15 common misconceptions about bariatric surgery

It is widespread

 

The more I talk with people about bariatric surgery, the more I hear the opinions of people who have no idea what it really is and how it works. It is a pity because there are a lot of people out there who could benefit from this surgery and wouldn’t have to suffer unnecessarily for decades. The common misconceptions that run among people deter people who need it.

So what are the most common half-truths or complete lies I have heard recently? There are many of them. Some are a little funny, some are lies and some are right away dangerous and life-threatening. 

So let’s have a look at what I have been told by people from the outside. 

The list

1. It works only for a while, then you will gain it all back. Well, it will, if you stop doing what you should be doing. If you don’t change, you will gain it all back. That is why the preparatory process is usually long so that you have time to work on things you need to change. 

 

2. It is a miracle. You have the surgery and then you will stay slim forever. I wish 😀 I have heard this a lot. People will tell you that you took the easy way out. I swear, anyone who has gone through this will confirm that this is anything but an easy way. The very beginning can be a good horror story. No need to scare people away, but trust me, the post-op diet can be quite long, even several months and you will have to stick to it no matter what. And you can’t take it back. It is forever. 

3. You can decide how much you will lose. No, you can’t. Usually, you are losing for a year, maybe 18 months if your starting weight is high. And then it stops. Some people might need two types of surgery – sleeve and then bypass to lose it all, most often the surgeon decides on the first or the second, depending on your particular case and it is enough. But still, what you don’t lose in this 12-18 month frame, you usually don’t lose. 

 

4. You can keep your curves. Many girls thought this and then were extremely surprised when their butt, thighs, and boobs deflated like a pinched balloon. It happened to many of us. It would be great to lose all over and keep the curves but very few people are this lucky. I wouldn’t count on that. (personal experience)

5. You will not have extra skin if you use XWZ. This depends on many factors. Usually your age, genetics, and the amount of weight you lose. It is different for a 20-year-old who loses 30 kilos and a 50-year-old who loses 80 kilos. Obviously, you can’t expect miracles. The more weight you lose, the more likely you will have some or more extra skin. No matter what you do, what supplement you take, and what cream you use. Nop. It doesn’t work. 

 

6. You will end up anorexic.  People may perceive your food intake as such but thing like this happens extremely rarely. You will eat far less than a normal person and you will lose the extra weight. That is why people who have known you for ages will tell you this. It is not like that at all. But no, you won’t be able to eat a whole pizza or a burger with chips. This will be off-limits most likely forever. 

7. It is very dangerous, lots of people died. A big fat lie! I am not saying that there are not people who died but the risk of this surgery is very acceptable. That is why you have all the pre-op tests and exams. The surgeon wants to make sure that you are safe in their hands. Nobody wants you to die. That is crystal clear. They might even require you to lose a certain amount of weight before the surgery if they see that your weight is too high for anesthesia. It happened to people with very high starting weight.

 

8. It is nothing, you can go back to work after a weekend. I wish 😀 don’t downplay things. It is still a major abdominal surgery and you will need some time to recover. You will be sore, you will have staples or stitches, you will be weak, maybe a little dehydrated. You will need some time to recover. It is no joke. Two weeks, maybe even a month, depending on how you are going and what is your job, is what you should count on. 

9. The supplements are nonsense, no need for them. To tell the truth, this one is a dangerous thing to believe. A lack of vitamins and minerals usually doesn’t hurt. Unless it is anemia when you are weak, dizzy, cold, and crawling like a half-dead rat. I know it myself, I had it for a year before I recovered the iron I lost while losing weight. What is more, you can develop many deficiency-related problems. Brittle bones are the first one that comes to mind.

 

10. You can eat anything right after the surgery. Again, I wish. You can’t. It is a strict no. You could hurt yourself very badly. Your stomach is cut and full of stitches, and you will be on a liquid diet, that pures and then soft food. All this for several months. The healing of the stomach takes quite a lot of time. And another ugly truth is if you eat something your stomach won’t like, you will puke it out. Or you will be so stomach-sick that you wish you could puke it out. Luckily it is not so often. 

11. It is only for extremely obese people. Nop! It is for people whose BMI is 40+ without comorbidities or 35+ with some weight-related problem.  You really don’t have to weigh 300 kg to be eligible. I was 98 kilos on my surgery day. So… you might investigate a little. 

 

12. You will never qualify. Even if you are not qualifying right away, always try to talk to a bariatric surgeon. They might have a different opinion and push you through. I am not talking about people who have little to lose and think that this is the only way. At all. If you have another way of losing weight, do it. The restrictions are there forever. 

13. You have to pay for it and it is very expensive. This is another surprising thing. Many countries have it included in public health care. There are requirements to fulfill but if you do, you don’t pay anything. You pay only if you want to have it done quickly and you don’t feel like waiting. Usually, it is a year, sometimes longer, depending on the waiting list. 

 

14. Going to Turkey/Mexico is the best option. Maybe yes and maybe no. If you have to pay, the prices in these countries are way more patient-friendly. On the other hand, people who do this always investigate very thoroughly the clinic and the surgeon. The standards may not be comparable to the ones in your home country. I am not saying anything against it, on the other hand, I wouldn’t encourage that. The final decision is yours. 

 

15. I have 10 kilos to lose and I desperately want bypass.  If you find a surgeon who is willing to do this to you, run away. Unless there is a very justifiable medical condition to do exactly this, it can be right away dangerous to you. 10 kilos is nothing and you simply can’t say that you want the weight loss to stop. It will go on until the body decides to stop it. It can be those 10 kilos, but it can be easily 30 or even more. I read stories of people who ended up with feeding tubes so that they wouldn’t die. You don’t want to end up like them. 

Not everything you hear is true

As I said, some ideas and thoughts are circulating among people for some reason. People hear this and that, read somewhere something, they don’t remember it well and they fill in the gaps and create a whole new story. This is how rumors start and it is impossible to stop them.

 

Sure, people always say bad things, but they most likely come from the news and wow articles you find all over the internet. Why is that? Easy who would write an article or put in the news something like: I had bariatric surgery, all went great, I lost everything I needed and I maintain the healthy weight long term. This doesn’t bring likes, audience, and interest. Nobody would read such an article. 

If you put a pic of a really botched surgery, nasty complications, and a dying patient, this is something. This is what people want to read. That is why. You can’t believe everything you see online. Some of the stories are inflated or adjusted so that they attract a bigger audience. If you are on the fence, do your research, and talk to the real patients, the surgeon, the whole bari team. These people will give you much more accurate information. 

 

The final decision is yours. It is not an easy process but personally, I would do it a million times over. I am healthy now. And I maintain a healthy weight. Yes, I had ups and downs, it is part of the process. But still…