Things you wish you did...

 Hi everyone, 
My name is Gillian and this is my first post here, but I've been lurking and reading your posts here for sometime.  Right now I'm pre-op, but just got my okay from the hospital's weights loss surgery to schedule an appointment with my surgeon and am seeing him next week.  With the prospect of surgery looming ahead I had a question for those of you who have done this...

Is there anything you wish you had done to make this huge change and transition easier?  I'm even looking for little things that will help me get ready for this whole thing.

Thanks!
Gillian

 hi gillin, congrats!!!!
there is anynithg i wish i have done, But i can tell u that before surgery, i thought i would be skiny and at the weight i wanted to be u know like size 0 without even trying.  lol. so just understand that is hard work and that u have to work ur ass off to be where u wanna be. so don't look at wls as magic. u are gonna have to do ur best to succed. and  u will.
if u can start excercising and watching what u eat. and thats it, get ready for one of the best experiences of ur life, is great to feel u are under control again.
hugs

I wish I had fully comprehended that life doesn’t magically change just because you get skinny(ier). My life still sucks, I’m just a lot smaller. I still have all the same problems and issues (actually some new ones now, too!) but I’m not in constant pain anymore from my body breaking down on me. I knew it, but I think somewhere in some part of my brain I thought I would get RNY and it would make everything all better- it doesn’t. Just know that going in. It will help a lot of things, but it won’t magically fix whatever is wrong. Try and fix those things first, if you can, so when the out of control hormones come, and the days where your pouch is killing you, you’ll be prepared for it.

 This is probably one of the best written posts I've seen on this topic.  You are so right on.  

WLS doesn't make your problems go away, if fact, if they are not dealt with they can escalate because of our lack to numb our problems with food like we are use to.   Hopefully this won't be an issue for you (in a perfect world, anyone) but it really does help to sit down and figure out, realistically, what you're goals and expectations are from surgery.  If your goal is to have a healthy lifestyle, great...if it's to make someone else happy, allow yourself to be loved (by you or someone else), lose 100lbs in 2 months, etc. then not so much.  When I lost 100lbs, it was just a normal Tuesday...there was no confetti that fell from the sky, no big trophy handed to me....life went on and it's always going to go on....My weight loss journey wasn't over (it's never over), I just had to look for my next goal.  

Another thing for me was, others have posted, getting into the lifestyle pre-op.  Start weighing and measuring so it becomes second nature.  If you want to give up soda or caffinee, do it now!!!  I did and it was the best decision I ever made...I'm no longer a prisoner to it...sad but true.   If you aren't exercising, start!  Start getting in 64+oz of water a day and eating lots of protein.  You'll just be that more ahead.  

Best of luck to you, I can tell that you have the right mindset for surgery..that's fantastic, you'll do so well because of it! 

~Emily~

Hi Gillian,

The only thing I wish I had done before my surgery would be to get my mental health in better shape. I had my psychological evaluation and I should have been more honest. Before surgery I was a emontional eater as many of us are. Life not going good I would eat to cope. Husband making me mad I ate to cope. You need to understand that after surgery you can't eat to cope so what do you do? Well I had a mental break down because I never learned any other ways to cope with lifes problems. I am now 4 months post op and doing a lot better after going to therapy. I have found new ways of coping with life. I just wish I would have done it before surgery.

i wi****ook the time to learn more about certain challenges . especially the emotional challenges,also make sure what you can expect after having the surgey especially the first month after the surgey  so that you wont be freaked out from anything . and be really careful and take good care of yourself after surgey.

goodluck for me , it's been the best decision i ever took .

My mental health has actually improved since surgery. I'm assuming it has to do with feeling good about the weight I've lost so far.

I don't know that there is anything I would've done differently. Sometimes you just don't know how you are going to feel or what exactly is going to happen until it actually does. You can only plan so much for it. Also, I would advise against stocking up on too much stuff. Just what you need for the first couple days after surgery. After that, you can go get it yourself and you'll have a better idea of what the first few post-op weeks will be like. I bought too much stuff that I never use.