Let me keep it real

When I researched to have this surgery nothing I read said I needed to exercise daily. If I had known this was a requirement I would never have had surgery. I am not an exerciser, never have been. I wanted this surgery because I felt this was a means to force me to eat less. If you do not feel this way, thats fine but this is how I feel. I am not you and you are not me. We all do things differently. Alot of people will lie and say they do this that and the other, but I will not be convicted for being truthful. I HATE EXERCISE!!! I eat right and do some exercise, but that was not the basis for my decesion to have this surgery. If I were good with exercising then I would have not needed surgery, if any of us were good with that then there would be no OH. I am keepin it real. I am disgusted at my weight loss because I did not have surgery to loose only 76 pounds in 9 months. Please do not bother to lecture me because it will get an unfavorable response. I am being true to myself and my feelings. I am happy for those of you who are doing the DAMN THING, but the truth be told half of you did not need surgery to begin with and that is why your results are so much better than most. If I weighed what some of you did, I would have never had surgery. Forgive my Bluntness and out right rudeness, but I am tired of being told how I should feel. You feel the way you do and I feel the way I do. and nothing anybody can say to me is going to make me feel any different. There is nothing wrong with any of us having the feelings we do, because after all if any of us did not have a problem then none of us would have had this surgery, so how can you tell me how I should feel. What makes any of us the BIBLE on weight loss, because if we were we would have not had our anatomy changed to be thin. If i sound pissed, it is because I am and I am tired of being told how I should feel and how I should view this procedure. To each his own..... Peace... Adrienne

You know, I am kind of glad you said what you did. I have to agree with you about some of the others, and I don't want any hate mail over this. Frankly, if I weighed under 250, I would not have had the surgery. (I REALIZE EVERYONE FEELS DIFFERENTLY, BUT THIS IS MY OPINION). I know a lot of other patients who had the surgery weighing 220- 240 to start, and now are at goal. Sure they are, they did not have far to go. It is no big accomplishment (TO ME) to lose 70 pounds in 6 months, when that is all you have to lose. It also annoys me when I hear "goal, goal, goal" over and over again. It would be surprising to hear that anyone who has had this surgery that was under 250 lbs to start did not make their goal. As far as exercise, some people like it and some don't. If I did not have a job, perhaps I could plan my life around the gym. But I do, so I can't. I don't compete with others; they did not start off at the same point I did. Think of it like this.... all those competitive feelings are wasted. What if there was a 5 mile race, and I got to start at mile 2.5, while you started at the starting gate. What the heck do you think is gonna happen? I am going to win, but I have not done nearly the amount of work you have. That what WLS does. Because people tend to look at time, instead of actual weight, many people feel they are not losing fast enough, etc.. It sets people up for frustration, anger, resentment, worry, depression, etc... I don't care who loses what. I do the best I can, and that is that. BTW, the next time you are in a support group meeting, look around. Often the most insecure people are the loudest, most boring, most obnoxious, and most obvious to others. Oh yes, and they love to talk about themselves. At least that is the way it works where I go. Hang in there. It is not that serious. And, thanks for keeping it real.

Thank you so much for a wonderful response. You know, I do not even go to my support groups anymore, because I found myself being ignored and over picked when there was question and answer session. I found that I am to blunt, to controversial and the truth be told, doctors nor their staff want people like me speaking up at groups. I understand why, because it is a business and if I start telling it like it is from my perspective, from my shoes, it deters people, so i do not go any more. Thanks again for your response it was real and I love it. Adrienne

This point is the only one that I will disagree with you on. If you don't go to let pre-ops and even some post ops know that this doesn't work for everybody then you are not helping to spread the message. I have a couple of support groups that I attend and I love to listen to what they each offer. As a pre op I would have loved to hear from someone like you and now me. I make it a point to attend as much as possible because I feel that it is important to share my experiences so that maybe others can learn from them. Thanks for keeping it real.

Hey Tiffany, Thanks for your response, however, I did not get the point you disagreed with me on. Adrienne

Hey girl, sorry about that, I just meant that you should still go to shed light on your experience. As most pre ops find out later and not soon enough it that there are people like you out here. You have some very valid issues and I for 1 share some of those same issues. i am 10 months(next week) out and have lost only 88 pounds and I don't come across to share my disappointment because like you said people only want to hear the positive things. Go and let your voice be heard. Have a great weekend.

I just wanted to say that i AGREE with ALL of u I started out as 5'1" @ 220 lbs so far i've lost 70lbs but WORKED my butt off getting there I excersice 4X a wk for 45min... but my BIGGEST complaint is that i went & had this surgery done in Feb. so i could STOP ALL the meds i take & even with the extra wt gone I'm still on most of them... blood presures & B/S r still high even with meds right now I'm SOOO PISSED !!!!! whats it gonna take do I have to weigh 80lbs when this is all done to see ANY results in the meds I'm taking !!!!! I did all this to STOP the meds not continue taking them just needed to VENT!!!!!

I feel you Girl, I feel you. Adrienne

Well I understand you in a way, but I'm only 242 and I'm short, but I dont' want to wait and let it get to where you are before I decide to take my life back. I've had 4 back surgeries, and gained from 160 to 242 so I can't excersize much because of my back and leg pain. So surgery is about my only option. I never thought about this surgery untill my back surgeon brought it up and thought I'd be a good canidiate. 100 lbs overweigh is BMI of 44 for me and that is high enough for me to consider my health and take action. I've tried diets and everything I can think of but like you over the years I can't seem to stick to it with out help. So don't kick us because we aren't over 250 some of us need it as bad as you. Sorry, But I'm in need. I'm not kicking any of you, but if you don't take action and do for yourself, no one else is able to do anymore for you. Best wishes to all of you. Lydia

I am fully aware that shorter people with lower weights than mine have a high BMI, I have no clue why you feel I was kicking you. I know of people who are my height 5'9 and start at 240 with a BMI of less than 40 and have surgery and are doing it for vanity reasons. You do not know all of what I do, so do not take things so personal like I am attacking you. I mean I am not stupid I realize that when you are short that a low weight for me at my height is a heavy weight for you. I just do not understand why people have to turn things around. By all means if I were in your shoes I would have had surgery as well, I was not referring to short people. Adrienne