Bulimia, Anorexia, and starvation and WLS
I know some people might disagree with me but think about what I say.
One of my jobs as a minister is to watch for eating disorders in the elderly (seems to strike elderly men more than women.) One of the thing I have noticed about a lot of comments on here is how angry the people losing weight get if someone becomes concerned for their health.
I have two examples of eating disorders in people I personally know:
I have a friend who become anorexic after a bypass and lost his kidneys, damaged his liver, brain, and heart. He is now living in Dallas and is own a kidney transplant list and must take dialysis.
I know a another pastor's wife who became bulic after her WLS and developed heart problems, skin infections, serious hair loss, and bone issues such as worsening of osteoporosis. She has developed numerous health problems and has developed breast cancer (which in her weakend state may not be able to take chemo safely!) She lives with her husband in Kansas.
Both of these people became angry at people's comments and refused to listen and now both are fighting for their lives.
I took three yers to decide to have this surgery and one of the factors was could i maintain a proper psychological perspective to my own health and weight loss. I used to binge eat so bad that sometimes it made me sick. I went through counseling and found out many people have that problem. Even after the surgery sometimes I dream about eating a Wendy's triple cheeseburger and xl fires and xl coke. And My brain has problems seeing a baby plate of food as a meal even though i can't eat it all. And it makes me angry and I want to quit and go back to how I used to live- handling problems through food. But the surgery was a tool that helps me stop that behavior and learn better ones. But people with low sel esteem and strong emotional connections to food are at a high risk for developing eating disorders. Particularly not eating.
I am currently counseling a woman who has fallen to 76 lbs and she is 5'-2" she is a banking professional and sees herself as fat. Both myself and her doctors are very concerned for health as pnuemonia and heart problems are common now. her employer has offered her $1500 if she gains 20 lbs and quits smoking.
Not every comment you receive is because people are trying to sabotage you. You must be in communication with your doctor about heathy weights and not arbritary "sexy" weights. Someone earlier was commenting how pretty skinny models are- well there has been numerous deaths of skinny models due to malnutrion and starvation.
An eating disorder is not relagated to size or gender, but rather a disfunctional view of one's on appearence.
So yes I had WLS and yes I do wish to be thinner but not at the expense of my health. So I listen for people's comments and I discuss them with my doctor. MY Weight loss is for a healthier better active life with my wife, kids, and friends- not for society's or a celebritiy's view of what is sexy.
God bless
JB Skaggs
One of my jobs as a minister is to watch for eating disorders in the elderly (seems to strike elderly men more than women.) One of the thing I have noticed about a lot of comments on here is how angry the people losing weight get if someone becomes concerned for their health.
I have two examples of eating disorders in people I personally know:
I have a friend who become anorexic after a bypass and lost his kidneys, damaged his liver, brain, and heart. He is now living in Dallas and is own a kidney transplant list and must take dialysis.
I know a another pastor's wife who became bulic after her WLS and developed heart problems, skin infections, serious hair loss, and bone issues such as worsening of osteoporosis. She has developed numerous health problems and has developed breast cancer (which in her weakend state may not be able to take chemo safely!) She lives with her husband in Kansas.
Both of these people became angry at people's comments and refused to listen and now both are fighting for their lives.
I took three yers to decide to have this surgery and one of the factors was could i maintain a proper psychological perspective to my own health and weight loss. I used to binge eat so bad that sometimes it made me sick. I went through counseling and found out many people have that problem. Even after the surgery sometimes I dream about eating a Wendy's triple cheeseburger and xl fires and xl coke. And My brain has problems seeing a baby plate of food as a meal even though i can't eat it all. And it makes me angry and I want to quit and go back to how I used to live- handling problems through food. But the surgery was a tool that helps me stop that behavior and learn better ones. But people with low sel esteem and strong emotional connections to food are at a high risk for developing eating disorders. Particularly not eating.
I am currently counseling a woman who has fallen to 76 lbs and she is 5'-2" she is a banking professional and sees herself as fat. Both myself and her doctors are very concerned for health as pnuemonia and heart problems are common now. her employer has offered her $1500 if she gains 20 lbs and quits smoking.
Not every comment you receive is because people are trying to sabotage you. You must be in communication with your doctor about heathy weights and not arbritary "sexy" weights. Someone earlier was commenting how pretty skinny models are- well there has been numerous deaths of skinny models due to malnutrion and starvation.
