Advice to Pre-Ops

Hey everyone!

I haven't been on the boards in awhile. I've been kind of avoiding OH, feeling guilty for falling off the wagon a bit. I've been struggling with food addiction and feeling unprepared for post-op life. But I'm back on track and I just wanted to post about my experience. You can choose to read or choose not to read, but I just wish someone had posted honestly about this so I could've read it and thought long and hard about what I was doing to my body.

Let me preface this by saying, I do NOT regret having VSG and I am not trying to scare anyone. I am almost four months post-op and though I have days where I wish I'd just kept living the fat life, I know that this was the only way for me to be happy and healthy. I just want everyone to be honest with themselves. I know for me, I go to the forums sometimes and freak out at myself because there are so many people losing faster than me and are staying right on track without ever deviating from their WLS Bible. But I know I can't be the only one that has had hard times.

This surgery (or any type of WLS) is WAY more difficult than normal dieting. When people tell you this is not the easy way out, they are not lying to you to make surgery seem like less of a cheat. It is NOT a way of cheating. Don't ever let yourself think that it will be a "break" from all of the dieting and attempts to lose weight that you've gone through before. This needs to be a change to your lifestyle. That was my first mistake.

Take a minute to seriously self-evaluate. Actually, take more than a minute. Take hours... days... weeks. If you are getting close to your surgery date and are not sure about ANYTHING, make sure you ask! Be as prepared as you possibly can. I felt as though I had read and heard everything. But I forgot that every experience is different. I've always been the kind of person that manages to get by in life without too many complications. I'm definitely guilty of the mindest that I'm invinceable and what may happen to other people will NEVER happen to me. WRONG. This was not one of those times. So just try to look at all perspectives and listen to as many stories as you can. Not losing enough weight/gaining weight is a definite possibility!

Listen to your doctors. Ask them questions, even if you think they are stupid. Plan ahead! Do NOT drink alcohol (too many calories, makes you retain water/dehydrate, bad for your healing stomach, etc...) Be patient and forgive yourself! If you make a mistake, don't beat yourself up. You will sabotage all of your effort.

Love yourself! Give yourself a chance to live the life you deserve and be as healthy as you can. You can be successful as long as you let yourself be open to all of the possible ways to fail. If you ignore them, you will be unprepared for them. Everyone needs a little help. So if you are stubborn (like me), make sure you take the extra time to build a support system.

You can do this! There will be people that are pretty much counting on your failure (narrow-minded jerks) but there are so many other people that are positive you will succeed, especially everyone on OH. So if you are surrounded by those losers who say you don't need WLS and you're taking the easy way out, glue this website to your side! You are worth it!

--Anyone who wants to add to these suggestions, PLEASE do so! We all need a little help! If there's anything you wish someone would have told you before surgery, post it here in the comments!--

Sorry this was so long, but I like to believe that people who are serious about WLS and their life forever after, they will take the time to read it.

Beautiful post. And I'm glad to see you're still around, I've been wondering how you've been doing? If you ever want to talk you know how to get ahold of me, and I'm always around for encouragement if you need it! You are strong and beautiful, remember that!

p.s. something I wish I'd known before surgery: how much losing the weight affects your hormones and the way your body functions (ie. throws off your periods, gives you bouts of craziness, crying or just feeling off sometimes). There are literally times I can't figure out why I feel nuts and then I remember that there are hormones stored in fat cells and that usually is why I feel nuts at the moment, lol.

It's great to hear a different type of perspective.

These bouts of craziness... do they last hours or days??

I can't speak for anyone else, but for me they can last minutes up to a day or so.

Usually around 30 minutes is my average of thinking I'm losing my mind and wanting to bash in anyone's head that gets too close to me or says something that agitates me. I notice most often when I get easily agitated or "snippy" for no good reason.

It's not all the time, but it does happen. My understanding is that it evens out quite a bit once you hit goal and start maintenance.

Ooh! Good to know. I already have issues my emotions and moods being everywhere. Looks like I'm in for one hell of a rollercoaster ride! I'm sure it will be more than worth it in the end!

Yeah, just to add to that, it all depends on the triggers and it's personal for everyone. You may find that you feel perfectly normal, the same way you did before surgery. If you have had a history of hormonal issues or depression, you may be more prone to these huge fluxuations. I have PCOS so my hormones are already crazyyy and depression issues have always come and gone. I just kind of told my psychiatrist what she wanted to hear for the psych eval so I'd get approved for surgery. ANOTHER BIG MISTAKE! So just kind of think about your situation now and be ready to roll with the punches. It is hard but it gets easier. As long as you don't let those bad days take down your entire week or month... Good luck and feel free to add me or message me!

Thank you! I will definitely take you up on that offer! I will be wayyyy less resistant to help. I need to remember that I always have support. And of course you should do the same! Next time your hormones get the best of you, or if you just need to chat, I am here! I'm glad to see you're doing well though! Keep it up! You look great!

Thanks so much for your post. I'm getting "sleeved" in just about 2 weeks. I am about as prepared as I can be - except I just don't know what it's really going to be like - if you know what I mean. thank you for your honesty. It's good to get a reality check and be aware what is upcoming.

That's so exciting. Good luck! Don't let my post scare you though... There are so many people that breeze on by, as long as they do what they are supposed to! But if you ever need anything, OH is the place to go! (and your surgeon's office of course!)