Hello people I,m new here

Kinda testing the waters here. Am having Roux en Y Sx. on Dec 5 2012 tentetively. Doing optifast now to lower my BMI, and am struggling with my food addiction big time. Talked with a woman who had her Sx 12 Yrs ago and she told me about obesityhelp,com. Couldn't find anyone in the chatroom so thought I'd give the message boards a try. Holla' at me !!
                                                                                                       Ingrid

Hi and welcome to the PA board.  I first came here in June of '06.  I got a lot of questions answered here.  It's great for that kind of support.  If you need face to face support, I hope you have found a support group, maybe at the hospital where you are having the surgery.  Not sure where you live, but if you live in Southeast PA, Barix in Langhorne has two support groups you would be welcome at.  Let me know where you live, and I'll give you more specifics.

I am Trish.  I had my open RNY in August of '06.  I haven't reached goal because of a regain for two years.  I am back to losing, and must say, I'm not sure how.  I have been to Overeaters Anonymous for years, and still go back for the face to face support.  I highly recommend them for help with the food addiction.  I will tell you up front that a lot of the OA people discourage surgery.  Don't let that sway you.  I had too many comorbidities, and had tried outpatient eating disorder treatment twice before I finally decided to investigate the surgery.  I am so grateful I did.  My health improved immensely, and my life has been transformed.

Please tell up what part of PA you are from, and where you will have your surgery.  We have folks from all over this great state.  I am also on two other OH forums.  The Christianity forum, and the Over Fifty Forum, for folks who are over 50 years old.  I'll post the links, if you are interested.

Hugs,
Trish

Dear Trish,
   Thanx so much for the warm welcome. I live near Lebanon Pa. and am going through the VA Optifast program to ready my body for surgery @ The Pittsburgh VA Hospital. Tough tough tough weight loss program. I need loads of support. The VA has a dietician working alongside me but 1 hour a week is very minimal help and I need moral support. Wish I had someone everyday to talk to at this point. The VA tried supplying me with someone over the phone but I was not comfortable revealing my problems to a man.
   I did get help from my mom in regards to an aquaintance she met right after my fathers death. A  down to earth woman with very practical advice and  inspiring to listen to. Her pep talk geared me up towards a positive approach regarding my struggles on a day to day / hour to hour basis. She revealed a mindset that involves rudementry change without placing guilt on my person. What a difference it created in me. I needed the words she so willingly shared. Just knowing she had been through what I'm going through being 12 years post op RNY herself, inspired me to try harder. She spoke of her own struggles and how she overcame them.She told me about this website and how it helped her everyday to talk with others online. I am so ready to meet other encouraging people and look forward to the day I can help others. But for now I'll wear the hat I need most , If you'll indulge me; My spongebob hat : Just soak in all the positive energy I can. By the way I'd love to have the links you mentioned in your letter. I'll take it all!!! LOL.
                                                                                          Thanx so so much Trish.
                                                                                           Huggies!!!
                                                                                           Ingrid
 

 Hi Ingrid,
So glad you shared what's going on in more detail.  Here are the links I mentioned before.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/over_50/a,messageboard/


http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/christianity/a,messageboard/


The Christianity forum is slow.  The Over Fifty Forum is very active.  Both the PA and Over Fifty Forum had daily check ins.

Good luck with the Optifast.  

Hugs,
Trish

 Hi Ingrid,

My name is Jackie.  I am scheduled to have my RnY on Oct 10.  I start my 2 wks liquid on tuesday.   I am a chocoholic, I've pretty much cut it out of  my diet.  My biggest problem was the Mt. Dew.  I'm not a coffee drinker and giving up the Mt. Dew/caffeine was pretty hard at first.  I do not drink any soda at all.  You can do it.  It just takes a little time.  

Dear Jackie,
  Wow! You are so close to your surgery date! You have got to be excited! I wish you great success. May you be blessed with an easy surgery and no complications.
   I am a chocoholic as well as a fellow Mt. dew freak. LOL. I'm on a liquid diet called optifast. I started it 6 weeks ago and I continue it until Dec. 3rd. I am medically supervised through the VA where I live, but came here for much needed support. Time...ahh yes . everything takes time. I am not a patient person. LOL. Thanx so much for sharing your struggles with me. I really need to identify with others and this site is amazing for that. If you need to talk I'm a great listener! 

                                                                                    Have a great day Jackie! ,
                                                                                    Ingrid

 Were you in the military?  IF so, what branch.  I was in the Army.  I'm still waiting to hear from the VA for my benefits.  

My husband n I are both going through it.  I had a green light first so I am going first.  We are using body fortress from Walmart.   it's pretty good.  I add ice to get it nice like a milkshake.  

Where are you from??  I'm in Danville.  

Excited is not the word for it, anxious and the nerves are starting in..  As with anything big, the nerves start in.  lol.  

Hi Ingrid!!

My name is Beth. I had my RNY 3 years ago. Although I still struggle with my food addiction, I am so glad that I had the surgery. Just remember that the surgery is just a tool and that you will still struggle with your addiction for the rest of your life. It does not go away with the surgery, unfortunately.

There is a lot of great support and information on this site. Support is definitely the key to long term success.

Good luck with your upcoming surgery and let us know how you are doing!!

Beth

Hi Beth!
  WOW! Such great responses! Thanx for sharing about your experiences with food addiction. I am not alone! I am just really strggling with the optifast liquid diet recently, but with all this support, I'm sure now I'll be able to forge ahead to my goal. One day at a time and sometimes 1 hour at a time. Stay in touch!
                                                            Many Many Blessings,
                                                                        Ingrid

 Welcome to the PA boards, Ingrid.  It sounds like you are well on your way to becoming a new you.  I hope you can find some face to face support in your area.  We have a few people on here from out there and hopefully someone will get in touch with you. 

I am 3 1/2 years post lap RNY.  I have struggled with food addiction most of my life and am still struggling every day.  The past year has been particularly tough for me with issues in my home life. But, over the past few days I put myself on a protein shake diet trying to kill the carb demons.  I plan to start to put solids back into my life starting today.  I'm a bit nervous about overdoing it, but I know I need to listen to my body and stop when I'm comfortable, and NOT overstuffed.

Good luck with your journey and keeping stopping by for support.