Re: One year Update! Revision???

August 19, 2001

And this is exactly why we don't post about this stuff. Don't need to hear

it? That's certainly supportive!

We aren't trying to say that no one is happy, or that lots of people aren't

successful, just that WE aren't and that it isn't due to anything we have or

haven't done. We're THRILLED for all of you-and envious as hell! Oh to be

one of the ones who lost 100+ pounds in 6 months.

So what are we to do, shut up or speak up? Some of the responses have been

that we should have spoken up sooner, that pre-ops need to hear this. Some

of the responses seem to blame us, saying that exercise will help when we

posted that we DO exercise, at least some of us. And then there are the

posts that seem to say " shut up--we're happy and we don't want to hear if you

aren't. "

Neither Beth, Stormy, or I have done anything wrong, attached anyone, or

attempted to discredit anyone else's success.

Kathi Brandes

August 19, 2001

In a message dated 8/19/2001 11:50:35 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

KathiBrandes@... writes:

> . "

>

> Neither Beth, Stormy, or I have done anything wrong, attached anyone, or

> attempted to discredit anyone else's success.

>

Add me too.

Trish

August 19, 2001

In a message dated 8/19/01 11:50:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

KathiBrandes@... writes:

> So what are we to do, shut up or speak up?

Speak up!! If I was dissatisified I would be pissed I would be miserable and

damn it I wouldn't want to be blamed. Please do not blame these people - its

just not fair!! It is not their fault! No one has any control over this

process. Don't you think you would feel the same way if you were the slow

loser??Yes some fast losers eat everything and don't exercise and some eat

right and exercise and then there is a combination of everything in betweeen.

Then again some people exercise, eat right and just don't lose fast or at

all. Just show some support that is what we are here for!! Until you have

walked a mile in their shoes (and if you had MGB you did!! how many people

said to you before surgery if you would just diet and exercise you would be

thin, I personally know many thin people who eat whatever they want and never

go to the gym or lift a finger! )

I feel the pain of those not reaching their goals - its just not fair!

Busching

August 19, 2001

I must have missed the bashing post...I thought everyone was supportive of

everyone?

I can only imagine the pain these people are feeling and of course feel that

they have a right to their feelings and to post about them.

All of us have joys and pains and part of being a group is sharing them all.

Hugs

in Ark

August 19, 2001

O.K. I would like to throw my two cents in on this subject. First of all let

me say that I have had the MGB and my daughter had the MGB. Also my mother

and my brother in law and a friend of th family. I started looking into the

MGB back in 1998. I did alot of research on the MGB for the fact not only was

I having it done but my 16 year old daughter was. The one thing I looked into

the most was the weight loss results of people who had already had the MGB

mainly because my daughter is 5'5 and weighed 350 at the time of surgery. I

wanted to make sure I would only have to put her through surgery to lose the

weight one time. I didn't want to have to look into a revision for her a few

years down the road. I was on the MGB board at the time and I never heard

anyone talk of poor weight loss. I also called all my contacts on the phone

and not one of the was unhappy with their loss. What I am saying here is

noone not one person was unhappy with their results. So with that I went for

it. We both had our surgeries and it was not until we had our surgeries did

post start popping up about poor weight loss. I didn't get to excited about

it at the time because we were just starting up. Well I met my goal and am

very happy with my results. My daughter on the other hand is still over 200

pounds and being 5'5 her goal weight should be 121 so as you can see she

hasn't even come close to 121 being over 200 pounds. She has not lost any

weight since she was a year post op in fact she has started to gain her

weight back. I'm not saying I would not have chose the MGB had I saw all the

post from people not happy with their weight loss but it would had been nice

if some of those people had posted their results while I was researching but

none did. My mother and my brother in law and my friend have all lost around

80 pounds but they have not lost what they need to and they are a year

postop. My mother and my brother in law have stopped losing altogether. I am

in the process of trying to find a doctor will wil revise the MGB to the RNY

for my daughter. I know Dr. Demaria in Virginia does this and I have been in

contact with him. I have also been in touch with a couple of other doctors

that do this. I would let Dr. Rutledge do a revision on her but with him not

taking insurance anymore that is impossible. I think the people that Dr.

