To those with surgery approaching....
Good afternoon all, just thought I would share an update, to be honest, I was hesitant to do a new post considering some people here don't like me, but then again, some people do, so in effect, it's like life. So here goes. I will be 12 weeks out this upcoming Tuesday. I know like a lot of you considering surgery or have it scheduled, the mental warfare of do I proceed with it, do I not, did I try everything I possible could on previous attempts, you know what I mean. I will be honest, I went through the same turmoil, I also was ready right up until they rolled me on the gurney into the OR to hop off, grab my clothes and go running for the door. Obviously I didn't. From the point I started the pre-op diet to the day of surgery. I lost 30 pounds. It was amazing, it does focus your resolve. The liquid diet sucked for the first 5 days of it, but after that and I assume that was from the carb withdraw, it got considerably easier. Well a couple days ago, I broke the 100 pounds lost mark. So 70 additional pounds just over 11 weeks out from surgery. I was like "Holy Crap"!!! The quality of life is so much better pain wise and mobility wise. I know prior to surgery, I was like, this is so permanent, what if I have regrets afterwards, I had a lot of concern over the finality of it all. My brother had the RNY 13 years ago so he's been my sound board for a lot of this and he just kept telling me to trust him and do it. My sister had the sleeve a year ago and it did nothing for her, but she also didn't follow the program, so she hasn't lost anything. So to those in the line for surgery, all I can say is just do it, the sooner you get it over with, the sooner you will happier, healthier and enjoying life. Some take longer to recover from it than others, I was lucky, I was fine post surgery in a couple of days, some have taken weeks, point is, you will get there, you will get through it, and if you follow the program, you too will be wondering why you didn't do this sooner. If you don't follow the program, you won't be doing yourself any favors. Good luck.
Hi there- you pretty much described how I feel- and mine isnt until May! I'm not super religious, but I dont believe thats how the big guy is going to bring me home... I'm sorry about your sister- I didnt even realize NOT losing anything was a possibility?? Oh geez...
I'm very much looking forward to getting it done, and moving on. Your results are very inspiring too!
Thanks for posting!
She didn't get physically active, she also didn't follow the diet, she lives some distance away so I don't see her very often, but I do talk to family members that have and that live with her full time. She doesn't follow the dietary regime. She said she followed her doctors instructions yet she was on solid food a week after her surgery. I know no doctor would have ordered that, The fact she didn't rupture the incision on her stomach is amazing. A family member told me when they saw her like 6 months after her surgery, she ate like three choco-taco ice cream sandwiches in one sitting. I don't mean to sound like I am beating up on my sister here, I love her dearly and worry about her. She has always had a weight issue, she usually does the Optifast routine and can lose weight pretty easily when she sticks to it, she just can't maintain it unfortunately. Her weight goes up and down to such an extreme I want to call her a yo-yo. That has to be more unhealthy than being one or the other due to the constant stress change on her body. I recall once when we were in the same place visiting, she had lost so much weight I almost didn't recognize her, and then we shared a hug and the excess skin from her arms connecting to her torso made me think of a flying squirrel. I had the impression that if a strong wind came up she'd land in Guam. I know that sounds mean, but it's concern, not maliciousness. We talk about it from time to time as she discovers tidbits about my journey, I know she is stressed that it's done nothing for her, all I can do is encourage her and I have emailed her the routine my doctor gave me, telling her while she may have stretched out her sleeve somewhat, if she just starts the proper dietary routine and gets moving, she still should have the tools, that and to go see a different surgeon and bring the hard copy of the routine the first doctor instructed her to follow (if true) and let them take some images of what was done and evaluate where step would work best, but unfortunately it has fallen on deaf ears. We are set to see each other at a reunion in May, which will be the first time she will have seen me since the surgery so I am hoping that will motivate her. As of this morning, I am at 102 pounds lost since the pre-op diet. Anyways, sorry for making this such a long reply. Have a great day all.
It's really sad your sister was not able to take advantage of the opportunity she was given. On a positive note, I don't think it will ever be too late for her to do so. I am so afraid of failing myself so I I hope with the combination of staying in therapy and recalling how unhealthy I was with all of the weight related problems/diseases will make me never want to go back there!
I think there's always going to be people who don't follow the program. In my research I was connected to a person who had WLS and she was honest with me. she said her restriction was gone because she had started eating foods she shouldn't and eventually ended up being able to eat what she could preop. Her specific example was "I can eat an entire cheeseburger now." I sooooo hope this will not be me.
All you can do is offer help to your sister, she will have to decide when enough is enough.
I agree completely. I hope when I see her in May, it will be a motivation for her, she hasn't seen me since a couple months prior to my having surgery. When she and I talk, she always asks how much I have lost and each time it's more and more. 104 as of this morning's step on the scale. (picture happy dance) lol. I know the doctor told me it's hard to stretch out the sleeve, it would take a lot of over eating to do so, I don't think that is true. I can eat more than 4-5 ounces in a sitting, I don't, but there have been a couple times I have. I think with the size of food I have heard she has eaten, I think it's easier to stretch it out that some people think. I've made the suggestion to her to go see a different WLS surgeon, let them take some pics and see what's what, then decide what to do next based on an informed opinion.
I just had my preop class yesterday. As with the nutrition class, we had to take a test. One of the questions was T or F: Overeating will cause the pouch to stretch. Of course that is true. She has probably stretched hers for sure.
Sometimes seeing how successful other people are at losing weight is just not enough to motivate them to want to change.
Again...agreed lol. I know it will stretch, but it usually takes a lot from what my surgeon told me. The way he articulated it, was that they were removing the more stretchable part of the stomach and what's left is the more muscular side of the stomach, you can stretch muscle, but it's harder being it is a muscle and more dense. Whether that is true or not, I don't know, but it's what he said. In the beginning, after surgery once I progressed past the liquid phase, I could eat 3-4 bites and that was it, I make most of my foods from scratch, but sometimes I just open a can, if I open a can of soup or chili, 4-6 weeks ago, I would be able to eat 1/3 to 1/2 of the content, put the rest int he fridge and have the rest 5-6 hours later. Now I have discovered I can have a whole can's content in one service, that's what? 10.5 ounces I think? I don't normally have it all, I just have about half and have the rest later, but if I really hungry from being on the go all day, I can take the whole can's content with no ill reaction, no ugh feeling, no foamies, etc. I agree seeing other's people successes isn't always the way to motivate someone. My sister has no problem losing weight, she does the optifast routine, she has a problem maintaining weight, Once she goes back to solid food, she just balloons up and that is her problem. She just doesn't know when to stop. I hope when I see her in May it will help motivate her. I really wish she would go see a different WLS surgeon than she dealt with, get some images taken to see what's going on and devise a plan to move forward.
I wasn't ready to jump off the gurney in the OR for fear of dying on the table, well maybe just a little bit to be honest, any time someone goes under anesthesia, there is that risk, my fear was of the permanent nature of what I was about to have done. As to my sister, like in anything else in life, you get out of it what you put into it.
