Vets - they DO know a bit! - Long Post

RE-post this every few months or so ok?...

Iron words from our Ontario Board Iron Man

 Thanks Barb! xoxo

Awesome post Kelly. The vets including you have been there done that. We need to learn from you guys and take your advice to heart. Like Karen said its because you truly care about our journeys and want the best for us.  We really do appreciate the support and wisdom you share with us. Thank you!

It would suck if people thought that we didn't care, and can get harsh because we don't want them to succeed. Sometimes I wonder if that's what people think. Sheesh!

Kelly,

I am only 5 months out and as great as I feel, the habits that try to sneak back into my life scare me. So I come here to read posts and listen to advice that many vets like yourself give. I know what to expect in the coming months and years not from my Dr. but from those of you that have walked the walk. Please continue to help us newbies out because we will slip up here and there. The truth is sometimes hard to hear but it really does need to be said.

So Thanks to all the vets!!!

Keep on, keepin' on! Stay on top of the habits that sneak back in. Step back and try to figure out why they are there and how you could change it. It's a lot to think about, and more than anyone could understand until you actually have had the surgery....and lived through months and years ahead. 

Like everyone else said "WELL SAID!" I am only just shy of 2 years post op.. I don't consider myself a vet quite yet but I do feel quite well versed on all things WLS related.. and do consider myself a success from that research and listening to the vets!

You've done amazing!! This next year will be the hardest yet. I listened when I was told that, got through it...but for a bit I didn't stay on top of it. I'm back on top again...for now :-)

Oh I agree that "most" vets are great, however just because you are a vet doesn't give you the right to play God. Some vets think their word is law, and say "Im a vet" you are just a noob. I once belonged to that R&R3  group and I will tell you that alot of those vets will go back to that private board a slam you. If you happen to ask a question or make a statement that they consider stupid, watch out they will dog pile, back stab, make fun of ect. I left the group because frankly it turned my stomach to see what they said. Its very childish behaviour. There are a few people that have replied to your post here that belong to it, that I am sure will bash me for this. Let them take this back to the board ... but they dont know me and have no right to do what they do to you, me or anyone. Some of it is just plain cruel.

But overall you wrote an awesome post. You should be proud of your accomplishments.

Wow. Such a negative post, and then the positive line at the end. That is confusing. 

Anyhow, I left the boards for a bit when it got too much for me. When I came back, I could see that I was much too sensitive, and it wasn't bashing at all by the vets, it was their knowledge that they were trying to get me to realize, and I just refused to. I'm sorry that you feel bashed. I haven't been up to speed on anything, but I can tell you that I have met many of these people in person, and they are lovely and wonderful people. 

It's like giving advice to a new mother. Not only does she not want it, but her hormones will rip apart the advice-giver....only for her to realize at some point later on (begrudgingly, usually....and i'm speaking from my own experience here) that the advice was good and should have been heeded. It's the same. A new person (noob, in  your terms) often wants things sugar-coated, because this surgery is hard to deal with...before, during....and especially after), so they ask for advice, hoping for an "it's ok, you can cheat on Opti" or "you're human, continue eating those Easter Creme Eggs, maybe they will be fine next time." Instead you get, "NO...don't cheat on Opti...if you can't do it now, how are you going to do this after?" or "Sure Kelly, try another Easter Creme Egg. Maybe it will be fine next time....and the time after that, and then you can continue eating them. Yep, you'll still lose weight because you're less than a year out....but guess what chicky, it will bite you in the ass after your malabsorption craps out." Harsh...but TRUE words. You don't want to hear it...so you put up a block. Then a more-experienced person (vet) will try a different way to tell you the same advice (hoping that a different route will maybe get it through your head). And then it seems like an all-out war has been laid against you. And you say things back. 

This surgery is life-changing. We are here to help you through what we went through years ago. We made mistakes, and we've had many victories. I had a few pounds of regain over my goal weight. I am now back under goal. Hooray! I listened to the vets much further out than me and learned what they went through, and are still going through....we are just trying to help everyone through this crazy post-surgery life. And it's for life...

I am very proud of my accomplishments, thank you. Never would have thought I could run a marathon, or do a half-IronMan. Perhaps if I didn't come on here and listen to the vets, I might not have made it this far.