It’s time to clear the air. There are many misconceptions about bariatric surgery that cause people to be scared of having the procedure.

Let’s focus on a few of those misconceptions:

1. Having bariatric surgery is the “easy way out.”

This is probably the most annoying comment that I have ever heard. To be honest, I used to be one of those that felt this way as well. It is so easy to judge, especially when you don’t know all of the facts. People assume that the surgery is the easy way out because they don’t understand the effort that goes into bariatric surgery. If you don’t commit, the surgery won’t work. You have to put in work and it is definitely not easy. The emotional and physical changes that your body goes through after surgery are really hard. It takes a great deal of patience, dedication, and self-control to begin your new lifestyle after bariatric surgery. It is by no means an easy way out, it’s just a different journey.

 

2. Bariatric surgery is not covered by insurance

Some people think that bariatric surgery is cosmetic and therefore is not covered by insurance. This is false. In fact, most insurance companies have some sort of policy that includes bariatric surgery. There are of course different guidelines to determine if you are eligible, so check with your insurance company to see what those are.

 

3. Bariatric surgery is very dangerous.

This is a misconception that used to scare me out of having the surgery. I had always been told that this type of surgery was extremely risky and many people died from it. I finally did research and found out that it wasn’t an extremely dangerous surgery after all. Obviously, with any surgery there are risks and a lot of it depends on your current health and other factors, but I truly believe that people make it seem a lot more dangerous than it really is. Talk to your doctor about the stats for surgery and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

4. You can’t get pregnant after bariatric surgery.

I am not sure how this theory came about. I guess people assume that because the surgery changes your anatomy, it changes your ability to get pregnant. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. Due to extreme weight loss, many women see a spike in their fertility after weight loss surgery, which means it’s easier for them to get pregnant. I was one of those lucky individuals who got pregnant 1-year post-op!

 

5. Bariatric surgery will keep you from overeating.

 At first, yes this is true. However, as time goes on it will get easier to eat more. You have to maintain control because the restriction aspect of surgery will start to wear off. You can certainly overeat, especially if you trick the system and eat smaller portions over the course of many hours.

Do your research and know what is fact versus fiction when it comes to bariatric surgery!