Things I've Learned....

Hey Everyone, I was just reading through all the recent posts and am so incredibly impressed at how great most of us are doing. My surgery was on 4/30/04 and I have gone from 335lbs down to 180lbs and i'm plateaued. My clothing change has been soooooo great. I went from size 28 pants to a size 10-12 pants and from 42DD to 34D. This means I finally get to shop in the regular section! That's been a dream of mine for a long time. I still feel like I weigh 335, but i'm told that it will be a while yet before my mind catches up with my body. I started drinking Diet soda a month after my surgery and i've never had an issue from the soda. I know I can tolerate some sugar, but I choose not to do it. If I get myself back into a sugar addiction, then i'll start gaining my weight back and the whole surgery (including life-threatening complications) will have been pointless. People mention dumping, but i've yet to have my first dumping episode. I feel like I have more health issues now than before when I weighed 335. I developed post-surgical ulcers, a panic disorder, insomnia, Fibro-Myalgia, and I shattered my knee back in April. It's funny to think that taking all that weight off actually made me less healthy. I don't regret the surgery by any means, it has changed my life in more ways than I can even mention. A family friend decided to have this surgery after having several long and in-depth conversations with me about my surgery and life since. It feels good to help my friend through this. She came out of surgery great and she has turned in to a great workout partner. In the beginning, I was really scared and didn't know if the surgery was truly the right choice. Some people even tried to tell me I was taking the easy way out (what a crock!). Then, after surgery, I had to be hospitalized for a month due to some serious complications. I was hating life at that point and really regretting the surgery. Now that I look back on that time, I understand why I felt the way I did but I am also so happy that I didn't let my fear get the better of me. I co-run a local WLS support group and am constantly telling the members to vocalize their fears pre- and post-op. You'll never know what you'll be missing if you don't take time to really think about what you're afraid of and talk to someone who has been in your shoes. Anyway, enough of my rambling....CONGRATULATIONS to everyone for their amazing successes!!! Tracy 335 / 180

Hi Tracy...Wow, What a journey thus far. Congrats on your successes (they weight loss and overcoming your challenges!) Good on you for sharing your journey through a support group. I think it is so important for our continued success, and it is also important to give back. In health, Rachel