Pre VSG questions

HI,

I am pre VSG mostly like in February and I'm nervous as hell. I keep thinking maybe I can lose weight on my own, but I know that's not true or I would have done it by now and I'm 42. I don't want to have surgery and fail. Any advice??

KIM

I think we have all thought at one time or another we could lose it on our own, and many of us have; just to gain it all back plus more. I had done this several times in my life. I decided to have surgery last May, after having thought about it for several months. I had my surgery on November 27 th. I know I'm still a newbie, but I am so glad I finally did this. I'm in the puréed food stage now and all is going well. That's my input for what it's worth. Best wishes to you.

Sandy

I recommend reading through all the forum posts you can. I did this pre-op and it was very informative for me.

This is also a great article -- https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/12/7/16587316/ba riatric-surgery-weight-loss-lap-band

I've lost 170ish pounds during pre-op and post-op. Could I have lost this weight without surgery? Who knows. The only thing that really matters is that I DIDN'T. Surgery isn't an easy fix, you'll still have to work and it'll be important to figure out the mental causes of obesity and get those sorted out, but I certainly didn't lose 170 pounds before surgery so clearly the surgery was what I needed :)

EXCELLENT ARTICLE!!! I plan to share the link. Thank you!!!

The new set point is exactly what made the most sense to me when my surgeon talked about WLS. Basically telling me it is the only way to lose the weight and keep it off!!! This is what convinced me. In Ontario, Canada, the surgery is covered if you have a certain BMI and other weight related issues. The surgeons perform so many that the risks of surgery are almost non-existent.

Marisa

I lost 67 lbs in the pre-op program, so I asked my doc, "Why shouldn?t I do this the old fashioned way?" His response was that I would do very well losing, but at some point it would start coming back, and like times past, bring more weight right along with it. I know he has a financial interest in people having surgery, but that didn?t make his statement any less true.

As for being scared, I was as scared as a little girl in a cemetery alone at midnight. On Halloween. I was concerned about dying on the table, hideous side effects, and probably the worst, not losing any weight. None of that happened. I survived, and am now 14+ months past surgery. I?m 208 lbs down from where I started, and doing very well.r

oh yeah - advice. Do lots of research. Trust but verify, which is a nice way of saying don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see until you confirm it. Doctors are not gods, and health care workers are just as fallible as any of the rest of us. It is your body, and you are the one who will have to live with any choices you make, not anyone else. It is a worthwhile thing. At least, it has been for me.

It's pretty normal to be nervous but you'll do great. I resisted surgery for several years. I did HCG shots, multiple diets, worked out like crazy, went to a bariatric doctor etc. etc. before I started I finally decided to do it. Now I only wonder why I wasted all that time... and money. This is hard. But it works. The other stuff was hard. And it didn't work. Or did for a while and then the weight would come piling back on like a runaway train. Educate yourself as much as you can about the process. As long as you know what you're getting yourself into, it will work.

I definitely went through similar emotions. I?ve accomplished a lot of things in my life through sheer preserverance, but weightloss wasn?t one of them. This is not to say you are not different. I was going through nutrition, and asking for extensions on my supervised nutrition for about two years. Finally my back went out, I had severe sciatica, and eventually had to have emergency surgery after being diagnosed with something called caude equina. I was almost paralyzed from a severely herniated disc. Long story short, this was my turning point. I felt my body was breaking down. You have to do what feels best for you, and at the right time for you. You can gain weight with this surgery, and some don?t lose all of their excess weight. These are definitely things to consider. This surgery is best for the person that is truly ready to change their life, understands that it is a tool to assist them rather than relying on the tool entirely, and is ready to put in the hard work. It?s scary, because most of us do this because we can?t get a grip on our addiction in the first place. It?s just a matter of how ready you are, and how much you are willing to fight for a normal healthy weight. Wishing you the best in your decision making process.

Well said Shannon.

Hi Kim -

I completely understand...I felt the same way. What got me serious about surgery was a visit to my doctor for a yearly check up. She's been my doctor for 20 years and told me she's seen me work at this - all the diets, workouts, etc. the entire time I've been her patient and asked me to give it some serious consideration...that I'd feel so much better. Having her perspective made me realize that if there was a better way, I would have found it...certainly after 20 years of trying!

I was 52 when I had my surgery last year... I wish I had done it in my 40's. I'm down 100 lbs and feel wonderful. Now I feel the diet and workouts I was doing before surgery is actually doing something (if that makes sense).

Keep coming back here and sharing your thoughts and fears. This is a wonderful community of supportive people who are here to help. It's been a God send to me.

Good luck!

Lisa