GB Girl, I’m so scared to do this. I have read stuff from 3 Dr’s offices so I know what it is they do to you but I just don’t know if this is for me. I am 39 and I weigh 300 pounds. I have lost the same 25 pounds 50 times in my life already. Can you tell us what your reservations were about doing it, if you had any?
Camille S.
Camille, I had about ten distinct reservations about doing it that ran through my head constantly. In no particular order:
I DON’T WANT TO RE-WIRE THE BODY I WAS BORN WITH!
SURGERY WOULD BE THE EASY WAY OUT AND I’M NO QUITTER!
PEOPLE DIE ON OPERATING ROOM TABLES EVERY SINGLE DAY!
ONLY PEOPLE WHO RELY ON MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS TO GET BY DO THINGS LIKE THIS!
THEY KEEP FINDING COMPLICATIONS ARISING FROM THIS SURGERY!
I DON’T EVEN HAVE DIABETES OR ANY OF THOSE OTHER CO-MORBIDITIES ON THE LIST!
I DON’T WANT TO BE SKINNY-FAT WITH HANGING SKIN!
WHAT IF I CANNOT MAINTAIN SOUND NUTRITIONAL LEVELS AFTER THIS?
IT IS TOO NEW A PROCEDURE FOR THEM TO HAVE GOTTEN IT RIGHT YET!
EVERYONE I KNOW WILL THINK I AM TOO LAZY TO DO IT ON MY OWN!
And don’t think, Camille, that I didn’t have people run very similar, albeit more subtly put, variations on those same points by me every single day while I performed my two-year research study.
You know who didn’t do that to me, though? The psychiatrist I was forced to sit with in order to have a professional let the insurance company know whether or not they should approve me for the procedure. She didn’t do that to me. In fact, she just went over every one of those concerns with me and she and I determined that I was not likely to change my mind afterwards. Though, how she really knew that is beyond me.
Oh by the way…the reason the insurance companies will (and should, I guess) make you get the all-clear from a shrink is so they can know that you are not likely to “change your mind” after the fact, which would mean the surgeon would have to go back in and put everything back the way it was, which costs the insurance companies more moolah. Did you know about this? The shrink explained it to me. Some people do this. They go though ALLLLLL this and then decide it is too difficult for them to maintain the lifestyle changes and they get it switched back.
I can’t fault them. I would NEVER fault them. They are, I am guessing, among the many who were not told everything up front. Who did not have the future complications spelled out for them ahead of time. So they didn’t know. And once they got there, they didn’t like the changes they had to make to every single moment of their day.
And that is what it’s like, Camille. For the first 2-3 years you are someone for whom themes like “nearby bathroom” and “longer sleeves” and "carefully maintain protein and iron levels” have become a daily...nay...hourly refrain. Are you up for that?
Are you up for the not knowing what the long-term future will hold?
If you are, and you are already reading all the stuff on this site, I have to assume you are also checking out every other resource possible in order to make an informed decision. And I applaud you, Camille. And whether you do it or not, know that you have sisters and brothers out there who know what you are going through and are rooting for you! Please really know that. And send me your address, Camille. When I write my book I want to send you one.
GB Girl
Camille S.
Camille, I had about ten distinct reservations about doing it that ran through my head constantly. In no particular order:
I DON’T WANT TO RE-WIRE THE BODY I WAS BORN WITH!
SURGERY WOULD BE THE EASY WAY OUT AND I’M NO QUITTER!
PEOPLE DIE ON OPERATING ROOM TABLES EVERY SINGLE DAY!
ONLY PEOPLE WHO RELY ON MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS TO GET BY DO THINGS LIKE THIS!
THEY KEEP FINDING COMPLICATIONS ARISING FROM THIS SURGERY!
I DON’T EVEN HAVE DIABETES OR ANY OF THOSE OTHER CO-MORBIDITIES ON THE LIST!
I DON’T WANT TO BE SKINNY-FAT WITH HANGING SKIN!
WHAT IF I CANNOT MAINTAIN SOUND NUTRITIONAL LEVELS AFTER THIS?
IT IS TOO NEW A PROCEDURE FOR THEM TO HAVE GOTTEN IT RIGHT YET!
EVERYONE I KNOW WILL THINK I AM TOO LAZY TO DO IT ON MY OWN!
And don’t think, Camille, that I didn’t have people run very similar, albeit more subtly put, variations on those same points by me every single day while I performed my two-year research study.
You know who didn’t do that to me, though? The psychiatrist I was forced to sit with in order to have a professional let the insurance company know whether or not they should approve me for the procedure. She didn’t do that to me. In fact, she just went over every one of those concerns with me and she and I determined that I was not likely to change my mind afterwards. Though, how she really knew that is beyond me.
Oh by the way…the reason the insurance companies will (and should, I guess) make you get the all-clear from a shrink is so they can know that you are not likely to “change your mind” after the fact, which would mean the surgeon would have to go back in and put everything back the way it was, which costs the insurance companies more moolah. Did you know about this? The shrink explained it to me. Some people do this. They go though ALLLLLL this and then decide it is too difficult for them to maintain the lifestyle changes and they get it switched back.
I can’t fault them. I would NEVER fault them. They are, I am guessing, among the many who were not told everything up front. Who did not have the future complications spelled out for them ahead of time. So they didn’t know. And once they got there, they didn’t like the changes they had to make to every single moment of their day.
And that is what it’s like, Camille. For the first 2-3 years you are someone for whom themes like “nearby bathroom” and “longer sleeves” and "carefully maintain protein and iron levels” have become a daily...nay...hourly refrain. Are you up for that?
Are you up for the not knowing what the long-term future will hold?
If you are, and you are already reading all the stuff on this site, I have to assume you are also checking out every other resource possible in order to make an informed decision. And I applaud you, Camille. And whether you do it or not, know that you have sisters and brothers out there who know what you are going through and are rooting for you! Please really know that. And send me your address, Camille. When I write my book I want to send you one.
GB Girl
posted by The Amazing Princess Zakaya at 2:30 PM
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