i'm 6 months post-op. here's my pre- and post-op experience!
Hi everyone,
i replied to a post from a member and it was my first post, so i thought i'd paste my experience into its own section. PLEASE READ IT ALL... some bits may not be the way you'd do it, but it can't hurt to keep an open mind.
first of all: i'm 39, female, 5"3', and now 255lbs. i've lost almost 70lbs post-op and i lost almost 35 on my own in the 5 months before surgery. 2 years before surgery, at my heaviest, i was about 355lbs. pre-op, my BMI was still high - 60 - but i had lost almost 60 lbs on my own, and then gained some back again until i fasted (see below). my BMI was 51 around 6 weeks ago so it's a bit lower now. i never got sick from being fat so i don't have to deal with diabetes or high blood pressure or heart issues. i do, however, still use a CPAP at night for sleep and i love it - most of the time. sometimes it feels like there's an alien strapped to my face.
i'm almost 6 months post-op, and i'm doing really well. i did *a lot* of prep work in the year or so before surgery. i found myself having to re-decide to go through with it sometimes... it was like the primitive part of my brain was saying, "oh hell no, you can't live without a stomach, nononoNONO". then i'd re-evaluate and again conclude that the only way to prevent myself from overeating was to remove the thing that caused such agonizing hunger pangs and pains, even when i was full. i needed a failsafe for those times when i am my own worst enemy.
for those of you who are pre-op and having misgivings: don't worry! be excited! the bariatric team here is excellent, in my opinion. make sure you keep your food diary, accept that drastic times call for drastic measures, try your best to let go of any food addictions like fast "food", sugar, margarine, etc.
since animal products cause inflammation in the human body, even if they're lean or whatever, i'd also cut out the dairy, except for the unavoidable dairy and egg protein in the protein shakes. if you smoke, quit. seriously. and go for walks. short, slow, walks are conducive to clear thinking; faster ones with a good music playlist boost your metabolism, your mood, and your sense of control over your body. the more work you do pre-op, the better you will feel post-op. you have to forgive yourself - at least i had to - for getting yourself in this condition, take responsibility, slap a smile on yer face even if it's fake at first, and trust that yes, the surgery works. get some fresh air and sun and get moving, if you can. don't let anyone bring you down. realize that unless it's fresh or frozen fruit and veggies, it's processed crap. wean yourself off your worst enemies. if you "cheat" when you're alone with nobody there to see you eat, know that you are only cheating YOURSELF out of a successful day. i don't drink; i'd suggest that if you do, cut back or stop. empty calories and bad for your body, and your self-control.
last summer, after a LOT of research, i fasted, a true fast - jus****er - for 6 weeks, the first 4 days being brutal as my body burned the remains of sugar (glycogen), then a bit of muscle, then the body fat; then i was in ketosis and i got my mind back but my body was still "noodly" with no stamina. now that i'm post-op, i am sometimes fatigued and a bit noodly-limbed, but i find, and this is the truth, that i feel my best after drinking fresh juice from my juicer (see below). some days all i can stand is water; some days it's Boost; some days it's bites of chicken breast. but the potent fresh juice is like magic. i didn't believe it until i tried it. and i listen to what my body says it needs. real ginger root really helps with nausea; gravol does nothing for me.
i went vegan about 2 years ago and bought myself a proper gym-quality treadmill; i was determined to get this weight off with or without surgery, and i kinda didn't believe that the surgery would ever really happen, let alone relatively quickly (i waited almost a year). i made so many of the necessary lifestyle changes with the support of my family - my mother went vegan too, and my brother and sister-in-law and their 2 1/2 year old daughter. i could not, however, maintain my treadmill walking as i have the same ligament blown in each knee (both ACLs) from years ago when i was a dancer (irony!), before i ate myself into oblivion. so i had to restrict my calories even more; i kept it between 400 and 600 a day, often way fewer. i had to be so disciplined, because for me, if i didn't lose the weight, i was headed for a wheelchair and getting so big they'd have to cut out a wall to pull me out of my house. no orthopedic surgeon would fix my knees if i were morbidly obese. so i may end up getting the ACL repairs. we'll see.
for me, the surgery went well; some pain requiring morphine and some nausea, but after the requisite 2 days i was out on 400mg of ibuprofen, which worked. i haven't had any issues with the incisions, all sealed up, a bit of redness in one scar but it's fading as my abdomen shrinks.
before i forget to mention this: i have not had any problem with my hair thinning or falling out. my skin has cleared - i had some minor acne which made me feel majorly worse about how i looked - and my nails are stronger. so many little things creep up on you as you gain weight; once you start losing the weight, you realize how many issues there really were.