An eating disorder is not relagated to size or gender, but rather a disfunctional view of one's on appearence.
So yes I had WLS and yes I do wish to be thinner but not at the expense of my health. So I listen for people's comments and I discuss them with my doctor. MY Weight loss is for a healthier better active life with my wife, kids, and friends- not for society's or a celebritiy's view of what is sexy.
God bless
JB Skaggs
I agree totally, I had surgery to have a healthy, happy future. I still love to eat and i eat very healthy and i couldn't be happier. (Well, i'll probably be happier when i get to goal) but even if i never lose another lb i'm so much healthier and happier than i was pre op. Good luck on your journey :o) Jeani
the start of my brand new life was on 5/28/10
Something people need to consider, when people who know you (and do not know you had weight loss surgery) see rapid weight loss, the first conclusion is not necessarily "oh she/he had weight loss surgery". It's probably not even "oh, he/she has an eating disorder". The first thought is likely to be concern for your well being. "Is she/he sick? Do they have cancer?" etc. and so forth. Concern is not the same thing as sabotage, I totally agree. I avoided most of the questions since anybody who would actually CARE knows I had surgery and my weight has come off at a fairly reasonable rate. I was averaging 10 pounds a month for awhile but it has since slowed down (I just had a stall that lasted for a bit over a month where I didn't lose a single pound, oy).
My younger sister is absolutely obsessed with her weight. Fortunately, she has not developed anorexia but she told me she looks in the mirror and sees a 200 pound woman. She has NEVER been even close to 200 pounds a day in her life, and weighs around 135 or so now at 5"5" tall. If she gains weight, she freaks out, and I worry about her developing an eating disorder. She and I are pretty close but I think my ballooning up to 345 pounds REALLY scared her. I don't get to see her often so it's hard to know what to look for but she obsessively talks about diet and exercise all the time.
My surgeon and I never discussed a goal weight for myself. I'd 'like' to get to 135 pounds. At 5'3" that's a perfectly reasonable weight. I weighed less than that in high school and was still a naturally curvy girl. I may never be able to reach that weight at 43 and having been obese for so long but, I figure once I start getting closer I can sit down and talk with my surgeon and my PCP about what they think.
It's odd sometimes to realize that I am finally gaining control over food instead of allowing it to control me. Some people might disagree with that since I DO log everything I eat but studies have shown that those most successful at weight loss keep track of what they put into their mouths. However, at the end of the day I know what I've eaten and it's really easy for me to spot trends of disordered eating behavior.
My younger sister is absolutely obsessed with her weight. Fortunately, she has not developed anorexia but she told me she looks in the mirror and sees a 200 pound woman. She has NEVER been even close to 200 pounds a day in her life, and weighs around 135 or so now at 5"5" tall. If she gains weight, she freaks out, and I worry about her developing an eating disorder. She and I are pretty close but I think my ballooning up to 345 pounds REALLY scared her. I don't get to see her often so it's hard to know what to look for but she obsessively talks about diet and exercise all the time.
My surgeon and I never discussed a goal weight for myself. I'd 'like' to get to 135 pounds. At 5'3" that's a perfectly reasonable weight. I weighed less than that in high school and was still a naturally curvy girl. I may never be able to reach that weight at 43 and having been obese for so long but, I figure once I start getting closer I can sit down and talk with my surgeon and my PCP about what they think.
It's odd sometimes to realize that I am finally gaining control over food instead of allowing it to control me. Some people might disagree with that since I DO log everything I eat but studies have shown that those most successful at weight loss keep track of what they put into their mouths. However, at the end of the day I know what I've eaten and it's really easy for me to spot trends of disordered eating behavior.
Through my program, I am in touch with well over 150 people that have had the sleeve. Not one of them has developed any form of eating disorder AFTER their surgery. I have done a search of the literature in established Journals of Bariatric Surgery and Psychological/Psychiatric Journals, and there is no article indicating that this is a problem area at all.
I would STRONGLY suspect that anyone that became anorexic or bulimic after WLS had SERIOUS psychological problems before they went into surgery, and should NEVER have been approved for it. Sadly, there are some surgeons, and programs, that do not screen their patients well, essentially cutting on anyone that has the money.
ANY person that is 5'2" tall, and that only weighs 76 pounds either has a very severe psychiatric disorder, or they have a very serious physical problem (or more likely BOTH). Unfortunately, because of court decisions and legislation, such people can no longer be hospitalized against their will for needed treatment.
