Surgery Scheduled....A bit nervous

Hello all! I thought I posted this once but ...well I am pc challenged so who knows! I have been lurking for a while. I just want to say I find comfort in your honesty and encouragement. You are a great group of people! Like Joyce, I need your support. Is it natural to wonder if the surgery will work? I have battled all my life with weight and I just wonder if I will mess up and not lose.  This has not been an easy or fast descion for me but I am ready.  I look forward to this site as an intregal part of my support and encouragement. I love the fact there are so many Christians here!  Thanks for all the information you have posted that has helped me so much with my questions! Dot

Hello Dot, so glad that you can join us. . An I know you will learn alot, we are so glad to have ya here. You are so right about the folks here they are so gracious and wonderful, can't ask for a better group  of friends. I hope that you can come and join us at one of our get togethers. They are so much fun, the info is great,  just would not believe how much I myself have grown to love each and everyone of them.  They are all so supportive of what I am going through, because they know, and they have felt what I am feeling. They are there!!!! Hugs Barb

Thanks so much! Please see my other response. I meant it for both of you! Dot

Hello!  And welcome to the board...  there are some wonderfully supportive people here... and they will become family.  I will warn you - - its addictive...  you will be signing on each day just to see what the gang is doing...feel free to jump in and be part of us! Yes it is very natural to think, "What if I am THE ONLY PERSON in the world that this doesn't work on...?"  My roommate had surgery two months ahead of me, and I would ask him so many questions...  my biggest fear is that I would have a tiny pouch for a stomach, and that I would still have a huge appetite...  what if I had that big of an appetite, and could not get that much food in my stomach?  I would feel like I was starving to death!  I kept asking Mike, "ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY?  TELL ME THE TRUTH!  DOES IT HURT?  WHAT KIND OF PAIN IS IT?  ARE YOU HUNGRY YET?"  Yes I surely did worry the fire out of the man!  But he answered each and every question during those 2 months exactly the same...  and he assured me that I would not be hungry.  Then after reading some information, I learned that when they do the surgery and cut the large stomach away from the pouch, they cut some kind of a nerve that tells your brain that you are hungry...  that's why it takes up to several years to be hungry again.  I still never feel hunger as I knew it before...  I do get an empty feeling sometimes, but I am on such a routine that I know when its time to eat...  If I feel empty, I know its time to get something...  maybe some cheese, or a protein shake, maybe a protein bar...  it doesn't take much to get rid of that empty feeling... All your fears are logical.  I actually would be very suprised and wonder about people who had NO concerns and NO worries...  because that means that they don't truly understand the impact that the surgery will have on their lives.  Another thing that plays into your fears that this won't work for you - - as all of us, we have tried diet after diet.  We have failed time after time.  Why would we be successful with THIS, right?  But this is a very different situation.  Its not like being on a diet.  You will have things that happen to your body which will work in your favor... such as the not feeling hungry...  then there's the fact that you will have a smaller tummy, aka pouch, and it doesn't take as much to fill you up...  Feel free to ask any question you want...  because in a group this size, I can assure you that one of us, if not more, have either thought about it or asked it!  Welcome, again....

Thanks for the encouragement! You are great! I do feel a "part" of this group even though I have been a "lurker"! I can't wait to share my experiences and get feedback. I go tomorrow for the diet/nutrition class and then Monday for pre-op and registration. Then the big day. The closer it gets I am more comfortable. I obviously had done research but since being approved for surgery have been searching more. This site has been the biggest help - real people who have been there, are there or are going there so it has been a great comfort and source of information. Again , thanks for the welcome! Dot

Dot,

It is very normal, all the diets and fads we have tried before have failed so how is this gonna work?  That is a normal side effect of the surgery, even after you have it.  The surgery is on your stomach and not your brain so there will be doubts hiding in the backgroud, that is why this support system is very important.   Good luck on your journey.

 

darlene

Welcome, welcome, welcome. I'm so glad you came out of hiding. It is absolutely normal to fear that you will be the ONE person this surgery doesn't work for. I promise, it will work. The better you follow the rules, the better it will work and the better you will feel. This is a safe place to ask questions, voice fears, brag about your WOW moments, and admit poor choices. We promise to always be supportive. Even if that support sometimes means we have to tell you you messed up. We all want to see each other succeed and sometimes we need each other to drag us back onto the straight and narrow road. Only a true friend will look you in the eye and tell you when you have screwed up, then give you a hug and help you do what you need to do. Other people won't understand our excitement over sitting in a theater seat without the arms digging into our hips. Or being able to wear the seatbelt in our car. Or the fear of shopping in the "regular" sizes and worrying that someone is going to tell us we are in the wrong department. We all understand because we've been there! Get ready for the ride of your life! It's an amazing journey.

Susan, I am so glad I read your post a few minutes ago.  I began to think I was the only one that feared shopping in the "regular" sizes.  I went to JC Penny's last weekend and "made myself" face the fear and because inquisitive about what is in the regular sizes I would even like. Well, it was quiet different from times before.  Found some items I can't believe I will ever be that small...like 16, 14, 12, etc.  But I ended up buying a blouse for $1.95 size L, another shirt for $1.50 size M and a bathing suit bottom size XL for a few dollars.  My husband kinda chuckled at what I found, but he said "put in it  your hope chest."  Hope chest is a new terminology for me to use for when I have the surgery.  Also using another phrase:   I am a lady in waiting...waiting for the birth of my new baby tummy.  Pretty catchy hugh.... Anyway, I faced the fear, did it anyway, and am still feeling what it felt like, wondering who was watching me...knowing they didn't care, as long as I paid for the item.   Sharon/Memphis

Welcome, Dotdoodle!  First off, let me say, I love your screen-name and will probably never call you just "Dot"... Dotdoodle is just so fun to say!     Next, let me reassure you that you are going to be SUCCESSFUL on this journey. The tool that you are being equipped with will help YOU change your life. It will 'do it for you', but during that time, you learn to make wiser choices.  You get your health back - your life back - and you will NEVER want to let it go again! We are so glad you have "come out to play".   We really are a friendly bunch! ~ Tara

Welcome Dot and congrats on your upcoming surgery!  This is a great group of people.  I first found out about them when my wife had her surgery in June of '07.  After reading and lurking, I kept learning and made the decision for myself!  I am one month out and everyday continues to get better.  Right now Superman is keeping his cape put up for a few more weeks, but that is OK! Welcome and keep us informed with your progress!