I'm glad they're finally beginning to understand and actually publish that diets don't work for most people permanently, and why, but to say that WLS is THE way to go? Well, that's just great, as long as the government and medical community don't mind spending a lot more money treating all of the nasty complications of WLS. And believe me, people who have those complications after WLS don't have just one of them, they usually have at least 4 or 5 of them, if not more. A lot of those people who have those complications got thin, got sick, too sick to work, and have such horrendously expensive medical bills that, in some cases, they've used up all of their insurance, can't work anymore, and the government says "Sorry, you're fucked, we're not paying for your health care now." The icing on the cake for some of those people? Their weight loss after surgery isn't permanent. Is it their fault? In some cases, maybe. In most cases, no way. So now, not only have they fucked up their digestive system, and ruined their health, they're fat again and all they get for it is bullshit from the doctor blaming them for gaining the weight back and telling them that their medical problems are either all in their heads or their own fault or both.
"Once you start losing weight by decreasing calorie intake, your body interprets this as starvation and goes into emergency status, fighting to lay down fat deposits where possible," explained Rachel Batterham of University College London. "Therefore you are fighting against your body when losing weight."
No shit, Sherlock, WTF was your first clue and how long ago did that clue bite you on the ass? And why did you keep on pushing diets when you fucking KNEW that they didn't work? Are you all sadistic bastards that you think fat people deserve to suffer starvation and failure after failure after failure trying to get
Stomach surgery such as gastric bypass operations should not only be carried out on severely obese people, but offered to overweight men and women as a form of disease prevention, in much the same way statins are offered to prevent heart disease, they said.
Yeah, we all know how well those statins prevent heart disease, don't we? And if WLS prevents disease so well, why not offer it to thin/"normal" people as well, since they also get every damned one of the same diseases that us death-looking-for-a-place-to-happen-any-minute-now fat people get? If WLS is so good at preventing disease, why shouldn't everyone have the good fortune to be offered this life-saving procedure? (Can you tell I'm ragingly pissed off?)
Severely overweight people with a body mass index of 35 already qualify for gastric surgery and studies have shown that although the operation carries a small risk, the long-term benefits are better than for patients treated with drugs or lifestyle changes, Dr Le Roux told the British Association for the Advancement of Science's Festival of Science at Liverpool University.
A small risk? WTF do they consider a small risk? 1 to 2 in 100 chance of death? That's not a small risk. Tell me that these complications are a small risk (and tell it to all of the people who have any of them):
Dehydration, Chronic Vomiting and Nausea, Stroke, Heart Attack, Arrythmia, Kidney stones, Kidney Failure, Liver Failure, Anemia, Deficiencies (B-12,potassium, iron, B-1, B-6, etc.), Malabsorbtion of supplements
(calcium, minerals, nutrients from food), Blurred Vision, Muscle and Bone Pain, Loss of Teeth, Bleeding Gums, Rotting Teeth Due to Vomiting Requiring Root Canals, Hypoglycemia, Headaches, Blackouts/Seizures, Lactose Intolorant, Injury to Spleen during surgery, Coma, Paralysis/Blindness after coma, Osteoporsis, Burst Pouch,
Lupus, Auto-Immune Disease, Looped Intestines, Ruptured Esophagus from vomiting, Misfired Staper during surgery, Ulcers, Pneumonia/Lung Problems, Arthritis, Weakness and Fatigue from Malnutrition, Overall Pain, Metabolic Bone Disease, Food Blocking Stoma Causing Severe Pain, Stoma Needing Stretched Repeatedly, Neuropathy, Beri Beri, Put on Feeding Tubes/PICC Lines, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, Fistulas, Atrophy of Muscles, Hair Loss, Hernias, Blood Clots, Leaks, Peritonitis, Heartburn/Gerd/Acid Reflux, Bowel Obstructions, Gallstones and Gallbladder Removal, Severe Depression, Anxiety, Loss of Memory, Poor Concentration, Irrigular Blood Pressure, Diahhrea, Constipation, Opening Of Outer Incision-Needing Packing Until Healed From The Inside Out, Insomnia/Sleep Disorders, Unforced Anorexia and
Bulemia, Gas, Silent Stroke, Vertigo, Malnutrition which is the cause of many of the above problems, Many End Up Becoming Invalids, and then there is death.
