If you're here and in trouble...

Shannon,

Each of us should be grateful as hell to get the chance to try this obesity thing (NOT being obese) over again...And when things happen, it's all the intestinal fortitude to keep from slipping down that slippery slope back into the MO mentality...

I'm just so darn grateful to NOT be on the meds and NOT be ruining my knees and back with the excess weight that I couldn't be tempted to cross the line back to where I MIGHT even get back to MO again...I've talked to people who have slipped back, through fault of their own or not...And they all would do things differently than alot of newly post ops!

Some people just aren't as grateful as they could be, I guess.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with all that..I hope they can fix it all for you and real soon. You certainly aren't taking just the simple act of being able to walk for granted...

Dawn

Dawn-- you hit my favorite pet peeve!  When people post "___ lbs lost forever", I just want to reach out and wring their necks.  They don't have a clue that real work is just beginning!

Shannon-- so sorry to hear about your spinal problems!  I know how painful it can be.  I remember my orthopedist getting mad at me when I was pregnant with my son ( I was just a little older than you).  I'd had a herniated disc, he said that was the last thing my back needed. 

Be sure you're taking all the necessary supplements, I hate to hear that you have further issues due to WLS.

Michele

My major gripe with newbies is more or less that... They aren't grateful for the weight loss or the new health or anything like that where they want to test the limits of their strength, mental and physical (I mean eating stuff that should make them sick and then finding out it doesn't make them sick...)

I want to scream at the screen more than once a night that just because they CAN eat somethign doesnt' mean they SHOULD eat something...especially early out when they should be learning to get some sort of intestinal fortitude.

I'm so cranky, I probably should just take time off of the boards for a while...Go and bury my head and wait for it all to pass...But it's like a train wreck...You can't turn away..You have to watch..

Hey Dawn,

I don't think is a gratitude issue at all.. I think it is WLS industry that is to blame.
You see the ads and the commercials-- They are the ones that make it look so simple and quick.. They don't talk about the long term effects only the immediate results. and they even make you think its a forever result..
Don't be so hard on the newbies.. you remember when you were a kid.. mom always said you learn by doing .. they will too.. when it happens they will see.. Thats. all..
I read their posts and just realize they are young an naive.. you can't change that.
They will learn..

Donna

Maybe it has gotten too commercial. I am hearing about doctors who do NO follow up care at all and are not requiring any sort of psych eval either..It's really sad because if this isn't their last hope at health, they shouldn't be doing it. That's my feeling.

I was desperate. I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't desperate.

I just hate to think of the wasted time and effort for their failed attempts at weight loss...But that's probably what I was taught as a child. Don't waste someone's time..

Hi Michele, thank you for much for your kind words and sharing your story.   It's so nice to know I'm not alone.... It's hard to describe the feelings associated with this pain.  More so now because with my loss of activity I have seen the flux in weight and am absolutely terrified.  But I'll be darned if this roadblock keeps me down long.  I can truly say I'm still just as motivated now as I was 3 years ago to be healthy and strong.  Even if a few roadblocks come my way. 

I greatly appreciate the support, it truly means a lot to me and is a huge reason I love OH.com. :)

~Shannon

Michelle, I agree with you, Dawn and Melinda; I despise hearing XX lbs lost forever, I listened to those that had surgery before me and saw the struggles, I don't think I ever said those words and if I did it was the first couple of months before I learned that this is never forever.

Those words will NEVER come out of my life; I'm grateful to be where I'm at and I'll fight a good fight but I don't know what the future brings.

I too have hit the struggling part.... Im almost 4 years out... Year 3 started the slide... first 5 lbs, then 10 now Im up to 25 and cant seem to get it off...

Excercise or not does not affect me.... I truely believe its the bad carbs... they slide down sooooooo easy...

I also think Im insulin resistant and every little carb sticks to my hips/stomach...

I too am one that can eat anything.... I have good days bad days.. but my bad days have gotten me from an 8/10 to a 10/12.....

Its frustrating to say the least.... I wish I was a dumper... maybe that would help keep me in check..... ahhhhh me.

K

The problem with being a dumper is that it goes away. I was a big time dumper but found out that I don't dump as much or as bad now...Now I have to say NO and mean it on a mental level instead of knowing that it will make me sick. So maybe I pretend it makes me sick but I know, down inside that it doesn't. My husband's chocolate chip cookies will call from me from miles away and I'll eat one or one dozen if they're around and I don't dump at all. crap.

It's much harder to have the intestinal fortitude to say no and stick to it when you know you can but you just shouldn't...All you can do is try...And keep trying. You have to be strong for yourself. We can cheer you on but you have to find that strength yourself.

Alot of newbies don't understand that yet...Thanks for your response!

Great thread.....it's helpful to hear everyone's insight!

My problems with regain at 4 years out (depending on the day I'm up anywhere from 15-20 pounds from my lowest) are very similar to what a lot of other people have posted -- meaning I tested the waters with sugar and carbs and got caught up in the vicious pull they have on people like me with PCOS and insulin resistance.  I will also own up to the fact that I am a stress eater and even though I thought I had it under control, things that have happened in the past year (finding out I am losing my job, increased caregiving for an elderly mother-in-law, financial problems, and trials of everyday life) have manifested in overeating.  I do pretty good about not eating the super bad stuff like fast food, but the stress eating is often on legal stuff like cheese, soy crisps, sf pudding, and other sf items.  The extra calories add up.

If I had to give advice to a newbie it would be to get into counseling or some type of program to deal with our emotional reliance/addiction to food because eventually your appetite will come back and the amount of food you can eat will increase.  Don't take for granted the success that has come so easily.  It gets harder as you try to maintain.

Dawn - I know what you mean about sometimes needing to take a break from the boards.  I do post some but mainly lurk and when the drama gets into overdrive it's time for me to turn off the computer.  During my weight loss journey I worked hard to eliminate toxic people and relationships from my life and I do not need to replace them with toxic online bantering and raving.  I just have to remind myself daily that life isn't fair and **** happens, so deal with it and move on.