i stayed on a clear fluid diet longer than the team suggested; my pouch did not like many full fluids, except tomato soup for some odd reason. i am still having acid reflux problems and some days i get nausea episodes; i'm seeing my GP and Raleen about these things this week. i listen to my new body: 2 days ago, even a sip of water was making me feel not great, so i stopped drinking. the next day i was fine. some days i even eat scrambled egg whites or a bite or three of chicken breast or whatever beast has been cooked; i'm willing, for a year or so or whatever it takes, to sometimes eat egg products or very lean meats but i STAY THE HECK AWAY FROM DAIRY because it causes so much inflammation in the body. gluten is another nasty thing. it's in everything and we simply aren't built to process all this stuff. we didn't evolve the mechanisms to deal with processed foods and the chemicals in them because they didn't exist. (i am not cowed, pardon the pun, by the north american dairy and meat industries: a human does not need to drink the milk of another animal, especially when it's half-rotten (yogurt) or rotten (cheese). i know many of you would disagree but please do some reading - "The China Study" is an easy read and it's written by a 77-yr old doctor and food researcher and his medical doctor son. watch "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead", "Food, Inc.", "Food Matters", "Supersize Me", etc. (you can download these or google them and maybe find them on YouTube or hosted on another site.)
every day i wake up smaller and the hunger pangs are gone. i do still sometimes want a bite of cake or something, like for my birthday, but i can honestly say the pouch is better to me than my stomach was. and yes i have done a few bad things, like try to eat a few mcnuggets; i barfed them up after 5 minutes. since i hate vomiting, even when it doesn't hurt (for me, it's like my body hits the eject button and it just pops right up, no retching), i avoid what i shouldn't have.
i bought myself a juicer and i highly recommend this to everyone. i should have done it last year pre-op so i could do a juice "fast" (which isn't a true fast). you can juice fresh veg and fruit and get all the fabulous nutrients and soluble fiber (and Yes, a lot of plant protein!!) you need without having to eat a lot of bulk... which we cannot do, post-op. Google some juice recipes and you'll find lots of tasty ones to get started. the Breville brand has the best juicers.
post-op, listen to your body. if you can't tolerate much after surgery, don't agonize over it; wait a bit, maybe a day, and try again. don't force things. you will try things and you will vomit. no biggie. for me, most days are very good now but i do still have bouts of reflux and nausea. it's all par for the course. your body will change shape so fast, and your metabolism will adjust, and you'll notice a difference almost right away. avoid people or places that trigger cravings, if you find you still want no-no foods... but i bet you'll watch others eat and eat and eat and wonder how the heck they can clear a whole giant plate of nachos. without ghrelin (one of the known hunger hormones produced by the stomach), you won't feel so hungry. i find that if i'm honest with myself when i feel i want, say, pizza, i realize i'm not physically hungry: my mouth wants it but the rest of me doesn't. so that takes practice, and maybe a few spit-ups before you get turned from the "food" you thought you wanted.
pleaseplease try to stick with fresh or frozen produce, if you are a meat eater, keep it to a minimum because MEAT IS SO DENSE AND HARD FOR THE BODY TO DIGEST THAT YOU'LL BE VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. you'll have to chew it a thousand times. buy a bunch of nonstick frying pans and some plastic spatulas, use a bit of light oil, like a tsp of grapeseed oil, and just chop and toss veggies into the pan. you'll find you create your own favourites. try different produce, like chinese cabbage, leeks, chick peas, types of onions, parsley, throw in a handful of almonds, cover and simmer for a couple of hours, throw in a bit of pineapple or mandarin orange, and pow, you've got the best-smelling chinese food on earth. i've also developed a passion for curries. so much flavour.
GOOD LUCK! ENJOY! you are NOT dooming yourself to a life without tasty things, you are healing yourself from the inside out. my anxiety and depression lifted and now i am not ashamed to go out in public. i got my face back and i love it. i'm not sure how much loose skin i'll have, but i'm going to fight MCP for coverage while saving up to pay for it elsewhere if need be. i think in a year i'll be back down to around 140 and i'll see what i look like then, loose-skin-wise. don't worry about that. just be kind to yourself every day and you'll find this operation helps build your resolve. there's nothing like watching the weight come off to strengthen your willpower. and don't let anyone sabotage you! my father's not helping with the garbage he eats but it just turns me, i don't want it in my tummy.
relax and enjoy! some people say, post-op, that "now the hard part begins". NOPE. the hard part is over, especially if you've been prepping properly. unless you graze on junk bite by bite all day forever, you can't "eat through" this. when you feel full, even after only 2 bites, STOP. the discomfort and potential vomiting is not worth it; you'll learn!
bottom line: my experience has been 95% positive. and the weight is falling off, quickly. i'm dropping sizes and getting back into the clothes i saved "just in case" i ever lost weight!
WOW! Was feeling down then I read this and made me feel a little better. I still have a year to go before the surgery which is the news I got today and is the reason why I am feeling so depressed. I was thinking the same thing that the more I do before the better the after will be. I look forward in reading more post from you.
Hi,
I've read though your post and its very informing as I'm thinking about weight loss surgery. I'm 28 obese and with health issues as well. I've been trying to loose weight for years but it just seems to be a yo yo process loose gain back and more. Starting to think this is a good option for me and maybe I can loose weight and not have to keep taking medications for the rest of my life. I have an appointment with my family Dr for next week. I didn't realize it was such a long waiting list tho.
