how that happened, but she is known to lie about things.

by constant attention to what he doesn't eat.

It seemed to work for him.

Christie only had a lap band, which limits the amount you can eat at one time, but does nothing to prevent absorption of calories. Theoretically, he could eat a few ounces every couple of hours and still consume enough to maintain his weight. It's estimated he lost 80 pounds and that he started around 350. At the time, he said he was halfway to his goal. I think he's probably gained some back though.

280 lbs, 5 foot 8 inches, and I'd never do this.

Accept yourself as you are, and accept the fact that nobody is going to live forever.

I wouldn't do it either. Especially after seeing what happened to my friend.

Knowing that I had made a choice that essentially destroyed me would be very hard for me to live with.

But I believed you posted this thread to gain some information..

You didn't.

If you already had your mind made up, then what the heck are you doing?

My friend's experience really troubled me. I realize that he was trying to prevent other very negative outcomes, but once he took the step of a permanent surgery he was trapped in this new and incredibly limiting life.

I am trying to understand the risks involved with the different variations of temporary vs permanent surgery.

Based on my friend's experience, though...I would not choose the permanent surgery.

I wish for you something that works for you.

I had gastric bypass surgery in 2004. My top weight was 278 lbs. (I am 5' 0" ).

I lost 150 lbs.

My weight has crept up a bit in the last few years (I think menopause has a lot to do w/ that), but I'm still under 140.

It can be a bit of a struggle to get all my nutrients in. I have to take a lot of supplements.

The surgery is designed to limit how much you eat, limit what you can eat, and inhibit the body's ability to absorb what is ingested. In my situation, the surgery did exactly that.

I'm not super-model size, but my body no longer hurts to do every-day things.

And taking such a drastic move (the surgery) inspired me to be active. I jog (even ran a 10K).

I'm not a medical professional, and I can't explain the situation w/ your friend. But as far as I am concerned, gastric bypass made my life better.

The doctors told my friend that his outcome was quite far outside the range that most people experience.

I am very happy to hear that your experience was good.

When you say that the surgery is also designed to limit WHAT you eat, what kinds of food are off-limits?

It makes me feel miserable. Dessert is almost always off-limits.

It used to be that I would have a second or third helping instead of dessert, but now I don't have room for it.

I haven't had more than one bite of ice cream in 14+ years.

It's difficult to explain, and I know for sure that my experience is unique to me.

I had the Bilio-Pancreatic Diversion with duodenal switch. My stomach was made to the size of 6 oz not a pouch. My common channel is at present 100 cm. More on that later.
I had surgery in 2005 and have been maintaining a healthy weight of 135 for almost 14 years. This last year however I dropped a lot of weight partially due to a massive bowel obstruction which had nothing to do with my surgery and most likely everything to do with prescription Opiods. Namely Oxycodone and Fentanyl patches for Fibro and RA.

My weight dropped to 99 lbs and I was very ill. I got sepsis due to an infected medi-port that we were administering TPN through and quickly found out I was allergic to Bactrim. I almost died the allergy was that severe.

I've not been able to regain a whole lot of weight and I'm having surgery on the 9th of October to revise the length of my common channel to 200 cm. This will allow for more absorption but little weight gain.

I would have this surgery again. It was a life saver in that I went from 302lbs to the 135lbs in a very short time.

I would NOT recommend the surgery to anyone but would speak of my experiences. Recommendation must come from qualified professionals.

Do your research folks. KNOW what you're getting into. Choose your surgeon wisely. Accept ONLY the best. You only get one life and surgery may be the ONLY way to live that life longer.

I have Lupus, Fibro, Chronic Fatigue, RA and ITP ... so that all had to be factored into my decision and my recovery.

aA
kesha

I know someone who tried it for a while but it didn't work for her so she went back and had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy instead. That helped her a lot with her weight.

At the time I had my surgery the hospital I went to offered roun-y bypass, VSG, or the lap band. I went with VSG since it wasn't going to be doing a bunch of re-routing and I didn't feel comfortable having plastic parts inside me that would have to be adjusted over time. The hospital no longer offers the lap band procedure any more because of the limited success people had with it.

I'm pleased with how my surgery turned out. Even though I'm not below 200 I have more energy than I used to, have more options for clothes, and can go out when it's warmer out and not be drenched in sweat.