My OB/GYN said I need weightloss surgery.

[babygirl18905]

I am new to this thread, have read through some of the FAQ's and still have so many questions and thoughts running through my head. I have been having alot of pains in my stomach and was referred to the GYN to be sure there was not complications with my right ovary (they already took out the left one about 10 years ago) Anyways, When the GYN looked at me she asked what was going on I told her I have never had periods without meds, had surgery 10 years ago to remove my left ovary and tube and she logged on her computer went over my vital signs etc... and says "you need to really lose weight!" I said "I have tried just about everything, low carb, high protein diet, weight watchers, used Richard Simmmons food mover program thing, slim-fast, starved myself , restricted calories, took Met, and the only thing that has ever worked was the low carb diet where I really ate no bread and I could not stick with it for long!" she said I think you would be a perfect candidate for weight loss surgery, it will lower your blood pressure, prevent diabetes, heart disease etc, etc...." I would LOVE to have the lapband surgery but I am afraid the Nutritionist will not give me a referral.

I am 5'3" and weigh 250 pds
I have Really High Blood Pressure
High Cholesterol
pre-diabetic
No energy
No periods
have been overweight my whole life
I cannot play with my little boy without becoming short of breath within a few minutes of running around with him
If I fall asleep and end up on my stomache my arms go completely numb
I have shortness of breath if I walk too far

I am completely miserable, I have been heavy my whole life BUT have never been this heavy

Is there anything I should say to the Nut that will convince her to refer me for the procedure?

[MikesHAPPYwife]

Actually with your BMI being higher than 40 you pretty much have an open pass for the surgery. Mine was only 39, so then I had to prove all my other issues were weight related, etc. Which you do have as well being pre-diabetic, high cholestrol, & high blood pressure.

Dont worry about not getting approved until it happens. I had Lapband on 12/11 & have lost 40 lbs. It takes work, espically early in the game before you have enough fills for the band to make you feel full. However, for the first time in your life you will something to rely on so you dont give up, as oppose to giving up because your straving to death.

[TDoern]

Samantha,

I think that what you need to do going to see the nut is to be prepared. Take with you a diet history if you have one. If not, write down approximately when and what diets you have tried. How well you stuck with each diet, and how much weight you lost with each diet. For me, it was always lose 40, gain 50.

If you don't think this nutritionist is pro-WLS make sure to get your ducks in a row. Go online and look up statistic's on WLS with each of your conditions. For example there is all sorts of stuff out there on how WLS can reverse, and eliminate diabetes. Also make sure to be aware of the complications, and the risks - because if the nutritionist is anti-WLS that will probably be why. WLS is dangerous and is a lifelong commitment. Also, if you have time, hit up a few seminars for different surgeons preforming WLS in your area, that will help you better understand things, and give your more information on each of the surgeries.

Also - call your insurance company and find out what it's requirements are for you to have the surgery. Each insurance has different guidelines you have to meet, and it will help you know what you need to do ahead of time.

Some insurance companies require a six month doctor supervised diet, some require weekly weigh ins and meetings with nutritionists, some nothing. You also have to make sure your insurance will cover WLS.

There is a ton of information out there on WLS, and each surgery is different. I think the most important thing you can do for you is to be prepared as I said. When I went in to my PCP and told her I wanted WLS she offered all sorts of things from nutritionist meetings to diet pills. I had my facts and information handy, and blew her away with how prepared I was. It is hard to turn someone down who knows as much, if not more, than you do.

If you have access - check out the WLS Diva's thread in the diet/exercise buddies forum - the ladies there were and are a huge asset to me, and quite often blow me away with how open, caring, and informative they are!

www.obesityhelp.com is also a huge wealth of information. It is a website that will allow you to take part in forums for all over the US, or just your state. There are areas there that talk about each insurance company (that people have posted on) individually, as well as different doctors in each area. You can find tons of information there on each surgery as well.

The last thing I can say to you is to remember that WLS isn't a diet, that if you don't feel like it you can quit. It's not a diet that you can cheat on without problems. WLS is a complete lifestyle change that in one way or another will change your life. I can honestly say that in the beginning I would have preferred to have had the option of quitting and saying okay cake here I come. The first six months for me were worse than my entire diet history combined, and ten times as hard. I had family and friends supporting me, and the women here at the WLS diva's, and would not have made it here with my sanity intact without all of that. I can honestly say I hope I NEVER have to spend a month on liquid food EVER again, and that the first month was pure horror for me (my surgery was Dec 6 07, so imagine holiday food and parties and smells and your entire meal is being sipped through a straw) - but I made it through.

If you are prepared, mentally and physically, and are ready to change your life, WLS is a great thing, if you aren't it can be the worst thing you've ever done. There are people out there who weighed upwards of 400 pound (or more) had WLS, hit goal weight, then went back to their old way of life and gained it all back - that's where your determination and will power come in.

