic easy fix.

At my heaviest I was nearly 400 lbs. I'm half that now. And I have begun losing again! Gastric bypass not only limits your intake but also your absorption of food--lap band only limits your intake. I've never, ever had a problem stinking (well, other than the normal situations where you sweat and are a bit stinky). My advice to anyone who's thinking of this is RESEARCH, RESEARCH and RESEARCH. Make sure the MD/Surgeon is well qualified, and for the love of all that is holy--INSIST that they go ahead and remove your gallbladder while you're having the surgery! Because if you have to have it removed later, it is more difficult because of the possible scar tissue issues.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

I had my gastric by-pass laproscopically three years ago oct 31st it's the best thing I ever did for me and I would do it again in a heart beat!
I don't stink unless I fart! lol I do get gassy easier and also can't handle some raw vegis!
my health is so much better now!
I was a size 26 but am now a 8!

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Always be a first rate version of your self instead of a second rate version of someone else.[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
What the country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds.

I am 100 lbs overweight..probably exactly 100 lbs.


I would LOVE to be 138.. that would be my perfect size. So there ya go, add a 100 and that is my weight right now.


I think I would more than qualify.

On another note, I had lost 40 lbs about 2 years ago. I ran, worked out, and ate healthy. I was sooo happy with myself even though I was right under 200 lbs The way my body is built, I don't have to weigh very little to look good.
However, my problem is my thyroid. I keep gaining, losing.. gaining and losing. It wasn't so bad when I was younger, but now it is just really doing so much damage to my body and I can feel it.
I feel that in this case, the lap band would help me stay more stable. I hope so anyway.

I don't eat a lot either. I usually always eat healthy. It is just my metabolism and the fact that I can look at food and gain weight is my biggest problem.

Pills, I can take those, but again.. all it is doing is killing me.

I truly feel that if medical technology is out there, why not use it to have a better quality of life? It would be a shame if one didn't utilize what is there, if other ways have proved to not be successful for you.

Please check out obesityhelp.com but check out EVERY form of WLS.

I had BPD/DS 16 weeks ago, I will forever get to eat NORMALLY, not have to worry about a major weight gain or having a problem with "dumping". As of two weeks ago (as I don't have a decent scale at home) I had lost 58 pounds (in 14 weeks) and had gone from a size 28/30 in tops to an 18/20 and from a 28 scaring a 30 in jeans to a very loose 22.

I can have basically whatever I would like to eat, today I have had: multi grain wheat thins (one serving size) with cheese dip (made with REAL mayo, pimento and shredded colby jack cheese); a steak and baked potato (smothered in real butter, bacon bits and LOTS of cheese); several handfuls of almonds and sunflower seeds, bean dip & corn chips. Geez I don't remember what all else. I over did a bit on the carbs today, but overall you eat as much as you want of proteins, fats and limited carbs until you read your weight goal and then you eat normally. You stomach does very little "stretching". If you gain weight back you go back to post op diet of high protein low carbs for a while and it comes right back off. It has a 98% CURE rate for Type II diabetes as well as several other things. At my 3 month check, my diabetes was GONE, my blood pressure is normal and all other lab work is NORMAL. I'm not used to being 'normal'. LOL

Please anyone who is checking into WLS do your RESEARCH. Yes, the BPD / DS is higher risk, but it is because more people have used it as a last resort type of surgery, where if they had done it FIRST, there wouldn't have to be another surgery down the road. Go to the "revisions" section on the Obesityhelp website to read who has had what kind of revision and why. There are quite a few of lap bands and gastric bypasses who have ended up a year- two years- five years out, on the DS forum getting ready for a revision. I looked at it as a ONE surgery shot, not a "if this one doesn't work, then I can always...."

Make and INFORMED decission! Good luck with your plans!

oh and here is a good reference for comparison for the RNY and the DS:

DS vrs RNY

and this one shows more what the BPD/DS is and note the side of the page for other information!


Bariatric Surgery: Biliopancreatic Diversion (BPD) -Creighton University Medical Center-Saint Joseph Hospital-Omaha, NE

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Have a great day!

Laurie
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SAHM to 5 girls

Grandma to Angel Yla Margaret 5-13-06 & Little guy Lionel Azarell 8/13/07

OMG, this is my story! Except that I'm much older than you (I'm 61), but my situation is almost identical -- right down to the thyroid disease I've battled my entire adult life.

The biggest shame/disappointment of my life as far as my personal accomplishments is the fact that I have lived my whole life overweight (except for a brief few months when I lost a ton of weight because I had a nervous breakdown, but quickly regained all the weight when I was "well" again). My mother was about 4'10" and was extremely obese. My weight problems started at about the age of 8.

I'm not looking for "magical easy quick fix". I'm looking for this to being a tool for me to get healthy, like I said I have had a weigh problem ALL my life and it's not easy to have to think about everything you put into your mouth right down to a stick of gum. I have even tried (showing my age here) Diet Workshop in the day if anyone remembers them and how long ago they were around. I have looked into Weight Watchers, Nutri System and programs like that but since I have celiac diease they can't help me either so at this point I feel like this is an option for me.

Make sure you do ALL your research. I had gastric bypass 3 1/2 years ago, and had it reversed over a year ago. I'm not trying to be a downer. I did have classical complications, a severe ulcer 7 months out which required surgery to cut it out. I had two emergency surgeries for adhesions and bowel obstruction, then suffered Bariatric Beri-Beri (thiamin deficiency) and severe vitamin deficiencies resulting in alot of neurological problems and neuropathy. I was on a feeding tube for 8 months and unable to move off the couch before my reversal. I guess I was sort of a WLS train wreck...

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Eileen

**Some people are like Slinky's, not really good for anything, but you can't help laugh when you see one tumble down the stairs**