[cocotbo]

I'm really hoping I don't start getting flamed for coming out of the WLS closet but I thought it was an important issue to address here in the Weight Loss forum.

When I decided to have the gastric bypass, it was after years of doing all the "right things" to lose weight and still finding myself obese with a whole host of health problems because of it. My sister in law criticized me for "taking the easy way out" but I still did it. I was the only one who could decide what was best for me and if others didn't like the fact that I was trying to save my own life then that was just too bad. I looked at the surgery not as a cure-all, but as a second chance. I looked at it as an opportunity to do things right and to eat properly and exercise regularly and maybe get a chance at a healthy life. Long story short - the surgery was a success, I did everything I was supposed to afterwards and lost just about 100 pounds.

Three years later, my sister in law decided that she would have the surgery as well. That was when she apologized for criticizing my choice and finally saw that it wasn't "easy" at all.

The reason I'm "coming out of the closet" here is just to offer my support to others who are dealing with obesity or have decided to have weight loss surgery and also to provide honest answers to those who may have questions about weight loss surgery.

[babydawn]

I personally am not considering having a gastric bypass, but I have always wondered, can you get pregnant after having it done? And if so, how do you make sure that your baby is getting enough of what it needs? I am not an expert on what the surgery is, but from what I have heard, it makes it so you can only eat a few tablespoons worth of food at a time, is this correct? And if it is, how could you carry a healty baby to term and nurse if desired? Just curious....

[cocotbo]

Originally Posted by babydawn

I personally am not considering having a gastric bypass, but I have always wondered, can you get pregnant after having it done? And if so, how do you make sure that your baby is getting enough of what it needs? I am not an expert on what the surgery is, but from what I have heard, it makes it so you can only eat a few tablespoons worth of food at a time, is this correct? And if it is, how could you carry a healty baby to term and nurse if desired? Just curious....

Funny you should ask!
Because of the bypass (and plenty of exercise and proper food choices), I finally got down to a healthy weight and was able to get pregnant. I was very concerned that my baby might not get enough nutrients so I did some looking into it. As it turns out, when you get pregnant, your body creates a certain hormone (I forget the name) that slows down your digestion so that your body literally sucks up every nutrient that goes into your body. Also when you're pregnant, all nutrients go first to the baby and then, if there is anything left, they go to the mother.

I made a point of eating 6 small meals and taking some supercharged vitamins every day.

My son was amazing. He was so active in utero that I knew he had to be healthy. When I had an ultrasound, they thought he might actually be a few weeks older than he was - as it turns out, he was a big boy. I did not develop gestational diabetes. He was just big naturally. (My husband is 6'2" and I'm 5'10".)

He came out at 9lbs 5oz and was the healthiest baby they'd seen in ages. The umbilical cord had been wrapped around his neck but his neck was already so strong that it didn't phase him. They rushed him to the ICU for oxygen but he was kicking & screaming when he got there. He literally kicked off his first diaper and was lifting his head on day 1.

So...I did carry a vigorously healthy baby to term and I was capable of nursing but we didn't manage to get our technique right so I ended up expressing milk for him instead.

Many women who have the surgery are women who were so overweight before it that they experienced serious fertility problems (weight related) that precluded them from conceiving. It wasn't just me though, there are plenty of others like me who became pregnant after the surgery and had healthy babies. From the studies that have been done, any problem pregnancies haven't been due to the surgery/nutrition aspect but they've been age related or genetic issues.

[WordsAplenty]

Congrats, cocotbo! I know some people who had the surgery, so I know it wasn't easy. The people I know who had it weren't as successful as you, though. They just didn't follow the instructions-- they over-ate, drank too much, didn't exercise, etc. One of them is now bigger than she was before. It amazes me that someone would go thru the surgery and then not follow-up w/ proper diet and exercise. Did you find that it took will-power, faith, what? Is this a mental thing?
My best friend is now considering the lapband. My concern is this... I thought these surgeries lessen your appetite... what about emotional eating?
Anyway... congrats and thanks for sharing your story!

[cocotbo]

Originally Posted by WordsAplenty

They just didn't follow the instructions-- they over-ate, drank too much, didn't exercise, etc. One of them is now bigger than she was before. It amazes me that someone would go thru the surgery and then not follow-up w/ proper diet and exercise. Did you find that it took will-power, faith, what? Is this a mental thing?
My best friend is now considering the lapband. My concern is this... I thought these surgeries lessen your appetite... what about emotional eating?

You really need to be willing to make a complete change in your life when you come out from under that knife. The surgery itself doesn't erase all your problems and eliminate any future ones. It just gives you a second chance to do it right.

I was very careful to eat right and stick to a regular exercise regimen. Unfortunately, when I got pregnant, I was so tired all the time that I didn't keep up with my exercise and I gained more than I should have. I still have to lose some of the pregnancy weight, but I'm not nearly as bad off as I was prior to the surgery.

Sadly, many people who have the surgery think it is just a license to eat whatever they want and they waste all the pain they had to endure for the surgery. It really takes a combination of diet, exercise, determination and willpower. As for the emotional eating - that is something each of us has to handle on their own. The surgery can't stop that.

[JennBUT]

I, too, had gastric bypass surgery followed by a pregnancy resulting in a very healthy baby! I will say that the pregnancy I had after having gastric bypass was very different than the one I had before the surgery. This was because, as Lisa mentioned, the baby takes what it needs before Mommy gets nutrients and I was not very careful all the time to make sure I was eating enough. If you do what you are supposed to, however, there is no reason you can't have a very healthy pregnancy after WLS.

[cocotbo]

Wow - my last post on this thread was 2005! How time flies!
By my son's second birthday (Oct 06), I had taken off the 70 pounds I had gained during the pregnancy.

A Gastric bypass is a one-shot deal. I had to lose that weight the old fashioned way - a lot of hard work. But, with a little help from my friends here, I got back down to the 170s and I'm now working on the final stretch to the 150s.

Another thing about the surgery - it only gets you to about 80% of your goal. The home stretch is all on you.

[adelaide]

Originally Posted by WordsAplenty

Congrats, cocotbo! I know some people who had the surgery, so I know it wasn't easy. The people I know who had it weren't as successful as you, though. They just didn't follow the instructions-- they over-ate, drank too much, didn't exercise, etc. One of them is now bigger than she was before. It amazes me that someone would go thru the surgery and then not follow-up w/ proper diet and exercise. Did you find that it took will-power, faith, what? Is this a mental thing?
My best friend is now considering the lapband. My concern is this... I thought these surgeries lessen your appetite... what about emotional eating?
Anyway... congrats and thanks for sharing your story!

I had the lapband done and it was the best decision I've ever made. It's 100% reversible and works just as well as the bypass surgery. Within the first 4 months I had lost 30 lbs! Anyway, you can still get pregnant and carry a healthy child after having this surgery, but they recommend that you wait at least 18 months post surgery to make sure your body has adjusted.

[socailmaddie15]

I too had the lapband done about 2yrs ago and no joke it not a cure I have lost about 100lbs but if you firgure that out its about 1pound a week Well with the good and bad you lose pounds and gain new problems like not eating because your stomach swollen and your band has tighten so you dont eat for 3 or 4 days or different foods hurt now oh yes and throwing up as well .I did lose fat and I swim everyday and watch everything I eat ,but I think if I knew I would have tried harder thr old way.......maybe a 12 step program for eating.Oh yes I still at least 80 poulds to go at least that is what the doc say .....Well I think Id better stop winnnnneing and thank you all for listening

[MiaCamille]

Good luck you guys with the weight loss!