QUESTION OF THE DAY

Hi there friends. Well here it goes.... 1) As your anniversary of your WLS approaches, are you getting excited as you look back at before and after? 2) Was this surgery all you anticipated, or are you a bit disappointed in your decision? 3) Do you look back often at this time last year? 4)Do you have any comments you would like to make? Have a great day guys. Enjoy life and be heathly which is the most important. Lorraine 1)As your anniversary of your WLS approaches, are you getting excited as you look back at before and after? As my aniversary approaches I am getting so excited, Just knowing I will be able to and enjoy the holidays more makes me excited. I look at my before and wonder why did I wait so long? 2) Was this surgery all you anticipated, or are you a bit disappointed in your decision? I am not disappointed in my decision, just that I waited so long. It is never too late to enjoy life now though. 3) Do you look back often at this time last year? I do look back at this time last year. My surgery was supposed to be on Nov 17th and I was denied. I was so nervous fighting with the insurance company I would up taking tranquiliters from anxiety. I knew I had to keep fighting. I think about at this time I was getting all my liquids in the house for my upcoming surgery. 4)Do you have any comments you would like to make? Yes I do have some comments I would love to make. To anyone contemplating this surgery I would recommend it highly. Yes I was nervous, and I was alot, but I knew I was making the right decision.

1) As your anniversary of your WLS approaches, are you getting excited as you look back at before and after? Not really. I seem to have stablized and since it is at a lower weight than I had hoped for, I'm not too thrilled. 2) Was this surgery all you anticipated, or are you a bit disappointed in your decision? Not in the decision, but a little in my outcome. I will work harder, though, to get better at it. 3) Do you look back often at this time last year? Yes. With gladness that I'm not there. 4)Do you have any comments you would like to make? To any wanting the surgery? GO FOR IT!!

1) I don't know if "excited" is the word -- maybe "amazed" is a better adjective to describe how I feel as my 1 yr. post anniversary approaches. I am amazed at how good I feel, how I look, the fact that I have a normal Blood Pressure, no acid reflux and I could just go on and on..... 2) I am not dissappointed in my decision for the surgery. I think my results have been what I hoped for but never actually believed I would achieve them. 3) I still remember my fears of the surgery but I also remember my battle with the medical problems I feared would only get worse with time. 4) For any preops, I have always said that I could not help anyone with the decision for WLS -- that is personal but once the decision was made to have the surgery I could be that person's biggest encourager. Have a great day all! LuvitsunnyV@goal

Good morning Lorraine! I hope you are doing well. Here are my responses to your Questions of the Day. 1) As your anniversary of your WLS approaches, are you getting excited as you look back at before and after? I will be very excited to have reached that one-year milestone (even more excited if I can get down to 159, a "normal BMI"). I look and FEEL like a completely different person. People who don't see me for several months at a time don't even recognize me. It's amazing the difference. I can't believe it myself, especially when I think about the inches lost around my hips, waist and thighs. OMG! 2) Was this surgery all you anticipated, or are you a bit disappointed in your decision? It has been so much more than I anticipated. Before surgery I was hoping and praying that by 18 months out I would reach 180 and that would be my "goal". I past that last month and my new goal is around 140. I am not disappointed with my decision at all and only wish I had pursued this surgery months sooner. I am happy as a clam. 3) Do you look back often at this time last year? Almost every day. I think last year at this time, I couldn't do this particular thing. Last year at this time, I was so unhappy and ashamed of myself. I would avoid people like the plague, especially visitors to our office. I would fake an illness just to avoid seeing them. Now, I can't wait to see people! It's a total 360. I also get sad when I look back because I think to myself, why Kim, why did you let yourself get so big? Why didn't you catch yourself before gaining almost 200 pounds in only 11 years (average of 18 lbs a year!)? The only answer I can give myself was that I had no "control mechanism" and I was always hungry and could eat large, very large portions of food and it wasn't a "failure" on my part. 4) Do you have any comments you would like to make? Just that, in my opinion, getting the maximum results from this surgery is not easy. I have worked really really hard to shed each one of the 179 lbs that I have lost so far. I watch every single thing that goes into my mouth and count calories (okay, I am not always perfect nor do I strive to be "perfect", I'm human!!), I exercise a lot and I battle with head hunger on a daily basis. I will need to do these things for the rest of my life as my body will gain the weight back if I overdo the calories and if I don't exercise. I never want to gain the weight back, never, never. I encourage people to lose as much weight as possible before the surgery. I didn't and actually gained about 5 lbs between my consultation and surgery (actually 10 lbs but was able to lose 5!). I think okay, if I lost 10 or 20 lbs before surgery I would be a lot closer to goal right now. Nothing I can do about it today but it's something I definitely regret and would change if I had to do things again. Have a great day Lorraine!

