16 days and counting advice wanted

Kelly,

I think that there are a couple of things that I wish I had known...

You don't have to give up everything forever "I thought I'd never be able to eat this again, so ..." Honestly, I think that they try to scare you into thinking that you'll dump. To be honest, while many of us have some mild dumping, most don't have significant dumping in the long term. This is good and bad news. Good news because you don't have to do anymore of that "Better take one last bite" stuff because most likely you'll be able to have whatever "it" is in MODERATION in the future. That's the really good news. Most of us can have just about anything in MODERATION and that has been what's been so hard in the past, we haven't known how to or been able to be moderate in consuming something we like. The bad news is that you have to be careful and not undo all the good you are going to do with the surgery. Be mindful. Spend this losing time retooling your behavior and arming yourself so that you can and will keep off all the weight you are working so hard to lose.

It will be okay ... I remember thinking at about 10 days and again around a month or so that I can't believe I did this to myself and I didn't realize that I'd never be able to eat normally. Realize that the first few days, weeks and months can be trying and difficult. How trying and difficult really varies a great deal from person to person, but suffice it to say that it will test you. That said, you will get through it, it will be okay and it won't always be 'this hard.' It gets exponentially easier as you get farther out. Realize that the first 6 to 12 weeks are filled with a lot of challenges as you learn to deal with your new pouch, but you will learn and it will ease as the pouch matures... It's not all a case of having to tough it out and learning to 'deal,' because with time, as the pouch matures, to be honest you won't have nearly as many issues with foamies etc... That said, be sure to ready Darcie's post about too much, too fast... and that's a good thing, because it reminds us what we need to do to be and stay successful in the long term.

Wishing you every success as you make your way,