Stay focused on your goals and you be fine. Like WhiteDove said, get a support system in place. They include family, friends, coworkers, church people, doctors, etc. Basically anyone you feel you can go to when you need support. This online community is great, lots of good answers to all the questions we have.

As far as suicide goes, I think most people who elect to have WLS are choosing to live more healthy in order to prolong their life. Its been almost 8 months since my VSG and life continues to get better and easier to do things. I cant wait to see what happens next. This journey of life we're on can be as good as we're willing to make it :)

I was told the same as far as weight loss. I am a month out tomorrow and my starting BMI was 35.2. I had surgery due to a medical condition. They told me it would take 10-12 months for me to get down to my goal weight.

Well what size is your sleeve. Every surgeon has their own methods. Here is a comparison of the standard bougee sizes. Some surgeons sew more tightly than others.

You surgeon can tell you what size he used. When you consider your original stomach was about the size of a football, all of these are much smaller.

If you are eating mostly dense protein you should have good restriction. If you are eating slider foods like bread, crackers, cereal, potatoes then you can eat a lot of food with little restriction.

I know one person who blew his brains out after weight loss surgery. Another who actually starved herself to death. She had cancer, was on chemo, and just completely stopped eating. The doctor said her cause of death was malnutrition.

Both of these people had a long history of mental illness and probably should not have had surgery. The woman had divorced her husband, alienated her family and friends, and had absolutely no support system in place.

The man was in a loving marriage and his wife also had the surgery. She is now happily remarried.

If you are already suffering from a mental illness and contemplating suicide, then I do believe that weight loss surgery can increase your risk of committing suicide.

I know another person who has become a severe alcoholic since surgery. None of the rehab programs have made any difference. A few months ago she was drunk and beating up her husband. He had her arrested and put in jail. She is currently back living with her 71 year old mother and father. She is 50 years old.

Food is the main source of comfort for many obese people. When that is taken away, they are at risk of finding unhealthy ways to cope. Alcohol, gambling, shopping, and sex are some of the things that people substitute for food.

I believe that almost all of us have anxiety before surgery. It is a big life changing decision that comes with risks. I went as far as to review my will and make funeral arrangements.

The day after surgery, I felt great and wondered what all the fuss was about. I really did not feel any different. I just was not hungry and lost weight easily.

I did attend support meetings and work with a therapist. The risk of suicide is most likely higher a few years after surgery when the weight loss stops, the compliments stop, and the regain often starts.

Everything comes with risk. You have probably been evaluated by a psychologist prior to approval for surgery. That was a requirement for me.

Suicide after surgery is about 6 out of 10,000 people and those people were all probably suicidal before surgery.

I am over 11 years post op. Currently maintaining slightly below goal.

Since I am so far out post op, and below goal - there are no foods I can't eat. All foods are on my "what can I eat" list. Including desserts, starches, breads etc.

But just because I can eat something, or drink something, it doesn't mean I should eat that every day or often.

As I found out the hard way, eating "whatever I wanted and having some alcoholic drinks socially " caused weight regain, up to 40 lbs regain. That was not cool.

Now I try to weigh myself daily, and if my weekly average weight is going up, or it reached the top of my goal range scale, I dont eat foods I know would cause regain. Like crackers, bread, fries, potatoes, pasta, even fruits.

I am currently below goal and I do allow myself a bite or 2 of something I normally dont eat, but only a small serving, and often after a meal.

I also discovered that drinking alcohol, a few times a week at the most, would trigger weight gain. So 99% of the time I now choose not to drink any. I'm ok with that.