Deciding on surgery but super nervous

Hi all,

Just discovering this forum and glad I did.  After recommendation from my primary care and seeing specialists for evaluation, it seems as though the vertical sleeve might be a good option for me after years of failed dieting.   The thing is, I'm totally nervous about the recovery and side effects.  I really hate throwing up and really concerned that someone like me, who has a real hard time with portion control, will go back to just eating crazy amounts and then throwing up.  It's hard for me to imagine a situation where I just won't be hungry all the time.  Are you guys really not as hungry after surgery?  Is portion control really hard?  I have a hard time imagining ever not being hungry.  Oh, and last one, the term 'dumping syndrome' scares the hell out of me.

Anyway, I thought I'd post this here, would really welcome any input you might have.

Thanks!

Take your time and research. Your doctors won't be livin in your body once it's all done and said. Oh and you will still need to diet it's just called a lifestyle change. But same thing :

Good news is no dumping with VSG & portion control is not really a problem, you can only jam so much into a sock at one time.  Grazing all day and slider foods (i e. ice cream) could be a problem and are the behaviours you need to control the further out you get.  Really for at least the first year and part of second year you don't "feel" hunger, but your head might say...oh yes you do.

I was too, but Friday I will be 30 days post surgery and have to say that it was tough for a few days only.  After that, I was home and healing fast with almost no pain after 7 days.  At this point, the surgery part is just a memory.  Glad I did it, and if you have a good surgeon you trust, your surgeon will guide you through it all including medications so you don't vomit.  At this point you have to decide if the end goal is bigger than a few days of discomfort.  It was for me and I'm already 60 pounds down.

I've never thrown up since surgery.  Well, I might have once, but that was from a kidney stone, not eating.  So it's not a given.  

You will get into the habit of weighing/measuring everything you put on your plate, so that you will be great at portion control.  Start doing this now, in fact!  Only put onto your plate the correct portion to eat.  

I wasn't hungry all the time pre-op, I'm not hungry all the time now.  My obesity was not a result of hunger - in fact, I think I'd have to say that I was pretty much never hungry pre-op.  I'd eat because I liked food, it was something to do, it was interesting, it was comforting.  There was rarely ever hunger involved in the equation.  Which, for me, was a large part of the problem.  Now I do get hungry from time to time.  But it's only when I should be hungry because it's time to eat, or my last meal was 5-6 hours ago, or whatever.  After living 37 years without really ever being hungry, it's been sort of nice for me to reacquaint myself with that feeling.  

Anyone can dump, regardless of surgery status - it's more likely for RNYers to do it.  I experienced it a few times pre-op, never post-op, because I have a better idea of what I can/can't eat.  If you are someone who dumps, you'll probably only make that mistake once :)

I can totally relate to what Gwen said.

Tomorrow makes 2 months post op for me and I have not thrown up, nor do I plan on it. I had some nausea from the anesthesia but as soon as I told the nurses in the recovery room they gave me a patch for it and I was comfortable after that. My surgeon sent me home with a prescription for nausea meds too, but I only needed them occasionally. I weigh and track all my food and stick to my surgeons plan for progressing on my meal plan. I do have head hunger, but as far as physical hunger at this point, not really. My plan calls for 3 meals and 2 protein forward snacks if needed, but right now I eat more like 4-5 tiny meals to meet my protein requirements, which I usually exceed. I take small bites, chew well, and even though I measure, if I feel any discomfort or get my telltale "hiccups" I stop. This has been mind blowing for me...as someone who would always clean my plate, no matter how full I felt. It's hard to wrap my mind around how that tiny portion can satisfy me, sustain me, and it's ok to leave some on the plate. I have plenty stored in my body for fuel. But as the pounds and inches drop and the pants get baggier my mindset is changing. It's ok to leave it on the plate, and I am now only eating to survive..not just because it's there and my head wants me to eat because I love it and am addicted to it. When I found out I finally had a chance at surgery I quit everything cold turkey..sodas, bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, sweets. I was so excited that I wanted to give myself every advantage I could. Do I have cravings and head hunger? Yes. Am I perfect? No. But now I have the tool I need and the determination to push forward and succeed. Really research VSG and know it is a tool not a miracle cure. You still have to work. There are some amazing veterans her who can give you the good, bad, and ugly..stick around and read lots of old posts. You can search and find the answer to probably any question you have.

Thank you all for your kind replies!  Really appreciate your taking the time to respond!

Not everyone throws up....  Or dumps...  Actually with the sleeve dumping is much more unlikely..  Not impossible however....  Everyone's journey is diffrent...   I personally have been very lucky Im 3 years out just about and I've dumped maybe 3 or 4 times and threw up about 6 times.....  To be honest sometimes I wished it was more...  In my mind it would have been more of a reminder  of what will happen if I eat the wrong things....  I can eat anything how ever I don't...  I can tell you I was the wall flower girl who hid myself and prayers no one noticed me.....  Now the compete opposite....  I'm a people person I don't care what people think or say...  I now love me.....  My journey has been one hell of a ride and my only regret is I didn't do it sooner.....  My life has completely changed and for the best....  Best of luck to you on your journey... 

KellyJean