Gastric by-pass or other surgeries to lose weight. Do you know of many cases that work long term?

I know of one person who had bypass surgery and kept the weight off for at least 4 years (I lost track of him after that). And I know another man who lost a significant amount, and afte rfive years he ahd reagined about a third of what he had lost.

It is not a “good alternative”; any medical intervention is less desirable than reduction via changing diet behavior and exercise. And, there are a host of other challenges that go with it. Counseling is highly recommended both before and after the procedure.

And, there are a host of problems, from constipation to diarrhea to diffculty swallowing and alcohol use disorder, plus difficulties from the surgery itself.

Yes, I work in a hospital and have seen many patients come back with infections after their surgery. Not personally seen, but saw their diagnosis. I’m not a medical personnel.

I’ve known a few that did the lap band and had nothing but problems, but did lose weight.

One threw up a lot because she didn’t learn to eat right, then had to have another surgery. That was probably five years ago, weight is still off.

My other friend has lost about 50lbs but still eats junk, too, so it’s not as pronounced, the weight loss.

@chyna I had a friend who had intestinal bypass surgery. Initially she lost quite a lot of weight. Then she seemed to overeat and gained it all back. At a doctor visit and friends she’d say what you see is what you get. She just abandoned the idea of weight loss. However, there are celebrities who’ve had the surgery and kept the weight off.

I know a guy who at 5 years out is still a success story.
He had a couple of things working for him. He was relatively young, in the low 30s. And made a serious life style change: he got married and had a child.
I think those factors made a huge difference.

(Also, we don’t do food any more when he is around at the office. There is no mention or acknowledgment of that fact. We just don’t.)

I had a former coworker die of sepsis after lap band. Left behind a young son.

I personally know 3 people who kept the majority of the weight off well past 5 years.

I know one person who died a couple of weeks after surgery, she was the cousin of an ex-boyfriend. I don’t know what the specific complication was. This was about 15 years ago. She was in her late 20’s or 30’s when it happened. I’d have to think about her age when I was dating him to figure it out.

Plenty of famous people have kept the majority of the weight off. Al Roker, Star Jones, my mind is blank to name others.

I’ve seen articles that sometimes a different addiction is picked up, like alcoholism. I don’t know how commmon that is.

Do they offer counseling before the surgery to try and get to the bottom of why they overeat like they do?

I know one person who went through 6 months of counseling before having it done and within 3 years had gained it all back and more.

:(. That is just so sad.

Yes; a friend of mine had bypass about nine years ago and, although she eventually gained back about twenty five pounds , she still looks good. The dreadful thing that happened to her was she and her husband were vacationing in Jamaica and at lunch she got a terrific stomachache. They took her to the hospital and she endured about a week of pain and procedures; she’d cry to go home to the states. She was weak when she did get home but happy to be alive ! I wish I knew what happened to her. It is a common side effect I think.