How familiar are you with Gastric Balloon procedure/Surgery? (Read Details).

I don’t know about the balloon but about the bypass, which a coworker had done.

There seem to be a variety of procedures now with the same intention: reduce the amount of digestion and reduce the volume of the stomach. Despite the proliferation of ads on radio, this is a major procedure.

My colleague was lucky: relatively few problems, and a significant weight lost (150 lbs). But it did not address much of the underlying emotional issues about his weight and eating, and until he got into therapy, he was a mess. Many people that go through this realize that they may not eat as much, but they can maintain their calorie intake with things like milkshakes. They can also drink alcohol and get drunk quicker, and many do so.

A relative of mine had the bypass surgery. She had to see a counselor for 6 months before the operation. She lost about 150 to 175 pounds. This was about 5 years ago and she has kept it off.
She had no complications.

I am 99% certain many weight loss surgeries are reasonably safe, reliable, and long term effective. The biggest obstacle is cost – insurance doesn’t pay for BMI less than 40 or less than 35 with one pre-morbidity. If no insurance, we’re talking $20K.
I can say with confidence, if I knew someone who was overweight – and not even morbidly obese – maybe 50 pounds overweight, I would suggest WLS – probably the VSG sleeve.

The only noticable side effect is that you will have to eat small portions and will feel full much quicker. Like @zenvelo says it’s still possible to maintain a high calorie intake even with the balloon so you need to follow a good diet as well, the balloon is there to help you learn to eat well not to stop you from eating. Some people say they can feel the balloon moving about and ocasionally people can’t tolerate it and need it removed sooner but that’s quite rare.

Also they noramlly fill the balloon with a special dye so if it bursts your pee changes colour to alert you that there is a problem.

“The only noticable side effect is that you will have to eat small portions and will feel full much quicker. Like @zenvelo says it’s still possible to maintain a high calorie intake even with the balloon so you need to follow a good diet as well, the balloon is there to help you learn to eat well not to stop you from eating. ”

That sounds a like a very beneficial side effect!

This is a good thing because it makes it so much more difficult to eat too much. Even if you wanted to, it would be a challenge to overeat. It’s the opposite of conventional dieting which requires will power: With WLS surgery, it almost requires will power to get fat.

Recommend the original poster goes to YouTube and views WLS surgery case studies. It is remarkable. It is the closest thing to a “silver bullet” against obesity as there is. Until the “magic pill” comes out, this is the best that can be done.

A relative of mine had the bypass surgery. She had to see a counselor for 6 months before the operation. She lost about 150 to 175 pounds. This was about 5 years ago and she has kept it off.

How many conventional dieters can boast this?

The six month counseling thing may be an insurance company requirement.

I had the sleeve one year ago today. I didn’t want the lap band because I didn’t want any foreign objects in my body, and as we all know, any man made thing can break or fail. I also knew a few people that had the lap band and they had complications with it.

Pre-surgery, I had to see the nutritionist 3 times, have a psych eval and see the cardiologist and pulmonologist. I also had to have blood work done. All was paid for by insurance. The medical group I used did all the contacting of my insurance company for me. I did not deal with the insurance company personally at all.

I was in the hospital for only one night, due to not using pain killers (my choice not to, because the pain was not that bad). The hard part was learning how much I could eat without getting sick.

If I knew then what I know now, and if I had to do it over, I would.

In the past year I lost about 110 lbs. I get fuller faster, way faster. I can still eat ice cream, or whatever, but I don’t crave that stuff like I used to. My protein levels are good, and I try to eat protein before anything else. I eat Greek yogurt for breakfast, with walnuts. I may also eat oatmeal, with added walnuts (for protein). Lunch and dinner are whatever, but protein first. I can and do eat things like bread. I don’t drink soda like I used to. I may have a few sips on a special occasion, but not usually. Alcohol I am not into much anyway, and I never smoked.

I highly recommend WLS for someone with a lot to lose.

I had the sleeve one year ago today. I didn’t want the lap band because I didn’t want any foreign objects in my body, and as we all know, any man made thing can break or fail. I also knew a few people that had the lap band and they had complications with it.

Pre-surgery, I had to see the nutritionist 3 times, have a psych eval and see the cardiologist and pulmonologist. I also had to have blood work done. All was paid for by insurance. The medical group I used did all the contacting of my insurance company for me. I did not deal with the insurance company personally at all. I was in the hospital for only one night, due to not using pain killers (my choice not to, because the pain was not that bad). The hard part was learning how much I could eat without getting sick. If I knew then what I know now, and if I had to do it over, I would. In the past year I lost about 110 lbs. I get fuller faster, way faster. I can still eat ice cream, or whatever, but I don’t crave that stuff like I used to. My protein levels are good, and I try to eat protein before anything else. I eat Greek yogurt for breakfast, with walnuts. I may also eat oatmeal, with added walnuts (for protein). Lunch and dinner are whatever, but protein first. I can and do eat things like bread. I don’t drink soda like I used to. I may have a few sips on a special occasion, but not usually. Alcohol I am not into much anyway, and I never smoked. I highly recommend WLS for someone with a lot to lose.

Awesome post. What you wrote is 100% consistent with everything I’ve read and consistent with everyone who I have spoken with. Yes, eating too fast has to be avoided but you can eat anything, including candy, ice cream, and chocolate that you want and it isn’t will power that limits how much of this stuff you eat – you become full on it on much less than you would have in the past. You won’t feel deprived because you will achieve the same satisfaction level with one scoop of ice cream or one cookie that in the past would have taken three scoops or three cookies for example. This is the key point. Will power isn’t limiting the quantities – your reduced stomach size is limiting the quantities. You will be just as happy with a small hamburger or one piece of pizza as you would have in the past with a huge whopper or four pieces of pizza. You simply cannot eat that much food. Ten french fries is as satisfying as a big McDonalds fries. See where I am going here? Even though these were all bad foods, a person only eats a little of them. It’s still important to eat healthy but you won’t gain weight when you don’t.
It is equivalent to an alcoholic being able to drink no more than one beer.