@Astroly Part of the reason why I don’t recommend it is because of my trauma and knowing that it doesn’t take much to reverse the work that was put in, but it’s not just that. The thing is that you can find just as many horror stories about people who’ve had a weight loss surgery as you can find success stories. I joined a lot of online support groups for people who have had WLS or weight issues after I had my surgery (I don’t remember what they were {except one which was obesityhelp and I don’t even know if it’s still around}, I deleted them all a long time ago) and you can find all kinds of posts in those forums of problems people have had after they had WLS. People who can’t even drink coffee with like a spoonful of sugar, or some type of sweetener, if that’s preferred for them. People who can’t eat anything except something random, like cottage cheese, because they get sick eating anything else. I’ve heard stories of people who have passed out while driving because of eating the wrong thing or drinking something they didn’t know their stomach couldn’t handle anymore. The food goes directly into the intestine when you have a gastric bypass, so it’s not being processed the way it should be before it makes it there. It’s hard on your body to deal with because it doesn’t handle it this way in it’s natural form. It’s a big reason why good doctors repeatedly say small portions, small bites, chew well, etc and so forth. The stomach is a stretchy material, which is why people tend to be able to eat more than they should. If any of the elasticity is left on the stomach, you can re-stretch your stomach out to what it was before the surgery. It takes time, but it doesn’t take a lot of the material to do it.
Now, on the other hand, I used to work with someone who had a gastric bypass, and it was like she never even had it. She had no side effects at all. She lost weight, but eventually she starting eating a lot, and she knew how to pack it in. She eventually had to start watching how much she ate and what she was eating because she gained a lot of it back. She did re-lose by watching what she ate, it was just more difficult because she stretched out her pouch. She went to the same facility as me to get her surgery, although neither of us knew that until like two years after I had mine.
The thing is that how it turns out and what the side effects are really depends on how good your surgeon is, how your body takes it, and how well you actually do the diet, assuming the doctor gives you one. Some people don’t get that much support from their doctors office. If you do go through with it, just make sure they are making you see, at minimum, a nutritionist or dietitian, a cardiologist, a psychiatrist, and the surgeon or the surgeon’s assistant before you even have the surgery, to make sure you’re well enough to do it.
If I had to choose one to do again (which is unlikely to ever happen and I only want to say this to try to help you see how I think), I would do the VSG again. It’s not one that my doctor was supposed to recommend because of my history, she was supposed to only recommend the bypass. It was ultimately my decision on which of the four that were offered that I was allowed to get. The four I could choose from were the Lap-Band, the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, the Gastric Bypass and the Duodenal Switch.
The lap band is never worth getting. It’s more of a headache then a help, and it’s really only for people who have a few pounds to lose. (that second part is a personal opinion, but my surgeon also said the band is a terrible way for anyone to go.) You have to go back to the doctor every six months to get the band refilled with some type of liquid that keeps it tight, and then scar tissue forms over it, so if you decide to have it removed for any reason, you always have that spot where it’s restricted because of the scar tissue.
The Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy is as I described before. They cut out most of the stomach, which restricts how much can be taken in. There’s actually videos and pictures on the net. If you google it, you can see how much of the stomach they remove. It can still have negative side effects like the bypass has, however they tend to be fewer and farther between because it’s much less invasive.
The Gastric Bypass is the same as I described before, except it’s a little more than that. They reroute the intestines. They cut the stomach to get the stomach pouch where the food goes, then they cut I believe at the bottom of the first intestine. The majority of the stomach is still attach to the first intestine (so it’s completely separated from the body at this point) and they attach the first intestine somewhere farther down, a bit below where the pouch is attached. They attach the stomach pouch at the top of where they cut off the first intestine. So you keep your stomach so you get the stomach juices that help digestion, but it’s being bypassed and the juices don’t have as much time to help with the digestion as they need.
The duodenal switch is complicated and I don’t remember all that they do for that surgery. It’s really only for people who are really, really overweight. I know you said you’re bmi is 42 (mine is too, btw) but this wouldn’t be an option that you would want to choose if it was an option your doctor gave you. It’s for people who have a BMI that’s way more than that.
The facility you go to might have different options than these, so you’d have to find out exactly what they are (because making an informed decision is always best), but if I had to pick one of them or if I had to recommend one of these surgeries, I would recommend the VSG. It’s the least invasive. You have less of a chance of having complications. You’re body stays as natural as it can be while still restricting your intake. No, it’s not reversible like the bypass, but it’s not as drastic as the bypass is, either. Not in my opinion, anyway.
Also remember, the surgery is literally just a tool, like if you were having anxiety attacks and went to a counselor to get exercises to help with them. It’s a big, helpful tool for some people, but it’s still just a tool.
If you decide to get the bypass and then change your mind, you can say no. You can say no up until the moment you fall asleep in the operating room. Or you can do it, and see how your life changes. It’s scary to be in that operating room, I can tell you that. I think you should keep asking for other people’s opinions, and I think you should research it a little more on your own. I also think you’ll know what the right decision is for you when you have enough information to decide for sure.
I’m sorry if I told you anything you already know. I like to try to explain like the other person needs to know all the info (and I do a terrible job of it too) so if you know all of the stuff about the surgeries, I’m sorry I explained it again. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask and I will answer if I can.