New from Tn

I there, Tn here! New to the board, tho ive lurked for a while I must admit. I recently "thought" i amde the decision to have RNY as my ins this year added to my coverage, 100%. But now Im scared. I watched the videos by meltingmama and read some horror stories and all the things that *can* go wrong during and afterwards. This scares the bejeesus out of me. I am 5'9 and 381 lbs. Im misserable. I dont so much care about looking good as I do wanting to feel good! I have 3 kids, two under 8yrs old, and I have NO energy for them. I want to have the surgery, but im scared that I will have problems for the rest of my life because of it. I need some support. Some stories good and bad. I have my first consult with the surgeon on 9/3.....ugh

I'm almost 5 months out from surgery, and i cannot tell you how much better i feel (ok and look a little better too).  I still have another 60 lbs to go.  I'll be 45 in october, I feel like i have more energy than i have in about 15 years (of being really heavy).  I was 340 when i started this journey (I'm 5'6").  I did have pneumonia after surgery and went back in the hospital for a week. BUT, i would not change a thing!  i wish you the best of luck, it'll change your life.  lys

Welcome to you!!

No matter what I've been through in the past two years, it's been SO WORTH IT!  I'm healthy and happy and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat!

I've lost 200 pounds and have been able to keep it off.

Please feel free to check out my profile for more info.

If I can do this anyone can! Just remember it's all for a better healthier you!

I think its very important to think it through. MOST of the time I am glad I did this, but sometimes its hard. I had complications right after surgery, and since I've had issues with fainting, light-headedness, and low blood sugar. I am still happy about the weight loss, but I feel a lot weaker than I used to. I feel kind of wimpy and frail I guess. Its too easy for me to over-do it. I hope this will change eventually but I certainly worry that it won't. Would I do it again? Probably. I want to have kids badly and RNY will hopefully make that possible.

Normally I'm more upbeat about the surgery than I am today. I've been nauseas today and lightheaded for at least a week, and I nearly fainted again at the gym tonight. It worries me

All I can say is this surgery should be a last resort, make sure its what you really want and need. A lot of people are thrilled with the results, but some people are not, and you have to be 100% dedicated because the last thing you want to do is go through all of this and then re-gain on top of any other potential health issues you may or may not develop.

Best of luck!

Hi and welcome to the forum!  I think that this is a great place to check out information about WLS options.  As other posters have said, you need to consider your own life cir****tances and decide if this is an option that is right for you.  For me, it'**** me very hard that I cannot "undo" the choice that I made to have WLS - not that I would want that, but I struggle with the fact that I can't even if I want to.  There is a transitional period where you have to adjust to the surgery - you are forced into a situation where you can no longer live the eating life that you used to live (even if you spent a long time preparing for the surgery and changing your eating behaviors) but it takes a while to acclimate to your new life and to fully appreciate the benefits of surgery.   I get sad.  I don't know why and I can't explain it very well - someone once said that only the first bite or two tastes good, but for me that's true, but not true.  When I have a craving for a food I still want to enjoy it to the fullest and there have been lots of times when my pouch physically stopped me from eating, but I hadn't gotten the enjoyment that I wanted from the food.  At other times I can't enjoy even the first couple of bites because right now usually the first few bites of a meal are the most difficult for me because my pouch reacts a little convulsively to the first few bites of food (I don't vomit, but I usually get some pain).  So, basically, I am unable to get any enjoyment out of eating anymore.  It's hard mentally because I haven't yet found enough things that I enjoy doing to compensate for the loss of eating as a pleasure (or I haven't had enough times yet to make them as comfortable as eating).  At the same time, I also don't really care about eating for enjoyment anymore because the above listed situations make it so that I'm not even interested in it all that much most of the time.

I watched meltingmama's videos as well and read some of the other more difficult posts - I would say that the information in them is good, but you have to be careful about it because 1) often post-ops (myself included) forget to compare our current post-op negatives to our pre-op negatives or the pre-op negatives that were coming our way.  Another example - a lot of people complain about the Lovenox shots that you have to do for a few weeks after surgery.  I thought about it, the shots weren't that great, but without the surgery I was absolutely going to be diabetic soon - those shots would have lasted a lot longer.  2) Life is not a bowl of cherries post-op - things are not perfect, nor are they a complete failure and for me it goes moment to moment how I feel.  One minute I will tell you that WLS was the best decision that I ever made and another I will tell you that it was the biggest mistake.  When you get in those negative moods it takes some thought to pull out of them.  It's part of the recovery.  I think, when I watched meltingmama's videos (and I can't speak for her) that I could relate to her strong opinions and then her come back that she didn't mean to come accross quite so negatively.  I think that all of us are that way to some extent - we can step on the scale and find that we did not meet our expectations and be totally pissed off and then walk out the door and find that our seatbelt fits again and be totally over it and then feel so grateful for the surgery.

Anyway, I've prattled on enough (as usual).  I wish you the best in making your decision - it is an important one.

I am 9.5 months out from surgery and have had no complications to date from the surgey.

I no longer take medication for diabetes or high blood pressure or cholesterol
My heart rate has dropped from the high 90's to the low to mid 70's
I exercise 5 days a week
I no longer obsess over food.  It's a fuel for me
I am completely satisfied with my weight loss to date and the new-found health as a result of the surgery.

Welcome to our boards. I wish I had the answers for you....in fact I have another daughter who is seriously contemplating the RNY. I don't even know what to say to her...because I'm afraid of giving mis information and sounding like I'm pressuring her.  She is worried about complications later in life. My feeling is if you stick to the rules of being religious about your vitamins and water, will you still have those complications?  What types of complications with your health will you assuredly have if you DON'T have the surgery?  I think the healthier you are before WLS, the less complications you may have.  That has been so in my case.  I have never vomitted, only had a painful period of about an hour once when I ate a piece of dry chicken.  I should have known better, so that was my fault.  I have completely change my views on food and eating it. I'm no saint, I still have cravings and  nibble on some things I shouldn't, but we are human, and that shouldn't be forgotten. I am on track 98% of the time.  I hope you come to a decision you are happy about.  HUGS  Jeanine

Welcome!!  I am also a Tina from Tennessee, from Memphis to be exact, but married a French guy about 4 years ago.  I think WLS is a big life changing experience, but from my few months here reading the boards and listening to my doctor, the good far outweighs the bad.  I have 3 children as well, an 18 year old, 4 year old and a 2 year old and I CANT keep up with them.  I want to lose this weight so my kids will know what its like to have their mom PLAY with them.  Being obese through my older daughters childhood I missed out on alot of things for fear of being seen and embarrasing her.  I so want to be there for my little ones.  Anyway, I just wanted to say welcome and I wish the best for you no matter what you decide.