Any Regrets??

Adrienne, I just read your profile thoroughly and want to sincerely thank you for the honesty. I could relate so much to you. Though we chose different WLS surgeries, many of the mental issues are the same. This IS a tough journey for many(including me). Being fat is just not about eating to much. There are many emotional reasons why we do it. Everyday is a battle in which sometimes we win and sometimes we loose. The key being to gain clarity and deal with the demons that drive us. Many blessings to you and your family. Keep up those good works and thanks for remaining true! Hugs, Beth

My regret it that I did not have this surgery earlier in my life. I feel that my recuperation was longer. Ten years ago, I did not have irritable bowel syndrome, GERD, or gastritis. I am finally ready to go back to work on 5/2/05 but I feel a bit nervous. I have lost 32 pounds since the surgery and I already feel an increase in energy. I can fit into smaller clothes and I am quite sure it will be much easier for me to do my job without carrying around all that extra weight. Of course I wondered if I made the right choice. Especially when I had bad days: pain and nausea. But in the final analysis, I realize this is a lifelong journey and I have just begun!

Hi All, I am 4wks post op, the only regret is that I didn't do this sooner. I feel so much better already, down 25lbs. Dr. took me off 1 high blood pressure pill already. I can't wait to be rid of the other one and my sugar pill too. I have so much more energy and feel better about me with a positive outlook on life. I am looking forward to also getting off my sleep apnea machine soon too. That thing is far more regretful than the surgery. I look to the goal at hand and stay focused. Yes, there are some challenging days with the food, but all my joint pain and symptoms of my health conditions were far more worse than what I am dealing with now. I made the only choice for me, the other choice would lead me to a very early grave.

I am having surgery in July. I came to this forum so I could get to know the problems that people may have and how they deal with them. I know that almost everyone loves their surgery and feels blessed to have the opportunity. However, as a nurse I know NOTHING is all sunshine and light. I appreciate Lady A's honesty. She is having some problems, HER problems and I am saddened that we, as a community, can't rally around her, or at least leave her alone. There are pros and cons to every surgery. All surgery is dangerous. I am gratful for all of your sharing. Debra

THANK YOU DEBRA, ALL THIS HAS EVER BEEN ABOUT IS ME AND MY PERSONAL PROBLEMS. IF YOU READ THE POST THAT I MADE MONTHS AGO, THAT IS WHERE IT ALL STARTED. I WAS GOING THRU A VERY TOUGH TIME AND I EXPRESSED MY FEELINGS, NEVER ONCE SAYING TO ANYBODY THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE THE SURGERY, I CLEARLY SPOKE OF MY ISSUES. I KEEP THINGS REAL AND HONEST BECAUSE MOST OF THE PROFILES AND POST I READ WERE ALL POSITIVE SO WHEN I STARTED EXPERIENCING CERTAIN THINGS THAT WERE DIFFERENT FROM THE ALL GOOD, I FELT SCARED, LONELY AND DEPRESSED. SO I DECIDED TO SHARE ANY PROBLEMS THAT I HAD IN HOPES TO HELP SOMEONE WHO WAS SUFFERING IN SILENCE. I DID NOT WANT ANYONE TO FEEL THAT THEY WERE ALONE AND THAT THE THINGS THEY WERE GOING THRU WAS UNIQUE ONLY TO THEM, THAT IS MY MAIN FOCUS TO BE TRUTHFUL IN ORDER TO HELP, YET NOT STAND STILL AND BE BEAT DOWN FOR MY OPINIONS AND MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES. IT IS AWFUL TO BE BEAT DOWN LIKE I WAS FOR SHARING WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO ME PERSONALLY. ADRIENNE

i to am pre op.. 7-20-05 iwant to hear the good bad andugly.. if every thing is perfect everyone would do it and theere would be no follow ups.. lol but im nervous and i do want o know about regrets. im not downin anyone. andi do believe that everyone has there own opions. and regrets or not. lets be big enough( lol which we all were at one time) to let each post what they want .. u may not agree.. but that is what that persn feels at the time good or bad.. i know i am no one to correct ill have my own good and bad but would liketo know what can happen.. thanks to alllllll..... and btw.. when we all start thinking how god or bad we haveit lets rememebr the soldiers. and what issues they have. pra for them all my daughter is in the army in korea

Hi, I have absolutely no regrets at all, I am now 15 mos post op and have lost 145 pounds to date. I can remember clearly after the surgery all I wanted was for the weight to start coming off, I remember that within the first week I had lost 10 pounds, I was shocked and so happy that I sat down and cried for a half hour. I do have problems with constipation but there are remedies for that, it's called sex (heheheh) coffee, collard greens ...etc... over the counter things don't seem to work. People I see always ask me if I feel different and I have to start smiling and tell them "Yes, I feel like I'm getting younger every day!", and to be honest that is exactly how I feel! I just turned 40 years old in May 2005 and I swear I have the energy I had when I was 20 years old. I weighed 338 pounds before my surgery and I felt like I was dying, I was tired all the time, my back was killing me when I walked a short distance and summers were murder. I didn't have any health issues at that point but it was going there. Ladies, also, if you haven't had the surgery yet and you are married or in a serious relationship prepare yourself because what they say is true in most cases, what they tell you about how your mates attitude may change is true, 50% of marriages do break up. There is something about a fat person in a relationship that makes one very comfortable, it's called your mate is safe because he/she feels that no one else would want you in the first place.... but I'll spare you all because that one is a looooong story. Just be prepared and talk to your mate about this (not that it will do any good) but just be aware of behavior changes in your mate and try to nip them in the bud. One other thing, what happens if you push yourself too much is you end up with a massive amount of excess skin. The key is to let your body lose at it's own rate, you will go through periods of rapid weigh loss for a few weeks at a time then you will lose nothing, what is going on during those weeks of no weight loss is your body is firming up, in other words you can step on the scale every day and you will weigh the same thing but you will notice that your clothes are looser. If you do not allow your body to go through this process you will end up with allot of skin and you will likely be looking at another surgery to get rid of it (which is not pretty, saw it on the Discovery Channel). I have been fortunate in that I don't have allot of excess skin but I do have areas that I need to work on like under the arms, stomach and thighs but it just firming up stuff. Funny thing is that I can wear shorts now comfortably that I was squeezing in when I weighed 30 pounds LESS, so I have lost weight in places where I couldn't before (I like that). I have 45 more pounds to get to my goal and frankly I have gotten to the point where I will go for weeks without weighing myself because it's too frustrating, what happens is you can weigh yourself one day and you are 3 pounds less then the next day... so after a while you just become happy with looking good in your clothes and feeling better. it's a process like anything else, it will happen in good time, until then you just enjoy your new life and you new found energy and be happy. Hope some of this info helped someone out, good luck to you all! Thanks, Michelle

After much research, I chose the lap-band. I was prepared for the possibility of erosion, slippage, BP, vomitting, etc, and even death. What I was not prepared for was not being able to banded. I wish they had REALLY made me aware of the possibility of waking up from surgery WITHOUT the lap-band (according to my DR due to abnormality in my anatomy for which they do not test pre-op) . Then i got my hopes up again. Bt I was not successfully banded during second surgery either. The scar tissue from the first aborted lap-band surgery attempt would made the second attempt at surgerically placing the band unsuccessful. 2) I also was not prepared for the adverse reaction I had to the derma-bond (the surgical glue my surgeon uses to close wounds). All things considered if I had the opition of trying to have a band palced a 3rd time, with a VIABLE possibilty of it being successfully placed, I would do it again.