Good article on WLS aftermath

http://www.showmenews.com/2004/Oct/20041010Show001.asp From the other WLS support page! Ann 79 lbs GONE!

An interesting article. I wanted to give him a big hug...and then a big slap upside the head. (not sure either would help though) I hope he gets the help he needs and succeeds. Goodness knows, we've all faced the demons at least once. Thanks for sharing.

I was aggravated by that articule. That man has problems and needs to get to his phycic doc ASAP. I'm surprised that the issues didnt come out during his evaluation. I am not sure if I'm one of the lucky ones but I've not craved things that I use to survive on before the surgery. Lord knows I'm not perfect and have tried things that I shouldn't but its a bite, a sip, a taste an it stops at that. I do know that I am very lucky in that I do not have problems with dumping. Only one time when I had a sugary 1/4 cup of a slurpy from 7-eleven. And it was a sligth tummy ache. I just feel different about food now. And I plan. I plan my meals so that when I'm at work I have things that are good for me. On the rare occasions that I'm without due to working late I carry a protein bar. I am in sales so Im on the road all day. I go past tjhose fast food restaurents too. There are some things there that can be used in a pinch. But I don't think chili only weeks afer surgery wouldhave been one of my choices! Good luck & god bless that man, pam

I thought it was a good and honest article. I have been a periodic binge eater all of my life and a fast food patron. I know that food is an addiction for me...I also gather that WLS is a physical tool that basically will FORCE me to stop and consider what I am eating and basically give me a grace period of weight loss and a chance to change my head...which unfortuantely will NOT be altered with a scalpel..WLS will buy me TIME to change and reward me with intitial fast weight loss. The man was just honest about tastes and desires that will not go away at the drop of a hat. No one got to be a candidate for WLS by being a model of compliance. I have been obsessed with food as an obese person in one way or the other...using it to celebrate, to calm and sedate..to escape...after I have WLS I want to be successful and change my head...but I do NOT want to be OBSESSED yet again and PREOCCUPIED with FOOD...how little..how much..when..where...etc...and I see that so much around the boards...life STILL revolving around FOOD..just in a different context... I want to be FREE of that...to eat and enjoy food in a normal way but mostly to get on with LIFE! Weigh****chers used to drive me crazy...the old version...kept you playing and measuring food for hours...studying portions, lists etc....I could eat 6 ounces of turkey while carving off the 2 ounces I was supposedly having for a "meal"!!! Watch a diet show..inevitably it will speak of weight loss and then lead you into a fake kitchen to play with FOOD! Ye Gods! Alcoholics dont get out of rehab and then go to a school for mixology! But..I digress...I think the man was honest and real...I like Wendy's chili now and will like it a year from now...my head will have to adjust...the man seemed to have a need to test the tool..and was HONEST about it. I applaud him! I hope someone tells him about OA..it might help him a lot in conjunction with his tool and in changing his head about food. I wish I could lose without having surgery, what success I had was always during periods of abstinance with OA...unfortunately for me, I am a chronic food relapser, so I need the tool as well as the Steps to buy me the chance to turn my head around...50 years of habit will not go away overnight. Amen... Sher' Sher'

Agreed. I think his particular issues 'slipped by' because he is a professional counselor, so he knows 'what not to say'. The fact that he's hiding his actions from his doctor and his dietician is just a display of self hate. He needs to work this stuff out in counciling. It's OK to have food demons...yes, we all do. But, to act on them so readily, so REPEATEDLY (how many times is going to have to puke to learn a lesson?), so often and SO SOON after surgery is a MEAN streak of self destructiveness. That comes from somewhere. His job is to work out where and how to change it. Alas- I don't see long term success in his future, unless he does.

Hi! Yep! You are so right on! I spaced out on the fact that he is a counselor...but let me tell you, in that world it is often a case of "Physician heal thyself"....I have been knocking around in that world for about 30 years now ( working)..and yep...he likely knew exactly what to say and seems to need help with the self destructive compulsion part of the illness. Personally I abhor throwing up...(don't know many who like it)...but nausea and hurling are right up there with having my fingernails pulled out on my "Things I hate to do" list! I suspect he has gotten tons of feedback from participating in that article and I optimistically hope some of it was helpful and useful to him. When I get my surgery done I will be tippy toeing VERY lightly around what goes in my mouth..I am just SO READY for a different LIFE..I absolutely hit bottom with food addiction and am concerned for my health and determined to treat myself better and respectfully. I look forward to being able to buy nice clothes off the rack and have more energy for myself and my dog. I am just sick and tired of being sick and tired and sorry it took so many years to get here, but I just have to bloom where I am planted! Hope you all have a great day! Sher'

LOL, you sound JUST like me. Me? puke? NO WAY! I'd rather suffer! We have a lot in common. It's good getting to know you. I think you're going to do well in this journey. you have a great attitude...and that's a BIG part of the battle. Lisa