I was beginning the process of getting approved for WLS. I started surfing for info on WLS, most of it is a positive approach on why you should have it done. Looks like the answer to a prayer, but it is not. The complication rate is so high if you read between the lines. The surgery itself, according to professionals, has a .01 risk of death. But they don't include all the deaths associated with post op complications. I'm glad there are sites, not always easy to find, to find out all the truth about this type of surgery. I did find a website with a page of memorials, it is heart breaking, especially the family/friends that have lost a loved one. I CANCELLED MY FIRST APPOINTMENT AND WILL NOT BE HAVING THE SURGERY. On average your life is extended by 3-4 years, but is a horrible quality of life a good trade for those few extra years?

If you want to read these memorials as further evidence to NOT have the surgery do to this site:
http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/wlsmemorial.phtml

I am so angry. I am so furious!! Hot tears of disbelief have been running down my cheeks for the past hour-and-a-half as I have sat mesmerized by this website. Do you know how I found you? I was at obesityhelp.com and saw a girl's profile who was going to be having wls. She had written her thoughts and said she was excited and prepared for wls, but that she would advise anyone considering wls not to read the "memorials" for those who had died as a result of wls.

Memorial? What memorial? I didn't see one on the obesity help website (imagine that), so then I typed in "weight loss surgery & memorial" and was brought to this site.

I am 27 years old, 5'4" and weigh 234 pounds. I have applied to my insurance company for wls. I will be stopping EVERYTHING in its tracks first thing Monday because it is not the plan of my Creator for me to have this done!

Why am I angry? I am ANGRY because the supposed "support group" I go to, that is bariatric surgeon-led, NEVER mentions stats like what I've read on this website. NEVER is WLS discouraged. I am angry that I almost ignored the voice of God speaking to my heart NOT to have the surgery. I am angry enough now to get healthy on my own and NATURALLY -- the way God intended me to do. I plan on emailing several articles to my surgeon's office that I have come across on this website, and I will ask point-blank for an explanation from him on why this information is not being revealed to those seeking bariatric surgery!

I know the hoopla about realizing the risks, but this is more than just risks; this is valid information that MUST be presented to people seeking this surgeon-assisted suicide! I don't want some money-hungry doctor cashing his paycheck from my insurance for my WLS while my family is attending my funeral or visiting me in a nursing home!

Please consider the following thoughts from research i have done:

Research has shown that small amounts of undigested fat and iron in the colon produces carcinogens that cause colon cancer (iron oxidizes the fat). Bariatric patients have very high levels of fat and supplimental iron in their colons. The researcher I spoke to said this would greatly increase the rate of colon cancer.

I spoke to a researcher in Geriatrics. There is a great decline in nutrition in the elderly. The intestine loses its efficiency with age and older people also loss their appetite; it's called "the anorexia of old age." This malnutrition is responsible for many of the diseases of old age and premature death. He said that bariatric patients would be in a "bad way" when they face the anorexia of old age.

I also spoke to a researcher in the connection between vitamin d and colon cancer. He has found a high correlation between Vitamin D levels in the blood and the occurrence of colon cancer. I asked about bariatric patients and he said that they have chronically low levels of Vitamin D, even when heavily supplimented and that this would lead to increased rates of colon cancer.

They all agreed that no long term research studies are being done on bariatric patients in these and related areas.

WHY WORRY..ITS JUST A SURGICAL PROCEDURE. ONCE ITS DONE YOU ARE AS GOOD AS GOLD...THINK AGAIN.

This subject is very very painful for me. I had researched it completely and was planning on having it, when my insurance went bankrupt. I took that as a sign.

A year later, in May of 2001, my best friend and the man I loved dearly decided to have the surgery. He had just turned 50 and wanted to be able to do the things he use to be able to. He was a giant of a man and had a love for life and people (and a lot of women -- LOL).

His surgery did not go well from the beginning. He was in ICU (intensive care unit) on a respirator for almost a week and was discharged from the hospital the following week with an oozing incision that went from his neck to his groin. He was able to use the bathroom without my assistance and was in extreme pain, but assumed the worse was over.

We followed the post op schedule to the letter, but after being home three days he was sweating so profusly and short of breath that I brought him back to the hospital. They thought he had pneumonia, but discovered that the physicians had left a hole in his "new" stomach" and all the liquids and pureed food had leaked into his belly. He was septic, put on life support and I had to call his children so they could rush to the hospital and say goodbye...three days before two of them graduated high school.

If anyone is still considering this surgery after reading this, ask yourself this: Is your will prepared? Have you written letters to your family? It needs to be done because death is a real consequence of this type of mutilation.