1) As your anniversary of your WLS approaches, are you getting excited as you look back at before and after? I think I've been excited through out this whole journey thus far. I am amazed at how quickly time has passed and how much I have accomplished in such a short time. It has taken less than a year to gain my life back...now that's a miracle! 2) Was this surgery all you anticipated, or are you a bit disappointed in your decision? This surgery is more than I anticipated. I was told I'd only get down to about 220 lbs. and this morning I sit here at 201.5 lbs. (sorry Kim* had to weigh) so I am quite happy. I guess the one thing I was not prepared for was all this hanging skin. I am not happy about having to, one day soon, pay for all the plastics that I need. However, I am never disappointed in my decision to have this surgery. 3) Do you look back often at this time last year? It's funny you should ask...I have a picture of myself on picture trail standing with my kids and DH. It was taken the weekend before my surgery when we were cutting down our Christmas tree, I am wearing a Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt (my favorite). I lost track of it in my room somewhere and actually thought I had donated it. With the weather being sooo cold (at least to me) I've been searching high and low for it. I found it over the weekend and have not worn it since last year. I put that sucker on and I could practically swim in it. It felt so good I wore it all weekend This year when we go cut down our tree I look forward to wearing it again, getting the same shot with me and my family, and posting it up next to my other one on picture trail to compare. So, do I look back often? ...Yes, If I dare forget where I came from how can I be proud of how far I've come?! 4)Do you have any comments you would like to make? Don't think many pre-ops come here so I won't comment or advise them. However, I would like to say that I am so grateful that I found O.H. in the begining of my journey. I remember being pre-op and researching the **** out of this surgery and being so scared. I feel I have found a safe-haven here and alot of supportive, kind, and wonderful people. The fact that we share so much in our successes and in our daily lives is a comfort to those (myself) who, at times, may feel so lost. Thank you, Diane

Hi Diane. Congrats on the .5 lb. You are almost there!!

Hi there guys, Thanks for answering my posts. I like to know how everyone else besides myself feels at this time. As our anniversary aproaches I just want to say good luck to everyone in their WLS journey. I am looking forward to some fun holidays with friends and family. I hope everyone also enjoys themselves with their things they do durning these joyous holidays. Nona I am praying for you daily, Diane you are an Kim you always answer my posts. And to everyone else lets all have a great time with this new year coming. Have a great day guys......Lorraine

Well here it goes.... 1) As your anniversary of your WLS approaches, are you getting excited as you look back at before and after? I am excited for each and every day.I know if not for wls I would be dead. 2) Was this surgery all you anticipated, or are you a bit disappointed in your decision? It is everything and a bag of chips. 3) Do you look back often at this time last year? Yes and it makes me sad to think about everything I was missing 4)Do you have any comments you would like to make? Have a great day guys. Enjoy life and be heathly which is the most important. Lorraine 1)As your anniversary of your WLS approaches, are you getting excited as you look back at before and after? As my aniversary approaches I am getting so excited, Just knowing I will be able to and enjoy the holidays more makes me excited. I look at my before and wonder why did I wait so long? 2) Was this surgery all you anticipated, or are you a bit disappointed in your decision? I am not disappointed in my decision, just that I waited so long. It is never too late to enjoy life now though. 3) Do you look back often at this time last year? I do look back at this time last year. My surgery was supposed to be on Nov 17th and I was denied. I was so nervous fighting with the insurance company I would up taking tranquiliters from anxiety. I knew I had to keep fighting. I think about at this time I was getting all my liquids in the house for my upcoming surgery. 4)Do you have any comments you would like to make? Yes I do have some comments I would love to make. To anyone contemplating this surgery I would recommend it highly. Yes I was nervous, and I was alot, but I knew I was making the right decision.

1) As your anniversary of your WLS approaches, are you getting excited as you look back at before and after? I believe I've been excited for the past 3 months. I realize I really am doing this and people are telling me I'm too skinny! Me! Skinny! 2) Was this surgery all you anticipated, or are you a bit disappointed in your decision? WLS was more than I anticipated. I cannot believe I have a real life, feel great, look great. 3) Do you look back often at this time last year? Yes, I have been looking back. Actually someone even reminded me how depressed I was last October because I couldn't do anything. I really journalled so I have a diary of what those days were like last year. 4)Do you have any comments you would like to make? I love life!