My Fears

Hi everybody. I'm new to this community and my surgery is scheduled for Tuesday. I thought I'd use this post to share some of my fears I have. I'm not so much scared of surgery itself, but I'm scared of the life that comes after it.

First, let me tell you about myself. My name is Miranda, I'm 20 years old. I started my surgery process last March, I originally had a date set for December but it was cancelled the day before due to covid! Yup, two liver reduction diets for me, lucky me! I was devastated my surgery was cancelled. I'm getting surgery for a few reasons. I know it's not healthy to be this overweight at the age of 20. I am already suffering some complications due to my weight and I just wanna live my life to the fullest. One main thing is, I've always wanted to have kids and I know with the weight I'm at now it's very hard to naturally conceive them. My weight has always only gone up, so if I continue down this lifestyle path I'll be even worse by the time I'm ready to have kids.

Now, onto the point of this post, my fears.

I've never in my life been skinny and it sounds terrifying. I'm so used to my current body.

I'm afraid of the attention I'm gonna get in public, I'm afraid of actually being treated human because it'll be such a big change.

Another kinda silly thing is, I have a fear of throwing up, although I know it's inevitable.

I know I am ready for this change, I was ready in December, but I'm still scared of it. The unknown is scary, and since I've never lived life normally I don't know what to expect from it.

having been super morbidly obese for most of my adult life, I LOVE being "normal". I would never go back - not being super morbidly obese anymore has been worth every sacrifice I've had to make to get here (and stay here). It won't happen overnight, so you'll have time to adjust - and if you're finding it difficult to adjust regardless, there's always therapy. Many WLS patients work with therapists and find it very helpful.

as for throwing up, it's not inevitable. I did throw up a lot more than usual the first couple of months out since some things no longer sit well with me (although I should add that throwing up post-surgery is easier than throwing up pre-surgery. For one thing, you have a really small stomach, so there's not much in there to throw up - and also, you have a lot less acid in your stomach, so you don't deal with that horrible vomit taste anymore. It's more like a baby spitting up after eating - so not awful). But anyway, once I got through that, the vomiting became really infrequent. I don't think I vomit much more now than I did before surgery. Occasionally (actually, rarely anymore) I'll "blow it" and overeat (and then vomit), but then, you learn pretty fast!!

You will get treated differently after you lose the weight and will get a lot of attention, especially from men. Working with a therapist who specializes in weight loss surgery patients is very important. If that person is not part of your medical team already, talk to your surgeon's office for a recommendation.

Throwing up is not inevitable. You have to learn to eat very small amounts, chew your food thoroughly, and stop eating as soon as your pouch is full. One extra bite is what can make you throw up. Also learn to eat without drinking anything. Set a timer and wait at least thirty minutes after eating before drinking.

But make sure you drink plenty of liquids to prevent dehydration. Walk as much as possible after surgery and sip water every five or ten minutes.

Emotional First Aid Kit After Weight Loss Surgery is a book that is very helpful and I used to give copies of it to people who were having weight loss surgery. I highly recommend that you read the book and refer to it often as you begin your new life.