I just joined this forum. I have contemplated "fat" surgery for awhile now. I have seen many of my co-workers, friends and family members have the procedure, lose weight rapidly, and look great *although health seems to deteriorate some. So, I have an appt scheduled for next week. HOWEVER, a friend of mine asked me to go to Healthworks with her. This is a facility designed recently in our area trained by medical staff that provide healthy aspects to a workout routine. It is overseen by a medical doctor on the premises, blood work is taken, medical assessments provided, etc. AND they have a pool which I love. I love to swim, BUT WILL NOT swim in the area public pools due to my size. As it turned out, our agency provided a free week this week and i have been there 4 days now. I swam for hours and feel great...
Now I contemplate whether i should try again one more exercise aspect... or go for the surgery...
Advice Please
Terri

Terri,
First of all, WELCOME! to the boards.
I hope you like it here and stay with us. These women are friendly, warm, caring and SMART TOO! I wanted to answer your post because I have had some dealings with people who had this surgery. Two people directly, one indirectly. The two women I know both weighed around 300 lbs. They read everything they could get their hands on about the surgery before going forward with it. Eventually, they had the surgery. One didn't have the first complication, the other did. One lost weight exactly how the doc had calculated she would, the other didn't. One lived, the other didn't. I know because they are my first cousins. The cousin that died was sent home from the hospital with a fever. She developed an infection and died. I am not trying to scare you, just give you the realities of what can happen. The sister that lived is doing great, lost the weight she wanted; however, since her stomach had been stretched so much, she now faces surgery to have it removed. She DOES FEEL BETTER ABOUT HERSELF and this was very important to her. To me, it is a personal decision and not any one's business but yours, whatever you decide to do. I DO think you are wise to look at other options and you can rest assured, whatever conclusion you come to, you can find support here. Oh...the other person I know is a girlfriend. She had the surgery years and years ago, before it was "perfected" so to speak. She has had side effects and complications. She did loose alot of her weight, but the remainder of the weight came off when she became deathly ill from the side effects. I know I am not painting a pretty picture, but you did ask for inputs. I'm sure for every bad story, there is a good one. It still comes down to how comfortable you are with the doc's and procedure. I wish you the best.

Teri,
Glad you came here for advice. There is a woman in our forums, Micki, who has had this surgery. She posted about it in OUR BODIES and DIET and EXERCISE forumsseveral months ago, but you can still read them.

I sent her an e-mail and asked if she would drop in an reply to your post. Hopefully she will.

FYI- It has been a great experience for her.

Had my gastroic bypass in April 2002 and could NOT be more pleased. I am walking my dogs every night, can do just about anything I want to and have had no ill effects at all. I am in the support group with many others that have had it and know tons more, and I don't know of anyone that is unhappy. I have lost about 230 pounds (and I am still a big girl) and am slowing down a bit, but will perservere. You could do both surgery and the Healthworks afterwards for your excercise (which is VERY important). If you want to talk about it, send me a private message with your telephone number and I will call you!

Micki, Thanks for popping in to share your experience and offer guidance. I am grateful for women like you who are willing to share at the expense of helping others!

Glad to hear it has been such an upbeat experience for you.

Thanks for the replies. It is funny how things work out. I had an initial consult with the surgeon scheduled for last week and as luck would have it, I had some situations occur at work that prevented me from going. I think that if I am questioning the surgery to the extent that I am, it isn't the right timing. I think what I wanted was a "quick fix". I'm not saying that I may not reschedule that appointment at a later date, but right now, I am exercising, watching what I eat, and working on some medical issues first. Then, I'll relook at the surgery. My cousin is scheduled for surgery next week. Her mother and father are also having the surgery.
I appreciate the feedback and it is certainly worth contemplating. I had also gotten input from my primary physician that since I have many stomach issues (gastritis, esophagutis and ulcers), they may not consider me a candidate at this time and that I should work on these health issues first.
I'll be sure to keep you posted. Surgery is very tempting, but also very serious. one of our local owners of a restraurant died the day after surgery. So, I know there are pro's and con's and each body is different. So until I quit questioning it over and over, I'll go with the idea that the timing is not right at this time.
Thanks again for input,
Terri

Thanks for the replies. It is funny how things work out. I had an initial consult with the surgeon scheduled for last week and as luck would have it, I had some situations occur at work that prevented me from going. I think that if I am questioning the surgery to the extent that I am, it isn't the right timing. I think what I wanted was a "quick fix". I'm not saying that I may not reschedule that appointment at a later date, but right now, I am exercising, watching what I eat, and working on some medical issues first. Then, I'll relook at the surgery. My cousin is scheduled for surgery next week. Her mother and father are also having the surgery.
I appreciate the feedback and it is certainly worth contemplating. I had also gotten input from my primary physician that since I have many stomach issues (gastritis, esophagutis and ulcers), they may not consider me a candidate at this time and that I should work on these health issues first.
I'll be sure to keep you posted. Surgery is very tempting, but also very serious. one of our local owners of a restraurant died the day after surgery. So, I know there are pro's and con's and each body is different. So until I quit questioning it over and over, I'll go with the idea that the timing is not right at this time.
Thanks again for input,
Terri

Well, if you are uneasy, then you should't have it. It is NOT a quick fix--most insurance companies and docs make you jump through all kinds of hoops before you can even qualify for the surgery, AND most of us have all the same kinds of health issues that you are experiencing. My take on it was that if I did NOT do something, then I would surely die. As it turned out, even after all the tests and preparations and all that, I had a liver disease that would not have been noticed without the surgery (mine was open because of all my health problems, not lap)until my liver was beyond any help, and I would not have been a transplant candidate at my size. So, this surgery literally saved my life.

Micki,
thanks for the input. i'm glad things worked out for you.