a little update with photos on my progress post surgery

[caseysmom]

Thank you very much for the information, I am going to go to a class where they will discuss all of the options.

[kaycountrygal]

Oh My! What a difference!! Good for you! I personally know how hard it is to lose weight.... and keep it off. In my lifetime I've lost lots of weight many times and then gained it back. I also know about plateaus and how hard it is to work hard and see the scales remain the same. Dont give up; you're doing a wonderful job. I'm sure you feel better also.

[kittycats_delight]

Thank you very much for the information, I am going to go to a class where they will discuss all of the options.

Good for you. It is a great idea to cover all the bases and know what options are available to you.

I have a friend in New York that just has the sleeve gastrectomy done. It is a restrictive diet and she is doing well so far. They told her that they don't do the bilio-pancreatic diversion because it is too invasive. It may be the most invasive but it is the most successful with the lowest rate of complications and deaths. Bilio-pancreatic diversion is a surgery they don't do for everyone. The unfortunate thing for my friend is that around the 5 year mark she will have to go in and have the sleeve 'converted' to a bypass. That means a second surgery. Once someone has the bilio-pancreatic diversion done...that's it. You won't have to get anything else done. The thing is...all of the procedures from the lap-band to the Gastric Bypass depends not only depends on the surgery but also on the persons ability to follow the diet they need to follow. I am very fortunate that once my new digestive system is fully functional (1 year) there is nothing I can't eat. Of course there are always foods that certain people can't digest even after the 1 year. I get to start trying with pasta and veggies soon to see what goes and what doesn't. The only real issues for me right now are rice & peas. I die with cramps and bloating with those 2 things because my system has a really hard time processing them but everything else is fine. Anyway, once I get going on this stuff I have a tendency to get off topic and go on and on. Sorry about that. If you have any questions let me know. I have the inventor the Lap-Band right here, just 15-20 minutes from my house and my surgeon is the head of the team of the inventor of the Bilio-Pancreatic Diversion. He was taught by the inventor. Also, I can get first had information from Prof. (Dr.) Scopinaro (inventor of the BPD) at any time as he is a friend of the family.

Good luck and let us know what the verdict is.