2 Years out.....What Advice would you give to those just starting out

okay everyone we are all 2 years out. If someone were to ask you for advice on this surgery and the two years that follow what would you say? I would say...... Be patient, set small goals. Use the tool like a tool and take care of it. Measure your food even though you don't have too. If you go out to eat ask for a to go box before they give you your meal and put away what you don't need right away. DRINK ALOT OF WATER! Don't even try sugar after surgery. It's not worth knowing if you can tolerate it or not. Learn to love yourself.

I would say never judge yourself by others. We all lose at different rates. And don't expect to lose ALL your weight, because you probably won't. But never stop working the tool of pouch size. Stop before you're full. Nona

NONA The never judge yourself by others was a hard one for me. From the very beginning I felt like everyone was losing weight faster and what was wrong with me. It took awhile for me to realize it's not a contest, I couldn't lose if I did what I was supposed to do but I am SO SO SO Glad that I had this surgery. It truly was a life saver for me and has led to two of the best years of my life!

Lisa, Hi there I will have to agree with Nona. We are all different. I don't really give opinions to anyone about having the surgery. I work in a hospital and see Very Morbidly Obese people who cry.I am going to one of my patients funerals today. He was 40 and about 600 lbs. He had just told me how good I looked last week. He said he would rather die than to give up eating. Now he is gone. That was his choice. I will miss him. We had a young man 23 years old who was 960 lbs. He discussed having the surgery to me and I told him 'FOLLOW YOUR HEART' This surgery has dramaticlly changed my life. I have some regrets especially the social issues and family gatherings. Besides that 'NO REGRETS HERE" (((((((((((((hugs)))))))) TO ALL Lorraine

I did encourage one person to have this surgery and she did just a few months after I did. She didn't take care of herself and she didn't inform her surgeon of problems. She almost died and a local surgeon reversed the procedure and now she weighs more than she did before. So I don't encourage or try to talk friends into it anymore. I just give them support when needed now. I LEARNED MY LESSON!

I always tell others that I can never encourage anyone to have the surgery....that's personal. Individual levels of sacrifice are different and weight loss surgery is not for everyone. But after that decision has been made and WLS is chosen, then I can feel free to be the biggest supporter ever!. luvitsunnyv

I had surgeryw ith an awesome compassionate doc and have encouraged several friends to go to him as well. They have all loved him as well. However, I have a now friend who was an acquaintance and I told ehr there were probably lots of good surgeons and I didn't want o be obnoxious about my own doc being the only good one...anyway she went somewhere else and that has turned out to be a disaster due to this docs "production" line approach to our surgery. She is going to end up going to my surgeon for her followup....Now I will proably be more obnoxious!! So my advice woudl be to make sure your doc is going to take care of you after especially if you have complications.

well I'm with you I see nothing wrong with promoting my surgeon. He did a great job and I think he should be rewarded with free publicity. He changed my life. Too often people will pass along the bad news but they fail to share the good news. Be proud to share your Doctor's success.

Hi Lisa I am 26 months post-op and I have lost over 300 lbs.I have gained so much because of this surgery.I have gained my self esteem back I have regained my health,I was a wreck before this surgery I was on 12 different meds and felt like crap.I have a life now and I am happy for the first time in years and I am living the life I have always wanted to live.So much has changed for me and I know that if I didn't have wls I would be dead by now,I wasn't even living at 600 lbs and didn't leave my house for almost 6 years I watched life go by my window and hated life and wanted to die,I prayed that God would end my misery.I would tell anyone who has thought about wls to do it.I had to risk my life to save it and at 598 lbs wls was a great risk for someone as big as I was on that day.I made it and today I am happy and I thank God for not taking me when I asked him so many times.I wish you all the best of luck and if you ever need advice email me and i'll do my best to help you.Life is good and I am very thankful for Dr John Kelly who saved my life and gave me one back.I hope you all have a great night.......steve

I agree with you, Lisa, totally. I was anal about measuring until it became a ritual. I don't have to measure now because it is routine and I know what foods are not my friends, like sugar, pineapple, pork chops, and any form of carbonation. I will recommend Dr. Myers to anyone but I will not recommend the surgery to anyone without including him. I can only testify to his skills and reputation here in Dallas. I have met many people who went to him for second surgery fixes that other doctors screwed up on. I do tell people to do as I did, research, research, research and do the surgery ONLY for you. You have to be ready for a huge change in your life. I made the decision that I would only do weight loss surgery if I could have the RNY laparoscopic version. I'm glad I did - no pain, no side effects. I could have returned to work almost immediately if I chose to. I didn't because I had to recover from open surgery on my right shoulder caused by a fall prior to my RNY surgery.