Help! Should Care Change?

I have a friend that is doing a study of pre- & post- care. His question is ... If you could, what would you do differently if you knew then what you know now? Please be frank & brutually honest. For that reason, if you don't wish to post here you can email your responses directly to me at [email protected]. This is purely for research purposes, no names, or any other personal information would be used. He's interested in knowing what you would like to see change with regard to care... Body, spirit, diet, socially ... everything. In advance, thanks for your help! Colista

I would only change one thing. I would not have told the people that I work with. I work closely with one individual who is also morbidly obese but is completely against surgery. Her thinking is that it is the easy way out and I should have just put myself on a diet. Even after explaining everything to her she still sticks with her first opinion. Other than that I am so thankful I did the surgery and all of the care that I have received as been wonderful.

Malena, Thanks so much for your response and for your honesty. I'm sorry to hear of the response you've received from your co-worker. Unfortunately, it's a prevelent attitude among both thin and obese people. They simply don't understand what it takes to change your life this drastically. To that end, if you don't mind, I have a follow-up question: 1) Do you feel that you were preared mentally to deal with letting go of carbs and any food addictions that you may have had prior to surgery? 2) What would you like to see with regard to mental prep for pre-surgical patients today? I appreciate your frankness and I'm enjoying our discussion! I look forward to hearing more about your journey Colista

I would like to see all programs on the same page about vitamins, minerals, protein, and lab tests. It was so frustrating to learn that there is NO consistency between programs. Most do not do enough lab tests. Most do not recommend enough supplements because they do not do enough lab tests. Many programs do not encourage the life long use of protein shakes so that we can get adequate protein to keep our bodies healthy. It is imperative for each post-op to track their own lab trends, learn about labs, learn about protein, learn about vitamins & minerals. We have to be our own best advocates in this process because most programs fall short when it comes to our post-op long term needs. Most of us are sent back to our un-informed PCPs for follow up care and if we do not know better we can have serious damage done to our health. I could go on and on. I am very passionate about this topic. Sandy