If this is what you want, dive in head first - WLS was the single best thing I have ever done to me, and I would do it again in a heart beat. I think if you are here, and didn't just laugh off being told WLS would help you, it shows you are serious, and you realize things need to change.

So - all that said - get your information, start preparing yourself, and blow the socks off your nutritionist, show her, and everyone else that you are prepared for this, and know what you are getting yourself into.

Hugs,
Tammy

ps. I wanted to add that I didn't say the bad stuff against you, I say it because there are people that dive into WLS thinking it's the magic fix, they have surgery and all the sudden they are thin. I think people have to be prepared that WLS is a more than full time job for the rest of your life, and it's not all easy.

[goddess819]

You sound just like me when I had surgery (aside from the missing ovary/tube). I too am 5'3" and started out at 254lb. I had high blood pressure even with medication, IR & type II diabetes, high triglycerides, no periods (didn't respond to Clomid & responded very poorly to injectables), facial hair, dark patches of skin...I was miserable. I too had tried just about every diet out there. I'd done WW, south beach, atkins, low carb, high protein, no red meat, low cal, diet pills (rx & otc) and nothing worked. The most weight I'd ever lost was 34lb on WW and I'd gained it slowly all back.

I opted for the RNY as it had better success with the IR/Diabetes and overall weight loss. At the time I had surgery (4.5 years ago) the average weight loss for a lapband was 55-65% and RNY was 75-85%. I was not going to go through surgery and still be fat. I also didn't want the maintenance of the lapband of fills and unfills to find the right amount of restriction. Also I have a sweet tooth and needed the possiblility of dumping syndrome associated with the RNY to help keep me 'in line'. It's been the best decision I've ever made in my life for myself.

WLS is definitely not easy as Tammy said and at 4.5 years post op still struggle with what I eat/don't eat. Having the WLS does make it easier to keep the weight weight off but I do have to work at it. My body has adjusted over time and although I still have the restriction my body does absorb probably 90-95% of what I eat. If I'm not careful I will gain weight. Case in point the last 1.5 months. I've been 'lazy' with my eating and packed on 11lbs. Since becoming more aware and working at it I've managed to loose 3lbs this past week. So my tool still works. I refuse to go through surgery and get fat again. I refuse to fail myself.

That being said don't just limit yourself to the lapband...explore all available options for surgery. You may find out that one of the other surgeries may be a better fit for you. You have to research and decide along with the help of a qualified bariatric surgeon on which surgery to have. For one it may be lapband, for another it may be the RNY and for another still it may be the VSG or DS.

Based on what you've listed as your height/weight and co-morbid conditions you should not have any real issues getting approved for surgery. Good luck in your journey and if you have questions feel free to ask.

[Katie~n~Hans]

Hi! I am just starting my WLS journey as well. I talked to someone that had the lap (Thanks Laura Beth!) joined the forums on Obesityhelp.com (wonderful site by the way) and looked at the different WLS's available. I originally thought I would go with the band, but I decided to get RNY. I have my initial Orientation on the 9th of March and am looking forward to it.

I am 5'2 and 245 pounds, I am IR, type 2 diabetic (just diagnosed) have most of the wonderful (sarcasm here) PCOS symptoms minus the thin hair and (now actually pretty regular) irregular periods. I have two daughters (2.5 and 1.5 yo) and a 15 yo son. I want to be around for them for a long time!

I agree with your current weight and co-morbities you should have a free pass to the WLS with your insurance. Call your insurance and find out what they cover and any prerequisties they have. I was lucky and all I have to do is meet the hospitals/WLS clinics requirements which seem to be pretty easy. Research and print out any materials you want to bring to the NUT.

like Tammy said it is hard for someone to blow you off if you know what you are talking about! Good Luck!

[babygirl18905]

Thanks ladies for all your input I have tried to post on here but my computer keeps acting up and shutting down my internet explorer Any good websites to print info to take to the NUT with me? I was going to take ALL of my diabetic cookbooks and other weightloss cookbooks, all of my exercise videos, my other pamplet from a NUT that I seen previiously, my weight watchers books and paperwork, and all of the other diet stuff I have tried my atkins diet book and a list of everything I have tried

[Katie~n~Hans]

I would write down on a list every diet you have tried, how long you were able to keep it up and any weight loss you had on the diet. Also what your begining weight was and your ending weight was (if you have a round about estimate..I don't always keep track of that stuff) Good luck! When is your appointment?