Rutledge did surgery on already and need a revision that he should stilll

honor their insurance instead of sending us out on our own to find a doctor

that will even try to revise this for additional weight loss. It is very

unfair. My daughter now is 18 and is going to have to go through this all

again. This time I hope she gets the results she is looking for. It would be

nice for her not to have to be obese anymore. Liz

August 19, 2001

Dear Tracie: I too understand their flustrations and think they have every

right to voice their flustrations. I too was flustrated and still get

flustrated when those plateaus come and I don't loose for forever but

eventually I start loosing again. I know that I loose when I am less

concerned and when I am uptight the pounds stick. None of us have the

perfect situations and no scenario fits us all. I continue to thank God

every pound and pray for another one to come off. May God bless each and

every one of us. Phyllis in fla

August 19, 2001

I, too, am a somewhat slow loser. I want to lose more and lose faster.

HOWEVER, my quality of life is TREMENDOUSLY better after the mgb than before.

I've lost 73 lbs. in 10 months. I would have loved to have lost 100. My

weight loss has almost stopped.

Do I blame Dr. R? NO!

Do I blame the MGB? NO!

I blame my particular body chemistry. We each are unique, our weight loss

will be unique. Some will lose a large amount while being couch potatoes.

Others will hardly lose at all while exercising religiously.

I don't want anyone to blame me for my slow weight loss. Neither do I want

anyone to blame Dr. R nor the mgb. I could have just as easily lost TOO much

and been forced to have a reversal.

I hope I lose more weight. However, if I don't I'm much, much, much better

off than I was when I began this journey. So, despite my slow weight loss my

surgery is a success. No more diabetes.

Janice

August 19, 2001

Kathi,

you are entitled voice ur opinion and i for one am glad u r doing

so.......not bc i have had complications or bc im in the same boat that you

are........but bc i know that there ARE others out there that ARE and u may

offer sum support to them.....so by all means continue.......

i for one dont like to hear things that may appear to be bashin Dr R or the

MGB but i do understand ur frustrations and concerns and others as

well..........

I hope things get better!

Kathy in NC

At 11:49 AM 8/19/2001 -0400, you wrote:

>And this is exactly why we don't post about this stuff. Don't need to hear

>it? That's certainly supportive!

>

>We aren't trying to say that no one is happy, or that lots of people aren't

>successful, just that WE aren't and that it isn't due to anything we have or

>haven't done. We're THRILLED for all of you-and envious as hell! Oh to be

>one of the ones who lost 100+ pounds in 6 months.

>

>So what are we to do, shut up or speak up? Some of the responses have been

>that we should have spoken up sooner, that pre-ops need to hear this. Some

>of the responses seem to blame us, saying that exercise will help when we

>posted that we DO exercise, at least some of us. And then there are the

>posts that seem to say " shut up--we're happy and we don't want to hear if you

>aren't. "

>

>Neither Beth, Stormy, or I have done anything wrong, attached anyone, or

>attempted to discredit anyone else's success.

>

>Kathi Brandes

>

August 19, 2001

Ditto that Janice!!!

Kathy in NC

2/14/01

397/370/260/170

" but for the grace of God go I "

At 02:17 PM 8/19/2001 -0400, you wrote:

>I, too, am a somewhat slow loser. I want to lose more and lose faster.

>HOWEVER, my quality of life is TREMENDOUSLY better after the mgb than before.

> I've lost 73 lbs. in 10 months. I would have loved to have lost 100. My

>weight loss has almost stopped.

>

>Do I blame Dr. R? NO!

>

>Do I blame the MGB? NO!

>

>I blame my particular body chemistry. We each are unique, our weight loss

>will be unique. Some will lose a large amount while being couch potatoes.

>Others will hardly lose at all while exercising religiously.