I wholeheartedly agree that most comments about health concerns are not an attempt to sabotage the person. Anyone that would believe that all such comments are sabotaging, has a serious problem that they should deal with.
In an ideal world, no person would have any form of weight loss surgery until they were psychologically ready to handle it. We do not live in an ideal world however. And sadly, there are all too many surgeons that will cut on anyone with the money to pay them, and provide no followup, no psychological screening, nothing at all. They are irresponsible, to say the least.
Anyone that is having significant issues about food intake; about their ability to function as a person of normal weight; about their body looking abnormal, even when it is in the normal weight range; anyone that is overeating to the point of illness, should be in professional counseling designed to deal with all of the issues that are causing those problems.
There is no harm in admitting that you need help. In fact, it shows strength of character to be able to do so. It is unfortunate that far too many people see psychological problems as a "weakness" or as something that is horrible, and that they refuse to get help for them.
I regularly encourage people to get counseling/therapy BEFORE they have their surgery. It helps give them a much greater chance of success, and it helps them in many other ways too.
Mr. Skaggs is absolutely correct, there have been a number of well known (and many unknown) models that have died because of anorexia and/or bulimia. The same is true of dancers and others who depend largely on a "body image" for their livelihood. Scores more have had extensive hospital stays, in order to deal with the serious nutritional deficiencies they had encountered, as well as permanent damage to their bodies.
The incidence of such eating disorders among those that have had weight loss surgery is very low however. And so far as the literature has shown, to date, each of them has had severe psychological issues long before they ever had weight loss surgery.
Does that mean you should ignore the possibility that this could happen? No it does not. Unfortunately, many people with serious problems do not realize that they have such disorders. If you find yourself in a situation where you can not see yourself as being a normal person, please, go get some professional help before you harm yourself.
I would STRONGLY suspect that anyone that became anorexic or bulimic after WLS had SERIOUS psychological problems before they went into surgery, and should NEVER have been approved for it. Sadly, there are some surgeons, and programs, that do not screen their patients well, essentially cutting on anyone that has the money.
ANY person that is 5'2" tall, and that only weighs 76 pounds either has a very severe psychiatric disorder, or they have a very serious physical problem (or more likely BOTH). Unfortunately, because of court decisions and legislation, such people can no longer be hospitalized against their will for needed treatment.
I wholeheartedly agree that most comments about health concerns are not an attempt to sabotage the person. Anyone that would believe that all such comments are sabotaging, has a serious problem that they should deal with.
In an ideal world, no person would have any form of weight loss surgery until they were psychologically ready to handle it. We do not live in an ideal world however. And sadly, there are all too many surgeons that will cut on anyone with the money to pay them, and provide no followup, no psychological screening, nothing at all. They are irresponsible, to say the least.
Anyone that is having significant issues about food intake; about their ability to function as a person of normal weight; about their body looking abnormal, even when it is in the normal weight range; anyone that is overeating to the point of illness, should be in professional counseling designed to deal with all of the issues that are causing those problems.
There is no harm in admitting that you need help. In fact, it shows strength of character to be able to do so. It is unfortunate that far too many people see psychological problems as a "weakness" or as something that is horrible, and that they refuse to get help for them.
I regularly encourage people to get counseling/therapy BEFORE they have their surgery. It helps give them a much greater chance of success, and it helps them in many other ways too.
Mr. Skaggs is absolutely correct, there have been a number of well known (and many unknown) models that have died because of anorexia and/or bulimia. The same is true of dancers and others who depend largely on a "body image" for their livelihood. Scores more have had extensive hospital stays, in order to deal with the serious nutritional deficiencies they had encountered, as well as permanent damage to their bodies.
The incidence of such eating disorders among those that have had weight loss surgery is very low however. And so far as the literature has shown, to date, each of them has had severe psychological issues long before they ever had weight loss surgery.
Does that mean you should ignore the possibility that this could happen? No it does not. Unfortunately, many people with serious problems do not realize that they have such disorders. If you find yourself in a situation where you can not see yourself as being a normal person, please, go get some professional help before you harm yourself.
A former Army Medic (1959-1969), Registered Nurse (1969-2000), College Instructor (1984-1989) and a retired Rehabilitation Counselor. I am also a dual citizen of the USA and Canada.
High Weight 412 lbs. Date of Surgery 360.5 Present 170 lbs
High Weight 412 lbs. Date of Surgery 360.5 Present 170 lbs
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