| WLS: Just Don't Do It I have just finished reading the article on WLS, and as a person who has undergone the procedure, I for one would recommend to anyone who is even thinking about it to talk to someone who has experienced it first hand. So many things were not explained to me prior to or after the surgery and it was things I had to learn on my own.
Oh, yes, I did lose weight. I went from 400 pounds to about 200 pounds. And even though it is said to bring you down to your ideal weight, they also fail to tell you that your body has it's own idea of your ideal weight.
1. They did not bother to tell me that following this gastric bypass surgery that I would, and for the rest of my life I might add, have to take iron supplements. Now this alone may not seem like a huge problem, but it is...when I go in to have blood work done, my iron level runs anywhere from 8 - 25, where as the normal females iron level should run between 35 - 40...so you see even with taking these massive doses of iron supplements it does not help. Your body does not pull out from the food that you eat the essential vitamins and minerals that you need.
2. It is wonderful that I can now drink all the coffee in the world and never have heart burn, but I am unable to eat but the smallest bit of beef, that's right folks, you might as well just remove beef from your diet unless you eat ground beef, because you have no stomach acid, in order for it to digest...so if you are a steak lover or enjoy beef roast just cross that one off the menu. 3. They also never bothered to tell me that I would also suffer from chronic bowel syndrome following this surgery. Now, I was told that if I ate anything with sugar in it I would end up with a case of the trots. However, they failed to inform me that there would be times when I could be constipated for well over a week or better, so just get used to that wonderful bloated feeling. Be prepared to take a fiber supplement for the remainder of your life. |
4. You will also become rather prone to picking up every and any illness that you are exposed to because of the fact that your immune system will be compromised...mainly due to the iron issue. 5. Because they cut through the stomach muscles, it is very difficult to regain the control over your gut. 6. Should you decide to go a head with this surgery, make sure the doctor puts drains in. See, mine did not and about 5 days after I was released, with 45 staples in me from my breast bone right on down to my navel, I had to go back due to fluid build up, see then they remove some of the staples and have to pack the incision, so it will take a lot longer for the healing process....also be prepared to have a very nasty scar...see even when I got to my thinnest stage, the incision never looked any better and if they have to go with the packing routine, you can forget it...it will leave a scar about 1 and 1/2 inches wide, which will stay with you. So I guess what I am saying is, DON'T DO IT...you do become obsessed with your weight, and it will still go up and down, and unless you are in good physical health you will gain it back. See, I did great, on maintaining my weight until 2000, when I had to go in for back surgery for ruptured discs. Due to being unable to move around much, and the long healing process, I have regained about 100 pounds of what I had lost. If you have any questions feel free to contact me. And thanks for listening to me gripe.... - Paula |