>

>I don't want anyone to blame me for my slow weight loss. Neither do I want

>anyone to blame Dr. R nor the mgb. I could have just as easily lost TOO much

>and been forced to have a reversal.

>

>I hope I lose more weight. However, if I don't I'm much, much, much better

>off than I was when I began this journey. So, despite my slow weight loss my

>surgery is a success. No more diabetes.

>

>Janice

>

August 19, 2001

Why did you only have one and one half feet by-passed?

Dinah

> In a message dated 8/17/01 3:28:53 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

> eskieluvr@p... writes:

>

> > Now I know there is no exact science of how much to bypass,

> > etc, but it seems to me, from what I've read of other surgeons

that

> >

>

> If it puts things in perspective - as far as blaming someone for

not having

> enough bypassed as the reason why you are not losing - there are

many people

> who had only the 6 ft bypassed and they are making goal - I had

only 1 1/2

> feet bypassed and have made goal (I have lost more than some of

these 6 feet

> people). I truly believe there are many factors involved here

beyond just the

> amount bypassed. Just like before surgery I could do the same diet

as 6

> people at work and we would all lose at different rates and have

varied

> sucess.

>

> Busching

>

August 19, 2001

And don't forget me!

Dinah

> In a message dated 8/19/2001 11:50:35 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

> KathiBrandes@a... writes:

>

> > . "

> >

> > Neither Beth, Stormy, or I have done anything wrong, attached

anyone, or

> > attempted to discredit anyone else's success.

> >

>

> Add me too.

>

> Trish

>

August 20, 2001

No Pat I did not mean that at all.

I was just giving a personal opinion of myself. My heart does go out to

everyone that is at different stages of this journey. I don't know what it is

going to be like for me at 9, 12 or even 18 months out that is why I read

everyone's post to learn from.

I just wanted to explain what I have to do to keep with losing weight. My

intention was not to make others feel that they are not doing their part. I

know that everyone's bodies are different and need to find what works for

ourselves. Even weight loss surgery may not be the key for everyone and my

heart goes out to them because we all have started out hoping this was the

answer.

I sincerely did not mean to hurt anyone and we should all be in this together.

Sherry

August 20, 2001

hi Pat: I am still loosing but very slowly I think I am just under 9

months and hope it doesn't slow down even more. I wonder if anyone has done

atudy of weight loss put into age at time og mgb. I was 57. Wonder if that

matters as to how long and how much you will loose. I am still happy but

would like to be happier like everyone else. Phyllis in fla

August 20, 2001

Thank you Pat!

A Slow Loser

> This is a good post. When I read the post about 2-2 1/2 hours of

exercise every day, I also got the impression of being told that this

kind of exercise would lead to more weight loss, and that if we would

just " get with it " our weight loss would pick back up, whether the

author intended that or not. It is very easy to convey a message you

perhaps did not intend. Those of you who lose fast need to be very

careful not to send this kind of message. It is quite painful to

those whose weight loss has stopped, or is very slow.

>

> Most " weight loss experts " don't recommend that kind of exercise,

but in moderation. I can tell you from personal experience that it

does not work for many. Prior to surgery I exercised regularly and

hard and gained weight continously. Since surgery I have increased

my exercise, and still stopped losing about 9 months out and no

amount of exercise increase helped!!!!!

>

> Two to three hours of rigorous exercise a day sounds to me like it

is getting dangerously close to an obsession such as aneroxics have

problems with. It is so easy to trade one obsession (losing weight)

for another (exercise) if we aren't careful. Moderation seems to be

the one thing that MO people have problems with and we need to

recognize that. The fact is, some bodies lose better, before and/or

after surgery, due to a multitude of reasons. No one needs to be

told, or have it inferred, that they haven't lost as much as others

because of what they did or did not do. I have been on the list

since the beginning and can tell you for a fact that many lose lots

and lots and lose it fast, whether they follow our " rules " or not,

and others do not lose well even when doing everything " right " .

>

> And even when that message if not conveyed, it is still painful to

read about the fast losers and their joy. We are happy for all of

you, that goes without saying, but it is still painful. So lets all