Thank you all !
Scot,
Am sorry that I did not get to meet you at the Barix meeting - I was there on Sat.
Yes, you are normal. It was 2 years from my first "fact finding" at Barix to actually get to the point of surgery (1 year fighting with the decision and 1 year fighting insurance).
My husband and I and our full circle of friends are foodies and beer snobs. My biggest concern was that my social life would plunge because I couldn't eat or drink what my friends were and worse yet, I would have interest in putting out the big spreads for a party that I used to. Now, I usually have some food catered for the masses and cook for myself and my more health concious friends and family. I actually find that some of my friends would eat the fatty stuff that I made before because there wasn't a healthier option. Now that I have healthier options and bring healthier items to parties - many times, my things are eaten as a first option - who knew!
Much to my suprise, (and granted, the hard part has not started yet because I am only approaching 8 months out), I am not missing it. Yes, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and cause me to want to eat everything I can jam in my mouth again, but so far, so good - I have control and am able to turn down bad stuff without regrets. It really shocks me because I would eat a mcdonals meal and then come home and have dinner and dessert with my husband.
Another factor for me was that I was a yo yo and had gained and lost and couldn't bear the thought of losing and then regaining yet again. This is what I needed in order to reprogram myself. Bottom line, only can decide and no matter what path you choose, we are all here for you when you need!
xoxo,
Maura
Am sorry that I did not get to meet you at the Barix meeting - I was there on Sat.
Yes, you are normal. It was 2 years from my first "fact finding" at Barix to actually get to the point of surgery (1 year fighting with the decision and 1 year fighting insurance).
My husband and I and our full circle of friends are foodies and beer snobs. My biggest concern was that my social life would plunge because I couldn't eat or drink what my friends were and worse yet, I would have interest in putting out the big spreads for a party that I used to. Now, I usually have some food catered for the masses and cook for myself and my more health concious friends and family. I actually find that some of my friends would eat the fatty stuff that I made before because there wasn't a healthier option. Now that I have healthier options and bring healthier items to parties - many times, my things are eaten as a first option - who knew!
Much to my suprise, (and granted, the hard part has not started yet because I am only approaching 8 months out), I am not missing it. Yes, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and cause me to want to eat everything I can jam in my mouth again, but so far, so good - I have control and am able to turn down bad stuff without regrets. It really shocks me because I would eat a mcdonals meal and then come home and have dinner and dessert with my husband.
Another factor for me was that I was a yo yo and had gained and lost and couldn't bear the thought of losing and then regaining yet again. This is what I needed in order to reprogram myself. Bottom line, only can decide and no matter what path you choose, we are all here for you when you need!
xoxo,
Maura
Maura
Hi Scott...
I've been catching up on OH from the past few days. I'm a little late chiming in, but definitely wanted to touch base with you and give you some of my thoughts.
We sound very similar.... lifetime of bad eating habits, lifetime of yo-yo dieting, lifetime of every major event revolving around food. Ironically, that might be the story for everyone here. I started looking into gastric bypass in 2005 or 2006. I'm not sure how I even came across him, Dr. Koren and Easton Hospital. They had a 6-month program and I began following it. I went to some support group meetings and like you, people told me how great it was and it changes your life and all that stuff. To add to it, I lost almost 60lbs dieting during the program and was feeling great. I started having some of the same thoughts you did. Maybe I can do this on my own. What will I be missing out on? Is it really worth changing my entire life and missing out on all this stuff when if I just bust my ass a little, I can do this on my own?? I decided not to follow through with the surgery and keeping working at it on my own.
Well 3 years and a regain of a little more than that 60lbs and I found myself going to a free information night at Lehigh Valley Hospital. I was still completely skeptical and almost didn't go. After all, I've been through this before and if I just really work hard, I can do it. I listened to Dr. Boorse and the other people at the meeting and I left completely unsure. I thought hard about it that night and was so unsure if I wanted to sacrifice my current life to do this surgery and change everything. I don't know at what point it hit me, but I thought to myself...what life are you talking about? The life that doesn't let you go to a baseball game without trying to get a handicap accessible seat on the end that the arm lifts up or the life that makes you always ask for a table instead of a booth and oh, do you have any chairs without arms on them? Or the life that doesn't let you walk up the stairs without breaking a sweat? You get my point, but for me, I realized that this life I spoke of, was truly no life at all. I had my surgery in November 2008. Thanksgiving was about 2 weeks later, Christmas was shortly thereafter. You know what? It was kind of tough at first, but by the time New Years rolled around...I had dropped a bunch of weight, was feeling great and had a few moments. Let me tell you how quickly you forget about your old friend salt or sugary when you can do something you haven't done in a long time. Buying a shirt in a normal store, sitting in a booth, going on amusement park rides with your kids, going to a ball game and not worrying about the seat are incredibly powerful things and feel better than any of my old favorite foods and those wows are the tip of the iceberg. No aches and pains, no getting winded with minimal exertion...it's great stuff.
