Any Regrets????

For those who have had surgery, do you wish you did not have surgery? If yes, why?  If you have had surgery and are glad you did, why are you glad?  Just want to hear both sides to bariatric surgery.  I am going to see my surgeon for the first time and I want to be well informed from people who have had surgery.

My only regret is not doing this sooner. That being said though, I think things happen when and where they do for a reason and this was my time. I have not one reason to look back on this with regret. Hope you have the same experience.

I have no regrets and also wish I'd done it sooner. This surgery is a gift but its success takes work on our part.

What I will say is pay attention in the classes. Learn about mindful eating and head hunger and develop strategies to deal with them. The surgery is an amazing tool but it only works if you learn how to deal with cravings and emotional eating and all those things that contributed to our obesity in the first place. All those classes that AHS make us take are worth every minute!!  Our sleeve is small but you can still put crap into it. You really need to be prepared to change how and what you eat. Things like pasta, potatoes, rice and bread need to become more like treats and protein is always your first thought, then veggies. It's not a difficult transition because you're not hungry. It's when you're further out that it gets easier to consider eating the bad carbs and they go down easier. 

You must take vitamins every day for the rest of your life because our food intake is too little to meet those needs. Same with calcium and possibly iron supplement. Again, not a big deal, its just vitamins, but its non-negotiable. You will need to commit to drinking at least 2L water per day and some kind of exercise. I have a treadmill and enjoy walking. You do not have to become a gym rat. Just movement.

You will have more energy and a lightness than you ever thought possible. It's a great feeling to lose most or all of your excess weight, euphoria.  It takes work. Only your stomach is operated on, not your head. I think of it like a marriage or relationship: its a wonderful thing and life changing but you only get out what you put in, and, not everyday is a honeymoon but its so worth it. The sleeve is the best thing ever!

I also wish I had had the surgery sooner. Which makes me kind of laugh to say since I have had such a rough go of it so far. Even with every single obstacle I have had to go over and the ones I am still struggling with right now, I do not regret this. Sometimes, I feel close to. But that is because this is hard. This is not the easy way out. You don't have surgery and then the fat just melts away. There is a lot of work that needs to go into preparing for this before hand and then a hell of a lot of work that goes into it afterwards. I am three weeks post op and still figuring this out. I have cried and I have wanted to just give up, but I don't regret it. 

Thanks for helping make this a little less scary.  I will have the bypass as I am a diabetic and having parents die early because of this disease makes the surgery more urgent.