On the Dangers of Weight Loss Surgery

Nancy,
What you are saying is very significant and merits deeper investigation. Often fat people are seen as jovial as compared to their slimmer counterpart. This could be attributed due to change in chemical levels in the body. It hasn’t been well investigated.

BTW: Have you considered seeing a marriage counselor?

My story is one of both gain and loss. My husband was starting to have all the illnesses associated with obesity. He had gastric bypass five years ago. I supported him and was there 100% of the time in his healing process. I wish I would have been informed before the surgery of the possible changes in his head, not in his body. I was never told of the high divorce rate. My issue is not that I am jealous of my husbands new body, I am not a heavy person and I am very pleased he is able to do more things with me and the kids. Its like his brain is different. He get angry at the drop of a hat. He is manic at times and he doesn’t even seem to have the same tons in his voice. I can even explain it, but there is so much out there to help the person who had the operation done, but there is nothing out there for the spouse. no support not anything except the far and few between article that talks about how the reason for the divorces seem to be the once obese spouse now feels free from the second spouse who has been suppressing them? Really. I feel as if maybe not physically my husband died on that operating table but the man i married did.

My husband had gastric bypass surgery in September, 2003. The next day he had a heart attack, and almost died before an angioplasty opened one of his arteries. He was on a ventilator for more than a week. The day before we were going to take him home, he had a full blown coronary arrest. The cardiac team shocked his heart 13 times before detecting a pulse. He had another angioplasty and was back on a ventilator for 2 more weeks. He had a trach in his throat for most of that time. I could not begin to recount the complications that he developed in the 34 days he was hospitalized.

However, I AM NOT ANGRY. My husband was already dying. He was MORBIDLY OBESE or he would not have qualified for surgery. Gastric bypass surgery is performed on people whose weight has created serious health problems. Under normal conditions, they would be turned down for elective surgery. Other surgeons recognize their existing medical conditions might cause an adverse event (death, debilitating stroke, etc.)

My husband had passed his a treadmill test or the surgeon would not have done gastric bypass. However, he carried so much weight in his upper body that the fat kept his cardiologist from seeing existing obstructions in his arteries. Obese people tend to have strong hearts - they lift weight every time they get up out of a chair, walk across a room, walk up a flight of stairs.

My husband’s gastric bypass surgery saved his life. The obstructions were already in his arteries. The surgery put him in a hospital where his life could be saved. (I am personally thankful that he was not behind the wheel of a car.)

Five months after his weight loss surgery, and after losing 90 pounds, he began having another heart attack while getting a nuclear cardiac stress test (meaning it’s drug induced instead of on a treadmill, and the doctor can stop the test and slow your heart rate instantly). He had quadruple bypass surgery a week later, was home 3 days after that, and returned to work in less than a week. He could not have had the surgery when he was 350 pounds. Open heart patients who weigh more than 300 pounds tend to die because the wires holding their breastbone together cannot hold up under the intense pressure. The incision doesn’t heal and they die of infection.

My husband subsequently lost 90 more pounds. I would love to say that his health is great. It’s not, but it is greatly improved. When he remembers his meds, his blood pressure stays under control. His is still a non-compliant diabetic, but at least he’s off of insulin now. He takes half the number of prescriptions he took before. He refused the psychological counseling offered by his gastric bypass surgeon, so most the issues that got him to 350 pounds linger. He has gained back about 10 pounds, but when he overeats or eats high-fat or high-sugar foods, dumping syndrome pretty much ensures that those foods don’t stay in his body and turn to fat. We were informed and knew this beforehand. Compared to before weight loss surgery, his quality of life is vastly improved, even with these lingering issues.

I am well aware that I could be a widow. I contemplated that for most of the 34 days spent by his bed or in a CCU waiting room. But I supported my husband’s decision to have this surgery because we were headed down this path anyway.

If you or your spouse can lose weight any other way, I recommend it highly. However, if those have not worked and your life is in jeopardy, do not hesitate to check out weight loss surgery from a reliable source. Get several opinions, and ask about their mortality rate. (It probably will not be ZERO; see above.) Become an informed consumer. Do not base your decision solely upon the word of one doctor with a vested interest in selling weight loss plans and weight loss franchises.

Weight loss surgery both saved and very nearly took my life. I had roux-n-y bariatric surgery in October of 2004 at 355lbs, 5′ 10″, insulin dependent diabetic, uncontrolled hypertension, horrible lipid levels, one heart attack and sten placement. The day following the surgery, I had another heart attack and spent 2 weeks on a vent. The day after coming off the vent the first time, I went into respiratory arrest followed by two cardiac arrests. Another Stent placement, ventilator via emergency bed side trach this time and another week sedated. After 35 days in the hospital, all but five in CCU, I was able to go home. In late February of the next year, while undergoing a “routine” treadmill cardiac functioning test, I suffered another heart attack. This time, I underwent a quadruple bypass on Friday and was back at my desk working half days on Tuesday. My weight was down to 215. All of my doctors said the loss of weight was the only reason I survived the heart attack and was able to undergo the cardiac surgery. In May, I nearly collapsed in my office. At the hospital, I learned I was suffering from severe blood loss from bleeding peptic ulcers aggravated by Plavix. Six pints of blood later, I was home, again. I have not had any further emergencies and my weight has stabilized at 190lbs. My diabetes is mild, controlled by diet, my blood pressure normal with medications and my diet fairly normal. I cannot tolerate ice cream, heavy sweets or too much fried food. Portions are on the small/normal side. I have kept to a vitamin and supplement regimin with a high protein shake for breakfast each day. Weight loss surgery has made all the difference in my life. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Of course, I would not if I knew I would have to fight for life as I did, it would be foolish. The surgery IS dangerous and should be reserved for last chance cases like mine. Steve Kirk writes a blog for the elderly at https://www.theperfectsense.com.

you chose not to have the surgery.
I chose to HAVE the surgery..
either way, we both win.

gastric bypass is a quick way to loose weight, one of my friend had it and loose weight so quickly