Looking for some deep down honesty and some hindsight as foresight

At 4 1/2 months out, I still don't know if I would recommend the surgery.  The intractable nausea the first month almost put me over the edge.  And I was unprepared for the complete aversion to food.   I realize I'm still a newbie, but the whole eating thing sucks.  What to eat, when to eat, the uncomfortable fullness that comes after 3-4 bites of something.  I understand that this will probably change as my sleeve relaxes and stretches a bit.

The emotional aftermath is pretty intense, as well.  I have suffered clinical depression as far back as I can remember, and, apparently, I self medicated with food.  Surprise!

The positives: 70+ lbs lost in 4 1/2 months feels pretty damn good!  Physically I feel better- back and knee discomfort has improved.  And, I definitely look better, and feel good about looking better.

I can't stress enough what a personal decision this is.

Hang in there, honey!

For most people, it gets SOOO much better!

Thanks, shannn......your comments sound a lot like mine.  I just had a really bad day yesterday, thinking, "will eating ever not be such a big effing production ever again?".  Prob not, but, damn, do I look good!  Ha!

It does get way better.  You are at that stage where everything works, but doesn't work well.  Your sleeve will stretch, your stomach will harden up and nothing will make you feel sick any more, you'll be able to eat and drink anything...

In another 4 months you will be cruzin. 

Thanks, jashley!  I'm soooo lookin forward to cruzin!!!!

I'm not sure I have a downside. Oh, my poop stinks like a hog barn, but it wasn't exactly scented like roses pre-op, either. I guess the real downside is how gassy excessive white carbs can still make it. I'm talking gas that I can't pass readily, you know, the painful kind. (As long as I can fart, I'm okay with it. *grin*)

On that same note, I wish I'd known just how seductive carbs are. I let them back into my diet way too soon, and periodically I have to de-tox.

stinks like a hog barn.....

A few years back I was at the county fair and when to see the animals. As soon as I walked into the hog barn I thought "I know that smell!"

I think hogs just naturally have a short gut.

I'm still a newbie but the only unexpected downside to weight loss is the extra skin. I guess like a dummy I assumed it would just shrink back to where it belongs. NO IT DOESN'T. I have some serious "batwings" already and have just started my weight loss. So I will have to wear longer sleeves no matter what.

What I wish I had known before surgery? The severe pain I had for four weeks after I was seriously not expecting. Some have it, some don't. My surgery was 8 hrs long and my Dr said my pain was normal considering all the scar tissue he had to remove. The stench of the gas is no joke. It doesn't matter if I eat carbs/sugar or not I have terrible gas. Lucky for me my hubby can't smell but anybody else that comes around is in for it :) The other thing I'm still trying to 'wrap my head around' is the mourning of food. Let's face it I got as huge as I did from eating. Now that I don't eat as much I still want the food. It's hard not to be able to eat anything I want at any time. Just yesterday I had a crying spell because we were out and about and I was really hungry but we couldn't just go through a drive thru and grab something real quick. It's a huge adjustment. Good luck!

Why can't you have anything from the drive thru?  The insides of a burger (ie no bun) should be fine.  I know had a lot of that once I was a month out.