Would you do it again?

I am going to give a different answer then everyone else before me...(Then again - I have always had to march to a different drummer!) Would I do it again? I honestly don't know the answer... I love losing the weight....I am down to 195 - which is what I weighed 15 years ago right after I had my "baby" boy. I am skinner then I was when I met my wonderful husband. I can feel my ribs and feel my hip bones (DH is complaining that I am getting bony...LOL) BUT - I am throwing up on average once a day - if not more often. I can't eat the foods that are part of day to day life for my family- like tortillas. (I can not begin to express what it is like to not be able to eat a tortilla - you have to have grown up eating them every day to understand the trauma/grief at not being able to have them) I can't eat anything with more then 3 grams of sugar as I will end up dumping. And - trust me - 3 grams of sugar is NOT a lot...It is not just sweets that have been eliminated from my life forever - but a lot of foods!!! I have an older brother (much older - he is 18 years older then me) who begged me to try a really strict diet and exercise for 6 months before I had surgery and I was stubborn and refused to do that...I can't help but wonder if I had truly dieted and exercised - what the results would have been. (Come on guys - how many of us really dieted and really exercised the way we needed to before surgery? Very few I would be willing to bet.) Bottom line - I don't know if I would do it again. Reality is that I can't undo what I have done - so I have to learn to live with it. But - I truly wish I had been forced to wait longer from approval time to surgery date...I don't think I was really aware of what the life changes would be. Anne 260/195/150

I would do it again in a heartbeat! I did not have any problems and feel awesome! Jen -54lbs

yes i would do it again in a hearth beat today iam much healthier, iam not choking in my sleep anymore and gasping for breath, i am sleeping better, this past 2 month has been the best sleep i'va had in years. so yes i would do it again

In a heartbeat!!!! I woke up from surgery on a respirator, but got weaned off very quickly. At 12 days post-op I had a GI bleed and almost died. I recovered. I developed cellulitis at my incision line and was on antibiotics for 2 1/2 weeks and had to have an incision and drainage procedure. I recovered and my incision healed without further problems. As of this morning, I have lost 73 lbs. I can sleep lying on my back. I can fasten my seatbelt without assistance. I can sit close enough to the table that I do not have to lean forward to reach my food when eating. I fit in chairs at the laboratory and the doctor's office. I cannot eat anything with more than 7 grams of sugar, but that is all right. I cannot stand the taste of milk (I tolerate lactose just fine, but I no longer like the taste). Lettuce gives so much gas that I eat very small portions, but other fresh vegetables do just fine. I love chicken (I never could stand the taste or texture of the meat). I have learned to recognize the feeling when I have eaten sufficient. My life is so much better. I have really dieted an exercised in the past--I used to bicycle 10 miles every day and 50 miles each weekend day. I weighed 275 lbs and never lost an ounce. I counted calories faithfully--no more than 1000 per day--while I was doing all that biking and never lost. I have been overweight since I was in high school and tried every diet imaginable and maybe would lose 10-20 lbs. I no longer count calories or fat grams--only protien grams. I can walk 1/2 mile at a time (many of you may remember I started with 1/2 block) and I do that twice a day. I sleep better than I have in years. I still have to use my C-Pap, but hope to be off it by the first of the year. Yes, yes, yes. I would do this again in a heartbeat. Thank you, Lord, for such a wonderful surgeon as Dr. Cooper. And thank you , Lord, for so many supportive people on this site. Monna -73 lbs.

A hundred times YES. I would do it again and in fact recommend it. I am very fortunate though. I have vomitted once since surgery and that was only because I didnt chew a piece of chicken well. I tolerate everything that I have tried just fine. I have not "cheated" so to speak with sugar or anything. But I eat a wide variety from all food sources and am full and satisfied. Dont get me wrong, the candy looks good at the store, but not that good!!!! I feel awesome with this surgery. I have lost 92 pounds in 9 months and that is combining my presurgery weight loss with my surgery weight loss. I've lost 59 since surgery. It's just amazing!! Michelle -59 since surgery

I had no choice before the surgery. I was going to die with my health going downhill big time. I have had several complications. First an intestinal stricture and kinked intestine-- was scoped and expanded (3 days in hospital); then an ulcer from the first scope and acute dehydration, starvation, and anemia-- nearly died (14 days in hospital); now my third scope shows the ulcer is doing well, but my staples have broken loose causing strictures in my pouch. They were able to remove two, but not the others. I am getting use to agony when I eat and vomiting. Still working on getting in enough protein and liquid. I have lost 56 pounds, which my surgeon considers good in light of all the complications. Even when I was in the hospital near death I told my family that it was my only choice for life and that I would do it again. I only pray that my complications would soon end so that I can reach the full potentials of this surgery.

Yes, I would do it again in a heartbeat....just wish I would have done it several years earlier. I'm off all my meds but my vitamins but that is not a problem as far as I'm concerned. I'm down 3 dress sizes and working on a 4th. I have energy now and can keep up with my seven year old and my son loves his new mommie! Belinda 281/215/135?

Hi Nancy, Absolutely I'd do it again. I just had this conversation with someone last week at work. I'm still having some problems eating certain things. Can't eat red meat still. Last Sunday was the last time I threw up so it is getting easier slowly. I had sashimi for dinner last night and last Saturday night. It was WONDERFUL and I thoroughly enjoyed it and the best part of all was that it's protein!!!!! I've also realized that I do better when I eat my "heavier" foods earlier in the day and eat really light in the evenings. That has made a big difference in my ability to keep things down. Read somewhere here about egg drop soup. Love it!! So does my little stomach. This Friday is my 3 month post-op visit to the hospital and next week is my next appointment with my pcp. Hopefully he'll take me off another of my many meds. I'm down at least 50 pounds and feeling great most of the time. Yesterday went for a window shopping spree to Palisades Center Mall. My boyfriend pooped out before I did. Would I do it again? Hell yeah!!! Be well Nancy in North Jersey - - from your North Jersey neighbor, Adrienne

Without a doubt, I would go through this whole experience again. It has been SOOO worth it! Pamela -52

I thank God every day for blessing me with this tool. I went from a very skinny 6 year old to a very chunky 7 year old, and have been fat ever since. Starting at about 11 years old, I started dieting, and have spent the majority of the rest of my life dieting and losing and gaining. Thanks to WLS, now I know the weight I lose is gone forever. There are days when it is hard (I throw up a lot), but I think about when I was dieting before, and that was 100 times harder. This surgery forces you to make good choices--it forces you to control portions--it forces you to lose weight. And, if you do the right things in addition (exercise, drink water, eat protein, etc.), the results are even better. There are things I learned after the WLS that I wish I would have known going into it, but even if I had, I would have still gone forward with the surgery. Physical health is great, but the biggest change for me has been from a mental standpoint. I finally feel good about myself, and am actually starting to get some self esteem. I am thankful that I've had few complications, and am inspired and amazed by people like Nancy and Monna, who despite severe complications still sing the praises of the surgery and are benefitting from it! July Babies rock, and I'm proud of each of you! Keep up the great work!! Jeff -75 (yes, I'm on a plateau and it SUCKS! LOL)