[babygirl18905]

OK...........whew.....................I had my phone interview today, and the lady I spoke with was actually pretty nice. I explained everything to her (don't know why since she had a copy of my records there) Anyways she said she could NOT recommend the lapband or RNY but she kept reiterating about the RNY. from what I got I think I would prefer the RNY but am still so afraid of the complications I've heard from that form of weight loss surgery. I go on the Mar 31st to see the NUT and according to the surgery coordinator I will not get in for surgery for about 8 months from my first visit with the NUT. she said I can go for the fasting blood sugar test on the 31st, after a few visits with the NUT I will have to be evaluted by the mental health once I get she gets the OK that they feel I am ready I will be scheduled for the surgery. She said I will have to lose some weight before I go for surgery to make sure I can follow the plan.


BUT..............My mother and cousin are the most discouraging people I know When I told them about it they kept on "Samantha, there is NO reason you need to go for surgery, you need to exercise more and eat better ) AND then my friends husband calls me one day and says "your girl is so jealous of you" I'm like what the f!@# for now????" and he says "because you are trying to go for the weight loss surgery" NEEDLESS to say she won't even answer my phone calls anymore. I guess if I'm not the fat one (or morbidly obese one as I was told by the weight loss coordinator) they don't like it.

I'm just trying to stay motivated and not let these people make me feel bad about my decision (I tend to let people make me feel bad as you can tell) BUT this is for my health I know and understand it is a lifestyle change for the rest of my life why can't they be happy I'm trying to improve my health???

[MikesHAPPYwife]

((hugs)) I think we have all been. I think alot of people are unsure how to act. They say things that are so dum. If getting healthy/loosing weight was so easy dont they we would have already succeeded in it. When it gets to the point that we know its out of control its time to take action. Like you said its about getting healthy not trying to look better. However, looking better is nice too

My best friend had gastric 1 1/2 years before I had lapband. We had always been fat friends & it was kinda hard at first with her loosing so fast & me being the same. Plus, it changed what we did together which was eat! But our relationship was stronger than that & we are fine. Having the surgery changes you & your life alot & it affects the relationships you have with others.

Regardless what surgery you have,just make sure its something you feel comfortable with doing & know its for you.

[goddess819]

I'm glad the appt with the nutritionist went well. What is it about the complications for the RNY that scare you? I had the RNY 4y 7m ago and am complication free aside from sugar intolerance. I'd be happy to discuss your fears about it if you want.

As far as the people who are discouraging part of it may be fear. Fear of going in to surgery (any kind of surgery...it just happens to be this one), fear that you will no longer be 'you', fear of the unknown and fear of the 'bad stories'. Unfortunately you always here of the 'horror stories' with WLS but you don't hear the good. All you can do is educate them and ask them to support you.

GL in your decision and your appts. Again, if you want to discuss your RNY complication fears please let me know, I'm more than willing to discuss this with you and maybe ease them.

[babygirl18905]

Kristy~ I think I am afraid of the bad stories I hear I'm afraid the surgeon will do something wrong and when I wake up they won't know it until it's too late. Then my mom starts telling me how she seen on the news about a woman who had surgery (RNY) and started vomiting feces. SO MANY horror stories. According to the lady I spoke with they already have a surgeon for me way on the other side of town so I guess it's him or noone?! One of my friends said I should start eating protion sizes like I will only be able to eat after surgery now (which I was told is only 1/2 cup) what do or how do you eat? For example do you eat 3 small meals a day and 2 snacks or is 3 meals all you have? I know she said I have to drink plenty of fluids etc....


You know I also think it's funny how people sabatoge their own surgeries as well....The coordinator told me they had a lady go in for surgery and after her surgery (get this) found out she was melting Reese cups and drinking them! WHY, WHY, WHY would you go through this to lose weight and pretty much set yourself up for failure Then she told me about a lady who's sister was completely against her going for surgery, when she finally asked her what she was so against her sister said "because there has to be one FAT person in every family!" I would have punched her LOL, and probably never would have spoke to her again!

[goddess819]

Vomiting feces? That's a new one for me. And although I'm not a RN yet I have taken anatomy, physiology & I work in an ER...and frankly the only way you're going to vomit feces is if you EAT feces. Another thing to remember too is that because the RNY is the most performed type of WLS there will be more 'horror' stories and unfortunately those are the ones that get sensationalized. Same with hospitals...all they see are sick people. I had to 'correct' one of the docs I work with who told me that he's never seen a good case of WLS. I told him that he was looking at one and I also had to remind him that healthy people don't go to the ER. I know hundreds of people who've had RNY and are complication free.

