Question for people who are post surgery

I am scheduled to have surgery on June 25th, and keep going back and forth as to whether I want to have the surgery.

I have some concerns, and just want to make sure I am 100% decided before I go through with it. In my head, I keep saying "did I really try everything that is out there to lose weight" Has anyone else had those same feelings prior to surgery?

Also, I wanted to get some feedback, on how it has been in social settings. I am still young, and like to have fun with friends and family, and wanted to find out how social interactions have changed for people, going out to dinner etc?

Sorry if these questions are lame- but they are general concerns of mine

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer!

Hi there..  You need to be at peace with your decision.. I can just tell you it is SUPER personal.. for me.. I ONLY regret waiting so long and not doing something sooner.. I love my new life.. my healthy outlook & the ability to do SO MUCH MORE..  I also understand how SERIOUS this decision is.. and how FOR THE REST of my life I need to take vitamins, FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE i need to eat right... eat protein first.. exercise regularly.. visit my doc regularly.. and DRINK WATER regularly..  again.. its MY decision.. and your decision mut be YOURS.. read profiles.. the good the bad & the ugly.. so you can get an honest look at how this will change your life & your family around you.. its NOT AN EASY ROUTE..  you MUST work.. you must believe & you MUST be strong..  Good Luck to you. H

Great response, Helen!  I couldn't have said it better. WLS is a very personal choice and one has to live with it the rest of their life.  How are you?  Will I see you at Craig Park when it happens??? JudyAnne

Hey Miss Judy.. yes.. I will be helping with Craig park ... so when we doing lunch .. school is almost out & yet agin.. we havnt spent any time together.. I do have a project coming up that maybe your students would be interested in..  community service hours for those future 8th graders..  Call me at the Teen Center..  H

Thank you for your response! you are right it is a personal decision, and I know I am ready for al ife change, I just want to make sure I understand the daily commitment. Can you go through a typical day, and talk about your meals, etc throughout the day? Thanks!

sure.. keep in mind I AM 3 years out.. so I am sorta different then recent ops..  I drink at least 6oz of water first thing.. then after a shower.. some coffee w non dairy creamer 7 1 packet of spenda..  breakfast is usually at work or on the way there.. its a bannana and yogurt or banna n strign cheese or when Im really hungry yogurt n granola..  about 10am I eat a snack.. string cheese or jerky.. or fruit if I have it here..  lunch is pretty much whatever I have here.. a lean cuisine or we go out.. I eat pollo loco often..  subway.. or a salad from this salad spot we have.. the amounts just vary on how hungry i am .. i do have to forcemyslf to stop.. cuz I could eat if I let me.. and I ALWAYS have something sweet.. its just my sweet tooth.. usually baby animal crackers.. or piece of candy .. not the best choices but I do..  I always have a little afternoon snack too.. I try for protein but its usually fruit ..  all day long I have this 32 oz water container on my desk.. and in between I am drinking it.. either plain or w crystal light flavors.. I come in to a full one.. then the "goal" is to fini**** before lunch & then 1 more before snack & the last one before I go home or I take a water bottle on the road .. I HAVE to get at least 100 oz of water in cuz I am marathon training.. but I am hoping to stick with this water routine.. I can toattally tell the difference on the weekends if I do not properly hydrate.. key idea is as soon as its empty.. get up and go fill it..   now.. there are good weeks and bad weeks.. some weeks snacks are dumb donuts that people bring in the office.. but its MY choice to be bad.. I try not to but I am human.. Oh.. vitamins.. I take a multi in the mornign... then caliuym mornign snack & anoterh multi lunchtime. & b-12 twice a week.. iron is usually in eveing time  hope that helps..  also.. just as an fyi-- I drin****asionally.. I go to happy hour and I drink beer or martinis...