This is the list of complications of WLS from Yahoo Groups OSSG-gone_wrong, and every one of these complications has been verified by patients' doctors as being a direct result of their surgery. So tell me again how small the risk is.....2,387 members of this group have the courage to tell their stories, how many others are out there dealing with this shit that we don't hear about? How many have died from this but that's not what was put on their death certificates? How many more of us are they going to kill before we put our foot down and say "NO FUCKING MORE!!!!"
"The only proven way to lose weight and live longer is by having obesity surgery," he said. "This type of surgery will, however, not make you thin, nor will it make you happy, it will only make you healthier."
Tell that to the people who have the above-listed complications and the ones who have died way before their time because they had this fucking piece of shit surgery.
Well don't you remember---WLS is only a "tool". If you are having all those complications or regaining weight---you must be doing something wrong. At least that's what many docs and the WLS cheerleaders keep telling me.
ReplyDeleteI've got just one thing to say to all of them. If WLS is only a tool---then my tool is broken.
I've gone over and beyond the guidelines of my surgeons office. I was taking mega doses of supplements from the very beginning and my health is still in the toilet.
Maybe this is societies way of finally getting rid of the fat fat fatties.
Interesting post and well done.
ReplyDeleteMark
fatjewguy.com
Very true. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteI think WLS should only be used as a last resort. Many people (incuding me) are fat for a non medical reason. People use food as a comfort when things go wrong, I dont overeat for hunger, it is almost an addiction and a way to deal with life. I think the mental issues have to be dealt with before just having surgery...or else the destructive behaviour that made us overeat will manifest in other areas of our lives. JMHO
ReplyDeleteminxy mimi - the thing is, if the issues which cause someone to continually "overeat" are dealt with, and that person learns to eat a wide variety of foods and adds a minimum amount of exercise to their routine (something they enjoy doing, for the sake of movement and feeling good), then WLS shouldn't be necessary. I really don't think the risks/complications of WLS are any better than remaining "morbidly obese". As long as one is able to live/love/enjoy life, why should they have to be thin? Thin does not equal healthy, otherwise there would be no sick, thin people. While I don't know what the statistics are, I would venture to say that the number of fat people who really do "overeat" is as small, if not smaller than, the number of people who have a BMI over 50 and are considered the death-looking-for-a-place-happen-fatty-mcfattersons. But those of us who "overeat" and/or have a BMI over 50 are the face of this hysterical "obesity epipanic", even though we're probably only 1% of all fat people.
ReplyDeleteFor myself, I'm rather lucky that I didn't end up with many complications from my failed WLS (but I can tell you, I would much rather not have to live with the fact that I have to be near a bathroom for at least an hour after I eat, or I'll need to take a shower and change clothes, and that is one of the complications of WLS that I have to deal with on a daily basis). I'm lucky, others haven't been so fortunate (my best friend being one of them, WLS killed her). So, yeah, WLS as a last resort for someone who will die if they don't lose some weight, I can see that. The thing is, there is no way in hell that doctors can accurately predict when a fat person is going to die. I was told 30 years ago that I would be dead within 5 years if I didn't lose most of the weight I'm carrying around, in spite of not having any heart problems, not being diabetic and not having cholesterol problems. I'm the healthiest, liveliest damned corpse you've ever seen, since I was supposed to have been dead 25 years ago.
The other thing that pisses me off about this is that the government has NO right to tell me what to do with my body, how thin it should be, how healthy it should be, or anything else. It's MY body and they can keep their damned laws/rules/suggestions off it.
Wow that post rocked. That is the best anti surgery post I have seen. Loved it.
ReplyDeleteExcellent article. I also like that you listed the risks, so I can link to this next time someone gives me BS about WLS.
ReplyDelete