One more thing to think about is that not everyone out there doing WLS is a qualified bariatric surgeon! Think about it...there are some surgeons out there who are doing 1-2 WLS surgeries a month...things go wrong because they don't have the expertise needed...and those stories get published. Investigate your surgeon! Find out how long he's been doing WLS, how many surgeries has he done, what his complication rates are, talk to other patients...and you can do this on www.obesityhelp.com as well as by joining a local WLS support group. Also just because the lady said they have a surgeon for you to see doesn't necessarily mean that it's the only one you can go to. Call your insurance company and ask them who is on their listing that you can go to in your area. Attend a few seminars...get a feel for the surgeons...be your own detective.

I too was scared of the RNY because a friend of mine had lots of complications following her surgery. Turns out she was/is NOT the norm. I joined OH.com and found tons of other people who'd had surgery and were just fine. She also had a different surgeon than I did and I'm so glad I chose mine. He has lower complication rates than the national average, has been a general surgeon for 25 years, a bariatric surgeon for 7 years and does a combo of stapling and hand suturing. One more thing you want to look for is how well they care for their patients post op. My friends surgeon basically did her surgery and sent her on her way...no instructions on what she should eat when, what vitamins to take, what labs to run...nada. My surgeon has a very well post op plan together with detailed instruction on vitamin intake, food intake for the different stages and specific labs to be run at 1, 3, 6, 9 & 12 months (and then annual labs after that).

If you have more questions...I'd be more than happy to answer them as best as I can!

[babygirl18905]

[quote=goddess819;1889769664]Vomiting feces? That's a new one for me. And although I'm not a RN yet I have taken anatomy, physiology & I work in an ER...and frankly the only way you're going to vomit feces is if you EAT feces. quote]

I hope so The lady that I spoke to (the weight loss surgery coordinator said it can happen if I don't drink enough fluid and get backed up she said "it has to come out somehow!" which completely repulsed me.

I have to lose 25 pounds before surgery can be scheduled but I wanted to ask you ladies about after you lose the weight.................Will I have skin hanging all over my body? The nutritionist said "OH your still young and your skin should bounce right back" My insurance provider does not cover skin removal other than from your stomach and that's only if they think it's medically necessary(like I have boils from the skin hanging down).

The nutritionist told me to put the food I would normally eat on a plate before measuring it and see what I was really eating so.............I was surprised to learn when I put rice on my plate I was really eating between 5-6 servings of rice at one sitting! It sure did not look like that much rice on my plate but it was and when I measured out 1/2 cup (which is one serving) I thought are they nuts who can eat that little??? LOL so I settled for 1 cup of rice and guess what I was ok Maybe because I used one of DS plates and one of his spoons

Anyways I have 18 days now to lose 5 pounds I hope I can do it I sure am trying, I have been eating salad 1-2 times a day, my meat and carbs as I am suppose to and even took a bile ride yesterday.

Too better health.............HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[goddess819]

Ok...so I can understand the whole dehydration thing and getting backed up...but seriously...you know how much 'crap' you'd have to have in your system? Your small intestines are like 15-20 feet long and they're only bypassing about 1.5-2 feet. Add on to that the length of your large intestines...that's a WHOLE lotta crap in ya.

As for skin it's mostly genetics for elasticity. I know everyone thought I'd snap right back because I had surgery when I was 27 and let me tell you...it did to a point. I'll definitely need a tummy tuck and now that I've had my kids and aren't planning any more I'm looking into that part of my journey. I was fortunate in that I was a 'fat girl with skinny arms/legs'. I have minimal excess skin on my upper arms/inner thighs. It's totally livable with but the tummy skin has GOT to go. I'm hoping to get my insurance to pay for the panni removal and then I'll pay the extra for the muscle tightening as I've had 2 kids in 3 years. I plan on getting records from a plastic surgeon I saw before I was pregnant the 1st time so that the ins company can't blame the skin on the kids. I'll also get letters from my surgeon, primary doc, OB/GYN & psych stating not only physical reasons for NEEDING the skin removal but for psych issues as well as the added skin still makes me feel fat and makes me feel like I need to loose more weight than I really need to. I don't want to become anorexic and it's quite easy to do as you are rarely physically hungry after RNY surgery. So...we'll see how it goes.

Good luck with the 5lbs left!!

[babygirl18905]

Ok...so I can understand the whole dehydration thing and getting backed up...but seriously...you know how much 'crap' you'd have to have in your system? Your small intestines are like 15-20 feet long and they're only bypassing about 1.5-2 feet. Add on to that the length of your large intestines...that's a WHOLE lotta crap in ya. quote]

LOL Thanks for that insight! I really did not know they were only bypassing 1.5-2 ft that's good to know



[quote:] Good luck with the 5lbs left!!

Thanks BUT.........This is the first 5 pounds to lose I've been eating salad for lunch and dinner for the past 3 days and don't really want to see another salad . I'm sick of lettuce with onions, tomato, cheese, bacon bits and ranch dressing.

I know I can do it it's a must!!!!