[DocSanae]

I am copying into the next post the self introductory PM I have received from sue4491, as there has been some confusion over some of her posts.
I have edited it slightly and have left out her full name, to which I am sure no one will object, as we all maintain the least degree of privacy by keeping our full names off the public posts. The same courtesy should be extended to whomever who wishes to contribute to our community.

That said, a little about sue4491, that I have stated in another post.

"Her expertise is in informed consent, so she necessarily will bring up the fact that not everything is roses with this surgery, as you all are well aware. And I am sure you all have run into people who think that the surgery is the magic wand, not a tool, and misuse it, and as a result are unhappy with the outcome. This is where people like sue4491 come in, to make sure that those researching the surgery understand the full impact this life-altering-in-more-ways-than-one-surgery has, and will be well prepared mentally for the changes and the challenges. That is the basis of informed consent, and any and every responsible surgeon and physician will ask it of their patients. I'm sure you all will agree that drs and patients need to understand each other completely for this surgery to be a success, and for the matter, any treatment for life threatening conditions to be successful.
Though some of her views may differ from yours, they are by no means negative in the way that deliniates anyone, nor does she belittle the effects of surgery."

Now, we have had our share of our family going through rough times, whether it be before they came on board, or after, and many of these have been honest and informative of their experiences. Right at this moment, we have a few members that we are concerned about, as you all know. So, I am sure that those who read through all the posts here are well aware of the ups and downs of the surgery, and what they need to do, to prepare not only physically, but mentally, for the surgery and the life that comes after. Knowledge is one of our best weapons, so, understanding the negative sides is not a bad thing, as it will help you prevent such events, and if it does happen, then will be able to get the needed help quickly.

sue4491, as she writes in her PM has been in contact with numerous post ops who have had trouble with the surgery, so she is well aware of the downsides, but that does not make her an advocate against surgery, it only makes her ask others to be well informed, and be aware of EVERYTHING that goes with this surgery. Her position is rather like a lawyer who specializes in malpractice suits, I think. Lawyers who deal with malpractice will obviously, and out of necessity, come into contact with numerous patients who have had things take a bad turn with seemingly good medical attention and treatment, and they probably come into contact with a good number of the bad members of the medical community, who, when you look at the entire medical community, are very small in numbers actually. So, these lawyers will know and understand a lot of bad things. However, what they tell us isn't something to be taken likely, they will be things that we need to be aware of, and to understand how they can happen, so we can take steps to prevent similar disasterous events.

I know that you all are very much aware of how much work it takes to make this surgery work, so, I also am sure, if you read through her message without any prejudice, you will be able to see that she will be able to give you valuable information when you are contemplating surgery, and aid you when you have compliance issues.
If you are contemplating surgery, then you MUST get as much information and data as you can, not only from our community here, but from others as well. Of course, the staff here hopes that after you have travelled far and wide, you will decide that this is your home.

Well, anyway, here follows sue4491's introduction.
I think some of the things she says about herself, a lot of you can relate to, too.

[DocSanae]

I am sue4491, a concerned citizen and medical researcher, who has spent a lot of my own time and money to help patients in all stages of weight loss surgery - from supporting pre ops with informed consent information in order to help them make the decision which would work best for them, to supporting post ops with compliance help to supporting those hundreds of people who have been rendered less healthy by this surgery than they were as fat people.The gastric bypass is not reversible so people have one chance to make their decision. I have seen countless people make that decision NOT in fully informed consent, in which case, that decision often ruins their lives and their health even if they do get take down surgery.

I am not sure what was objectionable to in my posts - perhaps you can give me some specifics. I have tried to be utterly respectful of people and have not posted anything really strong about the repercussions. And everything I have posted I have been careful to post the cites, also. Some patients may not like hearing the informed consent information but the fact remains that those who do comply with things like B12 shots, can make the difference between sickness and health, and even life and death in their WLS journeys.

I am not sure how I came upon this BBS because I have had the link for some time. Someone forwarded me the newsletter which appeared to be asking folks to post here and I was intrigued by the BBS and the posts on "Big Medicine".

You asked where I am in my "weightloss journey". I am done. I lost 27 lbs via Weight Watchers (started in 2002) which reduced my BMI from 40 to 35 or something like that. Then my body stopped losing. And then on the same amount of points I lost the weight on, I regained... 53 lbs. WithOUT overeating, with restricting my diet to NO FAST FOOD, NO junk food and still counting points AND exercising cardio daily (40-70 minutes, 7 days a week since 1994)! So then I did some research and found out that Dr Rudy Leibel, obesity researcher, had identified 4 hormones the body produces when people are trying to maintain a weight lower than their bodies want... these hormones not only make the person feel fatigued and voraciously hungry (Gina Kolata calls this type of hunger "PRIMAL HUNGER" in her book just published "RE-THINKING THIN") but also can force a weight gain whether the person overeats or not.

I am now 62 years old, with a BMI of 43 weighing 263 lbs at 5'5" and totally healthy because I STILL am exercising daily, can do yoga poses and pilates, can ride a scooter etc. I still count my points daily, eat very healthy with no fast food, junk food, no soda or alcohol or artificial sweeteners or chemicals and slightly restrict my calories for health reasons (about 1600-1800 calories a day). This restriction does NOT cause weight loss in me however.

I thought of filling all this out in the profile but wondered if this information would prejudice people against what I had to say, after all, should not my information be judged on the accuracy and not on my being in the 95 percent of the public who cannot keep off the weight? Which according to Rudy Leibel and others is not a lack of character but rather a physical thing?

My website is an informed consent website so obviously if informed consent information is not encouraged here, I could not, in good conscience, give you a link there (it gets about 10,000 hits a week and is sanctioned by 5 weight loss surgery surgeons). However, if I have received an erroneous impression about your feelings about informed consent information and support of patients who are having problems with the surgery, I will be most happy to give you a return link!

[BreeChick]

I think informed consent info is great and helps keep the perspective. I've heard too many times too count from posties only 3 -6 mos post who say online and IN PERSON "this is the easiest thing I ever did!" and it scares the crap out of me to hear that.

We have a responsibility to make informed decisions about what we choose to do when choosing to have this surgery and it IS a choice indeed. It comes with responsibilities and rules that we gotta stick with if we want to stay healthy long term. It's not the cure all at all.

bree