I had some minor complications afterwards and even had to go back in the hospital and without hesitation, I would have the surgery again tomorrow. I won't lie, it's not all butterflies and rainbows, you do miss some food and you have to work at it. Once you're out a while, you can eat normal food. I do. If I go to a baseball game, I even have a beer. My goal with this surgery was to be normal. Sure, my portion sizes aren't "normal" and I eat considerably healthier than many friends, family and co-workers, but I can eat what I want (still avoid too much sugar, but you find ways to make things sweet without it). I love to cook even more now and put tremendous effort in to making good tasting, healthy foods that even non-WLS people like. My sugar free black bean brownies I made for a little gathering with some non-WLS friends and a batch I made for work, were eaten up in no time and people raved about them.
So that's my story and my input on your questions. Are you fighting yourself? I think you already no the answer to that. Did anyone else feel this way? You betcha. Is there something better on the other side that you are missing? You're darn right there is. Once you get there do you feel normal again? I certainly do.
The ultimate decision is yours buddy. I will speak for everyone here and say that we will support you and be there for you to lean on and even kick you in the ass if you need it. You need to make that decision though. I wish you all the best and am certainly willing to talk to you more and answer any and all questions.
My email is [email protected] and my number is 610-972-8266. Feel free to contact me anytime.
Good luck!
I've been catching up on OH from the past few days. I'm a little late chiming in, but definitely wanted to touch base with you and give you some of my thoughts.
We sound very similar.... lifetime of bad eating habits, lifetime of yo-yo dieting, lifetime of every major event revolving around food. Ironically, that might be the story for everyone here. I started looking into gastric bypass in 2005 or 2006. I'm not sure how I even came across him, Dr. Koren and Easton Hospital. They had a 6-month program and I began following it. I went to some support group meetings and like you, people told me how great it was and it changes your life and all that stuff. To add to it, I lost almost 60lbs dieting during the program and was feeling great. I started having some of the same thoughts you did. Maybe I can do this on my own. What will I be missing out on? Is it really worth changing my entire life and missing out on all this stuff when if I just bust my ass a little, I can do this on my own?? I decided not to follow through with the surgery and keeping working at it on my own.
Well 3 years and a regain of a little more than that 60lbs and I found myself going to a free information night at Lehigh Valley Hospital. I was still completely skeptical and almost didn't go. After all, I've been through this before and if I just really work hard, I can do it. I listened to Dr. Boorse and the other people at the meeting and I left completely unsure. I thought hard about it that night and was so unsure if I wanted to sacrifice my current life to do this surgery and change everything. I don't know at what point it hit me, but I thought to myself...what life are you talking about? The life that doesn't let you go to a baseball game without trying to get a handicap accessible seat on the end that the arm lifts up or the life that makes you always ask for a table instead of a booth and oh, do you have any chairs without arms on them? Or the life that doesn't let you walk up the stairs without breaking a sweat? You get my point, but for me, I realized that this life I spoke of, was truly no life at all. I had my surgery in November 2008. Thanksgiving was about 2 weeks later, Christmas was shortly thereafter. You know what? It was kind of tough at first, but by the time New Years rolled around...I had dropped a bunch of weight, was feeling great and had a few moments. Let me tell you how quickly you forget about your old friend salt or sugary when you can do something you haven't done in a long time. Buying a shirt in a normal store, sitting in a booth, going on amusement park rides with your kids, going to a ball game and not worrying about the seat are incredibly powerful things and feel better than any of my old favorite foods and those wows are the tip of the iceberg. No aches and pains, no getting winded with minimal exertion...it's great stuff.
I had some minor complications afterwards and even had to go back in the hospital and without hesitation, I would have the surgery again tomorrow. I won't lie, it's not all butterflies and rainbows, you do miss some food and you have to work at it. Once you're out a while, you can eat normal food. I do. If I go to a baseball game, I even have a beer. My goal with this surgery was to be normal. Sure, my portion sizes aren't "normal" and I eat considerably healthier than many friends, family and co-workers, but I can eat what I want (still avoid too much sugar, but you find ways to make things sweet without it). I love to cook even more now and put tremendous effort in to making good tasting, healthy foods that even non-WLS people like. My sugar free black bean brownies I made for a little gathering with some non-WLS friends and a batch I made for work, were eaten up in no time and people raved about them.
So that's my story and my input on your questions. Are you fighting yourself? I think you already no the answer to that. Did anyone else feel this way? You betcha. Is there something better on the other side that you are missing? You're darn right there is. Once you get there do you feel normal again? I certainly do.
The ultimate decision is yours buddy. I will speak for everyone here and say that we will support you and be there for you to lean on and even kick you in the ass if you need it. You need to make that decision though. I wish you all the best and am certainly willing to talk to you more and answer any and all questions.
My email is [email protected] and my number is 610-972-8266. Feel free to contact me anytime.
Good luck!
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