Question

What do you wish you had known before surgery, about the results of surgery, that you didn't find out until after you had the surgery.
This question makes sense to me.
Jan

I am now anemic.I also am cold all the time.Even after exercise I do not sweat anymore.I am sooooo excited for you Jani.How are you?Two more days and you will be on the losers bench also.Congrats!

I've not been able to donate blood in the past couple of years, because they said I barely had enough iron to sustain myself, let alone give it away.  I guess I'll be on iron supplements for the rest of my life.  I can't imagine not sweating anymore.  I'm like a sweat hog now.
Can't wait, the countdown is almost over.  I'm really excited, not too scared right now.

I agree with the cold all of the time. I too am anemic even taking prescription iron. We were on a motorcycle ride this past Sunday and my hubby and everyone else I sae was in short sleeves or a tank top...I had on long sleeves and almost my leather jacket...my hands were freezing....

I've made it a practice not to ride my Harley when it's hot out, because I sweat too much and it runs into my eyes.  I usually ride in my tank top, although it's not really safe and has no protection what so ever, but I just don't want to sweat.

I agree on the not safe...but, the sun just feels so awesome.....

Hi Jan.  I always dread when a prebie asks this question.  I feel obligated to answer just because I didn't hear this before I had my surgery.  But, it's kind of a downer answer.  You have to remember that my experience is just that...mine.  We all have a different experience with WLS.  I do find, however, that on this forum, there are a lot less "not so successful" cases that post.  It seems that if you aren't doing well you don't want to post around a bunch of people that are. 

Ok, that being said, here is what I wish I knew:  I wish I knew that there was a potential for this to not work out as well as I had hoped.  I envisioned myself in a bikini at 1 year out and never ever having to be fat again.  I thought that  with the pouch being so small I wouldn't be hungry, and as long as I was smart and didn't go right back to my bad eating habits that life was going to be great.

I am 3 years out now.  I stopped losing at about 16 months after surgery.  I have been consistently gaining weight for the past 18 months.  So far, I have gained almost 30 lbs. since my 1 year post op visit.  I am hungry all the time.  I have to watch every morsel I eat.  I have hardly any restriction now as far as the pouch goes.  I can eat a lot of food, but of course stop myself for fear of gaining more weight.  Let me just say also that I consider myself a pretty knowledgeable person.  I don't eat pizza, ice cream and Pepsi all day and think that I should be losing weight just because I had surgery.  I watch what I eat and I exercise.  I have been through counseling and know the difference between head hunger and real hunger.

So in summary, I wish someone would have told me that it isn't all a bed of roses.  Some people lose a lot of weight and keep that restricted feeling for a long time.  I didn't talk to anyone beforehand that had any issues.  All I saw was skinny bods and people that hated to eat.  (I hadn't found OH yet).  I don't like that I had my guts rearranged and went through a year of everyone looking at me weird and my family getting upset to just be still fat.  That's not to say that I'm not glad I'm not 320 lbs. any more.  I really am grateful for that.  I don't think I would feel as let down as I do now if I had known there was a chance that I would be "one of those people". 

Also, if you are doing this just to look better.....oh man, that's not realistic.  I actually looked WORSE for a long time.  My pudgy little face didn't have any wrinkles because the fat filled them out.  Once I lost a big chunk of weight, my face got really thin and looked kind of weird.  I lost most of my hair in the front (surgery kick-started the hereditary hair loss).  My boobs were like two deflated balloons hanging down to my belly button.  My skin on my legs looks like melted candle wax.  Instead of fat upper arms, I now have giant bat wings!!  Again, glad to be healthier, not so glad to have all of this skin hanging all over.  Except for my TT....that's long gone!

Are you sorry you asked this question?  LOL

Brenda, thanks so much for your honesty.  My cousin had RNY three years ago.  At my son's wedding two years ago I actually cried when I saw her, I was so happy for her.  She looked like a new person...and happy too.  Well, her happiness broke up her relationship, because her long time partner was going thru dialysis and he was always down, while she was always up.  It just faded away.  She has now found a new man and they have just so mu*****ommon.  She's happy and relaxed and I think has gained back about 30 pounds (she says 20, but it looks more like 30 to me).  She's definately not the person she was at 326.  I've seen her eat, and the last time it was a hotdog, a bag of chips and a piece of cake.  I was actually shocked at those choices.  I wonder if it's being happy and content again.  I've heard statistically that people with WLS tend to have a higher percentage of divorce.  I've been married 34 years and will do everything in my power not to have this WLS destroy my marriage, that's just not me.  I didn't realize this fact until my cousin told me of her problems.
The major reason for this surgery is health reasons.  The only co-morbidity I don't have is sleep apnea.  The looking better is a bonus.  My sister died at age 60 from heart disease and diabetes, I don't want that to happen to me.  Especially now that I have a grandchild due in December.  We find out on the 28th what the sex is.  Now I've got something else to count down to.
I'm never sorry I ask a question on here.  Everyone is a wealth of personal knowledge and if one person experiences it, maybe someone else will too.
Thanks again.
Jan

On the plus side (no pun intended) it didn't hurt my marriage at all...if you know what I'm sayin' (bowchickawowow) 

I can't stop laughing from Brenda's answer . . . . so true!

I also didn't expect the hanging skin . . some how I just thought it would go away.  . . that the magic skin fairy would come and fix it all.  I think the longer and heavier my stomach got the more depressed I got. 

I will never regret having the surgery, even though I still get sick, am very sugar sensitive and can comb my hair and slap myself in the face at the same time.  My life has chanced for the better - I can keep up with my 4 year old granddaughter and not have to be medicated afterward!

You'll do great - and being here on OH you have already learned that we all have our own issues and this is the place to deal with them.