Hi and congrats on your date. H. is right. this is a totally personal decision. As I was trying to make the decision to even pursue this surgery, I wrote out a history of my diet and exercise plans, how much I lost/regained, etc. It was then i realized I simply couldn't do it on my own. But remember, this isn't a one time shot to lose the weight. This is for the rest of your life (and you have a long life ahead of you.) The diet modification are surgically imposed in the first year or so, but then you have to take over and keep the weight off. So this isn't instead of a diet and figuring out what made you obese in the first place, it is in addition to. As far as social, in the first year, I'd break into a sweat if I was around say coworders at a meal. What would or would not sit well in my pouch. Now, 4 years out, its no big deal. Wishing you well, Rachel

I am 5 years post op and what I did find out was that being SOCIAL means paying attention to the people and events around me instead of being focused on eating or drinking. And maybe that is what is SUPPOSED to happen in social settings anyway. Your concerns arent lame at all ... they are REAL. I used to love to go out to eat because I could scarf down A LOT OF FOOD. I had to give it real thought... what does going-out-to-eat MEAN to me. If it means "spend time with people I enjoy" - that never goes away. But on a purely selfish level, I dont have the same enjoyment in eating....becaus I am full very fast. (compared to the 269 lbs me) I am a size 8/10 now and even bought my latest pants in the childs department. I eat enough to keep myself a healthy size 8. That means less than half of what I USED to eat. You are lucky to be able to HAVE the surgery and I STILL feel lucky that I had the surgery. Not everyone has that option because they dont have the money to pay for the surgery or their insurance doesnt cover it. Yes its important that you try everything else first. Surgery should be a last choice, but it works if you have a very experienced surgeon with a fine track record with no deaths and a very low complication rate, post op.

Hi! It's such a hard decision to make.  I am only 5 1/2 months out, but for me it has been very positive.   I did try really hard to lose weight without surgery, spent a lot of time at Weigh****chers.  I actually had some success with Weigh****chers, but would lose my self-control and binge, too. What finally helped me know that this was the right thing to do was the death of my brother.  He always suffered with drug addiction, much like I suffered from food addiction.  He was actually very receptive to treatment, was always willing to go into rehab when things got too bad, would go to 12 step meetings, etc.  But at 47 years old he accidentally overdosed on methadone.  I had always just assumed that he would get and stay clean eventually, because he tried so hard.  But he didn't.  I realized that I had always thought the same thing about myself, that if I just kept trying, I would eventually lose the weight.  Then I realized that I might die before that happened. I realized that if there had been a surgery that would have given my brother a tremendous advantage in his fight against addiction, everyone would have supported him, and none of us would have thought of it as the "easy" way out, and if anyone did, who cared?  So I decided that it was OK for me, too.  I haven't looked at surgery as a "magic pill", but just an advantage.  I know that I will probably always struggle with my weight, but I also know that I a much better chance of living longer. As for social situations, some things bothered me at first, like sitting there and not eating the chips and salsa while others did.  But pretty soon you get creative and you figure out ways to work around your restrictions (like bringing pork rinds to a restaurant to replace the chips!), and I've found that I really can eat anywhere, because everywhere has some type of grilled chicken!  Carnitas at mexican restaurants are my favorite!  And when you don't get any rice and beans with it, I think they tend to give you bigger portions of meat!  I guess you just get used to it, and that feeling of being deprived goes away. I'm sure you will make the right decision for yourself!

hi! i can say that social situations improve drastically. Because you no longer will be thinking "crap! will i fit on this ride? or in this booth?" and stuff like that. as far as food goes its definately cheaper and you can have almost anything (well just cuz you CAN doesnt mean you should lol) except some ppl cant tolerate sugar too well. you will have more energy to be social too. And usually more confidence. And yes, everyone has had those thoughts. but when the risks/life style changes out weigh the benefits (especially health wise) its worth it. I never had the "buyers remorse" but i know having it is also common. Everyone is different and wls may not be for everyone, but as for me and most everyone here you will see that we are all happy we did it and most of us wish we did it earlier.