Living versus Existing is an hugely important quality of life/happiness IN life measurement that changes in such magnitude, that I dont think it is possible to explain to pre-ops. I wouldnt have believed it.  If I was 8 happy (on a scale of 1-10 preop).  I am certainly at LEAST 8 million happy on a scale of 1-10 post op.

My internal happiness and contentment is indescribable. People think that I am a different person, inside and out. I am not so sure about that, but I do notice all these good things that keep coming my way after surgery.

Is it the law of attraction?  The snowball running downhill?  I dont know. But, I dont ever want it to stop!

A couple things to keep in mind -- 1) This is a support forum, and a lot of the people who come here for support are the ones having issues. But that doesn't mean they represent all WLS patients. Overall, complication rates are very low (look up your specific surgeon's stats!), and long-term, even those risks are far more minimal than the risks of aging while morbidly obese.

2) A lot of the vomiting, not being able to eat, etc. issues, if they happen, are very soon post-op and very temporary. My husband and I both had incredible easy recoveries -- I had RNY and he had VSG, but neither of us had any nausea or food intolerances. Even my friend who had a really rough time was back to herself by about 2 months out. This board skews towards more pre-ops and recent post-ops than long-term post-ops, so what you see isn't terribly representative of WLS patients across the entire post-op lifespan. Some awesome vets stick around to give support to others, but the majority get on with their lives and stop coming back unless they have problems farther down the line.

I completely understand your worry. I was so worried when I had to switch gears from VSG to RNY that I lost 80 pounds pre-op just to make the surgery safer! This site is a great resource, but just remember it's highly skewed towards certain sub-groups of WLS patients, which can make it look like some issues are a lot more common than they really are.

One thing I had to reinforce in my head prior to surgery, when I was concerned about the' what if's' was that I need to set those people and thier cir****tances out of my head. I had to hold on to the truths I know about me, my health, how I react to pain and past surgical experiences. 

I had a stomach of steel pre-op and had no reason to believe it would be any different post op. I never react poorly to anesthesia, or pain meds, I never battle constipation or vomit. that put a very different reality in my mindset vs. One who struggled with those things pre op. 

And my post op so far is no different than pre op, I've developed no additional ailments or complications. I've thrown up once, due to curry that didn't agree with me.

Stand on your own truths about who you are, just be conscious of the things that could happen.

I love your response. I've been contemplating revision to RNY (had Lap-band in 2008) for the last 2 years. I developed tendonitis in my foot in June and have had to stop most physical activity. I had been trying to get back on track, getting my knees to feel better, and was really starting to feel good. I've been feeling so discouraged since then, my knees are starting to hurt again and I feel like if I don't get ahead of my weight there is soon coming a time I'll never be able to, and it scares me. So, through this injury, I've been seriously considering taking the first step in going forward to revision. I've been doing A LOT of research and reading over the last 4-6 weeks, and have been really encouraged by many success stories of first-timers and revisions from band to RNY. I have an older sister who had it 5 years ago, she's 52, and doing great. She lost 153 pounds, and doesn't regret her decision for one minute.
Now, I understand and know there are risks and there can be complications, but I find these to be the exception and not the rule. Still, I came across a couple of people with serious issues and of course I started to feel nervous and doubt myself. I started having the "What if's...." So, I just want to say thank you for your words. I've always been relatively healthy, besides my weight, and I'm likely to better if I do it now than to wait until I have diabetes and issues with healing because of it. So, again, thank you!!!! :)

I want to thank you all for all of the advice and words of encouragement. I need all the support and advice I can get.

chrissylyn

I too am just a couple of weeks away and my mood pendulum swings from freaking out to being overly excited.  I feel bipolar my emotions are so all over the map.

A couple of days ago I enlisted the "call a friend" tacktic (OK, it was a txt) and we laughted about my obsessive Dollerama shopping to take my mind off the food.  But the message here is, use your support system to help you through this. 

Wishing you the best of luck!!!