does any one regret the surgary?

my mom keeps telling me i should talk to someone *****grets the surgary. Is there any one who does? I have a consult with the surgons nurse to go over my application on 4/21/04.

Rebecca, Please don't give up. I am in the process of going through with the surgery. I had my consult a month ago and although my family is supportive, they had their doubts. I look at it this way, if you want to do this do it. This is about you and if you are headstrung enough, you will do just fine. If you need someone to go through this with you, please feel free to e-mail me as often as you would like. I am very determined and I have done a lot of research about the surgery and the doctor and I feel comfortable. I am almost certain that a lot of my fears are from not being on the other side and I know that's where I want to be. Good luck and please keep in touch. Holly

Rebecca, I hate to tell you this but My Aunt is sorry she had this surgery! She had it in Aug. 2003. She has had alot of trouble with food, and is very depressed. I also lost My sister in Oct 2003 to this surgery, so your mom is right there is reason for concern. Not everyone's surgery go's great. Please make sure You go to a good hospital that has good paitent after care and you have a good doctor. Ask alot of questions, Ask his mortality rate. Please make sure you are as safe as you can be. I wish I knew more about this before my sister had this done. I wish you the best of luck, I will pray for you, I know this is important to you and you health. Kathy

Kathy, Are your family members active with Wings around Atlanta? I wonder if your sister's death was the one I heard about late last year. Regardless, I just want to express my feelings, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Thank you for sticking around here to give your feedback. In your situation, I might be tempted to pull away from WLS related things, not wanting to think about it. We all need to hear the good and the bad and it sounds like your family has had it tough. If you want to pass this on to your Aunt, I also am fighting my way out of depression, even though my surgery went very well. Apparently I was a lot more attached to eating to solve things than I had thought. So when surgery made eating difficult instead of a comfort I just kinda lost it for awhile. My Dr is working with me on antidepressants and another thing I would not have thought about, estrogen! It seems to be helping, so far so good. God bless you and your family, Dawn T

I have NO regrets... best decision I've ever made. You may find some that do regret it, but I don't think you'll find many on here. Of course, this surgery does involve risks, but for most people the benefits far outweigh the risks. I know people who had severe complications, that still do not regret their decision, as they are much better off today. God bless!

Rebecca, You get all the information you need to make the best decision for you. If you can make a sound decision after all the facts then you do what's right for you. Are you going through Obesity Solutions in Gainesville? I am and everyone has been just great, Write down all the things you want to know or want answers to, they will answer them. My visit with Jenny, the dietician, Was great! She answered so many questions I had as far as eating, what I could eat, where I could eat, How my habits would have to change and what things could still be the same!! If you have anything you want to know or ask or if you just want to chat, Let me know I'll be here!!! Good Luck!! Carrie

You could probably find somebody *****grets doing most things but that doesn't make it the wrong choice for you. Remember not everybody is prepared for this surgery going in, and of course they would be unhappy when they find out they can't continue to eat like they always have eaten. Then there are those unfortunate enough to not be able to eat some foods after surgery, etc. Just keep an open mind and ask a lot of questions if you talk to someone who is unhappy with the surgery. I know approximately 200 people in our support group and not one of them is sorry they had the surgery, not even the one that had a leak and spent two months in the hospital. You could probably find others in our area that never attended a support meeting or read about the surgery that are very unhappy but I don't know them. I haven't regretted the surgery for one moment since I had it on 1/20/04. I did a lot of preplanning and knew exactly what I was getting into before surgery. Started practicing eating slowly, chewing well, not drinking with a meal, taking vitamins & calcium, cut out diet cokes before surgery so the adjustment was not really hard after surgery. Dr. Champion in Atlanta did my lap gallbladder & wls on 1/20/04 and I returned to work on 1/26/04 with no problem. I can eat anything I want with no problem (except grits and I haven't tried anything with sugar). I've eaten too fast a couple of times and felt a bit of nausea but it passed within 30 minutes. I can't blame the surgery for something I did to myself. Good luck in finding the right answer for you. It is a serious surgery and not to be taken lightly.